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By Larry, February 25, 2011 11:02 am

Spindletop Northern Soul Pt4

Jackie Lee – The Shotgun and the Duck (Mirwood)
Judy Street – What (Grapevine)
Rodge Martin – Loving Machine (Bragg)
Olympics – Mine Exclusively (Mirwood)
JJ Barnes – Day Tripper (Ric Tic)
Bonnie and Lee – The Way I Feel About You (Fairmount)
Marvin Gaye – Baby Don’t Do It (Tamla)
Pieces of Eight – Come Back Baby (A&M)
Liberty Belles – Shing A Ling Time (Shout)
Tommy & Cleve – Boogaloo Baby (Checker)
Guitar Ray – Patty Cake Shake (Hot Line)
Gloria Jones – Tainted Love (Champion)
Jean Wells – With My Love and What You Got (Calla)

Listen/Download -F16C Spindletop Northern Soul Pt4 – 59MB Mixed MP3

Greetings all.

The week is coming to a close, and so is our little experiment.

I behooves me to remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show returns tonight at 9PM at Viva Radio. Make sure you tune in for the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove. If you can’t, make sure to stop by the blog over the weekend to  pick up the MP3 version of the show.

When you whip four separate Northern Soul mixes* on the blog on four consecutive days, you risk being accused of overkill.

That my friends is a risk I am ready and willing to take.

You see – and I don’t think I’ve discussed this before, at least in this way – Northern Soul, or at least much of the music that meets the sonic criteria to be considered part of the genre, is some of the most dynamic, exciting and above all accessible ‘soul’ music.

Though there are the occasional fringe records that fall inside the Northern bailiwick that manage to be danceable yet ultimately soul-less, they are the exception to the rule.

To lay it out in the simplest way possible, Northern Soul was mostly (important word, that) imitation Motown, or at least music that strove to imitate those labels that arose alongside of Motown in the world of stylish urban soul. By this I mean labels like Okeh, Brunswick, Mirwood, Harthon, Fairmount, Chess, Calla and any number of smaller Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles labels (or points anywhere else on the musical map) where records with pounding beats, pop hooks and soulful vocals were being made.

When I was rapping with my man Perry Lane, I mentioned that my wife, a woman of exceptional taste but who would not normally be described as a soul fan, really digs the Northern sound. This is relevant because I’d say that most hardcore soul fans approach records with an agenda, whether it’s because a given 45 is cemented in a stylistic canon, coveted because of its rarity, or connected to a label, artist or other focal point.

When someone who is not a record collector finds themselves drawn to a genre that they wouldn’t identify, the chances are that they do so simply because they like the way it sounds. The music rises up from the grooves, through the stylus and the speakers and finds its way into the pleasure centers of their brain, and whatever part of the central nervous system that causes involuntary movement in the feet (tapping), hips (swaying) and head (nodding).

A lot of the Northern Soul records that I have either hit me retroactively (i.e. I grabbed them because I was collecting a certain group, label or region) or because I heard them first (by the original artist on a comp) or second (via a cover by groups like the Action, Artwoods, Timebox etc) hand but as I became acquainted with the genre and found my way into the canon I began to seek out records because of that and the new stuff coalesced with the things I already had and I discovered a sound or genre rising from the depths of my crates.

I realize that my attachment to this music comes at some distance, and that much of what made the movement exciting – the whole of Northern Soul culture in the UK – is part of the past, there’s something rewarding (as there is when you spin any collection of music that ought to be better known than it is for people eager to listen, and dance) about gathering these sounds and whipping them on people.

I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating, any DJ worth their salt carries with them the power packed in the grooves of records, and when you spin the right records at the right time, in the right sequence you release that power and pass it on to the people listening, and all that matters then is that good music that they may not have heard before is hitting those pleasure centers I mentioned a few graphs ago, and it is translated into smiles and movement and if you’re lucky someone picks up on it and wants to seek it out on their own and an obscure, 45 year old record, filled with talent and passion lives another day.

Because keeping the sound alive – keeping the faith – is what it (and this blog) is all about.

I hope you dig it, pull down the ones and zeros on this fourth installment and move, groove and feel it.

I’ll be back on Monday.

Peace

Larry

* All recorded live on 2/21/11 at Spindletop @ Botanica in NYC

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PS Head over to Iron Leg for an unusual cover of one of the greatest records of the 60s.

Comments (2)

By Larry, February 24, 2011 10:24 am

Spindletop Northern Soul Pt3

Intruders – All the Time
Irma Thomas – What Are You Trying To Do
Sugarpie DeSanto – Go Go Power
Vontastics – Never Let Your Love Grow Cold
Little Carl Carleton – Competition Ain’t Nothing
Luther Ingram – If It’s All the Same To You Baby
Volcanos – Storm Warning
Mary Wells – Can’t You See You’re Losing Me
Darrell Banks – Our Love Is In the Pocket
Clydie King – ‘Bout Love
Four Larks – Groovin’ at the Go Go
Persionettes – It Happens Every Day
Cooperettes – Shingaling

Listen/Download -F16C Spindletop Northern Soul Pt3 – 59MB Mixed MP3

Greetings all.

Not a whole lot to add with today’s post, aside from the fact that Part three of the mix includes some real winners from Philadelphia, including an early 45 by the Intruders that hasn’t appeared in this space before in any form.

I should mention that I will be returning to Spindletop @ Botanica for some more record spinning on Monday March 21st, so if you’re in the area, stop by.

I also have a grip of groovy stuff all teed up for next week, and of course there’s the Funky16Corners Radio Show this Friday night at 9PM, so you might want to pencil that in as well.

I’ll be back tomorrow with the fourth and final installment of this live mix.

See you then.

Peace

Larry

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for an unusual cover of one of the greatest records of the 60s.

Comments (4)

By Larry, February 23, 2011 10:42 am

Spindletop Northern Soul Pt2

Henry Lumpkin – Soul is Taking Over (Buddha)
Bob and Earl – Harlem Shuffle (Marc)
Sam Dees – Lonely For You Baby (Soul City RE)
Dean Courtney – We Have a Good Thing (RCA)
Barbara Banks – River of Tears (Veep)
R. Dean Taylor – There’s a Ghost In My House (VIP)
Billy Butler – I Bet You (Brunswick)
Betty Lavette – Feel Good All Over (Calla)
Fantastic Johnny C – New Love (Phil L.A. of Soul)
Bob and Earl – Dancing Everywhere (Mirwood)
Velvelettes – Needle In a Haystack (VIP)
Dean Parrish – I’m On My Way (UK)
Royalettes – Out Of Sight Out Of Mind (MGM)

Listen/Download -F16C Spindletop Northern Soul Pt2 – 59MB Mixed MP3

Greetings all.

Strap yourselves in because Part 2 of my live set from this past Monday’s Spindletop is here and it is packed from end to end with what the kids like to call ‘stormers’.

That’s right, solid, fast moving soul for the dance floor with the pounding drums, honking sax-o-mo-phones, ringing vibes, poppy hooks and of course soul clapping.

This is yet another half hour (in a series of four, like a smaller but much more tuneful set of encyclopedias) with several indisputable classics of this or any other genre, some even rising to the level of ‘anthem’.

As I was motoring around this morning, running my errands and what not I was listening to this very mix in the automobile, and as is often the case when I hear a record that means a lot to me, I start running through the rolodex in my big juicy brain (zombies beware), remembering where and when I first got my hands on some of these.

The other night I was talking to my man Perry Lane about how my musical sensibility was formed, especially in regard to soul music.

Unlike some folks, my musical tastes were not formed from whole cloth, arising suddenly like a volcano in a corn field.
As I have mentioned in this space countless times, the number one influence, especially when you’re talking about love of music in general is my father.

A teacher and musician, he always had music in the house and encouraged all of his children to be involved in music, whether it was by playing an instrument (which we all do with widely varying degrees of facility), singing around the piano at family gatherings or just plain listening, which when you’re talking about music is really the basic building block.

After that, I think about all of the people that have influenced me directly or indirectly over the years, sharing their musical passions with me as I have with them.

Big ups go out to my Mod soul brothers, Mr. Luther and Haim who first hepped me to countless amazing records.

Thanks also to the many DJs I have either spun records with or just befriended over the vast expanses of the interwebs.

First and foremost, the Asbury Park 45 Sessions crew (and the many guest selectors that have come to the Lanes to spin with us), DJ Prestige, Prime Mundo, M-Fasis, Bluewater, Devil Dick, and Jack the Ripper have packed a serious amount of musical knowledge and taste into the years we’ve been DJ-ing together. Not a single AP45 night has gone by without several new records being added to my want list. There never a shortage of lively discussion. It’s almost like an Oscar Wilde salon had been repopulated with wild-eyed, bearded, tattooed freaks, all clutching boxes of 45s in one hand and beer in the other.

Down in DC my man DJ Birdman – another cat who’s friendship dates back to the mod/garage days – has been a huge influence on the way I listen to disco and 70s soul.

Dudes like Mr. Finewine, Perry Lane, Agent 45, Tony C – as well as various and sundry members of the Soulstrut crew – have all turned me on to amazing music.

All it really takes is someone whose taste you hold in high regard to tell you ‘Check out this record’ and before you know it you’re off on a new tear.

Any fool can work their way through the internet and pick through set lists to see what records are popular, but it also takes a sense of what’s good (i.e. taste) to add records to those lists. It takes an overwhelming curiosity, and enough of a love of what you’re doing to keep digging.

Anyone that tells you they know everything about music, or have heard all the good records, is either 200 years old, or more likely, full of shit. Without generosity, humility and passion, and the excitement that comes from sharing good music, this all wouldn’t mean much.

That and having a wife and kids that love you enough to put up with having a whole room in their house devoted to records.

So dig the music, and pass it along so someone else can dig it too.

See you tomorrow with Part Three.

Peace

Larry

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for an unusual cover of one of the greatest records of the 60s.

Comments (2)

By Larry, February 22, 2011 4:35 pm

One of my fave sides of the evening…

Spindletop Northern Soul Pt1
Dolly Parton – Busy Signal (Monument)
Maurice & the Radiants – Baby You’ve Got It (Chess)
Butlers – Laugh Laugh Laugh (Phila)
O’Jays – I Dig Your Act (Bell)
Chuck Jackson – Good Things Come To Those Who Wait (Wand)
Pat Lewis – Look at What I Almost Missed (Solid Hit)
Producers – Love is Amazing (Huff Puff)
Supremes – Love Is Like and Itching In My Heart (Motown)
Jimmy Ruffin – 96 Tears (Soul)
Platters – With This Ring (Musicor)
Players – Get Right (Minit)
Chris Clark – Love’s Gone Bad (Motown)
Betty Everett – Getting Mighty Crowded (VeeJay)

Listen/Download -F16C Spindletop Northern Soul Pt1 – 58MB Mixed MP3

Greetings all.

I hope you’re all well.

I’m ready for a nap, on account of I didn’t get home until 2:30 last night after having a fantastic evening spinning Northern Soul 45s at Spindletop @ Botanica in NYC.

If you’re in the area and haven’t checked out one of DJ Perry Lane’s Monday night fiestas, you’re really missing something. In addition to his own excellent taste in sounds he brings in a wide variety of guest DJs to whip their wax on the assemble multitudes.

I find it to be an especially groovy experience because I get to play whatever I want for an extended period of time, which is exactly how I like it.

I’m all for dropping a tight half an hour to forty-five minute set, but nothing beats being able to settle in with a box full of hot 45s for the long haul, building a wave and riding the crest for as long as the 45s and the vibe holds out.

Thus is the bag that I’m in when I hit the decks at Botanica.

Last night was an especially groovy experience for a few reasons.

First, I brought my favorite Northern Soul sides, a genre I don’t really get the opportunity to spin that often, especially over a period of a couple of hours.

Yours truly (right) and the legend, Matt Weingarden aka Mr Finewine

Second, none other than the mighty Mr. Finewine fell by and he brought Andy Noble of Kings Go Forth with him. Nothing like having a little funk and soul royalty in the house to get things going.

I was also able to record most of my set this time. Aside from some early technical glitches, I walked out of Spindletop last night with over two hours of soul grooves packed tightly onto the SD card of my digital recorder.

In spite of the fact that I was running on about three hours sleep today, I managed to finish up next weeks Funky16Corners Radio Show, and edited down the raw files from last night.

When I was done, I had broken it down into four sets, all around a half hour in length.

It took me a while to decide what to do with all this goodness, but in the end I figured I’d try something new.
So, what you’re going to get is a new half hour mix every day for the next four days in nice, manageably sized chunks.

When they’ve all been posted, you can string a few or all of them together in a playlist, flip your wig and cut yourself a nice piece of rug.

I’ll be returning to Spindletop on March 21st, so keep your eyes peeled for announcements in this space when that date gets closer. Of course you don’t have to wait until then to head down to Botanica. DJ Perry Lane does his thing every Monday night.

That said, I’m going to go pass out somewhere.

See you tomorrow with Part Two.

Peace

Larry

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for an unusual cover of one of the greatest records of the 60s.

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By Larry, February 20, 2011 12:37 pm

His name is Jackie Lee!

Listen/Download – Jackie Lee – The Duck Pt1

Listen/Download – Jackie Lee – The Duck Pt2

Greetings all.

I hope everyone had a most groovy weekend.

I got to spend a lot of quality time with the little Corners, since they have an inexplicably long Presidents Day weekend, which isn’t such a bad thing since any four year old who knows who Abraham Lincoln is OK in my book.

I’ve been ensconsed in the Funky16Corners Record Cave and Blogcasting Nerve Center with my headphones affixed to my head (is there anywhere better?) working on mixes, radio shows and digimatization of raw vinyl (soulful alchemy, as it were).

I was also pulling out Northern Soul vinyl for my guest spot at Spindletop @ Botanica in NYC this Monday night (2/21). It’s a very groovy scene there, and our host Perry Lane trusts me to bring nothing but the best vinyl available (out of my crates anyway) to spin for the people. I guarantee you a soulful good time, should you choose to join us. Things get rolling at 10PM, and I would suggest that you lace up your dancing shoes.

It is in that spirit that I bring you two halves of a great side by one of my favorite West Coast soul stars, the mighty Jackie Lee (aka Earl as in Bob &, as well as a few other choice pseudonyms).

Earl Nelson (his real name) aka Jackie Lee was a prolific recording artist during the late 50s and all through the 60s, hitting the charts with the Hollywood Flames, Bob & Earl and under the Jackie Lee pseudonym. I’m not going to go into it in too much depth, but if you get a sec, pop on over to Soulful Kinda Music and take a gander at his discography, which is likely to give you whiplash.

The tune I bring you today is his biggest hit as Jackie Lee, ‘The Duck’ which was a Top 40 hit in 1965.

What you’re hearing here is the two part version of ‘The Duck’ which appeared on the Mirwood LP of the same name, and the interesting thing is, that as far as I can tell Pt2 never appeared on a 45.

This is a stereo mix (slap on the headphones and pan it back and forth, the separation is pretty drastic) which is bright and really brings the pulsing backing to the fore, with the horns, the vibes and the background singers.

I really dig Pt2 where it almost sounds as if Lee was flying by the seat of his pants and improvising over the backing track. I love where the background singers come in with ‘His name is Jackie Lee!’.

It’s a storming dancer, and indicative of the kind of stuff I’ll be spinning at Spindletop.

I hope you dig it, and I hope to see some of you good people there.

Peace

Larry

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for an unusual cover of one of the greatest records of the 60s.

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By Larry, February 17, 2011 4:04 pm

Tony Clarke

Listen/Download – Tony Clarke – The Entertainer

Greetings all.

I sit here tapping away on the laptop at the end of yet another busy week (I suppose I should get suspicious when things aren’t busy).

I figured since the previous post was so heated, it behooved me to cool things down.

But first, the bid-ness must be taken care of.

I should remind you that I’ll be returning to Spindletop at Botanica this coming Monday evening (2/21) , at 10PM for an evening of soul on 45. I’m thinking of taking a Northern Soul tack this time, so if stylish 60s dancers are a bag you’re in, fall by, grab yourself a cocktail and groove to the sounds.

Speaking of groovy sounds, this Friday night at 9PM I’ll be doing me regular thing, that being the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva Radio. Tune in for the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove all on vinyl, and all engineered to please the ear. If you can’t be there at 9PM, you can always come by the blog over the weekend and pick up the show as a downloadable MP3 which you can stuff into the iPod or iPod-esque device of your choice.

Now, as I mentioned, the tune I bring you today is something a little smoother, a tiny bit mellower and of course, soulful to ease you into the weekend.

Though I knew the name Tony Clarke, I didn’t actually hear (or own) any of his records until I picked up today’s selection in a huge lot of 45s (which I bought to get something else, making this one what the hipsters of yore would refer to as ‘gravy’).

When I pulled ‘The Entertainer’ out of the box, I took one look and didn’t have much hope that it would be playable, since a cursory glance would indicate that at some time it had duct tape attached to it (I can’t imagine why).

Fortunately, as you’ll hear, it cleaned up pretty well.

Clarke was a NY born, Detroit raised singer who recorded a number of 45s for Chess between 1964 and 1968.

Among these was ‘The Entertainer’, a Top 40 hit in 1965, and  1967 ‘s ‘Landslide’ which would become a Northern Soul classic.

Though it’s not the stormer that ‘Landslide’ is, ‘The Entertainer’ has a certain laid-back, Chicago sound to it that is smooth yet still danceable.

It opens with drums and organ, and a riff inspired by George Gershwin’s ‘I Got Plenty O’Nothin’ (from ‘Porgy and Bess’) as well as some classy guitar work. The arrangement by Phil Wright, including some tasteful horns, is especially nice.

Sadly, Clarke would be killed in a domestic incident in 1970. He was only 26.

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll be back on Monday.

Peace

Larry

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some prime UK psyche/prog.

Comments (14)

By Larry, February 15, 2011 3:15 pm

The Dixie Cups on TV = Groovy…

Listen/Download – Dixie Cups – Two-Way-Poc-A-Way

Greetings all.

I don’t know about you, but I unwisely spent my Sunday evening staring at the TV set while the ‘music industry’ took a hot steaming dump.

I understand that ranting about this brings with it the possibility of being branded as old and out of touch, but honest to god, what a lot of shit.

Oh, by the way, I’m talking about the Grammy Awards.

It’s not like this is a new development, because what manifested itself on the screen this week was only the latest incremental step in a decades-long slide to the bottom.

It has been years since popular music ceased worrying about sounding good and began obsessing with spectacle, i.e. how many pyrotechnics, backup dancers and how much postmodern filigree could be wrapped around a song (and I use the term loosely) to keep the saucer-eyed worker ants tossing their hard earned money into the wood chipper, but the blending of the tabloid sensibility with what passes for music these days is scraping the street like a damaged muffler, throwing up sparks and shrapnel while revealing the finely tuned engine of commerce for the loud, greasy beast that it really is.

The really revealing thing is how much of this can be laid at the feet of old-schoolers, who allow their egos to be over-inflated by essentially empty (publicist driven) idolatry from their descendants while phoning it in in the laziest possible way.

There, on the stage next to the current crop of freshly wrapped, forgettable crap (nothing new there, just the latest version of the oily film that has always floated atop the music industry) were folks like Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger (who in paying “tribute” to Brother Solomon Burke, got the first line of ‘Everybody Needs Somebody To Love’ WRONG), Aretha Franklin and Kris Kristofferson (among many others) who really ought to have known better, basically tossing dirt on top of their own caskets.

It wouldn’t be so bad if they were performing something new, of their own creation, but they allow themselves to be wrapped around all manner of contemporary awfulness, like juicy slices of bacon embracing a succession of turds (anti-Rumaki?) , while we all sit by like waterboarding subjects, gasping thankfully for that brief respite from a musical drowning like our torturers are doing us a favor.

Just awful on every conceivable level, ultimately more about the ‘red carpet’, the iconography of crass stupidity and commerce than anything that might be mistaken for art and soul.

Of course I sat there like Statler and/or Waldorf (OG Muppets represent), sneering at my TV set when the off-button was always in reach, which makes me a special brand of rube, but I was also e-commiserating with others of my ilk on the social network that will remain unnamed, so I guess it was a kind of digital anti-focus group, in which we all bonded together in hatred for those that would presume that we were stupid enough to find any of this appetizing, which is where things are in the 21st century (where’s my jet car and Martian vacation home???).

It’s the ultimate manifestation of everything bad about post-modernization (not the conceptual po-mo but what the powers of commerce have done with it).

What we need is something solid with a direct line to the soul, and what you get is Justin Beiber, dancing ninjas with fireworks shooting out of their asses and a “song of the year” (really? Bad year…) largely cribbed from a thirty year old pop song. It’s as if the recording industry, already choking to death on its own spew (and lack of foresight) decided that insulting the intelligence of its audience was a waste of time since there was no longer anything there to be insulted so why not serve up the contents of their dumpster and make believe it’s caviar and lobster?

That said, when I decided I was going to fill this space with gripe, I realized that I couldn’t very well do that without countering the suck with something especially good, representative of the kind of musical kick in the sack required to cleanse the palate in a case like this.

I have my man Dan at the Home of the Groove to thank for turning me on to today’s selection a few years back.

I – like anyone else with a radio or a seat at a wedding – was already aware of the Dixie Cups, with the ‘Chapel of Love’, and ‘People Say’ and that tip of the feathered headdress to their home in the Crescent City ‘Iko Iko’, but when I first heard ‘Two-Way-Poc-A-Way’ my hair (and my prominent ears) stood on end, as they should when presented with something so powerful.

Recorded in 1965 after they moved from Red Bird to ABC/Paramount, and produced by none other than Joe Jones, ‘Two-Way-Poc-A-Way’ is the Wild Indian chant of ‘Iko Iko’ taken to a whole ‘nother extreme, removed from the pop element and placed firmly in the Mardi Gras parade as if you were cakewalking alongside the Big Chief with a head full of spirits (liquid and deceased).

Not much more than the Dixie Cups and a grip of percussion (more than enough if you ask me) ‘Two-Way-Poc-A-Way’ was – even for 1965 when things were really starting to change – an awfully strange record to toss at AM radio – but that’s one of the many reasons (maybe the main one) why it’s so cool.

I’ve dropped this one at funk 45 fests (and in a previous mix) but I figured that in a situation like this, it deserved to be put up where it might be savored on its own.

Real stuff for an increasingly unreal world.

Peace

Larry

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some prime UK psyche/prog.

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By Larry, February 13, 2011 1:08 pm

Phil Upchurch

Listen/Download – Phil Upchurch – I Don’t Know

Listen/Download – Phil Upchurch – Bacn’ Chips

Greetings all.

I hope the dawn of a new week finds you all well and in a soulful groove.

I spent the better part of the weekend configuring a new workstation after the old (original) Funky16Corners laptop, that I had passed on to the kids, went belly up. Fortunately the transition from Vista to Windows 7 was a lot easier (and much less expensive) that that from XP to Vista, where a lot of the software I use for blogging and podcasts was suddenly rendered obsolete.

As we speak, I have completed the Monday posts for Funky16Corners and Iron Leg, and started work on next week’s Funky16Corners Radio Show, so it appears that we’re up to speed.

I should let you know that next Monday (2/21) I will be returning to Spindletop @ Botanica in NYC. It’s a very cool bar, and I assure you I’ll be bringing some very groovy records with me, so if you’re in the neighborhood, and feel like a cocktail and some soul might hit the spot, drop by.

The tunes I bring you today hail from the discography of one of the truly great and innovative labels of the 60s, Cadet.

They also come to you courtesy of the plectrum of one of the label’s greatest session musicians, Mr. Phil Upchurch.

If his name is familiar, it may be because he had a genuine hit in 1961, with the Phil Upchurch Combo and ‘You Can’t Sit Down’.

It’s more likely you’ve seen his name on the backs of (and the fronts of some) countless albums, where he contributed his talents on the guitar.

Upchurch was born in Chicago, and it was to that city he returned after his stint in the Army.

If you’re a devotee of the Cadet sound, you’ve heard Upchurch’s playing on productions by both Richard Evans and Charles Stepney (who produced/arranged this session), including albums by the Soulful Strings, Ramsey Lewis, Odell Brown, the Rotary Connection, Jack McDuff and even Woody Herman’s sessions for the label.

Upchurch also had the opportunity to record a few albums of his own for Cadet, including ‘Upchurch’ in 1969, and the album that includes today’s selections ‘The Way I Feel’ in 1970.

The two tracks I bring you today give you a flavor not only for Upchurch’s prodigious skill as a guitarist, but also for the way the Cadet sound synthesized the various and sundry musical threads coursing through the atmosphere at the time.

Both ‘Bac’n Chips’ and ‘I Don’t Know’ are both soulful, occasionally funky, with touches of rock (I hear bits and pieces of Hendrix) as well as the smooth, stylish, even artsy feel of Stepney’s best work.

Like Richard Evans, Stepney was nothing less than a visionary, instilling the records he worked on with imagination and style.

Upchurch would go on to record sought out sessions for Blue Thumb, as well as decades of making the records of other artists better than they might have been.

I hope you dig the tunes, and I’ll be back on Wednesday.

Peace

Larry

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some prime UK psyche/prog.

Comments (8)

By Larry, February 10, 2011 2:46 pm

Sam Dees, truly lonely…

Listen/Download – Sam Dees – Lonely For You Baby

Greetings all.

I’m gonna start things off  by telling you that you really should tune in to this week’s Funky16Corners Radio Show, Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. I have concocted an hour’s worth of the hottest soul party 45s, so what you need to do is put on your dancing shoes, tuck into the intoxicant of your choice (if that’s how you roll, since these 45s are so powerful getting oiled up might be interpreted as overkill), roll up the carpet and grab yourself a partner. I guarantee a good time.

As is always the case, I have something of a story to tell, so I figured I’d close out the week with something interesting (which also happens to be a monumental soul 45).

Sometime last year a reader sent me a message that the old Funky16Corners organization had been getting props on Sean Rowley’s ‘Joy of Music’ show on the BBC.

I tracked that week’s show down, gave it a listen and was pleased when Mr. Rowley had some very kind things to say about the blog.

That, though, is neither here nor there, but it does get us to the point I’m trying to make.

When I clicked on the link and started to play the show in question, the very first song he played knocked me flat on my ass.

I gave it a second listen, and then decided that I really ought to keep listening to the show to find out what this record was.

When Mr. Rowley announced the name Sam Dees and the title ‘Lonely For You Baby’ I opened up another tab on the browser and set out into the wilds of the interwebs to see if I might procure a copy of this wonderful record for my own.

Unfortunately I discovered in rather short order that ‘Lonely For You Baby’ is as rare as it is kick-ass, ranging in price from three to five hundred dollars (sometimes more).

Now I have spent a great deal of money on records over the years, but never that kind of scratch on a single 45 (or dozen 45s for that matter). In fact, I question the sanity of anyone spending five hundred smackers on a single record. Even the most rarified items on my want list ( a couple of soul, funk and psyche 45s) couldn’t get me to pony up that kind of dough.

I have a wife, kids, and surprisingly enough a conscience, all of which prevent me from indulging in that particular variety of insanity.

This is not to say that there are people that would question my sanity in this regard (on both sides of the issue, i.e. some suggesting that my limits are too high, as well as those for whom expenditures in that league are common), but I have decided that no matter how much a 45 blows my mind, nothing so fleeting is worth that much, at least to me.

That said, thanks to a fair amount of record nerds who operate in the same way – whether by choice or necessity – there has been for decades a brisk market in vinyl reissues.

And I’m not talking about 180g audiophile nonsense for someone to unsleeve with kid gloves and place on their scientifically engineered, space age turntable in their gold lined listening cave, but rather records (mostly 45s) pressed up and sold to DJ types so that even though they have not been lucky (or rich) enough to find an original copy of a record like ‘Lonely For You Baby’, they still might have a copy of same in their record box that they can whip it on folks on the dance floor of their choice.

The really interesting thing (at least to me, once again record nerd related) is that some of these reissue 45s themselves become somewhat rare.

Nothing like several hundred dollars rare, but much more than the seven to ten dollars they initially sell for.
You tend to see a lot of this in the Northern Soul market, so much so that I have several UK-only repressings of records (some obviously so, others pressed to fool the less discriminating among us*) dating back to the very early 70s, a time when a number of 1960s soul records reentered the charts in England, thanks to the soulies.

The tune I bring you today only set me back around 20 bucks, but not only is it worth every copper penny and more, but it carries with it another interesting tidbit.

Back in the day (that being the 60s), a very tasteful and prescient chap named Dave Godin – verily the godfather of soul music in the UK (who would also go on to give name to the Northern Soul phenomenon) –  opened a record shop by the name of Soul City.

Before long, Soul City also became a record label, founded with the express purpose of issuing hard to find US soul sides in the UK market. Between 1968 and 1970, Soul City issued a few dozen 45s in the UK (including Chuck Edwards ‘Downtown Soulville’, a Soul City issue of which holds a special place in my crates), at least one of which, Gene Chandler’s ‘Nothing Can Stop Me’ made it onto the UK charts.

It’s important to note that what labels like Soul City, Mojo and Action were doing wasn’t really “reissuing” records in the commonly understood sense, but rather pressing what were by and large contemporary (within a year or two) issues of records for the overseas market. Many US record companies either had their own UK/Euro subsidiaries or licensees, but sometimes it took folks like Dave Godin to see the value in (or at least the demand for) a more obscure US record.

At some point**, someone (I’m not sure who, since Godin passed away in 2004) reactivated the Soul City imprint, using the same basic logo and color scheme and started reissuing 45s, which is where this particular pressing of ‘Lonely For You Baby’ comes from.

Now,  the record itself is undeniably a wonder.

‘Lonely For You Baby’ was Sam Dees’ debut 45, recorded in 1968 for SSS Intl.

The record opens with a hypnotic drum and bass riff that lulls you into submission, and before you know it your feet start moving, your hips start swaying and then Dees’ vocal and the horns come in and the record (and the listener) really blasts off.

Dees’ vocal is incredible, and the arrangement is a marvel of powerful simplicity. Though you really only heard the bass, drums, piano and horns (and the barest bit of rhythm guitar) there’s a serious amount of rhythmic propulsion here, so much so that ‘Lonely For You Baby’ is a big fave with the dancers on the Northern scene.

Dees only recorded this one 45 for SSS Intl before leaving, going on to record for Lolo, Chess and eventually Atlantic. Dees eventually worked mainly as a producer and songwriter, penning hits for a number of other performers, the biggest being Larry Graham’s recording of ‘One In a Million You’.

I hope you dig the tune (I’m sure you will) and I’ll be back on Monday.

Peace

Larry

*The John Manship record guide includes a marking indicating whether or not a record has been bootlegged. There are a LOT of them

** As far as I’ve been able to tell this pressing is between 10 and 15 years old.

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Comments (2)

By Larry, February 8, 2011 3:28 pm

Listen/Download -Sebastian – Living In Depression

Greetings all.

I hope you are all well.

This has been a busy week, but what might be described as ‘good’ busy, as opposed to up to your ass in hungry, snapping alligators i.e. ‘bad’ busy. I have a lot on my plate but it’s the kind of stuff that keep things moving forward in a positive (if incremental) way, so I think I can dig it.

Everyone has their own pile of responsibilities, some more pressing than others, and naturally the quest is always to find a way to balance it all, keep your life in between the lines and maybe, just maybe squeeze a little enjoyment out of the process.

So far, so good.

The tune I bring you today is something that I happened upon (as is often the case) via another collectors ‘finds’s list. The collector in question was someone who’s taste I hold in very high regard, and his description of the disc was so intriguing I set out to find myself a copy.

The acquisition thereof was both rapid and financially painless, which is more than I can say for the quest for information that followed.

The groovy thing – once the record fell through the mail slot – was that it was immediately apparent that ‘Living In Depression’ was in fact a vocal laid over the top of Little Royal and the Swingmasters funk 45 classic ‘Razor Blade’.

I set off in search of info, and found almost nothing, except for an intriguing scrap of info that placed Sebastian in Virginia.

That was months ago, and I found nothing else, so I moved the track to the back of the line and went on about my bid’ness.

So, I was dipping back into the reservoir and decided that I’d make another run at this track, and lo and behold I discover that the fine folks at the Funky Virginia blog had laid out the whole story in detail, so allow me to direct you over there for all of the pertinent info.

The track does suffer a little bit from a bad mix (especially in the beginning), but if you dig ‘Razor Blade’ as much as I do, I think you’ll enjoy hearing it laid down as a vocal.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Friday.

Peace

Larry

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Comments (6)

By Larry, February 6, 2011 3:48 pm

Eddie Silvers

Listen/Download – Eddie and the De-Havelons – Baby Dumplins

Greetings all.

It’s time to get another week rolling here at the Funky16Corners blog, and what better way to do so than with a swinging, greasy organ instrumental?

The tune I bring you today is a little something I grabbed when I was down in DC last year.

When I happened upon ‘Baby Dumplins’ by Eddie and the De-Havelons, the name(s) rang a distant bell, but I couldn’t possibly pass up a 45 with names like that on the label.

When I got the record home and gave it a spin I was happy to discover a hot, fast moving organ instro with wailing sax, i.e. a solid party record.

When I sat down to try and track down some info on the record, it was a little harder than I anticipated.
Certainly a unique name like ‘Eddie and the De-Havelons’ narrowed down the search results, but I don’t think I was prepared for the remaining info to be quite so narrow.

It was only after I started to search using the name of the song’s author, ‘Eddie Silvers’ that I had a breakthrough.

Eddie Silvers was a Chicago-based saxophonist and arranger who was the musical director at the storied One-Derful label during the mid 60s. He had previously worked with the likes of Fats Domino and Bill Doggett before being hired by the notorious Don Robey to work as an A&R man for the Duke/Peacock organization.

During the 60s, Silvers recorded with a few different groups, including the Five G’s (for UA) and the Soul Merchants (for the Stax subsidiary Weis records), and I going to take an educated guess that it’s him playing sax on ‘Baby Dumplins’ by Eddie and the Dehavelons.

The tune – which was released in 1963 – featured some burning organ, hot sax solos and something that I first thought was a fuzz guitar, but is probably a baritone sax dropping bombs all the way through the record.

‘Baby Dumplins’ is one of those organ instros that manages to have quite a bit of soul, while keeping enough of a crossover feel to appeal to the twisters feeding nickels into the jukeboxes of America.

As far as I can tell this is the only 45 recorded under this name (certainly the only one they did for Peacock).

I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Wednesday with something cool.

Peace

Larry

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Comments (0)

By Larry, February 3, 2011 2:52 pm

Gene Ammons

Listen/Download – Gene Ammons – Son of a Preacher Man

Greetings all.

The end of the week is upon us, and so I must pause here to share a few important programming notes.

First, I was supposed to do a guest spot at the After the Laughter Soul Club at Lulu’s in Greenpoint this Friday night, but received word on Wednesday that the gig was cancelled. I was really looking forward to this one (had some especially hot 45s ready to go) but sometimes these things happen.

I’ll make sure to let you all know when it gets rescheduled.

Of course, you can always tune in to the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva radio, this Friday at 9PM, where I will be spinning lots of great sounds, including some cool new acquisitions and some old favorites, followed of course by the posting of the show in MP3/Podcast form at the blog over the weekend.

That all said, how about some jazz funk?

I grabbed this 45 as part of a two-fer deal with a buddy of mine, and ended up getting them both for nothing in return for a previous, record related good deed on my part. I hadn’t heard this particular 45 before, but since I knew Gene Ammons, and am constitutionally incapable of passing by a cover of ‘Son of a Preacher Man’, I grabbed it.

Good thing too.

The other 45 (the one I knew) is a groover, and will be featured in this space soon enough, but this is one I needed to share with you as soon as possible.

There is, at least in the world of jazz and jazz-related, a long tradition of covering songs in what we shall call a unique manner. This often has something to do with advanced concepts of harmony and music theory, since we’re dealing not with back alley guitar smashers, but rather a somewhat more elevated class of instrument wranglers who made their mark applying sophisticated musical concepts to the popular song.

This is sometimes displayed in subtle shifts in key where a song is rebuilt on a new frame and is still kind of floating in the background for those with more sophisticated (or receptive) ears (any of the headier bop or post bop sounds) , and other times shows up as the end result of free-wheeling jamming, wherein the musicians allow themselves to be swept up in and carried away by the creative currents.

I would suggest that Gene Ammons version of ‘Son of a Preacher Man’ is a little bit of both.

Recorded in 1970 for his Prestige LP ‘Brother Jug’ (his first after a long stretch in prison), with support from organist Sonny Phillips, guitarist Billy Butler and drummer Bernard Purdie (among others), Ammon’s take on ‘Son of a Preacher Man’ is, until late in the side, barely recognizable as said song.

It is undeniably funky, with the tight drums, and the wah wah, and the overall groove, but if you showed up expecting any taste of the famous Dusty Springfield hit, you would have to listen long and hard, with exceptionally wide open ears, and it’s not until almost two minutes into the song that Ammons states the familiar theme, and even then it’s a little bit off the track.

This is not meant as a criticism of Ammons or the 45, since he was one of the great tenor players of his day, and the 45 is certainly tasty, but rather a caveat for those expecting something a little bit closer to the original source.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Peace

Larry

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

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PS Head over to Iron Leg for some psychedelia.