Comments (1)

By Larry, September 26, 2013 12:22 pm

Listen/Download Larry Hale – Shout and Do the Duck

Greetings all

The end of the week is nigh, so you should lock yourselves in the storm cellar with the wireless set and get ready for the Funky16Corners Radio Show,which comes to you each and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you are unable to make the scene then, you can always subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or grab an MP3 out of the archive here at the blog.

The record I bring you today is yet another one of those “bought it for the organ tune on one side and ended up digging the flip a little bit more” things that keep popping up here at Funky16Corners.

I forget exactly where I first got wind of Larry Hale’s ‘Shout and Do the Duck’, but I suspect that it was on another DJs finds/wants list.

I do remember that it was not an expensive 45, and that it did take me a little while to flip it over, but as I said, when I did, I ended up preferring the vocal side.

Larry Hale recorded a few 45s under his own name for United Artists, Columbia and Diamond, as well as being one of the vocalists on the RCA 45s by the African Beavers.

‘Shout and Do the Duck’, which came out in 1966 starts with a spoken/shouted gospel-feeling instro, before opening up into a fast moving soul tune with a wailing vocal by Hale.

There is a vague Latin feel running underneath things, as well as a short breakdown that borrows from Stevie Wonder’s ‘Fingertips’.

I have no idea who’s playing the organ on ‘Organ Shout and Do the Duck’ (hear it in Funky16Corners Radio v.42) but the playing is rudimentary enough to suggest to me that the organ was not their first/main instrument.

In an interesting twist, it would seem (read Sir Shambling’s piece here) that Larry Hale and Tony Fox were in fact the same person recording under a number of aliases. If you listen to Tony Fox’s ‘I’ve Got To (Do It To It)’ on Calla, it is definitely the same person singing on this 45.

That said, this is a very cool 45, and I hope you give it a spin or two this weekend.

Keep the faith

Larry

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

Click here to go to the ordering page.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, September 24, 2013 11:47 am

The Platters

Listen/Download The Platters – With This Ring

Greetings all

Anybody feel like a little Northern Soul to help get us over the hump?

I think it would be safe to say that discovering the md-60s recordings of the Platters was one of the nice surprises of my record collecting life.

While I was certainly familiar with their 1950s hits like ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes’and ‘Only You’, it was only when I started to familiarize myself with the world of Northern Soul that I realized that the group had a second life.

Formed in Los Angeles in the early 50s, the Platters were a regular fixture on the charts – R&B and Pop – from 1955 to 1961. Though a rotating group membership was releasing records all the way through, they were absent from the charts between 1961 and 1966 when they returned with ‘I Love You 1000 Times’.

Most of the male leads on their mid-60s material were – as on ‘With This Ring’ – by Sonny Turner.

This period of their career saw them recording in Detroit. ‘With This Ring’ was written by Popcorn Wylie, Tony Hester and Luther Dixon, and features backing vocals by none other than George Clinton.

The production – also Dixon – is spot on, with punchy bass and drums (that opening roll is right, tight and outta sight), stylish brass and ringing piano that pops in at just the right times.

The very groovy thing, is that with rare exception, the music from this remarkable period can be had very cheaply, with most of the 45s and their Musicor LPs (the ones to look for are I’ll Love You 1000 Times and I Get the Sweetest Feeling) well on the affordable side of the fence.

That said, let the ones and zeros fly, cut yourself a slice of rug, and I’ll see you all on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

Click here to go to the ordering page.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, September 22, 2013 2:57 pm

Roy Ayers

Listen/Download Roy Ayers Ubiquity – Running Away

Greetings all

Things being what they are, with the air cooling and everyone finding their wayback into the post-summer groove, I thought I’d like to get the week started with something a little funky.

But before we get started, I have something very cool to share with you.

This past Saturday morning I was sitting on the sofa, still waking up and getting ready to post the link to the archive of Friday night’s Funky16Corners Radio Show (i.e. a routine Saturday…).

While I was on the Funky16Corners Facebook page, I noticed a message I hadn’t seen from a fan of the blog that contained the following text:

“I’m probably late to the party on this, but I just finished reading Telegraph Avenue and was psyched to see one of my favorite blogs listed in the acknowledgements!”

Well, this came as something of a shock, mainly because I had read Michael Chabon’s ‘Telegraph Avenue’ (excellent novel centered around a record store) and while I enjoyed it immensely, I never noticed the acknowledgements.

Fortunately for me, the book was sitting in a stack on the telephone table right next to me, so I excitedly pulled it from the pile and this is what I saw:

I had no idea.

If you haven’t read the book, you should really check it out (it’s in paperback now).

Not only is Chabon an excellent writer (The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay, The Yiddish Policeman’s Union) but he really manages to capture what music lovers and vinyl fiends really love about record stores, all woven into a complex and satisfying story.

I’m glad I only found out about this after I read the book, because I probably would have approached it differently.

Anyway, that was my weekend, now, on to the music.

I think it’s probably a safe assumption that you al know who Roy Ayers is.

Whether you’re tuned in only to the later ish, like ‘Everybody Loves the Sunshine’ or you have a grasp on the deep, jazzier end of his catalog when he was vibing behind cats like Jack Wilson and Curtis Amy, you know that the man is nothing if not versatile.

I found my way into his discography from the bottom up, meaning the first time I ever heard him on the vibes was when I was lucky enough to find a copy of Jack Wilson’s early 60s ‘Ramblin’ LP, which quicklybecame one of my favorites.

From there, it was on to Ayers work as a sideman for Herbie Mann, as well as his own solo albums from that period, and then on into the heavily sampled 70s era.

It is from that latter period that I bring you today’s selction, ‘Running Away’.

Released in 1977 from his ‘Lifeline’ album, ‘Running Away’ is fast moving jazz-inflected funk that was catchy enough that it made it into the R&B Top 20 that year.

The bass line and percussion is especially sharp, and vocals by Edwin Birdsong keep things moving.

The tempo made the record perfect for disco dance floors, though you’d probably never think of it as disco.

The record was later sampled by Big Daddy Kane and A Tribe Called Quest.

It’s a groovy track, and I hope you dig it.

I’ll see you all on Wednesday.

Keep the faith

Larry

PS Yes, I know it’s the “old” URL but I’m sure the whole package was put together more than a year and a half ago

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

Click here to go to the ordering page.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, September 19, 2013 11:19 am

Listen/Download The Quovans – Boogaloo Pt1

Listen/Download The Quovans – Boogaloo Pt2

Greetings all

It is time once again to remind you to turn the knobs on your wireless sets this Friday night at 9pm so as to pick up the signal of the Funky16Corners Radio Show. Each and every Friday the good folks at Viva Radio allow me to bring you an hour of the finest in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all from original vinyl. If you can’t be there at airtime, you can always subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or grab an MP3 out of the archive here at the blog.

The track we’re going to close out the week with is a banger, and something of a mystery.

I happened upon the Quovans ‘Boogaloo Pts 1&2’ whilst doing a search for – surprise… – “boogaloo”, and while the end result is not in any way Latin, the sounds are surely soulful and very groovy indeed.

I have not been able to find out anything about the Quovans themselves, nor the root of their name, but there is some circumstantial evidence we can peruse.

‘Boogaloo Pts 1&2’ came out on Juggy Murray’s NY-based Symbol label – also home to Inez and Charlie Foxx and the Poets – in 1966.

The record appears to have come out (first?) on another NY label, Big City.

The Quovans recorded one other 45, backing a singer named Sherri Gibbs on the song ‘Oh My Baby’ on the Philly Sound’s (extraneous apostrophe and all).

The connecting link is songwriter/producer Clarence Hunter, who appears to have been Philadelphia-based, working with Gibbs, the Fabulous Performers (on Blackjack) and Bobby Joy (on Sentry).

Whether or not the Quovans were also a Philly act, I cannot say.

‘Boogaloo Pts 1&2’ is a soul stomper, with organ, sax and some great harmonies by the Quovans. I’m still on the fence as to whether I dig the overdubbed screams on the record, but they don’t take away from the overall power of the disc.

Part 2 opens with a cool spoken passage, then gets right back into gear.

It is a very groovy record indeed, and I hope you dig it.

Have a great weekend.

Keep the faith

Larry

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

Click here to go to the ordering page.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, September 17, 2013 11:02 am

Kim Weston

Listen/Download Kim Weston – Helpless

Greetings all

The middle of the week is upon us, and I don’t know about you but I could certainly do with a little uplift right about now.

Kim Weston may not be the best known of Motown’s great female singers, but she had a very respectable run with the label, scoring five hits for various Motown labels between 1963 and 1967, two of them duets with Marvin Gaye.

The tune I bring you today, ‘Helpless’ is by far my favorite side she recorded for the organization (he had 45s released on both Tamla and Gordy), and while it wasn’t her biggest hit, it did skirt the R&B Top 10 in 1965.

Written and produced by Holland, Dozier and Holland, ‘Helpless’ is an upbeat dancer, with and interesting melody and an exceptional arrangement.

The guitar and percussion are fairly standard mid-period Motown (thus, amazing) but the horns deserve special mention.

‘Helpless’ opens up fairly quietly, but when the horns come in, they push the song forward, giving it rhythmic propulsion before the drums enter the mix.

The backing vocals are especially interesting as well.

When the baritone sax solo comes in, the package is complete.

Weston was – like so many of the female singers at Motown not named Diana Ross – underused/underappreciated by the label, which no doubt contributed to she and her husband, composer/producer/A&R man Mickey Stevenson leaving and moving on to a deal with MGM.

Weston would record a few LPs and a number of 45s for MGM before moving on to record for Volt, People, and eventually her own, Volt-distributed custom label Mikim.

I hope you dig the track and I’ll see you all on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

Click here to go to the ordering page.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (3)

By Larry, September 15, 2013 11:11 am

Frank Howard

Listen/Download Frank Howard and the Continentals – Do What You Wanna Do Pt1

Listen/Download Frank Howard and the Continentals – Do What You Wanna Do Pt2

Greetings all

The tune I bring you today is a later bit of funky work from a very interesting cat by the name of Frank Howard.

I first encountered Howard and his first group, the Commanders on one of the old Bear Family DVDs of the Nashville TV show ‘The Beat’.

The performance of their brilliant (and rare, and expensive…*) tune ‘I’m So Glad’ knocked me out.

It’s one of those records that you hear and absolutely cannot believe it was deprived a place of honor on the charts.

While I haven’t (yet) scored a copy of that particular 45, while I was out digging earlier this year I encountered a later, funkier 45 by Mr Howard, that being the disc you see before you this fine day.

Credited to Frank Howard and the Continentals, ‘Do What You Wanna Do Pts 1&2’ – which came out (I think) in 1969 on the DeLuxe label is a mid-tempo burner, with a largely spoken vocal by Howard.

The whole thing is driven by the guitar (the bass and drums are fairly low key) and the horns, which keep stabbing through the verse and the chorus. The sax solo bridges parts 1&2,and the lead guitar gets to work it out a little on the second half.

The tune was co-produced by Nashville DJ (and well-lubricated host of The Beat) Hoss Allen, and is credited to Jane Meredith (no idea whatsoever who that was…).

Over the years Howard recorded 45s for labels like Barry (‘I’m So Glad’), Excello, Hermitage and Dot.

I do not know at what point the Commanders morphed into the Continentals, but it would seem that this is the only record they made.

Frank Howard is still around and performing in the Nashville area.

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll see you all on Wednesday.

Keep the faith

Larry

*In addition to the fact that it is in demand on the Northern soul scene, ‘I’m So Glad’ features the guitar playing of a young fellow by the name of Jimi Hendrix…
 

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

Click here to go to the ordering page.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, September 12, 2013 12:19 pm

Irene Reid

Listen/Download Irene Reid – Son of a Preacher Man

Greetings all

It’s almost Friday, so might I urge you once again to tune in to the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which takes to the airwaves of the interwebs this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. You can also subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes or grab yourself and MP3 at the blog.

The tune I bring you today is yet another great example of one of those singers that came from jazz roots, but was able (like Della Reese, Marlena Shaw, Amanda Ambrose and many more) to work successfully in a soul/funk style.

The singer of today’s selection is the late, great Irene Reid.

I first encountered Reid via her funky, late 60s recording of ‘Dirty Old Man’ and only became aware of her jazz background – albums for MGM and Verve – long after I started dropping that 45 in funk sets.

I picked up the album you see before you today (1971’s ‘The World Needs What I Need’) a few years back while digging in Philly, picking it up on the strength of Reid’s voice, but also because of the presence of a couple of interesting cover versions.

Reid’s big, brassy take on Dusty Springfield’s ‘Son of a Preacher Man’ is a great vehicle for Reid’s sharp, powerful voice and the arrangement manages to be fairly funky, with the strings used sparingly enough that the guitar, bass and drums lead prominently.

Reid continued to record her R&B-inflected jazz for a variety of labels into the early 2000s.

She passed away in 2008.

As always, Ihope you dig the sounds, and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Keep the faith

Larry

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

Click here to go to the ordering page.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, September 10, 2013 1:33 pm

Listen/Download The Chitlins – Sugar Woman

Greetings all

Welcome to the middle of another groovy week.

The track I bring you today is both a fairly recent discovery for me and a major fave.

It is also something of a mystery.

A few months back I was perusing a new (to me) record site on the intertubes, and a glimpse of the Pala records label caught my eye.

One half of the York-Pala construct, it was run by two cats named Charlie Greene and Brian Stone. These operators are best known as music managers who came to prominence in mid-60s LA working with acts like Sonny and Cher, the Buffalo Springfield, the Poor and a cat you may have heard of named Dr John.

I had always seen the York/Pala credit on many records, but it was only in the last few years that I actually found a record on either label.

I have two 45s by The Poor (LA-based folk rock) but the Chitlins ‘Sugar Woman’ was the first Pala disc I’d ever encountered.

The label appears to have been very short-lived, with only one other release (by Larry Marks).

The Chitlins appear to have gotten their start – and spent much of their existence – as a white show band called the Soul Brothers, in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

The first time I heard ‘Sugar Woman’, what grabbed me was the New Orleans guitar (sounds like George Davis to me).

As it turns out the band did in fact record their sole 45 in New Orleans for Stanley Chaisson’s Chase Records imprint.

I have not been able to confirm whether or not there was actually a Chitlins 45 released on Chase, or if it was a production deal that was licensed to Pala.

My suspicion – without any hard evidence, mind you – is that Green and Stone happened upon the Chitlins via one of the many New Orleans connections in their orbit. Harold Battiste was Sonny and Cher’s musical director, and both Mac ‘Dr John’ Rebennack and Alvin Robinson were both working on the West Coast during this period.

That said, ‘Sugar Woman’ is a positively scorching bit of garagey soul with fantastic lyrics like

Let her know she’s a real Jim Dandy, feed her candy!

And

Let her know she’s a ring-dang-doo sir, don’t lose her!

The guitar, bass and drums are in a deep, deep groove, and the horns and backing vocalists are spot on.

I don’t know who the lead vocalist is but he’s killing it!

Via some cross-referencing (and following a few hunches) I’m led to believe that the band included guys named Chris Miller, Sam Roe, Pete Killingsworth, Sonny Tanner, having had some crossover with a group called the New Grooves.

As I mentioned earlier, I hear the distinct guitar stylings of George Davis, but the entire record has such a New Orleans feel to it, I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that this was the Soul Brothers/Chitlins singer fronting an entire studio full of NOLA pros.

In another interesting twist, the song is credited to country songwriter/producer Billy Sherrill, but I can’t find any instance of anyone else having recorded the tune.

The flip side, ‘The Next Time You See Me’ is an upbeat, bluesy shuffle.

“Sugar Woman’ was a local Top 40 hit in New Orleans in the Spring of 1967.

It is a truly remarkable tune, and one that I wish I’d had in my crates a long time ago.

I hope you dig it as much as I do, and I’ll see you all on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

Click here to go to the ordering page.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, September 8, 2013 1:23 pm

Mick Weaver aka Wynder K Frog

Listen/Download Wynder K Frog – Dancing Frog

Listen/Download Wynder K Frog – Green Door

Greetings all

Hows about we get things rolling this week with some of that Hammond/dance floor heat.

The mighty Wynder K Frog (aka Mick Weaver) has been featured here before, going as far back as the web zine days (thanks John Stapleton) all the way through a couple of Hammond mixes in the archive.

Frog/Weaver recorded a number of 45s and two LPs from the mid-to-late 60s, released in the UK on Island, and here in the US on United Artists.

Weaver was a session organist who, in addition to his waxings as Wynder K Frog was in a short-lived/transitional version of Traffic and contributed to albums by the likes of Keef Hartley, Steve Marriott and Eric Burdon.

Though there was a Wynder K Frog band, I’ve seen references that suggest that the sessions that produced the very rare ‘Sunshine Super Frog’ LP (which included both sides of this 45) were basically Weaver adding his Hammond to existing backing tracks recorded in the US.

‘Dancing Frog’ is a hard-charging Mod/club mover that opens with a Bo Diddley beat (and some extremely loud grunts) and moves on into some wailing Hammond and horns.

The flipside, a cover of ‘Green Door’ (not too far removed from Eskew Reeder’s earlier take) is a Northern Soul/Mod fave.

Both sides very groovy indeed, and one of the harder WKF 45s to turn up stateside.

I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll see you all on Wednesday.

Keep the faith

Larry

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

Click here to go to the ordering page.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, September 5, 2013 3:08 pm

Listen/Download The Producers – Love Is Amazing

Greetings all

The end of the week is approaching, so I will remind you once again to tune into the Funky16Corners Radio Show, Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you are otherwise occupied at airtime, you can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes or grab an MP3 at the blog.

The tune I bring you today is one of my favorite Philadelphia Northern Soul 45s, with a very interesting provenance that reaches back to the Motor City.

I picke up ‘Love Is Amazing’ by the Producers back in the early digging days, after having scored the other two 45s on the short-lived Huff Puff label (by the Landslides and Ruth McFadden).

Named for Leon Huff, Huff Puff existed for a short time (1968/69), with all of it’s released produced/arranged by Gamble and Huff with the usual gang, including Thom Bell and Bobby Martin.

None of the label’s releases appear to have generated any heat on the charts (even regionally) despite their obvious quality.

The side I bring you today, ‘Love Is Amazing’ was the third and final release on the label in 1969, and features a very interesting lead singer indeed.

Mikki Farrow got her start in Detroit (she was apparently once married to the mighty Mike Terry and later on to Billy Butler!) and recorded for a variety of labels (including the Northern fave ‘Set My Heart at Ease’ for Karate) before relocating to Philadelphia.

‘Love Is Amazing’ is one of those records that has everything going for it, from top-shelf songwriting (Kenny Gamble, Farrow and Thom Bell), fantastic production (Gamble/Huff) and a fantastic lead vocal by Farrow (I suspect that Gamble is the supporting make vocalist).

The record, matching superb melody and hooks with enough rhythmic heat for the dancers, ought to have been a hit, instead of the footnote that it is.

A superb 45 to end the week.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

Click here to go to the ordering page.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, September 3, 2013 2:21 pm

The Parliaments

Listen/Download The Parliaments – Don’t Be Sore At Me

Greetings all

Here we are, mid-week, and what better time for a little bit of stylish Northern Soul to lift the spirits?

I will assume that most of you are already familiar with the pre-P-Funk years of George Clinton as leader of the Parliaments.

Though they got their start in Plainfield, NJ, by the mid-60s the Parliaments had relocated to Detroit, where Clinton was working as a songwriter/producer.

They recorded their first Detroit-based 45, the mighty ‘Heart Trouble’ for Golden World in 1965.

It was a few years later that they hit with their first 45 for Lebaron Taylor’s Revilot imprint ‘(I Wanna) Testify’(#3 R&B, #20 Pop) in the summer of 1967.

The upbeat, Northern Soul fave ‘Don’t Be Sore At Me’ appeared as the flipside of their second Revilot 45 (and second hit) “All Your Goodies Are Gone’ which reached the R&B Top 20 in the fall of 1967.

As I’ve mentioned in this space before, Clinton and the Parliaments had a habit of pairing a more mainstream sound (like ‘Don’t Be Sore at Me’) with a slightly freakier side (like ‘All Your Goodies are Gone) which allowed both sides of their sound to get exposure. All of their Revilot 45s follow this pattern, with the exception of ‘A New Day Begins’ b/w ‘I’ll Wait’ (issued on both Revilot and Atco and the final chart entry – grazing the R&B Top 40- in 1969) where both sides have a more progressive bent.

‘Don’t Be Sore At Me’ features some great (and unusual, especially in the verse) group harmonies, a great melody and a nice kick from the bass and drums. The song was co-written by Clinton, fellow-Parliament Grady Thomas and singer Pat Lewis (who would cover two Parliaments tunes, ‘Look at What I Almost Missed’ and ‘I’ll Wait’ for Solid Hit).

This is one of the harder Revilot sides to turn up, so dig the sounds and I’ll see you all on Friday.

Until then…

Keep the faith

Larry

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

Click here to go to the ordering page.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (4)

By Larry, September 1, 2013 10:53 am

John Bishop and his guitar, looking badass.

Listen/Download John Bishop Trio – Wade In the Water

Greetings all

I hope the new week finds you well.

The summer is finally at and end, at least the part of the summer marked by the invasion of the great horde, which tends to recede right around Labor Day, leaving the beaches to us locals for a few precious weeks.

The fam and I had the opportunity to vacate in the latter half of August, during which the wife and I had our own little getaway.

Naturally, that included a little bit of record digging (doesn’t it always) which resulted in a nice fat stack of new additions to my crates, here and over at Iron Leg.

I always enjoy stepping out of my own little vinyl ecosystem and into a new one, where the ebb and flow of wax is different, the stock is new (at least to me) and not quite as picked over as what I’m used to.

There aren’t too many opportunities of that nature where I live, so it’s a gas when I get my mitts on some stuff that I haven’t seen/heard before.

Keep your eyes peeled for the results of said excavations in these pages.

The tune I bring you today is one of those great intersections of a song I love and a particularly hot performance.

‘Wade In the Water’ is a spiritual that goes back well over a century, which is why the writing credits on this version – to Sam Cooke and JW Alexander – are odd, but that is neither here nor there, especially when you consider how often people were slapping their names on public domain compositions in order to pick up a little scratch.

It has long been one of my favorite songs and I’ve gotten into the habit of picking up records with versions of it (like I do with ’Soul Makossa’) wherever I find them.

I had been on the lookout for the record you see before you today – ‘Bishop’s Whirl’ by the John Bishop Trio – for years. While it’s not particularly scarce, it eluded me nonetheless so I was happy to score a copy at a nice price.

John Bishop (born Gregory Ceurvorst) was a Chicago-based guitarist who ended up touring with Ray Charles (thus the Tangerine label) in the late 60s. He also played with Donny Hathaway, Ramsey Lewis and the Staple Singers among others.

His version of ‘Wade In the Water’ – the full album edit is included here, there is a much shorter version on 45 – is smoking, with exceptional work by Bishop on guitar and organist Newell Burton, Jr. Bishop goes into a blazing solo around the three-minute mark that explodes around 4:15.

It is an exceptional bit of hard-charging soul jazz, generating enough heat for the dancers (the 45 has a minor following with the Northern Soul crowd).

I haven’t been able to nail down whether or not this was Bishop’s touring band, or a group put together for the date. Burton was a Sacramento-based organist, and the bassist on the record, Jerry Scheff is a renowned session player who started a long stint touring with Elvis Presley around the time that this album was recorded.

That said, the rest of the album – with the exception of the soulful ‘Way Out Back’ – is fairly straight ahead jazz.

Bishop settled in Chicago, where he played with his wife in the Georgia Frances Orchestra, until his passing in 2011 at the age of 65.

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll see you all on Wednesday.

Keep the faith

Larry

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

Click here to go to the ordering page.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.