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By Larry, May 16, 2017 1:02 pm

Keith Mansfield (left) and Alan Hawkshaw

Listen/Download – Keith Mansfield and His Orchestra – Soul Confusion MP3

Greetings all.

Before we get started, just a reminder about some important news.

Starting this Wednesday, 5/17 from 10PM to 12, and every Wednesday going forward at that time I will be doing a new weekly show on the WFMU Give the Drummer Radio stream called Testify! This show (which had a couple of dry runs elsewhere, earlier on) will see yours truly in a more free-form bag, taking the worlds of Funky16Corners and Iron Leg and mashing them together, with soul, rock, funk, pop, garage, psyche, R&B, Now Sound, jazz and anything else I think sounds good. The show will originate live from the Funky16Corners Subterranean Blogcasting Nerve Center and Record Vault, and will be archived thereafter.

So if your ears are free Wednesday night, turn them toward WFMU.org, click on the Give The Drummer stream and dig what it is that I am putting down.
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The track I bring you today is an old favorite, the flipside of which (the amazing ‘Boogaloo’ appeared in the eareliest incarnation of the blog 12 years ago!).

I have no idea why I waited so long to serve up the flip, but here it is.

Keith Mansfield was one of the great library masters on the UK scene, recording a grip of stuff for the storied KPM label as well as a number of mainstream releases under his own name.

Today’s selection has kind of an odd history.

‘Soul Confusion’ is a 45-only track, and was only released in the for you see today here in the US on an Epic promo.

In the UK the (same) track was billed under the name ‘Sugar with the Keith Mansfield Orchestra (Sugar being the vocalist, Sugar Simone who does not appear on the track) under a different title altogether, ‘11AM Tuesday Morning Taxi’ on CBS/UK. I have no idea why.

The other side of the US 45, ‘Boogaloo’ had appeared the year before on the excellent ‘All You Need Is Keith Mansfield’ LP, alongside the very groovy, breakbeat version of Mansfield’s oft covered ‘Soul Thing’.

‘Soul Confusion’, featuring (naturally) Hammond master Alan Hakshaw, is a funky, brassy groover with great rhythm guitar trading lines with the organ and hard hitting drums. There is a small drum break as well.

The 45 has gone up in price considerably since I found my copy (in the field, and on the cheap, luckily). Decent copies pull in between 75 and 100 dollars.

You can still get the LP (but no ‘Soul Confusion’, though the RPM/Retrodisc reissue from 2008 includes the track) at a much more reasonable price.

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

And, while you’re at it, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Keep the faith

Larry

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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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, May 14, 2017 9:45 am

Listen/Download – Dennis and the Supertones – Superman Lover MP3

Listen/Download – Dennis and the Supertones – Doin’ the Superman MP3

Greetings all.

Before we get started this week I have some important news.

Starting this Wednesday, 5/17 from 10PM to 12, and every Wednesday going forward at that time I will be doing a new weekly show on the WFMU Give the Drummer Radio stream called Testify! This show (which had a couple of dry runs elsewhere, earlier on) will see yours truly in a more free-form bag, taking the worlds of Funky16Corners and Iron Leg and mashing them together, with soul, rock, funk, pop, garage, psyche, R&B, Now Sound, jazz and anything else I think sounds good. The show will originate live from the Funky16Corners Subterranean Blogcasting Nerve Center and Record Vault, and will be archived thereafter.

So if your ears are free Wednesday night, turn them toward WFMU.org, click on the Give The Drummer stream and dig what it is that I am putting down.
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The tracks I bring you today are yet another small, but groovy chapter in the very interesting career of Ed Townsend.

Townsend got his start as a hit singer in his own right, with ‘For Your Love’ in 1958, went on to write songs for Theola Kilgore (For the Love of My Man), later co-wrote ‘Let’s Get It On’ with Marvin Gaye, and in between was part of Perry and the Harmonics, and the group I bring you today, Dennis and the Supertones.

The group recorded only one 45 – ‘Superman Lover’ b/w ‘Doin’ the Superman’ – in 1963, and that, as they say, was that.

Both tunes (which are separated by a hair’s breadth of originality) lean heavily in the direction of the mighty Rivingtons (the “ZOOM ZOOM ZOOMS” are right out of he Papa Oom Mow Mow playbook) and are a very cool slice of R&B-going into-soul.

Interestingly enough, ‘Superman Lover’ was covered later that same year by a group called Andy and the Marglows (brothers Andy, Jimmy and Terry Huff) on Liberty.

It’s the kind of party-starting stuff that I dig the most, and I hope you dig it, too.

See you all on Wednesday.

And, while you’re at it, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, May 11, 2017 1:50 pm

(Everything I Do Is Funky Like) Lee Dorsey

Listen/Download – Lee Dorsey – Operation Heartache MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so then is the Funky16Corners Radio Show podcast, which comes to you each and every Friday with the finest in soul, funk, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. You can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the Stitcher and TuneIn apps, check it out on Mixcloud, or grab yourself an MP3 at Funky16Corners.com

We close out New Orleans 45 week with a great one by Lee Dorsey.

Written, produced and arranged by the mighty Allen Toussaint, ‘Operation Heartache’ had a dual life, with releases (which share a backing track) by both Lee Dorsey (on Amy) and John Williams and the Tick Tocks (on Sansu).

Both versions were issued in 1966, but considering Dorsey’s prominence and hit-making track record, my assumption is that he had the initial release.

The record’s A-side ‘Holy Cow’ was a pretty big hit for Dorsey in the Fall of 1966, making it into the R&B Top 10 and grazing the Pop Top 20.
As far as I can tell ‘Operation Heartache’ didn’t hit the charts (even locally), which isn’t that odd.

Despite it’s high quality, ‘Operation Heartache’ has kind of an odd meter and melody. It’s a little slow for dancing, and clocks in at a hair over a minute and a half!

Dorsey’s vocal is typically excellent, and the arrangement, with a great horn section, accented by honking baritone sax, is very cool too.
If you are inclined to grab a copy for your playbox, you can have one for well below ten bucks any day of the week.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back next week with some more soul.

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, May 9, 2017 12:32 pm

Miss Betty Harris

Listen/Download – Betty Harris – Mean Man MP3

Greetings all.

New Orleans 45 week continues with one of the finest records by one of my all time favorite singers, Miss Betty Harris.

If you’ve been following Funky16Corners for a long time you have seen Betty Harris pop up in this space, first on the web zine, in mixes and in individual posts.

She is one of the truly great 60s soul divas, and fortunately for all of us was one of Allen Toussaint’s go-to singers in the 1960s.

Though she wasn’t from New Orleans, and had a career before she started working with Toussaint, the work she did with him in New Orleans, first for Sansu and then for SSS Intl forms the core of her discography, and includes some of the very finest 45s to come out of the Crescent City during the classic soul era.

Among those 45s, ‘Mean Man’ holds a special place of honor as one of the best.

Recorded in 1968, written, produced and arranged by Toussaint, it exists in that sweet spot when soul was starting to evolve into funk. It features a stunning arrangement (one of his finest) with a hard-charging horn section, aggressive rhythm guitar, piano accents and female backing singers, all forming the foundation on which Harris constructed a landmark vocal.

She was – like every singer that Toussaint chose to work with in the 60s, remarkably expressive, capable of heartbreaking balladry, hard-hitting sock soul and funky hollars, and there are moments in ‘Mean Man’ that are among the best ever laid down by anyone during the classic era.

This is one of those records – of which there are scores from New Orleans – where it boggles the mind that it wasn’t a hit. It did gain some traction in the Northeast (and of course in New Orleans) but nothing significant. Despite the consistent high quality of her recordings (before, and with Toussaint) Harris had her biggest hit in 1963, and despite making it into the R&B Top 20 with ‘Nearer To You’ in 1967, never really got the kind of acclaim she deserved.

Fortunately Miss Harris is still with us, and still performing.

There are a couple of compilations of her best work out there, but she really deserves a major rediscovery/reappraisal.

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

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, May 7, 2017 10:25 am

Curley Moore

Listen/Download – Curley Moore – Sophisticated Sissy Pt1 MP3

Greetings all.

Thanks in large part to the odd working of my brain – especially as it pertains to the selection of blog content – we commence the second “theme week’ in a row.

Last week we looked at three Stax 45s.

This week we head south for three (excellent) New Orleans-based 45s.

As we did last week, we get things rolling with a dance craze 45, which oddly enough shares a title with a different Rufus Thomas 45, ‘Sophisticated Sissy’ by Curley Moore (Rufus’s came out in 1967, Moore’s in 1968).

Curley Moore is one of my favorite journeyman New Orleans soul singers, having recorded through the 60s and 70s for a variety of labels (Ace, NOLA, Teem, Sansu, Instant, House of the Fox) starting out with Huey Piano Smith and the Clowns and moving on to a series of outstanding solo 45s.

Moore was, like Willie Harper, possessed of one of the really interesting voices in New Orleans soul and R&B, and like Harper got to work with the mighty Allen Toussaint.

‘Sophisticated Sissy’ came out right on the cusp of what I like to call ‘The 33s’, i.e. records released on the Instant label with a catalog number higher than 3300, the dividing line (though there are some exceptions) between the soul and funk eras of the label, and right around the time (1968) when it seems that Instant was pressing their 45s in progressively smaller quantities (thus the increased rarity of their titles).

‘Sophisticated Sissy’, written by Huey Smith (who was doing a lot of work for Instant in this era) and Brenda Brannon (a frequent collaborator of Smith’s), sounds like a revved up version of Moore’s classic ‘Soul Train’, with a helping of heavy drums (sounds a lot like Smokey Johnson to me), twangy guitar and a pulsing piano like (Smith, no doubt).

The tune isn’t exactly a vocal showcase – it follows the dance craze template pretty closely – with Moore’s vocal being doubled by a female singer, but it does have a lot of New Orleans soul-into-funk flavor.

As funky New Orleans 45s go, ‘Sophisticated Sissy’ is fairly slept-on, still coming in at under 50 bucks, which I find kind of mind-boggling, but if you want to slip a copy into your playbox, that will work to your benefit.

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

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, May 4, 2017 10:41 am

Eddie Floyd

Listen/Download – Eddie Floyd – Got To Make a Comeback MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and I will remind you once again to tune into the Funky16Corners Radio Show podcast, which drops each and every Friday with the finest in soul, funk, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. Youy can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the Stitcher and TuneIn apps, check it out on Mixcloud, or grab an MP3 right here at Funky16Corners.com

And, while you’re at it, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

We close out Stax Week with a record that I consider to be one of the greatest Southern soul ballads ever recorded, and like Wednesday’s selection, it languishes on the flip side of a monster hit.

‘Knock On Wood’ was Eddie Floyd’s very first hit, making it to Number One on the R&B charts and Top 30 Pop in the summer of 1966. It remains to this day one of the best-known soul records of the 1960s, and has been covered countless times by soul, rock and disco artists in since the time of its release.

‘Got To Make a Comeback’, written by Floyd and DJ Joe Shamwell, is from its very first notes, a truly remarkable record.

Opening with deep, tremeloed guitar (which keeps rolling through the song, courtesy of co-producer Steve Cropper) ‘Got To Make a Comeback’ is as deep and pleading a ballad as ‘Knock On Wood’ was a sock soul shouter.

Floyd digs deep into the lyric, and the backing – basically the MGs and the Memphis Horns – is classic Stax/Volt.

Once again, it seems like ‘Got To Make a Comeback’ was relegated to obscurity by the overwhelming power/success of it’s a-side. I’m shocked that it hasn’t been covered very mch over the years (though Robert Cray did a very nice, very faithful cover in 1983).

It’s a great, great song/performance, and a great way to close out a week of Stax.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, May 2, 2017 12:48 pm

Sam and Dave

Listen/Download – Sam and Dave – May I Baby MP3

Greetings all.

Stax-week continues with a lesser-heard side from the mighty Sam and Dave.

If you stop by here on the reg, you’ve probably heard me raving about Misters Moore and Prater, especially Sam, who I consider among the first rank of soul singers from the classic era.

‘May I Baby’ was tacked onto the flip side of the duo’s monster 1967 hit ‘Soul Man’, their second Number One hit.

Written and produced by Isaac Hayes and David Porter, ‘May I Baby’ is an understated, mid-tempo with a lovely melody and some interesting touches in the arrangement. Though it starts out with a weird, faux-Asian intro, it quickly turns into a great showcase for both Sam and Dave, who dig into the melody.

It’s one of those records that kind of snuck up on me (God knows how many years I had the 45 before I actually listened to the B-side) and a few years back, when I had the honor to spin in the presence of David Porter himself, I made sure to play it.

It’s a very groovy tune, and I hope you dig it as much as I do.

See you on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

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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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, April 30, 2017 11:19 am

Rufus Thomas

Listen/Download – Rufus Thomas – Can Your Monkey Do the Dog MP3

Greetings all.

Today’s post begins a full week of Stax 45s.

Stax is, next to Motown, the first American soul label most folks think of, especially the non-record-collecting civilians, which should in no way be construed as a pejorative for the label or the ‘civilians’, since once you’re locked inside the record “thing”, it is at times, straight-jacket-esque (or at least it should be…heh).

As far as Stax being a go-to for those with only a casual acquaintance with soul music, that’s cool too, since it’s a testament to the bedrock quality of the sounds on the label, many of the among the best ever recorded in the genre.

That said, among the best on Stax, are many sides by the mighty Rufus Thomas, many of which have appeared in this space before.

‘The World’s Oldest Teenager’ (and probably one of the oldest folks churning out hits for Stax), Rufus Thomas took his years as a motor-mouth DJ, and a lively sense of humor, and used them to full effect on his records.

Today’s selection hails from 1964, when it was a Top 50 R&B hit in the winter of that year.

It also falls into one of my favorite sub-sub-genres of music, that being multiple-dance-craze 45s. Here Rufus combines the monkey and the dog, the dance that he rode into the charts the previous year with ‘The Dog’ and ‘Walking the Dog’.

Following a horn fanfare, Rufus drops in with a big ‘E-I-E-I-O’ and gets going on a song that follows the ‘Walking the Dog’ blueprint fairly closely.

Like any and all Rufus Thomas 45s, it is a groover, with a lot of dance floor punch, and carries with it the composition pedigree of Rufus and Steve Cropper.

Though I can’t say so with any certainty, I’m pretty sure at some point someone tried to teach their monkey to do the dog (if anyone has film of this achievement, please let me know).

I hope you dig the track, and I’ll be back on Wednesday with some Sam and Dave.

Keep the faith

Larry

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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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, April 27, 2017 11:34 am

Timothy Wilson

Listen/Download – Timothy Wilson – Got To Find a New Love MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so then is the Funky16Corners Radio Show podcast, which comes to you each and every Friday with the finest in soul, funk, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. You can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the Stitcher and TuneIn apps, check it out on Mixcloud, or grab yourself an MP3 at Funky16Corners.com

We got the sad news this week of the passing of the great Timothy Wilson.

Wilson, who was 73 had a long string of singles (and one LP) , starting in Tiny Tim and the Hits in the late 50s, then the Serenaders on VIP (with George Kerr and Sidney Barnes) and under his own name from 1965 on into the late 70s.

Wilson, who had a high, sweet tenor voice has appeared in this space before, with his stellar cover of the Supreme’s ‘Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart’ from 1969.

The 45 I bring you today hails from a few years earlier in 1967, but was also produced by his old bandmate George Kerr.

‘Got To Find a New Love’ starts out slow and mellow, with a repeated piano riff, but picks up steam quickly, with horns, vibes and some nice harmony backing vocals. It definitely packs enough heat for the dance floor and has a following with the Northern Soul crowd. Wilson’s lead vocal is great, at times treading the line between tenor and falsetto.

Interestingly enough, this was the B-side of the 45, and the A-side, the sweet, pleading ‘Baby Baby Please’ hit #45 on the R&B charts in 1967, having some regional pop success as well.

Wilson went on to tour extensively as the lead singer of the modern version of Frankie Lymon’s Teenagers.

He will be missed.

See you on Monday.

Keep the faith

Larry

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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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too

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By Larry, April 25, 2017 1:33 pm

Marvin L Sims

Listen/Download – Marvin L Sims – Talkin’ Bout Soul MP3

Greetings all.

Since Monday’s selection was sweet and easy, I thought I’d take this midweek opportunity to stomp my size 16 foot down on the gas and get this thing moving.

However, before we get started, I wanted to make note of the anniversary of the change of the Funky16Corners Radio Show into podcast form in 2010. I had already been doing a show for Viva Radio for a while when some listeners and followers of the blog requested that I make the show available in downloadable/podcast form. I made that change seven years/364 episodes ago, and I like to think that in the ensuing years the show has evolved for the better in both style and substance.

If you are a reader of the blog, but not a listener, please take the time to subscribe (in iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher or any podcast aggregator).

Though I have no hard and fast plans in this direction, it seems inevitable that the day will come when podcasting becomes the main focus of this operation, so if you dig what goes down in this space, do yourself a favor and tune in.

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Marvin L Sims is an interesting (if minor) soul singer who recorded for a variety of labels – Mellow, Maxi, Revue, Rivertown – from 1966 on, until he dropped out of the music biz to get an advanced degree in psychology.

Sims was from Missouri but settled in Chicago after his time in the service, where he hooked up with (and recorded for) Charles Colbert Sr (father of Chuck Colbert of the American Breed and Rufus).

The blazing ‘Talkin’ Bout Soul’ was released in 1968 where broke out regionally, then became a national hit, making it to #50 on the R&B charts.

Pushed along but smoking guitar and horns, ‘Talkin’ But Soul’ features Sims’ raw, Wilson Pickett-esque voice sending out namechecks to a variety of soul greats, including Pickett, the O’Jays, and Sam and Dave.

The record is packs a lot of dance floor heat, and has a following with the Northern crowd in the UK.

Sims came out of retirement in 1998 to record the album ‘Heart Talk’

‘Talkin’ Bout Soul’ is (thanks to its minor hit status) not terribly expensive (maybe 30-50 on a good day) and is definitely worth adding to your want list.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, April 23, 2017 8:24 am

Listen/Download – Johnny and the Expressions – Something I Want To Tell You MP3

Greetings all.

Considering that many of you return to work filled with dread and shattered nerves, every now and then I like to get the week rolling with something sweet and mellow.

Johnny and the Expressions hit the charts (Top 20 R&B, #80 Pop) in 1966 with ‘Something I Want To Tell You’, one of those great transitional records that brought the harmonies of doowop into the soul era.

I don’t know much about the group, other than they recorded a string of 45s for Josie in 1965 and 1966, and that lead singer Johnny Wyatt had also recorded with the earlier group Rochell and the Candles who had a hit in 1961 with ‘Once Upon a Time’.

‘Something I Want To Tell You’ is one of those records that could have emerged right out of doowop, but the arrangement gives away that this is from the soul era.

Opening with rhythm guitar and bass, Wyatt comes in with his falsetto lead, followed by the rest of the group in harmony. A subtle horn section, in league with some ringing vibes makes for a great, romantic, late night side.

The record has since become a fave on the lowrider soul scene.

The flip ‘Where Is the Party’ is a faster moving number, but sounds like a much earlier side.

It’s very groovy record indeed, and not at all expensive, so go and get yourself one for your playbox.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, April 20, 2017 11:10 am

The Wicked One!

Listen/Download – Wilson Pickett – Love Will Keep Us Together MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so then I must ask you once again to tune in the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which comes to you each and every Friday with the best in soul, funk, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. You can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn and Stitcher apps, check it out on Mixcloud, or grab yourself an MP3 right here at Funky16Corners.com

We close out a week of familiar songs in unfamiliar renditions with a very solid souping up of one of the biggest slices of AM Gold from the 70s.

The first time I heard (thanks Mike Schaefer!) that Wilson Pickett had done a cover of the Captain and Tennille’s ‘Love Will Keep Us Together’ (a song I actually dig in the original version) I could scarcely believe it.

When I finally heard it, I was pleasantly surprised.

It’s not that I thought that Pickett wasn’t capable, but rather that I suspected that he might be too powerful a singer, and would blow through it like a bullet through a wet tissue.

Recorded in 1976 and released on Pickett’s ‘Chocolate Mountain’ LP (a one off on his TK distributed Wicked label), ‘Love Will Keep Us Together’ was a #69 R&B hit (no notice on the Pop charts, other than some minor regional success in L.A.).

Pickett’s version is slightly funky with enough pop polish to keep the AM audience interested, but no so much as to scare away his diehard fans.
It’s really cool to hear the song removed from Toni Tennille’s buttery voice and recast with Pickett’s razor-sharp growl.

I dig it, and I hope you do, too.

See you all on Monday.

Keep the faith

Larry

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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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.