F16C Soul Club Presents – Soulshake – Funky16Corners Live at Subway Soul Club

By , April 26, 2011 11:22 am

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Lurking in the shadows with a loaded turntable…

 

OV Wright – Love the Way You Love (Backbeat)
Billy Butler – Right Track (Okeh)
Lynne Randell – It’s a Hoe Down (Epic)
Thelma Jones – Stronger (Barry)
The Platters – Sweet Sweet Lovin’ (Musicor)
Christine Cooper – SOS (Heart In Distress) (Parkway)
Irma Thomas – What Are You Trying To Do (Imperial)
Henry Lumpkin – Soul Is Taking Over (Buddah)
Barbara Banks – River of Tears (Veep)
Luther Ingram – If It’s All the Same To You (Hib)
Chuck Wood – Seven Days Is Too Long (Roulette)
Maurice and the Radiants – Baby You’ve Got It (Chess)
Parliaments – Don’t Be Sore At Me (Revilot)
O’Jays – I Dig Your Act (Bell)

(Full set list at the bottom of the post)

Listen/Download – F16C Soul Club Presents – Soulshake! Funky16Corners Live at the Subway Soul Club 61MB/256K Mixed MP3

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Yours truly, Luther Ingram (spinning) and Chuck Wood (cued up)

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Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus

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Girlsoul selects another winner!

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The mighty M-Fasis on the dance floor.

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The crowd

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Everyone’s records, ready to go.

Greetings all.

I have – like the prodigal son – returned from my wanderings tired, but satisfied.

The past week saw a mini-burst of DJ activity, with the Subway Soul Club (which we’ll be rapping about this fine day) last Saturday (4/16), then driving up to Massachusetts for Sweet Exorcist on Friday 4/22 in Greenfield, and Wooly Bully on Saturday 4/23 in Northampton (which we will cover next week).

I even managed to get in some unexpected 45 digging in New York, which turned up a couple of nice funk 45s, a few disco things and a couple of doubles for the old trade box.

Wrapped around all of this tomfoolery was a family vacation, with the swimming, the sightseeing, the fine dining (pho and New Haven pizza on the same trip!!) and a lot of close quarters, but much fun (if little actual relaxation) was had, and now here we all are, back in the daily groove.

As I mentioned, I spent the evening of Saturday 4/16 alongside Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus, Girlsoul and PJ Lozito (Connie T Empress had to cancel) whipping the best in soul on the crowd at the storied Subway Soul Club, at Public Assembly in Williamsburg, BK.

Despite the fact that the area was in the midst of a near-monsoon, which made motoring to Brooklyn a real hoot, there was a nice turnout, and by midnight the floor was full of good people soaking up the sounds of soul and cutting themselves what the old folks used to refer to as a slice of rug.

I have probably said this numerous times, but it bears mentioning once again, I love nothing more than to spin soul and funk for people that like to dance. There is something magical about pulling an especially cool record out of your box, slipping it onto the turntable and watching the crowd react when the sounds make their way out of the speakers.

Subway Soul Club is really a dancers scene, with people grooving steadily for several hours (I honestly have no idea where some people get the energy), especially to Northern Soul. This was a very appreciative/receptive crowd who dug what we all were spinning, and the experience was, as you can imagine, exceptionally rewarding.

The mix you see above is the second set I spun that night, and features a number of favorites, all floor-fillers, including a bunch of things that have had a home in my crates for many years, as well as a few recent acquisitions.

I also managed to snap a couple of pictures, and while I’m no Scavullo, I think the results manage to capture the vibe fairly well.

Big thanks go out to Phreddie and our host Lady Dawn, the other DJs (who were uniformly excellent) and especially the dancers, without whom it wouldn’t have been nearly as groovy.

I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll be back on Friday with some funk for your weekend.

If things go as planned, I’ll have some live mixes (and pics) from Massachusetts for you next week.

See you on Friday

Peace

Larry

 

 

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Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recr events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

Example

 

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 too.

Funky16Corners Subway Soul 4/16 Set List

Set 1
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes – Get Out (Landa)
Bettye Lavette – Feel Good All Over (Calla)
Dean Courtney – We Have a Good Thing (RCA)
John Williams and the Tick Tocks – Do Me Like You Do Me (Sansu)
Peggy Scott and Jo Jo Benson – Soul Shake (SSS Intl)
Felice Taylor – Under the Influence of Love (Mustang)
Frankie Valli – You’re Gonna (Hurt Yourself) (Smash)
Four Larks – Grooving at the Go Go (Tower)
Broadways – You Just Don’t Know (MGM)
Volcanos – (It’s Against) The Laws of Love (Inst) (Arctic)
Bob Brady and the Conchords – Everybody’s Going to the Love In (Chariot)
Jean Wells – With My Love and What You Got (Calla)
Danny White – Natural Soul Brother (SSS Intl)
The Contours – Just a Little Misunderstanding (Gordy) (Fade out)

Set 2

OV Wright – Love the Way You Love (Backbeat)
Billy Butler – Right Track (Okeh)
Lynne Randell – It’s a Hoe Down (Epic)
Thelma Jones – Stronger (Barry)
The Platters – Sweet Sweet Lovin’ (Musicor)
Christine Cooper – SOS (Heart In Distress) (Parkway)
Irma Thomas – What Are You Trying To Do (Imperial)
Henry Lumpkin – Soul Is Taking Over (Buddah)
Barbara Banks – River of Tears (Veep)
Luther Ingram – If It’s All the Same To You (Hib)
Chuck Wood – Seven Days Is Too Long (Roulette)
Maurice and the Radiants – Baby You’ve Got It (Chess)
Parliaments – Don’t Be Sore At Me (Revilot)
O’Jays – I Dig Your Act (Bell) (fade out)

Set 3

Mickey Lee Lane – Hey Sah Lo Ney (Swan) (partial)
R Dean Taylor – There’s a Ghost In My House (VIP)
Scatman Crothers – Golly! Zonk! It’s Scatman (HBR)
Eyes of Blue – Heart Trouble (Deram)
Rodge Martin – Lovin’ Machine (Bragg)
Cooperettes – Shing-a-ling (Brunswick)
Darrell Banks – Our Love Is In the Pocket (Revilot)
Spellbinders – Help Me (Get Myself Back Together Again) (Columbia)
Olympics – Mine Exclusively (Mirwood)
Chubby Checker – (At the) Discotheque (Parkway)
Peaches and Herb – I Need Your Love So Desperately (Date)
Rex Garvin and the Mighty Cravers – I Gotta Go Now (Out On the Floor) (Like)
Dean Parrish – I’m On My Way (Laurie) (fade out)

End of Night Wrap Up

Timmy Willis – Mr Soul Satisfaction (Sidra)
Clydie King – Bout Love (Lizard)
Producers – Love Is Amazing (Huff Puff)
Pat Lewis – Look at What I Almost Missed (Solid Hit)
Poets – She Blew a Good Thing (Symbol)
Chuck Jackson – Good Things Come To Those Who Wait (Wand)
Intruders – All the Time (Excel)

 

Wayne Cochran – Hootchie Cootchie Man

By , April 24, 2011 6:12 pm

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Wayne Cochran

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Listen/Download – Wayne Cochran – Hootchie Cootchie Man

 

Greetings all.

As I have been/am on vacation, this post is being prepared well in advance of publication, all pending and timely issues to be addressed upon my return.

I have gone on at length in this space, several times about my deep and abiding love for the sounds of the mighty Wayne Cochran.

As far as crazed, insanely be-conked white soul guys go, there was no one deeper in the game than brother Wayne.

He recorded rock, R&B, blazing soul and funk, all with his big, cornbread fuelled frame jammed into sparkling, skin tight togs, all placed carefully under what can only be described as the craziest haircut in the history of the tonsorial arts.

It’s like an atomic cotton candy process, as if Mr Softee had gotten himself a head full of Dixie Peach, Aqua-Net and gym-floor shellac, and then let all of his ice cream melt while he drove the truck at high speed listening to nothing but heat-distressed James Brown and Otis Redding tapes.

The tune I bring you today is his cover of the Willie Dixon standard ‘Hootchie Cootchie Man.

Therein you get to hear WC rip through the litany of hoodoo talismans, until, filled with the spirit, he declares that he is going to ‘Hootchie your Cootchie’, which on the surface doesn’t sound at all like an idle threat, and while the common 21st century usage may not have been in effect, I suspect it meant the same thing anyway, since we’re talking about Wayne Cochran.

Released in 1967, wedged in between very hot 45s by Laura Lee and Lonnie Brooks, Wayne’s version stands up proudly alongside all soulful interpretations thereof, as well as floating near the top of his own discography.

I dig it, and I suspect you will as well.

I’ll be back on Wednesday to regale you with tales of my time on the road.

Peace

Larry

 

 

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Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recr events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

Example

 

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 too.

 

F16C Soul Club Presents – Get It (Come and Get It) aka Spindletop Funk

By , April 17, 2011 11:56 am

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Lots more where that came from…

 

Listen/Download – F16C Soul Club Presents – Get It (Come and Get It) 118MB/256K Mixed MP3

Laura Lee – I Need It As Bad As You (Invictus)
Gene West – In the Ghetto (Original Sound)
Marva Whitney – This Girl’s In Love With You (King)
Kenny Smith – Go For Yourself (RCA)
Ohio Players – Find Someone To Love (Capitol)
Common Pleas – The Funky Judge (Crimson)
Eddie Bo and Inez Cheatham – Lover and a Friend (Capitol)
Jesse Hill – Mardi Gras (Pulsar)
Gunga Din – Crab Cakes (Valise)
Billy LaMont – Sweet Thing (20th Cent Fox)
Young Holt Unltd – Who’s Making Love (Brunswick)
Winfield Parker – Starvin (Spring)
James Brown – There Was a Time (King)
Senor Soul – Don’t Lay Your Funky Trip On Me (Whiz)
Howlin’ Wolf – Pop It To Me (Chess)
Wayne Logiudice – Ow Boogaloo (Philips)
Jay Dee Bryant – Get It (Come and Get It) (Enjoy)
Gene Dozier and the Brotherhood – Testify (Minit)
Jo Armstead – I’ve Been Turned On (Giant)
Syl Johnson – Dresses Too Short (Twinight)
Johnny Otis Show – Country Girl (Kent)
Bobby Byrd – I Know You Got Soul (King)
Gene Waiters – Shake and Shingaling (Fairmount)
Lavell Hardy – Don’t Lose Your Groove (Rojac)

 

Greetings all.

I have to get things started by letting you know what an absolute, stone gas my stint at the Subway Soul Club was this past Saturday night.

I’ve gone on in this space many times about how spinning soul music is a blast, but doing it for a room full of enthusiastic dancers really takes things to the next level. Despite the fact that we were in the midst of an impromptu monsoon (which made motoring out to Brooklyn a major undertaking) the room at Public Assembly filled up fast and quicker than you can say Wigan Casino the dance floor was slamming.

Both Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and Lady Dawn were spectacular hosts, and the other guest DJs, Miss Evon and PJ Lozito (Connie T Empress had to bow out due to the inclement weather) both brought the heat and things were cooking for several hours straight.

I had an amazing time, got to spin the Northern Soul I love so much and got lots of great feedback from the crowd.

I managed to get most of my sets recorded, so sometime next week I’ll post at least one of them, as well as some pics from the night.

Subway Soul Club will return in May, and will then be taking the summer off, so if you’re close enough to make the scene, you should do so.

Now, welcome to Funky16Corners Spring Break!

No bikini girls or beer bongs, just an hour of funk 45s to hold you all until I return to the Funky16Corners Record Vault and Blogcasting Nerve Center.

As mentioned previously, the fam and I will be vacating for a few days, at the end of which I will be spinning funk and soul 45s for two nights in western Massachusetts.

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Friday 4/22 I’ll be joining DJ Andujar and Studebaker Hawk for Sweet Exorcist @ the People’s Pint in Greenfield, MA. I’ll be bringing funk, latin and maybe even some reggae to help keep things hot.

The following night, Saturday 4/23, I’ll be joining DJ Cashman and Snack Attack at Wooly Bully @ the Basement in Northampton, MA for funk and soul on 45. I might bring a little Northern Soul with me this time.

If you’re in the area it would be very cool if you could drop by. I hear on very good authority that these are both smoking parties, and I will be packing nothing but heat in the record box, so a good time is guaranteed for all.

That said, what I bring you today is the first set from my latest appearance at Spindletop @ Botanica in NYC. This time out I spun all manner of funk and funky soul. I recorded the whole night, but the second set had some crossover with the last sets I posted, and the tonearm got jostled in the third set, so I’ll just file those away in the archive for a later date.
There are a fair number of classics, plus a grip of stuff that I haven’t played out in years, so hopefully you’ll all be able to find something grooveworthy within.

Don’t forget to tune in to the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva Radio this Friday night at 9PM. It’s the one year anniversary of the transformation from a glorified playlist into something that sounds like a radio show and it’s packed with good stuff.
The episode may not get posted at the blog until I get home, but there are close to 50 episodes archived there already, so lots to listen to.

Dig it all, and I’ll be back next week with tales of my travels, some new live sets recorded for the blog (hopefully) and maybe even some new records.

Peace

Larry

 

 

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Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recr events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

Example

 

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 too.

 

The Spellbinders – Help Me (Get Myself Back Together Again)

By , April 14, 2011 10:30 am

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The Spellbinders

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Listen/Download – Spellbinders – Help Me (Get Myself Back Together Again)

 

Greetings all.

The end of what turned out to be a spectacularly busy week (the kind where I had to start writing things down so as not to forget to do them) has finally arrived. While I’m bushed, I’m also all revved up because this Saturday night I’ll be spinning at the Subway Soul Club.

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This is going to be an especially groovy night for a few different reasons.

First and foremost, I hear that the crowd at Subway Soul likes to get out on the floor and dance, and I dig nothing more than spinning soul 45s for dancers.

Second, I’ll be spinning alongside two legendary NY area selectors, those being my old Asbury Park 45 Sessions cohort the mighty Connie T Empress, and Subway Soul resident, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus.

If the names above don’t signify the presence of the hottest soul records available, then you have not been paying attention.
A very solid time is guaranteed for all.

Assuming that I make it home from Brooklyn on Sunday morning, the fam and I will be heading out for some vacation-style action, which will be capped off at the end of the week by two more gigs in western Massachusetts.

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Since I’ll be away for the week I’ll be posting a live set from last week’s Spindletop on Monday, along with all the details of next week’s gigs, so stay tuned.

I should also mention that this Friday at 9PM the Funky16Corners Radio Show returns to the crackling airwaves of the intertubes for another session of the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on vinyl. Make sure you stop by Viva Radio, or fall by the blog on Saturday to pick up the MP3 version of the show.

The tune I bring you today is most definitely going to be making the trip up to Brooklyn with me on Saturday.

My acquisition of the Spellbinders ‘Help Me (Get Myself Back Together Again)’ is yet another one of those twisted tales that winds its way back to the big mountain of 45s that came into my life lo these many years ago.

I’ve gone on about it many times, so I’ll keep it short. My father-in-law, while out scouting for antiques happened upon a huge stash of 45s, called and asked if I wanted them (naturally I said yes) and then brought them down to our house.

When they got here I was stunned by the sheer quantity (several thousand), and my wife and I spent the better part of a summer going through them, pulling out the stuff I knew was good, culling the stuff I knew was bad, and trying to figure out the difference on everything else.

Thanks to the huge amount of records, this proved to be an inexact science, and in addition to several boxes of the good stuff, I ended up with a couple of hundred things that at least looked interesting (or too interesting to throw out) and I’ve been picking at those ever since.

Every once in a while, when I have a little time on my hands I head back into those boxes, and recently such a trip resulted in one of the great ‘how the hell did I miss this?’ moments.

I must have given the Spellbinders 45 a spin at some point (since I had it filed as ‘soul’) but I suspect that I only listened to the other side (‘Danny Boy’), since it did not make a significant impression on me, which, had I listened to today’s selection, would not have been the case (am I making any sense here?).

That said, when I did drop the needle on ‘Help Me (Get Myself back Together Again)’ I was immediately drawn in by the wonderful intro, with the bass, vibes and percussion, followed immediately by the drums bringing in the pounding four on the floor beat. The rest of the record is pure Northern Soul genius, combining a great song, stellar arrangement and production (by Van McCoy) and fantastic vocals by the group.

What little I’ve been able to find out about the Spellbinders is that they were only together for a few years, recording a handful of 45s and an LP for Columbia (and one 45 for Date), with ‘Help Me…’ being issued as a non-LP 45 in 1966.

The group also had New Jersey roots, which is always a cool thing (for me) to find out.

I’m just thankful now that this 45 didn’t languish for another few years, or get sucked back into the vinyl maelstrom forever.

If you come out to Subway Soul, stop by the booth and say hi.

Have a great weekend.

Peace

Larry

 

 

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Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk. The whole Funky16Corners gang will be walking in support of autism services, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

Example

 

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 too.

 

The Royal Dukes – A First Full of Crumpet

By , April 12, 2011 1:06 pm

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Keith Beckingham and his organ

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The label (above) and a Dutch picture sleeve (below)

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Listen/Download – Royal Dukes – A First Full of Crumpet

 

Greetings all.

The middle of the week is upon us, and I am just about keeping my eyes open.

I think I may be getting to the point where the phrase “I’m getting too old for this shit” will be nailed securely into my vocabulary.

The days where I would roll in through the front door after sunrise without a care in the world are far behind me. It seems that for every night I’m out way past my bedtime spinning records, the number of subsequent days reserved for recuperative efforts grows ever larger.

This is not to say that I don’t enjoy spinning records, because it’s just about my favorite pastime, but rather that unlike in my 20s, I am now living the life of a suburban dad with a pretty full dance card, and spending a reasonable number of hours in the land of nod is a crucial prerequisite to feeling like something besides shit.

I spent last night (happily) spinning funk 45s at Spindletop @ Botanica. Since our host Perry Lane was indisposed, I was flying solo, and surprisingly enough managed to get the equipment assembled and working without any major problems.

Me and my box of 45s were settled in by 10PM for no less than three full hours of musical wonderfulness, for what was a surprisingly large crowd (though the unseasonably warm weather probably had a lot to do with that).

I managed to record the proceedings, and since the fam and I will be vacating next week, I’ll post some of it then for you to ruminate on until my return.

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That said, please keep in mind that I’ll be hitting the legendary Subway Soul Club this coming Saturday for an evening of high energy soul on 45 alongside Connie T Empress and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus. If you’re in the area (Brooklyn, that is) you really should make an effort to fall by as it promises to be a gas.

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Then (YES, There’s MORE!!) after some of the aforementioned vacation I’ll be spinning for two nights in Massachusetts, Friday 4/22 in Greenfield, Mass at Sweet Exorcist @ the People’s Pint, and then Saturday 4/23 in Northampton, Mass at Wooly Bully @ the Basement. Both nights promise to be very groovy indeed, so if you’re within driving distance, you should join us.

The tune I bring you today is a little something I picked up many years ago in furtherance of my Hammond organ obsession.

I’d never heard of the group or the song, but the sound clip was intriguing so I bid and won.

That said, the record remained an almost total mystery until very recently, when I started scouring the interwebs.

As is always the case, when nothing obvious presents itself, you have to start Googling the available info on the label, in the hope that some connection might be made.

The first clue that I might be on to something came when I started looking for John and Malcolm Jackson, listed as producers on the label.

As it turns out, the brothers (I’m assuming) Jackson were fairly busy running what appears to be something of an exploito music factory, casting their net rather widely, attempting to get a hit in a number of styles, including as it turns out, Hammond organ LPs.

The trail – as far as I was able to follow it – sees the Johnson brothers machine working as far back as the early 60s beat boom, moving on into psychedelic pop and then into easy/loungey Hammond records with groups like the Bunnies, the Flintlocks, Rainbow Ffolly, Tony Knight’s Chessmen and the Second City Sound, with author credits often going to the duo of Thompson and Hancock.

Today’s selection, ‘A First Full of Crumpet’ by the Royal Dukes, appears to have been issued a few times (this is an Italian 45), credited a few different ways.

One of those ‘ways’ led me to organist Keith Beckingham (with an LP appearance of the track being credited to ‘Keith Beckingham on the Hammond with the Royal Dukes’.

The song itself (released in 1972) is quite interesting, with a reggae-ish backing, over which a relaxed, atmospheric Hammond carries the melody.

It is in no way ‘funky’, but it carries with it a very groovy, Euro soundtrack vibe – reminiscent of some of the Peddlers later Hammond instros – that I dig.

I had originally thought that the title of the song was the result of a typo (assuming ‘fist full’ where it says ‘first full’) but the spelling is repeated that way more than once, so I’ll go ahead and assume that this is the result of some impenetrable English slang construction.

If any of you good people have any info to contribute, I would be most appreciative.

See you on Friday.

Peace

Larry

 

 

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Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk. The whole Funky16Corners gang will be walking in support of autism services, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

Example

 

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 too.

 

Righteous Brothers – Harlem Shuffle

By , April 10, 2011 12:54 pm

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Medley and Hatfield hail a cab!

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Listen/Download – Righteous Brothers – Harlem Shuffle

 

Greetings all.

How’s by you? Groovy, I hope.

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This post sees the beginning of a very busy month for me and my record box, with another appearance at Spindletop @ Botanica Monday night 4/11, which I suspect will be a gritty, mostly 60s funk bag. Things get rolling at 10PM, so drop by if you’re in the neighborhood.

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This will be followed on Saturday 4/16 by my first appearance at the storied Subway Soul Club. I’ll be digging deeply into my Northern crates for this one, and I have a whole stack of recent acquisitions as well as many storming old faves that I assure you – if you are in a terpsichorean mode – will get you out of your seats and onto the floor. Since I’ll be spinning alongside Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and Connie T Empress I can say without hesitation that you will be in for a night of the finest dance floor soul available on 45RPM discs. You do not want to miss it.

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Assuming I survive the week, the Funky16Corners fam will be hitting the road for a little rest and relaxation, which will be capped off by two nights in northwestern Massachusetts, with stops on Friday 4/22 in Greenfield (Sweet Exorcist @ The People’s Pint)  and Saturday 4/23 in Northampton (Wooly Bully @ The Basement) . I’ll post more details as the week moves on.

The tune I bring you today comes to you courtesy of my own curiosity.

While I would say that it’s safe to assume that my record jones is by and large a 45 thing, one of my favorite things to do is grab albums and plumb their depths to see what might be hidden in the grooves. Sometime last year I was out (I can’t remember exactly where) and I happened upon the Righteous Brothers 1967 LP ‘Sayin’ Somethin’.

I would not describe myself as a big fan of the duo, at least not of their biggest hits (some of which hail from the Wall of Sound). I would say that I dig both Bill Medley’s thundering baritone, and to a lesser extent Bobby Hatfield’s soaring tenor (occasionally falsetto).

When I found the LP in question, and noticed that it contained a variety of interesting cover songs, I tossed it in the ‘keeper’ stack and took it home.

When I got back to the crib and dropped the needle a few times, the track that really hit me was (not coincidentally) today’s selection, the Brothers’ cover of Bob and Earl’s classic ‘Harlem Shuffle’.

What grabbed me was the fact that Medley and Hatfield crank down the tempo a few steps, giving the song a menacing, vaguely sexy feel.

The arrangement, by Bill Baker makes excellent use of the brass section (the trombones are tearing it up), and I dig the throbbing bass guitar in the background.

While I don’t see many people getting up and dancing to this one, it really is a groovy twist on a classic, and it sounds great on the old headphones.

I hope you dig it, and that I’ll see some of you good folks down at Botanica.

Peace

Larry

 

 

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Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk. The whole Funky16Corners gang will be walking in support of autism services, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

Example

 

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 too.

 

Bo Diddley – I Can Tell

By , April 7, 2011 9:35 am

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Bo Diddley by Mat Vullo

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Listen/Download – Bo Diddley – I Can Tell

 

Greetings all.

The end of the week is finally here, and I hope you’ve all gotten good and oiled up with this week’s mix as your soundtrack.

The track I bring you today ought to put a nice cap on the whole deal, but first some news you can use.

This Friday night – just like every Friday night – sees the return of the mighty Funky16Corners Radio Show, on the equally mighty Viva Radio. This is the thang where you get to sit down with me (or at least the dulcet tones of my voice) and some of the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove vinyl for an hour of sheer, unadulterated musical pleasure. If you can’t be there during the broadcast, you can always fall by over the weekend and pick yourself up an MP3 of the show, or several dozen past shows to stuff into your iPod.

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Also, I will be returning to Spindletop @ Botanica (47 E Houston St, NYC) this coming Monday (4/11) to join my man Perry Lane for some more of that good, vinyl-based groove grease. This will be the first gig of an unusually busy month for yours truly, and I’ll be bringing along a pile of new arrivals/discoveries, so if you’re in the area, and feel like a frosty beverage and some hot music, join us.

You should also pop on over to Fleamarket Funk, where my man DJ Prestige has undertaken a redesign, as well as added a new feature called ‘Big Ups’, in which yours truly has been featured. Make sure you stop by to take a look.

I’ll assume that as soon as this page loaded in your browser, the first thing you noticed was the exceedingly groovy illustration of our friend Mr. McDaniels by Mat Vullo.

Mat and I have been Facebook pals for a long time, he an admirer of the Funky16Corners Blog, and I digging his groovy illustrations. We put our heads together and settled on an illo for a Bo Diddley feature, but you really need to go by his site and check out his other stuff. If you dig the sounds herein, you will most certainly dig the visuals over there.
Many thanks to Mat.

That all said, the tune I bring you today is yet another Asbury Lanes Garage Sale find. It was one of those ‘I’ve spent most of my dough and I’m on my way out the door and I think I’ll paw through one last box before I split’ things, and good thing too since I dig me some Bo Diddley and don’t have all that much of his original vinyl in the crates.

He was one of the true elemental forces of the Chess/Checker Chitown arsenal, alongside Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf and Chuck Berry (and many others, but those are the stony visages on that particular Mt Rushmore).

The cool thing is, though Bo has shared roots with some of his labelmates, in many ways he is the very definition of sui generis, straddling the worlds of the electric blues and rock’n’roll, existing on a stylistic island all his own. This is not to say that he did not at times record what might be seen as conventional blues or rock, but rather that at his best, with tunes like the eponymous ‘Bo Diddley’, he created something without equal.

One need only look at his impact on the British Invasion (and all that flowed from it) to realize that that darkness you sensed was actually his titanic shadow draped over the whole thing. London in 1963 was almost like Jackson Pollock had dipped his brushes in a huge vat of Bo Diddley and splattered it every which way. The Kinks, Pretty Things (named for a Bo song with no less than four of his tunes on their first album), Johnny Kidd and the Pirates, Rolling Stones, Yardbirds and many others, all quaking in their pointy boots from the reverberato shock wave started by Bo Diddley’s massive stomp and rightly so because even though this lot liked to pay tribute to Messrs Morganfield, Burnett, Reed et al, nobody smacked them in the gob like Bo Diddley, because where all of the others were deep and menacing, Bo Diddley was also fun in his own, oblong, horn-rimmed, wobble-legged way.

Bo was the shit, and the tune I bring you today (which I first heard by the aforementioned Pirates, who lay it down with a rockabilly twang which is also cool since Bo’s version has a little country in it) is just another bit of evidence in that case.

‘I Can Tell’ is Bo’s rough-edged lament at a love cast aside, packed end to end with his ringing guitar, Jerome’s maraccas, and someone pumping a bass guitar con brio.

The fact that he manages to namecheck no less a light than Charlie Brown – the greatest sack of sad that the world has ever known – as the guy that elbowed in on his action speaks volumes.

You can just see his eyes rolling back into his head when he finally loses his shit and shouts ‘I Can Tell You Don’t Love Me No More!!!’

Heavy, heavy stuff, and if someone doesn’t get their shit together and erect a huge statue in his image soon…well…I don’t know what I’ll do but it ain’t gonna be nice.

That said, have a lovely weekend and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Peace

Larry

 

 

Example

 

 


Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk. The whole Funky16Corners gang will be walking in support of autism services, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

Example

 

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 too.

 

F16C Radio v.93 – Half “Mental”

By , April 3, 2011 3:18 pm

Example

Slap those keys Mr. Reeder!

 

Doc Bagby – Mix It Up (Vim)
Donald Height – Soul Monkey Twist (Jubilee)
Gate Wesley and Band – Do the Thing (Atlantic)
Four Gents – Soul Sister (HBR)
Doug Clark and the Hot Nuts – Instrumental (Jubilee)
Ike & Tina Turner – Tina’s Dilemma (Sue)
Eskew Reeder – Green Door (Minit)
Baby Lloyd – the Dog (Smash)
Jon Thomas – Hot Tip (Mercury)
African Beavers – You Got Something (RCA)
Mark III Trio – Cagey (Downhill)
Bunker Hill – Hide and Go seek (Intermission)
Tempos – Monkey Doo (Fairmount)
Chet Poison Ivey – Poo Poo Man (Bee Cee)
Hollywood Persuaders – Last Night (Original Sound)
Carl Holmes and the Commanders – Mash Potatoes Pt1 (Atlantic)
The Sunglows – Happy Hippo (Sunglow)
Chuck Edwards – Chuck Roast (Roulette)
Rivingtons – Papa Oo Mow Mow (Liberty)
Turtles – Buzz Saw (White Whale)
Candy Phillips – Timber Pt1 (Atlantic)
Emperors – Tic Tac Toe (unreleased)
Ray Sharpe – Help Me (Get the Feeling) Pt1 (Atco)
Wynder K Frog – Dancing Frog (UA)
Shadows of Knight – Shake (Team)

Listen/Download – F16C Radio v.93 – Half ‘Mental’ – 116MB/256K Mixed MP3

NOTE: This mix is NSFW, in that it will inspire all manner of odd behavior, but also because the drops within are meant for mature audiences. So don’t play this in front of your kids unless you’re ready for some ‘splainin.

 

Greetings all.

I hope the new week finds you all well.

Me, I’m cool (maybe depends on who you ask….)

Gonna get things started this week a note of thanks and a slew of DJ gig announcements.

First, I’d like to say thank you to the Funky16Corners readers, and especially my wife’s knitting pals (who clicked through the donation link here at F16C) who helped us raise money for the POAC Autism Walk this past Saturday. It’s not too late to throw a couple of bucks into the till for a very worthy cause, so I’ll leave the link below for this post.

Now to the gigs…

Before we get things rolling I should mention that I will be returning to Spindletop @ Botanica next Monday, 4/11 for more of the good stuff. I always look forward to packing up the 45RPM heat and hanging with my man Perry Lane. I realize that Monday night isn’t everyone’s ‘get out and hang’ night, but if you are so inclined you could do a lot worse than joining me for some hot 45s and some cold drinks.

Now, Saturday, that’s a CLASSIC get out of the house and dance your ass off kind of night, and it just so happens that April 16th I will be spinning at the legendary Subway Soul Club alongside the mighty Connie T Empress (Empire State Soul Club and the early days of the Asbury Park 45 Sessions) and SSC resident Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus. This shindig occurs at Public Assembly (70 North 6th Street, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn) and runs from 10PM until 4AM the following morning. Subway Soul Club feature 60s soul and R&B with an emphasis on Northern.

You know I’m a Northern Soul nut, and my crates run deep with the stuff. I’ll be packing only the finest midtempo and storming dancers into my 45RPM steamer trunk (as well as some gritty 60s movers) , so if slipping and sliding on the talc is the bag you’re in, or just doing the Philly Dog, the Monkey (Boston or other…), the Jerk, or any of the other classic steps, you need to bring your feet and your ears on down to Subway Soul.

Then (YES, There’s MORE!!), I’ll be motoring up to Massachusetts for what promises to be an absolute burner of a weekend.

Friday 4/22 I’ll be joining DJ Andujar and Studebaker Hawk for Sweet Excorcist @ The Peoples Pint, 24 Federal St in Greenfield Mass, and then on Saturday 4/23 I’ll be spinning alongside DJ Cashman and Snack Attack at Wooly Bully @ the Basement, 21 Center St, Northampton Mass. I’ll be packing all manner of deep funk, hard charging party soul, latin boogaloo and even some funky reggae. Both of these nights are banging, so I look forward to bringing the very busy month of April to a loud, sweaty close. Won’t you join us??

To say that I have sweated over the mix you see before you would be at the very least an understatement. Though the overall number of mixes posted here has certainly increased, the flow of the old school, non-live Funky16Corners Radio jawns has been lean.

This has everything to do with the increase in both the F16C Soul Club series (live recordings) and the weekly Funky16Corners Radio Shows.

I am – despite rumors to the contrary – but a solitary man, and one can only turn out so much product without blowing some kind of mental gasket, so I figured that I would take my time with the ‘regular’ mixes in an attempt to make them a little more special.

That said, this particular mix has been germinating for a long time, first in my fevered brain, then on the old laptop where it has seen no less than four separate ‘drafts’, the last of which is posted above.

Funky16Corners Radio v.93 – Half Mental (as in “instru” but also crazed) is my attempt to recreate the spirit of the smoky taverns, sweaty frat house basements* and other places where people gathered to dance (and or grind) in close proximity to loud, soulful music while spilling their beverages (and whatever else gets spilled on nights like this) on the floor (and each other).

This is not music to let into your ears passively.

While you may choose to close your eyes, plug in your earbuds and have a frat party of the mind, you’d be better served cranking this stuff up in an overpacked room full of funseekers, with at least a few people fired up enough to start singing along into their beer bottles while they stagger about breaking your stuff (I can’t keep anything nice in here…).

There’s all kinds of powerful stuff in here, including the soul, the greasy Hammond groovers, (African) Beavers, Monkeys, Dogs, Hippos and Frogs and enough high octane slop to get even the drowsiest bore off of his can and out on the floor.

Normally, I would reserve such a punch in the head for a Friday, but I figured that if you were to grab the ones and zeros on a Monday, you’d have all week to get your friends together to dig it with you.

I’m not going to say much more, nor am I doing a zip file on this one. Pulling this apart would be like dissecting a peanut butter and jelly sang-weech. The pieces just aren’t the same as eating the whole thing.

So, pull down the mix (and your pants if that’s how you swing), spill some beer and get with the party.

See you later in the week.

Peace

Larry

 

 

Example

*Just to provide a frame of reference, Carl Holmes and the Commanders were a regular attraction at Chris Millers Dartmouth U frat back in the early days of the 60s, providing (alongside folks like Lonnie Youngblood) the model a decade and a half further on up the road for Otis Day and the Knights when Miller would co-write ‘Animal House’. Doug Clark and the Hot Nuts were working the same (if a lot dirtier) vibe south of the Mason-Dixon line.

 

 


Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk.

Example

 

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 very tasty UK Folk Rock.

 

F16C Soul Club Presents – Spindletop A-Go-Go

By , March 31, 2011 10:45 am

Example

Oh, yes…

 

Listen/Download – F16C Soul Club Presents – Spindletop A-Go-Go 71MB/256K Mixed MP3

Brothers Two – Boogaloo Soul Party (Crimson)
Roy Lee Johnson – Boogaloo #3 (Josie)
Barbara Lynn – Club A Go Go (Tribe)
Norman T Washington – Jumping Jack Flash (Pama)
Eyes of Blue – Heart Trouble (Deram)
Lil Bob and the Lollipops – I Got Loaded (La Louisianne)
Wayne Cochran – Goin’ back to Miami (Mercury)
Chet Poison Ivey and His Fabulous Avengers – Shake a Poo Poo (TRC)
Willie Tell and the Overtures – Soul Ranger (Chess)
Interpretations – Snap Out (Bell)
Syl Johnson – Different Strokes (Twilight)
Mad Men – African Twist Pt1 (Gamble)
Sir Lattimore Brown – Shake and Vibrate (SS7)
Georgie Woods – Potato Salad Pt1 (Fat Back)
Jerry Lee Lewis – Shotgun Man (Smash)
Jeanne & the Darlings – Soul Girl (Volt)

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and as is almost always the case, so is the end of my patience/energy.

This has been a very busy week, blog-o-rifically and lifewise, and sometimes it seems that the challenges just keep on coming, like lining up outside my door like I’m handing out hundred dollar bills and grilled cheese sandwiches, and then going around the back so they can get in line again to kick me in the ass.

Not everything is bad, since it looks like April is going to be a very busy month DJ-wise, but as always, it’s just a matter of getting all of my psychotic ducks in a row.

When I get all the gig details ironed out, I will make announcements in this space.

That said, it’s time again to remind you all that if you are not otherwise occupied Friday night at 9PM, you should roll on up to the intertubes and grab you some Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva Radio. I always endeavor to bring you the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all culled from vinyl, all engineered for your listening pleasure. If you can’t be there at broadcast time, you can always pick up the shows in MP3 form over the weekend here at the blog.

As promised, I’m posting the second live set from last week’s Spindletop @ Botanica. This time you get more of the partying grooves, including one of my faves by an artist who was taken from us unexpectedly last week, the mighty Sir Lattimore Brown.

There’s all kinds of groovy stuff in the mix, all good’n’greasy enough to get the laziest SOB up off their butt and out onto the floor.

Speaking of getting out on the floor, I’ve been hard (and I do mean hard) at work this week cooking up a very tasty mix that will most definitely loosen up your wig and heat up your shorts. I will be dropping it on Monday, so make sure you have lots of ice, potato chips and several varieties of potent spirits, ‘cuz you’re going to need them.

That said, enjoy the sounds, have yourself a groovy weekend and I’ll be back on Monday with more of the stuff you love.

Peace

Larry

 

 

Example

 

 


Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk. The whole Funky16Corners gang will be walking in support of autism services, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

Example

 

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 too.

 

Jackie Mittoo – Soul Finger and some loose ends tied up…

By , March 29, 2011 11:46 am

Example

Jackie Mittoo and a huge stone lion…

Example

 

Listen/Download – Jackie Mittoo – Soul Finger

Listen/Download – Jackie Mittoo – Who Done It

 

Listen/Download – Byron Lee and the Dragonaires – Who Done It

 

Greetings all.

I hope everyone is feeling groovy in the middle of week.

As I mentioned in Monday’s post, I’ve been in discussions about some cool DJ stuff in the next few months, and as soon as it’s all firmed up I’ll pass on all the details to you.

I would also like to request once again that if you have a couple of bucks you feel like throwing at a very good cause, please click on the POAC link below. The whole Funky16Corners fam will be walking to raise money for autism services here in the area. This is a cause that hits very close to home (so close as to actually be in it), so anything you can do is greatly appreciated (and many thanks to those of you who have already donated).

Today’s post manages to both bring you something new, and do a little bit of a call-back/clarification to an earlier post.
I’ll go ahead and assume that most of you are already familiar with the name Jackie Mittoo.

Mittoo was one of the most prominent ska/rock steady/reggae organists (playing with the Skatalites and the Soul Vendors among others) in Jamaica during the 60s, before he relocated to Canada at the end of the decade. He continued to play and record until his untimely death on 1990.

Like most other Jamaican musicians of the time, Mittoo was a big fan of American soul and funk, and recorded his fair share of cover material (one of my fave being ‘Hip Hug’ his funky take on Booker T and the MGs ‘Hip Hug Her’).

Back in October of last year I posted a very groovy cover of Monk Higgins ‘Who Dun It?’ as recorded/retitled by Byron Lee and the Dragonaires as ‘Who Done It’. The version on that album gave writer’s credit to Jackie Mittoo, and at the time I wondered if it were him playing on the track (the Lee album didn’t list any individual musicians).

Flash forward a few months and I needed a 12 x 12 picture frame, so I took down my copy of the ‘Jackie Mittoo in London’ album, which had been hanging over my turntables for a few years. I grabbed it originally maybe 10 years ago, recorded the cuts I liked and filed it, forgetting until I took it down that it also contained a version of ‘Who Done It’.

I re-recorded a couple of tracks for the blog, and decided to go back and compare the version from ‘Jackie Mittoo In London’ with the one I posted last year (reposted above).

As it turns out, the arrangement is very similar, with the earlier version by Mittoo winning out (at least to my ears).

While this doesn’t exactly confirm that Mittoo is playing on the Lee album (that could very well be someone who wasn’t familiar with the Higgins OG and copying/crediting Mittoo’s arrangement), it pushed me a little further in that direction.

That said, the cut I was originally going to post today, was Mittoo’s excellent cover version of the Bar-Kays’ ‘Soul Finger’. Here you get Mittoo’s organ subbing for the Bar-Kays horns (though there is a trumpet in the mix), and someone (not sure who) laying down a very tasty guitar solo. The only clue that this is from a reggae album is the sound of the second lead guitar, and the somewhat suspect fidelity (as opposed to ‘Who Done It’ which is played with a rock steady beat).

Both cuts are very cool and I hope you dig them.

I’ll be back on Friday with the second mix from last week’s Spindletop gig.

Peace

Larry

 

 

Example

 

 


Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk. The whole Funky16Corners gang will be walking in support of autism services, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

Example

 

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 late period British Beat.

 

Della Reese – It Was a Very Good Year

By , March 27, 2011 1:48 pm

Example

Miss Della Reese

Example

 

Listen/Download – Della Reese – It Was a Very Good Year

 

Greetings all.

How’s by you?

All is as well as can be expected on my end of the interwebs.

The weekend was relatively uneventful, and despite anything the calendar says, Spring has yet to arrive in any real way.

I should mention that I have a couple of very groovy DJ gigs in the pipe, details to follow soon.

I’m not going to be able to make it to the Allentown 45 show this year, but I don’t really mind.

The vinyl gods have been good to me these last few months, bringing in all manner of cool stuff, including a couple of longtime white whales, as well as a bunch of low priced, but uniformly excellent groovers.

I’ve also been edging up to the second big push in the reorganization of the Funky16Corners Record Vault and Podcasting Nerve Center, which always yields cool stuff from deep in the crates that had been unjustly neglected.

I just dug out a groovy Northern 45 last week that I had either forgotten about – or more likely – had not listened to closely the first time I found it. I like when stuff like that happens.

The tune I bring you today is one of the aforementioned white whales, which I chased like Ahab for a long time before finally landing it late last year.

When you mention the name Della Reese to folks, the reaction you get depends on generational variables.

Folks my parent’s age remember her career as a pop/jazz vocalist that produced a couple of big hits in the late 50s.

Younger folks will remember her mainly as a TV actress, on shows like ‘Touched By an Angel’.

Sit down with a couple of hip DJs, and you very well may hear tell of a lesser known, but truly interesting part of her career, when despite a lack of commercial success she managed to make some very soulful, very danceable records.

Back in the early days of the blog (2005) I featured one of these sides, Ms. Reese’s excellent take on Gene McDaniels’ soul jazz epic ‘Compared to What’, recorded for AVCO in 1969.

The tune I bring you today hails from 1966, and like that session was made with jazz trumpeter Bobby Bryant (search the F16C Podcast Archive for some of his groovier tracks) and his band.

The tune ‘It Was a Very Good Year’, was written in 1961 by Ervin Drake. It was originally recorded by the Kingston Trio, but the song will forever be identified with Frank Sinatra, who recorded – and had a hit with the song – in 1966.

The Sinatra version is a doleful lament, sung by an old man looking back on his life.

Della Reese’s version is a radical reworking of the song, both lyrically (she embellishes the verses) and stylistically. Arranged by Bryant, the song is recast as a funky, hard charging cri de coeur, less wistful than the musical equivalent of a fist in the air. Reese sings the song like someone who despite a colorful past, is looking forward to bigger and better things.

Her vocal is powerful, often sounding as if she was testing the limits of the recording equipment.

The band is on fire, with a pumping Hammond and remarkable drums. The recording has a very hot sound, and the snare and kick drum are – next to Della – the loudest things on the record.

This is one of those records that would have languished in obscurity, had it not been revived by DJs on the jazz dance scene in the UK. It has become increasingly popular with funk and soul DJs, and was reissued by the Jazzman label (with a live version on the B-side).

As far as I can tell, this version is not in print on CD and the 45 can be quite expensive, so unless you need one to play out, slip the ones and zeros on your pod-like-thingy and dig.

See you on Wednesday.

Peace

Larry

 

 

Example

 

 


Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk. The whole Funky16Corners gang will be walking in support of autism services, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

Example

 

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 late period British Beat.

 

F16C Soul Club Presents – Spindletop New Breed

By , March 24, 2011 9:31 am

Example

Listen to him Lucy. He know’s what he’s talking about.

 

Listen/Download – F16C Soul Club Presents – Spindletop New Breed 76MB/256K Mixed MP3

Jimmy Hannah & the Dynamics – Leaving Here (Seafair/Bolo)
Frank Frost – My Back Scratcher (Jewel)
Bobby Powell – Why Am I Treated So Bad (Whit)
Ike Turner and the Kings of Rhythm – The New Breed Pt1 (Sue)
Richard Berry & the Pharaohs – Louie Louie (Flip)
Roy Thompson – Sookie Sookie (Okeh)
Mighty Hannibal – Jerkin’ the Dog (Shurfine)
Bobby Parker – Watch Your Step (V Tone)
Gene Waiters – Shake and Shingaling Pt1 (Fairmount)
Roger & the Gypsies – Pass the Hatchet Pt1 (Seven B)
Scatman Crothers – Golly! Zonk! It’s Scatman (HBR)
Derek Martin – Daddy Rollin’ Stone (Crackerjack)
King Coleman – Boo Boo Song Pt2 (King)
Billy Preston – Let the Music Play (Capitol)
Etta James and Sugar Pie DeSanto – In the Basement Pt1 (Chess)
Dottie Cambridge – He’s About a Mover (MGM)
Freddie Scott – Pow City! (Marlin)

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and I am in dire need of some form of stress relief, whether it’s extended, uninterrupted sleep, intoxication of some sort or just deep, silent meditation.

It’s not that this week has been extraordinarily rough, ‘cause it hasn’t, but rather some combination of not enough sleep (DJ-ing two hours away on a Monday night will do that), a cold (and/or the onset of seasonal allergies) and the normal slate of irritants, have all combined to do a number on my head.

That said, I’m going to take a tip from the Sims Twins and let a little soul music ‘Soothe Me’.

First, I’ll remind you that this Friday night at 9PM the Funky16Corners Radio Show returns to Viva Radio with another hour of the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all straight from my crates to your ears. As always you can either tune in on the interwebs, or come by here over the weekend to pick up the show in its easy to use MP3 form. Either way, the sounds are equally excellent.

I had a gas on Monday spinning at Spindletop, and managed once again to capture the goings on with my handheld digital recorder, so that I might share some of it with you good folks.

I went through the musical fruits (no beans…) of the evening and carved out two sets of grooves, one of which I’ll whip on you today, the second which I’ll drop at the end of next week.

This time out I dipped into the crates and whipped out the best in hard-charging, soul party action, from gritty R&B, tough dance floor soul, right on to early funk.

I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating, that one of the prime reasons I love to DJ in a bar or club is the opportunity to hear really amazing records pumping out of a great big set of speakers. You can set the Mighty Hannibal loose in your earbuds, but it’s just not as cool as hearing him unwind his turban with ‘Jerkin’ the Dog’ shaking a room full of people like a minor earthquake.

Every single one of the records in these mixes is perfect for such an environment. I’d go as far as to say that gathered together like this, they might be too powerful for a Friday or Saturday, yet pack just enough musical TNT to set things off on a Monday.

If I was you, I’d pull down the ones and zeros, hit the liquor store, invite over some friends, roll back the carpet and turn up the stereo and do like Mr. Waiters says:

Jump back honey and let the New Breed by!

See you on Monday

Peace

Larry

 

 

Example

 

 


Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk. The whole Funky16Corners gang will be walking in support of autism services, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

Example

 

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 Laurel Canyon cool from Mama Cass.

 

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