Thursday 20 January 2011

James Brown – Santa Claus Is Definitely Here To Stay – King Records

Welcome back and Seasonal Greetings to you and yours!

Well it seems, like it or not, Christmas has finally crash landed on our door steps. Choosing something appropriately festive to post is always somewhat of a taxing task at this time of the year. So this time round I’ve chosen to post a 45 by the man who’s probably solely responsible for my steadily spiralling out of control record addiction.



If you’re aware of James Brown, a feat I’m actually sure is impossible whether you like funk and soul or not, then you may be hip to some of the soulful and very groovy 45s that he regularly released at Christmas time.



Today’s record of choice is ‘Santa Claus Is Definitely Here To Stay’ from the mighty King Record label. I procured this several months back from a trusty London contact of mine who always regularly comes through with the goods for me.

The fact that this particular 45 came in a King Record picture sleeve (something you don’t see all to often round these parts) was another reason that I snatched it up, being the big sucker for a good picture sleeve that I am!



Released in December 1970, this is a laid back ballad that sees The Godfather waxing lyrical on the virtues of taking care of your family at Christmas time, a message that sometimes seems to get lost amongst the hungry marketing campaigns of some of the big companies these days.

One of the main reasons I wanted to go with a JB track for today’s post was also to tip a nod to one of the most influential figures in soul music. After he sadly died from pneumonia three years ago this Christmas Day I felt it was appropriate.



As I’ve mentioned here before, I most likely wouldn’t be collecting funk and soul 45s today if it weren’t for being curious enough to investigate some of James Brown’s records. Doing so in turn saw me falling down the hole and chasing the funky record shaped ‘White Rabbit’ for more goodness! A task that I’m slowly realising is an endless one!

Take a few minutes out from the hectic-ness of Christmas to listen to today’s offering and raise a glass to a legend. For those of you near the South Coast, we’ll hopefully see you for a little funkiness this Sunday at The Mud Club (more details on our Twitter Feed).

Stay safe, Merry Christmas and I’ll see you all back here on the flipside.


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