I hope the beginning of a brand new week finds you all well and good?
I return here with Part 2 of the mix that I put together with Jamie C sometime before Christmas. If you were late out of the blocks and missed part one you can still catch it by heading HERE.
Jamie C (Left) and Mr Double Down (Right)
This time round the sequel is a more R&B based affair and features some really great 45s within for your listening pleasure.
In other exciting news the beginning of February will see us partaking in a full on weekend of Funk and Soul, of which we'd love you to join us!
Friday 4th February sees us heading down to Brighton where we'll be supporting the Jezebel Sextet at The Komedia. Ed Meme and Sir Funk are also on the bill so this is going to be a fantastic night you definitely don't want to miss.
Saturday 5th February marks the return of our regular Hook & Sling monthly night at The Vestry. If the turn out and crowd is only half as good as the previous months then you're in for a treat!
Enjoy today's new mix, stay safe and I'll be back here with some more of the good stuff!
Track List
Jamie C
The Chell-mars - Roamin' Heart - Jamie
Titus Turner - Bow Bow - Enjoy
Jimmy McCracklin - That's The Way - Imperial
The Utopians - Ain't No Such Thing -Imperial
Oberia Martinez - Gotta Think It Over - Keith Records
Mr Double Down
The Valentines - That's It Man - King
Little Richard - I'm Back - Modern Records
Solomon Burke - Peepin' - Atlantic
Mark III Trio - G'wan (Go On) - Wingate
Wilson Pickett - Barefootin' - Belter
Jamie C
Gene Allison - Somebody Somewhere - Ref-O-
Benny Gordon & The Soul Brothers - A Kiss To Build A Dream On - RCA Victor
The Duvals - What Am I? - Boss
Eli 'The Prophet' - Take A Little Give A Lot - Ala
Mr Double Down
James Brown & The Famous Flames - (Can You) Feel It - London
Dorando - Listen To My Song - Music City
Johnny Griffin & The Big Soul Band - Wade In The Water - Riverside
Download Mr Double Down & Jamie C Present Music Is The Answer Pt2 (The One That Flew Over The Fence) HERE
Welcome back to what has just become something of an unplanned extended weekend here!!
Good Old London Town has just been hit up with what the News Peeps are calling “The worst snow storm in 18 years” Here on the fringes of the capital it's -2°C and we’ve had 6 unexpected (or so it seems) inches of snow falling overnight, with anything upto a foot (maybe more as the weather reports seem to get worse by the hour!) being predicted by midnight tonight. As our somewhat fragile transport system has now crumbled and collapsed to nothing more than medieval styled standards at best, I find myself at home with the heating cranked up to maximum and steaming hot coffee at hand, writing an early morning post for you all.
Fortunately, the snow held off long enough over the weekend for me to head across town to North London to see the legendary Fred Wesley & The New JB’s perform the first of two nights at The Jazz Café in Camden.
Friday’s show was possibly one of the best live performances I’ve ever seen. The band kicked off with a few jazzy numbers which got the crowd warmed up nicely and by the time they started dropping the funk joints everyone had turned out to hear (see?) the whole venue was at boiling point, even seeing some of the diners in the balconies abandoning their tables to get down to the groove!
The band Fred Wesley had assembled for this tour was as tight as they come, made up from long timers who had previously done stints with him. Each took a turn to step forward to showcase their individual talents, no musician stronger or weaker than the others.
The shows highlights for me were ‘Breakin’ Bread’, ‘Pass The Peas’ and the fantastic finale ‘House Party’. Sitting on the end of the piano spectating and almost scrutinising the other band members playing, Fred took on an almost James Brown-esque role as conductor, commanding an awesome stage presence with his trombone, never out shined, with the crowd cheering every single funky note he dropped – truly breathtaking stuff.
Fred Wesley - Trombone Solo - El Passo - 2008
With Fred & The New JB’s touring for the next month or so, I hugely urge you to snatch up tickets and go and see them if they’re playing in a town near you, you certainly won't be disapointed!
I’ll be back in the next day or so with Part 2 of Bold Soul Brothers guest mix (snow permitting!!), So sit tight and stay warm until then.
I hope you're all ok and managed to catch Part One of Bold Soul Brother's excellent guest contribution? If you were late out of the blocks then I suggest you make haste and head HERE to pick it up. Part Two will be dropping on these pages very soon, so don't miss out!
We've also secured new dates for our ongoing South coast funk and soul night at La Havana Bar in Chichester, West Sussex. We're just over a week away from our return, so make sure you polish up your very best dancing shoes and pen these dates into your diaries!
Back to today's aural delicacies. After a very funky styled selection from Bold Soul Brother, I've decided to balance the equation out by dropping some slow burners and laid back soul sides on you all. This all 45 mix was put together from my collection and features singles that were picked up whilst digging in the field.
I hope you enjoy listening to this as much as I did putting it together for you. I'll be back after the weekend with the second part of Bold Soul Brother's guest mix, so don't go too far!
Track List
Gene Faith – My Baby’s Missing – Virtue
The Quickest Way Out – Hello Stranger – Karen Records
Anna King – Come On Home – Smash
The Emotions – My Honey And Me –Volt
Mary Jane Hooper – Teach Me – Power
The Superlatives – It’s Easy To Love – Wal-Ly Records
Betty Wright – I’ll Love You Forever – Alston
Freddy Wilson – Where Is She? – Eastbound Records
Aalon Butler And The New Breed Band – Please Give Me A Chance – PKC
I hope the end of the week finds you all good. With impending freedom in the form of the weekend just starting to appear on the horizon, I thought it would be a good time to drop the first of my pre-promised Guest Mixes of the year on you all.
After much toing and frowing, I’ve managed to tie down the one and only Bold Soul Brother aka Rich for a fantastic two part Guest contribution. When he’s not being pestered by myself, you can find him running his soul and funk website over at http://boldsoulbrother.com, which he modestly refers to as his ‘work in progress’. Hailing from good Old Blighty, his site features 45s from his collection, as well as some very nice Record Label over views, and is slowly but surely coming along nicely as a good source of information and music.
Today’s Part one of his double edged soul sword is titled Bo 'N' Brown 'N' Others and is a tasty little funk journey that should hopefully leave you looking forward to Part two, which will be hitting these pages shortly there after.
So with out further ado, Ladies and Gentlemen I give you the one and only Bold Soul Brother!!
“What you have in the mix you’ve heard was all mixed from vinyl, most from 45's, but I had to pull a couple of LPs too… these are tunes that sit on my “most played” shelves along with the likes of Baby Huey, Lou Courtney, Alvin Cash, Bobby Byrd, Sly & The Family Stone, The Meters, etc… it runs for 69 minutes, so grab a beer or two, sit back and enjoy…”
Track List
James Brown - Shhhh (For A Little While) – 1968 - King (6164)
Sam & The Soul Machine - Mercy D - 1972 - Funky Del (18) *
James Brown - The Drunk – 1970 - Bethlehem (3098)
James Crawford - Fat Eddie – 1967 - King (6130)
Steve Soul - Popcorn With A Feeling – 1970 - Federal (12551)
Trick Bag - Dull Knifin’ – 1972 - Funky Del (18) **
Ernie & The Top Notes - Things Are Better – 1971 - Fordom (105)
The Last Word - Funky & Some – 1974 - Polydor (14226)
Sam & The Soul Machine - Git-It – 1972 - Funky Del (18) ***
Lee Austin – Screwdriver -1971 - International Brothers (801)
Curley Moore & The Kool Ones (Eddie Bo) - Funky, Yeah! – 1968 - House Of The Fox (1934)
James K Nine (Eddie Bo) - Live It Up – 1971 - Federal (12572)
Dome City Rock - Quiet Village (Part 2) – 1970 - Dome City (35)
I hope you’re all well, on point and ready for today’s new mix?
A little over one year ago I recorded a mix for these pages focussing on new (or fairly new) funk and soul releases from current outfits doing the rounds on the scene. It was one of the most popular mini mixes I’ve posted and still picks up regular hits. If you were slow off the mark don't worry as you can still catch it HERE. A year on and my collection has swelled significantly enough with new 45’s to cobble together a volume two for you, so here we go again!
Breakestra, the funk outfit from Los Angeles, get proceedings going with this excellent cover version of the Leroy And The Drivers hugely rare cut ‘Sad Chicken’. As the original, which was released on Duo fetches somewhat of a pretty penny when a copy does show up, this cover on the Stones Throw label proves to be a very worthy substitute.
Speedometer have been doing the rounds on the funk scene for a while now and have several notable 45s and LPs to boot. They are currently touring the UK again and are definitely worth checking out if you get a chance. ‘Foot And Mouth’ is the flip side to their fifth 45 release on Kennel Klub Records and is a real full on funk onslaught.
Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigators team up with Jimmy Tenor, who provides the flute and horns on this 2003 release on Sahco Records. ‘You Better Change’ took the funk and soul scene by storm and even warranted a second pressing due to demand in 2007, four years after the original release.
Speeedometer’s Ria Currie joins The Deep Soul Messengers for this cover of Robert Moore’s 1971 rarity, ‘Everything’s Gonna Be Alright’. For a track which is well known to fans of funk and considered to be somewhat of a holy grail by collectors, Ria Currie (as well as the band) does enormous justice to the cut, giving it a nice new spin with her fantastically powerful vocals – Top stuff!
Cookin’ on 3 Burners hail from Australia. This 45, ‘Keb’s Bucket’ (a nod toward funk collector Keb Darge) from 2006, was released on the excellent Freestyle Record label.
The track has a slightly ‘Meters-esque’ feel which is certainly no bad thing at all. The sound delivered by the three piece, comprising of members of The Bamboos is really full and is certainly not empty sounding like other lesser outfits. This one certainly deserves all the plays it gets.
Spanish based Phat Fred hit us up with ‘Stay On The Groove’, released as part of the Soul Shaker Series on Record kicks. This was also featured on their 2006 LP ‘Don’t Spoil The Soup’. The 45 is a tight party funk tune which bowls along tidily with the chicken scratch guitar leading the way. Some nice Hammond chops wrap up a 45 which should feature in everyone’s collection.
The Whitefield Brothers have featured in mixes on these pages before and ‘In The Raw’ was a track I was saving for a rainy day but it fits the bill here nicely. After an eery intro the 45 literally punches you square in the face with its aggressiveness. This one isn’t for the faint hearted and once the groove has been established, it’s down to some seriously skilful Hammond playing. The Whitefield Brothers are made up of members of The Poets Of Rhythm and this single was put out on Philip Lehman’s Soul Fire label.
The Charles Bradley And The Bullets track ‘Now I’m Gone’ is one of my favourites on the NYC based Daptone Record label. I love the change in tempo during the track and Charles Bradley does a great job laying down the vocals on this one. The Bullets are a four piece with a big sound and as with all the other releases on this label the production is also fantastic.
A little while back Robert Moore played a gig in London to promote the launch of the Jazzman Florida Funk LP. While here, he managed to get back into the studio and lay down this fine slice of funk on Freestyle Records. Robert Moore is backed by Speedometer, who lay down a really tight groove while he lets rip on this one, and proves just why all his cuts are highly sought after.
That’s it for the second mix of 2009, Check out the GALLERY PAGES as I've finally managed to pull some more photos of NYE as well as some older ones of past events together. Head back here later on for the first instalment of the year from our continuing Guest Mix Series. I promise it’s going to be another winner!
Track List (Label scans on request)
Breakestra – The Sad Chicken - Stones Throw
Speedometer – “Foot And Mouth” – Kennel Klub Records
Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators With Jimmy Tenor – You Better Change – Sahco Records
Ria Currie And The Deep Soul Messengers – Everything Is Gonna Be Alright – Freestyle Records
Cookin’ On 3 Burners – Keb’s Bucket – Freestyle Records
Phat Fred – Stay On The Groove - (SoulShaker Volume 3 E.P) Record Kicks
The Whitefield Brothers – In The Raw – Soul Fire Records
Charles Bradley And The Bullets – Now That I’m Gone (Look How You’re Crying) –
Daptone Records
Robert Moore – Make It Alright – Freestyle Records
Firstly, Happy New Year and I hope 2009 is a good and prosperous one for all of you.
Secondly I’d like to apologise for my unplanned hiatus as I had originally intended to return here between Christmas and New Years Eve with something for you, but with organising our NYE special (more on that later) and squaring away some continuing real life moves, this proved to be more difficult than I originally envisaged.
2008 has been a bit of rollercoaster ride here at camp Hook And Sling. I’m still in awe at how everything has grown over this year in regards to our nights, as well as the ever-growing readership and subscribers. I owe a lot of that to our many guest contributors and DJ’s, there are far too many of you to name individually but you all know who you are. I also want to thank everyone who’s rolled by these parts and left comments and words of support.
Our New Years Eve Special was a truly memorable night, Aside from all our South coast regulars, there was an abundance of new Soul recruits in attendance. We hit capacity by 10pm, with the dance floor constantly packed right through till the very end. From what I can remember (after several too many beers), I had a ball and really enjoyed watching everyone’s reactions to the 45s we played, both known and unknown. A truly top crowd, very receptive, who all deserve props for creating a fantastic atmosphere.
I’ll be posting more NYE photos on the gallery page as and when they become available to me.
We’d also like to thank Diane and the entire bar staff at The Brown Sugar Bar in London for their help and support with the night over the last couple of years. Unfortunately due to several culminating circumstances it is looking like we will be moving the night back South to La Havana Bar in Chichester for the time being. Dates to follow soon.
Fortunately, during my time away, in between trawling a few of my favourite digging spots, I’ve also managed to put together several new mixes, so hopefully for the time being there wont be any interruptions to my out put here. So lets kick off 2009 as we mean to go on with today’s selection of 45’s.
First up is one of my recent finds, The Fabulous Rhythm Makers with ‘Ya Gotta Be Doing It’ on the highly collectable Forte label. After the teasing intro, this 45 comes out fighting and flailing like a true heavyweight champ! Some serious guitar chops and intricate saxophone make this a sure fire winner.
From the same haul comes this Bobby Powell 45 on Whit Records. ‘Peace Begins Within’ starts out with a lick that has you getting your groove on even before the track fully kicks in. Check out the breakdown just over a minute and a half in – Quality!
Robert Parker is a real Hook and Sling favourite and as a general rule of thumb I always pick up any of his 45’s when I come across them in the field, I’m yet to be disappointed! Parker lays done some brilliant Nola styled R&B with ‘Barefootin’, the flip to ‘Let’s Go Baby’ on the 1966 Island Records issue of the 45.
The Turbans allegedly earned their name after their manager Herman Gillespie suggested they wear caps while performing, when Charlie Williams, the groups baritone replied he’d rather wear a turban instead, the name stuck and the group actually went on to perform wearing turbans! ‘B-I-N-G-O’ was the groups third single, released in 1956 and failed to chart, maybe due to it being a bit to gimmicky for the main stream which was still abound with church styled music at the time.
Huey ‘Piano’ Smith was one of the very first artists I wrote about on these pages and he hits us up again with his ’Clowns’ on this Ace Records release. Another Crescent City offering, this like all of his cuts captures the New Orleans party vibe perfectly. Some nice rolling piano and punchy horns make ‘High Blood Pressure’ a favourite of mine.
The next two 45’s go hand in hand. First we see Marva Whitney and James Brown duet on ‘You Gotta Have A Job (If You Don’t Work You Can’t Eat), a real call to arms which seems almost like a live recording. Horn maestro Maceo Parker provides the glue on this one and I really love the call and answer going on at the end, which just seems to build and build.
And then Bobby Byrd, the man responsible for giving a young James Brown a break (his family took him in after JB did a spell in prison) steps up next with a stripped back, bare bones version of the track, simply titled ‘If You Don’t Work You Can’t Eat’ Its all about the plain guitar and horns in unison here. I find it hard to decide which cut I prefer so I’ll let you choose!!!
Rufus Thomas is next up with the aptly titled ‘All Night Worker’ I felt after the previous two 45’s I had to stick this one in! This is from a black Canadian Stax issue and is something I haven’t seen very often around these parts. A nice little R&B stomper nonetheless.
Finally I thought I’d throw in a curve ball with this jazzy little number from The Righteous Brothers, the duo that bought us ‘You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling’ (This is actually the flip to that 45). Slightly downbeat psyched out vocals but a tidy little piano lick rounds things up here nicely.
So that’s the first mix of 2009! I hope you enjoyed it and rest assured there’s plenty more from where that came from. I’ve also got a couple of special treats coming up for you in the form of some new guest mixes. I promise you won’t be disappointed with these new comers to our ongoing Guest Mix Series and I’m really looking forward to dropping them on you, so make sure you check back here regularly so as not to miss them. I’ll be back soon with another dose of the ‘Good Stuff’ for you so don’t go far.
Track list (Scans available on request)
The Fabulous Rhythm Makers – Ya Gotta Be Doing It – Forte Records
Bobby Powell – Peace Begins Within – Whit
Robert Parker – Barefootin’ – Island Records
The Turbans – B-I-N-G-O (Bingo) – Herald
Huey ‘Piano’ Smith & The Clowns – High Blood Pressure
Marva Whitney And James Brown – You Got To Have A Job (If You Don’t Work – You Can’t Eat) – King
Bobby Byrd – If You Don’t Work You Can’t Eat – King
Rufus Thomas – All Night Worker – Stax
The Righteous Brothers – There’s A Woman – London American Recordings
Welcome back to what will probably be my final post of 2008, although you never know!
Today’s offering is a double edged sword as I wanted to drop another festively themed 45 on you, as well as pay homage to The Godfather Of Soul who passed away on Christmas Day two years ago.
I think just about everyone with a passing interest in Funk and Soul music will have been touched by James Brown’s music at some point and while I could wax lyrical all day long about his life and musical achievements, my poor attempt would only serve to take away from the greatness of the man himself. I had the privilege of seeing James Brown on his 'Seven Decades Of Funk Tour' back in 2005 and it was truly one of the greatest live performances I’ve ever witnessed.
James Brown - (3rd May 1933 – 25th December 2006) - R.I.P.
To be honest, when I turned on the news after our family Christmas meal two years ago and learned of his death I was pretty shell shocked, as an artist James Brown was always someone you seemed to assume would go on for ever and ever. While he was one of the biggest people responsible for getting me interested in this music, he also spawned many imitators and influenced artists for many years to come, who all continued creating and expanding this great genre of music, I and (hopefully) you both love.
Today’s choice ‘Lets Unite The Whole World At Christmas’ comes from his 1968 single released on King Records which features ‘In The Middle’ as the flip. It encompasses the soulful side of JB very well and has some nice gospel undertones to it. The Christmas albums and singles he released had limited success, but the messages and grooves contained in the wax are what counts.
Enjoy today’s 45 and raise a glass over Christmas to the man who, whether you realise it or not is probably responsible for the reason why you’re reading this article!
We’ll be back on the flipside in 2009, stay safe and have a fantastic Christmas.
PS – NEW YEARS EVE FUNK AND SOUL SPECIAL TICKET INFO HERE: VERY LIMITED TICKETS REMAINING!!
As promised I return today with the first of my Christmas offerings for you. Today’s festive 45 is perhaps a little less well known than some others, but those of you who regularly stop by this small corner of the interweb should have worked it out by now that just because something is well known doesn’t always make it better!
‘Xmas Twist’ is the B-side to the first single from The Twistin’ Kings and was released on the legendary Motown label in November 1961. Cashing in on the growing Twist dance craze, The Twistin’ Kings are actually ‘The Funk Brothers’, who were the Motown house band performing under a pseudonym. The group only released two singles, ‘White House Twist’ with ‘Xmas Twist’ as the flip, and then ‘Congo Pts 1 & 2’ just two weeks later! Both singles came from their album ‘Twistin’ The World Around’ which was only the second LP to be released on the Motown Label.
The band had one other shot at individual success when they changed their name again and released ‘That Motown Sound’ as Earl Van Dyke and The Soul Brothers (Apparently Berry Gordy instigated the name change as he didn’t want Motown to be associated with funk music). This LP also fell by the wayside, but the band went on to have hit after hit as the backing group on a huge portion of the Motown catalogue.
‘Xmas Twist’ itself is pretty rough, raw and ready and pre-dates the finely honed Motown sound that went onto sell millions of 45s and Lps. The vocals on the 45 are a bit of a mystery with several theories floating about, it’s even been stated that one of vocalists could be the then young Marvin Gaye?? If anyone could shed more light on this, I for one would love to know!
Enjoy ‘Twistin’ Xmas’, stay safe and I’ll be back shortly with another helping!
PS – NEW YEARS EVE FUNK AND SOUL SPECIAL TICKET INFO HERE:
I hope you are all champing at the bit for the weekend and the forthcoming holidays, I fortunately have a well earned reprieve from the ‘Coal Face’ ahead of me in a few days time, which to be honest can’t come soon enough.
I hope to be able to hit you up with a few goodies before then and I’ve decided to start my Christmas countdown with today’s single. While not a festive 45 (They’re coming next week I promise!!) this should be what’s needed to kick you into party mode.
Wicki Wacky by The Fatback Band is a fairly new acquisition that I turned out at one of my favourite digging spots in London. This is a straight up funk jam from 1974 and is all about the hi-hats, cow bells and vocal chants from drummer and band leader Bill Curtis. The horn licks are fairly reminiscent of The JBs, who were prominent on the funk scene at the time.
Hailing from New York, the band formed in 1970 and ran for 15 years in which time they released 35 albums and a multitude of singles, some of which are regarded as the paving slabs for disco. They disbanded in 1985 but have since regrouped for several tour dates in 2008, so it will be interesting to see where the future of the band lies.
Enjoy today’s 45 and I’ll be back after the weekend (hopefully somewhat more refreshed!) with a slightly more festively directed offering for you.
PS – Ticket Info for The Hook And Sling New Years Eve Funk And Soul 45 Party can be found HERE:
I hope you managed to snatch Larry Grogan’s fantastic second instalment for our ongoing guest mix series last week, if not go and grab the 1’s and 0’s now!
Things have been pretty hectic here on planet Hook And Sling as we hurtle towards the final crescendo of Christmas. As well as trying to put some real life issues to bed, I’ve been putting the final touches together for our New Years Eve Soul Special at La Havana Bar in Chichester. Tickets are selling pretty healthily at the moment, and with only 2 weeks left until kick off I would strongly recommend securing yours early enough to avoid disappointment as this will be strictly a ticket only affair!
On to business and I’ve pulled together a new bunch of 45’s for you. With the manic hustle and bustle leading up to Christmas I’ve decided to knock the tempo down a few notches and drop a brand new mix of slow burners and deep soul ballads (or ‘weepies’ as we like to call them round these parts!).
So we get things going with Charles Mintz and ‘Finders Keepers’, the flip to the sought after ‘Give A Man A Break’ on Gene Lawson’s Uplook Record label. This is a stone cold burner of the very highest order, and while the 45 is fairly easy to pick up the price always seems to constantly fluctuate from around a score all the way up to £75. Interestingly, prior to his death Otis Redding was trying to get Charles Mintz to sign to the Stax Record label after he had covered one of Mintz’s cuts, ‘Free At Last’. Unfortunately the deal never materialized due to Otis Redding’s untimely demise.
Jackie Wilson is an artist that is regularly featured on these pages as well as being well played out at our regular nights. ‘For Your Precious Love’ was written by Jerry Butler and also features renowned band leader Count Basie. This is a real show case of Jackie Wilson's awesome vocal talents.
Gloria Walker is a personal favourite of mine, having recorded several sides with The Chevelles for the Flaming Arrow label. ‘My Precious Love’ was put out in 1971 on James Brown's People Records, a label I’ve harped on about many many times before. This 45 is coupled with ‘Papas Got The Wagon’ and can be picked up fairly cheaply with a little patience and digging.
King Floyd is probably better known for his 1971 hit ‘Groove Me’ on Atlantic Records, however 6 years earlier he knocked this angsty little number out on Original Sound Records. Fairly elusive, it can be scored for about £20 depending on it’s condition, but I’m pretty sure you’ll agree it’s worth every penny.
JB-alike vocalist Lee Fields has produced several 45s that I would place amongst my favourites, and this is definitely one of them for sure. ‘Honey Dove’ is a track I’ve previously featured on these pages in a mix before (We Got Soul) but once I got in the swing of things with today’s mix I knew I had to pull it out and include it again! Pure quality, no questions asked!!
Into the back straight and Herman Hitson, who is definitely another Hook And Sling favourite gives us ‘You Are Too Much For The Human Heart’. This is about as deep as it goes and proves to be a real grower with each listen. A pretty tricky 45 to find as the A-side is the funk staple, ‘I Got That Will’, which was also released by Lee Moses
Gladys Knight & The Pips step up next with an alternative spin on the Smokey Robinson And The Miracles standard. Released 5 years after the original, this 1970 cut is slightly more melodic, and by far and away one of the better cover versions out there of this classic.
The Illusions Featuring Carlton Basco take us into the finish. While I know little about who The Illusions were, I know the OG on Freedom, a label owned by Carlton Basco and his brother George Basco consistently fetches over £200. This reissue on Tramp Records is coupled with Carlton Basco’s ‘Don’t Chain My Soul’, another awesome 45, which is also hugely popular on the funk scene. A careful ear should be able to pick out Carlton Basco's Hammond B3 on the track. Top Stuff!
That concludes today’s broadcast sports fans! We’ll be back here soon with more of the ‘Good Stuff’ for you as well as a few Christmas tinged goodies to boot. I hope you enjoyed listening to this as much as I did putting it together. Enjoy!
Welcome back! I hope you are all well rested and recuperated from the weekend and finding your stride as we roll on towards Christmas. Hopefully you enjoyed The Recession Sessions Mix from last week, look out for the next instalment soon!
I’m really excited to bring you this next episode of our ongoing Guest Mix Series, as we’re joined by none other than the hardest working man in the whole of the Blogosphere, Mr Larry Grogan!
My mind truly boggles at just how he manages to work 3 fantastic blogs as well as a weekly radio show around real life moves.
This is the second time Larry has graced us with a mix over here at The Hook And Sling (you can catch the previous mix he dropped a little over a year ago right HERE) and today’s offering is something I’m sure you’re going to really enjoy.
So without further ado, Ladies and Gentlemen I give you the one and only Larry Grogan!!!!
Greetings all.
When the folks at Hook and Sling asked me to pony up a new guest mix, I gave the matter some thought, and decided to whip a little something together that I’d been planning for Funky16Corners.
Though I’m no expert on the subject, I love me some Northern Soul, so I dipped into the crates, pulled out an hours worth of top shelf dancers and mix-i-fied them for your delectation.
A quick look round will show most people are eating credit crunchies for breakfast, courtesy of our friendly Banks and Governments, who are happily selling us down the river at the moment.
This goes for a fair whack of the collectors I know too, who are being far more cautious than ever. Annoyingly, at a time when money seems to be tight there’s a tidy influx of sought after records appearing on sales lists, maybe due to people selling up to make some quick cash - who knows?
After discussing this ongoing situation with Jamie Coughlan, we decided we’d pool our collections and start The Recession Sessions, which will hopefully (or not, depending on your out look on the current financial situation!) become a regular feature here.
We’ve decided to post some decent 45s that we like, all of which can be found readily on Ebay or elsewhere online, and cost pretty much the same as a Big Mac and Fries.
Feel free to spread the love by posting any files in the comments box that you feel might fit into this category. We have tried to steer away from major label stuff but that doesn’t mean you have to.
Fittingly, an increase in new subscribers and downloads has seen my account get totally caned in the last few days (Bandwidth's too tight to mention!!). Unfortunately this has seen a large portion of the older posts on the site become unavailable to you. But fear not as this should be rectified in the next few days, so please pop back later on to pick up anything you’ve missed lately.
Anyway on with business. Ladies and gentlemen…….The Recession Sessions!!
Intro
Jamie C
Apostles Of Music - Look Where He Brought Us From - Revival Records
A nice bit of Gospel Funk to kick off with. I've seen this not sell on Ebay for 10 quid! Classy 45 for the lack of money for sure.
Isley Brothers - Take Inventory - T Neck
Basically most of their 45s on this label are awesome. Work To Do being a firm favourite and Sock It Too also hits the spot. You could probably buy all 3 with a tenner and still get a Coke with the change.
Mr Double Down
Jerry O - Soul Lover - Boo-Ga-Loo Records
A record which has certainly dropped in price and is also much cheaper and easily obtainable than the Keb Darge comped Mutt And Jeffo version.
Count Sidney & His Dukes - The Grandpa - Goldband Records
Straight up R&B from the quality Goldband label. Keep an ear to the ground for the other Count Sidney 45s on this label which are equally as good as this.
Jamie C
Monica - I Don't Know Nothing Else To Tell You – Toxan
Same label as Herb... This is one of a few Monica did on this label. Classy horn work on this cracking sister funk outing. Amusing lyrics, basically saying she's as thick as pig shit but she's loyal and loves her man. Romantic stuff!
Mickey Murray - I Can't Tell Ya – Federal
Cracking JB style funk. I think this can go for a bit more than 'cheapie value' (seen as high a 60 quid on some lists) however last two I've picked up from Ebay have been for 7 quid. Value for money factor - high!
Chet Davenport - War In The Ghetto - King Bee Records
I was surprised at how many people didn't seem to know this 45, but not surprised that they thought it was gonna cost them to get it. I've had a few of these over the years and this minty one cost 4 dollars 18 months ago from Ebay.
Mr Double Down
Paul Humphrey And His Cool Aid Chemists - Detroit - Lizard Records
Super big drums straight out of L.A. Can be picked up for less than a tenner with a little bit of looking.
Bo Diddley - Ooh Baby - Checker
This one was bought to my attention by Hoppin’ John who recently started dropping it again at our regular nights. Sounds great over a big bassy system!!
Rufus Thomas - So Hard To Get Along - Stax Records
Awesome Southern Soul from Rufus – Coupled with Funky Mississippi, so you definitely get a lot of bang for your bucks with this one!
Jamie C
Harvey Averne And His Band – People - Uptight Records
Tight Latin soul 45 here from Harvey and his band. Favourite of mine for a long while and also Helena at Sweden’s Club Function. Dance floor friendly.
Oscar Weathers - Just To Prove To You – Top And Bottom
Cracking piece of funky soul here. I’ve heard this out a few times of late. Kinda in vogue sound and a damn fine cheapie.
Mark V – Gone! – Sagport
Now this is an interesting one. Backing track is the same as the hell rare Cindy and the Playmates 45. The Cindy version slightly grates on my ears as I think there is too much going on in it. So, save yourself roughly a grand in dollars and the heartache of trying to bag one of the 3 copies of Cindy’s tune, go without beer for a day and get one of these.
Special Touch - This Party’s Just For You – Bracket
There are 1000s of modern soul and boogie 45s out there in the 'cheapie' category but this was a fairly new one to me. I've heard it played in a few places so thought I’d include this nice 'slap and rap' 45. Nice girl rap section too. Fine party tune for the price of a Big Mac and fries.
Outro
Track List
Intro
Apostles Of Music - Look Where He Brought Us From - Revival Records.
Isley Brothers - Take Inventory - T Neck
Jerry O - Soul Lover - Boo-Ga-Loo Records
Count Sidney & His Dukes - The Grandpa - Goldband Records
Monica - I Don't Know Nothing Else To Tell You - Toxan
Mickey Murray - I Can't Tell Ya - Federal
Chet Davenport - War In The Ghetto - King Bee Records
Paul Humphrey And His Cool Aid Chemists - Detroit - Lizard Records
Bo Diddley - Ooh Baby - Checker
Rufus Thomas - So Hard To Get Along - Stax Records
Harvey Averne And His Band – People - Uptight Records
Oscar Weathers - Just To Prove To You – Top And Bottom
Mark V – Gone! – Sagport
Special Touch - This Party’s Just For You - Bracket
Welcome back soul people, I hope the beginning of the new week finds you all well and good?
I’ve been pretty tied down of late but have managed to juggle some real life moves to knock up a brand new mix for you all. Today’s selection is a bit of a mixed bag, mainly leaning towards the Rhythm and Blues side of things but there should be something there to hopefully suit all tastes!
Kicking things off is a true Hook And Sling favourite, Eddie Bo with ‘Don’t Turn Me Loose’. This is the flip to ‘Can You Handle It’ and features the trademark punchy horns and rolling piano found on many of Eddie Bo’s funk outings. (check out this amazingly indepth Eddie Bo discography at Soulgeneration.com)
We take it back a notch with ‘There’s A Difference’, a slightly Doo-wop tinged number from Little Willie John, the man responsible for the track ‘Fever’. Little Willie John was imprisoned in 1964 for a stabbing, while he was released for a short period in 1966 pending an appeal, he recorded an album (Nineteen Sixty-Six) that was only released this year on the Kent label due to contractual issues. In 1968 Little Willie John died from a heart attack, aged just 30, after returning to prison following his failed appeal, although some allege the cause of his death was asphyxiation. He was also notably cited as one of James Brown’s biggest influences.
Wendy Rene hits us with ‘Young & Foolish’, recorded on the Stax label. This is the flip to 'Bar-B-Q', a track I included on my guest post for the awesome Souled On Music, which is an absolute R&B monster. Originally part of The Drapels she went solo in 1964 on the Stax label. After many suggestions including Wendy Storm, she changed her birth name, Mary Frierson Cross to the Otis Redding suggested Wendy Rene.
Tommy Tucker hailed from Ohio, and after moving to New Jersey in 1961 went solo and hit the big time with his 1964 ‘Hi Heeled Sneakers’. The track went massive and hit number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. He released several other 45s, but none had the impact of ‘Hi Heeled Sneakers’.
Back to the Cresent City, and Huey Smith And The Clowns, who was one of the first artists to feature on these very pages here! ‘Behind The Wheel’ was released on Imperial and is one of the outfits lesser known releases, but certainly worth checking out!
We head down to Alabama for a little bit of Southern tinged blues from Jerry “Boogie” McCain. His cover of Bill Doggett’s ‘Honky Tonk’ is a stormer and gives another twist on this standard, with his formidable harmonica playing. Quality!
Next up is excellently titled Tony Bowens & The Soul Choppers (Why don’t they name bands like that anymore?) and ‘Don’t Be So Mean’, the flipside to the ultra rare ‘Boilin’ Water’. This was a track I featured on the guest post I did for the fantastic Planet Mondo a while back. It's a really frenetic side which goes totally nuts by the end, with some amazing sax playing. Much rawer than ‘Boilin’ Water’, but that’s not such a bad thing!
The legendary Sam And Dave step up with ‘Get It’ which features their trademark bouncy southern soul sound. While not one of their greatest hits it still goes to prove just why they earned the nickname ’Double Dynamite
Into the soulful ending, and Johnny Rivers 1967 cover of The Miracles ‘Tracks Of My Tears’ is last up. I turned this up on a recent digging trip out of London. Johnny Rivers is notably still performing after a career spanning 6 decades!
That’s it for today and I hope you enjoyed the selections, Stay safe and I’ll be back here soon with some more of the ‘Good Stuff’ for you.
Track list (Click on individual track titles for label scans)
I hope you’re all well and ready for the weekend ahead and managed to stop by earlier in the week to catch the latest guest mix from Peter Wermelinger. If not what are you waiting for?
I want to drop a little Northern Soul on you today to lift the mood. In the last mix I dropped (Hello My Name Is Mr Double Down) I struggled to choose which side of the Darrell Banks 45 I recently picked up to close the mix out with. In the end I plumped for the A side ‘Open The Door To Your Heart’ but buried on the flip is another track which deserves equal praise. ‘Our Love (Is In The Pocket) was a huge huge hit on the Northern Soul scene, both due to Darrell Banks’ original release selling over a million copies in 1966 and also the later cover by J.J. Barnes (more on that later). The record can almost be used as a ‘definition’ to explain exactly what the Northern Soul sound is. Not that this is a bad thing as this is for sure one of my favourite Northern records, and even went on to be a massive Golden Torch favourite back in the 70’s.
Darrell Banks
Darrell Banks hailed from Ohio and after a church background, moved over to secular music and signed for the Revilot Label, named after a local club in Buffalo. His 1966 Revelot single ‘Open The Door To Your Heart’ backed with Our Love (Is In The Pocket) was shrouded with controversy as his friend Donnie Elbert, who had written the track with Banks was omitted from the contractual writing credits and also the credits on the 45, giving Banks full royalties. This went on to be settled in court in Donnie Elbert’s favour. All in all a pretty big mess up when you realise the single went on to sell over a million copies, which wasn’t something to be sniffed at back then! Darrell Banks went onto release a total of two albums and seven 45s before he was shot dead in Detroit by an off duty policeman, Aaron Bullock in 1970. Bullock was seeing Darrell Banks ‘girlfriend’ Marjorie Bozeman at the time. When he dropped her back off at her home one morning, Darrell Banks was waiting for her, aparently wanting to talk. After a scuffle involving all three of them, Banks pulled a gun on the officer who responded by shooting Banks in the neck and chest with his own .22 revolver. He died in the New Grace Hospital from his injuries aged just 32, although strangely some sources cite his age as 35. (There was also never any court case or legal action following his death?)
Darrell Banks– Our Love (Is In The Pocket)
In 1969, a year before Darrell Banks died, J.J. Barnes covered ‘Our Love(Is In The Pocket). Both versions were released on Revilot and used the same backing track. There are two issues of the Darrell Banks version both on Revilot – The grey one and the rarer Pink issue which is pictured.
J.J. Barnes
J.J. Barnes’ vocal delivery is slightly more polished, which may be why it later went on to be a bigger hit on the Northern Scene than Banks’ version. The J.J Barnes release of the single is also notably a lot rarer and commands up to £300 depending on condition, compared with around £20 for the Darrell Banks release.
J.J. Barnes – Our Love (Is In The Pocket)
It’s a tough call to decide which of the two singers produced the better version, I personally like both equally for different aspects, so I’ll let you listen and make up your own minds!
Stay safe and we’ll be back with more of the ’Good Stuff’ after the weekend.
Ok Soul people listen up!
It’s been a while since our last foray into the ongoing Guest Mix Series here, but I’m pretty confident that you're all going to dig this one! Hot after his fantastic mix for Jazzman Radio, we’re honored to be joined today by none other than Switzerland’s very own DJ Peter Wermelinger
As well as DJing and collecting for many years, Peter Wermelinger is the author of the immense The Funky And Groovy Music Records Lexicon. This book contains 1000s of records and scans and simply dwarfs the achievements of many other record price guides available. Even now as we speak it is still constantly growing as Peter regularly releases additional pages as he discovers new records etc. You can pick it up HERE
For those of you who are lucky enough to be in Switzerland, I highly recommend you make it down to the Chicago Musik Bar And Lounge in Zug, where you can catch DJ Peter Wermelinger hosting his regular night ‘Get On Down’ on both Friday 28th November and Friday 26th December. If today’s mix is anything to go by the trip will be well worth it!
So on with proceedings and today’s mix was previously recorded for you at ‘Get On Down’, Ladies and Gentlemen……..DJ Peter Wermelinger!!
Welcome back to our little soul gathering!
Our final London based night of the year at The Brown Sugar Bar passed by on Saturday and saw plenty of peeps turn out late on to make the night another good one. A big thank you to everyone who came down with their dancing shoes and made the night another enjoyable one for us! Dates for 2009 to come soon so watch this space.
In the mean time we’re back with another heavy dose of funk and soul 45s to help push you on through the week. I’ve put together a new mini mix for today which is mainly made up of recent finds, mainly all on the funk side of things but there’s a couple of R&B and Northern 45s in there for good measure as well.
The Beginning Of The End get things rolling with ‘Come Down Baby’, a track which has recently been given the remix treatment by Kay-Dee’s Kenny Dope. This is a pretty tough 45 to turn out and I’ve certainly never seen another promo copy before. The group consisted of three brothers, Frank 'Bud' Munnings, Raphael 'Ray' Munnings, Liroy 'Roy' Munnings, and Fred Henfield, and are probably more well known for their hit ‘Funky Nassau’, also taken from their only album.
'Love Man' by Bobby Powell is a straight up funk feast with a seriously infectious bass hook. This was a 45 that had featured on my wants list for sometime. A recent jaunt around E-Bay saw this copy secured for a bargain price.
The Whitefield Brothers step up next with ‘The Bastard’, released in 2001 on the now defunct Soul Fire Records. This is a track that lives up to its name for sure!
Roy Ward’s ‘Horse With A Freeze’ was penned and produced by the legendary Eddie Bo in 1968. No one is completely sure who Roy Ward actually was, and he may even have been Bo performing under an alias. Either way this is a seriously heavy piece of Nola funk.
Tommy And Cleve’s 1966 Checker outing, ‘Boo-Ga-Loo Baby’ was a 45 that I scored on a recent fly by digging trip round Notting Hill. On hearing the piano and heavy fat back drums I knew this one belonged in the play box!
Lonnie Youngblood follows on with ‘Soul Food’, another long time want that I scored thanks to one of the many dealers I’ve befriended round London and who insist on keeping piles of funk and soul 45’s behind their counters for my frequent visits – never a bad thing!!
This Rufus Thomas 45, ‘Jump Back’ caught my eye during my recent trip up to Notting Hill. As I’d never seen a black Canadian pressing on Stax before this was another record that I grabbed. Thankfully what’s in the grooves is as good as the label and this certainly went down well with our dancers on Saturday night.
Into the soulful finish and Jackie Day gives us ‘What’s The Cost?’ released on Art Rupe's Specialty label. This is a real belter and the chicken scratch guitar coupled with her powerful vocal delivery is a winner every time!
I was stuck on which side of this Darrel Banks 45 to pick for the play out on today’s mix, but in the end I chose ‘Open The Door To Your Heart’, a million seller from 1966. He went on to release several singles before his life was unfortunately cut short after he was shot through the neck by an off duty police officer during an alleged scuffle with his girlfriend.
That’s it for today’s selection, don’t forget our upcoming New Years Eve Soul And Funk Night at La Havana in Chichester, West Sussex, which while still just under two months away is already seeing tickets beginning to move for it. Details in the events tab at the top of the page, don’t sleep on it!!
Stay safe and we’ll be back shortly with more of the good stuff for you!
Welcome back and I hope all is well as we draw to the end of another eventful week!
Today’s post is three pronged, with news of two forthcoming events before we get down to a new 45 that I picked up amongst others earlier this week.
First up, we return to The Brown Sugar Bar this Saturday 8th November for what will be our final London night of the year. If the previous months are anything to go by then this should be a good blow out as usual! All the relevant details can be found in the tabs at the top of the page.
Secondly, We’ve been doing some work behind the scenes to organize a special soul and funk night for New Years Eve. This will be held in Chichester, West Sussex on the South Coast and we have secured an old underground converted wine cellar which is now a bar called La Havana.
This will be a ticket only event and we are expecting to sell out swiftly so don’t sleep on this one. Tickets will be available from the bar directly. I’ve included some photos of the venue which is made up of three large tunnel like rooms with fantastic acoustics to boot! All the info you need is in the flyer and in the link to the bar above.
Finally onto today’s 45. I scored a healthy new grip of 45s this week and as I’ve been on a bit of a Northern Soul tip of late, today’s single was one that went straight into the pile.
J.J. Jackson’s ‘Sho Nuff (Got A Good Thing Going)’ is an upfront stomper and a big Northern favourite. Released in 1966 on Loma and then in 1967 on Warner Brothers Records this is a fantastic record, although probably not as well known as ‘But It’s All Right’ which did pretty well in the R&B charts at the time. This 45 comes straight out of the same mould as The Contours ‘Just A Little Misunderstanding’ and even uses the same intro. I’m guessing that The Contours release came first and this was a follow on record of sorts (please correct me if I’m wrong!!) Either way both are great cuts and stand up well next to each other.
Enjoy today’s 45, stay safe and hopefully we’ll see you on Saturday at The Brown Sugar Bar.
I hope you’re all Halloweened up to the nines and ready for today’s spooky offering.
As I’ve mentioned on many an occasion, I’m an avid collector of James Brown’s People record label. When I started to think about a Halloween post The Devils 1974 track ‘The X-sorcist’ on the label immediately sprang to mind.
This is a full on psych-funk excursion with frog ‘ribbits’ and other experimental sound effects for good measure. Unlike anything else on the label it still has the usual extremely tight band and JB production undertones.
Digging about Google, I found out that this was the probable line up for the 45:
Fred Wesley (ARP synthesizer)
Maceo Parker (alto sax)
Lew Soloff (trumpet)
Michael Gipson (trombone)
Joe Farrell (tenor sax)
Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis (baritone sax)
Joe Beck and Charlie Brown (guitars)
Gordon Edwards (bass)
Jimmy Madison (drums)
Sue Evans (percussions)
Strangely I would have put money on James Brown playing the keys, but it appears Fred Wesley steps up on this one.
The single was released in March 1974 to coincide and possibly cash in on the opening of the blockbuster movie ‘The Exorcist’.
That’s just about it for today, I’ll be back after the weekend with some more of the ‘Good Stuff’ as well as the finalized details of our upcoming ‘New Years Eve Soul Special’ night which will be held outside of London. With just a few more I’s to dot and T’s to cross this one is shaping up nicely at the moment!!
Stay safe and we’ll see you back here soon!
Welcome back and I hope you enjoyed the Ann Sexton 45 from last week?
I have finally managed to pull together a decent chunk of time to put out the next mix for you all. My apologies as I know its been nearly a month since the last one, and of late the posts have been sporadic to say the least. Hopefully I am making some head way in remedying the issues at hand and a “normal” service can again resume shortly. As always, a big thank you to everyone for your continued support and comments, they are highly appreciated!.
So here we go with my latest offering, which is a nice mix of funk and soul for you. Hopefully if you’ve managed to find our little corner of the internet for what ever reason, there will be something in today’s selection that fills the gap!
First up is Bobby Williams, an artist I featured way back around last Christmas. Recently the good folks at Jazzman Records have been doing a fantastic job of licensing up some really good funk and soul tracks and releasing them on mini 7 inch albums. ‘Let’s Jam’ comes from their latest output The Best of Bobby Williams and comes highly recommended from camp Hook and Sling. I dropped this the last time I played out and can assure you that it’s one of those tracks that kick starts a tiring dance floor perfectly. With its seriously informative sleeve notes I urge you to grab a copy from HERE while you still can.
Hugh Masekela, trumpeteer extraordinaire follows on next. ‘Gettin' It On’ is a nice horn led funker which fits in nicely after the full on first track. Masekela hailed from South Africa and a large potion of his music had anti slavery and apartheid undertones. Well known for his Jazz playing, you can certainly here tinges of it here.
Turning it up a notch Tower of Power step up with ‘Only So Much Oil In The Ground’. This was one of the first funk tracks I heard many many years ago after I was given a mixtape made by a friend who was trying to turn everyone he knew onto the virtues of funk! Tower of Power still tour and recently played Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London a while back.
I’ve been on a bit of a J.J. Barnes tip and he seems to be a permanent fixture on my Ipod at the moment, which prompted me to include ‘ I Ain’t Gonna Do It’ on today’s mix. J.J. Barnes was an artist who didn’t have very much success until his records were discovered and bought to light through the Northern Soul scene. He also notably went on to release several 45s on Motown after Berry Gordy acquired Ric-Tic Records in a bid to stifle competition to his own label. Check out the video of ‘Our Love Is In The Pocket’ below – Pure quality!
Sharon Jackson And The Soul Destroyers caused some ripples on the funk revival scene with this 2002 release. ‘Fakin’ It’ is the B-side To Keep On and came about after Sharon Jackson who was in the audience watching impromtly joined The Soul Destroyers on stage during a performance at Madame Jo-Jo’s. The band added her to the roster and immediately knocked this gem out of the studio.
This 45 has caused me some what of a headache over the last several years of collecting. ‘Soul Of A Black Man’ by Maceo And The Macks is the flip to the classic ‘Cross The Tracks’ and as some of you who regularly check here know, I collect the People record label fanatically. I currently try to have a red, purple and promo label issue of each single. The first red copy of this single I found had an unknown miss-pressing with a female vocal (who I assume is Lyn Collins - Please correct me if I’m wrong) and not ‘Soul Of A Black Man’ as the label stated. This has already led to me obtaining 3 copies and often buying ‘Blind’ in an attempt to find the elusive issue with the correct label and wax pressing…..Highly geeky and extremely anal I know!! What I can say is that all the trouble, time, effort and money was well spent and one listen to this reveals what I can only describe as a beautiful piece of soul, confirming why, in this collectors humble opinion, Maceo Parker is absolutely unmatched on the horns, hands down!
The next two see Gloria Walker and Etta James hitting us up with a cover ,‘Talking About My Baby’ and then the original issue, ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’, a soul standard. This is one of my very favourite soul ballads, or as my fellow Hook and Slinger, Hoppin’ John comically calls them ‘Weepies’!!! Quality on both accounts!!
Taking us to an upbeat finish is Bill Moss or the ‘Boss With The Sauce’ as he was known during his early DJ career. ‘Sock It To ‘Em Soul Brother’ was released back in 1969 and was a call to arms styled record. Notably Bill Moss also went on to found the collectable CapSoul label, which put Columbus on the musical map.
That brings us to the end of today’s selection. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much
as I did putting it together. Stay safe and don’t forget to drop by later in the week for a suitably spooky Halloween styled offering.
Track List (Click on individual track titles for label scans)
Its unfortunately been a while, due to real life issues getting in the way of all things 'Blog', but we’re back with another helping of the good stuff for you!
‘You’ve Been Gone Too Long’ by the highly underated Ann Sexton is a track I think a lot of you are going to like and it’s certainly worthy of its place here. I was holding this one back for my next long over due mix which should be hopefully hitting these pages shortly. But after careful consideration and deliberation I’ve decided to post it on its own so as to do full justice to its greatness!
Ann Sexton is one of my favourite female artists, ‘You’re Losing Me’ (check out the video later in this post!!) was one of the very first sister funk 45’s that I picked up and is probably semi responsible for setting me down that expensive and time consuming road of record collecting! After acquiring that first 45 by her many years back, I’ve always been on the look out for more singles with her name on. The majority of stuff I’ve found so far has always been on the soulful side of things but are always topped with those amazing vocals that caught my ear in the very first place.
‘You’ve Been Gone Too Long’ falls nicely into this category and is deemed by some as a Northern Soul classic.
Ann Sexton was born in Greenville, South Carolina in 1950 and was only 21 when she was’ discovered’ by David Lee. He recorded ‘ You’ve Been Gone Too Long’ and released it on his own Impel Label. Eventually David Lee went on to collaborate with John Richbourg or ‘John R’ as he was known on the Radio DJ circuit and they released the single on Richbourg’s 77 Records Nashville based label. There was two releases of this single on 77 records, the one pictured here is the second pressing, the first pressing is yellow and seems to fetch the sort of price that makes non record collectors gasp!
The single tanked as did the two albums and the multitude of 45s for 77 Records and later Sound Stage Records. It wasn’t until the Northern Scene started to take off that Ann Sexton finally got the props that she deserved. Her Southern Soul sounding singles (Now there’s a tongue twister for you!) fitted the movement nicely and saw her causing a storm on the collecting scene.
Recently her career has seen a revival with promoters organizing live appearances including The Baltic Soul Weekender, as well as the reissue of her album’s. I’m pretty sure you’ll agree after watching the video that even in her 50’s she hasn’t lost any of the presence and vocal power she originally had.
Enjoy today’s 45 and we’ll be back shortly with more of the good stuff!
After a (hilarious) mini drama involving The Popcorn King and Hoppin’ John getting stuck in stationary traffic for a mind numbing 6 hours on the motorway whilst travelling up to London (I didn’t laugh gents, honestly!!), Saturday eventually passed by as another thoroughly enjoyable evening! It was another decent turn out at our night at The Brown Sugar Bar, with a healthy dose of new faces and as always your support is highly appreciated! We’re already looking forward to next month and I also want to extend a big thank you to Jamie Coughlan for dropping by with the good stuff and turning a few heads with several of the 45's he played.
So after a night of excess and in our still slightly worn out state we get down to today’s business and a side that I’d over looked until this very Saturday. As I’ve mentioned I have a somewhat bad habit of buying singles for one track and never checking the flips out! So on Saturday when I went to play Irene Scott’s Northern tinged soul monster I realised I’d been so engrossed in the A side, ‘Everyday Worries’, a track I included a while back on my Back To The Drawing Board Mix, that I decided to give the B side a quick preview through the headphones.
Released on Midas Records, Irene Scott’s ‘You’re No Good’ turned out to be amazing, and for the foreseeable future will be getting some hefty plays from me for sure! This is a great little soul crossover 45 from Chicago and the drums lean nicely on the snare for the lead. Although I know very little about Irene Scott, this is a catchy number, almost Doo-Wop-esque at times, that seriously shows off her amazing vocal range. It seems to have many layers that unfold with every listen and, with some fantastic clean horns nice and high in the mix, it’s the sort of record that definitely leaves you itching for another listen!
I hope you dig today’s 45 and that it gives you enough soul to make it through the mundane grind of the working week. We’ll be back soon with more of the ‘Good Stuff’ and with time and energy permitting the photos from Saturday will also be up soon!
I hope you enjoyed our Soul Exchange with Fufu Stew , we’re back again with another guest and just like your local milkman we always deliver!
Those of you who regularly read these pages or attend our monthly nights will be aware of Jamie Coughlan. Long time collector, promoter and DJ from South London. Hot from his mini tour of Europe, playing out at The Oslo Soul Experience and Club Function
in Malmoe in Sweden, we’ve invited him back to share some more of his rarities with us.
This time he’s opted for a compilation styled posting and it definitely hits the spot.
“For some there is a golden period of funk production with one foot in the late 60s and one on the early 70s. Others may shun the 'crossover' soul time period in favour of Northern Soul from the 60s but one things for sure post 31st December '69 there were some changes happening in soul music and they still divide peoples preferences to this day.
The 70s brought about some interesting changes both in technology (studio techniques and vinyl progression, the biggest being how much music you can fit on one side of a 45) and style boundaries became a bit more blurred. It also bought us some very interesting music, was the decade when disco broke, funk became mainstream music and hip hop was forming. Underneath all of this there was some amazing music being made.
These are some of my favourite 45s from the 70s. Enjoy!”
Pure Funk – “Nothing Left Is Real” – Planet Earth Records
Total obscurity I'm guessing by the label number and one of my favourite late 70s funk tunes. Oozes class. Excellent production, arrangement and horn work and a sure fire dance floor winner. Flip is not a bad disco-ish affair either.
Raw Image – Go For Broke – Phi-La Of Soul
One of so many good 45s on this prolific label. We all have our favourites and this is one of mine. For a cheapish record its really really tough to find. The flip was a defining tune at Keb Darge's
'Deep Funk' club night (spun by Keb) however Go For Broke has quite a terrific break at the beginning, almost a ragga beat and some killer simple building horn work. One simple clap insertion lifts the track even further. Nice one!
Lo End – “Le Beat” – New World Records
Want some straight up disco? Sure. Can't have a 70s write up without some going on. Milwaukee band and label, still being played by quite a few well known DJs and with one good reason.........it works so well. One of two killer 45s on this label (though there are more releases)
Primitive – Sister Africa – Love Records
Great looking label design (maybe a standard)
Bob Williams – I’m Alright (Pt1) – Nad-Lyn
A particular favourite of mine, this 45 hails, rather oddly, from Canada but rather obviously from The Islands. Still quite cheap for the quality and rarity this one is begging to be on a 12' with sides a and b married together. Side b really kicks off. Swinging party tune for sure.
Cohesion – Cohesion – Cohesion Records
Maybe these guys just ran out of ideas when naming this 45, or perhaps, more likely, there was a social message involved. A top quality example of how good 70s funk can be. Love the harmonies on this. Flip is a very decent 'chase style' funk track with some perfect guitar melts and an insane b boy break hidden at the end.
Lloyd Perry All The People – It’s Only Been One Day (Pt1) – M.I.C.
Never heard of this until last year although I have other 45s on the label, namely Mather Washington produced Angella Jefferson and Max Infinity. Bold horns, a warm production feel and a slightly druggy echo give this fine funky soul effort a unique feel. Underrated 45 I reckon or just maybe only a little known. Have been a few on Ebay of late. Any eagle eyed bay gannets will know who's got some. Hails from Florida and was recorded in 72.
Eugene Gaspard – Holding On – Rosemont Records
Same label as the massive Leroy Clofer 45 and more ingenious, original ideas and attention to detail have been put into this cracking soul dancer. The fella on the drums has an idea of what he is up to and the vocal is so so good.
Split Evolution – Jumpstreet – Wasp Music
Another total obscurity and one which seemed to cause a stir when it was posted on our UK funk forum. Synth laden group vocal 70s funk that sounds good next to 'Were Gonna Make It'. This band had only one other release under this name (to my knowledge)
Soul Hustlers – Super Party (Pt1 And Pt 2) – Linco
A favourite funk track of mine from back in the day. Party lyrics and background effects, some killer breaks and guitar licks and a pretty rare one from this Carolinas band. Same band as The Blenders on Cobra so the rumour goes. Mr Double Down will confirm this ASAP.
Cesar’s All Stars – See-Saw Affair – Teo
Not much to say about this Latin funk affair ‘cos I have no clue about it! Looks very obscure from the label and a few have been knocking about but seem to have dried up now. Played in Oslo by DJ Marius (watch out for his mix here very soon) Some may be put off by the long guitar solo (I almost thought I was) but
It works well and has a hell of a groove on it.
Different Bags – Closed Mind – WesGate
70s funk for the hip hop heads. Simple breaks which are well sampled by some major artists, which tells us its well liked. Needs pitching a bit (I have here) but never fails when dropped. One of my first 45s I ever bought way back in the day I must have owned 10 or so over the years. Can't do without it!!
Sage – I’m Alive – Head Records
This obscure Latin soul tune from 1977 that seems to be dividing people. Had been on my wants list for a long while and after being away when the lengthy waiting period ended, it went to a pal of mine so I waited another 18 months to bag one. Takes a while to kick off but when it does it turns into a frantic soul dancer with energetic percussion.
Body Heat – Spread Love – Power Records
I know nothing about this 45 other than I got pretty excited when I first heard it and its pretty rare. Spread Love went down very well with both the DJs and dancers at Sweden’s premiere soul club, Club Function (www.clubfunction.com) late last month.
Body Heat - Forget Yourself - Power Records
I actually originally bought the 45 for this side, but it's clear that Spread Love is the bigger tune.
