Friday Fiesta!

I am so excited at how well this blog and the show have been received! Thank you all for checking this little exercise out and for making me excited about blogging and podcasting! iTunes has not put up the show yet, but hopefully they will soon.

To celebrate this week's great debut I will try to post several tunes!



Post #1:
Jimmy Holiday - I've Been Done Wrong

Jimmy Holiday (like Jimmy Lewis and Jimmy McCracklin) made his mark more as a songwriter than as a performer, co-writing Jackie DeShannon's hit "Put a Little Love In Your Heart" and penning songs for Ray Charles and others. His trembling, sometimes hesitant delivery earned him hits with "How Can I Forget" and "Baby I Love You" (later a hit for Little Milton). Although he was best in ballads such as "Baby I Love You," "The Turning Point" and "Everybody Needs Help," he could lay down some good Northern Soul tracks like "The New Breed," "I'm Gonna Live While I Can" and today's selection, "I've Been Done Wrong." I love how the sadness of Holiday's words and vocals are off-set by the stomping beat ("That Beatin' Rhythm," as one Northern Soul classic called it) and some of the hardest brass charts I've heard on any Northern Soul recording. Enjoy! I'll post another track later.

Post #2:
The Famous Flames
Nobody Knows But My Baby And Me b/w Who Am I

Generally, the name "The Famous Flames" is always preceded by "James Brown and"; to my knowledge they only released this one single on King in 1970 (James Brown produced a later 45 by "The Flames"; are they the same group?), although individual recordings by the group's members came out in the '60s and early '70s, with Famous Flames founder Bobby Byrd having the most (and the only hits).

Both sides of the sole King 45, both of them ballads, are presented here. Truthfully, I'm not sure who's the lead singer on these songs (I've heard the name Johnny Terry bandied about for at least one side; and if Bobby Byrd was still with the group at the time - which I doubt - the lead vocals are clearly not his). "Nobody Knows" is, admittedly, a pastiche of soul cliches built around the songs "Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen" and "People Get Ready." Although the song, accordingly, has no real focus, the gospel-filled intensity of the performance is breathtaking, and when the lead singer takes a moaning chorus, the soul comes shining through. "Who Am I" is a considerably better song and, although the group is reduced to "oohs" and "aahs" in the bridge, the lead singer evokes the spirit of Sam Cooke to great effect.

One more posting will follow.

Post #3:
The Falcons & Band - I Found a Love

This song is not rare at all, so I'll keep the details very short. What do you need to know besides the fact that the Falcons at this time included Sir Mack Rice and Eddie Floyd, and that the powerful lead vocal comes from Wilson Pickett? And that the "Band" is the Ohio Untouchables, lead by the superb guitarist Robert Ward, which eventually became the Ohio Players? Not much, I think! There's soul to spare on this one!