Honey? Honey!? I Think There's Something Funny!

The Acklin Brothers - Junior's Angle

The Electrophonic Brian Phillips introduced me to today's selection, which at the time I had only seen referenced in Rob Bowman's history of Stax, Soulsville, U.S.A. The Acklin Brothers released "Junior's Angle" b/w "I Want My Baby" on De'Voice, an Arkansas-based label co-owned by Alvertis Isbell, aka Al Bell, who would go on to figure greatly in the Stax story. If I recall Bowman's note about the label correctly, this was only one of two 45s on the label, if not the sole release.

Outside of the Stax connection mentioned above, however, my knowledge about the group is nonexistent; I have to share the sentiment expressed on the website Bob's Scratchy Records, which I found while researching this record - "I dont know s--- about this one but I like it a lot!" I liked it enough to buy a copy for myself. Both sides of the record reveal a doo wop sound that hinted at the soul sounds to come. "Junior's Angle," the uptempo side, is a rock 'n' roller, in which a "Kingfish"-sounding dad wonders why his teenaged son is suddenly being so helpful around the house. It's an off-the-wall record that's just fun to listen to; how can you not enjoy lyrics like "He done mopped the kitchen, he done fed the chickens, he ain't played no records, he ain't called no people; I wonder if he has that rock 'n' roll fever?"