Junior McCants - She Wrote It I Read It
The liner notes to the Kent CD King Northern Soul tell the tragic tale of Cincinnati soul singer Junior McCants, who died of a brain tumor at the age of 24. King Records pulled McCants' singles in respect for the singer, making records like the Northern groover "Try Me For Your New Love" and today's selection incredibly scarce. McCants had a breathtaking falsetto and lots of soul, both of which are showcased in "She Wrote It I Read It," which appeared on Kent's King's Serious Soul, Vol. 2: Counting Teardrops comp. This story of a philanderer's moment of truth is punctuated by Junior's amazing vocals, particularly in the two dramatic breaks that appear in the song.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
I-Dentify With Lee Austin and Future Shock!
Lee Austin - Missing You
I first heard of James Brown Revue member Leon "Lee" Austin via an episode of James Brown's obscure Future Shock TV show, where he appeared as the featured guest. In their pre-performance chat, JB and Lee discuss that this record was supposed to have a prior release but they decided to hold back on it because the time wasn't right, but now that President Carter was in office (and, by extension, the national mood had brightened), people were ready for a "heavy ballad" like today's selection.
"Missing You" was a 1975 or '76 I-Dentify release. I-Dentify was one of the lesser-utilized JB labels, having four or five single releases, the most notable being the instrumental "Picking Up The Pieces One By One" by A.A.B.B. ("Above Average Black Band"), a JB-produced takeoff on the Average White Band's smash hit "Pick Up The Pieces." Although in my opinion "Missing You" is mixed poorly, it's a pretty decent ballad with just a little bit of a beat to it, and Austin's country tenor is a good fit.
Post Script: Someone really needs to obtain the rights to JB's Future Shock shows and get them on DVD. I have two episodes I acquired from a private collector and they are really interesting. Future Shock was an Atlanta-based takeoff on Soul Train produced and hosted by Brown which aired on WTCG (the local precursor to cable superstation WTBS) and in about 40 Southern markets for about two years (approx. 1976-78). It's clearly a vanity project (95% of the show's playlists was tunes by James Brown, the J.B.'s or other JB-produced artists, who also appeared on the show as guest stars), and James demonstrates that being a TV host was not his strong suit: on the two episodes I have he interviews the director of the George Washington Carver Museum at Tuskeegee Institute, and his remarks and questions are pretty off the wall. Despite Brown's shortcomings as an emcee, however, the shows are great to watch. Thanks to a YouTube user, here's a clip of a Future Shock open which starts with JB doing a bit of "Hot," his unapologetic ripoff of David Bowie's "Fame," followed by one of the show's infamous "dance contests":
Also, here's a great ad for the official Future Shock T-shirt!
I first heard of James Brown Revue member Leon "Lee" Austin via an episode of James Brown's obscure Future Shock TV show, where he appeared as the featured guest. In their pre-performance chat, JB and Lee discuss that this record was supposed to have a prior release but they decided to hold back on it because the time wasn't right, but now that President Carter was in office (and, by extension, the national mood had brightened), people were ready for a "heavy ballad" like today's selection.
"Missing You" was a 1975 or '76 I-Dentify release. I-Dentify was one of the lesser-utilized JB labels, having four or five single releases, the most notable being the instrumental "Picking Up The Pieces One By One" by A.A.B.B. ("Above Average Black Band"), a JB-produced takeoff on the Average White Band's smash hit "Pick Up The Pieces." Although in my opinion "Missing You" is mixed poorly, it's a pretty decent ballad with just a little bit of a beat to it, and Austin's country tenor is a good fit.
Post Script: Someone really needs to obtain the rights to JB's Future Shock shows and get them on DVD. I have two episodes I acquired from a private collector and they are really interesting. Future Shock was an Atlanta-based takeoff on Soul Train produced and hosted by Brown which aired on WTCG (the local precursor to cable superstation WTBS) and in about 40 Southern markets for about two years (approx. 1976-78). It's clearly a vanity project (95% of the show's playlists was tunes by James Brown, the J.B.'s or other JB-produced artists, who also appeared on the show as guest stars), and James demonstrates that being a TV host was not his strong suit: on the two episodes I have he interviews the director of the George Washington Carver Museum at Tuskeegee Institute, and his remarks and questions are pretty off the wall. Despite Brown's shortcomings as an emcee, however, the shows are great to watch. Thanks to a YouTube user, here's a clip of a Future Shock open which starts with JB doing a bit of "Hot," his unapologetic ripoff of David Bowie's "Fame," followed by one of the show's infamous "dance contests":
Also, here's a great ad for the official Future Shock T-shirt!
Monday, January 29, 2007
Tyrone Can't Bump!
Tyrone Davis - I Can't Bump (Pt. 1)
Disco's "do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight" message was well-received in the mid-to-late '70s, as a nation emerging from the horrors of Vietnam and Watergate, the oil embargo and inflation was searching for a release from all the pressure. Although there was not an outright "disco sucks" movement in the world of R&B (probably because it was from '70s R&B that disco arose), some artists did take on the genre, generally either to make gentle fun of it (Joe Tex's "I'm Going Back Again," "Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)" and "Rub Down" all covered the risk of physical injury from disco dancing) or to discuss the more common problem, that of the non-dancer who was left out of the fun. Today's selection fits in the latter category.
Chicago soulster Tyrone Davis' 1976 single "I Can't Bump" was one of his last for Dakar before he moved on to Columbia. The tune is generally dismissed in a discussion of Davis' work as a bad attempt at disco, and at first blush the attempt to add a soft disco groove to Davis' vulnerable love man style indeed doesn't seem to fit right. But if one ignores the hi-hat for a moment and listens to the words and Davis' delivery, it's clear that the tune has been underrated. Davis returns to the territory he covered in his earlier hit "I Wish It Was Me" to express his longing for the dancing woman, surrounded by dancing suitors, whom he cannot woo because, as he laments, "I can't bump, I can't hustle." Fortunately, he plans to get his dancing shoes on and learn so he can win the girl by doing the "Watergate, the kung fu, any dance [she wants] to do." Davis would eventually get the disco thing right for Columbia, but he would then be left behind as the genre exploded at the time of Saturday Night Fever. I suppose it just wasn't meant for Tyrone to bump!
Disco's "do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight" message was well-received in the mid-to-late '70s, as a nation emerging from the horrors of Vietnam and Watergate, the oil embargo and inflation was searching for a release from all the pressure. Although there was not an outright "disco sucks" movement in the world of R&B (probably because it was from '70s R&B that disco arose), some artists did take on the genre, generally either to make gentle fun of it (Joe Tex's "I'm Going Back Again," "Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)" and "Rub Down" all covered the risk of physical injury from disco dancing) or to discuss the more common problem, that of the non-dancer who was left out of the fun. Today's selection fits in the latter category.
Chicago soulster Tyrone Davis' 1976 single "I Can't Bump" was one of his last for Dakar before he moved on to Columbia. The tune is generally dismissed in a discussion of Davis' work as a bad attempt at disco, and at first blush the attempt to add a soft disco groove to Davis' vulnerable love man style indeed doesn't seem to fit right. But if one ignores the hi-hat for a moment and listens to the words and Davis' delivery, it's clear that the tune has been underrated. Davis returns to the territory he covered in his earlier hit "I Wish It Was Me" to express his longing for the dancing woman, surrounded by dancing suitors, whom he cannot woo because, as he laments, "I can't bump, I can't hustle." Fortunately, he plans to get his dancing shoes on and learn so he can win the girl by doing the "Watergate, the kung fu, any dance [she wants] to do." Davis would eventually get the disco thing right for Columbia, but he would then be left behind as the genre exploded at the time of Saturday Night Fever. I suppose it just wasn't meant for Tyrone to bump!
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Golden Nugget Gospel!
Golden Nugget:
Jesus Is Waiting b/w Gospel Train
Gospel funky 45s are always fun to find. Although the artists involved are generally terminally obscure, the records are both spiritually uplifting and good for some "get down." Today's selection covers both sides of a 1970(?) Cotillion single. All I know about the interestingly-named group Golden Nugget is that they recorded material in the early to mid-70s at Malaco studios. It also appears that around the time of "Jesus Is Waiting," Atlantic Records was devoting more resources to gospel records, with gospel sides showing up on Atlantic, Atco and Cotillion (Atlantic, unlike most of the great R&B independents, never had a steady gospel series; instead, interesting gospel records pop up here and there in the label's discography). "Jesus Is Waiting" features a touch of funk and solid singing by the group. "Gospel Train" is a reworking of "This Train" which sticks closer to the more traditional gospel quartet sound.
Jesus Is Waiting b/w Gospel Train
Gospel funky 45s are always fun to find. Although the artists involved are generally terminally obscure, the records are both spiritually uplifting and good for some "get down." Today's selection covers both sides of a 1970(?) Cotillion single. All I know about the interestingly-named group Golden Nugget is that they recorded material in the early to mid-70s at Malaco studios. It also appears that around the time of "Jesus Is Waiting," Atlantic Records was devoting more resources to gospel records, with gospel sides showing up on Atlantic, Atco and Cotillion (Atlantic, unlike most of the great R&B independents, never had a steady gospel series; instead, interesting gospel records pop up here and there in the label's discography). "Jesus Is Waiting" features a touch of funk and solid singing by the group. "Gospel Train" is a reworking of "This Train" which sticks closer to the more traditional gospel quartet sound.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Impressions for Alvin!
The Impressions - I'm So Proud
Today's selection is by no means an obscurity, but hearing it recently at a restaurant over lunch brought back one of my favorite soul music memories. When I was a broke, single graduate student in Chicago I used to visit a hole-in-the-wall bar near where I lived. I was easily the youngest person to visit the bar, but the regulars were very friendly and I always enjoyed going in there. One of the regulars was an older black man named Alvin, who would be generally pretty inebriated by the time I would arrive. He never remembered my name, but he remembered that I was from Kentucky, so when he would see me he would call me "Kentucky." We would sit around, have a few drinks and talk while the jukebox was playing. He really liked "I'm So Proud," and could sing every part of the song very well. And what a song to sing parts to - Curtis Mayfield's falsetto tenderly caresses the lyrics and the harmony work is fantastic. I don't know what ever became of Alvin, but today's selection is dedicated to him.
Today's selection is by no means an obscurity, but hearing it recently at a restaurant over lunch brought back one of my favorite soul music memories. When I was a broke, single graduate student in Chicago I used to visit a hole-in-the-wall bar near where I lived. I was easily the youngest person to visit the bar, but the regulars were very friendly and I always enjoyed going in there. One of the regulars was an older black man named Alvin, who would be generally pretty inebriated by the time I would arrive. He never remembered my name, but he remembered that I was from Kentucky, so when he would see me he would call me "Kentucky." We would sit around, have a few drinks and talk while the jukebox was playing. He really liked "I'm So Proud," and could sing every part of the song very well. And what a song to sing parts to - Curtis Mayfield's falsetto tenderly caresses the lyrics and the harmony work is fantastic. I don't know what ever became of Alvin, but today's selection is dedicated to him.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Cooling Out With Darondo
Darondo - Didn't I
The eccentric '70s soulster Darondo has been covered in a prior post, so I'll simply present this tune, his best-known of his three singles, as a great groove to take into your weekend's cooling out!
The eccentric '70s soulster Darondo has been covered in a prior post, so I'll simply present this tune, his best-known of his three singles, as a great groove to take into your weekend's cooling out!
Thursday, January 25, 2007
A Detroit Soul Quickie
Emanuel Lasky - You Better Quit It
I was sick yesterday and playing catch-up at work today (after a two-hour long commute due to bad traffic), so here's a quickie to tide you over until your ever-lovin' Stepfather is back in the saddle. For info about Mr. Lasky and his fine Detroit soul records do visit the Soulful Detroit website in the "Links" section!
I was sick yesterday and playing catch-up at work today (after a two-hour long commute due to bad traffic), so here's a quickie to tide you over until your ever-lovin' Stepfather is back in the saddle. For info about Mr. Lasky and his fine Detroit soul records do visit the Soulful Detroit website in the "Links" section!
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Joe Tex, Name Dropper!
Joe Tex - I Can See Everybody's Baby
Joe Tex is no stranger to these pages, so I'll simply say that "I Can See Everybody's Baby," an early-'70s thing that went unreleased until Charly dug it up in 1989 for the Different Strokes comp, is a nice mid-tempo number in Joe's usual style. Here, Joe points out that in his travels he sees women all over the world, including Ray Charles' woman, Isaac Hayes' woman, James Brown's woman, Tom Jones' woman(!), etc.; when he goes home, however, he can't find his own old lady!
Joe Tex is no stranger to these pages, so I'll simply say that "I Can See Everybody's Baby," an early-'70s thing that went unreleased until Charly dug it up in 1989 for the Different Strokes comp, is a nice mid-tempo number in Joe's usual style. Here, Joe points out that in his travels he sees women all over the world, including Ray Charles' woman, Isaac Hayes' woman, James Brown's woman, Tom Jones' woman(!), etc.; when he goes home, however, he can't find his own old lady!
Monday, January 22, 2007
Goody Goodies!
The Goodees - Would You, Could You
Stax Records, like many R&B independents, dabbled unsuccessfully with expanding its business into the rock and pop market with two series of releases on its Hip label and a smattering of other releases on Stax, Volt, Enterprise, and Ardent (a joint venture between Stax and John Fry's Ardent Studios). Although quite a few of the recordings, most notably the LPs Big Star and #1 Record by Big Star (Alex Chilton's post-Box Tops project) on Ardent, are considered in retrospect to be very good, the Stax rock project never really took off, and the only significant chart action that Stax received came from the Southwest F.O.B. "The Smell of Incense" and The Goodees, who are pictured above and featured in today's post, which I admit is quite anomalous hopefully not too left-field for this blog.
The Goodees (Sandra Hall, Judy Lowe and Kay Evans) recorded four 45s and one LP (Candy Coated Goodees) for Hip. In many ways the group was doomed to commercial failure from the outset, as their style (referred to very unfairly by one blogger as "Southern White Trash Shangri-Las") was rapidly becoming anachronistic as the '60s came to a close. The group managed, however, to get a minor pop hit in 1968 out of "Condition Red," a Don Davis(!)-produced "Leader of the Pack" derivative that has appeared on quite a few comps, including Rhino's girl groups comp, One Kiss Can Lead to Another. ("Condition Red" is discussed (along with some other Goodees material) in this interesting Scram article.) The Goodees' recorded output, however, is much more diverse than their sole hit would reflect, as many of the people more associated with Stax's soul output (such as Don Davis, Isaac Hayes, David Porter and Joe Shamwell) worked with the group as writers and producers. For example, today's selection (the flip of "Just a Little While") is a stomping piece of Stax northern soul. While the girls do their thing with the Hayes-Porter lyrics, the Stax regulars lay down a great groove and nice horn charts, turning this record from girl group pop to "get down" quasi-soul!
Stax Records, like many R&B independents, dabbled unsuccessfully with expanding its business into the rock and pop market with two series of releases on its Hip label and a smattering of other releases on Stax, Volt, Enterprise, and Ardent (a joint venture between Stax and John Fry's Ardent Studios). Although quite a few of the recordings, most notably the LPs Big Star and #1 Record by Big Star (Alex Chilton's post-Box Tops project) on Ardent, are considered in retrospect to be very good, the Stax rock project never really took off, and the only significant chart action that Stax received came from the Southwest F.O.B. "The Smell of Incense" and The Goodees, who are pictured above and featured in today's post, which I admit is quite anomalous hopefully not too left-field for this blog.
The Goodees (Sandra Hall, Judy Lowe and Kay Evans) recorded four 45s and one LP (Candy Coated Goodees) for Hip. In many ways the group was doomed to commercial failure from the outset, as their style (referred to very unfairly by one blogger as "Southern White Trash Shangri-Las") was rapidly becoming anachronistic as the '60s came to a close. The group managed, however, to get a minor pop hit in 1968 out of "Condition Red," a Don Davis(!)-produced "Leader of the Pack" derivative that has appeared on quite a few comps, including Rhino's girl groups comp, One Kiss Can Lead to Another. ("Condition Red" is discussed (along with some other Goodees material) in this interesting Scram article.) The Goodees' recorded output, however, is much more diverse than their sole hit would reflect, as many of the people more associated with Stax's soul output (such as Don Davis, Isaac Hayes, David Porter and Joe Shamwell) worked with the group as writers and producers. For example, today's selection (the flip of "Just a Little While") is a stomping piece of Stax northern soul. While the girls do their thing with the Hayes-Porter lyrics, the Stax regulars lay down a great groove and nice horn charts, turning this record from girl group pop to "get down" quasi-soul!
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Sunday Gospel Time!
The Inspirational Singers - He Brought Me
I suppose that I'm on target to put every track on the 1967 Checker LP Sunday Gospel Open House on here, but there's a good reason for it: the LP is chock-full of great Checker "gos-pop" of various types and it's a very solid album. Today's selection is the lead-off track on the album and it's a great way to get things started. The bass and piano opening sets a great atmosphere and the ensemble singing is very good.
I suppose that I'm on target to put every track on the 1967 Checker LP Sunday Gospel Open House on here, but there's a good reason for it: the LP is chock-full of great Checker "gos-pop" of various types and it's a very solid album. Today's selection is the lead-off track on the album and it's a great way to get things started. The bass and piano opening sets a great atmosphere and the ensemble singing is very good.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Soul-Blues Saturday: Let's Go, Baby!
Mel Waiters - Hole in the Wall
One of the anthems of the soul-blues scene is Mel Waiters' "Hole in the Wall," which was released on Malaco Records' Waldoxy label in 1999. Many a night I heard Pervis Spann drop this on his late-night radio broadcast on WVON, and in places like the Fifty Yard Line, Artis' Lounge, and other places in Chicago frequented by working-class, middle-aged black people, a jukebox wouldn't be a jukebox without it. Waiters, whose performing career began in 1974 and whose recording career didn't take off until nearly two decades later (during which time he did some radio DJ work and landed a contract with the U.S. goverment to perform for the military), had two albums on smaller labels before signing on with Malaco and breaking out with Material Things, which, amazingly for a soul-blues album, broke into the Top 100 of Billboard's album chart. "Hole in the Wall" was pulled as a single from that album, and it made it all the way to #24 on the R&B sales charts, again a major feat for a soul-blues record.
It's no surprise that "Hole in the Wall" fared so well. Soul purists will certainly decry all the sythesizer work and the drum machine, but in all respects this is a record that Tyrone Davis could've put down during his Dakar heyday. As the groove chugs along, Waiters spins his fun tale about his favorite after-hours joint, where one can find "smoke-filled rooms, whiskey and chicken wings" and so much fun that "no one wants to leave." Waiters has revisited this good-timing theme on many subsequent releases, including "Juke Joint" and, from his newest album, "Throw Back Days," and his audience is still eating it up!
One of the anthems of the soul-blues scene is Mel Waiters' "Hole in the Wall," which was released on Malaco Records' Waldoxy label in 1999. Many a night I heard Pervis Spann drop this on his late-night radio broadcast on WVON, and in places like the Fifty Yard Line, Artis' Lounge, and other places in Chicago frequented by working-class, middle-aged black people, a jukebox wouldn't be a jukebox without it. Waiters, whose performing career began in 1974 and whose recording career didn't take off until nearly two decades later (during which time he did some radio DJ work and landed a contract with the U.S. goverment to perform for the military), had two albums on smaller labels before signing on with Malaco and breaking out with Material Things, which, amazingly for a soul-blues album, broke into the Top 100 of Billboard's album chart. "Hole in the Wall" was pulled as a single from that album, and it made it all the way to #24 on the R&B sales charts, again a major feat for a soul-blues record.
It's no surprise that "Hole in the Wall" fared so well. Soul purists will certainly decry all the sythesizer work and the drum machine, but in all respects this is a record that Tyrone Davis could've put down during his Dakar heyday. As the groove chugs along, Waiters spins his fun tale about his favorite after-hours joint, where one can find "smoke-filled rooms, whiskey and chicken wings" and so much fun that "no one wants to leave." Waiters has revisited this good-timing theme on many subsequent releases, including "Juke Joint" and, from his newest album, "Throw Back Days," and his audience is still eating it up!
Friday, January 19, 2007
What The World Needs Now Is Jeanne & The Darlings!
Jeanne & The Darlings - Singing About Love
Jeanne Dolphus and her Arkansas-based gospel group, the Dolphus Singers, ventured over to Stax Records in 1967 and spent the next few years doing some backup singing (they backed Rufus Thomas on "Sophisticated Sissy," for instance) and cutting six great, albeit commercially unsuccessful, soul 45s for Volt under the name "Jeanne & The Darlings." It's very unfortunate that they didn't break through, because records like "How Can You Mistreat The One You Love" (featured on Episode #4 of the "Get on Down ..." podcast), "Soul Girl" (the femme version of Sam & Dave's "Soul Man") and "It's Unbelievable (How You Control My Soul)" showcase the group's great sound. Today's selection was written by Jeanne with the Staple Singers in mind, but it instead served as her group's Volt swan song. "Singing About Love" features a friendly groove, great "message" lyrics (which are still timely today) and strong vocals by Jeanne and the group.
Jeanne Dolphus and her Arkansas-based gospel group, the Dolphus Singers, ventured over to Stax Records in 1967 and spent the next few years doing some backup singing (they backed Rufus Thomas on "Sophisticated Sissy," for instance) and cutting six great, albeit commercially unsuccessful, soul 45s for Volt under the name "Jeanne & The Darlings." It's very unfortunate that they didn't break through, because records like "How Can You Mistreat The One You Love" (featured on Episode #4 of the "Get on Down ..." podcast), "Soul Girl" (the femme version of Sam & Dave's "Soul Man") and "It's Unbelievable (How You Control My Soul)" showcase the group's great sound. Today's selection was written by Jeanne with the Staple Singers in mind, but it instead served as her group's Volt swan song. "Singing About Love" features a friendly groove, great "message" lyrics (which are still timely today) and strong vocals by Jeanne and the group.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)