Eight Months!

Next week will find this blog entering its eighth month of existence. I've had so much fun presenting some of the best vintage, rare soul/blues/funk/jazz/gospel, and I look forward to continuing to do so. I've been able to post almost every day, which I am actually surprised about. I've been trying to put off doing any kind of fundraiser for this site, but now is the time (what's a better time for gifts than an anniversary?) There is now a PayPal button on the blog. If you would be interested in making a donation for the web server upkeep, etc., for this site (I use file storage and webhosting from GoDaddy.com for the files that appear here) I would surely appreciate it. As a token of appreciation I will send a ZIP file of tracks from any past episode of the podcast of the donor's choice. Thanks in advance!

The move has occurred and now I'm unpacking - look out for a new episode of the podcast within a week!

NSFW (Language Warning) - Think Twice!

Jackie Wilson & LaVern Baker - Think Twice ("Version X")

(EDITOR'S NOTE - I have the internet now in my new place, but a snafu by the moving company has our official move delayed until this afternoon. Rather than sit in an apartment full of boxes we have come to the new place to cool our heels. I decided to do a post today, but due to my need to swear at people for their incompetence I picked a selection that has the saltiest language of anything I'll probably ever post on the blog. This is not safe for work and is not for anyone who may be offended by strong language and adult themes.)

One of the greatest things about the CD era is that lots of unreleased and pretty difficult-to-find material is now available for fans of any kind of music, as record companies have mined the vaults of many of the great and not-so-well-known labels to create label retrospectives, provide bonus tracks for artist compilations, and the like. Today's selection has appreared on some Jackie Wilson comps. The issued version of "Think Twice" was an R&B hit for Wilson and '50s R&B legend LaVern Baker, whose '60s stint at Brunswick unfortunately did not return her to the heights she had enjoyed with Atlantic in the prior decade. This unissued "Version X" finds Wilson and Baker exchanging X-rated lines that cover everything from basic insults to drug use to sexual practices. Although such dirty tomfoolery has appeared on various compilations, what makes "Version X" work is that when Baker and Wilson aren't cracking each other up with their lines, they actually sing the song with the full extent of their talent (check out Wilson's singing of the line "bye bye ho" at the end of the second verse). It's a trip.

Tuesday Is Blues Day!

Ironing Board Sam - I've Been Used



Today's selection is the b-side of "Non Support," which was profiled in an earlier post. This is the bare-bones, low-down, sho'-nuff blues here, as Sam's intense singing is matched by a smoldering rhythm by the band.

(EDITOR'S NOTE - I will be moving the rest of this week and, although the internet is supposed to be turned on at the new place tomorrow, I will not be posting on Thursday and I am uncertain about tomorrow or Friday. I hope to be back to my usual posting schedule on Saturday.)

Funky Soul Monday!

Bobby Newsome - Jody, Come Back and Get Your Shoes

Some time ago Yoni Neeman at The Soul of the Net did a trivia section on his website about answer songs and dedicated a portion to songs about "Jody," the metaphorical cuckolder of blues and soul infamy (in relation to answers to Johnnie Taylor's "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone"), and today's selection was one of the several listed. Johnnie Taylor had the biggest hits of all the "Jody" songs with "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone" and "Standing In for Jody." The former song made it all the way to #1 on the R&B charts in 1971, one of several chart toppers Stax Records would have that year (if I recall correctly, Rufus Thomas' "(Do The) Push and Pull" had been #1 the week before). Bobby Newsome's "Jody, Come Back and Get Your Shoes" was an answer record to the Taylor hit and features a stomping, stripped down funk groove and military-chant background vocals (a nod to "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone"). It's my favorite "Jody" record.

Gospel Reinvention

The Gospelaires of Dayton, Ohio - Moving Up

The Bethlehem Gospel Singers - Let's Talk About Jesus

Gospel music often is a genre made up of interchangable parts. Many gospel songs used similar chord changes, many of them used a plethora of throwaway gospel phrases ("I stepped into the water / the water was cold / it chilled my body / but not my soul," for instance) and wholesale use of lyrics from "Amazing Grace" and "I Love the Lord He Heard My Cry," to name two songs, was very common. (I've always been of the impression that if a gospel singer is improvising and runs out of stuff, they can always go to "Amazing Grace"!) It was also inevitable that gospel artists would also rework other gospel songs to fit their purposes.

The Gospelaires of Dayton, Ohio appear on the "TV Gospel Time" tapes I have, and their performances on the show are electrifying examples of '60s gospel at its hard-singing best. "Moving Up" was one of their great Peacock singles. After dispensing with the opening chorus and sole verse, the rest of the tune features great ad-libs by the lead singer and fine riffing by the group. The Bethlehem Gospel Singers, whose HSE recordings have appeared on this blog before, took the melody and structure of "Moving Up" and crafted "Let's Talk About Jesus" (not to be mistaken for the Bells of Joy classic) for the My Bible Is Right LP. The group puts a nice tambourine-laden groove on the song and lead singer (and "songwriter") James MacLean does a great job with his ad-libs, which go a lot further than those on "Moving Up."

Get on Down With Bobby Bland: From Texas to Jackson, and a Legacy

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Farther On Up the Road and God Bless the Child That's Got His Own



Al "TNT" Braggs - Drip Drip Goes The Tears

Little Milton - More and More

We are fortunate that blues legends like Bobby Bland and B.B. King are still around and are still going into the studio. Although the effects of time are very evident on both men's latter work, the recordings are still pretty high quality and, in Bland's case, keep the flame going among his long-time fans. To close out this week's series, here is "Farther On Up the Road," one of Bland's very first major hits from 1957. This is swaggering Texas blues at its best; with this song Bland kicked off a string of hits trumpeting a hurt man's revenge fantasy. Bland's style was still a little rough around the edges but the tune is great. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Bland's great reading of "God Bless the Child" from his 1995 Malaco album Sad Street. Bland, like many of his contemporaries, found his hitmaking streak cooling significantly by the end of the '70s. Although he got some R&B chart action out of 1985's "Members Only," Bland faded from mainstream R&B and became a charter artist in the "soul blues" idiom (I need to write about this odd duck genre in a future post), finding a sympathetic label in Malaco. "God Bless the Child" has a "Me and Mrs. Jones" groove that works very well, and Bland's world-weary reading of the song is very soulful. It's my favorite latter-day Bobby Bland recording.

We are also fortunate that Bland influenced several other artists of the '50s and '60s. Two that come immediately to mind is Bland's labelmate Al "TNT" Braggs and the blues/soul blues legend Little Milton. Braggs, whose biggest success came as the writer of "Share Your Love With Me," of which hit versions were recorded by Bland himself and by Aretha Franklin, recorded for Peacock in the early '60s and performed with Bobby Bland's revue (he appears in Charles Keil's account of a Bland show in Urban Blues). "Drip Drip Goes the Tears" shows obvious Bland influence, especially in the arrangement. Little Milton Campbell should not need any write up, as his magnificent career spanned from '50s recordings for Sun through to his death in 2005. Milton's growling voice was inspired by Bland and Milton's early recordings were all but Bland imitations. By the time Milton hooked up with Chess in the '60s he found his own voice (although songs like "Blind Man" went back to the Bobby Bland bag) and recorded some great soul-based recordings, including today's selection "More and More," which would be covered by Blood, Sweat & Tears.

Get on Down With Bobby Bland: Northern Soul Star!

Bobby "Blue" Bland - These Hands (Small But Mighty)

This mid-tempo mover is one of two Bland tunes that have made their mark in the Northern Soul scene, the other being the excellent tune "Shoes." I'm partial to "These Hands," though, for its lyrics and nice arrangement. Anyone who has ever been in love with anyone knows the sentiment of lyrics.

Tomorrow I plan to conclude this series with another Bland tune and a couple of tunes by artists inspired by Bland.

Get on Down With Bobby Bland: It's a Sad Feeling ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland - Sad Feeling

This is one of the Chicago-recorded sides Bobby did in the mid-'60s, and it's a serious sender. From the sinister bass heartbeat that begins the tune and the horn opening, you know that Bobby's got something on his mind. Then two neat things happen: an uncredited bass singer does some call-and-response with Bobby on the first verse, and at the end of said verse, the horns hit like a brick and a female vocalist (also uncredited) comes in to give support. Bobby is in top form on this one, but the arrangement is really the star of the show. I remember that the first time I heard this one I played it about 15 times in a row. I think you might want to, also.

Get on Down With Bobby Bland: Swing Out!

Bobby "Blue" Bland - Dust Got In Daddy's Eyes



A major component of the magic that graced Bobby Bland's numerous hits of the '60s was the soulful yet jazzy stylings of Bland's band, which was led by Joe Scott (who was also the band's principal arranger and was probably Bland's uncredited record producer) and included guitarist Wayne Bennett and future J.B.'s drummer John "Jabo" Starks. The band's mix of jazzy horn charts, strong rhythm and Bennett's deft guitar work (especially on slow blues like "Stormy Monday") was phenomenal, and they worked with Bland in the studio and on live dates until the late '60s, when Bland's drinking became too much of a burden (fortuantely, Bland would overcome the bottle in the '70s). A great depiction of the band and Bland's stage show appears in Charles Keil's Urban Blues, a book I heartily recommend.

The 1965 hit "Dust Got In Daddy's Eyes" is a great example of the Joe Scott sound. Over a strong shuffle groove the horns lay down great riffs while Bland explores the "man ain't supposed to cry" lyric. The "sepia Sinatra" moniker often used for Bland seems very appropriate here. It's a great tune.

Get on Down With Bobby Bland: Smooth and Lowdown

Bobby "Blue" Bland - Do What You Set Out To Do

Bobby Bland, "the sepia Sinatra," as he was sometimes called, was as comfortable doing relaxed, soft ballads as he was stronger stuff. He could take a song like "You're the One (That I Adore)" and melt a woman's heart, but could rebuke the same woman with a song like "Cry, Cry, Cry." Today's selection finds him being both sweet and rough, to great effect. "Do What You Set Out To Do" starts with a simple bass riff and strings, over which Bland sets the scene: here's a man who knows his woman is going to break his heart and has resigned himself to the fact. After the intial chorus, the groove shifts to one of lowdown blues, as Bobby tells the story in stronger tones. The bass and strings come back to close it out, and Bobby slides back into the gentle bag. It's one of my favorite ballads of Bland's.

Get on Down With Bobby Bland: Shaka-Boom-Boom-Boom!

Bobby "Blue" Bland - Keep On Loving Me (You'll See The Change)

Today's selection had a history before and after Bobby Bland had a release of it in 1970. Producer Don Davis and his Groovesville production concern had worked with the song on Steve Mancha as well as in duet form with Carla Thomas and Johnnie Taylor. In the waning days of Stax Records, the duet would be revisited as the label, desperate to put out a Johnnie Taylor single (Taylor had abandoned the sinking ship to sign with Columbia, for whom he would soon deliver "Disco Lady"), erased Carla Thomas' vocals and reissued the song (Taylor can be heard saying something along the lines of "sing it Carla," but it didn't matter, as the single didn't thrive). Bland's version features a good groove, nice background singing (hence the "shaka-boom-boom-boom" above) and Bland's great delivery.

Sunday Gospel Time

Rev. Julius Cheeks - Somebody Left on That Morning Train



Gospel singer Rev. Julius Cheeks was one of the hardest-singing of the hard gospel singers. His screaming delivery was an influence on the late Wilson Pickett, and his recordings with the Sensational Nightingales of the 1950s are important to the "golden age" of gospel music. By the early '60s Cheeks had split with the Nightingales and formed a new group, the Knights, with whom he recorded for a large part of the decade. By that time, however, years of being the hardest-singing man in gospel had taken its toll. Cheeks' voice was extremely ravaged, to the extent that most of his recordings with the Knights and beyond found Cheeks serving more as a narrator than as a lead singer, doing monologues and setting up choruses for the group to sing. This effect was very effective, especially on the maudlin 1970 classic "Just Crying," but successive efforts found Cheeks' voice in continued decline. Today's selection was the title track from Cheeks' final LP from 1980 (Cheeks died in 1981). "Somebody Left on That Morning Train" revisits his hit with the Nightingales, "Morning Train." Cheeks' voice is awful here, to be brutally honest, but there's something about how Cheeks puts all of his soul into it that makes the song work.