The Johnny Otis Show – Country Girl

Shuggie Otis, Delmar Evans, Johnny Otis

Listen/Download -The Johnny Otis Show – Country Girl

Greetings all.
I hope the middle of he week finds you well.
It finds me cold (what the hell?!?) but happy, since I hit the Allentown record show this past Sunday and grabbed some heat of the 45RPM variety. Bagged me some funk, Northern Soul and other good stuff, all of which will be appearing in this space, as is the custom here in the Funky16Corners organization.
I’m also hard at work on a couple of new mixes for the Funky16Corners Radio thang.
In related news, if you weren’t already hip, my interwebs radio show over at Viva Internet Radio has shifted in time (how’s that Einstein…) from Thursday’s at 9PM to Thursday’s at 5PM, so, instead of a snifter of brandy and a fine cigar you can get all funky and soulful while up inside those mashed potatoes and gravy (groovy?).
The tune I bring you today is a funky, crunchy, and greasy like a truckload of sizzling bacon. If’n you’re not already hip to the sounds of the might Johnny Otis (and his many compadres) may I suggest you read up on your read ups, since he was involved in some of the finest R&B, soul and funk to come out of the West Coast for the last half a century. On his own, with his son – the legendary Shuggie, of course – and working with folks like Preston Love, Johnny Otis really knew his shit (as the kids say).
Today’s selection is of a 1969 vintage, and like the equally awesome ‘Watts Breakaway’ (featured here three years back) it is a cooperative effort between Johnny, Shuggie and Delmar ‘Mighty Mouth ‘ Evans. ‘Country Girl’ is easily identifiable as part of the ‘Tramp continuum’, started by Mr. Lowell Fulsom, and carried on through Otis and Carla, Brian and Jools, the Mohawks and countless others.
The tune features vocals interplay between Johnny and Delmar (and booming guitar courtesy of Shuggie) in which they rhapsodize about the outstanding physical attributes of the titular woman (“great big ole healthy country girl”). As songs written in tribute to big butts, ‘Country Girl’ is the ne plus ultra (apologies to Sir Mix-A-Lot).
It’s easy to get lost inside a groove this heavy, but make sure to pay attention to the lyrics, especially the warning that ‘You can take foxes out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of foxes’.
Bing, bang, and of course, boom.
I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back to close out the week with something tasty.

Peace

Larry

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