Tony Fox – (I’ve Got To) Do It To It

Tony Fox (I think…)

“Listen – Tony Fox – (I’ve Got To) Do It To It – MP3″

Greetings all.

The tune I bring you today is another one from DC digs pile.
I pulled ‘(I’ve Got To) Do It To It’ out of a stack of 45s, and though the name of the artist (Tony Fox) was a mystery to me, Calla is a well known soul label, and I would be a fool (as would anyone) to walk away from a record with a title like ‘(I’ve Got To) Do It To It’ without at least checking it out.
Good thing I did to, since it’s a great piece of soul on the way to funk.
That said, I haven’t been able to track down any info at all on Tony Fox, other than the fact that he recorded a second 45 for Calla, as well as sides for Tri-Spin, Moonshot, Mayfield, Emerald City and Mercury and may have been (though I cannot confirm this) been a member of the African Beavers. It’s driving me nuts that I haven’t been able to find out more about him, especially since he recorded for so many labels, probably well into the 80s.
That said, though Fox himself is something of a mystery, the song itself has an interesting history. According to the credits on the 45, ‘(I’ve Got To) Do It To It’ was written by Teddy Vann (who produced the Fox 45) and Calvin White. According to other sources (a comp of Calla recordings), it was in fact written by Vernon Harrell and JR Bailey*. The tune was also recorded (on Calla) by Harrell and the Sandpebbles** (though as far s I can tell their version may have been unreleased until much later), and – strangely enough – is not the same ‘Do It To It’ recorded on Calla by Bird Rollins.
In yet another twist, Vernon Harrell’s Wikipedia entry suggests that all three versions of ‘Do It To It’ share a backing track with the Coasters’ version of ‘Lovey Dovey’ (written by Ahmet Ertegun and Eddie Curtis and originally recorded by the Clovers), but although the tune is vaguely similar, it’s not the same track.
I can’t say with certainty who actually wrote ‘(I’ve Got To) Do It To It’ – if anyone knows for sure please let me know – but I can say that it is a burner.
I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Monday.

Peace

Larry

NOTE: Don’t forget to fall by Viva Internet Radio Tonight at 9PMEST for the latest edition of the Funky16Corners Radio Show. You can always check out the show (and many pastshows) in the archive.

PS Don’t forget to head over to Iron Leg for some very groovy Hammond beat.

PSS Check out Paperback Rider which has finally been updated.

PSSS Don’t forget to hit up Funky16Corners on Facebook

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Wildare Express – A River’s Invitation

Reuben Wilson

“Listen – Wildare Express – A River’s Invitation – MP3″

Greetings all.

I hope the end of the week finds you all well enough to sit up, and dig some swinging, soulful Hammond organ (a condition I find myself in the grips of almost constantly).
This time out, the Hammond in question is being worked masterfully by one of the greats of the funk and soul organ, Mr Reuben Wilson and his group the Wildare Express.
Wilson, who was born in Oklahoma, but grew up in California where he was influenced by Billy Larkin and Richard Groove Holmes.
Wilson moved to New York in 1966 and formed the Wildare Express (also billed as the Wildare Trio) with drummer Tommy Derrick and a guitarist who’s name has been lost to the ages (it doesn’t help that he wasn’t credited on the group’s album). Wildare Express recorded a number of 45s and one full length album for the Brunswick label, all of them featuring Wilson on the organ.
The group’s sound is pretty pure soul jazz, covering a number of genre standards (like today’s selection) as well as contemporary pop material (like the b-side of this 45, a cover of ‘Walk On By’).
‘A River’s Invitation’, written and originally recorded by the great Percy Mayfield. The song is an unusual one, combining an uplifting melody with vaguely macabre lyrics (in which the river invites the protagonist, in search of a lost love, to drown himself). Though there have been dozens of vocal covers of the song, I’ve mainly known the song over the years as an instrumental – including another organ version by Leon Haywood that I posted here some years ago.
The Wildare Express version moves along at a nice clip, opening with a statement of the melody on the sax (no idea who it is) and rhythm guitar, before Wilson comes in blazing about halfway through the record.
I’ve always found Reuben Wilson to be an underrated player. He had a great style, combining a solid jazz feel with a soulful edge. He did do a lot of soul and funk cover material, which 40 years on endears him to crate diggers (his records have been sampled a number of times) but may have been responsible for a position in the second rank of Hammond masters.
After the dissolution of the Wildare Express, Wilson signed with Blue Note and recorded five albums, before moving to Groove Merchant in the early 70s for another three, and then to Cadet for one album in 1975. He has spent the last 30+ years recording for a variety of independent labels.
As far as I know none of the Wildare Express material has been reissued, and aside from the tune I’m posting here, you’ll have to go out and dig for the rest.
I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll be back on Monday.

Peace

Larry

NOTE: It’s a little late to catch the show from the beginning, but don’t forget to fall by Viva Internet Radio Tonight at 9PMEST for the latest edition of the Funky16Corners Radio Show. You can always check out the show (and many pastshows) in the archive.

PS Don’t forget to head over to Iron Leg for a mystery record

PSS Check out Paperback Rider which has finally been updated.

PSSS Don’t forget to hit up Funky16Corners on Facebook

Rex Garvin & the Mighty Cravers – Raw Funky b/w Funky16Corners On the Road

Rex Garvin & the Mighty Cravers

“Listen – Rex Garvin & the Mighty Cravers – Raw Funky – MP3″

Greetings all.

I hope all is well with you as the magnetic center of the week approaches.
I was all groovy gravy until the Winter Warlock fell by and dropped like a foot of wet, heavy snow on my driveway, and then (you just knew an “and then” was coming, dincha??) to add insult to injury, causing even further injury (oh yes) my goddamn motherf@#& snowblower – which coincidentally hasn’t been started in two years (thanks in large part to an extended dearth of snow in our region) refused to cooperate (i.e. start) and I was forced to take the manual approach to snow removal which left my back, knees and shoulders shredded like wet tissue paper, so it’s something of a miracle that I can even type without breaking into tears (god bless pain medicine).
Anyway (dot dot dot)

Now that the run on sentence is out of my system I must remind you that the end of this week will see myself and my man DJ Prestige packing our vinyl into the Funky16Corners-mobile (a sporty 2003 Honda Odyssey mini van with baby seats and kid garbage strewn about the floor) and motoring down to the nation’s capitol to spread some Asbury Park 45 Sessions style love with the vintage funk 45s, first at Moneytown (at Dahlak) in DC on Friday night 3/6 and then the following night (look at us we’re Grand Funk freaking Railroad) in Richmond, VA at Mercy! (at Cous Cous), two of the finest funk and soul parties below the line of Mason and Dixon.
This promises to be a very groovy experience as we love the vinyl thing, as well as the fact that we are going to be able to meet up with some old friends, new friends and such, and maybe (just maybe if sleep and energy allows) get in a touch of digging.
If you are within driving distance of either party it would be very cool if you would stop by and say howdy.
As a result of the travel and the plans and what not this will be the last post of the week. Because of that, I figured that the record in question should be something cool, so I reached into my bag of tricks (a la Felix) and pulled out a fairly recent acquisition.
The sounds of Rex Garvin and the Mighty Cravers has been featured herein several times in the past, mainly because one of those records – ‘I Gotta Go Now (Up On the Floor)’ – is one of my all time faves.
I’m always on the lookout for Rex Garvin sides I don’t have, and late last year, at one of the AP45 Sessions the 45 Killer brought down a box of sale stuff and in it was a copy of today’s selection, ‘Raw Funky’ by Mr Garvin and his Cravers.
Rex wasn’t lying when he named this song, on account of its being both raw and funky, with a taste of the James Brownian vibe plus a soupcon of something a little more free and chaotic (which is how Rex rolled) and the end result is most excellent.
Pull down the ones and zeros, slip on your dancing shoes and if your down in Ole Virginny, drop by and party with us. If you can’t be there in person, join us in spirit and cut yourself a rug on your home turf.
Have a great rest of the week and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Peace

Larry

NOTE: If that all wasn’t enough, don’t forget to fall by Viva Internet Radio Thursday night at 9PMEST for the latest edition of the Funky16Corners Radio Show. You can always check out the old shows in the archive.

PS Don’t forget to head over to Iron Leg for a new edition of the Iron Leg Digital Trip Podcast…

PSS Check out Paperback Rider which has finally been updated.

PSSS Don’t forget to hit up Funky16Corners on Facebook

Nanette Workman – Lady Marmalade + News…

Nanette Workman

“Listen – Nanette Workman – Lady Marmalade – MP3″

Greetings all.

The end of yet another week is upon us and I don’t know about you guys, but I’m good and whipped, and by the time you read this I may well be on the road for a four or five hour trek (second busy weekend of three in a row).
Next week I’ll be hitting the road with my man DJ Prestige. We’ll be motoring down to Washington, DC and Richmond, VA for two nights of Asbury Park 45 Sessions style record slinging. I’ll be posting detailed information in the coming week.

Anyway, enough about my exhaustion, how’s by you?
I’ll venture a guess that there are many among you similarly afflicted, so why not crash into the weekend with a hot one??
The tune I bring you today is one that I picked up sans-portable, but the price-tag (low, low, low) combined with a cover version of a hot song seemed like a good buy, and it was.
I had never heard the name Nanette Workman before, but once I got the record home and realized that her version of ‘Lady Marmalade’ was not only hot but sung in French, I set to Googling and found some interesting stuff.
First and foremost, Ms. Workman is not French, but in fact an American-born singer who made her career working not in France, but in French-speaking Canada. During the 1960s she worked on Broadway and TV, and after meeting Canadian star Tony Roman she moved to Quebec and started to record in French (apparently initially singing the lyrics phonetically since she could not yet speak the language).
Workman went on to perform in the UK (where she recorded with the Rolling Stones) and Europe, before returning to Quebec in the early 70s, where her version of ‘Lady Marmalade’ was one of her first big hits.
Workman’s version follows the LaBelle blueprint fairly closely, with the addition of some fat, fuzzy bass guitar, and of course the added attraction of the (entire) tune being sung in French. It’s very groovy indeed, and got a nice reaction when I spun it recently.
I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Monday with something cool.
In the meantime, don’t forget to fall by Viva Internet Radio tonight at 9PM for the latest edition of the Funky16Corners Radio Show. You can always check out the old shows in the archive.

Have a great weekend.

Peace

Larry

PS Don’t forget to head over to Iron Leg for late 60s fuzz…

PSS Check out Paperback Rider which has finally been updated.

PSSS Don’t forget to hit up Funky16Corners on Facebook

Joe Cuba RIP

The always stylish Joe Cuba Sextet

“Listen – Joe Cuba Sextet – Psychedelic Baby (You’re Psychin’ Up My Mind) – MP3″

“Listen – Joe Cuba Sextet – El Pito – MP3″

“Listen – Joe Cuba Sextet – Que Son Uno – MP3″

Greetings all.

I had something else planned for the end of the week, but then the sad news that the mighty Joe Cuba had passed on hit the interwebs and I was duty bound to mark said passing.
If you’re a fan of boogaloo/Latin soul, then the sounds of the Joe Cuba Sextet loom very large. Cuba (born Gilberto Calderon in 1931) made some of the greatest party starters in the genre, including the 1966 hit ‘Bang Bang’ (Top 40, Top Ten in many markets), and my personal boogaloo fave, ‘El Pito’.
The tunes I’m posting today include ‘Psychedelic Baby (You’re Psychin’ Up My Mind)’ – which appeared here a few weeks back, ‘El Pito’ (which was included in Funky16Corners Radio v.51 – Spanish Grease, originally posted back in June of ’08) and a track that that’s never been posted here at the blog, a taste of the mellower side of Joe Cuba, ‘Que Son Uno’.
They’re all quite groovy.
I hope you dig the sounds, and that you raise a glass this weekend in memory of one of the true greats of Latin soul, Mr. Joe Cuba.

Peace

Larry

PS Don’t forget that this Friday night (2/20) marks the return of the Asbury Park 45 Session at the World Famous Asbury Lanes in (where else) Asbury Park NJ. If you’re withing driving distance you’d do well to fall by, soak up the heat of funk and soul on 45, and if you’re hungry, you can soak up some tater tots and beer too.

Also, leep in mind that the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva internet radio returns tonight – Thurs 02/19 at 9PM . The show will play at 9PM, and will be archived thereafter at the Funky16Corners Radio Show Page (where you can still hear many old shows if you haven’t checked it out yet).

PS Don’t forget to head over to Iron Leg

PSS Check out Paperback Rider which has finally been updated.

Funky16Corners Radio Show Tonight 9PM

Greetings all.

This is just a note to let you know that the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva internet radio returns tonight – Thurs 02/12 at 9PM . The show will play at 9PM, and will be archived thereafter at the Funky16Corners Radio Show Page (where you can still hear many old shows if you haven’t checked it out yet).
Also, the next installment of the Asbury Park 45 Sessions is dropping next Friday 2/20 at the World Famous Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park, NJ. Fall by if you’re in the area.

And, if you’re on Facebook, stop by and join the Funky16Corners group.

Peace

Larry

Various and Sundry News Items…

Greetings all.

This is just a note to let you know that the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva internet radio returns tonight – Thurs 02/5 at 9PM . The show will play at 9PM, and will be archived thereafter at the Funky16Corners Radio Show Page (where you can still hear many old shows if you haven’t checked it out yet).

In an exciting development, my man DJ Prestige and yours truly Larry Grogan of Funky16Corners will be hitting the road for an all 45 assault on the mid-Atlantic region on the first weekend of March. Friday night March 6th we’ll be spinning at Moneytown at Dahlak in Washington DC. The following night we’ll be rolling into Richmond VA to spin at Mercy at Cous Cous. If you’re in either of those areas fall by and say hello.

Last but not least, if you’re on Facebook, stop by and join the Funky16Corners group.

Peace

Larry

Funky16Corners Radio Show Tonight 1/15 9PM

Greetings all.

This is just a note to let you know that the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva internet radio returns tonight – Thurs 01/15 at 9PM . The show will play at 9PM, and will be archived thereafter at the Funky16Corners Radio Show Page (where you can still hear many old shows if you haven’t checked it out yet).

Peace

Larry

Funky16Corners Radio Show Tonight – Thurs 12/18 9PM

Greetings all.

It’s time for a Hammond Organ Special!
Fall by the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva internet radio returns tonight – Thurs 12/18 at 9PM – for its fifth edition. The show will play at 9PM, and will be archived thereafter at the Funky16Corners Radio Show Page (where you can hear several shows if you haven’t checked it out yet).
Next week is the Funky16Corners Radio Show Christmas Special! So get down with the Funky16Corners Radio Show.

Peace
Larry

PS I’ll be back either Thursday night or Friday morning with a hot new tune for the weekend!

Funky16Corners Radio v.62 – Hot Pants!!!!!!!!!!!!

Funky16Corners Radio v.62 – Hot Pants!! Under the Covers with James Brown

Playlist

Otis Redding – Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag (Atco)
Dee Felice Trio – There Was a Time (King)
Shark Wilson & the Basement Heaters – Make It Reggae (Ashanti)
Cannibal & the Headhunters – Outta Sight (Rampart)
Albert King – Cold Sweat (Stax)
Dick Hyman – Give It Up of Turn It Loose (Command/ABC)
Mar-Keys – Dear James Medley (Atlantic)
Truman Thomas – Cold Sweat (Veep)
Soulful Strings – There Was a Time (Cadet)
Byron Lee – Hot Reggay (Dynamic)
Jerry O – There Was a Time (White Whale)
Jimmy Lynch – There Was a Time (LaVal)
Enoch Light & the Brass Menagerie – Hot Pants (Project 3)

To hear this mix, head on over to the Funky16Corners Radio Podcast Archive

Greetings all.

I hope all is well on your end.
I wish I could say the same…
I have been having physical problems for the last week or so (nothing tragic, but sick enough to lose interest in most interesting stuff), as well as dealing with some serious family responsibilities that oddly enough reared their head just about this same time last year.
I am – thank Jeebus – still employed, but even that is of little consolation (until you turn on the news and realize how bad things really are).
Anyhoo…I missed my first Asbury Park 45 Sessions this past Friday (my first MIA in almost two years), and I spent most of the day on Saturday engaged in a little restorative vegetation.
It was in the midst of said lollygagging that I happened to be perusing the old hard drive, and then our friendly neighborhood mail carrier arrived with a record (as he so often does) and the deal – as they say – was sealed.
Ever since I started doing the Funky16Corners Radio Show over at Viva internet radio, I’ve been much more careful about gathering and sorting my digi-ma-tized material. As I was flipping through the folders, I just happened to notice that I had a number of covers of James Brown songs in the to-be-blogged area, and I started to copy them into a folder, with the intention of someday making them into a mix.
Then the mailman showed up with yet another, and after a touch of brainstorming, during which I plunged briefly into the crates to pull out a few more sides, I sat down with the turntable and the laptop, and set to work (though I would hardly describe sitting at the dining room table with headphones on as “work”).
When I was done, I had the mix you see before you, and I had an excuse to take most of the week off to concentrate on, and attend to what the crate diggerati describe as “real world moves”.
A couple of these songs have appeared in this space before, a few as individual tracks and others as part of themed mixes.
My hope is that the new context will forgive the recycling.
Things get rolling with a great version of ‘Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag’ by my all time fave soul singer, the master Otis Redding. I think you’ll agree that he did a fine job.
Next up is the only JB ‘protégé’ in the group, pianist Dee Felice and his trio with a slamming take (the first of four in this mix) on ‘There Was a Time’. I have a few other versions of this tune not included in this mix, and I remember at one time contemplating an all ‘There Was a Time Mix’, but eventually thought better of it (especially since I don’t have the Soul Searchers version yet).
Next up is the wholly awesome Jamaican re-working of the Godfather’s ‘Make It Funky’, recast by Shark Wilson and the Basement Heaters as ‘Make It Reggae’.
Most folks are certainly familiar with Cannibal & the Headhunters epic reading of Chris Kenner’s ‘Land of 1000 Dances’ (in which they introduced the ‘NA, NA NA NA NA’S), but I suspect only the Brown Eyed Soul aficionados among you have heard their take on ‘Outta Sight’.
If you’re not hep to the sounds of Albert King, get down to the Record Barn and grab some of the heat he laid down for the Stax label. Like Little Milton and Freddy King, Albert created a soulful strain of the blues, and was often backed by the Stax house band when doing so. His smoking version of ‘Cold Sweat’ was released as the B-side of a 1970 Stax 45.
Dick Hyman is a name well known to jazzbos, and Easy fans as well. He spent a lot of the 60s experimenting with Moog synthesizers for Enoch Light’s various labels. His version of ‘Give It Up (Or Turn It Loose)’ is something of an acquired taste (which I’ve acquired), and should be listened to repeatedly. Whoever’s working the drums is setting a very tasty groove amongst the various bleeps and bloops of the moog.
The Mar-Key’s are best known for their hit ‘Last Night’, one of the earliest hits for the Stax label. Their James Brown medley comes from their 1966 LP on Atlantic.
The Hammond stylings of Mr Truman Thomas are a big fave hereabouts, and first and foremost among them is his wailing version of ‘Cold Sweat’.
Speaking of Funky16Corners faves, they don’t get any fave-er than Richard Evans’ Soulful Strings. Their take on ‘There Was a Time’ is from their live LP.
I recently picked up a very groovy LP by the late Byron Lee and his Dragonaires. ‘Reggay Hot & Cool’ includes both his reworking of ‘Hot Pants’ (entitled) ‘Hot Reggay’, with some very cool flute, and a smooth version of the theme from ‘Shaft’.
The version of ‘There Was a Time’ by Jerry-O namechecks another Chitown cover of that particular song, by (as Jerry refers to him) Gene Chandler ‘The Woman Handler’. It’s definitely one of Jerry-O’s funkier sides for White Whale.
Next up is yet another version of that very tune, by guitarist/comedian Jimmy Lynch. The 45 (on LaVal, the same label that brought you Chick Willis’ ‘Mother Fuyer’) has some questionable fidelity, sounding as if it was recorded surreptitiously, but the power of the tune shines through.
We close things out with a return to the laboratory of Mr Enoch Light, with a surprising tasty version of ‘Hot Pants’ by the Brass Menagerie. This is the record that the mailman dropped off, and brother it was worth the wait. Though Light’s albums were clearly intended for Hi-Fi nuts, the bands he worked with were the cream of the studio crop, and often enough they craned out some funky stuff (breaks for days and what not).
I hope you dig the mix, and I may or may not be back on Friday.
Peace
Larry

PS Make sure to stop by Iron Leg for a great bit of folk rock

PSS Check out Paperback Rider as well