Lamont Dozier — Dearest One
b/w Fortune Teller (Mel-o-dy, 1962)
Before his disco-funk raging in the 70s, Lamont Dozier was a damn smooth soul singer, and already baring his impressive songwriting chops. This—at age 20, mind you—was his first Motown recording.
Charles Sheffield — It’s Your Voodoo Workin’
b/w Rock’n’Roll Train (Excello, 1961)
Spooky single from Charles Sheffield, an R&B singer from Lake Charles, Louisiana who cut a few sides and then disappeared…
Check out Mississippi Records’ House of Broken Hearts Vol. 1 tape if you like this…
The Dramatics — Hot Pants in the Summertime
from Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get (1972)
This is amazing.
hey there girl (hey there)…
you sho’ look good in your hot pants, hot pants, hot pants, hot pants…
Joe Bataan — The Prayer
from Mr. New York and the East Side Kids (1971)
Worship in the church of Latin soul.. with Joe “Mr New York” Bataan’s lush and lovely ‘The Prayer.’ Bataan grew up in Spanish Harlem, and headed up the Dragons, a Puerto Rican street gang, before landing in jail on stolen car charges. After his release at age 23, he started his first group, Joe Bataan and the Latin Swingers, melding Latin boogaloo and doo-wop. Shortly thereafter he signed with Johnny Pacheco’s Fania Records, an influential New York salsa label.
The rest is history.. he is now the self-crowned “King of Latin Soul.”
More great Latin soul here, if you dig it…
Garland Green — Jealous Kind of Fella
from Jealous Kind of Fella (1969)
“Hello baby, please don’t be too mad at me, because I punched that guy last night. Well, let me explain before you say anything…”
Great single from Chicago soul singer Garland Green. Here’s what Ayana has to say over at Chicago arts/music site Dark Jive:
Someone who could “never lose” at the South Side Talent Shows that local record execs scoured for fresh talent, Chicago’s own Garland Green made a name for himself in the late sixties as a growling, burgeoning soul star to be reckoned with. Ironically, he wasn’t discovered at a Talent Show, but playing pool. Legend has it that a local Barbecue Magnate named Argia B. Collins overheard Green’s distinctive growl while the singer was playing pool, and that he ultimately funded Garland’s turn at the Chicago Conservatory of Music.
Wow. Thank you Mr. BBQ. You can also listen to interviews with Green and Collins’ daughter there. Might also want to sneak a listen to ‘You Played on a Player.’
Robert Palmer — Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley (Allen Toussaint)
from Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley (1974)
This album cover is just outlandish, in the best possible way. And holy shit is the band on fire.
Lowell George, Allen Toussaint and The Meters can be heard on this funky classic…
(via artofthesong)
Crazy interview with Sugar Pie DeSanto on WFMU’s “Fool’s Paradise” right now. This woman is something else! (And she plays the Bell House in Brooklyn on New Year’s Eve)
Brenton Wood — I Think You’ve Got Your Fools Mixed Up
from Oogum Boogum (1967)
If you listen to enough Brenton Wood, you’ll realize that he is a master of the two-chord song. Specifically, a major chord followed by a minor chord one step up the scale. This song is one example; his big hit ‘Gimme Little Sign’ is the same progression, but in reverse. This is the secret to his soul, and it’s catchy as hell.
(if you still don’t believe me, check out his third single ‘Baby You Got It’)
Chubby and the Turnpikes — I Know the Inside Story b/w I Didn’t Try (1967)
Bathe in the harmonies of Ralph, Pooch, Chubby, Butch and Tiny Tavares—five soul-crooning brothers from New Bedford, Massachusetts. Later, renaming the group Tavares, the brothers dipped into disco, scoring hits like their Bee Gees cover ‘More Than a Woman.’
Useless trivia: the single was backed by ‘I Didn’t Try.’ But promo copies of this record, like the image above, combined the A and B-side titles by mistake.
David Axelrod — The Auction
from The Auction (1972)
The name David Axelrod may bring to mind Obama’s strategic adviser. Now meet the other David Axelrod—prolific jazz and funk producer/composer.
This percussion-heavy spoken word groover appears on Axelrod’s 1972 slavery concept album The Auction. If you like this, make sure you check out Lincoln Chase, who operates on a similar plane…
Thanks to Know Your Conjurer for posting this gem. Get yer audio there…
Pickwick — Turn the Light Out (Councours d’Elegance cover)
from Covers/Split (2011)
Was digging around bandcamp a bit yesterday and came across Pickwick. I know very little about them other than that they’re from Seattle, and channel a sort of neo-soul, falsetto-laced sound, of which this catchy little ditty is a prime example.
Check ‘em out at bandcamp.
Sly Stone — I Ain’t Got Nobody
from Recorded in San Francisco 1964-67
Killer psychedelic soul track by Sylvester Stewart—aka Sly Stone—recorded in 1967, eventually released as a Sly and the Family Stone single in 1972. The bass & drums break about halfway in is outlandishly good—don’t miss it. The rest of the album is a bizarre collection of spoken word pieces, funky singles like this, and a Herbie Hancock cover, ‘Watermelon Man.’
Sly is reportedly living in a van in LA right now, too paranoid to go into his rented house, but friends say he’s content and recording tunes on a laptop in the van.
Kashif — Help Yourself to My Love
from Kashif (1983)
I’m slipping deeper and deeper into a smoove music coma, circa 1983. I already posted a track from this album, but as Michael J would affirm, I just can’t get enough. That synthesized bass is so delicious.
My sister says my music tastes are trending towards the impossibly cheesy. That may be true. But I hope you’re right there with me.
Stay tuned for a trip back to Kashif’s early days with B.T. Express. (Brooklyn Trucking Express)
Sam Taylor Jr. — I Heard It Through the Grapevine
from The Tunnels of My Mind (1969)
I know what you’re thinking—“I’ve heard ‘I’ve Heard It Through The Grapevine’ way too many times.”
Well let me assure you that you’ve never heard Grapevine swing like this. Sam Taylor Jr., a bluesy soul singer and guitarist from Long Island via Mobile, Alabama, put out this smoking album in 1969, and this version of Grapevine makes the rest shrivel up in shame.
Later in his career Taylor provided guitar duties for musicians on the ‘chitlin circuit,’ including The Isleys and Otis Redding. A friend recently gave me an excellent book on these influential clubs called The Chitlin’ Circuit: And the Road to Rock’n’Roll. So far, it’s a fascinating history.
Album via last week’s Motherlode.
Carlos Guzman y Los Fabulosos Cuatro — El Tren
Carlos Guzman and his Fabulous Four came screaming out of the lower Rio Grande Valley in the mid 60s with electric guitars and garage organs blazing—revolutionizing the música tejana of the era by replacing the traditional 12-string bajo sexto and accordion with electrified instruments.
This track is an arrangement of Ray Charles’ 1966 track ‘The Train’ by Fabuloso Cuatro guitarist Ramiro “Snowball” de la Cruz (the nickname “Snowball” came from a fellow bandmade riffing on Cruz’s albinism).
Carlos Guzman y los Fabulosos Cuatro (that’s Ramiro with the sunglasses)
More on Tejano music in the book Tejano Proud and at OndaNet. Music via el fabuloso Supersonido and Los Sonidos del Nopal.
