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Funky 45's
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| #1 - Georgie Fame - El Bandido (Imperial) | |
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Considering all of the obscuro, high-powered, greasy soul organ discs there are, you might be surprised that the first disc I picked to feature is one by the old master himself, Clive Powell (aka Georgie Fame). ‘El Bandido’, the b-side of Fame’s second US hit ‘Getaway’ is one of the few instrumental tracks on his first two US albums. Featuring strong production by Denny Cordell, the ‘Getaway’ LP is a very soulful, slightly grittier outing than the ‘Yeh Yeh’ lp, and ‘El Bandido’ is one of it’s best tracks. Starting out with a great rhythm guitar, and a very solid horn section (sounding like a slightly ‘cleaner’ Stax session) the B-3 comes on strong after the intro, showing that Georgie was as strong on the keys (stronger actually) as he was a singer. Georgie pops in throughout with quasi-Mexican Frito Bandito-esque exclamations of "muchacho" and "vamos". Groovy. This does not appear to be available on CD currently (it looks like the current CD of 'Getaway' is a UK version that subbed 'Eso Beso' for 'El Bandido'), but you ought to be able to score a copy of the 45 for less than $10, and even the LP turns up now and again. | |
| #2 - Charlie Earland Erector Set - Yas-Suh! (El Dorado) | |
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Yeah!!! It just doesn't get any hotter than this. This is by far my favorite organ jam of all time. In the world of soul-jazz organ, no one represents both halves of that category quite as well as Charles Earland. When you listen to the records he made in the late 60's and the early 70's, it's hard to believe that the organ was not his original axe. He played with a soulful fire that was equaled by his technical facility and capacity for invention. 'Yes-Suh', the a-side of this, one of his earliest 45's (68/69) for local Philly label Eldorado, is an absolute earthquake of a disc. From the opening shout of 'Yes-Suh'!, the disc takes off and only picks up speed and power as it moves along. Earland works the bass pedals almost as fast as he burns up the keys, and is backed along the way by a smoking horn section and an extremely funky drummer. Mere words do not do justice to the ferocity of this tune. You almost want to grab it off the turntable and wring out the sweat. I can just imagine this straining the speaker on a juke in some North Philly bar. The b-side, a slightly re-titled version of Stevie Wonder's 'Ma Cherie Amour', manages to add a little funk to the sunny love song, and is a great showcase for Earland's deeply soulful style. He managed to take a familiar 'jazz' organ style, butter it with funk, soul and an unmatchable good-time high energy that added up to a sound like no other. While Larry Young (rightfully) gets props for the brilliant inside/outside playing of his Blue Note sessions, Charles Earland took the B-3 and worked his own mighty originals and soul hits with a tremendous amount of style and skill. | |
| #3
- Toussaint McCall - Shimmy , Toussaint Shuffle, The Title Escapes Me (Ronn)  | |
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Usually, the Organ Groove of the month is a single tune, or two sides of the same single. This month we make an exception to take in all three killer organ sides by Toussaint McCall. To many soul fans, when they hear the name Toussaint McCall, they think of the deep, rich voice that hit the top 40 in 1967 with ‘Nothing Takes the Place of You. Mention the same subject to fans of funk and organ grooves, and the tune that comes to mind is almost always that tune’s flipside ‘Shimmy’. The two sides of that 45 are so dissimilar, that if you were to play them for someone unfamiliar with the artist, they’d probably think they were listening to two different bands. While ‘Nothing Takes the Place of You’ floats along on McCall’s romantic baritone, and was probably a favorite make out tune in 1967, ‘Shimmy’ is the very definition of the word ‘raw’. Featuring only McCall’s B3 (with bass pedals) and drums, the recording is as loud, raunchy and powerful slab of Hammond organ madness as has ever been recorded. ‘Shimmy’ is one of those records that literally drags people onto the dance floor and makes them sweat. It has recently been comped twice – on both Mr. Fine Wine’s ‘Vital Organs’ collection as well as one of the Mod Jazz volumes – and for a fairly common record is commanding a respectable price on the collectors market. If you don’t have a copy at hand, I strongly suggest you get one. It is an essential record. The funny thing is that for his many singles (and one LP), McCall only seems to have recorded three sides of organ instrumentals: ‘Shimmy’, ‘The Title Escapes Me’ and ‘Toussaint Shuffle’. ‘The Title Escapes Me’ and ‘Toussaint Shuffle’ while not monsters like ‘Shimmy’ are also fairly stomping numbers. They both feature the addition of hot guitar solos into the mix. ‘The Title Escapes Me’ is the closer of the two to ‘Shimmy’ in sound and execution, but ‘Toussaint Shuffle’ is a much more upbeat number that really should have been a hit. There was also a third sound to McCall’s records. In addition to a number of ballads, and the three organ ravers, he also laid down some extremely rocking soul vocals like ‘I’m Gonna Make Me A Woman’ and a nice, upbeat version of ‘Summertime’ on his Ronn LP ‘Nothing Takes The Place of You’ (which in typical 1967 deep-south fashion only features a picture of McCall on the back, the front featuring a couple of white kids). There is a CD retrospective out, but it omits ‘The Title Escapes Me’ in favor of some less interesting vocals. For those willing to dig, McCall’s 45’s aren’t all that hard to come by in decent condition, and if you’re lucky you might score a copy of the LP, which includes all three organ classics. | |
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#4 James Brown & The Famous Flames Shhhhhhhh (For A Little While) (King) |
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Listen to a sample of 'Shhhhhhhh (For A Little While)'
It is immediately clear (at least to me) why 'Shhhhhhhh (For A Little While)' stands head and shoulders above every other record in the JB organ catalogue. The 1968 instrumental (released just prior to 'Licking Stick') possesses a frantic energy, is filled with some of the Godfather's best soulful grunts (you can almost hear the sweat dripping on the keys), and has some hard, funky drums in it's foundation. One of a handful of small-group organ sides Brown recorded for King in the 60's (as opposed to his large band LP's recorded during the same period for Smash) 'Shhhhhhhh (For A Little While)' is a storming dancer, which has made it a Mod favorite. Here, Brown wailing solos dominate the track - watch your tweeters shudder as this one burns - in counterpoint to the muscular rhythm guitar. Brown's other organ sides for King, like the bluesy shuffle 'Shades of Brown', and the minimalist funk of 'Lowdown Popcorn' are solid, yet pale in comparison to 'Shhhhhhhh (For A Little While)' (I would assume that the title is a reference to the singer laying out), which strangely enough was not included on the comp of JB instro's released in the late 90's. Someone at the record company has a tin ear. This is not one of the easier JB sides to track down, but is well worth whatever you have to lay down to snag it. Very groovy indeed! | |
| "He
was a genius." That’s the phrase you hear over and over again when New Orleans musicians start talking about James Booker. Considered by many to be one of the masters of New Orleans piano (right alongside Professor Longhair and Dr. John), Booker was also a tragic figure, whose life is sad story of wasted talent, drug abuse and mental illness. Fortunately his musical life was – at least intermittently – made up of remarkable performances. Though largely remembered as a pianist, Booker made a number of organ recordings in the late 50’s and early 60’s, one of which accounted for the sole appearance of his name on the charts. Born in New Orleans in December of 1939. He was something of a child prodigy, and as a teenager played piano on a number of Fats Domino records. He made his first record under his own name (as Arthur & Booker) in 1956. In the late 50’s Booker toured as the pianist in Joe Tex’s band, and in 1958 recorded ‘Teenage Rock’ b/w ‘Open The Door’ for Ace Records as ‘Little Booker’. The following year Don Robey of Houston’s Duke & Peacock records tried to hire Booker (on the |
#5
-James
Booker |
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recommendation
of Earl King) as an A&R man, but Booker declined. Not long after that
he went on the road with Phil Upchurch as a keyboardist, and soon found
himself stranded in Houston. Robey had Booker record some sessions with
Little Junior Parker, and while in the studio had Booker lay down a few
things of his own. One of these tunes was Booker’s ‘Gonzo’ which would be one of Duke/Peacock’s biggest sellers making it to the Top Ten on the R&B chart and Top 50 Pop. Unfortunately for Booker, he didn’t see much of the profits. Robey was a notorious gangster (who is said to have negotiated contracts with a loaded revolver on his desk). Booker signed over all of his rights (including songwriting credit, which automatically went over to ‘D. Malone’, a standard pseudonym of Robey’s used to collect royalties). Over the next few years Booker would record more than a dozen sides for the two labels, only ten of which would be released over five singles. Three of these were on Peacock under his own name, and two were for Duke under the name ‘Earl Forest’* (see note below). The first 45, ‘Gonzo’ b/w ‘Cool Turkey’ revealed Booker to be a highly original organ stylist. The sound is a unique mixture of R&B, pop and jazz, with a healthy dollop of New Orleans-style piano added in. ‘Gonzo’ starts out with the drums and the bass pedals of the organ in a rolling rhythm, with Booker stating the melody line. He is soon joined by a jazzy flute (I have not been able to find a reference stating who played the flute on these sessions. Whoever he/she was, they cooked). While the mood remains light throughout, there’s enough momentum to please the dancers, and plenty of melody. ‘Cool Turkey’ features guitar as well, and some fantastic keyboard work by Booker. It really is a pleasure to hear someone take a fully formed piano style and combine it with technical facility on the organ. Booker does just that, and ‘Cool Turkey’ ends up with a little more punch than it’s a-side. The next Peacock 45 is ‘Smacksie’ b/w ‘Kinda Happy’. ‘Smacksie’ (besides being another not-so-vague drug reference) features more nimble keyboard work, and a sax solo. What makes him an important transitional figure is that Booker’s organ ‘sound’ (i.e. the tone and stops he was using) are reminiscent of earlier pop and jazz organists, while his playing style points directly to the future of the instrument as an R&B hit-maker. ‘Kinda Happy’ is a much more conventional (read ‘pop’) number, though Booker’s playing is always interesting to listen to, and the tune features a great jazz-inflected flute solo. The last of the Peacock singles ‘Tubby Pts 1&2’ sports a melody that (with a tip of the hat to New Orleans) is a not-so-distant cousin to ‘Staggerlee’. The tune is marked by a more aggressive tempo, and a larger horn section. The two Earl Forest 45’s on Duke seem to have been aiming at a slightly different market (thus the changed name). Both 45’s feature vocals, and were obvious attempts at ‘dance craze’ records. The organ sound used is less atmospheric, and the tempos are faster. ‘Memphis Twist’ b/w ‘Beale St. Popeye’ and ‘The Duck’ b/w ‘The Crown’ are both worth listening to, but in the end not as interesting as the Peacock sides. Last year Tuff City/Night Train released the deceptively titled ‘James Booker: All The Funky 45’s and More’ (these 45’s are classics, but funky they ain’t). This set included three unreleased tracks, ‘Just To Hold My Hand’, ‘Next Time You See Me’ and ‘Big Nick’. All three seem to have been pulled from the sessions that produced the Peacock 45’s, and of the three, ‘Big Nick’ is the best. It has an interesting melody and more great interplay between Booker on the organ and the flute. After ending his association with Duke & Peacock in 1963, Booker went on to make a number of records under his own name, as well as doing sessions for many other artists both in New York and New Orleans. He spent time (like Chris Kenner and Charles Neville) in Angola prison on a drug rap, and drugs would plague him for the rest of his life, eventually eroding his sanity and putting an end to his career. His piano recordings (live and in the studio) are also highly recommended. |
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Correction
3/8/02 Much thanks to Luc Heymans (who provided the scan at left) and Richard Karstrom, both of who informed me that 'Big Nick' was not in fact an unreleased tune but appeared as Peacock 45-1923 as the b-side to 'Cross My Heart' NOTE 5/8/03 Though it seems likely that James Booker is the organist on the Earl Forest 45s, it's just as likely that the leader of these sessions was in fact BB King's drummer Earl Forest (not a pseudonymous Booker). |
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#6 - Perry & The Harmonics - Do The Monkey With James (Mercury) |
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Listen
to samples in RealAudio Opening with a brisk but low-key vamp, a voice soon enters the scene. ‘Have you ever heard of James? That cat with ten gold fingers? Who had Russia sending him love? Girls falling at his feet. James can do anything. The Jerk, The MONKEY, the Twist. In fact James’ Monkey sorta goes like this…” all followed by a brief sax solo, and the organ EXPLODES! The tune turns from a slightly sinister novelty into a stone groover. Perry & The Harmonics were a Chicago group (led by saxophonist Clarence Perry). Their 45, ‘Do The Monkey With James’ b/w ‘James Out Of Sight’ was lifted from the Mercury LP ‘Intrigue With Soul’. A quick look at the song titles on the LP (or a listen to the lyrics of the single) makes it immediately that the ‘James’ in the tune in Bond, not Brown (see Rex Garvin & The Mighty Cravers ‘Sock It To ‘Em JB for a similar take). The ‘vocal’ (more like narration) and piano were provided by Ed Townsend, who had had significant success as a ballad singer (‘For Your Love’ in 1958). He also wrote ‘For The Love Of My Man’ for Theola Kilgore and later co-wrote ‘Let’s Get It On’ for Marvin Gaye. While ‘Do The Monkey With James’ is an absolutely brilliant soul/jazz killer, it’s obscurity is probably due to the fact that it was likely swallowed in a tidal wave of “spy”-related cash-ins around the Bond films, including the Man from U.N.C.L.E. on TV, and Derek Flint, Modesty Blaise, and Matt Helm in the movies. Not to mention a bunch of soul tributes including the Miracles ‘Come Spy With Me’, the Olympics ‘Secret Agents’ and the aforementioned Rex Garvin disc. It doesn’t help that the rest of the LP, despite being quality soul jazz, sounds NOTHING like the 45. There is a certain cool, spy-jazz sound (5 of the 9 tracks are covers of Bond themes by John Barry and Bricusse/Newley), and the tunes ‘Golden Horn’, ‘Goldfinger’s Got the Blues’ and ‘James Goes To Soulville’ are definitely worth a second listen. The organ (played by Richard
McRea) is
wailing and the backbeat (Paul Pratt on guitar and Maurice Wells on drums)
makes it a great dancer. In a just world ‘Do The Monkey With James’
would be revered as a Mod classic, burning up turntables and dance floors
the world over. It may yet
happen…. |
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#7 - East Bay Soul Brass - The Panther b/w Lets Go Lets Go Lets Go |
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In the world of organ grooves, there are a few basic categories. You have your old-school kung fu, with a relatively conventional attack, your Leaping Mantis style hard funk, and then your Shaolin Boogaloo Drunken Monk style, in which the grooves at hand don’t easily fit any category. This hard little biscuit by the East Bay Soul Brass is as drunk as they come. Someone out there on the coast (at the label that brought you the Village Callers mighty ‘Hector’) took a nice solid idea, and then ran with it, and then kept on running. ‘The Panther’ is a nice funky organ/horn groove, with a growling “panther’ dropped in at various points, no doubt to remind you that the song you’re listening to is called ‘The Panther’. If this happened say, four or five times, and they stuck with the original ‘panther’ sound, what you’d have is a cool , funky novelty record. What actually happened is, some wise guy got a hold of a cat sound effects records, and in addition to the panther, they laid on what sounds like a house cat being fed into a wood-chipper – over and over and OVER again. Wild stuff but you really have to be in the mood… The flip-side, a cover of the old Hank Ballard chestnut ‘Let’s Go, Let’s Go, Let’s Go’ is actually the cooler side of the record. The Hammond sounds are more pronounced here and whoever the player is (long lost in the sands of time and obscurity) does a fine job. Well worth the ten or fifteen bucks you’ll lay out for it. |
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#11 - The Veep Recordings of |
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The stories behind most funky 1960’s Hammond 45s usually follow one of two paths. Either they come from a journeyman artist with a lengthy discography, usually someone like Jack McDuff who started as a purely jazz player but worked his way through soul and funk, or, players like Hindal Butts who only ever recorded one or two 45’s. Truman Thomas falls somewhere in between the two extremes. Born in Texas in 1949, by his late teens Thomas had achieved the enviable position of playing organ in he band of the legendary Jackie Wilson. He appears on some of Wilson’s late 60’s Brunswick recordings and also co-wrote Wilson’s ‘You Can Count On Me’. In 1967 he was signed to United Artists affiliate Veep Records. While with Veep he recorded a full LP and 3 45’s (two of them non-lp). During this period he also recorded (and co-wrote at least one tune) with Bobby Womack. Thomas’ Veep recordings have a deep, ‘churchy’ sound (not unlike Billy Preston’s work from the same period). While not a dazzling technician, Thomas managed to imbue his records with a great sense of soul. His 1967 LP is composed entirely of covers of soul tunes by artists like James Brown, Jackie Wilson and Chris Bartley. Highlights of the album include excellent versions of ‘Funky Broadway’ (also released on 45) that includes a nice break, ‘Cold Sweat’ and a superb take on Chris Bartley’s ‘The Sweetest Thing This Side of Heaven’. The two non-lp 45 releases, coming from l968 are both excellent. The first, ‘After Loving You’ b/w ‘My Soul’ features the only two Thomas compositions in his Veep recordings. ‘My Soul’ is an upbeat soul dancer, which also features a nice break toward the end of the tune. ‘After Loving You’ is a little bit funkier with a nice horn chart. |
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His last 45 for Veep includes covers of Edwin Starr’s ‘Twenty Five Miles’ and the Band’s ‘The Weight’. Thomas’ take on ‘Twenty Five Miles’ is excellent. His version of ‘The Weight’ sees Thomas playing both organ and electric piano (a technique also used by Hank Marr and Toussaint McCall). It’s one of the better covers of the tune. After 1968, Thomas worked mainly as a sideman, recording with the Isley Brothers, Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack and King Curtis among others. As far as I can tell none of his Veep recording have been comped recently, though the 45s aren’t terribly hard to find and the LP turns up on E-Bay every once in a while. |
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Winston Wright 'Heads or Tails' (Green Door - 4011A)
Left: Winston Wright |
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The Hammond Groove of the month has – up to now – been solely occupied by soul, funk and R&B. This months selection, ‘Head or Tails’ by Winston Wright is the first reggae 45 on the list (thought it’s not likely to be the last). There’s a great tradition in ska, rock steady and reggae of solid Hammond players, among them the mighty Jackie Mittoo, Tyrone Downie, Gladdie Anderson and Boris Gardiner. Winston Wright was born in Jamaica in 1944. By the mid 60’s he was a major session player, first for Duke Reid, then later as a member of Tommy McCook’s Supersonics and Clancy Eccles’ Dynamites. By the late 60’s he was a member of the Harry J All Stars, who rode the UK top 10 in late 1969 and early 1970 with ‘The Liquidator’. ‘The Liquidator’ is an all-time skinhead reggae classic that has made numerous appearances on Reggae compilations over the years. The rhythm track had made its initial appearance on the Pama label as ‘What Am I To Do’ by Tony Scott. A year later the opening bars of 'Liquidator' were "borrowed" for the beginning of the Staple Singer's track "I'll Take You There". In the late 60’s and early 70’s Wright was recording for a number of labels, many of them Trojan subsidiaries like Harry J, Duke, Techniques, GG and Green Door. Wright’s sole release on the Green Door label was ‘Heads or Tails’. A cover of a Booker T. & The MGs track, which had appeared on the ‘Soul Limbo’ LP in 1968 (the track was also covered by the Mar-Keys), ‘Heads or Tails’ is a smoky, laid back groover that doesn’t stray too far from the source material. That is with the marked exception of the reggae rhythm, which gives Wright’s version of the song a deeper groove. The Hammond is drenched in reverb, and Wright has lots of time to solo. The flip side is a cover of 'Ranchy' by a group called the Roasters. Currently both ‘Liquidator’ and ‘Heads or Tails’ are available in reissue as part of the ‘Trojan Instrumentals’ box set. The Trojan budget boxed sets are an amazing value (3 CDs for around $15USD), and the ‘Instrumentals’ set is worth the price for these two tunes alone. An original 45 of ‘Liquidator’ shouldn’t be too difficult to come by. I was only able to score a copy of ‘Heads or Tails’ with the help of a friend in the UK, and at a steep price. Sadly, Winston Wright passed away in 1993. |
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Organ Groove of the Month Double Feature! |
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By far the rarest of McCall's Hammond sides (this is only
the second copy I've seen) and I suspect that it was only ever released as a
promo*. This copy is single sided, and my first copy had 'Sweet Tea' on
both sides. Here we see a funkier side of the man with heavy bass and drums, and McCall working both Hammond and electric piano. Unfortunately this is likely the last Hammond instro he recorded. He recorded an LP in the 80's but it was strictly vocal soul (like his hit 'Nothing Takes The Place of You'). If anyone has info as to the date of this recording (sounds very early 70's) or if it ever saw general release I'd love to hear from you. |
| * Update: Via a recent E-Bay auction I found out that this tune shows up on no less than two different issues on Dore, one with the instro "Mary" on the flip, and the other with the vocal "I Would Rather Have All or Nothing" on the flip, both issues with the same catalog number (842). I haven;'t heard either of these tunes. | |
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Art Butler - Soul Brother b/w Ode To Billie Joe (Epic) |
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I know nothing about Butler (I haven't been able to confirm is if this is the same guy as "Artie Butler" that did some soundtrack writing/recording in the late 60's) but this is one of the funkiest Hammond records of the era. Opening with the bass and drums working out together, the Hammond follows close behind. The overall effect is like super funky take on a 60's go-go sound and it's a killer. The flip is a moody take on 'Ode To Billie Joe' that reminds me some of Mel Brown's version. |