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Funky 45's
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| Lavell Hardy – Don’t Lose Your Groove (Rojac) Often overlooked by partisans of the Third Guitar’s ‘Baby Don’t Cry’, this Rojac release is also powerfully funky. Opening with an ominous guitar chords, it soon drops down into a funky rhythm with a Wilson Pickett-esque, throat-shredding vocal by Lavell. There’s a nice fat drum break about two thirds of the way through, and the flip side ‘Women Of the World’ is worth a listen too. | |
| Ann Sexton – You’re Losing Me (Seventy Seven) - This one starts off with a slow, thoughtful groove but slides into some wicked mid-tempo, JB style, butt shaking funk. Wicked drums, groovy horns, and listen to that bass man get going in the second verse. The flipside, 'You're Gonna Miss Me' made it to #47 in 1973. |
| Willie Bobo – Knock On Wood b/w Ain’t Too Proud To Beg (Verve) yet another greeezy plate full of fried neckbones, cuchifritos and hot sauce from one of the 60’s great boogaloo-ers. A conguero and timbalero, Bobo played with George Shearing, Vince Guaraldi and Cal Tjader (he plays on the mighty ‘Soul Sauce’) before recording a string of his own shit-hot LP’s for Verve in the 60’s. Here he takes on Eddie Floyd and the Temptations. ‘Knock On Wood’ is a killer. ‘Ain’t Too Proud To Beg’ (never one of my favorite songs) is a run of the mill Latinization. |  |
| Bonnie & Lee – The Way I Feel About You (Fairmount) – I grabbed this little gem out of a box of 50 cent records. The condition wasn’t so hot, but the tune is amazing. Starting out deceptively quietly, it builds until the drums and bass turn it into a dance floor raver. The male/female vocal interplay is fantastic as well. This was the final 45 to come out on Philly’s Fairmount label (in the beginning of 1965) which is ripe for a retrospective (with sides by Gene Waiters, Lonnie Youngblood, Irma & The Larks, Shirley Vaughn, King Coleman and Frankie Beverly among others) and this hot little biscuit ought to be at the top of the list. |
| Charles Brinkley & Fully Guaranteed – In The Pocket (Music Machine) – Not to be confused with the killer organ groove by Hindal Butts, this is a laid back funk tune that bears a striking resemblance (in pace and texture) to Eddie Kendrick’s ‘Keep On Truckin’. There’s a cool falsetto vocal by Brinkley, and some funky interplay between the drums and congas, including a great percussion breakdown about halfway through. When you hear Brinkley sing ‘Everything is alright, it’s in the pocket’, you know his pimp-hand is strong. |  |
| Soulful Strings – Burning Spear (Cadet) – If you’ve been here before, you know I’m a big fan of the Soulful Strings. Led by arranger/producer/composer Richard Evans (leader of the Cadet house band), the Strings created a sophisticated vibe, always skirting what some might call ‘easy listening’ by always remaining interesting and maintaining the groove. The opening track from their first LP ‘Groovin’ with the Soulful Strings’, ‘Burning Spear’ was a minor hit in February of 1968 (and later covered by S.O.U.L., Joe Pass and Jimmy Smith among others) and is one of their best. Opening with African thumb piano and Lennie Druss’s flute (always one of the best things about their records), the drums come in and the groove is set. Later redone by Evans during the disco era to great success. |
| Billy Butler – I’ll Bet You (Brunswick) If George Clinton was remembered for nothing other than writing this song, his place in the pantheon would be secure. Also recorded by Clinton on the first Funkadelic album, and the Jackson Five on their ‘ABC’ LP, this version by Jerry Butler’s l'il brother is my favorite (and considering how much I dig Funkadelic that’s saying a lot). The tune opens with a slightly faster version of the Funkadelic guitar riff, and then the pace is kicked up with a powerful drum roll, making this the most danceable version. |  |
