|
|
That’s
right. 1968 was the year of the funky craze (see last issue’s Soul With
An African Twist). It may not have showed up on the Chinese astrological
calendar, but ’68 was definitely the year of the Judge.
Dewey
‘Pigmeat’ Markham trod
the boards of the ‘Chitlin’ circuit for decades as well as appearing
in many of the ‘sepia’ films aimed at forcibly segregated black audiences. In 1968 a
routine of his about an angry, obstreperous judge broke into the
mainstream of America’s pop consciousness.
Pigmeat, a big guy with a loud,
extremely gravelly voice would enter with a chant of:
‘Here
come da judge, here come da judge! The court’s in session, the court’s
in session!’
and then would launch into a hysterical tirade. In early 1968 Pigmeat and
his rap found their way onto Rowan
& Martin’s Laugh-in, and rapidly became a favorite, eventually
becoming a regular on the show. It wasn’t long before ‘Judge’
records started to appear on the scene.
Ironically, the first hit
(chronologically) was not by Markham but Motown mainstay Shorty
Long. Long, who had hit before with the original versions of ‘Devil
With the Blue Dress On’ and ‘Function at the Junction’, made it (in
June of ’68) to #4 on the R&B charts and #8 on the pop charts with
his very funky ‘Here
Comes The Judge’. In Long’s record, the Judge is sentencing the
defendant to various amounts of time for the boogaloo, the four corners
and the Afro-twist. The judge on the record even sounds like Pigmeat.
Markham charted with his
own version a few weeks later, on Chess (Chess2049). His tune ( a
different song entirely) starts out with a long proto-rap speech, with
exclamations from the gallery. The tune breaks into a deep, rough funk. In
fact, despite the fact that he was an old fella, Pigmeat laid down the
funkiest records in the entire ‘Judge’ genre (though it’s fair to
mention that he had the mighty talents of the Chess house band backing him
up).
The response from the world of soul
was swift and decisive. Up in Chicago on the Toddlin’ Town label (also
home to Alvin Cash and Thomas East and the Fabulous Playboys among
others) soul genius Andre
Williams took Bull &
The Matadors into the studio and recorded ‘Funky Judge’, now
regarded as a classic. Like many of the ‘Judge’ records, Bull &
The Matadors turned the tables and sang the song from the vantage point of
the defendant. The disc is a classic of Chicago soul-funk, with the
repeated refrain of ‘Judge, you sho’ is funky!’ over some hard drums
and fatback guitar and organ. The B-side is an instrumental take on the tune
with the organ brought to the forefront.
Down in Philly, Cliff Nobles & Company,
fresh off ‘The Horse’ checked in with ‘Judge
Baby I’m Back’ on the funky Phil-La of Soul label. “Judge
Baby…” is a great slice of uptempo, funky-soul with pounding drums,
great horns and Temptations-style backing vocals. Apparently in Philly,
the shing-a-ling is also illegal, and the Judge also sounds a lot like
Pigmeat. ‘Judge Baby I’m Back’ is a storming cut, and the best dance
disc of the lot. There were also two other great 'Judge' tunes out of
Philly. 'Here Comes The Judge' by the Magistrates (actually two members of
the Dovells) is filled with Laugh-In sound bites. 'Funky Judge' by teh
Common Pleas is by far the best (and funkiest) of the lot. It also has an
amazing sweet soul b-side in 'I Wanted More'.
The Buena
Vistas, who made some great instrumental sides in the late 60’s
(like ‘Foxy’ and ‘Boss Sauce’) for Marquee and Swan, laid down
‘Here Come Da Judge’. The tune is mostly instrumental, but the
singers chime in with the only direct mentions of ‘Laugh-in’ to make
it into the ‘Judge’ records, including Arte Johnson’s signature
‘Verrrrrry interesting!’. There record has a great soul sound, with a
flip that leans more in a big-band R&B direction.
Of course, Pigmeat knew a good
thing when he saw one. Far be it from him to hop off the gravy train
before the end of the line, he checked in with a follow-up disc, ‘The
Hip Judge’ b/w ‘Sock
It To Em Judge’. Despite Pigmeat’s voice, which sounds like a
dumptruck rolling down the side of a rock quarry, the backing here is
extremely funky, no doubt laid down by a hot Chess session group. In fact
both sides of the disc were produced by Gene Barge, and ‘The Hip
Judge’ was written by Barge and Maurice McAlister. This stuff is funny
too!
There were also covers of the various ‘Here Comes The
Judge’ songs by Eddie Harris, The Ding Dongs, and
the Ventures . |
Shorty Long
|
