Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Little Things Radio ep.13 (Birthday Special)


Little Things,Soul,Dancing

Tracklist...

Eddie Kendricks - Loving You The Second Time Around (Tamla)
Barbara Mason - Give Me Your Love (Buddah)
Ripple - I Dont Know What It Is, But It Sure Is Funky (GRC)
Dramatics - Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get (Volt)
The 8th Day - She's Not Just Another Woman (Invictus)
Bill Withers - Use Me (Sussex)
Jr. Walker and the All Stars - Cleo's Back
Aretha Franklin - Spirit In The Dark (Atlantic)
Connie McGill and Visions - For That Great Day (Sugar)
Timmy Thomas - Cold Cold People (Glades)
The Meters - Sophisticated Cissy (Josie)
Earnest Jackson - Funky Black Man (Stone)
Earnest Jackson - Love And Happiness (Stone)
The O'Jays - Give The People What They Want (Philadelphia International)
Kool And The Gang - Hollywood Swinging (De-Lite)
Betty Wright - Baby Sitter (Alston)
Delia Gartrell - Fight Fire With Fire (Right-On)
Syl Johnson - We Do It Together (Twinight)
Syl Johnson - Dresses Too Short (Twinight)
Syl Johnson - Try Me (Twilight)
Syl Johnson - Is It Because I'm Black (Twinight)
Karlophone - Desire (Amorphous)
Suff Draft - Come 2ULive Edit (White)
De La Soul - The Mack Daddy On The Left (Tommy Boy)
The Mohawks - The Champ (Philips)
The Beginning Of The End - Funky Nassau (Alston)
Donald Austin - Crazy Legs - (Eastbound)  
Lou Courtney - Do The Thing (Riverside) 
The Esquires - Get On Up (Bunky)

Download Link...   

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=A8XNETKD

It was November last year that I decided to start this little blog/podcast thing, which makes this a birthday of sorts I suppose. Wayhey! It's been a pretty enjoyable experience overall, a bit of a chore at times but rewarding. Thanks to everyone who downloads the mixes and bothers to read the rambling. It's hugely appreciated.
 I'd like to think this wont be the only birthday we'll celebrate around here but I guess time will tell. As long as I have 45's to play and it continues to feel worthwhile, I'll keep doing it.
   We'll be celebrating a year of Little Things at the next Hobo Convention on the 11th of December in An Realt Dearg. A2DF, Phil Hope, Congo Lizard, and the Hobo Residents playing nothing but 7"s from 5pm till close. There it is.

syl johnson,try me,northern,soul,7",record
Syl Johnson - Try Me

syl johnson,dresses too short,7",vinyl,mixes,soul,funk,littlethingsradio
Syl Johnson - Dresses Too Short

syl johnson,because i'm black,soul,samples,wu tang,7",vinyl,mix
Syl Johnson - Is It Because I'm Black

syl,johnson,do it together,7",vinyl,mixes,blog,radio
Syl Johnson - We Do It Together

  Syl Johnson got his start in music in the late 50's playing with blues legends like Howlin Wolf, Magic Sam, Junior Wells and Billy Boy Arnold. In the early 60's he started knocking out some great 7"s of his own for the Federal and Twinight labels. These songs may have been more Otis Redding than Howlin Wolf but a heavy blues influence can be heard in all of Johnson's music. Twinight would be home to Johnson until the early 70's when he was convinced by Willie Mitchell to leave the label and sign with Hi Records in Memphis. 
   The four 7"s featured here are all from the Twinight/Twilight years.

Esquires,Get On Up,7",45's,Little Things,soul

Esquires - Get On Up
I featured the Esquires "Girls In The City" on the blog a few months back, this time we're bringing attention the their superb debut "Get On Up". The song sold very well when it was released in 1967 (11 in the pop charts). The group went on to record music together for almost 10 years. Over that time they had several other minor hits but nothing would ever sell as well as "Get On Up". In 1976 They recorded a fairly pointless remake of the song "Get Up 76".

Love and Happiness,Earnest Jackson,soul,stone,7",vinyl,mixes
Earnest Jackson - Love And Happiness 

Earnest Jackson,brainfreeze,funky black man,shadow,funk,7",45's,cut chemist,vinyl
Earnest Jackson - Funky Black Man

  These are two of the three 45's Earnest Jackson cut for Stone Records in the early 70's. "Love and Happiness" is a cover of the Al Green classic, while "Funky Black Man" should be familiar to most for it's inclusion on Cut Chemist and Shadows infamous "Brainfreeze" mix. Later they would also use Fried Chicken's cover "Funky DJ" for their second collaborative 45 set "Product Placement".
  Fried Chicken (also known as Bubba Thomas and the Lightmen) recorded their cover two years after the release of the Earnest Jackson 45. "Funky DJ" is rarer of the two, often selling for over 100e, but the original version isn't the easiest of finds either.

mohawks,champ,breaks,samples,funk,library,7",vinyl,mix,radio,krs one

The Mohawks - The Champ  
   You should all know this one well. Those drums, organ, and vocal stabs were the foundation for countless hip hop classics.
 The Mohawks were a group of British session musicians brought together by Alan Hawkshaw. The group never toured, and only recorded one LP which was intended for use in film and television. If it wasn't for Hip Hop this music would have almost certainly faded into obscurity.
    Mohawks 45's  can get a little pricey. Nothing crazy but they usually go for somewhere between 30 and 50 euro. I managed to pick up this Dutch pressing a couple months back for a tenner. Score.

lou courtney,do the thing,riverside,soul,7",vinyl,records,45,Funk Brothers

Lou Courtney - Do The Thing
   Another soul legend who's work deserves a lot more attention. During his 15 years in the music industry he released an impressive catalogue of soul, funk, ballads and even disco for labels such as Riverside, Phillips, Imperial, Buddah and Verve. He was also a talented songwriter who penned tunes for the likes of Mary Wells, Dee Dee Warwick and Gloria Gaynor. Despite all this, Courtney never really achieved the commercial success his talents warranted. Of course he is highly respected among soul collectors (who often pay high prices for his rarer pieces) but mainstream recognition for some reason avoided him. You almost get the feeling he preferred it this way.
   In the late 70's his releases dry up and he disappears from the public eye. What happens after that is a mystery. He may have died many years ago. If that is the case I hope he lived long enough to see how much his music is loved and respected by a whole new generation of soul and funk fans.

barbara mason,mayfield,give me your love,buddah,soul,7",vinyl,radio

Barbara Mason - Give Me Your Love
  Barbara Mason was still in her teens when she recorded her debut song "Trouble Girl" in 1964. Over the following seven or eight years she released many 45's and two albums for the Arctic label, all of which she wrote herself. Most of her records from the Arctic days are soul ballads but when she signed with Buddah in 1972 she adopted a funkier sound. The Curtis Mayfield cover featured here is a good example of this. Barbara Mason was never afraid of trying out new sounds. In the early 80's she put out some really nice disco 12"s for the Westend label.

connie mcgill,visions,soul,doo wop,great day,7",vinyl

Connie McGill and Visions - For That Great Day
  Doo Wop vocal group from New York who seem to have been active from 1961 to 1973. This track was originally released in 1962 on  Super Records.

beginning of the end,funky nassau,funk,breaks,7",vinyl,mixes,radio

The Beginning Of The End - Funky Nassau
  The Beginning Of The End was a four piece funk band from Nassau, in the Bahamas. There is an obvious Caribbean influence in their music but make no mistake, this is straight up funk. The band released two solid albums on the Alston label in the early 70's before splitting ways.

meters,sophisticated cissy,bdp,samples,funk,7",vinyl

The Meters - Sophisticated Cissy
  Down tempo funk from one of the greatest bands to ever do it.

De La Soul,mack daddy,7",hip hop,45

De La Soul - Mack Daddy On The Left
  This was on the b-side of the "Eye Know" single. For some reason it was left off of De La's game changing debut LP "3 Feet High And Rising''.