Rocking Chair - Brothers of the Ghetto

After a VERY long hiatus, I've finally found some free time to resume providing funky nuggets for your listening pleasure. In the time since I've been withdrawn from the blogosphere this site passed the one-year anniversary mark, an event that unfortunately passed by without any commemoration by yours truly (it's not that I didn't want to do something. This site has always been a "labor of love" that sometimes needs to take the back-burner to real-life responsibilities).
Hopefully, now that I've got a better handle on the whole being a dad thing, I'll be able to get back to a level of output similar to what was common in the "early" days of Trunk of F.U.N.K.

With the extended break from mixes and singles running through my mind, I thought I'd mark my return with a blistering funk 45 from a group out of the southside of Chicago.

Rocking Chair - Brothers of the Ghetto - Ghetto


The bits of information that I have on this band are few and far between. The Brothers of the Ghetto marked the first instance of recording, arranging, and performing original music for bass player Sam Cockrell. As far as I'm aware, this 45, on the Ghetto label, is the only recording by the group known as the Brothers of the Ghetto. This is recording is not, however, the only recording by the core group of musicians. Sometime after recording this 45, the group changed their name to Majik and recorded three 45s with Willie Mitchell for the Hi label (including the highly sought dancer "Back into your Heart"). After this time, I have no idea what happened to most of the musicians in the group. What I do know is that Cockrell later went on the record a minor national hit, "Gotta Get Up" with Kevin Bell of Kool and the Gang fame. Since that time, Cockrell has remained musically active, recording and performing with his group The Groove.

Today's single, "Rocking Chair", blasts out of the gate with a short, choppy drum break that's guaranteed to get beat nerd ears ringing. Luckily, the short break isn't what makes this track, but rather the full band joining in at a similar raucous pace after only a few bars of open drums to really get things moving. When everything gets going full speed ahead, it's clear that this 45 packs the kind of energy that is guaranteed to get people out of their chairs and onto the dance floor. Clearly, that must have been what the band had in mind, as the vocals serve little purpose beyond describing in detail how to make your body do the "Rocking Chair" (if you listen closely, unlike a lot of other 'dance craze 45s', I think the vocals herein allow for a pretty great mental image of what the guy on stage doing the "Rocking Chair" must have looked like). All in all, this 45 encompasses everything that funk 45 fans look for: a great party single, a killer break, and the relished, yet rarely found energy that truly defines the funk 45.

Enjoy, and I'll be back in the next few days with an all-new mix dedicated entirely to an oft-overlooked instrument, the funky flute.

Can't You Love Him - Rev. Stanley Keeble & The Voices of Triumph

I am by no means a religious person. Unfortunately for my record collection, this choice has left me with a plebian knowledge of gospel music, a member of the musical specturm that often demonstrates serious funk and/or soul tendencies (a fine example: the Good God! collection compiled by the fine folks at the Numero Group a few years back). The addition of funky gospel sides to my record colleciton has been further limited by the lack of "funky tip-offs"* on gospel records. Fortunately, the aquisition of a portable turntable has made it a little bit easier for me to stumble on gospel finds as of late. One such example**, acquired just this last weekend during a dig at one of my favorite spots in Chicago, has been provided for you listening pleasure today...

Can't You Love Him - Rev. Stanley Keeble & The Voices of Triumph - Sounds of Soul



Stanley Keeble was born in Chicago in 1937. His musical career started in 1952 with the Fellowship Bible Church choir, a group he directed, as well as accompanied on the piano and organ. His career in gospel music was continued through connections with artists like Inez Andrews and Jesse Dixon. In 1968, he decided to start his own gospel choir, The Voices of Triumph***, who back him on today's selection. Although I'm not sure how long the group was active, I do know that he worked with the group through at least 1974, as that is the publishing date stamped on the 45 label. More recently, he is credited with establishing the Chicago Gospel Music Heritage Museum, as well as hosting a weekly radio program on WKKC.

*Examples include, but are not limited to, the word "funky" in the song title or an artist name like, "(insert first name here) and the (insert object here)".

**There's no use in denying that I was initially drawn to this record by the imprint name, Sounds of Soul. Luckily, as has happened a great many times in the past, the imprint name tip-off didn't fail to impress.

***The Voices of Triumph are also featured on the Good God! collection released by Numero Group.

Philly Barracuda pt. 1 - Holly Maxwell

Hello again. Most of the regulars in these parts probably noticed that there wasn't much action around here last week. The onslaught of dirty diapers coupled with getting back to the daily grind full time left me wiped out to the point that it felt like I couldn't keep my thoughts straight, let alone write anything worth reading. Luckily things have been a sailing a bit more smoothly over the last few days, so I figured it was high time to get back here and provide you with a nice slice of dance craze 45 action...

Philly Barracuda pt. 1 - Holly Maxwell - Star



Interestingly, despite the reference to Philly in the title, this single was actually a Windy City product, as publication and production credits are given to Monk Higgins' Special Agent company, which he started during his time working in Chicago. Higgins, who shares writing credits with Holly Maxwell for this single, was a staple in the Chicago R&B and soul scene throughout the 1960s*. Despite the absence of a date on the 45 label, it's safe to assume that this single was recorded during or before 1969, as Higgins left Chicago for L.A. in that year to begin working with a number of west coast labels, including United Artists. Holly Maxwell was born and raised in Chicago, spending a significant part of her life trying to break into the music scene there. She got her start in the music business singing with the group the Tourjourettes during her high school years. She later attended Chicago Musical College in 1965, where she pursued studies in classical music. Her collegiate career ended early, however, after signing a deal with Constellation records, where she would record two singles that sold well locally, but never really picked up steam regionally or nationally. At least two more singles were recorded for the Star label in the mid- to late-60s, including today's selection. In 1969, Maxwell landed a deal with Curtom records that resulted in the release of one single, while in 1970 she cut a single for Smit-Whit records. With only limited success achieved in Chicago, Maxwell headed west for L.A. sometime in the early 1970s. During her time in L.A. she was managed by Monk Higgins' cousin Barbara Acklin who landed her a gig working with Ike Turner as Tina Turner's fill-in. Holly remained in L.A. until 1985, at which point she relocated back to Chicago. Despite never really amassing a level of critical acclaim in the states, Holly had/has a steady gig at Maxwell's Cafe (which is of no relation to her) in Paris, France.

With fingers crossed, but no promises, I hope to be back in a few days with the next volume in the Trunk of F.U.N.K. mix series.

*Monk Higgins is also credited with a single entitled "Barracuda" that was recorded by Alvin Cash and the Registers for the Mar-V-Lus label sometime during the 1960s. Despite the similar name, the two singles share very little, if any, musical qualities in common.

The Bushman - The Tenth Dymentions

Hello again. I hope that this last weekend has treated you well, as it did me, instilling a renewed sense of energy to approach the upcoming week with a full head of steam. I've got some huge news on the horizon (more on that in a few days), which, coupled with the time to finally sit back and relax a little bit, has left me feeling a lot better about things on the whole. It was with these feelings of excitement and energy that I chose today's single, a track that storms out of the gate from the first note and doesn't even consider quitting until the final note is played...

The Bushman - The Tenth Dymentions - Sapphire




We seem to have stumbled upon a trend here in the last few weeks, as this single is yet another example of a side that I've held onto for a bit in the hopes of being able to dig up any relevant information on the group. What I can tell you is that the Tenth Dymentions were a Chicago group, that this single was produced by Joe Savage, an individual with a reasonably long track record in Chicago indie productions in the late 60's and early 70's, and that writing credits on this single are given to Vern Ryan, who is presumably a member of the band. This band may in fact be the same group (or at least similar to) the Fantastic Dimensions who released a Northern mover on the Sapphire label (also credited to Vern Ryan). Other than that, there aren't a whole lot of other specifics out there on the band or the label.

The Bushman, a dance whose steps are not very well explained in vocals, relies on a full horn section that's blasting away throughout most of the song, a choppy guitar line that's really similar to the sound of Alvin Cash's Keep on Dancing, a fairly subtle organ line to round out the sound, and some hand drumming to help set the groove right for getting bodies moving on the dance floor.

Enjoy, and I'll be back in a few days with another guest mix.

Instrumental # One - Richard Terry & Co.

I hope you've been enjoying the guest mix I dropped last week over at This Is Tomorrow. I was definitely pleased to be given the opportunity to contribute to one of my current favorite music blogs. And if you haven't made your way there yet, be sure to stop by, not just for my guest mix, but for all of the other great singles and mixes hosted on the site. With that said, I know I had promised a fresh new single late last week, however, an untimely bout of the flu left me in a wholly unproductive state. In an attempt to make up for the lateness of it's delivery, I've chosen a newly acquired 45 from a powerhouse songwriting duo out of Chicago that will definitely be in heavy rotation over the coming months...

Instrumental # One - Richard Terry & Co. - Nickel



My first glance of the artist name listed on the 45 left me confused, as I was not familiar with an artist by the name of Richard Terry out of Chicago. However, taking a closer look at the writing credits cleared things up immediately. Instead of Richard Terry & Co., the artist name should have read Richard, Terry & Co., as Richard is none other than Richard Pegue (a prominent Chicago DJ and songwriter whose been in the business since the early 1960's*), while Terry is Terry Thompson (Pegue's long-time songwriting partner). Over the course of his career, Richard Pegue has worked at the Toddlin Town', Met, Nickel, Penny and TwiNight labels, among others where he wrote songs not only for himself, but also for The Perfections and Ronaldo Domingo. The songwriting duo of Pegue and Thompson was featured previously in the Windy City Workout mix, as the duo is credited with writing the Brothers and Sisters track, Nobody is Gonna Turn Us 'Round on the Toddlin' Town label. Aside from his work with Pegue, I haven't been able to dig up too much information on Terry Thompson. Additionally, I unfortunately still don't know who is involved in the Co. credited on this record as there isn't a ton of information out there on this particular side**.


*As far as I know, Richard Pegue is still hosting a radio show on Saturday nights on Chicago's WKKC 89.3 fm

**The flip to this single is the very soulful I've Got To Find A Way by the Hallelujah Chorus.

Boogalo-Tramp - A.C. Reed

Welcome back, listeners.

Hopefully things are well on your end. After a few hectic weeks in a row, there's finally been some good news at the Trunk of F.U.N.K. compound. Luckily for me, good news typically allows for some free time, which was aptly spent this last weekend getting in some digging at a spot I'd only been to once before. While browsing through boxes and boxes of uninteresting 45's, I stumbled across this little nugget, which caught my eye almost immediately due to the interesting label design and name of today's selection...

Boogaloo-Tramp - A.C. Reed - Nike



A.C. Reed (birthname: Aaron Corthen) was a blues saxophonist working out of Chicago from the 1940's through the early 2000's. Born in Missouri, Reed moved to Chicago during World War II and got his start in the music business shortly thereafter playing for the likes of Earl Hooker and Willie Mabon. Throughout the 1960's Reed recorded singles for a number of small Chicago labels, including the Nike label, the home of today's selection. In the late 1960's, Reed joined Buddy Guy's band, during which time he went on tour with Guy, Junior Wells and the Rolling Stones. He later formed his own band, The Sparkplugs, and continued writing and performing music until he passed away in 2004.

The Nike* record label was started in Chicago in 1961, by Charles Colbert, Sr. as a means to release a single recently recorded by The Daylighters, his son's band, after the group had been dropped by Talty. The label was reorganized in 1962, resulting in the formation of two new subsidiaries, TipTop and Jive. Over the course of it's existence, the Nike record label was primarily home to DooWop groups, however, today's selection would defnitely not fall into that category. Writing for today's selection is credited to Corthen, a individual by the name of Neal (who I can't find any relevant information on), and Tony Gideon, a founding member of the Daylighters. Today's selection was recorded in 1966. The track opens with drums and a twangy blues guitar not unlike Lowell Fulsom's version of Tramp, is quickly filled out with some backing horns for a few bars, and finally capped off with Reed's saxophone, introduced immediately after the title of the song is yelled out.

*The letter I in Nike represented by a missile on the label is most likely a reference to the Nike missile sites in the land around Chicago.

Be sure to check back in on Friday, as an all-new mix will be ready to get your weekend started off right.

Windy City Workout

Well, it's come time for a new mix again. Since this is the 10th mix here at Trunk of F.U.N.K. (somewhat of a milestone for me, as I never thought I'd keep doing this with any regularity), I figured I'd do something a little special. I've mentioned before that I lived in/around Chicago until just a few years ago when I moved up to Madison, Wisconsin to continue my education. I feel like growing up in Chicago has had a pretty big influence on the music that I've listened to (this ranging anywhere from punk to soul, although I don't see myself taking the time to blog about the former anytime soon), so it seemed only appropriate to assemble some of my all-time favorite funk and soul tracks out of the Windy City to commemorate the 10th mix here at Trunk of F.U.N.K. With that said, we've got a little bit of everything today, making sure to keep things heavy on the snapping drums and punchy bass lines, production features that have always made Chicago sides really stand out.

The mix starts off with a dancer from Floyd Smith, followed by a Northern monster from Clea Bradford. Two heavy hitters penned by Chicago soul great Jo Armstead (who was featured here just a few weeks ago) are then brought to you by The Deacons (this particular track is an instrumental version of the Syl Johnson classic of the same name) and Syl Johnson. Next up we've got a classic break from Alvin Cash and the Scott Bros. Orchestra, follow up by a little bit of kid soul from Cindy and the Playmates. General Crook then moves things to a more serious tip with a track that was as relevant on the day it was recorded as it is today. Jodi Gales then keeps things moving with a great bit of sister soul that grooves along with a choppy biting (almost bluesy sounding) guitar similar to the intro on the earlier Alvin Cash side. The Brothers and Sisters then utilize an almost baroque singing style to really send home the point that they plan on doing whatever it is that the came to do. Five Stairsteps & Cubie then provide us with another classic break right in the intro that's most assuredly the result of genius production work by Curtis Mayfield. The Dynamic Tints then provide heavy harmony soul output courtesy of backing work by the Pieces of Peace Orchestra who were featured in part here previously as The Pharaohs. The Soul Crusaders Orchestra then close things out with a number that slinks along rather strangely, relying on a piano part that sounds neither in tune nor in time.












Windy City Workout - Trunk of F.U.N.K. Vol. 010

Tracklist
Title - Artist - Label

Floyd Smith - Soul Strut - Dakar
Clea Bradford - My Love's a Monster - Cadet
Sock it to me pt. 1 - The Deacons - Shama
I Feel an Urge - Syl Johnson - Twinight
Keep on Dancing (inst.) - Alvin Cash and the Scott Bros. Orchestra - Toddlin' Town
Now That School is Thru pt. 2. - Cindy and the Playmates - Jay Pee
What Time It Is pt. 1 - General Crook - Down to Earth
Jodi Gales - You Gotta Push - Thomas
Nobody Is Gonna Turn Us 'Round pt. 1 - The Brothers and Sisters - Toddlin' Town
Don't Change Your Love - Five Stairsteps & Cubie - Curtom
Be My Lady - The Dynamic Tints - Twinight
Funky Jive - Soul Crusaders Orchestra - More Soul


Be sure to check back in Monday for another new single.

No Messin' Around - Pauline and Bobby

First things first, it’s unfortunately time for yet another obituary post here. I’ve just recently found out that Merl Saunders, who was featured here just over a month ago, passed away last week. Saunders had a long and successful career on both the organ and electric piano, and he will be greatly missed.

Second, I wanted to mention that I will no longer be making the weekly singles available for download as a result of concerns with copyright infringement and blogger removing some of my posts. From here on out, you will only be able to listen to the tracks via the player that is included in each post. Please do not e-mail me asking me to give you a link to download any singles, as I simply will not do it. Until further notice, mixes will still be available for download.

Now onto today’s single, which was released on the Expo label out of Chicago…

Pauline and Bobby – No Messin’ Around – Expo



There isn’t a whole lot of information available about Expo Records, Pauline Chivers (or sometimes Shivers, depending on which 45 you have in your hands), Bobby Jones. Today's selection was written by Browley Guy and arranged by John Cameron. The little bit of additional information I can provide is that Chivers had seen success prior to No Messin’ Around in the form of a duet with her husband Sydney "Bird" Chivers* entitled, Spring, that was released on the Vee Jay label in 1963. Chivers would also see success later in her career with the singles, You Better Tell Him No, Won’t You Come Back Home, and, Tough Stuff, released on the O-Pex label (a later incarnation of Expo) in the late 60’s. Bobby Jones never really had what would be considered success with recorded material, but was a regular in the Chicago soul scene for a pretty lengthy career.

*The track is credited to Pauline and Birdlegs, not Sydney, in the event you go about searching for it

I've Been Turned On - Jo Armstead

I put up this post last Friday, and for some strange reason it was gone today, so I'm going to put it back up and see what happens.




Today we have a little switcheroo from the normal schedule here at Trunk of F.U.N.K. Unfortunately, the real world often gets in the way of one's hobbies, so instead of a delivering a new mix today, I've decided to leave you with a single that will hopefully hold you over until a new mix is dropped by sometime early next week.

I've Been Turned On - Jo Armstead - Giant



Jo Armstead formed Giant Records with her husband Mel Collins shortly after moving to Chicago in 1965. However, she had already maintained a solid music career prior to this point. Jo (a.k.a. Joshie) got her start in the music business as an Ikette for the Ike and Tina Turner Revue in 1961, during which time this group recorded their top 20 single, I'm Blue (The Gong Gong Song). She later moved to New York, where she teamed up with songwriters Ashford and Simpson who were working for Scepter/Wand Records at the time. Her work with Ashford and Simpson resulted in the release of her biggest hit, Stone Cold Lover, as well as co-writing credits for Ray Charles', Lets Get Stoned, Ruby Andrews', Casanova (Your Playing Days are Over), and Garland Green's, Jealous Kind of Fella, to name a few. Aside from forming Giant Records, the husband-wife duo is also responsible for the Globe and Gamma Record labels, which were home to a number of big names in soul.

Size Large - Spaceways Inc.

Today's selection is from a now defunct contemporary free-jazz trio that really knows how to lay down a groove...

Size Large - Spaceways Inc. - Altavistic



Drummer Hamid Drake, bassist Nate McBride, and reeds-man Ken Vandermark assembled into the trio known as Spaceways Inc. in 1999, after Vandermark had previously worked with each on a variety of different projects in Chicago and Boston. Taken from Ken Vandermark's website, "The initial version of the project focused on the work of George Clinton's Funkadelic and Sun Ra's various ensembles. Spaceways took those ideas about funk and free jazz and brought them someplace new on the album 13 Cosmic Standards (Atavistic, 2000). During a tour of Austria in the Spring of 2001, the trio talked about further developing the stylistic polarities suggested by the pieces of Clinton and Ra by applying them to compositions of their own. Spaceways followed though on this idea with the work recorded in August 2001 for the cd, Version Soul (Atavistic, 2002). This document expands on the hard funk/free jazz intersection of the first record and includes elements of reggae, "cool school" jazz, Southern back beats, and "new music" abstractions.

Today's selection certainly encompasses all of these elements into a seriously funky groove. Size Large starts off with Hamid Drake laying down the backbeat while Vandermark introduces a saxophone groove that will re-emerge time and again throughout the track. Drake then provides a size-large break that really sets the tone for the rest of the song. At the culmination of the mighty break, Vandermark re-emerges to intermittently return to the original groove while also stretching out in a number of equally funky directions. Throughout this time, the rhythm work of Drake is supported by solid upright work intermixed with sparse feedback/noise from McBride that really aids in pushing the sound of the trio out. This is all, of course, before McBride and Drake tighten things up again with solid rhythm work that allows Vandermark to really get down through the end of the track.

*Today's selection was taken from a CD only release, so don't bother digging in the crates for it.