The first installment of the Trunk of F.U.N.K. weekly singles is a great two-part 45 that will definitely get any party started right
Shake What You Brought With You pt. 1&2 - Mr. Jamo -SSS International
Now for some back-story… In the early 60’s, Jamo Thomas expatriated from the Bahamas for Chicago to record a handful of soul sides for Thomas, Conlo, and Chess records, of which ‘I Spy (for the FBI)’ earned him the most fame. Later in the decade he moved south to record a number of 45s for Sound Stage 7 (run by Nashville DJ and producer John Richbourg – check this out for a deeper look at SS7) and SSS International, which was run by Shelby Sumpter Singleton, Jr., who would take over Sun Records from Sam Phillips in 1969. The single ‘Shake what you brought with you’ is – for lack of a better word – goofy, not just in comparison to Jamo Thomas’ other work, but in comparison to the SSS and SS7 catalogs. In particular, layering a groovy sitar and ramblings of Jamo (which are seemingly incoherent at times) over the top of snapping drums make it hard to envision what Jamo, Anthony Dorsey, and Stan Watson (who share equal writing credit) were thinking while working together in the studio. In the end, it probably matters less what they were thinking, and more that their madness resulted in a bona fide winner.
Stay Tuned!
-Greg
Shake What You Brought With You pt. 1&2 - Mr. Jamo -SSS International
Now for some back-story… In the early 60’s, Jamo Thomas expatriated from the Bahamas for Chicago to record a handful of soul sides for Thomas, Conlo, and Chess records, of which ‘I Spy (for the FBI)’ earned him the most fame. Later in the decade he moved south to record a number of 45s for Sound Stage 7 (run by Nashville DJ and producer John Richbourg – check this out for a deeper look at SS7) and SSS International, which was run by Shelby Sumpter Singleton, Jr., who would take over Sun Records from Sam Phillips in 1969. The single ‘Shake what you brought with you’ is – for lack of a better word – goofy, not just in comparison to Jamo Thomas’ other work, but in comparison to the SSS and SS7 catalogs. In particular, layering a groovy sitar and ramblings of Jamo (which are seemingly incoherent at times) over the top of snapping drums make it hard to envision what Jamo, Anthony Dorsey, and Stan Watson (who share equal writing credit) were thinking while working together in the studio. In the end, it probably matters less what they were thinking, and more that their madness resulted in a bona fide winner.
Stay Tuned!
-Greg
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