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.

Can I Get A Witness?

A few weeks back, Mike over at This Is Tomorrow got in touch with me to see if I'd be interested in putting together a guest mix for his blog. For those that don't head over there regularly, he does some mighty fine work covering all things funk, soul, and hip hop, so with little hesitation I whipped together a handful of current favorites...


Can I Get A Witness? - Trunk of F.U.N.K. vol 014. - Guest Mix for This Is Tomorrow

Tracklist

Title - Artist - Label

Gossip – Cyril Neville – Josie
Free Your Mind – The Politicians – Hot Wax
What Can You Bring Me – Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band – WB
Razor Blade – Little Royal and the Swingmasters – Tri Us
(Do The) Hot Pants – Mr. Jim and the Rhythm Machine – Wizdom
Jukebox – Fried Chicken – Stone
Football – Mickey and the Soul Generation – Maxwell
Family Affair – The Family – North Bay
Will You Be Ready – Samson & Delilah – ABC
Something or Other – Richard's People – Tuba
Can I Get A Witness? – Barbara Randolph – SOUL
Fight Fire With Fire – Delia Gartrell – Right-On
Who's the King? (You Know That's Me) – Joseph Henry – Daptone
(I've Got) So Much Trouble On My Mind – Sir Joe and Free Soul – Mantis
Here's Some Dances – The Eight Minutes – Jay Pee

Enjoy, and I'll be back later in the week with a new single.

A House by the Side of the Road - Lee Martell

Up this week is another single out of Nashville, Tennessee...

A House By The Side Of The Road - Lee Martell - Renegade



Much like Eddie Mobley last week, there isn't a whole lot of information available on Lee Martell (a.k.a. Lee Bynem). What I do know is that he recorded two very soulful 45s for the Renegade label under the name Martell, A House By The Side of the Road* (1970) and A Good Woman (1971) as well as one 45 under the name Bynem for the True label, Two Warm Bodies. As a whole, the Renegade label only released four 45s in all, the two credited to Martell listed previously, one from Lattimore Brown that is supposedly relatively easy to score, and one from Jimmie Baker that's considered to be fairly rare. The soulful nature of the Renegade 45s is somewhat surprising based on the label credentials, as the label was run by Chuck Chellman, a Nashville-area country music promoter and producer (who is also credited with starting the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame in 1974).

*While Bynem is credited with writing his later Renegade single, A Good Woman, today's selection is credited to Gloria Shayne and Pearl Bender. I haven't been able to dig anything up on Pearl Bender. What is still leaving my curious is if the Gloria Shayne credited with writing today's single is the same woman credited with the Christmas classic, Do You Hear What I Hear?

P.S. For more Renegade records coverage, head over to Sir Shambling's Deep Soul Heaven

Stick It In Your Ear Hole - Eddie Mobley

Well, here we are, back again with an all-new single for your listening pleasure...

Stick It In Your Ear Hole - Eddie Mobley - Sound Plus



I picked this record up a fair bit ago, but have waited on adding it to the old blog in an attempt to find any relevant information on the artist. However, a good deal of searching using the traditional avenues has yielded nothing pertinent to date*. The little bit I can provide you with is taken directly from the 45 label. Of note, the song is credited to a fellow by the name of Robert S. Riley, Sr.; Sound Plus is the product of JR Enterprises of Nashville, Tennessee, so presumably, Eddie Mobley was from the greater Nashville area; and the record was distributed by T-K productions of Court Hialeah, Florida (the T-K label was home to K.C. and the Sunshine Band, among many others). Like a good bit of the other work on T-K, this track has a refined sound thats not quite disco (maybe more appropriately classified as "pre-disco"?) with a fair amount of hand drumming and heavy brass worked into the mix to give a really full sound.

*If anyone out there has any additional information, it would be appreciated if you could pass it along.

From The Jazz Stacks

Another few weeks have passed, which means it's time for another mix. With the current schedule of a new mix every ~2 weeks (sometimes needing an extra week to tend to real-world moves), reaching number 13 means that I've been doing this for just over half a year. I'm always amazed at how quickly time seems to pass by lately, but I guess that's just a sign of growing up and taking on new responsibilities. Regardless of how quickly it's come and gone, these last 6 months have been pretty great (both in real life and at this here blog, where I've learned a lot, while also making some new e-quaintances), and it was this rare feeling of positivity that initiated the concept of today's mix...

From The Jazz Stacks - Trunk of F.U.N.K. vol 013

Title - Artist - Label

Hip Walk - Cal Tjader - Verve
Soul Power - Richard "Groove" Holmes - Prestige
Grazing In The Grass - Hugh Masekela - Uni
Groove Grease - Jimmy McGriff - Groove Merchant
Them Changes - Ramsey Lewis and Co. - Cadet
BO Ghana - Lonnell Dantzler - Met
Booty Butt - The Ray Charles Orchestra - Tangerine
Soulful Strut - Young-Holt Unlimited - Brunswick
Express Yourself - Idris Muhammad - Prestige

Enjoy, and I'll be back in a few days with a new single for your listening pleasure.

Save That Thing - Rimshots

Here we are, back with the first post of the new year. Hopefully things have been as good on your end as they have been here at the Trunk of F.U.N.K. compound. Back around Christmas (if you can remember back that far...), I provided an example of a house band, Motown's Funk Brothers to be exact, stepping out on their own to record a fantastic little slice of funk. More recently, when going through the records to be blogged pile, I realized that I had another great side that was the product of a similar situation...

Save That Thing - Rimshots - A-1



In the 1970's, The Rimshots worked alongside Wood, Brass and Steel as the house band for Sylvia and Joe Robinson's family of labels, including Stang, All Platinum, and Vibration. During this time, the Rimshots backed artists like Hank Ballard, Brook Benton, and Chuck Jackson, as well as also being credited with providing the music for the great disco-funk collaboration, Girls, recorded by the Moments and Whatnauts. When the Robinson family of labels started moving towards the more refined disco sound, the Rimshots started recording funkier material under their own name. In 1972, the group released an LP, Soul Train, as well as two singles, today's selection and Soul Train pt. 1&2. Some readers may be familiar with the Rimshots song, Soul Train pt. 1&2, which served as the theme song to the TV show of the same name somewhere in between the versions provided by The Ramrods, Blue Mink and MFSB. Later in the decade, the Rimshots recorded an additional staple of non-LP singles, such as Dance Girl, and Who's Got the Monster, before firmly planting themselves in the disco-sound in 1976 with a series of singles that included, Super Disco and We've Got You Singing.

Today's selection starts off with some heavy electric piano work from keyboardist Bernadette Randle, which prompts the vocalist to ask the question, "Ain't it funky now?". The answer to this question is a resounding YES, as the whole band comes in chugging along in a groove much like that of the Isley Brothers classic with a strangely similar name. Things then cool down a bit to open up room for additional electric piano work from Randle and a wailing saxophone from an unknown player, until the groove is finally resolidified by the rest of the group and carried out through the end of the side.

Enjoy this single over the rest of the week, and be sure to check back in this weekend, as I'll have an all-new mix available for your listening pleasure.