Junior Parker “Love Ain’t Nothin’ But A Business Goin’ On” 1971 US Soul Funk Blues

Junior Parker “Love Ain’t Nothin’ But A Business Goin’ On” 1971 US Soul Funk Blues

full vk

https://vk.com/wall-53831823_14949

https://vk.com/wall-34395460_5578

https://vk.com/wall-34395460_5039

full spotify

https://open.spotify.com/album/7GfXQoLmiNnKCe9twujVim

full deezer

https://www.deezer.com/fr/album/13666990

One of the funkiest albums ever from Junior Parker – a great little set that shows he had a lot more to offer than just the average bluesman! The album’s got a nice little soul sound in the backings – tight rhythms from Horace Ott, who nicely avoids a lot of the cliches that the blues business was hitting at the time – in order to keep Junior in hip territory that’s filled with breaking drums and heavy basslines! There’s a few key crossover tracks here, plus some surprisingly sweeter numbers – and the album’s a gem through and through – well-appreciated by new generations over the years, thanks to its diversity of tracks!….~

Junior Parker does not appear to play any harmonica on LOVE AIN’T NOTHIN’ BUT A BUSINESS GOIN’ ON but it is his vocals that take center stage. 
It did not take long for me to remember upon hearing “Darling Depend On Me” that Junior Parker wrote and performed “Stand By Me” in 1960 (Ben E. King’s eventual smash hit). Although Parker is credited with writing only one song (“The Outside Man”) it appears this album was produced to give Junior that big hit he deserved. There are two others songs that also have that ‘hit’ love, broken heart song potential “I Wonder Where our Love has Gone” and “You Know I Love You” complete with pretty or aching 'orchestra of strings’ and/or the wail of the 'in-love’ saxophone. 
It’s too bad there are no band credits for these respectable session players although there, apparently, is more than a rumor the electric guitarist is O'donnel Levy(?) 
But, this 1971 recording delivers a funky bass when needed and three new versions of songs written by three ex-Beatles that are all given a R & B feel, especially the slowed down dialogue beat of “Taxman”. Quite unique. 
I’ve also heard “The River’s Invitation” before and this also has a fine modern R & B feel to what had basically been a blues song. 
All and all, I have never been a big fan of the R & B sound but This “Business” is just difficult not to listen to – again. 
As far as I know LOVE AIN’T NOTHIN’ BUT A BUSINESS GOIN’ ON was not a successful 70’s album hit. Difficult to understand why it was not (a 70’s hit). 
After listening to Junior’s “can you dig it vocals” I don’t recalling ever feeling so retro-hip in my life. 
I had some reservations about 10 songs covering 34 minutes for 17 bucks. But, not after listening — again and again — to Junior Parker’s everyman, honeyed, heartfelt vocals … 'Sweet’, smooth and groovin’…..by… a walther…~

Tracklist 
A1 Love Ain’t Nothin’ But A Business Goin’ On (Written-By: Bobby Adams (2)) 3:20 
A2 The Outside Man (Written-By: Parker Written-By: Van Leer Written-By: Moore) 3:12 
A3 Darling Depend On Me (Written-By: D. Robey Written-By: F. Washington) 3:43 
A4 Taxman (Written-By: George Harrison) 3:42 
A5 Rivers Invitation (Written-By: Percy Mayfield) 2:45 
B1 I Wonder Where Our Love Has Gone (Written-By: Buddy Johnson) 3:38 
B2 Just To Hold My Hand (Written-By: Don Robey) 3:51 
B3 You Know I Love You (Written-By: R. King Written-By: J. Taub) 3:33 
B4 Lady Madonna (Written-By: J. Lennon-P. McCartney) 2:12 
B5 Tomorrow Never Knows (Written-By: J. Lennon-P. McCartney) 3:25 

Read More

Gene Redding ‎ “Blood Brother” 1974 US Soul Funk

Gene Redding ‎ “Blood Brother” 1974 US Soul Funk

full vk

https://vk.com/wall-59990730_351

This is a fantastic recording. Full of meaning. And a great piece of R&B. I have always loved “This Heart” Mr. Redding also recorded several other singles in his career…..~

A strange little soul album – produced and written by the team of Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, with arrangements by Michael Omartian, and an overall sound that’s kind of a mixture of soul and more baroque type backings. The whole thing’s not bad overall – but it does lack the punch of some of the better Lambert/Potter work from the time……~

Let’s get one thing out of the way right off the bat. Gene Redding (born in Indiana in 1945) is NOT related to the much more famous R&R Hall Of Fame (1989) and R&B Hall Of Fame (2013) inductee Otis Redding. He is a 1974 2-hit Soul/Funk vocalist discovered at a USO in, of all places, Anchorage, Alaska by another hall of famer, Miss Peaches herself, Etta James (R&R Hall Of Fame in 1993 and Blues Hall Of Fame in 2001). 

His first time on record came in 1969 when he had the co-self-penned I Need Your Loving b/w I Got Soul come out as Bell 819 that August. It went nowhere and neither did he (at least as a recording artist) until he resurfaced 5 years later with Haven Records, an L.A.-based label launched that year by songwriters Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, primarily to promote their material. They also arranged distribution arrangements through the giant Capitol Records which certainly didn’t hurt the promotion of his or their first disc, This Heart b/w What Do I Do On Sunday Morning? (both written by Lambert-Porter). In March-April 1974, This Heart climbed to # 24 Billboard Pop Hot 100 and # 31 R&B as Haven 7000. 

The liaison with Capitol, however, didn’t do much to help the follow-up Blood Brothers go any higher than # 80 R&B in Sept-Oct b/w Once A Fool as Haven 7003 (again, both sides written by Lambert-Porter). Even so, they saw merit in having him record the 1974 LP “Blood Brother” (singular) containing: A1. Blood Brothers (4:10); A2. Once A Fool (3:22); A3. I Can See The Lovelight (3:32); A4. (We’ve Got) More Than It Takes (3:24); A5. This Heart (3:29); B1. I Can’t Get Arrested (4:50); B2. Gotta Find A Way (To Keep You Lovin’ Me) (3:50); B3. What Good Is A Love Song? (4:02); B4. Easy For You To Say (2:52). The album was arranged by Michael Omartian, who also played keyboards as well as conducted these accompanying musicians: horns - Chuck Findley, Jack Kelso, Jim Horn, Lew McCreary and Paul Hubinon; bassists Ronnie Brown and Wilton Felder, keyboardist Larry Muhoberac, guitarists Larry Carlton, Ben Benay and Dean Parks, percussionist Garry Coleman, stringed instrument players Sid Sharp and The Boogie Symphony, and drummer Ed Greene. It finished at # 45 on the R&B album charts that fall. 

Singles culled from the album, however, went nowhere: (We’ve Got) More Than It Takes b/w Gotta Find A Way as Haven 7007 in Jan 1975, and Easy For You To Say as Haven 7012 in May 1975, and I Can See The Lovelight as Haven 7019 in 1976 (the flipsides, Every Man Wants Another Man’s Woman and Do It With Love respectively were not part of the LP). ….by….George O'Leary ….~

Credits 

Bass – Ronnie Brown*, Wilton Felder 
Coordinator [Album Coordinator], Management [Personal Management] – Brian Panella 
Drums – Ed Greene (2) 
Guitar – Ben Benay, Dean Parks, Larry Carlton 
Horns – Chuck Findley, Jack Kelso*, Jim Horn, Lew McCreary, Paul Hubinon 
Keyboards – Larry Muhoberac 
Percussion – Garry Coleman* 
Strings – The Boogie Symphony, Sid Sharp*

Tracklist
A1 Blood Brothers 4:10 
A2 Once A Fool 3:22 
A3 I Can See The Lovelight 3:32 
A4 (We've Got) More That It Takes 3:24 
A5 This Heart 3:29 
B1 I Can't Get Arrested 4:50 
B2 Gotta Find A Way (To Keep You Lovin' Me) 3:50 
B3 What Good Is A Love Song 4:02 
B4 Easy For You To Say 2:52 

Read More

Lloyd Price ‎ “Lloyd Price Now” 1969 US Soul Funk

Lloyd Price ‎ “Lloyd Price Now” 1969 US Soul Funk

full vk

https://vk.com/wall-59990730_356

Lloyd Price (born March 9, 1933) is an American R&B vocalist, known as “Mr. Personality”, after one of his million-selling hits. His first recording, “Lawdy Miss Clawdy”, was a hit for Specialty Records in 1952. He continued to release records, but none were as popular until several years later, when he refined the New Orleans beat and achieved a series of national hits. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
Price was born and grew up in Kenner, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. He had formal training in playing the trumpet and piano, sang in his church’s gospel choir, and was a member of a combo in high school. His mother, Beatrice Price, owned the Fish ‘n’ Fry Restaurant, and Price picked up lifelong interests in business and food from her. 

Art Rupe, the owner of Specialty Records, based in Los Angeles, came to New Orleans in 1952 to record the distinctive style of rhythm and blues developing there, which had been highly successful for his competitor Imperial Records. Rupe heard Price’s song “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” and wanted to record it. Because Price did not have a band, Rupe hired Dave Bartholomew to create the arrangements and Bartholomew’s band (plus Fats Domino on piano) to back Price in the recording session. The song was a massive hit. His next release, “Oooh, Oooh, Oooh”, cut at the same session, was a much smaller hit. Price continued making recordings for Speciality, but none of them reached the charts at that time. 

In 1954, he was drafted and sent to Korea. When he returned he found he had been replaced by Little Richard.[5] In addition, his former chauffeur, Larry Williams, was also recording for the label, having released “Short Fat Fannie”. 

Price eventually formed KRC Records with Harold Logan and Bill Boskent. Their first single, “Just Because”, was picked up for distribution by ABC Records. From 1957 to 1959 Price recorded a series of national hits for ABC, which were successful adaptations of the New Orleans sound, including “Stagger Lee” (which topped the Pop and R&B charts and sold over a million copies), “Personality”(which reached number 2), and “I’m Gonna Get Married” (number 3 When Price appeared on the television program American Bandstand to sing “Stagger Lee”, the producer and host of the program, Dick Clark, insisted that he alter the lyrics to tone down its violent content, but it was still the “violent” version that was on top of the R&B chart in 1959.[3] “Stagger Lee” was Price’s version of an old blues standard, recorded many times previously by other artists. Greil Marcus, in a critical analysis of the song’s history, wrote that Price’s version was an enthusiastic rock rendition, “all momentum, driven by a wailing sax”. In all of these early recordings by Price (“Personality”, Stagger Lee", “I’m Gonna Get Married”, and others) Merritt Mel Dalton was the lead sax player; he was also in the traveling band and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show with Price. The personnel on the original hit recording of “Stagger Lee” included Clarence Johnson on piano, John Patton on bass, Charles McClendon and Eddie Saunders on tenor sax, Ted Curson on trumpet and Sticks Simpkins on drums. 

In 1962, Price formed Double L Records with Logan. Wilson Pickett got his start on this label. In 1969, Logan was murdered. Price then founded a new label, Turntable, and opened a club by the same name in New York City.[9] During the 1970s Price helped the boxing promoter Don King promote fights, including Muhammad Ali’s “Rumble in the Jungle”. He later became a builder, erecting 42 town houses in the Bronx.

Price toured Europe in 1993 with Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, and Gary U.S. Bonds. He performed with soul legends Jerry Butler, Gene Chandler, and Ben E. King on the “Four Kings of Rhythm and Blues” tour in 2005; concerts were recorded for a DVD and a PBS television special. 

On March 9, 2010, his 77th birthday, in New Orleans, Price was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. On June 20, 2010, he appeared and sang in the season 1 finale of the HBO series Treme. 

Price currently manages Icon Food Brands, which makes a line of primarily Southern-style foods, including Lawdy Miss Clawdy food products, ranging from canned greens to sweet potato cookies, and a line of Lloyd Price foods, such as Lloyd Price’s Soulful 'n’ Smooth Grits and Lloyd Price’s Energy-2-Eat Bar, plus Lawdy Miss Clawdy clothing and collectibles.

Lloyd Price Avenue in Kenner, Louisiana, was named for the singer, and the city celebrates an annual Lloyd Price Day.

In 2011, Price was promoting his autobiography, The True King of the Fifties: The Lloyd Price Story, and was working on a Broadway musical, Lawdy Miss Clawdy, with a team that included the producer Phil Ramone. The musical details how rock and roll evolved from the New Orleans music scene of the early 1950s. He continues to sing.
Price lives with his wife in Westchester County, New York..wiki…~

Tracklist 
A1 Bad Conditions 4:14 
A2 Light My Fire 2:53 
A3 The Grass Will Sing For You 4:39 
A4 Feeling Good 3:14 
A5 Hey Jude 4:03 
B1 For Once In My Life 3:05 
B2 I Understand 4:07 
B3 By The Time I Get To Phoenix 3:42 
B4 Don’t Do To Me 2:14 
B5 Little Green Apples 4:08

Albums 
1959: The Exciting Lloyd Price 
1959: Mr. Personality 
1960: Fantastic 
1960: Mr. Personality Sings the Blues 
1960: Mr. Personality’s Big 15 
1961: Cookin’ Music-Music 
1969: Lloyd Price Now 
1981: This Is My Band 
1989: Lloyd Price: His Originals, Speciality 
1990: Greatest Hits, Pair 
1990: Walkin’ the Track, Speciality 
1990: Personality Plus, Speciality 
1992: Stagger Lee, Collectables 
1994: Lloyd Price Sings His Big Ten, Curb 
1994: Vol. 2: Heavy Dreams, Speciality 
1994: Greatest Hits: The Original ABC Paramount, MCA 
1995: Lawdy Miss Clawdy, Ace 
1998: Body with No Body, Moms 
1999: Mr Personality, Sba 
1999: The Exciting, Sba 
2002: Christmas Classics, Prestige 
2002: Millennium Collection, Universal 
2004: The Chronological Lloyd Price: 1952–1953, Classics Records 
2005: Lawdy!, Fantasy 
2006: Speciality Profiles, Speciality 
2006: Great, Goldies 
2006: 16 Greatest Hits, Passport Audio 

Read More

The Round Robin Monopoly "Alpha" 1974 US Soul Funk

The Round Robin Monopoly  "Alpha" 1974 US Soul Funk

full vk

https://vk.com/wall-59990730_73

Randy Stewart and Willie Hall etc participate in the production which is considered as their only album. In the middle is a funky rock A 2 “Average Man” which is also hiding percussive break points, A 4 “Life Is Funky” headed by a funky guitar, a unique hi-hat and a solid drum sound give a wonderful and warm impression A5 “Peace Of Mind”, B1 “Little People” of a hot funk truck that develops from a high-speed drum at a stretch, and so on. Superb Jazz Rock….~

One of the best Funk Rock album ever. Including ‘Life is Funky’….~

Randy Stewart and Willie Hall etc participate in the production which is considered as their only album. In the middle is a funky rock A 2 “Average Man” which is also hiding percussive break points, A 4 “Life Is Funky” headed by a funky guitar, a unique hi-hat and a solid drum sound give a wonderful and warm impression A5 “Peace Of Mind”, B1 “Little People” of a hot funk truck that develops from a high-speed drum at a stretch, and so on. Superb Jazz Rock….~

The only album “Alpha” released from Truth, a black-and-white mixed eight-person band, Round Robin · Monopoly’s label belonging to Stax. 
As far as you look at the jacket, there are only two blacks out of the members, a high proportion of whites, but funk sounds with a stronger rock color than the Tower of Power and Average White Band. Especially, in a song in which a multi-layered horn section reminiscent of Tower of Power is bursting with Bari Bali, it is quite cool, with a feeling like a funky brass rock. 
Following “Alpha” like short fanfare, the funk rock number “Average Man” runs to Groovy. A brass lock-like funk where conga is engraved rhythm and a thick horn section roars. 'I’ d Rather Loan You Out 'is a soul number of Medium Slow, a song that feels good with jazzy and mellow feel. “Life Is Funky” is a funk tune where drums, bass, Latin percussion gets greedy. 
The rhythm pleasant soul / rocking middle “Peace Of Mind”, rugged rhythm rugged funk number “Little People”, refreshing soul in the West Coast wind “People Do Change”, “Dreamers” are books Mid funk that drips the most dose dark black grooves…..~

 Credits 
Bass, Vocals – Ray Brown 
Congas – Jimmie Lee (Congalu) Thompson* 
Drums – Ollie Lamey Shaft William Brown* 
Guitar, Vocals, Arranged By [Rhythm] – Larry Greene  
Organ, Piano, Vocals, Arranged By [Rhythm] – Robin Lloyd 
Saxophone, Vocals – Arnold Barry 
Trombone, Vocals, Arranged By [Horns] – Rex White 
Trumpet, Vocals, Arranged By [Horns] – Leonard Sorvillo

The sole album released in 1974 by Trace of the Stax lineage by a group of black and white composed of a total of eight people. Brass lock-like element is also high, but a good record full of black feeling. Mellow grooved “Peace Of Mind” or title song “Alpha” is very cool. It seems that details of this group, the member ’s career are unknown, but a lot of players have gathered. Cool in funk full of tension per “Little People”. It is also important to have a conga player….~

Tracklist 
A1 Alpha 0:18 
A2 Average Man 2:52 
A3 I’d Rather Loan You Out 5:42 
A4 Life Is Funky 3:45 
A5 Peace Of Mind 3:23 
B1 Little People 3:01 
B2 People Do Change 3:04 
B3 Dreamers 4:58 
B4 Prayer Of The Prisoner 1:11 
B5 Omega 0:47 

Read More