Chitlin Circuit Double-entendre -filled Soul 2004 (and onward) Theodis Ealey's "Stand Up In It" is a song of the year

Denise Lasalle maybe

Seeing Denise in a small club years ago was tres-awesome, but the only disc I own is a cheapo comp that I bought for a live "Trapped By A Thing Called Love" where she medleys it with "Precious Precious" and "Make Me Yours."

I like her 2007 album on Ecko "Pay Before You Pump"

Um, yes it's got some synths, but I think they're slightly more tasteful than Malaco and Ecko offered up earlier this century.

I am trying to think of the guy who produced all those '80s and '90s albums for Rounder that you like (I like some of 'em too--and treasure my memories of seeing Johnny Adams, Snooks, Ruth Brown, etc.). I wonder what's he up too.

Scott Billington?

Yep and googling show's he still a Rounder producer and vp of a&r

Greatest Songs from New Orleans

Maybe this thread has some ideas

x-post -- He and Hammond and Nauman Scott at Blacktop have their names on a BUNCH of records I like a lot. I was also listening to "One Last Time," the final CD by Champion Jack Dupree; that's on Bullseye Blues, I think. Yeah, I cherish my memories of seeing those folks before they passed. So the CDs, even though the singers are maybe sometimes past their prime, are recordings/souvenirs of the context I saw them in.

Sorry to butt in here fellows (especially as somebody who actually enjoys Malaco synths!), but I have been listening to J. Blackfoot's 1983 City Slicker today and I have to shout about how much I love it, despite the copy I bought for $1 being so scratched up it may have caused permanent stylus damage. Oh well, life is short. Anyway, I wonder how unique this is -- Chitlin Circuit Southern Soul concept album about city life (he's amid urban hustle and bustle on the cover even); first side consisting of a blatant Stevie Wonder "Living For The City" rip called "The Way Of The City" (drugs! prostitution! poverty! other bad things!); a beautiful country-soul ballad single (r&b hit at the time I believe, still have my copy of the 45 on the shelf) called "Taxi" about taking a cab to your baby's house on the other side of town; a song called "Street Girl" (more prostitution!) that may or may not have preceded the same-named Spoonie Gee rap one; and a decadent disco-freaks-all-over-the-house mama-told-me-not-to-come shindig called "One Of Those Parties." And then in the middle of the second side, which is even more scratched, J. Blackfoot does an actual good old-school rap for the title track, along with some more typically downhome sweet stuff. Has to add up to one of my favorite albums for the genre; which means I may even pay $2 if I see a good copy somewhere!

Christgau was much more cynical than me about the LP; but he still kind of liked it:

City Slicker [Sound Town, 1983]
"The Way of the City" and "Street Child" and "Where Is Love" and the not-quite-dumb-enough "One of Those Parties" don't sound like a country boy's response to the city--they sound like an unreconstructed soul journeyman giving weary moderns everywhere cheap sobs and snickers they might pay for. But as an uneven soul album this scores around 50-50. "The Way of the City" is on the up side for its Memphis-New Orleans fusion, one of the few marks of musical development. In the old days soul men usually left tunes as lightly ebullient as "All Because of What You Did to Me" to the gals, so that's progress. And the title rap actually does sound like a country boy's response to the city. Inspirational Verse: "Get the sweetnin' out of gingerbread and never break the crust." B

Btw, one cool way you can tell he's in the city on the cover, besides the big tall buildings and everything, is that most of the young black guys behind the sad business-suited J. look like they could be in the Furious Five, including one smiling Afro'd dude carrying a big boombox.

Reminds me that, a couple years later, Ricky Skaggs actually did a song called "City Slicker" too, and the video featured him playing bluegrass on the New York subway, with kids doing breakdance moves around him.

And J. Blackfoot's definitely got country connections himself; on a different $1 LP I bought recently, he even covers a John Conlee song.

That sounds great. I just remember one J. Blackfoot song from the '80s. I need to start hitting thrift stores again, my used records stores are too pricey and don't have much.

I love "Taxi"; yeah, that was a sizable R&B hit. And Bryan Ferry even covered it!

Don't tune into KAZI's Southern Soul shows as much as I should these days (usually just if I happen to be in the car making grocery or beer runs in the late afternoon/early evening -- today was beer), but I just heard a song I liked by Clayton Knight, called "Somebody Found My Fishing Hole." Not sure if it's new or not. And before that they played something called "Smooth Operator" by somebody else, which vaguely referenced the Sade song, and which I liked better than her current hit.

Found this about Clayton Knight, but can't tell whether this album is new, or whether it has the fishing hole song:

http://ewegroup.com/artist/disc1_clayton.htm

And here's his MySpace page, which says his new "smash hit single" is called "Hooked On Crack" (or at least was the last time he logged in, which was last August). Also, he is 53 years old, and from Alabama, and makes between $100,000 and $150,000 a year as a recording artist and truck driver. He is also a Virgo, a proud parent, and looking for dates:

http://www.myspace.com/487377187

And okay, here's a link to his 2009 album, which leads with "Fishing Hole" (in which he says he want to keep his catfish to himself btw):

http://www.swapacd.com/cd/album/1620841-call+me+what+u+wanna

There's a number of Southern soul songs out with fishin' hole metaphors and themes (some that female readers and feminists and others might not appreciate). Bobby Rush's "Night Fishin'," Sheba Potts-Wright-"Private Fishing Hole" and I think others that I can't remember right now or find via google

Now that is something that should be talked about in a presentation at the EMP Pop Music Conference...

Awwww man, just discovered that Barbara Carr is gonna be at the Solar Eclipse in DC next Saturday with Chick Willis and Robin Roberts, but I already have tickets for Gilberto Gil that night. I just a Carr best-of on Ecko, but she's on a new label now.

Speaking of woman Southern soul artists, I understand that Miss Jodie has a new cd out. I have to get that and Barbara Carr's latest.

If only I could spell--that's Ms. Jody http://www.eckorecords.com/

And um, Roy Roberts, a North Carolina singer is gonna be on that Saturday March 13 bill with St. Louis' Barbara Carr. Robin Roberts was a pitcher for the Phillies. http://www.cdsrecords.com/barbaracarrsavvywoman.htm

So the Barbara Carr cd was from '09 but the Miss Jody one is 2010. I need to get the cd and then convince the NY Times Magazine section that a Miss Jody profile would be as relevant and important as that Jody Rosen from Slate penned Joanna Newsom one from Sunday. Not sure if Miss Jody is into "spirit animals" and communing with nature, but I could ask her.

They'll probably say it would have needed to be pegged to the release date. (Which is stupid, given that most Times readers would never have heard of Miss Jody in the first place, but I get the idea that's how it's done. Also possibly works, consciously or not, as a way to keep out the low-rent riff-raff who don't believe in spirit animals and communing with nature, since their labels can't afford huge national press lists wherein advance mp3s are sent out months in advance.) Not trying to discourage you, though! You should make the pitch -- maybe my cyncicism will prove wrong. (And come to think of it, Josh Kun's narcocorrido piece in the Times Art Section yesterday probably wasn't pegged to a release. The magazine might be more stringent, though.)

Anyway, abridged from the buy that for a dollar thread, in recent weeks:

Pickier about $1 records than 50 cent ones. I've bought a couple Suburbs and ZZ Hill and J. Blackfoot LPs this year that are pretty scratchy or even warped (in at least two cases I couldn't play the lead cuts on either side), but that's really rare, actually. .
― xhuxk, Sunday, 28 February 2010 02:36

$1 today, End Of An Ear in South Austin
Z.Z. Hill Down Home (Malaco 1981 - pretty scratchy again; I'm starting to get the idea Southern Soul fans don't take very good care of their vinyl)
― xhuxk, Sunday, 7 March 2010 02:22

Even my local alt-weekly is tied into release dates (Miss Jody's cam out in February) and a long feature piece where I would go and join Miss Jody and interview her and commune with nature with her ala Joanna Newsom, could only happen if I somehow could take leave from parenting and dayjob responsibilities.

Jody Rosen just got the communing with nature and spirit animals story from Joanna (who also apparently told it to Erik Davis), I wanna top that and actually get to go on such a retreat with Miss Jody.

But seriously, it continues to amaze me how little 'rock' and alt-weekly and daily paper media coverage there is of this stuff. But even ILX soul fanatics dismiss these artists so maybe I should not be surprised.

So, J. Blackfoot's Physical Attraction. Came out in '84, year after City Slicker (which I talked about a few paces up), and J. knew what was working for him, so "Hiding Place" swipes pretty much the exact same melody from "Taxi"; just doesn't have words near as good. (He wants a lady he's cheating with to take him to her hiding place instead of wanting a taxi to take him to the other side of of town.) On the totally ridiculous LP cover he's straddling a piece of exercise equipment in a weight room, with a woman co-straddling right behind him in red sweatband and aerobics wear. Back cover has his five-guy/one-girl "Street Gang Band" all dressed tough in black leather and red epaulets and bandanas like they've been studying all the right Michael Jackson videos. Lead cut is the bubble soul "The Girl Next Door," who is so sweet that J. imagines she could've come from a candy store; only problem is, as far as I can tell, she also appears to be underage. Last song is a cover of "Kum Ba Ya," the (quasi-Eastern I guess?) hippie church mantra, complete with somebody named Rod Kennedy Sr. reciting a spoken prayer on top, and I don't think I've ever heard anybody actually sing that song on a record I've owned before, and personally I don't think J. Blackfoot seems like "Kum Ba Ya" kind of guy. Hayes/ Porter-penned "You Got Me Hummin'" is a sort of James Brownish semi-disco that nonetheless was making me think J. had been listening to early '80s Robert Palmer even before I noticed that the syn-bass (or whatever) at the end sounds a lot like "Looking For Clues." But the best track, and main reason the album winds up being a keeper despite all its wackitude, is J.'s cover of John Conlee's Harlan/Braddock-written country hit "I Don't Remember Loving You," which is sung from the point of view of a man who's drunk himself to craziness, addressing his wife from his bed in a mental hospital, asking for his crayon so he can write down her name since he has no recollection of ever seeing her before. Great weird hilarious disturbing song, and J.'s falsetto soul retooling kills; sounds like it could've fit on Swamp Dogg's Total Destruction Of Your Mind. Album still doesn't come close to City Slicker, though. (Btw, I noticed on emusic that the covers of both albums changed over the years; the '83 one was eventually reissued as Taxi. Not sure if that's a CD-era or digital-era innovation.)

Top ten songs on this month's Boogie Report newsletter playlist, plus a few others I should make a point of trying to hear sometime:

1.I'm Sorry Lenny Williams
2.Mr.Bus Driver J Blackfoot
3.The Best Time Wendell B.
4.Bring It On Home Sir Charles Jones
5.Every Day I Have The Blues Latimore
6.Rumble In The Bedroom James Smith
7.One Good Man Karen Wolfe
8.I Take It Back Archie Love
9.Somebody Mr.Sam
10.I Don't Want To Leave Shirley Brown

12.The Bop Ms. Jody
13.Everybody Knows The Revelations fea Tre Williams
14.People Don't Do Bobby Rush
17.Pop A Pill Ghetto Cowboy

Also:

Daddy B. Nice's Top 10 "BREAKING" Southern Soul Singles For. . .
MARCH 2010

1. "I Can't Do It"------------Mel Waiters
Everyone's been holding their breath, waiting for Mel's next big thing. Exhale. It's a beaut', with an Omar Cunningham-like background singer (maybe Omar himself), a foxy beat and even a dash of rock guitar.

2. "I'm In Love With A Woman Other Woman Talk About"----------Captain Jack Watson
Carl Marshall serves up this feast of a ballad showcasing an artist--Captain Jack Watson--who has perfect Southern Soul pitch and perfect Southern Soul tone.

3. "Come On Let's Dance"-------------Donnie Ray
This uptempo tune sounds simultaneously like a slow jam. Its romanticism is so full-fledged and unapologetic it takes you back to another, more innocent, era.

4. "Am I Mr. Right"----------------William Bell
No telling how good this new one from William Bell is. The groove is so patented-prime Bell that it may very well become as big as William's recent "New Lease On Life." Love those disco effects, too. Bell's soulfulness insures they work.

5. "Can I Get To Know You Girl"------------Bigg Robb
This mellow tune--the best hip-hop-produced Southern Soul you're going to hear anywhere--has just enough punch to make it interesting.

6. "Get Out"--------------Pat Cooley
One of Pat's best. The song rocks. Pat Cooley just keeps coming at us, with one single after another.

7. "I Ain't Your Lady"-----------B. B. Queen
Her work may sound a trifle thin on first listening, but there's undeniable substance to B. B. Queen, in the way there was a substance to Jackie Neal's early efforts.

8. "Guitar Cry With Me"-----------Unckle Eddie
Unckle Eddie shifts from humor to current events with this interesting cut.

9. "Alvaretta's Night Out"--------------Robert Banks
Another fine song, this one uptempo, from the guy who sounds a bit like a Tex-Mex Robert Cray.

10. "Shake Rattle & Roll"------------Willie B.
Nice to hear from Willie B., who once held down a spot on Daddy B. Nice's Top 100 Southern Soul for "Larry Licker." This one isn't earth-moving, but he's still got that sweet, Larry-Lickin' voice.

My Saturday radio station Southern soul show only plays a few of those I think. I need to find that online southern soul station I posted about about a long time ago.

I think I heard that Sir Charles Jones song off the Boogie Report and liked it, but I don't remember specifics. Too busy with the rest of my daily life and other writing these days to find time to listen to all of the above.

Maybe this weekend I can try to catch up some.

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/general/2010/03/12/live-saturday-soul-triple-bill-with-barbara-carr-at-the-solar-eclipse/

"Pop A Pill" by Ghetto Cowboy appears to be about Viagra. ("Girl you make me want to a pop a pill, so I can give you a thrill...I ain't no young buck just runnin' around, but every now and then I need some help to get down.") 3:49 is too long for the joke though. Version on youtube says "feat. Bigg Robb," but Robb just grumbles backup hypeman stuff, never raps. For most of the song, I barely even noticed he was there.

Youtube says "I'm Sorry" by Lenny Williams is from 1981. Midtempo sort of post-disco smooth-jazz strut. Apparently he was the lead singer in Tower of Power, born in Little Rock but raised in Oakland. No idea why he's #1 on that Boogie Report chart; doesn't seem to have died lately.

"Somebody" by Mr. Sam -- Whoooooeeee, okay, this is kind of a beaut; grown-folks quiet-storm soul ballad of the year so far, not that I've actually heard any other ones I can think of, but still. "She don't need to have no Ph.D./Just smart enough to know what she has with me." Still, five minutes is long -- just imagine it's a luxurious bubble bath. Probably too generic a bubble bath, but a bubble bath nonetheless.

Not finding many others on youtube yet, but I'll hunt more when I can.

Most of Daddy B. Nice's March top 10 is not on youtube. I did find Unckle Eddie "Guitar Cry With Me" that is a droll recitation of tragic incidents--terrorist attacks, earthquakes, etc. It's ok but doesn't wow me.

RIP Rockie Charles, the New Orleans "President of Soul". He rarely ever toured and his records were not widely distributed but he could sing

Early New Orleans Rock N Roll/R&B

There may be 2 zillion acts from multiple genres (but mainly indie) down in Austin for SxSW but I have yet to read about a single Southern/Chitlin Circuit soul group being there. Labels like Ecko and CDS and Malaco are silly not to try to crossover, and if they're waiting for an invitation that's likely never to happen as this genre flies under the mainstream radar. But if you're reading this thread you know that, I guess.

Well, there is a New Orleans Bounce Street Party Sissy Rap Showcase Saturday night w/ I believe DJ Jubilee and Katie Redd and Magnolia Shorty, which is at least on the oustkirts of Southern Soul. But otherwise, yeah, I think you're right.

There's a publicist handling that one who is also representing the great Ponderosa Stomp event in New orleans that brings old school soul artists and rockers onstage in New Orleans, and to Lincoln Center and in years past SxSW. Perhaps that publicist should seek out Southern soul labels.

Someone gave me a free ticket to see harpist/vocalist Joanna Newsom last night in a sold-out show. Eh, I was not wowed. I will take Denise Lasalle and Miss Jody over Newsom. I'd also settle for those 2 soul vocalists getting even half the media attention Newsom gets.

RIP New Orleans singer Marva Wright.

Damn, hadn't thought about Marva in a while. Knew she hadn't been well in recent years.

Hey Curmudgeon, have you (or anyone here) seen Bobby Bland recently? He's coming to town, nice intimate jazz club show. Tix are expensive, though, and I've heard he can be pretty hit or miss. (The only time I saw him was at Jazzfest, in 2002, and he was weathered but wonderful.)

I don't think Marva was that old, but yes she was ill for several years.

Booby Bland's last DC area appearance (maybe billed as an 80th birthday tour I think) was cancelled because of illness. I have not seen him in a long time-- he was doing that snorting thing on the high notes, but I think he's been doing that for quite awhile.

Ha ha, yeah he was doing that "snnnnnooorkkk" a lot when I saw him.

Heard Bland's "Members Only" on the radio a little while back. Luv that one.

Wish I had seen live way back when, during one of those tours with BB King he used to do.

When I was in Grand Cayman in '86, "Members Only" was pretty recent; radio played it every few hours, bands in clubs covered it. It was like a HUGE hit.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postmortem/2010/03/marva-wright-blues-singer-dies.html A Marva Wright tribute

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100323/ap_en_mu/us_obit_wright

I saw her in New Orleans once. When she was living up my way after Katrina I always missed the various benefit shows for her somehow.

Heard a decent but not amazing song from Miss Jody's latest cd on WPFW yesterday. I need to quiti procrastinating and buy the thing and review it somewhere (even if it came out 2 months ago or whatever)

Hmmm, wonder if Ecko has downloads? Will check later tonight.

Roy C.'s gonna be back in the DC area on 4-17 at Lamont's in Pomonkey.

Reviews of the new Sharon Jones cd are everywhere in the 'mainstream media' but alas, until I buy and review Miss Jody's new one, there are none for her. And yes I know that their styles are a tad different.

Some interesting back and forth views last week on the Yahoo Southern Soul e-mail group regarding the late Johnnie Taylor's son Floyd's new cd. I have not heard it yet. Some folks liked it, others dismissed it in that soul purist manner that causes some people to avoid this thread and others to only like Sharon Jones and obscure 1967 reissues.

http://www.amazon.com/All-Me-Jewl-Floyd-Taylor/dp/B0039208ZS/ref=sr_1_1