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

JK McCoy Rest In Peace
The Boogie Report has learned that Music Industry Veteran JK McCoy died yesterday in Montgomery.

McCoy who's given name was Bruce Knight was discovered yesterday when he didnt respond to several attempts to contact him.

McCoy who was CEO of JK Consulting had worked as a radio announcer throughout the southwest he also was the founding editor of the Chitlin Circuit Magazine.

Some folks on the Yahoo Southern Soul e-mail group are raving about Tommy Tate : " When hearts grow cold " CD I have not heard it yet

So several months later, the Southern Soul show on KAZI Austin is now playing an entirely different song also apparently called "I Need A Bailout," slower and less clever and less comical and less catchy than local guy Larry Shannon Hargrove's one (which is still my favorite Southern Soul song of the year, and one of my overall top ten singles). The new one says the guy has two college degrees but got caught with either 10 K's or 10 Keys (as in kilos?), plus his wife left him, so now "like Fanny Mae, AIG, and Chrysler, I need a bailout." It's okay, I guess; don't really recommend it, but do wonder who does it.

Mel Waiters "Everything is Going Up (but my paycheck)" is pretty good too.

soul and blues report.com top 25 http://www.soulandbluesreport.com/sbr/top_25.html

September 4, 2009

1

1 1
Everything Is Going Up
Mel Waiters
Waldoxy

2
2
Man Enough
Karen Wolfe
B & J

4
3
Forbidden Love Affair
Vick Allen
Soul 1st.

3
4
Gone On
Marvin Sease
Malaco

6
5
I Ran A Good Man Away
Lacee
Advantage

7
6
Cheatin' On The Cheatin'
Lenny Williams
Lenlon

5
7
Upside Down
Shirley Brown
Malaco

8
8
That's My Story
Chairman Of The Board
Surfside

12
9
Dog Caught By The Cat
Donnie Ray
Ecko

9
10
Ms. Jody's Thing
Ms. Jody
Ecko

18
11
Rehab
T. K. Soul
Soulful

11
12
Boy Toy
Pat Cooley
L&L

10
13
The Beauty Shop
Omar Cunningham
Soul 1st.

14
14
The Recipe
Bigg Robb
Over25sounds

13
15
I'm A Woman
Nellie Tiger Travis
CDS

15
16
Lock My Door
Jeff Floyd
Wilbe

19
17
Meow
J. Blackfoot
JEA/Right Now

24
18
Around The World
Latimore
Latstone

22
19
Dance The Night Away
Willie Clayton
C&C Ent.

20
20
Love Under Arrest
Lil Fallay
Tubor

17
21
One Night Stand
Andre Lee
Capetown

21
22
On The Back Road
Terry Wright
MacWright

25
23
Sex Appeal
Charles Wilson
CDS

-
24
Dirty Woman
David Brinston / Blackfoot
Ecko

23
25
Look Good For You

Carl MarshallMs. Jody

It's not that NPR doesn't like black music. It merely maintains a strict preference for black music that few actual living African-Americans listen to. Rosen from his slate.com piece

While Jody Rosen kinda has a point with his critique of NPR for only playing black people who are Dead, Old, Retro, or Foreign (DORF), NPR does not play folks on this thread even though they're old(except maybe for Lee Fields who happens to be on an indie-rock label now). I am wondering if Rosen has even seen any of the folks written about on this thread.

I wonder if Jody Rosen of Slate has every heard any of this stuff, or gone to a show

I need to catch up on recent Southern soul releases

I hate when old soul artist gigs are marketed only to (generally white)record collector geeks and indie rockers, but this show was fun even though the $25 price and the obscure names kept the Sharon Jones fans away (and the middle-aged DC African American audience never even knew about the show)...Here's what I posted on the Numero label thread--

Just saw the Eccentric Soul review tour before a small DC crowd. Syl Johnson was a lot of fun--seemed drunk but his raspy soul vocals on numbers like "Any way the Wind Blows," "Come on, Sock it to Me," and "Take Me to the River" sounded great. He was carrying on between several songs about royalties he got from Wu Tang Clan and Kid Rock samples, and he was happily reminiscing about his 1968 appearance at the Howard Theatre. Plus he was wearing a Megadeth t-shirt under his sports jacket. Renaldo Domino wasn't bad and the young backing band JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound were kind of uneven, but mostly impressive. The Notations harmonies and gold jackets were awesome, although they spent too much time doing jokes and schtick.

― curmudgeon, Wednesday, November 11, 2009 5:56 AM (9 hours

While the above gig got some attention, tonight's O'Jays and many more Philly soul '70s revue at DAR Constitution Hall in DC has been just advertised on quiet storm radio and via an e-mail thing marketed to suburban Maryland based African-Americans (and me!) so it's getting little crossover attention from record geeks or mainstream media.

Awesome old-school Beaumont, Texas left-handed guitarist singer Barbara Lynn is at the Library of Congress for free at lunchtime/noon and at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage for free and webcast on the K. Ctr site from 6 to 7 today Wednesday November 18th. Check her out on youtube. She had a hit in 62, and another one later that the Rolling Stones covered. Plus Moby sampled her. She's as cool as anyone connected with the Eccentric Soul revue. Maybe even indie-rock Sharon Jones & the Dap-kings fans would like her.

I think my W. City Paper preview is the only publicity the Lynn show has gotten.

She was good not great. I liked her soul material more than the blues stuff and the Elvis cover.

My longtime local faves the Hardway Connection always do well down in the Carolinas with the beach music crowd. Saw this on a blog (some interesting stuff by North Carolina freelancer Dariel B on it):

http://darielb.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/beach-blues-rock-a-big-ole-fish-shtick/

November is going to be a great month for music fans along the S.C. Grand Strand. If Carolina beach music is your bag, a special weekend of Carolina Beach Music Academy (CBMA) awards, live music and shag dancing is set for Nov. 11 – 15

On Saturday, the CBMA Benefit Cookout & Showcase gets started at noon and runs until 3 p.m. The pig pickin’ is being hosted by Carolina deejays Big John Ruth (102.9 FM) and Neal “Soul Dog” Furr. Gary Smith (WLWL 770AM) will host the showcase, which features the Taylor Manning Band along with the Tim Clark Band plus some surprise artists singing to tracks.
The Industry Awards show, hosted by deejays Chad Sain and Ray Scott starts at 4 p.m. at the Spanish Galleon. Get there early. This is a popular event (Saturday passes are required this year.). Saturday night shows include the Fantastic Shakers at the O.D. Beach Club; The Castaways AND Hardway Connection at the Spanish Galleon; Holiday Band at Fat harold’s; Tommy black & Blooz at Duck’s and The Souls AND the Sand Band at Pirate’s Cove.
Sunday morning is the popular band fair (and yes, some of them are awake) where fans can meet the artists, get autographs, photos, Ced, T-shirts and more.
The culmination of the weekend is the annual awards show held at the Alabama Theatre in North Myrtle Beach. R&B performer Clifford Curry (“She Shot a Hole In My Soul,” “We’re Gonta Hate Ourselves In the Morning,” “Beach Music & Barbecue”) is scheduled to perform. So is Nashville’s soul blues artist Rickey Godfrey The 2009 inductees into the Carolina Beach Music Hall of Fame include R&B singer Chuck Jackson, probably best known for his 1962 recording of “Any Day Now” (Burt Bacharach-Bob Hilliard). He recorded the classic “How Long Have You Been Loving Me” on Carolina Records, a collaboration with Charles Wallet, who penned “Brenda,” O.C. Smith’s 1986 hit single.

http://www.cammy.org/winners.html

Hardway Connection won best National Dance/Shag Song with
"Dirty O' Man”

And Hardway still have no website, no myspace...Nuthin. They're gigging from the Maryland African-American burbs on down through the Carolinas pretty regularly it appears. I think they might even be at Lamonts tonight(a club that has no website). Amazing.

I gotta call the Hardway folks and do an article. It's been 10 years now since I wrote a feature on them for the Washington CP. I wonder if that Carter Barron gig they did then was their last show in DC itself.

Still lots of Southern soul for me to catch up on. Heard great songs from Jeff Floyd and from Miss Jody over the weekend. It's too bad the cheesy synths Ecko was once known for have scared many away from this genre (or at least this thread!).

xchuckx come back, otherwise it's just me talking to myself here (unless folks are lurking).

http://www.soulandbluesreport.com/website/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9&Itemid=9

I should post that list over on the best magazine and websites of 2009 thread just to offer something other than indie-rock (even if this list is not a critics one or even a year-end one).

Yes I should. Waiting for Hardway's guitarist to call me back. It's like these guys don't want publicity.

http://bluescritic.com/southernsoulbluescharts.htm

I'm still lurking here, btw, curmudgeon; just have somehow, inadvertently, fallen out of the habit of tuning into the Southern soul radio shows here, so I don't have much to say. "I Need A Bailout" by Larry Shannon Hargrove and "There Goes My Baby" by Charlie Wilson did make my Pazz & Jop singles ballot, however. And in the past couple months I've picked up these old chitlin circuit albums used for $1 each.

J. Blackfoot - Physical Attraction (Sound Town 1984)
Freedom - Are You Available (Malaco 1984)
Little Milton - Annie Mae's Cafe (Malaco 1986)
O.B. McClinton - Album No. 2 (Hometown Productions 1986)

Freedom is an interesting self-contained-band mix of down-home red-clay soul and chubbier early '80s commmercial funk (including a Prince cover). That's the only one I've played so far, though I already think it's interesting that Blackfoot covers "I Don't Remember Loving You," a great loss-of-one's-mind song that was a country hit for John Conlee.

Also bought these $1 albums back in October; like both Blands (esp the 1974 one), but haven't gotten to the Smith one yet.

Bobby Bland - Dreamer (Dunhill 1974) (w/ "Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City," later sampled in Jay-Z song of the same name)
Bobby Bland - Get On Down With (Dunhill 1975) (w/ covers of Merle Haggard and Charlie Rich songs)
O.C. Smith - Hickory Holler Revisited (Columbia 1968)

O.B. and O.C. probably techically more "African American country" than "Southern Soul," though it's a fine line of course. And they'll always be lumped in with actual southern soulster O.V. Wright in my head.

Wow, those all look great. I forget which old Bobby Bland vinyl I have. I just know a few J. Blackfoot songs, and only know O.B. and O.C. by name. O.V. Wright is the man.

I just decided last minute that another OB, OB Buchana (no periods just OB), has released my southern soul chitlin circuit fave album for the year, "It's My Time" on Ecko. He has previously done that great song "Southern Soul Country Boy". Most soul nerds will knee-jerk snear at the Ecko synths and the lyrics but I think it goes beyond those stereotypes.

It's available for sale as a download from Amazon, I-tunes and Ecko, in addition to other formats.

He's not breaking any new ground, he's just exhibiting the best qualities of the genre

Here's Daddy B. Nice's bio of OB Buchana

http://www.southernsoulrnb.com/artistguide.cfm?aid=56

Daddy B says his name is "O.B." not "OB" . Not sure who is right.

He doesn't get much media attention based on the quick google search of websites, news, and blogs I just did. One Brit blogger, one Frenchman and a few US southern soul biz sites.

Maybe 2010 will be the year that the Southern soul will get some crossover attention.

I'm gonna post a Washington City Paper blog post soon on Maryland's Hardway Connection. I spoke recently to their guitarist/songwriter/bandleader. Now I just have to reach the other hard to find DC area soul folks. Then I can move on to reviewing more Southern soul in general (when I'm not busy with my dayjob, family, etc.).

From the Boogie Report:

We regret to report that Bluesman Earl Gaines Past away this afternoon in Nashville.
In 1955 Gaines joined up with Louis Brooks & His Hi-Toppers as lead singer and scored a #2 R & B smash "It's Love Baby (24 Hours a Day)," which has become his signature song since. The outfit didn't score a followup hit and Gaines went solo for the same label, Excello, in addition to Champion and Poncello resulting a slew of unsuccessful singles. During this time he sang lead for Bill Doggett's band. In 1966 he finally snagged a hit under his own name with "Best Of Luck To You" (#28 R 7 B) for the HBR label. He subsequently recorded record for Hollywood, Athens Deluxe/King and Seventy-Seven, including "Hymn Number 5". Gaines recorded a single for Ace in 1975 ("Drowning On Dry Land") but then embarked on a fourteen year hiatus from the studio and working as a truck driver. He resurged in 1989 with a new album "House Party" on Meltone Records, and this began his eventual comeback thanks in large part to producer Fred James. James, a Nashville- based producer whose affection for the classic Excello sound also resulted in the resurrection of onetime label staples including Clifford Curry and Roscoe Shelton; for Appaloosa, Gaines issued his 1995 comeback effort, "I Believe in Your Love", and in 1997 he also joined Curry and Shelton for a joint live recording. Since then he's appeared on a host of labels, culminating in his 2008 CD for Memphis-based Ecko Records. (Courtesy BluesCritic)

I'm guessing Chitlin Circuit roots can be heard on these 2 Memphis, Tenn. related '09 archival releases I'd like to hear:

. Various Artists , Designer Records Reissues (Big Legal Mess/ Fat Possum)

From the mid-'60s to the late-'70s, record moguls Style Wooten and Charles Bowen recorded gospel acts in Memphis.

George Jackson, In Memphis 1972-1977 (Ace Records)

This U.K. compilation gathers together the work of Southern soul songwriter George Jackson.

I need to start posting youtube videos on this thread. Here's an old OB Buchana song "This Party is a Mutha"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO62r6oapkg&feature=related

I wonder if the old-school soul purists who hate Ecko and Malaco synths and Southern Soul lyrics will ever come back to this thread? Maybe they're lurking.

So has anybody out there on the internetz heard of a club called Peachez in Upper Marlboro, Maryland? I hear they're booking Southern soul there.

The Boogie Report
Jan.03 2010

1.I Don't Want To Leave -Shirley Brown
2.Everybody Knows -The Revelations fea Tre Williams
3.My Dog -Marvin Sease
4.You've Been Good -O.B Buchana
5.Do What He Didn't Do Nellie Tiger Travis
6.Shake Your Money Maker -Willie Clayton
7.Please Can You Lend The Soul -1st Allstars
8.Bring It On Home -Sir Charles Jones
9.Run'n -Stephanie Pickett
10.Just Aint Good -James Smith
11.Blind Snake -Bobby Rush
12.I Wouldn't Beg -Bigg Robb
13.Juicy Lips -Lacee
14.I'm Hooked -Vick Allen
15.The Right Woman -Omar Cunningham
16.Grown Folks Bizness -Kello Aman
17.Around The World -Latimore
18.Southern Soul Party Groove -Karen Wolfe
19.Rehab -TK Soul
20.I Dont Mind -Special

As I expected, since Lee Fields '09 cd was marketed to indie folks he got 7 album votes in the Voice critics poll (696 voters), but only me voted for OB Buchana. He is on Ecko and that label does market to indie-rockers or college radio listeners. Some of those retro-soul folks that get NPR crossover stories got votes-- what's that blue-eyed guy's name--Hawthorne , I think.

Does NOT market to...

You know what I mean, you lurkers

Song I heard today that I liked "kittie, kittie".

Gonna go see Jim Bennett & Lady Mary tonight at Omia's Grill out in Herndon, VA. A Larry Robinson B-Funk production--he brings Southern soul to the Virginia DC exurban burbs

Jim Bennett & Lady Mary did a mixture of covers(Chuck Brown, Pendergrass, D. Lasalle, Otis Redding and more) and originals, and DJ Larry B-Funk Robinson filled the floor beforehand with Southern soul and a bit of go-go. Crowd demographic in the small packed room of 40--um, mostly African-American and female (and big) and 50 with a few scattered white folks (who appeared to know other folks there unlike me and my buddy). Wish I knew the names and artists of some of the songs Robinson was playing and especiaaly the one that got women linedancing

A fun night even if the performers weren't the greatest. You soul music record nerds who won't listen to current stuff on Ecko and other labels cuz of the synths and the formulaic lyrics, are missing out if you don't giuve this stuff a chance live or on your internets

http://www.southernsoulrnb.com/corner2008.cfm

2008: The Year In Southern Soul
It was a year when the Southern Soul pendulum swung back towards the center. The hiphop influence ( T. K. Soul, Simeo, Bigg Robb, Cupid) waned--at least temporarily--as those artists for the most part took a "breather" on the sidelines.

Meanwhile, traditional Southern Soul sounds rebounded with a vengeance via the work of Floyd Taylor, Nellie "Tiger" Travis, L. J. Echols, Latimore, Ms. Jody, O. B. Buchana, Jeff Floyd, Sheba Potts-Wright, Lee "Shot" Williams, Stan Mosley and others.

The "freshest" new influence was . . .

a gospel-cum-barbershop sound that sparkled with revolutionary harmonies in the outstanding new music of Omar Cunningham ("My Life") and Luther Lackey ("I Should Have Stayed Scared").

It was a year when Stevie Jay reminded us all (in his incandescent single "Because Of Me") that you can muster a great Southern Soul vocal without shouting and screaming and writhing and wailing--in fact, without vocalizing much higher than a sugary whisper.

2008 was a year when two songs, "I Wanna Bump" by John Haley and "Good Old Country Boy" by Earl Gaines, illustrated the maxim, "You can never get enough of a good thing," the former piggy-backing on the success of James Payne's cover of the Joe Tex standard "Ain't Gonna Bump No More With No Big Fat Woman" and the latter traveling on the popularity of Denise LaSalle's and Charles Wilson's "Mississippi Woman"/"Mississippi Boy."

It was a year when Latimore's comeback song, "My Give A Damn Gave Out" showed the legs of a long-distance runner, a year when the folksy side of Southern Soul ("Stand Up In It," anyone?) scored big with L. J. Echols' "From The Back," a year when the Jo-Us Band's "I'll Be Doggone" became 2008's version of "Cuttin' Up Sideways" by Joy, woolly and infectious.

It was a year when Mary K. Blige's beautiful yet robust ballad "Stay Down" showed all those urban R&B-slash-Southern Soul deejay-divas exactly where Southern Soul's "smooth" G-spot really is.

Finally, it was a year when more than a few artists (Bobby Rush, Chick Willis, Billy "Soul" Bonds, etc.) jumped into the political arena--albeit musically--with the dazzling and surprising ascension of Barack Obama to first Democratic candidate for President and then President-elect.

The best line of the year was . . .

Chandra Calloway's "I was gonna give it to ya/ Until you opened your mouth," a snapshot of every playa's dilemma chasing that "hottie" in the club.

That was until, later in the year, Karen Wolfe (via songwriter Omar Cunningham) came up with the even better line, "If you're man enough to leave/ I'm woman enough to let you go," reminding your Daddy B. Nice of a year of marital stress when he wasn't "man enough," instead boarding up the doorway between the living room and the kitchen, effectively dividing the house in two rather than leave the property or sell. Touche', Karen.

Last but surely not least, 2008 was the year Senator Jones died. The impresario of the night, the wild chairman of Southern Soul, the mastermind of Hep'Me Records always had his finger on the pulse of Southern Soul and was never afraid (unlike almost all the other producers) of calling it "Southern Soul," a trait for which (among others) your Daddy B. Nice will forever cherish him.

The Senator didn't always "click," but when he did--for instance, the hilarious, deep-bass-voiced, shades-of-The Coasters introduction to Miz B.'s "My Name Is $$$$'s"--it was like a nuclear bomb hitting the radio, leaving the rest of us crawling around the desert floor muttering "We are not worthy, we are not worthy."

We can only hope that, without him, we will not lose our way.

--Daddy B. Nice

***********************

The "DADDIES":
And The Winners of the 2nd Annual (2008) Daddy B. Nice Southern Soul Music Awards Are. . .
Daddy B. Nice Southern Soul Music Award for Best Mid-Tempo Southern Soul Song of 2008:

"Man Enough" by Karen Wolfe

Top Contenders: Nellie "Tiger" Travis' "Slap Yo' Weave Off," L. J. Echols "From The Back," Willie Clayton's "A Woman Knows," Reggie P.'s "Your Love Is A Bad Habit"

Daddy B. Nice Southern Soul Music Award for Best Southern Soul Club Song of 2008:

"Don't Stop The Music" by Mose Stovall

Top Contenders: Ms. Jody's "Ms. Jody's Thing," Mr. X's "Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle," Nellie "Tiger" Travis' "I'm A Woman"

Daddy B. Nice Southern Soul Music Award for Best Southern Soul Collaboration of 2008:

"I'm A Bluesman's Daughter" by Sheba Potts-Wright w/ Dr. "Feelgood" Potts

Top Contenders: Pat Brown & The Rhythm All-Stars' "Got Something That Will Hold Him," Charles Wilson and Mel Waiters' "Something Different About You"

Daddy B. Nice Southern Soul Music Award for Best Southern Soul Ballad of 2008:

"Because Of Me" by Stevie Jay

Top Contenders: O. B. Buchana's "Just Because He's Good To You," Ricky White's "I'll Always Love You," Floyd Taylor's "What If He Knew"

Daddy B. Nice Southern Soul Music Award for Best Southern Soul Song By A Longtime Veteran in 2008:

"Man Up" by Stan Mosley

Top Contenders: Booker Brown's "Ladies' Night," Latimore's "Nanna Puddin'," Lee "Shot" Williams' "Country Woman"

Daddy B. Nice Southern Soul Music Award for Best Female Southern Soul Vocalist of 2008:

Nellie "Tiger" Travis ("Slap Yo' Weave Off," "I'm A Woman," "M.O.D.")

Top Contenders: Karen Wolfe, Sheba Potts-Wright, Ms. Jody, Chandra Calloway

Daddy B. Nice Southern Soul Music Award for Best Male Southern Soul Vocalist of 2008:

Luther Lackey ("I Should Have Stayed Scared," "Number Two," "I Don't Care Who's Gettin' It")

Top Contenders: Omar Cunningham, L. J. Echols, O. B. Buchana, Stevie Jay, Ricky White

Daddy B. Nice Southern Soul Music Award for Best Airplay Breakthrough By A Veteran (Non-Debut) Southern Soul Artist in 2008

L. J. Echols ("From The Back")

Top Contenders: Karen Wolfe, Booker Brown, Mose Stovall, Luther Lackey

Daddy B. Nice Southern Soul Music Award for Hardest-Touring Southern Soul Crowd-Pleaser of 2008:

Mel Waiters

Top Contenders: Dave Mack, T. K. Soul, O. B. Buchana

Daddy B. Nice Southern Soul Music Award for Best Chitlin' Circuit Blues Song of 2008:

"Obama" by Chick Willis

Top Contenders: Floyd Taylor's "Hooked On These Blues," Sheba Potts-Wright's "I'm A Bluesman's Daughter," Bobby Rush's "Bobby Rush For President"

Daddy B. Nice Southern Soul Music Award for Best "Cover" Song By A Southern Soul Artist in 2008:

"I Wanna Bump" by John Haley (covering Joe Tex and James Payne)

Top Contenders: The Bar-Kays w/ Evelyn "Champagne" King's "If Loving You Is Wrong," Honey's "Turn Back The Hands Of Time"

Daddy B. Nice Southern Soul Music Award for Best "Out Of Left Field" Southern Soul Song of 2008:

"Ring On Your Finger" by La'Morris Williams

Top Contenders: Jo-us Band's "I'll Be Doggone," Simeo's "Windows (We Roll, Southern Soul)"

Daddy B. Nice Southern Soul Music Award for Best Southern Soul Songwriter of 2008:

John Ward

(O. B. Buchana's "Just Because He's Good To You," Sheba Potts-Wright's "I'm A Bluesman's Daughter," and with co-writer Gerod Rayborn, Carl Sims' "I Like This Place," and with co-writer Raymond Moore, Ms. Jody's "Ms. Jody's Thing" and David Brinston's "I Just Love Women")

Top Contenders: Omar Cunningham, Luther Lackey, Floyd Hamberlin

Daddy B. Nice Southern Soul Music Award for Best Southern Soul Arranger/Producer of 2008:

Luther Lackey (for Luther Lackey's I Should Have Stayed Scared CD)

Top Contenders: John Ward, Floyd Hamberlin

Daddy B. Nice Southern Soul Music Award for Best Southern Soul Debut of 2008:

Stevie Jay (2 Sides Of A Man CD)

Top Contenders: The Rhythm All-Stars, Chandra Calloway, Mr. X

And Added This Year: The Daddy B. Nice Southern Soul Music Award for Best Southern Soul CD Of 2008:

Nellie "Tiger" Travis (I'm A Woman, CDS)

Top Contenders: Luther Lackey (I Should Have Stayed Scared, Ecko), Stevie Jay (2 Sides Of A Man, Senator Jones)

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Uh, oops, that was the best of 2008, a year late! 2009 winners look like they're on his blog somewhere, though; still need to poke around...

Okay, here's this -- with the single that made my Pazz & Jop ballot way down at #17, and the one Steve voted at #15!

Daddy B. Nice's

TOP 25 SOUTHERN SOUL SONGS OF 2009 (Scroll down for the Year's Singles)

1. "Rehab"--------T. K. Soul

Every musical phrase is a pleasant surprise. You can listen to it again and again, marvelling at this or that melodic element. One rarely finds such awesome technique in the company of such convincing emotion. From a purely musical standpoint, "Rehab" may very well be the best song T. K. Soul has ever recorded.

Bargain-Priced The Evolution Of Soul CD, MP3's

2. "We Can Do It"------------------LaMorris Williams

A Southern Soul legend--the youngest of the gospel-singing Williams family--is born. In 2008 he teased us with "Ring On Your Finger"; in 2009 he wowed us with "We Can Do It." The long-anticipated album will be available soon. These words from "We Can Do It"--

"You can make me holler
In the back of my Impala."

--will become Southern Soul currency for years to come.

3. "It Ain't That Kind Of Party" ----------------Karen Wolfe

Remember the bandana, tied in an Aunt Jemima knot in the center of his forehead, that Morris Day wears before he gets all "prettified" to go out and do battle with his rival Prince in the movie "Purple Rain"?

I can imagine Karen Wolfe singing "It Ain't That Kind Of Party" in such a do-rag. Hell, I'll confess. I can even imagine her singing it barefooted. Karen Wolfe's vocal exudes that down-home, funky, no-frills quality that most perfectly epitomizes the Southern Soul style.

The song isn't perfect--its bare arrangement may deter some--but neither was "Man Enough," last year's career-defining hit. "It Ain't That Kind Of Party" is much better technically than "Man Enough" and it rocks just as much.

What both songs have in spades is that rare and vital element: locomotion. Listen to it twice, and you'll be teetering on the edge of liking it. Listen to it a full third time, and you'll be playing it for months--and glad you did.

Bargain-Priced Every Woman Needs A Strong Man CD, MP3's

4. "I'm Gone Party" ------------------------------L. J. Echols

You may recall the inspired grafting of Sir Charles Jones' "Is Anybody Lonely?" to J. Blackfoot's "I'm Just A Fool For You" (See Daddy B. Nice's #2 Southern Soul Single of 2007) to come up with "I'm Just A Fool Part 2."

In producing rising Southern Soul star L. J. Echols' "I'm Gone Party" Sir Charles returned to "Is Anybody Lonely?", this time for the marvelous hook-and-horn charts.

The result was L.J. at his most authentically James Tayloresque (his admiration for the singer-songwriter was expressed to your Daddy B. Nice by L. J. himself) and Sir Charles at his most Brian Eno-ish, a new-age-ethereal hybrid unlike anything you have ever heard.

The immediacy of experience conveyed in this vocal is nothing short of amazing. Like Karen Wolfe, L. J. Echol's vocals have an indescribable homespun quality.

When I first heard him, two or three years ago, I thought he was "good." but with the new album, Another Level, L. J.'s on the cusp of becoming a major force to be reckoned with--and an influence on all of Southern Soul.

Bargain-Priced Another Level CD, MP3's

5. "I'm Gone Tell Momma" --------------------Unckle Eddie w/ Crystal Dylite

The tale of a would-be player brought down by his precocious school-aged daughter (enacted by Crystal Dylite), who is bound and determined to "tell Momma" every last little transgression committed by Daddy in the course of the day's errands. Every venial sin of the chitlin' circuit is catalogued, although it's the relatively tame lines that are most hilarious:

"I told him, 'Momma's gonna get you
For changing it from the gospel station,'
And he told me he ain't worried about you."

Unckle Eddie makes a huge grab at Poonanny's comedy throne.

Bargain-Priced Shake The Dust Off CD, MP3's

6. "The Man With The Singing Ding-A-Ling" --------------by Frank Lucas

"I'm looking for a cherry, baby,
On my banana split. . . " says it all, but Frank Lucas just ain't gonna let that go.

The song alternates between the romantic (we're talking "romantic" from a masculine perspective here, ladies) and the funny. Romantic when it best approximates the feverish buzz of a man about to do the deed. Funny when it goes over the top and you can imagine the woman bursting into laughter.

The people in the "business" who are turning up their noses at the silliness and/or the "X-rated-ness" of the lyrics are the same people who were turning up their noses when Marvin Sease's "Candy Licker" and "Hoochie Momma" first came out--and they refused to play him, too.

The great melody and atmosphere are derived from The Rascals' "Groovin'" and even more recently from Betty Wright's "Tonight Is The Night."

>Bargain-Priced Dirty Ol' Man CD

7. "Good Girls Do Bad Things" -----------------Sweet Angel

An early song of Sweet Angel's, "Mike's Place," which I admired for its straightforward pop-by-way-of-blues structure, was a forerunner of the much more distinguished "Good Girls Do Bad Things," in which Sweet Angel radiates so much sweet sexual heat you have to open a window.

Speaking of sexual heat, all you skinny folks in the Northeast and West who smile dismissively and roll your eyes whenever you hear that big women can be sexy, too, need to catch Sweet Angel singing "Good Girls Do Bad Things" in concert or via video stream. You will be disabused of your prejudice.

John Ward, Morris Williams et. al. have had a lot of fine moments, but this may be the closest the Ecko Records studio group has come to nirvana. Everything's perfect: the rhythm section, the piping sound of the synth hook and the background chorus, which took your Daddy B. Nice all the way back to fifties' songs like Jim Lowe's "Green Door."

Bargain-Priced Bold Bitch CD, MP3's

8. "Gone On" ------Marvin Sease

Speaking of great studio groups, Marvin Sease scored the studio band from heaven (or was it Malaco Records?) on "Gone On." The band, the arrangement and the mix are absolutely magical, and the recitation of passed artists--including "sweet Jackie Neal"--superb. Only Marvin could do it like this.

Bargain-Priced Who's Got The Power CD, MP3's

9. "I Ran A Good Man Away" --------------------Lacee'

"I ran a good man away.
I know I made a mistake."

This is a young lady with a lot of brass reminding all the singing ladies of all ages out there how to get down. And this is what musicians are talking about when they say there is only "good music" and "bad music". You could transfer this song, as midnight-black and soulful as it sounds, intact to contemporary country and you'd still probably have a hit--maybe even bigger.

Bargain-Priced Lacee's Groove CD, MP3's

10. "Meow (Pussy Cat Remix)" ---J. Blackfoot

"I'm a dog. I'm genuine. I'm canine. I'm pedigree."

Not at all derivative (as you might think), "Meow" is a masterful tune reminiscent of Carl Sims' best dance jams, with a great mid-tempo groove and a kick-ass arrangement right down to the unfriendly barking dog.

But the "Pussy Cat Remix" is even better, transporting the song back to the days when Top 40 AM radio ruled and the great songs of the day came over the air waves riddled to a greater or lesser extent with static. There was no talk radio. The deejays talked to their listeners while queuing up the songs, and the conversations were often disjointed and unbelievable.

That's a little of what J. Blackfoot captures.

For being a seemingly old-fashioned kind of singer ("Taxi," the Soul Children, the duets with Ann Hines, etc.), Blackfoot is a remarkably cutting-edge figure who is still on top of his game.

Bargain-Priced Wolf Wolf Meow CD, MP3's

11. "You're Just Playing With It" ------Ann Hines & O. B. Buchana

Sometimes a song comes out and although it seems a little light and generic, it strikes a chord with the audience. You can put "Maybelline" by Chuck Berry and "Good Golly Miss Molly" by Little Richard in that category. Now, with the radio single cover by J. Blackfoot's old singing partner, Ann Hines, we add O. B. Buchana's "You're Just Playing With It."

The rousing cover, with lyrics even more ribald and pointed than the original, brings home the Southern Soul essence of the tune. Note the links go to the original version on Buchana's second-last CD, but you can call and request the Hines/Buchana version from just about any self-respecting Southern Soul deejay.

Bargain-Priced Southern Soul Country Boy CD, MP3's

12. "Hard Times" -------------------------(Mr.) Zay

"They say my life ain't worth living,
And time is slowly ticking away."

Listeners familiar with the beautiful hiphop-oriented ballad by K-jon, "My Ship Is Coming In" (the "Across The Ocean" song), may find it hard to believe that Mr. Zay's "Hard Times" (which preceded it) could possibly be better. But the song is more fully fleshed-out, more sophisticated in arrangement, lushly romantic and orchestral, with even a rap verse to add just the right contrast.

If you loved K-jon's ballad or Jaheim's "Put That Woman First" (based on William Bell's "I Forgot To Be Your Lover"), you'll love Mr. Zay's beautifully-sung and awe-inspiring masterpiece.

Bargain-Priced Zay's Way CD, MP3's

13. "Why Did You Walk On My Love?" ------------The Real Brown Sugar

Singing from a pair of lungs as deep as a 55-gallon drum, The Real Brown Sugar is oh so believable and blessed with enough talent to immediately join the ranks of Southern Soul songstresses.

Although there's no overt reference to body type, "Why Did You Walk On My Love" is in the great tradition of Kelly Price's "Friend Of Mine" and so many other "broken-hearted big-woman" songs by Southern Soul singers.

Bargain-Priced Why Did You Walk On My Love? EP, MP3'S

14. "You're So Sexy" -----------Lebrado

The title cut from Lebrado's new album Fire received the bulk of the air play--no doubt about that--but I just couldn't make the jump from the mid-tempo serenity of "I'm Missin' You Babe," Lebrado's signature tune, to the freneticism and in-your-face insistence of "Fire." "You're So Sexy" is the way I like my Lebrado. Groovy. Sinuous. Flowing.

Bargain-Priced Fire CD, MP3's

15. "Everything's Going Up" --------------Mel Waiters

In an average year this hooky novelty song by the Southern Soul master would have charted even higher. One wonders what the old song-slinger himself anticipated. It's a good little melody with recession-apropos lyrics executed with taste and wit. When Mel plays with the "Every-every-every-every"--almost as if the needle was stuck--mid-way through the song, his trademark baritone sails out of the park like a home run ball.

16. "Upside Down" ----------------Shirley Brown

"How can a love so good
Be. . . so. . . bad?"

She knows when to sing notes, she knows when to yell them, and she can sing and yell. She can be as raw as a fifteen-year-old or as seen-it-all as a streetwise senior.

She's Shirley Brown, and it's hard to believe it's been five years since Woman Enough, the album with "Sleep With One Eye Open" and "Poon Tang Man" and "Too Much Candy," recreated Shirley as a contemporary Southern Soul star. That it seems like only yesterday is a testament to the power of those songs.

"Upside Down" and the new album Unleashed are on the same level. Hummable, danceable, and meditative by turns, song after song "unleashes" an avalanche of Southern Soul.

Shirley Brown's coralling today's Southern Soul standards and delivering them with a "wow" factor, just as you would imagine the Queen of Divas doing. A strong candidate for best ballad and best album of the year.

Bargain-Priced Unleashed CD

17. "I Need a Bailout" --------------Larry Shannon Hargrove

Texas tenor Larry Shannon Hargrove delivered his best song since "Leave Bill Clinton Alone" with 2009's accomplished complaint of the common man: "I Need A Bailout."

"You bailed out Bear Stearns,
Bailed out AIG.
I just wanna know,
Can you do the same for me?"

He didn't get a lot of air play from Southern Soul deejays, which might be because he was the new kid on the block, from a new neighborhood (Austin), or it might be because he didn't distribute his record to enough of the key deejays in the circuit. In any case, here's hoping he doesn't give up, because the man arrives at the Southern Soul junction with all of the tools.

Bargain-Priced I Need A Bailout CD, MP3's

18. "It's BYOB"----Donnie Ray

Mellifluous-voiced Donnie Ray Aldredge had a banner year: two CD's, a chitlin' circuit favorite in "This Time The Dog Got Caught By The Cat" (an update of Ms. Jody's "Your Dog Is Killing My Cat"), a cutting-edge rocker in "I'm Your Sucker," and--just as the year was ending--this fine-as-spun-Egyptian-cotton dance jam done in Donnie Ray's most melodious style.

"It's BYOB" boasted a quirkiness and originality that surprised even longtime Donnie Ray fans. The fart-sounding horn part--like the cornet player's playing with a mute and tipsy-drunk and in the act of falling backwards off his chair--was a lovely touch, lending the song the personality required of a future standard.

Bargain-Priced It's BYOB CD, MP3's

19. "Look Good For You" ------------------Carl Marshall

This catchy anthem from Southern Soul's deep-thinker, secular-preacher and philosopher-king entered your Daddy B. Nice's life as few others did in 2009.

As Carl explains in the song:

"When you look good for you,
It sends out a signal to the other person.
'I love you with all my heart.' . . .

That makes the romance stay alive."

So whenever I found myself dropping Rogaine on the balding top of my head (which you're supposed to do twice a day if you want to keep your hair), smearing that thin hair in the goo and making myself look terrible even though I was around the house with my wife, I'd think of Carl's admonition and bite my lip.

And whenever my better half and I had a conversation about what I should wear (something I never consulted a woman about when I was younger), and she said:

"It doesn't bother me if it doesn't bother you,"

I'd reply, "I just have to look good for you," and smile and think of Carl's song.

Bargain-Priced Look Good For You CD, MP3's

20. "It Sho' Wasn't Me"-----------------Black Zack

Two hiphoppers cracked the Southern Soul market in 2009, but just barely. Rude transformed Smokey Robinson's "Share This Life With Me" into a song called "Show Me Baby," exciting the lucky few who got to hear it.

And Black Zack did a monster of an original cover of the Ronnie Lovejoy classic, "Sho' Wasn't Me," which went sadly unnoticed. What made the song unique was that it was really the first instance of a rap act embracing Southern Soul, and even more, understanding it, after having thoroughly absorbed it, and breathing it out of every pore.

Black Zack's "Sho' Wasn't Me" combined a straightforward vocal treatment of the finest song in contemporary Southern Soul with an amazingly charming rap track. Here's hoping the modest but constant publicity we've given it here on SouthernSoulRnB will save the song from undeserved oblivion. There isn't another cover--even by heavyweights such as Tyrone Davis--that's finer.

Black Zack Postscript:

Shortly after this appeared, I received an e-mail of thanks from the heretofore obscure Black Zack, who says the single was produced by (surprise) Southern Soul's own Bruce Billups (Theodis Ealey's, etc. producer)

Not only that. The performer singing the traditional melody of "Sho' Wasn't Me" over the rap is Southern Soul's own Fred Bolton, a young singer/songwriter with one creditable CD published. A sad note: Fred Bolton passed away in 2009, not long after recording this.

Nevertheless, this rappers' version of "Sho' Wasn't Me" is a supremely happy record.

21. "The Beauty Shop" ----------------Omar Cunningham

What a year for Omar Cunningham, with a great CD, Time Served, a masterful autobiographical cut, "My Life," and the songwriting credits for Karen Wolfe's smash hit, "Man Enough."

But it was the sleeper hit "The Beauty Shop" that resonated most. The story of "the beauty shop putting our business out in the street" struck a deep and definite chord with the audience, and the amazing vocal and swinging arrangement put it over the top. With its barberhop-style chorus quickly becoming a Cunningham trademark, the song propelled Omar's stock to record heights.

Bargain-Priced Time Served CD, MP3's

22. Mr. Booty Do Right ---------------Jody Sticker

As much as I like it, I've never been able to figure out the song--the structure of the thing--the thing that makes it work. It reminds me of turn-of-century Mardi Gras and Hep'Me Records--vintage nostalgia--and that's Sir Charles on background vocals.

It also has Sir Charles in the studio, his wizardry with the strings and special synthesizer effects recalling early Hep'Me. As with Sir Charles' work with L. J. Echols (see #4 above), the contrast of the arrangement with the vocal by Jody Sticker is dizzyingly contrapuntal.

Speaking of the vocal. . . In a CD review of the album earlier this year, I called Jody Sticker "one of the sorriest soul singers ever," which may have ruffled a few feathers. But that was in the context of calling Bob Dylan--one of my very favorite artists--one of the worst singers ever. I was trying to make the point that you do not go to these artists for their vocals.

Now if you're talking about a specific album, like the super-soulful Blonde On Blonde, I'd have to say Dylan (a Jimmy Reed disciple) was absolutely great, even with his limited--or shall we say, odd--vocal equipment. The same goes for Jody Sticker on "Mr. Booty Do Right." He's absolutely right-on and terrific: the track could not be sung any better.

In summation, this is one of the oddest songs by one of the oddest singers in Southern Soul music, but I have a sneaky feeling its shape may become more discernible as time goes on and that the future may consider "Mr. Booty Do Right" one of the very best songs of 2009.

Bargain-Priced Mr. Booty Do Right CD, MP3's

23. "Around The World" -----------------Latimore

This flawless piece of R&B by the artist who arguably started it all for Southern Soul reminds me of Clarence Carter's overlooked masterpiece of a few years ago: "What Was I Supposed To Do?", a dreamy, plaintive, surprisingly-symphonic tune.

When I say "the artist who started it all," I'm referring, of course, to Latimore's seventies-era monologue-driven superhit, "Let's Straighten It Out," which has became one of the most common templates for contemporary, Southern-style, Southern-oriented rhythm and blues writers and performers.

One thinks of Latimore, Carter, Bobby "Blue" Bland and Peggy Scott-Adams as greying monoliths who are no longer into recording, but with Latt's recent Back 'Atcha and now All About The Rhythm And The Blues, he's defying those assumptions.

And it's hard to argue that one of the greatest soul singers of this or any era is done when he concocts product this good.

Bargain-Priced All About The Rhythm And The Blues CD, MP3's

24. "Forbidden Love Affair" ------------Vick Allen

Like a Joey Ramone of Southern Soul, Vick Allen pumps out short, catchy, hard-hitting pop tunes, one after another, generous and bounteous to a fault. The fair sex in particular loved this story of a blameless girl in seemingly innocent circumstances--church!--falling into temptation anyway. If you can't find shelter from the storm in worship, where can you be safe?

But. . .

"I made love to the preacher,
And he's got kids and a wife.
My friends all say I must be crazy.
I'm beginning to think they're right."

The fact that just about every Southern Soul performer started singing as a child on Sunday lent this parable a special resonance.

By the end of the tune, Vick has completely turned the tables on the gospel and rhythm & blues dichotomy. He's preaching to the preacher:

"Don't bother mine,
And I won't bother yours.
Just stick to the good book.
That's what we come here for."

Comparison-Priced Truth Be Told CD

25. "Love Under Arrest" --------------Lil' Fallay

Lil' Fallay has created a sizeable body of work--almost all of it obscure and/or overlooked--but "Love Under Arrest" catapults Lil' Fallay to a whole new level. The song is light-years above anything I've previouisly heard from the Louisiana legend, and it's worthy of being considered one of the finest songs of this or any year.

The arrangement is full-blown, articulate and--above all--musically terrific. Fans who loved Larry Milton's "Back In Love Again" or (more well-known) Jeff Floyd's classics "I Found Love (On A Lonely Highway)" or "Lock My Door" should fall helplessly in love with this unexpected treat.

Bargain-Priced Strong Enough (A True Story) CD

Daddy B. Nice adds:

Is that 25 already? I haven't even gotten to Willie Clayton's "Dance The Night Away," not to mention Lenny Williams' "Cheatin' On Cheatin," or Chuck Roberson's "I Want You To Rock Me". . .

But the more songs I list, the more worthy songs I'm guilty of omitting. Look to Daddy B. Nice's "Finalists for Daddy Awards" for an even more comprehensive look at all of 2009's musical offerings.

--Daddy B. Nice

http://www.southernsoulrnb.com/corner2010.cfm

And...

2009: The Year In Southern Soul

It was the year an African-American intellectual (by way of Hawaii!) assumed the Presidency of the United States, and Southern Soul stars from the young (Larry Shannon Hargrove) to the old (Chuck Roberson in luminous green) had their cover photos taken in front of the familiar black grillwork behind the White House.

It was the year of MySpace, Facebook and Twitter. It was the year of streaming video. Not only could people make friends online, they could see their most cherished acts onstage performing their favorite songs.

Once again, the mainstream media's obsession with domestic scandals, in this case the numerous comedy routines and musical "slow jams" to the accompaniment of the notorious Tiger Woods' voice mail, made the same media's knock against Southern Soul's emphasis on "cheating" sound like the pot calling the kettle black.

If 2009 proved anything, it was that Southern Soul music was America's new rock and roll, embracing variety, exuberance and irreverance, and nowhere was the resemblance more evident than in the cover mania that swept Southern Soul by year's end.

Sir Charles Jones did a vintage-soul tribute album covering the songs of Sam Cooke and others, Calvin Richardson recorded a tribute album devoted to Bobby Womack (see January's Featured Artist), and Uvee Hayes and Otis Clay reprised Johnnie Taylor's "Play Something Pretty."

Shirley Brown covered Luther Lackey's "Call Your Outside Woman" (under the title "You Ain't Gonna Get No More Of My Love"), Denise LaSalle covered Toni ("Southern Soul Music") Green's "Cheat Receipt," and Marvin Sease did Johnnie Taylor's "Soul Heaven" one better with his seductive memorial to passed stars, "Gone On."

Ann Hines covered O. B. Buchana's "You're Just Playing With It," her rousing rendition with Buchana on co-vocals underlining the song's legitimacy as a Southern Soul standard in just the way early rock and roll and R&B cannibalized and piggy-backed on one another's hits. It was a nightmare for songwriter credits but a sign of the genre's wild-west vitality.

It was a year of great comedy records, from Unckle Eddie's "I'm Gone Tell Momma" with schoolgirl-sounding Crystal Dylite to Frank Lucas's ode to Don Juans (or Tiger Woods?) everywhere, "The Man With The Singing Ding-A-Ling," not to mention Mel Waiter's wry assessment of 2009's economy, "Everything's Going Up."

An Atlanta-based act named Black Zack (or Zac) concocted a dazzling and charming cover of Ronnie Lovejoy's classic, "Sho' Wasn't Me," but due to the dysfunctional state of the Big A's Southern Soul scene (dutifully recorded by irate fans in Daddy B. Nice's Mailbag throughout the year), no one ever heard it.

After the brilliant peak represented by his Full Circle and Gifted albums, Willie Clayton took a breather and retrenched, exploring his roots in Soul Blues and having some light-hearted fun in Love, Romance & Respect.

Bigg Robb appeared to take a step back from Southern Soul, back to his Ohio/Zap/funk/hiphop roots. And somewhat surprisingly, Nellie "Tiger" Travis shunned the wild success of her Southern Soul I'm A Woman CD for the more straight-traditionalist-blues sounds of her hometown Chicago.

On the other hand, Wendell B. returned to the fold with not one but two CD's guaranteed to ingratiate himself again with Southern Soul fans.

The best lines of the year came from Lacee' Reed's "I Ran A Good Man Away"--also one of the best titles of the year.

"You see, I came with
A lot of baggage from my past.
I had been with a few other guys
Who mistreated me so bad."

And the enthusiastic, year-long response to Omar Cunningham's "The Beauty Shop" and Vick Allen's "Forbidden Love Affair" proved once again that the Southern Soul audience likes its music with a story line.

Daddy B. Nice's emerging stars of 2008 came through big-time. Karen Wolfe (Best song, "Man Enough") dominated air play all through 2009. LaMorris Williams became the new "heartbreak kid" of Southern Soul's capital city, Jackson, Mississippi with his "We Can Do It." And L. J. Echols made love to his fans "From The Back" all through 2009, along the way becoming the hardest-touring act since T. K. Soul.

The musical product of the year had a fascinating symmetry: on the one hand, the polished and class-act offerings of longtime veterans like Latimore ("Around The World") and Shirley Brown ("Upside Down"); and on the other, the immediacy of experience powering the work of the genre's amazing young stars (Karen, Lacee, L.J. and LaMorris).

Meanwhile, T. K. Soul ("Rehab") and Jeff Floyd ("Lock My Door") just kept doing what they do best: satisfying their fans.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concert brought black and white together once again--and tears to the eyes of old-timers like your Daddy B. Nice--none more so than Smokey Robinson singing "The Tracks Of My Tears" as if it had just been composed yesterday.

Daddy B. Nice's special stocking stuffers (a bag of delicious truffles) go out to Dylann DeAnna, whose ambitious efforts at CDS Records, albeit with vastly different material, helped fill the void left by the passing of Senator Jones and Hep'Me Records.

Daddy B. Nice is also stuffing the stockings--in the form of actual melodies, verse and chorus songs--to reinvigorate the work of Carl Marshall, Walter Waiters, Steve Perry, and 100% Cotton, all of whom are trying to get by on one-riff chants. That's the hiphop cop-out, fellas.

Also, a big bonbon and Mars bar to Ecko Records' John Ward, whose "Soul Blues Report" became an indispensable daily headline service for the Southern Soul Internet community.

Finally, a bear hug for Jerry "Boogie" Mason of the "Boogie Report," the hardest-working guy besides your Daddy in the business.

Boogie recently relocated from Alabama or Georgia (I forget which) to Jackson, Mississippi, and even more recently from the northern suburbs to the central hood. The upshot was that in 2009 your Daddy B. Nice was able to call WMPR and say, "What's up, Boog'?"

Yup, he was sitting in the number-one deejay seat in all of Southern Soul--the seat warmed by Ragman and Handyman and Outlaw and all of the storied masters of our genre (such as Uncle Bobo) who romp in the Elysian fields of disc jockey heaven.

And when I asked him, "Is this your biggest dream come true or what?", Boogie said, "Daddy, being a deejay here is like "cuttin' heads."

That, my friends, would be "cuttin' chicken heads" or in the English vernacular, competing with the best deejays in the business.

WMPR has no format, no prescribed playlist: the scourge of 21st century radio. Every deejay comes in to do his thing. To put it in Boogie's words, "It's like a painting. Every show should be a masterpiece."

And that, Southern Soul fans, is the way music should be played. It's the closest thing to heaven on earth I have ever imagined. "Grown folks" music it may be, but it's grown-folks music for people who refuse to grow old. The skin may sag, but the spirit soars.

--Daddy B. Nice

And finally, his Best of 2009 Awards:

Best Male Vocal: L. J. Echols
"I'm Gone Party"--- L. J. Echols

Best Female Vocal: Shirley Brown
"Upside Down"---Shirley Brown

Best Debut: LaMorris Williams
"We Can Do It"---LaMorris Williams

Best Mid-Tempo Song: Karen Wolfe
"It Ain't That Kind Of Party"---Karen Wolfe

Best Ballad: T. K. Soul
"Rehab"---T. K. Soul

Best Song by Longtime Veteran: Marvin Sease
"Gone On"---Marvin Sease

Best Club Song: T. K. Soul
"Steppin' On The Soul Ship"---T. K. Soul

Best Collaboration: Ann Hines & O. B. Buchana
"You're Just Playing With It"---Ann Hines & O. B. Buchana

Best Chitlin' Circuit Blues Song: Unckle Eddie w/ Crystal Dylite
"I'm Gone Tell Momma"---Unckle Eddie w/ Crystal Dylite

Best Cover Song: Black Zack (w/ the late Fred Bolton)
"Sho' Wasn't Me"---Black Zack w/ the late Fred Bolton

Hardest-Touring Crowd-Pleaser:
L. J. Echols

Best Out-Of-Left-Field Song: Frank Lucas
"The Man With The Singing Ding-A-Ling"---Frank Lucas

Best Arranger/Producer: Tie: Bruce Billups / Sir Charles Jones

Best Songwriter: Andrew Caples (Andre' Lee)

Best CD: Karen Wolfe: Every Woman Needs A Strong Man (B & J Records, Exec. Producer---Anna Coday)

He includes the Mel Waiters and Carl Marshall songs we liked. Pitchfork should give Daddy B. Nice a column.

Fill-in dj James Funk (who I think is also a longtime go-go drummer) on WPFW played my new fave song again (and again)yesterday--Jeff Floyd's "Shake Somethin' Loose". I can't find a youtube video for that one, but I just listened to it again on la la as it's on Jeff's 2009 cd. In an ideal world this dancefloor filler would crossover to at least r'n'b/rap radio and garnish hipster critic attention. But alas, it is likely only to be known to those who have southern soul radio stations, those who frequent southern soul websites, and the handful of people who read this thread. Oh well. I think even old-school soul purists could like this one.

Xhuxk, you and Kogan have got to hear that Jeff Floyd song "Shake Somethin' Loose."

I'm gonna have to figure out how to post songs on Youtube and put that one there myself. Plenty of other Jeff Floyd songs are there though