September 24, 2011

soul ~ 1970

Merry Clayton Forget It, I Got It mp3

soul-funk ~ 1977

McKinley Mitchell days got brighter mp3

soul-funk ~ San Francisco Bay Area 1971

Loleatta Holloway ~ bring it on up mp3

Loleatta Holloway 1946 ~ 2011


Loleatta Holloway will probably be remembered as one of the top "disco divas" of 70s soul/disco. Certainly deserved, but like many early soul singers she started out singing gospel.

Outside of a few records she recorded with the gospel group 'The Caravans', this 1971 Galaxy 45 is her first straightforward, secular, "soul" record.

Originally on the Apache label, Galaxy records put it out and distributed it the same year.
The flip "A" side is the Curtis Mayfield penned 'Rainbow 71'

I've always had an interest in San Francisco soul labels, especially the early incarnation of the Galaxy label.
Started by Max & Sol Weiss, the Galaxy record label was started in 1951 as a subsidiary of Fantasy records both of which they founded.

Galaxy records was located on Natoma Street in San Francisco from 1951 to 1967.
In 1967 it relocated across the bay to 30th Street in Oakland, before moving again to 10th street in Berkeley in 1971.

Loleatta really sings it out here, belting out some fast moving singing which begins to sound like shouting towards the end!

June 17, 2011

rare deep soul ~ early Motown 1961

Gino Parks that's no lie.mp3 - DivShare



"another one... going places..."
Unfortunately Gino Park's records didn't really go anywhere. Though the dozen or so sides he did record, including a few on the 'Fortune' label, now stand out as a large part of the early Motown sound.
Which says a lot considering Tamla-Motown helped to invent and define much of the sound of what we now call "soul music".

The flip side of this 45 is 'Same Thing'.

May 10, 2011

west coast blues/RnB ~ 1965

Jimmy McCracklin steppin up in class.mp3 - DivShare



Pianist, vocalist, songwriter, Jimmy McCracklin started recording around 1945, releasing about 75 singles from the early 50s to about 1970.
I like the fact that his records/recordings are elite in the sense that they crisscross musically from R&B to Blues to Soul so easily, but still remain pure in their sound.

At 90, he is now primarily a blues performer and is still recording and performing.

March 17, 2011

early sweet soul ~ 1963

Jay Wiggins sad girl.mp3 - DivShare

LA punk rock ~ 1978

The Dickies paranoid.mp3 - DivShare


Punk Rock does Heavy Metal.

Down the cluttered steps of my yesterhood...punk rock and a LP track no less.

Musical genres are quite parallel for me most of the time. Though my graduation from rock, to punk, to R&B and soul seems natural, been digging and playing a few of my neglected LPs lately.

Had forgotten how much I love this record.
Love the Dickies, especially their many covers.

funk soul ~ 1971

Ella Washington I don't care about your past.mp3 - DivShare