group soul ~ Chicago 1967

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Chicago group soul beauty - early Chi-Lites with Eugene Record singing lead. Marshall Thompson and Creadel Jones singing backup.

R&B organ instrumental ~ Chicago 1962

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R&B soul organist - Johnny 'Big Moose' Walker
June - 1927 ~ Nov - 1999

Feels like this soul jam ends too soon. Earl Hooker on guitar.

soul / blues hammond instrumental ~ NYC 1965

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The flip side: 'Bump De Bump.'
Both songs are on his 1965 Sue LP, 'Blues For Mister Jimmy'

Soul / R&B ~ Little Rock, Arkansas 1965

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Mid-tempo northern soul style dancer.
Ned Towns is apparently alive and well living, playing the blues somewhere in Las Vegas.
flip side: 'I Like Company Too'

https://www.bandmix.com/ned-towns/

tropical pop / lovers rock reggae ~ UK 2014

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The queen of new lovers rock reggae - West London born & tropical pop artist, Hollie Cook.

A member of the most recent incarnation of the punk band, the Slits, Hollie is the daughter of legendary Sex Pistols drummer, Paul Cook. Music runs in the family. Hollie Cook's mother sang backup with Boy George & Culture Club.
If you're interested in tropical pop, rocksteady, or a lovers rock reggae sound, Hollie Cook has three fantastic LPs out ~ all produced by Prince Fatty.

Vinyl, CDs, downloads...

www.holliecook.com/
www.mrbongo.com/

West Coast Rock ~ San Francisco 1969

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Steve Miller, always with two feet in the blues especially through the 70s. In 1970 shortly after this was recorded, Steve Miller moved from San Francisco to Stinson Beach, California - about a twenty minute drive north of San Francisco. Recorded late 1969 at Wally Heider studios, San Francisco. The a-side is 'Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around'.
Both songs never charted. Both on Steve Miller Band's fourth LP, 'Your Saving Grace'.

Steve Miller practicing - Stinson Beach, California 1970. photo by Olaf Klijn

R&B / surf instrumental ~ Detroit 1960

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R&B instrumental group, Nick and the Soundbarriers were from Detroit, Michigan. They recorded just three 45s, including this New York Tee Pee label 45. Not always a fan of 50s/early 60s saxophone-heavy, dance instrumentals, but 'Rainbow' has a speedy, early surf, R&B dance sound that moves in the right direction.
Their first recording/45, 'Big Nick' is on the Detroit-Northwest Sound Company label, also recorded in 1960. The third, 'Freeway Hot Rod,' pressed on the NY-Fleetwood label...Other than that, can't find much more information on this band.
This is the b-side flip to: 'Spinning Wheel Twist.'

funk / soul ~ South Chicago 1969

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Henry Lee "Shot" Williams
May 1938 ~ November 2010

The b-side of this Shama 45 is 'Our Thing Is Through.'
Recorded/pressed first on 45 by Harmonica George (also of Chicago) in 1968, on the Toddlin' Town label. Harmonica George's version is blues.

rock / soul pop ~ 1971

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First pressed as a 45 on A&M in 1971, many bars/restaurants had these 7" -33 1/3s EPs (extended play) in jukeboxes through the 70s.




Rock soulster & Hammond organ composer, Lee Michaels kept his organ at the forefront of most all of his songs. Hard rock with a soul gospel sound, could argue Lee Michaels wasn't so much of a hit maker, but more of an LP artist - Longer, fluid rock-soul jams, most probably lent themselves more to the song sequenced LP format than top 40 hits.
Born in Los Angeles, Lee Michaels aka Lee Olson started out as a keyboardist/singer for the California surf band, the Sentinals in 1966. A keyboardist and guitarist, he also did session work with a lot of other musicians.
Moving to and living in San Francisco, he toured with his long time drummer, Barry 'Frosty' Smith and shared the stage with most all the SF rock bands at the time. By the late 70s, he disappeared from the music business to run his shrimp restaurant in Los Angeles.

Lee ~ somewhere in Northern California 1970

Lee Michaels will always be one of my favorite West Coast hippys. Spark up memories of early 70s AM radio... The reality of "Free Love" gone bad?
'Do You Know What I Mean?' was Lee Michaels' only top ten hit.

Lee Micheals opening for Pink Floyd - Fillmore West venue circa 1967. Poster by artist Bonnie MacLean

funk instrumental ~ Detroit 1969

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West Coast Rock ~ San Francisco 1971

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Anyone living through the 1970s probably remembers hearing Norman Greenbaum's huge hit, 'Spirit In The Sky.' A top ten hit around the world in 1970, it was all over the radio in the early 70s and a song with one of the most famous fuzz-guitar riffs in rock.
A fantastic song, 'Spirit In The Sky' may have overshadowed a few other great songs he composed and recorded as well. Track to track, his LPs have a rock/folk, jug-band blues feel. I still like his 'Petaluma' LP from 1972, featuring a young Ry Cooder.
Defining musical genres can be a bit of a mixed bag with the passing of time. But one could argue that Norman wrote a few other great West Coast rock "hippy anthems."
'California Earthquake' will always be a favorite of mine. Recorded at Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, spring 1971, it never appeared on any of his LPs. Peaking at #93 in '71, it was played on the radio for a short time, but only stayed on the Billboard record chart for about six weeks.
The flip is: 'Rhode Island Red.'


Norman the goat farmer, on his farm ~ Penngrove, Northern California 1972.

rocksteady reggae ~ Jamaica 1967

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Depends on what one is searching for, but I find it difficult to find good 45s in record stores these days. Though don't always take the time to look, my persistence does pay off once in awhile.
Nice to find this second pressing Errol Dunkley 45. Originally pressed in '67, released first on the Jamaican amalgamated label without the dub-toast intro.
Errol was just 16 when it was recorded.

The young Errol somewhere between 1965-68.

tropical pop ~ lovers rock reggae 2014

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"Tropical pop," a touch of dub, meshed with a classic 70s/80s lovers rock reggae sound, I can never get enough of Hollie Cook's music. Her musical charms can really carry one away into a pleasant hypnotic state.
Mystical perhaps, the pairing of Hollie Cook with producer/songwriter-dub/arranger extraordinaire, Mike 'Prince Fatty' Pelanconi is really a perfect match. Prince Fatty has really helped to define and contribute in creating Hollie's sound.
Also really like the fact that Hollie is keeping with the tradition of still pressing vinyl 45s of her music.
This is the b-side flip to 'Looking For Real Love.' Both songs are on her LP, 'Twice,' also worth checking out.
Vinyl, CDs, downloads...

www.holliecook.com/
www.mrbongo.com/

jazz / funk instrumental ~ Chicago 1968

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Jazz / R&B organ-pianist, Floyd Morris ... 1926 - 1988

Always been a sucker for jazz-funk instrumentals. Cool to find this. Pleasantly surprised to dig around and find how accomplished Floyd Morris' career was. The Johnny Pate Quintet (mid-50s), Al Grey, Oscar Brown Jr, Bobby Hutcherson, Donald Byrd, Junior Parker, Little Milton, Andre Williams, Curtis Mayfield, The Staple Singers, Barbara Lewis, Sam Cooke, The Chi-Lites... Just a few artists Floyd Morris played/recorded or composed with. Floyd recorded/released about ten 45s, also an LP from 1965. 'Mellow Mood' was written by Floyd, Andre Williams, and Leo Hutton. This is the "B" side flip to 'Bee Que.'

experimental electronic / rock ~ San Francisco 1984

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The Residents of San Francisco

The Residents started out as part of a San Francisco "art collective" in the late 60s. Their first release, 'Santa Dog' was pressed in 1972. The Ralph record label put out some amazing avant-garde, experimental, electronic sounds from numerous bands.
The label office in San Francisco was on Minna Street downtown - south of Market at the time. In the early to mid-80s, I remember calling Ralph records on the phone to check the availability of records I wanted. I'd usually get a live person on the phone, always the same woman. She was always really nice and chatty. We'd chat. A few days later I'd get the latest Ralph Records, "Buy Or Die Catalog" in the mail (wish I would've kept some these catalogs). A great live band that still perform occasionally.
www.residents.com
The flip side is a cover of James Brown's, 'This Is A Man's Man's Man's World.'

rock-pop / mod beat ~ 1966

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Del in London - 1967

Del Shannon had huge lasting hits in the 60s. Though many, a bit too pop for my taste. Just the same, he'll always be remembered for his song, 'Runaway' which I've always liked.
An often overlooked Stones cover and 45 side that glimmers. The flip is, 'She was mine'.

mod beat instrumental ~ 1964

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One of the many great British beat instrumentals from The Shadows, originally recorded/pressed on the UK Columbia label. This is the US press from the same year.
The Shadows go back as far as 1958, when they started playing in the UK as 'The Drifters.' Lead guitarist Hank Marvin's relaxed mid-tempo sound I've always admired. Though with a couple exceptions, always preferred The Shadows as an instrumental band, without Cliff Richard.

Written by The Shadows, 'The Rise And Fall Of Flingel Bunt' was a top ten hit in four countries, including the UK. It was played on US radio in 1964, but never reached the top 100 in the US.
The flip side is, 'Theme For Young Lovers.'


"Before The Shadows, there had been nothing worth listening to in British music." - John Lennon

The Shadows in 1964.

left to right: John Rostill, Brian Bennett, Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch

TV soundtrack / mod jazz instrumental ~ 1966

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Recently found groovy, mod-jazz instrumental score, the b-side flip to the 'Mission Impossible' theme.
'Jim On The Move' is also on his '67 Dot label TV series soundtrack LP.

Jazz, Stage & Screen music maestro, Lalo in '65

deep soul - Birmingham, Alabama ~ 1969

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Sam Dees recorded/released about twenty 45s from 1968 to '78. He's also wrote and produced dozens of songs for others including, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, The Manhattans, Whitney Houston, Larry Graham, among others.
This is the B-side flip to, 'Easier To Say Than Do.'