Thursday, July 24th

Seeing as how i work alone on Thursdays, i think i will attempt to update my blog every thursday from now on. Weekly!! Here are some of my recent finds from the field...


Candi Staton - I'd Rather Be an
Old Man's Sweetheart

I was first introduced to Candi Staton by the self-titled reissue of her early works that came out a few years ago. She is one of those easy to find artists that I somehow always looked past. Needless to say, her later works are pretty horrible, but the early stuff (on Fame) is usually pretty stand-up. The sound is reminding of Aretha, and in ths case, starts to hint to the introduction of the funk movement. Even though I had seen this record everywhere, as fate would have it, once I realized I needed it, I couldn't find a copy for years. Well, I finally have one. Take that.

Bobby John - Lonely Soldier

Who the hell is Bobby John?? Who is this dude that is doing a Curtis Mayfield war-themed love song produced by Ike & Tina?? The answer is I have no idea. It's pretty hard to google a dude named Bobby John. I can tell you that he was one of the main musicians heading the Ike and Tina Revue and (as far as i know) all of his recordings came out through their works together. Fred Wesley (of James Brown and JB's fame) refers to John as "the mother hen of the Ike Turner band", in his autobiography. In the later 60's, Bobby and many other Ike & Tina Revue members left the group (due to the well known drama) and started a group called Sam and the Goodtimers, who mostly played around the LA scene. Bobby was the lead singer (see pic) and although I can't find any trace of recorded material for the band, they somehow were able to get themselves a tour opening up for the Monkees (???). Anyways, this song represents a time where r&b and soul met, blending elements of the early Sam Cooke vocal style with the up-and-coming, civil-rights fueled, black soul sound that both Mayfield (songwriter) and Turner (producer) were gravitating towards.

Jodarettes - What's In De Box

There is practically no info to be found on this record, group or label. There are two other releases (to my knowledge) on the label, Jocida, one by Gloria Gaynor and the other by Bill Johnson. "What's in de box" was the labels final release and it came out two ways, the more common radio promo which contains "De Box" on both sides, and the non-dj version which has a groovy instrumental "El Torro" as the flip (which I still need!). This is one of those records that is hard to throw into a genre because of all the influences at work. It's obviously a girl-group record and has elements of r&b and soul, but also has an almost African or Latin feel. The tambourine slapped rhythm and call-and-response chants are definitely in a league of their own.



Spot Barnett - Summertime

Vernon "Spot" Barnett is a giant of the San Antonio scene. He
has played sax with the biggest names in Texas Tejano, blues, r&b, soul and rock. As well as making the rounds with the Texas scene, he has backed Ike & Tina, James Brown, Ray Charles, and Bobby Bland over the years. Spot recorded for a number of Texas labels, some of which I can't even find traces of. His most known works appear on Wildcat, 20th Century, and many of the early works on the Doug Sahm famed Cobra sessions. This is one of my favorites yet, because Spot leaves his normal R&B stylings of the time to jazz out the Gershwin tune, Summertime. Swank.