Archives: September 2009

10 Sep 2009, Comments (2)

Liberty Bell – Look for Tomorrow (Backbeat) 1968

Author: michael selman
liberty bell

This story starts in Corpus Christi, Texas. Ronnie Tanner, a local kid from Corpus was asked to audition for a group named “The Zulu’s.” Tanner was asked to join the group as lead singer. The group was signed to a small Label from Corpus called CEE BEE Records owned by Carl Becker, who became their manager for a short time. Once signed, the group changed their name to “Liberty Bell.” The group recorded three singles for CEE BEE, one being a rendition of The Yardbirds “The Nazz Are Blue.” These tunes were traditional garage, frat rock tracks. Ronnie Tanner was soon drafted to Vietnam where Chris Gernoitis took his place. With this new addition came Don Robey. Robey owned The Backbeat label out of Houston, which was a bigger label with a larger distribution. Robey had heard Gernoitis from his prior group the legendary “Zackary Thaks.” The group decided to sign with Backbeat to record “LOOK FOR TOMORROW.” This track would still have the hard edge that all of the other singles contained from the CEE BEE days, however, now Liberty Bell was including much more of a slowed down psych sound.

libertybellpromo.JPG

LISTEN:Liberty Bell – Look for Tomorrow

10 Sep 2009, Comments (0)

Dennis Coffey and The Detroit Guitar Band – Scorpio (Sussex 1971)

Author: alex larotta
COFFEY-SCORPIO

Hello my peoples, thanks for stopping by, pardon our dust while we work on our streaming media player and get this baby 100%. Today’s selection is a fine-tuned funky orchestration by Detroit’s beloved guitar funk hero, Dennis Coffey. Well known throughout the break-beat and sample community, Scorpio was featured on Mr. Coffey’s astounding sophomore LP release on Sussex entitled “Evolution”. Mr. Coffey mastered his guitar chops as a teen growing up in The Motor City during the late 1950’s, garnering a few lessons from relatives and playing throughout the local music circuit. Performing later on several records as a studio player, he soon gained attention as a tight-knit and versatile player and dabbled shortly thereafter into composition and arrangement for well-known soul acts and labels throughout Detroit’s burgeoning music scene (including none other than motor city giants, Funkadelic and The Spinners to name a couple). Coffey was also a member of legendary rock fusion group Rare Earth throughout its activity from the late 60’s to early 70’s.

Before (and later during) his solo career, Mr. Coffey was a part of the legendary Motown studio rhythm collective, The Funk Brothers, which helped personify and meld that unmistakable, fabled Motown sonancy later dubbed “The Sound of Young America”. Though he wasn’t involved until these rearmost years of the group’s activity (1959-1972), his sonic imprint and innovative use of the wah-wah peddle can be heard on Motown releases during his activity (i.e. the funkier/psych side of The Temptations and The Isley Brothers), bringing his effects-heavy guitar fire to the reputable label.

Branching out on his own to fulfill his own projects, Mr. Coffey soon assembled The Detroit Guitar Band out of the hot bed of talent throughout Detroit and recorded some of the toughest, grittiest instrumental guitar funk ever laid to tape. “Evolution” features the funkiest Led Zeppelin cover you’ll EVER hear (as featured on DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist’s 45 funk mix masterpiece Product Placement), this record simply does not let down from the initial needle drop and is a true groove burner from start to finish. And our particular song in the light, Scorpio, is a fine example of this Coffey sound, with a psychy funk fuzz and wah-wah drenched alto guitar charging through this four minute up-tempo strut featuring one of the greatest drum breaks of all time. This break alone could be wholly responsible for a large chunk of hip-hop’s inception, its featured slinky pulsating bass line on top of a super heavy backbeat made for exquisite fodder for the classic ol skool deejays and b-boys. Scorpio also became a popular cover track for bands incorporating beat-heavy funk rhythm into their sound, including a stellar rendition by Conrad O. Johnson’s own Kashmere Stage Band which almost rivals the original on their take of this funk classic. Hope this one puts that stuff in yo’ strut, kids.

dennis_coffey

LISTEN: Dennis Coffey and The Detroit Guitar Band-Scorpio

3 Sep 2009, Comments (4)

The Clique – Splash 1 (Cinema) 1967

Author: michael selman
the clique 45

Texas bands in the late sixties began to change their sound from more of a frat rock sound to a more psychedelic sound. This evolution began with the Elevators; The Clique is no different, with their Elevators cover of “Splash 1.” Lacking a jug, however, still encompassing the new psychedelic sound, this track helped push this sound into Houston, Texas. The Clique formed after the demise of three bands: The Lavender Hour, The Roustabouts and The Sandpipers. The original band members were: John Kanesaw on drums, Bruce Tinch on bass guitar, Cooper Hawthorne on lead guitar, David Dunham on saxophone and Larry Lawson on piano. This single (Splash 1 and Stay by Me) was recorded in the summer of 1967 in Andrus Studios in Houston, Texas. Splash 1 gave the group some fame in Texas staying on the Houston charts for a number of weeks. The single also achieved the number 113 spot on the national charts. Later that year and the year following, the group opened for many larger groups including: The Dave Clark Five, The Association, Sam and Dave and George Carlin.

The fact remains that on “Splash 1,” the Clique managed to do the Elevators justice, where everyone else’s attempts fell short. The song was released on the local Cinema (shown in scan) and then Wand labels, followed by a national release on Scepter – none of which garnered much attention. Later their tunes rose to a broader audience backed by record producer/songwriter Gary Zekley. Singles like “I’ll Hold Out My Hand” and “Sugar on Sunday” gave this little band from Houston fame, not to mention one of their tracks “Superman,” was covered by REM in 1986.

the clique stairs

LISTEN: The Clique – Splash 1

LISTEN: The Clique – Stay By Me

3 Sep 2009, Comments (3)

Masters Of Soul-Right On (1970)

Author: alex larotta
MASTERS RIGHT ON

For the kick-off post of what will be our enduring and on-going funky mission here at I’m Shakin, I’d like to start with a fine selection from Houston, TX’s own Masters of Soul. ”Right On” is an up-tempo funky soul strut featuring a tight knit rhythm section (with some very nice layered conga percussion), elaborate and lush horn stabs, and impressive vocal range and harmonization from some of the finest in Houston’s rich soul and r&b community.  

  Cutting their teeth years prior as a regionally popular soul/doo-wop group by the name of The Royal Masters in the late 50’s (under the guidance of local producer and music powerhouse, Huey Meaux aka The Crazy Cajun), the group later signed with Skipper Lee Frazier’s now-infamous soul and R&B haven for Houston musicians, Ovide Records. Swaying with the change in popular rhythm, they soon altered their sound, image, and band name to include the name of their beloved hometown, Masters of Houston. According to Brett Koshkin over at The Houston Press, they soon had to renege on the name due to legal disputes with their previous label and later settled on Masters of Soul (mind you, the word ‘Masters’ never left their name!). The new sound consisted of down-tempo deep soul and ballad-style numbers alongside a handful of funky-soul and even psych-tinged compositions reflecting the deeply diverse changes of the era. Local musician Luke Wayne Richards, a young bassist known within the Houston soul circuit at that time, was invited by Skipper Lee to play bass on a few of the Masters’ recordings as well as performing as a backup player for other Ovide label-mates (including Archie Bell and The Drells), and most presumably on this slab of funky-soul. He also recorded for the local soul outfit, Wild Honey (though based in Florida, recorded in Houston), who resided on the highly regarded independent soul/funk/r&b label, Houston International. Mr. Richards continues to perform for various bands and labels, even lending his infectious bass lines to producers and artists within Houston’s large rap community, working with the likes of Lil Keke, Too Short, and even the late DJ Screw, amongst others.

This gem is one part of their enduring legacy, and the fine folks over at Tuff City (Soul Tay Shus) were gracious enough to release a fair chunk of their releases and activity on Ovide on CD and LP entitled Masters of Soul: Right On: Rare & Unreleased Texas Soul 1968-1975, you can check it out here. Some of their material as well as other Ovide artists/material are also available on another great Tuff City comp entitled “Funky, Funky Houston”.

LISTEN: Masters Of Soul Right On

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