James Brown Live At the Garden King 1967

James Brown Live At the Garden King 1967 CAT# 1018

Have not wrote in this thing for ages...been busy and shit. So I figured the best artist to blog about is a guy who lived at or near KC for like 30 minutes per an obscure interview that was cited by the label, Numero Group.

This LP is pretty great, it's the soulful James Brown before he went straight funk. Odd thing about James Brown records, they are almost always beat to death. You find them, get excited, look at it and the vinyl is tore up and barely playable.

They were party records. You put on James Brown when you wanted to get down with friends. Which also meant you were probably tipping a few back with friends. Which means, especially when records weren't thought of as fetish items, people just took them right off the platter and probably laid them on stack of other played through records, no sleeve or inner. Just out there, getting torn up.

Here's the thing though, that all makes sense; party records. But, next time you're out digging, look at a popular Joni Mitchell album. It's also tore up. Odd, because unlike James Brown, Joni isn't for partying. I have this romantic notion that it is because some girl in the 70's got her heart broken and for comfort, just played the crap out of Joni Mitchell...but, Joni is not from KC, not even for 30 minutes like Brown, so I'm not going into how great she is.

James Brown Dead On Heavy Funk 74-76 Polydor 1985

James Brown Dead On Heavy Funk 74-76 Polydor 1985 CAT# 827439-1

If you haven't been reading, which, well, no one has been, I've mentioned a number of times how according to James Brown himself, he resided in KC for a year. After his childhood arrest, apparently he was shipped off to KC to live with his father who worked at possibly the AC Delco plant in North Olathe. Which, since it's James Brown, the Godfather of Funk, makes him local for the purposes of this blog.

This is a solid comp collecting 8 extended Brown funk workouts from the mid-70s. Since it's release in 1985, there's far better comps out there, but considering it's from the 80's, if you possibly find it, it might not be in terrible shape. The major highlight is "Hot (I Need to be Loved, Loved, Loved, Loved)" which features a guitar riff created by Carlos Alomar and is the same here as it was used in the song "Fame" by David Bowie.

One truth about the awesomeness of James Brown records, when you find them they are almost always beat to shit. They might have a bunch of needle marks, because people were dancing to these records, causing the needle to jump and come down hard. Or they're scratched severely because they were a favorite of DJs who were more focused about getting the next track on rather than properly putting the LP away. So, it usually got thrown into the crate, un-sleeved and then got other records stacked upon it. Or, and possibly worse, the grooves are just worn out. Groove wear fucking sucks. Distorts on highs and lows, always sounds like your needle is just running over salt...It's not surface noise, it's the grooves being worn out. This feature was usually do to a crappy record player or just playing the crap out of the record.

As far as groove wear, I'm going to go with the later. The records are just too damn good and enjoyable. People played the crap out of James Brown. If you see something minty in a used bin, it should be a guaranteed purchase.

James Brown Future Shock t-shirt ad
Hot (I Need To Be Loved, Loved, Loved, Loved)

James Brown Hot Pants Parts 1, 2, & 3 People 1971

James Brown Hot Pants Parts 1, 2, & 3 People 1971 CAT#42-2501

James Brown lived in Kansas City for 30 minutes, or so he said once in some obscure interview...Is it true?  I don't know, but I keep picking up the 45s because they're awesome.  If James Brown brief KC residency is true, I'm 100% positive it isn't going to show up in the upcoming movie about his life.

Anyway, have you heard the song "Hot Pants"?  It's phenomenal.  It's available on a kajillion different Brown releases.  It's funky, sweaty, soul music.  He grunts, yelps and says "Hot Pants" over and over, there's some other words thrown in, but they aren't necessary. 

Hot Pants on Soul Train

Marva Whitney It's My Thing Polydor/King 1970 (2012 Repress)

Marva Whitney It's My Thing Polydor/King 1969 (2011 Repress) CAT #PD 1062

One year ago today, Marva Whitney passed away.  She was Kansas City born and raised and started her career in KC.  She played the Kansas City scene, leading the group Tommy & the Derby's, did the Motown revue's and opened for touring artists when they passed through.  She was asked to tour with Bobby Bland and Little Richard, but turned both down opting to join the James Brown Revue as a featured vocalist as she thought it was the best move for her career.

It certainly was the best move, Brown did all he could do to make her successful as a part of his act.  During the shows, Marva Whitney would provide the audience a couple of songs while Brown rested.  He recorded her and provided her some of his best material.  There are singles cut for Federal and King while she hung with Brown.  There is also the above album, as well as live LP from the King years.  The title song of this LP, "It's My Thing (Part 1)" was released as the single, "It's My Thing (You Can't Tell Me Who To Sock It To)" and as a response to the Isley Brother's "It's Your Thing".  It represented her highest charting single.

While she never became a mainstream R&B artist, her time spent with James Brown kept her active and in front of large audiences.  The move to go with James Brown far exceeded anything she would get by backing Bobby Bland or Little Richard.  However, most say that this was among the most difficult times of her life.  When she moved back to Kansas City after her time with James Brown she told friends and family just how true the name "Hardest Working Man In Show Buisness" was.  Brown was known to work his artists relentlessly.  She had a child from her marriage to Kansas City soul singer, Harvey Whitney.  However, she was never able to spend time as a mother due to constant touring and recording.  Homesick, she left the Brown stable in 1970.

She would record some unsuccessful singles for the T-Neck label afterward.  Afterwards, she would marry Ellis Taylor, the owner and operator of Kansas City's Forte label and cut some sides.  After little success on the regional label, her recording career largely ended aside a few sporadic singles and one-off LPS.  She only briefly stopped performing and would later be a member of the J.B.'s All Stars which were a group of former Brown artists.  She didn't stop performing until 2010.

This LP represents her best work.  The material is top shelf and the players were the best in the business as they were Brown's backing band.  It is a compilation of mostly singles released for the King label, some of which we re-recorded for the LP, others that were not.  It's absurdly collectible due to it's scarcity and the fact that Whitney is one of the greatest female funk performers of all time.

The girl did not hold back, she's a screamer.  The band gets most of the attention by the collectors, the cuts have been heavily sampled throughout hip-hop, especially the track "Unwind Yourself."  But, Whitney gives these songs personality.  She's got to be the only women that could match Brown's delivery.  Further, she's got to be the only women allowed to shout out "Maceo!" when the groove needed to get deeper.  You're not going to find any ballads (well, there is "If You Love Me," but she screams that one out, too) or anything that would have played well to a white Motown crowd, this is brassy, funk, floor stompers meant for the live crowds.  There were plenty of noted soul diva's out there, but only a few funk divas like Whitney belting out tunes like this.

Unwind Yourself
It's My Thing (Live TV Performance)
You Got To Have a Job (Duet with James Brown)

James Brown Maybe I'll Understand/I Love You King

James Brown Maybe I'll Understand/I Love You King CAT # K-12594

The sickness continues.  Just picked this up, because it fits the rules of my 7" collection in my warped, vinyl damaged mind.

It's obviously good, it's James Brown.  He didn't start to suck until the 80's and even then, he didn't suck as bad as other hanger-ons.

Here's Kansas City nugget, for you.  At Mr. Brown's funeral, Kansas City, KS born and raised singer, Marva Whitney was invited to be a singer.  Like Brown, she recorded for King.  More on her later, though.

James Brown Mother Popcorn Parts 1 & 2 King 1969

James Brown Mother Popcorn Parts 1 & 2 King 1969 CAT # 45-6245

Record collecting is a strange hobby.  It becomes addictive because it's so easy to do..  It's so easy that most collectors begin to overwhelm themselves in the amount of vinyl they pick up.  This is especially true when you're new to the hobby.  You just start buying stuff at places like Goodwill for a dollar just because it looks interesting or you've heard of the band (never mind liking the music) just as a way to continue and grow the collection.

For me, this was especially true of 45s.  The things are cheap and easy to find.  In any pile that you find at a thrift store or a garage sale, you're bound to find some gems.  I bought the crap out of them throughout college and beyond.  In fact, I was buying boxes full without ever looking at them first.  I mean, how could you resist a plastic bag full of 50 of them at a thrift store for a couple bucks?

First problem with this method is that you end up with a lot of crap.  Second problem is that these things were played a lot.  In jukeboxes, on crappy turntables, on radio stations, when you buy a 7" from the 60's there is a really good chance it will sound like shit and completely defeat the purpose of listening to music on vinyl.  Yet another problem is that there is nothing you can do with the loads of crap you have outside of just giving it away.  If it's beat up, common, or by an artist no one cares about, no one will buy it off you.  You're stuck with it until you find a way to sell in bulk at a garage sale or on Craigslist for a super cheap price, but, that also creates a problem because who wants to feel they're ripping the next guy off, right?  If you can't do that, they all go back to a thrift store or sit in your home collecting dust.

Much of my 45 collection gotten to the collecting dust point.  I had nowhere to put all these records and there was no need to own them.  So, I made a conscious decision to dump the 45 collection.  I mean, at this point I'm pretty grown up, I have a wife and kids.  I no longer had the energy to get up off my ass every 3 minutes to flip a side, so focusing on LPs made perfect sense.  I began selling the good stuff on eBay, made a bunch of money, bought LPS with money earned.  Then, I took the good stuff with minor condition issues and posted on Craigslist, "Will trade 45s for LPS."  That worked out okay, got a few bites and thinned the collection out a little more.  The decent stuff went to stores for trade value I used to buy more LPS.

At this point came regret.  I sold and traded some really cool stuff.  The amazing LPS I picked up along the way didn't seem so amazing anymore.  I'd also held onto some stuff that was still important to me, mostly the local stuff from bands I knew in my douche bag hipster days.  I knew I was never going to have it in me to sell off the first Get Up Kids 7", so a compromise was made to thin out the collection.  The only 7"s I would hold onto would be local.  Problem solved, right?  I got rid of everything but some R.E.M. 45s (couldn't do it, like that band too much) and retained locals.  The idea was, 7" collection is done, it's complete, not buying anymore.

Well, fuck if I don't buy the shit out of local 7"s.  I mean, once I gave myself an excuse.  However, I am more focused right now on scoring 45s than I was before, so that helps keep things in check.  That is until I read a quote James Brown, Godfather of Soul, in which he stated that he lived in Kansas City for a year while his father worked in Olathe, Kansas.  Apparently, he lived on Harrison Street in KCMO when he was between the ages of 14 and 15.  So, of course, the first James Brown 45 I see after reading that quote; I bought.

I've convinced myself that because James Brown lived in Kansas City for small amount of time it fits my collection.  I mean, I'm making fun of myself for doing it, that's how absurd record collecting can be.  I'm not buying James Brown because he's a local artist.  I'm just buying James Brown 45s because he's awesome and I want to own more vinyl.

Mother Popcorn