12 February 2021

A Fantastic Voyage from Oklahoma City to Dayton, Ohio to Plainfield, New Jersey

 

 Black History Month on the move.


Start in Oklahoma City...

In the South it's usually a fact that if you live near the railroad tracks or by the river, you're probably live in the bad part of town. The Moore house was built on stilts, with the river on one side & the railroad tracks on the other.

 

According to Harold Moore Sr.: He had four children, Jr. & his three sisters who had been abandoned by their alcoholic mom. Harold Sr. worked for a very rich woman who took a liking to the kids & bought them musical instruments, even paying for lessons. She made the kids a deal that if they learned how to play at least three songs she would get them a slot on some local TV telethon. The kids took to music very quickly. Within a year they were appearing on local TV.  The response was so good that the woman paid for them to record an LP but suggested they write "original" songs. This is where Harold Sr. comes in. Dad wrote all the songs that appear on the LP, with most of them being attacks on the drunken & supposedly abusive ex-Mrs. Moore… "Mama drinks Tequila / She stays drunk all the time." Once the LP was recorded & pressed, the next step was to get them in the local record stores. At least one store told Mr. Moore that they could not stock them unless they were shrink-wrapped. Harold went to a butcher shop where his brother worked. Harold used their shrink-wrap machine to seal the LPs… unfortunately, this was a high heat machine. Sr. had melted every single LP in the process. This wasn't discovered until someone bought one & took it home. All the LPs were pulled from the stores. Rather than re-press it, the woman decided to release some 45s.

These 45s were compiled to recreate the original melted LP.

Jr. & his Soulettes - Psychodelic Sounds, HMM Records SH 954-955, 1971.
all decryption codes in comments

Side One -
Thing, Do the Creep
Momma Love Tequilla
Pimp
Waw-Waw Rock
Love from Above
Flip Will
Do Your Funky Thing

Side Two -
Slow
Sweet Little One
Kewetha
Kat-Walk
Rock 'N Roll Santa
Rock Blues
Pop Junior Pop

Jr & his Soulettes: Harold M. Moore, Jr. - guitar & vocals  (age 10); Jacqueln Carol Moore waw waw organ & vocals (age 6); Vinita Marie Moore - bass & organ (age 6); & Denise Marshell Moore - drummer (age 7).

 
 
I never know how the lesson plan is going to turn out before I get ready for class. This time it was driven by a comment on the Wackies post from aboynamedstew. So mixing the classroom/roadtrip metaphor, I decided to detour to Dayton, Ohio before heading on to New Jersey.

Dayton Funk Connection

Being originally from Pennsylvania & spending much time in the musick dives of neighboring Ohio, as well as being a Funk fanadelic, Dayton Funk has always held a place in my heart.

Of course there's Ohio Players (I've posted Skin Tight over at digital meltd0wn blog). I'm giving some different tastes from FunkenTown so although the Players are sublime (& their covers even more sublime), you'll have to grab that Ohio elsewhere, player. Ditto Zapp (however I've added a tribute to Roger Troutman before I leave Dayton).

That's the easy ones, but do you all know Slave or Lakeside or Faze-O or Platypus?...

Steve Arrington of Slave:
     “Dayton's scene was all these bands that didn't sound anything alike. Ohio Players didn't sound anything like Heatwave who didn't sound like Slave; Slave didn't sound like Zapp; Zapp didn't sound like Lakeside. What we got from the Players was, we had to find our own voice. The Dayton sound was—innovation.

But they all had one commonality: Charles Spencer, a music teacher at Roosevelt High School, Dayton, Ohio.. Every band in Dayton that went on to sign a major label deal (including Platypus) had students of Spencer's in them. Spencer made his kids read music & study theory. He also staged battles-of-the-bands to raise money for the school. The funds were good for the musicians but so was the competition; it helped the players hone their skills & also build an audience.


 
Lakeside was loosely formed in 1969, on the cusp of the funk boom in Dayton. It wasn't until the late 70s & early 80s that this group really hit its stride with the hit song "Fantastic Voyage". The song hit #1 on the Billboard R&B charts, propelling the band into the national spotlight for the rest of the 1980s. Say yes.
 


Lakeside - Fantastic Voyage, Solar BXL1-3720, 1980.

Side A -
Fantastic Voyage
Your Love is on the One
I Need You

Side B -
Strung Out
Say Yes
Eveready Man
I Love Everything You Do
Say Yes (reprise)


 
Slave formed in the mid-70s in Dayton. They quickly had a hit single with their song "Slide".  They were known for their use of electric trumpet, fat bass licks, & soaring vocals. They had more hits in the early 80s like "Snap Shot" featured here. Disco funk...it's the spice of life. Smokin'.  I'm enSlaved.


Slave - Show Time, Cotillion SD 5227, 1981.

Side One -
Snap Shot
Party Lites
Spice of Life (oh Yes, You’re the Best)
Smokin

Side Two -
Wait for Me
Steal Your Heart
For the Love of U
Funken Town

This L.P. is dedicated to Allah for the Concepts of Pure Growth!!
 


Faze-O was a late 70s funk group produced by Clarence Satchell of the Ohio Players,

Faze-O - Breakin' the Funk, She Records SH 742, 1979.

Side One -
Breakin’ the Funk
Ya-ba-da-ba-duzie
I Still Love You

Side Two -
Let’s Rock
I’m Tankful
See You Through the Night


 
Platypus was a little known, short-lived disco-funk band that was active in the late 70s-early 80s.They combined their appreciation of the Ohio Players & Parliament/Funkadelic with a lot of disco gloss & occasional rock elements. Unlike the Players or P/Funk, Platypus didn't use any horns.

Platypus - Platypus, Casablanca NBLP 7171, 1979.

Side 1 -
Dancing in the Moonlight
Street Babies
Love the Way You Funk
Don’t Go Away

Side 2 -
Dance if You Can
Running from Love
Body & Soul

 
 
Zapp.  Zapp & Roger.  Roger.  He wore many coats. He was gunned down by his brother.  Tribute.


Victim of Love
More Bounce to the Ounce
Dance Floor
Do it Roger
Heartbreaker (Pt 1 & Pt 2)
Computer Love
Girl, Cut it Out (maxi-single)
Fire
Thrill Seekers (extended remix)

 
 
Now were finally headin' for Plainfield & I feel the pull of the Mothership.

I've posted plenty Funkadelic nectar here & here & here & here, & elsewhere...you can search it out if you want it. Here's some close family representing.




Parlet - Invasion of the Booty Snatchers, Casablanca NBLP 7146, 1979.

Side 1 -
Ridin’ High
No Rump to Bump
Don’t Ever Stop (Lovin’ Me, Needin’ Me)

Side 2 -
Booty Snatchers
You’re Leaving
Huff-n-Puff

Parlet began as: Jeanette Washington (in 1975 she joined Parliament with...);  Debbie Wright (the first female members of Parliament & Funkadelic); & Mallia Franklin (also vocalist with Parliament-Funkadelic who introduced George Clinton & Bootsy Collins in 1971 as well as bringing ex-Ohio Player Junie Morrison to P-Funk in 1978).  Here Parlet is: Jeanette Washington; Shirley Hayden (replacing Debbie Wright): & Janice Evans (replacing Mallia Franklin).

 
 
 
These last two are not really Funk...they're Funk & Punk & Rock & Roll & Soul & Blues & Rap & Poetry & Jimi & they're all P-Funk. This is a Black History lesson for all who will listen. Last days for the revolutions of Jimi. Don’t crash & burn.

Blue Dog Records PCD-2827, 1994.

Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky - John Sinclair with Ras Kente
Purple Hazel - Eddie Hazel
Pleasure With the Dirt Devil - Blackbyrd
Positivity - Michael Hampton
Look Now Baby James Glass & the Get to Gettin’ Band
Fly On -  Blackbyrd
Reflections on Jimi Part 1 - George Clinton
Funky Kazoo - Michael Hampton
The Wind Cries Colors - Ras Kente
Get to the Gettin’ - James Glass & the Get to Gettin’ Band
Future Past - Randall & Allen Lynch
Should’a Known - Randall & Allen Lynch
Reflections on Jimi Part 2 - George Clinton
Debbie Does the Voodo Child - Point Blank

Thanx Jimi - Andre Foxxe
Return of the Gypsy - Johnny Graham
Oh Say Can You See, the Red, the White, & the Blues - Johnny Graham
Father forgive Um - Mud Bone Cooper & Michael Hampton
Jimi Why D-U Have ta Go - Dee Dee "Dirty Mugg" James & Bootsy's Rubber Band
Revolutions of Jimi - Bootsy Collins
Jimi Why D-U Have ta Go (dance version) - "Dirty Mugg" & Bootsy's Rubber Band
Future Equations - The Darryl Plummer Band
What You Gonna Do? - Ras Kente
Fishin; da Sea - Menace
I Need a Man - Menace
Last Days - Menace
Crash & Burn - Andre Foxxe

Both volumes recorded New Orleans, Lousiana; East Detroit, Highland Park, Michigan USA 1994.

Funk On!

14 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Most welcome. Thanks for the comment.

      Delete
    2. Psychodelic Sounds
      GutBP8FCSrXEyGGIJqsZF11sh5nIuj19skpHmgcnUM0
      Fantastic Voyage
      vbPezSD4NM23Mkadoc9UuQPCvK2OU6vksCUPQFhc8cY
      Show Time
      H1aX8641X-fl8Zacryg6KSYK0P1Bw06mvwaZ76PBDL8
      Breakin' the Funk
      A9MJ3p9k4Yr075-e9oYO85JO_RH2mVnZoMKo9ZpvE1E
      Platypus
      LHjMRtB4prZQbbcHx_LBq2EILiJuFdMFKELN2k0X76s
      Some Troutman Tastees
      f9mA5mwEygTbeBISIrOYRZZDO9Y_812GJdNsklav0Gk
      Invasion of the Booty Snatchers
      gE5SxaF2S8_j1t19gwbfeSbRml_hsR4ZcDy9QVpcSLw
      A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix
      solDvJuHJmO3XWF2DN-ePUyXlNcv-d18es7jRfJB02c
      Tribute to Jimi Hendrix II: Return of the Gypsy
      CHgd4qQOEiostVWCEmtz6mXF3FAFk8RkeRmTRO3V_HQ

      Delete
  2. Thanks for the 2 Jimi tributes, didnt know they existed, love Jimi, love P-funk, I’m a happy man!

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    Replies
    1. Your comment has made me a happy man. Now we're two happy men, just being happy together.

      Delete
  3. Hi Mr Nothinsez thanks for your comment on my blog. Keep it unreal indeed. Are you yourself an imaginary bluesman? I’m not familiar with Marvin or Clutchy but I’m certainly interested in checking out imaginary rivals in the imaginary blues cutting contest that is now kicking off in the juke joint of my mind. So far the contest is going quite well as I’ve yet to hear what them other boys got. Hit me with some heavy shots, my alter-ego can take it.

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    Replies
    1. Oddly enough, I stumbled upon Marvin Pontiac in January while reading Elmore Leonard's "Tishomingo Blues". In the book, fictional character Robert Taylor plays "guess that tune" with another character in the book. The tune in the novel is "I'm a Doggy" which, according to the novel, purportedly was recorded in 1952 & soon became a minor hit. In the novel, Robert Taylor reports that Mr. Pontiac only recorded one album during his career only, but only after the producer agreed to mow Pontiac's lawn. Other accounts of Mr. Pontiac life are just as mysterious. Some say he went insane after claiming to have been abducted & probed by aliens. It is said he died in 1970 at the Esmerelda State Mental Institution in Detroit. Other accounts report that he was hit & killed by a bus in June of 1977.

      The bio for Marvin Pontiac says it all...he was born "the son of an African father from Mali & a white Jewish mother from New Rochelle, New York."

      The Legendary Marvin Pontiac - Greatest Hits, Strange & Beautiful Music SB-0018, 1999.

      I’m a Doggy
      Small Car
      Now I’m Happy
      Power
      Runnin’ Around
      Pancakes
      Bring Me Rocks
      Rubin
      Wanna Wanna
      Sleep at Night
      Arms & Legs
      She Ain’t Going Home
      Little Fly
      No Kids
      https://mega.nz/file/IYtmQYpA#HCu_slslYF4jOZsVu8v3C5YZ-On_QSm08OSaiAWM-F8


      Marvin Pontiac - The Asylum Tapes, Strange & Beautiful Music, 2017.

      Unbelievable
      I Hope She is Okay
      My Bear to Cross
      Hollerin’
      I Don’t Have a Cow
      It’s Always Something. It’s Never Nothing
      We Are the Frog People
      Let Me Tell You
      I Am a Man
      I Don’t Like to Stand on Line
      Baby Pigs
      You’re Going to Miss Me
      I Want to Get Out of Here
      Beastliness
      I Am Not Crazy
      Temple of Banjos
      Santa Claus
      Godzilla
      Don’t Fuck with Me
      My Little Garden Gnome
      Horse Fell Down the Well
      I Like to Wear Funny Outfits
      Little Banjo
      I Am Not Alone
      https://mega.nz/file/YY1giY4L#fETgrUJhCZmrcXSuyy7NnawdtKgAMZchI_aj6F0ftIo


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    2. Clutchy Hopkins is the son of a Motown recording engineer. As a young man, Clutchy traveled the globe exploring exotic music, rhythms, & mysticism. He worked at recording studios in Bombay to Cairo. He studied musical techniques of the Cahuilla Indians, Rinzai Zen monks in Japan, as well as tribal drummers in Ethiopia. Returning to the U.S. in the ’90s, Clutchy worked as a session musician on obscure funk & jazz records; he was rumored to have collaborated with Moondog.

      Clutchy recorded most of the music he created throughout his journeys, but never attempted to release it. He refused to be credited for his session gigs. He only accepted cash payments for his work. There are practically no records of his existence. Sometime during the late 20th century, Clutchy Hopkins disappeared without a trace. His last known whereabouts were in Hawthorne, California.

      In 2005, a crate of reel-to-reel tapes was discovered amid boxes of old, home-made musical instruments, & electronics at a flea market outside Los Angeles. The trail from these tapes led to a woman named Kelly Hopkins: Clutchy’s daughter, the only person still in contact with him. Kelly obtained his permission to release some music. She even persuaded him to collaborate with young new artists. Clutchy’s exact whereabouts remain a mystery. According to Kelly, he currently resides in a cave somewhere in the Mojave Desert.

      Clutchy Hopkins - The Life of Clutchy Hopkins, Crate Digler, 2005

      Side One -
      3:06
      3:02
      4:08
      3:25
      2:15
      3:11

      Side Two -
      2:07
      3:26
      3:34
      3:05
      3:14
      3:24
      https://mega.nz/file/Ac8Q0aYC#attsWAKyE4dHb_23Ubk68OmWt9mEkr3TSzYDdWVqiZI


      Clutchy Hopkins - The Story Teller, Ubiquity URLP267, 2010.

      Side One -
      Giraffe Crack
      Laughing Jockey
      No Contact... Contact
      Miles Chillin'
      Nina

      Side Two -
      JT Goldfish
      Truth Seekin'
      Thinkin' of Eva
      Light as a Feather
      Drunk Socks
      Verbal Headlock
      https://mega.nz/file/cA0gFCAC#qhsOjkq2rZtPedhbaEIYeEMwMsKADLop31iI-JZFJTs


      Clutchy Hopkins - Walking Sdrawkcab, Ubiquity URLP221, 2008.

      Side A -
      Sound of the Ghost
      Song for Wolfie
      Love of a Woman
      3rd Element
      Para los Ninos
      Horny Tickle

      Side B -
      Percy on the One
      Rocktober
      Alla Oscar
      Good Omen
      Swap Meet Me at the Corner
      Last Time for Your Mind
      https://mega.nz/file/VRsEGIIB#IF1TJqjS5cJH7P6ODdj0wgs8gYwUm3SHUyEA_oVyOwk

      Enjoy & happy bloggin’ & bluesin’

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    3. Thanks for these Nathan. Just grabbed them all but gonna wait to listen thru proper sound system later. Thanks for the back story info on these boys too. I need to become a lot more mysterious maybe trade my boat for a hole in the hills.

      Glad you liked some of my sounds, thanks for that comment. Also noticed that you added my blog to your list, thanks. I’ve likewise added yours to mine. You have the same tagline heading your blogroll list that I used for my blog. Unreal! Does your imaginary blues self make real music? Wanna form an imaginary duo?

      Thanks again for these in particular and for the freakin funk in general.

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    4. Hi Nathan ... Clutchy is my man, nice vibe, good grooves. And I like the fact that it he has a proper lo-fi home-studio vibe but a stack of melodic ideas and is actually kinda sophisticated. Also I’m not big on lyrics! Which is maybe why Marvin doesnt quite hit the spot for me. I like the band on the Hits album, and it was all an interesting listen. Thanks again for the share.

      And thanks for your Black History month. Talkin of which I was listening to my Rocky Mountain Shakedown double on vinyl at the weekend, it’s a peach aint it! That version of Comin Round The Mountain is in my alltime top ten.

      Also just read you had your first vaccine shot, me too. For me it felt like somethin .. a first step back towards jams in sweaty rooms with my oldman musician buddies and a beer or 3 in live music venues. Thems about the only things I've really missed this past year.

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    5. Visiting a few close friends & tilting a few good pints would be a great return to normalcy. Hoping that world returns without too too many scars. Thanks for the thoughts, brother.

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  4. aboynamedstew2/14/21, 10:14 PM

    Very glad i could inspire a detour through Ohio. I grew up just outside of Dayton (and now live in western PA), but had absolutely no idea about the legacy of funk in that town, besides the Players of course (and that Bootsy and the Isley Brothers were from just a little further south). What really grinds me in hindsight is seeing so many regional high school marching bands (outing myself as a band nerd here) playing "jazz"/"fusion"-inspired shows with music by Chicago or Bloodsweatandtears, maaaaaaybe Earth Wind & Fire once. But not a single song of Dayton funk in the four+ years i was listening! Such a gold mine beneath our feet, neglected. I'm not gonna speculate as to why, but of course I could hazard a guess or two... I think its a little better now, I think there is a Funk Museum in the works. I've corresponded with a history prof who is working on a book about it too, looking forward to it. And I'm hoping this rip of Platypus is better than the one I currently have. Anyway, thanks for all yr blogging, I've found many excellent tunes via here over the years. This is one of the best, truly. Best wishes. -aboynamedstew

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  5. Thanks very much for this interesting post. The P-Funk stuff is great and new to me as well.

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  6. A tsunami of funk, quite a ride. Thanks very much.

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