Originally posted at 4BB 2.0 on January 9th, 2009:

First of all, please forgive this really crappy cover image. I’ll explain as we get into this post…

I hope you all had a splendid holiday… Yes, it’s been a long time for me. I have been totally immersed in furthering my education which in these tough times will certainly come in very handy when it comes to scoring a real job. Enough of my tales of woe, let’s get our ears dirty with what I consider to be one of the most sought after LPs of our time… my number one hero Lou Courtney’s one and only full length for Riverside Records, Skate Now/Shing A Ling (for the record, Alvin Cash is my other number one hero… I’m really looking for a cheaper copy of the “Twine Time” LP). Most of you should be familiar with tunes like “Hey Joyce” which is another one of those “holy grail” 45s in itself thanks to those fabled Brainfreeze comps and subsequent bootlegs, but for the unitiated, here’s a nifty little bio for you, courtesy of the New Music Express website…

b. 1944, Buffalo, New York, USA. Courtney had a minor impact on the soul music scene in the 60s with a series of dance hits that could be considered a proto-funk style. He made his first record for Imperial Records in 1962, but much of his work over the next few years was behind the scenes, writing with producer Dennis Lambert; he wrote songs for artists such as Mary Wells and Chubby Checker under the pseudonym Louis Pegues. In 1966, Courtney signed with Riverside Records and began recording a series of dance hits that made him a national star, notably “Skate Now” (number 13 R&B, number 70 pop) from 1967, and “Do The Thing” (number 17 R&B, number 80 pop). He went to Buddah Records in 1968 and recorded “Tryin’ To Find My Woman”, which did not chart at the time of its release but later became a cult favourite among UK northern soul fans. Courtney spent a period as lead vocalist with the Packers (who recorded “Go Ahead”). In 1973, he began working with producer Jerry Ragovoy, and had a hit single with “What Do You Want Me To Do” (number 48 R&B) on Epic. A second single on the label, “I Don’t Need Nobody Else” (number 67 R&B) from 1974, was Lou Courtney’s last chart record. His new band Buffalo Smoke released an album on RCA Records in 1976, but their proto-disco style failed to make a commercial impact. Little has been heard of Courtney since the end of the 70s, although on rare occasions he has come out of retirement to perform one-off live shows.

Well, I’d love to give you all a proper review of this astonishing slice of “Northern” style soul, but try as I might, I couldn’t find anything on the almighty All Music Guide, Discogs, et al. What do I get out of this album? A solid half hour’s worth of high powered dancers and groovers, and not a bad track in the bunch, I can assure you. All of the tunes are standouts but if I had to pick one favourite, it would have to be “I’ve Got Just The Thing” hands down.

This is the monaural pressing, just so you know, which contains a decidedly different mix from the stereophonic counterpart. If you wish to comapre and contrast for yourself then I can direct you to the amazing Funky 16 Corners blog to check out a spectacular mix to featuring some of the stereo mixes as well as the aformentioned 45. For the particulars, check out this page here, and as always, be sure to show your love…

(Video clip borrowed from wpaulvandyk)

Now, where can you get one for your very own… Well, when I scored mine (which while I did get it for a steal, unfortunately it did not come with the original sleeve, hence the lackluster reproduction above), the only place to go was eBay where a copy could be had for 100 bucks, but now there seems to be a few more copies available in both mono and stereo for just a bit cheaper. Check out the going rates here and here. Seriously, I could go on and on about the record but the best thing for y’all to do now is to listen to it!

I am awaiting the opportunity to come into another windfall of the good stuff  – in the meantime, have fun(k) and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings!

The Score of the day! Photograph by Eilon Paz

Well it seems like i haven’t got to the Spot in a while, and when I got a phone call from my friend/ photographer Eilon Paz saying he wanted to hit it up, dig, and take photographs, I jumped at the chance. Even if it meant going to bed at 4 am and getting up at 8. We jumped in the Volvo wagon and headed out right on schedule. Our first encounter was with Super Beatle man. All he cared about were the Beatles. He could care less about any of the Funk and Soul 45’s we dug up. Score! Just some Sweet Soul, but of course I’ll take it. I stopped by to see the Old Man, who I haven’t spoken to in a few months. He was really happy to see me, and I was happy to see him. I managed to get some Jazz nuggets from him, and we caught up with each other for a few. Here’s where the fun really starts. We had really just gone up one row when I see a vendor who I haven’t bought from in a while. He was involved in a few “scuffles” with another vendor last year. It was a pretty big deal at the Spot, but something I stay out of. I’m just in it for the records, obviously. He tells me about some new 45’s that I dive into pronto. I pulled out some great Funk and Soul, and one elusive record that’s been on my list for sometime. For not being at the Spot for a while, it welcomed me back with open arms. This place rarely lets me down, and I that’s why I say: “You’re my choice baby!”.

45’s
Lou Courtney – Hey Joyce/ Popside
Woman – That’s How It Is/ Shock
LJ Reynolds Chocolate Syrup – The Penguin Breakdown/ Law-ton
Honey Cone – One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show/ Hot Wax
Honey Cone – The Day I Found Myself/ Hot Wax
The Odds and Ends – Foot Track/ Today
Betty Harris – Mean Man/ Sansu
Mickey and His Mice – Cracker Jack/ Marti
Etta James – Jump Into Love/ Chess (Promo)
Barrabas – Hi-Jack/ Atco
Herb & Brenda Rooney- The Exciters – Doin’ It Make You Just Feel Good/ Today
The Ebonys – Sexy Ways/ Philly International
The Independents – Baby I’ve Been Missing You/ Wand

Lp’s

Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers – Soul Finger/ Trip
Modern Jazz Quartet – S/T / Atlantic
Dexter Gordon Quartet – The Apartment/ Inner City

Keep Diggin!

Funky16Corners Radio v.61 – Focus On Lou Courtney

Playlist

Greetings all.

I hope all is well on your end, and that you all had a most excellent weekend.
My world – on the other hand, is a bit chaotic and stressful right now. As a result, after the mix I’m dropping today, I’m going to take the rest of the week off. I need to relax a little and get my head screwed back on correctly.
Of course, working at a newspaper, there are few weeks as stressful as the one leading up to Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday), so maybe this isn’t the best time to try and chill, but my addled brain can only concentrate on so much at any given time. Right now, in addition to the normal work stress, yet another major layoff is looming, and I have lots to concentrate on in my non-work life.
This mix ought to keep you busy, and if that’s not enough, you can always dip back into the podcast archive and whip a little soul on the gang while you’re stuffing your face with turkey, taters and pie.
In the history of the Funky16Corners Radio Podcast (this being the 61st edition thereof), I’ve only done a couple of ‘single-artist’ mixes (Lee Dorsey, James Brown, Eddie Bo, Jerry-O, Soulful Strings). The reason for this, is that this has always been that very few of the artists we cover in this space have ever generated enough material for a mix of their own, and those that have, probably already have compilations on the market. The ethos here being – after all – that what you dig here ought to get you out and digging for more of the same on your own.
However – big however here – as in the case of the Soulful Strings – sometimes I have an artist that I dig a lot, and there is almost nothing available in reissue.
The mix I bring you today is another example of someone like that.
I remember the very first time I pulled a Lou Courtney 45 out of a box and put the needle to the wax. I was out digging with a buddy at a once great spot out in the hinterlands, and I happened upon a grip of 45s on the Riverside label by an artist that I’d never heard of before. Despite the fact that I knew Riverside as a jazz label, a quick look at the titles suggested to me that these were soul 45s. As soon as I sat down to preview the records on the store turntable, my suspicions were confirmed.
That first one I played was the mighty ‘I’ve Got Just the Thing’ by Lou Courtney.
That was probably close to 10 years ago, and that record remains a big fave. It was the beginning of a long search for more of his records, and as you’ll hear in this edition of Funky16Corners Radio, that search was consistently rewarding.
There is however , a catch…
Though I’ve been digging up his records for close to a decade, I’ve never been able to turn up much information on the man. Suitably enough, the little I have found is confirmation that over the years, Lou Courtney let his music do the talking.
Courtney was born Louis Pegues in Buffalo, NY in 1944, and appears to have laid down his first 45 for Imperial in 1963. He recorded fairly steadily, for a variety of companies for the next 15 years.
During that time, while he wrote and recorded some absolutely spellbinding soul and funk 45s, he was also writing for, and producing other artists. The really interesting thing is, that at least in the beginning, he was having as much success as a pop/rock writer as he was as a soul singer.
During the British Invasion years, he and his writing partner Dennis Lambert* wrote songs that were recorded by Freddie & the Dreamers, Leslie Gore and the Nashville Teens among others. On the soul side of things, Courtney went on (often with Robert Bateman) to write for Mary Wells, Lorraine Ellison, Gloria Gaynor, Dee Dee Warwick, the Webs** and Henry Lumpkin.
Though he clearly spent a lot of time working for other artists, he was (at least in my opinion) saving his best material for himself. Though Courtney’s Imperial and Philips 45s are rousing soul sides, by the time he hooked up with Riverside (and its Popside subsidiary) he had crafted a dynamic sound. Courtney had a wonderful voice with a flexible range, as adept with hard edged soul as with a gentle ballad. That he was also a talented songwriter makes his relative obscurity all the more hard to understand.
I’ve gone on in this space before about ‘journeyman’ performers, who managed to record and perform through the classic soul era without ever breaking through to a larger success. Unlike many of those artists, Lou Courtney had more than enough talent to be a much bigger star, yet for any number of reasons was unable to get to that level.
Much like another favorite of mine – Chuck Edwards – Lou Courtney had a knack for mixing pop and rock sounds into his soul. As a result his records have both pop hooks and a heavy edge, forceful enough for the dancefloor but with enough pop savvy to keep the dancers singing along.
Between 1966 and 1968, Courtney recorded an LP (‘Skate Now and Shingaling’, both rare and excellent) and a number of 45s (some of them with amazing non-LP tracks) for Riverside/Popside. Many of the cuts from this era have become prized by both soul and funk DJs. During this period he created storming Northern style cuts like the brilliant ‘Me & You Doing the Boogaloo’ (try not dancing when you hear this one), pop-edged soul like ‘If the Shoe Fits’ and Motown influenced fare like ‘It’s Love Now’.
His Riverside/Popside discography demonstrates that Courtney was an important transitional artist, bridging the gap between soul and funk. There’s not better example of this than the crate digger’s fave ‘Hey Joyce’ (its famous break sampled by DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist) It’s important to keep in mind that Courtney was working in a variety of styles during this period, continuing to record mainstream soul and ballads as well as funk.
He moved on to the Verve label by 1968 (for two singles), where he continued to craft danceable soul (like the dance craze ‘Do the Horse’), ballads ( a cover of the Bacharach tune ‘Please Stay’) and edgy funk like ‘Rubber Neckin’ Chick Check’n’.
He laid down one single for Buddah in 1969, the smoking ‘Tryin’ To Find My Woman’. Here (again) Courtney works both prominent guitar and combo organ into the mix, along with blazing, soulful horns.
Sometime in the next few years (1971, I think) he recorded one of the most slamming funk 45s I’ve ever heard, the manic (borderline insane) ‘Hot Butter’n’All’. This is one of those records that’s so powerful it just about makes may hair stand on end. The track was also used by Donald Height (also on the Hurdy Gurdy label) for the song ‘Life Is Free’***.

As far as I can tell, Courtney didn’t record again until 1973 when he went into the studio with Jerry Ragavoy to record for the latter’s Rags label. The funky ‘Beware’ was written by Courtney, produced by Courtney and Ragavoy and arranged by Leon Pendarvis.
The following year Courtney would record the album ‘I’m In Need of Love’ for the Epic label. The lone ballad in this mix, ‘The Best That a Man Can Do For His Woman’ comes from that album, once again co-produced by Courtney and Ragavoy, and arranged by Pendarvis.
Lou Courtney would record one more LP, ‘Buffalo Smoke’ in 1976. By this time he was working on the funkier side of disco. My favorite cut from the LP ‘Don’t Stop the Box’ is a great example of the kind of polished, funky grooves that Steely Dan was clearly listening to at the time (dig the electric piano on this one). Buffalo Smoke would go on to have a disco hit in 1978 with a cover of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Stubborn Kind of Fellow’. It was during that year that Lou Courtney would join a later version of the Fifth Dimension, during the period when Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. were out having hits on their own.
I haven’t been able to track down anything on him after that point, other than a few mid-70s sessions as a backing vocalist on other people’s albums (Bonnie Raitt, Michael Boothman). The trail goes cold.
Where is Lou Courtney?
Though ‘I’m In Need of Love’, (highly regarded by modern soul fans) has been reissued, and several early tracks have appeared on compilations over the years, most of his finest work is available only to those willing to head out into the field and dig for vinyl.
This is nothing less than a crime.
Certainly there are countless soulies and crate diggers out there (myself included) who cherish his records, but Courtney’s was no ordinary talent, and is deserving of commemoration. I can offer up this mix, but I suspect that it’s so much ‘preaching to the choir’. Someone out there (Numero, Sundazed) ought to get to work on something (maybe a disc of his own recordings and a disc of his work with other artists?).
I hope you all dig the sounds, and if you’re still out there Lou, know that your music is still loved.

See you all next week.

Peace
Larry

+ I wanted to represent something from all of the labels Courtney recorded for, but have as yet been unable to get vinyl copies of the Philips, or Buddah sides. The versions here were digital copies I found online, so the sound quality may be a touch substandard. My apologies.

*Lambert went on to write a number of huge hits, including ‘She’s Gone’ (Hall & Oates), ‘Baby Come Back’ (Player), ‘Night Shift’ (Commodores) and ‘It Only Takes a Minute Girl’ (Tavares)

**The Webs were one of the few acts besides Courtney to appear on the Popside label

***The song also appears as an instrumental (by ‘Mr C & Funck Junction’) on the flipside of ‘Hot Butter’n’All’)

PS Make sure to stop by Iron Leg for an entire album side of freakout

PSS Check out Paperback Rider as well

Lou Courtney – I Can Always Tell from the Riverside Records 45

Here’s the short midweek edition of Flea Market Funk for you people. First off, let me thank DJ Bluewater for the excellent guest mix. I have about 5 or 6 more up on deck, so keep tuned in, because Monday mornings will be the day for the next couple of months. Sometimes life gets in the way, real world moves have to be made, and well, these real world moves are decisions that one doesn’t necessarily want to make. Such is life. The music must go on. This particular side I have up to offer was one I picked up from The Old Man a while ago. It’s none other than Lou Courtney with “I Can Always Tell” on Riverside Records.

You all know the name, Courtney of “Hey Joyce” fame. That Shadow break from Brainfreeze. Well, the man had some other hits on a variety of different labels. He would release some stuff on Hurdy Gurdy, Riverside/Popside, and Verve among others. His journey as a Soul/ R & B, Funk and a more mellow Soul Jazz kind of singer keep Lou Courtney’s name on the lips and want lists of many a digger. I still haven’t found the elusive, rising priced “Hey Joyce” out in the field, but I have found about 10 copies of “Do The Thing”, and this very record, which at the moment, I haven’t stopped listening to. Besides being a Funk Brothers production (’nuff said) it’s a love song gone horribly wrong. Mister Courtney is no fool, he knows what the deal is. There is something intriguing about this side, and the piano and sax hook have reeled me. In fact, it’s one of the better Soul records I have gotten my hands on in quite a while. Sorry for the short post today kids, but I’ll make it up to you on Friday. Shout out to Havana Joe and the Stones Throw Crew who I will be doing some stuff with in the very near future. Keep Diggin’!

PS: Check Out my 20 Questions I answered over at the Beat Collector.

(Jonas Buntenbruch, Done : Daily Design Workout)

J’aime les journées qui commencent aussi bien.

Alors si en plus j’écoute ce morceau qui me donne autant de vitamine C que mon jus d’oranges pressées au petit dèj’, je pense qu’on est partis pour une bonne semaine !!!

Vous l’aurez sans doute remarqué, ce track est dans le génial mix “Brainfreeze” de DJ Shadow et Cut Chemist. Et oui, il est toujours bon de faire appel aux connaisseurs pour groover sur de la bonne early funk qui déboite. Au passage, j’ai appris hier que les 2 complices remettaient le couvert pour un nouveau show “only 45rpm”. Hard Sell… Pas encore eu la chance de l’écouter, mais si jamais l’un d’entre vous a eu ce privilège, je l’invite les bras ouverts pour partager ce plaisir chez moi, genre “let’s roll & lie down on the rocking chair”. A bon entendeur…

…Bonne semaine et à ce week end !

Lou Courtney – Hey Joyce