The Chambers Brothers > In the Midnight Hour
Composed by Wilson Pickett & Steve Cropper
It’s really rare when a cover happily surprises. And grooves hard.
Chambers Brothers Week #3
Cover #54
The Chambers Brothers > Romeo and Juliet
Composed by Lester Chambers
The quality of the original songwriting on this LP was as strong as the covers. Don’t know if they’re adapted gospel melodies or what, but they cut deeply.
Chambers Brothers Week #2
Ballad #43
The Chambers Brothers > Uptown
Composed by Betty Mabry (Davis)
To most everyone they’re a one hit wonder. But I love this album.
The Temptations > Get Ready
Composed by Smokey Robinson
Ella (or Norman) picked a good one.
What Was That? Week #2
Legends of Soul #10
Legends of Songwriting #18
Ella Fitzgerald > Get Ready
Composed by Smokey Robinson
By the end of the 60s the jazzbos were in a complete panic and would cover anything that would seem to make them relevant again. Luckily, the fear would subside within a couple of years and they great could resume being great.
Here’s the original.
What Was That? Week #1
Legends of Swing #3
Cover #50
Legends of Songwriting #18
Sam & Dave > Hold On, I’m A-Comin’
Composed by Isaac Hayes & David Porter
I’m even sure I had heard of soul music, as separate from pop or rock or hits or whatever, before I joined this group. It didn’t occur to me where my bandmates found all these great records, but they kept showing up with them and we kept learning them. These guys turned me on to everything from Smokey Robinson to Pink Floyd, and everything in between; it was an incredibly vital moment for the world, and for me personally.
It seems like we gravitated towards the Southern soul of Stax a bit more than Motown (though we did play Shotgun), maybe because of our instrumentation. We existed at the peak of soul as pop, which was just OK.
Neglekted Few Week #7
Legends of Soul #40, #41, #42
Legends of Pop #12
Tribute to Isaac Hayes #6
Otis Redding > Respect
Composed by Otis Redding
In the haze of a 40 year look back, I think of us as a soul combo. Though we probably looked at ourselves as a rock group, or a covers band. I remember rehearsing Respect out on Ray portico overlooking the beach the summer of ‘67 after Aretha made it a pop smash. Our arrangement was from Otis (via The Vagrants of Long Island, Farfisa and all), and Rodney couldn’t avoid Ree’s “R.E.S.P.E.C.T! “
Peaches & Herb > For Your Love
Composed by Ed Townsend
Our band was blessed with incredible vocal chops. Rodney was our lead singer and had the voice of a black angel. But when you added Phil and Ray, and trumped it with the three of them practicing in the school choir every week, we beat everyone in the harmony department, hands down.
It was the other guys who brought in most of our great material, including this Peaches & Herb track, which was one of our shining moments. (We even sang it on WABC Radio’s battle of the band competition, Cousin Brucie’s “Big Break.” Alas, we didn’t win.) They could sing the hell out of this one.
Neglekted Few Week #3
Ballad #38
Wilson Pickett > In the Midnight Hour
Composed by Wilson Pickett & Steve Cropper
In 9th grade my great friend Rodney Johnson and I had a “band” because after the Beatles you had to be in a band. I taught myself guitar (you had to play guitar; accordian and flute, my other two instruments didn’t really work), Rodney sang and played tambourine (he was a drummer, but we had no drums), and our buddy Phil Couremanche played second guitar. Rodney named us “The Evil Lords” (hah!).
In the 10th grade we got together with Phil Alexander on guitar and vocals, Ray Frisby on drums and vocals, and Brian North on bass. Now we had a real band.
“In the Midnight Hour” was our closer at every gig (though it’s really a cheat playing Wilson’s here; we copped The Rascals ). Rodney was an unbelievable singer, and had some of Wilson’s moves to bring the house down.
The Young Rascals > Come On Up
Composed by Felix Cavaliere
For 18 months in high school I was in a rock band (if you were my age, who didn’t?) and our patron saints were the Young Rascals. They weren’t from Long Island, but they might as well have been. Our opening number alternated between this tune and Gimme Some Lovin’ (by the Spencer Davis Group). The opening guitar chord screech set a great mood for the night.
