The deeper you dig into New Orleans music the more you realise you need to go way deeper just scrape the tip of the iceberg. Eventually you have to go back to the 50's to get the full picture of what was going on. New Orleans was relatively isolated city far away from Detroit or New York, a place where People like Joe Banashak, Allen Toussaint, Wardell Quezerque, Harold Battiste, Eddie Bo, Cosimo Matassa etc, helped make some of the best music ever recorded. With artists, producers, label owners, song writers crossing over left right and centre, its a tin of spaghetti that you have to study intricately. That's without trying to work out all the pseudonyms these guys recorded under, or made up artists A&R men would pass off a gathering of studio musicians as. About 40% of the soul 45's I own are from New Orleans, here's a few of the ones I just can't shut up about.
Alvin Robinson 'Down Home Girl' / 'Fever' RED BIRD

Classic double sider from 1964, mostly cover versions of Fever get me running for cover but this one is as menacingly obbsessive sounding as could be, when Alvin sings this song you know he means every word he says, the only version that comes close is of course the Cramps with Lux Interior at his most stark. Down Home Girl is as good as it gets for me when it comes to New Orleans gritty soul, on a song to song comparison this record is worth two 'You're Gonna Wreck My Life's'! He's a bit mean to his girl on this one, telling her she tasted like pork and beans and smells like turnip greens! But the way she moves and dresses certainly seems to get his attention, sending him running off to sunday mass to pray for forgiveness.
 
Warren Lee 'Funky Belly' Wand

This can be fairly tough to find, for a while I thought i'd never get it but unlike the Jokers 'Soul Sound' a copy now resides in my box, like most tough non rarities you wait for it to turn up and then 4 come along at once. Arranged by Allen Toussaint and produced by the Tou-sea partnership in 1968 after Warren left Allen's label roster to move to the bigger New York Wand label. A party-funk recording really with a fantastic call to the floor intro, the song is simply another sixties dance move called the 'Funky Belly' which instructs girls to 'get a hand in the air and starting to shake it up there then a hand to waist and start to stomp and shake all over the place' - not the most unique moves really! The sound sits somewhere between Dyke And The Blazers and Lee Dorsey with plenty of JB thrown in for good measure. Just how many dance moves were there back in the sixties?
 
The Bobby Williams Group 'Boogaloo Mardi Gras' Seven B

This was pretty much an unspoken collectors 45 until very recently, where there has been a serious price explosion with it jumping from £30 to £150 and that's just the Capitol issues and demos, lord knows what a Seven B first pressing would go for? Both sides of this 45 are of interest, Part 1 is pure caveman funk, no real song structure, just a pounding rhythm that builds and builds until eventually a single horn blares out before the 45 pounds away into the fade out. Part two takes the Big Chief funky Mardi Gras sound and turns the heat up. This time the horns are here in full force, wild, drunken and blaring. This Bobby Williams is the New Orleans drummer Bobby Williams who played that furious intro on Eddie Bo & Inez Cheathams "Lover And A Friend".
 
Carlton Basco 'Don't Chain My Soul' Freedom

Not strictly a New Orleans 45, instead from Alexandria in LA, I made a schoolboy error of selling my copy of this funk rarity half a year ago and panicked when I realised how I missed it, luckily another copy was sourced easily from a trusted New Orleans dealer who has a sensible idea of prices. This is one of the ultimates for me, that intro is fantastic and the song just stands out as a classic. Took me a while to accept the backing group vocals but its quirks like this that make a record a true gem. This is the John Wayne of funk 45's - a straight down the line, hard hitting pure funk belter. I dont know a damn thing about Carlton Basco other than he was a songwriter for the Freedom label and did a few other records on other labels that failed to make an impression.
UPDATE: click here to check my interview with Carlton's brother Charles
 

Danny White 'Natural Soul Brother' SSS Int.

I am a sucker for songs with soul food references and this one is packed full of them sung over a very tight funky soul beat. A Tou-Sea production which for those of you who don't know is Allen Toussaint and Marshall Seahorn - kind of a trademark of quality when it comes to New Orleans soul 45's, this duo were responsible for some of the best Nola labels including Amy, Tou-Sea, Sansu, Kansu and many more as well as lending their production skills and artists to many major labels. The flipside here is a pretty average ballad titled 'One Way Love Affair' that chugs along nicely but won't leave an impression.
 

Diamond Joe 'Gossip Gossip' Sansu

I love everything this chap did on the Sansu label, in particular 'Hurry Back To Me' which is criminally overlooked. 'Gossip Gossip' is certainly the best funk recording released on the Sansu label, on this one Joe steps up from his RnB origins to bring forth the funk in full effect and tells it how it is standing up against the gossip hounds to testify how he and his woman are stronger than that.

 

Elliott Small 'I'm A Devil' Always Better Sounds Records

Despite the label name this Wardell Quezerque production is a truly dreadful pressing, but what a sound! A stonking uptempo gritty soul mover which will be guarenteed to get your toes tapping, kicking straight into a dance floor orientated soul stomper, Elliot proclaims 'I'm a devil' to female backing of 'he's a booger man' leading to great harmonica playing and wooo's. Elliot quite openly proclaims his desires to not be tied down to one woman and to avoid love as it only brings sorrow, prefering many women at a time and for them to be gone in the morning. What a dog!
 
The Illusions 'Take It Easy' / 'It's Just An Illusion' Freedom

Wooooooo, I love this stuff, bought this 45 for the sweet soul rarity 'It's Just An IIllusion' but found this Carlton Basco penned masterpiece sitting on the flip, a very, very funky smoked out group vocal sound similar to Funk Train but so much better. The song is pretty much just guitar plodding bass and organ with a first class male lead backed by the Illusions who I wonder whether they are the same backing group used on carlton Basco's mighty 'Don't Chain My Soul'. 'It's just An Illusion' is sooooo soooo sweet and sexy, impossible to not fall in love with this 45. So rare and so good.
 
Inell Young 'The Next Ball Game' Big-9

I thought all the life was gone from this record after a few years of constant plays everywhere on the funk scene, but no, it appears the soulies have just discovered it and are paying quite a premium for the privalige of picking up a copy (up to £150! do they not get Garry Capes lists?). I remember when copies of this were selling for £30 because there was no one left to sell them to!

To be honest i'd taken this out of my play box and put it into the 'keep' collection, but after a few home spins i'd forgotten just how good this is, true the sound quality is pretty poor for an Eddie Bo production but the song transcends any production problems. It's almost a Detroit sound as far as the vocals are concerned but those tight drums pull it straight back to New Orleans. The flipside 'Part Of The Game' is a worthy soul sound.
 
John Williams & The Tick Tocks 'Do Me Like You Do Me' Sansu

I've got two John Williams 45's for you, both on Sansu, both first rate RnB stompers, no idea which is the harder 45 to pick up, that depends on which dealer you are talking to, I'd seen both of these for crazy prices but in the end ebay brought them to me for around $40 each. 'Do Me Like You Do Me' is personally my favourite of the two, a tale of a hard working guy who slaves his ass off to support his no good woman who treats him like dirt, possibly the only Sansu 45 to rival Curly Moore 'You Don't Mean'. An absolute ass spanker of a 45.
 
John Williams & The Tick Tocks 'A Little Tighter' Sansu

Quite a big RnB club track, maybe more sought after then the previous 45, this is a much tighter moddish sound, I always think I prefer 'Do Me...' and then I'll drop the needle on this... oooooh the dilema! Outragiously good. even soulies who pretend to not like RnB like this one! Both of these Tick Tocks 45's are pricey but with patience and ebay you'll get 'em. John Williams was shot dead in 1972, a tragedy that made Cyril Neville write his song 'Brother John', one wonders what he could have gone on to do if fate hadn't intervened. 'A Little Tighter' is not really about anything in particular, it just seems to be an urge to 'hold on, a little tighter'... oooh matron indeed!
 
June Gardner 'Mustard Greens' / '99 plus 1' Hot Line

'Mustard Greens' is a 'Tequila' style groover from the pen of the legendary Wardell Quezerque with very funky horns and hip hop drums that almost goes into 'Wade In The Water', this and the flipside '99 + 1' are just blatant tittyshakers, Goerge Davis' guitar is just pure texas-grind playing off against Walter Payton's solid bass and with all that tassle spinning brass section... Oooompph! I don't hear James Booker's organ in the mix, maybe he was out buying coffee on this session? 'Gentleman' June Gardner was the drummer and damn was he was hot! June Gardner of course will always be remembered for his performance on Lee Dorsey's 'Get Out Of My Life Woman'.
 

Lenny McDaniels & The New Era 'Something Out Of Nothing' Seven B

I'd tried to get this 45 for so long, it's one of the toughest and most expensive Seven B's and in my opinion one of the best, not strictly funk, in fact its a missing link between garage punk and New Orleans funk. Sadly dissmissed by a lot of heavyweight black music collectors as it's a blue eyed 45. This is a great shame really because it's absolutely stunning and deserves to be heard by a wider audience in order to find it's rightful place in the history of New Orleans music. Written by Earl Stanley (Roger And The Gypsies) and recorded at Muscle Shoals when he was a mere 15, according to Lenny himself when I phoned him to ask about this.

The song starts off with a stabbing organ opening followed by a couple of yelps leading to lots of pounding and thumping with Lenny singing about how he's gotta make a pile of money so that when he's old and helpless he can have a happy home, it sounds sweet but if you heard him hoopin' and hollerin' and spluttering these words then you'd think twice, you can hear the urgency in his voice, this was his first big break on Joe Banashaks mighty Seven B label and this hungry young kid was giving it his all. Plenty of organ work, plenty of breakdowns and soooooo much soul! Good god, listening to this song makes you want to jump up and dance like a lunatic.

Lenny started off his career backing up artists like Aaron Neville, Benny Spellman and Ernie K-Doe at high school dances and even today he is still out there recording and playing live, he has quite a reputation as one of the best guitar players in New Orleans.

 
Marty Lewis 'I Don't Want Nobody' Alon

One of Marty's earlier records on Joe Banashak's Alon label and definately his cheapest, two sides of pure RnB, two quite early moddish dancers, lovely stuff. Kicks off with a standard blues opening, Marty singing Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, then the harmonica and rhythm section kicks in. The Piano on this track is great, taking it out of the standard RnB format and giving it a wild splash of that marvelous New Orleans flavour, could that be Allen Toussaint tinckering with those keys? The flipside is also worth checking out, 'Holding Onto What I Got' written by Naomi Neville (Toussaints alias) and Marty, this is a bit more straight forward, the kind of sound the Stones sold millions of records mimicking.
 
Mary Jane Hooper 'That's How Strong Love Is' Audition Records

I love this Mary Jane Hooper 45, her voice sounds so good against Eddie Bo's backing vocals, her performance is miles better than 'I've Got Reason's' in my opinion, it's just got a little more depth and soulfulness, the backing is not quite up to scratch, probably why it tends to be overlooked by most collectors. The flipside 'I Feel A Hurt' is pretty good as well, Eddies moody organ playing is magnificent against Mary Janes deep soul vocals.
 
Johnnie Jackson feat. Merle Spears 'What You Gonna Do' / 'Wisdom Of A Fool' J-Mer

Two fantastic sides, and if Andy Dyson is right then Merle is a blue eyed singer, I don't doubt his musical knowledge but I just find it so hard to believe, on 'Wisdom' that voice is so, so deep. Johnnie Jackson and the Blazers were allegedly a made up act, Merle was Johnnie Jackson and J-Mer his own label. Issued by legendary studio master Cosimo Matassa's Dover Records which helped countless struggling artists and DIY labels to get their music to the people. Without Dover New Orleans music would have suffered even greater than it already did, they are a mere footnote in history but a damned important one at that.

It's a pretty tough one to find, but when it does surface it never commands much. This is the demo copy which in the style of a true DIY job is exactly the same as an issue, Merle probably stamped that DJ-Copy on himself. His collected 45 is 'I Want To Know' released on the Baton Rouge Whit label and then picked up by Atlantic for National Distriibution. I'm not a big fan of that 45, it sounds a bit formulaic and like a singer going through the motions. These two sides however, they are proper belters. 'What You Gonna Do' is a punchy uptempo gritty soul stomper, Merle sounds kind of like Bobby Bland only deeper and rawer! The ryhthm section is pure muscle shoals with only the sax letting it down. I'd love to know who that rhythm section was, cause on 'Wisdom' they are superb, providing a moody sublime pace, the sax player really sorts his performance out on this one and provides some great blasts and refrains. Merles Voice is the star here, singing a tale of woe and suffering. Begging you to listen to the wisdom of a fool.
 
Oliver Morgan 'Once Upon A Time' Recording Artists Productions

By the lyrics i'd guess that this was written after his Seven B work, it's very much in the style of 'Roll Call' and 'la la man' but sung in a past sense, singing a glowing tribute to all his old idols and friends. This is pretty tough to pick up but that doesn't mean it'll set you back a fortune, it has recently gone for a few dollars on ebay so a bit of hunting will secure it.

Oliver was brought up in New Orleans Ninth Ward where he would often pop around to his neighbour Jessie Hill's and jam with Eddie Bo and Professor Longhair, after discovering James Brown he picked up the soul style and to make his act more unique he adopted the umbrella as a stage prop borrowing its iconic reference from the second line jazz parade. Legend has it that Oliver peformances often led to the entire audience being led out of the club in one mini carnival line through the streets of New Orleans!
 
Raymond Winnfield 'Things Could Be Better' Fordom

Suicide funk or merely depressive funk? Either way it's an incredible 45. Based around 'Thing's Are Better' the flipside of Ernie And The Top Notes Inc's Dap Walk. This track although credited to label owner Albion Ford was actually written and arranged by Ernie & The Top Notes, according to an interview with Ernie Vincent over at Stones Throw Raymond was a local car mechanic and handyman who was friends with Albion, so into the studio he went! Raymonds raw gutteral screams put Sky Saxon into the genre of childrens musician, this is so sublimely heavy. I own an original copy of 'Dap Walk' but this one is just a bit more unusual.
 
Raymond Lewis ' I'm Gonna Put Some Hurt On You' Instant

The 1962 original of a tune thats been covered by just about every southern soul singer under the sun including a great version by Alvin Robinson. This is the one I keep coming back to, Raymond was the bass player for Huey "Piano" Smith, the man responsible for Skip Easterling's smash hit 'I'm Your Hoochie Cootchie Man' as well as countless other classics. The song has Raymond wanting to know where his woman has been until this time of the morning dressed in all those fine clothes. The flipside to this 45 is the spectacular Allen Toussaint penned 'Nine Cents Worth of Chances' where over Allens killer piano a big barritone voice counts up to 9 with Raymond singing about how many chances he's given his woman.
 
Shirley & Jessie 'You Can't Fight Love' Wand

New Orleans legend Jessie Hill recorded so many great 45's and was right there at the begining, he was signed to Minit by Joe Banashak after learning his trade with Professor Longhair's band and then with Huey "Piano" Smith. He hit big with his first release the 1960 classic rock n' roller 'Ooh Poo Pah Doo' recorded at Cosimo Matassa's studio where Little Richard cut the mighty 'Tutti Frutti', Roy Brown cut 'Good Rockin' Tonight' and stacks of other timeless recordings were made. After trying without success to match the commercial success of 'Ooh Poo Pah Doo' he ended up leaving New Orleans for Los Angeles and working with Dr John and Shirley Goodman, this is where the trio responsible for this soul classic came together. Both vocalists turn out their best performance on this duet, the influence of Dr John is really strong on Jessies vocal while Shirley wailing vocal is just as raw as they come.
 
Skip Easterling 'The Grass Looks Greener' Alon

Not listed the flipside this time around as it's already in the sounds section and the subject of a recent interview with Skip which can be found under the features section. Instead I thought we'd pick out the A side and big New Orleans hit, a classic Eddie Bo soul sound that gets better and better with each listen. Written and arranged by Eddie, who I imagine is playing piano here, Skips voice is superb, full of delicate soul and heart broken emotion, at the session Eddie advised Skip by telling him... "don't listen to Joe don't listen to anyone just sing the song from your heart the way you feel it. That is soul". A fairly obvious piece of advise but it sure worked. This is without doubt the best Eddie Bo arranged ballad i've yet heard.
 
Tobias Wood Henderson 'Color Blind Man' Pulsar

With a name that would make you think of a porn star before a soul singer... Tobias was one of the first white guys to play within a coloured band, this was back in the 50's, between then and spending a long wilderness as a herion addict Tobias cut this 45 and the LP it's taken from - 'Blue Stone' in 1968. Arranged by Harold Battiste - keeper of one of the finest beards in soul! With an instantly recognisable piano riff from Dr John that makes this such a killer. This is pure stetson funk fit for listening to on the finest white stallion. A song about ridiculousness of skin colour prejudice that not only strikes an important message but also works wonders for the feet and soul.
 
Wallace Johnson 'Baby Go Ahead' Sansu

A lesser known Sansu 45 that should by rights be up there with the Tick Tocks and Curly Moore. Wallace has the most astonishing and distinctive voice, he recorded a few cuts for the AFO label before moving to Sansu where he cut this and 'If You Leave Me'. Wallace is still at it, he now lives in Atlanta where he performs regularly. The song is about a guy who tells his woman that if she wants to break his heart then to just go ahead, he is prepared to love her until she dies, but if she wants to throw his love away, then go ahead. These themes are so sad! The music is just awesome check out that organ section at the end.
 
Willie Tee 'I want Somebody (To Show Me The Way Back Home)' Atlantic

Willie was schooled under the legendary Harold Battiste, with whom he released his first 45 in 1962, 'Always Accused' on Harolds AFO label. He went on to work with Wardell Quezerque at Nola where he released the awesome 'Please Don't Go' and 'Walking Up A One Way Street' as well as being licensed out to other labels such as Atlantic, before establishing his own Gatur Records label where he led the fabulous funk outfits The Gaturs and worked with The Wild Magnolias, just about everything Willie touched turned to gold. Willie was also a great session musician and songwriter his credits turn up all over the place, In 1969 he went on to co-write Margie Joseph's fantastic hit record 'One More Chance' on Stax's side label Volt which is currently selling for 3 times its value.

This particular soul 45 is one that I had never heard until a phone trading session with a mysterious RnB collector one evening, Willies vocals sound like Robert Johnson singing at 200mph. Wardell Quezerque's arrangements are first class. The lyrics are a plea for someone to help him come back down to earth following his ego inflatating with fame and money. Credited to 'Turbinton' which was Willies family name - Wilson Turbinton. Absolutely stunning.

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