The Upper Shelves

Jerry Byrne - Ligths Out

2010-08-21T05:52:00.000-07:00

Jerry Byrne was born in the Irish quarters of New Orleans. He was only seventeen when he recorded this little rock and roll monster. It was written by his cousin Mac Rebennack, who was also seventeen years old. At that point Mac was yet to become Dr. John. For Both Jerry and Mac it was their first studio experience.

The tempo on Ligths Out is simply insane. Before you know it the lights are out. The piano solo (played by Art Neville) is wild and out of control. The lyrics are just naughty. First line: “Standin’ on the front porch grabbed her and kissed her, boy was I surprised when It was your little sister”. The year is 1958.

Jerry Byrne passed away april 7^th of this year.

Irma Thomas - It's Raining

2010-04-22T13:01:00.000-07:00

Spring. Is there a better season? I doubt it. Nights are getting longer, skirts are getting shorter. And because spring in Holland also means rain, I put on Irma Thomas to sing those clouds away with a stunningly simple, but gorgeous song about rain and missing someone. I miss Martin Bril. He was a Dutch writer who sadly passed away a year ago. His short stories made me feel as if it was spring every day. So, without Martin around to make rainy days feel like spring, I will put on Irma one more time.

Sugar Pie Desanto - Soulful Dress

2010-04-01T13:12:00.000-07:00

Sugar Pie Desanto was a tiny woman with a big talent. She could sing, she could write and, man, could she perform! Her performance was energetic, charismatic and acrobatic. Born as Umpeylia Marsema Balinton in Brooklyn in 1935, her family moved to the Fillmore area in San Francisco in the late thirties. This would turn out a pretty good move. The rhythm and blues that was played in the clubs of late fifties and early sixties San Francisco shaped Sugar Pie.

In the following years she was lucky to be in very talented company. She formed a group, The Creolettes, with Etta James. That was rechristened Etta James & The Peaches by Johnny Otis. Later she went on to perform on her own gaining a lot of experience as the opening act for the James Brown revue all over America. Along the way she was picked up by the Chess Brothers who released her songs on Chess and Checker records.

Soulful Dress is a great song to play at an insane volume as you are preparing to go out on a Saturday night. At one point Sugar Pie hollers: “If you wanna keep your man, you better get as sharp as you can...” and you know she means it. So ladies, look out and watch your fellow for Sugar Pie is out to steal your man!

Mary Love - Dance Children

2010-03-27T03:41:00.000-07:00

Written and produced by the great Ashford and Simpson I thought this Mary Love track is just perfect for the weekend. Mary commands us to dance, but with this solid beat there's nothing much else to do than dance!

Mary Love herself is one of those Soul troopers that never did quite made it, but is still active today. Her Modern recordings have gradually become legendary in some cicles and are well worth checking out. Soulsource had the pleasure of interviewing Mary a few years back. Still a great read on this power house.

Available on The Real Thing: The Songs of Ashford, Simpson and Armstead

The Music Explosion - Little Bit O' Soul

2010-03-23T03:21:00.000-07:00

Granted, the Music Explosion were not the first to record this track, the Little Darlings were. The Darlings however failed to make any impression on the airwaves, while the Music Explosion were everywhere for a while, raching all the way up to #2 in the charts. For the Music Explosion it was their only real hit, but at least they remain Garage legends to this day!

The Mc Coys - Say Those Magic Words

2010-03-20T03:32:00.000-07:00

The Mc Coys was one of those bands that scored one monster hit only to slip into obscurity afterwards. Theirs was Hang On Sloopy. A cover of My Girl Sloopy by the Vibrations. Bt as is often the case, being a one hit wonder, doesn't mean they don't have a few killer 45s to spare. Say Those Magic words is one of those 45s that went unnoticed by the larger public. The air waves were poorer for it!

Major Lance - Monkey Time

2010-02-23T01:00:00.000-08:00

Aside from being a brilliant song writer, vocalist and guitar player, Curtis Mayfield produced many great singles for other artists. It always amazes me just how many great records Curtis Mayfield recorded on himself with the impressions and others on the side. He was without a doubt one of the most creative souls ever to grace the recording industry.

Monkey Time is one of my favorites. Though it is arguably just a throw away dance record few dance records sound quite as warm and inviting. Any good dance record should invite you to join in the fun of whatever dance it promotes. With its punchy horns and it's subtle dragging funk groove you can't help but shout and shimney even though the record sounds almost unbearably light. Monkey Time is simply just one of those great mysteries that pull you in, whether you want to or not. The music begins to play and automatically you're on your way.

Available on Curtis Mayfield's Chicago Soul

Thurston Harris - Be Baba Leba

2010-02-21T02:11:00.000-08:00

Thurston Harris is know as a one hit wonder from the sunny state of California. He scored a whopping million seller with Little Bitty Pretty One, after which not much happened. Not for the lack of great singles though. Be Baba Leba sounds so irresistible that it should have been another million seller.

The record opens a bit tame, with a few rather fruity back up singers. But as soon Thurston storms in it's a rave. Thurston Harris shows he could be a furious shouter and translates the joy of this fine 45 with a fervorous fervor. Again, it is one of those places where we all have been. Just every once in a great while we all meet that one person that'll make you Be Baba Leba just at the prospect of seeing her again. Simply because that sweetness doesn't let itself describe any better than simply Be Baba Leba. So Be Baba Leba my friends!

Of course, the original in this case is by Helen Humes, in a great early jump blues version.

Thurston's version is available as a vinyl reissue. What better reason to dust off your turn table right?

Bobby Fuller Four - Don't Ever Let Me Know

2010-02-16T13:22:00.000-08:00

Bobby Fuller is often characterized as something of a Buddy Holly impersonator. While Bobby did was a big fan of the horn glassed R&R legend and modelled many of his records to Holly's example, Fuller also managed to turn out a few stompers who came closer to Motown and the British Invasion bands of his day. Don't Ever Let Me Know is a prime example of one such singles.

Driven by a propelling beat and chipper hand claps, Don't Ever Let Me Know is a rather desperate lover's plea. The Fuller on this record knows he's being two timed by his baby, knows she's too much woman for one man. But, he'd rather not know. In ignorance he can enjoy his own vision on their love. Not knowing he can uphold that chipper outlook on their relationship and imagine he's got plenty of reason to celebrate his love in this fine stomper.

Available on I Fought the Law: The Best of the Bobby Fuller Four

Paul Chaplain & His Emeralds - Shortnin' Bread

2010-02-13T04:18:00.000-08:00

Another favorite of the Cramps. Paul Chaplain is one of those cats that sort of just popped in and out of the recording industry to leave us with that one killer record. Released in 1960, this raving version of an old folk song, is about as wild as a record ever got. The Emeralds were a band that were as Country as a band could get. They even had fiddles. I couldn't tell you where the fiddles went on this monster though. It is all wild swinging guitars and a whooping and hollering vocals on this great little disc. Unfortunately, it proved too wild for America at the time and never made it beyond the lower regions of the Billboard Top 100. Chappy, as people called Paul, released one more 45, Swinging in the Rockies. The fire burned short and fast.

Available on Theme Time Radio Hour: With Your Host Bob Dylan

Shorty Long - Devil With the Blue Dress On

2010-02-10T03:40:00.001-08:00

Shorty Long was something of an oddity in the Motown household. Next to Smokey Robinson he was one of the few artists that Gordy allowed to produce and write his own material. Within Motown he was a jack of all trades, playing various instruments on unidentified recordings and doing the MC honors on the Motown Revue. Shorty's records for Motown, Here Come the Judge,Function at the Junction and this gem were unlike any other record Motown became famous for. Shorty Long was greasier and fatter than anything else that came from Hitsville at the time. Shorty's career was cut short when he drowned in lake Michigan but this 45 continued to appeal to generations of great bands.

Come 1966 Mitch Ryder first made this song into a proper hit with a rather souped up version of it. Mitch set Little Richard behind the wheels of Shorty's ride. Mitch's version was subsequently picked up by the Cramps and Bruce Springsteen. Yet none of those versions have that dangerous sly and sexy feel to it. On Shorty's record you can actually see those fine hips strutting down the boulevard, packed in that tight blue dress, you can smell the Chanel no 5 in her neck. When you hear Shorty's you know he's talking about the kind of woman that will get you high and mighty, wind you up, make you crazy, before, of course, she'll let you fall smack down on your face. This record is a mighty dangerous attraction.

Available on The Essential Collection

Tony Joe White - Polk Salad Annie

2010-02-07T07:45:00.000-08:00

Like we said, we're not adverse to hits over at this place. Polk Salad Annie is one of my favorite grooves with that steady plucking base and those punchy horns. Polk Salad Annie is a down home and country as Soul music could get. Especially with Southern Soul the racial lines were ofter more blurred than Rock mythology has it. Though Southern Soul is often seen as a more pure expression of African American culture, the reality learns that music was much more a shared experience in the South. Socially and politically all the communication lines were closed for the longest times. But in the great Stax and Fame studios they were wide open. Tony Joe White recorded this fine 45 with the same Muscle Shoals musicians as were used on the legendary recordings by Aretha Franklin and Percy Sledge, using a mixed band of Country and R&B musicians. I just picked it because after all these years it still sound so damn tasty! These days the song is best remembered in Elvis's version, but Tony Joe White was the real deal!

Available on The Best of Tony Joe White

Al Wilson - The Snake

2010-02-05T05:24:00.000-08:00

This is one of those records that I heard years ago and kept haunting me. I knew it was called the Snake, but I didn't know who sang the damn tune. These days the internet will get you a long way in trying to uncover those kinds of mysteries, but in those days I still had to rely on help from my local Dutch record store. Soul has never been a big thing in Holland, like it was in Britain, so for the longest time nobody knew what I was talking about. You really have to find out everything for yourself over in this country! Then I ran into a record by Oscar Brown jr, including a track called the Snake. Same song, different performer as it turned out to be. Though I have been told it was the original version of the songs and its jazzy feel has grown on me over time. Fast forward a few years, somebody slips me an old mix tape and there it was the Snake! Al Wilson was the cat I was looking for! On eBay the record kept eluding me after that, until I found this Belgian print nobody wanted. So after all these years its a delight to finally present to you the Snake!

Available on the forgotten Soul classic Searching for the Dolphins

And because I love you all so much, I'll throw in Oscar Brown Jr's version as well. If you ever come across one of his albums, pick it up, you won't be disappointed by his brand of cocktail Jazz. Oscar Brown Jr had this uneasy edge that simmers below the surface. Great stuff!

Available on Kicks! The Best of Oscar Brown Jr.

Arthur Alexander - A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues

2010-02-03T06:20:00.000-08:00

To me this 45 brings back the memory of entering Rooky Ricardo’s Records in San Francisco for the first time. A record store that should be named Heaven for Record Collectors. A young man with specs big enough to function as a windshield in an open car asked me if I had a list. I did. I handed him the list hoping he would come back with one or two singles from the endless piece of paper. Instead he came back with a pile of 45’s costing $40 altogether. At that point (two years ago) the dollar wasn’t worth crap. Well, it still isn’t.

This beauty, recorded in 1961, was standing on a small display on the counter in its original Dot company sleeve. It went on my pile because of a-side “You better Move On”. But at home I realized that flipside “A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues” was an even nicer find. Alexander sings the song, almost without time to breathe, over a delicious groove. A groove that will make you stand up from your chair and start to shake your hips. The only thing I dislike about the song is the fact it fades out at 1.40 seconds. In my opinion this song should go on forever.

The song also made an appearance on The Beatles’ BBC sessions album. While listening to their version I noticed how big the comparison is with Lennon and McCartney’s “I Saw Her Standing There”. To put it stronger: they stole the riff and made it their own. Listen to both songs and judge for yourself.

Wendy Rene - Bar-B-Q

2010-02-01T01:28:00.000-08:00

It is around this time of year that I really start to get the itch for spring. Somehow I kid myself every year into thinking that spring begins in February. Maybe it is all the crocuses springing up! I get a deep graving for Bar-B-Q even though it is cold and dark outside. My mouth starts to water when I think of Hot-Dogs and Hamburgers. Unfortunately spring is months away. Untill then we'll just have to make do with this great Wendy Rene record. It certainly feels like spring when she heats up the turn table!

Available on After Hours 2: More Northern Soul Masters

Tommy Hunt - I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself

2010-01-27T01:14:00.000-08:00

Warning! This record is not cut for the dancefloor and certainly not for the faint of heart. I love a good heartbreak record. In times where I've got something good going they help me appreciate what I've got. During blue days, they are the best companion I can think off. Nothing helps more than a good Soul record to really let it all hang out.

Tommy Hunt's version of this great Burt Bacharach song is about as good as a heartbreak record gets. The feeling is, I think, universal. Everybody goes through this after they lost a love. You really do need to refind yourself, find ways to deal with yourself. Everybody has been there, but it is good to have big men like mister Hunt to remind you of that.

Available on The Biggest Man

Larry Williams - You Bug Me, Baby

2010-01-25T12:54:00.000-08:00

There is only one Larry Williams. Which, in fact, is not true. Because Larry is a pretty common name in America. As is Williams. But this Larry Williams is a one-in-a-kind Larry Williams. He helped to shape rock ‘n’ roll in a major way.

In a better world Larry would be known by people all over the world as one of rock ‘n’ rolls originators. At this moment that is only the case with Elvis Presley. Maybe also Jerry Lee Lewis. And some people know Little Richard and Chuck Berry, but Larry Williams seems to be ignored like if he had the swine flu. He didn’t. He did have “The Rockin’ Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu” though. Permanently.

The fact that British invasion honcho’s like the Beatles (Dizzy Miss Lizzy, Slow Down & Bad Boy), the Who (Bony Moronie) and the Rolling Stones (She Said Yeah) covered his songs kinda makes it up. This little stop-and-go love song is, in my opinion, one of his nuggets.

Ned Towns - BINGO!

2010-01-23T01:07:00.000-08:00

My grandmother loves to play bingo. Unfortunately she's too old to shake her hips to this curious 45. I never had the stomach for bingo, I simply couldn't stand the tension. This fine platter is the ultimate tension releaver though. I never knew my granny had this much fun! B-I-N-G-O!!!

The Marathons - Peanut Butter

2010-01-21T01:18:00.000-08:00

This record definitely falls into he category nuttiness. Grinded nuttiness, fat and greasy nuttiness, sticky nuttiness. The Marathons are actually the Vibrations of the Watusi fame. The Arvee label wanted to rush out this nuttiness and had originally intended it to be for the Olympics. Unfortunately they were on tour, so the Vibrations got a crack at it. However, since they were signed to Chess, a name change was needed. Or maybe they just didn't want people to know that this nuttiness was theirs. A sticky situation indeed.

Available on Chess Story 1957-1964

Wilson Picket - Land of 1000 Dances

2010-01-20T01:37:00.000-08:00

Land of 1000 Dances by the Wicked Picket is probably a too big a hit to surprise anybody with. I'm just posting it here so I can share this fantastic YouTube video with you. I'd say it is the best version of the song ever put on film! Although this one is a strong contender.

Available on Wilson Pickett's Greatest Hits

Chuck Berry - Jaguar and Thunderbird

2010-01-17T07:20:00.000-08:00

With “Jaguar and Thunderbird” Charles Edward Anderson Berry, better known as Chuck Berry, invented rap music. Well, kinda. The verses sure sound like a rap. Of course Chuck B. wasn’t a b-boy in the Chuck D. kinda way. And “Jaguar and Thunderbird” is just a good ol’ rock ‘n’ roll song about a car race in the streets of Loudonville, NY. The coolness of the song was also noticed by a wide range of artists from The Troggs to Thee Headcoats and from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers to Mano Negra. They all covered it in their own unique way. But the semi-cool way Chuck Berry ‘raps’ the verses over a rollicking bar piano in the original version is unbeatable.

Marv Johnson - Come on and Stop

2010-01-16T01:38:00.000-08:00

Nobody pleads quite as convincing and casually as Marv Johnson. Particulary on this great record produced by the late great Bert Berns. Most Pop and rock fans know Berns because of his affiliation with the young Van Morrison. But Berns produced some of the finest R&B singles of the sixties. In creativity he could easily compete with Phil Spector or Leiber & Stoller. His use of symphonic influences and exotic rhythms was a huge influence on the Beatles and their generation.

Come on and Stop is one of his most catching and overlooked 45s in my book. It perfectly captures how we sometimes in our playfulness and carelessness manage to hurt those closest. Marv's plea illustrates how hard it is not to. In other words, this is a killer make up and kiss record. The dancing is just a bonus on this one.

Available on The Bert Berns Story Volume 1: Twist & Shout 1960-1964

Nolan Strong - Mind Over Matter (I'm Gonna Make You Mine)

2010-01-14T12:20:00.000-08:00

Devora Brown was known for running the small Detroit based Fortune Records with her husband Jack. While big Detroit bro Motown were known for their their polished pop sounds, Fortune were known for their raunch. Stars on the label were Andre Williams, Nolan Strong and the Diablos and the late, great Nathaniel Mayer.

As many songs from the Fortune songbook “Mind Over Matter” was written by Devora Brown herself. She did a fine job. As did Mr. Strong and the Diablos singing the tune. That was also noticed by Motown boss Berry Gordy who talked the Pirates (who were actually the Temptations) into covering the song on his new label Melody Records. The Upper Shelves prefer Nolan’s raunchy version over the polished Pirates version.

Available on The Diablos - Motor-City Detroit Doo-Wops - Volume 1

The Jewels Smokie Joe's

2010-01-13T04:03:00.000-08:00

There are lots of Smokie Joe's in the world of R&B. Most famously used in a song by the Coasters. Maybe it is a real place, I don't know. If it is, it sure sounds like a hell of a party on most records. My favourite Smokie's is the one by the Jewels. This fine mover was written by Ashford and Simpson, who went on to do great things at Motown. The record was produced by James Brown. So the Jewels kind of sound like the love child of Berry Gordy and the hardest working man in show business.

Available on The Real Thing: The Songs of Ashford, Simpson and Armstead

Little Archie - I'm a Carpet

2010-01-09T01:50:00.000-08:00

Our first 45 is actually the B-Side to the magnificent Deep Soul Ballad "I Need You." This here is a mighty fine stomper, guarenteed to get the floor moving. "I'm a Carpet" is one of the sides Little Archie recorded for the Dial label, home of the late Joe Tex. The songs holds between masochistic celebration and funky defiance.

Available on The Dial Records Southern Soul Story