Rather than do what I did on my 1 year anniversary, which is thank, Sally Field-style (but with detail), everyone I ever knew. I'm gonna go ahead and make a "regular" post to celebrate my MOG birthday. Suffice it to say, I love the people who made MOG, the people who make MOG, and the people who are no longer on MOG, that made the 2 years of my first online community experience so stellar.

So if I could post about anything and its my party, just for a few minutes, what would I post about? James Brown, of course. Here goes:

Hip Hop folks have entourages,posses,labels,and clothing lines. George Clinton had his P-Funk mob releasing records on multiple labels and touring as a self contained revue filling sheds from coast to coast. Where do these folks get their funk from? Why, in more ways than one, they get it from the Godfather, James Brown.

When JB started in the 50’s, R+B artists often appeared in revues, singing their hits only, in short sets, before packing it all into a bus and moving to the next stop on the chitlin’ circuit. Early on JB started travelling and appearing on bills where he supplied all the acts. That way he could get all the money.

In the studio James Brown was ultra-prolific, making his own records, records for folks in his revue, records for his bands, and records for just about anyone he heard first. Mr. Hot Pants aka Across the Track from The Believers was released to little acclaim (or sales) on James’ BrownStone imprint (a joint venture w/Florida record man Henry Stone). In the ever convoluted world o’Mr. Brown, The Believers = The JB’s (1971 version)led by Fred Wesley, doin’ a tune originally called Pot of Grass, that was mostly put together in a jam session arranged by Dave Matthews (one of the key folks in the control room for James in the 70’s). The tune resurfaced (as many due in JB land) in ’74 for Maceo and the Macks, after Mr. Parker returned from one of the biggest mutinies in GFOS band history.

James Brown ran a tough and tight ship. No doubt it was a thrilling gig, but folks in James’ employ were on salary, and on call 24-7. Contributions (arranging,writing,reheresing) band members like Maceo made, were not often awarded with credit or cash, and in 1970 Maceo led a whole group of disgruntled folks away from James.

The Godfather was not amused and when Maceo & All The King’s Men released their Doin’ Their Own Thing record on the miniature House Of Fox label. Mr.Brown pulled every string he could to make it a failure on radio. JB had chits for days with radio folks so his blockade was successful and Maceo’s record went nowhere. The funk of Better Half deserved a better fate, but that’s the way the worm turned for those in the orbit of James Brown. After one more album the majority of the King’s Men returned to the bus in ’72. The personnel shuffle was an ongoing thing for JB’s bands, but the turnover in the female vocalist department was even more pronounced.

My records show no fewer than 14 women with sides cut under the supervision of The Boss. For awhile there James seemed to use his revue as a personal dating service, as he was often romantically linked with his female employees. Not to mention that its rumored that he fathered kids with his charges more than once. Not an easy job for any aspirant female singer, but there were some excellent records born out of these unions as well. The Queens of the JB revue with the most prolific recording schedules were Marva Whitney, Vicki Anderson, and Lyn Collins. Please see their killer contributions in comments. Vivki Anderson, it should be noted, didn’t date the GFOS because she was married to long time JB associate, Bobby Byrd (RIP).

Mr. Byrd’s family in Augusta,GA adopted a young James Brown out of reform school, so Bobby and James grew up and started in the music biz together from the early 50’s, with Mr. Byrd in the role of big brother to the ever excitable, always motivated, and driven to succeed James Brown . Bobby’s records made while in the JB camp were hard, fast, and funky..top flight stuff. Check Sayin’ It.. in comments. Despite the long relationship, Bobby Byrd left the revue on a few occasions, including a stint with his wife in the 90’s where they cut some nice records in Europe where they fell in with the burgeoning acid jazz/raw funk scene.

Originally a bass player for the JB’s in ‘68, "Sweet" Charles Sherrell, had a deep history in music, including a stint with Aretha Franklin’s touring band, tutelage from Curtis Mayfield, and early playing with Billy Cox, and a young Jimi Hendrix. When JB needed a bass player he did not mess around and recruited "Sweet" Charlie. A multi-instrumentalist, Sherrell, later went on to play keyboards for James, and voiced an album in 75 (For Sweet People) on JB’s People label. (see Outta sight,Outta mind in comments). "Sweet Charles" is still playing today, mostly in Europe.

Throughout the 60’s almost all of JB’s side projects (and his solo work) were released on Syd Nathan’s King Records. In the 70’s after switching to Polydor, JB got his own imprint for side projects, called People records. A King studio band (all white BTW), The Dapps, were led by drummer,Beau Dollar. Beau got the credit for Who Knows, but the Dapps were all there for this ’70 stormer from the second string.

One of the first album releases on People Records was The JB’s Food For Thought. Cut between ’70 and ‘71, it featured the funk and future sample classic Pass The Peas..easily an all time fave of mine. Fred Wesley’s trombone solos on Peas, thousands of listens later still transport and when the beat drops after the intro, it never fails to move me and my butt. If this record was cologne it’d be Eau De Funk!

The situation around James Brown was always fluid..folks coming and folks going, but as these tunes show, if the GFOS had his hand in, it was always funky. A cornucopia of cool grooves for crate diggers, funk lovers, and JB-o-philes, that just doesn’t seem to end (believe me, this is just a small sample). The King’s men and women helped make the funk what it is, whether with James or on their own, and many continue to spread the word today.

Hope you had a good Thanksgiving..Keep on Moggin’

Check for all the above tunes in comments...

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I personally would prefer to see the songs that are not close to Ted Leo's sound, like Prince's "Kiss" or Aretha Franklin's "Respect".  And who wouldn't love to see them play a Santogold song?  Just please, nobody pick one of the Springsteen tunes.

Rhythms of the City

 Rhythms of the City (F-IRE CD26, 2008)

The city of this disc’s title is London and the collective known as Rhythms of the City began there as a community project built around Brazilian rhythms learned in workshops and presented in carnival and concert settings. A major player on this CD is Barak Schmool, a multi-instrumentalist whose familiar name I couldn’t place until I remembered him to be a regular contributor to the UK world music magazine Songlines.

Schmool is the arranger and primary percussionist on all these tracks, which combine seamlessly tight layers of Brazilian percussion with electric instrumentation and horns provided in part by Son Veneno, a visiting ensemble from Sydney who hooked up with the London crew in 2006. The results are a kind of delightfully supercharged samba with bits of salsa, funk and hip-hop.

There’s a celebratory spirit that kicks in at the start and never lets up as a battery of drums, bells, shakers and the like charge up joyous call-and-response vocals occasionally cooled down to make way for a berimbau solo or a brief snatch of ROTC playing live. Source material ranges from classic Cuban and Colombian salsa compositions to the Aretha Franklin classic “Respect,” all pumped with Brazilian grooves designed to lift the spirit and get the body in motion.

A ferociously fun disc, performed with loving expertise and abundant liveliness.

Available from www.rhythmsofthecity.com.

One of the most interesting aspects of singing is that the instrument is contained within, and ultimately there’s nothing to lean on except the vocalist’s own skills and talents. Those moments of inner exploration are captured in this special gallery that accompanies the Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Click below to see Kurt Cobain, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Sam Cooke and others caught in candid moments in the studio, complete with reflections from the photographers.

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