Funky Friday, Riffing on Baudolino
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Here I've been racking my brain for weeks trying to find a worthy post for Funky Friday, and Buadolino was kind enough to point me to Mavis Staples. That jogged a long lost memory back in the deep, dark recesses of my brain.
The likely reason this was such a deep, dark memory is that the Staples weren't exactly known for playing funky music, though their music did acquire a definite funky flavor when Al Bell, of Stax records, took them down to Muscle Schoals in the 70's. For the most part, however, they're known for a rather unique blend of Folk-Soul music with deep roots in the blues and gospel.
The full Staples story is too long and winding, starting as far back as 1915 when Pops Staples was born and including influences ranging from Robert Johnson to Stephen Stills, to do the story justice here.
But, from that long and winding story, their highest chart-topper emerges as pure funk, with a base line worthy of the best ear worms in existence and Mavis Staples sounding like a female James Brown. This is a very worth entry into the Funky Friday pantheon. Enjoy:
Comments (14)
That'll work just fine. Funky as it wants to be!
The bass line of "I'll Take You There" was in fact "borrowed" from Boris Gardiner's bass part on the Harry J All Stars "Liquidator", a UK Top Ten hit the year before "ITYT" came out, itself adapted from the bass line from Alton Ellis' "Girl I've Got A Date".
Here is a 1977 Owen Gray cut on the "Liquidator" rhythm - "Call On You Baby".
Is that a "documented" borrowing? Or just a sonic coincidence you found.
Given that "The Liquidator" spent twenty weeks in the UK pop charts in 1969-70, and "I'll Take You There" was recorded two years later, with a nidentical bass intro, I'm not minded to place it in the "sonic coincidence" pile
I just never heard of Curtis copping reggae licks..but the resemblance is pretty uncanny. I have a version tagged Tommy McCook, what's it's vintage (Lanarc MS 8491)? It seems to have a lick towards the middle that resembles The Meters 9 til 5.
Tommy McCook's "7-11", with Winston Wright on organ, versions "Girl I've Got A Date" on a Duke Reid cut. It's from the era when the Meters were pretty influential, so there could well be a borowed lick. I'll look them both out tomorrow (if I remember) and have a listen
Ooops my bad, it's Cissy Strut..both are from '69
The "Tommy McCook" track above is largely noteable for its utter absence of Tommy McCook; it sounds like a Treasure Isle cover of "The Liquidator", with Winston Wright on organ and Jeff Barnes as the deejay, but there ain't no sax player on it. Winston Wright could very easily have lifted an Art Neville keyboard lick
And Ron Wilson on trombone, if my ears still work
Wow, you guys have been hopping on this faster than I can keep up with you (I'm still working here on the Left Coast).
I should note that Curtis Mayfield didn't product this. Al Bell both produced and arranged it.
You guys know more about the lineage of The Liquidator than I do, but David Hood was the bass player on I'll Take You There, which opens up an entire network of possible connections. In fact, the backing group for the album was the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, and any one of the folks involved could have lifted that base line.
Heh, I was confusing with Baudolinos post of Mavis..anyway i got the track info for Tommy McCook from here. I guess he was credited with the 45, but wasn't on it..
Focusing on the bass playing of their "I'll Take You There" is a great way to listen to it, and then its link to Harry J All Stars' "Liquidator" (one of my favorite reggae tracks) adds to the thrill. Cody, "Cissy Strut" is always welcome to my ears, even though it's played probably every five minutes in New Orleans. By the way, Cody, how do you make a URL link into blue lettering? Your 11/07 method involving quotation marks and a colon no longer works for me.
Write the text in your post, highlight the area you want blue for the link, press the chain in the toolbar (link), a window will pop up,insert url.
Thank you very much!