Happy Holidays

Here Comes Santa Claus

Inspired by finding this 45 the other day, soulpersuasion is back from the dead. Maybe I'll even put up some new mixes in 2015. For now, enjoy the ultimate outsider Xmas funk tune.

Henry Lee Roberts

 I got this 45 off a blind buy on ebay a while back (there was no soundclip or description, but with a title like "Space Jesus Atomic Judgement [Dissolved] it wasn't that surprising that this turned out to be something interesting). I would actually venture that it's the most captivating record I've ever stumbled across this way. I'm a definite fan of outsider electro soul/funk/boogie and this is pretty much shitting over almost everything else in the subgenre. Dark, apocalyptic-sounding analog synths. Weird, shifting time signatures. Topical (to 1985), ranting lyrics about the impending end of days when Halley's Comet finally arrives. There's a lot to love here. I would follow this man onto the tail of the comet.

Listen: Halley's Comet (Dissolved)  
Listen: Space Jesus Atomic Judgement (Dissolved)

Lee Storm - Tornado (Ozark)

I bought a couple large boxes of mostly 50s and 60s country 45s at the record fair the other day. What can I say, the price was right. A lot of country and hillybilly 45s on Decca and other big labels, and some of them are nice enough in their own right, even if that isn't one of my main areas of musical interest. But I was hoping to find something unique and I think this 45 definitely fits the bill. I love the thick, dark atmosphere of this tune. An internet search turned up absolutely nada on this, so figured I would share.


Listen: Tornado

Tumbling Down

All songs recorded from original pressing 45s, reissues and boots. So there.

Link: http://www.soulpersuasion.com/mixes/tumblingdown.mp3

Little Willie John - My Nerves (King)
Byrdie Green - Tremblin' (End)
Deane Hawley - Bossman (Dore)
Big Maybelle - That's A Pretty Good Love (Savoy)
Nick Waterhouse - I Can Only Give You Everything (Il Records)
Annie Laurie - Nobody's Gonna Hurt You (Deluxe)
The Fabulous Denos - Once I Had A Love (King)
Quinn Miller - The Sea Witch (Magnet)
The Satisfactions - The Angry Desert (Radiant)
Gino Washington - Puppet On A String (Ric-Tic)
Dimples & Jackson - Love Came Tumbling Down (Gardena)
Bobby Hamilton - How Come (Apt)
Ray Charles - Unchain My Heart (ABC)
The Knight Bros. - Love (Can't You Hear Me) (Checker)
Etta James - Mellow Fellow (Argo)

It Was Always There, I Just Didn't Know It

Ray Agee - Tin Pan Alley (Shirley)
Little Willie John - My Love-Is (King)
Lorez Alexandria - Baltimore Oriole (Argo)
Ronnie Love - Chills & Fever (Dot)
Electro-Tones - Ghost Train (J-B)
Van Robinson - I Wanna Know (Top Flight)
The Robins - Truble (Push)
Sonny Patterson - Troubles (Vault)
Delilah - A Worried Feelin (Shirley)
Preston Love - Cream Dream (United)
Tarheel Slim & Little Ann - Much Too Late (Fire)
Bobby Byrd - I'm Just A Nobody (Smash)
Little Willie John - My Nerves (King)
Paula Lamont - A Beatle Meets A Ladybug (Loadstone)
Marion Black - Who Knows (Capsoul)
Nella Dodds - You Don't Love Me Anymore (Wand)
Bobby Bland - Deep In My Soul (Duke)

Live Mix From The Grow Up Party

A few weeks ago I played a set at the Grow Up party in San Francisco, at Madrone (it was actually the last time they held the party there). Randy Ellis, one of the organizers of the night, was good enough to invite me to play, and he recorded the set and spent time EQ-ing and adjusting volume levels too. Other than that the mix is what you would have heard if you had been there. A good time was had by all.

http://www.divshare.com/download/14144674-767

The Mystery Of Bobby Wright

Blood Of An American
Everyone Should Have His Day

Few records that I've found over the years have inspired as much awe, curiousity and frustration on my part as this sublimely beautiful and utterly obscure folk-soul 45 from the Bronx.


The awe part is self-explanatory, or at least should be after you've listened to the mp3s and assuming your musical tastes are somewhat in sync with my own. The curiousity and frustration stem from not being able to place Bobby Wright's musical contribution in a fuller, more meaningful context. In other words, who was/is this guy, did he ever issue any other recordings, and is there unreleased material existing somewhere in a dark corner of this earthly plane.

If so, it absolutely needs to see the light of day, so here's to hoping anyone with some knowledge to share reads this blog and is kind enough to contact me (either by posting on the blog or via email at kidinquisitive@gmail.com). I know some people who run great record labels who would almost assuredly be interested in reissuing this music. For now I thought I'd share these sounds with the very tiny sliver of humanity that reads soulpersuasion.blogspot. Also, if anyone has a clean copy of this 45 to spare (I know, fat chance), I would love to be able to upgrade my copy someday.

My guess would be that this came out sometime in the early to mid-1970s. There's a little BMI stamp on the label but researching their database yielded nothing. And the trail pretty much ends there, as far as I know. I live in California so poking around the Bronx in search of clues has not been feasible, and anyway the trail is probably pretty cold by now.

I've been meaning to write something about this record for a long while, and finally decided to do so after sitting down today with my brand new copy of Willie Wright's Telling The Truth LP, expertly researched and reissued by the Numero Group record label. Besides sharing a last name, Bobby and Willie's music are similar enough in style and temperament that drawing a connection between the two seemed somewhat obvious. You can hear snippets of Willie Wright's music at the Numero Website.