Jackie Lee - "The Shotgun and the Duck"/"Do The Temptation Walk" (Mirwood)

Have I got a crazy soul tune for you! In a case of fellow blogsters helping each other out, Todd told me he got a copy of the record featured here in one of his many record digs. He described it to me as a "great soul pounder," one that I just gotta hear. Being that Todd's usually on the ball, I immediately sought out a copy of my own. Well, I found one in a strangely quick amount of time. I got mine through a website I frequent called speedlimit45rpm.com, and boy am I glad I did. This one immediately goes to the top of the list as one of my best finds of the year so far.

A little bit about Jackie Lee: He is actually Earl Nelson, the "Earl" of Bob and Earl, who you may know from "Harlem Shuffle" fame. He was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana in 1928. He took the name from his wife's middle name Jackie and his own middle name Lee, and recorded and released his lone hit "The Duck" in 1965. That record made #4 on the Billboard Soul charts and #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the November-December period of that year. In addition to recording several more sides for Mirwood, he also recorded sides for Capitol, Keymen, ABC and Uni. Two of his other records worth seeking out are "The Chicken" on Uni and "African Boo-Ga-Loo" on Keymen, both of which are as funky as funky gets.

"The Shotgun and the Duck" was released in 1966 with "Do The Temptation Walk" as the B-side.
"Temptation Walk" is another dance side that comes with an uptempo Northern Soul groove. Now, I don't claim to know a whole lot about Northern Soul. To me, soul is soul and if the groove is right, I go with it. And "Temptation Walk" has a beat and feel to it that conjure up "Northern Soul" in my mind. Whatever the case, it's well worth laying your ears to.

But the A-side is definitely where the action truly is. It starts off at a frenetic pace and stays there throughout the whole song as Jackie and the girlie chorus backing him saying "Ain't no shotgun gonna shoot my duck." Words cannot adequately describe this one. It's a record you just have to hear for yourself. But I'm sure you will find that it's a solid, thumpin' soul stomper that shifts into first from the moment it starts until the fade a few minutes later.

So, there you go. Two-sider heaven here. While "Shotgun" definitely gets my vote, both sides are kickass. If you find this one, I urge you to grab it. Your ears will thank you.