Friday Fun

I thought that I'd take care of a few odds and ends today, including filling a rare request.

Syl Johnson - Annie Got Hot Pants Power, Part 1 Devil Dick of The Devil's Music blog asked for this one. According to the Soulful Kinda Music site, Syl Johnson cut his first record for the Federal label in 1959. By 1967, he was with the Twilight/Twinight imprint, where he stayed long enough to make more than a dozen singles. Some of his early sides for the label, "Come On Sock it To Me", "Different Strokes", "I'll Take Those Skinny Legs" and more were outstanding 60's era funky soul. "Annie Got Hot Pants Power" is funky as well but the sound has been updated a bit, to 1971 to be exact. There's more of a 70's vibe here, a more laid back sound. The female backing singers also do some suggestive moans and groans. Part two is the instrumental version.


The Five Du-Tones - The Chicken Astronaut The RedBoy took a look at my record show haul post and noted a nice ratio of chicken songs to gospel. Well, this one, from that haul, isn't really about chickens but rather a guy who'd rather leave his feet safely on planet Earth than to go into orbit. I feel pretty neglectful, not having posted the Five Du-Tones prior to this. While the great "Shake A Tail Feather" is their best known tune, just about any 45 by them will do the trick and then some. In addition to "The Chicken Astronaut", this disc has "The Cool Bird" on the flipside, incredibly loud and terrific in its own right, despite being a "Tail Feather" re-write.


Rev. Clay Evans and the Ship - Holy, Holy, Holy Speaking of incredibly loud, how about this one? It sounds like the needle was far into the red during the entire recording. I haven't really featured any gospel here in the past but certainly will, if I continue to find records like this one. The Jewel label had an entire series devoted to it and I've noted that Rev. Clay Evans made a few 45's for the imprint. Check him out here, at a shout, complete with a backing choir, organ, drums and bass guitar.