Henderson & Whitfield : Dancin’ To The Beat
taken from the 12″ on Park Place (1981)

J.R. Funk and The Love Machine : Feel Good, Party Time
taken from the 12″ on Brass (1980)

Ever heard of Henderson & Whitfield? What about J.R. Funk? Didn’t think so. Not many have. Those who, at one point in time (probably 20 years ago), knew these names (and perhaps even loved them?), have now undoubtedly discarded almost all the remnants of importance once dedicated to these groove aficionados. A brief moment of exuberant hedonistic brilliance, and then once again into the ether of the mundane. Maybe J.R. is turning 50 this year, saving up for a trip to the Bahamas. Wherever you are, lost samurai of the skating rinks, we thank you. Your funk is not forgotten.

I may be exaggerating a bit about the obscurity factor, clearly cats as notable as Joey Negro are still down. But in the grand scheme, a spot on a comp is merely a blip on the pop-life screen. This Henderson & Whitfield 12″ is a catch. Gotta love those flying disco space laser sounds: shooting stars above that sticky liquid slap bass groove. The obligatory claps and whistles pierce just as they should, the horn stabs, bongos and clavinet building the overall sound to something that approaches frenzy, but never loses its cool.

As for J.R. Funk, I guess there was another single and an album to accompany “Feel Good”, but definitely he didn’t leave much of a legacy behind. A man of the SYNTH, his sensibilities have definitely come back in style – what with Sa-Ra, Spacek, Outkast, Pharrel and other cats doing their George Clinton appreciation thang. Perhaps we can help him live on in the future by freaking the fat open drum breaks that were captured during his shortlived glimpse at stardom.

BIG NEWS! Do not sleep on the new mix from regular Crate contributor Murphy’s Law: it’s called “Stone Cold Soul” and it’s up in the Loose Tapes section right now! All that new shiz that we love right now plus some oldies, re-edits and remixes for your DOME!

Lou Courtney: Shing-A-Ling
Taken from the album Skate Now on Riverside (1967)

Gloria Jones: Tainted Love
Taken from the 7″ on Champion (1964)

King Floyd: Groov-A-Lin
Taken from the album A Man In Love on Pulsar (1965)

Soul Vibrations: Find A Way
Taken from the 7″ on Vibrant (1973)

Welcome to The Land of 1000 Dances! The late Wilson Pickett, who died last week, pretty much nailed the mood of the mid-sixties with that song title. Everybody had a dance. If you didn’t, you probably weren’t selling many records. The Bump. The Cool Shake. The Lurch. The Loop de Loop. And yes, the Shing-A-Ling.

Included in todays post are few choice dance selections from that golden age of the up-tempo stomper, as well as two other Northern Soul gems, the absolutely essential “Tainted Love” and “Find A Way” (which probably doesn’t technically qualify as a N.S. tune, but honestly, who cares?!).

I am still trying, tooth and nail, to get a 60’s soul night going here in L.A. But, big suprise, L.A. is too cool for earth-shakin’ soul tunes. So I will share them with you. Enjoy…