For some strange reason, I’ve been holding off on posts this week unable to get anything together. I’m not saying I’m psychic or anything, but when news first hit early in the week that Jimmy Castor had passed away, there was some feeling that more bad news was coming. Boy was that feeling right, with the additional passings of Johnny Otis and Etta James! Unbelievably three legendary soul artists have left us all in the same week. Over the next couple of weeks on the radio show I’ll be paying tribute to each, with short tributes to Castor and Otis this week and a longer tribute to Etta James on next week’s show. For now, I just wanted to say a few words about my favorite tracks from each artist.
Jimmy Castor Bunch – It’s Just Begun
Jimmy Castor had more popular songs, and he had songs that were more sampled in Hip-Hop, but none of them possibly tops “It’s Just Begun,” a song that if you were to survey “real” B-boys and B-girls the world over, would likely top their list of the best songs to break dance to. I can’t break to save my life (I think all the years of listening to free jazz ruined my ability to consistently “uprock” on beat) but “It’s Just Begun” makes me want more than any other classic B-boy song. The rhythm is so hard, the horns so dirty, the guitar so fuzzy, it just kills all competition for the quintessential B-boy jam. The lyrics also make it anthemic, not only for B-boy/B-girl culture but for Hip-Hop more generally, which literally was just beginning around the time this record was released, and remains a multi-ethnic poly-synthetic hybrid culture that has the potential to break down barriers, like the music of Jimmy Castor.
Johnny Otis Show – Country Girl
My best memories of Johnny Otis are listening to his radio show when it was broadcast in the Bay Area on KPFK’s big sister station KPFA. There’d always be a couple of family members and friends with Johnny in the studio and they’d just basically shoot the breeze for two hours, reminiscing and playing classic R&B. It’s the kind of radio that you almost never hear anymore, endearing beyond belief, silly and funny quite often, but informative and swinging when it came to the music. Johnny Otis had a hand in so many classic and funky tracks, that it’s daunting picking a particular fave. “Country Girl” is the song that I keep coming back to from Johnny Otis. Despite the well-traveled, “Tramp” rhythm the song is based on, Otis brings something new to what he’s borrowing, injecting charm into the back and forth about the merits of this “girl” with singer Delmar Evans (including the gem closer, “it must be jelly, jam don’t shake like that”). But it’s the chorus that slays me every time. First there’s that strong soulful shout, “she’s so fine” and then smoothed out and playful “great big ole healthy country girl.” Even that chorus sounds slightly drunk, just like the rest of the song. Guaranteed to put a smile on your face no matter your mood.
Etta James – I’d Rather Go Blind
Irma Thomas maybe the ruler of my heart when it comes to soul singers, but Etta James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind” is quite possibly the best deep soul song of all time. “At Last” is the song that everyone knows from Etta, but in a number of ways that song is an anomaly. Almost too perfect. “I’d Rather Go Blind” is not a perfect song. It’s not a song that likely gets requested at weddings, it’s a song that is about a woman who is unwilling to give up the man she loves, even though she knows the affair is over. The rawness of emotion which James pours into the song is a rare thing of beauty. It encompasses all of her strengths as a soul singer, it’s a gritty, soulful, painful, desperate performance and it’s the #1 song that I’ll always remember her by.