Well I’m delighted to finally be able to bring you this week’s selection as it’s been a track that I’ve been after for quite some time. Luckily I finally got my hands on a copy a few months back and it’s about time I shared it with y’all.

There’s priceless little information out there about Ernie Garrett – it seems he only had a very small number of releases. This song was issued as a Sweden only release (which probably explains why it took so long for me to get my hands on a copy!) I even tried to track this down when I was dj’ing in Stockholm a couple of years back and still returned empty-handed! I believe he had another release that was Spain only but I’m not 100% sure about this.

Anyway I hope any Beatles fans out there dig this version as I know how critical they can be when it comes to cover versions of the Fab Four.

We always like to keep up to date with whatever commercialised “Hallmark Day” there is here on Gazfunk (as our friends in the US would call them). So with today being Valentine’s Day, we had to bring you something on a related note – though this selection is loosely based on the “love” theme.

The People’s Choice were a soul/funk band out of Philadelphia (hence their appearance on the legendary Phil-La of Soul label). This selection was released in ’71 and was their first single. The flip side to this record was the heavily De La Soul sampled “I Likes To Do It”

Despite having minor hits (and an often changing line-up) The People’s Choice never quite made the big time with their biggest hit (and probably best-known song) “Do It Any Way You Wanna” just failing to reach the top 10 in the pop charts, even though it did reach number 1 in the soul charts in ’75. However the record went on to sell over 1 million copies and earned them a gold disc in the process. For various reasons the band split in 1980.

Yes I am, a big ladies man…

It seems at the moment with every passing week there is news of yet another soul legend’s passing and unfortunately last week was no different.

Don Cornelius was the producer and long time presenter of the legendary tv show “Soul Train” from its inception in ’71 right up until 1993.  What started out originally as a small broadcast became a nationwide hit and was the vehicle for which many of soul music’s greatest artists showcased their unique talents. Everyone who was anyone in soul music enjoyed guest appearances on the show including James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and Michael Jackson to name a few.

Apart from the fantastic array of guests on display, Soul Train was also well-known for it’s “Soul Train Line” where the audience formed 2 lines and dancers strutted along showing off the latest moves (and quite often the latest fashions) to the sound of one of the soul hits of the time.

This week’s selection features one of those artists whose songs were regularly used as the backdrop to the line dance – Curtis Mayfield. As I’m sure many of you are aware of the great man, there’s little to be gained by me giving you a biography about him, and if you don’t know of him – go buy a book or dvd to educate yourself!!

R.I.P. Brother Don – music tv shows will never be the same again..

Last week’s update was dictated by the news of the sad passing of Etta James the week beforehand and this week’s update is sadly on the same vein.

Johnny Otis passed away the same week as Etta James at the ripe old age of 90 and ironically it was he who gave Etta her first break (when James was still only 14 years old) way back in the fifties with her first release coming in 1955 (Dance With Me, Henry)

Johnny Otis is also often referred to as the Godfather Of Rhythm & Blues (and was the original producer for Hound Dog).  Throughout his musical career he performed many roles including dj, producer, singer, musician, talent scout to name just a few.

This selection was recorded in 1969 and when you listen to it you’ll notice the more than passing resemblance to Otis & Carla’s “Tramp”. I really could talk at length about this great innovator & pioneer but it’s probably best to just remember him by his music.

R.I.P. Johnny – you’ll be sadly missed.

I had originally intended to feature a different song today but given the very sad news of Etta James’ passing on Friday it seems fitting that this week’s update should be a tribute to the singer whom we here at Gazfunk rate as the greatest female soul/r&b singer of all time.

In truth, I’ve been well aware of Ms James’ illness for quite a while (as I’m sure some of you have also) and I had up until now purposely avoided featuring her amazing talent here on the blog as I knew the news of her death wasn’t too far away and I wanted to do a fitting tribute when that time finally arrived.

Much has been written and said about Etta James over the years, including her well documented addictions, so I won’t go into those as I don’t want to detract away from why she was so highly thought of – her amazing voice.

So we’ve decided to bring you 2 tracks this week as opposed to the 1 that we normally bring you. The selections I’ve made are 2 of her lesser known tracks but still feature her fantastic vocals. First off, we have You Got It which was the b-side of “Fire” and then we finish off with her brilliant take on Sonny & Cher’s smash hit – I Got You Babe.

R.I.P. Etta James – gone, but never forgotten.

Regular viewers of the blog will probably recall a few months back that we featured one of THE blues legends in Buddy Guy. That selection “Buddy’s Groove” was something of a diversion for him and showed his versatility.

Well on something of a similar theme, we feature yet another blues/r&b legend this week in the shape of Bo Diddley. I touched on the fact that Buddy Guy wasn’t the only one to show a more funky side, and today’s choice illustrates that Mr Bo Diddley also had the adaptability to move away from his traditional blues sound to something altogether more groovy.

Like many of the other legends that we’ve featured so far on Gazfunk, it’s a pretty pointless exercise trying to condense the history of the artist into a few short paragraphs (and quite frankly, if you aren’t aware of Bo Diddley, you’ve probably stumbled onto this blog by mistake!)

So it’s probably better to let the music do the talking and let Mr Diddley give it to ya… 

Well given that I’m a mod at heart and still dj occassionally on the mod scene, as well as most of my friends being mods it’s probably about time that I feature one of the main “nu-mod” bands around at the moment.

Big Boss Man started out in 1998 as the brainchild of Nasser Bouzida (a.k.a. “The Bongolian”) and released this their first single in 2000. Their debut album followed in 2001 featuring Sea Groove, Big Boss Man & Humanize (which incidentally was their first track to gain publicity when it was featured on the legendary Blow Up club’s “Blow Up A Go Go” comp).

The Big Boss Man sound is an amalgam of funk, hammond, latin & r&b and has gained equal popularity on the UK and European mod scene as well as the funk scene (where Keb Darge & Snowboy are fans). To date they have released 3 albums (the last being in 2009) and regularly tour around Europe playing to a loyal host of fans.

Enjoy the Big Boss Sound…

Happy New Year to you all, I trust you all had an enjoyable festive period and are looking forward to the New Year with anticipation  – I know I certainly am!

I’ve decided to bring you something a little bit different this week in the shape of this selection. Now as you know, I generally just post a picture of the actual record itself, however with the cover of this track being soooo damn groovy, I thought it only right I share it with you. I’m sure you’ll agree that it looks cool.

As for the track itself, well it’s a strange psych-funk version of the Ironside theme (originally composed by the legendary Quincy Jones in the mid sixties). It was released on the Absolute Belter label out of Spain (though I’m not 100% sure when – sometime in the late 60s I’d imagine)

Anyway, hope you all enjoy this absolute belter!

I’m sure you’ve noticed that this week’s update is a little later, well that was due in no small part to a little thing called….. Christmas. I hope you all had an enjoyable festive season and for many of us with the spectre of returning to work looming over us, I hope that today’s pick will at least lift some of the doom and gloom!

Like plenty of my other selections, this again is another track where there is very little information available about the song or indeed the artist. I know that Carlton Basco was born in Louisiana in 1944 and died around the beginning of 2004. This song was cut in Basco’s own studio in 71 and was recorded on his own “Freedom Records” label. There were a small amount of these originally released and this lead to a welcome reissue a few years back on the “Tramp” label (if you look at both labels they are almost identical, save for the name)

So what about the track itself? Well this is a very heavy funk tune. The pounding drums and unique sounding hammond make this one of the biggest dance floor destroyers I’ve ever heard. It really is that good. So turn up the volume and get ready to boogie!!

I’ve decided to stay away from the obvious (well kind of) with this choice. I’m sure most of you are all well aware of Clarence Carter’s original, but this take on it from a band that we’ve already featured once before here on Gazfunk, puts a whole new slant on it. Released in 2006 and featuring their signature hammond sound, this is one groovy instrumental reworking by one of today’s best funk bands.

As this will be my last update before Christmas, I’d like to wish you all a very safe & Happy Christmas & Funky New Year!