FUNK45.001 The Brothers Seven -Funky Smunk/Evil Ways-The Brothers Seven hail from Texas USA, and the two tracks either side of this great 45 are prime examples of utterly tough heavy duty DEEP FUNK, the kind that collectors, DJs, dancers & funk fans around the world are screaming for! Two very rare tracks on one wicked 45! If you're into DEEP FUNK then you cannot avoid having this record
FUNK45.002 MICKEY & THE SOUL GENERATION -We Got to Make a Change / Give Everybody Some Pt 1-hard hitting & heavy duty funk from Texas USA! but the two tracks on this wicked 45 have NEVER BEEN PREVIOUSLY RELEASED! An incredible find from one of the hottest deep funk bands the world has ever known! Famous for incredible funk classics such as 'Iron Leg' and 'Get Down Brother', Mickey & the Soul Generation cooked up hot, greasy funk for the obscure Mr G label out of San Antonio. And now, after having been forgotten for over 30 years, this music has seen the light once more, brought to you only on FUNK45!!!
FUNK45.003 THE CHEFS -Mr. Machine Pts 1 & 2 -This can only be described as an utter MONSTER of a tune! As funk 45s go, this is also one of the rarest and most obscure of them all - only 500 copies were pressed on a tiny Milwaukee-based rock label, making them notoriously difficult to find, so much so that you'd have to fork out over £1000 to get your hands on an original! Like many groups The Chefs were inspired by the early '70s robot craze, and 'Mr Machine' is one of the best examples of the tight, rhythmical funk that was the 'in' sound. In music we all know that 'practice makes perfect' - brothers Don & Fred had been practising drums and bass together since they were old enough to walk, the result is one of the tightest rhythm sections ever to be caught on wax! And as for the psychedelic guitar twangs that make the track, can you imagine a wilder sound to blow your mind?! This is a funk 45 that has everything you want: hard heavy deep funk for the listener, dancer, collector, everyone!
FUNK45.004 THE FABULOUS MARK III -Psycho Pts 1 & 2 -It was the summer of '69 and funk maestro James Polk had just recorded a couple of tunes for his small Twink label . One of his neighbours was a member of a local band called the Fabulous Mark III. Polk heard them play 'Psycho' live and was promptly blown away. 'Let's record that thing and release it on my label' he said. And so it was done - few funk recordings have ever been so utterly demented as this!
FUNK45.005 THE "GREAT" DELTAS -Tra La La/Stand up and Be a Man -Most people into funk 45s love a bit of wild Hammond screaming away. A few heavy beats don't go amiss either. Add some chicken-lickin' guitar and you're nearly there. Put them all together with an infectious & heavy groove and you end up with this record.
FUNK45.006 THE FABULOUS ORIGINAS -It Ain't Fair But It's Fun Pts 1 & 2 -THE FABULOUS ORIGINALS hail from Dayton, Ohio and they cut 'It Ain't Fair But It's Fun' back in 1967 while still attending high school. Produced by the drummer's grandmother, Margaret Harris, this record truly represents the enterprise and spirit of bands who made music for fun and the love of it - the song title itself is a comment on the ethics of the music business at the time. Only 1000 copies were pressed, and needless to say they have almost all disappeared over the years, leaving original copies to have become prized collectors items. And when you hear the music, you can hear for yourself exactly why that is so… a fast moving yet rock solid supertight bassline and choppy guitar are the rocks upon which everyone gets to solo, include an inspired maniac on the flute! Wild and heavy funk with the sound where you just know they were really enjoying themselves, you even get to hear the shouts of jubilation at the end, listen through and you'll be joining in with them!
FUNK45.007 THE LATIN BREED -I Turn You On/Hard To Handle -THE LATIN BREED were formed from the ashes of another band responsible for solid Texan funk, Sunny & the Sunliners. Unlike Sunny, The Latin Breed had the privilege of recording in maverick producer Manny Guerra's famed Amen Studios in San Antonio, with Mickey & the Soul Generation watching on! Although recording mostly Tijano music, luckily for us they had the good taste to include deep funk in their repertoire too! This incredible version of The Isley Brothers classic I Turned You On is an explosive combination of Mexican heat, Texan grit and super funky soul. Pressed in limited numbers on Guerra's GC label as a promotional tool for the newly-formed band, the combination of breathy organ, swaggering bass and perfectly arranged cantina horns give this version the edge. Otis Redding's hit Hard to Handle was also recorded in the same style, and both tunes feature the deep, throaty vocals of singer Jimmy Edwards. Both tracks have long been known by clued-up funk DJs as being surefire floorfillers.
FUNK45.008 JAMES POLK & THE BROTHERS -Power Struggle /Just Plain Funk -JAMES POLK comes from one of the most musical of American cities: Austin, Texas. There was and still is stiff competition amongst the numerous bands and musicians in the town, and in 1969 James Polk managed to rustle up some of Austin's finest to create his band The Brothers. Good enough for James Brown himself to ask them to open for him, they promptly won the local talent contest 2 years in a row! Polk then knew it was time to commit his sound to wax. In the spirit of many other funk 45s, Polk bypassed the local and major record labels to release his music on his own label, Twink Records. Power Struggle' is an uptempo stormer with Polk on organ and bass, Yvonne Joseph's wailing vocals making her point known. 'Just Plain Funk' is a loping head-nodding deep funk groove that'll leave you looking to the sky craving an explanation as to why this fantastic band didn't record more like this.
FUNK45.009 THE SOUL LIFTERS -Hot, Funky and Sweaty / Brothers and Sisters -Nearly all funk collectors will agree that one of the tightest LPs ever made was Maceo & all the King’s Men ‘Doing Their Own Thing’. This LP was released on the tiny independent label House of the Fox, run by the late Lelan Rogers from his studios in Nashville. Rogers had the foresight, bravery and good taste and to release this LP by Maceo and his pals following their departure from the James Brown band. They were without doubt one of the hottest bands the world has ever known. Lelan Rogers certainly had a good ear for good funk. He even released a 45 by Eddie Bo under the moniker Curley Moore & the Kool Ones. But what we’re interested here is The Soul Lifters. Their sound is HARDER than Maceo! MEANER than Eddie Bo! If ONLY they had recorded more than just this one 45!!! Because BOTH sides of this little beast are so hard & heavy the listener is left reeling and begging to hear more of what this obscure yet talented band has to say! But sadly no other recordings were made
FUNK45.010 THE MAJESTICS -Funky Chick / Coming On -What more can be said about one of the rarest, most respected & desirable funk 45s out there? Of all the thousands upon thousands of funk 45s that exist, The Majestics ‘Funky Chick’ rates as one of the very best there is. But it’s not just the world’s finest funk DJs and heavyweight collectors who clamour after this record, the KFC colonel himself declared it lip-smackin’ good when he commissioned ‘Funky Chick’ as the soundtrack to a TV ad campaign recently. ‘Funky Chick’ indeed!
The “Majestics Two Toned Funk Company” made their first and only record on the Morsound label, owned and operated by guitarist E H Moore and his father. They pressed only 500 copies by the high school band - whose average age at the time was only 18 - but what a record! Bassist and leader Gray, who was the life and soul of the band, sets the pace with one of the most infectious bass lines in funk history, and Rayshelle's shouts and grunts do more than enough to drive the tune ruggedly onward. Gray vividly remembers the old days 'We were young and we had the spotlight on us. We thought we were stars, and we wanted to hit the big stage!'
Unfortunately circumstances prevented their dreams coming true, but little did they know that 30 years later their sole recording was to command scary prices on the collectors circuit, and would be played in funk clubs around the world. Not to mention to the munchin’ sound of lip smackin’ finger lickin’ southern fried chicken!
FUNK45.011 THE PCs LTD -Fast Man / Stickman -On this occasion we headed deep into the Carolinas where we’ve uncovered some supreme rarities in the world of deep funk. A little known local band The PC’s Ltd cut this record in the golden period of 1969/70 and the slightest needle drop will tell you it’s a good ‘un. A disciplined horn section, driving rhythm section and all-round super-tight funky feeling are some of the ingredients you need to make good music for your lip-smackin’ soul food barbecue, but when you get an arrangement designed for all-round soul excitement and the all-important party vibe then you can do no wrong! The PC’s Ltd cook up a real treat
FUNK45.012 ARTHUR MONDAY -What Goes Around Comes Around Pts 1&2 -As in all markets, the relationship between supply and demand dictates price. The market for rare funk 45s is no exception, and one of the most notorious of these is that by Arthur Monday.
Supply: it’s almost impossible to get an original copy Arthur Monday’s ‘What Goes Around’. Only a handful of copies are known to exist, and the lucky few who possess one do not want to sell. It’s a very rare record. Demand: Every funk aficionado in the world wants one, and if you heard it you’d want one too! This huge difference between supply and demand means the price is high – an original copy of Arthur Monday was recently sold at auction and for $4293 – easily the highest price EVER PAID FOR A FUNK 45!!!
with the vocal on side one and instrumental on side 2. As far as the music goes, there are few recordings that have captured the very essence of the deep funk sound as this. Sure it has all the usual ingredients of sweaty drums, rumbling bass, sharp horns and impassioned vocals, but what this record has that so many others lack is a certain spirit, mystery and vitality that few 45s possess. There was attitude in the studio the day that record was cut! Despite huge efforts to this day Arthur Monday has never been found, and his impassioned vocals on this recording have yet to been deciphered. Just what is the man singing about?! What was it that inspired him to create such an astounding beast of a record? Well now here is your chance to hear what all the fuss is about. It may not make you dance - it’s not dancefloor-friendly – but as The World’s Most Expensive Funk 45, surely it deserves a listen!
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