Praise Him with stringed instruments....again and again

Here's two clips taken at Jewell Dominion services. If anything, they're even wilder than my previous post [which I'm pretty sure is of a Keith Dominion service].

The first clip drops you dead in the middle of a praise break. The second builds and builds and builds. Be sure and watch all of it.

Both clips end too soon.

Praise Him with stringed instruments....

One of the more stupid things I do is second guess my choices for the blog. Ya see, I really have no idea what other folks have heard or seen before. Thus I often find myself holding back on stuff I think is amazing because I figure everyone else in the world already knows about it.....when in fact, that's not always true.

Anyway, I first saw this clip about a year ago, but when I watched it again yesterday I noticed that it only had 8 thousand views....which confuses me, because doesn't everyone obsessively search you tube for new House Of God/Sacred Steel videos????

This is the best of it's type I've seen...the real thing. The sound isn't too bad if you turn it way up...and believe me, you DO want to turn it up. By the time Elder Aubrey Ghent starts to shred on the pedal steel at about three minutes in, you'll know why.

Ella Brown R.I.P.

I've just found out that Ella Brown Avery died on June 11th. I presume this was a result of the cancer she'd been battling for some time [my apology if that info is incorrect, I haven't seen an actual obit].

Now, I'm not a good enough writer to do justice to this woman, a woman who by all accounts was a very wonderful person, but I would like to say just one thing.....I think Ella Brown's solo recordings are some of the most beautiful ever made. So beautiful, they often make me cry.

While there are plenty of songs that affect me deeply, I can't think of any other artist that manages to make me tear-up so consistently. Every one of her four 45's carries at least one unforgettable song, any one of which would have been enough, all by itself, to make me a rabid fan.

My sincerest condolences to Jackie Avery and the rest of the family.

"Love Don't Love Nobody"

I do the things I think is good...

It's records like this that got me interested in collecting 45's in the first place. Yeah, I'm sure you can find it on a comp somewhere, but to actually be able to hold such an out-there record in your hands puts the listening experience on a totally different plane altogether. At least it does for me.

While I'm on the subject, let me say that if this blog was only about the music, I'd be posting selections from my digital library, regardless of where they come from. To me, the search for vinyl copies is a good 30% of the story I'm trying to tell [such as it is].

Lee Bates is a fairly obscure artist outside of New Orleans. All told, he had over 20 singles and an album issued on him. Few, if any of which, "traveled". It's still hard for me to understand that his version of "Wishing, Waiting, Hoping" wasn't a big national hit. There was a copy at my grandmothers house which used to get played regularly.

To this day, playing "Wishing, Waiting, Hoping" is a sure-fire way to get my mom and dad to dance real close. If you think I didn't pay close attention to that action as a kid then you're foolin' yourself. I made doubly sure it got played at my own wedding reception.

There are three very different versions of "I Do Things Naturally"...the first is on the flip-side of a Pitter Pats' record.....the second is this version....the third is the more loosely related title cut on Jessie Hill's "Naturally" album.

Hope ya'll enjoy the wildest of the three....

New Orleans, where I was born...

It's my birthday, I'm 27 years old today.

I've about had my fill of celebrations for the year, but my mother insisted we "do something", so we're going out to dinner later with a small group. Which is to say, My Boy and I are back in N.O. for a couple of days.

Here's a 45 I've been meaning to post for some time. It's an absolute monster which surprisingly got little or no play when issued. To my eyes, most copies of this record look to have spent at least some portion of the last 38 years in the same box they were originally packed in.

This cut was, I believe, recorded in Atlanta during the time when Toussaint and Sehorn were forced to use out-of-town studios after the collapse of Cos Matassa's operation left them with no local option.

Some version of the Meters play on the record, possibly even all of them. I can't imagine it's anyone but Ziggaboo Modeliste playing those drums.

My advice is to hold on to something substantial when the "psychotic" horn break kicks in or risk injury to yourself and others.

Hope ya enjoy...

That's the way it goes....

This is one of the few released cuts from Earl King's aborted "Street Parade" sessions with Allen Toussaint and the Meters. It's also one of my favorite songs, one I can't help but dance to every time I hear it.

"Street Parade" really should have been The Great New Orleans Album, but the project was cancelled after Atlantic backed out of the deal.

Apparently no one else wanted the album. Only four of the songs [including this one] were picked up by the Wand label in New York. The two singles issued as a result did not sell. King ended up issuing one other cut from the sessions, "Street Parade Pt's 1 & 2", on his own Kansu label, which I can't imagine was distributed much outside of Orleans Parish.

And that was that....until 12 years later when some of the previously unheard session tapes surfaced on the Charly label as "Street Parade". In my opinion, it's a must-have collection, but then I'm a bit nutty about Earl King. Proud of it, too.

Hope ya like.......the record's from 1970.

Doin' it all night long....

Gotta tell ya, we had one seriously awesome party last weekend, sorry most of you couldn't make it.

The expectation was that we would be out of the country for most of June and July. I even enlisted a friend to post a few things on the blog if I disappeared for too long. But plans change. Conditions in the Gulf are a very big concern. We have business which is directly related.

So, instead of searching for pirates gold on a desert island, we're hiding out at a top secret location not too far from town. Top secret cause we wouldn't want any adults to find us, would we? It's a lovely place, very old, very grand. Really just what the doctor ordered. My goal for the week is to get a massage [it's a hard life, but someone has to live it]. After that, we're off to somewhere more rustic. And then....

Anyway, I'll be around, but I'm taking it easy. I've been pushing very hard for the last nine months. The wedding prep just about sent me over the edge.

...........................................................................................

This is a very cool 45. Everything about it, from the opening guitar riff [which reminds me of some punk record I can't quite put a name to] to the ultra silly, almost childlike sax solo, makes my endorphin levels rise.

Bill Parker's band was popular around Lake Charles La. in the early sixties. Parker was the bandleader/drummer. Vocals were carried by several folks including Little Miss Peggy. The fab guitar work is by Chester Randle, who put out several singles with his band the Soul Senders on the related Anla label [always on my hope-to-find list].

If you look closely at the label scan, you may notice something of interest. On my copy of the 45 someone has scratched out the song writers name. This was done on both sides in exactly the same careful manner. Looks to me as if a previous owner didn't agree with the credit as given. Which makes me wonder: who would care enough to do such a thing?

Copyright data shows Eddie Shuler, owner of Goldband, taking credit for the song. Now, I normally discount credits to label owners, but in this case, Shuler did actually write a lot of tunes, recorded a bunch as well. So, who knows?

Well, I guess I do. This does not sound like an Eddie Shuler song, in fact it's not even a typical record for the label. Chances are "Sweet Potato Mash" is something Parker's band worked up. I'd be pissed too, if someone took credit for a song of mine. I might even bother to carefully scratch the offending name off copies given to friends, relatives, etc.

The 45's from 1962. Normally I'd post both sides of a two-parter, but in this case, part 2 is just an inferior take.

Hope ya enjoy....

Special thanks, to my mom...

Hopefully this works the way it's supposed to. By the time this post appears My Boy and I should be through "ministering the sacrament of marriage" and about to kick off the party. First dance will be to Willie West's, "Keep You Mine".

There's been a good bit of talk about heritage and tradition around here lately. Ya see, everyone involved in this union represents a mix of cultures largely identified as "other" by most of American society. We are multi generational Catholics. We are "sang mele", of mixed blood. We are French [via Haiti], Sicilian, and Cajun. In short, we are Southern Creoles, and very proud of it.

My mom's from up by Opelousas in St. Landry Parish, her maiden name is French, her father raised chicken for a living and fought gamecocks for fun. When he died, he left me his collection of razor-sharp gaffes. My country cousins make their own boudain. In fact, Opelousas may be the only place in the country with a drive-thru deep-fried 'boudain ball' stand.

My friend who's doing the DJing for the wedding reception asked if he could use some of my zydeco 45's. This record is one he wants to borrow. I'm sure my cousins will appreciate his effort [as do I]. When you're from Opelousas, it just isn't music unless there's an accordion playing.

Anyway, I'd like to dedicate this one to my mom. She's been nothing short of amazing over the past couple of months. Without her help, my wedding would have been "de' pouille".

On yeah, before anyone asks if I'm changing my name, the answer is yes....I think I'll be going by Betty Lou from now on.

Enjoy...