
JOHN PAUL KEITH: THE RHYTHM OF THE CITY

RECOMMENDED ALBUMS: BIG MAMA THORNTON IN EURPOE (Arhoolie), BIG MAMA THORNTON AND THE MUDDY WATERS BLUES BAND (Arhoolie), THE ORIGINAL HOUND DOG (Ace Records)
CAN’T TURN ME AROUNDÂ Bible & Tire Records
For fans of Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings, The Blind Boys of Alabama, and The Staple Singers
The new record from the Dedicated Men of Zion reminds us that the lines between traditional gospel and R&B are blurry at best. Filled with foot-stomping rockers and swinging soulful ballads, CAN’T TURN ME AROUND, is just as appropriate for Saturday Night as it is for Sunday morning. Hailing from rural North Carolina the group has gone through a number of lineup changes since it’s incarnation in 2014. In 2018 the group’s current lineup, consisting of Anthony Daniels, Antoine Daniels, Dexter Weaver, and Marcus Sugg caught the attention of The Music Maker Relief Fund. The Music Maker Relief Fund is a non-profit organization that helps musicians in the rural south meet their day-to-day needs and promote their music. Even though the band was already popular regionally, working with the Music Maker Relief fund helped the group reach a larger audience and eventually find the ears of Bruce Watson’s Bible & Tire Record label.
 The bottom line is that The Dedicated Men of Zion’s new record CAN’T TURN ME AROUND is a record that is desperately needed today. It’s inspiring, hopeful, and most of all reminds us that yes, things have been bad before but if we work together we can survive this and make it to the promised land.. whatever you deem that to be.
You don’t need to be religious to enjoy religious music. Almost every style of popular music has roots in gospel music, so if the “message” isn’t doing it for you, the music probably will. Personally, I am not a religious person, but some of my favorite recordings are by artists such as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, The Staple Singers, and The Dixie Hummingbirds. In the 40’s and 50’s gospel performers like these filled arenas and stadiums! Granted it was a different time but still that’s a pretty impressive feat. I could go on and on here but in the interest of time and space I’ll just say that if you want to read more of my thoughts on the subject of gospel and religious music please see my previous post here…  https://www.bottleneckcafe.com/2018/07/gospel-music-is-the-roots/
While the “Golden Age Of Gospel” may have ended in the 1950’s, there still are plenty of wonderful groups today performing good ol’ traditional gospel music. Now thanks to record man Bruce Watson’s new label BIBLE & TIRE Recording Co. some of that music will be more readily available to the masses. Watson has big plans for BIBLE & TIRE. Not only is the label going to be reissuing recordings by lesser known artists but they also plan to release newly record music as well. As Watson was one of the driving forces behind Fat Possum records kick-starting the Mississippi Hill-Country Blues revival, there’s no doubt that the new releases from BIBLE & TIRE will be essential listening for fans of American roots music.  Â
The first of the two initial releases from BIBLE & TIRE is a collection of recordings by ELIZABETH KING & THE GOSPEL SOULS. Recorded in the 1970’s for the D-VINE Spirituals label in Memphis, many of these tracks have never seen the light of day until now. The music here is top-shelf and the recording quality is crystal clear. King’s powerful voice is front and center in the mix and leads the way on tracks such as “Jesus is My Captain”, “I Found Him”, and “I Heard the Voice”. While King is obviously the star here, the rest of the group is equally talented when given the spotlight. The guys take center stage on the gospel standard “I’ll Fly Away” and make it sound fresh and new. Even though I have many other versions of this tune in my musical library I found myself listening to this track over and over. This record is essential for anyone who wants to hear no-frills authentic southern gospel music. Here’s hoping this isn’t the last we hear of Elizabeth King and The Gospel Sounds. Â
The second of the two initial releases from BIBLE & TIRE is a newly recorded album by THE SENSATIONAL BARNES BROTHERS. Entitled NOBODY’S FAULT BUT MY OWN, the album is the brothers take on classic gospel recordings from the Designer Records label. Along with Watson, the Barnes went through hundreds of recordings and handpicked songs to use for this album. Recorded in Memphis and produced by Watson himself this album has a wonderful vintage sound and finds the brothers sounding like a gospel-version of Sam & Dave! While the whole album is strong, the album’s stand out track for me is the Brothers’ version of Pops Staples’ “Why Am I Treated So Bad?”. While this tune has been re-recorded many times before by many different artists it’s never sounded like this! Featuring a strong back-beat, wailing organ, and in-your-face horns, this song is now full on dance number. Hopefully Pops would approve. The musical overtone of the tune might be more upbeat then the original but the message is still just as powerful.Â
Regardless of your stance on organized religion, if you’re a fan of American Roots music, you need both these albums in your collection. Both will serve you well regardless of whether you play them Saturday or Sunday morning.Â
Born in Arkansas in 1915 Sister Rosetta Tharpe influenced Rock and Popular music more then most people know. A young Little Richard got his start by opening for her before anybody knew who he was. Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Bob Dylan all cite Sister Rosetta as a major influence, and during her heyday she performed for stadium sized crowds all over the world. In short, Sister Rosetta was a rockstar before Rock n’ Roll even existed.
 Soul Jazz RecordsÂ
For fans of James Brown, Irma Thomas, Tina Turner, and The Meters
When you think of the greatest Soul singers of all time you probably don’t think of the name Betty Harris. Despite being as talented as superstars like Tina Turner and Etta James, Ms. Harris isn’t a household name. During the 1960’s she only released a handful of singles and only a few of those became hits. She then retired in 1970 to focus on her family. While her music has become very popular among Soul record collectors and aficionados over the years, it has never reached a mass audience. Fortunately the good folks at Soul Jazz Records are trying to change that with their recent release, BETTY HARRIS: THE LOST QUEEN OF NEW ORLEANS SOUL!
THE BEGINNING
Born in Orlando FL, in 1941 (or possibly 1939) Ms. Harris started out singing gospel music when she was very young. Part of a very religious family, Harris wasn’t allowed to sing secular music while under her parent’s roof. She left home in her late teens to perform Blues and Soul music in California. After several years on the West Coast she moved to New York City where she hooked up with songwriter/producer Bert Berns. In 1963 she recorded her first hit, “Cry To Me”, a slow rendition of a tune singer Solomon Burke had recorded a year earlier. The song became a big hit for Harris and actually surpassed Burke’s original recording on the national charts! The success of “Cry To Me” inspired a few more releases from the Berns/Harris team including a fiery number called “Mo Jo Hannah”. Unfortunately none of these other recordings because hits and Burns and Harris went their separate ways.
WORKING WITH ALLEN TOUSSAINT
Shortly after her relationship with Burt Berns ended Harris met master Musican/Songwriter Allen Toussaint and began recording for his New Orleans based record label Sansu. Even though only one of the singles she recorded for Sansu charted nationally, the recordings she made while at the label are classic and make up the material on BETTY HARRIS: THE LOST QUEEN OF NEW ORLEANS SOUL. The music on this compilation is all killer-no-filler and ranges from classic R&B to hard funk! While it’s Harris’ larger-then-life vocals that commands the most attention on these songs we must also note that the backing band is made up of some of New Orleans’ finest musicians, including members of the legendary Funk group, The Meters. Like the Funk Brothers at Motown or Booker T. & The MG’s at STAX, The Meters are as important to the recording as the artist they are supporting. Finally, we must also acknowledge that none of these recordings would’ve been possible without master musician/producer Allen Toussiant behind the board. Not only do his talents as a producer take these recordings to another level, he also wrote almost all of these songs!
FANTASTIC NEGRITO: THE LAST DAYS OF OAKLANDÂ
LABEL: Blackball Universe
For fans of Fishbone, Tom Waits, Funkadelic, Junior Kimbrough
For those of you who believe there is no more good new music being released these days, I invite you to listen to the new album, THE LAST DAYS OF OAKLAND, from multi-instrumentalist Fantastic Negrito. Born Xavier Dphrepaulezz, and raised in a strict and religious household, the man now known as Fantastic Negrito is one of the most exciting artists to emerge from the Bay Area music scene in a long time. He moved to Oakland when he was 12 years old and immediately immersed himself in the wide variety of music styles that make up the Bay Area music scene. This explains to us why Dphrepaulezz’s own musical style really can’t be described as one genre. Elements of Funk, Soul, Gospel, Folk, and Blues make up the songs on THE LAST DAYS OF OAKLAND, and much like the city the album is named after, the music on the album is wonderful blend of styles and culture.
While this might be the first release for “Fantastic Negrito” it’s not the first release for Xavier Dphrepaulezz. In the early 90’s Dphrepaulezz was living in Los Angeles and briefly signed to Interscope Records and released one album. The album failed to satisfy the powers that be at Interscope and he was released from the label. Frustrated he actually gave up music. He then was involved in a terrible car accident which left him bedridden for several months. He returned to Oakland and several years later after the birth of his son the creative juices started to flow again and “Fantastic Negrito” was born.
The music on THE LAST DAYS OF OAKLAND takes the listener on a journey through the history of American roots music. The haunting Blues-Gospel tune “In The Pines” is a song that dates back to the late 1800’s and has been covered by everyone from Leadbelly to Nirvana. Here the song is given new life by Fantastic Negrito who recently released an accompanying video to the song that talks about the impact of gun violence in America today. Another stand-out track on the record is “Lost In The Crowd”. Originally released on his Deluxe LP in 2015 Fantastic Negrito commands your attention while he screams and shouts through this bluesy-rocker. A word also must be mentioned about the album’s cover art. The cover art features a character sitting a top a street sign that marks the location of Saint Andrews Plaza in West Oakland. Behind them is a beautiful drawing of the City of Oakland and a sunset. It might not be as important as the music on the record but the cover art truly makes this album a complete work of art. For fans who like something a little different or are fans of artists like Tom Waits, Fishbone, and Funkadelic, THE LAST DAYS OF OAKLAND is a must have.