Hello Again Kats & Kittens, Friend & Fiend,
We have a cure! We have a cure! Hmmm….
ONWARD!
Today we celebrate the small guys, the little labels puttering along trying to make the meeting of ends….Minneapolis, Cold State’s SECRET STASH Records is a small, good, worthy of your attention, label. These Kats cast a worldwide net for the good, the odd, the off kilter, they catch a lot….so lets go fishing!
This first KAT was an amazing singer/entertainer/truck driver….SONNY KNIGHT!…we cannot state it any better than ERIC FOSS overlord of SECRET STASH.
“Vitality is defined as the power to live or grow, and perseverance pertains to the qualities of moving forward when an obstacle stands in your way. The music of soul man Sonny Knight brims with these essential life traits because he exudes them. Along with his 7-piece powerhouse band, The Lakers, the 68 year-old retired truck driver has created a sound that extends much deeper than throwback soul.”
Amen brother, we had the joyous chance to witness SONNY & THE LAKERS….outstanding is one word…..the scene=THE MINT, 2015 LALA…. MR. FOSS on skins, starts the mayhem…..the other 6 pieces join…..funky soul….the machine has started, there is no off switch….then like Brother JAMES (you know who), MR. SONNY KNIGHT leaps to the stage…heavenly clouds open, god rays fall over Mr. K, he’s magnetic….sweet funky soul…MR. FOSS never, ever stops hitting the skins…jaw drops, skin turns goosey, MR. K keeps singin’, band keeps playin’…90 minutes WITHOUT STOPPING…not to talk or drink or re-tune….Sweaty? hell yes! Fine soul music! MORE HELL YES! Sad though, MR. KNIGHT passed away in 2017….THE LAKERS made a couple more records with him…check button above.
Here’s 3 from the I’m Still Here LP. this was Mr. KNIGHT’s debut album, 50 years after he released a single at age 17. “I’m Still Here” parts 1&2 & “Hey Girl”.
This next piece is a rare find…1972…Mexico City…bunch of local studio gems, get together & put forth an amazing Psyche-Funk record…just for fun….then poof, gone….about 1500 LPs were pressed…SECRET STASH found the master tapes….here’s the re-issue of GRUPO OZ from the amazing Miss Thing LP….with “OZ Machine”. Fresh as today’s news…..go buy now….
Keepin’ the funk on 11….we visit with OZZIE TORRENS…SECRET STASH found a stash of very Kool Boogaloo music outta Spanish Harlem, NYC…. mid- ‘60s….the Compilation is Long Live Boogaloo….super fun record….makes feet move…Boogaloo vinyls are a hard find….Having this comp. takes some of the pain away…..boogie on….
from the Long Live Boogaloo LP, “Mia’s Boogaloo”….get dancin’
MOJO time! MOJO & HIS “CHI4” off the superb Twin Cities Funk & Soul comp. Such a Kool find…a great story told in the liner notes of a burgeoning R&B scene in Minneapolis/St. Paul, early ‘60s….here’s “She’s A Whole Lot’s A Woman”….yes indeed…
JOHNNY SAYLES is gonna slow it down…with “Whole Lot of Lovin’”. Early on, Mr. SAYLES is part of IKE TURNER’S RHYTHM KINGS… migrates to Chi-Town gets a good deal with MAR-V-LUS records, Hugely, Biggly stage presence, prefers live stage to recording…
From the painstakingly thorough MAR-V-LUS: The One-Derful! Collection. This compilation took over two years to create, research, cleansing master tapes, cataloging….endless cups of Joe….but this is why we love this label, the attention to deal, bar none…
Cannot stop the Boogaloo….another from the Long Live Boogaloo comp…HERBIE OLIVIERI & THE LATIN BLUES BAND….”We Belong Together”.
To PERU! with ENRIQUE DELGADO,(Father of Peruvian Cumbia) & LOS DESTELLOS…these Kats were ahead of the curve…Peruvian Cumbia with an Electric Guitar as lead….never done before…they changed music in Peru forever.
Here’s “Pachanga Española” from the wonderful 1971 Constelacion album.
TABOU COMBO is up for fun with “Ti Gran Moon”. Haiti’s most successful band, ever…Brass Ring time!…scene = 1967, world tours, fame, cash, going great….then “let’s disband”, say whaaaa? They separate….most of the band emigrate to US…..then 1971, reform in Brooklyn, NYC, …skies clear, things look upward…1975 they make this record….yay! from the Respect album.
Funky time with HARRY MOSCO from the For You Specially LP….Early ‘70’s Mr. MOSCO births band THE FUNKEES in his native Nigeria….they hit big , but stay local….they get bored, move to London…strain of big city breaks band. Mr. MOSCO stays in London records more, Nigeria money man G. A. D. TABANSI finds Mr. M, they record this album, it did bubkiss, got lost… then found….a gem of a record…here’s “Usassa Funk”.
“London Special” on the turntable from the fantabulous LP Destruction…by Nigeria’s NKENGAS..1970’s Nigerian Music by way of London…1973, this a very rare vinyl record….enjoy! or better, buy!
BENNY SHARP & THE SHARPIES are gonna mark up the place….with “Wagon Wheel” soul…..off The One-Derful! Collection: Midas Records….fantastic compilation here….South Side Chitown 60’s soul….can’t get none better.
More from the One-Derful! Record label… these are so well done, the research & detail is perfect…here’s LIZ LANDS with “The 7th Hour”.
Finally going to Church with THE GOSPEL SOULS off the gospel compilation THE ONE-DERFUL! COLLECTION: Halo Records. This is the Gospel wing of the LEANER BROS. Musical Fiefdom….so let’s get on up, cuz, “The Fire Keeps On Burning In My Heart” both parts.
One-Derful!, MAR-V-LUS, Midas, M-Pac, Toddlin’ Town, Halo Records were all one family company of record labels, George & Ernie Leaner…South Chitown…thank you!
Hope you liked the ride, if so, go buy music at SECRET STASH….We’d like to thank Mr. E. FOSS for scrounging & resurrecting the Kool Tunes….
Thanks for listening, until tomorrow.
Peace & Distance.
