Aretha Franklin's Sister! Funky Nassau, Let Your Feet Down Easy and More!
I bought 1,000 45s over the holidays from a lady on Facebook market. She was selling her personal collection and we struck a deal for all of them for $50. I have this odd fascination with sorting, cleaning and listening to 45s. Most record collectors find them annoying but think about it…an artist went in the studio to record just two songs. Two! And of those two, just one needed to be a hit. So to me, 45s offer an opportunity to stumble on an artist’s best attempt at recording a hit song. Often those songs didn’t “hit” on the current charts but listening back now can still provide a wonderful song to have in one’s collection. They also make for great DJ’ing, not having to lug around an entire LP for just one song. This is a long winded introduction to tell you that sometimes 45s hold great little nuggets and they can usually be found cheap. So cheap that if they sound awful or are chipped or broken, I’ll recycle them to my wife who teaches art and can use as painting projects for her students at school.
Before we jump into the music, I’m including more gear updates at the end of this email for those interested in my vintage audio restoration hobby.
Here are five songs I found interesting this week…
1) Funky Nassau - The Beginning of the End
Let the dancing begin…this was the first 45 I found in the lot of 1,000 that really excited me. Just look at that beautiful green Alston label (sometimes it’s the little things that mean the most). This song is a wonderful funky Caribbean jam that can be played over and over, especially during the warmer months. The songs (Pt 1 and 2) are featured on the full length album also entitled Funky Nassau. If you dig the singles, be sure to check out the full album. I hope to find a LP copy of it very soon! Unfortunately, I was reminded that the song was arguably butchered in the Blues Brothers 2000 movie. When I say arguably butchered, I’m being kind. Just look the scene up on YouTube to see what I mean. I refuse to link to it here to avoid any confusion on the classic track which should be listened to loud. I don’t even know why I’m mentioning it here. Okay, I’ll stop. GO LISTEN TO FUNKY NASSAU!
2) Ain’t No Sunshine - Bill Withers
Duh. Look, I’m not going to spend time trying to convince you of the genius of Bill Withers’ classic. This 45 was also included in the large lot I bought over the holidays and there is something about putting that little black disc on my turntable and playing this song that makes it that much more special. We’ve all heard it a million times but when was the last time you really sat down and put it on your turntable and just…listened? Here’s what I love about this song and Bill Withers in general…you could argue Bill was more of a folk artist than an R&B star. Watch this video of him performing Ain’t No Sunshine. It’s mostly just him and his acoustic guitar with him keeping time by hitting the guitar during the “I know, I know” parts of the song that are almost as captivating as Booker T’s production of the original song with all of the lush strings. Just keep watching the video to see Bill perform the Beatles’ Let It Be for further folk evidence. Credit Booker T. Jones for taking a folk song and pushing it into multiple genres making it the classic, haunting song we know today.
3) Let Your Feet Down Easy - Dorothy Norwood
I found two copies of this 45 of Let Your Feet Down Easy a few weeks ago in a Goodwill store. I was not aware of Dorothy Norwood nor the label, GRC Records. I did a quick search and saw she was a gospel singer so I tossed the 45s into my stack and brought them home with me. After listening at home I was excited to hear an upbeat 70’s funky gospel song that starts slow and then kicks in at the chorus with those wonderful background vocals. I love the 70’s style guitar and when Dorothy sings the “Working like a dog…” bridge around the 1:38 mark. I don’t find 45s like this often, especially in a Goodwill. Finding two copies of this made me so happy. I can’t wait to drop this into a DJ mix soon.
4) There’s Got To Be Rain In Your Life - Dorothy Norwood
While researching Dorothy for the above song post, I also discovered her song, There’s Got To Be Rain In Your Life. The premise of the song is that in order to appreciate when things are going good in your life, you have to also experience bad times. In order to appreciate the sunshine, you have to suffer through the rain. The section that jumps out most says: “When trouble comes, that’s rain, when you’re sad, that’s rain; When the tears are falling down, That’s rain; When death comes calling, It ain’t nothing BUT rain”. No one wants to suffer through the rain, but by doing so, we get to enjoy the sunshine. Something to remember when hard times inevitably arrive.
5) I Can’t Love Without You - Carolyn Franklin
I stopped by my local record store yesterday and while shuffling through the F bin and Aretha Franklin records, I saw an album cover that was new to me. I assumed it was an Aretha album but noticed it said Carolyn Franklin instead. Huh? I flipped it over and there was Aretha’s father talking about how his youngest daughter, Carolyn, could sing better than both of her older sisters. Even more enticing was the album was still sealed. I added it to my stack. We listened last night and what I noticed was that even though they are sisters, Aretha still has a certain…something…in her voice that makes her stand out among her other sisters. Carolyn had a hard time breaking through in the industry but found success writing songs for Aretha. Carolyn passed away from breast cancer in 1988. If you’re a fan of classic soul, listen to Carolyn’s album, Baby Dynamite. I think you will enjoy it.
Here are links to the Songs Recovered playlists on Apple and Spotify!
GEAR PROJECTS
I finished rebuilding the Marantz 2230 receiver and it sounds great. This is the first time I’ve rebuilt this many boards in a unit and was happy that everything operated as it should when I was done. I rebuilt both amp boards, the preamp board, the phono board and the power supply board. I sold it to a friend who I work with and he was very happy once he got it plugged up and started listening.
I also sold the Sansui 2000x I’ve been working on since last year to my friend Jordan (who subscribes to this newsletter, hi Jordan!) last week and received his Marantz 2216 as part of the deal. I look forward to repairing the Marantz soon.
And lastly, I’ve been working on the Sherwood S-7200 receiver all week and now have it up and running. When I bought it, the seller said it had a weak left channel. I recapped the tone board and the left channel came back great and then the right channel stopped working. Fun. I slept on it, double checked my work after reading some online advice and figured out my mistake. Now the unit is playing great on both channels. I’m going to replace a few noisy transistors on that tone board and then replace some burned out lamps and it should be ready to sell.
Also, the gear fairy brought me three free pieces of gear last week. First is my boss’ old Denon receiver that no longer works. I assume it just needs a transistor replaced. I was also given another Denon receiver and a power conditioner that was no longer being used in an office space. Those are all standard “black plastic” pieces of gear but there isn’t any reason to be snobby about early Denon gear…it still sounds great. I joke that when stereo equipment needs a place to retire, it comes to me. I was happy to receive all of those pieces this past week. I will find them all new homes!
I think that does it for this week. Thanks for reading and subscribing to this newsletter. You can find more of my writing at my website: aaronhartley.me.
Also, check out the Aaron Calling podcast where I call one of my best friends, Aaron Ford, to talk about music, records and more. Listen on Apple or Spotify!
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