Welcome back Soul Children.

I hope your extended Easter break was as enjoyable as mine? I spent the weekend unwinding and letting off steam and even managed to find time to sort through the new piles of 45s I’ve recently scored to lay down a new mix for you!

For those amongst you that are here on a late pass, Marius Zahl Johnsen’s sublime guest mix is still available to grab. Head straight HERE now without delay if you missed the funky boat first time round.

I’m also privileged to have been asked to contribute to ‘Your No 1 Record’, an ongoing series my good friend DJ Blueprint is running over at his fantastic blog This Is Tomorrow which you can check out right HERE. He is also over here in the UK at the moment and you can catch him spinning later on this week on the 16th April in Liverpool. Check his site HERE for details. Don’t sleep on this one, having seen DJ Blueprint in action as a guest at one of our nights I can definitely vouch that you’ll be in for a funky good time!

Onto business and as I mentioned earlier I managed to put together a new mix over the weekend. The majority of today’s selections are all new finds (to me anyway!) and came from the hoards of two different south coast record dealers I managed to dig through in the past weeks.

We start things off with the legendary Sam Cooke, an artist whose influence has undeniably been stamped right across soul music. ‘It’s Got The Whole World Shakin’ was a 45 I had been hankering after ever since first hearing it. Full of energy, it showcases another side to the hugely versatile talent of Sam Cooke. Taken from his LP ‘Shake’, I’m sure you’ll agree it’s a perfect way to kick off proceedings here.

Milton Martin is an artist I know very little about to be honest, but being aware of the Soul-Po-Tion Record label as well as recognizing the Writer & Producer Bobby Marchane, I knew it was worth taking a punt on this. I’m glad I did as I ended up with a nice slice of upbeat Southern Soul for my troubles.

This Muscle Shoals Horns 45 from 1976 was something that I scored several months back. Unfortunately I lost track of it in the recent relocation of The Hook and Sling HQ. Now it’s been retrieved and filed appropriately after its airing here.

Kicking it up a notch is this Ricky Thomas 45, ‘Little Miss Funky Soul’. This one’s all about the fantastic horn rises! I’ve played this out the last couple of times I’ve Dee-Jayed and as well as being a great little dancer, it’s also proved to be some what of a head turner at the same time! I’ve seen a few copies around on sales lists and Ebay so it shouldn’t be too difficult to turn up with a little bit of legwork. Well worth every penny IMHO.

‘Uptitch’ from the interestingly named Profound Images is a 45 that has an almost car chase style feeling to it and certainly wouldn’t be out of place in a Blaxploitation movie. Released on the Kris Record label it books at somewhere between £30 - £50 on sales lists, thankfully with some negotiating I secured my copy for a price that was a little easier on the wallet!

Not to be confused with the legendary jazz saxophonist who died several years earlier from his own excesses, this Lester Young teams up here with The Famous California Playboys. A backing group that’s perhaps not as famous as their name suggests, as there seems to be very little information available on them. The track is a great funky R&B stomper led along nicely by the almost percussive chicken scratch guitar. Released on the same Unity Records as L.J. Waiters, it’s proved to be a great little find with the dancers at our night.

New Orleans legend Dave Bartholomew keeps the groove rolling along with this Imperial release ‘The Monkey’. Somewhat of a social commentary, this 45 was something I scored a long while ago and had forgotten all about until I heard it played out at Jukebox Jam recently, prompting me to dig it out for today’s mix.

Into the soulful finish with this fantastic trio of Northern Soul 45s and first up is the American football themed ‘Backfield In Motion’ by Mel & Tim, a 45 that made #3 on the R&B charts in 1969. It was picked up by the Northern Soul scene in the 70’s and became a straight up classic still getting decent plays out now.

Jackie Edwards made the transition over from Reggae to drop the highly soulful ‘I Feel Bad’ on Chris Blackwell’s Island Record label. This (unfortunately for me) is taken from the 70’s second pressing which is considerably cheaper and easier to obtain than the £450 plus original!!

We wrap things up here with Al De Lory And Mandango’s feel good 45 ‘Right On’ taken from the 1971 Capitol Records release. Aside from the great piano in this from Al De Lory, the cut features some gorgeous strings and punchy horns. Over the last couple of months since I started playing it out it’s already become a new favourite with The Hook And Sling dancers. Truly top stuff!

That’s about it for today, enjoy the mix and rest assured I have some great stuff lined up for you in the next couple of weeks.

Track List

Sam Cooke – It’s Got The Whole World Shakin’ – RCA Victor

Milton Martin – Here I Yam – Soul-Po-Tion Records

Muscle Shoals Horns – Hustle To The Music – London

Ricky Thomas – Little Miss Funky Soul – Veep

Profound Images – Uptitch – Kris Records

Lester Young And The Famous California Playboys – Funky, Funky Horse Pt1 – Unity Records

Dave Bartholomew – The Monkey – Imperial

Mel And Tim – Backfield In Motion – Concord Records

Jackie Edwards – I Feel So Bad – Island

Al De Lory & Mandango – Right On – Capitol Records

Download Mr Double Down Presents The Down Low HERE