We're Making News

Aptly Titled "Almighty Gospel" Launches New LocoBop Series

LocoBop News - August 5, 2010

Almighty Gospel Volume One is the first release in LocoBop’s series showcasing southern gospel at its best.

The album opens with the Memphis All Stars giving the full Memphis treatment to traditional favorite “Jesus on the Mainline”. This is punctuated with “Go Tell It On The Mountain” by the Soulful Heavenly Stars from New Orleans. Also from the Crescent City, the Mighty Chariots of Fire put their rousing stamp on “Wade in the Water”. Memphis fixture Jackie Johnson next belts out her version of “Revive Us Again”, recorded live in France.

Don Bryant gave up his career as a rising artist on the Memphis soul scene in the 1960s to concentrate on writing songs for others on the Hi label. Among his hits: “Can’t Stand the Rain”, recorded by his wife Ann Peebles. From Don’s own gospel album, It’s All in the Word, we feature the songs “Highest Praise” with the Saints of Carnegie and “My God” featuring Larry Dodson of the Bar-Kays.

“If You Believe” is powerful testimony rendered by Detroit’s Green Brothers. And the ‘world famous’ Zion Harmonizers of New Orleans offer heartfelt assurance that you are “Never Alone” with the Lord. The catchy “I Am” is superbly performed by Rev. C.E. Hodges, perhaps better known as Charles Hodges, whose signature organ sound is heard on all of Al Green’s hits.

In their typically inspired style, those ladies from New Orleans known as the Voices of Distinction ask the sobering question:”What You Gonna Do?” The always classy Bemiss Brothers reach right to the heart with a wonderful performance of “The Moment I Believed”. From former Sweet Obsession member, Keena Green - daughter of Bobby Green (the Green Brothers) – brings the congregation to their feet with “Worldly Christian”.

Rooster: New Orleans Bluesman "Born in Mississippi"

LocoBop News - August 1, 2010

As Curtis Wheeler, a/k/a Rooster, explains on the title cut of this classic blues outing, “I was born in Mississippi, raised down in New Orleans; I ate red beans and rice, made love to a Cajun queen.” So how would you describe the music he makes? Mississippi Delta electric blues meets Big Easy soul and musicianship.

The result is a brand of stone-cold originality that makes even the blandest-sounding blues arrangement sit up and bark at the moon. Check out the single live cut on the program here, “Cell Phone Blues,” recorded at The Bubba Mac Shack on New Jersey’s south shore. The format is traditional electric blues, but the musicianship, as evidenced by extended blues solos, is more than a cut or two above average, making the track a real stand-out. But so is the next track, “I’m a Stranger in Your Town,” a fairly simple blues lyric backed by a hyper-shuffle rhythm and some complex, hard driving horn charts.

And never mind that the last three tracks are straight-out Nashville country blues, complete with pedal-steel guitar and falsetto yodeling. The Rooster method will never catch you napping -- a showman first and foremost, Rooster’s fresh take on the blues genre begins just where other blues bands leave off.

Summer Hitwave Continues with Barrel House, Swamp Pop, and New Orleans Soul:

Di Anne Price, G.G. Shinn, and Chewy Thunderfoot Black

LocoBop News - July 22, 2010

Memphis pianist-vocalist Di Anne Price is the undisputed Barrel House Queen, the living spirit of classic blues divas Ida Cox, Alberta Hunter, Stippie Wallace, and Memphis Minnie. A profoundly soulful singer, her expressive voice is etched with pain or brimming with sly humor while tickling the ivories barrel piano style on two-fisted shuffles, rolling blues, and boogie woogie workouts.

- Jazz Times

Di Anne’s stride piano balances jazz with ragtime and blues in a way that's so old-fashioned it's refreshingly new. Close your eyes, and it’s like stumbling into a 1940s barrelhouse.

- The Commercial Appeal

She has the kind of voice you turn to in the wee, small hours - dark and smoky like your favorite bar, warm and smooth as a glass of good bourbon. It's the voice of romance and desire, of loneliness and loss.

– Bill Ellis

Di Anne gets to the heart and meaning of a song that appeals to everyone. “When I play this music, sing these songs, I'm saying ‘share this story with me. I want real drums, real bass, and I want it to be my voice that people hear, not something created in a studio.”

Di Anne’s approach to music is shared with "Her Boyfriends" - drummer Tom Lonardo, saxophonist Jim Spake, and bassist Tim Goodwin. "Playing with them makes my back tingle. It's like making love," Di Anne says. "When we play, we're telling a story, and no matter where I start, they go with me."

- John Taylor – Blues On Stage

While Cajun and zydeco usually gets the most attention, there’s a special brand of music that evolved along the Gulf Coast of southeast Texas and on the prairies of southwestern Louisiana called “swamp pop” and it remains a favorite genre for legions of regional music fans, not to mention music lovers all around the world.

What makes “swamp pop” work? Authenticity. Really good “swamp pop” makes you an instant believer in the ability of white musicians to express their own kind of soulfulness. For example? Janis Joplin, raised in Port Arthur on the Texas Gulf Coast, not far from the Louisiana state line.

Simply put, swamp pop combines early R&B formats with a mainstream sensibility and a strong blues feeling. But what makes this music unusual is that most swamp pop musicians, and a large part of the music’s audience, are white, which makes “swamp pop” and “blue-eyed soul” something like kissin’ cousins.

G.G. Shinn is one those southeast Louisiana musicians famous among fans of “swamp pop” but mostly unheard of by the majority of music fans. Lead vocalist on the landmark 1965 recording debut of The Fabulous Boogie Kings, who have since become a fixture on the “swamp pop” scene, G.G.’s dramatic and accomplished “blue-eyed soul” stylings will make an instant believer of anyone who loves early rock’n’roll, big-band R&B arrangements, and hard-driving blues.

You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down is filled with more than its fair share of hip- swiveling rockers, boogie-on-down shuffles, and plaintive, heart-breaking ballads. As a showcase for the range of G.G.’s talent, one listen will have you convinced, along with Boogie Kings leader Ned Theall, that “G.G. Shinn will long be remembered as one of the finest entertainers southeast Louisiana has ever produced.”

Talk about an “old school” education.

Before heading out on his own in the mid-1990s, Chewy “Thunderfoot” Black was the drummer and musical director for nearly decade behind Buddy Ace, the “Silver Fox” of the blues. Prior to that, the versatile R&B artist had toured extensively with such icons of soul as Joe Tex, Johnny Adams, Tommy Ridgely, Earl King, and Malaco Records star, Z.Z. Hill.

But simply calling Chewy “old school” hardly begins to describe the finesse, grit, and deep feeling the versatile and accomplished vocalist, drummer, and bandleader brings to this hard-rocking and impassioned collection of inspired hit covers.

The selections range across the emotional spectrum, from Johnnie Taylor’s soulful “Who’s Making Love?” to Sam Cooke’s joyous “Bring It on Home to Me” to Kris Kristofferson’s tender “Help Me Make It Through the Night.”

And, making use of a select group of top New Orleans R&B musicians, Chewy has crafted some classic “old school” arrangements for this recording that highlight the hard-driving sound of a full-complement road band.

Check out, for example, the big-band drive of Chris Kenner’s classic “Sick and Tired,” with its horn section and smoking tenor solo by R&B master Jerry Jumonville. Or dig the electric guitar riffs that cascade over the opening verse of Dobie Gray’s Caribbean-laced “Drift Away.”

In the mood for some road-tested, get-down party music? Then check out Chewy “Thunderfoot” Black and his hard-driving vocal soulmanship.

Memphis All Stars: Riding the Blues Train

LocoBop News - July 17, 2010

Every track on Blues Train by The Memphis All-Stars is reminiscent of the great Motown groups like the Isley Brothers and Four Tops with an extra spicy ingredient: that kicking soulful character that emanated from their home town’s own Stax Records during the same era.

This music will simmer in your blood, overflow into your mind, body, and soul, and make you smile from the inside out!

Greg Reding (keyboards, guitar, and vocals) was a session player for Stax and toured with Albert King in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. From 1973 to 1979, Greg was lead guitarist and keyboardist for Black Oak Arkansas. He then worked with Stephen Stills before returning to Memphis where he formed The Memphis All-Stars in 1983.

Robert Clayborne (keyboards and vocals) has backed such greats as Denise LaSalle, Tyrone Davis, Rufus Thomas, Yolanda Adams, Al Green, and others. Henry "Sly Diesel” Clayborne (bass, keyboards, and vocals) has played with Fred Sample, Little Milton, The Coasters, and The Drifters to name a few. Walter White (drums and vocals) started playing professionally at the age of 18 with Gospel greats such as the Rev. Clay Evans. Switching to R&B, he played with the Bar-Kays among others before joining the Memphis All-Stars.

Soul Legend Don Bryant Puts His Stamp on Southern Gospel

LocoBop News - July 15, 2010

Don Bryant’s success writing hits for artists at Hi Records overshadowed his status as one of the best soul singers of the 1960s. Born into a Memphis family of 10 children in 1942, Bryant caught the attention of Willie Mitchell singing in a doo wop group. Through Mitchell, Bryant’s original song "Is There Someone Else on Your Mind" was cut by the Five Royales, and he signed to Hi Records, releasing his first single in 1964.

Don discovered his real niche as a songwriter in 1972 when Mitchell assigned him to work with new signee Ann Peebles. Bryant’s and Peebles’s creative and personal chemistry blossomed into marriage two years later. It also resulted in many of Peebles' signature songs (e.g., "I Can't Stand the Rain”) and created a demand for Don’s material from other Hi stars like Al Green, Syl Johnson, O.V. Wright, and Otis Clay. Meantime, his own recording career flagged and when Hi's heyday ended, Bryant and Peebles both took a hiatus from the music industry, during which time Don found himself drawn to the church.

While his songs are still heard everywhere, Bryant has become committed to the spiritual life. In 2000, he teamed with Ann’s long time keyboardist/producer Paul Brown to cut It’s All in the Word. The album highlights Don’s anointed talent as a gospel singer/songwriter and presents 15 tracks of awesome, powerful testimony. From the passionate soul stirring melody of Rest Well, to the Mountain moving, Holy Ghost adlibs on He’s Alright, every note on this recording was seasoned with a sanctified soul-drenched spirit.

And by the way, Don is joined on this album by his wife Ann Peebles, and many old friends, like Tamiko Jones and Larry Dodson of the Bar-Kays.

More Summer Heat:

The Creole Zydeco Farmers, The Melody Clouds, and Charles Jacobs

LocoBop News - July 8, 2010

Designed to re-create the ambiance and pacing of a live Zydeco set at a rural dance hall, the set list for My Big-Foot Woman by the Creole Zydeco Farmers contains mostly originals -- heart-pumping dance romps mixed with soulful zydeco blues and graceful country waltzes -- along with a few familiar favorites, like the uptempo “C.C. Rider,” a two-step “Hound Dog,” and even a zydeco take on the 1970s hit “Disco Lady.”

The Melody Clouds were founded in 1965 by the late Leo Jackson, Sr. as a family-based endeavor and continue today with four members of the Jackson family remaining central to the group’s muscular, groove-driven sound. To sample The Melody Clouds’ riveting musical style, check out “Lord, You Brought Me Through,” with its stop-rhythm beats in the chorus, twinned keyboard-and-fuzz-toned-guitar rolling rhythm, combined with old-school gospel quartet harmonies.

It takes a rare gift to install yourself in the competitive environs of New Orleans’ famed Bourbon Street and consistently draw capacity audiences night after night, even when other clubs are standing empty. And it’s a rarer gift even than that to have achieved this reputation with only a stripped-down quartet that plays nothing but straight electric blues. In New Orleans. On Bourbon Street. Growing up in Mississippi, Charles Jacobs absorbed all the hardcore blues influences he could lay his ears on, from Lightnin’ Hopkins and Howlin’ Wolf to B.B. King and T-Bone Walker, Ray Charles and Brook Benton to Johnny Taylor and James Brown. This album leaves no doubt that Charles Jacobs has become one of the greatest living Blues Masters.

LocoBop & Sound of New Orleans Artists Featured at Italian Music Festivals This Month

LocoBop News - July 5, 2010

The Coolbone Brass Band, one of the Big Easy's more venerable brass bands, takes center stage at the 10th annual Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy this month. (the Sound of New Orleans act will have its first digital album released via LocoBop two weeks from now). The Umbria Jazz Festival, which brings many of the world's hottest jazz performers to Perugia each year, runs July 9th through July 18th.

Fours days after Umbria, The Porretta Soul Festival will feature LocoBop's dynamic Detroit duo The Green Brothers (Al & Bobby) at its 22^nd annual salute to soul music. Appearing with them will be their producer, LocoBop's Memphis A&R Chief and ex-Stax guitar maestro, Bobby Manuel. The festival kicks off July 22nd at Rufus Thomas Park in Porretta Terme (Bologna), Italy and runs through July 25th.

Hot July Forecast by Eclectic Trio of Releases from Sound of New Orleans

LocoBop News - July 1, 2010

Doug Daniels, a New Orleans showman of the first order who goes by the name of Phat2sday, is an eclectic artist who writes some great original tunes celebrating the eccentric life of The Big Easy, and mixes second-line rhythms with an easy going hip-hop overlay.

And it certainly doesn’t hurt that he’s got some of the Crescent City’s finest funk musicians playing behind him, or that he’s got the hip-hop brass band Coolbone guesting on a couple of tracks. Combined with Phat2sday’s great gift for narrative, there’s not a track on this totally entertaining CD that’s not fun AND funky.

Chucky C and Clearly Blue offer expertly played ensemble arrangements with smokin’ solos and locked-in back-up grooves, the kind of flawless funk that goes perfectly with a smoke filled room, beautiful women dressed to the nines, and a full glass of top-shelf libation sitting in front of you.

That's no less than you'd expect from a man whose credits include Percy Mayfield, O.V. Wright, and Syl Johnson; Edie Brickell, Maria Muldaur, and Bo Diddley; Irma Thomas, Marva Wright, Marcia Ball, Tracy Nelson, and Aaron Neville.

And the résumés of his band members in Clearly Blue are equally impressive (including gigs with Gatemouth Brown, The Neville Brothers, Boz Scaggs, Percy Sledge, Allen Toussaint, and Buddy Miles, to name a few).

The world famous Zion Harmonizers of New Orleans deliver 15 classic examples of the art of male-quartet harmonizing in the joyful praising of the Lord on thier album entitled "Never Alone". Recorded in 1982 and 1990, this is joyful praising that can take many forms, from old-style jubilee singing to down-home Baptist shouts to contemporary R&B-style crooning.

Check out, for instance, two extreme examples: the gorgeous a cappella treatment of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” a pure blend of jubilee, shout, and doo-wop styles expounded within a stately, deliberate rhythm; or the high-powered, backwoods treatment of “Tied Up (in Jesus),” with hand-clapping, organ swirls, and clipped-chord rhythm-guitar driving the quartet at what seems like an impossible speed.

Three New Summer Compilations

LocoBop News - June 25, 2010

Fans tell us it's high time for new releases from three of LocoBop's more popular compilation series. We agree, and here they are, chock full of great tracks from outstanding artists.

Soul Rangers Vol. III contains 12 tracks from icons like Jerry Butler, Eddie Floyd, Rufus & Carla Thomas, J. Blackfoot, Luther Ingram, The Masqueraders, Dobie Gray, and Tommy Tate, plus the fantastic Memphis All Stars, our hot Detroit duo The Green Brothers, as well as two favorites from New Orleans: Charles Jacobs and Chewy Thunderfoot Black.

For soul loving romantics (all of us, for sure), Soul Romantix Vol. II gets you in the mood with Ruby Wilson, Shirley Brown, Luther Ingram, The Masqueraders, "The Ice Man" Jerry Butler, Randy Brown, Tara Darnell, Les Getrex, Dobie Gray, J. Blackfoot, and R.B. Hudmon.

And then there are the divas, the Divine Soul Divas Vol. II, in fact: Carla Thomas, Shirley Brown, Keena Green, Brenda Patterson, Amber, Tara Darnell, Carol Fran, Veda Love, Ruby Wilson, and Di Anne Price! One listen to this album will convince you (if you didn't already know) that these particular divas are very divine indeed.

Mixing it up . . . Blues, Gospel, and Cajun!

LocoBop News - June 17, 2010

Blues Man’s Ball Volume Three is the third release in LocoBop’s series showcasing southern blues at its best, and we’ve got to say this is the strongest compilation yet! Every track is a must-have for blues aficionados.

Featured artists include Albert King, Eddie Cotton, Carla Thomas (her live version of "Little Red Rooster" is a killer), Di Anne Price, and . . . well, you won't be disappointed with any of the 13 artists performing on this album.

From Sound of New Orleans comes The Voices of Distinction. Organized in December 2001, the group’s musical expertise speaks of many more years’ experience, due in part to Audrey Ferguson’s previous experience with one of the Crescent City’s top female gospel groups, the New Orleans Spiritualettes. But The Voices of Distinction bring a fresh sound to the gospel canon, paring away unnecessary musical elements to achieve an unusually clear sense of simplicity and spiritual directness.

Cajun music in southwestern Louisiana traces its lineage back centuries to the migrations of French-speaking people from modern day Nova Scotia in the mid-18th century. That living history and the Cajun culture’s unique identity gives the music a special flavor, with ancient elements that frame modern sounds in a deeply moving but freshly interpreted way.

Nowhere is this more true than on this recording by Beau Bassin Cajun Band. Cajun veteran accordionist and vocalist Kermit Venable leads the band through 18 stellar tracks performed by some of the area’s top Cajun musicians. The album, from Sound of New Orleans, was produced by Jonno Frishberg, a classically trained violinist who has become a died-in-the-wool devoté of authentic Cajun sounds.

We've Got Lots of Brass - and Love

LocoBop News - June 10, 2010

We indulge ourselves this month with a celebration of New Orleans Brass Band music featuring seven of the most renown bands from the Big Easy.

The neighborhood based, small-scale brass band is a special fixture of New Orleans music, with roots that reach back to the 19th century and branches that continue to sprout new leaves well into the 21st century.

Best of the Brass Bands showcases the famed Trémé Brass Band, The Original Dixieland Hall Jazz Band, Coolbone Brass Band, Mahogany Brass Band, The Highsteppers Brass Band, The Smitty Dee/Regal Brass Band, and The Algiers Brass Band.

Also coming from the Crescent City is Bobby Love, who started out in one of New Orleans’ hottest 1970s bands: Deacon John & The Electric Soul Train, a widely recognized major influence on The Meters.

For years, Bobby further honed his skills and reputation as an L.A. session player and leader of Johnnie Taylor's band. He was lured back to New Orleans after refuge from Katrina by an offer to lead French Quarter's long-time headliner, The Market Café Jazz Band. This is a delightful 15 track set, highly representative of New Orleans's best musicians today. But there are two do-not-miss tracks, which are must-haves: A unique version of Gershwin's classic "Summertime" and a Bill Witherish original entitled "NOLA My Home".

June Kick Off:

Carson Whitsett and Papa Don McMinn - Plus Charlie Cuccia and Eddie Boh Paris from Sound of New Orleans

LocoBop News - May 22, 2010

The first week of June starts a heavy summer release schedule from LocoBop and Sound of New Orleans.

First out of the chute, from LocoBop, are Carson Whitsett and Papa Don McMinn.

Carson Whitsett's album, appropriately named Organic, shows off his mastery of the B-3 organ and piano in that gumbo genre of blended Jazz / Soul / R&B / Funk in the traditions of Booker T. & The M.G.s, Jimmy Smith, Ramsey Lewis, Thelonious Monk et al.

Delta Boogie Blues Man Papa Don McMinn releases his 6th album on LocoBop - The Blues Ain't a Color. This is a must have for Papa Don fans - and for all fans of powerful guitar blues, for that matter.

Eddie Boh Paris is certainly one of highest acclaimed trombonists of his generation. Eddie's Album, featuring his Funky 7 Brass Band, is chock full of New Orleans flavored jazz, R&B, blues, and brass band favorites, played by today's top-ranked New Orleans musicians.

Sound of New Orleans also brings us the one and only Charlie Cuccia. The unmistakable Louisiana bon temps party sound compels you to dance as Charlie romps through his self-titled album of Rock & Roll standards..

The Trémé Brass Band - Latest Treat from Sound of New Orleans

LocoBop News - April 22, 2010

The Trémé Brass Band are the real life, everyday soundtrack for Trémé, one of the oldest black neighborhoods in the country and the setting for the acclaimed, eponymous HBO series starring John Goodman. Located just north of New Orleans’ French Quarter, Trémé is a real haven for brass-band music.

The band is Anchored by snare drummer BennyJones, the band’s leader, and bass drummer “Uncle”Lionel Batiste - the sharpest looking septuagenarian you’ll ever meet. Jones and Batiste were both founding members of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band thirty years ago, but neither wanted to tour full-time, so they formed a stay-at-home band that has become a kind of “finishing school” for an entire generation of up and coming New Orleans brass band musicians.

And on any given night in a backstreet barroom, a Trémé Brass Band set can take you almost anywhere with classic brass-band repertoire, like “I Found a New Baby,” “Joe Avery’s Blues,” or the hilarious “I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead (You Rascal, You).” With extended jams and virtuoso solos, they can swing the pants off audience favorites, like “Wonderful World” or a spirited “Darktown Strutters Ball” and “When the Saints/Mama Don’t Allow” medley.

The album, entitled 'I Got A Big Fat Woman', is classic, funky New Orleans brass-band music, recorded live in the studio, and just one listen will easily demonstrate why the National Endowment for the Arts has named the Trémé Brass Band as a national treasure and National Heritage Fellows.

LocoBop CDs Now Available from Amazon

LocoBop News - March 22, 2010

Amazon.com is making LocoBop's entire catalogue available in CD format for those who prefer physical copies of their music. (We do get a number of enquiries for CDs.) Please note that there is a bit of lag time between the date we make digital downloads available and the date Amazon.com is able to make them available as CDs.

Free Download from The Sound of New Orleans Records

LocoBop News - January 22, 2010

The New Orleans Saints will be making their first ever Super Bowl appearance this year. Naturally, the "Who Dat" fans in the Crescent City are all ahoo. In celebration of this historic event, the Sound of New Orleans label is offering a free download of "I Believe: Saints Go All the Way."

To get your free MP3, click here to go to the Sound of New Orleans website, and then click the download link.

Sound of New Orleans is here!

LocoBop News - November 22, 2009

The first two album releases from LocoBop's deal with the Sound of New Orleans label are coming in early December. First artists out of the gate are Cluster Lee and the Powerhouse Blues Band with "Sweet Home New Orleans" and Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers with "Up In Flames."

Cluster Lee is an act in the New Orleans blues tradition; Dwayne Dopsie (son of the late Rockin' Dopsie) is a blazing Zydeco accordionist. Both albums are scheduled for release December 6.

Carla Thomas and Eddie Floyd headline November releases

LocoBop News - October 22, 2009

Southern Soul icons Carla Thomas (the Memphis Queen) and Eddie Floyd lead LocoBop's November slate of album releases.

Carla's album was recorded live at a 2000-year-old Roman amphitheatre in Viennes, France during her 2003 European tour. Her backing band, The Memphis All Star Band, led by guitarist Bobby Manuel, features Carla's brother Marvell Thomas on organ and her sister Vanesse as one of the back-up vocals. Other musicians include Steve Potts (drums), Jimmy Kinard (bass), Jim Spake (sax), Jackie Thomas (trombone), Scott Thompson (trumpet) and Paul Taylor (piano). Opening acts (included on the album) are Memphis gospel-turned-soul dynamo Jackie Johnson and Ellis Hooks, a dynamite soul showman originally from Alabama.

The album POWER captures Eddie Floyd in peak form vocally. With the exception of the opening track (a live version of “Raise Your Hand”), POWER was recorded in Jackson, Mississippi (1979) after the demise of Stax.

But Eddie was surrounded by Stax vets Carson Whitsett (organ and keys), Michael Toles (guitar), Ray Griffin (bass), James Robertson (drums), and the Memphis Horns (Andrew Love and Wayne Jackson). Backing vocals, besides Eddie himself, included Valerie and Cheryl from Amber and Jewel Bass. “The Beat Song” (b/w “London”) was released in Europe by Arista in 1980. All other tracks are being released here for the first time (Eddie did record an earlier version of “I’ll Always Have Faith In You” for Stax).

New York Times salutes Memphis Soul - The Bo-Keys and City Champs

New York Times - July 16, 2009

Memphis soul might be the most meticulously recreated genre, at this moment, in all of pop’s history. Its vibe is so desirable and so possible.

And so some of the musicians at the Southern-soul triple-bill on Wednesday night at Southpaw, in Brooklyn, went at their task like good-time scientists. The Sweet Divines, a girl group from Brooklyn, topped the bill.

The night’s first act was the City Champs, from Memphis, an instrumental trio — guitar (Joe Restivo), keyboards (Al Gamble) and drums (George Sluppick) — playing the night’s broadest references, branching out into jazz yet keeping the heavy, nuanced funk, never too fast, as their backbone.

But the high point of the evening came from the middle act, and especially by musicians from the time and place being heavily referenced. The Bo-Keys, an eight-piece band, are Memphis’s current answer to the Bar-Kays, the Stax record label’s house band in the 1960s and ’70s. (They were in town to take part in the Ponderosa Stomp festival, at Lincoln Center through the weekend.) The band’s boss is the bassist Scott Bomar, but it boasts the trumpeter and singer Ben Cauley, an original member of the Bar-Kays and the only survivor of the plane crash that killed Otis Redding. The band’s visual and aural centerpiece, though, is the gravel-voiced guitarist Charles Skip Pitts, who played the music’s stinging, wrangling leads and chicken-scratched through a wah-wah pedal.

The band’s set was a marvel of discipline and dirt, keeping its dance grooves close to the ground, never overplaying or letting solos spiral beyond their tight spaces. In addition to Memphis soul standards like “Soul Finger” the band played “Theme From Shaft,” for which Mr. Pitts originated the guitar part. (Maybe you can hear it in your head: wicka-wicka.) If you remember that sound as something good but limited, watching him play it was something else. Carefully using harmonics, changing up the rhythm of his strumming, violently sliding his hand up the guitar neck, he created a whole percussive and melodic universe out of wicka-wicka. It was the sound of origin and ownership.

Green Brothers' Soulsville released - with liner notes by Rob Bowman

LocoBop News - May 22, 2009

The long-awaited debut album by The Green The Green Brothers Brothers hits the streets May 29th. Grammy-award winning author Rob Bowman's liner notes tell the incredible story of how this album came together, a saga that began in 1974. As for the album itself, Rob says:

It is uncanny how much all involved in these sessions were able to organically encapsulate the spirit of those bygone days without sounding for a minute like they are trying to sound retro or revive anything. Until I heard the CD, I would never have believed that it was possible in 2009 to make a record like this, even in Memphis, Tennessee.

Listen to clips from the album and read Rob Bowman's compelling story of the Green Brothers.

April Updates

Jerry Butler, Dobie Gray, and Ruby Wilson

LocoBop News - April 22, 2009

Coming in May, three albums produced by multi-Grammy award winning producer Norbert Putnam: Brand New Me by Jerry Butler; Soul Days by Dobie Gray; and A Song for You by Ruby Wilson.

Jerry Butler - "The Ice Man" Jerry Butler has recorded more than 50 albums in a career spanning four decades; his voice is one of the most instantly recognizable in all of music. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer reprises ten of his greatest hits on Brand New Me – but none of the tracks are generic “re-records” or “sound-alikes.” Indeed, they are worthy, new versions of the originals, every bit as enjoyable, and "the Ice Man" is as warmly soulful as ever.

Dobie Gray’s first Top 20 hit was the 1965 breakout recording of "The 'In' Crowd," which he followed with another Motown-style bounce hit, "See You at the Go-Go"; But Dobie is best remembered for his 1973 Top 5 hit, "Drift Away." The follow up, "Loving Arms,” solidified his career as a versatile artist at home in R&B, Pop, and Country. He has also flourished as a songwriter, penning hits for Don Williams, Charley Pride, George Jones, and John Denver, among others. The album Soul Days offers Dobie’s take on R&B classics such as “When a Man Loves a Woman”, and “People Get Ready”, as well new material written by Gray and others.

Ruby Wilson is the undisputed Queen of Beale Street, a Memphis legend whose powerful, emotional, voice has been applauded worldwide. Prior to a stroke earlier this year, she was the headliner at B.B. King's, the epicenter of nightclub entertainment in the Mid-South. Ruby recorded over 10 albums and performed with B.B. King, Ray Charles, Robert Goulet, The Four Tops, Jerry Butler, Willie Nelson, and Isaac Hayes. She was also an accomplished actress, with roles in Black Snake Moan, Cookie's Fortune, The People vs. Larry Flynt, The Chamber, The Client, and The Firm. (Watch her live performance with the Climax Jazz Band in Japan.) Producer Norbert Putnam masterfully showcases Ruby at her best on A Song For You – a collection of classic standards superbly rendered.

Eddie Floyd, Ivory Joe Hunter, Papa Don McMinn

Eddie Floyd’s Sweet Soul. contains 15 knockout performances, including soul classics like "Soul Man,” Funky Broadway" and "Sweet Soul Music," plus Eddie’s own versions of hits he wrote for others, such as "Ninety Nine and One Half" (Wilson Pickett), “634-5789” (Wilson Pickett), and "The Breakdown" (Rufus Thomas). Another treat included on this set is Eddie's solo remake of "You're So Fine," the song that launched his career in 1959 when he was a member of The Falcons. In addition, Eddie gives us updated versions of some of his own trademark hits, including “Knock On Wood”, “Never Found a Girl”, “Bring It On Home”, and “California Girl”.

Ivory Joe Hunter’s lifelong love of country music manifested itself in the late 1960s and early ‘70s as he became a frequent guest on the Grand Ole Opry. The album Live At The Grand Ole Opry was recorded during appearances at The Opry’s Ryman Auditorium in 1971 and 1972. This 15-track collection demonstrates Hunter’s mastery of his craft as a singer, songwriter, and musician.

Papa Don McMinn is a Memphis Music legend. He was instrumental in the rebirth of the Home of the Blues: Beale Street in Memphis Tennessee. During the mid-1980s, Papa Don’s band had the "house gig" at Rum Boogie on the corner of Beale and Highway 61. LocoBop released two Papa Don albums in April (Black Guitar Blues and Live On Beale Street) in addition to our 2008 release of Home Blues. In May, LocoBop debuts a fourth album from Papa Don. Boogie Man, was produced by Willie Pevear under the auspices of executive producers Norbert Putnam and Tom Peters.

Frederick Knight, Keisa Brown

LocoBop’s relationship with Frederick Knight goes back to 1972 when LocoBop founder and managing partner Tim Whitsett signed Frederick to Stax Records. The first fruit of that deal produced Frederick’s iconic hit “I’ve Been Lonely For So Long.” Frederick’s career as an artist, producer, songwriter, and label owner has since generated numerous notable records, particularly one of the most representative hits of the disco era, “Ring My Bell” by Anita Ward. We’ll be releasing Frederick’s album Knight Time in May.

Also coming in May, I’ll Carry You by Keisa Brown, produced by Frederick Knight. Before Keisa died of an extended illness in 2006, she was headlining concerts throughout the USA and Europe and working as a back-up singer with superstars Gladys Knight, Neil Diamond, Tina Turner, Patti LaBelle, Boyz II Men, and Brandy.

The Green Brothers, Keena Green, and Divine Soul Divas

The Green Brothers The Green Brothers (Al and Bobby) were the last act signed to Stax Records in 1975, which meant their only release for the label never got out of the starting gate when the company went into receivership. The two Detroit brothers nevertheless kept singing and writing, activities that ultimately led to a reunion with Stax producer and LocoBop's man in Memphis Bobby Manuel. The brothers cut a brand new album, Soulsville, with Bobby at Ardent Studios. Backing was provided by a stellar group of veteran musicians from Stax and Hi Records.

The Green Brothers added a bonus track to the album, “I Don’t Want To Be A Worldly Christian” by Bobby Green’s daughter, Keena Green. With a cross/blend of soul, gospel, blues, pop, and country, Keena’s vocal power and performance is spine tingling. Before going solo, Keena (with her two sisters) saw success as a member of Epic recording group Sweet Obsession.

Divine Soul Divas is a compilation album release that features another track by Keena Green – “Friend.” Among those joining Keena on this album are Soul Sweetheart Carla Thomas, and Shirley Brown (both of whom contribute two tracks to the compilation).

Johnny Barranco

Johnny Barranco is featured in an April release from LocoBop, Father Time by Barranco, Barrett, and Crocker. It’s Johnny Barranco’s voice you hear on ubiquitous jingles like “Be All That You Can Be” (U.S. Army) and “You Deserve A Break Today” (McDonalds). Deep Praises is a solo album from Johnny that shows off his spiritual side.

Solomon Burke, J. Blackfoot headline this year’s Porretta Soul Festival

LocoBop News - March 21, 2009

The Porretta Soul Festival has just confirmed Solomon Burke’s appearance at this summer’s 21^st annual salute to soul music. The festival kicks off July 23 at Rufus Thomas Park in Porretta Terme (Bologna), Italy and runs through July 26.

The Porretta Soul Soul Festival, a Tribute to Otis Redding, has become the most prestigious European event entirely dedicated to rhythm & blues and soul music, and particularly to the Memphis Sound. Previous featured artists included Rufus Thomas, Sam Moore (Sam & Dave), Booker T. & The MGs, The Memphis Horns, Percy Sledge, Irma Thomas, Mavis Staples, Millie Jackson, The Bar Kays, Ann Peebles, Otis Clay, Isaac Hayes, Wilson Pickett, Lavern Baker, James Carr, Eddie Hinton, Dan Penn, and Billy Preston.

Also appearing this year are two artists with LocoBop connections: J. Blackfoot and Vaneese Thomas. Former Soul Children member J. Blackfoot has two albums available from LocoBop, with two more scheduled for release this spring. Vaneese Thomas is the daughter of Stax legend Rufus Thomas and sister of soul sensation Carla Thomas, both of whom have recordings available from LocoBop.

Other artists in this year’s line-up: Percy & Spencer Wiggins, Oscar Toney Jr, Toni Green, Jesse Dee, The Diplomat of Solid Sound with the Diplomettes, Bobby Johnson, CIV Soul Band, and The Austin DeLone All Star Band with Sweet Nectar.

For more information, contact Graziano Uliani, email: porettasoul@libero.it; telephone: 39053422021. The website is http://www.porrettasoul.it/.

J. Blackfoot

The Mad Lads - plus
Barranco, Barrett, & Crocker

LocoBop News - February 18, 2009

Just confirmed, LocoBop will be digitally releasing an album by The Mad Lads, produced by one of the group's founding members, John Gary Williams. The Mad Lads were one of the first successful vocal groups signed to Stax Records in the 1960s. Appearing on the Volt label, their hits included "Don't Have To Shop Around", "I Want a Girl", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Whatever Hurts You," and "I Want Someone."

The Mad Lads

Also just added to LocoBop's release schedule for early March: Barranco, Barrett, & Crocker, a.k.a. BBC. Between the four members of BBC (there are two Barrancos in the group), the credits and contributions to hit records and national TV jingles over the past 30 years would fill a phone book. Although the four musicians originally hail from Jackson, Mississippi, this album (Father Time) marks their first venture into the studio together. The result is a solid collection of Rock & Roll as it was always meant to be: joyous, fun, and spontaneous - yet crammed with memorable lyrics and hooks.

Sound of New Orleans

Bringing Louisiana Music To The World

LocoBop News - January 18, 2009

Laissez le bon temps roule! What a way to start the year! Gary Edwards, founder of Sound of New Orleans Record Company, is making his label's entire catalog available digitally for the first time - and LocoBop is excited to be part of the process.

Edwards founded SONO in 1972. Since then he has carefully assembled a roster of artists representing the cream of traditional New Orleans and Louisiana genres, from Brass Bands, Zydeco, Bourbon Street Jazz and Blues, R&B, Gospel, Cajun Music, Mardi Gras Bands, and Louisiana Swamp Music.

In Coming weeks and months, we will indeed be rolling out the good times with digital versions of Gary's New Orleans catalog, plus new releases from his exemplary label. Meanwhile, read more details here, including names of artists on the Sound of New Orleans roster.

New Bar-Kays Album Coming in January

LocoBop News - December 22, 2008

House Party by the Bar-Kays headlines LocoBop's first batch of releases slated for the New Year. Other highlighted albums coming in January include: Power by Eddie Floyd, Masqueraders In Love by The Masqueraders, Highway Cowboy by Cotton Yancey, Blue Artistry by Di Anne Price, Facing The Music by Ten-63: The Browns, Black Guitar Blues by Papa Don McMinn & Nightrain, and Soul Rangers Vol. I -- the first in our series of iconic Southern soulsters. Volume One includes tracks by Luther Ingram, Eddie Floyd, The Bar-Kays, The Masqueraders, R.B. Hudmon, Rufus Thomas, Ivory Joe Hunter, Randy Brown, J. Blackfoot, and Homer Banks.

LocoBop Artists Support for
Nicole Marquez

LocoBop News - November 22, 2008

Jackson, MS (WLBT) - Saturday wraps up the weeklong fundraising events benefitting Jackson dancer Nicole Marquez.

Marquez fell six floors off her New York apartment building in August and survived. She is now undergoing treatment at Methodist Rehabilitation Center. A series of fundraisers have been held to help the Marquez family with medical bills.

Saturday's events kicked off at Hal and Mal's in downtown Jackson. Children performed to the educational DVD "You Gotta Move," which Marquez helped produce. A Blues and Rock show will take center stage at 8:00 p.m.

"I've been in Jackson my entire life and I've never seen a line up like tonight's," said Nicole's mother Susan Marquez. "It's an all volunteer line up, which is amazing. Bobby Rush, they just unveiled a blues maker with his name on it, he's going to be here. And Eddie Cotton! I think he's the next BB King."

October Acquisitions:

The Jumpin' Chi-Chis and...
Di Anne Price

LocoBop News - October 31, 2008

If you’ve never heard of The Jumpin’ Chi-Chis or Di Anne Price, it’s our mission to fill that void in your life. While we could litter this page with superlatives about these stellar Memphis acts, we’ll let others do it for us:

Reviews for The Jumpin’ Chi-Chis

I laughed, I cried, and I lost most of my body fluids listening to the Jumpin’ Chi-Chis. Inspired is too tame a word.

– Philip Grady Smith

Here's a brand new slant on what Louis Prima and Sam Butera were doin' back in the day. The Chi-Chis really put the spin on pop jazz with the craziest originals - excellent performances, wonderful solos, and lots of unpredictability.

– Dr. Moon

Amazing piece of work - Virtuosity, Creativity, Originality, and Hilarity!

– Jim Poor

This is the best and most inspired original music to come out of Memphis in years. The Chi-Chi's music is spontaneous, eclectic, effortlessly performed and just down right GREAT! Every musical style is "fair game" for the Chi-Chi's. I assure you that you will hear something you'll love.

Be prepared to recharge your sense of humor, smile, and enjoy tremendous talent that is seriously, second to none. When in Memphis, catch the Chi-Chi's live... it is totally worth the wait in line to get in to see them perform.

- Pete Vescovo

Not since my young days hanging out in the lounges of Vegas of the late ‘50s, have I been moved to grab Momma Linda and do the jump!!!!!

- Walt Woodson

The Jumpin' Chi-Chi's have a tongue-in-cheek, lounge-lizard vibe. They’re a wild and fantastic band filled with some of Memphis ' best jazz cats.

- William Haygood

Reviews for Di Anne Price

If you say they don't make 'em like they used to, then you haven't heard blues pianist and singer Di Anne Price, who plays the most convincing stride piano around. She balances jazz with ragtime and blues in a way that's so old-fashioned it's refreshingly new. Close your eyes, and it’s like stumbling into a 1940s barrelhouse.

Price sings-with a hearty cool, but it's her piano playing that captures your full attention. You'll find tons of New Orleans in her ivory interpretations as well as sophisticated blues from the great Memphis Slim. And Price has the range and confidence to go from calypso to a Big Bill Broonzy country blues to a hokum double entendre number.

- The Commercial Appeal

Memphis pianist-vocalist Di Anne Price channels the spirit of classic blues divas Ida Cox, Alberta Hunter, Stippie Wallace, and Memphis Minnie. A profoundly soulful singer, Price’s expressive voice is etched with pain or brimming with sly humor while tickling the ivories barrel piano style on two-fisted shuffles, rolling blues, and boogie woogie workouts.

- Jazz Times

If there's a finer interpretive singer than Price anywhere else on the planet right now, please let me know.

- Chris Herrington, The Memphis Flyer

Di Anne Price doesn't sing a song so much as seize it, finding something new in a decades-old lyric and making the song wholly her own.

Her voice oozes with pathos, growls with anger, moans in anguish, tingles with raw sexuality, and bristles with resilience and confidence. It tells a story you've heard before - maybe a story you've even lived - in a manner that is distinctly Di Anne's. That she turns such personal emotional exorcisms into something so moving and beautiful is the mark of pure genius.

- Bill Ellis

September Acquisitions:

Eddie Cotton comes to LocoBop

LocoBop News - September 30, 2008

Live at the Alamo Theatre marks Eddie Cotton’s triumphant arrival on the blues scene. It is not everyday that blues fans can celebrate the discovery of a young player hailing from a traditional background.

Eddie Cotton found inspiration in traditional blues masters like Little Milton, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters as well as soul singers like O.V. Wright, Little Willie John and Otis Redding.

Hot on the heels of his 1999 Grammy Award nominated album, “Welcome to Little Milton,” producer Greg Preston was quick to realize Eddie’s tremendous potential and embraced this project with his usual professionalism and drive. The historic Alamo Theater on Farish Street in downtown Jackson, MS where so many blues luminaries have performed over the years; was the perfect venue for Eddie’s recording debut. Eddie Cotton’s impassioned, soulful vocals and fluid, biting guitar combined with his youthful enthusiasm and powerful stage presence stormed the Alamo and took no prisoners. Preston teamed up again with ace engineer Kent Bruce to superbly capture the energy and excitement of that memorable night.

Eddie shines on creative arrangements and interpretations of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Shake For Me,” Hound Dog Taylor’s “She’s Gone” and the scorching closer, Little Milton’s “Walkin’ The Backstreets And Cryin’.” His originals include the Gospel drenched “Don’t Give Up On A Love Affair,” the mournful “You’re The Girl,” as well as the soul blues “Why Must I Cry.”

Live at the Alamo Theater is a fitting debut to what will likely become a long and distinguished career. With his passion, exuberance and overflowing talent, Eddie Cotton promises to carry the blues tradition well into the 21st century.

– Alain Recaborde & Jeff Wiener, Blues Access contributors.

August Acquisitions and Activity:

Cotton Yancey, All The King's Men, The Green Brothers, Bill Beaty, and Michael Porter

LocoBop News - August 31, 2008

Two albums from traveling cowboy rodeo announcer Cotton Yancey headline this month's acquisitions. "The Last of the Zane Grey Cowboys," produced by the late Carson Whitsett, features Cotton singing great songs by a who's who of Country music songwriters, backed by some of Nashville's most in-demand musicians. The second album is a compelling listen when driving those lonesome Western highways. "Cowboy Highway" is a collection of 15 stories and poems written and told in tribute to Cowboys and their sport.

Cotton has performed with Chicago, the Oakridge Boys, George Strait, Asleep At the Wheel, Lynard Skynard, and the Charlie Daniels band among others. His musical career carried over into rodeo. He's been announcing rodeo since 1988 with the J Bar J Rodeo Company and Cricket Valley. Cotton also narrates rodeo on the Outdoor Channel with Andy Stewart, and was the voice of the Annual Buckeye Stampede Pro Rodeo.

The Green Brothers were the last act signed to Stax Records in 1975, which meant their only release for the label never got out of the starting gate when the company went into receivership. The two Detroit brothers nevertheless kept singing and writing, activities that ultimately led to a reunion with Stax producer and LocoBop's man in Memphis Bobby Manuel. The brothers went into Ardent Studios in Memphis this month to cut a brand new album with Bobby for LocoBop. Backing was provided by a stellar group of veteran musicians from Stax and Hi Records, and the as-yet untitled result left all involved feeling as if the glory days of Memphis soul had returned at last.

Meanwhile, LocoBop's man in Houston, Danny Jones acquired a cooking Rock album for us: "Take This World" by four-piece rock group All The King's Men. Danny also brings us two Christian artists: Michael Porter and Bill Beaty. The latter's album is entitled "Stand Up For God;" Michael's album is called "Only a Pure Heart."

July Acquisitions:

Charles Hodges, Tommy Dardar, Willie Brown, Homer Banks, and Shelbra Dean Bennett

LocoBop News - July 30, 2008

The world is inescapably familiar with the signature sound of Al Green's many hits . Soul music aficionados will also know the names of the musicians who created that sound: Al Jackson Jr. and Howard Grimes (drums), Mabon 'Tennie' Hodges (guitar), Leroy Hodges (bass), and Charles Hodges (organ). This famed Hi Records studio band played on 26 gold and platinum albums by Green, Ann Peebles, Otis Clay and other Hi artists. And it is this same band (with the exception of Steve Potts on drums) that power Charles Hodges (now the Reverend C. E. Hodges) and his Voices of Victory on LocoBop's first gospel release, "Take It To The Altar."

Tommy Dardar comes to LocoBop from Houston, Texas where he is the undisputed master of the blues harmonica. His soulfully spicy blend of Texas / Louisiana Gulf Coast music conjures up New Orleans voodoo rhythms, raucous Cajun dance halls, and smoky juke joints on Saturday nights.

Other July acquisitions include tracks by Willie Brown, Shelbra Bennett, and Homer Banks. Shelbra and LocoBop artist J. Blackfoot. comprised half of the Stax hit making quartet, The Soul Children.

One of the most beloved Memphis music figures was Homer Banks, who died in 2003. Homer was, to quote London's Guardian newspaper: "one of the unsung heroes behind Stax Records, the Memphis label responsible for much of the finest southern soul music of the 1960s and 70s. Many of the songs Banks co-wrote have become contemporary classics, none more so than If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don't Want To Be Right)." Although Homer recorded as an artist for Minit Records very early in his career, he turned his back on performing to concentrate his talents on writing songs - despite many tempting offers to become an artist again. LocoBop, therefore, is fortunate to acquire these rare tracks featuring Homer as vocalist.

June Acquisitions:

Bobby Rush, Terry Wall, and "Papa" Don McMinn

LocoBop News - June 30, 2008

The inimitable Bobby Rush has come aboard LocoBop, bringing along ten albums (that's 10 albums!) for immediate release. But that's just the start, because the "Bad, Bad" boy of blues, whose career spans fifty years, has tons of never-released tracks in his vault, all of which he and LocoBop will make available in months to come.

Two other LocoBop acquisitions this month bring with them enviable guitar, vocal, and songwriting skills that have built each of them legions of fans, starting in their Memphis area base, and spreading across the USA, Canada, and into Europe where they frequently tour.

"Papa" Don McMinn helped in the rebirth of Beale Street, "The Home of the Blues," in Memphis Tennessee. For years he was a fixture at the world famous Rum Boogie Cafe, where his special brand of "Southern" music (a concoction of Delta Blues and Boogie Blues) was a magnet draw for locals and tourists from around the world. "Papa" Don's band, Nightrain, is anchored by his two sons, Doug on drums and Rome on bass.

Terry Wall was already a Memphis music vet when he formed his band, The Wallbangers, in 1996. He's sometimes compared to Delbert McClinton, but more often he's simply incomparable, because he's such a uniquely gifted guitarist and vocalist - not to mention the quality of his songwriting. Terry co-produced and co-wrote many of the songs featured on Don Nix's "I Don't Want No Trouble," album, which we released earlier this year. Fittingly, Don Nix produced both of the albums Terry is releasing via LocoBop in July.

May Acquisition Update # 2:

Eddie Floyd and The Browns

LocoBop News - May 28 2008

Another album from Eddie Floyd was added to the LocoBop catalog today, joining the four-track trance mix of "Knock On Wood" (just released) and the already scheduled album entitled "Power."

Called "Spotlight On Eddie Floyd," the latest album contains Eddie's knockout performances of soul classics "Funky Broadway" and "Sweet Soul Music," plus his own versions of hits he wrote for others, such as "Ninety Nine and One Half" (Wilson Pickett) and "The Breakdown" (Rufus Thomas). Another treat included on this set is Eddie's solo remake of "You're So Fine," the song that launched his career in 1959 when he was a member of The Falcons.

LocoBop is also privileged to add a rare recording to our catalog: The Browns (brothers William, Randy, and Bertram) recorded the appropriately named "Rare" album shortly before a stroke ended William's singing career. It was the only time the brothers recorded together as a group. William had scored hits in the '60s as a member of The Mad Lads. In the 1970s, Randy followed William to the Stax label as lead singer of The Newcomers, later going solo. Bertram, with William, has been a sought-after background singer and arranger. Individually or together, the brothers are heard singing background on albums by Jerry Butler, Al Green, Johnny Winter, and Isaac Hayes, to name a few. William was also a first-call engineer at Stax; his fingerprints are on the Grammy- and Academy Award winning album "Shaft" by Isaac Hayes.

May Acquisition Update # 1:

The Masqueraders and more Luther Ingram

LocoBop News - May 8 2008

LocoBop is excited to announce the acquisition of digital distribution rights to five albums by The Masqueraders. Included among the 50-plus tracks are the original hits scored by this great vocal group. Now in their fifth decade, The Masqueraders are still going strong and will soon depart for a tour of China.

We're also happy to announce the addition to our catalog of a fourth album by the incomparable Luther Ingram, entitled Pity For The Lonely.

April Acquisition Update # 3:

James Carr, Ollie Nightingale

LocoBop News - April 22 2008

A new album by Ollie Nightingale has been picked up for release via LocoBop later this year. The album was not quite finished at the time of the singer's untimely death in 1997. Memphis producer Bobby Manuel is in the process of completing the overdubs and mixing.
Additionally, LocoBop is licensing several tracks by the late James Carr. Details soon.

April Acquisition Update # 2:

Albert King, Brenda Patterson, Fern Kinney, The Club Handy Band, and more Rufus Thomas

LocoBop News - April 20 2008

LocoBop has just acquired digital distribution rights to tracks by Albert King, Fern Kinney, Brenda Patterson, and Fred Sanders with the legendary Club Handy Band - plus - another Rufus Thomas album - The Sun Sessions.

April Acquisitions by LocoBop

J. Blackfoot, Shirley Brown

LocoBop News - April 17, 2008

While we're waiting to update this column with details of our February and March acquisitions (see below), LocoBop is mighty pleased to announce three new additions to our catalog: two albums by J. Blackfoot and one album by Shirley Brown. Details soon.

New LocoBop Acquisitions in February and March

LocoBop News - April 14 2008

Details on each of the following acquisitions will be added to this page during the coming weeks.

Ivory Joe Hunter, Rufus Thomas, Jimmy Griffin, Percy Mayfield, The Barkays, Rick Christian, Gary Gentry, The Sy Rosenberg Big Band, The Green Brothers, The Duck Band (formerly Rick Dees's 'Cast of Idiots'), 'Only The Strong Survive' - the audio soundtrack of D.A. Pennebaker's documentary (featuring Isaac Hayes, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, Ann Peebles, and others). Check back soon for the nitty and the gritty.

Makoto Kuriya - Always Our Friend

LocoBop News - January 20, 2008

Born in Kobe, Japan, Celebrated Jazz Pianist, Film Music Composer, Conductor, and Producer Makoto Kuriya spent most of the 1980s in the U.S., where he studied linguistics at West Virginia University, music at The University of Pittsburgh, and developed his chops as a jazz pianist and composer, touring with the likes of Grammy-winning trumpeter Chuck Mangione.

Makoto returned to Japan in 1990 and quickly established a reputation for crafting innovative music that appeals to a wide range of audiences. Drawing on an insatiable curiosity for all things musical, he often fuses jazz, classical, electronic, MIDI, dance, Latin and other world influences with traditional Japanese instruments and music.

He has recorded a dozen albums in diverse genres, including the platinum-selling soundtrack of his score for the award-winning film 'New Genesis Evangelion.' Makoto has won acclaim as well for other film and television scores in addition to earning worldwide accolades and awards as a concert performer, classical composer, and director-producer. Simultaneously, he has forged a career as one of Japan's most successful Pop producers, working with chart topping acts such as Ken Hirai, and is in demand as a producer for club dance tracks.

LocoBop is proud to release Makoto Kuriya's very first album, 'Always Your Friend,' which was recorded in The USA shortly before he returned to Japan in 1990.

Three Luther Ingram Albums Coming from LocoBop

LocoBop News - January 7, 2008

Three albums of classic seventies soul recordings by Luther Ingram were added to the LocoBop roster today in a licensing deal with Randall Stewart of Klondike Enterprises.

While Ingram remains best remembered for the piercing 1972 ballad "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right," he was also a gifted songwriter, teaming with Mack Rice to co-write the Staple Singers' classic empowerment anthem "Respect Yourself."

Although Ingram (who died of heart failure in 2007) began recording with Ike Turner in the 1960s, and last scored a hit on the Profile label in the 1980s, his most prolific period was 1970 - 1975 for Koko Records, distributed by Stax.

The albums coming from LocoBop contain all of Ingram's Koko output. In addition to his signature tune, the LocoBop tracks include all of Luther's chart records, such as "Let's Steal Away to the Hideaway," "I'll Be Your Shelter in Time of Storm," "I'm Trying to Sing a Message to You," "Always," "I'll Just Call You Honey," etc.

Eddie Floyd Rings in British New Year With Sir Paul McCartney

LocoBop News - January 7, 2008 - Posted by TheStaxman

I've said it before, and I'll say it once more: Eddie Floyd is the hardest working man in show business. On New Year's Eve, he, Sir Paul McCartney, Duffy, and Kylie Minogue performed on BBC-2 for Jools Holland's 15th annual Hootenanny. Eddie closed the show! He rang in the New Year with "Knock on Wood."

He's in Scotland now (and later England) with Geno Washington and Pauline Black in a show called 'This Is Soul.' In June, he'll be with Poncho Sanchez in L.A. for The Playboy Jazz Festival, and this summer he will, once again, be fronting The Blues Brothers Band. They'll be overseas and in Chicago for a charity benefit held by our country's Queen Oprah.

Last year, I posted that Eddie, Steve Cropper, Booker T. Jones, and Sanchez recorded "Wood" and "Raise Your Hand," which was the title track of Sanchez's 2007 Concord Release. He has also just finished recording his own album for Concord featuring Cropper on guitar!

Posted by The Staxman - thestaxman@yahoo.com

Here are Eddie's upcoming gigs:

January 2008
18th -- St. Davids Hall, Cardiff, Wales
19th -- The Town Hall, Cheltenham, England
22nd -- The Fairfield Hall, Croydon, England
23rd -- The Jam House, Birmingham, England
24th -- The Civic Theatre, Darlington, England
26th -- The Theatre Royal, Norwich, England
30th -- The Music Hall, Aberdeen, Scotland

February 2008
1st -- The Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline, Scotland
3rd -- Butlins, Skegness, England
5th -- The Hexagon, Reading, Endland
6th -- The Orchard, Dartford, England
7th -- The Spa Pavilion, Felixstowe, England
8th -- The Pavilion, Rhyl, Wales
9th -- The Central Theatre, Chatham, England
10th -- The Garrick, Litchfield, England
15th -- The Camberley Theatre, Camberley, England
16th -- The Dome, Morecambe, England
17th -- The Embassy Centre, Skegness, England
18th -- The Towngate Theatre, Basildon, England
19th -- The Royal & Derngate, Northampton, England

February 20 (Return to US)
22nd -- Alabama Music Hall of Fame Induction in Montgomery, AL

February 25 (Return to United Kingdom)
28th -- The Millfield Theatre, Edmonton, England
29th -- The Civic Hall, Grays, England

March 2008
1st -- The Broadway, Catford, England
2nd -- The Marina Theatre, Lowestoft, England
4th -- The Palace Theatre, Newark, England
6th -- Forum 28, Barrow-in-Furness, England
7th -- The Music Hall, Shrewsbury, England
8th -- The Prince of Wales Centre, Cannock, England
9th -- Potters Leisure Resort, Hopton-on-Sea, England

May15 to May 31 2008
Tour - 10 days in Amsterdam, Holland

June 14 to June 15 2008
Playboy Jazz Festival with Poncho Sanchez, in Los Angeles

June 28 to July 15 2008
Tour with Blues Brothers Band – Scandinavia and Italy

July 28 2008
Blues Brothers Band - Aspen, CO., Oprah Winfrey Charity

OTM Records Signs Digital Distribution Deal With LocoBop

LocoBop News - January 4, 2008

Former Stax Records writer/producer Henderson Thigpen has chosen LocoBop to distribute and exploit product from his label, OTM Records, in digital formats.

Thigpen's first success was as co-writer of Shirley Brown's massive debut hit "Woman to Woman."

OTM Records has a roster of Memphis-area artists. First releases issued through LocoBop include tracks by two neo-soul singers, Fawn and Tracey, and three southern rap acts: Chilly Macke, Blade & Big Vino, and Devious.

Soul Joe's "Mud Ducks" Now On LocoBop

LocoBop News - December 21, 2007

Legendary producer/guitarist Bobby Manuel is re-issuing his cult rap favorite "Mud Ducks" by Soul Joe a.k.a Yan-C through a deal concluded today with LocoBop.

In addition to his global smash production of "Disco Duck" by Rick Dees, Manuel was a staff producer, first-call session guitarist, and engineer for Stax Records. He was also a long-time member of The Isaac Hayes' Movement.

In the post-Stax years, Manuel has been an independent studio owner and producer (he co-produced a number of tracks with Stax founder Jim Stewart, for instance), and CEO of High Stacks Records in Memphis.

Don Nix Confirms Album Release with LocoBop

LocoBop News - December 10, 2007

Iconic Memphis producer/artist/writer Don Nix today firmed a licensing deal for LocoBop to reissue his most recent album: I Don't Want No Trouble.

Nix was a baritone saxophonist and founding member of the Mar-Keys, along with Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn (later members of Booker T. & The MGs) and Wayne Jackson (The Memphis Horns). The band recorded "Last Night", a million-selling instrumental that launched the fledgling Stax label in 1961.

Besides recording as a solo artist for Stax, Elektra, and Leon Russell's Shelter label, Nix flourished as a writer and producer for Delaney & Bonnie, Albert King, Freddie King, J.J. Cale, Lonnie Mack, and Furry Lewis, among others, and he was a member of the legendary Alabama State Troopers.

Nix's career has included close working relationships with George Harrison, Jeff Beck, Brian May, The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, Eric Clapton, and John Mayall.

Many of Don's Southern-Fried songs have become blues-rock classics - "Black Cat Moan" (John Mayall), "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven" (Albert King), "Going Down" (Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Lee Hooker) and "Living on the Highway" (Freddie King).

Back To Top