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July Acquisitions:
Charles Hodges, Tommy Dardar, Willie Brown, Homer Banks, and Shelbra Bennett

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

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

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 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

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 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

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

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 Your Friend

Celebrated Jazz Pianist, Film Music Composer, Conductor, and Producer

Born in Kobe, Japan, 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

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

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, Kylie Minogue, and Sir Paul McCartney 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

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

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

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).

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