Just Grab 'Em In The Biscuits!

Yo! It's Wednesday!

First off, R.I.P Biggie Smalls. 8 years and still no closer to finding the killer.
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Eleanor Rigby – The Beatles
Eleanor Rigby – The Crusaders
Eleanor Rigby – El Chicano
Eleanor Rigby – Ray Charles

Great googily moogily! Great Caesar's Ghost! and other exclamational type sayings...

It's Wednesday aka Hump Day here at the Palace of Ludwig Von Funkenstein and in honor of all things "Hump", we'd like to give yawl a nice little double posting of cover songs that hopefully will bring out some memories/funk/cures to ailments that you may not have know you possessed. So on with today's selections.

First up, the original, the classic, the joint that Kanye sampled but couldn't get cleared in time to save Talib's last LP. I won't go into great detail about this song, other than to say that it's a pretty cool track. And by cool I mean "I can listen to it at work without complaints from the Tech department for being not their kind of music". It's a simple track, but it's well thought out. And it'll be the last Beatles track we do this week. There are soooo many cover songs for them it's insane.

Next up on the dockett is The Crusaders version. Now this rendition is more to my liking due to the track being Jazz, which makes the song flow much easier. I had not dealt much with The Crusaders before a few months ago but now that I'm learning more and getting into their LPs, I'm glad that I am. Here is a little bio for those interested. Another good thing about The Crusaders version is the length. Clocking in at over 7 minutes, it gives the listener more time to fully appreciate the music that is taken from The Beatles original. The horn play that simulates the vocals sounds like it belongs with the master copy. Kinda like that SNL skit with Eddie Murphy as the 5th Beatle. The cat that played the sax...Hilarious.

Third in the batting order today is El Chicano's version. It sounds like The Crusaders tribute in that it's a jazzy instrumental, but El Chicano puts its own signature on it by using that wah wah guitar in place of the horns and infusing the track with that Spanish flavor. The organ usage is really on time. Zak sent me a rack of their other songs and if you want some really good stuff to listen to, pick up their 20th anniv. edition. It's a can't miss.

Finally for Ol Miss Eleanor, the legend himself honors us with is rendition. Ray Charles, who by now if you are not familiar with, please send your Soul/Funk pass back to the place you got it from, did this excellent take. Go grab the DVD if you want a refresher course on Mr. Charles. Anyhow, Ray brings his heart and soul into his version of Rigby, which results in an upbeat Motown/South Georgia-ish kinda feel. The background singers have the same harmony that most of the groups back then had (Vandellas, Supremes, etc.) in that it sounds like they are singing back up to Ray from across the room. It's a very very good version of the song however. Take a listen to the original GZA/Genius.

For the 2nd part of The Funk's celebration of Hump day, we'd like to get into a classic rock favorite, Proud Mary.

Here are the three versions that we decided to post:

Proud Mary - CCR

1st up, the original by the Swamp/Rock/Funk band, Creedence Clearwater Revival. Bio looks something like this here. I've always had a liking for Creedence ever since I was little and then got back into in High School after Danny Boy Glass and I sang "Suzy Q" in the lunch room to the amusement of some of the ladies. Good Times.

Proud Mary - Ike & Tina Turner

2nd, is the seminal soul classic by Ike & Tina Turner. Tina brings that added "I'm gonna kick your ass"-ness into this version of "Mary" by telling you upfront "We never ever do anything nice & easy, and we gonna do the end rough". You can't beat that with a bat. I'm sure Ike tried a few times, but he got his in the end. This song reminds me of that movie of Tina's life where they do this song live and she has that really short dress on that is made out of like a bunch of strings and she shakes it like she's got ants in her pants and she needs to dance. These primadonna mark ass tricks today ain't got nothing on Tina.

3rd, is an interesting selection. I was looking on Limewire for some Proud Mary covers and across the screen rolls the following, "Proud Mary - Leonard Nimoy w/ William Shatner". Now I know that Billy has done some music work in the past, even did a few videos, which even that was spoofed. But Mr. Spock? Is it really him? According to research, it is. I don't think Billy Boy is on it, but I may be wrong. Take a listen:

Proud Mary - Leonard Nimoy

As an extra special added bonus, here are two more versions of "Proud Mary" for you to enjoy:

Proud Mary - Solomon Burke
Proud Mary - Tom Jones

Apparently, Proud Mary was a real ship, according to King Solomon. And I think the Ladies Love Tom Jones more than they love Cool J. I'm just saying.

Anyhoodle, that's about it for Hump Day presented by The Funk. Hope to see you next time when we reveal the secrets of how Pop Rap stars are still living and Real Rappers are dead. Tune in! (topics subject to change at a moments notice. no purchase necessary. all winners will be notified through nueromarketing devices.)

Same Funk time, Same Funk Channel
Brother B