Honking Saxes: Big Jay McNeely's Thinkin' About Something

“There is Something on Your Mind,” recorded by saxophonist Big Jay McNeely in 1959, stands apart from other slow-cruiser songs of the 1950s. The raspy final notes of Little Sonny Warner’s vocal lines add melancholic but defiant depth to a track that would become the biggest hit for both McNeely and Warner, reaching #44 on the charts. The song has been re-recorded by a number of artists including Bobby Marchan, B.B. King, Etta James, Freddy Fender, The Hollywood Flames, Gene Vincent, and Albert King.

McNeely popularized a sax style known as honking, which came to define a period of late 50s rock-n-roll. Incidentally, go here for a great list of 1950s rock-n-roll films. Hillarious to think what used to shake-up the establishment. 



Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll notes McNeely "...was famed for his playing-on-his-back acrobatics and his raw, hard-swinging playing" He was known to "leave the stage during the act, walk across the top of the bar, and sometimes walk out the door of the club, often with a line of people following him." Classic. Angelo Moore from Fishbone might be a modern example in terms of stage bravado, ironically both sax players.


The track was recorded at Checker Record, a subsidiary of the Chess based in Chicago. Checker produced some golden artists that covered “a wide range of genres including blues (Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson II), rhythm and blues (Sax Mallard, Jimmy McCracklin), doo-wop (The Flamingos, The Moonglows), gospel (Aretha Franklin, Five Blind Boys of Mississippi), rock and roll (Bo Diddley, Dale Hawkins), and soul (Gene Chandler).”

There is something really excellent about how the baritone-tenor saxes sync with the burlesque blues-stomp back-rhythm. Listen closely for the influences of Illinois Jacquet and Lester Young.

Dig it.



Video Source: (brownprideoldies)

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In the Cut: Brenton Wood, Dr. Dog, & Phyllis Dillon

There is something fantastic about 1960s laid-back soul.  A hybrid sound that found a home in Los Angeles and Philly in particular. Not surprisingly, locales positioned at the epicenter of social change during the 1960s. 

On their recent release, B-Room, Dr. Dog’s opening track, Truth, offers a lovely homage to this sub-genre of soul.  And I can’t get enough of this track or the genre. Atmospheric effects lay a canvas for the lovely forlorn vocal phrasing. The strings give the melody an ethereal counterpoint. Dreaming. Cruising. 

 (Video Source: AntiRecords)

Brenton Wood’s work helps put this track in perspective.  Check out his discography here. Find his bio here.

(Video source: uklangang)

This style of music gets a lovely hybridized make-over with Phyllis Dillon, and the Jamaican roots-rock-soul genre.  Check out her discography here. Find her bio here.

Music Break: The Zolas go to Mars, Unknown Mortal Orchestra courts trouble, Local Natives croon, & Youth Lagoon melp

Peeking out from the stack of papers and articles. Some music to soothe the savage mind. 

The Zolas "Ancient Mars"

Based in Vancouver, British Columbia (so much good music from Canada), The Zolas includes duo Zachary Gray (vocals/guitar) and Tom Dobrzanski (piano) with various musicians in support roles. Find The Zolas on Light Organ Records. The band self-styles as piano-prog-pop. Lots to like here. 

Band Site.

Band Stuff. 

Unknown Mortal Orchestra "So Good at Being in Trouble"

Band Site. 
Band Stuff.

This band has a super fresh sound, reminiscent of 1960s pop meets indie meets Prince. Lovely little R&B vocal lines overlay well with the stripped-down beats. There is a great simplicity to the song writing here that extends past the obvious.

So the legend goes..."Singer and guitarist Ruban Nielson released the track "Ffunny Ffrends" on his Bandcamp profile in the spring of 2010. It was paired with no further information, notably no mention of who created it. Soon, popular bloggers got ahold of the track. Through their reposting and relentless attempts to hunt down the creator, Nielson finally claimed the track as Unknown Mortal Orchestra's." (Wiki, 2013)



(Video Source: Jagjaguwar)

Local Natives."Wide Eyes"

Straight from Silverlake, the city competing with Williamsburg for hipster capital of the US, this band layers three-part harmonies with afropop grooves over folk-indie guitars.  

Band Site.
Band Stuff.



(Video Source: NPRMusic.)

Youth Lagoon "Dropla"

Band Site.
Band Stuff. 

Super-melpy 1960s prog-pop put through a wurlitzer reminiscent of Tame Impala. "Trevor Powers, whose stage name is Youth Lagoon, began writing his debut album, The Year of Hibernation in 2010. Based around the idea of psychological dysphoria, Powers tried to document the trails of his mind through songs of minimalism and hypnotic ambiance." (Fat Possum, 2013).



(Video Source: Skipper.)