One of interest, perhaps, to the Northern Soul brigade is a new version
of James Brown's "There Was A Time" by Rickey Calloway & The Tennessee Band. Although, as Brown once said himself, it may be a case that 'It's Too Funky In
Here'?
It was was big on Northern Soul dancefloors via Gene Chandler's 1968 cover. A few other versions exist including one by Marvin Holmes & The
Uptights ("Ooh Ooh The Dragon And Other Monsters" LP) and a couple of instrumental versions by The Soulful Strings and
Dee Felice Trio all in 1969. Prince did a psychedelic version on "Musicology
Release Party".
Calloway is from Florida who released an album via Henry Stone in 2010.
His journey goes back further than that though as he released a single way
back in 1970 on Jayville which was reissued by Kenny Dope and Keb Darge's
Jay-Dee label in 2004 in the latter part of Keb's Deep Funk
days. In fact Kenny Dope did a remix of Brown's version in 2008 on a compilation "Verve // Remixed⁴"
Another single appeared in 1984 and then a hiatus until the 2010s when he
released a few singles which featured the Dap Kings followed by others
with different backing bands such as The Soul Surfers, The Soul Motivators
and now The Tennessee Band.
It's was released digitally yesterday (16 May) and more than likely to be
on a "7 from Funk Knight shortly.
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
Click icons below for further information or to connect with the
artist.
| Rating: | 8.5 |
| Explicit: | N |
| Genre/Style: | Funk / Northern Soul |
| Format: | Single |
| Media: | Digital |
| Label: | Funk Night Records |
| Cat No: | None |
| Date: | 16/05/2023 |
| Key/BPM: | 8B/132 |
| Price: | £1 |
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We can listen to all these versions which are quite honorable, but no one can and will come close to James Brown, including the great Gene Chandler. Note a beautiful mid-tempo instrumental version by Dee Felice Trio.
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