Oliver Sain – Bus Stop from the Abet 45
Good midweek to all the FMF family. Let me welcome a real head aboard this week, the Soul Man himself, Phil Most Chill He’s started a new blog over at That Real Schitt . For those who don’t know (or have yet to find out), the Soul Man was killing it with his “World of Beats” series of mixtapes, recreating well known beats, and spreading some drum love to New York, Kakalack and Compton. This man knows his stuff, and we’re glad he’s back in the blog game repping the City of Brotherly Love. Check him out, and if you’re not careful, you might learn something. This time we’re gonna travel to St. Louis, MO, by way of Mississippi and Chicago, IL. We’re even gonna travel there by bus, but first we have to wait at the “Bus Stop”, courtesy of one Oliver Sain and Abet Records.
Sain was born in Dundee, MS. Now being from Mississippi, you know this man’s background was deeply rooted in the Delta Blues. He grew up not too far from Blues legends Robert Johnson and Son House’s abodes. Sain tried a variety of instruments, before settling on the saxophone after his return from serving with Uncle Sam in Korea. Before his settling, however he did drum behind bands fronted by legends Sonny Boy Williamson and Howlin’ Wolf. Upon his return from military service, Sain jumped right back into the music scene (this time in Chicago), playing with such notables as Little Milton (rumor has it he started his career), Howlin’ Wolf (again), and the iconic Bluesman Elmore James. He even sat in (although not as often as he probably would have liked to, with this man’s disposition), with Ike Turner and the Kings of Rhythm), as he relocated once again to his what would be his final home, St. Louis, MO. Little Milton is an important figure, as it was him who asked him to be a part of his band at the Club Manhattan in East St. Louis, a place that Sain would call home up until his death in 2003 from cancer. Along the way Sain would found his own record label (Vanessa), his own recording studio (Archway), discover singers (Fontella Bass and Bobby McClure), and remain a staple in the St. Louis and national music scene, performing up until the night before he passed. Some sampling from Diddy was a half assed attempt on the part of the artist formerly known as Puff Daddy to keep his legacy going, or was it just an attempt to exploit another artist so he could make more money? IMHO, there is great sampling (see any Pete Rock or Preemo project), and bad sampling, which I would attribute to Puffy. That’s for another post, as I’d like to keep this on topic. This song, “Bus Stop”, licensed to Abet in 1974 is a definite keeper. To me, the beat and rhythm remind me of an instrumental version of Aretha Franklin’s “Rock Steady”. Sain’s saxophone starts hot and heavy and does not let up through the whole track. James Brown may have been the hardest working man in showbiz, but Oliver Sain was the hardest working saxophone in St. Louis. Throw in a whistle, and sho’ nuff funky bass line and get out on the dance floor. This tune was the first in line of a couple of funk dance floor stompers, and Sain knew how to churn out them out. After this tune he released another dance floor killer: “Booty Bumpin” from the same full length. Whether Oliver Sain was indirectly competing with Ike Turner, releasing jazz fusion records, discovering Soul singers, playing with great Bluesmen, or releasing dance floor killers such as “Bus Stop”, he did it all with style. His style can and will go on to be discovered by the diggers after me; in the dusty flea markets and yard sales, Oliver Sain and his saxophone will still be hip for years to come. Keep Diggin’!
Flea Market Funk 
nice one mate…i dug this up the other week at my local shop…wasnt sure about it in the beginning…after a few listening i thought”whoa this is a tune”.keep digging!
yeah, i picked this one up a while back in a swap. i think i got an eddie bo on scram with it as well. it’s a fast little number that the dance floor definitely likes. thanks for listening.
Really like to hear it but can’t see the link anywhere.
no idea why the link disappeared, but at any rate, it’s back up.
Great post. I’ve always loved Sain’s A-Bet material, and “Bus Stop” will forever be a favorite. How can one not like that breakdown in the middle and that chicken-scratchin’ guitar alongside Sain’s sax? Awhile back I was at Old Navy and in the midst of the background music they played some tune that sampled that breakdown and put a dance beat under it. I’d love to find that, because it was hot!
old navy? they’re getting hip these days! yeah i am down with mr. sain for sure. i’ll have to keep my eye out for the remix. keep your eyes out for the new charles bradley that’s coming out on daptone on the 24th. straight up heat! i need that in my life.
Good Morning, Pres…
Guess I need to stop sleeping on this one. I’ve seen and passed up this record many times on digs. I know the Guru should have a couple more copies floating around though.
Good looking out on The Real Schitt. I still yearn for the glory years of Hip Hop. I’ll be subscribing and blogrolling when I get home from work.
Peace and blessings.
yeah i was of fan of Phil with the Soul Man World of Beat tapes he had out. They are still classic. He has turned me on to many a drum break. Those golden years of hip hop are my favorite as well. That’s what I started DJing, and will never forget that music.
I was in a Los Angeles junk shop last week and found a crate of used soul 45s; I began to salivate. Some of them were so beat up—including the infamous and legendary 45 by The Darnells-“Too Hurt To Cry, Too Much In Love To Say Goodbye” on Gordy Records (i.e. Motown’s failed attempt to release a hit single by The Marvelettes on a different subsidiary, as the group already had a Tamla Records single out at the time). But the real treasure from the 50 singles I purchased was by the one and only Mr. Oliver Sain-“On The Hill-Parts 1 & 2” on his own label, Vanessa Records. Although warped and even cracked, once the stylus hit the vinyl, that was it—Oliver and his horn literally busted out of my 4 speakers doing an absolutely sizzling, midtempo groover, with Oliver and a vibraphonist doing leads on Part 1. With all the physical damage to that 3-decades old record, nothing could stop Oliver Sain from delivering a knockout soul-jazz-funk performance. Part 2 even features a cool guitar solo in the vein of Wes Montgomery’s Verve Records period. While I am a fan of Oliver’s Abet/Nashboro Records albums (2 of them I found in the cut-out bin of the military exchange store when I was stationed in Germany during the late 70’s), this performance on Vanessa was indeed his next logical step in Oliver’s ever widening musical genius. “On The Hill” should have been HUGE but, like so many now “rare” soul singles from back in the day, it did not have the national promotion or distribution to take it to a wider audience. I would have loved to show this single to Oliver, as it is every musician’s dream to see well worn copies of their records, knowing all this loving wear came from countless plays; that alone would have put a smile on Oliver’s face. Now, I am going to wear this Vanessa single out with even more with countless plays! Oliver earned his status as a true blues-jazz-soul-funk legend. Oliver did music his way, leaving us with musical treasures to discover from his excellent, diverse and exquisite recordings as a performer, writer, arranger, producer and indie label founder. Mr. Oliver Sain lives—Angelo Alexander/Andromeda International Records androintl@earthlink.net