Lloyd Price – They Get Down from the GSF 45

How did we get to Wednesday already? It seems like it was just yesterday and I was knee deep in 45s. I’m still going over that lot, but currently grooving to the old Trap Door Mix from the guys at the Groove Merchant. Great stuff if you can get your hands on it. I have a busy week this week, so I’m hoping to get a few posts in before the weekend. I’ll be checking out the Beastie Boys all instrumental show live this week ( not sure what to make of this show, but we’ll see ), and I’ve got a few articles I’m writing that need to be polished up, so that and the records I still need to go through will keep me busy till the end of the week. Today we’re gonna visit New Orleans via New York (but trying to get that Philly Sound), and Mr. Lloyd Price, with “They Get Down” on GSF Records.

Now we all know that the expert on New Orleans is Funky 16 Corners , so if I miss anything, please let me know. Possibly putting out the first rock and roll record, “Lawdy Miss Clawdy”, Price has also been known for his version of “Stagger Lee”, “Personality”, “Tell Me Pretty Baby,” and “Ain’t It a Shame” among others. A short stint in the Army followed, and as soon as he got out of his military service, he was back in the music business. He went on to found his own record label KRC, and soon released “Just Because”. This song drew some attention which led him to release some sides for ABC-Paramount, go on to found more labels of his own (Double L, Turntable Records), and even run his own nightclub up called Turntables in New York City. The Double L label would introduce a little Soul singer by the name of Wilson Picket as a solo artist. Price later recorded at Muscle Shoals, which did nothing to help his career, except churn out a not so hot “Hooked on a Feeling” for Scepter. Things would turn a bit bad for Price in the late 60’s, as his manager was murdered, and kept him out of the music game for a while. While on hiatus, he linked up with super promoter/ shyster Don King to promote Muhammad Ali fights (The Rumble in the Jungle in Zaire and Thrilla in Manila), but the music called him back in the early 70’s. Aside from a few TV appearances, the title song from the movie “The Legend of Nigger Charly”, and this record done for GSF, Price was not involved in the music business at all in the mid to latter part of the decade. A return to the scene in the 80’s would pair him with artists that couldn’t have been further apart: Little Richard and Huey Lewis. One could catch up with him, as he was a regular on the Jazz festival scene, most notably those near his hometown in New Orleans.

GSF Records, out of New York City, put out a host of funky ass sides by artists like Skull Snaps, Garnet Mimms, Joe Quarterman & Free Soul, the Sound Experience, and others. The sides I have on this label are all great, and anytime I see something on it, I pick it up. GSF was another one of Price’s labels, and while it didn’t fare so hot at the time, some of the sides are sought after..ahem, Skull Snaps? Possibly some of the best drums going (even if they were over used in the hip hop game), I’d say today the GSF means a lot to guys like me who dig. It’s a label associated with some pretty funky music. Don’t sleep!

Lloyd start off this side heavy on the horns, and wastes no time with a heavy bass line and guitar before he spins his tale of how people “get down”. While this tune definitely borders some early Disco-Funk, Lloyd has come a long way from ballads and dirty rock and roll infused with R & B and instead gave it one more try (rumor has it that GSF was always fledgling and barely treading water), updating his sound with the times. Like so many career musician that started out in the 50’s and wanted to keep their career afloat and turned to Funk or Disco (or both) to keep their names in the spotlight one last time. This tune is the B-side, (and it wins again). I had not come across this record, and actually forgot about it until Aaron Soma from Milwaukee sent me some scans of recent digs, and this record was included. So what do I pick up a few weeks later? This very record. The power of suggestion. Now if I could just get the scan of “Funky Thing” maybe that will turn up for me…and that was a joke. I’ll be back Friday with a post Beastie Boys report and another nugget for you all. Just a reminder to watch the Stax documentary tonight on your local PBS affiliate at 9pm, and my guest anniversary mix for DJ Blueprint over at This Is Tomorrow will be dropping Monday. Keep Diggin’!