Download or Listen to Brother To Brother – The Bottle from the Turbo Records 45

This is a record that I have wanted to do since the inception of Flea Market Funk. I’ve since bought multiple copies, after not seeing it in the field for a while. It was a record I probably got back in the early 2000’s sometime. I knew it was a cover, so I scooped it up. I’m glad I did. Before I get into this record I want to give a shout out to The Get Involved Club for bigging me up on their site. I’m glad they feel that “my inspirational blog about crate digging, is quite frankly, awesome.” You guys look like you have a good thing going over there. If you need somebody for an all Funk and Soul set, ring me up chaps. Also, thanks for the input on my site, I’ve added some stuff on the front page to fill up that space. Good looks! Ok, kids, here’s Brother to Brother with “In the Bottle” from 1974 on Turbo Records.

All that I could dig up about this band was that it was formed by Michael Burton out of St. Louis. He gathered some studio musicians: Frankie Prescott, Billy Jones, and Yogi Horton, and the band was born. They would release Bottle to Bottle, Let Your Mind Be Free, and Shades In Creation on Sylvia Robinson’s Turbo Records, a subsidiary of the All Platinum label. Robinson, of course would go on to found Sugar Hill Records, which is said where a few of these musicians went on to play at, as well as go on to make some Reggae records. If anyone has some more info on this band, please contact me. Thanks.

This a great cover of Gil Scot Heron’s original. In fact, I like the vibe that Brother to Brother went for on this cut. Just because they were from St. Louis doesn’t mean they couldn’t be socially conscious, no? The flute, which I love in a Funk record, is killer. It adds a slightly Latin tinge to the side, and I dig it. The groove they’re keeping is tight and this was their highest charting record before they all went their separate ways. When I put together a Flea Market Funk Covers mix, it’s definitely gonna be included. See you Friday with some cool show announcements in New York City. Keep Diggin’!