
On May 16th there was a Funky Kingston for the ages! Guest DJ was the one and only Connie T Empress, the Empress of Soul, the den mother of the Empire State Soul Club and one of the most colorful DJs on the East Coast. In fact, she and the Empire State Soul Club were inspirations for The Complete Stax Singles box set in 1991—a required purchase if ever there was one. Miss Connie has been doin’ this stuff for several decades so you know she will bring the funky goods…
She sure did!
The Empress played some fantastic records that had the Salt Box Funky Faithful swingin’ all night long. She has been collecting funk and soul records longer than anyone can remember. Folks came from all around the Hudson Valley to dig what she put down. At one point, when it was time for one of her fabulous DJ sets, she went missing; so her Empire State Soul Club cohort Jeff The Chef played a few of her records until she returned. That was a gas!



Funky Kingston host Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus played a few records, as well, as can be seen by the list below. Included was a set of “Do” records (ie., “Do It,” “Do What You Wanna Do,” “Doing My Thing” etc.). Dig it all here:
- Tribe–Funky Kingston (Grenade)
- Funkshone–Purification Pt. 3 (Kenny Dope Remix) (Kay-Dee)
- [no artist listed]–Super Fly (Hoctor)
- Simtec Simmons–Tea Pot (Maurici)
- The Fabulous Rhythm Makers–Mini Mini Afro Twist (Forte)
- John Ellison–You’ve Got to Have Rhythm (Phil-L.A. of Soul)
- Little Ben & the Cheers–Brown Eye’d Devil (Rush)
- Edwin Starr–Cloud Nine (Gordy)
- Jesse Hill–Naturally (Blue Thumb)
- Dizzy Gillespie–Soul Kiss – Part II (Perception)
- Sound Dimension–Sing a Simple Song (Studio One)
- Owen Gray–Tumblin’ Dice (Blue Mountain; UK)
- The Meters–Africa (Reprise)
- Newcleus–Jam On It (Sunnyview)
- Grupo Caverna–Caverna (Eclypse)
- Bill Moss–Sock It To ‘Em Soul Brother (Pama; UK)
- Lee Fields and Sugarman & Co.–Shot Down (Daptone)
- Explosions–Hip Drop Pt. 1 (Gold Cup)
- Melvin Jackson–Funky Skull – Part 1 (Limelight)
- The Presidents–Which Way (DeLuxe)
- Eldridge Holmes–Pop Popcorn Children (Atco)
- Shack–Watch the Dog (Volt)
- Sweet Cherries–Don’t Give It Away (T-Neck)
- Mucho Combos–Do the Hustle (Chico)
- Matata–Wanna Do My Thing (Soul Posters; France)
- The Bar-Kays–Son of Shaft (Volt)
- Funkadelic–Red Hot Momma (20th Century/Westbound)
- Aretha Franklin–Pullin’ (Atlantic)
- Erma Franklin–Gotta Find Me a Lover (24 Hours a Day) (Brunswick)
- O.V. Wright–Into Something (Can’t Shake Loose) (Hi)
- Maytals–Funky Kingston (Shelter)
- Denzil Dennis–Mama We’re All Crazee Now (Pama Supreme; UK)
- King Horror–Ghost Hour (Harlem Shuffle; UK)
- Norma Fraser–Respect (Studio 1/Soul Jazz/ UK)
- Philip & Lloyd (The Blues Busters)–Here I Am Come and Take Me (Scepter)
- The Upsetters–Haunted House (Harlem Shuffle; UK)
- The Latin Blues Band–I’ll Be a Happy Man (Speed/PrimeDirect; UK)
- Spanky Wilson–Sunshine of Your Love (BGP; UK)
- Eddie Bo–Check Your Bucket Pt. I (Bo-Sound)
- The Honey Drippers–Impeach the President (Alaga)
- Fred Wesley & the J.B.’s–Doing It to Death (People)
- Charles Wright–(Well I’m) Doin’ What Comes Naturally Part 1 (Dunhill)
- Harvey Scales–I Wanna Do It (Stax)
- Burgess Gardner & the Soul Crusaders–Do It (More Soul)
- Big S–Do It – Part I (Strakers)
- Frank Howard & the Continentals–Do What You Wanna Do (Part I) (DeLuxe)
- Johnny Taylor (The Soul Philospher)–Doing My Own Thing (Part I) (Stax)
- March Wind–Do the Sweetback (Stax)
- The Hidden Cost–Bo Did It (Marmaduke)
- Johnny Scotton–You Don’t Wanna Do Nothin’ Do You? (People)
- The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band–Do Your Thing (Warner Bros-Seven Arts)
- Tex Soul and the Bayonets–Uto Nwa (Voodoo Funk/Academy LPs)
- Made Kuti–Free Your Mind (Partisan/Knitting Factory)
- The Wild Magnolias–Iko Iko (Polydor)
- Willie Tell & the Overtures–The Soul Ranger (Chess)
- Seeburg Spotlight Band–Twine Time (Seeburg)
- Porgy Jones–Catch Joe Potato (Great Southern)
- Menahan Street Band–The Duke (Dunham)
- Lloyd Price–They Get Down (GSF)
- Clarence Reid–Chicken Hawk (Alston)
- Clarence Carter–Thread the Needle (Fame)
- Edwin Starr–Ain’t It Hell Up in Harlem (Motown)
- Earth Wind & Fire–Mighty Mighty (Columbia)
- Sugar Billy–Keep Movin’ On (Fast Track)
- United 8–Getting Uptown (To Get Down) (Atlantic)
- Mickey and His Mice–Cracker Jack (Marti)
- Lee Fields–She’s a Love Maker (London)
- Martini’s–Hung Over (Bar)
None of these records are for sale.

























































