Do The 45 is the reet music record hop hosted by DJ Pete Pop and held on the last Friday of the month at Quinn’s in Beacon, NY. Mr. Pop picked his guest disc slingers: Nina Day (aka Hardly Quinn) and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus. With the date’s close proximity to Halloween, folks were asked to dress in costume and a swingin’ night was guaranteed to take place.
Vampire Flapper swings at Spooky Do The 45!
However, for some reason, the October edition of Do The 45 was shifted to the last Thursday.
DJ Pete PopDJ Nina DayPhast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus
THURSDAY!! It’s a school night! Nobody will be there! Pete Pop and The Boog lamented over a secret message service all week about how they planned on playing boss monster records for the occasion, and feared no one will be in the joint to dig them. Miss Nancy G was cooking up vegan brownies and chocolate cookies (with eyeballs!)—who will eat them?
Miss Nancy’s eyeball treats!
All fears were for nothing. Not only did folks show up to dig and dance, but all of sweet Nancy’s treats were devoured! It ended up being a fantastic night. DJ Pete Pop and DJ Nina Day played fabulous records all night long—including many Halloween-oriented discs. All three DJs were dressed in outrageous garb, as were many of those in attendance.
DJs Pete Pop, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and Nina Day swing at the Spooky Do The 45!
Here’s a list of the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus:
Welcome to the notes for The GO Mechanism Number Eleven. The GO Mechanism is an audio odyssey of boss beats and reet rhythms that endeavors to compel the listener to tap one’s foot as the mind expands. The program is hosted by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus, a fellow who has been around several musical scenes. The “G” is for Groove, and in order to keep the Groove grooving, we don’t stop to smell the roses or back announce records. A complete track listing is found here in the Boogaloo Bag. The “O” is for O’Rooney—an intangible, supernatural power that puts the ‘oo’ into cool. O’Rooney is spread on thick in each GO Mechanism—listen and you will learn. The GO Mechanism originates on the Luxuria Music website as part of its Saturday Night Special series. This one will have its first run on Saturday October 8 at 10PM East Coast Time.
Halfway through The GO Mechanism there will be a Science Corner, where a momentous musical matter will be discussed and three pertinent songs will be played. In this GO we will feature some boss recordings Bill Doggett made in the sixties.
GO Mechanism Number Eleven opens with a composition by Ahmad Kharab Salim—mostly known as A.K. Salim. He was born Albert Atkinson but converted to Islam during the forties. A jaw injury he sustained in 1943 caused him to give up playing the saxophone and concentrate on writing and arranging music. During the fifties, four albums of his music were recorded and released on Savoy Records. He employed top-notch musicians and conducted them during the sessions. “Taking Care of Business” is from the first album called Pretty for the People; musicians included Johnny Griffin on tenor saxophone, Wynton Kelly on piano and Max Roach on Drums.
Sonny Stitt
Sonny Stitt has previously been heard in the Science Corner in GO Mechanism Number Four. In that episode, we played his version of Edwin Starr’s “Agent 00 Soul” that he recorded for the Ric-Tic label. “Stitt’s Groove” is from another Ric-Tic single. The other side is by the organ player Hank Marr called “Marr’s Groove.” Both sides have the same backing track, with the star vamping on top of it. We’ll play Marr’s version in an upcoming GO.
The Guitar Ramblers cut an album for Columbia Records. Most of it is basically unmemorable middle-of-the-road/easy listening tripe. But the single played here is a rockin’ version of the Dick Dale classic “Surf Beat” and worth seeking out.
Carol Kaye
Carol Kaye is the bass player known for her work with the L.A. session musicians called ‘The Wrecking Crew.’ She played on way too many records to list here. “Bass Catch” is found on an interesting single that actually may be a bootleg of some sort. It sounds as if it was just a jam for the recording engineer to get levels. But it’s a cool jam. The other side is by the bluesman Earl Hooker! Explain that.
Fumaça Preta was a band of contemporary European musicians who mixed electronic instruments with ethnic rhythms. “La Trampa” was released in 2015. The band existed about five or six years, issued three LPs and four singles then broke up a few years ago.
Willie Mabon was a blues pianist/singer based in Chicago whose 1952 song “I Don’t Know” was the biggest hit Chess Records had up to that point. It was a Number One R&B hit for eight weeks. Mabon’s version of “Seventh Son”is the original recording from 1955. Ten years later, Johnny Rivers had a Top Ten Pop hit with it. The version by Mose Allison will most likely appear in a future GO Mechanism.
After “The Green Hornet Theme,” pay attention, because the Suzanna Smith song, “Love of Two Worlds,” takes the concept of integrated couples one step beyond. In the song, Suzanna falls for a fellow from outer space—a REAL alien! It’s played pretty straight, too—not really a novelty record. You have to hear it to believe it. I wonder if Ms. Smith was trying to out-do Janis Ian’s “Society Child.”
In The Science Corner of this episode of The GO Mechanism we look at some of the records Bill Doggett recorded during the sixties. He was a jazz and R&B keyboard player who, during the forties and early fifties, played piano for Lucky Millinder, Louis Jordan & his Tympany Five, Ella Fitzgerald, The Ink Spots, Helen Humes, Johnny Otis and others. In 1945, he was on a recording session for Apollo Records that featured the great blues shouter Wynonie Harris backed by the Illinois Jacquet All-Stars, which included Charles Mingus. By the early fifties, Doggett turned to the organ as his main musical vehicle. He was soon signed to King Records and turning out records by the fistful. Although none of his early recordings appeared on the R&B charts for several years, his records must have sold pretty well as he made singles and albums pretty frequently. In 1956, Doggett and his combo, consisting of guitarist Billy Butler, drummer Shep Shepherd and saxophonist Clifford Scott, stumbled upon a simple jam that became popular in their live act. The group recorded an extended version of it, called it “Honky Tonk,” and released it as a two-part single. Part One featured Butler’s guitar playing and Part Two, the more popular side, featured Scott. It was a Number One R&B hit for 13 weeks.
Rare promo-only picture sleeve for “Ham Fat” single by Bill Dogget!
Bill Doggett’s singles only charted seven more times after that—the biggest being “Hold It” in 1958, which went to Number Three R&B. By the end of the decade, Doggett moved on from King Records. He cut records for Sue (“Fat Back” is heard here), Columbia (“Ham Fat” is next), Roulette (“Ko-Ko” also heard here), Warner Bros. and ABC. All through the sixties, King released more Doggett product as well—probably from a backlog of previous recordings or LP cuts. In 1969, Doggett returned to King Records and made two of his greatest records: “Twenty Five Miles” and “Honky Tonk Popcorn.”
Chip Kinman’s great new album THE GREAT CONFRONTATION
The electronic music—musique concrete, if you will—that lays the bed for a series of short poems by Jack Kerouac—was composed and performed by Chip Kinman. Mr. Kinman first arrived on the scene in 1976 as the guitarist and co-leader (with his brother Tony) of the punk rock band The Dils. The Dils stumbled at first, but by the middle of 1977 became one of the finest punk bands in California. Unfortunately, the group never made an album, but its series of singles prove it to have been one of the best. The Kinman brothers added a western tinge to its music when they formed Rank and File. Upon the completion of that project, Chip and Tony continued with several bands, changing gears each time. Tony died about four years ago. Chip released The Great Confrontation, album of electronic noises, bleeps and bloops, earlier this year and it is a GO Mechanism favorite. The track “San Francisco Fog 1977” was used here. Others may be used in future GO Mechanisms… watch for it!
“Mustard Greens” by J. Gardner was first released on the local Hot Line label out of New Orleans. It was picked up by Blue Rock, Mercury Records’ R&B subsidiary of the sixties. Gardner was Albert Gardner Jr, who got the nick name ‘June’ because it is short for ‘junior.’ He was a journeyman drummer based in New Orleans. He worked with such artists as Roy Brown, Lionel Hampton, Red Tyler, Edgar Blanchard, Ray Charles, Lee Dorsey and Sam Cooke—that’s Gardner drumming on Cooke’s magnificent Live at the Harlem Square Club LP. Gardner also recorded an album called Bustin’ Out, that was released on Mercury’s jazz subsidiary EmArCy.
No need to discuss Los Lobos—if you haven’t heard of this fabulous band from East L.A. then you must have been living on another planet for the last 50 years. Suffice it to say, we believe that this Spanish language version of “Cumbia Raza” was only issued on a promo-only CD single.
About 20 years ago, The GO Mechanism producers had an opportunity to interview Maurice White—he of Earth, Wind and Fire fame. Previous to EW&F, White was a session drummer for Chess Records in Chicago. White was asked what it was like working with the great singer Billy Stewart. White said that for a recording session, Stewart would insist that all the musicians set up around him so he could give them direction as he sang. Stewart was also a keyboard player, and the track we have selected, “Scramble,” has Mr. Stewart playing the organ on a rare instrumental.
“The Gallop” by The Chevelles is the instrumental B-side to a vocal by Gloria Walker backed by The Chevelles. The vocal side was called “Talking About My Baby” and is basically Ms. Walker philosophizing about her boyfriend as an introduction to “I’d Rather Go Blind.” Recently, an informative article about Gloria Walker and The Chevelles was published on the Salvation South blog and it is highly recommended. It is a story of a good soul music act getting a little taste of success but unable to catapult it into a career.
In this installment of The GO Mechanism, a new segment is being introduced: The Greatest Record of All Time. This show-ending portion of the program will feature the playing of a song that has been deemed by The GO Mechanism producers as one of the Greatest Records of All Time. The first pick to play is “Pizza Sure Is Good” by Dick & Libby Halleman and their Society Orchestra vs. Tom and Ray.
The first time we heard the record was at an ABC Rebel Night event—a rockabilly and Rock’n’Roll dance party that takes place monthly at Otto’s Shrunken Head in Manhattan. One of the Japanese hosts, Seiji Sato, played it. At first we thought it had to be by one of the fabulous R&B saxophonists of the fifties: Big Jay McNeely, Syl Austin, Red Prysock or Chuck Higgins. We ran to the DJ booth and Seiji showed us the record. We obtained a copy soon after.
During the sixties, seventies and eighties, Dick & Libby Halleman and their Society Orchestra was a lounge act based in the resort hotels of Scottsdale and Phoenix, Arizona. The lone album this group recorded, Let’s Go Dancing With…, consists of a show tunes medley, pop hits of the day, traditional jazz and ballads—not too different, really, from what Louis Prima and Keely Smith were doing at the time, only with less pizzaz. The tune we selected here was most likely inspired by Louis Prima’s “Jump, Jive and Wail”—but it is way better. The wailing saxophone and driving beat make it sound like a Joe Houston record. The “pizza sure is good” repeated refrain is absolute genius. To find out that it was made by a bunch of square white people in Arizona will blow your mind. It is truly one of the greatest records of all time.
Here is a complete track list of all the records played during GO Mechanism Number Eleven:
Earl Bostic—Lester Leaps In (King)
A.K. Salim—Takin’ Care of Business (from LP Pretty for the People; Savoy)
Sonny Stitt—Stitt’s Groove (Ric-Tic)
Electric Tomorrow—Sugar Cube (World Pacific)
The Guitar Ramblers—Surf Beat (Columbia)
Champion Jack Dupree—Skit Skat (from LP A Portrait of Champion Jack Dupree; Rounder)
Carol Kaye—Bass Catch (Disque D’Or)
Wes Montgomery—Caravan (Verve)
The Mint Juleps—Monkey Man (from LP Round Our Way; Hightone)
Fumaça Preta—La Trampa (Soundway; UK)
The Shangaans—Taboo (Columbia; UK)
Langston Hughes with Horace Parlan Quintet—Consider Me (The Weary Blues With Langston Hughes; M-G-M)
Dorothy Ashby—Afro-Harping (Cadet)
Wilmer & the Dukes—Get It (Aphrodisiac)
Willie Mabon—Seventh Son (Chess)
Andre Brasseur and His Multi-Organ Sound—The Kid (Disc A-Z; France)
Francis Bey & His Orchestra—Zumba (Philips)
B. Bumble & the Stingers—The Green Hornet Theme (Mercury)
Suzanna Smith—Love of Two Worlds (Smash)
Los Tampicos—Quiet Village (from LP That Torrid Tampico Sound!; CBS, UK)
Culture—I’m Alone in the Wilderness (from LP Two Sevens Clash; Joe Gibbs; Jamaica)
Donnie Burkes—Why Don’t You Smile Now (Decca)
—Science Corner—
Bill Doggett—Fat Back (Sue)
Bill Doggett—Ham Fat (Columbia)
Bill Doggett—Ko-Ko (Roulette)
—bed music: Bill Doggett—Honky Tonk Part 1 (King)
Olatunji—Menu de Ge Ogbener (from LP Drums of Passion; Columbia)
Chip Kinman—San Francisco Fog 1977 (from LP The Great Confrontation; In The Red)
Iron Butterfly—Inna-Gadda-Da-Vida (Boogaloo Edit #3) (from LP Inna-Gadda-Da-Vida; Atco)
The Hornets—Fruit Cake (Columbia)
Howlin’ Wolf—Killing Floor (Chess)
The Troggs—Night of the Long Grass (Fontana)
J. Gardner—Mustard Greens (Blue Rock)
The Sonics—Santa Claus (Norton)
The Surfaris—Scratch (from LP Hit City 64; Decca)
Funky Bompa—Cumbia Sampuesana (Bompa; Belgium)
Randy Newman Orchestra—Dust Storm (from LP Original Music From Peyton Place; Epic)
Frank Frost—My Back Scratcher (Jewel)
Los Lobos—Cumbia Raza (from LP This Time; Hollywood)
Norman Maine & His Orchestra—BAbylon 3-9970 (Columbia)
Billy Stewart—Scramble (Chess)
Bill Moses—Reach Out (Musicor)
The Chevelles—The Gallop (Flaming Arrow)
Curtis Mayfield—Freddie’s Dead (Boogaloo Edit) (from LP Superfly; Curtom)
Dick and Libby Halleman and their Society Orchestra vs Tom and Ray—Pizza Sure Is Good (Summit)
Otherwise uncredited spoken word: Jack Kerouac — Fragments
After The GO Mechanism initially airs on the Luxuria Musics—this one on Saturday, October 8— it will be available as a podcast for a few weeks. Look for the Saturday Night Special dated 10/9/2022. Once it falls off the Lux Mu podcast hustle, it will be posted on the Mixclouds as well as here in the Boogaloo Bag.
Luxuria Music is a swingin’ thing that deserves your support. Visit it often. Listen to the many cool shows. If you dig the scene, contribute monetarily. Keep Lux Mu alive!
The gods must be crazy. Seems whenever the management of of Quinn’s—the groovy ramen and rum joint in Beacon, NY—needs to spice up an evening, they call our pal DJ Pete Pop to put a night together. They did so for Thursday September 22. So it was with less than a week’s notice that Mr. Pop thought up this cool idea: Spanish Grease—a night of Latin Soul, Boogaloo, Mambo, Cumbia and assorted island rhythms. He duly contacted Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus to swing as his guest DJ. (Well, “Boogaloo” is his middle name!!!)
Pete Pop ques another hot boogaloo at Spanish Grease!
Pete Pop has some excellent Latin and Latin-tinged records. His cumbia collection has been growing in recent months. He played several fantastic records and had the place jumpin’. It was boogaloo and bongos all night long!
Miss Nancy G baked up a bunch of Mexican brownies (infused with cinnamon and cayenne pepper—plus vegan) and Spanish cinnamon cookies for the occasion. These were consumed con mucho gusto!
Nancy G’s swingin’ treats in the foreground with Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus observing action in the background at Spanish Grease!
Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus picked out some of his favorite mambo and cha cha records and swung accordingly. One of his sets consisted of eleven “boogaloo” records in a row!
The night was a gas. Folks were boppin’ to the heavy, heavy sound of congas and exotic rhythms. When it was over, Pete Pop deemed it a roaring success due to the fact that so many fantastic records were heard. He’s hoping there will be a Son of Spanish Grease someday soon!
Here’s a list of all the records Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus played at Spanish Grease.
Our pal DJ Pete Pop continues to wow them in Newburgh. He does this every Sunday by bringing his excellent 45 RPM records to Mama Roux where he plays them for an event he calls The Funky Brunch. Every once in a while, he asks Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus to come swing with him. He did so for September 11.
Pete Pop and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swing at the Funky Brunch
Mama Roux attracts the finest people due to it’s excellent cuisine. The ambience of the club is significantly enhanced by the records played by Pete Pop, as he plays them with artful taste, inspiring several of Mama’s customers to leave their gratitude in the tip jar.
Mama Roux’s fabulous burrata shakshuka gumbo ya ya
In between his DJ sets, The Boog and Boogaloo Bag photographer Miss Nancy G could not resist sampling Mama’s fantastic food. They dug the gumbo ya-ya and burrata shakshuka, respectively. Hey, haven’t they eaten that before? Sure, but it is so good—and you can only get it at Mama Roux—one may as well eat it over and over.
For his part, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus played a few funk records, a couple of New Orleans R&B platters, a couple of swell instrumentals and some soul sides. Dig it all right here:
It was a last-minute affair. Just as the final drought-ridden days of August were slipping away, the powers that be at Quinn’s—the groovy ramen noodle bar in Beacon, NY—looked at a calendar and noted that Sunday September 4 was the day before Labor Day and perhaps some sort of excitement should take place. A call was made to Hudson Valley’s top reet music DJ Pete Pop and he was asked to bring in a night of boss sounds. Mr. Pop accordingly gave the night a name: Shakin’ All Over; drew up a poster; and rounded up some local DJ action, including the reliable DJ Hardly Quinnand the functional Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus. The three of them arrived on time and laid down some sounds that went out of bounds!
Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus, DJ Hardly Quinn and DJ Pete Pop swing at Shakin’ All Over!
Pete Pop had the joint set up as if it were another Do The 45, only better—he moved the DJ booth to the stage to give the DJs a bit more room. He had some cool new videos and new posters and well, he just brought the magic, that’s what! Did I mention he has great records and knows how to play them?
DJ Pete Pop in action!
DJ Hardly Quinn has spent the summer DJing at local surf music events and car shows. She’s got some pretty good records and when she runs out, she borrows some from Pete Pop!!
DJ Hardly Quinn prepares to place another record on the turntable.
Miss Nancy G made some spicy vegan brownies and chocolate fudge for the event and it was all devoured accordingly!
Fudge and brownies!!!
Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus bops to one of his selections.
Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus, thinking he was only going to play a set or two, brought a small box of records and ended up playing all but about five of them! Here’s a list of all the ones that were played at Pete Pop’s Shakin’ All Over:
Welcome to the notes for The GO Mechanism Number Ten. The GO Mechanism is an audio odyssey of boss beats and reet rhythms that endeavors to compel the listener to tap one’s foot as the mind expands. The program is hosted by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus, a fellow who has been around several musical scenes. The “G” is for Groove, and in order to keep the groove grooving, we don’t stop to smell the roses or back announce records. A complete track listing is found here in the Boogaloo Bag. The “O” is for O’Rooney—an intangible, supernatural power that puts the oo into cool. O’Rooney is spread on thick in each GO Mechanism—listen and you will learn. The GO Mechanism originates on the Luxuria Music website as part of its Saturday Night Special series. This one will have its first run on August 20.
Halfway through the GO Mechanism there will be a Science Corner, where a momentous musical matter will be discussed and three pertinent songs will be played. In this GO we will feature the work of the great drummer Cozy Cole.
One of the selections heard in The Science Corner is “Crescendo in Drums,” a Cozy Cole feature recorded by the Cab Calloway Orchestra. At the beginning, Calloway is heard urging Cole on until the horn section kicks in.
Cole remained with Calloway until around 1942 when musical director Raymond Scott hired Cole for the CBS Radio network studio orchestra—one of the first to be integrated. During the early fifties, Cole worked with Louis Armstrong & His All Stars. In 1954, Cole and Gene Krupa founded a drum school and it stayed in business until Krupa died in 1973.
In 1958, Cozy Cole struck gold. He recorded a song called “Topsy” and had a big hit with it. “Topsy” was a swing number, initially recorded by Count Basie & His Orchestra during the thirties. Cole took the melody of the song, chopped and channeled it—much the way a Cholo takes an old Chevy and customizes it—and added serious drum activity. Cole recorded two arrangements, calling them “Part 1” and “Part 2.” “Topsy Part 2” became a Number One R&B hit (for six weeks) and it went to the Number Three position on the Pop charts. This was unusual for a twenty-year-old song that was mostly a drum solo.
Applying the old adage, “if they liked it once, they’ll love it the second time,” Cole tried to follow-up his hit with songs like “Turvy,”“Topsy Turvy” and a few versions of “Caravan.” Although they are cool records, none of them were hits. The first selection heard in The Science Corner is “Play Cozy Play,” a post “Topsy” recording that was released by King Records around 1960.
Cole continued to work pretty steadily into the seventies and died of cancer in January 1981 at the age of 71. The GO Mechanism and The Science Corner salute you, Cozy Cole, for your fine music. More of his recordings will be heard on future GO Mechanisms.
Further: The storied session drummer Hal Blaine recorded a tribute to Cozy Cole when he cut “Topsy 65.” It is heard every week on our pal Dennis Diken’s radio show on the WFMU Rock and Soul interwebs stream.
Leo Parker is a GO Mechanism favorite. He started as an alto saxophonist but switched to baritone when he joined the Billy Eckstine Orchestra around 1944. The Bebop movement in jazz was just beginning and Parker was part of it, but needed to remain on the baritone saxophone in order to differentiate himself from that other Parker, Charlie. Leo Parker played a solo on a Charles Thompson record called “Mad Lad,” that became so popular that Parker became nick-named Mad Lad. After cutting two albums for Blue Note Records in 1961, Parker died the next year of a heart attack. He was 36.
Leo Parker
In an earlier GO Mechanism, The Science Corner addressed some big band musicians who tried to transition into the sixties. Here we have a fine attempt by Woody Herman. With its super groovy beat, it is more likely that “Sting Ray” is a reference to the sports car made by Chevroletthan the fish.
Los Belking’s was a Peruvian instrumental rock band that, while its members were still in high school, won a talent contest that netted the group a recording contract toward the end of 1966. The first single was a hit, as was the second and the band was on its way. Los Belking’s underwent several personnel changes over the years but lasted into the seventies. “Setima Petrulla” is a 45 from 1968.
Los Belking’s
GO Mechanism Number Ten is blessed with two Sun Ra tracks. The first one, “Rocket Number Nine,” has found favor among rock groups; NRBQ and Yo Lo Tengo are among the bands who have covered it. The Ra version has many stops and starts and quiet spots, so the GO Mechanism producers spiced it up, mostly with Peter Orlovsky’s recitation of his poem, “A Rainbow.” The second Ra song, at the end of the GO, is “Nuclear War,” which is not for the squeamish.
GO Mechanism host Phast Phreddie with Sun Ra. Photo by Gary Leonard.
We tried, but could not find any information regarding Juanucho Lopez at all. The mambo-tinged “El Twist” is a fabulous dance record that only slightly resembles the Hank Ballard song of a similar title. No matter, “El Twist” will get your juices flowing!
Ursala Walker is a jazz singer who got her start on a local Detroit TV show for children. She worked with the Australian jazz vibraphonist Jack Brokensha during the sixties and seventies and continues her singing career to this day, performing mostly in her hometown of Detroit. “Javelin Beat” was recorded for a short promotional film that showcased American Motors’ muscle car, and, for some reason, was issued as a single; probably a give-away to American Motors dealers.
Howard Blake is a British composer mostly known for his film scores. In 1966, he made a couple of hammond organ albums from whence “James Bond Theme” comes.
The bed music for Oweinama Biu’s recitation of Brian Bilston’s “America Is a Gun” was composed by Jeff Herles, a fellow that the GO Mechanism host used to play softball with in Brooklyn. it is performed here by pianist Helen Sung and was part of a program of Herles’ music that was organized by his brother Chris after Jeff passed away in 2006.
Oswald “Baba” Brooks is a Jamaican trumpet player who played jazz during the fifties, but in the sixties and seventies he played on several ska and rocksteady records—including some by The Skatalites, Stranger Cole, Derrick Morgan and Alton Ellis, as well as a bunch under his own name. “Guns Fever” was a hit for him in 1965. We believe he is still alive and, we hope, still making music.
Baba Brooks
Speaking of Jamaican music—The GO Mechanism producers are quite fond of pointing out that just about any song can be enhanced by singing it to a reggae beat. In this GO we have three songs performed in this manner: Tomorrow’s Children with “Bang Bang,” a hit for Cher; Slade’s glam anthem “Mama We’re All Crazy Now” as performed by Denzel Dennis; and The Mighty Diamonds’ mighty re-working of “Gypsy Woman” by The Impressions. This seems to be a recurring theme in the GO World.
The Marquees were a doo wop/R&B vocal group from Los Angeles and should not be confused with The Marquees from Washington, D.C. that included Marvin Gaye. Although the song, “Christmas in the Congo,” may be considered of seasonal interest, great songs are always interesting, no matter the subject matter.
Chet Atkins was internationally known as a fellow who could play guitar. For many years, he was a Nashville session musician who played on just about every RCA Victor record made in that city. Also, he produced most of them. Plus, he made over a hundred records under his own name. His records were primarily countrified instrumental versions of pop or C&W hits, but he also recorded jazz and rock’n’roll. The title here, “Boo Boo Stick Beat,” was recorded for an album called Chet Atkins’ Teensville and released as a single. Despite it flip title, it’s rather experimental for the time it was recorded (1959). Chet Atkins is one of those musical artists whose artistry was very deep and it will take a lifetime to delve into it.
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings—When I Come Home (Daptone)
Mighty Diamonds—Gypsy Woman (Gibbs; Jamaica)
Curtis Mayfield—Freddie’s Dead (Boogaloo edit) (Curtom)
Sun Ra–Nuclear War (Y; UK)
* denotes Science Corner selection.
Spoken, read by author, unless noted:
A Rainbow—Peter Orlovsky
She Walks in Beauty—Peter Orr
America Is a Gun—by Brian Bilston, read by Oweinama Biu
After The GO Mechanism initially airs on the Luxuria Musics—this one on Saturday, August 20— it will be available as a podcast for a few weeks. Look for the Saturday Night Special dated 8/21/2022. Once it falls off the Lux Mu podcast hustle, it will be posted on the Mixclouds as well as here in the Boogaloo Bag.
Luxuria Music is a swingin’ thing that deserves your support. Visit it often. Listen to the many cool shows. If you dig the scene, contribute monetarily. Keep Lux Mu alive!
The Fortyfiveologist and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swing at the Collar City Hustle!
Our new friend The Fortyfiveologist, as his name suggests, is an all-45s-all-the-time DJ who swings in and around the Capitol District of New York State. He runs a cool soul/funk/dance night of reet music called The Collar City* Hustle. He was recently introduced to Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus by the nice people at Stupefaction. The Fortyfiveologist instantly secured a night at a club called No Fun in Troy, NY and invited The Phast Man to come up and play a few records.
That was accomplished on Saturday August 13.
One may wish to know that Phast Phreddie lived in the area—Albany—about 30 years ago. It didn’t quite turn out to be the homecoming that Boogaloo Bag photographer and Boogaloo BakerNancy Gardner was hoping for—mostly because very few things were remembered! However, some excellent Mexican food was ingested before the gig. The place, Oaxaquena Triqui, is a small Mexican market that has a little diner in the back room and a kitchen where the food is made fresh. Food was very good and the women who ran the place were very helpful.
No Fun — actually, quite fun!
It was confusing getting to the gig. Seems that some movie company had rented out the street and all the storefronts were changed to represent a Brooklyn street at the turn of the last century! Luckily, The Fortyfiveologist had a sandwich sign out front marking the event.
The Fortyfiveologist works his magic at the Collar City Hustle!
And, what an event. The Fortyfiveologist knows his stuff. He played some incredible records. The Boogaloo Omnibus tried his hardest to keep up with him. The place, No Fun, had a large dance floor with plenty of room for everyone. It also had some crazy murals on the walls. Nancy made some fudge that was consumed during the evening. Plus, she go-go danced nearly the whole night!
Lots of fun on the No Fun walls!!
The following is a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at the Collar City Hustle:
* It should be pointed out that Troy, NY is called “The Collar City” because of its history as a place where removable collars were made back in the days when removable collars were a thing.
On July 29 DJ Pete Pop’s smashing shindig Do The 45 returned to Quinn’s in Beacon, NY. Over the years, Pete Pop has accumulated some fantastic 45s and he knows how to play them. At his Do The 45 Rock and Soul dance parties he brings a bunch of them, selects some great ones and lets them spin: garage rock, soul, R&B, rockabilly, boogaloo—you name it, if it’s reet, you can count on Pete to have it and play it! Plus, he sets up his hustle at Quinn’s with a screen showing some cool videos of folks dancing, psychedelic lights are in effect and Pete’s posters are hung with care. He’s got a whole scene and, man, it is clean!
DJ Pete Pop swings at Do The 45!
Meanwhile, folks are coming into Quinn’s to eat (its ramen noodles are celebrated up and down Main Street) and to cop a brew. Many who were in attendance were not expecting to hear the boss sounds that DJ Pete puts down but they dig it anyhow. It’s a sight to see: a bunch of folks boppin’ their heads to the beat as they slurp down their noodles.
Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and DJ Pete Pop get down with it at Do The 45!
On this Friday night, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus was once again called upon to be DJ Pete Pop’s guest DJ. He brought a box of cool rekkids and some of Miss Nancy’s vegan brownies and her new item, mint swirl chocolate cookies. Miss Nancy couldn’t be there in person but her baked goods made sure that her presence was felt. It was great to see so many friends—old and new—at the club, chowing, chatting, swigging and wigging out on the dance floor!
Miss Nancy‘s yummy baked goods on display at Do The 45!
Here’s a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at the Do The 45:
Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and DJ Pete Pop swing at the Funky Broadway Brunch!
About once a month, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus gets the call from DJ Pete Pop to swing at the Funky Broadway Brunch at Mama Roux. He got that call again on July 10.
On this occasion, the weather fully cooperated and the festivities were able to take place in the beautiful Mama Roux back yard. The DJ booth was set up in a little nook and folks from all over the Mid-to-Lower Hudson Valley dropped in to dig the brunch food and the hot toons that DJ Pete Pop and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus were laying down.
Speaking of food, soon after they walked in, The Boog and Boogaloo Bag photographer Miss Nancy were presented with some excellent quiche with a pastry on the side. Well, they had to pick out the ham parts, but other than that, it was an excellent quiche. Once the brunch was over, the chef pulled out a pasta dish of some sort along with a salad and all the staff members—which included the DJs and photographer—enjoyed it.
Mama’s quiche!!
Here are all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at the Funky Broadway Brunch:
Drag queens pose with Mama Roux staff post Funky Drag Brunch
Boogaloo Bag enthusiasts are certainly aware that DJ Pete Pop swings the Funky Broadway Brunch at Mama Roux in beautiful downtown Newburgh every Sunday. What the reader may not know is that on the last Sunday of the month, the brunch is taken over by drag queens who present two colorful shows at each Funky Drag Brunch. On Sunday, June 26, Mr. Pop had some personal affairs to tend to and needed a substitute DJ for the day. Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus was called.
Mr. Pop was able to have things all set up for the event. He showed The Boog how to cue the music for the drag queen show—which uses modern technology. This is important because none of the songs the drag queens utilize during their performances are on 45 RPM records—the usual format for the Funky Broadway Brunch. Once everything was ready to go, Mr. Pop departed for his other situation.
The drag queen show consists of men dressed as women lip syncing to popular songs—usually by a female singer—as the performer walks up and down the aisle of the restaurant, primping, vogueing, strutting and dancing, with an occasional somersault, back-flip or, in one case, a cartwheel (which nearly took out one of Mama Roux’s chandeliers!). All the while, spectators hand dollar bills to the performers. It is great fun. Did I mention that both shows were sold out? Yes, for the Funky Drag Brunch there is a cover charge; there is no admission for non-drag Funky Brunches (which makes it even less of a drag!!).
Here are a few photos of the dragsters that will give the Boogaloo Bag reader an idea of what goes on during a Funky Drag Brunch at Mama Roux…
Oh, and let’s not forget the fine food at Mama Roux. The Boogaloo Bag writers—and photographer Miss Nancy—partook in some most excellent cuisine: gumbo ya-ya and burrata shakshuka. The gumbo is the best this side of the Mason-Dixon Line, that’s for sure. The food was so good that photos weren’t taken until it was gone!
Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus swings at the Funky Drag Brunch!
For the music part of the event, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus presented much of the music usually played during a regular Funky Broadway Brunch, but with more hit records than he would normally play thrown in. This seemed to work, as tippage for the DJ was very generous! Here’s a list of everything played:
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