Soul Searching

Written by Ava

He's a soul man.

And where funk and soul records are concerned, Larry Grogan truly knows his stuff. We're not talking records as in songs, we're talking records as in RECORDS. Vinyl records.

Besides that, Larry is a music writer who's written for magazines, e-zines, newspapers, and his latest creation, the Funky16Corners blog all about the coolest funk, jazz, and soul music from vinyl and MP3s. He also knows the important influence of guitar to this genre and we're quite impressed. With a cool name and a cool vibe, it can't get any better then this!

He sure lays it on thick and we, at Jemsite, are loving it!

How did you form an interest in funk and soul vinyl?

It followed my general interest in record collecting – which dates back to my early teens – and my developing a taste for, and interest in soul music. Though I always collected soul 45s casually, I didn’t start to seek out funk 45s in earnest until the late 90s. Prior to that I wasn’t really aware that it existed to that extent.

Since funk and soul vinyl is not something you hear about so often anymore, especially where guitarists are concerned, who are some of your favorites?

I am a huge fan of New Orleans funk and soul, especially anything having to do with Allen Toussaint and/or Eddie Bo. I also have a specific interest in Hammond organ 45s, but if you were to take a look at my crates you’d find all kinds of stuff.

As far as guitarists go, there are a lot of things in my collection that kind of branch out of the soul jazz genre.

How important is the guitar to funk and soul vinyl?

Though you don’t hear people talking about the guitarists much – there seems to be more of a focus on drummers and vocalists – there are several seminal funk guitarists, like Leo Nocentelli of the Meters, all of James Brown’s guitarists, especially Jimmy ‘Chank’ Nolen, Dennis Coffey, Mel Brown, Donald Austin and primarily jazz guitarists like Melvin Sparks and Grant Green who recorded a lot of funky stuff, who’s contribution to the sound of funk was inestimable. There are also modern players like Binky Griptite of the Dap Kings who are keeping the sound alive.

You’ve been writing about music since the mid-80s. Do you any big changes in guitars and/or guitarists? In the music in general? In the popularity of funk and soul vinyl?

I haven’t noticed any major changes, but I’m not a guitarist. If I had to make one observation there seems to be – at least in pop music – a dependence on “treated”/effects laden guitar sounds and less organic feeling, but ultimately that’s a matter of taste.

As far as changes in music, I find, having come up during the rise in ‘alternative’ music and independent labels in the late 70s/early 80s, that part of the scene has long since been coopted by major labels.

The changes in music format and delivery systems, i.e. MP3, iPods etc, as well a digital recording technology has really democratized the making and distribution of music.

The popularity of funk and soul vinyl, which in America basically followed the birth of the Northern Soul, funk 45 and rare groove scenes in the UK continues unabated. I’m always shocked (pleasantly surprised) to see what copies of records I picked up on the cheap 10 years ago are going for these days. It may have something to do with dwindling supply balanced against increasing or steady demand.

If you could make a mix of some of the best guitarists that are featured in the MP3s you post on your blog, what are some of the guitarists, bands, and songs that you would feature?

Well, all of the guys I mentioned above. The Meters, Booker T and the MGs (with Steve Cropper), Grant Green, Melvin Sparks (who appears on countless classic soul jazz sessions from the 60s and 70s), all of the guys that played with James Brown and the JBs, and the many, many anonymous musicians on obscure 45s that followed (all of) their lead.

Tell me about your blog Funky16Corners and how you came up with that name.

The Funky16Corners blog was an outgrowth/continuation of the webzine of the same name (founded in 2000). The blog started in 2004 and just celebrated its fifth anniversary. I borrowed the name from the song ‘The Funky Sixteen Corners’ by the Highlighters Band, one of the finest/rarest funk 45s from the classic era.

What was the Funky16Corners webzine like?

The web zine was kind of an internet version of the print zines that I had been doing since the mid-80s, with articles on musicians/bands, discographies, capsule reviews of funk 45s etc.

Do you think soul and funk guitarists don’t get enough cred? What is it that makes soul and funk guitarists so special?

I do not, but so much collectible funk and soul music, especially by artists that only made a couple of 45s, is largely anonymous. Many of these artists made their one record and then faded into regional obscurity. I know that most people that study the music at the level I do would love to know who played on every record, but unfortunately that information is often very hard, if not impossible to come by.

I think that the importance of the soul/funk guitarists is a rhythmic one, since so much of what made the music great is the interplay between the members of the rhythm section, using syncopation. If you get the chance to listen closely to any of James Brown’s classic sides, check out the way the guitarist(s) wind in and out of the musical fiber like the gears of a clock.

I often wish someone with a grounding in music theory would sit down and suss it all out, because it sounds fascinating.

How much influence does soul and funk vinyl have now on the music we currently listen to? Does the guitar from that type of music also have influence?

I would say a lot, but often in very subtle ways. Like any instrument, the guitar and its modern stylists are largely dependent on those that came before. My suspicion is that many of today’s players are reworking classic styles/riffs, but are probably oblivious as to where those sounds originated. This is in no way restricted to funk and soul, with as much influence coming from blues, rock, rockabilly, surf, jazz and just about any other recorded genre.