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eryque · February 20th, 2005, 05:03 PM

I saw James Cotton here in Albany last night (great show, great band!) and recognized almost all of the blues tunes he did, but there was a soul tune that the band did that I've never heard before and would love to find a copy.

It had the flavor of a late 60s or early 70s Stax tune, real upbeat and with a great hook. The only recurring line I can remember was at the beginning of the chorus, "get yourself up."

It was sung by one of the two guitar players, a big black dude who was built like Rerun (even had his hat tilted off to the side) who had a great big smile, a strong voice that would make Solomon Burke proud, and good chops. He played a Tele Custom with just his thumb, and had the moniker "Soul Workin' Man".

Any ideas?

Geo · February 20th, 2005, 06:16 PM

Maybe "You Got Me Hummin" ?....nah.....

I thought 1st on James Brown "Get on the Good Foot"
but not really a Stax sound. It has that line though.

Pointer Sisters tune?

Any other hints?

eryque · February 20th, 2005, 07:02 PM

It's an upbeat, major-key sort of thing, no funk on it at all.

Geo · February 20th, 2005, 07:48 PM

Major key, Tyrone Davis was big on that. He passed
last week, maybe a tribute doing one of his tunes.

eryque · February 22nd, 2005, 04:01 PM

The band's manager wrote back to me and told me that the song is "Get On Up" by Syl Johnson, but I can't seem to find any Syl Johnson recordings with that title. The Esquires did a very that's got the very early R&B thing going on (think 1952) and it's not the same thing at all.

staxman · February 22nd, 2005, 05:38 PM

Eric, I think the song you're looking for is called "Let Yourself Go" by Syl Johnson on Hi Records which, of course, had their take on the Stax formula. The song repeats the 'get on up' phrase in the chorus.

You can hear a sample to compare with what you heard at allmusic.com on "The Complete Syl Johnson on Hi Records" compilation.

Or the "A-Sides" compilation at cduniverse.com

Dave Brophy · February 22nd, 2005, 07:47 PM

I remember the tune well (if we're talking about the same song),it was a big hit in 1967.It was the Esquires,and a late 60's Chicago r&b sound.Maybe the sound clip you listened to was labelled wrong? There's some info and a sound clip at Allmusic:http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=77:7742

eryque · February 23rd, 2005, 12:05 AM

Staxman John had it right, it is "Let yourself go." And the guy in the band that sang it was named Slam Allen, kind of a cool cross between BB King and Tyrone Davis. Definitely worth checking out if he strikes out on his own.

Dave, the clip I heard was from the same song, but just basically had the phrase "get on up" repeated and it sounded more like a doo-wop thing than a late 60s soul thing.

But I'm learning lots about Chicago soul today, beats the heck out of writing my papers :)

DAK · February 23rd, 2005, 12:23 AM

(And the fact that I was born there doesn't hurt.)

Jerry Butler... Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions... Major Lance... Billy Butler... The Radiants... Tony Clarke... the Dells... and, of course, Billy Stewart. The Chi-Lites must have been from Chicago, with a name like that. Were the Esquires, too? (By the way, they followed "Get on Up" with a similar sounding record called "And Get Away," which I actually dug more than the first song.)

Glad you got the song ID'd, eryque. I knew it couldn't have been the Esquires' number. From what I recall of James Cotton, he wouldn't have covered a song like that. Soulful, yeah, but a little too pop.

eryque · February 23rd, 2005, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DAK

From what I recall of James Cotton, he wouldn't have covered a song like that. Soulful, yeah, but a little too pop.

Actually, JC left the stage for that number, but I could see him groovin on the wings.

He's got a great band and he can't sing anymore, and it doesn't hurt him any to let his band take a moment to shine with a slightly different kind of tune than he'd do. But I think they brought down the house when he came back and followed with "Mojo Workin".

CharlieO · February 24th, 2005, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DAK

Jerry Butler... Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions... Major Lance... Billy Butler... The Radiants... Tony Clarke... the Dells... and, of course, Billy Stewart. The Chi-Lites must have been from Chicago, with a name like that. Were the Esquires, too? (By the way, they followed "Get on Up" with a similar sounding record called "And Get Away," which I actually dug more than the first song.

The Esquires were from Milwaukee, which of course is close enough to Chicago to be directly influenced by the Chicago music scene.

February 20th, 2005, 05:03 PM	#1 (permalink)
eryque Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: albany, ny [not chicago] Posts: 7,406 44 Photos	Soul music fans - name that tune I saw James Cotton here in Albany last night (great show, great band!) and recognized almost all of the blues tunes he did, but there was a soul tune that the band did that I've never heard before and would love to find a copy. It had the flavor of a late 60s or early 70s Stax tune, real upbeat and with a great hook. The only recurring line I can remember was at the beginning of the chorus, "get yourself up." It was sung by one of the two guitar players, a big black dude who was built like Rerun (even had his hat tilted off to the side) who had a great big smile, a strong voice that would make Solomon Burke proud, and good chops. He played a Tele Custom with just his thumb, and had the moniker "Soul Workin' Man". Any ideas?

February 20th, 2005, 06:16 PM	#2 (permalink)
Geo Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Hendersonville, TN Age: 60 Posts: 2,618 15 Photos	Maybe "You Got Me Hummin" ?....nah..... I thought 1st on James Brown "Get on the Good Foot" but not really a Stax sound. It has that line though. Pointer Sisters tune? Any other hints? __________________ "Somewhere between culture and agriculture"

February 20th, 2005, 07:48 PM	#4 (permalink)
Geo Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Hendersonville, TN Age: 60 Posts: 2,618 15 Photos	Major key, Tyrone Davis was big on that. He passed last week, maybe a tribute doing one of his tunes. __________________ "Somewhere between culture and agriculture"

February 22nd, 2005, 05:38 PM	#6 (permalink)
staxman Tele-Holic Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Auburn, WA Posts: 558	"Let Yourself Go" maybe? Eric, I think the song you're looking for is called "Let Yourself Go" by Syl Johnson on Hi Records which, of course, had their take on the Stax formula. The song repeats the 'get on up' phrase in the chorus. You can hear a sample to compare with what you heard at allmusic.com on "The Complete Syl Johnson on Hi Records" compilation. Or the "A-Sides" compilation at cduniverse.com

February 23rd, 2005, 12:23 AM	#9 (permalink)
DAK Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 665	Love that sweet Chicago Soul! (And the fact that I was born there doesn't hurt.) Jerry Butler... Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions... Major Lance... Billy Butler... The Radiants... Tony Clarke... the Dells... and, of course, Billy Stewart. The Chi-Lites must have been from Chicago, with a name like that. Were the Esquires, too? (By the way, they followed "Get on Up" with a similar sounding record called "And Get Away," which I actually dug more than the first song.) Glad you got the song ID'd, eryque. I knew it couldn't have been the Esquires' number. From what I recall of James Cotton, he wouldn't have covered a song like that. Soulful, yeah, but a little too pop. __________________ DAK

February 20th, 2005, 07:02 PM	#3 (permalink)
eryque Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: albany, ny [not chicago] Posts: 7,406 44 Photos	It's an upbeat, major-key sort of thing, no funk on it at all.

February 22nd, 2005, 04:01 PM	#5 (permalink)
eryque Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: albany, ny [not chicago] Posts: 7,406 44 Photos	The band's manager wrote back to me and told me that the song is "Get On Up" by Syl Johnson, but I can't seem to find any Syl Johnson recordings with that title. The Esquires did a very that's got the very early R&B thing going on (think 1952) and it's not the same thing at all.

February 22nd, 2005, 07:47 PM	#7 (permalink)
Dave Brophy TDPRI Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 81	I remember the tune well (if we're talking about the same song),it was a big hit in 1967.It was the Esquires,and a late 60's Chicago r&b sound.Maybe the sound clip you listened to was labelled wrong? There's some info and a sound clip at Allmusic:http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=77:7742

February 23rd, 2005, 12:05 AM	#8 (permalink)
eryque Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: albany, ny [not chicago] Posts: 7,406 44 Photos	Staxman John had it right, it is "Let yourself go." And the guy in the band that sang it was named Slam Allen, kind of a cool cross between BB King and Tyrone Davis. Definitely worth checking out if he strikes out on his own. Dave, the clip I heard was from the same song, but just basically had the phrase "get on up" repeated and it sounded more like a doo-wop thing than a late 60s soul thing. But I'm learning lots about Chicago soul today, beats the heck out of writing my papers :)

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