August 19, 2011 Playlist

Hippie Xmas
Junk Vinyl Special

  

CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK Rotary Connection  "Songs"  1969 (USA) We're spinning all vintage vinyl (used records) on the show this week, and one of my favorite dumpster diving discoveries of recent years is the "progressive soul" band Rotary Connection.  They were the flagship act on Chess Records' psychedelic subsidiary label Cadet Concept (which also released farout classics like Electric Mud), and featured the soprano singing of Minnie Riperton (recruited from a secretary job at the label) and the compositions and arrangements of unsung genius Charles Stepney (whose most famous affiliation came later as producer of Earth Wind & Fire's early LP's).  Rotary Connection's six albums are a quintessential example of the eclectic style of the late 1960's, combining soulful group vocals with horns, strings and acid rock guitars.  Songs was their fourth release, and consists entirely of cover songs by the likes of Cream, Hendrix, Stevie Wonder and The Band.  Based in Chicago, the Rotary Connection sold quite a few records in the big cities of the Midwest, but never really achieved much national exposure. I don't think Rotary Connection ever performed for the video cameras (or even toured much for that matter -- they were really more of a studio project).  So here's a fan video for their version of Aretha Franklin's "Respect" from Songs, which shows you how radically they rearranged popular material!  The final Rotary LP from 1971 included a track called "I Am The Blackgold Of The Sun" which has come to be regarded as something of an unsung classic in recent years.  The most famous member of Rotary was their remarkable singer Minnie Riperton, who had a successful solo career until she died of cancer in 1979.  But the visionary of the group was Charles Stepney, whose other credits include his later work with Earth Wind & Fire, and some very strange late-60's psychedelic blues albums for Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf.  One of the Chess studio musicians who played on these records was Pete Cosey, also something of a cult figure nowdays due to his work with Miles Davis.