Friday, July 14, 2017

Little Woo Woo "Harlem Shuffle" (Heat, 1967)
Get your enjoys, Jonathan Toubin Soul Proprietor, New York Night Train



originally published Published on Apr 22, 2017
A flaming bare-bones take on "Harlem Shuffle" by the consistently fabulous Little Woo Woo on the mysterious Heat Imprint!

Edward "Little Woo Woo" Early started out in a Dayton, OH combo called The Moroccos in 1956. By 1960 they recorded the first and perhaps only single on Dayton's 3M label as Little Woo-Woo & the Moroccos' - "This Wonderful Girl Of Mine" b/w "My One And Only." The charming platter did well enough to get national distribution on Port Records. Little Woo Woo and the Moroccos next surfaced in 1962 on another obscure Dayton imprint, Greenstar, with the under-known two-sided classic featuring the explosive "The Big Swim," which you may remember from "Souvenirs of the Soul Clap, Vol. 4," backed with the very cool and crazy jam “Muzik Megaton.” The band next caught their big break - loading up the truck and zipping up to Detroit to record a total of six sides in two sessions at Motown. The result, under the Morrocco Muzik Makers moniker, and their sole soul 45 for Motown. The A-Side "Back to School" hit far below the band's usual standard of excellence but its fat flipside “Pig Knuckles” is a wailing firecracker and one of Motown’s most candid, unusual, and exciting instrumentals. The rarity of this record is testament to how little the label attempted to do with it and it looks like the The Moroccos disappeared from recording after their Motown adventure.

Little Woo Woo however, sans the Moroccos, appeared at least once more on vinyl - on an impossibly rare 1967 Heat Records “live” LP. Today’s Party Platter is the scarce single contains the LP's tracks “Harlem Shuffle” and the instrumental “Outrigger.” The band credited on the LP is Dayton organist Sammy Dobson, drummer Billy Vance, and vocalists Leatha Early (Woo Woo’s sister?), Connie Lawson (Dayton singer of Connie and Kenny?), and Leroy Rogers. Like 3M and Greenstar, Little Woo Woo also appears to be the only act released on Heat - making me wonder if his three amazing non-Motown singles were private presses. Though the band was from Dayton and the Heat records were on the log at Cincinnati’s RITE Custom Pressing, the label mysteriously includes only a Birmingham, Alabama address.

If you have any information to add about this amazing band or record, feel free to chime in!

graphics by AVI SPIVAK (http://www.avispivak.com)!

You're listening to the daily addition to the New York Night Train Party Platter playlist. Each track here is recorded directly from my original 45s (no bootlegs, reproductions, etc) to give you an idea of what the real deal authentic vinyl I turn at my parties sounds like. COME BACK EVERY DAY FOR A NEW FIX! Because the records pass so quickly on the dance floor, this channel is an attempt to stop and focus on one record at a time in hopes to personally learn more about each one and at the same time turn you on to the artists, tracks, labels, etc. I'm just hipping myself to a lot of these records for the first time as well - so you can view this as our journey into learning more about cool old records together! But above all else I hope this music moves you as much as it moves me.

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