There are oldies and then there are oldies – this one is from before I was born. It’s a proper earworm, with some great lyrics, and it’s had almost 50 million views on YouTube, making it surely one of the best known oldies of all time. (more…)

Looking at the singles chart, 1976 was as dire a year as there’s ever been. No wonder punk came along to blow the rubbish away. (more…)

Another lost classic from the funk vaults, The Watts Breakaway is just one of many musical achievements of Johnny Otis. The singer is Delmar ‘Mighty Mouth’ Evans and the guitarist may well by Johnny’s equally well-known son Shuggie Otis. (more…)

Cliff Nobles is unique in the annals of one-hit wonders – he doesn’t appear at all on this his solitary hit. (more…)

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There’s not much to Tighten Up beyond a funk groove, some handclaps, and Archie introducing himself before urging the listener to dance. But it’s a classic. (more…)

I was going to post the gorgeous instrumental Walk In The Night, the only tune I knew growing up by Junior Walker & The All Stars. Then I stumbled upon Shotgun. (more…)

It’s only listening to this again now, 45 years later, that I realise it’s the best Four Tops song not actually by the Four Tops. (more…)

I always thought this song was by Devo until I read Quentin Tarantino’s novel Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, where it makes an appearance. (more…)

The word “legend” gets chucked about a lot but Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry really was one. Keith Richards once called him “the Salvador Dali of reggae.” (more…)