The theme/title for the third annual V-Day mix is “Inspiration Information” and emphasizes some of the people who have been an inspiration or influence to me. This mix follows under the same guideline as previous Valentine’s Day mixes, only vinyl 45’s purchased in the previous calendar year can be used. No exceptions.
Curating and producing this mix is something I look forward to the entire year. As I have moved to different cities, meet new people, shared experiences, etc, it’s important to let my family, friends and even strangers know how much they inspire me. Society doesn’t always allow us the pleasure of knowing how our actions affect others in a positive way. It’s a shame really, positive energy and acknowledging its existence helps cultivate people’s best intentions.
Below the song list are the people who influenced me this year for one reason or another. Some of these songs I’ve never heard before, while others were just simple reminders that it should be included. There were numerous 45s that I couldn’t find or were very expensive and had to excluded. Additional songs were not included in this mix because of time consideration. I plan on releasing another mix, “Leftover Chocolates”, in the near future.
Feel free to share it and thanks for taking the time to listen.
Stream the mix at Mixcloud or here via Dropbox
This is dedicated to the memory of my friend, coworker and roommate Eric Radin, RIP.
Candi Staton – “I’d Be An Old Man’s Sweetheart”
Etta James – “Tell Mama”
Mickey Murray – “I Can’t Tell You”
Ike & Tina Turner – “Bold Soul Sister”
Dorthy Moore – “Here It Is”
The Emotions – “Blind Alley”
Betty Everett – “The Shoop Shoop Song”
Soulphonics & Ruby Velle – “Heartlite”
Barbara Acklin – “Love Makes A Woman”
T Bird and The Breaks – “The Piano Joint”
Mable John – “Running Out”
Charles Bradley – “Heartaches and Pain”
Ray Charles – “Georgia On My Mind”
Tony Bennett – “I’ll Only Miss Her When I Think of Her”
Jeanine and Janie – “Under Your Spell Again”
Squirrel Nut Zippers – “Anything But Love”
Wax Poetic ft. Norah Jones – “Angels”
The Playmates – “What is Love”
Mickey & Sylvia – “Dearest”
Buddy Holly – “Love Is Strange”
Roy Orbison – “Only The Lonely”
Soul Survivors – “Expressway To Your Heart”
George McCrae – “Rock Your Baby”
The O’Jays – “Darlin’ Darlin’ Baby”
Gladys Knight & The Pips – “On And On”
Lou Rawls – “Bring It On Home”
Queen – “Somebody To Love”
Betty Everett “The Shoop Shoop Song” My friend Amber “Ginger” posted this on Facebook one day and it just screamed ADD ME TO THE MIX!
Mickey & Sylvia “Dearest” When Mickey died this year, Aquarium Drunkard blog posted a great story on Mickey, his interesting relationship with Sylvia and this song: one of the greatest love songs that I’ve ever heard. Mmmhhh, yeah…
Ray Charles “Georgia On My Mind” – To my home state of Indiana. Although it is not under the same circumstances as Mr Charles, the “lost love” feeling I have for both Indianapolis and the state of IN is the same.
Wax Poetic ft Norah Jones “Angels” – This is a song that my boy Dalton Finney introduced me to back in ’04, when he called my record store wanting the 12″ single. I flipped my lid when I found it on 7″ this year! Fate my friends.
T Bird And The Breaks “The Piano Song” – A shout to my Austin, TX boys. These guys are the REAL DEAL and it’s only a matter of time before you see their name in BIG lights.
Charles Bradley “Heartaches And Pan” – This is for Neal Sugarman, Tom Brenneck, Mikey Post and the rest of the Daptone family. About 7 years ago I was lucky enough to do my first show with the crew, it still inspires me to this day.
Mable John “Running Out” – This is for my friend Eric who runs the blog Record-Racks. An accomplished writer, he is the type of man who keeps music alive for all the right reasons.
Gladys Knight & The Pips “On And On” – For my friend/coworker at Reckless, Dan Malone. Known for dishing out nicknames and good tunes as both a DJ and lead singer of Death Ships, he played this one Saturday night extra loud.
Candi Staton “I’d Rather Be An Old Man’s Sweetheart” – When I heard first heard this song her compilation (Honest Jons Records partially owned by Damon Alburn) it was a game changer. I became obsessed with collecting 45’s instead of LPs and the rest as they say, is in the mix.
The O’Jays “Darlin’ Darlin’ Baby” – I heard a remix of this tune in the fall of 2011 by a cat name JKriv aka Deep & Disco from Philly and it blew my mind. In July of last year my friend Brendan O’Connell and I were driving around Chicago listening to the new remixes of “Call Girl” a single from his band, The Right Now. (Best Soul band in Chicago.) Wouldn’t you know that it would feature a remix by JKriv and would be released on his label, Deep & Disco in 2013. It’s a small world out there.
Squirrel Nut Zippers “Anything But Love” – Whenever I think of this band, I think of my Uncle John and how he wold talk about them way back in the mid 90’s. I saw this at Other Music in NYC and couldn’t help but add it to this year’s mix.
Mickey Murray “I Can’t Tell You”- Known as James Brown’s protege, Murray’s album was completed but got shelved after King Records was purchased. Another friendship I’ve developed because of music is with Eric Foss. Eric runs Secret Stash Records in Minneapolis and put this album out in April 2012. Secret Stash does an amazing job of finding lost gems of music that have never been published before and gives them a proper release. The label deserves your attention.
Buddy Holly “Love Is Strange” – This is a shout to DJs, Rob Fearless and Action Pat. Two guys who welcomed me with open arms to their city and gave me a chance to have some fun, swap some records and gain new friendships. Both of you helped me to expand my sound and this track just reminds of my time in Baltimore.
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