Tag Archives: funk

“The Witch Queen of New Orleans” by Redbone – About A REAL Voodoo Priestess And It’s A Funky Song for Halloween

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Here’s an unofficial video for created by a pop music chart show from Bremen, West Germany. The song is a funky jam and I think better than their other well-known single “Come And Get Your Love”.

Redbone released a recording of the song in 1971 as a single and on an the LP Message from a Drum. Pat and Lolly Vegas, brothers and band-mates wrote the song together. Their recording combines elements of Southern Swamp-Rock, Native Folk-Rock and Funk.

Redbone was actually the first All Native American band to reach number one on a singles chart in any country. It was with this song. “Witch Queen” reached number one in Belgium. It hit number two on the UK Singles chart. It got to 15 in Canada but only 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA.

courtesy of discogs

Because of the subject matter, the song has become a favorite for Halloween celebrations in the US, UK and Canada.

The song is about a 19th century Voodoo practitioner named Marie Laveau. You probably didn’t read about her in your high-school history book. She was a free woman of color, Creole, born and died in New Orleans, 1801-1881.

1920 portrait formerly identified as Marie Laveau (1794–1881) by Frank Schneider, based on an 1835 painting (now lost?) by George Catlin.

Her life story is long and interesting. There is far to much to cover here in this blog. The short version is that she was a famous Herbalist, Voodoo Priestess, Beautician and Midwife. Despite being a person of color, she herself owned slaves. For a while she was the elected leader of The New Orleans Voodoo Organization. This is why they gave her the nickname “Witch Queen”.

Her unique life experience has inspired many writers and musicians to referenced her in their work. You can still visit her grave today. Notice the marker refers to her VooDoo organization as a cult. Her former home and grave-site are both thought to be haunted by her dead soul.

courtesy of atlasobscura

Michael Jackson’s Thriller Video Was Re-imagined in India – Then Japan Remade The Remake – Then A Remix – An Uncanny Cascade of Undead Events

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First there was the Thriller Video by Michael Jackson. You know it. You love it. It was a big hit on MTV when it first came out in 1984.

The dance routine in the original video is sublime and the most famous part of the video. Countless recreations have occurred in professional stage shows, school performances, Rocky Horror Picture Show local cast pre-shows, and so on.

A movie director in India decided to make a knock-off tribute called “Goli Maar” the next year. It was part of a movie called Donga

There are a number of crude uploads to YouTube, None of them are in great shape. The audio quality is always crap. The song does not appear to be available for digital download on Amazon. I wish the original recording would resurface so we can get a proper remaster. I consider it a cult-classic.

This versions is not too bad but they over saturated the colors.

Then a dance group in Japan remade the video (but not the song) in 2009.

Wait there’s more! Somebody did a remix/mashup in 2015. Somehow the video quality is best in this version.

Have a happy Halloween and do share this little story with your favorite wacky Halloween lover.

“Dad, I’m in Jail” by Was (Not Was) – Animated for MTV’s Liquid Television October 1992

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Imagine that it’s the 90s and you’ve just arrived home. The first thing you do is press PLAY on your answering machine. Then you find out that your son is currently in jail. Not only that but he’s gone nuts. He claims to love it there.

Was (Not Was) wrote a song about it. The track features a mix of acoustic and electronic instruments. I would classify it as experimental jazz. It’s weird as hell and certainly not a traditional pop song. “Dad, I’m in Jail” was the final track on their 1988 album What Up, Dog?.

courtesy of RYM

I got my first CD player in 1989 or 1990. I quickly joined both Columbia House and BMG music services. I got What Up, Dog? on CD from one of those two. I checked to see if I still have it in my collection and sadly I do not.

The video here is not the official video for the song. The band itself never made one. This is actually an animation piece made for MTV’s Liquid Television. It first aired on October 1, 1992, part of season two.

At the time animation was not as ubiquitous as it is today. The technology to create animation was nothing like what we have now. Liquid Television was one of the only places that a casual viewer could see animated works of art. It also is where future popular shows like Beavis and Butthead were first tested out on an audience.

This upload looks like a VHS recording from live TV. As a result it is in mono and does not sound very good, so for your reference, I found a better sounding recording of the track here.

“Love Rollercoaster” by Red Hot Chili Peppers As seen in Beavis & Butthead Do America

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The Peppers are releasing their second album this year with returning guitarist John Frusciante. Beavis & Butthead are back with a recent movie and new episodes on Paramount Plus. Both of these GenX favorites are hot again. I love it!

Fans will remember that the movie Beavis & Butthead Do America features a song performed The Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was 1996 and Dave Navarro was the lead guitarist in the band.

In the film, the boys find themselves at a Las Vegas casino dancing to the music of a cover band. The band is dressed in look-alike blue suits. They look nothing like Red Hot Chili Peppers.

It cracks me up that The Peppers played a cover band in the movie. They could have just covered any RHCP hit but it’s a lot funnier having the band play a cover as a cover band. RHCP also made an animated video for it, but it’s just not as entertaining as the scene from the movie.

Decades before Beavis and Butthead were seen dancing to this song as performed by the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1996, it first made famous by The Ohio Players in the 1970s. Here is footage of them playing live-to-tape on Midnight Special as introduced by Wolfman Jack.

The RHCP version was released in North America and Spain as a CD single that also functioned as a promo for FM radio. It included three mixes of the song. Today it’s a collector’s item.

courtesy of discogs

The song was released as a single on cassette as well as CD in the UK. The UK release was different than the North American one. The UK version featured only one mix of the song but also included Engleberth Humerdinck’s version of “Lesbian Seagull”.

Believe it or not, “Lesbian Seagull” was not written for the movie. The song was first released in 1979 by an obscure folk singer called Tom Wilson on his album Gay Name Game. That makes it a cover version also.

courtesy of discogs

If you want to jam out to the album version, here you go!

“Vibrator” by Prince & Vanity – Unreleased 1983 Demo – Yeah THAT kind of Vibrator

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The song was written by Prince for Vanity 6 back in 1983. It was intended to appear on the second Vanity 6 album timed to release around the same time as the movie Purple Rain.

Vanity (the singer) and Prince ended their romantic relationship around this time. She was also unhappy with her royalties and pay. So she decided to leave the group and not to participate in the Purple Rain movie. The album and the song were shelved and never officially released.

The rather long track is a tribute to a battery-powered sex toy. The narrator (Vanity) reaches for her vibrator. When the batteries run out, she goes to a store and encounters a clerk, who offers to “carry it downstairs” and install new batteries. The narrator then takes the device to a different store, where she meets a cashier (Prince in his Jamie Starr accent). The cashier gives her the batteries and sends her out of the door.

The song concludes with the narrator achieving orgasm. Nice. I can only imagine what Tipper Gore would have said.

This demo leaked long ago. So far every example that I have found includes the sound of cassette tape hiss. They are from a cassette with a rough mix demo that Prince handed out in limited number. The example that appears on soundcloud is someone’s remaster of the track.

It is unclear if Prince’s Estate will release this song in the future. Vanity sadly passed away in 2016, the same year Prince died.

source: PrinceVault

“Sing A Simple Song” by Sly & The Family Stone

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Today is National Simplicity Day. This track fits perfectly. Released in 1968, it was actually a b-side for the number one hit single “Everyday People”. The b-side surely helped the a-side to top the charts. It’s considered a hit in it’s own right by fans.

Since it’s release has been covered by a number of acts, including Dusty Springfield, Diana Ross & the Supremes, The Temptations, The Jackson 5, The Commodores, Miles Davis, The Meters, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, Prince, and many others.

It has also been sampled by numerous artists, including 2Pac, Jodeci, Wu-Tang Clan, Public Enemy, De La Soul, Digital Underground, Cypress Hill, Gorillaz, Arrested Development, Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, and Alanis Morissette.

courtesy of discogs

“Kiss” by Tom Jones & Art Of Noise (Prince cover) – The 14th Most Danceable Song Of All Time!

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Today is National Kissing Day. Can you think of a more appropriate song for the occasion?

We love covers here. Who better to cover than Prince? This track was released back in 1988 only two years after the original. It reached high positions in the global pop charts and as such remains Art of Noise‘s biggest hit. They also received an MTV Music Video Award.

After recording a number of country-pop style tracks, Welsh singer Tom Jones made a left-field decision to cover “Kiss”. It ended up reviving his career.

WalesOnline did a study using Spotify data back in 2016. Jone’s “Kiss” was rated the 14th most dance-able song of all time. The caveat is that about 8% of all pop music does not appear on Spotify. That beat out Daft Punk who came in at 18 with “Around The World”.

Do you think this track is really that danceable? Let us know in the comments.

-Wacky Alex

“Picnic In The Summertime” by Deee-Lite

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June 1st is considered the first day of meteorological summer in North America. I think we could all use a picnic with a chill vibe right now. With DJ Towa switched out for ANI, we have a sequenced track in the style of 1970s classic soul.

The music and the video are as innocent as it gets. Let’s have a peaceful summer this year.

Picnic In The Summertime was released as a single and I have the CD version. If you wan’t a sealed copy on vinyl, it’s $60 and up on ebay.

What is your favorite unique thing to bring to a picnic? Let us know in the comments.

-Wacky Alex