The Top 20 Soul and RnB Tracks About Monkeys

My mate Dandy Dan from Boston monkeyin' around

There's a reason why you'll find 45s with every incarnation of a primate in the title. The Monkey was one of the most popular dances of the sixties. 1963 and 1964 was the heyday for this particular dance craze and a lot of Soul acts tried to come up with the next hit featuring our closest animal relative. I like them because they're funny, goofy and make you want to shake your big red butt and frolic all around the dance floor like you don't have a care in the world. You've run out of ways to come up with a twist on the dance? Why not do like Freddy King and pair up random animals and come up with the Donkey Monkey? If you want to read more about some far out dance crazes from the sixties, check out this post.

I decided to write this one when I realized how many “monkey” singles I had in my collection. A while back, I did a similar exercise with Soul tracks about the man's best friend, the dog. You can check out my list here. So here are my top 20 favourite tracks, in no particular order, about our vine swinging friends.

Monkey Mod by talented illustrator Kevin Cross

1) Mickey's Monkey – The Miracles – Motown

I couldn't think of a more proper way to start this list than with the first words spoken by Smokey Robinson at the beginning of this track: “Alright... Is everybody ready?” Written by Motown powerhouse trio of Holland-Dozier-Holland, it went up to #8 on Billboard's Top 100 in 1963. It should be part of any Mod DJ's arsenal.

When I want to surprise the more discerning Soul connoisseur, I whip out this obscure French Canadian version by the Tony Roman Cinq.

2) Monkey Time – Major Lance – Okeh

Monkey Time is Major Lance's first major hit. It climbed to #2 on Billboard's RnB chart and #8 on the Pop chart in 1963. It was penned by non other than his childhood friend Curtis Mayfield. It his now considered a classic in the Mod and Northern Soul scene.

3) Monkey Jerk - Dobie Gray - Charger

Speaking of Mod favourites, no one can deny Dobie Gray's impact on the scene. This 1965 number is the perfect mid-tempo track that combines two of the most popular dance crazes from the sixties, The Monkey and The Jerk.

4) Do The Monkey Tramp – Benny Westmore & His Private Numbers – Papa Bill

Do The Monkey Tramp is the most recent entry on our list. This 2012 screamer is the brainchild of my good friend and DJ partner Ben Shulman. It's the B-side to the brilliant RnB NewBreed track (I'm Gonna Live Till I'm) One Hundred Years Old. Initially, I was supposed to be the one singing on this one but Ben thought I didn't sound black enough. I'll give him that. I was fortunate enough to receive this test pressing as a gift. I can guarantee that this one will never be for sale. You can buy your own stock copy here.

5) The Boston Monkey - Richard Anthony & The Blue Notes – Swan

A few groups came out with their own version of The Boston Monkey but this one is by far the best and definitely one of the rarest. In fact, very little is known about the record. And get this, this promo copy is blank on the other, a first for me. A stock copy is known to exist with No Good as the B-side and said to be even harder to find. In 1966, Billy Butler, Alvin Cash, The Hustlers and Les Cooper & The Soul Rockers all came out with their own take on The Boston Monkey. The Manhattans have one of the best known and widely available singles but it doesn't even come close to this party igniter. To hear this one, you'll have to listen to the We Are The Mods podcast where I'll be featuring it on my new segment Vintage Vinyl From The Vault. You can download Episode 30 here from iTunes or Podomatic.

6) King Kong's Monkey – Gary (U.S.) Bonds – Legrand

Here's another example of a generally unknown 45. Gary (U.S.) Bonds is no stranger to many of us but this tracks seems to have slipped through our collective consciousness. If it doesn't get your blood pumping than you don't have pulse. Please consult a physician immediately. Believe me, you'll go bananas over this one! Hear exclusively on the We Are The Mods podcast.

7) Everybody's Going Ape – Jimmy Soul - S.P.Q.R.

Monkeys aren't the only primates that want their time under the spotlight, apes want some acknowledgement too! Well, except that this one is all about going ape over learning to dance the monkey. Better luck next time apes.

Now, if you find that this song sounds vaguely similar to King Kong's Monkey, there's a good reason for that. They're the same track! I guess that explains why I love them both so much. They were both produced by the same fella, Frank Guida in Norfolk, Virginia. Guida owned both Legrand and S.P.Q.R. Records.

8) The Gorilla – The Ideals – Cortland

Who said monkeys and apes should get all the fun? Gorilla are dancing machines too! The funky drum intro and the deep baritone voice of Sam Steward will grab within the first few seconds. It'll make you want to drag your knuckles all around the dance floor.

9) The Karate Monkey – Chubby Checker

I dismissed Chubby Checker for a long time for being just a one hit wonder for his success with The Twist. Plus he was simply doing a cover of a Hank Ballard's song. That was until I heard this up-tempo hand clapper. My apologies Mister Checker. You should get an honorary black belt for this one. Whenever I DJ this 45, I feel like heading for the nearest zoo and signing up for karate lessons. This is a typical DJ Parka Pat track. It's fast-paced, has plenty of hand clapping and has a funky drum break in the middle. I have to give credit to my mate DJ Eric “Boom Boom” Boulanger for turning me on to this one.

10) Monkey See Monkey Do – The Five Du-tones - One-derful

Best known for their hit single Shake a Tail Feather, the Five Du-tones came out with this mid-tempo swinger in 1963. It's actually the B-side to a track called The Gouster.

11) Monkey Man – Baby Huey & The Babysitters - Satellite

The first thing that comes to mind when I see the words “Monkey Man” is the Toots & The Maytals ska classic and the driving cover by The Specials we all heard a million times. Well, there's also this one. And it shouldn't be overlooked because it's amazing! There's nothing infantile about this Baby Huey & The Babysitters track. There's plenty of howling, hooting and screaming going on though!

12) Monkey Yeah – Gene Ray – Class

What can I tell you about this rare record? Not much besides the fact that it came out in 1964 and was Gene Ray's only single on the Class record label. This mid-tempo RnB tinged Soul as the Mod stamp all over it. I give it two prehensile thumbs up! To hear it, you'll have to tune in to We Are The Mods because you won't find it on YouTube!

13) Monkey Shiner – Tall Paul & The Thunderbirds - Twilight

I couldn't help myself. I had to include a garage tune in here somewhere. Not because it's incredibly rare and unknown but because it's raw, dirty and has a nice soulful sax solo in the middle. If you know anything about this record, please let us know.

14) Hey Monkey – Mac Davis – Vee Jay

Following the Garage RnB route, this 1964 single sounds like it was recorded at house party. It's the perfect recipe to get things moving. Mac Davis is most famous for writing one of my favourite Elvis songs A Little Less Conversation.

15) Monkey All Over – Richard Parker – Philips

This song reminds me of The Beatles' Twist & Shout with a crescendo of Ah's steadily rising at the beginning. The good news is that you won't have to brake the piggy bank in order to add it to your collection.

16) Stop Monkeyin' Aroun' – The Dovells – Parkway

If you're in the mood for more of a commercial, Pop / Doo Wop feel than this should be right up your alley. Came out in 1963.

17) Monkey – J.C. Davis – Chess

I think the title says it all. A great instrumental with sounds of monkeys, a cool organ track and sax aplenty.

18) The Monkey – Shep and The Limelites – Hull

You'll have to let backbone slip to enjoy this one. This nice little dancer came out in 1963 on the the small New York label Hull. Don't know how to dance the Monkey? Have no worries. Just follow the instructions in the song and you'll get the hang of it in no time. And don't forget to shake, shake, shake!

19) Monkey Tonight - Eddie Kirk – King

For this entry, I decided to go with a record on my want list. It was simply too hard to ignore this RnB masterpiece. There's something about Eddie Kirk's voice that is so honest, raw, real and true. Judge for yourself.

20) Mom Won't You Teach Me How To Monkey - Little Emmett Sutton - Federal

In the same vain as as Little Steevie Wonder and Little Carlton, Little Emmett does an amazing job at making us want to learn the mooves. Come to think about it, let me grab my phone and call my mom.

If you feel like there's a song that sliped through the cracks and that you think should be on the list, by all means let us know. If you want to hear most of them and need a soundtrack to kickstart a party, than head over to my the Parka Avenue Podcast right here on Mixcloud. For the exclusive, unkown gems, tune in to Episode 30 of We Are The Mods for Vintage Vinyl From The Vault. 

Conversations With Soul Royalty Hermon Hitson

Extra! Extra! A first at Parka Avenue headquarters! We have a special guest contributor to the blog, Mister Ben Shulman of Papa Bill Records. Ben is not only my good friend and DJ partner but he's also a Soul savant. Whenever I have a question about 60s Soul, I phone up my breathing Soul encyclopedia and he rarely lets me down.

So when he told me about this conversation he had with Soul singer Hermon Hitson, I begged him to share the story with the Parka Avenue readers. Ben is actually this passionate about music. If he wants to know more about a song, he'll just find the singer and phone him up. As simple as that.

The great track in question is Georgia Grind by Hermon (Hitson) and The Rockin' Tonics.

I turn it over to you my friend.

***************

Well, I just had an interesting phone conversation! 

Just recently I discovered this incredible 45 out of Atlanta, Georgia called Georgia Grind by a group called Hermon (Hitson) and The Rockin' Tonics. I was immediately blown away by the pure and raw energy of this record that I decided I needed to know more about it.

After some perusing, I discovered that Hermon was still around and living down in Atlanta. I did a little research and ended with Hermon on the phone. We talked for about an hour.

This man is definitely an unsung hero of soul / r&b. He told me he was 19 when he made the record and that he got signed to Royal Records because he was discovered by Arthur Conley's manager. Hermon also happens to be the cousin of Dave Prater, of Sam & Dave (Stax Records). Hermon then went on to tell me that after making two 45s with Royal Records in Atlanta his band got hired to back up the singers at live shows.

Hermon and his band played for the likes of Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, Joe Tex and Major Lance (just to name a few, take a second to think about how incredible this is). This blew me away, but believe it or not, this story gets better. Hermon told me that in '65 he became close with an up-and-coming guitar player called Jimi Hendrix, whom he played with and actually recorded with! Hermon spoke fondly of Hendrix, reminiscing about how the two would make $15/week and feel like millionaires.

I couldn't believe that I was talking to a guy who had the opportunity to play with all these legends. He also told me about his friendship with James Brown and that when this Georgia Grind record came out, people thought it was a James Brown tune. He also spoke highly of Marvin Gaye. He went on to tell me the story of how he met David Ruffin (of The Temptations) at an illegal underground gambling club in Detroit and they became good friends!

Last but not least, he reminisced about recording some tracks for Curtis Mayfield's Curtom label. Hermon claims his band were the first musicians Mayfield recorded in his own studio.

I'm still trying to comprehend all of this. Isn't it amazing what a little bit of research can do for you? Imagine if I had never looked into this record? Glad I did! Hermon is still playing with a band to this day and never gave up the music. Wish there was some way I could get this guy into a studio again! This guy is a LEGEND.

Digging for Soul Records in Philadelphia

Philly is one of those cities, like New York, Detroit, Memphis and New Orleans that had a thriving Soul scene in the 60s. Some great Soul tracks came out on homegrown record labels like Arctic, Gamble and Philly Groove. They were all responsible in forging what is now known as the "Philly Sound". Hell, the city even inspired dances like the Philly Dog, the Philly Barracuda and the Philly Jerk!

Philly native, Jerry Ragovoy was an influential record producer, songwriter and arranger. He was best-known for writing Time Is On My Side made popular by the Rolling Stones. He was a power house when it came to the East Coast Soul scene of the 60s, working with artists like Howard Tate, Garnett Mimms and Erma Franklin.

To me, his best song is one of my all-time favorite dance floor scorchers, the underrated Ain't That Terrible performed by Roy Edmond. I NEVER get tired of spinning that one!

So my hopes were high when I planned on doing some serious record diggin' in the City of Brotherly Love. I did a quick search on the Internet to see if there were record shops that were worth visiting on our way there.

About an hour West of Philadelphia is The Record Connection in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. On their website, they mention having over 60 000 45s for sale. I had to go see for myself.

I'm sure glad I did because that was the spot where I found the most records during the whole trip. I can vouch for the place. It does have an impressive amount of records.

If you're looking for some rare grooves, always check the display case.

I probably needed more then an hour to go through the 2$ to 4$ section.

Nonetheless, I'm happy with the handful of rarities I left with. Take this little up-tempo number for example. It was recorded in Reading, Pennsylvania, just a 30 minute drive from the record shop.

The city of Philadelphia has a fair amount of record shops but it wasn't the gold mine I was expecting. My personal favorite has to be Molly's Books & Records. For one, it's in the middle of the 9th Street Italian Market and that's a destination in itself. The owners are very nice, welcoming and will make your record hunting a pleasant experience. Joe is one of us. He's a collector too!

The find of the trip was made in this small and unassuming place. I got an ultra clean copy of I Don't Want to Lose You by The Charades for a decent price.

If all that record diggin' gets you hungry, then you're not to far from the birthplace of the Philly Cheesesteak. And with a name like Pat's King of Steaks, really, how can you go wrong? It's like that place was made for me!

In a 5 mile radius you can find all the following record shops. Unless you're into 80s Punk or alternative/indie stuff, you might want to skip these places. I didn't even drop a dime in any of them.

Beautiful World Syndicate would probably be the last name I would pick for a record shop but who am I to judge? Name of the shop aside, the place has slim pickings. Unless you want to hear some blaring hardcore punk and meet the half-awake, aloof young kid with an attitude who opened the shop 30 minutes late, you might want to skip this one.

Keep Calm and Carry On

Repo Records, on South Street, needs to repo a better selection because I didn't manage to find a single 45 there. Maybe they should spend more time looking after their inventory instead of drinking beer on the job. (Yes they were!)

Sometimes, if you're lucky, you can find gems in these places. Not this time!

Fancy some obscure 80s punk? A Jam album is missing from your collection? You might want to try Long In the Tooth.

A short drive away from the downtown core are two shops, not too far from each other, that are worth checking out. First is the Milkcrate Cafe. This place has the best of both worlds, tasty food and a good selection of records.

Hard to resist a joint that serves an Ike & Tina Tuna sandwich

45 record boxes are a great place to store your sugar

It's the ideal spot to bring the girlfriend. She can grab a book with a hot cup of joe while you go browsing for some wax in the basement. I didn't leave with much but it was certainly the type of place where I would like to hang out.

Last stop is the Philadelphia Record Exchange. If you're looking for your classic 60s Soul hits on 45 at rock bottom prices, then do not pass Go, do not collect 200 and head directly to the Exchange. I left with some James Brown, The Capitols and few others for next to nothing.

Itching for some Sweet Soul music? I suggest you have a listen at the latest Parka Avenue Podcast on Mixcloud. You'll  find some of my Philly finds and a selection of what I dug up during the summer.