Different Strokes For Different Folks (LP)

Format: LP Label: Trading Places Year: 2022 Media Condition: New Sleeve/Cover Condition: New  TRACKS:  A1 Sweet Thang  A2 Daddy Please Don't Go Out Tonight  A3 Why Did You Put Shoes Under My Bed  A4 Stop By  A5 Bad Luck  A6 Hitching A Ride  B1 Standing In The Grits Line  B2 In The Sweet Bye & Bye  B3 Ain't Nothing a Young Girl Can Do  B4 If There's A Will There's A Way  B5 What's In The Headlines  Originally released in 1972  PERSONNEL: Baritone Saxophone – Ronnie Eades Bass – David Hood Drums, Percussion – Roger Hawkins Electric Piano, Organ, Clavichord – Barry Beckett Engineer – Jerry Masters, Steve Melton Guitar – Jimmy Johnson, Pete Carr Lead Guitar – Eddie Hinton, Tippy Armstrong Tenor Saxophone – Harvey Thompson Trombone – Dale Quillen Trumpet – Harrison Calloway Vocals - Don Covay  Don Covay was raised in DC and began his performing and recording careers here. That included a late-1950s stint as a member of The Rainbows, a DC doo-wop institution that also featured soul legends Marvin Gaye and Billy Stewart, and was a bellwether of a golden age of soul and R&B in the nation's capital.   Like Gaye and Stewart, Covay was taken under the wing of fellow Washingtonian Bo Diddley, in whose home studio they honed their skills and contributed to Diddley's cutting-edge recordings. For all three, that association led to bigger and better opportunities beyond DC. Covay became one of the leading figures of the soul music explosion, probably best known as a songwriter who penned hits for a whole galaxy of soul, pop, and rock stars including Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, the Staples Singers, and Wanda Jackson. He was also a powerful and immensely influential performer, whose vocal style was all but copied whole cloth by legendary British Invasion singers like Mick Jagger, Eric Burdon, and Van Morrison, among others. "Different Strokes For Different Folks" was Covay's return to recording his own material after a decade-long run of making hits for others. As the title and gatefold cover art suggest, and in keeping with Covay's DC roots, it finds Covay being unapologetically himself--dropping one brilliant, unforgettable tune after another while not fitting comfortably into any one style or genre. It is an absolute killer LP, finally getting a worthy re-issue after 50 years.