There’s a guy active on YouTube called “spoonfedcornbread,” and here’s what he does: he’ll spin an old 45, then upload video of the record playing. Nothing more, nothing less.He has uploaded hundreds of 45s since he started doing it in April. Isn’t that a beautiful concept?
Spoonfedcornbread doesn’t claim credit for originating the idea. But he deserves three cheers for his good taste in American pop.
I will be embedding some spoonfedcornbread on a weekly basis... a nice little hump-day feature called the Wednesday 45 Flashback. I’ll begin with a record I actually bought when I was 9 years old.
Freda Payne’s “Bring the Boys Home” debuted on the Billboard charts on June 5, 1971. It went gold, rising to No. 3 on the R&B chart and No. 12 pop. It was the second-biggest hit of Freda’s career. Drop the needle on it, why don’t you? (Remember that Invictus logo?)
UPDATE (09/13/07): Oh crap, y’all. Looks like YouTube has suspended spoonfedcornbread’s account! If you try to check out any of his spinning platters, it’ll say: “This video has been removed due to terms of use violation.”
Dammit. Dee-double-dammit. I sure hope my calling attention to him didn’t lead to his downfall. I didn’t even know this was illegal. He was just an oldies deejay to me... playing cool records and getting people excited about music... bringing back sweet memories...
Shit. I don’t even have a way to contact him and find out what the deal is. We communicated through YouTube messages. Wow. I couldn’t wait to embed 45s like “I’m Doin’ Fine Now” and “Remember Me.”
9 comments:
I absolutely ADORE this....can I use these on my blog?
You don't need my permission, I.W. Spread that magic!
I just added the link to his YouTube page. Check him out and browse his collection.
Spoonfedcornbread is actually much more into rock and white pop, so you'll have to spend some time searching for the soul gold. But he's got some, believe me...
This song is on one of those Starbucks cds, where they ask a famous artist to put together an album of favorite songs. The artist in this case was Elvis Costello, and it's a fine collection, starting with Louis Armstrong's version of Let's Do It (the complete version, unlike most covers of that song).
Wow, I finally have something to contribute to this website, which, incidentally, I enjoy tremendously.
Actually, as long as I'm here, I'd like to ask an unrelated question: why is Bill Withers largely unknown? His songs, yes, there are a half-dozen that I suspect most Americans could sing by heart. Certainly the fame ratio of artist to art must be closer to zero than any other twentieth century singer/songwriter, or do I just hang with the culturally ill-informed?
That's SO yule log!
I totally remember that Freda Payne song! (Anyone remember Freda's sister Sherrie? She was in the Supremes. How about Mr. Freda Payne Gregory Abbott?) I wonder if this song ever shows up on anti-war song playlists?
^ That's SO yule log!
Hee-hee... I was wondering why it made me feel so warm and toasty watching the records spin round and round.
Hee-hee... I was wondering why it made me feel so warm and toasty watching the records spin round and round.
Eggs-xaaaaactly!
Yes, yes, yes....I miss my 45s. The cracking sound you'd hear as the record started would, as the Whispers would say, "Get You In the Mood".
^ Yeah, Mike J., I still got a bunch of 45s on the East Coast. Even now, it's fun to shop in an oldies store for a 45 or two.
I'm probably of the last generation who started to develop their own musical tastes by going down to the neighborhood record store with a pocket full of change and buying a James Brown or Ohio Players single.
I miss those little yellow plastic things you would put in the hole...
".....going down to the neighborhood record store with a pocket full of change and buying a James Brown or Ohio Players single."
Man, those were days. Walking into the music store and hearing Stevie Wonder's "Too High" for the first time blasting over the speakers and everybody in there with their heads bobbing to the music.
I also started going into the musical instrument stores in my hometown of Memphis because you never knew who would drop in to check out the latest equipment. Man, have you ever heard Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground" played on a synthesizer by one of your top local musicians right in front of you?
Those were the days....
Post a Comment