If you’re deep into the P-Funk like I am, you probably know about a 1981 track released by Junie Morrison (under the name J.S. Theracon) called “Buckets O’ Duckats.”And you’ve probably never seen the vinyl with your own eyes. It’s one of the rarest P-Funk-related items out there. My man Keith Harriston dubbed his 12-inch to tape for me back in the ’90s, and that’s all I had. Till tonight.
Now, Junie himself is offering this track for sale as an MP3... for the sticker-shock-inducing price of $2.25. And it ain’t even the disco version! It’s the single mix, which fades out just short of 4 minutes.
I paid. Not many of you will feel compelled to do likewise... especially with the added obligation of registering at Junie’s website. Here’s why I have no regrets:
Walter “Junie” Morrison is an unsung genius. He started out with the Ohio Players, and he was an architect of their earliest hit singles – “Pain” and “Funky Worm.”
Junie went solo in the mid-’70s, doing the one-man- studio-band thing before Prince (but after Stevie Wonder).And then, through the mysterious intercession of the funk gods, Junie became a treasured collaborator of George Clinton’s. This coincided with the commercial peak of P-Funk music; Junie Morrison co-wrote “One Nation Under a Groove,” “Cholly (Funk Getting Ready to Roll),” “Theme from the Black Hole”... and he deserved a writer’s credit on “Knee Deep.”
Then Junie put out some more cool solo stuff. But hey, enough of my yakkin’. Whaddaya say? Let's boogie!
Click here to stream “Buckets O’ Duckats” on my Vox blog. (That’s Maceo Parker with the sax solo.)
If you wanna put yourself through the changes of buying and downloading this MP3, then follow this link to The Junie Store.
6 comments:
Tight jam there...maaaaan I remember seeing the vinyl for this here years ago for like 5 Bs while I was foolishly trying to sell off some of my ol' girl's 12" and LP wax collection. I left it right up in the store cause I was trying to unload some vinyl at the time, but now, since I started taking a larger interest in old school soul and funk music, I just wanna slap my silly self stupid.
Junie's genius is very underappreciated, but even a hardcore funk head finds this song (which I just heard for the first time)...okay at best. Maybe it was the banger back in the day, but doesn't feel important like "funky worm", "pain" or his p.funk contributions.
Last I heard,we were still holding Junie hostage in Canada.
Peasy chest hair! Now THATS what I'm talkin' about. The music is just gravy...
Dave, you continue to impress with your musical tastes and selections. Junie is very underrated.
On the Maceo tip, have you checked out his latest? A double cd? Baad baad piece. Real tight grooves. Checked him out back in June. Awesome show.
Speaking of which, he and Bootsy have real professional shows that don't diminish the groove. Real tight and disciplined. Must be that James Brown influence.
Hey Woe, there are a few vinyl copies of "Buckets" available @ eBay :
http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=m38.l1313&_nkw=theracon&_sacat=See-All-Categories
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