Watts 103RD Street Rhythm Band CD

Released in 1968, the second album from the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band finds Charles Wright and company still trying to translate their nightclub and singles success into record album sales. The standout cut is "Do Your Thing," a simmering call to the dancefloor that plays on the strengths of this very tight band, slowly building into an undeniable groove; the record-buying public thought similarly, pushing "Do Your Thing" to number 11 on the Billboard charts. About a third of Together follows in this funky groove: "Giggin' Down 103rd," "Sorry Charlie," and the sax feature "Phuncky Bill." There are some covers here too, the mid-show cool down of "Stormy Monday," a tip of the hat to JB with "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," and a 200 mph run-through of Eddie Floyd's "Knock on Wood." The rest of the album is made up of mid-tempo soul with a loping, Southern feel that doesn't stand out so much because of what is played but how it's played. The Watts band was a monster with James Gadson on drums, Melvin Dunlap on bass, Al McKay on guitar, and a fearsome horn section too, with special mention going to Bill Cannon here for the previously mentioned "Phuncky Bill." Gadson and McKay would go on to join Earth, Wind & Fire while Dunlap joined Bill Withers' band. Together shows a band on the way to its peak, a point they wouldn't reach until the release of Express Yourself in 1970, but listening to them get there is half the fun. ~ Wade Kergan

Hot, Heat and Sweat Groove is the debut album by the funky band led by the charismatic Charles Wright. The Wright brood moved to Los Angeles when Charles Wright was 12. In Watts, Wright befriended doo woppers and balladeers like Jesse Belvin, the Hollywood Flames, the Youngsters, and others who lived in the area. Propped by stars like Bill Cosby and publicized by two and a half years of sold-out crowds at the Haunted House (a local club), along with an unexpected local hit, the band was able to secure a contract with Warner Bros. Records. Nothing major came from this set that displayed a choppy rhythmic approach similar to Dyke & the Blazers. But this surprisingly hard-to-find album produced by James Carmichael, who went on to great success with the Commodores, features some thick funk: "Fried Okra," "Brown Sugar," and reworkings of "Yellow Submarine," "The Girl From Ipanema," and "Bring It on Home to Me." While not the most cohesive set, you can't knock the hot SoCal energy exhibited by Wright and his crew of young hopefuls, including future Earth, Wind & Fire member Al McKay, along with James Gadson, Melvin Dunlap, Big John Rayford, Bill Cannon, Gabriel Flemings, and Joe Banks. The LP's most popular track, "Spreading Honey," charted at number 44 R&B and number 73 pop in 1967. The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band didn't even record the song. Wright cut the track with Bobby Womack, Leon Haywood, James Carmichael, and others as the theme song for DJ Magnificent Montague's radio show. But it smoked so much that Warner Bros. signed them on the dotted line and credited the single to the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band; this album followed, and the rest is history. ~ Andrew Hamilton

Released in 1968, the second album from the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band finds Charles Wright and company still trying to translate their nightclub and singles success into record album sales. The standout cut is "Do Your Thing," a simmering call to the dancefloor that plays on the strengths of this very tight band, slowly building into an undeniable groove; the record-buying public thought similarly, pushing "Do Your Thing" to number 11 on the Billboard charts. Ab

Photographer: George Whiteman.

Arrangers: Gabriel Flemings; Ray Jackson.

Personnel: Charles Wright (vocals, guitar); Al McKay (vocals, guitar); John Rayford (vocals, tenor saxophone); Joe Banks (vocals, trumpet); James Gadson (vocals, drums); Bill Cannon (tenor saxophone); Gabriel Flemings (trumpet); Ray Jackson (trombone, congas).

Recording information: 1968.Mojo (Publisher) (p.115) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[J]uxtaposing earthy R&B with whimsical pseudo-psychedelic covers....An interesting exhumation for funk aficionados."