LaBelle and a 4001

[ataritoobin]

[ram]

Thanks Steve - a blast from the past. I had forgotten just how good their voices were! I do recall seeing Rics during that period across the board of musical genera.... cool!

[brianb]

That's pretty cool but finger playing with the guard thingy on has to be awkward.

[wayang]

Yeah, I agree...but it doesn't appear to be awkward for 'dude', the guy with the coolest white-boy-bass-player gig of the 70's...

Patti Labell is a Goddess, and her band is b*d*ss...check out the sci-fi epaulets on the conga player, seen in this clip playing left-handed cowbell like the NIST atomic clock. I think it's worth noting that LaBell couldn't have existed without George Cinton and P-Funk...or Sun Ra...etc...'Long live Spacesuit Funk'...

Back to the bassist...he's WAY in the pocket. I'm of the opinion that he's got the 'mute' cranked up...that thing on a 4001 many players never use...

[wayang]

Okay, on closer inspection, it's a 'mime' gig...I can't tell for sure about Patti and the girls, they could be singing live to the recorded tracks, but the band's definitely on the Marcel Marceau setting...besides the rather obvious lack of horn players on the set, during the 'breakdown' (at 3:06, precisely), there's a sudden conga fill that occurs without the conga player straying from his stellar cowbell-syncing performance. It's at moments like these that Music takes a back seat to its more powerful sibling, Theater...

An impressive bit of stagework, and that's what teevee is all about...

[kiramdear]

Absolutely love it. Patti is one of the greatest, and I never missed Soul Train when I was growing up.

"Spacesuit Funk?" Haha, I never heard that term before. Perfect.

[s4001]

It's got cowbell & gym whistle. What more could you want?

[wints]

Killer!

Love that 70's funk, and seeing some dude using a 4001 in a band like this.

, seen in this clip playing left-handed cowbell like the NIST atomic clock.

As ever, priceless DPT!

[woodyng]

thats so funny,i was just watching an info mersh the other day for a (time-life?) series of dvds,and they showed labelle playing on stage,and i was all like "THE BASS PLAYER'S GOT A RICK!!" playing "lady marmalade" no less.....fonkay! gosistersoulsister......

[rickboy88]

Very good video! I remember getting curious about certain groups and being surprised by seeing Rics pop up in the youtube videos.

On Saturday nights, the local jazz FM station in the Denver area (89.3) plays 70's funk stuff and this white guy loves listening to it if I'm driving around. I grew up in the Chicago area and have always had a soft spot for groups like the Chi-Lites. I even heard them on 8-track tape! When I was very young I lived in Gary, Indiana when the Jacksons did, but I think they were gone by the late 60's.

On the weekend, I used to watch American Bandstand, then when it was over change channels to catch Soul Train.

[FretlessOnly]

Most all of Soul Train was "mimed." Shame. Takes a great groove and minimizes it to triviality. I'll always respect Phil Lesh of the Dead for "playing" a broomstick when the Dead was forced to do a mime gig back in '69.

If you can't do it live, at least be the Beatles (12/66 - ).

[pabc]

Does anyone know who the bass player is or what he has done musically over the last 35 years? I can't believe that it has been 35 years since this aired! Loved Soul Train and the funky music of that time!

[rickboy88]

I tried to find info on the bass player, but came up empty. The song was co-written by a fellow who wrote a lot of the Four Seasons songs apparently.

"Lady Marmalade" was on "Nightbirds". One site noted that their musicians changed through the 70's, but they tended to have the same keyboard player. They could never repeat the success of the Billboard #1 "Lady Marmalade" and called it quits by the late 70's.

Cindy Birdsong (the replacement Supreme) was actually in the group in the 60's.