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Mr. Lee: "Love Happiness" on Life Records

pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
edited May 2009 in Strut Central
Has anybody ever heard this bizarre soul 45?As you may or may not know, Al Green's "Love & Happiness" wasn't released as a single when it came out in 1972 (on the I'm Still In Love With You album). So, since the R&B market was still singles-oriented back then, there were quite a few cover versions on 45 at the time.The best one was by Mr. Lee. Did he try to hit Al Green's falsetto swoops? Hell, no - it's just a recording of some deejay playing the record at a club! And on top of that, the cut doesn't even start from the beginning! And if that weren't enough, when the song ends, somebody yells "one 'mo time!" And then the part where Al sings "love is..." is spliced back in, and the song plays to the end. And then that same somebody yells "one mo' time!" about seventy more times.It must have been one hell of a party, because the crowd was getting into it...yelling, clapping and singing along as if Al Green were right there in that room. And the credits have the nerve to say "music by Don Scott & the Rearrangers Band." Rearrangers - no shit!The other side is credited merely to Don Scott & the Rearrangers. It's titled "Blue Monday Blues," and starts out as just another slow 12-bar blues instrumental - just what the world needs! Until a vocalist comes in, trying to remember all the words to Junior Parker's "Drowning On Dry Land." He doesn't quite make it either, because at one point he sings "something something something something something." This, too, was recorded live, although I get the impression that this wasn't some record being played through a PA.So what about it, you ask? Nothing...I'm just settin' here on a nice spring afternoon listening to and laughing at it. One of the greatest what-the-F*ck-were-they-thinking rekkids of all time.

  Comments

  • SoulhawkSoulhawk 3,197 Posts
    haha, yeah I've got that - Record Dugout 50 cent find

    'oddball' indeed
  • hobo_dhobo_d 331 Posts
    can we holla at a mp3?
  • GrafwritahGrafwritah 4,184 Posts
    can we holla at a mp3?
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Has anybody ever heard this bizarre soul 45?

    As you may or may not know, Al Green's "Love & Happiness" wasn't released as a single when it came out in 1972 (on the I'm Still In Love With You album). So, since the R&B market was still singles-oriented back then, there were quite a few cover versions on 45 at the time.

    The best one was by Mr. Lee. Did he try to hit Al Green's falsetto swoops? Hell, no - it's just a recording of some deejay playing the record at a club! And on top of that, the cut doesn't even start from the beginning! And if that weren't enough, when the song ends, somebody yells "one 'mo time!" And then the part where Al sings "love is..." is spliced back in, and the song plays to the end. And then that same somebody yells "one mo' time!" about seventy more times.

    It must have been one hell of a party, because the crowd was getting into it...yelling, clapping and singing along as if Al Green were right there in that room. And the credits have the nerve to say "music by Don Scott & the Rearrangers Band." Rearrangers - no shit!

    The other side is credited merely to Don Scott & the Rearrangers. It's titled "Blue Monday Blues," and starts out as just another slow 12-bar blues instrumental - just what the world needs! Until a vocalist comes in, trying to remember all the words to Junior Parker's "Drowning On Dry Land." He doesn't quite make it either, because at one point he sings "something something something something something." This, too, was recorded live, although I get the impression that this wasn't some record being played through a PA.

    So what about it, you ask? Nothing...I'm just settin' here on a nice spring afternoon listening to and laughing at it. One of the greatest what-the-F*ck-were-they-thinking rekkids of all time.

    I want this.
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    Soulhawk, got an MP3? 'Cause I ain't learned how to hook that up yet (sorry!)
  • SoulhawkSoulhawk 3,197 Posts
    I'll look for it tomorrow

    guarantee it's vg- at best tho
  • CONCEITCONCEIT 145 Posts
    Did'nt the Beatnuts sample this for "Let Off a Couple"?
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    Did'nt the Beatnuts sample this for "Let Off a Couple"?

    A sample of a "sample" - interesting.
  • DCarfagnaDCarfagna 983 Posts
    I've seen at least three different label colors and two altogether different pressings for this thing. I think the "Love And Happiness" side was made for on-air jocks to talk over, giving added ambiance when they were running down club nights and whatnot.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    Did'nt the Beatnuts sample this for "Let Off a Couple"?

    Naw man. That's Monty Alexander's cover of "Love and Happiness" off of "Rass."
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