Saturday 9 April 2011

Northern Soul Classics - Philly Dog - Herbie Mann

During the 1960's there were a plethora of new dance crazes - the Shotgun, the Duck, the Monkey, the Jerk, the Twine to name but a few. Each has their own song/s.
This is one of them. I have two versions of Philly Dog, both from Stax. This one, and one by the Mar-Keys, which was one of the names the Stax houseband used depending upon its composition at the time. The sound quality isn't brilliant on this video, but its better than on the other one I could find.

Herbie Mann's version is the preferred Northern rendition. Herbie - real name Herbert Jay Solomon - was a Jewish flautist who covered a whole range of musical styles. As with the modern jazz of Ramsey Lewis, or the contributions even of artists better known for being County singers such as Roy Hamilton, it shows that Northern Soul itself covers a wide range.


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