Sammy Gordon & The Hiphuggers - Breezin' (Archives 1-69)

Breezin'

I've just learned that Sammy Gordon, leader of the legendary Hip Huggers, passed away in Florida on December 1st due to complications from diabetes.

First cousin to our man Benny Gordon, they were raised together as brothers down in Estill, South Carolina. Benny told me that he had lost track of Sammy after he moved north to Brooklyn, until one day he saw him just walking down the street. It seemed like some kind of sign, and Benny (whose career as a Gospel singer had just been shut down by Claude Jeter) asked him to form an R&B band with him, a band they would call (what else?) The Soul Brothers. Acclaimed as the 'best band in New York' by the Daily News, the Soul Brothers held down a gig at Trudi Heller's famed night spot in Greenwich Village, where they would influence a generation of up and coming white kids who were looking for the real thing.

Sammy's excellent guitar can be heard on the 45s that Benny cut for a bunch of different labels in the sixties, like the amazing Gonna Give Her All The Love I Got, or the funky Give A Damn (About Your Fellow Man). In 1969, Benny decided to move back home to South Carolina, but Sammy stayed behind in Brooklyn, forming his own band, The Hip Huggers.

This airy treatment of Bobby Womack and Gabor Szabo's Breezin' is (as far as I can tell) Sammy's first recording under his own name, and pre-dates George Benson's smash hit by about four years. Later on in 1972, Sammy & The Hip Huggers would release the underground funk classic, Upstairs On Boston Road, which alluded to their regular sold-out appearances at the Boston Road Ballroom in the Bronx. In 1976, Sammy cut a couple of disco-era releases - Jungle Bump followed by Making Love, which has become somewhat of a cult favorite.

Ronnie Greico, another alumni of Benny's Soul Brothers, had this to say: "Very sad ...a kind and very gentle man, no anger, good as it gets, great bandleader, always smiling and laughing, he had as good a kickin' funky in the pocket band as anyone that I know of. They worked up in the Bronx... for a lifetime, until his health wasn't good anymore."

May God Rest His Soul.

Hal Hardy - House Of Broken Hearts (Hollywood 1116)

House Of Broken Hearts

Clifford Curry called me today and gave me the sad news that Nashville R&B pioneer Hal Hardy lost his battle with cancer on December 2nd. A founding member of The Neptunes, Hardy went on to become a featured regular on the groundbreaking Night Train television series, where his caped appearances were the stuff of legend. He recorded this Northern Soul favorite in 1965 for Hoss Allen's Rogana Productions with Billy Cox's tight house band. Hardy made the move to Knoxville with Sir Lattimore Brown shortly after cutting this record, and called it home ever since, performing at the Hard Knox Blues Bash every summer.

May He Rest In Peace.

I'll tell ya, it's been a rough year over here on The B Side. We've lost some folks who meant a great deal to us, and at times it feels like I have nothing left to say... except goodbye.

Solomon Burke
Willie Mitchell
Julius Bradley
Val Thomas
Bobby Charles
Dale Hawkins
Alex Chilton
Don Van Vliet
Bobby Hebb
General Johnson
Ollie Woodson
Teddy Pendergrass
Harvey Fuqua
Al Goodman
Weldon McDougal III
Albertina Walker
Major Roberson
Marva Wright
Marvin Isley
Barbara Brown
Sylvia Shemwell
Myrna Smith
Ella Brown Avery
Abbey Lincoln
Lena Horne
Ernie Mae Miller
Robert "Squirrel" Lester
Ron Banks
Bernie Wilson
Joseph Jones, Jr.
James Phelps
Teena Marie
Johnny Maestro
Bobby Farrell
Dorothy Jones
Gentleman June Gardner
Rockie Charles
Bunchy Johnson
Diamond Joe
Walter Payton
Benny Powell
James Moody
Roy Carrier
Ned Theall
Sandra Wright
Hank Jones
Lil' Dave Thompson
Mississippi Slim
Tuli Kupferberg
Phillip Walker
Pearl Woods
Bill Willis
George Melvin
King Coleman
Gene Ludwig
David Blumberg
Mickey Moody

May Perpetual Light Shine Upon Them.