Rare Record Single on Federal King
A James Brown Production
Marva Whitney, Lyn Collins & James Brown - Things Got To Get Better (Get Together) Federal King KNG - 006A
Marva Whitney was, like Lyn Collins and Vicki Anderson, a crucial part of the James Brown Revue. She worked (including a tour of Vietnam) and recorded with Brown from 1967 to 1970, making several superhot 45s and an excellent (and rare) album.
Though all of the Brown-associated divas were powerful vocalists, I am of the opinion that Whitney was the most intense. One need only listen to 'It's My Thing' to realize the eardrum stretching capacity of her voice. That she took that mighty power, and applied it to the funk is to the lasting benefit of all involved.
That particular record was an R&B Top 20 hit in 1969. I would posit that its failure to chart any higher (or perform similarly on the Pop side of things) is a testament to its intensity.
That the record she followed it with -- 'Things Got To Get Better (Get Together)' - was less successful is, once you've heard it, inconceivable. Was the listening public so stunned by 'It's My Thing' that they were unable to process further funk power properly, forcing them instead to fill their ears with bubblegum, hippie rawk and other unsuitable -- yet easier to digest -- substitutes?
As was the answer in the old 'How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop' conundrum -- "The world may never know."
However, that the listening public of 1969 did itself -- and Marva Whitney -- a disservice by failing to properly reward her genius, is undeniable, and getting this track up into the ether of the interwebs, where it might be exposed to a new world (and maybe a few old ears still searching for the truth) is the least we can do.
The tune, if you don't already know, is a stone killer with an unstoppable groove rolling under Whitney's blistering vocals. Give it a close listen and check the combination of organ, bass and sax that build the rhythm from the bottom up (there are points where the bass seems to be pushing the limits of the tape), especially during the breakdown in the middle of the song where Marva drops a couple of 'OH!'s that are the very distillation of soul sisterhood.
Powerful stuff indeed.
In a further bit of grooviness, that picture above is a capture from a film (on YouTube) of Marva performing this very song on the David Steinberg hosted 'Music Scene 69' TV show (that's James and the JBs in the background).
Tags: Soul
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