Hello there. Allow us to introduce you to your new favorite record: Jim Ford Harlan County! Recorded in 1969 in Los Angeles, CA, Harlan County is a true gem of the swamp/country-funk tradition. Tony Joe White, Bobby Charles, Charlie Rich…Jim Ford could hang with them all.
Dig the gatefold spread! Stick 'em up!
“Jimmy Ford is the baddest white man on the planet,” said Sly Stone of Jim Ford, and listening to Harlan County today who’s to argue? Needless to say, we’re honored to re-release these ten country-funk gems on CD and 180-gram wax (for the first time) with Ford’s original cover artwork, beautifully re-mastered audio (from the original tapes), extensive liner notes by Kurt Wolff (The Rough Guide to Country Music), and rare photos. These jams are fierce and fuzzed out, ready for the club or just a cruise in your powder blue Ford pickup. See ya out there.
Check all the goodies!
For more info, audio samples and to order Jim Ford Harlan County (LITA 068 – CD | LP) hop on over HERE!
It took a little while to get this out but we had to do right by Mr. Ford. Our second collaboration with Rotter and Friends, this rad design by Jess Rotter just about sums up Jim Ford and has some clever references to his (recently reissued by LITA) album Harlan County. How many can you find???
The tee comes in S, M, L, and XL in Men’s and Women’s sizes and two smokin’ colorways. Available for purchase by itself or as a sweet tee/CD or tee/LP combo deal from Light In The Attic and Rotter and Friends. Become an instant fan!
Neil Young may have asked, “Are you ready for the country?” but what we really want to know is, “are you ready for the COUNTRY FUNK”? But wait, what in the hell is “country funk”? The answer is a complicated one, in part due to the fact that “country funk” is an inherently defiant genre, escaping all efforts at easy categorization. The style encompasses the elation of gospel with the sexual thrust of the blues, country hoedown harmony with inner city grit. It is alternately playful and melancholic, slow jammin’, and booty shakin’. It is both studio slick and barroom raw. And while these all may seem unlikely combinations at first glance, upon close listen, it all makes sweet sense.
With bare chest and a whiskey buzz we present to you Country Funk 1969-1975, a melting pot concoction of the music of Dale Hawkins, John Randolph Marr, Cherokee, Johnny Adams, Mac Davis, Bob Darin, Jim Ford, Gray Fox, Link Wray, Bobby Charles, Tony Joe White, Dennis The Fox, Larry Jon Wilson, Bobbie Gentry, Gritz, and Johnny Jenkins. Featuring extensive liner notes by Jessica Hundley (MOJO, The New York Times, Vogue), original album/label artwork, and new illustrations by Jess Rotter of Rotter and Friends (who designed the Lee Hazlewood, Louvin Brothers, and Jim Sullivan tees), think of this as a fantasyland where the Josie-era Meters back young Elvis singing Kris Kristofferson-penned slices of rustic American life and you’ll begin to understand the country funk vibe. It’s from the swamp to the city and all points in between.
And listen children, we wouldn’t send you out in the wold with not a shirt on your back, would we?? Be the star of the bar with these jamboree threads by Jess Rotter / Rotter and Friends featuring her homespun illustrations for the anthology (photos by David Black). Double sided. Double trouble. Boss.
For audio samples, more info and to pre-order V/A - Country Funk 1969 – 1975 (LITA 083 – CD/2xLP/Digital) visit LightInTheAttic.net now.
* All tracks newly re-mastered
* Features rare cuts by Bob Darin, Gray Fox, Dennis The Fox, Cherokee, Gritz and more
* 2xLP housed in a deluxe gatefold Stoughton “Tip-On” jacket with liner notes insert, along with Jess Rotter’s illustrations
* CD with 24-page booklet with liner notes plus Jess Rotter’s illustrations
“[...]the impetus of Country Funk isn’t historical accuracy or even critical rehabilitation. Instead, it intends primarily to be a badass playlist, an alt-universe Nuggets that flirts with kitsch but crams its tracklist with unexpected ideas and flourishes, unlikely filigrees of grit and invention.” 8.4, Pitchfork.com
Available worldwide today at fine record stores and LightInTheAttic.net, 16 funky slices of boot cut boogie all dressed up in a package we like to call Country Funk 1969 – 1975 (LITA 083). Legit barn-burners from the likes of Jim Ford, Bobby Gentry, Tony Joe White, Larry Jon Wilson, Gritz, and many, many more. Featuring liner notes by Jessica Hundley and art by Jess Rotter, pick up Country Funk on CD (Digipak with 24 page book), 2xLP (deluxe “Tip-on” gatefold jacket with book) or Digital download today.
And if you’re in Los Angeles this Sunday, swing by the awesome new record store Mount Analog in Highland Park for the Country Funk release party. There will be DJ sets by the Light In The Attic crew, Turquoise Wisdom, Chicken & Waffles (Jessica Hundley & Jess Rotter), plus a live in-store from the Abigails. Deets in the flyer below and be sure to share the Facebook event page here!
For this week’s Free Basin’ Fridays, one lucky winner will receive a CD or 2xLP (your choice!) copy of our latest anthology Country Funk 1969-1975 (LITA 083 – out now). All you have to do is leave a comment below with your name and email address (kept private) and tell us what you think “Country Funk” is. Winner will be chosen at random and announced next Friday, August 3rd at 12pm PST. If you’ve won a giveaway of ours in the last 2 months you are not elegible. Sorry! And if you’re in Los Angeles this weekend, don’t forget to mosey on over to Mount Analog for our release party on Sunday from 2-6pm. We’ll have DJs (Tourqouise Wisdom, LITA crew, Jess Rotter / Jessica Hundley) as well as a live set from country weirdos The Abigails. Details on our Facebook page!
I’ve been jamming my Country Funk 1969-1975 LP a lot this week, trying to stay cool in this heavy LA heat. I keep coming back to Mac Davis’s “Lucas Was A Redneck.” It’s the last track on the A side, which makes it easy to repeat.
In the recent anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death, I went on a serious Elvis binge, coming to realize, my good ole boy Mac Davis wrote a lot of my favorite jams! Here’s Elvis singing “In The Ghetto,” written by Mac Davis (similar theme to my prized Country Funk track, kind of).
The man knows how to write a song. Check this interview with Davis, put together by the Texas Heritage Songwriter’s Association. It’s pretty insane to hear all the hits he’s written. He talks a little about his relationship with Elvis and the inspirations for a lot of his songs (unfortunately, they don’t touch on “Lucas Was A Redneck,” devil only knows what inspired him that time around).
