Montgomery, AL, funk outfit Slim and the Soulful Saints formed in early 1970. Guitarist Stanford "Slim" Barnes first teamed with tenor saxophonist Lorenzo "Fish" Fendley over a decade earlier in a Red Level, AL-based R&B group led by local music veteran Willie Charles "Henry" Perry before parting ways when Fendley entered the military.
Bassist Willie Pettaway, organist Al Stringer, tenor saxophonist George Williams, trumpeters Avery "Handsome" Beavers and Wilbert Jackson, and drummer Donnie "Champ" Remnell completed the Soulful Saints' lineup, which quickly landed a residency at the rough-and-tumble Montgomery nightspot the Tyjuana Club.
Despite relying heavily on crowd-favorite R&B and soul covers, the band worked a handful of original funk jams into their repertoire, and as their popularity grew they decided to travel to Muscle Shoals' renowned Fame Studios to cut a single. While a cover of Z.Z. Hill's "Someone to Love Me" occupied the A-side, the flip was awarded to "Fish Head," a monster deep-funk groove first devised on-stage at the Tyjuana Club.
The end result so impressed Fame owner Rick Hall that he offered Fendley a regular gig with his studio band, but the tenorist declined. "Someone to Love Me" appeared on the Cord label in the summer of 1970. Only a few hundred copies were pressed, and with publicity and distribution virtually nil, the record went nowhere.
Slim and the Soulful Saints split soon after, but decades later "Fish Head" emerged as a sought-after collectable among deep-funk aficionados before appearing on Stones Throw's seminal compilation The Funky 16 Corners.
From : http://www.allmusic.com/artist/slim-and-the-soulful-saints-mn0001902556
9 Comments (since 5 Sep 2014)
music_xplosion
Montgomery, AL, funk outfit Slim and the Soulful Saints formed in early 1970. Guitarist Stanford "Slim" Barnes first teamed with tenor saxophonist Lorenzo "Fish" Fendley over a decade earlier in a Red Level, AL-based R&B group led by local music veteran Willie Charles "Henry" Perry before parting ways when Fendley entered the military.
music_xplosion
Bassist Willie Pettaway, organist Al Stringer, tenor saxophonist George Williams, trumpeters Avery "Handsome" Beavers and Wilbert Jackson, and drummer Donnie "Champ" Remnell completed the Soulful Saints' lineup, which quickly landed a residency at the rough-and-tumble Montgomery nightspot the Tyjuana Club.
music_xplosion
Despite relying heavily on crowd-favorite R&B and soul covers, the band worked a handful of original funk jams into their repertoire, and as their popularity grew they decided to travel to Muscle Shoals' renowned Fame Studios to cut a single. While a cover of Z.Z. Hill's "Someone to Love Me" occupied the A-side, the flip was awarded to "Fish Head," a monster deep-funk groove first devised on-stage at the Tyjuana Club.
music_xplosion
The end result so impressed Fame owner Rick Hall that he offered Fendley a regular gig with his studio band, but the tenorist declined. "Someone to Love Me" appeared on the Cord label in the summer of 1970. Only a few hundred copies were pressed, and with publicity and distribution virtually nil, the record went nowhere.
music_xplosion
Slim and the Soulful Saints split soon after, but decades later "Fish Head" emerged as a sought-after collectable among deep-funk aficionados before appearing on Stones Throw's seminal compilation The Funky 16 Corners. From : http://www.allmusic.com/artist/slim-and-the-soulful-saints-mn0001902556
twistymellorman
read 'tenorist' as 'terrorist'. Bit harsh, I thought.
dacia
This is so good!
music_xplosion
I'm glad you enjoyed it @daciarivers. Thanks for your comment :)
music_xplosion
@iancooling1 Oh, I stumbled across this on o0plnsk0o's YT channel, some amazing stuff there.