Back in May of this year, Mayer Hawthorne put together a free collection of covers and descriptions of the tracks. The collection includes covers of The Isley Brothers (Work To Do, 1972), Chromeo (Don't Turn The Lights On, 2010), The Festivals (You’ve Got The Makings Of A Lover, late 1960s), Shorty's Portion (Fantasy Girl or Child, 1975?), Jon Brion (Little Person, 2008), and Electric Light Orchestra (Mr. Blue Sky, 1977). Chances are that you've heard of (or at least heard from) most of these artists, except Shorty's Portion, a one-off band with a small-run album. The group was centered around Steve Salazar, who was born with a hole in his heart, and died just short of his 27th birthday. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief on Sep 2, 2011 - 7 comments

Frankie Valli is very old but he is not dead, (MySpace, music plays on load) so you can keep those periods packed away. That first link showcases Pilooski's shockingly subtle and effective remix of Beggin', which should have been the radio hit of summer 2007, except for the small problem of not getting airplay in the States. You can compare different video treatments of the full song here (cyriak's trippy animation), here (pretty dancing people), and here (Northern Soul slideshow). The original 1967 version of the song should still be available here.
posted by maudlin on Aug 14, 2007 - 22 comments

In the early seventies, Northern Soul was divided between two great cathedrals. Wigan Casino got most of the attention, but the Blackpool Mecca attracted the purists, due to DJ Ian Levine's enormous collection of rare records. During the 80's, Levine went on to DJ at some of the major gay venues and became a notable Hi-Energy producer, but he always maintained his first love. Over the years, he has recorded and filmed many of the Northern icons, people who were ignored in their home country, but deeply loved in soul circles. These included Bob Brady, Frank Wilson, Tobi Lark, Bobby Paris, Lou Johnston, Tobi Legend and many, many more.
posted by PeterMcDermott on Jun 30, 2007 - 12 comments