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Charles Wright and The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band

Date: 1969 & 1970
Release: WARNER BROS. # 9 46459-2
Cover Art: view / download
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The very first R&B group signed to Warner Bros., Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band streaked forward with a solid run of hit records that have all but faded into obscurity. "Express Yourself," their best known hit (included on this disc), peaked at #3 on the R&B and #12 on the Pop charts.

In the Jungle and Express Yourself represented two important steps forward from the 60s soul sound and into the raw funk of the 1970s. In the Jungle features originally re-worked covers of Wilson Picket‘s "I’m a Midnight Mover," Sly & The Family Stone‘s "Everyday People," and the Doors’ "Light My Fire," a jazzed up burst of soulfulness that builds with slow determination to its climax. The album’s high point comes with the eminently funky instrumental, "Oh Happy Gabe (Sometimes Blue)," which just begs to be sampled.

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