Vinyl junkies everywhere are likely celebrating this morning, as the Ponderosa Stomp announced the lineup for its October 3-5 event in New Orleans. The Stomp took a break to recharge during 2012, and includes a raft of debuts this year. It’s also moved back to the Rock ‘n’ Bowl (at its new location on 3000 S. Carrollton Avenue), after two years at House of Blues.
Among the lineup are R&B vocalists Maxine Brown and Baby Washington (the latter apparently Dusty Springfield’s favorite singer), New Orleans deep-soul artist Richard Caiton, and “Dirty Water”/”Try It” hit-makers the Standells (who still had two original members at last count). Of this year’s features, two deserve special mention: Chris Clark was famously the first white solo artist to have a hit with Motown (and the last, until R. Dean Taylor’s “Indiana Wants Me”), she was also a paramour of Berry Gordy’s. More importantly, she had one of the label’s great one-shot hits with “Love’s Gone Bad.” Though the Funk Brothers played on it, “Love’s Gone Bad” didn’t sound quite like a Motown record. The Farfisa organ gave it more of an English Mod feel, with a vocal delivery not too far from Dusty Springfield’s.
Also noteworthy, The Sloths are known for only one record, but what a record: Their 1966 single “Makin’ Love” was garage rock in a nutshell: Gloriously primitive, with a groove more suited to pro wrestling than carnality. Barely noticed at the time, the record got a cult following after turning up on a Back From the Grave compilation in the ‘80s (with typical understatement, compiler Tim Warren called it the “greatest garage punk record ever!”).It’s always a miracle to find a group like this intact; here they are still “Makin’ Love” at a record-store opening during 2011 (looks like four original guys plus relative youngster Dave Prevost, who played bass with the Dream Syndicate in the ‘80s), and danged if the song doesn’t grunt as hard as it did a half-century ago.
The complete announced lineup is: Maxine Brown, Baby Washington, Chris Clark, Richard Caiton, Charles Brimmer, James Alexander, Lynn August, George Perkins, The Sloths, The Standells, Guanga Dyns, Ty Wagner, Gino Parks, Spencer Wiggins, Sonny Green, Bobby Parker, Bobby Crown, Eddie Daniels, Charlie Gracie, Boogaloo.
More Info: www.ponderosastomp.com
