Heading into Soul territory this week. Starting off with Otis Redding discovery Arthur Conley. His first single out of the gate with Redding producing was Sweet Soul Music, and it established Conley as a major force in the world of Soul in early 1967. His follow-up single Shake, Rattle & Roll did the same thing. When Redding was killed in a plane crash in December of 1967 it robbed not only the world of one of its finest voices, it also lost Conley a champion and producer. But in stepped veteran producer Tom Dowd and tonight's single Funky Street was the result, released in March of 1968 and climbed to #5 on the Soul charts. He kept up a steady stream of hit records before finally relocating to Europe in the mid-1970's, turning to his own production company and branching off into other fields.
Conley died in 2003 after a long bout with Cancer, but left behind a rich legacy of some great music of which tonight's track definitely ranks up there.
