Make a Smile for Me: Part Two



Click here for part one





Shortly after I posted a few Bill Withers covers in honor of
Still Bill, which premiered on Showtime yesterday, February
4th, crate digger extraordinaire Larry Webber suggested sever-
al more. Here are the four I like the best. The reggae interpre-
tations are great, but I prefer the funkiest of the funk jams.



In the All Music Guide, Jason Ankeny describes Eddy Senay's Hot
Thang (1972/Sussex) as "a virtual primer in psychedelic funk."



The AMG classifies vibraphonist Roy Ayers as "one of the prophets
of acid jazz," but that doesn't mean he couldn't funk it up, too (see al-
so his score for 1973 blaxploitation classic Coffy). This cover comes
from Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Red, Black and Green (1976/Mercury).



Bill Graham favorites Cold Blood (1968-76), featuring front woman
Lydia Pense, hailed from the Bay Area. They re-formed in the '00s.



Trombone player/arranger/musical director Fred Wesley proves
he could make it on his own outside the James Brown organization.
Wesley has also played with Parliament and Ike and Tina Turner.



More: Horace Andy - "Ain't No Sunshine" (and an alternate
version), Lyn Collins - "Ain't No Sunshine," Prophets of Soul -
"Ain't No Sunshine," Ken Boothe - "Ain't No Sunshine," Augus-
tus Pablo - "Ain't No Sunshine," and B.B. Seaton - "Lean on Me."



Endnote: Image from AllStarsPics, which notes
Withers' full name: William Harrison Withers, Jr.