THINKING BLACK

This next nugget comes from Ike Turner & The Kings of Rhythm. First released in 1969, "A Black Man's Soul" (the album this track was pulled from) captured Ike Turner & His Kings of Rhythm at their funkiest. Armed with songs written by Turner, his St. Louis colleague Oliver Sain and more, Ike & His Kings combined R&B with funk, rock and gospel and created an album that showed off the wide spectrum of black music. At the 1969 Grammy Awards, "Thinking Black" was nominated in the category of Best R&B Instrumental while Tina made the list of nominees for Best Female R&B Singer. (Can you imagine a track like "Thinking Black" getting nominated for a Grammy in today's day and age? They don't make them like they used to, folks.)

I can't recommend Ike's and Tina's late 60's/early 70's work enough to all of you, especially you beat-junkies. "A Black Man's Soul" features some of the finest and most sought-after examples of Ike Turner's funk artistry, including the DJ breakbeat jewels "Funky Mule" and "Getting Nasty," which Jurassic 5 sampled on their track "Concrete Schoolyard."