We'll call this "Video Friday."

The first comment the new blog here received came from Red Kelly, the person who's recent series of posts on Lattimore Brown inspired me to start blogging again. (You really need to read Red's amazing account of his journey with Lattimore. One of the most amazing things I've read in a long time.)

Well, in Red's comment he mentioned a post I did on Frankie Beverly & the Butlers. Frankie's work with Maze is stellar, but the stuff with the Butlers (and later Raw Soul, which would turn into Maze) is the best. Not just his best, mind you, THE best in my opinion. Now I can think of a million ways that grandiose statement is wrong, but who cares. Frankie Beverly and the Butlers is a group whose music I have wanted to own since the track featured in the video below first graced my ears. I've never been able to get a copy because (a) I've never stumbled upon one while digging and (b) I've lost a number of eBay auctions that I could not have afforded if I had won anyway.

The point is...wow. When I randomly found this YouTube video of the song (accompanied by random pictures of Frankie) I couldn't help but share it. Perhaps I'll find all of those Butlers and Raw Soul tracks I posted a few years ago and do a new post. It won't be the same because I can't remember anything I wrote. Probably better--rediscovering all that information again will be a lot of fun. Until then, enjoy "If That's What You Wanted" by Frankie Beverly & the Butlers--one of my favorite soul songs. Ever.

NOTE: Holy crap. Someone actually seems to have taken credit for my previous post and research on Frankie Beverly and the Butlers. You can find it by clicking here. Why do I know that's mine? Because I remember thinking about changing my opening line "Frankie Beverly is one of those cats that has lasting power" before posting back in January of 2006 (thanks to an old aggregator archive for that info!).

NOTE #2: And another person seems to have borrowed my writing! I'm not upset at all--surprised, and I guess somewhat honored that a whole two people thought that it was worth re-posting. I'm actually kind of glad I can just re-check my research for a future post instead of having to start from scratch!