![]() The song “I Can Dig It Baby” features an early recording by Jaco Pastorius who is credited as Nelson Padron. “Party down” captures the feeling of the pre-disco Miami scene better than any other album. The album showcases Beaver at the height of his talent and popularity. Maestro Rhythm King drum machine, Wah and Echoplex guitar leads, heavy bass lines and Beaver’s soaring vocals all give the LP its unique vibe. After hearing this album, I obsessively searched out anything I could find on Cat, Alston, Dash, Dade, Glades…any record I could find with a Miami address on the label. Little Beaver – Party DownĪlthough I was aware of hits like Betty Wright’s “Clean Up Woman” and George Mcrae’s “Rock Your Baby,” this was my gateway into the Miami funk and soul sound of the early 70s. Jazzman Records reissued all of the Saadia 45’s as a set a few years ago. However, they found it necessary to leave in Beaver’s high note near the end of the song. There’s an alternate version of “Do Right Man” recorded with the same instrumental backing, with vocal duties performed by Sam Baker. Most of his resources were used up in recording and manufacturing these records, which according to Beaver never really generated much profit for Williams. The Saadia recordings stand as a testament to Frank Williams’ tenacity. ‘Do Right Man’ is a soulful declaration of love with a great vocal performance by Little Beaver… I was made aware of Miami soul labels by my friend Superwolf, aka James Trotter, who is a DJ and artist out of Kansas City. For me, Saadia is the greatest Miami soul label. I found this record at a central Miami Goodwill over 12 years ago. It’s very hard for me to pick just one Saadia 45 for this list. Willie worked for years as an art teacher in the Miami Dade public school system and he designed the labels for Deep City, Alston, Cat, Glades, Dash and many others. Every time I see Willie he offers to buy my copy. I finally picked up the 45 and then a collector friend offered me the album. I had been searching for a nice clean copy of “You Got to be a Man” which came out as a 45 on Deep City and later Phil L.A. The Deep City recordings attracted the attention of Henry Stone and within five years much of the talent would be working for Stone’s family of labels. This album establishes the blueprint for ‘60s Miami soul. Most of the songs here are penned by Clarence Reid and Willie Clarke, with the exception of Little Beaver’s classic “You’ve Got to be a Man.” It’s the only LP on Clarke and Johnny Pearsall’s legendary Deep City label. Willie Clarke claims that less than 100 were pressed. This may well be Miami’s first soul album. The New Tropic asked him to tell us a little bit about his 10 favorite Miami records and share the memorable stories behind them. “At the same time, I was doing this pirate radio show on Miami Beach, where the format I came up with was to play my record finds for 30 minutes, and play live 30 minutes, where I would bring in a new creation that I would make every week for the show.” Bass records, hip-hop, whatever funk records I could get my hands on, Latin records, Jamaican stuff,” he remembers. It was my part-time job to ride around buying a few hundred records a week. “From 1998 to 2001, my music was all beats I was sampling from my record collection. (Credit: Bruce Pinchbeck / The New Tropic)Īndrew Yeomanson, as DJ Le Spam is formally known, says he got the record collecting bug “really bad” in 1998 and would fill up boxes with records to ship home while on the road. ![]() He drinks three triple shots a day, he says. ![]() DJ Le Spam in his living room, making espresso. ![]()
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