Friday, October 7, 2022

VA - Popcorn Story Vol. 1 (A Butterboy Compilation) CD1+CD2+CD3

 

POPCORN

VA - Popcorn Story Vol. 1 (A Butterboy Compilation) CD1+CD2+CD3

Popcorn (sometimes Belgian popcorn or oldies popcorn) is a style of music and dancing first established in Belgium in the 1970's and 1980's. The style includes a wide variety of mostly American and British recordings of pop-soul music made between the late 1950's and mid 1960's, often relatively obscure, and characterized by a slow or medium, rather than fast, tempo. The style has been described by musician and writer Bob Stanley as "possibly the last truly underground music scene in Europe."  According to Stanley, "the purity of Belgian Popcorn is its very impurity. R&B, Broadway numbers, tangos, Phil Spector-esque girl groups and loungey instrumentals, they are all constituent parts of a rare, and still largely undiscovered scene." By the 1990' s, the Popcorn dance scene retained a core of aficionados even outside Belgium, having a level of recognition in venues and specialist clubs in Britain, Germany, and the US, with at least 30 compilations of American R&B and pop music in the Belgian Popcorn style being re-issued in Europe. (Wikipedia)

The name popcorn comes from Dancing The Popcorn in Vrasene, near St. Niklaas in Belgium. Other famous clubs in the early days were De Viertap, The Golden Gate, The Groove, The Versailles etc. Today there is a revival of the genre mainly in Belgium where the weekly parties attract the original scene with a new generation of Popcorn music lovers. Also in France, Holland and mostly in England Popcorn as a genre is becoming more and more popular but it remains a true Belgian phenomenon. Although the music differs from Northern Soul in tempo and style, the collectors of both genres have similar taste in certain styles of music. This style includes a pretty eclectic and wide range of American R&B and pop songs mostly recorded in the 1950's and mid-1960's in a slow or medium tempo and often in a minor key.

This set is part of a 2 Volume series of Popcorn gems.  Part 1 is Volume 1 with 60 tracks that will delight all fans of popcorn music. Part 2 next week. Enjoy.

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Track lists

CD1

01 Billy Butler & The Enchanters Lady Love 2:27

02 Jamo Thomas Arrest Me 2:40

03 Mel Tormé Comin' Home Baby 2:42

04 Earl Grant Fever 3:10

05 Mamie Perry With Gus Jenkins Orchestra I'm Hurted 2:37

06 B.jenkins & The Jades You Mean Everything To Me 2:34

07 Ben E. King The Hermit Of Misty Mountain 2:24

08 Gerald Sims & The Daylighters Cool Breeze 2:01

09 Ernie K. Doe Mother In Law 2:33

10 Major Lance Crying In The Rain 2:22

11 Varetta Dillard Mercy, Mr. Percy 2:49

12 Tony Hester Down In The Dumps 2:13

13 Sam Fletcher Think It Over 2:34

14 Tony Michaels I Love The Life I Live 2:59

15 Determinations Sweet Night Dew 3:58

16 Sonny Knight If You Want This Love 1:57

17 Freddy Jaye Thinking Of You 2:31

18 Mitty Collier Pain 2:22

19 Jackie Weaver The Tingle 1:57

20 Baby Washington Leave Me Alone 2:17

21 Wade Flemons Welcome Stranger 2:36


CD2

22 Marvin Gaye Once Upon A Time 2:25

23 Carl Dobkins, Jr. Genie 2:22

24 Rev. Columbus Mann Let The Sun Shine In Your Window 2:42

25 Merlina Masson Please Stay Away 2:17

26 Dick Baker Heartless Lover 1:58

27 Gene Chandler Everybody Let's Dance 2:17

28 Les Brown Jr. The Loco-Motion 2:40

29 Major Lance Rhythm 2:21

30 Willy Williams High In The Misty Sky 2:17

31 Chuck Como I Followed A Dream 2:15

32 Ike Turner & The Kings Of Rhythm She Made My Blood Run Cold 2:19

33 Sammy Hawkins Standing On The Sidelines 2:12

34 Jerry Cole Land Of Dreams 2:08

35 Labrenda Ben & The Beljeans The Chaperone 2:52

36 Martha & The Vandellas There He Is (At My Door) 2:29

37 Tabs Two Stupid Feet 2:31

38 Helen Shapiro Queen For Tonight 2:08

39 Fontella Bass Rescue Me 2:53

40 El Chicano Viva Tirado 4:40

41 Titus Turner Bla Bla Bla Cha Cha 2:15

42 Ronnie Hawkins Hey Babalu 2:46


CD3

43 Leon Haywood Soul Cargo 3:27

44 Mark Wynter Exclusively Yours 1:56

45 Paula Watson Love Me Forever 2:40

46 Jimmy Breedlove I Can't Help Loving You 2:57

47 Peter Wynne I'm A Fool To Want You 2:44

48 Charles Sheffield It's Your Voodoo Working 1:48

49 Matadors Listen 2:02

50 Dolly Lyon Palm Of Your Hand 2:36

51 Morton Downey Jr. Rags To Riches 2:00

52 Louis Neefs - Sixteen Tons Sixteen Tons 2:45

53 Al Alberts Before Tomorrow Is Yesterday 2:28

54 Tommy Neal Going To A Happening 2:32

55 Jay Abbott La Tanya 2:25

56 Jeff Lane Carmelita 2:24

57 Ed Townsend Stay With Me 2:25

58 Chuck Reid That Lucky Old Sun 2:24

59 Anna King The Big Change 2:50

60 Jamie Coe Cleopatra 2:50

61 Gene Mcdaniels A Hundred Pounds Of Clay 2:19

62 Mark Dinning The Lovin' Touch 2:13

63 Richard 'popcorn' Wylie; The Soul Messengers Turn On The Heat 2:27

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14 comments:

  1. Thanks Butterboy for some nice tracks here!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks to you, Little Bill.
      Volume 2 next week.
      cheers.

      Delete
  2. Many thanks for the popcorn songs. Keep the good work going.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're welcome, dirk.
      I hope to make them interesting.
      Cheers.

      Delete
  3. Excellent selection from that era that I knew well. Before the arrival of the Popcorn genre where there is, for me, good and less good, the best discotheque was undoubtedly "The Groove" in Ostend (Belgium) at the end of the 1960s, whose owner Freddy Cousaert later hosted Marvin Gaye. One of the few dance halls to play only quite rare black music, especially difficult to find at the time, to the point that the vinyls were hidden so as not to make them known. Provisioning was done via airline stewards. This is where I caught the "virus"!!! On the other hand, what I reproach a little to the Popcorn style is that a lot of DJs slowed down the pieces, in order to adapt the tempo for the dance, thus distorting the work of the artist. I may be too "soul purist" but after all everyone takes his pleasure where he can!!!
    Thanks fo sharing.
    Yves

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Yves,
      Thank you for your kind words. I enjoyed reading your appraisal above. I hope you continue to enjoy this track list. Volume 2 next week.
      Cheers.

      Delete
  4. All good music with what seems to be a newish interesting name for us in the US. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Domenic,
      Yes, there doesn't seem to be much around certainly not really publicized. I don't know why because the Popcorn is really sweet. Glad you're enjoying it.
      Cheers.

      Delete
  5. Thank you Butterboy - groetjes vanuit Belgie.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for your 'Popcorn compilation'
    All great songs..
    Luc

    ReplyDelete