MARCH OF THE COVERS: Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" (The First Edition)

Woodrow Buddy Johnson and Count Basie, "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?"

Today would be Jackie's 94th birthday. The upcoming biopic 42 hits theaters in a few months. In the meantime, enjoy a little big band tribute to the legend.

And that ain't all... he stole home!

Spiral Staircase, "I Love You More Today Than Yesterday"

OK... so maybe three in one day was too much to ask. How about two more today?

Kermit Ruffins, "Didn't He Ramble"

OK... making up for some serious lost time, here's the first of THREE for today. A little Kermit to start the morning never hurt anyone. Not coincidentally, Mr. Ruffins played a phenomenal show on Saturday at Brooklyn Bowl. New Orleans, here we come...

Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, "Express Yourself"

For yesterday...

Treme Brass Band, "The Old Rugged Cross"

Rest in Peace, Mr. Lionel Batiste.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Kermit Ruffins & the Rebirth Brass Band, "Just a Closer Walk with Thee"

Kool Moe Dee, "How Ya Like Me Now"

From 1987's album of the same name, this was one of many shots at LL Cool J (note the Kangol hat under the wheel of the car on the album cover). Perhaps more memorable for an impressionable youngster in the '80s was its pairing with Hakeem (or Akeem) Olajuwon highlights in the first NBA Superstars video.

Now brothers are riding me
Like a pony
I'm no phony
I'm the only real micaroni. 

Enjoy!

MARCH OF THE COVERS: Cake, "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" (Osvaldo Farrés)

MARCH OF THE COVERS: Aretha Franklin, "The Weight" (The Band)

This is the way a great cover is done, folks.  I love the blues guitar intro that sets the stage for the funk to drop.  And the full-throttle gospel of the chorus.  And the horns.  And the kick drum's dum da-dum.. dum da-dum... dum da-dum... during the "a-a-a-and..."  OK.  I admit... I love everything about it.  And I also love the original.  And the Last Waltz version (below), which features The Staple Singers!

The Beta Band, "Dry the Rain"

From The Three EPs, and central to a memorable scene from High Fidelity.  For additional reading, check out this Guardian piece from a few years back, which ponders their break-up and inexplicable lack of mainstream acceptance.  Enjoy!

Sarah Vaughan, "Black Coffee"

I'm hangin' out on Monday
My Sunday dreams to die...

Rufus Thomas, "Do the Funky Penguin"

You can't do it without shuffling your feet, peeps.

Wilson Pickett, "Hey Joe"

Slightly less famous than the Jimi Hendrix version (which was released a few years earlier), but great in its own right. Enjoy!

The Grass Roots, "Midnight Confessions"

From 1968, originally recorded as a demo by the Evergreen Blues Band...until I went to find this song, I had no idea that a founding member and the original lead guitarist of the Grass Roots was none other than... Creed Bratton!  He's on the left side of the frame, and doesn't get much face time.  But who's laughing now, Warren Entner?

Otis Redding, "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)"

Here's Otis, from Live in Europe, with one of his best--all the better because it's captured with the raw emotion of a live show.  I love the interplay with the crowd on the chorus...

Beck, "Sexx Laws"

From 1999's Midnite Vultures, a decidedly delightful romp... with Jack Black as a bonus!  Enjoy.

Cake, "Love You Madly"

The song is from Comfort Eagle. The video is from Left Field. Bonus points for Rick James' turn as a food critic. All the dishes rattle in the cupboard when the elephants arrive...

Stevie Wonder, "Sir Duke"

Stevie turns 61 today.  Enjoy!

OK Go and Bonerama, "A Million Ways" (Live on Letterman)

A few years ago, OK Go and Bonerama--a New Orleans Funk Brass Band--teamed up on an EP to benefit Al "Carnival Time" Johnson and other New Orleans musicians displaced by Katrina.  From You're Not Alone, here's "A Million Ways," written by OK Go and performed live on the Letterman show.  Buy the 5-song album--which includes a cover of Bob Dylan's "I Shall be Released" with Al Johnson on vocals--on iTunes or Amazon.  Enjoy!