Listen: Mercy, Mercy, Mercy / Marlena Shaw
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy / Marlena Shaw

Like with Bobby Hebb’s ‘Sunny’, I also have a similar penchant for ‘Mercy, Mercy, Mercy’. Basically, never do I pass up a copy, in fact, the loungier the better.

There are plenty of renditions around by everyone from Jaco Pastorius to Nils Lofgren. Not to mention versions buried in jazzy muzak albums that came fast and furious in the late 60′s.

’67 was the year that saw the song hit Billboard’s Top 5 twice, The Buckinghams version with lyrics, and the original instrumental from The Cannonball Adderley Quintet which went to #1, no doubt a surprise to both artist and label. Big fan of both.

Those in the know, like England’s mods, would attest that the grooviest, hands down, is from Marlena Shaw. Here’s a lady that recorded for the who’s who of RnB/Jazz labels during her career: Chess subsidiary Cadet, Blue Note and Verve.

In ’63, after initially deciding to go for the big time, and get into a record company, she auditioned for, but was turned down by Columbia. Several years later, they changed their minds and signed her away from Blue Note after releasing the wonderfully titled WHO IS THIS BITCH, ANYWAY?

Sounds familiar. I got invited in to Columbia for an interview in the late 80′s, never heard another word from them. About ten years later, out of the blue they rang again, this time offering me a job. I figured, give it a try. Lasted twelve years.

Listen: Two For The Price Of One / Larry Williams & Johnny Guitar Watson 01 Two For The Price Of One 1.mp3

These guys teamed up around ’66 and reportedly invented the term ‘party animal’ Hollywood style. Fantastic stories of cocaine and sexual escapades surround the myth. The whole time, they were contracted to the Okeh label, as both solo artists and a duo; as well writers and producers. That label’s output in the the mid 60′s is pretty flawless, and feeds the Northern Soul fetish solidly: Little Richard, Cookie Jackson, Billy Butler & The Enchanters, Sandi Sheldon, The Vibrations etc. The singles and the LP they did together, TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE, are all musts for a proper record collection. The autobiographical 7″ of the same name tells you the story.

Listen: Mercy, Mercy, Mercy / Larry Williams & Johnny Guitar Watson Mercy Mercy Mercy.mp3

Then it’s their East LA/Watts version of ‘Mercy Mercy Mercy’ which packs soul grease (as the DISC & MUSIC ECHO review described it) into the otherwise bland Pat Boone style rendition The Buckinghams bravely brought to US Top 40. Not surprisingly, Larry Williams & Johnny Guitar Watson’s version went unheard. Ahh – American radio.