Listen: Do The Do /Howlin’ Wolf
Do

Blues. It’s a funny genre, almost extinct, possibly musical days gone forever.

I used to be okay with an LP side of the blues, and one day, my pal Phil Ward told me he hates the blues, and I swear, I’ve never been able to hear it the same since.

Now the occasional song or side of a single, if intriguing, still pushes my button. The dirtier the better. Some of Bessie Smith’s records are so filthy, they make Lil’ Kim sound as ass licking safe as Sheryl Crow.

Even the raunchiest of small town southern, chitlin circuit stations would not have touched ‘Do The Do’, hence it being banished to a Howlin’ Wolf B side status.

In ’90, Betty Boo went to #7 in the UK with ‘Doin’ The Do’, an undeniably terrific pop single. But in the early 60′s, there was no chance of getting airplay on a song that, let’s be real, was all about oral sex. Yeah right, no one did it then……

All good, makes this one even more fun to have and hear. ‘Do The Do’ never made it to the box set, and God knows if it’s ever been included on a compact disc, as I believe they are called. I’m sure, as the majors scrape every last morsel to keep lights on in those corner offices, it’s been re-released.

But does it sound like the mono vinyl 7″ pressing above? No way.

Listen: Street Tuff / Rebel MC RebelMCStreetTuff.mp3

According to DS, lifting the infamously recycled rhythm riff from Toots & The Maytals ’54-46 (That’s My Number), and the toast from Scotty’s ‘Skank In Bed’, resulted in yet another pop hit. This one still gets played here in my house, usually on repeat all these years later. I don’t care who turns their nose up – I mean, really, as if anyone in England can seriously criticize this one.

Let’s face it, UK rap is 100% hysterical. Have you heard The Streets or Dizzee Rascal? Funnier still because they’re meant to be taken seriously. I love it. “Feel the beat, beneath your feet” Is this for real?

Not sure if Rebel MC faded into Betty Boo land or is now credible, but ‘Street Tuff’ is one hell of a teen pop anthem either way. The UK Kris Kross….fine.