Eddie Bo - In The Pocket With Eddie Bo

Pocket got a hole in it? Stitch this one in

The New Orleans funkster born Edwin Bocage in 1930 was a lover, not a fighter. He lived to hate the fact he enlisted in the army and, despite his boxing excellence while there, withdrew from the sport because he didn’t even want to be associated with it.

It may be no surprise, then, that a good deal of these tracks have titles such as Fallin’ In Love Again, Can I Be Your Main Squeeze and Lover & Friend (a duet with Inez Cheatham, backing singer for Allen Toussaint before Bo put her up front). Those that don’t, such as The La La Man Pt 1, still deal with those twin vices: women and dancing. Bo may not have the Boots promotional treatment that another N’Awleanser, Ernie K Doe, has received, but surely it can’t be long before Can I Be Your Main Squeeze soundtracks some juicer advert, or the ubiquitous Check Your Bucket appears, well, anywhere.

Bo masterminded over 100 45s from the mid-50s to mid-80s, as both frontman and producer. This 28-track comp covers the early R&B of his debut 1955 7”, Baby, through to funk magical enough to turn your hips into a bag of snakes. Just over 72 more tracks to go, then.

VampiSoul | VAMPI 095

Reviewed by Jason Draper
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