Funky Chicken

Songwriter, producer and musician Willie Henderson worked with the likes of Jackie Wilson, Donny Hathaway and Barbara Acklin and he also put out this excellent funk album in 1970. A collection of instrumental and semi-instrumental soul/funk tracks, aside from a questionable cover of The Archies’ ‘Sugar Sugar’ this is all solid gold. A rock-solid funky rhythm section, chicken-scratch guitar, triumphant brass and a live feel, with plenty of sax soloing from Henderson, it’s not the stripped back, efficient funk of the JBs or The Meters, it’s a more big-band, jubilant, soulful take on the genre.