Wheelin' and Dealin': The Definitive Collection pretty much lives up to its title, presenting 20 choice selections from one of the greatest figures of New Orleans R&B. All of his big singles are here -- "Ya Ya," "Do-Re-Mi," "Ride Your Pony," "Get Out of My Life Woman," "Working in a Coal Mine," "Holy Cow," "Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky (From Now On)" -- along with lots of great lesser-known singles like "Confusion," "Can You Hear Me," and "My Old Car." There are some really good songs missing, both from his prime Bell recordings and such latter-day singles as "Sneaking Sally Through the Alley," but that's primarily because everything Dorsey cut was consistently enjoyable; even when the quality of the material dipped, the band and Dorsey remained appealing. So, even if there's a handful of songs that could have been here, it's impossible to argue with what is, since it does result in a wonderful, endlessly listenable collection. (All Music Guide)
In addition to being a mechanic, Irving Lee Dorsey - born on Christmas Eve in 1924 in New Orleans - also did a bit of boxing and served a stint with the Marines before launching his singing career with the small Fury label in 1961. When he was almost 37 years old!
Ya Ya was quite a debut, climbing to # 1 R&B and # 7 Hot 100 that November. Early in 1962 the follow-up Do-Re-Mi made it to # 22 R&B/# 27 Hot 100. But after that the hits dried up, and when Fury folded Dorsey moved over to the Amy label where he came under the guidance of Allen Toussaint and Marshall Schorn. The combination worked as Dorsey, now 41, saw Ride Your Pony reach # 7 R&B and # 28 Hot 100 in August 1965.
Early the next year Get Out Of My Life, Woman peaked at # 5 R&B and # 44 Hot 100, followed by his second most successful single, Working In The Coal Mine which topped out at # 5 R&B/# 8 Hot 100 in September. Three months later the comical Holy Cow b/w Operation Heartache went to # 10 R&B and # 23 Hot 100.
In May 1967 My Old Car just made the Hot 100, settling in at # 97, followed that November by Go-Go Girl (# 31 R&B/# 62 Hot 100). Then the well dried up for over a year before he found another hit, the title of which perhaps indicated a new musical direction - Everything I Do Gohn Be Funky (From Now On) - which levelled off at # 33 R&B and # 95 Hot 100 in July 1969.
In 1970 Dorsey switched to Polydor where, in 1970, he cut a concept LP entitled Yes We Can, which was also, like his hits with Amy, produced by Toussaint. From that album Yes We Can - Part 1 made it to # 46 on the R&B singles charts in November. That cut is not included in this cmpilation, nor is his final charter which came eight years later in 1978. Now 54, and with ABC, Dorsey's Night People struggled to the # 93 spot on the R&B charts.
A lifetime smoker, Dorsey died of emphysema one month before his 66th birthday on December 1, 1986. (Amazon)
trax:
01 Ya Ya 02 Do-Re-Mi 03 Ride Your Pony 04 Work, Work, Work 05 Can You Hear Me 06 Get Out Of My Life Woman 07 Confusion 08 Working In The Coal Mine 09 Holy Cow 10 Operation Heartache 11 Gotta Find A Job 12 Love Lots Of Lovin' 13 My Old Car 14 Go-Go Girl 15 I Can't Get Away 16 Lottie Mo '68 17 A Lover Was Born 18 Everything I Do Gohn Be Funky (From Now On) 19 Give It Up 20 Candy Yam
Files in .m4a! Lucky who uses i-Tunes!
...served by Gyro1966...
More great Vee Jay Label blues from the 50's. Excellent sound with mastering by Steve Hoffman.
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