A kind of love letter to New Orleans, and its richly flavorful musical styles, Doin’ the Funky Thing arrived 10 years ago as another testament to the sorely underrated talents of Walter “Wolfman” Washington.
He should have long since become an overnight sensation. Instead, this working musician of more than four decades had quietly put out half a dozen records as a leader, while appearing down-page on countless sides as a featured guitarist and bandleader. He never quite made it big.
Yet, along the way, all of those experiences seeped into Washington’s sound, a galloping thing which melds country and urban blues with bop, funk and soul. His ability to croon as well as he shouts always sanctified Walter “Wolfman” Washington’s live shows; he’s more quietly emotive on his records, but still gritty and direct.
Like most New Orleanians, Washington was sent into exile as Katrina flood his hometown. What followed was a long hiatus from the studio and from the Crescent City, a break that made “I’m Back,” this swampy blues featuring Dr. John at the Hammond B-3, both a clarion call to old fans and the emotional centerpiece of Doin’ the Funky Thing: “It’s coming back to life,” Washington sang with both defiant hope and no small amount of soulful reminiscence. He could have been talking about his ruined city, and his own career.
Washington gained early notice as a former sideman with funky Big Easy legends Ernie K-Doe and Lee Dorsey, but also – importantly – boasted stints with soul singers Johnny Adams and Irma Thomas. That period included appearances on seminal cuts like 1965’s “Ride Your Pony” and 1966’s “Working in the Coal-Mine,” written by Allen Toussaint. By the mid-1980s, he’d signed a deal with Rounder, issuing Wolf Tracks, Out of the Dark and Wolf at the Door between 1986-91. Performances with the legendary J.B. Horns came next, before two more albums for Rounder – 1998’s Funk Is In the House and 2000’s On the Prowl.
It seemed like things were coming together. But the storm changed all that. Years passed before Walter “Wolfman” Washington finally released Doin’ the Funky Thing. Even still, it ranked as one of his very best. Always a sensitive interpreter of blues and R&B standards by both heroes and contemporaries like Ray Charles, Tyrone Davis, Little Willie John and Bill Withers, Washington presented a more emotive, self-produced effort here in which 9 of the 10 songs were originals.
His backing group, the Roadmasters, included original bassist Jack Cruz, drummer Kevin O’Day, saxist Jimmy Carpenter and trumpeter Antonio Gambrell. Together, they dropped listeners into the grease with the thundering, two-part “Shake Your Booty / Funky Thing,” but also took a moment to express lasting fidelity on “Only You.” “Landslide,” with an even wider blast of trump and trombone, had a vibe that lived up to its name; “Just Like That” (the only cover) was a roadhouse rocker.
Each, though widely disparate, coalesced nicely within Doin’ the Funky Thing as a fluid, powerful tour-de-force. Equal parts Bootsy Collins, Bobby “Blue” Bland and (on “Wolf Jazz”) George Benson, Walter “Wolfman” Washington embraced a blues modernity, even while he kept one scuffed-up toe in the deeper past, both musical and personal.
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