FOLLOWING THE FLAIR

Killer Mike: Ric Flair
From Pl3dge (SMC, 2011)

Late pass. I only heard this the other week when DJ Phatrick was pumping it in the car. Once the main beat dropped in, I lost it because I recognized the sample:

Eddie and Ernie: You Made My Life a Sunny Day
From 7″ (Ever-Soul, 2008)

Daptone/Ever-Soul put this out in 2008. If I recall, it’s a vault rescue (rather than a reissue) and good god, is it awesome. That intro is pure fire: whirling organs, a wall of horns, and the screaming vocals. Sweatbox Productions juiced this up perfectly, especially with the thick drums that follow the background track with the slightly off-rhythm cymbal crashes.

As noted, Eddie and Ernie’s version was previously unreleased but the song once saw the market.

Jacqueline Jones: You Make My Life a Sunny Day
From 7″ (Loadstone, 196?)

If you look at this single’s label scan, you’ll note Eddie and Ernie wrote the song, along with “P. Jones” (Jacqueline?). And clearly the two songs have near identical arrangements though, ironically, Jones sings in a lower register than the two men. I gotta say: I think Ernie and Eddie’s version is actually the superior one even if it stayed in the vaults while Jones’s floated out there. (I am curious about the S.F. connection here since Loadstone was a Bay label).