IT’S RAINING WHALES: INELL YOUNG

Inell Young: What Do You See In Her
From 7″ (Libra, 1960s). Also on New Orleans Funk Vol. 2

After being on the hunt for this for 5.5 years, it’s probably the oldest white whale I had left (I think the San Francisco TKOs now creeps into that pole position). I wrote extensively about this back in 2007 and don’t want to repeat too much from there (especially the contested back story behind the song, which is fascinating in and of itself). I will say that this doesn’t merely rank amongst my favorite NOLA songs of all time (which is saying a lot) but it’s right up there with the best female funk tunes I know. Somewhere between Gus Lewis’s tight/snappy rhythms, Young’s “hoo hop hop hop!” and the general pathos of the song, this is magical to me.