That Driving Beat

We stuck to the soul and R&B on this episode, with room for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, Joe Simon, The Casinos, Ronnie Milsap, Erma Franklin, Tina Turner, Chuck Jackson, and more. It's your two-hour radio dance party! Originally broadcast June 18, 2023 Willie Mitchell / That Driving Beat Wilbert Harrison / The Horse Sam Cooke / Shake Yolanda and the Charmanes / There Oughta Be A L...

James did the usual thing and carried a box of 1960s 45 rpm singles down to the studio. You'll hear Barbara McNair and Barbara Acklin, Marvin Gaye, some popcorn R&B by Marie Knight, British tunes by The Pretty Things, the Honeycombs, and even Peter Cook and Dudley Moore on the right turntable. Uwe went weird, and brought ONLY LPs! We almost never play LPs! He runs the left turnt...

We say goodbye to Tina Turner in this episode with a few of her 1960s records, and Uwe found where he'd been hiding a lot of his favorite Northern Soul classics. Here's another installment of your 1960s soul, R&B, and mod vinyl dance party. Originally broadcast June 4, 2023 Willie Mitchell / That Driving Beat The Vibrations / Watusi Time Gloria Jones / Heartbeat Part 1 Eddie Floyd & M...

We forgot how to work the studio for a bit at the beginning of this one. We've only been doing this for over 5 years, after all. In spite of all that, we've got 2 more hot hours of upbeat Soul, R&B, and Mod dancers, all from the 1960s or thereabouts, all on original vinyl 45 rpm singles! Uwe promises a mellow time, but ends up pulling a lot of pounding soul movers out of his box...

James bought some records out of a school bus, and Uwe brings in a few non-English language things. We discuss whether these records are antiques, or just old. James breaks a loved and loathed record live on air! On purpose! (Don't worry, it was worn out and going to the trash anyway). It's another 2 hour radio dance party of 60s soul, R&B, and Mod tunes, all on 45 rpm vinyl! Originally broadc...

James cleaned up up a bunch of Jerry Butler records to play, and Uwe rediscovered some old favorites in his collection. It's 2 more hours of 1960s and 70s soul, R&B, and mod tunes to get your feet moving! Originally Broadcast on May 14, 2023 Willie Mitchell / That Driving Beat Jerry Butler / What's the Use of Breaking Up Etta James & Sugar Pie DeSanto / In the Basement, Pt. 1 Etta Jam...

Originally Broadcast on May 7, 2023 Uwe is back in the studio, we've both got some new dusty vinyl finds to share. There are some great tunes we didn't know were hiding on flip sides of hits, a few European releases, some late 70s soul sounds we rarely play on That Driving Beat, plus the kind of Northern Soul, 60s R&B, Popcorn, and other Mod-friendly tunes we love to spin. Willie Mitchell...

Originally Broadcast on April 30, 2023 James runs the show solo again, and gets into some crossover soul sounds, garage rock, and funky things, plus the usual That Driving Beat northern soul and R&B tunes. You'll hear Solomon Burke, Betty Everett, The Dynamic Tints, Nolan Porter, Tina Britt, Clarence Reid, The Metros, The Leaves, The Gentrys, Travis Wammack, and so much more. Willie Mitch...

Originally Broadcast on April 23, 2023 James did a little record shopping on Record Store Day, but only for dusty old 45s. Uwe is off attending Northern Soul nights and riding a Vespa around Vienna, so James gets all 2 hours to spin new finds and old favorites, including Northern Soul, Mod R&B, garage rock, and a few songs that would be too funky for Uwe. Willie Mitchell / That Driving Be...

Originally Broadcast on April 16, 2023 We veered a little outside of our usual lane of Northern Soul and R&B in this episode to include some ska, pop, rock, funk, crossover, psych, jazz, and a weird Kentucky psych/funk/country rarity by "Daniel". Listen to us struggle to not giggle like teenagers playing a song called "Ain't No Big Thing (But It's Growing)" right out there on the FCC-regu...

Originally Broadcast April 9, 2023 James has been checking out the flip sides of a few of his records, and finding great stuff he didn't know was back there! Uwe brings a few great Louisville and Kentucky records. You'll hear tunes from the Flirtations, Freddie Scott, Christine Cooper, The Miracles, Lou Johnson, Billy Stewart, James Carr, Don Bryant, and the Osmonds?! Willie Mitchell / T...

Originally Broadcast April 2, 2023 Uwe brought a big box of Motown singles down to the studio today, and James has some recent finds and old favorites. It's two more hours of fantastic soul, R&B, northern soul, popcorn, and other mod vinyl sounds to get your heart pumping and your feet jumping. Willie Mitchell / That Driving Beat Bunny & Cindy / Sure Didn't Take Long The Monitors / Do...

Originally Broadcast March 26, 2023 Another two-hour radio (or podcast) vinyl dance party, with The Younghearts, Bobby McClure, Irma Thomas, Ted Taylor, Steve Mancha, Nella Dodds, The Jagged Edge, The Razor's Edge, a snake song, a gorilla song, and more! Willie Mitchell / That Driving Beat The Younghearts / A Little Togetherness The Yellow Payges / Finger Poppin' Party The Creations / Plenty Of Lo...

Originally Broadcast March 19, 2023 We spin 2 more hours of great northern soul, rhythm & blues, girl groups, and other classic dancers from the likes of The Continental 4, Big Maybelle, The Tams, The Marvelettes, Ronnie Milsap, Benny Spellman, The Showmen, Edwin Starr, Gerri Diamond, and more. Willie Mitchell / That Driving Beat Patti Austin / Got To Check You Out Thelma Jones / The House Tha...

Originally Broadcast March 12, 2023 James dug up a lot of new British Beat, Garage rock, and other Mod-friendly rockers lately he wanted to feature, so Uwe dug some of that kind of stuff out of his record vault and we did a whole show of it. We usually scatter a little of that kind of thing throughout the Northern Soul, 1960s R&B, and similar stuff we concentrate on in most episodes, but...

Originally Broadcast March 5, 2023 James runs the show solo today, spinning some new finds and old favorites by Singin' Sammy Ward, Brenton Wood, The Tempests, Darrell Banks, Johnny Jungletree, Baby Washington, and a funky thing from a Blob movie soundtrack! Willie Mitchell / That Driving Beat Singin' Sammy Ward / Big Joe Moe Ike & Tina Turner / Worried and Hurtin' Inside The Midnighters / Tor...

Originally Broadcast February 27, 2023 James and Uwe have been wandering the countryside looking for records, and found some real treasures by The Halos, Buddy Lamp, the Precisions, Arthur Conley, The Metros, Hal Blaine, Kim Weston, The Hesitations, The Superiors, an unearthed Aretha Franklin tune, some popcorn gold, plus a few real obscurities. It's a real unplanned mess of new stuff we've f...

Originally broadcast February 19, 2023 It's the 250th episode of That Driving Beat! We gathered some of our absolute favorite soul and R&B records from our collections to celebrate 250 episodes over the last 5 years! These are some of the records that bring us the most joy as we browse our record vaults, the ones we're thrilled to have and to be able to share. We're talking gems...

Originally broadcast February 12, 2023 It's another 2 hours packed full of 1960s soul, R&B, Mod, and other dancers, movers, and shakers. We feature some Burt Bacharach songs today, including some of his Northern Soul tunes, big pop ballads, and even a garage rock Bacharach cover. We also tell a couple of stores of finding records from your want list in places like Toledo, Ohio, or ev...

Originally broadcast February 5, 2023 James and Uwe dig into some new record acquisitions, old favorites, and a few forgotten gems. Two packed hours of 1960s soul, R&B, Mod, and other dance tunes with That Driving Beat! Willie Mitchell / That Driving Beat Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis / Come On In The House The Adventurers / It's Alright The Toys / I Got My Heart Set On You Timmy Shaw / Gonna Se...

Originally broadcast January 29, 2023 Two more hours of Soul, R&B, and garage rock with That Driving Beat. We play a few tunes by artists getting outside of the sounds they're most known for, like Nina Simone, Fats Domino, and Ronnie Milsap, plus some Louisville 1960s garage rock from the vaults that never got released until the 2010s. We also have a conversation prompted by a recent...

Originally broadcast January 22, 2023 We spin tunes by Big Ella, Little Willie John, Ben E. King, Barbara Lynn, Edwin Starr, The Coasters, and more! Willie Mitchell / That Driving Beat Jackie Wilson / You Brought About a Change In Me Edwin Starr / My Weakness Is You Solomon Burke / (No, No, No) Can't Stop Lovin' You Now The Manhattans / Teach Me (The "Philly" Dog) Little Willie John / Doll Face Th...

Originally broadcast January 15, 2023 Two packed hours of Motown, Northern Soul, R&B, and other Mod movers and shakers on original 1960s vinyl 45s! Willie Mitchell / That Driving Beat Chuck Jackson / You've Got To Be Strong Ray Barretto / Soul Drummers Four Tops / I'll Turn to Stone Cookie Jackson / Uptown Jerk Inez Foxx / Hi Diddle Diddle Sharon Soul / You Found My Weak Spot Jean DuShon / Fee...

Originally broadcast January 8, 2023 Uwe went digging and found a record by one of James's favorite performers! Here's 2 more hours of our Mod and Soul dance party radio! Sugar Pie Desanto, Bobby Freeman, Jackie Lee, Fontella Bass, Billy Joe Royal, Chuck Jackson, some Louisville groups, and a whole lot more! Willie Mitchell / That Driving Beat The Platters / Fear of Losing You Ted Taylor...

Originally Broadcast January 1, 2023 Uwe runs this show solo as James is traveling. He makes time for some 60s British Mod like Chris Farlowe and The Fleur De Lys, plus plenty of amazing soul and R&B from the Traits, Sheila Ferguson, Don Covay, Mitty Collier, Pearl Woods, Joe Bataan, and more. Willie Mitchell-That Driving Beat Little Charles and the Sidewinders-It's A Heartache The Dalton...