Song:Boogaloo Down Broadway
Album:In Yo' Face: The Roots Of Funk, Vol. 1/2
This 1967 top ten hit is a great slice of soul that I suspect you have heard but you don't know anything about The Fantastic Johnny C. Boogaloo Down Broadway was his first single but he never was able to follow it up. He was born Johnny Corley Apr. 28, 1943 in Greenwood, SC. He joined the armed forces while in high school. Upon leaving, he moved to Norristown, PA near Philadelphia. He worked as a heavy equipment operator but always wanted to persue a singing career. As it happens, he attended the same church as record producer Jesse James. James had discovered Cliff Nobles and wrote and produced his hit The Horse. His label Phil-LA Of Soul was distributed by Jamie Records. So James became Corley's manager and he started writing songs for him. Boogaloo Down Broadway was one of those songs. It reached #5 on the R & B Singles chart and #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. Follow up singles didn't catch on and Corley only recorded the one album for Jamie. It is available but this Rhino various artists comp is going to be more fun for casual listeners. Rhino released a Roots Of Funk series. As for the name, it seems some friends heard Boogaloo Down Broadway and asked James what he was going to call Corley. So he dubbed him The Fantastic Johnny Corley and that was shortened to The Fantastic Johnny C. After his brief fling with fame, Corley went back to singing in church and his day job. But Boogaloo Down Broadway is a great slice of classic soul. Here's a video of Boogaloo Down Broadway by The Fantastic Johnny C.
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