Song:Can We Rap
Album:The Funky 16 Corners
Most folks who listen to this song probably think it's an obscure James Brown song. But Can We Rap is the best known song by the obscure 70s funk group Carleen & The Groovers. They were from Charleston, SC and a family group. Carleen Butler played drums and her brother Clary Butler played trumpet and sang. So they grew up singing in church and Clary was a big James Brown fan. He even toured briefly with Wilson Pickett. Carleen played drums in her high school marching band. She was playing in a local jazz band in 1970 when Clary talked her into starting a band with some guys he played with in The Exotics from Orangeburg. So the band that recorded Can We Rap was Clary Butler on trumpet and vocals, Leonard Chisholm on sax, John Scott on guitar, David Stevens on bass and Carleen Butler on drums. They recorded three singles and then Carleen moved to Germany in 1975 and the band ended. Carleen played jazz on tour boats in Germany before moving home to become a deputy sheriff. After briefly reforming The Groovers, Clary was a DJ before becoming a minister. Of course DJs are always on the lookout for classic funk. Chris "Peanut Butter Wolf" Manak started Stones Throw Records to release classic funk on CDs like The Funky 16 Corners. All the bands are obscure but as you will tell with Can We Rap, any of these songs could have been hits if they had been on labels with decent distribution. Here's a video for Can We Rap by Carleen & The Groovers.
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