Mighty, Mighty Children

With Chicago Teachers Union members across the city who are both missing their students pretty bad right about now and still trying to keep up the struggle, I thought this single might be appropriate...

Baby Huey & The Babysitters

'Mighty' 'Mighty' Children (Unite Yourself This Hour)

Curtom ‎– CR 1939

Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, US, 1969

For a few short years in the late 60s, James T. Ramey transformed himself into Baby Huey, a 300+ lb force of nature in the Chicago music scene. After a handful of singles on smaller labels and a wild reputation for their live performances, Baby Huey & The Babysitters were picked up by Curtis Mayfield's Curtom record label. Curtis himself produced three band's last couple of 45s as well as Baby Huey's only LP, "The Baby Huey Story - The Living Legend," which was released by Curtom posthumously after the 25 year old Huey died in 1970.

One of those two Curtom singles included the Babysitters' take on Curtis Mayfield's "Hard Times." The monster breakbeat is a favorite of mine. If it sounds familiar, the sample had been used in more than one hip hop beat, including some classics like THIS and THIS. But today I'm giving you their other Curtis Mayfield cover, freshly ripped from my well worn 45.

I'm pretty sure that Baby Huey & The Babysitters' cut of the Impressions' "Mighty Mighty (Spade & Whitey)" was released the same year as their mentor's. The great Donny Hathaway is given arranger credits on both versions and the backing tracks are pretty damn close: the tempo, the guitar solo, all the way down to the (fake?) live audience sounds. But somehow the Babysitters' version, joyously renamed 'Mighty' 'Mighty' Children (Unite Yourself This Hour), is something completely different. It sounds like the Impressions' cut, but as performed by lit sticks of dynamite in the Chicago nightclub of my dreams.

My copy may show the signs of many decades of play, but the record itself is pressed up loud. You'll hear that it can be a little raw on your ears, but somehow that seems appropriate for a single this strong from a band whose reputation for explosive live shows was legendary.

Don't skip "Part II" on the B side! More on Baby Huey & The Babysitters HERE. And for those who need it, I threw in a 1993 Canadian CD edition of the Baby Huey album as well. They actually added Mighty Mighty Part II from the single as a bonus track, so if you want to hear it without 50 years of dirt and overly loud mastering, you could probably skip my vinyl rip altogether...

Enjoy. I hope it gets played for some mighty, mighty children. And maybe it can give one of the teachers a good soundtrack while they piece together how to keep teaching, connecting and organizing. Enjoy!