Here, download (legally) and listen to these tracks:

“Hey Ya!” – Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra

“I’m So Thankful” – Eugene Blacknell

I found both of these tracks while reading about Eugene Blacknell‘s* upcoming release – We Can’t Take Life For Granted – over at Audiversity. Eugene Blacknell was (he died in 1990) a Bay Area master of funk, among many many other things over his 30 year career. Amazingly, We Can’t Take Life For Granted will be his first (and probably only) album. I’m just glad to see his stuff getting more accessible (for years, all you could find were the occasional vinyl copy of “Gettin’ Down“).

While at Audiversity, I also found that fantastic cover of Hey Ya! by Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra. Tell me it doesn’t beg for a Saturday evening backyard BBQ with your twenty best friends.

*No relation