Funky Boogaloo Sides From The Moon People

• Listen to these songs on youtube: Land of Love, Hippy Skippy Moon Strut (Opus #1)
• Listen to these 45s in a Spotify playlist here with other 45s from the blog (though note, spotify doesn’t have all / many of the songs featured on the site so some playlists may be incomplete or feature slightly different versions than the original 45s I’m referring to here.
• Download the songs by clicking the titles above

We have a couple of great funky sides today by The Moon People a group that started as “The Latin Blues Band” (who also had an LP on Speed Records) before changing names to Los Astronautas – The Moon People who were essentially the house band for the Speed label.

Our first 45 in today’s post was the lead single off The Moon People’s LP of the same name, Land of Love from 1968.  The group was lead by arranger Louie Ramirez who has been called “the Latin Quincy Jones” for his dominance in Latin music in the 60′s.  Land of Love is a great and playful track; funky while utilizing boogaloo and Latin flourishes with ease.  It’s a great fusion track that keeps the listener engaged and the mood upbeat and if you’re a DJ it’s a great tool for moving between Boogaloo and Funk or dealing with audiences who aren’t too comfortable dancing to Latin music.

Our other offering from The Moon People is a equally exciting listen though a much more convoluted track in terms of historical information.  The song first appeared as a great vocal version under the title “I’ll Be A Happy Man” w/Luis Aviles on the Latin Blues Band’s album in 1968.  The arrangement is slightly different, there’s some different instrumentation but it’s clearly the same song.  The song appeared again the same year, with the vocals removed and with Dave “Baby” Cortez overdubbing an organ solo and tightening the song up under the title “Happy Soul w/ A Hook” and credited to The Moon People and Dave Cortez, also released on Speed.

The version we’re hearing today was released again in a different form on Roulette the following year.  Baby Cortez has been removed and vocals, though mostly in the form of chants and shouts have been added to match the title.  I’m a fan of covers, alternate versions and a good reprise once in a while and this song could have had another 4 versions and the world would be better for it in my opinion!

Speed Records was founded by Stan Lewis after leaving Cotique.  He partnered with veteran producer Morty Craft and in working with Aviles as bandleader and Ramirez as arranger you have the core of the label along with talented session players like Bernard “Pretty” Purdie who is supposed to be drumming on this 45.  Their releases all date from 1968, then they closed up shop as abruptly as they opened as labels so frequently did back then.  

Despite Speed’s short release window, all the releases they were responsible for are worth your time, slightly psychedelic funk-infused late 60′s Latin music; how’s that for a string of descriptors!

Hope you enjoy these 45s, they’re not hard to come by and are definitely worth your listen!

Peace and Love,

-George / Snack Attack

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