Mayer Hawthorne Covers 1960s Dallas Soul Band The Festivals On Free Covers EP
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The 32-year-old soul singer and Austin City Limits Music Festival performance vet earned quite a bit of attention with the release of his 2009 full-length debut, A Strange Arrangement. Deservedly so, too: Hawthorne isn't necessarily the world's greatest singer, but he sure is a heck of a composer and, damn, you can really feel the emotion behind his efforts.
The same is true of his new, just-released, free-to-download, six-track EP of cover songs. The release, called Impressions, finds Hawthorne and his backing band covering various songs from artists such as Electric Light Orchestra, Chromeo and The Isley Brothers.
But, from our perspective at least, one of Hawthorne's cooler selections is the disc's third track, a song called "You've Got The Makings of A Lover" from a band called The Festivals. And, according to Hawthorne, The Festivals were from right here in Dallas. After the jump, he describes the song and explains how he stumbled upon it.
Says Hawthorne:
"Textbook Northern soul from a little-known Dallas, Texas, group called The Festivals. I was digging for records in NY with my homey DJ Kurse, and the shopkeeper played the 45 in the store. Both of us immediately ran up to the counter and said, "Yo! What is THAT?!" The original version was recorded in the late 60s, and the mix isn't very good. I wanted a version that I could bump. Quentin Joseph played the drums and we recorded them at Sam Beaubien's studio in Detroit. That's Sam playing the trumpet as well."Download Hawthorne's cover EP right here. And, below, check out the original version.
The Festivals -- "You've Got The Makings Of A Lover"
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