"Stank" Johnson - POO POO - 1966 Fantasy R&B FUNK SOUL - HITS FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION -Obscure Vinyl

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From the HITS FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION files:
The classic, underground Funk/R&B track "Poo Poo" say a very limited release in 1966 around the mid-state region of South Carolina.
Cletis "Stank" Johnson was a local legend or sorts due to a story that dated back to his childhood and ultimately gave him his nickname...."Stank". When Johnson was around 8 or 9 years old and staying with his grandparents, a digestive mishap occurred as a result of a mixture of Nehi Grape Soda, raw peanuts and pickled pigs feet that nearly resulted in young Cletis killing his grandfather and leaving his grandmother traumatized.
Immortalized in song, the tragedy unfolded as the toxic stew that was brewing in the boys stomach decided to make a quick exit and the resulting smell that filled the house of his grandparents sent "Grampy" into a confused rage that led to a hospital transport due to an apparent cardiac event and left "Grammy J" gasping for air and nearly passing out in the back yard of their home. Grammy J was also quite cross that Cletis has eaten all her Saturday afternoon treats....those being the pickled pigs feet. As a result of this trauma and the rapid spread of the tale surrounding it, Johnson earned his nickname.."Stank"...thus "Stank" Johnson.
About 19 years later, with the legend having grown and followed "Stank" through his high school and early adult years, a local hair salon owner named Junior Cranks had the bright idea to enlist "Stank" to record a 45 that he could sell to his other customers (Junior also ran a parlay card and numbers racket out of the back of his hair salon) as a comedy song. Bawdy "adult" LPs were all the rage at the time and as always, Junior was always looking to score a quick buck....even at the expense of other people and their misfortunes.
Cranks convinced "Stank", who was also know to be a decent singer from church, to recount the event to him and Junior wrote a few lines down from the tale and set to work. The shady businessman had plenty of people that owed him money from the gambling side of "the business" and called in a favor with one such unlucky fellow he knew that just happened to work at a small recording studio in the next county and in exchange for forgiving his debts, Junior made him agree to provide a band and record "Stank" as he sang the story from his childhood.
Subsequently, the track was recorded in one take as "the band" walked out after the last note of the first pass. Fortunately for Junior and "Stank", that was all they needed. The rest well...it's history.
The song's story is told from the perspective of "Stank's" Grampy as he raged and reeled in agony from the smell left behind by his grandson. The lyrics, while simple, are concise and really grasp the mood of the moment that would ultimately put poor Grampy in the back of an ambulance.
The cover art features "Stank" stooping next to a pile of...well...what appears to be Poo Poo, but was later explained to be a large pile of dead, rotten crawfish that had fallen off the back of a truck near the ever opportunistic Junior's home. In the background, Junior lurks as he just couldn't help himself and demanded to be featured in the photo. Outrage followed as the ladies that were patrons of Crank's more "civilized" business, aka "Junior's Sophisticated Salon", started dropping their appointments and started referring to his establishment as "Junior's Hair Doo Doos". The business subsequently failed. Junior Crank moved his operation to rural Georgia within the next year, but "Stank" never left that town....or lived it down.
If you have any stories to add about "Stank" or this recording, please put them in the comments so we can all learn more about this "legend".
The legend of "Stank" Johnson lives on with this song that once played....HITS FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION!