Yes, those are the opening lyrics to Jimmy Castor’s title song, E-Man Groovin’. He was an absolute genius. I have an embarrassing number of Jimmy Castor records, but this really stands out among them and not just because of the excellent album cover. There’s a “Best Of “cd of The Jimmy Castor Bunch, but sadly it does not contain E-Man Groovin’, one of my favorite songs of all time (and technically, a dance instruction song…not many instructions required, you know what to do). The instrumentals are a slow,sleazy groove akin to something from a low budget 70’s porn film.

In high school, my best friend and I mustered up the deepest,soul-sounding voices two scrawny, soul obsessed, white girls could, put on this song as loud as the record player would allow, and proceeded to leave an outgoing message that said something like, Me: ” I’m sorry, bro, I can’t come to the phone right now, I’m too busy hanging’ out with the E-Man” Kirs: ” AAAAAAHHHHHH YEAHHHHH” ME: “OH MAN!!! EVERYTHING is beautiful to me!!!” Kirs: “AAAAHHHHHHHH YEAHHHH!!!! EVERYTHING is beautiful to the E-Man!!!!!” It’s so silly, but we thought we were so funny, and let’s face it, we really did want to be soul singers! Months later, we got a message from a guy who sounded dangerously close to Barry White. It was: “Man, I thought I had the wrong number, but now I realize I have the RIGHT number! I wanna come hang out with you guys! Where you at?! You’re crackin’ me up!!!”. We were thrilled, but he never called back and he never left his number. Oh well, at the time, my city boasted the highest murder rate per capita in the nation. Maybe we were better off? I doubt it.

What Allee has to say about this:
Being a card-carrying Earth Wind & Fire person/songwriter, the Jimmy Castor Bunch was a little too far off the AM radio radar for me. But I always appreciated their LP covers, supremely art directed with massive doses of Kitsch. This makes me realize I must go back and give their/his music another chance.

As for the opening line of “E-Man Groovin’”, those were the type of lines I hated at the time. I took it as a sign of songwriter laziness but I covet and revere them now.

If you somehow had the presence of mind to make a cassette of that phone message please spin it again here at awmok.com.

More Jimmy Castor please!