Free and Happy

Between 1975 and 1977, San Francisco based band, PURE FUNK recorded nine songs, three of which have been released prior to the debut of "Free and Happy", which is one of the two ballads the band wrote. The three prior releases are:

• "Nothing Left is Real", originally released on Planet Earth Records in 1976 and re-released on Alexis Records in 2013
• "Searchin", also originally released on Planet Earth Records in 1976, and
• "Getaway" released on Alexis Records in 2013

It's interesting that band members positioned the song called, "Searchin' " as the A side on the 45 rpm release in 1976. But unfortunately, neither the A nor the B side received any airplay in the USA. Subsequently, the band broke up in 1977.

Fast forward to 2010 and the girlfriend of the band's trumpet player happened to be trolling the internet in search of the words for "Searchin' " and discovered that what was originally considered the B side, "Nothing Left Is Real", had become a big hit in the UK thanks to a London based DJ who was spinning the tune at his local nightclub gigs and house parties. Around that same time a UK organization called Northern Soul also adopted the song which helped to spread its success throughout Europe and Japan. In fact, a search of Ebay.com auctions around that time reveals that the 45 rpm, "Nothing Left Is Real/Searchin' " was trading for as much as $1,000+ per copy! But the band members were getting absolutely nothing from those sales.

As a result and despite the fact that PURE FUNK band members were spread out all over the country and even one menber living in Japan at that time, they met and agreed on a path forward to re-release "Nothing Left Is Real" so that not only could they earn income from their work, but they realized that fans around the world loved their music and that after almost 40 years of radio silence, they finally had an opportunity to share the rest of their music for the benefit of the growing number of followers as well.

As of this writing, PURE FUNK tunes have been streamed over 60,000 times in all continents on earth except Antarctica! And although the release of "Free and Happy" showcases a softer, more thoughtful and sensitive side of PURE FUNK, the tune is a brilliant "big horn" arrangement typical of the band's up tempo dance tunes that exemplifies the high level of musical talent personified by this obscure, 1970's era R&B band.