The Short But Influential Career of a Funk Pioneer
Did Arlester “Dyke” Christian invent funk? He certainly didn’t invent the sound. That has to be credited to James Brown and explosive songs like “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag.” Dyke gave the genre its name, and with his Phoenix-based band the Blazers, he recorded several dance floor burners with the titles: “Funky Walk,” “Funky Bull” and his million-selling 1966 single “Funky Broadway.” Wilson Pickett would take “Funky Broadway” to the top of the R&B chart in 1967, a smash that also reached #8 on the Hot 100.
Dyke didn’t use “Funk” in all his song titles (although, some tracks were named “Extra Funk”, “Triple Funk” and “Why Am I Treated So Funky Bad?), but Dyke & the Blazers did score several R&B hits that generated a small following for the group in the latter half of the sixties. The Blazers wore matching suits and polished shoes, and moved in unison like a gospel choir, as Dyke, the showman, took center stage with emotional, throaty vocals and the occasional scream. With jagged guitar and spirited horns, their songs were more grooves than structured tunes, taking a cue from James Brown by releasing long singles as part 1 and 2 for each side. The band’s producer, noted in The All-Music Guide to Soul, later said, “most of the singles came from 15-20 minute jams that were edited down to a length that could fit on the 45 RPM format.”
I first read about Dyke & the Blazers in The Rolling Stone Record Guide, published in 1979. In his review of the band, DJ and music writer Joe McEwen called their singles, “among the raunchiest soul records of the late Sixties.” This was enough to send me scouring through record store racks to find anything I could get my hands on. Unfortunately, when I began my search, Dyke & the Blazers’ one LP release and greatest hits collection were both hopelessly out of print. In the pre-internet 1980s, I didn’t even know what their music sounded like. Eventually, I found (I don’t remember where) a used white-label promo single for “Funky Walk,” and it was everything I wanted it to be. Bouncy and bustling with thick bass and very few lyrics, “Funky Walk” features Dyke grunting and groaning, calling out the names of American cities—East on the “Plug Side” and West on the flip-side. It’s a corker, and it was all I had for several years until streaming made everything available: albums, singles, and outtakes.
Arlester Christian was born in Buffalo, NY in 1943, and he earned the “Dyke” nickname at an early age. By the time he was a teenager, Dyke was playing bass in the band Carl LaRue & His Crew. The group’s connection with The O’Jays’ manager Eddie O’Jay (they named themself after him) provided an opportunity to travel to Phoenix to be the backing band for the vocal group. For reasons not entirely clear, Dyke and a few other band members didn’t return to New York, instead staying in Phoenix and forming a new band with members of a local group, the Three Blazers. Dyke & the Blazers were “discovered” when they were playing at the Phoenix Elks Lodge, and they were offered a chance to record Dyke’s song “Funky Broadway” for the local Artco label. After the song picked up distribution by Original Sound, owned by producer and “Oldies But Goodies” radio host Art Laboe (yes, that Art Laboe), it went to #16 on the R&B chart. The band recorded an album locally, The Funky Broadway, and then, after a cross-country tour, the Blazers broke up.
Dyke put together another group of musicians to be the new Blazers, but that group only lasted until 1969. After that, Dyke began recording in Los Angeles, using Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band for his backing. These singles were mostly produced by Laboe, and this is Dyke’s strongest work. “Funky Broadway” had come from a dance Dyke invented and with Laboe and the Watts Rhythm Band he added new dance moves with “You Are My Sunshine,” “We Got More Soul,” and “The Wobble.” Probably best is “Let a Woman Be a Woman—Let a Man Be a Man,” sampled by The Heavy for their song “How You Like Me Now?” and later used in a Kia Commercial. The single would be Dyke’s biggest hit, reaching #4 on the R&B chart in 1969. Sadly, the music would end in March 1971, when Dyke was fatally shot on a Phoenix street. He was 27.
These days, Dyke’s contributions seem lost to the years that have passed, with little interest directed toward his music. Perhaps this is because of his decision not to veer too much from the formula. Too many songs follow the same blueprint and they all sound very much alike. Still, inventive musicians know better, and Dyke’s work has been sampled by Tyler, the Creator, DJ Shadow, Beck, and 2Pac. In Dyke’s final months, though, change was in the air with one of his last singles: “Runaway People,” b/w “I’m So All Alone,” released in 1970. “Runaway People” featured strings and “I’m So All Alone” is a slow, romantic ballad. As the decade turned and soul music began using lush orchestration, Dyke appeared to be ready for the shift. He would’ve fit in well with the sounds of early ‘70s soul.