Ike Turner & the Kings of Rhythm — “Thinking Black”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 31, 2026

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,991) Ike Turner & the Kings of Rhythm — “Thinking Black”

Ike Turner (see #212, 329, 837, 1,866) gives us “[f]unk in all its beauty” (dr.romanvalentino9946, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_PBZd8M_BA), a “funky, groove-laden and rhythmically rich brassy delight”. (The Listening Post Blog, https://thelisteningpostblog.wordpress.com/2020/01/11/song-of-the-day-ike-turner-the-kings-of-rhythm-thinking-black/) A.b.sproductionsllc says “Don’t care what anyone says, Ike Turner was one talented ass musician this song is a serious banger!” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gZVoqWPGxc)

Dusty Groove tells us of A Black Man’s Soul, Ike Turner’s ’69 LP that includes “Thinking Black”:

[It is o]ne of the funkiest albums that Ike Turner ever recorded – done during a late 60s moment when his fame with Tina Turner was really on the rise – but much more like some funky 45 take on the pre-Tina work he’d been doing in the 50s! This set’s a batch of obscure funky instrumentals – and sounds like a strong compilation of rare 45s, filled with hard funky drums, nice breaks, and plenty of super-tight grooves. Nearly every cut’s a winner . . . .

https://www.dustygroove.com/item/610792/Ike-Turner-The-Kings-Of-Rhythm:Black-Man-s-Soul

Tim Sendra adds:

When he was out on tour in 1969 with his regular gig, the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, Ike Turner found the time to cut the instrumental album A Black Man’s Soul. Whenever he had some spare time he would drag the band into a local studio and lay down tracks, resulting in these 12 funky soul jams that sound like they were lifted from the soundtrack to a blaxploitation film. The band is tight and laid-back at once, with horns at the forefront most of the time. Turner came up with some fine grooves like “Thinking Black[]”. However, the record lacks Turner’s usual fire and flair and ultimately is too polite and slick to be very memorable . . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-black-mans-soul-mw0001013271

For the record, I disagree with Sendra on that last sentence!

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