The vinyl craze is still going strong. You can always count on the local spots—places like Atomic Wax in downtown, The Headstand out in the northeast, All That Music now at its new location at the Fountains At Farrah and Montecillo Records out west have all been supplying the local peeps with their vinyl fix for years, dedicated to the superior format. There’s also Just A Few Records out at the Bronco Swap Meet keeping vinyl alive with a great selection; they recently had for sale the very rare Steve Crosno Day July 9th 1967 (wowzers!).
When talking about record collecting and digging, it seems like over in Juárez they are really into the more 60s psychedelic and garage sounds, seeing as how many DJs of that style have been slapping wax at their parties for years. Heavy-metal and rock music collectors can bang their heads over to Hellfire Records and get classic sounds over at Rock 70s.
Going around town doing my Christmas shopping, I noticed places like Wal Mart and Dillard’s with a crate of records (wooden crappy ones!). Wasn’t sure if it was cool because more people can be introduced or reintroduced to vinyl, or not cool because of the prices.
Aside from the local record stores, it’s so hard out there in the streets to find a stack of dusty 45s at a thrift store and to come across that one gem that makes it all worth the time and effort. Luckily, the local vinyl community comes together and sets up pop-up events at places like Love Buzz and Neon Rose. Dude from down the street sets up a table, vinyl heads from Juárez come down and even the guys at Eyeconik from Las Cruces come down with crates of LPs and 45s. Digging at one of these events I found a nice clean copy of the Chicano northern soul banger Sunny & the Sunliners’ 45 “If I Could See You Now” with the gangster oldie B-side “Should I Take You Home.”
Sunny & the Sunglows started making music in the early 60s (later morphed into Sunny & the Sunliners). San Antonio born and Texas legend, singer Sunny Ozuna was still in high school when they broke big with their hit “Talk to Me.” With so many releases on different labels such as Tear Drop, Freddie Records and Ozuna’s label (along with fellow Sunliner Johnny Zaragoza) Key-Loc Records, Ozuna’s discography crosses over different genres such as funk, sweet soul, rock & roll, Tejano and rancheras, and sings in both English and Spanish.
I had been looking for this record for many years, mainly for “If I Could See You Now”—an upbeat soul song that has been popular not only for Chicano soul collectors, but also in the northern soul scene where it is a dancefloor favorite. A buddy of mine had once found 2 copies, and I bugged him for years to sell me a copy, but no dice. This record never pops up on EBAY, and when it does, it goes for dollar amounts I wish not to pay—I try to stick to the dollar bins and cheapy area.
Looking through one of the vendor’s stack of 45s at the vinyl pop-up event, there it was after so many years. The first side of the record I saw was the popular song people might recognize, “Should I Take You Home,v”—a beautiful mid-tempo ballad that has the tender vocals of Mr. “Brown Eyed Soul” himself, Ozuna. A gangster groove and with the horn section getting down in the background, this one’s a Sunday afternoon classic made for cruisin’, or slow dancing with a lover at 3am. When I saw the title of the song, I got shivers as I knew what was going to be on the flip side.
“If I Could See You Now” is a non-stop upbeat song that has it all—heartfelt vocals, a fast-paced dance beat and a catchy chorus. The layers and accents added to the song lift the music to a higher status; the horn section and the background vocals once again add to the party vibes. This record is still huge in the modern northern soul scene. DJ’s from the Motor City Soul Club out in Detroit add this floor filler to their live sets heard on the Mixcloud app and on the internet out there, and is very popular across the UK making its way onto various setlist. Rare Chicano soul music enthusiast and DJ Strey Uno has thrown in “If I Could See You Now” in the mix. He holds it down and keeps it classic out in San Antonio with his Chicanos of Soul Event where he spins 45s. His Mixcloud sets are unmatched with that San Antonio sound and beyond.
Sunny Ozuna continues to tour and still makes plenty of visits to the Sun City, being so popular for his crossover style of music that so many people grew up with. From cholos, to northern soul mega collectors, this rare Sunny & the Sunliners record is one that goes under the radar in the mainstream, but hugely appreciated by many around the world.