Guitar Ray, whose actual name was Raymond Washington, recorded just over half a dozen 45RPM singles in New Orleans from the late 1950s to 1968. Four of those had been released on Hot Line Records out of New Orleans, which was a subsidiary of Nola Records. Wardell Quezergue, one of the principals of the companies, did most of the production and arranging for them - as shown on the label: "Arr by Wardell."

Released in around 1967, the singer's own Funky Pete appeared on the third of Washington's four singles for Hot Line. It was a straight-ahead dancer that emphasized the rhythmic elements of the song, all locked into a tight, spring-loaded, high energy groove, probably propelled by el supremo beat-man, Smokey Johnson. The drum and vocal intro that Quezergue set up pulls you right into the action, then the horns come in and push the groove to maximum heights.

As with all re-issues on Tramp it comes with excellent sound quality and original label artwork too. Because Funky Pete Pt.1 also appears on the Feeling Nice compilation (TRCD/LP-9012) we did a strictly limited press run of 111 hand-numbered copies on the Hot Line issue. Be Quick!