This week, we'll pay tribute to the late Mo Whittemore. During the 1970s, Mo ran the 700 West record label and recording studio from his family’s home in New Palestine, IN. Mo recorded some of the Avenue’s most respected funk and soul musicians at 700 West, including The Vanguards, Amnesty, Ebony Rhythm Funk Campaign, and the Words of Wisdom, a group founded by host Herman "Butch" Slaughter.
This week we'll listen back to our 2015 interview with Mo Whittemore, who passed away recently. In the 1970s, Mo opened the 700 West studio and record label in the living room of his family’s home in New Palestine, Indiana. During the studio’s run, Mo recorded a diverse array of Indiana music - from early electronic sounds, bluegrass, funk, heavy metal, and psychedelic rock.
Mo died with music and family present.
A brilliant man, dead from a contageous disease spread via malicious indifference.
We encourage you to leave your thoughts
Maurice James Whittemore, Jr.
1934-09-30 - 2022-01-20
Friends, Musicians, Gentlefolk!
My father would love to hear from you! Give him a call if you've got his number.
Now's the time.
WFYI's Kyle Long's "Cultural Manifesto" returned to the old 700 West studio to interview Mo Whittemore. This hour-long program featured many tracks from the Best of 700 West Vol. II
Kyle will speak with the mad scientist of Indiana music, Mo Whittemore, for an hour of words and music from 700 West. This episode features some rare soul and funk discs Mo recorded from bands like Little Murray and The Mantics, Funk St. Workshop, and more.
The extremely rare Mo album has ben re-released by Anazitisi Records with bonus track!
- Added track listing and updated audio to Amnesty's Free Your Mind
- Added images and audio excerpt to Lights Of Dawn
- Updated Photos section
- Added Dan Mobley track listing
- Uploaded audio for
Dan Mobley - Colorado- Added Mo Whittemore 2013 Interview
- Added
Interview12.51(2010)Dan Modlin interviews Mo Whittemore
700 West artist J Michael Henderson was profiled on "PM Magazine" Indianapolis with Tom Cochrun (1980)
M.J. Whittemore Jr and the studio interior appears at 6:10 (yeah, that's a U47!)
Great article BUT justice could only be served by real time spent down that long gravel lane.
Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr and Avast ye swabs...... Give 'em a broadside Bonney!!
Ah how I love to think back to those days.... Moe's laughing demands to "get out of the chord dammit!" The goats calling my name in the middle of the night. Those "homemade" devices and sound effects some of which were suspiciously similar to f*rts. Moe's shrieks of panic as Marshall amplifiers rolled down the stairwell. Swords clanking, wine brewing, lectures on Hindu monks squatting in the Ganges. Laughing, trudging, breaking down wooden platforms in the living room, dragged there on top of rusty Delta 88's. Invitations from Bloomington studios to recording seminars and Moe's reply, "do you want me to attend it or teach it??!" The smart ass remarks and comments honed to perfection and strangers asking "is he kidding or serious?" to which I would reply, "no, he is Moe".
To many who passed by that little path running between two slightly larger little paths, it was no doubt just a dark and mysterious cut between a cornfield and a woods but to those of us who did time there it was so much more and forever changed our lives and hopefully they will release me soon.
May there be a 700 West and a Moford in every filthy scoundrels life.
Tho't u all'd get a kick out of my interview in the latest NUVO alternate rag. It was supposed to show up in the print edition featuring "local labels", but they didn't have the room for it - hence the online link.... The original interview was done by Kyle Long at my place around '06. (The problem with the local labels feature in the print version is the groups/studio/labels only go back to about 1998. By then, nothing much was left of the 'golden age' of the Indy music scene!)
Anyway, just click around the link below to check out the article and its various musical downloads. Deeper browsing within the article will reveal other NUVO reviews about 700 West that I didn't know existed!
Take care!