A major favorite in funk collectors' circles, sweet soul crooner Darondo was born William Pulliam in Berkeley, CA. After receiving his first guitar at the age of eight, he later teamed with a handful of school friends to form the house band at the Lucky 13, an area teen club. According to Oliver Wang's profile in the April/May 2006 issue of Wax Poetics, Pulliam later trained as an electrician but retained his musical aspirations, and in 1970 cut his first Darondo single, "How I Got Over," for the fledging independent label Ocampo. Suggesting an earthier, street-smart Al Green,...