Extra Rich In Soul - Various Artists Cat # SJCD5007 Release date Monday March 17th 2014 The Soul Junction label operated by John Anderson and Dave Welding regularly release recordings that appeal to a complete spectrum of soul fans, many of them appealing to a cross section of fans of differing genres. Their latest CD offering entitled “Extra Rich In Soul” stitches together fifteen tracks that highlight the labels’ ethos by blending some of their previously released songs with a few that are
Had a great time at Prestatyn. The event that brings together all shades of the scene and celebrates what's happening around it. Not all of it for me, but so much good stuff, that there were always many options of places to be, chat, laugh and dance. The Impressions, were off the good scale, still have great voices, treated us to an hour of ballads and dancers, but everyone a classic. Richard Searling and his team did a fantastic job and with 3500 peeps in and all that I saw and spoke to smili
Dave Rimmer passed on word of an article that he has posted on his SKM website after an interview with Curtis Smith.
A few preview clips follow below, for the full meaty article you will need to get yourself over to the SKM website (link to the article at the end of the page)
Preview clips...
http://www.soulfulkindamusic.net/artric1.jpg
As some people will be aware, my fiancé is called Jessica, so it came as no surprise to discover that she was collecting the Jes
A great article and some interesting footage as part of the Shinola project on the link to Vogue on line below !
“Detroit’s full of characters,” says photographer Bruce Weber, who, eight years ago, corralled a sampling of the city’s talented eccentrics for a major photo portfolio for W magazine titled, "Welcome to Motor City." Now he’s shot and filmed an entirely new batch of wonderfully singular personalities from the city for Shinola, the growing watch and leather goods company aiming to
A look at the 'Popcorn Scene' could be read in the Guardian yesterday and while its a mainstream take it read quite well to me.
A few preview clips...
Belgium's 'Popcorn': the last underground music scene in Europe
Antwerp's answer to northern soul has a drowsy, decadent vibe and its DJs favour eclecticism, jive music and playing records at the wrong speed. Bob Stanley gets into its strange groove
... DJ plays Eartha Kitt, the Skatalites, something that sounds like a northern
Here is a cool article my friend wrote on singer/songwriter Wilton Crump (who you might know from his obscure sweet soul single "Give your love to me" on his own Olive Branch label):
http://beltmag.com/gary-indianas-fabulous-footnote/
The article gives a nice insight into the Gary, IN soul scene and the town itself -- birthplace of the Jackson Five and the doowop group the Spaniels. Vee Jay was mining talent from there in the '50s and '60s (and a lot of soul groups came from there). De
Patrinell Pat Staten Wright - An Essay While the story of the artist behind 'little love affair' has been documented a fair few times already, this 'essay' written by Peter Blecha, may still be worth a read/visit as it goes beyond the 45 story and concerns itself with a complete account of Pats life so far, and with parts concerning her earlier days that included moments in time such as her early days growing up in the 'hot dusty cotton country of Carthage' and singing at Jimi Hendrix funeral
Meet up with two of the guys from this very talented group Fred Forsh & Gordon T Danniels, a few weeks ago in the U.S. Sadly the 45 below was all that ever made it to the streets, but they did cut 9 other tracks. Fred Forsh Gordon T Danniels, The first cut 'Suddenly' at Perfection Sound in Smyrna, North Atlanta. They thought they were signing a deal to record, press and promote the two tracks. But Perfection were a contract studio and publishing house only, sadly this wasn't explain
PHILLY PLAYED MANCHESTER I wrote a feature prior to the New Century Soul 10th Anniversary Allnighter which related the story of the build up to the gig and thought it might be fun to relate a kinda Part 2. For many fans, it's the hour on stage that lingers in the memory banks and that's just how it should be. But I thought people might enjoy a behind the scenes kind of take of events too. In the build up to The New Century Soul 10th Anniversary Allnighter there was a lot of 'cloak and dagge
Philadelphian Legend En Route to Manchester Allnighter 30th Nov 2013 In a few weeks, on the 30th November to be precise, New Century Soul will celebrate its 10th Anniversary Allnighter at Radcliffe Civic Suite in Manchester, UK. As part of the celebration, soulfans Chris, Marcelle, the founders of the New Century Soul events alongside fellow promoter, respected DJ Andy Dyson, decided that the occasion required marking in a fitting manner and, as I’m sure you’ll agree, the result of that decisi
IVY JO HUNTER
Motown’s phenomenal success in the 1960s was due, in large part, to the abundance of talented songwriters the company nourished and nurtured from within. From his own experience in the 1950s with Jackie Wilson, Berry Gordy Jnr. knew that good songs were the lifeblood of commercial musical success for a record company. It didn’t matter how talented the performers, musicians or producers might be — without great songs, it would all be for nought. In the early days, the bulk of c
DEBBIE TAYLOR
LOST AND FOUND
DEBBIE TAYLOR is a highly acclaimed but relatively obscure soul singer who released nine singles and an album during an eight-year period from 1967 to 1975, during the ‘golden days’ of soul music. Three of her 45s reached the R&B charts but, despite her obvious talent, she failed to make a significant impact in commercial terms and her name was soon forgotten by most.
THE MARKET WAS CROWDED in the golden days and dozens of new r
The website Daily Bulletin features an article by David Allen titled 'Northern Soul fans dig Southern California song' Which concerns itself with words from past song writer Dominic Di Giamarino” who wrote the popular Johnny Vanelli track - 'Seven Days Of Loving You' While the article does take a familiar well trodden path, it does feature some interesting info on how the song come about and the authors experiences. A few preview clips follow and the full article which also features some wor
For quite some time now as a Modern DJ I have been quietly expressing concern to a few people about the amount of re edits/re workings/remixes/mash ups being played on the Modern Soul scene. I am not referring to House music, I'll leave that for another day, but songs like the George Benson Love X Love track that seems to have become the 'banker' for many DJ's. It always fills the dance floor, never fails, and always gets requested but my question to the knowledgable soul music fans on here is t
In a radio interview with Richard Searling from Memphis, Tennessee in 2000, Jack Ashford said the following with regard to the conclusion and closure of Pied Piper Productions “ Gerard Purcell — he was the person that got us into RCA, was putting pressure on Shelley (he didn’t like Shelley) cause he wanted to get Mike and I. So he figured if he got rid of Shelley then it would be easier to deal with us, but we saw that coming and so we couldn’t convince Shelley to stay — so Shelley bowed out. Mi
This Summer, the last weekend in August sees the True Soul Weekender taking place in Scotland. Part of the events is a 5 hour session set up as a tribute to one of Scotlands top Rare Soul clubs "The Allanton/Shotts Allnighters" aka "The Ruff Cut Soul Club" with an amazing line up of some of THE original trend setting DJs from this Iconic club ...... Saturday afternoon 12 noon until 5pm: “Hello is that Ruff Cutt? Is Scotland On?” Once upon a time in the Wild Wild West (Scotland not the US o
A very hot night in London, in more ways than one. And the air conditioning in the club didn't seem to be working. Everyone was saying how hot they felt, and many including myself went up to Oxford Street to take a break for some air.
I did wonder if the weather would affect the numbers attending but my concerns were needless. A good crowd in, and some new faces.
I arrived as usual at 11.15, dropped off my bag at the back of the stage and bought a much needed drink. Ady was doing the f
Got back from Lifeline just a short time ago, just enough time to shower and have coffee so I thought I'd put a brief comment up.
First I'd like to thank John McClure and Jen for the lift up there, and to Irish and Carrie for their company too.
A really good night as usual, the only place really where I, and probably many others, hear the music we really want to hear.
Superb sets from all the DJs, I did laugh when I went up to Andy to request the alternate version of Crazy Baby, a
Mary Love Remembered
I first came across Mary Love’s wonderful music as a teenager, dancing to ‘You Turned My Bitter Into Sweet’ and ‘Lay This Burden Down’ at “Old Soul” gatherings for lovers of the uptempo mid 60s soul sound (soon to be coined Northern Soul in the UK). As a record collector I had picked up other Modern label recordings like ‘Let Me Know’ and ‘Hey Stoney Face’ over the years and got to love her ballad ‘Baby I’ll Come’ too. In the late 70s my friend and eventual co-founder o
I've decided to knock my Modern Musings column in Soul Up North on the head after 11 years in the "modern soul" seat. I figure 11 years is long enough for both readers and scribe alike! LOL Anyway, I was reflecting, and thought that those of you with a broad taste or specifically into moder soul might be interested to see my very first submission from summer 2002. Quite scarry really because in terms of the record reviews it certainly doesn't seem like 11 years ago.......blimey! Things like
William Daron Pulliam — better known as funk and soul icon Darondo — passed away from heart failure on Sunday June 9th. Born and bred in Berkeley , California , Darondo first played professionally at the age of 18 in the Witnesses, a blue-eyed soul troupe resident at East Bay teen club the Lucky 13 in the 1960s, but it wasn’t until the early 1970s that the singer-guitarist hit his stride. He fashioned a unique blend of down-and-dirty funk and sweet soul, informed by Al Green, James Brown, the
The problem with the critics of Thatcher is that they always pick on the wrong things to criticise. Do we really want our children to leave school and get a job working underground? I grew up in Durham City but most of my friends lived in pit villages round about and I spent a lot of time in them and frankly, they were all dives. Her lasting legacy is that everything is now about her favourite son - Blairs 3 favourite things in the world: jobs, the economy, childcare. In other words, everythin
--------------------------100 Club Last Nite-------------------------------- Well I never, been over 10 years since I last visited the hollowed place that is The 100 Club. Wasn't that sure what it would be like Got into town early had a nice Sheppard's Pie made by the fair hands of Butch and then in the car for a quick nip down from north London to the club. Had Malayka and Raphi Gruenig in the car with me, was Raphi's first visit. Arrived, no queue, but Butch tells me that does happen any
Here's the latest label in my Mighty 3 discographies. The legendary Gamble label. Also, at the bottom I have included a YTube video showing all the 7" releases PS. If you are going to repost sections of this anywhere, I'd appreciate a mention. Key: PS = Issued as picture sleeve NR = No (known) release *= See note below Additional notes: This discography covers US releases only. Dates are release dates, not recording dates. Dates may be 1 year out in some cases, but errors should only
Modern Musings…….…news and grooves from the Modern Side with Mark Randle Once again I’ve left it to the last minute to pen this piece, so it’s just as well that we’ve had another dumping of snow because if it were a gorgeous spring day outside I would be sitting here feeling cheated. Yes I did say spring, as last week saw us officially enter spring but you would never believe it looking out of the window. Biggest downer is that the football is called off, which means that via re-arrangement of
Mel Britt - Northern Soul Icon
The Day We Met Mel Britt
With the passing of Mr Mel Britt I thought it timely to remind ourselves of a very special day in his company. In a strange quirk of fate I almost missed this day as I’d visited Motown a few times in previous years and had enjoyed a tour of the building prior to its refurbishment as a museum with Mrs Esther Gordy-Edwards and contemplated keeping that memory fresh rather than see it “all polished up” so to speak and it was only du
Flying High in the Friendly Sky - Brainy Soul.
If a bunch of nerds can pseudo-intellectualise about the relative artistic merits of formula rock and the BBC construct of the history of pop, centred on the Sixties and the Beatles; Soul Music and the Soul Scene can easily withstand a little intellectual discourse. And not just at the level of vinylism, remembering names and dates, pitting differing opinions against each other, and people bluffing about where they’ve been, what they’ve
At the risk of being accused of being boring (moi?) I must say the 100 Club was excellent last night. Ady had announced that the five resident DJs would be in action together on the same night for the first time. The night was notable for the return of Mick Smith after several months away. I guess Mick is an oldies DJ, hope he doesn't mind me saying that, but to use Pete Smith's expression, he's a thinking man's oldies DJ. He certainly played quite a few records that I didn't know, not that that
Aachen Soul Weekender March 8 / 9, 2013
So, my weekender started on the Wednesday night when I left work, because I had to go down to Wales to collect Jessica because she was quite ill, and didn’t think she was capable of the four hour train journey to my house on the Thursday on her own. However, she had never been to Germany, or a European Soul Weekender, so was desperate to come, and I thought the excitement of the weekend would see her through. When
Margaret Little was born in Detroit on August 7th 1945. She was the oldest of 3 children. Her parents divorced when she was very young and her father, a member of the Four Kings who recorded for Fortune Records, was absent for most of her formative years.
Her early years were no different to her peers; she attended Central High School in Detroit. Her first son was born in 1961; Margaret was only 16 years old and had to drop out of school for a year. She graduated, aged 19, in 1964.
She
Don Juan Mancha — songwriter, producer, musician and talent scout.
The name ‘Don Juan’ first appeared in the Spanish play ‘The Trickster of Seville and the Stone Guest’ by Tirso de Molina in 1630. The plot centres on a fictional libertine who devoted his life to seducing women. The term quickly passed into literary parlance as a synonym for a ‘womaniser.’ The story itself was rewritten numerous times throughout the centuries, in a variety of forms, including many plays, a poem by Byron, an
It all started back in 2011 I got a phone call from Nige Brown telling me he heard a sound bite on ebay of a record he thought had something special and he would like my opinion on it before he set his bid . The record was Teri Mathews "round and Round" on the Preview label.
Nige valued my thoughts on the subject as he knew my opinion would be an honest one , I don't suffer records that don't hit the mark and I say if I think they are not very good. Anyway I heard this sound bite and I was
I create listings of my favourite cuts at each year end from a contemporary soul/dance/jazz perspective, and can't remember whether I've posted them here before, but here they are for 2012. I guess "All About The Soul" is the correct forum, but apologies if not. There are 100 soul CD/MP3 cuts and 100 dance jazz 12"/MP3 cuts. I'll list them as normal, but will also attach JPG for anyone particularly interested, as the formatting can prove troublesome in list form. Hope you enjoy checking them
Modern Musings………news and grooves from the Modern Side with Mark Randle I find myself tempted to start once again with mention of the weather here in the UK, but it’s all just a little too depressing so I’ll keep it brief. Suffice to say my thoughts go out to all those affected by the floods after the most recent round of deluges. Furthermore, we must of course spare a thought for our American friends in the wake of hurricane Sandy. It makes what we’ve had to contend with seem rather trivial.
Yesterday 30.12.12 we said goodbye to one of the most iconic clubs of the 60's , the Twisted Wheel at Whitworth street.The day was so memorable in that it proved you are never too old to dance and have a good time.
They came out in their droves all those King Bee's from the Brazenose street and many that frequently attended Whitworth street. I felt so privileged to listen to their stories and gasp with excitement at listening to them talk of times past.
I had MIllie on my left tel
Dunn Pearson was around on the Cleveland soul scene from the late 60's through to 1980 when he relocated to New York. In that time, he backed up many local soul groups & singers, formed & led groups himself, toured (in backing bands) with top acts such as the O'Jays. He has also cut, arranged and produced his own group plus other acts on recording sessions and has generally become a 'jack of all trades' on the music scene in the city and beyond. He learnt to play instruments and sang s
Charles Hatcher (Edwin Starr) was born in Nashville in January, 1942 but his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio while he was still young. Here Edwin was educated at the city’s East Technical High School. Whilst a student at this school his interest in singing developed. This isn’t surprising as the school seems to have been a spawning ground for male vocal groups at the time. The likes of the LaSalles & Carousels, who were both to go on to secure recording contracts, started up while the member
Charles Drain was born in Eupora, Mississippi back in 1939. He began singing at the age of eight and formed his first group a couple of years later.
After moving to St Louis, he secured work singing back-up vocals before joining the "Tabs" as their lead singer. The group back then consisted of Charles Drain, Sonny Robertson (1st tenor), John Hopkins (2nd tenor) & Lionel Stokes (baritone). All the guys were childhood buddies though a couple of additional members
Some may ask "Who is Bobby Brooks Wilson"
Well there is a clue in his surname and photos of Bobby give further hints to who he is!
His story is a true rags to riches tale. Bobby Brooks Hamilton was born in New York (1961?) but as an infant he found himself in the foster care system in South Carolina where he grew up in Columbia. His childhood was a sorry one where he suffered numerous ailments and childhood diseases from rickets to bronchitis and spent some years in a body cast
TOPPS 45s — “Yeah, But Can You Play ‘Em?”
The memorabilia available to collectors of Berry Gordy’s Motown and its subsidiary labels and companies covers the whole spectrum of artefacts. From rare unreleased acetates that never made it past the infamous Friday quality control meetings to The Supremes vintage advertising on wrappers of loaves of bread, the Motown collector’s thirst for all things ‘Hitsville’ knows no bounds. In the past I’ve found every type of artefact from beer glass
Hi folks, This may well be of interest to some of you. I have recently just interviewed the legendary Dennis Coffey for my soul & funk blog, Gazfunk. As you probably know, Dennis doesn't give interviews very often so we're delighted that he agreed to chat about all things Motown, Scorpio & Rodriguez. You can check out the interview by going to http://gazfunk.wordp...-dennis-coffey/ Cheers! Gazfunk
“I hope these dreams will come true”, so goes a line in the song “Let Our Love Grow Higher”. Well we often dream that rare soul icons such as Eula Cooper would be re-discovered and make a triumphant return to performing live. Of course it needs something to trigger such a process. Something such as a specialist record label licensing rare old 45 tracks from a long extinct outfit who never really managed to make much commercial impact. Well not too long ago, US based specialist label Numero added
Marie Knight came into the world way back in 1925 and though she enjoyed a recording career that stretched over 61 years, she savoured little actual commercial record success. Born in Sanford, Florida in June 1925, she moved with her family while still young to Newark, New Jersey. She soon got into singing in church and was impressing members of the congregation with her singing from the age of 5.
After starting out in the choir, she soon progressed to the role of soloist and we
The three albums Gil Scott-Heron recorded for Bob Thiele’s Flying Dutchman label are some of the most important in the history of black music. They show a multi-talented artist reaching maturity with his first recorded efforts. ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’ transcended its place as an album track to become an aphorism, a slogan on a T-shirt, omnipresent shorthand for alternative culture. Over the years these recordings have been treated in a haphazard way, reissued in cheaply packaged c
The return of a legend — or maybe more accurately, the first time this legend’s ever really gotten his due! Ralph Jackson’s been working in the Alabama soul underground for decades — yet this smoking album may well be the first time he’s ever really gotten out front, and able to do his thing — working with a tight group of younger musicians who really respect the southern soul vibe that Ralph’s going for — and help him hit a really great sound in the process! The set’s a soul record through an
I have received some publicity from Michele Green, the publicist for Charles Wilson. I am excited and pleased to announce that "The Crown Prince of Soul", Mr. Charles Wilson, is on the scene and ready to touch your soul like never before! His smooth, strong vocals can, and will also warm your heart, dig down deep into your spirit to stir up emotions you thought were untouchable, and will also shake you up to the point where you feel you can just reach out and touch whatever ails you, as
BARBARA STANT / SHIPTOWN RECORDS
Barbara Stant got into the recording business at the end of the 1960’s after she dropped in on the offices of Shiptown Records in Norfolk, Virginia. Just about anyone with talent was welcome to call by at Shiptown Records, which was based out of the Nimrod Record Store at 726 Church Street. The owner, Noah Biggs, was a man with good business acumen and a sharp sense of fashion. He encouraged all ta
PAUL RISER - MBA (Motown’s Brilliant Arranger)
The importance of the arranger in the musical process, whatever the genre, cannot be overstated …or underestimated. The arranger translates the basic structure of a song, or piece of music, into a format that musicians can play, while improvising and embellishing the original concept into a completed creation. The American Federation of Musicians defines musical arrangement as “ …the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition
An old article (now updated) that I wrote about 16 years back ................. Roger Hatcher was a member of a very musical family, apart from his brothers Will and Roosevelt, his cousin was of course the most famous Hatcher, Charles (Edwin Starr). Roger had been involved in the music business for many years without ever having enjoyed the level of success that Edwin gained. However in 1996, he did get to enjoy the most comprehensive release of his entire career when the U.K. CD 'The Roger Ha
Kent Harris, well known to those who collect Rare Soul records because of his wife Ty Karim and his record label Romark. But there is more to the man than many will probably realise and this CD gives us an insight into just what an influence he was on the Los Angeles R&B music scene. A must have purchase for lovers of R&B.
As Boogaloo & His Gallant Crew, Kent Harris cut the original version of Bo Diddley's `Cops and Robbers' and shot to prominence when it was proved tha
