Passing this on from my friend Jeff Meier in Detroit, who plays with Melvin Davis-------------->
Steve Mancha is the stage name for Clyde Wilson, one of the greatest Soul singers and songwriters to emerge from Detroit in the 1960s. His may not be a household name, but in Soul music circles, he is known as one of the best our town had to offer.
I was first introduced to the name Steve Mancha by my friend and fellow music disciple, Matt Weingarden (aka Mr. Fine Wine) back in the days of mix tapes. On one such tape was the song "Just Keep On Loving Me" by Steve Mancha, a mid-tempo soul number with the most sincerely heartbreaking vocal delivery I had ever heard. In those pre-internet days information about our favorite records was scarce. Later I learned that Steve's real name was Clyde Wilson. He played in the Jaywalkers with Melvin Davis, Tony Newton and David Ruffin (Wow! What a band!), he wrote songs for Motown, did a string of singles for Don Davis in the mid-'60s. "Whirlpool", "Hate Yourself in the Morning" ,"I Don't Want To Lose You". Many thanks to our Northern Soul Brothers in the UK for keeping these songs alive!
In the latter part of the '60s, Clyde signed on with Holland-Dozier-Holland's Invictus Records, singing on hits such as 100 Proof Aged In Soul's "Someone's Been Sleeping in My Bed" and 8th Day's "She Not Just Another Woman", both with brilliant McKinley Jackson arrangements. He was part of George Clinton's revolving Parliament cast delivering the goods on the quintessential Detroit funk "Breakdown" as an uncredited Parliamentarian, as well as "Come In Out of the Rain" on 1970's Osmium LP. Clyde made some big hits in the '70s, with four gold records to show for it, but H-D-H followed Berry Gordy's assembly line style of record production and many great artists were disparaged to obscurity by anonymity. Much like the Funk Brothers, Clyde Wilson never got the fame or fortune he deserved.
Clyde Wilson made his transition on January 8, 2011 at 4:08 p.m. at Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan after several years of suffering. He is in a better place and his music and his memory lives on.
A tribute and remembrance performance for Clyde will be held on Sunday, January 23 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Northern Lights Lounge, 660 W. Baltimore Ave, Detroit (313) 873-1739. Many friends including Melvin Davis, McKinley Jackson, Pat Lewis, Buddy Smith, Joey Kingfish, and Cody Black will be performing. Proceeds will go to Clyde's mother and brother to help offset his medical expenses.
site note
title edited to include postponed due to post below
"After a discussion with Melvin, we've decided to postpone the Steve Mancha tribute. There are some other folks in town planning a similar event and we want to avoid any potential conflict. I will post any details about the other event as I get them. We are planning to do another show later this year to help raise funds for a tombstone for Clyde. "
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