Source Magazine - Soul Music News & Articles

BBC Radio 2 will mark the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s iconic 'I Have A Dream' speech by playing 24 hours of music made by black artists starting tonight at 10pm.
Martin Luther King’s iconic speech was made on the 28 August 1963 in Washington DC
BBC introduction
The station will mark the occasion by celebrating the incredible contribution that black artists have made to the world of music and culture by playing 24 hours of some of the greatest music ever made by black artists from the 1950s to the present day, with further specials across the following weekend.
Kicking off with a special edition of Trevor Nelson’s Rhythm Nation (Thursday 27 August, 10pm-midnight), OJ Borg (Friday 28 August, midnight-3am) picks up the story which continues all day through to Sounds Of The 90s (Friday 28 August, 10pm-midnight). Listeners will hear hits from a huge range of artists including Aretha Franklin, Prince, John Legend, Sade, Bob Marley, Joan Armatrading, Whitney Houston, Soul II Soul, Alicia Keys, Lizzo, Stevie Wonder and many more.
From Friday night and across the weekend, some of the world’s best loved musicians from across the decades will be guest presenting Radio 2’s Sounds Of… shows, telling the story of black music from those eras - Martha Reeves (Sounds Of The 60s), Nile Rodgers (Sounds Of The 70s), Neneh Cherry (Sounds Of The 80s), Toni Braxton (Sounds Of The 90s).
Trevor Nelson says: “Martin Luther King’s I Have A Dream speech has resonated with me since I was a child and is still relevant today. I think it’s fantastic that Radio 2 are celebrating its anniversary by playing some of the greatest music by black artists.”
Jeff Smith, Head of Music Radio 2, says: “Black artists are, and always have been, pivotal to the development of popular music and the music we play on Radio 2. We play the best of the best pop music new and old, so our I Have A Dream Day, whilst marking the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s historic speech in 1963, gives us a wonderful opportunity to focus on playing our favourite music across the genres and across the eras all together in one epic day-long playlist.”
More info via
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08pqvbl

bbc

By Mike in News Archives · August 27, 20204 yr

Soulsations ... and then some
Soul Exotics, Emporers, Twila and the Twighlights, The Soulsations, and (no The) Soulsations.
Preview/Intro
Ronald J. Miller (Woody Miller) was a Soul Exotics male vocalist. His writing credit together with Bobby Fulton's appears on "Baby It's True" on the Terri Records label 5001. Both sides were produced by Phil Gaber. Amongst other things Phil Gaber was the producer on "Karate" Mala 543 for the Emporer's, then a vocal quartet backed by four instrumentalists. One of the members of the Emporers being Robert Jefferson Fulton (topper Soulville Records).

The flip to "Baby It's True" is "Darlin"' which has the writer credit of Wm. A. Coney, Jr. - who is Bill Coney (band member, guitar) in Twila Howard and The Twilights (It is Twila Howard's vocal that leads on "Here Comes The Pain"). The male vocalists with Twila were Ronald Miller and Larry McKenion (Emporers writer credit of Soul '69 "Bring Out Yourself" on Futura label 1505. Soul '69 was the pseudonym for Larry McKenion, Money Smith & Terry Lawson). The other three band members with Twila were Larry Myers (bass guitar), who also shows up on the 2007 release Funkadelphia Records 1505, Emporers Soul 69 -Bring It Out Yourself, Wendell Wise (drummer) and Robert (Bob)...
Northern Soul Connection #23 (click twice for best view)

Site info - You can check out Kens other quality 22 Northern Connections all available via his 'activity' profile page, the link follows below...
More articles from KenB

connections

By Kenb in Articles · August 26, 20204 yr

Next up for Philadelphia record label /store Brewerytown Beats -
The previously unheard sessions from Graterford Prison funk & soul band Power Of Attorney. Recorded in two separate sessions, one in January of 1973 and one in April of the same year.
Two of the tracks from the January session were released on an extremely hard to find 7" (https://www.discogs.com/Power-Of-Attorney-Changing-Man/release/9801918) the other 4 tracks were previously unreleased - The band had minor success when Stanley Vincent (Ooh Ooh Child fame) produced a 1974 LP for Polydor Records.
The material on these earlier tapes proves to be raw, gut wrenching deep soul cuts - many songs emulating the sounds of the day. Completely remixed & remastered from the original session tapes.

Listen
Power Of Attorney - I'm Just Your Clown
Bittersweet love ballad - previously unreleased lowrider soul from Philadelphia.

Power Of Attorney - Changing Man
The reflective “Changing Man,” an original composition by McDowell. “It tells the story of a man who made a mistake, and after a while in jail, he gets his head together, and realizes it’s time to straighten it out,” the 21-year-old serving life for murder, told The Philadelphia Daily News nearing the single release.

Power Of Attorney
Re-Mixed and ReMastered from the original 2" reels, this MONSTER soul/funk jam from Power Of Attorney band, a 6 piece band from Graterford Prison, originally recorded in 1972 at famed Philly studio, Sigma Sound.
More Info along with purchase options via
https://www.brewerytownbeats.com/product-page/power-of-attorney

releases

By Brewerytownbeats in News Archives · August 26, 20204 yr

DAVE GODIN a NORTHERN SOUL a biography by Stephen Stevlor
The fascinating and colourful life story of one of the most respected and important figures in black American music and the British Soul scene.
From his teenage discovery of Rhythm & Blues in 1950s Bexleyheath, walking into his favourite Friday night haunt, The Silver Lounge ice-cream parlour, and being instantly and utterly devastated by Ruth Brown's '(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean', blasting out from an American jukebox freshly installed in the corner of the room.
..."This wasn't the crapola slush of popular music expounded by white folks, this was real men and real women, as opposed to boys and girls, talking about real passions and hard emotions."...
From this day forward Dave Godin began his crusade to promote and champion black American music, encouraging anyone who would listen to explore the magic of R&B, though in future years would regret passing on his enthusiasm to a young Mick Jagger, later berating the rock star and his band The Rolling Stones (Who, with friend Bobby Beckwith, Godin had been instrumental in the formation of) for stealing black music for personal gain.
..."The Stones started life as a harmless pastime," recalled Godin. "Keith Richards played guitar, Bobby played something, Mick couldn't play any instruments. It was really just a jam session 'round Bobby's house." Godin himself could accompany any Howlin' Wolf track note perfect. Suddenly it evolved into a more serious concern with founding member Bobby Beckwith being ousted and Mick Jagger making his play for front man. "One night Mick said he wouldn't mind a go at singing. Bobby had an amp and a microphone and Mick did his bit!" Dave found this particular act both hilariously comical and acutely embarrassing, being totally unimpressed by Jagger's vocal abilities he seriously expected the young lad to be immediately laughed off stage should he ever actually be allowed upon one! Godin was also far from impressed by the persona of Brian Jones whom in later years would describe as, "One of Thatcher's children before Thatcher. Vain and horrible, but thankfully more of a friend of a friend so I wasn't obliged to speak to him that much!" Keith Richards didn't fare that much better either, apparently never a bunch of laughs and a little shy with the soap!...
..."That was the great divide. We were working on behalf of black America while the Stones were working on behalf of themselves."
In the early 60s he established the Mary Wells fan club which lead to the formation of the Tamla Motown Appreciation Society and Godin's future appointment as Tamla's official UK representative. It would also be Dave who amalgamated the two labels Tamla and Motown together to create one of the most famous record labels in the World.

...In the early 60s Dave's Church Road home was more of a music Mecca than in the Soul days because all these aspiring blues groups knew that there was him and maybe a couple of others in the whole of London who had the records and they could go 'round and listen to stuff, transcribe it, record it, even buy the disc off Dave. So up to the Motown change over, a lot of bluesy types went 'round there. Motown was the pop end of Soul but Dave was obviously a very shrewd operator and apart from genuinely liking Motown I think he also realised that blues was going nowhere commercially and when Dave heard these Motown records he was like people in the 70s when they first heard Punk he was so excited by them." (KEITH RYLATT)...

...When we started meeting people from Motown we used to spend weeks beforehand on Dave's bedroom floor making up banners. Dave used to cut letters out of a white sticky backed plastic called Fablon and stick them on these big pieces of maroon cloth which had previously been sewn by his mum so you could put banner poles up each side. Before Dave had gone to the states he's worked as a florist and learned how to make proper bouquets so that each one of them got one. The record companies weren't doing anything! They'd just cram the groups into a big car and whish them into London from Heathrow but it was the TMAS holding up the banner with their names and picture on saying 'We Welcome You'. It was all very organised, very professionally done and all from a 12ft square room in a back street in Bexleyheath! I don't think the record companies or stars knew that!...
...I used to go to all the 'do's' where Dave used to rent a room above a pub and you'd get The Four Tops performing!" recalls Graham Moss. "There would be a reception for society members and whenever groups and singers came over to play there'd be a meet....

...what they also used to do was build a stage, put down beer crates and put planks on top of them and then play a record and whichever group was there they would mime to the record. They did all the movements and everything, it was the stage show but it was done just for us in an upstairs room in a pub. They were coming over to play air-force bases, plugging records and to appear on Ready, Steady Go! Dave used to get tickets for RSG!, which those of us who lived close enough around London, and could swear would actually be there, would get. I remember sitting in the studio canteen and the tables were on a kind of platform with a fence and corridor around it and the group Manfred Mann were sitting at the same table and Dave was going on about plagiarism and Paul Jones from the band said "What do you mean by plagiarism?". And before anybody could say anything, me, not knowing who Paul Jones was, said, "Well, some fucker's ripped off 'Do Wah Diddy Diddy', it's unbelievable what rubbish they've made of it!" And Dave kicked me under the table, and I didn't know why, and he told me afterwards it was cos it was Paul Jones who was singing it! But we didn't watch television so much and I certainly didn't buy pop magazines so I wouldn't have recognised these people if they'd come up and slapped me with a kipper! Jones' response to my outburst was one of embarrassment and he just looked the other way."

As a regular contributor to Blues & Soul magazine his bi-weekly column became the stuff of legend, avidly read by Soul fans and DJs alike, the latter using his recommendation's of 45s worthy to source to add to their playlists. On occasion Dave himself would make an unscheduled appearance in the DJ booth to spin a new white label release as in the case of 'Blowing Up My Mind' by The Exciters which he uk debuted at Manchester's Twisted Wheel.

In 1966, along with David Nathan and Robert Blackmore, Dave opened Soul City, the first record shop in London dealing 100% in music of black origin. On launch day, vinyl stock was so scarce, discs from the personal collections of Godin and Nathan filled the record racks. Twelve months later Godin mentioned the iconic term 'Northern Soul', a description that by the 1970s had become the tag-line to a music phenomenon that swept the UK and a phrase still used Worldwide today. The associated record labels, Soul City and Deep Soul, followed, releasing hard to get material by the likes of Gene Chandler, The Valentinos, Bessie Banks, The Ad-Libs and Roy Hamilton amongst many others.

..."I might have coined the term 'Northern Soul' and in my advantaged position as a journalist given it every encouragement, but it took thousands of loyal and ardent fans to keep and spread the faith, and in doing this, they gave black America their highest compliment and collective thanks."...

The late 70s saw a massive change in direction for Dave Godin, first a move to Lincolnshire, his involvement with the Right On! record label (responsible for the first UK release of 'Your Autumn Of Tomorrow' by The Crow) and then a permanent location to the steel city of Sheffield to study Film & Art History as a mature student at the city's Polytechnic.
... As he embarked on his film studies course Godin waved a temporary goodbye to the music business with a final PR job helping old Motown mate, Harvey Fuqua and the Fantasy record label push the disco flavoured single, 'You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)' by Sylvester into the UK Top Ten. Dave recalled how bizarre it was for him to be traversing the corridors of the Polytechnic's Psalter Lane campus as a mature student and have his younger peers walk past singing the song out loud while having absolutely no idea of his involvement in the record's success. Also, on joining the Student Union, Dave wasted no time in putting himself forward as a candidate for Student President. Dave wore his 'Vote Godin for President' sticker with pride and fellow student, Jenny Wright, remembers that once elected as branch president, as well as campaigning against every injustice going, "Dave also got us doing a 'sit in' for such things as the exorbitant price of filled cobs in the canteen. I believe they'd gone up to the princely sum of 39p, a lot of money in the early 1980s."
..."The students saw him as amusing and a leader at the same time, they all loved him as he shared their same pure and aspirational ideals," says Jenny. "I was in awe of him and related to him immediately. A journalist friend of mine who was a Soul fan couldn't believe it when I mentioned Dave's name, he asked me to go back and check if in fact it was 'the' Dave Godin, which of course it was."

On graduation he applied and was successful in his application to become the manager of Sheffield's Anvil Cinema, the first cinema in the country to be owned and run by a City Council. Here he could indulge in his other life-long passion for obscure films, filling the programs with work by little known directors including, Fedor Ozep, Pudovkin, Gillio Pontecorvo and Paolo Pasolini.

..."He once booked in a Russian film from the silent era and I don't know how he dared book it 'cos it had Russian sub-titles and no one could understand it. But he had them all translated into English and each sub-title put on a postcard. As the film was shown Dave stood there at the front of the cinema with a little light over a lectern and as each sub-title came up he read the translation out loud from the postcard. The cinema was full that night and the audience reaction to Dave reading out each Russian sub-title in English was one of true amazement!" (ANVIL ASSISTANT MANAGER DENNIS O'GRADY)

"I went to a Northern Soul reunion with Dave in the early 90s and I gave him a suit to wear. It was a beautiful three piece suit made from a heavyweight dark rich grey material called Thornproof, cut in a Victorian style. For some reason I'd had two made, both identical so I gave one to Dave as a gift. He loved it, it fitted him like a glove, he looked amazing. Anyway, I was in this Soul club and there were a lot of leading lights of the Northern Soul scene there and suddenly there was a hush in the room and Dave Godin walked in looking amazing in this suit, and it was almost like a meeting of vampires and Dracula had just turned up!" (MICHAEL SOMERSET, SONGWRITER)

"I'm going to Blackpool in September as there's a Northern Soul weekender, and Barbara Lynn is appearing. As I was the first (only) person over here to review (rave review) her first single in 1962, and have championed her many great records since, I've been asked to go on stage to introduce her. Barbara Lynn has an almost phobic fear of flying, which is why she has never before performed in the UK! I just hope I don't have to go on stage and explain the psychological reason why she is "unable to be with us tonight... And will Geno Washington be an acceptable replacement?"! (DAVE GODIN LETTER EXTRACT)

The 1990s saw Dave's professional return to Soul music with the critically acclaimed and best selling CD compilations, 'DAVE GODIN'S DEEP SOUL TREASURES' for the Kent/Ace label. The final release compiled and released shortly before his death.

"In a strange kind of way Soul bestows a kind of immortality on all of us," Dave would finally conclude. "Certainly when my time comes, just dig out your copies of the 'Treasures' CDs and what I was but no longer am will still be there alongside you all." (DAVE GODIN)

ORIGINATION OF THE BOOK

Author Stephen Stevlor is a Northern Soul DJ, promoter and radio presenter living in Sheffield.

"I first met Dave Godin in the early 1990s when he agreed to write a regular column for 'Sheffield's Alternative Magazine' (SAM for short) of which I was the editor. I'm ashamed to admit it but at that time I had absolutely no idea who he was or aware of his impressive past, but when a friend who'd advised me to phone him also informed me that Dave had been Motown's UK advisor, the man who coined the iconic term Northern Soul and had once told Rolling Stone Mick Jagger to "Fuck off!" on the set of 60s TV pop programme Ready Steady Go, I reckoned Dave Godin was a man worth chasing up. Amusingly when I told a friend later that Dave Godin had agreed to provide a column every month for SAM, he, being fully aware of Dave's history, asked tongue in cheek, "Are you sure he knows SAM stands for Sheffield's Alternative Magazine and doesn't think he's writing for 'Soul And Motown'?"

It was about nine years after his death that I decided to write his biography. Twice a year on my Soul Radio Show I would transmit special broadcasts for the months of June and October to celebrate his birthday and commemorate his passing. As far as I knew I was the only Soul show doing this and couldn't understand why other shows playing Northern Soul didn't do the same. When features concerning Northern Soul appeared in the press or when documentaries and films were made, Dave was either a very brief mention or never name-checked at all in connection with a genre of music and sub-culture he'd christened and given a specific identity to. I was beginning to feel he was being ignored and maybe his incredible input, sadly, forgotten. So, I decided it was time to write his story, but not just the story of a Soul man but also the other avenues of his life, his passion for film and art, life long battles for civil and animal rights plus his atheism, anarchism and freedom flag waving libertarianism.

Dave Godin was a natural archivist, saving and filing every letter, missive and photograph received or sent. His story should have been easy to research 'cos all the info required was there. Unfortunately, shortly before his death and in the weeks following, so called 'friends' appropriated items of choice. Objects were cherry picked and a lot of the most desirable pieces relating to his life in Soul disappeared. As well as writing this biography I also wanted to re-build his archive for an on-line retrieval system that could be accessed by anyone. I put a call out to try and track down some of the missing objects and documents, I wasn't really interested how people had actually acquired things, I appreciated a lot of stuff was purchased in good faith and the buyer may have had no idea that these items had been made available without permission of Dave or his estate, so were in effect stolen goods, all I basically wanted was copies of letters, photographs etc to formulate an archive which was a thing Dave had always dreamed of. A few good 'Souls' sent stuff through with proof of ownership, some items made it into the book, but it was a pretty poor response considering the amount of material and memorabilia that disappeared.
There's a 'Collections' chapter in the book that touches on items appearing for sale on internet dealer sites that 'true' friends recognised as Godin property, but the dealers when questioned showed no concerns about where the items had originated from and amazingly all appeared to be selling on behalf of "Some guy from Manchester!" This chapter will probably be of major interest to Northern Soulies as it also concerns Dave's substantial record collection which caused major division amongst friends because of why and who (legally by the way) ended up with it. I think a lot of people closer to Dave expected it to travel their way and were disappointed by the outcome.
I thought the biography would take about six months to research and complete until I discovered how many facets there was to Dave Godin. Over six years later, here we are!
This was always going to be a book about his entire life and not just Northern Soul and features over 450 full colour pages, but because Dave re-visited black American music periodically, I would say 80% of the book is - DAVE GODIN a NORTHERN SOUL.

DAVE GODIN A NORTHERN SOUL is officially released on 15th October 2020 (Dave's death date) but is available to order to order now for £29.99 via PayPal, Bank Transfer and 'Old School' Cheque by contacting STEVLOR at stevlor@hotmail.co.uk

books

By Stevlor in Articles · August 24, 20204 yr

Two more releases available from the MD gang on the MD - Kicking off with this one!!
SOUL SENSATIONS - BABY I LOVE YOU/PART TWO
Virtually nothing is known about this band other than they recorded for the late great Phil Gaber at his studio. The laid down three tracks plus an instrumental, the fabulous Baby I Love Pt1 and its instrumental version Pt2 which is now available on this single release. Round and Round we go and Wait for you.
All of these have previously only been available on Impact Sound Acetates that reside in the collections of some of the most well known DJs on the northern scene.
This bongo and brass fueled track hammers out of the speakers and just demands the attention of those listening and dancing to it. Jordan Wilson has been playing this every week on his Soul Archive show and its gone down a storm.
It is now available as part of a limited run of 500 singles on the MD yellow series and as usual there are only 500 pressed with no re---runs.
Turn the volume up, hit play and dance your arse off.

Baby I Love You SS.MP3
Baby I Love You 2 SS.MP3
ROLAND JOHNSON - YOURS AND MINE/CAN'T GET ENOUGH
The eagerly awaited second release from Roland Johnson on our Yellow series brings the fabulous Yours and Mine form the first album - Imagine this - to vinyl. Elmore magazine said; “Yours and Mine” and “Promised Land” bring to mind the loving duets of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, sounding perfect for film.
and when reviewing the flip; The horns and saxes are crisp and energetic. Johnson co-wrote 9 of the 10 songs including the inviting up-tempo opener “Can’t Get Enough” with its O’Jays influence.

Roland’s first album, “Imagine This” was released by Blue Lotus Recording studio in 2016. This album was a deliberate move into mainly self-written songs and marked the desire by Roland to break out to wider audiences, gaining even more success than that shown by his live performances appreciated by all on the St Louis and Beale street Blues and Soul Scene.
Often compared to Otis Redding and Sam Cooke, which you can hear the influence, but Roland Johnson is a singer destined to come out of the shadows.
The success and increased interest in Roland’s first album bright about more interviews with the Missouri press and News, with interviews and award nominations celebrating his highly successful blend of heartfelt Southern Soul with a classic vintage delivery in a new way. In the UK Brian Goucher of Vibe UK picked up on the album and reviewed it excellently.
I don't think we need to add much more than that in all honesty, Roland is the real deal, hit the play buttons and decide for yourself.

Yours And Mine RJ.MP3
Cant Get Enough RJ.MP3
Both available through the website -https://www.mdrecords.co.uk/ for £10 each!!!!
Mark n Des

releases

By Md Records in News Archives · August 23, 20204 yr

Just been told that Edward Hamilton has passed away
Thank you for the contribution to the soundtrack of my life.
Sleep well and rest in peace

sad news

By Winsford Soul in News Archives · August 23, 20204 yr

New Soul 45 - Danny Toeman - If What You Say Is What You Mean / Everybody Says I'm Wrong
After the success of ‘She’s Got Something About Her’ on vinyl, LRK Records are proud to announce the upcoming release of ‘If What You Say Is What You Mean’, the latest single from North London Soul man, Danny Toeman.
Raw and gritty, this fiery new soul side packs a heavy punch with its thick horns, relentless northern soul beat, and high-octane vocal delivery from the man himself.
Pulling no punches, Danny unleashes a scathing onslaught on the current world situation, reminiscent of late 60’s era Temptations and Edwin Starr.
Backed with ‘Everybody Says I’m Wrong’, we see Danny in a rare reflective mood. Stripped back to just voice, guitar, percussion and angelic backing harmonies, this song has been a popular staple in Danny’s live set the last few years.
This is a limited edition release, make sure to pre-order your copy now!

Listen
If What You Say Is What You Mean: Vinyl 7" Single 45rpm by Danny Toeman

https://dannytoeman.bandcamp.com/album/if-what-you-say-is-what-you-mean-vinyl-7-single-45rpm

Bio
Born and raised in London, Danny Toeman is a soul singer brought up on the great artists of Stax, Motown, and James Brown. With a dynamic stage presence and inimitably powerful voice, Danny has gone from singing in dive bars to world famous venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and the o2 Arena, supported Kool and the Gang, and been featured on BBC 6 Music.

releases

By LRK in News Archives · August 22, 20204 yr

“He Made A Woman Out Of Me” – Betty LaVette (Silver Fox 17) – 1969.
I was born on a levee; a little bit south of Montgomery. Mama worked at the ‘big house’ and Daddy worked for the county.
Never had no learnin’ till I turned sixteen, when Joe Henry came up the river y’all – he made a woman outta me, Lord, he made a woman outta me.
I used to tease Joe Henry – I guess I teased too hard. Then, one day, it happened, right in my own back yard. Joe Henry had his way – he went and set me free; now I’m here to tell everybody that the man made a woman outta me, Lord, he made a woman outta me.
When I think back to that day, so long ago, I get a good feelin’ on my mind. Even tho’ it hurt me, it’s one thing I know: that when he left, he left a woman behind. Ooh…Lord!
And when I see another young man wantin’ to love and run, my mind goes back to Joe Henry Banks – what a heck of a job he done. Ain’t no other man let me down – y’see I’ve been set free; ever since way back yonder when Joe made a woman outta me…oh he made a woman outta me…Lord he made a woman otta me…wo oh oh oh, said he made a woman outta me.
(Written by Fred Burch and Don Hill).

In 1969, Betty LaVette appeared on Lelan Rogers’ fledgling Silver Fox label courtesy of his soon-to-be-much-better-known brother, country singer Kenny. It seems Bettye had cut a cover of his group, The First Edition’s 1967 track “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)”, penned by group-member Mickey Newbury and first featured on The First Edition’s late-1967 eponymous album (Reprise 6276) as well as on a quickly issued single (Reprise 0655).
When Kenny was in town with the First Edition, Bettye and her manager, Jim Lewis, brought a copy of Bettye’s “cover version” over to the singer, who liked it and pitched it to his brother Lelan. Now, it turned out that Lelan had been Bettye’s promotion man for her impressive earlier Calla side “Let Me Down Easy” (#102) and he duly contacted Bettye about recording for him down at Stan Kesler’s Sounds Of Memphis studio for his new Silver Fox label, which was titled after Lelan’s own hair-colour-related nickname. The tracks which duly ensued were going to be grouped into what would have been Bettye’s first-ever album and Lelan had Shelby Singleton (who was largely funding – and would distribute – Silver Fox) buy the master of “Let Me Down Easy” because he wanted to also include that earlier track on the new album. In fact, the album never materialised because a later disagreement between Lelan and Shelby caused the latter to withdraw his support for Silver Fox, but nevertheless, in addition to a couple of duets with Hank Ballard, several very fine LaVette solo singles would creep onto the market, one of which was Bettye’s debut recording for the label, an outstanding example of southern storyline soul, "He Made A Woman Out Of Me".
As with most great songs, the lyrics are very important and are meant to be heard. Like a good radio play, this song conjures up visions in the listener’s head. Although the recording took place in the big city of Memphis and the singer was raised hundreds of miles away in the north, near another big city, Detroit, the visions are of rural American southern life in the sixties (or perhaps, from even earlier) and the enforced subordinate role in that particular environment then played by most ‘blacks’.
Erotic visions are created too and are fundamental to the piece – visions of a naïve, sixteen-year-old black girl’s first full sexual encounter when she loses her virginity to Joe Henry, an older black lad – yet there is also something genuinely touching about the way this is portrayed. The unspoken willingness of the girl to accept the inevitability of the encounter shines through. This isn’t rape or molestation; she really does like the guy and it’s something she has known for some time would almost certainly happen. Afterwards, she wants to remain Joe Henry’s girl but it isn’t to be.
It’s her ‘first time’ – something she will, of course, never forget, yet something, we learn from the lyrics, she will later use to good effect to ensure no other man ‘loves her and runs’, as Joe did. The sexual act, though, ‘sets her free’ – she is liberated by it to the extent that she thereafter becomes mature enough to retain full control of her own sexual destiny, even if other forms of liberation, because of her race, her situation and the times in which she is living, will be hard, if not impossible to achieve.
The lyrics, then, are both emotive and expressive and, for sixties America, undeniably raunchy. Without these ‘specific’ lyrics, though, the song would have been meaningless. After all, the title itself is straight-to-the-point, ‘he made a woman out of me’ directly implying that the girl only became a woman after her encounter, and had any song with such a title merely employed ‘moon and june’ lyrics, it would have rendered it, if not Joe Henry himself, impotent.
However, the lyrics are not the only element which makes this a great recording. There’s Betty LaVette’s wonderful ‘earthy’ delivery, so ‘southern-sounding’ for a Michigan-raised girl. Her occasional lower-register use of the word ‘Lord’, both as an adjunct to an existing lyric-line and as an interjection, adds subtle emphasis to the emotion she expresses in the song. The different ‘shades’ she employs during her vocal performance are just perfect – layback and vulnerable one minute, up-front and firmly assertive the next. When maximum emotion is called for, she doesn’t scream like a gospel-wailer but rather howls and growls like a tiger being released from a cage – a woman, in fact, being released from the body of a young girl.
Then, of course, there’s the overall ‘sound’ of the recording and the soulful ‘feel’ that it so successfully generates. This is largely down to the wholly appropriate, sparse, country-based, but tough-soul-edged arrangement and the way it is played by that quite remarkable backing band, The Dixie Flyers. The Flyers would become legendary in the early 70’s as Atlantic’s Criteria, Miami Studio ‘house-band’ and would play behind most of the name-acts contracted to their subsidiary Atco and Cotillion labels at that time; but earlier in 1969, just before Betty LaVette’s Memphis session, the band had played on Tony Joe White’s “Continued” album and this could be why Charlie Freeman’s wonderfully ‘swampy’, brooding guitar sounds so White-like on Betty’s recording. The musicians had taken their band-name from a literary reference to William Faulkner, which likened him to a southbound-train in the phrase “When the Dixie Flyer comes down the track you’d better get out of the way.” The Flyers at the time of Betty’s recording were Jim Dickinson and Mike Utley on keyboards, Charlie Freeman on guitar, Tommy McClure on bass and Sammy ‘Beaver’ Creason on drums. In addition to their own wonderfully rhythmic performance, we cannot overlook a potent contribution here by the ever-reliable Memphis Horns, who duly apply their trademark brassy raunchiness at suitably appropriate junctures.
Taken as a whole, the recording is a high-point in smouldering, storyline country-tinged southern soul – one of those wonderful and rare occasions when all of the undeniably top-drawer participants came together at the peak of their considerable powers to produce a genuine ‘soul classic’.
However, the lyrics proved too potent for many southern radio stations of the day and Betty’s version saw little ‘exposure’. Consequently it was not a pop hit although it did make No.25 on the R&B chart. Yet white country singer, Bobbie Gentry’s pacier and more throwaway ‘cover’ successfully ‘dodged the bullets’ by using the old ruse of airbrushing out some of the more potent lyrics. She completely omits mention of “then one day it happened, right in my own back yard” and specifically sings “I used to tease Joe Henry, I guess it served me right, it wasn’t long till he left me crying, out in the night.” She goes on to add that Joe had his ‘day’ (not his ‘way’). This ‘cleaner’ version, culled from her Fame-recorded “Fancy” album, whilst not a major hit, did at least make No.71 on the Pop chart, although it did not register on the Country or R&B charts.
And so yet another great black-American original recording would fail to ‘crossover’, while a deliberately more-accessible, almost ‘singalong’ white ‘cover’ would go on to wider appeal.
Peter Nickols

Music Clips

artists

By Peternickols in Articles · August 21, 20204 yr

I've read that we've lost a proper legend. anyone confirm this ?
very sad, if true !
added by site
unfortunately appears to be true
the sad news was reported by Tony Wells via facebook

sad news

By Ian Parker in News Archives · August 20, 20204 yr

Soul Tracks reporting that David "Cowboy" Sanders of The Masqueraders has passed on
https://www.soultracks.com/story-david-sanders-masqueraders-dies

Related Soul Source site content

HOF: The Masqueraders - Male Group Inductee
Date Of Induction: 01 November 2014 Category : Male Vocal Group The Masqueraders, have spanned a recording career of over 50 years and still enjoythe original line up of members from their beginnings half a century ago.

Masqueraders Article by J R Smith
The Masqueraders main claim to fame, to an outsider at least, would seem to be there dogged persistence.

sad news

By Mike in News Archives · August 18, 20204 yr

The Scotsman ran a lengthy feature on Stuart Cosgrove's upcoming book over the weekend.
Stuart Cosgrove on why soul music was pivotal in the life story of Muhammad Ali By Aidan Smith
Off The Ball presenter chats about his fascinating biography, Cassius X: A Legend in the Making, and explains why he focused on 1963
The full article can be read here
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/boxing/stuart-cosgrove-why-soul-music-was-pivotal-life-story-muhammad-ali-2943325

Book details
Cassius X: A Legend in the Making by Stuart Cosgrove is published by Polygon on 3 September. £17.99.
Miami, 1963. A young boy from Louisville, Kentucky, is on the path to becoming the greatest sportsman of all time. Cassius Clay is training in the 5th Street Gym for his heavyweight title clash against the formidable Sonny Liston. He is beginning to embrace the ideas and attitudes of Black Power, and firebrand preacher Malcolm X will soon become his spiritual adviser. Thus Cassius Clay will become 'Cassius X' as he awaits his induction into the Nation of Islam.
Cassius also befriends the legendary soul singer Sam Cooke, falls in love with soul singer Dee Dee Sharp and becomes a remarkable witness to the first days of soul music. As with his award-winning soul trilogy, Stuart Cosgrove's intensive research and sweeping storytelling shines a new light on how black music lit up the sixties against a backdrop of social and political turmoil - and how Cassius Clay made his remarkable transformation into Muhammad Ali.
Available in Kindle and hardback editions

books

By Mike in News Archives · August 18, 20204 yr

Soul Odyssey 1968 - Jonas Bernholm - York University
Jonas Bernholm has been in touch and shared details of a book of his which is available to read freely online in full under Creative Comments License via York University
'It's a diary from my Soul Trip in USA in 1968. and meetings with numerous artists and persons in the soul music business'
A few clips and details follow along with the link below, be aware you may need to get a brew on before reading as it is an extensive read, accompanied with some great photos.

Soul Music Odyssey USA 1968
Subtitle: [Second edition]
Author: Jonas Bernholm
License: Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial NoDerivatives
This is the complete book from my research trip 1968 (plus a little from 1978). The first version was basically a translation of articles written in Swedish and originally published in the Swedish magazine Jefferson (world’s oldest blues magazine) plus a summary. It was published online by York University Libraries in 2017. This edition includes illustrations and corrections.
Special thanks go to Jan Kotschack, who digitized the photographs so they could be included online, and Rob van der Bliek, who copy-edited the manuscript and converted it to the online version.
Jonas “Mr R&B” Bernholm
July 2019

Previews
Just a few clips, the Chapter list follows to give a sense of scale...
Contents
Preface, Main Body, Introduction, New York (I), Chicago, Memphis, Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, New York (II), Conclusions/Summary, Postscript (I): Joe Tex, Postscript (II): Wilson Pickett, About the author

As said the full book Soul Odyssey 1968 - Jonas Bernholm is available to read in full via York University Pressbooks, Hosted by York University Libraries, the link follows below...
https://pressbooks.library.yorku.ca/soulmusicodyssey/

books

By Mike in Articles · August 14, 20204 yr

The Memphis Flyer website has just added a new Eddie Floyd feature.
Titled Knock On Wood! Eddie Floyd on Music, Life, and His New Book - Eddie Floyd and the power of positive thinking ' written by Alex Greene
The article is made up of quite a lengthy article/interview, taking in Eddie's career and his upcoming book. Knock! Knock! Knock! on Wood: My Life in Soul. Along with images and such,
A couple of clips...
Full article can be read via https://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/knock-on-wood/Content?oid=23561958

books

By Mike in News Archives · August 13, 20204 yr

Leeds Central Soul Club Remembered

The Coronavirus lockdown has given me much time to reminisce and I have decided to put into words a bit about my early days as a 'soulie' in Leeds.
I first went to The Central in 1975 I think, when I was 19 years old - I was certainly a member by then, as I still have my membership card which was valid until 31-Aug-1976. I lived in Leeds at that time as it was where I grew up - although, I haven't lived there since 1982.
I remember in the early to mid-seventies buying reggae records at Jumbo Records in the County Arcade upstairs - tunes such as 'Skank in Bed' by Scotty and Lorna Bennett, 'Duppy Gunman' by Ernie Smith, and 'Dat' by Pluto Shervington. They used to have adverts in the shop for the International Soul Club and I particularly remember an advert for an All-Nighter at Queens Hall featuring (amongst others) Major Lance and JJ Barnes. Unfortunately, at that time those names didn't mean anything to me and I knew little about 'the Northern scene' and so wasn't tempted to go. I also remember they had a flier for a soul club event in a frame hanging on the wall - with hindsight, I'm guessing that it was probably an advert for a big night at The Torch, Stoke-on-Trent - possibly the last all-nighter held there? As well as buying records there, I also bought 'Blues & Soul' magazine - and that sparked an interest in Northern Soul for me.
I remember going to a pub in Leeds city centre called The Precinct which had a DJ who played pop soul records and they had a dancefloor which looked like a boxing ring. I think that was the first time I saw lads dancing on their own. Pop soul was very popular in the charts and on the radio - with artistes such as The Three Degrees, The Detroit Emeralds, George McCrae, The Hues Corporation, MFSB....as well as all the Tamla Motown classics.
If I went to a 'do' around this time, the favourite records would be songs such as 'Sweet Soul Music' by Arthur Conley, 'Land of a Thousand Dances' by Wilson Pickett, and "Ghost in my House' by R Dean Taylor. It was clear then that soul tunes with a dance beat were popular - and I wanted to discover more.
Wigan Casino All-Nighter had opened in September 1973 and I knew about it and I wanted to go to the first anniversary in September 1974 but couldn't get tickets - and so ended up going there for the first time around October or November 1974. I went with my mates Al and Ackers on the train from Leeds City station to Manchester, and then on to Wigan.
I first went to The Central around the same time - either just before I went to Wigan, or just after. For the next two or three years, I became a regular visitor to The Central - as well as making infrequent trips to other soul venues in the region. I remember (for example) going to The Cat's Whiskers at Meanwood in Leeds, to Raquel's in Wakefield city centre, to Samantha's in Sheffield city centre, to The Cow & Calf Hotel at Ilkley, to Yeadon Town Hall, and to the 'Buffs' Club at Keighley.
I remember The Central as a Friday night out 'in town' and it being a really popular place, open from (I think) 8pm to midnight or 1.00am. You have to remember that at that time the pubs closed at 10.30pm, and going to a 'night club' until 2.00am such as 'The Mecca' (real name Locarno Ballroom in the Merrion Centre) meant you had to dress up to get in, and could only listen to pop soul (and chart pop records) whilst the young women danced around their handbags and the young men stood around the edge of the dancefloor watching. Also, I think you were supposed to be at least 21 years old.
The Central played proper Soul and proper Northern Soul - and the blokes danced on their own, and there were as many men dancers as there were women. The DJ I remember most was Paul Rowan, who played stuff like 'Ever Again' by Bernie Williams, 'What Kind of Lady' by Dee Dee Sharp, and the instrumental 'Thumb A Ride' by the Earl Wright Orchestra. The DJ most people will know is Steve Luigi - because he's a legend, but I'm sure there were others whose names I can't remember. I know that Frank (real name Ian Dewhirst) DJed there sometimes - and I remember him playing more modern tracks (which were popular at Cleethorpes Pier All-Nighter also) such as 'Ton of Dynamite' by Frankie 'Love Man' Crocker, and (I think) 'Summer in the Parks' by The East Coast Connection.
I remember walking down the steps into The Central, and getting a buzz from the atmosphere almost immediately. The club is oblong-shaped, and on descending the stairs you are entering at one corner - and so can see across the whole of the club. There would be lots of people you knew, and we all had our own type of greeting - I don't know if it has a name, but it's where you hold your hand out, palm-up - and the other person slaps down onto it, and then turns his hand palm-up - and you slap his hand.
We all used to occupy the same bit of the club each week - me and my mates used to be at the right hand side, in the middle. We were all from North Leeds - suburbs such as West Park, Horsforth, Cookridge, and Tinshill. Next to us, in the back right hand corner was usually Steve from (I think) Moortown area who rode a Vespa scooter. The group in the middle of the club were from (I think) East Leeds and were thought of (by me, at least) as the top soulies there. There was a guy called Gary who had long hair (when we had all had ours cut short) who wore a brown leather bomber jacket and he was the best dancer there, and a guy called Steve who wore an authentic American bowling shirt with an embroidered picture on the back. I remember going to the first Cleethorpes Pier All-Nighter with those guys - that would have been February 1976, I think - we all went on a minibus from Leeds city centre, and collected some others at the Manifesto Soul Club at Knottingley on the way. I remember standing on the pier in the cold, wet, dark night waiting for the Nighter to start. It was worth it , though - I remember it was one of the best nights I had. The big tunes there were 'So Is The Sun' by The World Column, 'Cut Your Motor Off' by Black Nasty, and 'Lend a Hand' by Bobby Hutton.
My mate Ian was probably the second best dancer there (or at least I think so). He was slim, and had black curly hair and wore glasses, and always wore a mod suit - made by a tailors called Trews on The Headrow in Leeds. A lot of us at The Central had our trousers made at Trews, and I had two suits made there. I can't ever recall going to Wigan with Ian, but I remember going with him to Blackpool Mecca and to Cleethorpes Winter Gardens - both times getting a lift from other people.
The group in the front right-hand corner were not known to me, but I remember them coming from nearby towns to the South-West of Leeds - such as Birstall, Cleckheaton, and Mirfield.
At the left-hand side (far end) of the club was the seating area and the bar - where the older soulies were. They were like the 'Elder Statesmen' of the soul scene, and they knew all the records being played, but they didn't normally get up and dance. There's pictures of them in The Gallery here on Soul Source and I can remember them from the pictures - but I never really spoke to them, or knew them. The main thing I remember about them is that they all seemed to have a beard!
There were loads of others whom I can't remember - but, if pressed, I bet I could bring some of them to mind. I've got a really good memory (for an old bloke) and could go into much more detail about names and places - but I'm not sure whether it is appropriate to do so on a public forum. I'm not used to this 'posting' lark!

Jeff 2020

Added by site Albums posted by @Petedillon

history

By Guest Soul Surveyor in Articles · August 13, 20204 yr

I am pleased to announce the next Big Man Records release BMR 1003, a fabulous double header from THE WEBS - DON'T EVER HURT ME B/W LITTLE GIRL BLUE, under licence from NUMERO GROUP via San Antonio, Texas based Dynamic Records, very possibly the rarest 45 on the label, prime Texas Soul served rare, record will come in a black card sleeve with sticker ident, collectors card in a high grade poly sleeve, taken from Dynamic masters.
As with the COMMANDS release BMR 1002 this will be a pre order record, £20.00 plus £3.00 UK SIGN FOR MAIL & £8.00 REST OF THE WORLD, pay pal as family and friends to avoid fees INCLUDE address PLEASE if you are unable to pay as family and friends add £1.00 to payment to cover fees, pay pal bicknellmark@aol.com
TO PRE ORDER PM HERE OR EMAIL bicknellmark@aol.com also on Facbook
The record is scheduled for release LATE autumn.

THE COMMANDS RELEASE BMR 1002 IS DUE OUT SOON, THE PRE ORDERS FOR THI HAVE BERN FANTASTIC WITH A 1/4 OF THE STOCK ALREADY PRE ORDERED, TO PRE ORDER SAME PRICE DETAIL AS ABOVE, TO PRE ORDER EMAIL bicknellmark@aol.com OR PM HERE.
QUIK_20200725_015439.mp4

QUIK_20200725_020116.mp4

releases

By Mark Bicknell in News Archives · August 10, 20204 yr

As you all know Northern Soul and Soul has been a massive part of our lives, its who we are, it’s our identity. During lockdown we found it incredibly hard living a life without the soul scene and all-nighter scene. Personally I miss making memories, hearing the history behind the soul music, and meeting those eccentrics with the best stories that you’d only ever meet in the dark corners of a nighter.
So we’ve been putting all that energy into this new project that will preserve the past & present soul scene and soul history through documenting photographs, memorabilia and the amazing stories that come with them.
We all play a massive part on the soul scene whether you’re a dancer, DJ, promoter or connoisseur you’re a part of the social history which needs to be documented for future years to come. The real scene needs to be documented for future soul fans.
Already we have received history defining imagery. So, if you too would like to get involved check out the link below. We are in the very early stages but we hope that you can help us grow and together build a community to tell the story of how soul music has shaped your life.
Feel free to submit your images through the website form, but please make sure that the images are yours to share.
If you are not able to submit the photographs through our site, fear not - get in touch with us via email at team@thesoularchive.com and we can organise to come to you.
Jordan, Charlotte and Mike.

By Northernjordan12 in News Archives · August 10, 20204 yr

Mainstream and local papers currently reporting last week's purchase of Frank Wilson - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) by Lee Jeffries
The mainstream take goes like this...
Harborough Mail
'It's like finding the Holy Grail' - Harborough multi-millionaire spends £100,000 on the world’s most valuable Motown record
In what he described as 'the most incredible fortnight I’ve ever had', he also got married and bought a Ferrari
More here
https://www.harboroughmail.co.uk/news/people/its-finding-holy-grail-harborough-multi-millionaire-spends-ps100000-worlds-most-valuable-motown-record-2934113
Clash Music
https://www.clashmusic.com/news/rare-soul-seven-inch-sells-for-£100000
Soul Source
Source members forum talk on this latest purchase started here
https://www.soul-source.co.uk/forums/topic/402826-frank-wilson-do-i-love-you-value/?do=findComment&comment=100110469

John Manship Video

motown music

By Mike in News Archives · August 8, 20204 yr

Gospel according to Mica – The Story of Gospel Music in Six Songs

British soul singer Mica Paris was brought up on gospel music and sang in church from an early age. In her teens, she became an international star, singing pop and soul and having worldwide hits. Now though, Mica is curious about the origins of the songs she sang so easily as a child, why some of her contemporaries have returned to their gospel roots as well as thinking about her own faith and her own big teenage decision to leave the church and sing secular music.
Mica revisits her childhood church in Lewisham to start exploring the meaning and origins of these famous gospel songs. She examines songs such as Amazing Grace and discovers the complex reasoning behind the words. She sings with The Kingdom Choir, made famous by the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan, and travels to the cotton fields of America, where gospel was used to make the work of enslaved Africans more bearable.
She meets the choir at Fisk University in Tennessee, who formed just after slavery was abolished and sang for Queen Victoria, and finds herself overwhelmed by her emotions when she finds out how the slavery freedom fighters used gospel to communicate.
Mica also delves into the history of Sam Cooke and Thomas A Dorsey, who both encountered tragedy in and out of the church, and she sings with bluesman Jools Holland to contemporise a favourite gospel tune.
Finally, Mica comes right up to date with the music of current artists, such as Stormzy, who have no fear of church versus secular music, are open about their faith and are combining the two with great success.
BBC 4 iPlayer link
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000l9tk

bbc

By Mike in News Archives · August 8, 20204 yr

Latest releases for August 2020 from Ace Records
Our regular Soul Source catch up of the month's new releases from Ace records...

In Memphis
Southern Soul
George Jackson
LP £15.60
The great singer/songwriter's essential Sounds of Memphis 70s recordings.

New Breed R&B - Saturday Night Special
New Breed R&B
Various Artists (New Breed R&B)
CD £11.50
The master tapes reveal more great New Breed R&B dance exclusives – fully augmented by rare records and elusive CD offerings from the past.

Dirty Work Going On - Kent & Modern Records Blues Into The 60s Vol 1
Blues
Various Artists (Kent/ Modern)
CD £11.50
The blues didn’t stop with the end of the 50s and, as soul ruled the charts, the grittier end of black music was well represented by the nine artists on this compilation.

Saint Etienne Present Songs For The Fountain Coffee Room
70s Rock
Various Artists (Saint Etienne)
CD £11.50
This is the soundtrack for a bar in mid-70s Los Angeles, the kind of place where Warren Beatty and Julie Christie might meet in the afternoon for a secret rendezvous. There’s a high quotient of blue-eyed soul, some airy R&B and the odd singer-songwriter. The pace is strictly mid-tempo; it’s too warm for anything faster.

Girls With Guitars Know Why!
Girls
Various Artists (Girls With Guitars)
LP £21.94
“It always bothered me when people would say, ‘You’re not bad for girls’. What does that mean, we can’t play? We would prove them wrong.” Cindy Wilhelmi, Girls Take Over

Full details on all THEabove releases can be had via Ace Records fine website along with information on Ace 45th Anniversary Singles due out later this month
https://acerecords.co.uk/
A more deliberate look at some of the above new releases will follow very shortly.

releases

By Mike in News Archives · August 5, 20204 yr

6 Whitworth Street - The Birthplace of Northern Soul

Introduction
This book is about the Northern Soul years of the Twisted Wheel Club, at its Whitworth Street location. It is about how one little basement club, in Manchester, created a worldwide music phenomenon. It attempts to follow the evolution of Black music at the club from Blues through to R&B, Mod, Soul to Northern Soul. Although the club went through different phases of Black music the lines were blurred and they were never completely segregated, R&B overlapped with Mod, Mod overlapped with Soul, etc resulting in different genres that were mixed by DJs in the same session.........................

Furness Peninsula Press:
6 Whitworth Street Manchester, The Birthplace of Northern Soul
by Rob McKeever
ISBN 978-0-9553283-5-0
Comprising 120 pages including 8 in full colour with approximately 70 images size B5 250mm high x 176mm wide

Extracts
Chapter 1
Brazennose Street
[The Scene Club London] “It was exciting at The Scene there were lots of interesting people. The DJ Guy Stephens, the man with the best R&B collection in the country was playing some of his precious rare records. He had the best records before anyone else. I used to go along with [Pete] Townshend to his flat in Regents Park to hear records that the High Numbers [later The Who] might want to play on stage or record. He had hundreds of albums and piles of singles from unknown and remote small record companies. For a fee he would tape the ones you wanted”.
In 1964 Stephens was employed by the Sue record label in the UK. During his tenure there he was responsible for releasing by agreement a string of successful singles on the Sue label, by obscure American artists. The Sue label was owned in the USA by Juggy Murray. Murray terminated the agreement when Stephens started issuing additional releases by other USA independent record companies on the label. Stephens also advised on the UK releases of Pye International who had access to the Chess/Checker recordings. It was Stevens who brought Chuck Berry to the UK for his first tour after paying his bail to get him out of jail. ........................Inspired by the Scene Club the two Rogers (Eagle and Fairhurst) went on a mission to fulfil their objective of promoting Black music in Manchester, as Fairhurst explains:
“So on Friday and Saturday nights I think it was, we use to get an armful of records each and walked around the centre of Manchester going in all these clubs and saying why you don’t play this stuff. And these people looked at us as if we were absolutely out of our fucking minds”.........................
Eagle had previously visited the Scene Club at a time when he briefly resided in London. Later when he became a DJ at The Wheel he sourced records from Guy Stevens......................................

The initial invitation, made some months previously by the Abadi brothers had finally materialised and Eagle started his DJ career at the first all-nighter held at the club on Saturday, 28th September 1963 as Eagle recalled:
“That was the first time ever that a place [in the UK] played almost 100% Black music. It was danceable [music]. I had to keep people dancing for 7 hours and there weren’t many Soul and R&B records about at the time, the bands played for 45 minutes [on that particular night Graham Bond Quartet and Spencer Davis]. I played Little Richard, Black Rock and Roll and Rhythm and Blues. The first few weeks were dismal, as they were attended by a scruffy bunch of ex-Left Wingers.....................
Carl Woodroffe who started going to The Wheel in November 1964 and continued until 1965. He later resumed his visits to The Wheel at Whitworth Street in 1967. Carl himself was a pioneer who took Northern Soul to the Midlands under his DJ name, ‘Farmer Carl Dene’. He was responsible for starting the Soul nights at Chateaux Impney, from January 1965-1967, and the legendary Catacombs Club, Wolverhampton, which he started in October 1968.................................................
Chapter 2
Whitworth Street
By coincidence, the move to Whitworth Street was musically ‘right-on- time’. The Atlantic Record Company, one of the all-time great Black music record labels had sixteen releases in 1964 but over fifty in 1965. ................The Mods took to ‘Southern’ Soul with its edgy, double meaning lyrics with gusto .....................In 1965, the Tamla Motown Label (TMG) was launched in the UK. Tamla Motown was an amalgamation for UK releases of US labels, Motown, Gordy, Soul and V.I.P. Previous Motown releases in the UK had been on Oriole, Fontana and (mainly) Stateside. In that year TMG released 48 records. In the same year, other US labels with a presence in the UK had noted a increasing popularity in Black American music and followed suit. In 1965 Okeh, the R&B label owned by Columbia Records in the US released R&B and Soul music on Columbia UK .............................................
1966 brought a flood of releases; most were hardly up-tempo.....................That year did, however, give the first glimpse of things to come when TMG (Tamla Motown Group) released Stevie Wonder’s ‘Uptight’ in January and, a few months later, The Miracles’ ‘Whole Lotta Shaking in My Heart’. Both what would later be termed ‘floor-shakers’. ................... Even the ‘King of Rock and Roll’ Little Richard was recording Soul records on the UK Columbia label by 1966 with ‘A Little Bit of Something’ and ‘Poor Dog’.
. Although a lot of Motown was played at The Wheel, as the 60s progressed the crowd preferred the more uncommon Motown releases such as Barbara McNair, ‘You’re Gonna Love My Baby’; The Temptations, ‘Girl, Why You Wanna Make Me Blue’; The Contours, ‘Just a Little Misunderstanding’; Marv Johnson, ‘I Miss You Baby’; Gladys Knight, ‘Just Walk in My Shoes’; The Velvelettes, ‘These things Will Keep Me Loving You’; and Marvin Gaye, ‘Little Darlin’. All of these recordings became enduring Wheel favourites and arguably, in technical terms, some of the best Motown produced. ........................... by 1966 they didn’t have to look that far for records. UK Soul releases were by now plentiful and if you knew about them before they were deleted most could be bought or ordered in Manchester at various record shops, notably at Barry’s Record Rendezvous which became The Wheel managements’ supplier of choice. It was customary for one of the Saturday night DJs to visit the record shop on a Saturday afternoon, as Wheel DJ Barry Turner did. He remembers Barry Ancill, the proprietor of the record shop, would have around twenty new Soul releases already selected for him; he would go into the booth and listen to them and decide what to play at The Wheel.

In Manchester, as the 1960s progressed, The Wheel went from strength to strength. The Mods ruled The Wheel until around 1968 when the mohair suits were replaced by denim jeans and jackets and Ben Sherman shirts. A fierce competition to find obscure Levi and Wrangler jackets with cord or leather collars ensued. The club still espoused fashion, dance and a passion for Black American dance music.
.....................The club’s reputation had stretched far and wide, and there were few towns and cities in the North, Midlands and parts of Scotland that were excluded from its members’ address list. Phil Saxe, who was a regular, then a DJ at the club from 1965-71, estimated that by the late 60s “50% of the attendees were from the Manchester area and 50% were from out-of-town”.
............................. No one, on a first visit, could fail to be mesmerised as they walked downstairs to the basement and into the DJ room early doors, to see the dancers in full flow to a record like Mitch Ryder’s ‘Breakout’. Fast and furious footwork, arms flying in the air interspersed with spins, drop-backs and the splits. The dancing, at times, was complemented with the spontaneous handclap of leather on leather. At work the following week, some of these dancers would almost certainly be shrinking violets but, at that very moment in time, they were masters of their own Northern Soul universe, filled with a confidence and a look of invincibility that amphetamines readily gave....................If there are any doubters that Northern Soul dancing was inspired by Black artists then, with the benefit of hindsight provided by technology, we can lay that argument to rest. You can now observe on YouTube, Jackie Wilson’s performance live in 1965, dancing and singing to ‘Baby Workout’, spinning, doing the splits and drop-backs with natural ease. Similarly, watch the 1963 recording of ‘Monkey Time’ by Major Lance, as he effortlessly displays his footwork ‘Northern’ style around the dance floor or any number of James Brown videos showing his finesse at the splits. Not only did Wheelers follow the music of Black America but also the dance moves.......................................................It is difficult to describe the excitement this club generated for its members. To most of them, the music and the club was everything. The sheer adrenaline rush felt when you queued outside waiting to enter hearing the music from inside being blasted out by a speaker on the street and again when you walked into the club, was immeasurable. Contrary to popular opinion, the club was probably the safest place most of them had ever spent a night and by far the most atmospheric. To every uninformed parent, it was their worst nightmare. In their mindset a violent drugs den, full of undesirables and swarming with police. Or as one regular aptly put it “The club was very edgy in its ‘60s heyday, in that it was publicly regarded as a hellhole full of drug-crazed zombies. However, if you were a Wheeler, it was a great friendly club at the cutting edge of fashion and music”....................................The Wheel was instrumental in inspiring most ‘things’ Northern Soul: exclusive records, the dancing, talc, badges (originally worn on blazers), the traditional handshake and holdalls for the travellers. It spawned the first UK Black music magazine, R’nB Scene, and the first bootleg records on the Soul Sounds Label,

Chapter 3
Saturday Night DJs
..................Paul Davis played 90% UK releases. Generally, all were new to the Manchester public at their first playing, but he also had some Motown imports. He was probably the first to bring to The Wheel: The Contours, ‘First I Look at the Purse’; Earl Van Dyke, ‘I Can’t Help Myself’; The Incredibles, ‘There’s Nothing Else to Say Baby’; the immortal Darrell Banks’s, ‘Open The Door to Your Heart’ (on Stateside); and he is almost certain, Lou Johnson, ‘Unsatisfied’.   In 1968, his plays from release included Al Wilson, ‘The Snake’ (on Liberty); Tommy Neal, ‘Going to a Happening’ (on Vocalion); and The Show Stoppers, ‘Ain’t Nothing but a House Party’ (on Beacon)...........................He enthuses, as he remembers sitting in the dressing room and chatting with the likes of Junior Walker, Ike and Tina Turner and Ben E King, after they had made an appearance. In particular, he was full of admiration for Edwin Starr and Jimmy Ruffin...............
.......................Brian Phillips “In my time DJ-ing at The Wheel, imports were becoming more and more prevalent and accounted for around 35% of my plays. Soul imports started surfacing in the mid-‘60s, turning up in obscure places, especially market stalls in London, where I visited on a regular basis. I went frequently on a Saturday getting the early train and returning on the last one. There were regular market stalls I used to visit, Record Corner in Balham was a good source but I never had much luck at Soul City. Many shops seem to have records in the 60s, I remember going into a book shop in Manchester and there was a stack of Okeh records lying on the floor”..................

Chapter 4
The Clubs Legacy
The lamented closure of The Twisted Wheel was far from the end of Northern Soul. Perhaps the most important part of The Wheel’s immediate legacy was reviving the careers of Black America’s forgotten artists. The Wheel was responsible for some UK Records re-releases in 1970. The Artistics, ‘I’m Gonna Miss You’ (MCA); The Contours ‘Just a Little Misunderstanding’ (TML); and Little Hank ‘Mr Bang Man’ (Monument), all saw chart success on the back of Twisted Wheel plays....................After The Wheel’s closure in 1971, the momentum continued. The UK R&B charts compiled by Blues and Soul magazine were awash with Twisted Wheel classics including Bobbi Lynn, ‘Earthquake’; Jackie Lee, ‘Shotgun’ and ‘The Duck’; The Formations, ‘At the Top of the Stairs’; Mel and Tim, ‘Backfield in Motion’; Tony Clarke, ’Landslide’; and Ramsey Lewis, ‘Wade in the Water’. .....................More importantly in the same year, there were some commercial breakthroughs in the national charts for records that ‘flopped’ on their original release. Tammi Lynn’s ‘I’m Gonna Run Away From You’ reached number four in the UK Top Twenty Singles Chart. The Elgins ‘Heaven Must Have Sent You’ (TML label) reached number three. The Fascinations ’Girls Are Out To Get You’ had three releases, on Stateside, Sue and Mojo; the later release and most successful of these reached number 32 on 3rd July 1971..............‘Hey Girl Don’t Bother Me’ by The Tams, originally released in 1964 in the UK on HMV, reached number one on 18th September 1971 on the Probe label, staying there for three weeks.
Chapter 5
‘The Twisted Wheel Revival
After the closure of The Twisted Wheel, 6 Whitworth Street was reopened by the Abadi bothers as a licensed club called Placemate 7. After Placemate 7, the building went through several changes of use. Ultimately before its demolition, the building was used as a gay club, called Legends. At the closure of The Wheel in 1971, a young Mancunian vowed to himself to reopen the club. It was the Legends Club he walked into 28 years later in 1999 and told the leaseholder at the time:
“You don’t know what you have got here, this was once a famous R&B/Soul club, it’s famous all over the world and I would like to reopen it for a few nights a week”.
“Sorry not interested,” was the reply. Undeterred he retorted, “Well I am going to keep coming in here and keep asking until you say yes”.
Every so often he would go to Whitworth Street and ask the same question and every time he received the same answer, No. After about 6 months of pestering, one evening when he walked into the empty club the owner looked at him and retorted:
“Oh no not you again, I have had enough of this, what night do you want”?
“A Friday”, he replied. “No chance, you can have a Thursday.” “I’ll take it”, he said.
On Thursday, 6th July 2000, for the first time in 29 years, the club opened its doors to the sound of Black American music, 215 people turned out at a few days’ notice. Surprisingly even in the latter years of the 20th century, although the building had been knocked about a bit internally, it had essentially retained much of the same physicality as in 1971.

A Whitworth Street ‘Northern Soul’ Discography
A complete discography of all the records played at Whitworth Street is way beyond the scope of this book. It is more a guide to some of the records that were played that could be, but not necessary all of them considered ‘Northern Soul’ in the years ‘66-‘71. ...............................To get an idea of the volume of records played at the club, Ivor Abadi is quoted as saying they had around 5,000 stolen in 1968 although this number is considered an exaggeration. To those, you can add at least 500/1000 that the club acquired since that date to its closure (some DJs estimate purchasing 10-20 records per week depending on what was available). Then add the personal collections of the DJs, numerous LP tracks and a substantial amount of records brought in by members over an eight-year period. ...................
Available from Furness peninsula press, Ebay, specialist soul outlets
Furness Peninsula Press:
6 Whitworth Street Manchester, The Birthplace of Northern Soul
by Rob McKeever
ISBN 978-0-9553283-5-0
Comprising 120 pages including 8 in full colour with approximately 70 images size B5 250mm high x 176mm wide
http://furnesspeninsulapress.co.uk/books/6-whitworth-street-manchester-the-birthplace-of-northern-soul/
Price £15.00 + £1.95p/p; Pay by paypal to email rjmckeever@gmail.com.
Also available from eBAY , Amazon and specialist bookshops. The book can also be ordered from any bookshop with the ISBN number

twisted wheel

By Chapelisland in Articles · August 3, 20204 yr

No second chance indeed. Time for our regular Soul Source eBay catch up.
The top eBay soul related auctions from the last month July 2020 went like this...

Soul Record Auctions - Recent Completed Soul Auctions [sorted by value]
Ron Everett Glitter Of The City Vagabond King Lp Privat.. $4139.89 ended 21 Jul The Deadbeats - No Second Chance Original 67 Garage .. $2125.00 ended 04 Jul Cashmeres Show Stopper Hem Hear $1911.00 ended 27 Jul Unknown Artist-i Love You Unreleased Test Press - Vg Mp3 $1891.00 ended 30 Jul Lee Mckinney The Magnetics-i Ll Keep Holding On-orig .. $1878.00 ended 07 Jul Modern Soul - Dynamic Upsetters - Tricky Chic Love Chan.. $1402.89 ended 01 Jul Ascots Another Day Mir-a-don Hear $1300.99 ended 27 Jul Modern Crossover Soul Cloudburst-i M Lovin You Stormy M.. $1246.00 ended 30 Jul Northern Crossover Soul Petersons What S It Gonna Be Me.. $1202.00 ended 26 Jul Detroit - Ronnie Mcneir - Sitting In My Class - De-to $1200.55 ended 01 Jul The Wimple Winch Save My Soul Original Fontana Sample.. $1178.60 ended 26 Jul Tony Galla In Love Listen $1136.00 ended 13 Jul Memphis - Inside My Love - Holy Grail Modern Soul Boogi.. $1125.00 ended 05 Jul 60 S Original Jeanette Wade Flemons Ramsel .. $1115.63 ended 06 Jul Katie Briggs Last Time Around Mod Funk Hear $1025.00 ended 29 Jul Moses Dillard The Tex-town Display - Now Lp - Tex To.. $1000.00 ended 21 Jul 70 S Soul Lyde Fisher Giles Serve Me Right T.. $929.22 ended 12 Jul Topics Hey Girl Where Are You Going Chadwick Hear $909.00 ended 27 Jul We The People - Who Babe Short Long Version Killer .. $889.00 ended 05 Jul Funk Boogie Modern Soul - Garth - The Groove - New Orle.. $861.99 ended 26 Jul Ted Wilson-i Can T Take It No More-sierra 267 Hear It $860.00 ended 26 Jul 70 S Original Alfie Davison Love Is A Serious Business.. $843.94 ended 05 Jul Frankie And Johnny I Ll Hold You Mod Soul Dancer H.. $813.76 ended 26 Jul Gospel Northern X-over Soul Sister Lydia-come Holy Spir.. $787.00 ended 30 Jul Lady Soul Lp By Aretha Franklin Vinyl Nov-2005 4 M.. $750.00 ended 18 Jul The Sherrys Put Your Arms Around Me Happy Girl $742.00 ended 21 Jul Modern Soul Boogie - Wreckin Crew Band - Cruisin With.. $711.00 ended 27 Jul R B Elbie Parker Please Keep Away From Me Veep Listen $700.57 ended 09 Jul Modern Soul - Chosen Few Band - What It Takes To Live -.. $695.30 ended 27 Jul Modern Soul Embers At The Buckhead Beach Star Song Hear $685.00 ended 26 Jul Ann Caudell - Longing For You - Quick - Mp3 $656.00 ended 27 Jul 70 S Soul Richard Caiton I See Love Girl In Yo.. $636.56 ended 12 Jul 70 S Original Bessie Banks Don T You Worry Baby Nr .. $624.75 ended 12 Jul Jimmy Harris - You D Better Show Me - Gws - Mp3 - Obscure $621.00 ended 27 Jul Northern Modern Soul 70 S Original Harold H Andre.. $616.88 ended 05 Jul Dynamite Singletary - The Same Way You Love Your Man - Mp3 $615.00 ended 27 Jul Jeb Stuart Dreamers Hall Of Fame Eureka Records O.. $605.00 ended 18 Jul Modern Soul Boogie 44 East Band I Like Your Ways Showdo.. $600.00 ended 05 Jul 45 Record Collection 1960 S Pop Rock Soul Uk Beatles Es.. $599.99 ended 15 Jul Cammy Jones He Never Came Back Unreleased Us 1964.. $595.88 ended 12 Jul Lee Roye Tears $590.63 ended 12 Jul The Beatles Please Please Me Black And Gold Northern Mo.. $590.63 ended 23 Jul The Beatles - Please Please Me Black Gold Northern So.. $570.94 ended 19 Jul King Cannon Soul Scorchia Glen Dave Lucky Boy Tr663 1.. $569.63 ended 26 Jul Funk - Sir Guy - Let Home Cross Your Mind - D P G - Vg.. $565.66 ended 26 Jul Compton Soul Funk Private Fire Water Kool Generation .. $565.00 ended 20 Jul Brice Coefield Ain T That Right $557.81 ended 12 Jul Mr Foundation The Clarendonians Timo-oh Hole In Yo.. $544.69 ended 16 Jul Hank Mobley Soul Station Music Matters Srx Audiophi.. $535.00 ended 20 Jul Funk Soul Disco Flipside Havin A Party Listen $530.00 ended 09 Jul Wind Song Self Titled Private Modern Soul Lp $528.99 ended 12 Jul Original The Volcanoes Laws Of Love Arctic Demo Nr.. $525.00 ended 18 Jul Gaston - My Queen Lp - Hotlanta - Modern Soul Funk $523.00 ended 21 Jul Hank Mobley Soul Station Blue Note Lp Mono W63rd Deep G.. $517.99 ended 19 Jul Private Modern Soul Boogie Lee Alfred Rockin-poppin Ful.. $511.76 ended 05 Jul Northern Sweet Soul Andrea Henry I Need You Like A Baby.. $510.00 ended 09 Jul Funk Sweet Soul - Transfer - Nothing - Greenback - Mp3 $510.00 ended 26 Jul Disco Boogie Funk 12 Mary Gold-dancing Goldfox Int L -.. $504.00 ended 09 Jul Private Modern Soul Boogie Nightwind Why Can T We Star .. $500.00 ended 05 Jul Original Elbie Parker Please Keep Away From Me Veep 1.. $499.99 ended 20 Jul Sweet Soul - Dobby Dobson - What Love Has Joined Togeth.. $498.00 ended 27 Jul Gene Townsel Can T Stop A Poor Man From Making Love .. $495.00 ended 05 Jul Mighty Ryeders - Mighty Riders Star Children Sun Glo .. $493.88 ended 05 Jul Dale Talbert Lp None But The Righteous Gospel Disco Fun.. $493.00 ended 20 Jul Mega Lp Original Private Funk Soul Boogie Standing Room.. $481.21 ended 28 Jul Jack Hammer - What Greater Love - Funk 7 United Arti.. $479.06 ended 19 Jul Tamla 102 Eddie Holland Orig R B Doo Wop Soul E Me.. $479.00 ended 07 Jul Fl N Soul - Lewis Clark Tigertown Let S Do It Now I .. $478.00 ended 17 Jul Joan Dovalle Let Me Go Sport Hear $478.00 ended 27 Jul Nos Original 1974 Magnum Fully Loaded Vinyl 12 Lp .. $472.00 ended 17 Jul Disco Boogie Funk 12 Pike-good Feelings Penke Promo - .. $467.00 ended 09 Jul 45 Reggae Bongo Herman Super Soul Super Cool .. $466.01 ended 14 Jul The Beatles Rubber Soul Original Factory Sealed First P.. $464.00 ended 30 Jun R B Mod Soul Little Joe Hinton The Whip Twist Kent Hear $460.99 ended 27 Jul The Conquistadors Sadness And Madness $459.38 ended 13 Jul 60 S Original The Adorables Ooh Boy Golden W.. $456.61 ended 18 Jul Latin Soul Funk - Joe Bataan - Young Gifted Brown - U.. $456.00 ended 27 Jul Aura When The Feelings Right Stop Modern Soul F.. $455.00 ended 01 Jul Latin Soul Funk - Ghetto Brothers - I Saw A Tear Power .. $455.00 ended 27 Jul Boogie Funk 12 Mobley Gang-groove For You Chancy - Ult.. $455.00 ended 30 Jul Moovers One Little Dance Deep City Hear $452.67 ended 26 Jul Hear Stan Kline Forest Flower Jazz Funk Private $449.00 ended 07 Jul Wqbc - Wanna Quit But Can T Lp - Thunder Bay - Modern .. $437.99 ended 21 Jul Super Billy Wooten The Wooden Glass Original Soul Jazz Lp $433.00 ended 25 Jul True Design I Wanna Break 7 Ex- Us Macdad Vinyl Listen.. $432.00 ended 23 Jul Funk Duke Leonard Just Do The Best You Can Stomp Town.. $426.99 ended 26 Jul Roy Roberts - Country Star Lp - House Of Roton - Nc Mod.. $425.00 ended 21 Jul Northern Modern Soul Thomas Lord Duckett Open Up You.. $421.31 ended 05 Jul Cumulo Nimbus Forty Seven Times It S Own Weight 1975 .. $420.01 ended 11 Jul The Caesars Girl I Miss You Lanie Promo Hear $409.00 ended 07 Jul Immaculate Vg Mono Lou Donaldson Swing Soul Blue No.. $408.00 ended 16 Jul Georgie Fame Somebody Stole My Thunder Killer Mod Psych.. $406.88 ended 03 Jul Carl Holmes Us Blackjack Soul Dance No 3 Hear $406.88 ended 15 Jul Rays Love Another Girl Amy Promo Hear $405.00 ended 26 Jul 45 Record Lot 420 Records Doo Wop Soul Rock And Roll $400.00 ended 02 Jul Tan Geers Let My Heart And Soul Be Free Okeh 7319 Radio.. $400.00 ended 15 Jul Hank Mobley Soul Station Og Usa Blue Note Lp Deep Groov.. $399.00 ended 06 Jul Soul Inc What Goes Up Must Come Down Emblem Vg Hear $397.92 ended 26 Jul Pa Sweet Soul Teen - Kal S Kids Vernon 967 Long Broke.. $397.00 ended 17 Jul Crystals Promo Are You Trying To Get Rid Of Me I Got.. $393.75 ended 22 Jul
Check out our Soul Source eBay tools (via the link below )
Ways to stay ahead of the game, all tomorrows bargains listed today...

https://www.soul-source.co.uk/newsletters/

By Mike in News Archives · August 2, 20204 yr

East Coast Soul Collective and North Yorkshire Soul Club.
Dear friends
As we arrive into the month of August, here is a quick catch up on our events and promotions, re-arranged dates and ticket information.
Firstly, as responsible promoters, we must strongly reiterate our mission statement :-
"That the safety and well being of our customers, friends, staff and everyone connected with the smooth and safe running of our events is and remains our NUMBER ONE PRIORITY".
Please note that due to Corona Virus all our up and coming promotions are cancelled until the Bridlington June 2021 Weekender.
Running order and dates for 2021
The Bridlington Northern & Modern Soul weekender #14 has now been re-scheduled to take place on Friday 25th June 2021 to Sunday 27th June 2021. All 2020 tickets are valid for the 2021 date. Tickets are available from Bridlington Spa Box Office and all DJs. Priced £30.00
The Scarborough Northern Soul Weekender due to take place Friday October 30th to November 1st. 2020 has now been Cancelled and re-arranged to take place over the weekend of Friday 22 Oct 2021 to Sunday 24 Oct 2021 as above all tickets currently sold for the 2020 will automatically be valid for the 2021 event. Price is £30.00
Our next instalment of our popular “All Shades of Soul” event was due to take place on Saturday 27th November 2020, this has now been re-scheduled to Saturday 20th November 2021. Tickets will be available soon, priced at £10 advance or £12 pay on the door if not sold out in advance.
We are continuing to work closely with both Spa management teams, EYEvents and S I V to ensure the safe running of all our events. We shall continue to watch closely and follow Government Guidelines on safety whilst running and planning our events.
As this weekend has proved, things can change very quickly with the Corona-virus including government legislation to control and lockdown individual areas.
We would like to thank you all for your continued support and understanding during these strange, unprecedented and uncertain times we currently are facing. Things will get better in the future and we hope to see you all then.
Thanking you all in advance

Rob Wigley, Pat Brady and Rob Wicks
for ECSC & NYSC

By Rob Wigley in Event News · August 1, 20204 yr

The return of our irregular Soul Source competition feature.
Yep after a bit of a break the competitions are back with a chance for all members to get their ears and hands on a fine recent and decent quality cd release, from Kent Records.
The highly rated 'Soul Voices - 60s Big Ballads' being the fine album on offer.

Soul Voices - 60s Big Ballads - Kent Records
Release Notes Preview
Majestic male vocalists singing over subtly orchestrated arrangements of superb songs were the pinnacle of 1960s black music sophistication.
Male soul balladeers from the 60s have always been particularly admired. Roy Hamilton, Walter Jackson, Lou Johnson and Ben E King – some of the A-listers featured here – epitomise the genre and have devoted followers. This grand sound evolved from the first soul records which emanated in the early 60s mainly in New York, where three quarters of the tracks here were recorded.
Full Audio preview of 6 of the 24 tracks
(sign in spotify (free) to listen to full versions)

More info of this fine release can be had via our latest soul music news feature
https://www.soul-source.co.uk/articles/news-soul/soul-voices-60s-big-ballads-kent-records-r4252/

To enter the current Soul Source 'Soul Voices' competition...
All you have to do is...
Look right and down and hit that green vote up arrow - its grey to start with - when you hover it goes green and your name shows once hit
Come Monday the 10th August 2020 at 18:00hrs sharp a lucky lucky 'winner' will be drawn from the list of all the members who have 'upped' this article (via the green arrow as per the above) and a copy will be headed for their doormat asp.
That's all, our competition is back and now open, all you need to do is just sit back read, listen and 'up',,,,
Good luck now!

By Mike in News Archives · July 31, 20204 yr

Hit and Run - New 45s from Syl Johnson & Bill Brandon
ANNOUNCING - 2 New Hit and Run 45s - 1st August 2020.
Orders being taken NOW - Same day mailing
Please paypal - hitandrunsoul45@gmail.com
£12.00 each + UK postage £3.00 (good for 1-3 records)
Iconic names in the world of soul music, here with 2 new-to-45 releases

HR 1519 SYL JOHNSON - Try My Love Again / Starting Tomorrow
Starting Tomorrow
https://www.dropbox.com/s/zg487eyn7cxzh3b/HR 1517 B - Syl Johnson - Starting Tomorrow.mp3?dl=0
Syl gave me a CDR with these 2 unreleased tracks on sometime around 2004/5, they’ve been with me waiting on a release ever since. After he did he pacted with Numero. I tried to lease ‘Try’ from them, they declined – then released it themselves in 2011 as part of the Syl 45s box-set. Syl now has control of his masters again and HR 1519 is the first time it’s been available as a stand-alone 45. It’s classic Syl Johnson Twinight era. Our flip is completely unreleased and was to be included on an unreleased 1981 Shama LP, cut in Hollywood with Darryl Carter.
HR 1520 BILL BRANDON - All I Need Is You / When You Get What You Want
When You Get What You Want -

Most every soul collector has a Bill Brandon 45 in their collection. Due to no precise documentation, not possible to accurately date these 2 Quinvy Studio cuts - but from the 67-70 era. Unreleased until the 1989 Charly LPs, we have a really good midpace dancer 'A' c/w classic Southern deep soul flip. There has been a call for these 2 on 45 for many years.

Check the facebook page for other recent releases - hitandrun soul45

releases

By Dewsburyborn in News Archives · July 30, 20204 yr

This coming Wednesday the 29th July 2020
Is my life long friend Keith Minshulls 70th Birthday.
Because he is shielding as per government guidelines
Keith has been isolating at home with his dog Bobby since March.
So I thought it would be a nice idea to put up the fact that it is his 70th Birthday so you can send him a HB message which I know he would appreciate. I have known Keith since I was 16 years old and in my opinion he is one of the most important originators of this scene we call Northern Soul.
We met in a local record shop in Kidsgrove Steeles on Market Street in 1969and were inseparable for many years chasing and collecting records from Sherwins in Hanley Bews in Burslem, Ralphs in Manchester, Reddingtons in Birmingham, F L Moore in Bedford, Woolworths in Newcastle Under Lyme, Oldies Unlimited Telford, Bradford Market, Picadilly Records Manchester, Selecta Disc Nottingham & many many more.
He has never flinched from supporting and collecting the music from the Twisted Wheel, Torch, Wigan Casino, Stafford and beyond!! We did our first promotion together at Talke Pits Village Hall, Stoke On Trent in 1969. We Dj'ed together at The Torch pre and throughout the World Famous Allnighters. We still today play together when we can but obviously this has been a tough time for us all.
So all I ask is that if you have any pics stories or memories of Keith to add them to your Happy Birthday Wishes!! It would lift his spirits more than you would know!!
Thank You
Colin Curtis

By Colin Dimond in News Archives · July 26, 20204 yr

Press Release: Elbowed-Out “All Men Don’t Love The Same/Believe It” SJ542
Release Date: Monday August 17th 2020
Soul Junction’s involvement with Elbowed-Out stretches as far back as 2012 when during the licensing of the hugely popular Oliver Cheatham release “Don’t Pop The Question (If You Can’t Take The Answer), we were first introduced to Detroiter William . R. Miller (Bill) the songs producer and Oliver’s cousin.
Bill who by then had moved to the West Coast subsequently offered us some previously unissued tracks on a little known group, Elbowed-Out.
Elbowed-Out were a group of mixed race musicians out of Seattle, Washington state.
A working group who had performed in Seattle, the town of Juneau in Alaska, across the border in Canada, and later on in Japan, where they built up quite a following.
2013 heralded the first release of two Elbowed-Out’s unissued songs as a vinyl 45, the two excellent dancers “Taking A Step/Girl You Got Magic” (SJ523) featuring Sam Chambliss on lead vocals. Followed in 2014 by a second 45 featuring another dance track “Things Are Changing” this time with Denis Wilcox on lead b/w the soulful ballad “Just To Be With You” (SJ527)with Sam Chambliss again on lead, both hugely popular sellers.
Due to the group’s new found popularity, I had toyed with the idea of a third 45 release of a further two strong tracks but felt that this would weaken the impact of the forthcoming planned CD album of the groups entire body of work, so at that juncture it never happened. 2015 saw the release of Elbowed-Out’s first album “Everybody Get Up” (SJCD 5010) primarily aimed at the Japanese market where it sold very well.

Fast forward to 2020 and with the CD album all but sold out, the niggling idea to release a third 45 returned. So before you now you have the two strong tracks originally kept back for the album, the uplifting late 70’s dancer “All Men Don’t Love The Same” backed with “ the early 80’s sophisticated stepper “Believe It “ both featuring Sam Chambliss on lead vocals. Such is the quality of these two tracks it really did come down to the toss of a coin as to which song was used as the A-side.
Elbowed-Out’s mission in life was “to get you up and out of your seat, and then to begin to move your feet” something I think you’ll agree they most certainly have achieved.
For Further information please contact Soul Junction at:
Tel +44 (0) 121 602 8115 or E-mail: sales@souljunctionrecords.co.uk
or visit the site http://www.souljunctionrecords.co.uk/SJ542.html

Elbowed-Out: The Lost Soul Of Seattle.
Elbowed-Out were a mixed race group of musicians out of the west coast city of Seattle in the state of Washington. Initially, a college group that was formed sometime during 1971/72 while studying at the city’s University of Washington.
The founding members were Denis Wilcox the groups lead guitarist who alternated lead vocal duties with trainee music teacher Sam Chambliss. Chambliss interspersed singing lead vocals with playing trumpet and trombone in the group’s horn section. Which also included Nick Ceasar on baritone saxophone (who also occasionally played some keyboard parts), Ray Baldwin on trumpet (and sometime background vocalist) and Herman Smith who later changed his name to Jabril Rashid on tenor and alto-saxophone. Gaylord Young was the group’s main Keyboards player. Clarence Acox was the group’s original drummer together with bass guitarists Billy Jackson and Machouwi.
Machouwi after only six months quit the group to be replaced by the more experienced bassist Manuel Stanton, who was briefly joined by guitarist L.A. Jackson during 1975. Machouwi’s lasting legacy to the group would be their slightly left field performing name which came about after one of the group’s earliest rehearsals, when Nick Caesar , Denis Wilcox and Machouwi were rushing to get into their car during a heavy rain shower. During the ensuing light hearted jostling as all three of them tried to enter the car at the same time, Machouwi was heard to say “Oh man, I done messed around and got elbowed-out!” as he stood there with his bare elbow protruding through a rip in the sleeve of his jacket. When they later relayed this story to the other group members ,following a initial fit of laughter the idea of the group name of ‘Elbowed-Out ‘ was born.
Elbowed-Out became regular performers at local junior and high school gigs. Their repertoire included cover versions of songs made famous by the Blackbyrds, the Crusaders and Herbie Hancock amongst many others. They eventually graduated on to the Seattle club scene, where they featured as the support act for the likes of James Brown, The O’Jays and Tower Of Power. At this time the group had not yet considered writing any of their own material but this was later to change when they met a young Detroiter by the name of Bill Miller. Bill who had honed his production and writing skills as part of the production team on Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music” at CBS Records and at Motown records working alongside Jeffrey Bowen with The Temptations and The Commodores (including Lionel Ritchie). Bill’s liaison with Elbowed-Out began during 1978 but was to last for no more than a year during which time he was to write and produce several songs for and with other Elbowed-Out members. Although recorded and performed as part of the groups repertoire this material was to remain unreleased (for the moment anyway).
Elbowed –Out continued to perform concerts in and around Seattle attempting to secure bookings in the more prominent white clubs but they were only allowed to perform in them during special Sunday afternoon shows, as the club owners wouldn’t hire them for a week as they didn’t want to attract the black audience. So with this in mind Elbowed-Out purchased the necessary equipment and hit the road securing a gig in Juneau, Alaska. This Alaskan adventure was to be short lived when a subsequent fire in the club destroyed all of their newly purchased equipment. The following police investigation raised suspicions about the possibility of arson to collect insurance and a possible murder attempt all of which left the group broke and having to somehow find their way home! But help was soon at hand when the local Juneau fans of Elbowed-Out, after finding out about the group’s plight hastily organized a charity event where Elbowed-Out performed with all the proceeds from the ticket sales being given to the group to help them get home.
Undeterred, the group put enough equipment together and headed off to Canada. Their first gig was in Vancouver B.C. followed by further bookings across the country. It was at this point that after five years in the band that drummer Clarence Acox quit to be replaced by Freddie Hall.
While touring Canada a connection was made which led to the band being invited to perform in Japan at the famous Mugen club in Tokyo. Prior to this Far East adventure Bobby Mabalay who after converting to the Islamic faith changing his name to Shafiq, joined the group as their sound man, a talented guy who occasionally played percussion while mixing at the same time!
After the Mugen gig which ran from December of 1981 to the end of March 1982, Sam Chambliss quit the band deciding to return to Seattle to teach music following the birth of his son. A further change in group personel saw Freddie Hall leaving the group to be replaced by a new drummer Daryl Taplin. Further gigs followed in the Pacific islands of Singapore, Indonesia and Japan before returning home to Seattle.
During 1988 original group members Denis Wilcox, Nick Ceasar and Jabril Rashid along with Vincent Bembry, Doug Lewis, Butch Harrison and Billy Bradford made the recently discovered and final known Elbowed-Out recording “Girl I Want You” recorded at Denis Wilcox’s home studio. A further drummer J.J. Sutton then joined Elbowed-Out remaining with them until their final gig in the Japanese city of Nagoya in 1991. Following the final gig the guys returned home to Seattle and finally disbanded. Although circa twelve months later Denis Wilcox did return to Nagoya where he married Jazz vocalist Emi Higashikawa with whom he still performs as a duo to this day.
During 2012 we at Soul Junction Records were fortunate to discover two excellent unissued Oliver Cheatham tracks “Don’t Pop The Question/Good Guys Don’t Make Good Lovers” (SJ518) and it was during the brokering of a subsequent licensing deal that we were introduced to the songs producer Bill Miller (who just happened to be Oliver’s cousin). During a later conversation Bill mentioned that he had some other unissued material on a group he worked with out of Seattle would we be interested? If it was anything near as good as the Cheatham tracks then you bet we would! Well it was, and following the previous release of two well received Elbowed-Out 45 singles. Firstly “Taking A Step” b/w “Girl You Got Magic” SJ523 (of which the previously unissued full length versions are included in this compilation) in 2013 and followed by “Things Are Changing b/w Just To Be With You” SJ527 in 2014. You now have the entire unissued works of Elbowed-Out from 1978 to 1988 for your delectation.
Elbowed-Out’s mission in life was “to get you up and out of your seat, and then to begin to move your feet” something I think you’ll agreed they most certainly have achieved.
Words By David Welding
Acknowledgments: Sam Chambliss, Bill Miller, and Denis Wilcox
Photographs courtesy of: Jabril Rashid & Denis Wilcox

releases

By Chalky in News Archives · July 25, 20204 yr

A quick heads up on some of the soul related films currently available on Amazon Prime, free if a subscriber

Amazing Grace
The never-before-seen movie featuring Aretha Franklin recording the most successful gospel album of all time, Amazing Grace, captured in 1972.
Director Alan Elliott, Sydney Pollack
Starring Aretha Franklin, James Cleveland, Alexander Hamilton
Documentary
Link on Amazon
https://amzn.to/3jjQh5l

Take Me to the River
A documentary about the soul of American music. The film follows the recording of a new album featuring legends from Stax records and Memphis mentoring and passing on their musical magic to stars and artists of today.
Director Martin Shore
Starring Terrence Howard, William Bell
Documentary
Amazon Link
https://amzn.to/2OPBFwV

Gil Scott-Heron - Black Wax
Black Wax is a musical-political entertainment film produced and directed by Robert Mugge. It centers on the late African American poet-singer-songwriter Gil Scott-Heron - the man Melody Maker called "the most dangerous musician alive" and many dubbed the forefather of rap music - and his Midnight Band. The entertainment is political. Restored from the original 16mm film.
Amazon Link
https://amzn.to/3fFFbpa

Latest finds (august 2020)...
Gospel According To Al Green
This looks at Green's transition from hugely successful soul singer to gospel artist and fundamentalist preacher. Filmed in concert in Washington, D.C., in rehearsal in his recording studio, in a service at his Memphis church, and in an extended interview, Green reveals himself to be an electrifying performer, whether singing love songs to women or spiritual ones to God.
https://amzn.to/2BYICbW

James Brown - Mr Dynamite: The Rise Of James Brown
Fans have a documentary befitting the "Godfather of Soul." Directed by Oscar and Emmy winner Alex Gibney, and co-produced by the singular Mick Jagger, "Mr. Dynamite: The Rise Of James Brown" digs into the career of one of music and culture's towering figures, using fresh interviews with band members and contemporaries, extraordinary historical footage, and rare archival.
https://amzn.to/39YihaL

Blue Juice
1990s uk film with a couple of northern soul relatedscenes
see our video section for more info
https://amzn.to/3gxqDZb

By Mike in News Archives · July 18, 20205 yr

Showing on BBC 4 Friday 24 th July 2020 a 1 hour documentary on Jazz Funk
BBC 4 Rodney P's Jazz Funk
Release date: 24 July 2020 58 minutes
BBC blurb goes like this
UK rap legend Rodney P reveals how the first generation of British-born black kids was inspired by the avant-garde musical fusions of black America in the 70s to lay the foundations of modern-day multiculturalism by creating the first black British music culture with the jazz-funk movement.
As new clubs sprang up around these new sounds, the culture split into two scenes - an older and mainly white scene growing in the south east suburbs of Kent and Essex, based on the more commercial end of the soul, jazz and funk sound, and a younger, more multicultural movement in London, built around deeper and more experimental music, giving birth to a wildly creative and expressive dance culture which was both inspired by, and inspirational to, the music.
With original performance from veteran jazz-funk dancers, dynamically cut with rare archive of their heyday, Rodney meets many of those who were at the heart of the scene...
Friday 24 July
9.00pm-10.00pm
BBC FOUR
Full feature via https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000l426

bbc

By Mike in News Archives · July 17, 20205 yr

I am pleased to announce the second release from Big Man Records, due out late summer, a wonderful double header from The Commands - 'A Way To Love You' B/W 'I've Got Love For My Baby' BMR 1002 following on from BMR 1001 from Bull & The Matadors- 'A Part Of My Life'B/W 'MY Babe' which was very well received and pretty much sold out.
The Commands tracks have been licenced from the NUMERO GROUP (USA) and are taken from Dynamic master tapes the San Antonio, Texas based label owned by Abe Epstein which produced some prime Texas Soul served rare in some instances. 'A Way To Love You' was also recorded by The Volumes on Inferno and featured on The Shades Of Blue Impact album, this Duke Browner song is knocked out the ball park by The Commands who glide through the song with beautiful harmonies at a pace taylor made for the dance floor, first time UK 45 release which is a fabulous version and very hard to find on the original Dynamic release, the flip was released on Dynamic Records also 'I've Got Love For My Baby' is possibly the hardest Dynamic release to find by the group on the original 45, a beautiful song that instantly pulls at the heartstrings.
The label has been designed to the Dynamic label specs with the label name changed.
NOW TAKING PRE ORDERS - THE RECORD IS DUE FOR RELEASE LATE SUMMER, PAY PAL AS FAMILY AND FRIENDS TO AVOID FEES, INCLUDE ADDRESS WITH ORDER PLEASE, PAY PAL bicknellmark@aol.com
AS FAMILY AND FRIENDS £23.00 UK AND £28.00 REST OF THE WORLD
IF NOT ABLE TO SEND AS FAMILY AND FRIENDS £24.00 UK AND £29.00 REST OF THE WORLD.
This release will be a limited run as in number of copies available, again release due out LATE SUMMER.
SOUND CLIPS PROMOS

releases

By Mark Bicknell in News Archives · July 16, 20205 yr

My forthcoming book.
I Searched For Soul and Found The Stars.
Well at last I can announce that this much anticipated book will be available for your pleasure in November 2020.
It tells of the 5 trips I made to the States (85-94) and along with others, what we got up to, record finds, and more importantly who we met and the quality time with those people 'The Stars' that we met along the way. In most cases a first for anyone outside the USA.
From day one it has always been my intention to put into words these talented peoples legacy, and for their families going forward to know just what an impact they had on peoples lives here in the UK. Their musical creations, from singer, backing bands, label owners, and studio engineers, not only formed our lives but some could claim, gave us our lives.
This music that was sadly ignored on the day of it's creation in the States has stood the test of time, interest has grown world wide, and in part has found it's way back to the States.
Here are a few prominent features from each trip that I made
Trip 1 in this myself, Guy Hennigan, and Chris King, spent time with "Popcorn" Wylie and his wife Gloria. Pat Lewis held a party for us three, and in attendance were George Clinton, George McGregor, Don Davis, Belita Woods, Sandra Richardson. (Dance Fever) In this trip we spent time with Lorraine Chandler, Gino Washington, Casablanca,(James Stanford) Edward Wolfrum, Artie Fields, Barbara Acklin.
2nd trip, on my own. I stopped with "Popcorn" Wylie and his wife for a week. He took me over to meet Dave Hamilton, which eventually led through ACE/KENT a massive amount of unreleased stuff. Spent a few hours with Barney "Duke" Browner. Met "Popcorn's" mother his brother, and his cousin who was in the Superlatives.
Trip 3 myself and everyone' s favourite Andy Tats Taylor, on this trip we spent a week with Melvin Davis, found at the time the biggest mystery of Richard Searling's c/up the Rose Valentine and the Sisters Three song 'When He's Not Around' the now familiar name of Little Ann Bridgeforth 'What should I Do' spent quality time with Bettye Lavette, and meeting Tony Johnson of Tony and Tyrone.
Trip 4 myself, Tats, and Rob Wigley, spending a day with Johnnie Mae Mathews, her daughter Audrey (Kaiya) and Chuck, Johnnies son, of the ADC Band and drummer on the Black Nasty 45s. (you must have seen the video footage of 'I Have No Choice' taken that day)
Trip 5 myself and John Kingan, spending time with the owner of the SVR, Ranger, and FGS label, provisionally arranging the deal on Dave Hamilton's master tapes that eventually yielded up names such as James Lately, OC Tolbert, and so many more that got released through Ace.
There are a few UK stories involving the stars, I tell.

OK that's the run down on what to expect, it's an easy book to read (I know, I wrote it) Hoping to retail this at around £25-27 and from that I want to donate a modest amount to the Kettering General Hospital (stroke unit) something close to my heart, and something that might be a million years away from anyone's thoughts, right up until it happens.

For now I have set up a dedicated email address; gillybook@btinternet.com
I'm not looking for deposits, just a number indication for the final product which will be a hard back edition only. Containing about 60k + words and photos of which most won't have seen before.

books

By Gilly in News Archives · July 12, 20205 yr

Digging in the Texas Triangle 2019.
Here we go again since 2007 along with fellow collector Gaz Simons we have regularly visited Texas particularly the Austen Record Convention. The 2019 trip was special because fellow collector Colin Denham was joining us on our adventure. This was Colin's first USA Trip and he was dying to get stuck in.
Adding a bit context to looking for records in America this century is very important, it is by no means the “Golden Age” many soul luminaries have visited this magical state over the years from the seventies onwards and bore fruit way beyond our possibilities. Our moto has always been enjoy the State and buy records you like, in our case it usually means them lovely xover and sixties things we have never bothered to pick up in the UK. if we stumble on a bargain then “hey ho” but the purpose of the trip has always been “the adventure with good friends" meeting collectors from all over Europe and having “great crack with lots of good times in between" and of course a few bevvies in the lovely Texas Heat.
So the itinerary was as follows - Fly from Manchester, early Saturday Morning into the great city of Houston. Stay overnight taking in the great craft beers at Sugarland and many bars that the place is famous for. After a hiccup with the Hotel and booking we were shipped to another Hotel about 2 KM from where we booked. International “Man of mystery” ie BIg Baz put a complaint in and boom, the first night was refunded. So a cracking start to a great week!
Sunday Morning up early, a little worse for wear and off to San Antonio, a magic city and a full day planned to include hitting a few spots for records. It was very hot today and “a hair of the dog” was required to get the joints moving again. We showed our face at Alamo Records having visited the last 4 times and was as expected greeted with the same level of apathy we first encountered 13 years prior. The owner has sadly turned into the worst type of Victor Meldrew you could possible imagine, how he manages to take money is beyond me and we pretty much decided he was not getting any of ours. The place has gone back a lot our visit bore fruit all them years prior but really only worth a visit for lps and his prices a little silly anyway.

Quick refresh and we hit a few Vintage Stores in the afternoon and done reasonably well, prices pretty much as expected nothing rare but a pretty decent start all of us agreeing it was worth taking the time and spending little on UBER Fairs for which Gaz paid lol. On the evening a great meal at The Riverwalk, a real culinary delight and a great place to visit. Gaz and Colin however bit into the hottest chili in Texas and it meant we had to retire earlier than usual taking cans and tunes back to the hotel. A great second day and rounded off by playing the records we bought and watching the American Football.
Monday Dallas bound for 4 nights we know the City well as Gaz is best friends with our host and I played Rugby with him also. We knew that a bender was on the cards and did not disappoint ending up till the wee hours of the morning and on the whisky. Records would have to wait tonight. Tuesday and a number of Vintage/Thrift places in the Dallas Area were visited and we done quite well, we know the crack reference this place now and carefully navigate to the unexpected places always finding a few gems including a few rare xover things including the 21st Century and Lee Jones and the Sounds of Soul for a cracking combined price. In full swing Wednesday was on us quick and we wanted to take Colin around the sites including the JFK Museum in Dallas, a place that gets you thinking differently every time you visit. The evening was an absolute scream entering the quiz team name as Mike Hunts Mellly ,do not say that too quick lol and coming a respectable third out of five teams lol. Again whisky and tacos ended off the evening and by now Thursday was on us and we were gearing up for the Austen Record Convention and getting a bit excited.

Up very early for Austin still dark and a 4 hour drive to our usual Hotel the Radison (downtown) the venue has now changed for the fair so literally we could walk there from the Hotel “if Carlsberg could do trips this was one of them”. There is some great information reference the history of the fair which can be found here https://www.austinrecords.com/about.php . Having visited regularly you never know what to expect. As collectors we have seen big records bought and sold here over the years however we don't go for big records we go for soul records of all prices, persuasions and genres.
Some notable absentees this year including Craig Moerer, Records By Mail, it's quite possible he was there on the Saturday, however still loads of dealers from all over the USA so lots to go at. It was no coincidence after various finds that we ended up going through thousands of records from a dealer from Trenton NJ who we had never seen before. For the pricely sum of $1 each all three of us bagged some great records out of that lot all different value all worth so much more.
It was great to bump into Kitch, Mace and Richard Free, 3 collectors of high esteem, as collectors you never ask what other people get you just generally acknowledge even after all these years there are still records to be had. Lots of Modern Soul/Boogie sold for plenty of dollars, as usual we done well for sweet/mid-tempo and also brought plenty back to sell. Friday evening we had a lovely Thai Meal with Kitch and Mace catching up. We then ended up on fifth street before getting back to the hotel and toasting each other to great times, friendship and the great state of Texas.

So in 6 Days Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth and Austin. Not bad going for three lads from the north east of England, who still believe that records can still be had in the USA despite most people's expectations.
Baz A
July 2020

vinyl

By Baz Atkinson in Articles · July 8, 20205 yr

THE MOST SOUGHT AFTER RARE NORTHERN
This list contains what I consider the most sought after and rare original release Northern soul 45s at this point in time. It contains some seriously rare 45s and includes many that have been deemed to be ‘the hot collectable to have’. Records that have eluded collectors over the many years of searching for them and the ones that keep you awake at night, brooding if you’ll ever own them. The records are not listed in any particular order, just as they came into my head. I checked with a few well-informed people on the Scene and it looks like such a list has not yet been compiled?
The criteria used to assemble this list is loosely:
1.    A proven rarity over a reasonable time span.
2.   Are sought after by many collectors.
3.   That it has a great sound.
I suppose a few people will want to know, how do you know what are the most coveted records of this genre, as there is a lot of secrecy, fabrication and fake news within the collecting fraternity. Plus it must be difficult keeping track of the movement of all records over a fifty year period, especially these days where the majority of collectors constantly recycle and refresh their collections almost on a weekly basis. Yes, it is quite clearly impossible to know exactly, without implementing a Doomsday survey of some sort, but there are ways to collect relevant information, which help make informed judgements about rarity and what’s sought after:
Rare soul bragging rights have always been a big part of the Scene; just remember the old flyers from the Blackpool Mecca and their exclusive playlists etc. Today, something similar happens on the Internet, where some individuals and their hot-boxes do some persistent boasting, telling others about their precious vinyl treasures.
Sales lists over the decades have been a wonderful place to buy records, but also a great source for collectors to compile information. The lists have been numerous, but some were streets ahead of the others, selling unknown Northern that no one had heard before.
Other information gathering comes in the form of numerous stories that abound on the Scene about missed chances to buy a record and not having a sniff of a copy since, ruing that time for not taking that opportunity. Or about owning a record and foolishly letting it go in a trade, or for a ‘not to be missed price’ and regretting that decision ever since. And tales of record digging trips to America, unearthing rare vinyl gems.
This is where some invaluable information comes from to formulate such a list and having spent over 40 obsessive years, digging and collecting Northern and its numerous spin-offs, constantly immersed in the inner world of rare soul, I assumed that i could make a decent stab at compiling the list.

I remember a time in the mid 70s when the Scene contained only a handful of record collectors, who had an interest in the obscure import. For the majority, Oldies, as they became to be known, were king and that suited us just fine, because we faced no competition when acquiring our next purchase. This was all to change in the early 80s as the Northern soul scene contracted and spawned a very much smaller scene that thrived on the esoteric. Ultimately, this had a seismic effect on the collecting habits of the rare soul scene and what was deemed collectable. Today, 40 years later, it is a standard default position for most rare soul collectors, to dig for the illusive and exclusive.
By the 90s the expansion of the soul scene into Europe and then worldwide was underway, culminating today into a global collecting phenomenon. This has had a big impact on a dwindling resource, as ever more international collectors begin to build impressive collections.
Not being able to acquire various records has been a major and vexed problem for most Northern buyers since the inception of this scene and that problem escalated with the expansion of the scene into Europe, Japan, Australia and America (plus the recent arrival of the millionaire collector)
Ebay and the Internet initially did make an impression, throwing up some amazing finds and for a period, satisfying the collectors. But that didn’t last very long and now we see the result: scarcity and high prices. Who in the early days of collecting, could have imagined that sometime in the future, Northern soul 45s would regularly sell for £5000 plus.

Some Northern soul folk may want to evaluate and compare this list with the Northern Soul top 500 list. They are in essence a similar thing and a number of records appear on both lists. However, the lists are two different entities; one appearing to represent the scenes majority Oldies crowd and the other a smaller, more dynamic, experimental and younger minority crowd. Virtually all of the 45s on the Northern Soul top 500 list, to put it mildly, have in the past 50 years been totally over-played, engendering an indifferent and weary attitude to them. Whereas, most of the records on the Sought after Rare Northern list have received less exposure in the clubs, have a vibrancy about them and are still relatively unknown to the greater bulk of the Northern Soul public. This list will probably appeal to the person who takes a sustained, time consuming and determined approach to rare record collecting and doesn't mind spending the majority of their income on rare vinyl.

Not included on this list are 45s from the Modern side of the rare soul scene, concentrating on the bread and butter: Northern. Maybe the Modern list will come later, but I suspect for various reasons, that will prove to be a very difficult task.
The list has an obvious relative aspect to it. Some of you will read the list and be asking where is such & such a record. The simple answer is that Ive compiled the list myself and somewhat reflects my own personal taste in what i consider good and not so good Northern. I may have missed the odd title and will probably after some nudging from fellow collectors will be including any omissions later. It is therefore a dynamic and fluid list and records will be added or deleted as time passes.
I haven’t included any recent, new discoveries, or cover-ups, as they haven't yet had time to prove their rarity and longevity. No doubt many will reach their potential and move onto the list at some point in the future.    No studio acetates either.

NECKENDER   2020

THE MOST SOUGHT AFTER RARE NORTHERN

Eddie Parker I'm gone Awake
C.O.D.s She's fire Kellmac
Combinations What cha gonna do Kellmac
Del-larks job opening Queen city
Don Gardner cheatin kind Sedgrick
Larry Clinton She's wanted Dynamo
Damon Fox Packing up Fairmount
Salvadors stick by me baby Wise World
Lester Tipton this wont change La beat
Gwen Owens Just say you're wanted Velgo
Admirations I want to be free Peaches
Jimmy Burns I really love you Erica
Bobby James I really love you Karol
Yums Yums gonna be a big think ABC
Mel Britt she’ll come running back Fip
Classics so glad I found you Yan G
Parliaments This is my rainy day Cabell
Springers Nothings too good for my baby Wale
Magnetics lady in green Bonnie
Magnetics I have a girl Rahsel
Ramona Collins you've been cheating Clarks
Appointments I saw you there Delite
Lou Pride Im com’un home in the morn’un Suemi
Billy Woods Let me make you happy Sussex
Young Brothers Whats your game Soul Power
Junior McCants - Try Me For Your New Love - King
John & the Wierdest Cant get over these memories Tie
Johnny Hendley My baby came from out of nowhere Mutt & Jeff
Prophets If I had -Shrine
Counts Peaches baby Shrine
Cairos Stop overlooking me Shrine
JB Bryant I wont be coming back Shrine
Eddie Daye & 4 Bars Guess who loves you Shrine
Ray Pollard This time Shrine
DC Blossoms Hey boy Shrine
Les Chansonettes Dont let him hurt you Shrine
Shirley Edwards Dream my heart Shrine
Cavaliers Do what I want Shrine
Tomangoes I really love you Washpan
Jimmie Bo Horn I cant speak Dade
Paris Sleepless nights Doc
Sam Williams Love slipped through my fingers Tower
Al Williams I am nothing La Beat
Servicemen Sweet magic Chartmaker
Servicemen Are you angry Wind Hit
Vondells Hey girl you’ve changed Airtown
Walter & Admerations Man Oh Man La Cindy
Yvonne Vernee just like you did me SonBert
Del-Tours Sweet and lovely Starville
Bernie Williams Ever again Bell
Chuck holiday Just cant trust nobody gloria
Four Voices Our love is getting stronger Voice
Richard Caiton I’d like to get near you Up Tight
The Butlers with Frank Beverly Because of my heart Rouser/Fairmount
Precisions Sugar aint sweet Drew
The Poets Wrapped around your finger J2
Kell Osborne Law against a heartbreaker Highland
Margaret Little Love finds a way Genebro
Sandy Golden Your love is everything Masterpiece
Delites Lover Cuppy
Pat Lewis No one to love Solid Hit
Jesse James Are you gonna leave me Shirley
Mr. Soul what happened to yesterday Genuine
Al Scott what happened to yesterday Genuine
Mello Souls We can make it Mello
Tommy Ridgley My love gets stronger International City
Professionals Thats why i love you Groove City
Cashmeres show stopper Hem
Camaros We’re not too young Dar Cha
Ray Agee im losing again Soultown
Archie Hodge I really want to see you Narco
Debonairs Loving you takes all my time Solid Hit
Robbie Lawson Burning sensation Kyser
Little Wille Faulk Look into my heart M&H
Ree Flores Look into my heart M&H
Empires You're on top girl Candi
Arthur Willis The hurting is over Mars La Tour
Lillie Bryant Meet me half way Tayster
Little Stanley Out a sight loving Vance
Inticers since you left Baby Luv
Executive Four I got a good thing going Lumar
George Blackwell Cant lose my head Smoke
Johnny Hampton Not my girl Dottys
Leonard Jewel Bettin’ on love Terri De
Gaylettes heartaches i cant take Black jack
The Proffs Look at me Curr
Inspirations No one else can take your place Breakthrough
Jackie Beavers I need my baby Revilot
Adlibs You'll always be in style Blue Cat
Ivories Please stay Wand/Despenza
Arin Demain Silent treatment Blue Star
Joe Matthews Aint nothing you can do Kool Kat
Jimmy Gresham This feelin’ i have Terri De
Esther Grant - Let's Make The Most Out Of Love - Wilstone
Magnetics When Im with my baby Sable
Lee McKinnney Ill keep holding on Sable
Mac Staten There she goes Prelude
Bobby Kline Say something nice to me MB
Tommy & Derbys Dont play the roll Swing
Tommy & Derbys Going back to Houston Kool
The Trips There’s that mountain Soundville
Precisions I wanna tell my baby D Town
Colt 45s Lady lady Jerry
Cody Black Its our time to fall in love Gig
Timmie Williams - Competition - MaIa
Bobby Wisdom Handwriting on the wall Out a Site
Imperial Cs Someone tell her Phil LA Soul
Willie Hutch The Duck Dunhill
flouorescent Smogg all my life W.G.
Little John Just wait and see Gogate
Ernestine Eady Lets talk it over Phil LA Soul
Rita & Tiaras Gone with the wind is my love Dore
Milton James My lonely feeling Dore
Little Johnny Hamilton Keep on moving Dore
Superbs On a day when its raining Dore
Nabay Believe it or not Impact
Emanons Orchestra Bird Walkin’ All Brothers
Freddie Chavez They'll never know why Look
Chuck Cockerham Have I got a right Mala
Don Varner Tear stained face Quinvey
Fascinators In other words Bombay
Sag War Fare Dont be so jive Libra
New Wanderers Aint gonna do you no harm Ready
Nurons All my life Nu-Ron
True Image Im not over you yet Super Smash
Connie Clark My sugar baby Joker
Honey Bees Never in a million years Garrison
William Powell Heartaches Souvenirs Powerhouse
Robert Tanner Sweet Memories Magatone
Checkerboard Squares Double Cookin Villa
Earles Everybodys got somebody Tee-Ti
Billy Arnell Tough girl Holly
Buddy Smith When you lose the one you love Brute
Tranells Blessed with a love Flo-Jo
Emeralds Beware Vick
Stanley Mitchell Get it baby Dynamo
Caressors I cant stay away Ru-Jac
Stewart Ames Angelina Oh Angelina J&W
Sensations Demanding man Wayout
Combinations Im gonna make you love me Kimtone
Walter Wilson Love keeps me crying Wand
Ty Karim You really made it good to me Senator
Brooks Brothers Looking for a woman Tay
Jimmy Raye Philly dog around the world KKC
Frankie Karl You should o held on Philtown
Utopias Girls are against me La Salle
Danny Monday Baby without you Modern
George Juke Byrd Im available Pay-Tons
Fortson & Scott Sweet Lover Pzazz
Lonnett Blue Jeans M-S
Districts One lover Nile
The Crow Your autumn of tomorrow Inner Ear
Yvonne Daniels I dont want to get away from your love Sterling
Carlettes Im getting tired BR
Rufus Wood Before 2001 Espanola
Dynamic Three You said yeah Del-Val
Billy Floyd My oh my Arctic
Precisions My sense of direction HenMar
Kenny Gamble The jokes on you Arctic
Four Andantes Hipper than me MoDo
Blendels You need love Dontee
Ruby Feminine ingenuity Gold Token
Nolan Chance Just like the weather Bunky
Soulettes Bring your fine self home Scope
Sequins Try my love Detroit Sound
Groovettes Think it over baby Reness
Salt & Pepper A man of my word Heatwave
William Cummings Make my love a hurting thing Bang Bang
Jimmy Andrews Big city playboy Blue Jay
Frank Wilson Do I love you Soul
Cresa Watson Salvation Charay
Martha Starr sweet temptation Charay
Telma Laverne Baby dont you leave me Northern Del-La
Four Dynamics Things that a lady aint Peachtree
Eddie Billups Ask my heart Peachtree
Anderson Brothers I can see him loving you GSF
Ronnie McNeir Sitting in my class De-To
Willie Tee You're gonna pay some dues Bonatemp
Willie Tee I peeped your hole card Gatur
Willie Tee Im having so much fun Gatur
Willie Tee Please don't go Nola
Anthony & Delsonics Every time Emerge
Larry Wright Sweet sweet kissed Agogo
Joseph Webster My love is so strong Crow
Cecil Washington I dont like to lose Prophonics
Vickie Labat Got to keep hanging on Shagg
Eric Mercury Lonely girl Sac
Hank Hodge Eye for an eye Eye
Dennis Edwards Johnny on the spot International Soulville
Donna King Take me home Hot Line
Sonatas Going on down the road Hot Line
Benny Harper My prayer Harper Soul
King George I need you Audio Arts
Volumes Aint gonna give you up Karen
Sam Ward Sister lee Groove City
Norma Jenkins Airplane song Maltese
Roy Roberts So much in love Sugar
Vanguards Good time bad times Lamp
Lynn Vernado Wash & wear love Gator
Lynn Vernado Second hand love Yumie
Gene Toones What more do you want Simco
The saints Ill let you slide Wigwam
Tempos Ill never forget Diamond Jim
Mini Stokes & Spyder Turner Get yourself together Sound of Soul
Just Brothers Carlena Garrison
Lonnie Russ Say girl Kerwood
Joe Hicks I gotta be free AGC
Phonetics Just a boys dream Trudel
Brand New Faces Brand new faces Lujuna
Melvin Davis Find a quiet place Wheel City
Bob & Fred Ill be on my way Big Mack
Jay Bee Praying for an answer Thunderbolt
Johnny Barnes Nothing without your love Jab
Flirtations Stronger than her love Festival
Bernard Drake Ive been untrue La Louisianne
George Hobson Let it be real Sound City
Lil Lavair Ill be so happy Lenann
Terri Goodnight They didnt know Phelectron
Mr. Lucky Born to love you Stardom
Patti Young Head and Shoulders Ernstrat
Tamala Lewis You wont say nothing Marton
Eddie Foster I never knew In
Satans Breed Road runner Jenges
Harry Moon Womans man Jenges/Sin
Just Brothers Sliced tomatoes Lupine
Differences Five minutes Mon’ca
Masquaraders How La Beat
Patrinell Staten Little love affair Sepia
Joni Wilson Losers seat Volt
Antellects Love slave Flodavieur
Sweets satisfy me baby Soul Town
Eddie Hughes Soul searcher Bard
Out of Sights For the rest of my life Saru
Milton Parker Women like it harder Closet
Inspirations Your wish is my command Midas
Ernie Johnson I cant stand the pain Artco
Little Willie Johnson Loneliness Vandellas
Candi Staton Now you've got the upper hand Unity
Primers How does it grab you Hale
Softiques Bashfull Sheldon
Jokers Soul sound Skofield
Billy Prophet What can I do Sue
Joe Jama My life Optimum
Herman Lewis Who's kissing you tonight Stone Blue
Limelights Dont leave my baby Uncle
Charles Mintz Running back Uplook
Ron Baxter This is it Ole 9
Grey Imprint Do you get the message Clear Hill
Silhouettes Not me baby Goodway
Moments Baby I want you Hog
Soul Incorporated My proposal Coconut Groove
Montclairs Hey you Arch
Six Pack Midnight brew Trip Universal
Montiques Take another look Lamp
The Contessa I need you baby Las Bar
Joseph Moore I still cant get you Marvlus
Little Al Lonely days of my life Shell
Little Ron & Esquires I found someone Charade
E Rodney Jones R&B time Charisma
Hytones You dont even know my name Southern Artists
Martha Starr Love is the only solution Thelma
Ty Karim Lighten up baby Car-a-mel
Ty Karim You just don't know Romark
Intensions She needs somebody USA
Voltaires Movin movin on Bacone
Volumes Ive never been so in love Garu
Nat T Jones Moving forward Wilshire/Goliath
Oliver Joy Keep love growing Big Deal
Ernest Mosley Stubborn Heart La Cindy
Locations Mr diamond man Ron Paul
Matt Lucas You better go go Karen
Celebrities I choose you baby Boss
Pamela Beaty Talking eyes Tip
Soul Bros Inc Pyramid Golden Eye
Thee Midnighters You're gonna make me cry Whittier
Tiaras Foolish girl Opart
Eddie Whitehead Just your fool Black Jack
Lil Major Williams Girl Williams III
Tut Sutton I can feel the tears USA
Betty Wilson Im yours Dayco
Patty Stokes Good girl Mir-a-don
Gene Woodbury Ever again Del Val
Fabulous Jades Come on and live Rika
Jades Lucky fellow Mode
Wendell Watts Kiss a good thing goodbye Reforee
Webs Dont hurt me baby Dynamic
Topics Have your fun Dream
Keith Curtis I got to keep you baby Smoke
Barbara Jean Why weren't you there Big Hit
Noble & Uptights Dont worry about it Action
Little Joe Romans When you're lonesome Tuff
Royal Imperials This heart of mine Mellow Town
Richard Caiton Reflections Up Tight
Royal Robins Something about you TruGloTown
Gail Nevels Taking my mind off love Star Track/Dottys
Notations Trying my best to find her Tad
Parisians Twinkle twinkle little star Demon Hot
Antiques Go for yourself La Salle
John Leach Put that woman down Lawn
Prince Ella Baby sugar I love you Prince
JoAnn Courcy I got the power Twirl
Johnny Honeycutt Im coming over Triode
Flash McKinley Ill rescue you Bombay
Don & Ron Im so sorry White Cliff
Minnie Jones Shadow of a memory Sugar
Jimmy Mack My world is on fire Palmer
Nat Hall Why Loop
Willie Mason Why KaLaMa
Dusty Wilson Its gonna be a tragedy Mutt
TSU Tornadoes A thousand wonders Ovide
Modern Soul Trio You're no good Youngstown
Purple Mundi Stop hurting me baby Cat
Eddie Rey Ive got something of value True Soul
Johnny Rodgers Make a change Amon
Charles Holiday Dont lie Playboy
John Wesley Loves such a funny thing Melic
Stormie Wynters Life saver Mercury
Appreciations Its better to cry Sport
Appreciations I cant hide it Aware
Jades Im where its at Nite Life
JT Rhythm All I want is you Palmer
Troy Dodds Try my love El Camino
Little Nicky Soul I wanted to tell you Shee
Eddie Parker But if you must go Mico
Sidney Barnes I hurt on the other side Blue Cat
Eddie Daniels Is he better than me Boots
Ster-phonics If you dont do right Enjoy
Bobby Rich Theres a girl somewhere for you Sambea
Clarence Reid Carry on Reid
Kings of Soul Is your love for me Down to Earth
Betty Lou & Bobby Adams Dr. True love Tar-x
Lovers Without a doubt Frantic
Universals Diamonds and pearls Cooking
Jimmy Delphs Dancing a hole in the world Carla
Eula Cooper Let our love grow higher Super Sound
Paulette Love you baby Contact
Charlene & Soul Serenaders Can you win Paradox/Volt
Ascots Another day Mir A Don
Charles brandy I cant get enough Blue Cat
Capitals Cant deny that I love you Omen
Lynn Terry I got a good thing goin’ La Salle
Turbines We got to start over Cenco
Fred & Turbins Bernadine Cenco
Allison & Calvin Turner Everytime Im near you LuLu
Two Plus Two Im sure Velgo
Lou Ragland I travel alone Amy
Venturas Heart of love Greenlight
Vickie Baines Country girl Parkway
Lou Pride Your love is fading Semi
Paul Kelly Its my baby Lloyd
Twans I cant see him again dade
Pee Wee Shuck & Huey Beside myself Flagg
Betty Fikes Prove it to me Southbound
Scott Three Running wild March
Vivian Carol Oh yeah yeah yeah Merben
Soul Brothers Inc Teardrops Salem
Masquaders Thats the same thing Soultown
Soul Shakers You're turning Terri De
Sandi Sheldon You’re gonna make me love you Okeh
Carpets I just cant win ViJ
Tony Hestor Watch yourself Giant
Charles Smith Come and see me Music World
Eddie Smith I didnt realise Mellotone
Dave Charles Aint gonna cry no more Donnie
Summits Ill be over United International
Adams Apples Dont take it out on this world Brunswick
Karmello Brooks Tell me baby Milestone
Tiaras Loves made a connection Seton
Grambling College Marching Band Harlem rumble Spontaneous Arts
Frank Foster Harlem Rumble Top Level
Nomads Somethings bad Mo-Groov
Rotations Put a dime on D9 Frantic
Moments Hey boy Deep
Smith Brothers There can be a better way Soul Dimension
Conquistadors Cant stop loving you Act IV
Soul Communicators Those lonely nights Fee bee
Precious Three I need a man Reforee
Little Tony & Hawks Give me your sweet love Etah
Superbs Wind in my sails Dore
Al Gardner Sweet baby Sepia
Trey Js I found it all in you Tee Gem
Little Eddie Taylor I had a good time Peacock
James Lately Love friends and money Temple
Fabulous Performers One little kiss Blackjack
Informers Baby set me free Blackjack
Barbara Acklin Im not mad anymore Special Agent
Appointments Keep away Redd Coach
Chandlers Your love makes me lonely Col Soul
Gerri Hall Who can i run to Hot Line
Delreys Incorporated Destination unknown Tampete
Carol Anderson Taking my mind off love Whip
Oscar Perry Face reality Feron
Ellusions You didnt have to leave Lamon
Othello Robertson So in love Baby Luv
Tobi Lark Sweep it out in the shed Topper
Cal green Ill give you just a little more time Filmtown
Sugar Boy Free man Shades
Martells Where can my baby be A La Carte
James Bell The love of my girl PRP
Chuck Flamingo Whats my chances Rojac
Gentlemen Four You cant keep a good man down Wand
Chico Lamarr What do you think I am Fuller
Underground Express A man’s temptation UGE
Exits Another sundown in watts Kapp
Tropics Hey you little girl Topic
Virginia Blakly Let nobody love you MoJo
Mamie P Galore No right to cry Sack
Agents Trouble Liberty Bell
Mal Adams Since man began Emerge
Tootsie Rollers Give me love Me-o
People’s Choice Savin my lovin for you Palmer
Lenny Vestel Its paradise Sanla
Celeste Hardie You're gone Reynolds
Gambrells You better move Carla
Sam Moore Give you plenty of lovin Atlantic
Hank Hodge One way love Eye
Otis Lee Hard road to hoe Quaint
Reatha Reese Only lies Dot
Johnny James Tell you about my girl Circle M
Four Tracks Like my love for you Mandingo
Edith Brown You did it 4 Brothers
Billy Thompson Black eyed girl Columbus
Sammy Lee What goes around Promco
George Pepp The feeling is real Coleman
El Corols Band Chick chick Tiny
The Devils Love and understanding Cuca
Benny Sigler Who you gonna turn to Phil La of Soul
Penetrations Champagne Terri De
Johnny Mae Mathews I have no choice Big Hit
Oracles I aint got time OM
Waymond Hall What will tomorrow bring Jamal
King Sound Interpreters Hi note Talent of Music
Calvin Grayson Love just begun In
Inmates This is the day Kopit
Stormy I wont stop to cry Twilight
Clay Brown Everybodys talking Aljon
Jackie Day Naughty boy Phelectron
Tommy Turner Lazy Elbam
Little Johnny Hamilton Oh how I love you Dore
West Coast Distributors Girl Jam Cha
Ritchie Adams I cant escape from you Congress
Bob & Gene I really really love you MoDo
Kell Osborne Small things Newbag
Decisions Do I love her York
Kenard What did you gain Dore
Hyperions Why do you wanna treat me like you do Chattahoochee
Kelly & Soul Explosions Talking about my baby’s love DynaMite
Idols Check her out USA
Sound Masters Lonely lonely Julet
Inverts Time will change Broadway
Duke Browner Crying over you Impact
Herb Ward Strange Change Argo
Gloria & T-Airas Im satisfied Betty
Talmadge Armstrong Gigi Spindletop
Freddie Butler Save your love for me Wheelsville
Jock Mitchell Not a chance in a million Impact
Clarence Townsend I found a love Clara
Hopkins Bros. Shake Cheri Magnetik
Buddy Conner When you’re alone Breakthrough
Monique If you love me Maurci
Carl Underwood Aint you lying Merging
Honey & the Bees Be yourself Academy
Sonny Parker What can I do Hitts
Re-Vels I want a new love Trent Town
Chryslers & Monarchs Band Im not gonna lose you JE
Don Hart Turn back Mary Jane
James Dockery My faith in you is all gone Soul Craft
Rotations A changed man Frantic
Passionettes I'm not in love with you anymore Soul Burst
Belita Woods Magic corner Karen
Startones Lovin’ you baby Billie Fran
Four Sights Love is a hurting game Shy Soul
Betty Lloyd Im catching on BSC
Moses Dillard Ill pay the price Mark V
Constellations I dont know about you Gemini Star
Court Davis Try to think East Coast
George Lemons Fascinating girl Gold Soul
Limitations Im lonely Im troubled Bacone
Shirley Johnson Too big to cry Lashawn
Eddie Campbell Contagious love Artco
Bernard Smith Gotta be a reason Groove
Cleveland Robinson Jr. Love is a trap Nosnibor
Cynthia & Imaginations Why weren't you there Blue Rock
Traditions On fire Artco
Big Bo & 4ms Ive got to go Gay Shel
Chandlers Your love keeps drawing me closer Bleu Rose
Bruce Cloud I wish Motif
Mighty Lovers Aint gonna run no more Soulhawk
Vivian Copeland Chaos D’Oro
Rita Dacosta Dont bring me down Pandora
Timmy Carr Workin’ Kee
Andy Fisher My hearts beating stronger Fat Fish
Prince Paul In the beginning Parker
Elbie Parker Please keep away from me Veep
Dynamics Im a lonely man Dyna
Changing Scene You cant destroy my love Jo-Vee-Jo
Fiery Spartans Talk about love Charay
Wade Flemons Two of a kind Ramsel
Trends Thanks for a little lovin' ABC
Flint Emeralds Just like a baby Gateway
Blue Jays Point of view Jay

By Neckender in Articles · July 3, 20205 yr

UP COMING FIRST RELEASE FROM THIS EXCITING NEW LABEL
Ike Perry & The Lyrics - God Must Have Sent You To me / I'm Just A Man - North Broad St Records NBS001BL
North Broad St Records NBS001BL Is a stunning double side of pure delight, there to tease the best of us with a modern crossover dance floor winner one side, and a delightful mid tempo sweet killer on the other that totally blows you away, from sessions where Issac Perry went back in to studio in Cleveland to record these gems he wrote in the early 60ts. One decade later he re-recorded 4 wonderful records in one session in the early 70ts which all at North Broad St are totally honoured to bring out on vinyl in its own picture sleeve.
Ike Perry & The Lyrics
Isaac ike Perry first started out as the Five Lyrics a do wop vocal group in the mid 50’s, recording their first record on the Berkeley CA label Music City. They then went on to record on Isaac’s own label MAMA out of Cleveland Ohio where the band all resided from. Ike Perry and The Lyrics playing the circuit well into their 70’s recording on various other labels from New York City and Dallas Texas while on the road, finally doing their last recording in the mid-sixties.
Video Trailer

Release date early Aug 2020
Pre-order now via North Broad Street Records website
https://www.northbroadst.co.uk

releases

By Lawman in News Archives · July 2, 20205 yr

Tami Lynn (born Gloria Brown 1942 – June 26, 2020) was an American soul singer. She scored a Top Ten hit on the UK Singles Chart in 1971 with the song "I'm Gonna Run Away From You"
Another great lost.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tami_Lynn

By Philb in News Archives · July 2, 20205 yr

A new month arrives, but just enough time for a quick look back at what went on via eBay during June 2020.
Top 100 June auction mv items follow below, a power-house month...
Soul Record Auctions - Recent Completed Soul Auctions
William Powell Heartache Souvenirs Power-house Hear $7200.00 ended 14 Jun Hank Hodge Eye For An Eye Eye Hear $6600.00 ended 14 Jun Sealed Grand Funk Railroad We Re An American Band Ye.. $3650.00 ended 10 Jun Northern Sweet Soul - Hopkins Bros - Shake Cheri - Mag.. $3082.00 ended 29 Jun Soul - Charles Brandy - Blue Cat - Promo - Original - Hear $2120.29 ended 28 Jun Dudley Birch - She Likes To Dance 12 - Karisma Obscure.. $2025.00 ended 14 Jun Modern Soul Funk Electro - Akira Freeze - I Remember - .. $2025.00 ended 29 Jun Sam Williams Love Slipped Through My Fingers Tower Prom.. $1925.00 ended 16 Jun Devotions Do Do De Dop Nation Vg Vg Promo Hear $1825.00 ended 15 Jun Ward Burton - Sweet Temptation - Panther - Vg Mp3 $1775.00 ended 29 Jun Phase Ii 2 Follow Me Ultra Modern Soul Disco Synth Bo.. $1702.77 ended 24 Jun Very Bobby Lindsey Sugar Booger Baby Great Funk On Delt.. $1535.00 ended 09 Jun Crossover Soul Young Ladies I M Tired Of Running Around.. $1415.00 ended 16 Jun Dr Z - Three Parts To My Soul Uk Vertigo Swirl 6360 048 $1350.00 ended 07 Jun The Moments Baby I Want You Hog 1000 Super Original R.. $1302.00 ended 20 Jun Soul Ambitions Traveling Stranger Doo Wop Cross Record .. $1250.00 ended 05 Jun Mad Man Jaga Wakabout Orginal 1978 Press Insane Afrob.. $1213.36 ended 07 Jun Ultra Us Nat Hall - Why You Don T Know On Loop Origi.. $1200.00 ended 23 Jun Ritchie Adams I Can T Escape From You Congress Vg Prom.. $1180.00 ended 14 Jun Ritz Band Northern Modern Soul $1136.00 ended 07 Jun Modern Soul Funk Gospel - Birds Of Harmony - Theme - Il.. $1135.00 ended 21 Jun Crossover Soul Vivian Copeland Chaos In My Heart D Or.. $1125.00 ended 14 Jun Henry The Kasuals Funny Funny Funny B W Forever Chica.. $1026.00 ended 08 Jun Mixed Bag S First Album Mega-rare Orig 76 Jazz Funk Lp .. $1009.99 ended 03 Jun Eddie Curtis Texas Soul Style Shere Kahn Sealed F.. $1000.00 ended 05 Jun Lady Soul Lp By Aretha Franklin Vinyl Nov-2005 4 M.. $1000.00 ended 27 Jun Soul 69 By Aretha Franklin Vinyl Jul-2002 $1000.00 ended 28 Jun Jazz Funk Psych Soul Lp Stark Reality Discovers Hoagy C.. $980.00 ended 23 Jun Curtis Lee - Is She In Your Town - Mira - Mp3 $977.56 ended 29 Jun The Voltaires On Bacone Near Mint My My My Baby .. $967.89 ended 30 May Waymond Hall What Will Tomorrow Bring B W The Apollos S.. $950.00 ended 07 Jun Soul The Malibus On Unity My Love Frustration Vg $930.00 ended 01 Jun Mac Band Foxy Fatts - Do It For You 12 - Budweiser - M.. $900.00 ended 14 Jun Funk Rich Ward My Baby She S Gone Hit Hear $900.00 ended 16 Jun Invaders You Touch My Soul Reggae Waricka Mp3 $898.00 ended 08 Jun Rita Marley Wailers Play Play Play Reggae Wail N Soul.. $880.00 ended 08 Jun Futures - Let S Get To It 12 - Warped - Modern Soul Bo.. $860.00 ended 14 Jun Adams Apples - Don T Take It Out On This World - Brunsw.. $864.92 ended 26 Jun Allen Gauff Jr I Don T Want To Be Alone Mega Gospel Fun.. $825.00 ended 24 Jun Tommy Dodson One Day Love Uptown Label Rpm $811.00 ended 05 Jun Sonny Parker On Hitts 404 - Mr Romance $810.00 ended 01 Jun Sequins Try My Love Gonna Break Your Heart Detroi.. $786.67 ended 16 Jun Beatles Please Please Me 2nd Press Gold Mono Northern .. $772.25 ended 07 Jun Banny Price You Love Me Pretty Baby Soul Jewel Listen $741.00 ended 14 Jun Dale Cunningham Too Young Rockin Blues Soul Cash L.. $731.00 ended 02 Jun Modern Soul - Chosen Few Band - What It Takes To Live -.. $730.00 ended 28 Jun Mega Soul Funk Gospel - Spirit - Put Your Hands Togethe.. $734.21 ended 03 Jun Ex The Day-tons I Ve Got To Tell You About It Sweet .. $733.95 ended 19 Jun Sweet Soul Funk - Fantastic Soul Revue - Mama S Little .. $722.96 ended 29 Jun Jade In Pursuit Ultra Soul Funk Lp Private Pressing Pes.. $700.00 ended 04 Jun Prime Choice Shanell Private Miami Modern Soul Boogie F.. $698.88 ended 08 Jun Betty Chung Bang Bang Ultra Singapore Ep 7 Mini Mini.. $685.00 ended 24 Jun Pookie Hudson All The Places I Ve Been Jamie 1319 Promo.. $680.00 ended 07 Jun Charades - The Key To My Happiness - Mgm - Vg Mp3 $675.00 ended 29 Jun Oneness Watching You Version 12 Si001 Funk Soul Boo.. $670.77 ended 08 Jun Funk Boogie - T Spoon - School Dance - Oil Capital - Mp.. $655.86 ended 28 Jun Private Pleasure - Close To The Heart 12 - Uptown - Mo.. $640.00 ended 15 Jun Funk Sweet Soul - Billy Bj S - Do You Love Jesus - Sh.. $639.00 ended 21 Jun Funk Soul Gospel - Little Stevie - Moving On - Demo Ris.. $627.00 ended 22 Jun Bobby Paris I Walked Away $617.80 ended 28 Jun Soul Bros Gaylads Jackie Mittoo Sound Of Silence R.. $610.00 ended 08 Jun Sonny Parker On Hitts 404 - Mr Romance $600.00 ended 25 Jun Very Private Sweet Soul - The Third Phase - Just For Yo.. $595.66 ended 19 Jun Slang - Knock U Out 12 - Itm - Modern Soul Boogie Vg .. $593.69 ended 15 Jun Modern Soul Gospel Funk Lp - Gospel Unlimited - Gospel .. $594.71 ended 08 Jun Soul Gospel Funk - Al White The Crown Miracles - New .. $594.71 ended 18 Jun Willie Kendrick - Change Your Ways - Rca Victor - Vg Mp3 $585.75 ended 29 Jun Soul Gospel Funk - Al White The Crown Miracles - New .. $588.83 ended 11 Jun Pat The Blenders - Just Because Orig 1968 Fast Eddie $585.00 ended 12 Jun Jimmie Reed Jr I Ain T Going No Where Mercury Vg Hear $575.00 ended 14 Jun Funk - Cold Fire Of The Kashmere Stage Band - Kash Regi.. $566.00 ended 28 Jun J P Robinson You Can Be A Lady Alston Hear $565.00 ended 14 Jun Funk Boogie Charles Marcus So Fine Wine Roses Vg Hear $560.00 ended 15 Jun Dansers Inferno Creation 1 Insanely Sealed Orig 1972 La.. $559.99 ended 03 Jun Earl Connelly - Do You Know What I Mean - Maycon - Mp3 $554.44 ended 29 Jun Nos Original 1974 Magnum Fully Loaded Vinyl 12 Lp .. $530.00 ended 03 Jun Bob Marley The Wailers Feel Alright Rhythm Reggae W.. $530.00 ended 08 Jun Afro Train Ode To Hendrix Mega Monster Afro Funk Psych .. $525.00 ended 21 Jun Kenny Wells Isn T It Just A Shame New R B New Voice.. $521.77 ended 20 Jun Stormy The Devastator Mega Funk I Won T Stop To Cry H.. $520.00 ended 24 Jun Jimmy Cockran Ogbe Orch Experience Ikwu Afro Beat Funk .. $514.00 ended 21 Jun Texas Tejano Ranchera Cumbia Balada Chicano Soul Lot Of.. $510.00 ended 12 Jun 93 Singles-all Listed- All Nr Ex Mint $506.60 ended 02 Jun Ella Williams I Need Your Love Love Affair Vinyl Rpm 7.. $499.99 ended 18 Jun Marie Queenie Lyons Soul Fever Deluxe Lp Vg $496.00 ended 22 Jun Mary Mundy - Stop In The Name Love Is Gone Us Undocum.. $496.70 ended 14 Jun Gene Townsel Can T Stop A Poor Man Mr Boon Tang Rare $494.24 ended 24 Jun Gatherers Upsetters Words Of My Mouth Duke Du153 1973 .. $489.29 ended 29 Jun Howard Guyton - I Watched You Slowly Slip Away - Verve .. $480.00 ended 29 Jun Paul Anka - When We Get There - Rca Victor - Vg Mp3 $472.00 ended 29 Jun Deep Soul Acetate - Cross Jordan Six Wings - On My Wa.. $465.00 ended 21 Jun Funk Sweet Soul - Transfer - Nothing - Greenback - Vg Mp3 $464.00 ended 28 Jun The Beatles Rubber Soul Original Factory Sealed First P.. $464.00 ended 30 Jun Os Brazoes S T Orig 1969 Brazil Bossa Pysch Groove Funk.. $460.20 ended 29 Jun Lou Edwards - Talking About Poor Folk - Columbia Wd - N.. $454.70 ended 29 Jun Soul Funk Lp Mighty Ryeders-spread The Message Sun-glo .. $449.44 ended 25 Jun R B Soul 5 Royales Catch That Teardrop Abc-paramount .. $449.00 ended 15 Jun Modern Soul Disco - Mighty Clouds Of Mccollough - He S .. $449.00 ended 22 Jun Anthony Fontaine How Can I Lose Souled Out $450.99 ended 24 Jun Modern Soul Gospel Funk Lp - Gospel Unlimited - Gospel .. $447.87 ended 08 Jun
Imagine the dancefloor damage you could do with some of them in your box...

Check out our eBay tools for top ways to stay ahead of the game, tomorrows winners today...
https://www.soul-source.co.uk/newsletters/

By Mike in News Archives · July 1, 20205 yr

LRK Records are delighted to announce that we'll be releasing America's West Coast funk trio Whatitdo.'s single 'Crocker Way' b/w 'Steve's Romp' on limited edition 7" vinyl.
“Crocker Way” feels like an inner-city funk workout with punchy horns, tightly syncopated percussion, and a commanding electric piano lead. Over on the flip, “Steve’s Romp”, takes us swinging into the late night social scene with a Ramsey Lewis-esque groove, drum breaks, and irresistible handclaps. Essential new digs for the connoisseurs

You can order here :
https://lrkrecords.bandcamp.com/album/crocker-way-steves-romp

Starting in 2009, Whatitdo has been a cult fixture in the U.S. West Coast funk scene. And since solidifying their presence in Reno, NV and beyond with their critically acclaimed lo-fi debut record, "Shit's Dope" (2015), Whatitdo is finally back with a new kind of heat on LRK Records.
credits
releases September 14, 2020

Bass - Alexander Korostinsky
Guitar - Mark Sexton
Drums - Aaron Chiazza
Wurlitzer - Christopher Sexton
PRE-SALE LINK: https://lrkrecords.bandcamp.com/album/crocker-way-steves-romp
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Whatitdofunk/
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/whatitdofunk/?hl=en

By LRK in News Archives · June 30, 20205 yr

You Got The Power - Cameo Parkway Northern Soul CD
Cameo Parkway was late to CD but the Northern Soul selections have been trickling onto CD/LP compilation releases legally now for a couple of decades, starting first with the 'Introduction to Northern Soul' boxset I think. Here is the first official CD dedicated entirely to the Northern Soul releases on the label I envisage, I could be wrong. In theory these are out now, but I haven't seen them anywhere and the big A lists them for September.
Although I think I've got just about everything there from other compilations, it's still worth a buy for a couple of songs. There are separate Dance Craze and Chubby Checker CDs too.
https://www.abkco.com/news-feed/cameo-parkway-compilations/

"You Got The Power: Cameo Parkway Northern Soul 1964 -1967, showcases the numerous Cameo Parkway singles that would go on to become part of the soundtrack of Britain’s Northern Soul lifestyle phenomenon. Northern Soul’s emphasis was on obscure yet danceable records, a number of which became the focus of a cult-like worship years after they were first issued, partially due to the rarity of the 45s on vinyl. Recordings by Frankie Beverly & The Butlers, Bunny Sigler, The Orlons, Evie Sands, Candy and the Kisses, Christine Cooper and Eddie Holman are highlights of the 20-track collection."
You Got The Power: Cameo Parkway Northern Soul 1964-1967
You Got The Power – The Four Exceptions
Because Of My Heart – Frankie Beverly & The Butlers
(Whoa, Whoa) I Love Him So – Nikki Blu
Girl Don’t Make Me Wait – Bunny Sigler
It’s Rough Out There – Jerry Jackson
Envy (In My Eyes) – The Orlons
Picture Me Gone – Evie Sands
Country Girl – Vickie Baines
Night Owl – Bobby Paris
Village Of Tears – Ben Zine
You Just Don’t Know (What You Do To Me) – Chubby Checker
The 81 – Candy And The Kisses
Shake And Shingaling (Pt. 1) – Gene Waiters
S.O.S. (Heart In Distress) – Christine Cooper
Eddie’s My Name – Eddie Holman
Pass Me By – Hattie Winston
The Grass (Will Sing For You) – Lonnie Youngblood
(Your Love Was Just A) False Alarm – Tari Stevens
Who Do You Think You Are – The Soul City
You Didn’t Say A Word – Yvonne Baker

releases

By Thinksmart in News Archives · June 30, 20205 yr

New Respect Trailer

Official Respect Trailer starring Jennifer Hudson
looking good...

By Mike in News Archives · June 29, 20205 yr

Latest news as posted on the weekends Bury Virtual Allnighter comments...
It's now official - In line with the easing of the lock-down, after 15 weekly shows, 'The Bury Virtual All-nighter' is changing to the last Saturday of every month.
Although the radio station will be playing previous sounds played on the show 24/7 as a back-ground to your days. That, along with all the shows to be loaded up on Mixcloud as and when Simon and the team find the time to do so (Something to look forward to)
I know we're not 'out of the woods' just yet, but this show has given so many people a real positive through these very strange and worrying times - A real moment in history.
See you all out the other end one day soon 😉
Len aka @Len

By Mike in Event News · June 29, 20205 yr

Here we go, Ace Records latest release list for July 2020

The Soul Of The Memphis Boys
60s Soul
Various Artists (Memphis Boys)
CD £11.50
Showcasing the soulful side of the brilliant American Sound Studio session group, 1967-72, directed by Chips Moman and featuring top guitarist Reggie Young.

She's All Right With Me! Girl Group Sounds USA 1961-1968
Girls
Various Artists (Girl Group Sounds USA)
LP £15.60
For those who prefer to own their music on vinyl, the latest in our gorgeously packaged series of American girl group artefacts from the 60s.

Ready Or Not - Thom Bell's Philly Soul Arrangements & Productions 1965-1978
Philadelphia Soul
Various Artists (Producer Series)
CD £12.92
Thom Bell, along with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, was part of the holy trinity of Philly soul. This is the first-ever compilation of his productions and arrangements.

My Young Misery
60s Soul
Darrow Fletcher
LP £15.60
Chicago’s 60s teen soul sensation at his very best.

Pain
Funk
The Ohio Players
LP £15.60
The first in our programme to release all three Ohio Players Westbound albums on vinyl. Gatefold sleeve.

More info, listens, purchase options and look forwards via
https://acerecords.co.uk/browse/releases

By Mike in News Archives · June 27, 20205 yr

Details of a new release..
Emma Noble - No Turning Back
Out today on all platforms via Cosmos Music

Emma Noble’s sound is rooted in and influenced by her deep love for rare soul, funk and disco. Her passion and knowledge for this music steadily grew since moving to London 10 years ago and delving herself deep into the city’s underground soul scene.
Starting as backing vocalist for ‘New Street Adventure’ (Acid Jazz), she then went on to write with Lack of Afro (Freestyle / LOA Records) and has spent the last few years spinning records all over the UK & Europe as one half of the dynamic DJ duo Noble & Heath....but now it’s time to shine light on her solo artist career.
Noble launches with her debut solo single ‘No Turning Back’, an anthemic, soul-flavoured track about that burning desire for a positive change in life and doing something about it.
Quote from Emma Noble:
“It’s a kind of metaphor about getting yourself out of a situation where you are a bit stuck, and that moment you realise you need to act.
I guess it’s about empowerment and inspiring people who might be in a place where they feel like they aren’t getting the best from life and encouraging them to say “F*** it, I’m getting out of here now"

By Mike in News Archives · June 26, 20205 yr

So sad to learn Tony Jebb passed away last night. A true Pioneer of Northern Soul, he paved the way for others to follow.
Rest in Peace Tony 🙏 xx

Site note - due to technical reasons - please use this topic for comments

The Torch

By Sheila Hart in News Archives · June 25, 20205 yr

Little Johnny Jones - Feature
‘LITTLE’ JOHNNY JONES by Pete Nickols (with thanks for additional information from Mike Finbow)
A while back I listed my Top 50 all-time favourite deep-soul recordings and posted this to the Southern Soul Yahoo Group. Although my listing was intended to represent the best secular Deep Soul performances, the recording which made it to No.1 was actually something of a “cheat” on my part. It’s easy to see how important the gospel influence was to the deep-soul style but the recording at the very top of my pile is actually a genuine gospel song, cut in the soul era in the deep-soul mode and simply just SO good that I had to allow it to “cross over” since, if you were to substitute secular lyrics for its sanctified ones, it would need no other change whatsoever, so deeply soulful is the recording as it stands. The piece actually stems from 1972. The pre-disco-era early 70’s indeed saw some wonderful deep soul recordings made and, whilst some fans will always associate classic-soul with merely the 60’s, both the classic soul genre and its deep-soul sub-genre maintained a strong presence up until about 1974.
More about this very special deep-gospel recording by Jimmy Jones in due course - but first, what of the vocalist himself?
Picking the greatest male gospel voice of all time would clearly be a very subjective exercise and, with so many different styles of gospel music and so many different ranges and timbres of voices to choose from, to attempt to make such a choice is almost impossible. The great power lead voices like Ira Tucker, Clarence Fountain, Julius Cheeks, Archie Brownlee, Brother Joe May, Silas Steele and Morgan Babb have to be in the reckoning, plus there have been some great bass-baritones too like Jimmy Jones. Then there are the high-tenors - most notably perhaps the amazing Wilmer ‘Little Ax’ Broadnax – and we can’t overlook the quieter but still super-interpretive lead vocalists, notably the hugely influential Sam Cooke. However for his sheer unbeatable combination of mellifluousness, power-when-needed, shrieking on-key, ad-lib insertions, interpretiveness and emotional involvement, a very real contender for me would have to be ‘Little’ Johnny Jones.
Jones was born close to the Savannah River in Augusta, Georgia on December 8th 1930. His father, the Rev. Benny Jones, was a holiness preacher at the nearby Watts Chapel Church. Johnny’s own introduction to singing in that church came early. He recalls that when he was only 6 or 7 years of age his ‘daddy’ would have him sing to ‘warm up’ the congregation. Then his father would preach before inviting Johnny to sing again.
By the time he was 13, Johnny had joined the local Daggert brothers, Bill, Joe, Richard and Billy-James to form a gospel quartet called variously The Daggert Brothers Quartet or simply the Daggert Boys (note the term ‘quartet’ is traditionally used for all small gospel groups however many actual members they may have). Two years later (and still only 15) Johnny found himself singing second lead in the South Carolina-based quartet Andrew Johnson & The Southern Six. Much later, in about December 1955 this group would cut two sides for John Dolphin’s Los Angeles-based Hollywood label and two more would appear in early 1957 - but of course Jones was no longer connected with the group by then. While Jones was touring with the Southern Six, his talents were noted by Barney L. Parkes, manager of the the significant female gospel soloist Edna Gallmon Cooke (‘The Sweetheart Of The Potomac’), who duly recruited him to become a member of her regular backing group The Singing Sons (who later, without Jones, would evolve into the Florida Robins). It is likely that Jones was recruited to the Sons to simply support her regular personal appearances as Edna did not start to record until the Spring of 1949. The Sons themselves also first recorded in 1949 (on July 14th) but Johnny was not by then amongst their personnel.
Unlike many gospel-raised and trained vocalists, Johnny had never been shy at also utilising his great God-given voice for the ‘devil’s music’ (i.e. that of a secular variety) and in 1955, while the already highly-successful secular group The Drifters were waiting for Johnny Moore to become a permanent lead-vocalist replacement for the booze-loving Little David Baughn, Johnny was asked to sing with the group at some live performances, although he did not feature on any of their recordings.
On his return to his Augusta GA home ground in 1956 Johnny was recruited by the manager of the Swanee Quintet to initially sing second lead alongside the Rev. Ruben W. Willingham as it was felt the addition of a highish tenor voice would keep the Swanees’ sound more contemporary to the gospel needs of the day. The Swanees would become Jones’ ‘home’ for a number of years and he would sing with them on and off up until 1968 - and even return briefly in the late 70’s and for personal appearances on into the 90’s. On his first lead-vocal on his return to the group in 1977, he would cut a gospel version of Phillip Mitchell’s soul-song “Starting All Over Again” which had been a No.4 R&B and No.19 Pop hit for Mel & Tim in 1972 on Stax 0127 after being cut at Muscle Shoals Sound. On Johnny & The Swanee’s 1977 single (Creed 5239) Johnny is actually welcomed back into the group via a spoken intro to the recording.
However, back in the 50’s, his earliest appearances with the group were interrupted when he took on a similar role in the gospel fold as that which he had recently taken with the Drifters in the secular one.
In the late-summer of 1957, Sam Cooke had left the big-name gospel quartet The Soul Stirrers to begin his own solo secular career (his last recording with them was on August 19th that year), and the Stirrers were waiting for his permanent replacement Johnny Taylor to ready himself for that particular hard-to-fill role. In the event, Taylor did not record with the Stirrers until February 4th 1958 and, in the interim, with Cooke gone, Johnny (who knew Sam well from when the Swanees had been supporting the Stirrers on gospel programs) was duly recruited to sing lead on several of the Stirrers’ live performances. However, Johnny Jones did not stay with the Chicago-based Stirrers for long (although he would sing with them again in the 70’s - see later) and claims that the Windy City’s snowy winter weather did not suit his southern Georgia soul. It seems he was also missing his home-town girlfriend and so he soon returned south to resume his residence with the Swanee Quintet.
This Quintet’s roots stemmed from The Hallelujah Gospel Singers, formed in 1939 by Charlie Barnwell who, with Rufus Washington and William ‘Pee Wee’ Crawford began touring around their native Georgia and South Carolina before linking up in 1945 with James Anderson and Ruben Willingham to create the Swanee Quintet. For ten years they would feature on a local daily radio show, during which time they won the regional Golden Cup Award for seven consecutive years. In one public performance they allegedly sang in front of 18,000 people and they also appeared at New York’s prestigious Carnegie Hall in 1957 – but they did not begin their recording career until around December 1951, some six to seven years after their formation. It was then that they featured as one of the first gospel acts to record for the Nashboro label.
Nashboro Records had been formed in June of that year by Ernie Young, the owner of Ernie’s Record Mart mail-order operation, by then based at 179 Third Avenue in Nashville. After an early aborted attempt by Young to create a “hillbilly” music outlet, Nashboro quickly became his main gospel logo, while blues and R&B would later emerge on his Excello subsidiary, introduced in August 1952.
From his early days with the Swanees it seemed Jones possessed a light and airy albeit genuinely impressive tenor (clearly influenced by, but not derivative of Cooke) but it held latent power and could also effortlessly soar into the falsetto range, sometimes proving an almost startling but very successful complement to Willingham’s preaching baritone (as on the absolutely outstanding “Sleep On Mother” from 1958, the lovely lilting-paced “Lowly Jesus” from about 1959, and the pacy foot-tapper “Holy Ghost Got Me” from 1960) whilst it was also sometimes allowed full rein as a solo tenor lead-voice (as on “Over In Zion” and the self-penned “My Father’s Land” both from 1959, plus “Take The Lord With You”, “Great Change In Me”, “I Want To Move” and “Jesus Loves Me” all from about 1961/2). By the time of these slightly later Swanee tracks, over in the secular arena the classic soul era was only just beginning but on performances like “I Want To Move” Jones already used the kind of emotive melismas, shrieks and “Oh Lord” ad-lib-interjections that would become the staple fare of the deepest secular examples of soulful vocal interpretation. Even based on Jones’ earliest gospel recordings, respected gospel authority and historian Opal Louis Nations regarded him as “perhaps the finest, most delicate falsetto lead of all time” and, as Nations adds: “he possessed a unique way of effortlessly splitting one note into two”. Jones’ lyrical, soulful, smooth timbre and often – though not always - restrained singing style may have been related to his long-term denominational affiliation with the African Methodist Episcopal Church. This denomination has historically featured less-demonstrative musical rituals than, for example, the Black Baptists or the Pentecostalists.
In 1966, the Swanees supported the James Brown Revue at the famed Apollo Theatre in Harlem and from this association James and his band (with the help of Bob Holmes) produced and recorded the group on 4 tracks. Two of the tracks, the Willingham-led “That’s The Spirit” and the Jones-led “Try Me Father”, were first issued on a 45 by Syd Nathan’s Federal label (#12542) as by Rev. Willingham & His Swanees. Federal was of course also the label for which James Brown himself recorded and “Try Me Father” is simply a gospelising by Jones of Brown’s September 18th 1958-recorded secular Federal 12337 R&B hit “Try Me”. But Jones’ recording was cut some 8 years later in the middle of the classic 60’s soul era and is an outstanding example of a 60’s gospel performance which uses the then contemporary deep-soul style. It could easily have scraped into my Top 50 male Deep Soul performances of all time and it certainly “bubbled under” (to borrow an old Billboard phrase). Later, when the four Brown-related tracks were leased to Creed, the same two sides from the Federal single also saw release on a Creed 45 (#5180) and then all four would appear on the first album released by that label on the Swanees entitled “Step By Step “(Creed 3001).
In 1968, Jones was tempted by New York-based record store and label-owner Bobby Robinson to try his hand at some more secular material and two singles emerged. A tasty countrified soul style was employed on Johnny’s version of the otherwise rather hoary old tune “Tennessee Waltz” while its flip (on Fury 550) was the bouncy ”I Find No Fault (In My Baby’s Love)” which would become a favourite on the UK Northern Soul scene. “No Love As Sweet As Yours”/”Stand By Me” duly followed on Fury 553.
Jones’ gospel peers didn’t take too kindly to this secular recording adventure (especially as the record labels gave artist credit to “Johnny Jones & Swanee Quintet”) but with no commercial success attained by these 45s, Johnny’s vocal talent and considerable reputation allowed him to return to the gospel fold, albeit he now left the Swanees and formed his own Johnny Jones Singers, which also featured the three Mimms brothers, Augustus (Gus), Dennis and another Johnny. Whilst rehearsing his new group Johnny also took on work as a brick mason at Babcock and Wilcox’s Augusta facility.
Johnny and his new group cut three LPs for Creed over as many years, namely “He Walks With Me” (#3013), “Let’s Go Back To God” (#3018) and “A Long Way From Home” (#3025) and several singles for the label also saw release including our featured one from 1972, which (like some of the others) was credited solely to Jones. This superb recording. which deservedly hits my male deep-soul top-spot, is Jones’ version of his self-penned “The Name Jesus” on Creed 5209. With a suitably plodding-paced guitar riff, some gorgeous sanctified organ fills throughout and the use on backup purely on the title phrase and climactic passages of the impressive Mimms brothers, the scene is beautifully set for the totally involved, melisma-full, falsetto-utilising, super-interpretive. emotion-laden lead-vocal from Johnny Jones, by then already some 41 years of age. Jones simply hits the peak of his very considerable powers on this amazing mind- (and ear-) bending paen to the Son of God, although the all-enveloping deep-soul musical setting means this song could just have easily been directed, not at a religious deity, but to the girl of Jones’ dreams. Whilst the singer’s religious sincerity should not be doubted, you don’t have to be able to associate personally with these feelings to wallow shamelessly in the soulful intensity of the piece.
Johnny Jones - The Name Jesus - Creed
It was probably just after this recording that Johnny (ever the journeyman singer) enjoyed a second brief spell with The Soul Stirrers. It seems Stan Lewis’ Shreveport-based Jewel label had contracted the group by this time and in 1973 one side of Jewel J-210 featured a stunning version of “Stand By Me Father” with Johnny taking lead, albeit the issued 45’s label showed the title simply as “Stand By Me”. Around this same period, there were five genuinely live Soul Stirrers tracks either cut by Jewel or acquired by them but not released at the time. Johnny sang lead on a nice rendition of “That’s Heaven To Me” but also on an absolutely outstanding, intense and extremely emotive interpretation of the much-recorded gospel favourite “When The Gates Swing Open” (a song later beloved by the great gospel and soul singer Otis Clay but perhaps best-nailed in 1966 by the amazing female soloist Inez Andrews). The other Stirrers live cuts were the sermonette “Free At Last” with Martin Jacox on lead and “Wade In The Water” and “Resting Easy” which each had Martin and Johnny sharing the lead duties. These five live tracks finally emerged in 1990 on a P-Vine PLP-2171 various Jewel artists gospel compilation entitled “Downhome Gospel Live Vol.2/Too Close To Heaven” and the full group line-up on the recordings was Jones, Jacox, Jesse J Farley and Arthur and Rufus Crume.
Over time, as members of The Swanee Quintet passed away they were replaced by Augustus Mimms and also Johnny Mimms, thus effectively ending the existence of the Johnny Jones Singers, with Johnny himself, as already noted, occasionally still sharing a role at live Swanee performances with the group’s main lead voice in the 90’s (as it had then been for many years) namely that of Percy Griffin. Johnny Jones eventually passed on October 23rd 2000 in Richmond County, Augusta GA. He is buried in the local Walker Memorial Park.
A memorial appears on the Find A Grave web-site but this gives Johnny’s birth date as 1939 and therefore his age at death as 60/61. However, this does not tie in with the chronology of his musical career as summarised herein and I’m sticking to the birth date given near the start of this piece (as provided by gospel authority Opal Louis Nations in his 1995 notes to Johnny and the Johnny Jones Singers Nashboro 4535-2 CD reissue compilation “Let’s Go Back To God”). Therefore, Johnny was some six-and-a-half weeks short of his 70th birthday when he sadly passed while still a member of the local African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Greater Ward Chapel.
R.I.P. Johnny Jones

artists

By Peternickols in Articles · June 22, 20205 yr

For Sale: Impulse “I Really Love You/Get The Funk Off My Back” Kandi
Two new previously unissued tracks from the same sessions that brought you the previous release “You Changed Me” and “What’s That Sound” in 2018.
Firstly “I Really Love You" is an excellent modern soul dancer already being championed by Dj’s in the know, while “Get The Funk Off My Back” is a more funk influenced outing that would be at home in either a funk or modern soul set.
Copies available at £12.00 each plus £3.25 postage (1st recorded, UK) overseas at cost.
Again only a limited number of copies available therefore sorry only one copy per person
To reserve PM @Louise or E-mail: david.welding@blueyonder.co.uk

The Groups History:
Impulse were (and are still in the main) a group of Milwaukee, Wisconsin musicians who during the 1970’s worked as the backing and touring band for another Milwaukee group The Quadraphonics , who during 1974, recorded a solitary 45 single “Betcha If You Check It Out/Prove My Love To You” for the Carl Davis/E. Rodney Jones owned Innovation II Record label. The Quadraphonics 45 would also land a subsequent national distribution on the major Warner Brothers label. The original members of Impulse were Michael Reese (Rhodes Piano and background vocals), Cedrick Rupert (Lead and Rhythm guitar), Jeffrey Williamson (Drums and background vocals) and Robin Gregory (Bass and background vocals).The band would later be joined by John Gee as their lead singer and fellow songwriter. John Gee had begun performing secular music in the late 60’s with another Milwaukee oufit, The Chefs, as their original lead singer from 1967 through to his departure in 1972. His replacement was Michael Moncrete who featured as the group’s lead on their desirable 1974 funk outing “Mr Machine” released on their own Pro-Gress Label. John Gee’s solo artist credits can be found on the 1980 release “Not Enough Love Makin’/You Are That Man (Why Don’t You Be That Man” on the Oakland C.A Pashlo label (Although recorded in Milwaukee). Followed by the 1985 modern soul dance floor favourite “So Good To Me/Just Get On” recorded under the artist name of Jon Pierre Gee on his own Kandi Inc, record label, as a 45/12” single and cd album project. Later projects included the 1995 Jon Pierre Gee & Touch album (featuring legendary rock drummer Anysley Dunbar (renowned for his work wth John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Whitesnake and Journey). Jon returned again in 2005, with the Ah’vant Soul cd album project,which featuring some of the former members of Impulse and Jon’s business and personal partner, Kat Webb. Jon also at one point sang with original drummer Billy “Stixs” Nicks version of the Jr. Walker’s All- Star Band.
Returning to 1976 the musicians of Impulse migrated to Oakland California where they hooked up with a fellow Brewtown producer and recording artist, one Harvey Scales. Scales himself in 1976, through his earlier local hit “Glamour Girl” (recorded for the local Sauk City, Cuca Label) and a string of recordings for Lenny Lacour’s Magic Touch label. Of which “Get Down” had bought him both National and International attention after being picked up Atlantic Records was at the height of his powers. Further enhance by the success of Johnnie Taylors Columbia Records platinum hit “Disco Lady” a song Scales co-wrote.

Under the auspice of Scales, Impulse recorded the self titled debut album project at Wally Heider’s Studio in San Francisco. The album was initially a proposed release for the Casablanca label which never materialised, a further offer from Jerry “The Ice Man” Butler to release the album on his newly formed Chicago label, Fountain Records also failed to materialise, leaving the album unreleased, It is from the surviving master tapes of these sessions that the above two tracks “I Really Love You/Get The Funk Off My Back” have been taken for the release of Impulse’s second 45 outing.

Throughout all the above mentioned projects Jon has used and enjoyed performing with the original members of Impulse, as both musicians and co songwriters. They still from time to time perform together today (2020). With the exception of drummer Jeffrey Williamson who passed away during 2015, his replacement being Coley Jackson. Lead and Rhythm guitarist Cedrick Rupert who in the very late 70’s left the group to follow his heart and married a girl from Lake Charles, Louisiana, his home with the exception of a brief period of residing in Florida, until his recent passing in 2020. His replacements in Impulse included Joe Chatman and later Rudy Jacobs the original lead guitarist with Harvey Scales & The 7 Sounds.
Words By David Welding.
With Acknowledgements to Jon Pierre Gee.

releases

By Chalky in News Archives · June 20, 20205 yr

Soul Voices - 60s Big Ballads
Details follow of a great new Kent Records release titled Soul Voices, 60s Big Ballads is the tag line and it most certainly lives up to that tag.
Out right now on Cd, and also available via a mp3 sampler format, via both download and streaming services. A powerful and dramatic collection that demands to be played loud.
Release Notes Preview
Majestic male vocalists singing over subtly orchestrated arrangements of superb songs were the pinnacle of 1960s black music sophistication.
Male soul balladeers from the 60s have always been particularly admired. Roy Hamilton, Walter Jackson, Lou Johnson and Ben E King – some of the A-listers featured here – epitomise the genre and have devoted followers. This grand sound evolved from the first soul records which emanated in the early 60s mainly in New York, where three quarters of the tracks here were recorded.
Four are previously unissued. Kenny Carter’s ‘Big Bad Rain’ is a superb Larry Banks and Herman Kelley song, stunningly arranged by New York studio maestro Garry Sherman. Clarence Pinckney is lesser-known but delivers the Billy Terrell song ‘Just Outside Of Lonely’ with aplomb. Prolific recording artists Junior Lewis and Billy Watkins both add a new song to their already impressive CVs. Lewis’ recording is a demo of the tender Buddy Lucas song ‘I Love You So Much’ which was never covered for a release. Its sparse backing seems appropriate to the song, especially next to Jimmy Radcliffe’s ‘Through A Long And Sleepless Night’, which has a minimal arrangement but made it to 45. Billy Watkins sang in most soul styles in a 20-year Los Angeles recording career. His reading of the jazz standard ‘I Want To Be Loved’ was clearly Sam Cooke-inspired and reeks of sophistication.
Also available as Soul Voices - 60s Big Ballads (Sampler) (MP3), MP3 (£4.74)
Full release notes and more via https://acerecords.co.uk/soul-voices-60s-big-ballads
Audio Previews

Leaflet Scans

Tracks
1. Forget The Girl - Walter Jackson
  2. They Say I'm Afraid - Freddy Butler
  3. Heartache (Hurry On By) - Roy Hamilton
  4. Big Bad Rain - Kenny Carter
  5. (There's) No Place To Hide - Ben E King
  6. Lonely People Can't Afford To Cry - Clyde McPhatter
  7. Gloomy Day - Herb Johnson
  8. Just Outside Of Lonely - Clarence Pinckney
  9. Seeing Is Believing - Tony Mason
  10. Don't Make Me Over - Tommy Hunt
  11. Reach Out For Me - Lou Johnson
  12. Now You Are Gone - Brooks O'Dell
  13. You Got Too Much Going For You - Jimmy Beaumont
  14. A Day Or Two - Garrett Saunders
  15. Where Does Love Go - Freddie Scott
  16. I Can't Stand To See You Cry - Chuck Jackson
  17. Anytime You Want Me - Garnet Mimms
  18. Can't Stand No Fooling Around - Gene Burks
  19. I Want To Be Loved - Billy Watkins
  20. Lover's Competition - James Carr
  21. You're A Lucky So And So - Sammy Sevens
  22. Good For A Lifetime - Al Hibbler
  23. Through A Long And Sleepless Night - Jimmy Radcliffe
  24. I Love You So Much - Junior Lewis
https://acerecords.co.uk/soul-voices-60s-big-ballads

releases

By Mike in News Archives · June 18, 20205 yr

The Guardian recently pushed out a great interview with Bootsy Collins from Ammar Kalia
Bootsy Collins: 'We're all funky, just not all of us know it'
Details below...
The P-Funk bassist was a street kid in the 60s, got his break with James Brown, then spent much of the 70s taking LSD. He talks about drugs, racism, police brutality – and the healing power of music
Bootsy Collins: ‘Funk just brings people together. It doesn’t have nothing to do with colour.’

At the age of 17, William “Bootsy” Collins packed up his homemade bass guitar and left home to tour the world with James Brown. He was heading off in pursuit of the funk. Or, as he calls it now – aged 68, in his high-pitched rasp down the phone from Cincinnati, Ohio – “the fonk”.
Full piece via
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jun/15/bootsy-collins-were-all-funky-just-not-all-of-us-know-it
Photo By MikaV
Bootsy Collins’s Stars is out now; all proceeds from the streams and downloads go to the MusiCares Covid-19 relief fund

By Mike in News Archives · June 18, 20205 yr

Stuart Cosgrove: Apologies alone are not enough to atone for racism
An interesting article from Stuart Cosgrove shows up on The National newspaper website. Known to many on here as the author of such books as Detroit67, Memphis68, Young Soul Rebels and more, the author passes on his take on the current mainstream media's reaction to the killing of George Floyd.
It was inevitable that George Floyd’s killing would reverberate arounds the media and lead to an outpouring of self-recrimination. We had seen the script before in the aftermath of the Harvey Weinstein trial. Film and television are by their nature sensitive and often self-obsessed industries, but they are also made up of creative people working away on the imprecise role of being a motherboard of national taste and tolerance....
Full article via
https://www.thenational.scot/news/18516110.stuart-cosgrove-apologies-alone-not-enough-atone-racism/

By Mike in Soul News · June 16, 20205 yr

Word about an upcoming 45 release from Cannonball Records
Previously unissued from Darrell Banks
'It's Not Fair To Me'
The Lost Atlantic Recording Sessions New York 12/26/1967

Acetate Studio Demo Restored/Remastered + 2020 Version + Instrumental
3 tracks 7”/45rpm - Core Black Vinyl - Picture Sleeve
Out End of July 2020

Although we are beyond 40 releases across the 3 labels, here we are at the milestone of #30 on our main outfit Cannonball Records. We just wanted to celebrate it with one special release. The cooperation between our label and Detroit’s finest Peoples Records dates back to our #004 Big Lee Dowell. The slow ballad on acetate that later became the record many of you know as “What I Done Wrong” in fact was among the tens of listenings me and Brad had on a sleepless winter night of 5 years ago in Detroit. We have been doing projects together ever since. Now it’s the case of this beautiful previously unissued recording that was part of a session Mr. Banks did on Boxing Day of 1967 at the legendary Atlantic Studios in New York. In particular 2 of the songs recorded on that day went lost for decades. Here we present one of them, trying to give it the deserved justice. No one know how the acetate made it there, but it was found and phisically restored by Brad in Detroit and being such an important find for the world of Soul we eventually managed to track down and inform Darrell’s’ sister Lois, who rounded up what remains of the family and gave us the green light to the project. We are testing the beta version of this new little software that does wonders when it comes to isolate vocals and, given the bouncing nature of the original song, we just thought a humble groovy alternate version would have been just perfect for the flipside.

So we did. Being the man a treasured icon of the Northern Soul scene there’s plenty of bibliography out there that tells about this incredible Artist, who was moody and quick tempered although an overall mighty entertainer, so there’s no point in resuming here once again his life and career background. We are all going through difficult times and many of the historical racial issues that dominated the world at the times of Darrell Banks are not yet solved. In these sad sad times for the human race we are just proud to release a previously unissued song from yet another black man shot to death by a cop in the streets of Detroit on a spring day of 1970. Black Lives Matter. Always did and always will. #blacklivesmatter
CBLL30 Darrell Banks "It's Not Fair To Me"
3 tracks 7" / 45rpm
Out End of July 2020

Preorders
https://www.cannonballsoul.com

releases

By Mike in News Archives · June 15, 20205 yr

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