Source Magazine - Soul Music News & Articles

Express Your Soul - Mixed by Levanna McLean - Universal Music
An interesting comp concept from Universal Music with what seems to be a curator type role taken by the youtube dancer/dj Levanna McLean. Maybe not on everyone's christmas present list but after seeing over the years more than a fair few weary comps with even wearier names attached to them, then this comp does make a mark by offering something different.
Tv Advert follows

Track Listings.
46 tracks
Disc: 1
1. Grace Love And The True Loves - Fire
2. The Originals - Judge's Daughter
3. Jean Dushon - Feeling Good
4. Men Of The North Country - I'm Com'un Home (In The Morn'un)
5. Baby Washington - I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face
6. Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters - As Long As I Have You
7. Bobby Bland - Honey Child
8. Eddie Kendricks - Date With The Rain
9. New World - We're Gonna Make it
10. Jack Hammer - Swim
11. Velvet Hammer - Happy
12. Fantastic Four - I Love You Madly
13. Barbara McNair - It Happens Every Time
14. Martha & The Vandellas - One Way Out
15. Four Tops - What You Gonna Do With Me Baby
16. Chuck Jackson - I'll Fight It ('Til I Win Your Love)
17. The Drifters, Ben E. King - I Count The Tears
18. J. T. Parker - If You Want To Hold On
19. J.J. Barnes - (Tell Me) Ain't It The Truth
20. Brenda Holloway - My World Is Crumbling
21. Jo Ann Garrett - Whole New Plan
22. Jimmy Ruffin - Just Before Love Ends
23. S.O.U.L. - Express Yourself
Disc: 2
1. Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators - One In A Million
2. Robert Dobyne - All I Need Is A Chance
3. The Velvelettes - Stop Beating Around the Bush
4. The Temptations - Witchcraft (For Your Love)
5. Diana Ross & The Supremes - Stormy
6. Terry Callier - Ordinary Joe
7. Amy Winehouse - Tears Dry
8. Lack Of Afro - Recipe For love
9. Edwin Starr - Time
10. New Street Adventure - The Big A.C.
11. The Golden Flamingo Orchestra feat. Margo Williams - The Guardian Angel Is Watching Over Us
12. Gladys Knight & The Pips - No One Could Love You More
13. Steve Karmen Big Band - Breakaway
14. The Vel - Vets
15. Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell - Ain't No Mountain High Enough
16. Young - Holt Unlimited
17. Reggie Garner - Hot Line
18. Gino Parks - For This I Thank You
19. The Radiants - Ain't No Big Thing
20. Bobby Taylor - Don't' Be Afraid
21. Crystal Clear - Stay With Me
22. Lollipops - Sweet Sweet Love
23. Doris & Kelley - You Don't Have To Worry
cd and digital formats

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · November 25, 20159 yr

Sad news reported in the forum by Soul Source member John Smith (Roburt) of the passing on of Arthur Brooks once of the Impressions (1958–1962).
The forum thread and follow on comments can be read via this link - view forum thread
A recent soul source article titled the Richard Brooks story was posted by Chalky in 2014 to accompany a Richard Brooks Soul Junction 45 release - view Richard Brooks story. This article covers both brothers recording history and does have a lot of info on both the brothers works. A preview follows below ...

In 1957 the ‘Roosters’ who under Thomas’s advice changed their name to the perceived hipper sounding ‘Jerry Butler and The Impressions’ recorded the Richard Brooks penned “For Your Precious Love” which appeared on the Vee-Jay, Falcon and Abner labels.
“For Your Precious Love” became a hit reaching #11 on the US pop charts and #3 on the R&B charts respectively. In the wake of the groups third Abner release ‘The Gift Of Love/At The County Fair’ (1023) Jerry Butler left the group to pursue a solo career being replaced by former Rooster Fred Cash the group then reverted to the name of just “The Impressions”.
In 1959 following the release of ‘Lonely One/Senorita I Love You’ (Abner 1025) Vee-Jay decided to drop the ‘Impressions from their artist roster although they continued to release their material.
In the same year The Impressions signed to another Chicago independent label, Bandera records. Where they recorded a solitary release ‘Listen/Shorty Got To Go’ (Bandera 2509) the line up on this release was Curtis Mayfield, Fred Cash, Richard & Arthur Brooks and Sam Gooden who sang lead vocals.
A further solitary Impressions release although recorded in 1960 later appeared on the New York based Swirl label in 1961 ‘Don’t Leave Me/I Need Your Love’ (Swirl 107). Don’t Leave was a R&B screamer similar to The Isley Brothers ‘Shout’ while the flipside ‘I Need Your Love ‘ was an earlier version of a later Impressions ABC recording.
The line up on this release consisted of Richard Brooks (who sang lead vocals), Arthur Brooks, Fred Cash and Sam Gooden. Curtis Mayfield at that time was touring as lead guitarist for Jerry Butler.
Later in 1961 and reunited with Mayfield the Impressions signed for ABC Paramount scoring an immediate a R&B hit with “Gypsy Woman”. In 1963 following the Impressions sixth ABC release ‘Sad, Sad Girl And A Boy’ brothers Richard and Arthur Brooks left The Impressions due to a disagreement over Curtis Mayfield’s continued insistence on writing all the group’s material.
Following their departure from the Impressions Richard and Arthur moved around several U.S towns with Arthur meeting his first wife Everlyn in Baltimore. They later pitched up in Detroit where their older brother Harrison and his family lived.
Harrison, Arthur and Richard became involved with the tiny independent Card label, where their song writing and production credits can be found on the labels only two reputed releases.
Richard and Arthur together with old Chattanoogan school friend Emanuel Thompson then embarked on a brief flirtation with the Motown label under the group name of the Showstoppers, a planned release ‘Old Time Loving/Little Girl You Had Your Chance’ was recorded but never released. Emanuel Thompson then chose to return home to Chattanooga with Richard and Arthur remaining in Detroit.
The Brooks Brothers then signed to Taylor and Turners Detroit Sound Studios, where amongst other production projects they recorded the northern soul outing ‘Looking For A Woman/Two Great Lovers’ for the studios subsidiary label Tay (501). The line up on the Tay release featured the three brothers Richard, Arthur and Harrison as well as Harrison’s son, Harrison Jr (both Harrison’s are now sadly deceased).
https://www.soul-source.co.uk/articles/artist-articles/the-richard-brooks-story-r2916/

artist sad news

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · November 25, 20159 yr

If ever an excuse is needed to mention santa before December the 1st then this weeks fine release from Tramp records offers just that!
We are talking about Tramp records latest release and it is the third volume in its now regular Santa's Funk & Soul Christmas Party series. Again its a cd/vinyl/digital affair and going by the photos the lp looks like the pick visual wise.

Words and such follow below, but first here are the tracks via the dependable Juno Records player.

Track Listing
Note the listings vary depending on which format - check out the link below
1. Joe Shinall - Sock It To 'em Santa
2. Sam Sweetsinger Bell - Happy Birthday Jesus
3. Cleveland Robinson - Xmas Time Is Here Again
4. Carol Ford - Christmas Letters
5. Rocki Lane and The Gross Group - Santa Soul
6. Excaliburs - Peace On Earth

7. The Individuals - Holiday For Drums
8. Funk Machine - Soul Santa Pt.1
9. Funk Machine - Soul Santa Pt.2
10. Timi Terrific and The Redheads - Black (Soul) Christmas
11. The Bionic I - Disco Claus
12. White Chimney - Funky Santa Claus
13. Rudi and The Rain Dearz - Santa's New Bag
14. The Soul Duo - Just A Sad Xmas
Company Blub
Sean Delany and Jan Kohlmeyer did an incredible job compiling these tunes. They spared no pains digging up the rarest of the rare, and the best of the best Christmas funk you have (n)ever heard (and which has not been compiled anywhere else). Even with your impeccable music taste and your unlimited record-buying budget you will have a hard time getting your hands on most of these gems. What brings you all the money if something you want is never offered? For us it's the quality that counts and that's why you will find such artists as Sam Sweetsinger Bell, Joe Shinall, Cleveland Robinson, and Carol Ford to name a few on this album. Of course the rest of the tunes are no exception either.
It fits like a glove that this third volume of SF&SCP is simultaneously the 50th Tramp Records album released. Since we are proudly independent and are not forced to act in the economic sense, and, like you, are music fanatics and die-hard record collectors, we at Tramp Records are still digging after more than ten hard-working years! It started out just for fun and it's our fans worldwide that encourage us to keep bringing the heat. As long as there is music out there that has the power to drop our jaws to the floor we will still be here - and, like Santa himself, we will work year-round to continue to deliver our funky Christmas miracles directly to your turntable. Merry Christmas!
Key selling points:
- most of the songs appear on CD/digital for the very first-time
- the vinyl LP comes with a full album download code
- fold-out CD-booklet and vinyl LP contain detailed liner notes and label scans
Video Promo

More info on release formats and purchase details inc offers for this and previous releases via-
http://tramprecords.bandcamp.com/album/out-now-v-a-santas-funk-soul-christmas-party-3

By Mike in News Archives · November 24, 20159 yr

Jerry Zolten recently passed on the sad news to the site regarding Billy Sha-Rae passing on earlier this month.
Jerry Z has posted a detailed entry on this sad news via a facebook page which can be read via the link below
Preview clips follow below...
A remembrance of BILLY SHA-RAE who passed away on November 5, 2015. In the 1960s Billy made his name performing R&B in the Pittsburgh area. I knew him as Billy Wilson from Uniontown, PA.
In those days I was spinning records at record hops. Part way through the evening I would feature a live performance by a local artist. Billy Sha-Rae was one of them.
Billy was tall, a smooth-voiced charmer, Sam Cooke handsome with lithe moves ala Jackie Wilson. The teen crowds loved him. Though he was older than me, we became friends, someone I could talk to about my crummy love life and my own farfetched aspirations to make music in some yet-to-be-defined way.
Billy was a recording artist. He had cut a number of tracks for a local label – Bay-Uke Records out of Greensburg, PA. He gave me a handful of his 45-rpm singles and I would spin them over the sound system. He would sing along to them over a microphone. About a half an hour’s worth. That’s how it worked and we did quite a few record hops together over the years. *see photo of Billy singing, me barely visible behind the table in the background.
“To Love and Be Loved” (Bay-Uke)

....I tried to reconnect with Billy Sha-Rae over the years but with no luck...until news of his passing reached me last week via Billy’s son Billee who lives in Detroit.
Billy “Sha-Rae” Wilson was born in 1938. He left the music business for the Cayman Islands and there became a popular television and radio personality. His last years were spent in Louisville, KY where he died earlier this month. Thinking of you Billy Sha-Rae and your family. Time may indeed slip away but not the marks people make on our lives..

Full article can be read via the link below
https://www.facebook.com/jerry.zolten/posts/10156283123060013

artist sad news

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · November 23, 20159 yr

Back To The River: More Southern Soul Stories 1961-1978
This box set is the 'follow up' release to the best selling critically and publicly acclaimed 2006 release “Take Me To The River: A Southern Soul Story” Box set ( details here ) and is now out and about
A 3 disc box set, this release follows on the first release, again with 75 tracks which include objects of desire such as rarities, unreleased and well known gems but this time around the scope is more expanded than its predecessor.
Delivered as a 3 disc box set complete with a 64 page booklet with over 17,000 words ensuring every track gets covered
As always others can tell the story better, here's Soul Source member Dean Rudlands words from the Ace records website...

....Take Me To The River” was only ever “A” southern soul story, and that many others could be told from a variety of perspectives. Here we tell three of them.
Disc One brings another view on the recordings of Muscle Shoals and Memphis. This time we focus more on artists who weren’t native to those areas: Solomon Burke recording at American, Mary Wells at Fame or Betty LaVette at Sounds Of Memphis. These studios were being used to revitalise waning careers or kickstart those that had yet to get going. The disc also features recordings by artists primarily associated with Muscle Shoals and Memphis – check the previously unreleased take of Otis’ ‘Free Me’ – and overall gives further evidence of the musical vibrancy of those two great recording centres.
Disc Two covers the wider region of the south. Taking in Miami, Texas, New Orleans and several other stops, it reveals how the regional music of the time was connected but at the same time distinct and allows us to find out what Jerry Wexler did when he fell out with the studios in Memphis and Muscle Shoals. The disc also shines a spotlight on the small scene in Mobile, Alabama and the super-rare Steve Dixon 45 that emerged from there.
Disc Three focuses on the influence southern soul had in the northern cities – a story not just of displaced southerners creating the sound of their homes states, but of the music industry’s tendency to follow big-selling trends wherever they come from. It’s possible to trace a timeline through this story that shows you when Otis and then Al Green were topping the charts. It also shows Aretha at her finest refusing to travel south and instead having the area’s best musicians flown in for her New York session.
More words and images on the release via
http://acerecords.co.uk/back-to-the-river-more-southern-soul-stories-1961-1978#sthash.4qQXU8xy.dpuf

Track Listing:
Side 1
1.   Solomon Burke - "I Wish I Knew (How It Would Feel To Be Free)"
    2.   Bettye Lavette - "Nearer To You"
    3.   William Bell & Judy Clay - "Private Number" (extended version)
    4.   Otis Redding - "Free Me" (take 1)
    5.   Bobby Bland - "A Touch Of The Blues"
    6.   Dee Dee Sharp - "This Love Won't Run Out"
    7.   Eddie Floyd - "I Got Everything I Need"
    8.   Gloria Walker & The Chevelles - "Please Don't Desert Me Baby"
    9.   Sam Baker - "Sugar Man" (extended version)
    10.   Joe Perkins - "Think I'll Go Somewhere & Cry Myself To Sleep"
    11.   Jeanie Greene - "Sure As Sin"
    12.   Rudolph Taylor - "What's That You Got"
    13.   Mary Wells - "I Found What I Wanted"
    14.   Melvin Carter - "I've Got Memories" (demo)
    15.   Joe Simon - "Message From Maria"
    16.   Mable John - "Problems"
    17.   OV Wright - "I've Been Searching"
    18.   Clarence Carter - "She Ain't Gonna Do Right" (demo)
    19.   Barbara West - "Give Me Back The Man I Love"
    20.   Bill Coday - "You're Gonna Want Me"
    21.   Bettye Swann - "I'm Just Livin' A Lie"
    22.   Jimmy Braswell - "Home For The Summer"
    23.   Ella Washington - "Too Weak To Fight" (extended version)
    24.   Na Allen - "Everytime It Rains (Teardrops From My Eyes)"
    25.   The Soul Children - "Yesterday"

Side 2
    1.   Joe Tex - "The Only Girl I've Ever Loved"
    2.   Brook Benton - "Rainy Night In Georgia"
    3.   John Fred & The Playboys - "Love Comes In Time"
    4.   Joey Gilmore - "Somebody Done Took My Baby & Gone"
    5.   CP Love - "I Found All These Things"
    6.   Helene Smith - "A Woman Will Do Wrong"
    7.   Steve Dixon - "Depend On Me"
    8.   Esther Phillips - "I'm In Love"
    9.   Sam Dees - "Easier To Say Than Do"
    10.   Terrie & Joy LaRoy - "Without Love What Would Life Be" (with The Bill Parker Show Band)
    11.   Count Willie - "I've Got To Tell You" (with LRL & The Dukes)
    12.   Joe Wilson - "You Need Me"
    13.   Joe Medwick - "Nearer To You"
    14.   Della Humphrey - "Your Love Is All I Need"
    15.   Toussaint McCall - "Nothing Takes The Place Of You"
    16.   George Perkins - "How Sweet It Would Be"
    17.   Warren Storm - "Daydreamin'"
    18.   Stanley Winston - "No More Ghettos In America"
    19.   Little Beaver - "Do Right Man"
    20.   Johnny Adams - "(Sometimes) A Man Will Shed A Few Tears Too"
    21.   Reuben Bell - "Asking For The Truth"
    22.   Joe Valentine - "I Can't Stand To See You Go"
    23.   Don Hollinger - "You Got Everything I Need"
    24.   Charles Crawford - "A Sad Sad Song"
    25.   Aaron Neville - "Tell It Like It Is"

Side 3
    1.   Ground Hog - "Going Back Home"
    2.   Freddie Scott - "Cry To Me"
    3.   Little Buster - "Looking For A Home"
    4.   Jimmy Lewis - "The Girls From Texas" (extended version)
    5.   Aretha Franklin - "Ain't No Way"
    6.   Roy C - "I Found A Man In My Bed"
    7.   Clay Hammond - "Take Your Time"
    8.   Al Gardner - "Just A Touch Of Your Hand"
    9.   Don Covay - "You're Good For Me"
    10.   Billy Sha Rae - "I Found The One"
    11.   ZZ Hill - "Don't Make Me Pay For His Mistakes"
    12.   The Soul Brothers Six - "What Can You Do When You Ain't Got Nobody"
    13.   Otis Clay - "That's How It Is (When Your In Love)"
    14.   Marion Black - "Go On Fool" (extended version)
    15.   Fontella Bass - "I Want Everyone To Know"
    16.   Oscar Weathers - "You Wants To Play"
    17.   The Fuller Brothers - "(I Want Her) By My Side"
    18.   Barbara Mason - "Shackin' Up"
    19.   Willie Hightower - "Don't Blame Me"
    20.   Lester Young - "Stop"
    21.   Bill Locke - "Someone To Take Your Place"
    22.   Lee Moses - "If Loving You Is A Crime (I'll Always Be Guilty)"
    23.   Timmy Willis - "Easy As Saying 1-2-3"
    24.   Little Richard - "I Don't Know What You Got But It's Got Me" (part 1 & 2)
    25.   Bobby Rush - "Mary Jane"

Available now via Ace records site and also the usual retail suspects
Seen at approx £28.00
http://acerecords.co.uk/back-to-the-river-more-southern-soul-stories-1961-1978

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · November 20, 20159 yr

Think its safe to say that in 2015 there has been a fair few Soul artist related documentaries released, so many that it's getting hard to keep track of them all. Well, here's word of another one just released via its premiere last month in Chicago. You may have heard of this as it has been funded by a Kickstarter campaign (832 backers pledged $46,730 to help bring this project to life), here's the info...
Syl Johnson: Any Way The Wind Blows
2015 / USA / English / 84 Minutes / HD
Soul singer Syl Johnson struggled for decades before leaving the music business in the 1980s to open a Chicago fried-fish chain. Since then, he’s become one of the most-sampled artists in hip-hop. The list of artists who've used his 1967 song Different Strokes includes Run-DMC, NWA, Public Enemy, the Wu-Tang Clan, the Beastie Boys, Kid Rock, Michael Jackson, Jay Z and Kanye West. With a lively soundtrack and an original score by Yo La Tengo, this documentary celebrates one man who can’t stop the music.

More info , showings, background can be read via the official website...
http://syljohnsonmovie.com/
The Hollywood reporter has an enjoyable review from the msm angle up
A preview clip and link below...
From 'Soul Train' to fried-fish sandwiches to the Wu-Tang Clan.Blame Al Green. If not for the unstoppable sex appeal of Mr. Let's Stay Together, Hi Records would have made singer Syl Johnson a star instead. Or so says he in Syl Johnson: Any Way the Wind Blows, Rob Hatch-Miller's very enjoyable portrait of a singer who, though not quite obscure, wasn't nearly as successful as he might have been. Soul fans will eat it up, and Johnson's surprising hip-hop legacy will make the doc doubly attractive at fests.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/syl-johnson-any-way-wind-834021

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · November 17, 20159 yr

Sad news, it has been confirmed by his daughter that Ronnie has died.
The family are trying to raise funds, if anyone is interested in making a donation then link is here
https://www.gofundme.com/q6amsr9w

from the above webpage
Children and family of Ronald Abner, former member of The Fabulous Peps are in need of assistance to give him a much deserved home going. We are asking the assistance of fans and other lovers of the beautiful music enjoyed over the years by this fantastic group. We greatly appreciate and thank you all for your assistance

artist sad news

By Venus in News Archive - Comments · November 17, 20159 yr

The Bakersfield Californian web site reported a few days ago the recent passing on of Bakersfield musician Luther Davis on Oct 28th aged 69
The reporting includes a fairly informative look at both Luther Davis life and his recordings
A preview clip of the feature follows...
Late Bakersfield musician's legacy extends as far as the U.K. BY CESAREO GARASA For The Californian
WEDNESDAY, NOV 4, 2015 4:48 PM
...Davis picked up the guitar at a young age at the suggestion of his mother’s employer, and after a stint in the U.S. Army, he formed his first band, Lord Luther and the Inner Eye, in the early1970s. They mainly played Top-40 soul covers by artists like Curtis Mayfield and The Temptations. After winning a local Battle of the Bands in 1977, Davis used the momentum and cash prize to record a 7-inch single of two of his original songs “You” and “Keep on Dancing.”
It was five years later — as the Luther Davis group with bassist Daly Brown and drummer Kenny Jackson — that Davis would cut two singles, “You Can Be a Star” and “To Be Free,” both of which would have a major impact on his career, though he was unaware of that fact for...

A link to the article on the Bakersfield follows - its a worthwhile trip but note you may have to answer some advertising type questions to view, so stay away if that sort of thing is not your idea of fun
http://www.bakersfield.com/entertainment/2015/11/04/late-bakersfield-musician-s-legacy-extends-as-far-as-the-u-k.html
Videos

artist sad news

By Mike in News Archives · November 13, 20159 yr

Posted on behalf of Shane Higgins....
As many of you will know, we lost our good friend Mr Joe Dutton earlier this year.
To celebrate the life and times of the great man himself, we are having big party here in Sheffield next Spring.
Sunday 1st May 2016
(Bank holiday weekend)
Yellow Arch Studios
Burton Rd
Neepsend,
Sheffield
http://www.yellowarch.com/
Full details to follow but I can confirm there will be a strong DJ line up playing a wide spectrum of soul music. The King Bee sounds will be well represented alongside Joe's love of all things soulful.
We also plan to run an event throughout the afternoon and into the early evening at another venue nearby. This will also feature some great DJs.
I will be asking for people to buy tickets as soon as possible once everything is organised. Appreciate your help.
Back soon!
Shane.

By Mace in News Archive - Comments · November 11, 20159 yr

It has been reported by WWL-TV in New Orleans that Allan Toussaint passed away on Monday .........
http://www.wwltv.com/story/news/2015/11/10/allen-toussaint/75500982/
It seems he passed away in Spain after doing a live show there. He was due to perform in London on Sunday. I love much of the stuff he was involved with in the 60's (Lee Dorsey, Betty Harris, Irma Thomas, Diamond Joe, etc.). In the 70's , he became an artist in his own right and made more great music. Sad news indeed.

added by site
Toussaint died about 2am on November 10, 2015, while on tour in Madrid, Spain. He was 77. He is survived by his two children, including son Clarence (better known as Reginald) and daughter Alison, and by several grandchildren. His children had managed his career in recent years
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Toussaint

artist sad news

By Roburt in News Archive - Comments · November 10, 20159 yr

START MAGAZINE - ISSUE 4 OUT NOW!
WITH A FREE BADGE!
24 page, full colour A5 magazine printed on high quality stock paper throughout.
Features include: an exclusive interview with Phil Davis, reviews on Sawdust Caesars by Tony Beesley, the must-have mod book and I'm the face by Pete Wilky and John Hellier, the first official biography of Peter Meaden.
And a chance to win a copy of Mr Cool's Dream by Iain Munn, the complete history of The Style Council. This book is out of print
To order a copy please send £6 UK, £8 Euro, £10 ROW to paypal to email start1960mag@gmail.com.
Back issues of 1-3 available for £3 and subscription is £10 a year for 3 copies.

By Andybellwood in News Archives · November 10, 20159 yr

Mavis! opens theatrically in Canada and is also available on iTunes from November 13th
After a standing ovation at the World Premiere screening at the 2015 SXSW Film Festival and at Hot Docs 2015 where it had its Canadian Premiere, Toronto based distributor Films We Like announces that director Jessica Edwards’ MAVIS! will open in theatres in Canada starting Friday, November 13 at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema.

“A spirited and captivating doc that richly deserves the exclamation point in its title. Jessica Edwards has created a cinematic portrait quite capable of converting the uninitiated into acolytes, and elevating casual interest to flood-tide levels of respect and affection.” –Variety
MAVIS! is the first documentary on gospel/soul music legend and civil rights icon Mavis Staples and her family group, The Staple Singers. From the freedom songs of the ’60s and hits like “I’ll Take You There" in the ’70s, to funked-up collaborations with Prince and her recent albums with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Mavis has stayed true to her roots, kept her family close, and inspired millions along the way.
Featuring powerful live performances, and conversations with friends and contemporaries including Bob Dylan, Prince, Bonnie Raitt, Levon Helm, Jeff Tweedy, Chuck D, and more, MAVIS! reveals the struggles, successes, and intimate stories of her journey. At 75, she's making the most vital music of her career, winning Grammy awards, and reaching a new generation of fans. Her message of love and equality is needed now more than ever.

CANADA/ USA – 2015 – 81 MIN – COLOUR & B&W - DOCUMENTARY - ENGLISH
DIRECTED AND PRODUCED BY JESSICA EDWARDS

FILMMAKER STATEMENT
The first time I saw Mavis Staples, it had been raining all day in New York City. She was scheduled to perform that evening at an outdoor concert in Brooklyn, and I wondered if the show would be cancelled. But the rain cleared just before show time, and I sat on a soggy picnic blanket with friends and watched as this amazing woman and her band came on stage. Her voice reverberated through the trees as she sang, testified, preached, moaned, wailed and gave everything she had. The entire audience, young and old, was brought to its feet, and we all left the concert inspired and energized.
When I got home that night, I wanted to know everything I could about Mavis and her family, the Staple Singers. My search for a documentary about her life proved unsuccessful, and I couldn’t believe that no one had documented the lasting impact of the Staple Singers’ music. So I set out to make that film myself. I delved deep into Mavis’s story, which spans seven decades and as many musical genres. I was blown away by the incredible voice that was belting out gospel hits at age 13. I was moved by her freedom songs of the ’60s, and by her stories of touring the segregated south with Martin Luther King. I was enamored with her amazing style and groove in the soul-filled ’70s. I discovered that she and Prince had spent years recording together, and that she’d had a youthful romance with Bob Dylan. What a history!
But as I started shooting the film and we began putting it together, I kept coming back to that night in the park, and how Mavis’s story isn’t about the past, it’s happening now. The fact that she is 75 years old and is still a vital and important artist, and not just out there performing as an oldies act, informed the way we made the film. I didn’t want the film to feel ‘historical’ even though we cover so much of Mavis’s history, and with it, the history of American music. So I felt it was important to include as much contemporary footage as possible, both of Mavis and the locations of her stories.
The biggest challenge was how to capture a career that spans over 60 years in one film, which is an impossible task. Inevitably some of Mavis’s story needed to be left for viewers to discover on their own. But what was important to me was to try to celebrate the importance of her legacy and share some of the inspiration, passion and love that she’s instilled in me through her music and her life.
Jessica Edwards / New York, March 2015
Opens in Toronto on Friday, November 13, 2015
Bloor Hot Docs Cinema - Purchase Advance Tickets
Also playing:
Vancity, Vancouver, Saturday, November 14
Winnipeg Cinematheque, Friday, November 20
Cinema du Parc, Montreal, November date TBD
more info and details via
http://www.mavisfilm.com
http://www.filmswelike.com/mavis

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · October 30, 20159 yr

A drive by just so aware post, the Ace Records album releases for Nov 2015 ...

Jon Savage's 1966: The Year The Decade Exploded
Pop
Various Artists (Jon Savage)
CD £17.75
The soundtrack to Jon Savage’s new book documenting the year the 60s hit their Modernist peak.

http://acerecords.co.uk/jon-savages-1966-the-year-the-decade-exploded

Georgie Fame Heard Them Here First
Pop
Various Artists (Heard It Here First)
CD £11.50
A choice cross-section of the original Modfather’s 1960s influences and inspirations, brought together on one CD for the first time.
http://acerecords.co.uk/georgie-fame-heard-them-here-first


Love & Affection: More Motown Girls
Girls
Various Artists (Motown)
CD £12.92
More lost 1960s treasures from Motown’s female stable – all previously unissued on CD.
http://acerecords.co.uk/love-affection-more-motown-girls

Girl Zone!
Girls
Various Artists (Where The Girls Are)
LP £17.80
A vinyl-only compilation of hand-picked female treasures pressed on 180g lava-coloured vinyl.
http://acerecords.co.uk/girl-zone

A Funky Trip - Detroit Funk From The Dave Hamilton Archive
Funk
Various Artists (Dave Hamilton)
LP £17.80
Super rare and super obscure Detroit funk. Many tracks on vinyl for the first time.

http://acerecords.co.uk/a-funky-trip-detroit-funk-from-the-dave-hamilton-archive


Lost Without You - The Best Of Kent Ballads 2        Lost Without You - The Best Of Kent Ballads 2
60s Soul
Various Artists (Kent Ballads)
CD £11.50
60s & 70s soul ballads of the very highest quality from across the USA with many unreleased treasures.
http://acerecords.co.uk/lost-without-you-the-best-of-kent-ballads-2

November highlights from Ace records
always on the look out for reviews etc so if feel like sharing your words/views/takes
then just look up
see that 'add' link at the top of the page - just hit that and away you go...

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · October 30, 20159 yr

With another weekend on its way, its time for a quick heads up on the Event Guide
Lot of events, but no weekenders!
Though allnighter wise it seems that choice is the main thrust this weekend with 7 yep thats right I said 7 allnighters on Saturday, here are...

Let us all know how they get on via the reviews, am sure be appreciated
Friday and Saturday sees a busy soul nite category, The live category is showing shows from Shaun and Star (Europe) and Jocelyn Brown (London - Hideaway ) and the alldayers category is active as well.
Tech wise, improvements continue in the background and with a major upgrade on its way (which will hopefully get rid of the remaining glitches) very soon the future does looks shiney.
Reviews getting used and you can catch the event feature to see a wide range of them being posted, lengthy allnighter takes, some 'straight up' ones and so on.
Have to add a moderation request... do ask all members , if you are going to mention links to 'third party' sites such as facebook group pages etc then please do it in the main event info only! Not the event comments, as while Soul Source is an easy going place, the sites event comments is setup to encourage discussion on the actual event not for members to plug other sites
Mobile users can now get to the event guide direct via the new 'space shuttle' icon

Mobile Icon memory aid if needed...

Anyway thats almost it, you can catch all the events and all the info, reviews, maps, street views, comments, RSVPs, flyers etc can all be got to via the link at the top of every page...

Soul Source - An Independent stand up soul music affair

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · October 28, 20159 yr

A long running feature on here has been the 'ebay highlights' listings which show to members (if wish) highlights of the next 24 hours ebay auctions underneath the first forum post in a forum topic
What
This feature has just been extended and you can now get a 24hr dynamic update on the next 24 hours on ebay by...
simply visiting a one page to view 3 'live' extended highlights lists !
Just hit the link and you well get the next 24 hours of upcoming soul auction info all in one place
How
the listing are set out as below...
1. Popular - the most popular/watched soul related auctions finishing in the next 24 hrs
2. Price - the current highest priced soul auctions finishing in the next 24 hrs
3. Time - the 'ending soon' auction list

Where
The link to the listing page shows in 2 easy to access locations
a. as part of the ebay listings feature - shows under every first post to all viewers (see below)

b. via the 'more' part of the top menu system (see below)

Non members now in on it
Page now open to non-members as well!

Show & Tell

Quick link
https://www.soul-source.co.uk/ebay-listing-24hrs
End note
Early days but hopefully will be both a useful and a worthwhile addition to Soul Source

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · October 28, 20159 yr

Guess this familiar cover may just bring back a few memories for some of you out there. Well 36 years after the original 1979 release its had a bit of a re-working and now this fresh lp has been launched as Volume 2, and is now available... on vinyl of course.

Heres the blurb
In November 1979 Neil Rushton's Inferno label released a Northern Soul compilation album "Out On The Floor Tonight" from tracks it had issued on 45s. The LP came out with no fuss, and in the mad at the time frenzy at the time frenzy of all things Northern Soul at the time was issued, sold OK, and was soon forgotten as other new releases came along. In the 1980's, UK released Rare Soul compilations became the flavour of the month and "Out On The Floor Tonight" quietly built up a following, before being hailed as a classic of the genre towards the end of the decade by a new Mod scene and the UK "On The Run" Scooterist juggernaut.
In more recent times, the Soul Soul renaissance has seen the album hailed as iconic, and several leading movers and shakers on the movement have praised the LP as being their perfect introduction to the strange but wonderful world of Northern Soul. The zittgiest is happening, with announcement of the release, with many people acknowledging Out On The Floor Tonight", the first model, as their all time favorite Northern Soul album. In the spirit of that, Part 2 features 3 tracks also featured in Part 1 - the other 13 hand picked tracks (no fillers here) are all time classics too. This really is "16 Classic Northern Soul Floor Fillers", so all the signs are that this much delayed "follow up" will earn the same credibility as the first release.
Preview via the trusty Juno records player

Side 1
1.   Luther Ingram Orchestra - "Exus Trek" (2:34)
2.   The Four Perfections - "I'm Not Strong Enough" (2:32)
3.   Robby Lawson - "Burning Sensation" (2:02)
4.   Major Lance - "You Don't Want Me No More" (2:12)
5.   Sandi Sheldon - "You're Gonna Make Me Love You" (2:55)
6.   The Jellybeans - "You Don't Mean Me No Good" (2:11)
7.   Marjorie Black - "One More Hurt" (2:48)
8.   The Crow - "Your Autumn Of Tomorrow" (2:27)

Side 2
1.   The Vibrations - "'Cause You're Mine" (2:11)
2.   Billy Butler - "The Right Track" (2:26)
3.   Yvonne Vernee - "Just Like You Did Me" (2:15)
4.   Matt Lucas - "You Better Go Go" (2:37)
5.   Jimmy Burns - "I Really Love You" (2:27)
6.   The Superlatives - "I Still Love You" (2:38)
7.   Lou Courtney - "(Me & You) Doin' The Boogaloo" (2:47)
8.   Billy Woods - "I Found Satisfaction" (2:44)

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · October 26, 20159 yr

Numero Groups most recent is a project that has been featured recently on a few msm sites such as Rolling Stone. Its all about the reissuing of a rare lp titled 'Eyes of Love' by 'The Edge Of Darkness'. The Edge Of Darkness being a group made up of prisoners who were in the late 70s serving 6 to 60 years prison sentences
On Sept 14th 1979 a 5 hour recording session was held at Virginia’s Powhatan Correctional Facility (near Richmond). The lp 'Eyes of Love' made up of 8 self composed tracks was the result
More Info from Numero
In its original incarnation very few concrete facts are conveyed regarding the group’s circumstances. “Our bodies are in prison,” the jacket reads, “but we want our hearts and minds to be with the free world. As you might expect,” Numero’s expansive liner notes touch on each of Edge Of Daybreak’s five principal contributors, detailing their journey from the hollows and metropolises of Virginia to the big house. Never-before-seen photographs (like the one above) accompany this fascinating story of the Virginia Correctional System’s most unlikely breakouts. Eyes Of Love will be available everywhere October 16th, 2015.
Notes from the Lp originally released in 1979 via Bohannon's Records
The Edge of Daybreak - With our original music and sound we hope to spread our thoughts and feelings as far and wide as possible. Our bodies are in prison, but we want our hearts and minds to be with the free world. The Edge of Daybreak symbolizes the morning when each of the band members will be free
Your Destiny
I Wanna Dance With You
E.O.D. (Edge of Daybreak)
Let Us
Eyes of Love
Bring Me You
Our Love
Let's Be Friends
Members of the band include:
James Carrington - Keyboard, Trumpet, Vocal, and Manager
Robert Glover - Bass, Keyboard, Guitar, Vocal, Brass, Woodwinds, & Music Director
Cornelius Cade - Lead Guitar, Bass, Drums, and Vocal
Harry Coleman - Lead Vocalist, Percussion, & Vocal Director
Jamal Jaha Nubi - Lead Vocalist & Drummer
Willie Williams - Conga, Bongos & all Percussion'
McArthur Duncan - Rhythm Guitar
Robert Cole - Bass
Larry Griffin - Vocalist & Bass
William Crawley - Technical Engineer & Supervisor
(Formed in 1976, at the Powhatan Correctional Center, just outside Richmond, Va)
Listen

Purchase
http://www.numerogroup.com/products/edge-of-daybreak-eyes-of-love
Links
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/premieres/hear-a-gorgeous-seventies-soul-track-recorded-in-a-virginia-prison-20150730

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · October 26, 20159 yr

Out now on vinyl via Timmion Records - Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators new single titled 'Let’s Communicate' and lifted from the just released 'Happiness In Every Style' lp.
This yet again is a Timmion release that hits the right buttons in the right order.
You can do your own button check via the below vid...

Available via the usual vinyl suspects - seen at £5.99
Long time members feel free to use the comments if you do have this available right now
Links
http://www.msnicolewillis.com
https://www.kudosrecords.co.uk/release/tr701/nicole-willis-the-soul-investigators-let-s-communicate.html

mp3 download available as well (see below)

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · October 24, 20159 yr

It has been reported on Facebook that James Lewis, a long time fixture on the Jackson music scene, has passed.
He will be best remembered by recording fans as a member of Stax / Malaco group Sho-Nuff.

artist sad news

By Roburt in News Archive - Comments · October 24, 20159 yr

Harboro Horace, aka Ady Croasdell, aka fish-face, has decided to put his feet up; actually just a couple of toes.
Starting next year, two of the 6TS 100 Club all nighters will be run by Matt Bolton who is an experienced DJ and promoter, ever-present and knows a thing or two. He has been helping me immensely over the last couple of years. This is so i can have a bit more me time. I'm with-child on alternate weekends and usually run a nighter a month, so that only leaves me a weekend a month to myself. Getting Matt to run a couple, and me not DJing on those nights, will give me a break. I may even wander down and have a beer and a boogie; it'll be nice to have the choice.
We had a few problems booking the club for 2016, some of the nights were booked up to May so we've ended up with a slightly skewiff programme. The January and April nights are midnight starts with a reduced £10 admission, it was that or miss those months completely.
There are still a couple of mouth-watering nighters booked for this year so come and join our European fratelli & hermanas in eleven days time; it'll be wunderbar!
Ady
6T’S NORTHERN SOUL ALL-NIGHTERS 2016

Resident DJs, Ady Croasdell, Butch, Keith Money, Joel & Tomas

All run on Saturday nights;

16th Jan 12am-6am

20th Feb 11pm-6am

2nd Apr 12am-6am

7th May 11pm-6am

2nd July 11pm-6am

20th Aug 11pm-6am

37Th Anniversary Dance; 17th Sept 10pm-6am

5th Nov 11pm-6am

3rd Dec 11pm-6am

Admission £12 On The Door except the midnight starts which are £10.

The September anniversary dance is by ticket only, details on www.6ts.infonearer the time.

http://www.6ts.info/allnighters.html

Xmas Party – 22nd Dec 2016

9pm-2am

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · October 20, 20159 yr

Brian Cannon is a name that has appeared on here a few times via his photos taken at northern events, but a recent Manc Evening News had a feature which apart from Brians current successful northern related going ons with fashion shoots also sheds light on a background that I at least wasn't aware of...
Preview follows below, hit the link for the full info
Photographer Brian Cannon is exhibiting some of his most famous works at the Manchester shop after shooting the fashion label's latest collection
The show comes after he was recruited to shoot Pretty Green’s autumn/winter collection, which is inspired by the Northern Soul movement that emerged in Britain in the late 1960s.
Brian, who was born and raised in its Wigan heartland and has been photographing the still-thriving scene for the past three years, said: “Funnily enough, it had nothing to do with [my Oasis connection].
“Somebody from Pretty Green had seen my Northern Soul photography and contacted me to see if I would come and do the shoot.
“They didn’t actually realise I’d worked with Liam in the past.”
The collection incorporates woven badges in the style of sew-on patches created in the 60s by clubs like Wigan Casino and Manchester's Twisted Wheel, along with geometric prints inspired by those worn by black soul and Motown artists at the time.
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/iconic-oasis-britpop-album-covers-10260594

By Mike in News Archives · October 19, 20159 yr

“Lost Without You - The Best Of Kent Ballads 2”
If you’re a Deep Soul or Soul Ballad fan I really must bring to your attention the latest ‘Kent Ballads’ compilation which is to be released at the end of October.
This CD series tends to cover the whole of the soul music era and most genres, but those on the blue or mellow side in particular.

Having had the great pleasure of being able to absorb the tracks in this fine collection over many months, and in some instances, several years, I can only say that, for lovers of the deeper shades of Soul, this latest in the series is absolutely essential and very much up there with the finest compilations you’re ever likely to hear.
This volume has a particularly impressive 20-year span, ranging from New Orleans-recorded Turquinettes’ 1962 track to the early 80s quiet-storm groove of Jimmy Scott.
From the list below you will see that 14 of the tracks have previously made it to vinyl and will already nuzzle in the collections of many ardent deep soul fans.
However the 10 tracks which were never released at the time will more than justify the purchase.
A quick review of just a few of those on offer should put you in the picture.
1. The opening track ‘Stay Away’ is a hitherto unreleased number which I’ve previously played out here and there as being performed by ‘Carlson Oliver’ - who on further investigation turns out to be one of the co-writers, but not the vocalist.
This was the name on the Tape Box and until the artists were correctly identified served a very useful purpose.
Blake Helliwell may well recall me passing this to him to play in the lounge at Soul Essence a couple of years ago.
It is actually a Kent / Modern recording by The Turn Arounds with Terry Evans on lead. Comparisons with the Knight Brothers ‘Temptation ‘Bout To Get Me’ are inevitable.
An absolute Killer that just has to be heard… and owned.
2. A surprise package which arrived recently is the hitherto unknown and still unreleased second album from South Carolina Hairdresser, Jerry Washington.
Crossover fans will go ape over the Whitfield influenced original (pre-Glades) recording of the song ‘Don’t Waste My Time’.
For those of us who fell in love with his hit record ‘Right Here Is Where You Belong’ back in ’73, there’s plenty on this unreleased set of completed masters, including the lovely ‘I Don’t Need Nobody’ which is a chip right off the ‘Right Here’ block!
As a taster for the complete album to come, it’s included here and is an absolute beauty!
3. The third unreleased track to feature is the title of the compilation from Detroit heroine Lorraine Chandler in ‘Lost Without You’.
This is a Pied Piper recording, laid down at the same session as ‘Oh, How I Need Your love’ and Northern Soul favourite ‘I Can’t Change’ and had remained in the can since December 1966.
It’s a Teddy Randazzo composition and lacks none of the lyrical drama we’ve come to expect from his work, with a superbly sophisticated arrangement from Jack Ashford and Joe Hunter.
4. Julius Wright ‘Lonely Girl’ is a formerly unissued Brent recording from 1965. This is an organ filled deep soul, southern style, number that goes right back to church.
A very worthwhile inclusion!
5. The Exotics ‘Nobody But You’ is an unreleased Excello recording. A southern ‘brassy’ group sound that the Low Rider crowd will absolutely love and the rest of us will also admire. And the good news is, there’s still more ‘in the can’ to come from this great group!
6. Must admit, when this next cut arrived in the mailbox I was completely blown away. A previously unissued Dore recording from Little Johnny Hamilton on ‘Apartment Number Nine’.
No other way to describe this other than a killer deep ‘wrist slasher’. It’s a definitive deepie in the mould of Don Covay on ‘Leave Him’ or ‘I Was Checking Out’ but with even more tears, shrieks and misery. Completely breath-taking.
7. Another that got me from the get-go is a stunner from Nashvilles own Peggy Gaines, on a previously unissued recording from Bob Holmes. I’ve been playing this one over and over for months and the more I hear it, the better it gets.
Just wait until Dave Halsall and Kev Briscoe hear this! Mid-tempo loveliness that’s as good as anything I’ve ever heard by her, and she made some absolute gems. Buy it now!
8. Lastly is a track that some may be familiar with via a later recording. Jimmy Scott ‘Sure Thing’ is actually an earlier inception of his 80’s ‘Back-Bone’ 45 ‘Take A Chance On My Love’ and it’s even better than the side that came out. A wonderful recording and absolutely remarkable that it remained hidden for so long.
There’s far more on offer here than these few ‘previously unissued’ highlights and I’m sure that Soul Lovers will also find great pleasure in the sublime offerings from the likes of Ty Karim, Alice Clark and Dori Grayson.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed playing these tracks, over the past few years and in recent times, in various shady haunts and where mid-tempo, deep and ballad soul are applauded.
I do know that this project was a real labour of love and meticulous devotion for, Ace compiler, Ady Croasdell as he sought to create and assemble an album full of tracks that even the most die-hard Deep Soul fan would love and cherish. Mission accomplished Captain. This is a compilation that every fan can file among those other Deep Soul treasures, without any fears.
Head to Amazon or Ace right now and place that advanced order.
You won’t be disappointed.

Sean Hampsey

Stay Away - The Turn Arounds
I Don't Need Nobody - Jerry Washington
I Love You More - Lee Williams & The Cymbals
Lost Without You - Lorraine Chandler
Don't Let Her Make You Cry - J.J. Jackson & The Jackaels
After He Breaks Your Heart - The Wanderers
Lonely Girl - Julius Wright
Nobody But You - The Exotics
Apartment # 9 - Little Johnny Hamilton
I Can Fix That For You - Dori Grayson
Everybody Knows - Peggy Gaines
I Give A Damn - Johnny Watson
Crying Clown - Eddie Parker
Messing Up A Good Thing - John Edwards
Sure Thing - Jimmy Scott
Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight - Ty Karim
Heaven's Will (Must Be Obeyed) - Alice Clark
How's Things With You - Joe Mayfield
King For A Day - Danny White
The Last One To Be Loved - Lou Johnson
Give This Fool Another Chance - Eddie Whitehead
Lonely Man - The Soul Brothers
Take Another Look - The Turquinettes
The Price - Mary Love Comer

By Sean Hampsey in News Archive - Comments · October 19, 20159 yr

Real Gone Music have been releasing the complete Atlantic, Atco and related label material recordings for various artists these past few years. Linda Jones, Carl Hall, Patti Labelle, Bettye Swann, The Sweet Inspirations, Jackie Moore and Dee Dee Warwick just some of artists featured so far.
It is the latter, Dee Dee Warwick that we are interested in here. Her compilation from 2014 feature no less than 12 previously unreleased songs. One of those 12 “You Tore My Wall Down” has been the most talked about and has caused a stir after receiving extended airplay via several radio shows. A superb up-tempo dancer, it makes you wonder why such material is left in the can and would probably still be there if it wasn’t for dedicated enthusiasts determined to unearth everything possible. “You Tore My Wall Down” was crying out for a 45 release and was demanded by some radio jocks. Thankfully Soul Junction stepped in and licenced the track for their next release, a a welcome release it most certainly is. It’s already featured at some venues due to advanced copies with plenty of inquisitive collectors immediately wanting a copy of their own. The flip, an early 70’s mover is equally worthy of turntable action. This is one release destined to sell out so get your copy quick.

Press Release: Dee Dee Warwick   “You Tore My Wall Down/Can’t It Wait Until Tomorrow”   SJ533
Release Date: Monday November 2nd 2015
Dee Dee Warwick was born Delia Mae Warrick on September 25th 1945, in East Orange, New Jersey.
Dee Dee came from a very prominent family in the gospel community. Her father was the former director of gospel promotions at Chess Records, while her mother was the manager of the family gospel ensemble ‘The Drinkard Singers. Dee Dee began her musical career singing alongside her elder and more famous sister Dionne Warwick within ‘The Drinkard Sisters’ who were led by their Aunt Emily “Cissy” Houston (the mother of the late Whitney Houston). Dee Dee and Dionne later formed their own gospel group ‘The Gospelaires’ who also entered the field of secular music singing backing vocals for many of the hit acts of the late 50’s and early 60’s where she gained a reputation as consistent and well respected session singer.

This was to change in 1963 when Dee Dee signed as a solo performer with the iconic songwriting team of Leiber and Stoller who were instrumental in all her first three solo outings the original and much covered “Your No Good b/w Don’t Call Me Anymore” (Jubilee 5459). She also followed her sister’s lead by changing her surname from Warrick to Warwick. Dee Dee’s next release was the Van McCoy penned “Standing By b/w Don’t Think My Baby’s Coming Back” (Tiger 103) and “I Who Have Nothing At All b/w I Can’t Go Back” (Hurd 79). Dee Dee also sang with her aunt Cissy Houston as part of Allison Gaye & The Burners on their 1964 gospel outing “Darling/Burn” for the tiny Royo label.

Dee Dee then signed for the major Mercury label, where she scored a 1965 pop hit with “I Want To Be With You” which first appeared on Mercury’s subsidiary Blue Rock label. Under the supervision of esteemed New Jersey producer Ed Townsend, Dee Dee was to record several other excellent sides such as “We’re Doing Fine”, “Gotta Get A Hold Of Myself”, “Worth Every Tear I Cry” (although only an album track in the USA it did gain a 45 release in the UK) before being promoted to the main Mercury label.

Mercury released their first album on Dee Dee under the title of “I Want To Be With You/I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” an amalgamation of two of Dee Dee’s biggest hits. With Dee Dee’s original version of “I’m Gonna Make Me Love Me” later being covered by Madeline Bell and as a duet between Motown heavyweights The Supremes and The Temptations. In 1969 Dee Dee recorded the first of her two Grammy nominations “Foolish Fool” which was to become the title track of her second Mercury album. It was from this album that a further two tracks “When Love Slips Away” and “Where Is That Rainbow” would later find favour within the UK Crossover/Modern Soul Scene.
Other Dee Dee Warwick Mercury releases of note are the excellent up tempo cover version of the American folk/rock group The Mamas And Papas #1 hit “Monday Monday” along with “Don’t You Give Up On Me” with both songs being of interest to Northern Soul devotees.


US Album only until a US acetate (with a slightly different mix) turned up and was featured in the sets of Mark "Butch" Dobson.
During 1970, Dee Dee was persuaded by Atlantic records Jerry Wexler to join their subsidiary Atco label. Wexler first placed Dee Dee with her former mentor Ed Townsend with whom she recorded a four song session that Atco decided to leave in the can. Further recording sessions in Miami with the Dixie Flyers and The Sweet Inspirations were followed by later sessions at Muscle Shoals and the Pac-Three Studios in Detroit. Although a highly prolific time for Dee Dee recording wise, only one album “Turning Around” (Atco 33-337) and five 45 singles were released. Although Dee Dee’s first single “She Didn’t Know (She Kept On Talking) b/w Make Love To Me” (Atco 45-6754) did become a top 10 R&B hit and gained her the second Grammy nomination of her career. Her other Atco singles, “I’m Only Human”, “Cold Night In Georgia” “Everybody’s Got To Believe In Somebody” (previously recorded by Sam and Dave) and “Suspicious Minds” (a cover of Elvis Presley’s 1970 RCA #1 pop hit) would only achieve varying modest chart positions and subsequently her career stalled.

After leaving Atco in 1972 Dee Dee’s next release came in 1975 when she recorded the R&B hit “Get Out OF My Life” under the name change of Dede Warwick for Private Stock Records which featured the excellent “Funny How We Change Places” on the flipside again a popular song with the UK Modern Soul fraternity. A second Private Stock single “This Time May Be The Last Time” again backed with “Funny How we Change Places” was later picked Up By RCA Records.

Recording wise Dee Dee was dormant until the release of her “Dee Dee” album for Heritage Sound Recordings in 1983, followed by her “Call Me” album for the Sutra label a year later.
Dee Dee had struggled with a drug addiction for many years and was in failing health when she sadly passed away on October 18th 2008, in a nursing home in Essex County, New Jersey. Her legacy was a plethora of great music that was loved and appreciated by a worldwide audience, even though she never achieved the same level of notoriety as her more famous sister Dionne. Although Dionne did later claim that Dee Dee was the real singer in their family.
In 2014 The American Real Gone Music label released a double cd album entitled “Dee Dee Warwick, “The Complete Atco Recordings” featuring the entire 35 tracks (many previously unreleased) that she cut during her time with Atco. It is from this cd that we have licensed the Ed Townsend composition “You Tore My Wall Down” backed with the equally as good Ashford and Simpson penned “Can’t Wait Until Tomorrow” for the initial vinyl debut on a 45 single.

SJ533 - Dee Dee Warwick Promo.mp3

For further information please contact Soul Junction at:
Tel: +44 (0)121 602 8115or E-mail: sales@souljunctionrecords.co.uk
Thanks to Mark Hopes for help with scans.

By Chalky in News Archive - Comments · October 18, 20159 yr

The amount of Sunday Soul Events do seem to be on the increase nowadays
With the rejigged format/layout of the Soul Source Event Guide you can now get to the Sunday soul info just that bit quicker and easier
Event Info, flyers, maps, street views form the main meat of each event, but also on offer are features such as reviews. comments, ratings, RSVPs, guest lists just so you get the full view of what the events about.
Its not just the desktop views that have been improved but the guide is also now showing via even more Mobile and Tablet friendly back pocket views
You can check out all todays Sunday Soul via the on site Event Guide, you still can make it...
Get to
https://www.soul-source.co.uk/calendar/

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · October 18, 20159 yr

The Uk newspaper takes a look at Daptone records
Deep in the heart of residential, backstreet Brooklyn stands a townhouse you would simply walk past, never knowing that it was the nerve centre of independent soul music, or that the team within helped to shape the sound of one of the most important albums of this century, and the bestselling single so far of 2015.
Daptone Records, the self-styled House of Soul, is the modest but vibrant label and production house that has given us many of the coolest old-school R&B records of the past 15 years. Charles Bradley, Lee Fields and, perhaps most notably, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings are among the soul-steeped survivors to have found a spiritual home there. With the passionate endorsement of producer/artist Mark Ronson, its house band, the Dap-Kings, also helped shape the sound of Amy Winehouse’s epochal Back to Black and Ronson’s global smash with Bruno Mars this year,
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/daptone-records-has-put-authentic-soul-into-rb-for-15-years-from-back-to-black-to-uptown-funk-a6695666.html

Saun and Starr Upcoming Dates
Oct 19
Bi Nuu Club
Berlin, Germany

Oct 20
Kulturzentrum Schlachthof e.V.
Wiesbaden, Germany

Oct 21
AB Club
Brussels, Belgium

Oct 23
Jazz Cafe
London, United Kingdom

Oct 24
The Sugar Club
Dublin, Ireland

Oct 28
Colston Hall
Bristol, United Kingdom

Oct 31
Le Grand Mix
Tourcoing, France

Nov 01
EMB Sannois
Sannois, France

Saun and Starr Website

By Mike in News Archives · October 18, 20159 yr

So I notice both Arthur Fenn & Cliff Steele shouting the praises of a new album by Lucinda Slim I get interested.
Then I notice Keb Darge was involved I am even more interested.
Finally I notice that the Haggis Horns were featured I sit up.

Album details here...
http://lucindaslim.bandcamp.com/album/lucinda-slim

Highlights

Popular ex-featured video via the sites video section

By Cunnie in News Archive - Comments · October 17, 20159 yr

Now available, the latest in the Soul Togetherness series from Expansion records
The track listing should say it all, but if you do need a refresh or a listen then the trusty Juno player lets you get your ears on it
highlights...

Sales Blurb below
Back and as powerful ever, The Soul Togetherness series presents this year's collection of exceptional modern soul room floor fillers. The flavour is particularly upbeat following a cool start from the best new Jam & Lewis production in years from The Gap Band's Charlie Wilson. The beat picks up for star remixer turned artist Opolopo with a killer song from his debut album, the tempo maintained with Louie Vega's Latin Soul mix for the 3 Winans, Joe Buhdha's work out with Terri Walker, a stunning remake of the James Mason classic Sweet Power by Diplomats Of Soul, the Nigel Lowis mix for McCrei it all it's Philly style glory, and disco heaven from Paris Toon and Los Charly's Orchestra. There are more midtempo moments from Syleena Johnson, JD73, Kenya (a Tom Glide rework) and a gospel masterpiece by Lorraine Clarke-McGhie, while both Ashling Cole and Aaron Parnell Brown (Soul Talk remix) deliver pure soul of the highest standard. The tradition of this CD complete here too with the inclusion of a tune from the past, a rarity from 1980 by Creators. Massive.
Note that you may want to check amazon out for some info on the differences between the digital and the cd packages (there's 16 v 20 tracks but it reads as if you do purchase the cd you can still download the extra tracks )
Track Listings

1. Hey Lover - Charlie Wilson - Charlie Wilson
2. Round & Round - Opolopo - Opolopo
3. Dance - 3 Winans | The Clark Sisters - 3 Winans Brothers
4. Reflections Of A Disco Ball - Paris Toon & Mother's Favorite Child - Paris Toon & Mother's Favorite Child
5. All This Way For Love - Syleena Johnson - Syleena Johnson
6. Believe In Love - JD73 - JD73
7. Feel Right - Joe Buhdha | Terri Walker - Joe Buhdha Presents Terri Walker
8. Show Me - McCrei - McCrei
9. Do You Know - Lorraine Clarke-McGhie - Lorraine Clarke-McGhie
10. Giving In To You - Ashling Cole - Ashling Cole
11. Somewhere Around - Aaron Parnell Brown - Aaron Parnell Brown
12. Let Me - Kenya - Kenya
13. Sweet Power - Diplomats Of Soul | Incognito & Venessa Hayes - Diplomats of Soul
14. Just You & Me - Creators - The Creators
15. All Around The World - Los Charly's Orchestra | Xantone Blacq - Los Charly's Orchestra

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · October 14, 20159 yr

THE ANN SEXTON STORY Compiled by David and Val Box 2015
With a lot of help from Ann Sexton, Brendan Greaves and Jason Perlmutter

Ann Sexton was born Mary Ann Sexton, on 6th February, 1950, in Greenville, South Carolina. She was raised by a family influenced by gospel music. As a child, Ann sang in her church choir and spent her adolescent and teenage years singing in school and winning talent shows.
On Ann’s first recorded cut, in her home town in 1966, she is the youthful yet accomplished vocalist billed as “Mary Sexton” on the 45-rpm rarity by Elijah (Hawthorne) & The Ebonies, titled “I Confess” (Gitana CR-3144). This early effort is an interesting snapshot of a soon-to-be regional sensation, just a few years before recording a number of hits that would form the bedrock of her future career.

Whilst singing with Elijah’s band, Ann met and married saxophonist Melvin Burton, who was also part of the band. Melvin was a tenor and alto sax player, who gained notoriety as a youth playing for Moses Dillard. Soon after, Ann and Melvin went on to form their own band called “Ann Sexton and the Masters of Soul”.
Whilst Ann was performing in Shelby, North Carolina, at the Washington Center, David Lee particularly recalls a striking twenty one year old woman named Mary Ann Burton singing “Who’s Lovin’ You?” He approached her to ask if she would record his song “You’re Letting Me Down”. “She was really gracious; she said - You want me to sing your song?” Encouraged, he promptly booked her a second engagement in Shelby the following week and promised to send her his demo of the song.
At this point in Ann’s story, many of you will be wondering - who is this guy, David Lee? Well, apart from seeing his name on the writers’ credits on Ann’s Impel SS-AS-103 release, I didn’t know much about him either. As this story unfolds it will become apparent that David Lee and the DJ and record producer John Richbourg, at radio WLAC in Nashville Tennessee, were key players in the development of Ann’s career.
At this stage, we must thank Brendan Greaves and Jason Perlmutter (Paradise of Bachelors) for initially independently, and later collectively, finding David Lee and uncovering and documenting the untold story of his fascinating career. Details of their websites are shown at the end of this article.

David M Lee was born in Shelby on the 3rd May 1936 to John Leo and Mary Leslie Lee. David married Nellena and they had four children. At fourteen, David began writing poetry, but soon switched to song writing. He also had a series of strenuous day jobs: starting at the age of eighteen, David worked eight years hauling coal and ice at the Morgan Street ice plant, and another two years at Burlington Mills. David worked at North Lake Country Club for thirty years, and held this job down right through the critical period while writing and recording with Ann Sexton; if that wasn’t enough, he spent evenings and weekends presiding over his record shop and audio supply store “Washington Sound” with help from his wife Nellena and the children.
Here is a quote from Brendan & Jason’s website: “David Lee was, over a course of three decades beginning in the late 1950’s, songwriter, musician, producer and entrepreneur. He released fourteen 45’s and two LP’s on his Impel, Washington Sound, and SCOP labels, run out of his Washington Sound record and audio supply shop in Shelby, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. He wrote most of the songs himself, including the devastating lament “You’re Letting Me Down”, which he recorded in 1971 with the then-unknown young Greenville, South Carolina, soul singer named Ann Sexton. As reissued by Nashville DJ “John R” Richbourg on his Seventy-Seven imprint, that record became the biggest hit of Mr. Lee’s long and impressive career, though hardly his sole accomplishment.”

Although Ann’s promised demo took a while to arrive, David’s original sounded a lot more country, but when she recorded it, it sounded a different thing altogether. “It sounded tremendous”, said David, after he recorded her version at Mark V Studios in Greenville, backed by her husband Melvin Burton’s band, the Masters of Soul. David gave her the stage name Mary Ann Sexton, which was then shortened to Ann Sexton.

In collaboration with Ann & Melvin, David wrote “You’ve Been Gone Too Long”, the B side that has been his most lucrative composition, and has kept Ann Sexton’s debut release on turntables around the globe in the years since. Impel SS-AS-103, David’s fifth record, was originally released in 1971; only 500 copies were produced and it sold respectably in North and South Carolina, and was played on jukeboxes and managed a degree of regional radio play.

While selling some Impel 45’s, including Ann’s single, to Mangold-Berto’s record one-stop in Charlotte, David learned that WLAC DJ John R was visiting, and asked for an introduction. David mustered the courage to play the famous DJ his new Ann Sexton record. After that first encounter, the two got along famously, and John R. agreed to give the record a spin on WLAC. John R. broadcast it for two to three weeks on his radio show, and then pulled the 45. David was so distraught that he drove to Nashville to confront the DJ, but John R was just waiting for David to sign a licensing and distribution contract.

John R. (born John Richbourg, August 20, 1910, Manning, South Carolina; died February 15, 1986, Nashville, Tennessee) was a radio disc jockey who attained fame through the 50’s to 70’s for playing R&B music on Nashville radio station WLAC. He was also a notable record producer and artist manager. WLAC first assigned Richbourg to the news desk, but it wasn’t long before he had a regular programme playing artists such as Otis Rush, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, artists heard on specialty juke boxes and in mostly Southern markets after hours if at all on radio. Although some white listeners protested, black audiences responded with enthusiasm and began to write letters to him, but many misspelled his surname, so John shortened his on-the-air name to “John R.” One of the official sponsors for WLAC was Ernie’s Record Mart, owned by a record label specialising in recording local Nashville R&B acts. In mid 1965, Fred Foster of Sound Stage Seven records struck a deal with John, who became the head of A&R for the label. From this point on, the label was strictly a soul/R&B label and almost all the label’s output was produced by John under his banner JR Enterprises. John brought Joe Simons to the label in 1966, many other soul artists followed. John produced over 100 singles for Sound Stage Seven between 1965 and 1970. Other notable artists produced by John during the 1970’s, included Jackey Beavers and Ann Sexton. In 1976 and 1977, Ann charted on the lower rungs of the R&B charts with two of John’s productions, including ”I’m His Wife”. These would be John’s last hit records as a producer, though he continued recording and producing R&B and soul acts to the end of his life.
The Impel release was reissued in two editions of John R’s Seventy-Seven label, and sold more than 90,000 copies in the 70’s, and so began a productive working relationship between David Lee and John R, which gave Ann the recognition she deserved, and she was now signed to Seventy-Seven records.
The first reissue was on the pale yellow original Seventy-Seven label, and then on the slightly later multi-coloured repress; also white demos were issued for promotion purposes.

The B side “You’ve Been Gone Too Long”, was played as a new import release at Blackpool Mecca, and was in short supply in the UK. This was soon rectified when record dealer, Garry Cape, contacted John R. and arranged to have additional copies pressed up using the multi-coloured label design, to satisfy the demand.
Being a record label anorak, I did notice that the Impel release has Ann & Melvin’s surname spelt incorrectly in the writers’ credits section, it states Benton not Burton, also the publishing is credited to Active Music – 548 NE 52 St. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (ASCAP) on the A side, but 42 St. on the flip - the company must have owned the whole neighbourhood!! The publishing credits changed to Three Cheers Music when issued on Seventy-Seven but they didn’t correct the writers surname spelling until the multi coloured release. Well, I thought that was interesting!
Back to the story.

David Lee travelled to Memphis with Ann and Melvin and John R, to produce three additional records, including the David Lee composition “Love, Love, Love (I Want To Be Loved)” and four of Melvin and Ann’s compositions. With her records “flying off the shelves”, Ann was now moving up, her recording of “You’re Gonna Miss Me” making the top 50 on the R&B charts in 1973. “Love, Love, Love” was gaining popularity and Ann and David Lee were ready for a national breakthrough. Sadly their relationship soured after Ann and Melvin didn’t show for a Johnson City, Tennessee show David had booked; it was clear the band wouldn’t make the show – they were in Texas. “Young people wanted to see her real bad; they were screaming and hollering for ‘You’re Letting Me Down” – Ann was poorly managed by Melvin, John R lost interest as a result, and Ann’s career took a knock.
Ann would be featured on a number of 45’s for John R’s labels, as well as the mid-70’s album “Loving You, Loving Me” (Seventy-Seven 77-107), that pulled together all of her cuts up to that point for John R. and David Lee. Another memorable David Lee penned ballad is “Love, Love, Love (I Want to be Loved)”, b/w “You’re Losing Me”, a healthy dose of mid-tempo funk penned by Ann and Melvin, released together on Seventy-Seven 900 in 1974.
By 1977, John R. was recording Ann’s version of songs written by southern soul singer/songwriter Frank O (Johnson), at Clayton Ivey’s Wishbone Studio in Muscle Shoals. In 1978 she released her second studio album in Nashville, Tennessee, titled “The Beginning” on Sound Stage Seven SS1500. This was a classic album, my personal favourite, because it shows the growth and maturity in Ann’s voice, as heard on ballads like “Be Serious” and other tracks like “Who’s Gonna Love You” and “I Had A Fight With Love”. Ann only released one single from the album – “I’m His Wife (You’re Just A Friend)”, was the flip to “You Got To Use What You Got”, on Sound Stage Seven 45-2504. This latter track was not included on the album, but was written by T. Woodford & C. Ivey, so most probably recorded at the same session. This became another favourite on the dance floor in the UK and Europe. It seems at this stage, David Lee was no longer involved with Ann’s productions, but still to this day he credits her with his success and speaks glowingly of her talent, her modesty, and her grace: “Lord, she was a real artist, I’m proud that I met her.” Ann’s husband Melvin, along with Clifford Curry, received special thanks on “The Beginning” album sleeve notes for their constructive ideas and suggestions, and Terry Woodford, Gwen Owens, Cathy Carson, and Ava Aldridge for their expert background vocals.

After her second album, Ann decided to leave the soul music industry and move to New York. Looking to escape the stressful politics of the music industry, she embraced a career change. Her desire to help the community inspired her to become a school teacher.
After 20 years of outstanding service, Ann retired from the Board of Education in January 2010. She had committed a big part of her life to teaching special needs students. Her co-worker, Frank J. Degonnaro, described her as the most charming, wonderfully kind person you’ll ever meet. While working at school, Ann did not inform anyone of her previous career as a recording artist. She did, however, perform at the school, entertaining the crowd with her soul singing style. The students and staff showed their appreciation of Ann, and threw her a surprise retirement party.
In 2007, after educating kids for twenty years, she performed again in Germany at the Baltic Soul weekender. Since that time, Ann has performed with Roy Ayers, Marva Whitney, Gloria Scott, Garland Green, Keni Burke, and many other artists.
In 2010, Ann went back into the recording studio to cut Ferry Ultra’s “Rising Up”. Later that year, she reunited with David Lee in Shelby, North Carolina, and performed at the Cleveland County Arts Festival, with a number of David’s original recording artists. I believe Ann is currently in the studio with Rob Hardt and Sharon Phillips working on her comeback CD.

Above is the original sign for the Washington Sound record store, the home of Impel records. Below shows David Lee displaying his North Carolina Folklore Society’s Brown-Hudson Award with Jason Perlmutter and Brendan Greaves.

(Paradise of Bachelors)
During a recording span of some six years, if we leave out the Gitana release which was around 1966/67, from 1971 through 1977 Ann Sexton’s output was prolific. A singer whose range and talents could match most soulstresses south of the Mason-Dixon line, she was not always blessed with the most stunning material. But on a strong ballad she could really let it rip. Whether singing her own material or interpreting someone else’s songs, she was more than just another R&B singer. It is an indictment of American music tastes (black or white) that she never achieved the degree of commercial success she rightly deserved. Well, she’s now back in the music business, and back on the stage performing.
Well, that’s the end of the article, but not the end of the story. Ann will be on stage at the Wilton Ballroom on Saturday 14th November 2015 singing in front of some of the most knowledgeable and appreciative soul fans in the UK. Ann will be supported by our incredible full eight piece band PUSH, including background vocalists
Let’s give Ann a welcome she will never forget, with a Wilton capacity crowd that, no doubt, will know more about Ann’s recording career than she can probably remember herself. Ann’s sets will include her well known songs from the 70’s, deep and uptempo classics, something to suit everyone’s taste.
We have asked Ann to perform something extra special, her very first recording that she cut way back in 1967. She was the featured vocalist (Mary Sexton) with Elijah and the Ebonies on the song “I Confess”, a great balled cut in her home town of Greenville SC. We are so privileged that Ann has agreed to perform this song onstage at the Wilton for the very first time in Europe since recording the song all those years ago. To make sure we have covered all the bases, Ann will be performing her lastest 2010 release “Rising Up”, a fantastic uptempo soulful house track.
Ann will win your hearts in the way she soulfully sing the slower tunes, whilst at the same have you jumping all over when she ups the tempo. Once again another, not to be missed, soulful night with a wonderful soulful lady - Ann Sexton.
Also on the night we will playing the very best 60’s-70’s and Crossover from our guest DJ’s Arthur Fenn and Mike Charlton along with residents Boxy & Mouse.
Tickets are available at £20.00, at http://www.wheatsheaf.com/allnighter by paypal or by contacting Boxy on 01924 894555 or Mouse on 07717 338009. Admission OTD is £23.00 if not sold out.

Acknowledgements: To Ann Sexton for making this possible.
Thank you, to Brendan Greaves and Jason Perlmutter (Paradise of Bachelors) - for your help and kind permission to copy information and pictures from your research on David Lee for my article. http://www.paradiseofbachelors.com & http://www.carolinasoul.org
Dave Rimmer (For additional discography info.) http://www.soulfulkindamusic.net
Val Box for her typing skill and putting up with my tantrums....

ANN SEXTON DISCOGRAPHY

Elijah (Hawthorne) & The Ebonies featuring Mary Sexton:
Gitana CR 3144 - “I Confess / Get Out Of My Life Girl” - 1967

Ann Sexton and the Masters of Soul:
Impel SS-AS-103 - “You’re Letting Me Down / You’ve Been Gone Too Long” - 1971

Ann Sexton and the Soul Masters:
Seventy 7 77-104 (Plain Yellow) - “You’re Letting Me Down / You’ve Been Gone Too Long” - 1972

Ann Sexton:
Seventy - Seven 77-104 (Multicolour) - “You’re Letting Me Down / You’ve Been Gone Too Long” - 1972
Seventy - Seven 77-114 – “Come Back Home (I Know I Did You Wrong) / I Still Love You” – 1972
Seventy - Seven 77-125 - “It’s All Over But The Shouting / Have A Little Mercy” - 1973
Seventy - Seven 77-133 - “You’re Gonna Miss Me / You’re Losing Me” - 1973
Seventy - Seven 77-138 - “If I Work My Thing On You / Lovin’ You, Lovin’ Me - 1973
Seventy - Seven SV-900 - “Love, Love, Love / You’re Losing Me” - 1974
Seventy - Seven SV-907 - “You Can’t Win / Lets Huddle Up, Lets Cuddle Up” - 1975
Dash 5019 - “Lovin’ You, Lovin Me / If I Work My Thing On You” - 1975
Sound Plus SP-2123 - “If I Work My Thing On You / Loving You, Loving You - 1976
Monument 225 - “Sugar Daddy / I Want To Be Loved” - 1976
Sound Stage Seven 45-2504 - “You Got To Use What You Got / I’m His Wife (You’re Just A Friend)” - 1977

Ann Sexton & The Baltic Soul Orchestra / Gloria Lynne & The Baltic Soul Orchestra
Unique 156 - “You’re Losing Me / Help Me Off This Merry-Go-Round” - 2009 (German release)

Ferry Ultra - Featuring, Ann Sexton (12inch)
Peppermint Jam PJM-50143 - “Rising Up” + two other versions - 2010

LP’s

Seventy - Seven 77-107 - “Loving You, Loving Me” - 1973 Also on Vivid Sound -VS-7003 - 1978 (Japan)
Tracks: You’re Letting Me Down (3:00) / You’ve Been Gone Too Long (2:15) / Come Back Home (2:20) / I Still Love You (2:48) / Have A Little Mercy (2:52) / It’s All Over But The Shouting (3:32) / You’re Gonna Miss Me (3:03) / You’re Losing Me (2:16) / Love, Love, Love (3:45) / Keep On Holding On (3:42) / Let’s Huddle Up And Cuddle Up (2:25) / Loving You, Loving Me (3:32)

Sound Stage Seven SS1500 - “The Beginning” - 1977 - Also on Soul Brother 1000001 - 2003 (UK)
Tracks: I Had A Fight With Love (3:47) / I’m Is Wife (You’re Just A Friend) (2:56) / Who’s Gonna Love You (3:01)
You Can’t Lose With The Stuff I Use (4:40) / Color My World Blue (2:46) / Be Serious (3:58) / I Want To Be Loved (3:12) / Sugar Daddy (4:01) / You’ve Been Doing Me Wrong For So Long (2:56)

Charly R&B CRB 1143 - “Love Trials” - 1986 (UK)
Tracks: I Want To Be Loved / I’m His Wife (You’re Just A Friend) / Who’s Gonna Love You / I Had A Fight With Love / Be Serious / Color My World Blue / You’ve Been Doing Me Wrong For So Long / Have A little Mercy / Lovin You, Loving Me / Love, Love, Love / Come Back Home / Keep On Holding On / You’re Letting Me Down / You’re Gonna Miss Me

Soul Brother SBCB 20 - “Anthology” - 2004 (UK)
Tracks: You’ve Been Gone Too Long (2:21) / You Got To Use What You Got (2:29) / Color My World Blue (2:44) / You Can’t Lose With The Stuff I Use (4:37) / I Had A Fight With Love (3:42 / I Still Love You (2:46) / You’re Losing Me 92:17) / It’s All Over But The Shouting (3:31) / Come Back Home (2:19) / Keep On Holding On (3:41) / I’m His Wife (You’re Just A Friend) (2:55) / You’ve Been Doing Me Wrong For So Long (2:54)

CDs

Soul Brother SBPJ 20 - “Anthology” - 2004 (UK)
Tracks: As above plus the following: Who’s Gonna Love You (3:00) / Let’s Huddle Up And Cuddle Up (2:25)
/ Love, Love, Love (I Want To Be Loved) (3:45) / I Want To Be Loved (3:10) / Be Serious (3:56) / Loving You Loving Me (3:39) / You’re Letting Me Down (2:59) / You’re Gonna Miss Me (3:02) / Have A Little Mercy (2:47) / Sugar Daddy (4:01)

artists

By Boxy in Articles · October 12, 20159 yr

Within contemporary arts practice there has been an increasing focus on notions of the archive with particular emphasis in the fields of photography and on collections of historical documents. Vinyl records are documents of popular culture and record collecting is a common social practise. But can a record collection be an artwork? And what might transform a record collection into an archive? 9000 vinyl records examines these issues.
The exhibition displays artist Stephen Williams’ personal collection of original first pressing soul records and record sleeves, combining them with a complete indexed catalogue, text, video and recorded music which relate directly to the records themselves.
9000 vinyl records explores the aesthetics of the archive including collecting, cataloguing and display of archival objects. The exhibition examines how personal choices have informed the development of the archive, how collecting might relate to obsessive compulsive behaviour and how taste, aesthetic judgement and fetishism shape the development of an archive.
The exhibition challenges the viewer to think about their relationship to objects and to reflect on their own impulses to collect.
Exhibition details: fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane. Melbourne 3000, fortyfivedownstairs.com

Gallery Hours: Tuesday to Friday 11am-5pm, Saturday 12pm-4pm
Exhibition enquiries: Briar Holt (Gallery Coordinator) Phone 03 9662 9966, Email briar@fortyfivedownstairs.com

By Soulmanau in News Archive - Comments · October 8, 20159 yr

What happens when your Dad's an African-American soul star and your Mum's a music-loving girl from working class Sheffield? Are your roots on the terraces at a Sheffield United match, or in the stylings of a Spike Lee film? For writer and photographer Johny Pitts, whose parents met in the heyday of Northern Soul, on the dance floor of the legendary King Mojo club, how he navigates his black roots has always been an issue. Not being directly connected to the Caribbean or West African diaspora culture, all he was told at school was that his ancestors were slaves, so for BBC Radio 4, he heads off to the USA, to trace his father's musical migration, and tell an alternative story of Black British identity.
Its worth a listen http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06flmcw

By Guest Sigmasteve in News Archives · October 6, 20159 yr

Here's the link to the article: ARTICLE
Here's the link to the trailer : FILM TRAILER
Regards,
Dave

By Dave Moore in News Archive - Comments · October 6, 20159 yr

Continuing the catch up with recent soul album releases, the spotlight this wide awake Monday falls on the recent "Reaching Out - Chess Records at Fame Studios" release.
The title does give the game away but if still need a nudge, Tony Rounces releases notes explain things more...
An overview of the 1967-69 southern soul sessions undertaken at Fame studios by Chess Records. Includes three previously unissued tracks.Rick Hall’s Fame studio in Muscle Shoals enjoyed a lengthy relationship with Chicago’s Chess Records that, one way or another, spanned most of the 60s. “Reaching Out” concentrates on 1967 to 1969, when Chess was sending down its own artists to record at the studio, rather than the masters Rick Hall placed with the company in previous years.Every artist Chess sent to Fame during those years is featured here.
The Juno records player again offers a nice and easy way to preview

Track Listing:

1. It's All Wrong But It's Alright - Laura Lee
2. So Much Love - Maurice & Mac
3. Good To Me - Irma Thomas
4. The Same Rope - Etta James
5. Wanted, Lover; No Experience Necessary - Laura Lee
6. Reaching Out - Bobby Moore And The Rhythm Aces
7. The Sidewinder - Charles Chalmers
8. Security - Etta James
9. Run To Me - Maurice & Mac
10. Too Soon To Know - Mitty Collier
11. Good Day Sunshine - Lee Webber
12. Don't Lose Your Good Thing - Etta James
13. Two In The Morning - Charles Chalmers
14. Hang It Up - Laura Lee
15. Lean On Me - Maurice & Mac
16. Let's Do It Over - Irma Thomas
17. I Wanna Be Your Man - Bobby Moore And The Rhythm Aces
18. Sure As Sin - Laura Lee
19. Party Time - Lee Webber
20. Take Me (Just As I Am) - Charles Chalmers
21. You're Living A Lie - Mitty Collier
22. It's How You Make It Good - Laura Lee
23. A Woman Will Do Wrong - Irma Thomas
24. Come Back Baby - Bobby Moore And The Rhythm Aces

More information, further release notes and purchase options on this fine reelases available via the Ace Records website
http://acerecords.co.uk/reaching-out-chess-records-at-fame-studios

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · October 5, 20159 yr

Reported in the forums by @chalky the sad news that Al Abrams has passed on.
The Detroit Free Press has an extensive obituary and a preview and a link follows
Martha Reeves says Al Abrams' work "got us through doors that were always shut to us."
Al Abrams was Motown before Motown even had its name.
Abrams, the first employee of Berry Gordy Jr. and the man who pushed artists like the Supremes and Stevie Wonder into news headlines around the world, died Saturday morning at home in Findlay, Ohio. He was 74.
The Detroit-born Abrams was the first press officer for Gordy's Motown Records, grabbing media coverage and airplay for the fledgling label and its stable of young stars — and helping blast through entrenched racial walls in the process.
http://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/music/brian-mccollum/2015/10/03/al-abrams-early-motown-publicist-dies-obituary/73283738/

Below is from a Soul Source news article featuring his 2010 Book

I still believe I was the luckiest kid in all of Detroit that May of 1959.
That's how it felt to me walking into a virtual wonderland of music at Berry Gordy's flat at 1719 Gladstone in Detroit's inner city.
When Berry hired me I was an 18-year-old white Jewish kid in an all-black company where people my age were making music and history. He put me in charge of record promotion for the songs published by his Jobete Music Company and I thought I was in heaven.
My primary job was to get the records played on the radio, especially by white disk jockeys on mainstream radio stations. I certainly wasn't going to ignore the black DJs, some of whom - like Larry Dean and Bill Williams - quickly became my closest friends.
Berry had given me the job because I was able to get Larry Dixon, a DJ on Detroit's WCHB, to play a god-awful record by Mike Powers called Teenage Sweetheart that Berry's Rayber Music Writing Company had produced and recorded for a $100 fee. I still think it is the absolute worst record Berry has ever produced.
When I applied for a promotion job with Berry, he had given me the virtually impossible task of getting that record played on the radio before he would consider hiring me. Eager to get rid of me, he was convinced he would never see me again once I left his flat with the Powers disk in hand. But it was my good luck that after four hours of begging and pleading in the hot sun, Dixon gave it a spin on the Memorial Day holiday at the very time that Berry was listening to the station in his car. That was also the only time that record was ever played on the radio.
That accomplishment was enough to get me hired the very next day for $15 a week and all the chili I could eat - cooked and served by Miss Lillie Hart. Berry has always had a reputation for being a tough negotiator, but I got the best of him that day. I worked for Jobete, Rayber, the fledgling five-month-old Tamla Record Company, and the then-personal management entity of Berry Gordy Jr. Enterprises. Motown was still more than a year in the future.

A full length interview from 2005 can be read here...
http://sitemaker.umich.edu/livingmusic/browse_interviews&mode=single&recordID=595398&nextMode=list
Al Abrams was born in Detroit and graduated from Central High School at the age of 15. In 1959, he became the first employee of what was to become Berry Gordy, Jr.'s Motown Record Corporation. Working originally as National Promotion Director, he ultimately became the company's Director of Public Relations. Establishing his own firm, Al Abrams Associates in 1967, he worked with Stax-Volt Records, James Brown, Aretha Franklin and many other major artists. Abrams left the music business for book publishing and became editor of the journalism department at Gale Research Company. He wrote the first three of his eleven published books at Gale. Moving to Canada, he was an award-winning investigative reporter for the Windsor Star and later a gossip columnist and book editor at a major Ohio daily newspaper. Abrams has been a free-lance reporter and publicist since 1994. His work has appeared in Forbes, the Jerusalem Post, Detroit Free Press, and the Chicago Tribune, among other publications. His best-known book is "Special Treatment: The Untold Story of Hitler's Third Race," the pioneering study of the survival of the Mischlinge during the Holocaust.

For a complete treatment of Motown publicity and marketing, please visit my website on Motown, Selling the Motor City Its Sound at http://www.umich.edu/~aamuhist/dmorrisz/motown/index.html

artist sad news

By Mike in News Archives · October 4, 20159 yr

Another in the occasional series where we make the most out of the amazon "look inside" to provide some heads up reading on kindle releases.
This time around its a kindle preview visit to a book that saw publication in June just gone ( thats 2015 for any Dave channel viewers) . Had mixed reviews on amazon but the kindle preview does allow a certain amount of making your own mind up...

kindle

By Mike in News Archives · October 2, 20159 yr

The Amazing Nina Simone documentary film is set to open later this month with a showing in New York. Followed by other select showings in the USA and showings in Madrid and Ontario and a winter DVD release to follow.
This believe it or not is the second of three Nina Simone related films scheduled for release this year, "What Happened Miss Simone ?" being the earlier one and a third bio-flick movie titled "NIna" set to follow later in the year. Film maker filmmaker Jeff Lieberman has said that his works will be an even more detailed and accurate portrait of the legend.
More info from the films website below
Much beloved and often misunderstood, the story of America's most overlooked musical genius is finally brought to light in "The Amazing Nina Simone". Director Jeff L. Lieberman brings audiences on Nina's journey from the segregated South, through the worlds of classical music, jazz joints & international concert halls. Navigating through the twists & turns of the 1960's fight for racial equality, the film delves deep into Nina's artistry and intentions, answering long-held questions behind Nina's most beloved songs, bold style, controversial statements, and the reason she left America.
The Amazing Nina Simone is the only documentary film to tell Nina’s story through over 50 exclusive and intimate interviews with the people who knew Nina best: her friends, family, musicians and fellow activists

Official Website link
http://amazingnina.com/

By Mike in News Archives · October 1, 20159 yr

apologies if posted else where
http://www.bassplayer.com/artists/1171/the-crusaders-founder-and-motown-bassist-wilton-felder-dead-at-75/54214

added by site
Houston Press has a fitting piece on this sad news
Houston and the world lost a giant today with the passing of Wilton Felder, saxophonist for the fabled Crusaders. Mr. Felder was 75. Word of his passing reached the Internet via longtime collaborator Ray Parker, Jr.’s Facebook page around 2 p.m. today.
Felder’s passing comes only a year after the death of his lifelong friend and fellow Crusader Joe Sample. Crusaders trombonist Wayne Henderson died in April, 2014, which now leaves drummer Nesbert “Stix” Hooper as the only living Crusader from the original four.
read more at
http://www.houstonpress.com/music/legendary-crusaders-sax-man-wilton-felder-passes-away-7800449
Wikipedia below
He was born in Houston, Texas in 1940.Felder, Wayne Henderson, Joe Sample, and Stix Hooper founded the group while in high school in Houston. The Jazz Crusaders evolved from a straight-ahead jazz combo into a pioneering jazz-rock fusion group, with a definite soul music influence. Felder worked with the original group for over thirty years, and continued to work in its later versions, which often featured other founding members.
Felder also worked as a West coast studio musician, mostly playing electric bass, for various soul and R&B musicians, and was one of the in-house bass players for Motown Records, when the record label opened up operations in Los Angeles, California, in the early 1970s. He played on recordings by the Jackson 5 such as "I Want You Back" and "The Love You Save," for Marvin Gaye and Grant Green. He also played bass for soft rock groups like America and Seals and Crofts. Also of note was his contribution to the John Cale album, Paris 1919, and Billy Joel's Piano Man and Streetlife Serenade albums. He was one of three bass players on Randy Newman's Sail Away (1972) and Joan Baez Diamonds & Rust. Felder also anchored albums from Joni Mitchell and Michael Franks.
His solo album, Secrets, which prominently featured Bobby Womack on vocals, reached No. 77 in the UK Albums Chart in 1985.[2] This album featured the minor hit, "(No Matter How High I Get) I'll Still be Looking Up to You", sung by Womack and Alltrinna Grayson.
Felder played a King Super 20 tenor sax with a metal 105/0 Berg Larsen mouthpiece. He also used Yamaha saxes. He played a Fender Precision bass, and also played Aria bass guitars.
He died on September 27, 2015, aged 75
Street Life Solo time framed from extended version -see http://www.neffmusic.com/blog/2015/08/wilton-felders-street-life-solo-transcription/ for transcripts etc

artist sad news

By kevinsoulman in News Archive - Comments · September 30, 20159 yr

Friends and fans of Tramp Records in general, and of the 'Feeling Nice' series specifically, will be feeling even nicer his time around with the release of this deep and soulful new collection: Feeling Nice Volume 3. These recordings have been painstakingly sought-out and unearthed from as far away as Hawaii, Canada, and Jamaica (in addition to the usual Texas, Ohio, and Georgia). This music has been carefully transferred (in some cases form the sole known copy) and remastered to the highest standards of audio quality. Finally, through a determined and diligent research effort leading to interviews with the owners of the rights to the original masters, Feeling Nice Volume 3's detailed liner notes offer you an enlightening window into the lives of the musicians, producers, and independent record labels responsible for some of the deepest music on the planet. All of this in addition to full color label scans and never before seen publicity photos.

Of course, to friends and fans of Tramp Records, none of this is a surprise as you have come to expect consequential projects promoting cultural and historical significance delivered with the love of a fellow record digger and the science of a musicologist. Tramp Records remains as one of the champion of rare deep funk soul and jazz on vinyl, uniting thorough research, respect of the original artists and art form, and thoughtful curation of great singles, albums and compilations. You will enjoy spinning this record, your guests will enjoy listening to it, and you will be proudly displaying it in the hallowed "Tramp Records" section of your record shelf, right next to Feeling Nice 1 & 2.
Some of the highlights of Feeling Nice Volume 3 are one of the rarest 45s on the Alston label and in our opinion also one of the best, Clarence Reid's "I Get My Kicks". A James Brown influenced wah wah funk monster, "Stand-Up Baby" by Canada's Saint John. "The Jack Mod Kick" by Jake, Ricky and Jack Townshend aka Jack & The Mods, ranging in age from 6 to 18 and discovered almost accidentally while rehearsing in a rundown shack in rural Virgina! We've got Rickey Andrews taking us on a late 60s dance-move tour of the U.S. with "Chances Are Your Dance is Mine". A rare sister funk masterpiece called "Leave Me Alone" by Nadine Brown from 1977. Leroy & The Drivers' critical track, "The Sad Chicken", produced in under 30 minutes with their last remaining studio time in 1970 and still ringing loud across the land. One of the nastiest versions of The Iselys' "It's Your Thing" coming out of Jamaica and SO MUCH MORE!!

Key selling points:
- 16-page CD-booklet and deluxe double-gatefold LP with detailed liner notes, label scans & unseen photographs
- 400 of the 1000 pressed vinyl LPs come with a bonus 7” by William Cummings (“Make My Love A Hurting Thing”)
- properly mastered for the best sound-quality possible

Tracklisting:
1. William Cummings - Your Soul Searchin' Love (W.Cummings)
2. Clarence Reid - I Get My Kicks (C.Reid)
3. Saint John - Stand Up (Baby) (W.St.John)
4. Rickey Andrews - Chances Are Your Dance Is Mine (R.Andrews)
5. Nadine Brown - Leave Me Alone (F.Forsh)
6. Jack & The Mods - The Jack Mod Kick (J.Townsend)
7. Leroy & the Drivers - The Sad Chicken (B.Yates)
8. Ellen Jackson - Getto Boogie (E.Jackson)
9. Oladepo Ogomodede - It's Your Thing (R.Isley)
10. Walt Bolen - Breaking Out (W.Bolen)
11. Sid Sidney Wallace & the Belairs - The Grinder (S.Wallace)
12. Jesse Morgan - I Gotta Get Back (J.Morgan)
13. Jay Floyd - Push Push (J.Floyd)
14. J.Young – B. Hill - It's Got Soul (J.Young)
15. Soul Express - Determination (W.Crews)
16. Billy Bailey - You Better Stop (B.Bailey)

By Badsamba in News Archive - Comments · September 28, 20159 yr

A new month's creeping up on us, here's a cheat sheet for the months Ace records releases

New releases for October 2015 from Ace Records

Toujours Chic! More French Girl Singers Of The 1960s
Girls
Various Artists (Ace International)
CD £11.50Experience the hip sounds of 1960s France on this hand-picked collection of groovy Gallic girl-pop.

Toujours Chic! More French Girl Singers Of The 1960s
Girls
Various Artists (Ace International)
LP £17.80
A 12-track 180g lavender vinyl release with fully illustrated inner bag.

Rhythm & Bluesin' By The Bayou - Vocal Groups
Rhythm & Blues
Various Artists (By the Bayou)
CD £11.50
Our ongoing series featuring rarities from the Louisiana swamps continues with this collection of harmony vocals.

The Birth Of Surf Volume 3
Surf
Various Artists (Birth of Surf)
CD £11.50
Seminal and collectable instrument nuggets from the early surf music boom. Many titles new to CD.

Gears
Funk
Johnny Hammond
CD £11.50
A 40th anniversary edition of this mid-70s Funk masterpiece, featuring new transfers and six previously unreleased tracks.

Gears
Funk
Johnny Hammond
LP £21.00
Our 40th anniversary edition, as a 180g clear vinyl double album.

Full Circle
Vocal Jazz
Leon Thomas
CD £7.43
The final studio album from Thomas’ classic period, a glorious combination of soul, funk and jazz.

Off The Rails And Live In '78
Punk Rock
Little Bob Story
CD £11.50
French powerhouse RnB singer Bob Piazza’s first UK album release with 5 bonus live tracks from a ’78 show at Dingwalls Dancehall. Raucous.


The Very Best Of Bettye Swann
60s Soul
Bettye Swann
CD £11.50
The finest tracks from right across an illustrious soul career.

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · September 28, 20159 yr

A early shout for this October the 2nd album release from Timmion Records
This is the third album from Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators and looks set to be yet another must buy. Full details below...
If you are not fully aware of just what is on offer here, then here's the much praised "One In A Million" track that was released last month as a single and features on this release
The second single from the upcoming Nicole Willis album Happiness in Every Style opens up the promised spectrum of joy into new ecstatic states.

Blurb below:
This Autumn, Nicole Willis rolls out with her third album made together with The Soul Investigators Happiness In Every Style. It is bound to send shivers through backs all around the world. As the name suggests, the new album will offer variety and tilt towards a more positive note after the murky Tortured Soul from two years back.
This means Nicole and the boys have made things a bit more soothing for the listener, offering upbeat modern soul and even embrace more sophisticated melodies alongside their highly evolved raw funk sound. To get a taste of this, one only has to put on Let's Communicate or One In a Million to have their hands clapping and toes tapping in no time, or respectively, witness the dance floor explode. From minor key ballads such as Thief In The Night to the unapologetically poppy Angel, the new album is bound to bring to the hearts of humans in every shade and style.

Purchase
http://www.timmion.com/shop/happiness-in-every-style/lp-happiness-in-every-style/

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · September 22, 20159 yr

Sad news reported of the passing on of Peggy Jones at the age of 75. (19 Jul 1940 - 16 Sep 2015)
Peggy Jones was known as Lady Bo in recognition of her relationship with Bo Diddley. Peggy Jones played rhythm guitar in Bo Diddley's band in the late 1950s and early 1960s, becoming one of the first (perhaps the first) female rock guitarists in a highly visible rock band, and was sometimes called the "Queen Mother of Guitar" Bo Diddley once said "she knows every move I make... she is the only one that knows the original ways...”
Later also known for her work via her own group the Jewels of "We Got Togetherness" fame in the 1960/70s
The website 'Bo Diddley The Originator' features a informative biography of which you can read a preview clip below
Link http://members.tripod.com/~Originator_2/ladybo.html
...by artists such as Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Ruth Brown, Etta James, LaVern Baker, Mahalia Jackson, Linda Hopkins and Sam Cooke, she began to compose and arrange her own music. In 1955 she bought her very first guitar, and it was in this same year that she first heard the music of BO DIDDLEY.
In the following years she recorded 3 local hits, and in 1957 joined The Bop-Chords vocal group as first tenor, and went on to enjoy a further 2 hits with them. That year, after meeting up with BO DIDDLEY, she replaced his guitar player Jody Williams, who had been drafted for military service. The following year she was hired full-time to play on all of his recording sessions and for all of his stage performances. SHE WAS THE FIRST FEMALE LEAD GUITARIST IN HISTORY TO BE HIRED BY A MAJOR ACT.
She worked full-time with BO DIDDLEY until 1961, when she formed her own group The Jewels, later to be known as LADY BO & The Family Jewel. In the summer of 1966, The Jewels recorded their classic track "We Got Togetherness" for MGM Records. This monster soul stomper is now a perennial favorite on the UK's northern soul scene...

LADY BO Discography:
Continentals, Picture of Love/Soft & Sweet (Whirlin' Disc 105) 1957
Bop-Chords, Baby/So Why (Holiday 2608) 1957
Greg & Peg, Honey, Bunny, Baby/Why Do I Love You Like I Do (Ro-Nan 1001) 1957
Bob & Peggy, Everybody's Talking/I'm Gonna Love My Way (Peacock 1927) 1963
Jewels, I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles/We Got Togetherness (MGM K 13577) 1966
more at
http://members.tripod.com/~Originator_2/ladybo.html
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peggy_Jones_(musician)

artist sad news

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · September 22, 20159 yr

J.B. Bingham whilst in session under H.B. Barnum and Steve Binder laid down seven tracks. Four were issued by United Artist. The 70’s anthem “All Alone By The Telephone” b/w “Live and Learn” and a second 45 “She’s Gone” b/w “Keep On Walking” saw the light of day. Three other were canned.

Fast forward to 2013 and under it’s licensing deal with H.B. Barnum, Soul Junction Records released two of the three. The excellent mover “People On An Ego Trip” and the more laid back “She’s On Strike” were finally released to eager collectors and DJ’s alike. Almost two years further down the line the final track, the excellent 70’s mid tempo moover “Fellas, Don’t Let The Girls Take Over” is finally released. It has already been well received by collectors and dancers after play on various radio shows and at various events. The 70’s classic, “All Alone By The Telephone” makes up the flip side.


J.B.Bingham Biography

James Bingham Jr was born on the 1st of September I945 in Chicago. He was the second eldest child of four raised by Thelma and James Bingham Sr. As a teenager JB cut his teeth singing lead vocals and playing guitar with several neighbourhood groups. One group in particular under the unlikely name of “The Vermacharms” also featured Walter (Simtec ) Simmons, his brother Ronnie Simmons, Mathew Whitfield and J.B

James’s first Guitar was loaned to him by the mother of Tom Jamerson, while Tom was away serving in Vietnam. Upon Tom’s return from the service James had to return the guitar. Tom later played bass guitar for Bettye Everette before eventually becoming her husband.

When James reached the age of 20 his family moved to Los Angeles but after a short time there they decided to return home to Chicago. James though decided to stay and try his luck in the music business. His first job came in 1966 when he signed to Johnny Rivers Soul City label as a staff songwriter and singer. He worked under the auspice of former Motown West Coast President Mark Gordon. Gordon who by then had left Motown to become an independent producer also managed James. The most successful artists under Gordon’s management was the pop/soul group, The 5th Dimension. Although during his time with Soul City James often toured and performed as one half of a singing duo with fellow Soul City stable mate Willie Hutch, no JB Bingham recordings where ever made. Incidentally it was while at Soul City that James was advised by Johnny Rivers to add the initial B to his name this was a decision influenced by one of hottest recording artists of the time, one B.J. Thomas (of ‘Rain Drops Keep Fallin’ On My Head’ fame) and so J.B. Bingham he became.

JB later moved onto Marlu Records where as a A&R man he managed a girl group known as” The Voices”. JB along with Jack Brown co-wrote and arranged two songs on the Voices the “Soul Clinic” and An Imitation Of Life” with both songs gained a release on Marlu 1004 under the artist name of The Voices and Thee Counts”. The Voices line up included former Friends Of Distinction lead vocalist Barbara Love, Geneva Crawford and Patrice Brown.

In September 1969 JB formed his own and most successful group the “Five Flights Up” the groups line up featured former “Voices” member Geneva Crawford, Blanton McFarlin, Carlnetta Kelly, Charles Termell and JB as the lead singer. JB was fortuitously introduced by Harry Elston of “The Friend Of Distinction” to their producer John Florez who had recently produced the “Friends Of Distinction’s million seller “Grazing In The Grass”( RCA 74-0107). Florez by now had left RCA to go as a independent producer and liking what he heard decided to sign the “Five Flights Up” to a production contract and signed them to the Bell distributed T.A. label.

In 1970 the Five Flights Up hit pay dirt with their first T.A. release which featured two J.B. Bingham compositions “Do What You Wanna Do” b/w “Black Cat” (T.A, 202). “Do What You Wanna Do” became a hit reaching number 37 on Billboard’s pop single chart. Their follow up release “ After The Feeling Is Gone” B/w “Where Are You Going Girl “ (T.A. 207) peaked at number 89 on Billboard’s pop chart. A third T.A. release followed in 1971 “Like Monday Follows Sunday” b/w “California Girl” (T.A. 212) but this did not achieve the success of the previous two releases.

A forth “Five Flights Up” release appeared on the independent Oak label “Day Before Yesterday” b/w “There’s Nothing Wrong (With Loving A Stranger) (Oak 113). A reputed Five Flights Up album project entitled “After The Feeling Is Gone” was planned but believed to have been shelved by the powers that be at Columbia records. John Florez later went on to continue his midas touch producing a string of hits on the 5th Dimension as well as the Hues Corporation.

In 1974 JB released his own first solo outing on Warner Brothers records, the John Florez produced “Peek A Boo” b/w “Sunshine” the song was arranged by D’Arneill Pershing, under the management of Steve Binder. It was Steve Binder who was responsible for JB signing with United Artists records. At U.A, JB was produced by both Steve Binder and H.B Barnum.

Binder and Barnum recorded several songs on JB which they offered to United Artists. The powers that be at U.A decided to pick up four of the songs for two 45 releases. The H.B Barnum/ Joyce Clay penned “All Alone By The Telephone” b/w the J.B Bingham penned “Live And You Learn” (U.A-XW816-Y) followed by two Bingham compositions “She’s Gone” b/w “Keep On Walking” (UA-XW872-Y). Both releases never really achieved the sales that they duly deserved, partially due to the fact that around 1976 United Artists had begun to disband their records division and thus never really put the full weight of their promotional machine behind J.B’s output. This was also coupled with the fact that H.B Barnum had also recorded “All Alone By The Telephone” on another West Coast group the “Checkmates” which was released on their rival major Polydor label at virtually the same time. Salvation did eventually arrive for JB releases when some twenty years after their release they where championed by the Dj’s and collectors alike of the UK Modern Soul Scene with “All Alone By The Telephone” now being regarded as a all time classic of this genre.

Following the demise of United Artists, JB briefly return to Warner Brothers as a staff writer. JB’s writing talent’s eventually led him to become a music and artist reviewer at the” Los Angeles Sentinel”, the west coasts oldest and largest African-American newspaper a position he held for circa fifteen years. JB worked closely with his wife Carolyn who was also employed by the Sentinel as the Entertainment section Editor. James and Carolyn have two children, their daughter Anzantique and their son James Bingham the 3rd an aspiring young singer hoping to follow in his father’s footsteps

Moving forward to the present JB is still involved in the music business following the formation of his own record label TSOC (The Sound Of Chicago) with his lifelong friend and business partner Charles Lewis in 2012. They are producing new material on a new group called the Voices (no connection at all with the Marlu outfit). J.B also performs his own one man act at several of the more notable steak houses throughout Los Angeles and Pasadena area.

In late 2011 we at Soul Junction records contacted JB asking the inevitable question regarding the availability of any unissued material. During the ensuing conversation JB mentioned three unissued tracks that he cut with Barnum and Binder that United Artists hadn’t picked up. So we made contact with legendary record producer H.B Barnum and struck a deal. The result of which, led to the release of two of the unissued JB Bingham tracks as a belated 45 single “People On A Ego Trip b/w “She’s On Strike” (SJ525) in 2013 a popular, but now long deleted release.

The remaining unissued track “Fellas, Don’t Let The Girls Take Over” will be released on September 28th 2015 backed with J.B’s classic modern soul anthem “Al Alone By The Telephone” (SJ532).

Words by: David Welding.

Acknowledgements to: James Bingham , Carolyn Bingham and H.B. Barnum

Photograph’s courtesy of James Bingham.

Press Release: J.B. Bingham   “Fellas, Don’t Let The Girls Take Over/All Alone By The Telephone”   SJ532
Release Date:   Monday September 28th 2015

In 1976, James B. Bingham the former lead singer of the group Five Flight’s Up recorded 7 songs under the auspices of H.B. Barnum and Steve Binder. Binder then offered the fruits of this session to the United Artists label. Out of the 7 songs presented to them the powers that be only chose to pick up 4 songs which they released on two 45 singles “All Alone By The Telephone/Live And You Learn” (UA- XW1059)and “She’s Gone/Keep On Walking” (UA-XW872-Y)which subsequently left three tracks sitting unused in the can. A situation later rectified when in 2013 we at Soul Junction contacted firstly J.B. Bingham and then H.B. Barnum which lead to the final release of two of the U.A rejects “People On A Ego Trip/She’s On Strike” on a popular and now long deleted 45 single.

Therefore we had one track left at our disposal “Fellas, Don’t Let The Girls Take Over”

J.B’s upbeat and light hearted warning song to the men of the world to shape and not be swept aside by the growing women’s liberation movement!

That left us with the dilemma of what to use for a b-side, this situation thus being solved by the inclusion of J.B’s timeless modern soul anthem “All Alone By The Telephone” as the flipside.

SJ532-J.B.Binham Promo.mp3
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 to buy: http://www.souljunctionrecords.co.uk/SJ532.html

By Chalky in News Archive - Comments · September 20, 20159 yr

Just read a great article on Jeff Lemlichs informative 'Savage Lost' blog titled the 'The First Deep City Related 45, and Miami Girl Group Confusion!'
If looking at 45s/acetates scans and soaking up great historical recording tales floats your boat then you need to get over there right now

Preview clip
It’s not always easy to tell the story of an artist, or the records they created. Sometimes every answer just brings another question, with clarity never really showing up for the ride. It reminds me of George Harrison’s insightful line, borrowed from the Tao Te Ching: “The farther one travels, the less one knows.".
I now know more about the Diamonettes from Florida. I also know less about them. This is one very convoluted story!
http://savagelost.com/the-first-deep-city-related-45-and-miami-girl-group-confusion

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · September 19, 20159 yr

An occasional series where the site makes the most out of the amazon "look inside" to provide some heads up reading on both old and new books available on kindle. This time a kindle preview revisit to a book that news of was originally posted up back in 2012
Sit Down! Listen To This! The Story of Roger Eagle by Bill Sykes
Bill Sykes (Author), Elliot Rashman (Foreword)
When Roger Eagle rode into Manchester in the early 1960s, the music scene was dominated by imported pop and the hippest clubs were 200 miles away in London. Yet this man would become a pivotal figurehead in changing all that.
Fortune led him to a job putting records on at The Twisted Wheel. Ignoring the thriving Beat scene, Roger promoted gigs by and played the recordings of the original Blues and Rhythm and Blues artists, often bringing them over from the States at his own expense. The club's music policy, at odds with just about everything else in the country at the time, was an instant hit and crowds flocked to the Wheel all-nighters from all over the country.
Well seeing that the Kindle version is now selling at the remarkable price of £4, plus with the fact that the site kindle preview feature wasn't around back in2012 and it has a good video, well I say its a worthwhile revisit
Now £4 for the Kindle version - see the preview below and £8 for hardback inc postage @ the publishers via the link below
http://www.empire-uk.com/SitDown.htm

kindle

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · September 18, 20159 yr

Seems to be that a spot of a northern soul reference in the movies shows up almost every week nowadays .
This time around a couple of northern references crop up amongst a recent new release called Urban Hymn which (yet again) is showing in the Toronto Film Festival, so not seen it but the trailer does have a very brief Darrell Banks moment
Video below but note that it is time linked so you need to replay it to watch the full trailer
'URBAN HYMN is a redemptive coming of age story which follows a neglected and wayward teen, Jamie, whose incredible singing voice offers her an escape to a better life until she finds her loyalties torn between her inspiring, unconventional care worker and her possessive and volatile best friend'
After reading a review there may be a chance of further 'northern references' in the complete film as apparently the mother passed on to the main character her love of 'northern soul', but as the review seems to be a usa based one then there may be some confusuion about the term 'northern soul'. So guess the soundtrack details may be interesting once out
Anyway the film looks all right at first glance, and while haven't seen the full film, this and other recent 60s soul related exposure has to be a good thing yep?
Well I just looked out of the window and the sky still seems in place, how's it your way ?

review here
http://www.screendaily.com/reviews/urban-hymn-review/5092469.article
Imdb film page here
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2184335/

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · September 17, 20159 yr

After a bit of a revamp the news/article section has a spring in its step and is full of lofty aims and ideals. Getting the 'releases' section underway is word of a just released summer 2015 offering from Kent,Titled 'Dore LA Sides 2'
This (as you may guess) is the follow up to the 2014 release 'Dore LA Sides 1' which Chalky reviewed back then here on Soul Source Dore LA Sides 1 and again focuses on the Dore label. The tag line below does makes life easy when describing this release as it does sort of say it all...
Twenty years’ worth of elusive West Coast dancers, sweet soul ballads and all points in-between.
Heres a preview all tracks via Junos records very smart player

Here's the blurb
This is the second and final volume of our Doré Soul story. As with the first volume, it’s strong on harmony groups, uptempo dancers and quirky one-offs from the vivid imagination of label owner Lew Bedell. The tracks were cut at the best Los Angeles studios using arrangers of the calibre of Miles Grayson, Gene Page, Ernie Freeman and Jack Eskew. Bedell produced most of the recordings and wrote several too.
The rarest of the rare is Little Johnny Hamilton’s ‘Keep On Moving’ of which there is one known issue that resides in the Potteries. The same scenario applies to the Swans’ punchy ‘Nitty Gritty City’; just to finally see the label scans was a thrill. The Milton James disc is almost as rare and the beautiful flipside ballad ‘That’s What Love Will Do’ is on CD for the first time. It was re-recorded by the outfit when they became War in ...
Read more at: http://acerecords.co.uk/dore-la-soul-sides-2#sthash.e1hUNRTv.dpuf
Video Ad

The Track List
01 Gettin' Back Into Circulation - The Entertainers IV
02 I'm Givin' You Notice Baby - The Fidels
03 What Did You Gain By That? - Kenard
04 Wind In My Sails - The Superbs
05 Funky With My Stuff - The Natural Resources Unpolluted
06 Pictures In My Window - Eddie Williams
07 That's What Love Will Do - Milton James
08 I Wanna Chance - The Vows
09 I Want You - Dee Torres
10 My Pillow - The Darlings
11 We Together Baby - Smoky & The Bears
12 Keep On Moving - Little Johnny Hamilton
13 The Girl That I Loved - Bobby & Eddie Unlimited
14 Nitty Gritty City - The Swans
15 I Only Cry Once A Day Now - The Puffs
16 Goddess Of Love - The Superbs
17 Nothing Lasts Forever - The Natural Resources
18 Just Ain't My Day - The Entertainers IV
19 Stuffin' The Bird - Rambling Willie & The Euphonics
20 Just A Little Ugly - Gail Anderson
21 This Girl Is A Good Girl - Johnny Braff
22 Saigon To San Francisco - Toussaint McCall
23 As I Sit Here - The Whispers
24 I Look In The Mirror - Eddie Kool
Purchase highlights:
Available as cd album and also mp3 downloads at all good stores, links to just 3 follow
Ace Records Website
http://acerecords.co.uk/dore-la-soul-sides-2
Juno Records
https://www.juno.co.uk/products/la-soul-sides-2/573574-01/
Amazon

By Mike in News Archives · September 16, 20159 yr

First released in 1999 the documentary film by Ian Levine "The Strange World Of Northern Soul" has over time generated a lot of discussion here on Soul Source. With over 10 hours of footage and 130 artists it certainly was a one off.
Now 26 years later since the first showing at Blackburn it now seems that Part 1 (Over 4hrs) has now been officially released for public online viewing as it now shows on the Ian Levine Channel on Youtube
Its just been added to our in-house Soul Source Video feature, so you can now view, comment etc in ease via the link below

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · September 14, 20159 yr

Soul film news and then some more soul film news seems to be the current thrust here on Septembers Soul Source.
Todays soul music cinema news is all about the word that a new documentary film titled 'Miss Sharon Jones' is making its Worldwide Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival
The documentary concerns itself with the life and music of Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings. 'Miss Sharon Jones' focuses on a 12 month period which saw the singer battle to overcome a very serious illness and then make the return lo making music.
Directed by two-time Academy Award winner Barbara Kopple, this title joins the ever and I do mean ever increasing list of 'must watch' soul related films
Here's the blurb and such, no trailer seen yet

"Now, ladies and gentlemen," says fast-talking Dap-Kings guitarist and announcer Binky Griptite, "the star of our show — the super soul sister with the magnetic je ne sais quoi — Miss Sharon Jones!" Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings kick in with their funky, revivalist rhythm and blues backed by hard-driving horns. And so begins this deeply soulful documentary about the singer's year-long battle with cancer, and her struggle to hold her career together and return to what she loves most: the stage.
This story finds its perfect match in the two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple. In this, the fortieth Toronto International Film Festival, Kopple is, alongside Wim Wenders and Chantal Akerman, one of three returning directors who had a feature the very first year: her now-classic Harlan County USA (also screening at this year's Festival). She has a steadfast determination to go wherever a story may lead. Miss Sharon Jones! exemplifies the power of cinema-vérité as Kopple follows her subject for over a year when the future is most uncertain.
More info,via the below link
http://tiff.net/festivals/festival15/tiffdocs/miss-sharon-jones

By Mike in News Archives · September 11, 20159 yr

If waiting for the long overdue Aretha Franklin documentary "Amazing Grace" you may have to wait just that little bit longer as Variety is reporting the below...

The Toronto Film Festival has pulled “Amazing Grace” after the Aretha Franklin documentary became the subject of a legal dispute.
In a statement, the festival said the film’s producers made the decision not to show the picture about the “Respect” singer.
“We are extremely disappointed that Toronto audiences will not be able to see this extraordinary piece of art,” the festival said in a statement. “The footage in the film is truly a cinematic treasure of 20th century music and we hope global audiences will have opportunity to experience this film once a resolution is found.”
Jon D. Cantor, an attorney for the singer, said a screening at the Chicago Film Festival in October has also been canceled.
full story via
http://variety.com/2015/film/festivals/amazing-grace-toronto-film-festival-screening-canceled-aretha-franklin-1201587897/
Youtube showing of Amazing Grace Movie Trailer

Apparently the Toronto Film Festival Showing is being replaced by the showing of a film that you may have heard of before.... "Northern Soul"

By Mike in News Archive - Comments · September 9, 20159 yr

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