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The current forum topic called Stax Dancers reminded me that had once 'ocr' scanned the sleeve notes of my copy of this old 70s lp comp titles Stax Northern Disco Sounds. While the cover has to be one of the worse northern comp covers around, the actual sleeve notes written back then by @Ian Dewhirst may now make interesting reading as they do provide a snapshot in time of attitudes and such and as have not seen them in easy to read text format thought they may be worth a pass on... I did b -
Soul Blog entries posted by Steve G originally via the Soul Blog feature during the period January 2007 til September 2007 Weekend Warm Up - Thurs/fri Posted by Steve G, 08 September 2007 Thursday is one of my cycling days, where I quite literally cycle into and back out of London again. I try and do this twice a week when it's not raining / snowy / cold / foggy / windy (delet as applicable). The journey home is uneventful until 7 Sisters, when some goon overtakes me then turns -
Soul Blog entries posted by Steve G originally via the Soul Blog feature during the period September 2007 - July 2010 Barcelona Beckons Posted by Steve G, 21 July 2010 "Movin On" in Barcelona is a club that's become well established in the last couple of years. And so I was delighted to be offered a booking here. A quick hop over on Easyjet from Stanstead (well who actually wants to travel using R-Air ), and I found myself in Barca on a Friday night, armed with my 100 count record b -
A highlight of our Soul Source - Artist Of The Week feature Every week we will be setting up a place where members are invited to talk, post and share info, stories, memories, highlights and more all regarding the artist who made this fine music. We will be using the past 'Artist Of The Week' topics as the base for this due to the large amount of enjoyable and worthwhile previous comments/posts Getting this revived series under way this week is Stevie Wonder Stevie Wonder Biogra -
Today marks the 50th anniversary of Levi & the Four Tops, the only Motown recording group that has stayed together for more than half a century. This date will also be remembered as a momentous occasion for Black History Month. The Four Tops grabbed fans with their trademark harmonies, and well-groomed presence, but they made an achievement that no group has ever done; up until 1997, they were the only group to maintain the same line-up for 43 years. Well this year the grou
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In A Reflective Mood Posted by Supercorsa, 11 July 2011 · Just sitting here on my day off, meant to have been doing some work on the computer, but as always logged onto Soul Source and got distracted. I've been reading Ian Dewhirst's thread about having enough money to be a top northern dj, mmm interesting. Let's be honest if money was no object, the majority of people would go and buy whatever their heart desired or dreamt of, wherever that be reco
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a tuesday nite out.... Well a night out to have a few beers with a few mates ended up as a blinder a Tuesday night at that. The 6 Amigos, Myself, Dave Greenhill, Mac McDonald, Dave Brightmore, Mike Mahon, and Spencer, we would normally meet up on a Tuesday night for a few beers after work and talk about what men normally chat about Soul music, Football, and Women, but this night would be different, Mac (whos real name is Alistair ..dont laugh !!) had been home last weekend (North Wales) and
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The Music Society of Detroit works to give the artists the recognition they deserve by Alex M. Franquet. When I started having contacts in Detroit my goal was to try to contact as many of the original artists I could to make sure their story could be told. At the start, it was not easy, but finally Francisco Frank Garcia II helped me with the investigation and the result is this series of interviews and conversations with Barbara Mercer, Carlis "Sonny" Munro from The Falcons, D'Y-Ann Marie
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James Power has been in touch and passed on word of a great online video interview he carried out with Maxine Brown. Featuring a total of almost two hours in all, this lengthy interview is split into 4 equal parts (each one approx 25 mins in length) and can view below via the embedded links from the Vimeo site (so all in hd as well) Talking With Maxine Brown by James Power My interview with Soul Music legend Maxine Brown recorded April 9, 2011. In Part 1, Maxine discus -
Texas - a big state but a small world - In April 2020 my interest was piqued when a I saw 2 mysterious Chicano records on 2 different web sites of respected... -
Blues Poetry Introduction By Jacqueline Amos When I think about the Blues Singer Jacqueline Amos, I often reflect on the times of Cotton Club Comes To Harlem with Lady Blues, Billy Holiday, the reflection sends a light of the times of the 1940's, the horns that plays from the direct spirit of Blues, and the sounds of the pass, which reverts through the mike of Lady Blues Jackie, this vibrant cry, take me to the cotton club brings the applauds from the audience, Jacqueline not only a
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The Generation By Mark Windle This Wilmington, North Carolina band was largely composed of high school students. Their sole 45 release was a very competent beach cover of The O’Jay’s Minit classic “Hold on” on a local Wilmington label in 1968. As The O’Jays version was already a northern soul classic, it was perhaps not surprising that The Generation’s take (Mockingbird MR 1010) would also find favour on the British soul scene. An up-tempo soul dancer, this track is not dissimilar to T -
THE 100 CLUB….. 40 YEARS ON The 100 club allnighter celebrates its 40th anniversary in September, which makes it, by some distance, the longest running allnighter. In the greater scheme of things Northern, this is a unique milestone and for many of the northern soul fraternity, the allnighter has a legendary & iconic status, for some, go further, and see it as a national treasure! For those that have not ever visited, it’s situated in London’s famous Oxford street and is a compac -
Dear Cleggster, Some weekend! Thanks to all who attended and supported the event so strongly. Within a couple of hours of arriving at the venue I was out of my despair; your attitude and spirit turned it into a hugely enjoyable event and amazingly, one of the best weekenders ever (certainly one of the most memorable). Lessons have been learned. By sticking rigidly to the licensing hours this year we can now go ahead with the 23rd 6TS Cleethorpes Northern Soul Weekender in 2015. The licenses -
The A & R Man by William Mickey Stevenson - ISBN 9780692366332 When I buy a non-fiction book I am looking for two things basically: I want the book to be well written, and I want to learn something from it (After all, that’s the whole point of a non-fiction book isn’t it?) Unfortunately this book hits neither of those targets particularly well ! Perhaps my expectations were too high ? I’ll admit that I read books like this to gather all the minute details of the background inf -
IT'S A FAMILY AFFAIR ! Robert, Eugene and Albert Hamilton. There is little doubt that the most famous family name in Detroit, during the late 1950s,1960s and early 1970s, was Gordy. The family's prodigal son, Berry Jnr., and the rest of his extended clan, had combined to create a musical monolith that dominated local, regional, national and international affairs at the time, and continues to exert considerable influence in the modern era. Yet, among the myriad of performers, players and p -
This release is the second CD to focus on the labels owned by Al Sears, a renowned saxophonist of the 40’s and 50’s. The first CD was way back in 2002. This compilation has been a long time coming and continues were the first left off. Here we have unreleased masters, demos, flips sides of the previously featured 45s and more. Without spoiling the reading of the liner notes a brief bit of background may be needed. Al, after writing the hit “Castle Rock” in the early 50’s set up two pub -
The Uk Vibe website has a must visit lengthy and photo heavy article just up. The title 'The Art of Ian Clark' should have you already right clicking and opening in a new window, but if you are still here and not convinced here's a brief preview of what you be getting.. A Soothing ‘Slow Moody Black n Bluesy’ Art Direction by Ian Clark Image taken at a Reggae night in West Ealing sourced from Pictorial Press, Described by Ady Croasdell as ‘The Mona Lisa of Soul Music’ Due to th -
The BEST decade - a look at 'that' decade Those of us fortunate enough to have spent our teenage years in the 1960s should be feeling especially sad at the premature passing of George Best. Not just because he was a brilliant footballer or that he lived a Faustian lifestyle " but because he was a true icon in an age that gave us the cultural foundations of our modern existence, and, more specifically, created the music we love. Best was part of an era that gave us discot
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Hayley Records - The Best of Hayley CD by Eddie Hubbard Hayley records is an independent record label from the Midlands UK , specialising in unearthing unreleased and rare 60’s, 70’s and 80’s Soul recordings , especially from Detroit . After over a decade of releasing quality CD compilations and limited edition ‘ 45’s they finally present “ The best of Hayley “ which contains 16 mouthwatering tracks plus one “ hidden “ bonus track !! The first two tracks are covers of old classics ,“ S -
The Big Issue takes a look At Northern Soul - Stevie Cato (from 2004) A double page look at Northern feature from a recent Big Issue, originally posted up in the Soul Source Gallery and now transferred across to here "that soul thing" articles section. "Fueled by copious amounts of speed, rare Motown cast-off soul tracks and impossibly athletic dance moves, the Northern Soul scene is the original rave scene of its time. Now with an influx of born-again and fresh-faced Soulies
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The Calm Before The Storm Posted by The Big O 16 March 2005 · A few days before the next NORTHERN SOUL @ THE PLINSTON! and it's the usual madness that the paying punter never sees. The house is a mass of scraps of paper with ticket reservation names scribbled on them, a record box overflowing with toons (that is going to have to be whittled down before Saturday), a mad scramble to ensure we have a spare mixer on hand due to a technical fault in the normal one, loads of phone calls to t -
Billy Nichols has now been involved with the music biz for about 50 years and he's still going strong. Down the years, he has sung gospel, soul and blues plus played the guitar and drums. He's worked for Motown and played on Chess recording sessions. He's been in house bands in Cleveland and New York plus played most of the top chitlin circuit venues of the 1960's. He's produced and arranged numerous tracks for other artists and cut tracks in his own right. However it's for his song writing that -
Around 1968, a Philly vocal group, the Naturals, were looking for a fresh bunch of musicians to back them up on live shows. A local band found out about this and made contact with the singers. Thus the Soul Crusaders and the Naturals teamed up to form an 11 strong ensemble. There were already a number of recording groups using the name the Naturals and so their managers came up with an appropriate new name for them; the FUTURES. Life & their career progressed for the Futures & after 4 ye -
The Capitol Soul Club 2nd Anniversary: Pre-anniversary thoughts One of the many emails that I get from the website, this sort of feedback makes it all worth it! See you all on the 30th @ the Dome Regards Matt Jahans "As the anniversary of Capitol Soul Clubs marriage to the Dome beckons, it takes me back to July and my very first visit. I was already familiar with the music from the boys, but nothing could prepare me for what I a
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The Complete Fame Singles. Vol 1 - 1964-1967 Three words synonymous with Southern Soul are Muscle Shoals and Fame. Florence Alabama Music Enterprises or simply FAME to all its fans, was founded by Rick Hall, Billy Sherrill and Tom Stafford in Florence, Alabama before moving to where it still stands in the small backwater town of Muscle Shoals when Hall split from the others. It went on to record many hits by many R&B, Rock and Pop superstars for many labels as well as it’s own. -
DEBBIE TAYLOR LOST AND FOUND DEBBIE TAYLOR is a highly acclaimed but relatively obscure soul singer who released nine singles and an album during an eight-year period from 1967 to 1975, during the ‘golden days’ of soul music. Three of her 45s reached the R&B charts but, despite her obvious talent, she failed to make a significant impact in commercial terms and her name was soon forgotten by most. THE MARKET WAS CROWDED in the golden days and dozens of new r -
The Delacardos By Mark Windle The Delacardos were an all black vocal and instrumental group from Charlotte NC, who formed initially at high school. They made at least nine records between 1959 and 1967, some of which received national release on major labels. Vocalists were Vernon Hill, Chris Harris, Harold Ford and Robert Gates and later George Morris. Publicity shots generally featured the vocalists only, but regular musicians included Luther Maxwell (tenor saxop -
If anybody is interested in 'The Delgonives' updated version of 'Loving you always came easy', here it is. It has a Detroit type groove with a Beach/Blue Eyed feel. I guess I am pigeon holing the song, but I favour more retro sounding material from the 1960/70’s as many know. The issues for me creating this style of song, is to sound authentic in the writing, plus of course back in the day it was real instruments and a studio set up for the recording. I do not have the financial resources to pay -
The Dells Biography The Dells were an American R&B vocal group. Formed in high school in 1952 by founding members Marvin Junior, Verne Allison, Johnny Funches, Chuck Barksdale, and Mickey and Lucius McGill, under the name the El-Rays. They released their first recording in 1954 and two years later had their first R&B hit with "Oh What a Night". After disbanding due to a near-fatal car crash in 1958, the band reformed in 1960 with Funches being replaced by Johnny Carter. This lineup -
Artist of the Week takes another look at the music of The Dramatics The Dramatics Discography (Soulful Kinda Music Link) >>> THE DRAMATICS <<< The Dramatics The Dramatics (formerly The Dynamics) are an American soul music vocal group, formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1964. They are best known for their 1970s hit songs "In the Rain" and "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get", both of which were Top 10 Pop hits, as well as their later 1993 collaboration "Doggy Dogg World" -
The Epitome of Sound In the 1960's, the Megatons were a Motown/Soul style group from New Jersey, USA who were made up of 4 musicians (all White Men), and 1 lead singer (a Black Man). The instrumentation included; bass, drums, guitar, and organ. The group performed in various nite-clubs throughout Jersey and had a large following of fans. In 1967, three of the group members (Bob Ligatino, bass, Eddie Dill, aka Eddie Charles, guitar, and Eugene Thomas, lead singer, decided to make some p -
The Esquires: The Family Tradition Continues. The Musical Legacy of one of Milwaukee’s finest harmony group’s is being kept alive by their children. The original Esquires were a vocal group from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, originally formed in 1957 as a high school group by Gilbert (Gil) Moorer, his brother Alvis, and their sister Betty. They originally began performing under the group name of Betty Moorer & The Esquires. The Esquires (from left) Sam Pace, Milla -
A LESSON IN PERFCTION - CREATING A MUSICAL MASTERPIECE By Dave Moore At last year’s New Century Soul 10th Anniversary Allnighter we had the pleasure of the company of 2 Philadelphia Legends, Bunny Sigler and Ronnie Walker. I was lucky enough to spend the week with them and Martha, Bunny’s wife, as we chaperoned them from airport to rehearsals to gig etc resulting in finally seeing Bunny sing a whole Northern set. Well folks...it’s that time of year again! When Chris Waterman gave -
Owls, Snow And Lil' Ole Me..... Posted by The Golden 101, 02 December 2010 Sheffield Wednesday takeover, excellent news, a Saudi Billionaire? Er no....it's Milan Manderic. Oh well, at least he was the best option at the time and, we are fairly debt free. Bye Bye Co-op bank. Got a really busy December with gigs in Stoke at the Queens, Basford on Saturday December 4th, the Christmas Party at the Westgate Suites,Westgate, Long Eaton, then the All Nighter at the Kings Hall
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Following on from the Graham Warr thread, I figured that this is the time to start collating some of those UNBELIEVABLE U.S. Northern finds. Or unbelievable disappointments too. From experience, it's quite often the unexpected ones which turn out to be killers! So here's an example from me, just to kick things off.... In 1988 I was stuck in a pretty boring job in between my more exciting jobs when I got a phone call from my ex boss who used to own the Warehouse in Leeds. He'd rece -
The History of the Fabulous Peps by Joe ( Pep) Harris. Although we were inevitably mistaken for Gladys Knight's Pips, The Peps were vocally more akin to The Impressions, but pigeonholing them as another opportunistic copycat group would be a mistake, their high-energy live performances defined the 60's all-singing-all-dancing groups that relentlessly toured the USA during that go-go decade. The three of us turned professional at Thelma Records around 1962, cutting a few 45s and doing b -
The Holidays and Debonaires - A Marriage Made in Detroit by Rob Moss Motown's purchase of Golden World Records Inc. in September 1966 created considerable turbulence among the artists, musicians, producers and technicians associated with the sequested company. Speculation persists as to owner Ed Wingate's actual willingness to sell, having refused on several occasions, and the possible involvement of 'outside' organisations in applying pressure on him to bring about the move, as well as pro -
THE INDEPENDENTS – JUST AS LONG – THE COMPLETE WAND RECORDINGS - CD REVIEW “Group/ Smooth Soul, Soul” is style description that the Independents fall under in to in the ‘All Music Guide to Soul’, which goes on to add that they “specialised in almost melodramatic, overwrought, but perfectly performed love songs”, something that is clearly defined in the twenty-two tracks of this recently issued Kent cd. Perhaps not one of the top acts to come out of Chicago, they just manged a couple of -
IVY JO HUNTER Motown’s phenomenal success in the 1960s was due, in large part, to the abundance of talented songwriters the company nourished and nurtured from within. From his own experience in the 1950s with Jackie Wilson, Berry Gordy Jnr. knew that good songs were the lifeblood of commercial musical success for a record company. It didn’t matter how talented the performers, musicians or producers might be — without great songs, it would all be for nought. In the early days, the bulk of c -
Further to the two articles I've previously posted about the early Blues & Soul Magazine I've dug out my copy of the Jazz Scene Magazine from August 1962, I was a sprightly 15 year old at that time. It cost me one shilling and sixpence! I bought it because Ray Charles was on the cover. I've recently re-read the Alexis Korner article ‘Tin Pan Alleleujah’ and I thought it was interesting because he was clearly trying to come up with a word for the fusion of Gospel & R&B that bec -
Just a highlight word about a recently stumbled upon youtube 1967 video that may be of interest. The video is simply titled 'The Cheetah', which doesn't really give a lot away but as the clip plays it turns out to be a 24 min documentary type programme from 1967 concerning itself with a 1960s/70s New York club... The Cheetah. At first, it starts off with a familiar 60s hip groovy scene sort of vibe 'The Cheetah: A Mod Mecca' says the screen, followed by a couple of minutes of two c -
THE JOLSON FACTOR - The Cultural relevance of UK/US POP Covers of 1960s SOUL ORIGINALS. If one chooses, the release of a product, albeit a record or any other commodity can always be viewed merely as a mechanical stab at a given commercial market. Were the social and political circumstances surrounding the life experiences of 1950s and 60s Black Americans on a par with white Americans, then it would be fair to apply the same framework to the question regarding the relevance of White Cover v
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The Just Bros Story by Rob Moss Site note - this article was originally published on Soul Source in full back in 2006, it was clipped approx 2012 at the author Rob Moss's request. Rob here in 2023, has just given us the ok to revive and re-publish this and others in full. This is the first revived one and the plan is to revive the others on a weekly basis. The Just Bros Story by Rob Moss As a Northern Soul anthem, "Sliced Tomatoes" by the Just Brothers stands alone. It re -
The Legend Lenis Guess Lenis Guess born in Norfolk Virginia; Lenis Guess have lived in New York City for the past 25 years, He completed his first Rhythm and Blues Album entitled “ I Can’t Leave Your Love Alone,"Working for My Baby" and also two gospel CD’s entitled, “ Thinking About Jesus” and” Spiritual Warfare.” Lenis is also a actor, play producer, composer, instructor, and have completed many DVD's and CD's; He has also produced a cable T.V. show called “ Spirit Train, and five musical
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The Manchester Wheelers: A Northern Quadrophenia - Review THE MANCHESTER WHEELERS -A Northern Quadrophenia by Dave SOULPUBLICATIONS 2008 300pp, £15 ISBN: 1-4392-2163-4 13:9781439221631 A Review by Mark "Oggie" Orridge. I am too young to have visited Manchester and its All Night R&B and Soul sessions in the 1960's.However, Dave, in the novel The Manchester Wheelers made me feel like I was actually there in 1964 at the Brazennose Street T -
The Martiniques a short lived three 45 group from Detroit and if some believe LA. Detroit has produced many wonderful obscure acts who recorded a few 45s (sometimes less) and then disappeared with very little known about them. The Martiniques were one such group and until recently nothing was known, just assumptions and myths. There was also confusion over the various recordings and doubts they were the same group, Danceland and Me-O for instance. Thanks to Andy Alonzo one of the membe -
The Marvin Smith Story Contents: Introduction Interview (August 2014) (The Unissued Songs) Discography Wilton Concert Details The Marvin Smith Interview Introduction This is an article based on an interview with Marvin Smith this year. Marvin was better known by his time as lead singer of the Artistics, so I will first give a little background of Marvin as lead singer of the Artistics, and his solo recordings. click to view in full -
THE MOST SOUGHT AFTER RARE NORTHERN This list contains what I consider the most sought after and rare original release Northern soul 45s at this point in time. It contains some seriously rare 45s and includes many that have been deemed to be ‘the hot collectable to have’. Records that have eluded collectors over the many years of searching for them and the ones that keep you awake at night, brooding if you’ll ever own them. The records are not listed in any particular order, just as they -
The MVP’s 1971 release for the Buddah label, “Turning My Heart Beat Up” has become one of the most iconic records to have ever been spun on The Northern Soul Scene, due to its inclusion as part of the soundtrack of Granada Televisions 1977 documentary, ‘This England”. On the much maligned night their camera’s entered the underground nocturnal world of Wigan Casino. There have been several different schools of thought throughout the ensuing decades as to whom the group really were? From clai
