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An interesting article shows up online via the Cincinnati.com website, not just looking at the story behind Junior McCants but passing on news of a upcoming panel discussion at the library called “Listen to This: The Mystery of Soul Singer Junior McCants” A preview below of the article and the link to the full article follows.... Commercially, that was true. From 1965 until it closed Cincinnati operations in 1971, the Hardest Working Man in Showbiz kept King alive with Top 40 sm -
Press Release: The New Creation “The Fish Song/Elijah Knows” SJ541 Release Date: Monday 28thJanuary 2019 The New Creation were a five piece ensemble made up of family members Robert James Randle (Aka Rasheed Shakoor Sr) his son Keith Randle (aka Rasheed Shakoor Jr) their nephew/cousin Mel Houston. Mel’s stepfather William Cooper (aka Wali Ali) and a fifth unrelated member only remembered as Wayne E-2X. The creator of The New Creation was William Cooper a guitarist who -
MD 117 – Blinded by Pride / I Found A Love – The Sensations At MD Records, our main mission has always been to ensure that the music we release is handled fairly and ethically. We put a significant amount of effort behind the scenes to ensure that all legal requirements are met before we make a release public. Sometimes, this task can become challenging when dealing with tracks that come with limited information. This challenge becomes even more pronounced when many of the people who contri -
We’re thrilled to unveil the professionally produced trailer for The Embers: The Bobby Tomlinson Story! This video captures the heart and soul of Bobby’s journey with one of the most iconic bands in Carolina Beach Music history. Take a sneak peek into the stories, the music, and the legacy that have inspired generations. So you like beach music1+++.mp4 -
Much of what we know of the group The Admirations is already “out there” but scattered across the internet. I decided to pull together what we know of the group into one article. The groups discography and gaps in their story was discussed at length on Soul Source, instigated in particular by Timmy Leonard (R.I.P.) from Brussels and other members of Soul Source contributing. Robert Pruter was a valuable source as was Secret Stash who had access to One-Derful masters and the associated labels -
THE PASSIONS By E. Mark Windle One of the most popular and rarest 1960s girl group 45 discoveries with northern soul appeal is without a doubt The Passions for their “If You See My Baby” (Elvitrue & Satelite 177). What was known before this piece of detective work commenced was that Elvitrue was an independent record label out of 1108 (1-2) South 7th Street, Wilmington NC. Set up in 1959, it was owned by John Lewis Jones and possibly James Wheeler. It had a most sporadic recording histo -
The Post Wigan Years By Karl ‘Chalky’ White Much has been written about the Northern Soul scene up to the demise of The Wigan Casino, but very little has actually been written about what followed. For many, the scene died when Wigan Casino closed its doors for the final time. These same people would perversely discover that the scene was far from dead and that a hard-core crowd had continued to keep the flame burning and in the process, had taken the scene back underground with an aggress -
The recent Live 8 thing made me realise just how lucky we are. Unlike those unfortunate millions who happily accept and enjoy geriatric rockers churning out the same old tried, tested and then tried again rubbish at every conceivable excuse for a benefit concert, we enjoy a style of music that seems to be constantly evolving, developing and expanding. Whether it be records you didn't know before, or missed when they were first 'discovered', obscurities on tiny labels that have only recently come
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In a radio interview with Richard Searling from Memphis, Tennessee in 2000, Jack Ashford said the following with regard to the conclusion and closure of Pied Piper Productions “ Gerard Purcell — he was the person that got us into RCA, was putting pressure on Shelley (he didn’t like Shelley) cause he wanted to get Mike and I. So he figured if he got rid of Shelley then it would be easier to deal with us, but we saw that coming and so we couldn’t convince Shelley to stay — so Shelley bowed out. Mi -
By Mark Windle (April 2020). “Looking back, I’m really proud of what we achieved in the 1960s” reflected the late Nelson Lemmond of The Tempests. “We made some great R&B. And played with some great talent too. We never performed with Otis or Wilson. But pretty much everybody else in between. At the end of the day though, things started to change. Otis had died, Martin Luther King had been assassinated. Civil unrest was everywhere and there was a militant atmosphere, even in the more pro -
Richard A. Brookes was born on the 13th of May 1940 in Chattanooga, Tennessee as the eleventh child of John Wesley and Mattie Stephens Brooks. While attending The Howard High School he formed a vocal group known as the Pleasures with Richard wooing his audiences as a juvenile Elvis impersonator. Later Richard joined his older brother Arthur’s group ‘The Four Roosters And A Chick’ their line up being Arthur Brooks, Fred Cash, Sam Gooden, Emanuel Thompson and his sister Catherine Thompson. Bo -
THE RICHARD CAITON STORY Compiled by David and Val Box 2016 With a lot of help from Richard Caiton, Garry J. Cape and Paul Mooney Ask an American soul fan to name their favourite New Orleans’ artists, and they will probably choose Allen Toussaint, Lee Dorsey, The Meters, Irma Thomas and Robert Parker. Ask a European or Japanese soul fan the same question and they are more likely to select Willie Tee, or an even lesser known artist such as Richard Caiton, a forgotten figure -
The Road To Wigan Casino By Vivien Goldman Originally published in NME Date of publication: 11 October 1975 Up T'NORTH, they don't like London journalists snooping about. Still, this was a special occasion at the shrine of the " Northern Soul Scene." So it was that VIVIEN GOLDMAN took... THE YOUNG boy sitting cross-legged on the edge of the stage looked as if he was about to throw up. It was 4:30 a.m. at the Wigan Casino. He looked as if he should have been in bed hours ago, but here
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The Second Monkey!!!!! Look back Well got there in the end, a bit slower starting this time, but come midnight it was case of Monkey a go go, with the main room full and kicking. As always great sets from regs Andy Rix and Rob Thomas, guests Guy H, Ally M and Phil B did the hardest to give us overload of quality soul Second Room got off to a cracking first one, thanks to the efforts of the 4 guest second room djs And as always big thanks to all members who helped, supported, turned up and made
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Joey Jefferson is a well known producer and label owner that released many excellent 60s soul sides. Breakthrough & Mutt & Jeff are two of Joey’s labels that are of the most interest to Rare & Northern Soul collectors. The most highly sought after 45 on Breakthrough is of course by “No One Else Can Take Your Place” by the Inspirations. Over the years myths and misinformation has surrounded the recording. Johnny Hendley who recorded solo on Mutt & Jeff and later on TIE as John & -
Over the years whilst looking over Soul Source you may have noticed long time member boba regularly posting up the latest details of his weekly radio shows titled "Sitting In The Park". As the list of interviews with soul artists seems to be ever increasing we thought it may be a interesting thing if we ask Bob A for some background on both himself and the shows. Chalky got pm-ing Bob and they put together the below... The story of Bob Abrahamian and his radio show Sitting In The Park. -
THE LARRY BANKS & THE SERVICEMEN STORY The Servicemen, four members of the US Airforce and one from the US Army, were a highly talented vocal group. However with just a few releases to their name and two or three other songs in the can they didn’t find the fame their talent deserved….at least not in the USA. However, several thousands of miles away in the United Kingdom, in clubs up and down the country DJs and dancers sought out worshiped The Servicemen and their records b -
Leonard Jones and FAST TRACK STUDIOS. When the Motown Corporation packed up and left town in 1972 a giant void was left in Detroit's musical landscape. A company that had dominated the city for over 20 years, generating millions of dollars for the local economy and employing hundreds of people over the decades, had suddenly gone. Some members of the famed 'Funk Brothers', Motown's legendary studio band, as well as various other employees, followed Berry Gordy to Los Angeles, some stayed in D -
One of the quirks of the UK soul scene has always been the acceptance of 'blue-eyed' soul sounds as part and parcel of its many factions. Indeed some 'Northern' classics are sung by white artists and we see and hear many tunes emanating from the Carolina's 'Shag' scene as worthy additions. By and large the tunes must have that 'black' sound reminiscent of the groups and artists from Detroit, Chicago, New York and beyond who are so familiar to us. Whilst most of the blue-eyed efforts easily ident -
The Tempests By E. Mark Windle The Tempests were a very popular band from around Charlotte NC, which ran from 1963 to the mid seventies, with frequent personnel changes (up to twenty five members in its history). They were an all white line up except for their lead vocalists. The earliest version named The Tempest Band recorded “Love Have Mercy”on Atlantic, with Mike Williams on vocals. At this time they were under the management of female DJ and entrepreneur Hattie Leepe -
The Tempos Story by Rob Moss The TEMPOS Story The lineage of vocal groups, male and female, in the 1950s and 60s can be as difficult to establish as any family tree. Line-ups would frequently change as individual members came and went, group names could be dropped and replaced completely or entirely different personnel brought in to replace decampers. On a few occasions in the 1960s several different groups, with the same name, managed to co exist. An entire book, devoted to the variou -
This week we turn our attention to the wonderful Temptations as our Artist of the Week. The incredible recording career of the members of this group has witnessed various line up changes over the years - so difficult to choose a favourite! The Temptations Discography (Soulful Kinda Music Link) >>> THE TEMPTATIONS <<< The Group, The Various Lead Vocals & Solo Performance, etc. -
The term Northern Soul means so..... A post in the "all about soul" forum by soul source long timer in town mikey that just needed to be lifted For me the term Northern Soul, means so much more than just the music. I dont mean 'just the music' in a derogatory way. Northern Soul encompasses the whole concept of the scene. The camaradrie that spills out into our whole life away from clubs and record bars. The type of person even willing to endure some of the lengths we go to,
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The There's That Beat! Guide To The Philly Sound (Dave Moore and Jason Thornton) Review by Mark Windle Yes, this tome has been a long time coming. And in two ways. Not only reflected by the journey author Dave Moore and graphic designer Jason Thornton have had from book conception to publication, spanning over at least six-plus years I believe - although the precursors which got them there cross a lifetime of a love of soul music, and at that, on both sides of the Atlantic. A book lik -
I Found It All In You - The Trey J's Story The Trey J’s were a vocal duo which featured James Binford and Joseph Smith. James Binford originally from Indianapolis, Indiana began singing in various local Doo-Wop and church ensembles from the age of 9. Something he continued to do after enlisting in the Marine Corps as a 17 year old, often performing in Officers clubs where he was stationed. He also ventured out of camp to perform in local clubs, building a solid reputation as a perfor -
There's a plethora of books readily available on the subject of "Northern Soul". I've ploughed through a good number of them....they're mainly (not all) personal memoirs of the Scene back in the 70's and most of them are poorly written, turgid affairs which rely on photographs to carry them. Most of them are fixated with Wigan Casino. There are exceptions, of course, but not many. 'The Truth About Northern Soul' is Stephen Riley's analysis of the Scene, warts and all, from it's early days and -
The Twisted Wheel- Blues and Soul - by Dave Godin A trip back to the far off past, back to that legendary club "The Twisted Wheel" The Twisted Wheel- Blues and Soul - 50 Written by Dave Godin and published in Blues and Soul issue number 50, this is an account of his visit on the "last night" read on for yet another piece of history. Thanks go out to chris for supplying original scan of this, cheers site note - orig up in Dec 99 LAND OF A THOUSAND DANCES BY so -
In 1953 Berry Gordy started a record shop with partner Marv Johnson by 1955 It had gone bust. Its name was 3-D Record Mart. Also in 1953 he married Thelma Coleman who started Thelma and Ge-Ge Records by 1956 she filed for divorce. In 1957 he co-wrote “Reet Petite” with local musician Tyran Carlo, who went under a pseudonym known as Billy Davis. It launched Jackie Wilson solo career. The first record Berry Gordy produced in 1957 “Ooh Shucks” for The Five Stars issued on George Gold
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Manchester Embraces a Son Of The Windy City At Long Last! By Dave Moore Once again New Century Soul is about to warm the cockles of Manchester’s winter hearts! Another fantastic year is to be rounded off once again in style! This time with the first ever appearance in UK of one of Chicago’s iconic voices… The voice that would grind out some of Chicago’s great urban bluesy soul songs o -
Thanks go out to rob for the review and benji for taking time with playlist, benji is one of the top northern djs from the northern scene in germany, makes the odd visit over here to the capitol and normally fits in a few spots, heres his playlist from shoes and good bloke Rob Cc view on the nite Shoes - Thursday -10 Aug 00 - benji's Plays and Rob Chadwicks words benji is one of the top northern djs from the northern scene in germany, makes the odd visit over here to the capitol an -
First time I've visited this night, so there was that extra degree of anticipation, on my journey. I arranged to meet a friend (Toby Cole) at London Bridge station, this has to do with both my intense dislike of walking and the fact its nice to go somewhere new with someone you know. Due to some technical failure the train wasn't able to stop at the London Bridge, so I had to get off at the previous stop, Blackfriars. I rang Toby and top bloke that he is, he came and got me. Not the ideal s -
They Danced All Night - Gethro Jones - ISBN 9781523393183 This is a very personal history. One which focuses on the lifestyle that became known as Northern Soul. It’s quite hard doing a review of a biography without giving the whole story away really, so I’m just going to do a quick synopsis of how the story goes, and throw in why I found it so interesting. Gethro’s story starts with a couple of very sad and heart wrenching chapters about how grim his life was, thrown into the -
The Solid Solution Story The Solid Solution were a five piece soul harmony group from Detroit Michigan. Who during 1978 recorded the highly acclaimed “Loving You” album for the short lived Silver Spoon record Label. Although at the time of the album’s release and following an initial period of local success unforeseen circumstances would eventually conspire against the group reaching the success they so richly deserved. -
Article found online about the group formed circa 1965 in San Diego and recorded "This Is The Day" on John B Kopit's" KOPIT label. This is the Day: Breaking Out of Obscurity with THE INMATES Jon Kanis sets the controls for San Diego, 1966. The Inmates, 1966. L to R: John Poppe, Steve Phillips, Gale Kellogg, Jim Conder, Lloyd (Kenji) Kozuma, Tom Kruze. [Photo: Cecil Caufield) Ugly Things Have you heard the one about the garage band from Ocean Beach, California, who, aft -
It’s been a long time since I added anything worthwhile to this site so I though I ought to pull my finger out. I haven’t been out much recently so can’t really say anything about venues although I do feel as if I am missing out on a lot at the moment! Despite that my system at home has taken plenty of hammer because the excellent tunes keep arriving. The soulful house epidemic seems to be dying down as the ratio of top quality sounds continues to reduce. It certainly seems that way t
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As often happens was doing a bit of searching, stumbled across some interesting information, it made a nice change to hear a uplifting story for a change, as sometimes when looking up artists information the stories behind the 45s can be a bit down. Thornton Sisters - The Ditchdiggers Daughters Was just looking thru ebay completed bids" the other day and noticed the Thornton Sisters 45 "I Keep Forgetting/Ooh-Poo-Pah-Doo" on the Cuppy label up there. Always been a fan of thei
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TIMMY WILLIS Information about soul vocalist Timmy Willis has always been sketchy but the singer’s “Easy As Saying 1-2-3” is such a monumental slab of deep-soul that I thought a little digging was in order. Of course, the Northern fraternity will doubtless prefer his “Mr Soul Satisfaction” and that’s their prerogative for it’s certainly a fine uptempo stomper. Timmy was born Henry Lee Sapp in or close to Columbus Ohio (date unknown but probably circa 1947/8). In 1966 the would-be voca -
Last year we (Soul Source) had the pleasure to publish a quality fully featured article by @Peternickols We now have a revised version of this article submitted by Pete To ensure that both his layout, images and text layouts are respected we have published this as a pdf version ' I have finally completed a completely new and much more detailed article on Timmy Willis. ' -
In anticipation of Peckham Soul’s upcoming 'Together' event with Belle and Sebastian's Chris Geddes, Together resident DJ Craig Jamieson was lucky enough to grab an interview. Belle and Sebastian are one of the UK's most important independent bands, picking up Brit Awards, Mercury Prize Nominations and Lifetime achievement awards along the way. But soul music has always played a role in their music. A journey into Northern Soul’s obsession – Chris tells the tale of his first Stax compilations to -
Prestatyn 2008 & Queen Vic Posted by Tony Foster, 04 March 2008 Just recovering from a busy weekend at Prestatyn. I won't bore you with the accommodation, we all know by now what to expect!!! On the whole it was a very enjoyable weekend, catching up with old friends and listening to some new and wonderful tunes, especially the time I spent in the Queen Vic. Friday night was superb especially the guys who played the hour of Ska/Reggae, I am sure that most of you would agree that by -
Prestatyn 2009 Look Back! Posted by Tony Foster, 19 March 2009 I could go into a blow by blow account of Prestatyn, but to be honest you only really want to what I found good or not so good, so here goes. Thursday (Opening night) terrific start, this night has become more popular each year with more and more people turning up for a party. This year was no exception, it was a chance to meet up with old friends and have a few beers at the bar. My good friend the rebellious John West -
Taste Of Hell Fire Posted by Tony Foster, 08 November 2010 First of all a big thank you to Captain Morgan for inviting us a long to the Taste of Honey at the Hell Fire Club, secondly a big thank you to all the wonderful friends we had the pleasure to share the day with. It's probably the first time I've walked in to a place and was speechless, it's still makes me smile while I'm writing this, check the photos out you'll know what I mean. If you've not been to the Hellfire Club th -
Obituary Tony May came from an arts-based family. His father was an actor and classically trained violinist, while his mother was a jazz pianist and composer; she wrote an Ella Fitzgerald 1939 recording. Tony learnt the piano and, as a teenager, tuned them at venues including the Harlem and Brooklyn Apollos and many other top black music night spots. This gave him an insight into the world of contemporary music. A degree course in Physical Education at Temple University didn’t work o -
Soul Junction has a forthcoming 45 release lined up from The Coalitions - The Memory of You. As part of the info side of the release the site has been passed on this informative bio of their founding member, Philadelphian William Anthony Anderson who recorded and performed under the name of "Little Tony Talent" Biography of Tony Talent Little Tony Talent, the 12 year old singing sensation.Little Tony Talent (real name William Anthony Anderson) was born in Philadelphia o -
TOO DARN SOULFUL - The story of Northern Soul by Dave Nowell Publication Date: 10th December 99 Well its getting near that time of year, just as the summer memories are being slowly added to the pile of long gone ones, the adverts on the television remind you that yeah christmas is around again, and if like me you've just released that there are no more paydays till the next century, thoughts of presents to buy spring to mind..... Well there you go seasonal intro or what, onto the -
Hi all, Well, its that time of year again Exactly 12 months since we did the last 'Top Tips' thread... so, as it's now a Soul Source tradition, here we go again! Here's your opportunity to tip the tunes in your box for future greatness, during the forthcoming year... or simply list any number of records that you'd like to recommend to other Soul Sourcers. You might be a DJ with that tasty unplayed, unknown, hardly played or semi-known 45 stuck -
TOPPS 45s — “Yeah, But Can You Play ‘Em?” The memorabilia available to collectors of Berry Gordy’s Motown and its subsidiary labels and companies covers the whole spectrum of artefacts. From rare unreleased acetates that never made it past the infamous Friday quality control meetings to The Supremes vintage advertising on wrappers of loaves of bread, the Motown collector’s thirst for all things ‘Hitsville’ knows no bounds. In the past I’ve found every type of artefact from beer glass -
First up on the web as a downloadable pdf, it was part of a feature on Phoenix music - a fascinating couple of interviews concerned with Ernie Johnson ( one half of Eddie and Ernie ) Ernie Johnson interview 7-22-04 JB - Did you sing any more last night? EJ - I did a thing by James Ingram that went over really good. The people just went wild. They've been loving this song ever since I changed the style of it. I ad lib around what he's doing and it fit in perfect. JB - What's the
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Part Four Posted by Trevski, 04 November 2008 (The ultimate Accessory) Accessories With accessories, subtle, stylish and subdued is the way to go. Flash is not cool, not attractive, not anything but naff! Neck chains, sovereign rings, bracelets, Urrghh! Horrible. A good quality, automatic watch such as Breitling, Rolex, Philipe Patek etc is not only a sound investment, but also a thing of exquisite beauty. Keeping things simple, plain, unfussy cuff-links, suc
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You Learn Sumfing New Everyday Posted by Trifle, 24 November 2005 · One Saturday at Rugby Soul Club, I learned that Young Matt Smart (and I mean young ... especially amongst the old fogies of the Soul Scene) is one helluva DJ. Smooth linking, wonderful new stuff (to me) and stuff that I hear all too seldom, including If This Isn't Love by Johnny Bartell(?). He tells me (Matt, not Johnny) he's been on the scene for erm 8 years I think, (aw bless (don't you just
