On the road at present (another short break.... but somebody has to take em) so checking up on soul facts is more diffficult than usual at present -- as is finding decent internet access -- but I'll post a few things anyway.

Miami back in the 60's was a very strange place. Loads of great shows starring soul acts BUT two very different scenes.

There was the 'white audience' shows at venues such as South Beach hotels & posh clubs where Motown & top soul acts were regular entertainers whilst the acts themselves had to find different places to both sleep, eat & watch shows (they were allowed on the hotel show room stages but couldn't have a room or meal in the self same establishment).

Then there were the places where the black audiences went; the Continental Club being just about the top of these venues.

The likes of Sam & Dave, the Professionals, Roy Hamilton, Bettye LaVette, The Laddins (aka Steinways) were regular performers in the black venues whilst the best selling Motown acts were ever present performers in the South Beach hotels.

...... But some 'strange' acts crossed over to the white venues.

An outfit that landed regular gigs on the 'white' side of the divide were the Jesse Ferguson Gospel Jazz Singers. From their name their reportoire can't have been too familiar to the audiences they were playing for. Even stranger, the group decided a change in name might land them a higher profile & recording contract. So the Gospel Jazz Singers became Jesse Lee Ferguson & the Outer Limits (& they did land that record deal).

A guy who got regular bookings on both sides of town was Chuck Jackson, he got loads of bookings in the black clubs on the strength of his Wand R&B hits. When his revue played the white hotels in the later years of the 60's, it was billed as 'the Motown Sound that's a leader on every chart'.

An 'out of town' female to play 'white' gigs was Margie Hendrix -- well known to Ray Charles fans but hardly a household name (in her own right) in the pop charts or white households. The Original Drifters were still securing 'white' gigs in 1968 but I guess more as an oldies act who performed their early 60's pop chart hits.

Another 'lesser known' act to get quite a few 'white' bookings was Teddy Washington & the Soul Searchers. I don't think this outfit had a connection to DC's Soul Searchers (but I could be wrong).

Pity you can't catch such acts in the area these days.

Edited June 4, 201212 yr by Roburt

Detroit's most dynamic stage act hit the scene (though not with a gangster lean) in 68 down in Miami.

Billy Prince tells me that they didn't actually like the club at all (the Knight Beat @ NW 6th St & 3rd Ave -- it was too small he says) but as this gig was en-route to a big show in Jamaica with a host of top acts (Johnny Taylor, Joe Simon, Solomon Burke and others) they had to do it.

He says he absolutely loved the Jamaican gig and that although the people were poor they were very nice ...

... ... he even enjoyed the 'Islands' experience after he had all his clothes stolen !!!

Edited June 7, 201212 yr by Roburt

.... Back down on Miami Beach now .... & another show at the Wreck Bar ..

.... this was of course located in the Castaways Hotel complex (Ocean & 163rd St)...

Edited June 7, 201212 yr by Roburt

Ike & Tina were playing on the 'white side of town' in April 1970 ....

The 'London Soul Revue' hits the Shelbourne Hotel's 007 Club.

The Shelbourne is an original 1940s Art Deco building on South Beach (1801 Collins Ave). It has recently been refurbished, so today it seems like a prime location to stay at on Miami Beach (though by all accounts many of the actual bedrooms still look like they are back in the 70's).

Why this show should have been badged up as 'the London Soul Revue' I have no idea other than the fact that the theme of the hotel's night club back then was James Bond-ish.

These days, the music featured at the hotel is a wee bit different ....

....

Edited June 8, 201212 yr by Roburt

.. having problems, posts loading slowly, then loading multiple times.

Edited June 8, 201212 yr by Roburt

..... Finally got the ad to post correctly ....

.. see description for the location of this April 1970 show in above post

........ Helen Glover was still on at the club.

Edited June 21, 201212 yr by Roburt

Back 'across the tracks' once again .... for a show in October 1965 ...

.. top of the bill was the 4 ft 2 inch tall song & dance man Eddie T ..

All the way back to 1958 now ... for one of Detroit's finest ...

1962 now & the proof writer obviously wasn't a music fan .....

How Claudine is mis-heard enough to put Cordine instead beats me !!

Two local acts that recorded were on this Miami charity show ...

https://www.sirshambling.com/artists_2012/S/starettes/index.php

Meanwhile ....... In 1969, back across town, a little known Detroit group were playing some gigs

Another Motown group 'down on the beach' when the Temptations were playing there ...

Ray Charles 'down on the beach' .....

Didn't know if to post this here or in the 'Artists We Know Nothing About' thread.

Is much known about Helen Glover and is the 'Miami based' lady the same one who cut for Nelber Records (working with Gil Askey who I don't think had Miami connections apart from playing live shows there at times) .......

... what if anything is known about her ??

No one know if the Nelber lady was the Miami Helen Glover then ???

Helen was still around (& singing) in Miami over 11 years later ...

The cross-dressing Jerri / Jerry Jones ....

.. down in Miami from Ohio (though she wasn't originally from there) ...

.... a right PAL (associated with BRA) ....

Direct from Chicago's 'MUSIC BOX' ...

I wonder if there is film / video footage anywhere of the dance -- the AGENT OO-SOUL -- that Mi Mi & Cal Roberts did ??

Tenor sax man Noble "Thin Man" Watts was from Florida and went to A&M University (1942). After he'd finished college he teamed up with Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams, recording with him for Jax (1952) and playing behind Dinah Washington, Amos Milburn and Ruth Brown on the mid-1950s 'Showtime at the Apollo' TV show. In 1954 Noble signed with DeLuxe, who released the 45 "Mashing Potatoes"/"Pig Ears and Rice". By 1956 he was on Vee-Jay with Paul Williams' band ("South Shore Drive") but signed a personal deal with New York based Baton Records. With his band, Noble enjoyed releases with "Easy Going", "Blast Off", "Shakin" & "Flap Jack", etc for Baton from 1957 to 1959. His biggest track was "Hard Times (The Slop)" which made it onto the US Pop charts in December 1957.

Boxer Sugar Ray Robinson had became his manager during the late '50s and remained in this role into the early '60s, Noble leading the house band at the boxer's Harlem lounge. His later releases (during the '60s) for Sir, Cub, Enjoy, Peanut, Jell, Clamike, and Brunswick enjoyed little sales success but he made a comeback in 1987 with a fresh album on Kingsnake (later picked up by Alligator). He was still recording in 1993, by then being signed to Ichiban's Wild Dog label.

During the 1960's, he still played loads of live shows and returned to Florida (Miami) for some engagements.

A local female trio ...........

Another show at the New Parisian Room featured Jesse Ferguson & the Gospel Jazz Singers ..

... this outfit later changed their name to Jesse Lee Ferguson & the Outer Limits ...

and then again to Jesse Ferguson & the Jet Setters ....

Anyone know where Jesse Lee Ferguson & the Outer Limits "New Shoes" was cut ??

As B B Cunningham Jnr was involved, I'd guess it was Memphis (or maybe Nashville) but I'm only going by BB's usual place of work & his studio / label affiliations.

The Professionals were down from Detroit .........

... but Eddie Holloway was a local ........

Not sure I fully understand the Marvel(l)s / Fabulettes story .......

I know the Mar-vels (their name seemed to get written / spelt a number of different ways) were around by 1963 and for 2/3 years they recorded under that name.

Then they were renamed (on their records & by their new record label) as the Fabulettes ... BUT .. as they already had a 'high profile' on the Miami club scene, I believe they still did live gigs in their 'home town' as the Marvells.

That's what I've been able to piece together as well.

Anyway, after cutting as the Fabulettes for around 3 more years they were reduced in number (from 4 to 3) when Annette Snell quit & headed off to New York with Paul Kelly.

So by 1969, the group were a trio and Annette Snell was a solo artist.

If anyone can add more to their story (as I have laid it out above), please feel free to do so ....

..... anyway back to the ads ..... I'm not sure if Annette Snell was still a group member for this mid July 1968 gig but the picture of the group used in the ad shows 4 members ......

I've tried to collect all the pieces of their bio here: https://boogalooinvestigator.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12:the-story-about-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-mar-vells-aka-the-fabulettes&catid=13:artists&Itemid=31

Helen Glover was still resident at the club in the Hotel Shelbourne at the end of 1969.

By then, the Hotel had redsigned their club ad a little, but it was still roughtly the same.

Seems no one here knows if this Helen Glover is the lady who cut for Nelber.

Another group in town for a show .....

Seems that Herb Reed split from Buck Ram (& the Platters) before Sonny Turner did ...

Here's Herb and his Platters .. SORRY ... and his Other Group ... doing a show in Miami back in August 1969 ....

Seems that people in Miami weren't clued up enough (even after reading the above ad) to know that Herb Reed was out of the Platters ......

... so the ad was changed a few days later to push home that point (only part of ad posted) ....

Still down on the beach .............

a strange act that seemed to play resorts such as Miami & Vegas most of the time ...

plus they made an LP that has its fans (though the tracks I've heard off it are way too MOR for me) .. anyone know much of anything bout em ....... that's THE BROTHERS RE-BORN ....

Edited June 26, 201212 yr by Roburt

Back across to the Wreck Bar at Castaways again now .......

.. a guy was on that made at least one good track .....

Both the Drifters & Herb Reed were still getting bookings down in Miami towards the end of the 60's ...

just up the road in Ft Lauderdale, the Coasters were also playing live back then ........

Edited June 27, 201212 yr by Roburt

Another 'white venue' ...... Alex's VIP Lounge ........

different entertainment was on offer here, I'd have ended up in their 'Backroom' in 1967 ....

As the Drifters might have said ,,, we're going 'down on the beach' agin .......

This time it's to the Marco Polo Hotel at Oceanfront & 192 St .....

Edited June 28, 201212 yr by Roburt

Columbus Smith (this time backed by the Chevrons) must have been locally based ....

.... as here he is on at the Wreck Bar once again, but 4 years after the show I posted an ad for above. ...

Edited June 29, 201212 yr by Roburt

Just got word from Emily at the Black Archives Org in Miami that their exhibition opened earlier this week. They used copies of some of the old Miami club ads that I had sent in the exhibition. She forwarded photos of the 'opening' of the event; some of the ads I sent have been blown up to in excess of 10 ft tall (I have them at higher definition than I post them on here .... need to make them the right size to display well here).

She will send me further updates on reaction to the exhibition as it progresses.

Edited June 30, 201212 yr by Roburt

A photo taken as the Miami Overtown exhibition was opened .....

.. the 'blow-ups' of the ads I sent along can be seen on the right hand side & across the middle at the top ...

An edited down (& much smaller) version of the tall ad shown in the exhibition photo above .....

.... (it's the wrong shape -- tall & thin -- to display properly on here really) ....

I will leave the clubs for a second .....

.. wonder what little beuts were to be found in these places back in the 60's .....

anyone here visit any of these shops back in the day ?

Edited July 1, 201212 yr by Roburt

A group that was always popular down in Miami .... the Laddins ...

... but in the rest of the US they were viewed as old hat .....

... so they reinvented themselves with a new name .... the Steinways ...

... .... and down at the Knight Beat just one week later .....

... the entire Sir John Revue package (including 'Peacocks' Little Eddie Taylor) were still on ..

... this Revue would leave the Sir John Hotel at times to tour the islands of the Caribbean.

Wow, really interesting posts, keep em coming.

Never seen a picture of The Twans before.

Any info on J.P Robinson.....Miami artist??

Aid.

Neva errrd ov imm ........... well just maybe (as I already put this up here) ....

Edited July 2, 201212 yr by Roburt

This outfit seemed to have every angle covered (they even had their own radio show) ....

.......... ....... (see post 97 for one of their 45's) .........

Edited July 3, 201212 yr by Roburt

Here's a show by a somewhat 'unknown bio' type of artist ..... Mary Hylor.

I know that she was born (I presume in Miami) around the end of the 1940's .....

.... she got into singing & cut the track "He Walked Down The Isle" which was released on MPRC (Music Production & Record Corp out of New York) in the mid 60's.

She did loads of shows from the mid to late 60's at the top Miami 'black' clubs (such as the Hampton House).

..... by the late 60's, she seemed to be getting a bit more jazzy ....

Later in life I think she got a degree, became a Doctor (not a medical one) and had a spell working on behalf of Liberia.

She was still around (& singing) in Sept 2009 when she performed for the Historic Hampton House Community Trust, Inc.

Can anyone fill in some of the gaps on her career / life ??

I don't know where they had been (probably out touring as the Fabulettes), but the Marvels (Mar-Vells) were back home at the Continental Club early in 1968 ............

..... Alberta Baker on Soul Time ......

courtesy of the Tropical Record Co.

In the 1960's, lots of Bahamians moved across to Florida ...

so it was only natural that some of the Island's entertainers would follow them over to do some shows

........ one of them was Jay Mitchell who was in MIami in the late 60's & early 70's ........

.... (and he even got to record a few tracks down at Criteria studios) ...........

NUMERO liked the stuff he laid down & so (later on) released a 12" & a VA CD with his stuff on.

Fantastic stuff John, keep 'em coming!

This one's just for Ady then .........

nobody else is allowed to look at it !!

Yet anuda un ...........