Who Who Were Don & Bob-Who Sang "good Morning Little School Girl" On Argo Records?

[Robbk]

The songwriters listed on the record were Level and Love. Could their names have been Don Level and Bob Love? In the late 1970s and early '80s with Airwave Records, I worked with a singer named Don Level, who was in his late 40s at that time, and was from Chicago.

Does anyone know their full names and who produced the record and where it was recorded? Was it an in-house Chess production, or an independent one, picked up by Chess? Any information would be appreciated.

[Robbk]

I now see that there is a young rapper also Named Don Level. I wonder is he is the Chicago Don Level's son?

[Guest Dave Turner]

Robb, a lot of info here for ya

https://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/southernsoul/message/64205

[Ceejay]

Robb, a lot of info here for ya

https://launch.groups...l/message/64205

Thanks for posting this up.................tried to get some info on Bob & Don a while ago and came up with nothing!!! Very sad reading about the royalties issue!!!

Cheers, Carol

[Robbk]

Thanks Dave. It's a small World. At Airwave, we were working with Don on two songs to release, but things got in the way, and we never released them: ( "Swept Away" and "Love Just Let Me Down Again"). Both were ballads, and non NS material, but quite good quality Soul. So, his son, Don Junior IS the successful Rapper!

Edited July 11, 2012 by RobbK

[Roburt]

Bob was Rudy Love's dad (of Rudy Love & Company Soul on Canyon). The family's hometown was Wichita, Kansas.

The official website for Rudy Love was .... https://www.rudylove.com

May still be, I ain't checked it in ages (should be some info on his dad on there).

Edited July 11, 2012 by Roburt

[Roburt]

Rudy's web site seems to have disappeared.

I met up with him in New York about 8 to 10 years back & got loads of info on him but apart from posting some of it up on the net (on an old SDF thread I think), I never did get around to writing the full article I intended to do back then.

Rudy worked with Sly Stone (& the Family Stone) in the mid 70's ... he was Sly's musical director & assisted on one of the group's albums.

Rudy's son was also in the music biz; Wade Love (the Wade Love Band).

[Roburt]

BTW, the UK released Manhattan label LP 'Can I Change My Mind' attributed to Tyrone Davis (# MAN 5034) actually featured unissued Canyon tracks cut by Rudy Love & Company Soul. Some of the group's songs (that feature on the album) were used by the Canyon / Soul Clock team for the Whispers which rather pissed off Rudy !!!. That Manhattan label LP was released here in the UK in September 1980.

In 1980, a number of albums were released in the UK on the Manhattan label. Two of these purportably contained tracks by Doris Duke (plus friends) and Tyrone Davis. However, none of the tracks included on the album attributed to Doris Duke & Friends ('Funky Fox') were actually by Doris. The cuts contained on the LP were actually 1960's Chicago recordings made for Monk Higgin's Sack label by Mamie Glore, Bobby Jean Bland & Tyrone Davis.

Although some tracks by Tyrone Davis were included on the album attributed to Doris Duke, none of the tracks on the LP credited to Tyrone were actually by him.

[Robbk]

I have some of Rudy's records. I never knew his father was Bob love. It's not only a small World, but a small business!

[Roburt]

Rudy went on to front Rudy Love & the Love Family (mid 70's on Calla) and then cut loads more stuff that he released on his own label in the 80's / 90's.

He was living in Vegas last I heard & I have copies (somewhere) of all his issued & many of his unissued recordings.

[Robbk]

The two Argo cuts sound like they could have been cut in Chicago. It's significant that there was no Music Publisher that shared the rights with Chess' Arc Music, as they normally did when Chess leased recordings from the original release label. So, it seems that, perhaps Don and Bob brought their songs to Chess in Chicago, were signed and recorded there. I know that Don later moved there. No producers were listed on Chess records, so we don't know who ran the session. That was before Ter-Mar Studio was set up, so, I guess it was recorded at Universal Sound Studios.

[Roburt]

............. Q & A with Rudy Love ...........

QUESTION: How did he get into singing?? Church/school? Did the family move to LA?

Rudy Love: My dad was a great gospel singer. I fell into his footsteps. His name was Robert Love. His group was on the Chess Record Label under the group name Don and Bob. They wrote, performed and recorded the great song "Good Morning Little School Girl" in 1961 which has been recorded by Eric Clapton, Five Yard Birds, Taj Mahal and many more.

I started off at an early age singing in church. I had my own groups named Junior Canaanites and Junior Brotherhood to name a few all patterned after my fathers group. In high school my groups were Doug and the Intruders, John and the Interpretations, and in college my group was called The Jades.

Rudy Love: No my family never moved to L.A. We are from Wichita, KS. At the age of 17 my band the Company Soul moved to L.A.

Q: How did he land the record deal with Canyon in L.A?

Rudy Love: I was walking down the street and I saw Tyrone Davis, Barry Dispenza and Caldwell Wolfork in a limousine. I had met them in Chicago when I worked with Little Richard. I got in the car and they took me to introduce me to Wally Roker Dee Ervin and brother Renny Roker who owned Canyon Records. I song for them a little and they signed a deal that night. The songs were: "If You Wanna Keep Him", "Where Have You Been Hidin", "I Gotta Tell Somebody", "After Lovin You", "Happiness", "Your Love Is So Doggone Good", "You've Become A Part of Me", "I'll Take You All The Way There", "Home", "Seems Like I Gotta Do Wrong".

Q: Who were the members of Company Soul (his family??)

Rudy Love: The members of Company Soul were: Raymond Fowler, W.L. Mitchell, Kenney Witherspoon, Grover Level, Charles Wakefield, Wendell Jones, Robert Hardyway, Steve Johnson, Ace Love, Joe Lotson, Sylvan Watson and Louie Caldwell.

Q: How many tracks did he cut for Wally Roker's Canyon? What can he recall about Wally, Dee Irwin (Ervin) & Art Freeman?

Rudy Love: I do not recall how many tracks at this time.

Wally was the president of the company and I remember him being very experienced in the laws of music business. He was very well connected.

Dee was very talented and very astute and he took me around and showed me a lot about the business and some of it the hard way. Art was a talented arranger.

Q: Are all the tracks on the above UK LP indeed by Rudy??

Rudy Love: I am singing on all of the tracks. I co-wrote half of them with there staff and my staff.

Q: Why did he cut 3 covers of Whispers tracks??

Rudy Love: The record company was smart in publishing. I actually did not cover them they covered me. Mine was never released. The Whispers learned from me and chose the songs based on my performance. They used me to sell them to other people, bigger stars. I have done a lot of that in my life.

Q: How did he get the deal with Earthquake Records, was it arranged by Dee Irvin after Canyon folded?

Rudy Love: Dee Ervin was working for Ray Charles and Ray Charles funded Earthquake Records. Yes it was arranged by Dee Ervin after Canyon folded.

Q :( Big) Dee Ervin released the 45 on Rudy; "Then I Found You" on his Kent-Modern distributed Earthquake label. What does he remember about this & the people involved (Earl Foster, David Braithwaite, and Ruth Robinson)?

Rudy Love: Ruth Robinson worked for Ray Charles. David Braithwaite was Ray Charles engineer. It was all done in Ray Charles studio at 2107 Washington Blvd in LA. Earl Foster was one of Earthquakes artists and who was a great musician and a great friend of mine.

Q: Did he record any more before Calla in 1976??

Rudy Love: I have done tons of recordings before 1976.

Q: How did he get signed to Calla Records. When was the Love Family group formed??

Rudy Love: A friend of mine Vernon Burrough from my home town introduced me to a lot of people, one of them being Tony Sylvester with the Main Ingredient who introduced me to Nate McCalla and Bob Currington. They took our song "Does Your Mama Know You Do This" and signed us on the basis of hearing this song, and the rest is history.

The Love Family Band was formed right after my band Company Soul started to disband; I decided to teach members of my own family to perform. Donald Duck Lattin suggested that I name the Company Soul band the Love Family Band. He told me that anyone or anything that I work with from now on will be secondary to me.

Since 1976, most of the leadership for Love Family was done by Rudy and Bob Love. Bob Love is the President of Rudy Love Productions and Love Fam Music BMI. Bob wrote the song "That Girl is Dangerous" for the movie That Summer in LA. Bob has recorded with Sly Stone, George Clinton, The Gap Band and The Love Family. Bob performs lead and background vocals. He is a songwriter, producer and percussionist.

Q: Where were the Calla tracks cut, NY?? Does he remember the good ballad cut "Housewife Blues"?

Rudy Love: The Calla tracks were cut in L.A., New York, Muscle Shoals, Alabama and Wichita, KS.

Of course I do remember Housewife Blues. Jessica Cleaves was married to my friend Vernon Burrough (WRONG SPELLING). She sang with Earth Wind and Fire, Friends of Distinction, Brides of Funkenstein, and Parliament Funkadelic. She was also married to George Clinton.

Q: What can he remember about the Calla sessions & producers, arrangers, musicians involved (Tony Sylvester, Bert DeCoteaux, Randy Muller, Norman Harris, members of EW&F + Crusaders)

Rudy Love: I always worked with the finest of people at Calla including the Persuaders who recorded my song "Hey Sister" that I co-produced. This was a hit song for them.

Q: Any more recordings in the 70's after Calla? If so, details??

Rudy Love: Yes we recorded many more. We mostly recorded with Sly Stone, George Clinton, the Gap Band, Vann Morrison, Bobby Womack, Bill Wyman, Billy Preston, New Riders of the Purpose Age, and pilot vocals for Clayton Ivy, Ruth Robinson, and a lot of our own record labels.

Q: What can Rudy remember about his time at Motown? Was he based out of LA or at Motown South in Muscle Shoals with Terry Woodford and Clayton Ivey.

Rudy Love: Motown South was just getting started and they used me for pilot vocals for Alabama, Soul Sisters, Ronny Millsap, Clarence Carter, Ruth Busy, Thelma Houston, Temptations, Marvin Gaye. I also was a pilot vocal for a song "Baby Won't You Bring Your Love to Me" for Michael Jackson but it was not released. I met Terry Woodford and Clayton Ivey in L.A. while working with Susan DePasse and Bottom and Company.

Q: Did he only perform 'scratch' vocal duties. Were no sessions meant to result in tracks on Rudy himself??

Rudy Love: I recorded for Calla and for myself where some was not released. I recorded and produced for a country western artist, Andy Summers.

Edited July 11, 2012 by Roburt

[Roddy]

In 1961, Don Level and Bob Love, as the R&B duo "Don & Bob", recorded a different version of "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" for Argo Records, a Chess subsidiary.^[4] Although it uses the phrase "good morning little schoolgirl", the song has different chord changes and lyrics, including references to popular dance styles of the time.^[5] The Yardbirds with Eric Clapton later covered this version of "Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl" for their second UK single in 1964.^[5] The song reached #49 in the UK^[6] and although the single was not released in the U.S., it was included on the Yardbirds' first American album, For Your Love. A live version of the song was included on Five Live Yardbirds, which featured "Eric [Eric Clapton] and Sam [Paul Samwell-Smith] singing together and" lead singer Keith Relf "not singing".^[7] The Yardbirds versions were credited to "H.G. Demarais",^[8] although some later reissues are credited to Sonny Boy Williamson; the performing rights organization BMI^[9] lists the Don & Bob version writers as Level and Love.

[Guest TONY ROUNCE]

...when Rod Stewart recorded 'Good Morning Little Schoolgirl' around the same time as the Yardbirds did their studio cut, he followed the melody and most of the lyrics from John Lee 'Sonny Boy' Williamson's original version.

Which goes like this:

[media=]

It's not really true to say that Don and Bob only took the title from Sonny Boy The First's song as there are other similarites and a few other borrowed lyrics. But they certainly made their own record out of it - and a damn' fine one at that - so I hope they both got at least a few dollars in royalties out of their version, which I'm almost certain WAS recorded in Chicago as speculated on above....

Going right OT now, but Bob Dylan borrowed the tune from SBW1's 'School Girl' for 'Obviously Five Believers', from his "Blonde On Blonde" album. The track credits just 'Dylan' as the composer...

Edited July 12, 2012 by TONY ROUNCE

[Steve G]

I wonder where Rudy's "Housewife blues" 45 fits in (much better than it sounds).....

[boba]

I have the super rare soul brothers on kanwic which is rudy love's first recording. Dante C in Chicago has pretty much every Wichita soul record but still doesn't have that one...

re: wichita soul, the Smart Brothers and their related records are from there, also Chuck Walker, who was on 20th Century and who had an excellent deep soul / group 45 as chuck walker and the VIPs on Virgo.

[Roburt]

Steve, "Housewife Blues" gets a mention in post #12 -- from what Rudy told me, the song's theme seemed to be inspired by Jessica Cleaves.

Bob, I spent hours talking with Rudy & he never once mentioned the Kanwic 45. His 1st 45 on Canyon ("Sufferin Wrath") has enjoyed quite a bit of exposure here in the UK over the last few years.

[boba]

Steve, "Housewife Blues" gets a mention in post #12 -- from what Rudy told me, the song's theme seemed to be inspired by Jessica Cleaves.

Bob, I spent hours talking with Rudy & he never once mentioned the Kanwic 45. His 1st 45 on Canyon ("Sufferin Wrath") has enjoyed quite a bit of exposure here in the UK over the last few years.

Dante told me it was his first record and he has hung out with rudy. The record is very weird.

[Ljblanken]

...when Rod Stewart recorded 'Good Morning Little Schoolgirl' around the same time as the Yardbirds did their studio cut, he followed the melody and most of the lyrics from John Lee 'Sonny Boy' Williamson's original version.

Which goes like this:

[/media]

It's not really true to say that Don and Bob only took the title from Sonny Boy The First's song as there are other similarites and a few other borrowed lyrics. But they certainly made their own record out of it - and a damn' fine one at that - so I hope they both got at least a few dollars in royalties out of their version, which I'm almost certain WAS recorded in Chicago as speculated on above....

Going right OT now, but Bob Dylan borrowed the tune from SBW1's 'School Girl' for 'Obviously Five Believers', from his "Blonde On Blonde" album. The track credits just 'Dylan' as the composer...

...this sounds like the basis for Junior Well's version on the "hoodoo man blues" LP with buddy guy. i was hoping to find a 45 of that version because i would totally DJ it! he totally makes the song sound SO CREEPY when he sucks the air in between his teeth. totally awesome.

Edited July 15, 2012 by ljblanken

[slimharpo]

The two Argo cuts sound like they could have been cut in Chicago. It's significant that there was no Music Publisher that shared the rights with Chess' Arc Music, as they normally did when Chess leased recordings from the original release label. So, it seems that, perhaps Don and Bob brought their songs to Chess in Chicago, were signed and recorded there. I know that Don later moved there. No producers were listed on Chess records, so we don't know who ran the session. That was before Ter-Mar Studio was set up, so, I guess it was recorded at Universal Sound Studios.

Don & Bob's GMLS was issued in the UK about 63ish on a PYE R&B ep along with tracks from Muddy waters etc. The sound was poor, subdued for some reason, possibly recorded from vinyl instead of the masters? It may have been this exposure of the song that the British groups picked up on. There is a Fats Domino 45 Little Schoolgirl Are You Going My Way which sounds closer to the SBW version to me. Isn't there another Argo 45 by Don & Bob?

[Robbk]

Don & Bob's GMLS was issued in the UK about 63ish on a PYE R&B ep along with tracks from Muddy waters etc. The sound was poor, subdued for some reason, possibly recorded from vinyl instead of the masters? It may have been this exposure of the song that the British groups picked up on. There is a Fats Domino 45 Little Schoolgirl Are You Going My Way which sounds closer to the SBW version to me. Isn't there another Argo 45 by Don & Bob?

Yes there was,-: Argo 5373 Don and Bob "Shy Guy" / "Little Red Schoolhouse" 1960

Usually, the standard artist contract provided for release of one 45, followed by the record company option on the artists second release. Sometimes the company took that option (especially if the first release sold well), and other times the company chose not to spend the money on a second release. In this case, the second release sold much more. But, yet, a second contract was not offered.

Edited July 16, 2012 by RobbK

[Guest TONY ROUNCE]

Don & Bob's GMLS was issued in the UK about 63ish on a PYE R&B ep along with tracks from Muddy waters etc. The sound was poor, subdued for some reason, possibly recorded from vinyl instead of the masters?

Pye International dubbed almost everything that they put out on on 45 and EP from disc, as did Stateside.

Pye International also dubbed virtually all of their albums from disc but Stateside tended to use mastertapes on single artist albums, although their compilations were normally made up of disc dubs.

The sound on Don & Bob on the EP isn't as bad as you make it out to be, and certainly not much worse than the mushy quality on the Argo 45.

[slimharpo]

Pye International dubbed almost everything that they put out on on 45 and EP from disc, as did Stateside.

Pye International also dubbed virtually all of their albums from disc but Stateside tended to use mastertapes on single artist albums, although their compilations were normally made up of disc dubs.

The sound on Don & Bob on the EP isn't as bad as you make it out to be, and certainly not much worse than the mushy quality on the Argo 45.

Thanks Tony. I bought the EP as a new release and thought it sounded 'muffled' then before I knew how records were made! I have since bought the Argo 45 and my copy sounds great, not 'mushy' or muffled. A truly great track IMO.