As Doris has received a couple of mentions on here very recently (one being in the Top 20 LP's thread), thought I'd ask how her stuff is viewed by US collectors ....

We 1st got to know her via her Doris Willingham Jay Boy (UK) 45 which got club plays here (67 onwards). Next we had her work with Swamp Dogg, that from 'Day One' was championed as being Deep Soul of the highest order here in the UK (Dave Godin rightly waxing lyrical on her 1st LP at every opportunity).

The album ('I'm A Loser') spawned 2 hit 45's (both on Canyon) -- "To The Other Woman" which made the national US Top 10 soul chart and "Feet Start Walking" which only just made the Top 40. Her output after the first album suffered due to her strained relationship with Swamp (they didn't get on or like each other) but more releases followed from the pairing. After Canyon Records quickly 'crashed & burnt' due to problems getting money in from distributors, the RRG label was quickly set up & a 45 from Doris escaped on the label (the tracks also being lifted from her 1st LP). Next up, Swamp secured a deal to run the Mankind label & he again worked with Doris. But I believe this LP (1971) was only really rated (at the time) here in the UK.

She moved on to cut for Mainstream & then with the British team that ran Contempo Records. In the US, her Contempo stuff was brought together for a LP release on Scepter (though "Woman of the Ghetto" had escaped on a US Sam 45).

A quiet spell followed for her, this ending in the early 1980's when a 45 Escaped on Beantown Records from up Boston way.

Her Beantown 45 (cover) track "What Will Tomorrow Bring" is not too well known (due to rarity I guess) but is again a gudun.

.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgfo-mZzGXY

So Doris was always highly rated by UK soul fans. Seeing how often she quickly moved on from record labels, perhaps she was a difficult artist to deal with (but many were). Perhaps if she had established a solid trusting studio relationship with a producer, we would have gotten to enjoy even more great cuts from her.

... ANOTHER QUESTION ....... I know she was in a few gospel outfits before recording as Doris Willingham. Did she handle lead vocal duties on any recordings by these groups / choirs ??

Can we also discuss Beantown Records on this thread ...........

The label seemed to exist for around 10 years whilst only releasing a handful of records, so it must have been more of a 'hobby' for Earl Lett than a major business venture. Another Beantown cut ..........

Earl had at least one other 45 on the label ("Love & Affection") after having sides issued in the 60's on Skippy White's Wild label.

What were the other releases on the label & have any of them been found in quantity ??

A later Earl Lett offering on Beantown (the 'opening' on this one is too gimmicky for me) ....

And this outing from Earl would seem to date from 1977 .......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsoub41RSUM

So was anyone else on the label, apart from Earl Lett & Doris Duke ??

... and how did Doris come to hook up with Earl's label ??

........ so many unanswered questions !!!

So do the above PLUS Earl Lett's 'Love Serenade' LP and the 45 below make up all the releases on Beantown Records ??

.......... or is there also a Beantown B-102 ?

..... OFF THE NET .......

Earl Lett was born in 1945 and grew up in Monroeville, Alabama. He played the sax in Ike & Tinas Kings of Rhythm Band. Lett had won the spot in their band by chance when a musician in a barbershop told him Turner was auditioning prospective members. He played for three minutes and he said "You're the Man I'm looking for". Earl played on their live recording in Carnegie Hall "What You Hear is What You Get". He also was in their movie "Soul to Soul". He left Ike and Tina's band and studied sax for a while at the Berkeley School of Music in Boston.

The Professor then headed to Nova Scotia for a few years and got a band together. He recorded this album at Audio Atlantic Studio in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1973 on Beantown Records BT105-14, a Boston record label.

He also recorded three other 45's on the Beantown label: Born With the Feelings on Beantown B-103; Green Power on Beantown B-104; and The Funky Professor b/w We Outta Get Together on Beantown B-115, all of which have become highly collectable. He also recorded a single on Wild Records: Do the Thing b/w Now is the Time.

The album Love Serenade features Earl Lett on tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone and lead vocalist; Sweet William on guitar and vocals; Grady (Youngblood) Lett on trumpet, cornet and vocals; Delbert Tipton on drums and vocals; and Nathaniel Humbert on bass and vocals. The album was produced and arranged by Earl Lett. Recording and mixing was by Al Feeney ......... the album was re-issued in 2008 in Japan on CD on P-Vine Records.

You can listen to the tracks on his LP here (& that includes a quite decent vocal cover of Al Wilson's "Show & Tell") ...........

https://www.mocm.ca/M...?TitleId=288017

Edited August 21, 201212 yr by Roburt

And this outing from Earl would seem to date from 1977 .......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsoub41RSUM

So was anyone else on the label, apart from Earl Lett & Doris Duke ??

... and how did Doris come to hook up with Earl's label ??

........ so many unanswered questions !!!

Thought that the Doris Duke was a different Beantown label,done a bit of chasing after i picked my copy up and Skippy White had never heard of the record.

Guess this is a different label (though the name is very similar) ....

.. also available on 12" is a remix version of the track.

BTW, Yvette was still performing (singing) as recently as 2010.

From a similar period -- Hypertension's "Got This Feelin" also on a Beantown 12".

Yes, I think you must be right.

Loads of things connected to Boston are titled Beantown something or other ........

So I'd say that Beantown Records, Beantown International & Beantown Music were 3 different concerns.

Slightly offtopic, but still worth noting that the first Doris Duke Lp I'm a Loser is also collected by Allman Brothers-related fans as the immense late Duane Allman plays guitar on Ghost of Myself and I can't do without you.

Duane also played on the Irma Thomas Lp on Fungus produced by Swamp Dogg