I apologise if this has been covered before and if so please direct me

I didn't know where to start really. Here I guess, at the start of my anorak madness. I was checking out a CD from 2004 (yes I know!!! a CD) I got a couple of years ago by a group called the Sirens

One of the tracks is called "Destroy That Boy" credited to Lionel Hampton (you won't like it, and I don't have a clip, but please bear with me I hope you think it gets interesting)

It was released about 30 years earlier by "The What Four ?" first track here (you can listen for an hour if you wish 😀)

I knew I knew the tune and most of you will

OK, so next

I then found this video of the same record on an acetate and someone quoted that it was actually penned (not my Mr Hampton) but Kirsten and Art Resnick

and it states connected to the Detroit label Tuba

After trying to stop my brain spinning I looked a little closer at The Happy Cats (not much on them) and of course the A side

It appears there is some connection to Ivy Hunter (fantastic story here), thanks to Robb

Unless I missed it it doesn't mention his "start" ? with Ollie Mclaughlin and a somehow connection to "The Happy Cats" and I was hoping to get some help in my quest

WHO WERE THEY ? can you fill my "boots" please

Edited April 13, 20205 yr by Blackpoolsoul

There seems to be a few subjects that I have touched on for my intended book of late and this Happy Cats topic is one of them. I thought These Boots 45 was the only release on this OMACK label, as far as I know the label derives from Ollies name, to me as much as I think and write its not a great tune for the Soul Scene (I remember it being played by Richard at Wigan for a short while) but musically I do believe its a make-up of the Funk Brothers, especially the drumming but I could be wrong. Now seeing another release with Joe Hunter's name maybe my thoughts were correct.

     There is another label ROMAC that it was thought to be Ollie connected, Clark Sullivan, (the ROMAC with the Enchanters release is not connected, that's Philadelphia)

     Yet more questions to be answered, i'm not young and cant see me living long enough to come up with all the facts, if indeed any of them.

Are you sure Lionel Hampton wrote that song?  I could see it being Riley Hampton who was working with Ollie 

McLaughlin in the mid 60's. 

Edited April 13, 20205 yr by The Yank

12 hours ago, The Yank said:

Are you sure Lionel Hampton wrote that song?  I could see it being Riley Hampton who was working with Ollie 

McLaughlin in the mid 60's. 

I am sure you are correct, it was credited to LIonel (that was elsewhere) and just said Hampton on CD credit, thanks

However as I mentioned earlier in the thread there is confusion anyway as regards credits

 

Edited April 14, 20205 yr by Blackpoolsoul

14 hours ago, Gilly said:

There seems to be a few subjects that I have touched on for my intended book of late and this Happy Cats topic is one of them. I thought These Boots 45 was the only release on this OMACK label, as far as I know the label derives from Ollies name, to me as much as I think and write its not a great tune for the Soul Scene (I remember it being played by Richard at Wigan for a short while) but musically I do believe its a make-up of the Funk Brothers, especially the drumming but I could be wrong. Now seeing another release with Joe Hunter's name maybe my thoughts were correct.

     There is another label ROMAC that it was thought to be Ollie connected, Clark Sullivan, (the ROMAC with the Enchanters release is not connected, that's Philadelphia)

     Yet more questions to be answered, i'm not young and cant see me living long enough to come up with all the facts, if indeed any of them.

I feel good finding out something you didn't 100% know 😀, that's a first

I assume you knew that Clark wrote a book (1986) and is / was a very talented artist 

It's about time you got yours done

 

Edited April 14, 20205 yr by Blackpoolsoul

As far as I know both Barbara Lewis, Hello Stranger and a couple of years later Riley Hamptons take on that song were recorded in Chicago. Riley did some arranging for early Motown songs (strings) I guess the combination could have gone in different ways ie Ollie lived in Detroit (Ann Arbour) Barbara lived in Detroit at that time, Riley in Chicago but by 65 the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) were being widely used all over Detroit inc Motown. Maybe with Riley being involved in the first release, Ollie gave him a chance for his own take on that song. It could have easily been cut by the DSO at United Sound Systems in Detroit. After late 66 Ollie had his own office within the United Sound building so a lot of Carla destined releases were recorded there where as the Karen stuff would have been recorded at Golden World

     A bit more food for thought, if there wasn't enough room in a studio for a full orchestra they would use Tera Shirma studios to record large gatherings and over dub back at the original studio. Where this may not give answers to any questions raised it does do what Forums should do and that's discus things.

Just to add, travelling round in the US was a lot more prevalent than in the UK. lucky if you made it to Skeggy once a year 

2 hours ago, Blackpoolsoul said:

I feel good finding out something you didn't 100% know 😀, that's a first

I assume you knew that Clark wrote a book (1986) and is / was a very talented artist 

It's about time you got yours done

 

Funnily enough I happen to know the two world leading experts on Decoy's ducks and there usage, Les from Nuneaton and John Spaghetti Weston often piss people off by over usage at venues, don't you just love em 

I can't shed light on the Happy Cats, but I can tell you that the Sirens learned the song from me! I'd dated one of them circa 2000, and I had an acetate of Destroy That Boy. It's the version that came out on Munster many years later. I put it out on Munster, in fact. The acetate came to me from my uncle, who was a close music-biz associate of Ollie's in Detroit (he was part owner of Tuba; the "Philly Dawgs" instrumental of "Hello Stranger" came out on Tuba to settle a debt, I believe). The Destroy That Boy acetate was cut in New York, and maybe it was a demo that was shopped to Ollie and ended up in my uncle's hands....Wish I knew more. Someone tried to tell me it was Kris Resnick singing, but I don't buy that.