Articles: Ain't Nothin' But a House Party - A chat with Bruce Weinroth, producer of the Show Stoppers classic

[Joel E Turner]

View full article

[Chalky]

Excellent read 

[Jamesh]

Really enjoyed reading that. Thanks very much

[Petered]

That's briiliant

 

[Samplat]

Superb read 

[Neil Austin]

Promo copy to share 

[Joel E Turner]

Nice DJ copy there!

[David Meikle]

Pity that “What Can A Man Do” never got a mention.

One of the truly great “B” sides.

Good story nevertheless.

[Neil Austin]

10 minutes ago, David Meikle said:

Pity that “What Can A Man Do” never got a mention.

One of the truly great “B” sides.

Good story nevertheless.

Exactly, what can a man do got a lot of play time , house party was one of my older brothers favs , he went to the Mecca quite a bit 

42 minutes ago, Joel E Turner said:

Nice DJ copy there!

Thank you , had a beacon in the day

yellow copy 

[John Hart]

In 1968 ,I saw the Showstoppers perform on their first UK tour on the back of "Houseparty" at The Peppermint Lounge Club in Fraser Street Liverpool,. Comprising of Soloman Burkes 2 Sons and another pair of Brothers . They where very polished and professional and great Vocal harmonies and slick dance moves ,particularly on  their rendition of the Artistics "Im Gonna Miss You". Milton Samuel who created the UK Beacon lable licensed the release of "Houseparty " for the  princely sum of £30!! It was  a Top 10 hit in Uk and very popular in Europe , not so in the US.   I Saw them again at the wheel in 71 now signed to Jerry Ross and his Heritage lable this group apparently where the Persuaders as the original line up was no more. I can not say if this is true, as my observational powers at the time where  somewhat  limited.  

[Andy Rix]

Nice article .. thank you

[Windlesoul]

Enjoyed that Joel, thanks. Nice job.

 

[Joel E Turner]

4 hours ago, David Meikle said:

Pity that “What Can A Man Do” never got a mention.

One of the truly great “B” sides.

Good story nevertheless.

David, thanks, and great point. Bruce Weinroth called me today and he mentioned the song as well. Hoping to see Bruce again soon - maybe we'll do a followup on the song.

[Joel E Turner]

4 hours ago, Neil Austin said:

Exactly, what can a man do got a lot of play time , house party was one of my older brothers favs , he went to the Mecca quite a bit 

Thank you , had a beacon in the day

yellow copy 

David and Neil, What a Man Can Do got little airplay in US, at least I know not in Philly. Great to hear it got more in UK. Was it on radio, or in the clubs?

4 hours ago, John Hart said:

In 1968 ,I saw the Showstoppers perform on their first UK tour on the back of "Houseparty" at The Peppermint Lounge Club in Fraser Street Liverpool,. Comprising of Soloman Burkes 2 Sons and another pair of Brothers . They where very polished and professional and great Vocal harmonies and slick dance moves ,particularly on  their rendition of the Artistics "Im Gonna Miss You". Milton Samuel who created the UK Beacon lable licensed the release of "Houseparty " for the  princely sum of £30!! It was  a Top 10 hit in Uk and very popular in Europe , not so in the US.   I Saw them again at the wheel in 71 now signed to Jerry Ross and his Heritage lable this group apparently where the Persuaders as the original line up was no more. I can not say if this is true, as my observational powers at the time where  somewhat  limited.  

John, I'll mention this to Bruce, see how his scrap book stuff may match up with some of this. Very cool!

[David Meikle]

Hi Joel

The 45 was one of my first soul music purchases. Circa 1968. When I heard the flipside I couldn’t believe how good it was. I was a disc jockey in Glasgow for two years and I played it many times. I had about ten close friends who all loved it too.

Unfortunately Glasgow was moving on to a different sound by 1969 so I am not the best to tell you how it went down in the clubs as we were a very large minority.

When I discovered the fledgling Northern Soul scene in Manchester in 1970 it was a pleasure to see that soul music was still popular for much the youth of that time.

There are others on this thread who are much more qualified to comment on your question but I certainly never heard it on radio as the UK was barren for soul music back then.

England is the home of the home of the Northern Soul scene. It must have been played there in some of the clubs which emerged as the scene became a force in later years.

David

Edited February 25, 2023 by David Meikle
spelling

[Neil Austin]

30 minutes ago, Joel E Turner said:

David and Neil, What a Man Can Do got little airplay in US, at least I know not in Philly. Great to hear it got more in UK. Was it on radio, or in the clubs?

John, I'll mention this to Bruce, see how his scrap book stuff may match up with some of this. Very cool!

Hi Joel 

what can a man do was played in clubs

everywhere , Lancaster, Manchester, Southend, you name it , it has always been known as an under rated classic 

lots of affection for this double A sider 

vocals are amazing 

thank you Joel

 

[Neil Austin]

5 hours ago, Joel E Turner said:

Nice DJ copy there!

Joel,

Thank you for your article and Sharing

a lot of information around the Philly 

music scene , very informative.

best regards 

Neil 

[The Yank]

Great article - thanks for posting!

  "Ain't Nothing..." did well on WHAT, hitting  #7 in April '67. Also pictured on the survey is Sonny Hopson who started the "Ain't Nothing But A House Party" phrase - 

 

Edited February 26, 2023 by The Yank

[Solidsoul]

I went to see The Showstoppers in the late 70's. The lead singer signed his autograph, T.J.Williams. !!!!   Don't know if it was the Mala, Josie labels singer, or was it just coincidence?

[Joel E Turner]

17 hours ago, Neil Austin said:

Hi Joel 

what can a man do was played in clubs

everywhere , Lancaster, Manchester, Southend, you name it , it has always been known as an under rated classic 

lots of affection for this double A sider 

vocals are amazing 

thank you Joel

 

 

17 hours ago, David Meikle said:

Hi Joel

The 45 was one of my first soul music purchases. Circa 1968. When I heard the flipside I couldn’t believe how good it was. I was a disc jockey in Glasgow for two years and I played it many times. I had about ten close friends who all loved it too.

Unfortunately Glasgow was moving on to a different sound by 1969 so I am not the best to tell you how it went down in the clubs as we were a very large minority.

When I discovered the fledgling Northern Soul scene in Manchester in 1970 it was a pleasure to see that soul music was still popular for much the youth of that time.

There are others on this thread who are much more qualified to comment on your question but I certainly never heard it on radio as the UK was barren for soul music back then.

England is the home of the home of the Northern Soul scene. It must have been played there in some of the clubs which emerged as the scene became a force in later years.

David

David and Neil, thanks for the info - great to hear that the flip was so appreciated. I will mention that to Bruce, see what he may remember, though I suspect popularity may have been more in the Northern Soul scene a few years after release.

[Joel E Turner]

12 hours ago, The Yank said:

Great article - thanks for posting!

  "Ain't Nothing..." did well on WHAT, hitting  #7 in April '67. Also pictured on the survey is Sonny Hopson who started the "Ain't Nothing But A House Party" phrase - 

 

Very cool. I'll post a site that I found for finding top xx lists from radio stations when I have a few minutes. That was the source for the comment in article about it hitting #2 in Reading. Are you a Philly guy? BTW, what a Top 30! Including Roland Kirk!

[Mal C]

Outstanding! Love it. Fits really well with the interviews that Colin Curtis has been doing in the past few weeks, talking to guys like ‘Pep’ about the beginnings of the soul scene here in the uk.  This was and is an important record, with the likes of the Orlons 81, Mel Torme, Flamingos ‘Boogaloo party’ and so on..

well done Joel, great article  

[Neil Austin]

31 minutes ago, Joel E Turner said:

 

David and Neil, thanks for the info - great to hear that the flip was so appreciated. I will mention that to Bruce, see what he may remember, though I suspect popularity may have been more in the Northern Soul scene a few years after release.

The northern scene did embrace the flip

and it still sounds great today , I hope 

bruce enjoys the feed and all the positive feeling there is for his work 

️️️

[Tlscapital]

 

3 hours ago, Joel E Turner said:

Postscript:

In prepping this article for posting on the Soul Source site, I came across this thread on the various releases of the House Party 45 on the site, with more knowledgeable back and forth on master plates and matrix numbers than I can muster. I had come across the Party Time release in my research, but had never been able to determine how Party Time and Showtime related, other than they both were set up by the Weinroths.

My guess on the 'how' they're related is that the Party Time label (that only got two releases) whose limited distribution and promotion 'power' were refraining the success potential the record had.

Making that deal with the Jamie/Guyden group would improve exactly that locally but nationally as well. Likely they decided to start-up a new label of their own altogether to embark it on anew 'journey'.

Edited February 26, 2023 by Tlscapital

[Dave Pinch]

great stuff

[The Yank]

2 hours ago, Joel E Turner said:

Very cool. I'll post a site that I found for finding top xx lists from radio stations when I have a few minutes. That was the source for the comment in article about it hitting #2 in Reading. Are you a Philly guy?

      I live very close to Chicago. 

   Apparently, the U.K.'s Prime Minister was a big fan of the group (Record World Nov.10, 1968) -

 

[Rick Cooper]

Joel,

Great article and fascinating background info to a much loved record. It would be good to hear what Bruce has to say about the Partytime issue and maybe ask him the story to the Four Perfections record on the same label.

There's a white label vinyl single sided test pressing of a Showstoppers record that has ST 102 on the run out. Could you ask Bruce about this, was it going to be a follow up to House Party and was it recorded at the same session?

[Mike]

if not aware, here's a quick highlight of a 'party time' related Source article from @Dave Moore

 

[Neil Austin]

1 hour ago, The Yank said:

      I live very close to Chicago. 

   Apparently, the U.K.'s Prime Minister was a big fan of the group (Record World Nov.10, 1968) -

 

Wow what a great piece , Harold had taste

[Mal C]

a 'House Party' from From Down Under, looks like this one was sold via Palings in Sydney, wierd cause that looks like it was printed on the label, not added after... anyhow Palings sold all sorts of stuff back in the day.

 

Edited February 26, 2023 by Mal C

[Our Kid]

Here's ya fella, for once without his pipe!

Paul

[Eddie Hubbard]

Great article ,wonder if Mike Terry played on any more of their records ? 

[Neil Austin]

1 hour ago, Our Kid said:

Here's ya fella, for once without his pipe!

Paul

perfect 

[Sunnysoul]

Excellent article indeed but one glaring factual error. Otis Williams of the Temptations is a completely different artist to Otis Williams of the Charms .

[Rotherham Soul]

Which release came first Showtime or PartyTime?

[Joel E Turner]

On 26/02/2023 at 12:31, The Yank said:

      I live very close to Chicago. 

   Apparently, the U.K.'s Prime Minister was a big fan of the group (Record World Nov.10, 1968) -

 

Wow - that is crazy. I wonder if they did it.

On 26/02/2023 at 12:57, Rick Cooper said:

Joel,

Great article and fascinating background info to a much loved record. It would be good to hear what Bruce has to say about the Partytime issue and maybe ask him the story to the Four Perfections record on the same label.

There's a white label vinyl single sided test pressing of a Showstoppers record that has ST 102 on the run out. Could you ask Bruce about this, was it going to be a follow up to House Party and was it recorded at the same session?

Will do. I'm going to have to comb through these notes for questions before our next chat. I'll try to see if I can get Bruce to join the site and thus chat directly.

[Joel E Turner]

19 hours ago, Sunnysoul said:

Excellent article indeed but one glaring factual error. Otis Williams of the Temptations is a completely different artist to Otis Williams of the Charms .

Ouch! I really flubbed that one! My apologies. I'll see if I can emend the article and give you a shout out. Surprised Bruce did not catch that but it's all my fault.

[Tlscapital]

1 hour ago, rotherham soul said:

Which release came first Showtime or PartyTime?

Party Time was first.

[Neil Austin]

2 hours ago, rotherham soul said:

Which release came first Showtime or PartyTime?

Tricky this one 

show time release 9 march 67

first release on party time was the four perfections 67 and then the showstoppers also 67 , so they must be earlier than march to be first issues 

[Tlscapital]

1 hour ago, Neil Austin said:

Tricky this one 

show time release 9 march 67

first release on party time was the four perfections 67 and then the showstoppers also 67 , so they must be earlier than march to be first issues 

Right. This raised a 'flag' here for me to plunge back in the old 2017 threads on here about it (there's also a 2007 one ! Classic of classic) making me have to correct myself as I forgot some about it. Important to underline first that the Party Time release's matrix is the Show Time one ; STR 101 !!! Crucial this.

Even the Frankford/Wayne acetate bears the STR 101 numbering on its label ! Someone else also mentions owning some kind of rather interesting test/white label Bell Sound label covering up a Party Time release under it. This would likely indicate a 'maybe' Bell interest in a release but we know NOT.

Anyway intended at that stage to be pressed on Show Time. But where does that leave the Party Time issue in chronology is nothing certain. With the fact that the producer's on the Party Time is the same as the Four Perfections but not on the Show Time anymore this alone could indicate a 'dispute' release.

Unlike I imagined in 2017 where the Party Time would be a "revenge" local pressing to counter the later Heritage release and try to cash back on it one year later almost could the Jamie/Guyden deal have allow them a contemporary exclusivity to promote, distribute and sell their own Party Time pressings locally as it is sometimes done ? Pressed altogether at Frankford and Wayne in peace, love and harmony ?

 

Edited February 27, 2023 by Tlscapital

[Dave Pinch]

9 hours ago, Tlscapital said:

Right. This raised a 'flag' here for me to plunge back in the old 2017 threads on here about it (there's also a 2007 one ! Classic of classic) making me have to correct myself as I forgot some about it. Important to underline first that the Party Time release's matrix is the Show Time one ; STR 101 !!! Crucial this.

Even the Frankford/Wayne acetate bears the STR 101 numbering on its label ! Someone else also mentions owning some kind of rather interesting test/white label Bell Sound label covering up a Party Time release under it. This would likely indicate a 'maybe' Bell interest in a release but we know NOT.

Anyway intended at that stage to be pressed on Show Time. But where does that leave the Party Time issue in chronology is nothing certain. With the fact that the producer's on the Party Time is the same as the Four Perfections but not on the Show Time anymore this alone could indicate a 'dispute' release.

Unlike I imagined in 2017 where the Party Time would be a "revenge" local pressing to counter the later Heritage release and try to cash back on it one year later almost could the Jamie/Guyden deal have allow them a contemporary exclusivity to promote, distribute and sell their own Party Time pressings locally as it is sometimes done ? Pressed altogether at Frankford and Wayne in peace, love and harmony ?

 

theres no doubt that showtime was the first label. think party time owned by the same guys who maybe thought give it another go later in 1967

[Solidsoul]

2 hours ago, Dave Pinch said:

theres no doubt that showtime was the first label. think party time owned by the same guys who maybe thought give it another go later in 1967

I agree. Looking at the matrix numbers etc it looks like it came out on ShowTime first, then PartyTime shortly after.

I think it looks better on PartyTime, especially next to The Four Perfections

Edited February 28, 2023 by Solidsoul

[Dave Pinch]

ye i`m on my third party time copy.. had my 1st one for a fiver from mick smith. but only realised it wasnt the 1st release after i started that thread all those years ago.. never bothered to look at the deadwax info outside of the frank ford wayne stamp

[Roburt]

The group in the UK ... 

[Roburt]

An ad from 67 ...

 

[Dave2]

Great read.  Thank you!

[The Yank]

  Radio Luxemburg was an early champion of "Ain't Nothin' ..." and had in their Top 10 almost 2 months before the 45  repeated it's Top 10 success in the U.K.  (From Record World March 9,1968 and May 4, 1968) _ 

[Neil Austin]

Nice , thanks for sharing, there’s so much out there still , it’s amazing

[Roburt]

Columbus, Ohio -- July 67 ... # 31

[Joel E Turner]

21 hours ago, The Yank said:

  Radio Luxemburg was an early champion of "Ain't Nothin' ..." and had in their Top 10 almost 2 months before the 45  repeated it's Top 10 success in the U.K.  (From Record World March 9,1968 and May 4, 1968) _ 

Very interesting lists!