It is not established but "accepted" as a fit in regard of time, location and people surrounding that Chuck Wood, Al Wilson on Wand and Rubin on Kapp could effectively be avatar's pseudos for Jimmy Ralph Bailey's not so commercial marketable projects.

Where he would even travesty his versatile voice to impersonate his short lived avatars. Listening the other day at my friend's place to his album of J.R. Bailey on MAM he, soulshrews, asked me if I knew who was Lee Roye or if I knew him to be J.R. or not.

My answer came instinctively that in regard of the acetate version of 'tears' with the credit J.R. Bailey appearing on it and from 'ear' memory it didn't sound like the Lee Roye we know. As the album played on I kept on giving J.R.'s singing all my attention.

Hearing more and more his notorious singing versatility and ability with great ease to swiftly change from tone and timber while keeping up with the tune I began to wonder... Plunging back into some old thread on here it all came back about his other avatars.

So got to establish this window time frame of his little 1966 to 1968 different avatars differing from his partially or abbreviated real full name. In chronology, place and people surrounding these glorious 45's it all becomes even more coherent and comprehensive.

What do you all think ? Is this missing something ? Can we conclude ? Or not ?

 

03-65 Jimmy Bailey first of five singles on Columbia

04-66 his fifth and last with Johnny Northern & Vernon Harrel

07-66 J.B. Troy 'ain't the truth' with Johnny Northern & Robert Banks

09-66 Al Wilson 'help me' with Johnny Northern & Robert Banks

10-66 J.B. Troy 'live on' with Johnny Northern

06-67 Chuck Wood 'seven days too long' with Schwartz & Vernon Harrel

10-67 Rubin 'you've been away' with Schwartz & Irwin

02-68 Chuck Wood 'I've got my light...' with himself (his worse here FWIW)

06-68 Lee Roye 'tears' with Rudy Clark

07-68 J.R. Bailey 'too late' with Rudy Clark & Johnny Northern

 

During that window time frame Jimmy Ralph Bailey did not use his name on any edited record. This also adds water to the mill as this implies that he was not tied with an exclusive contract. and FWIW his name 'Bailey' also often appears as co-composer on many of these releases as well...

Edited May 25, 20232 yr by Tlscapital

24 minutes ago, Shinehead said:

Least we know Mr Bailey recorded in lots of guises in the 70s I am rubbish at recognising voices unless they are like Womack,  Stubbs , Ruffin etc. but the Bailey 70s tracks all have a light feel to his vocals something that cannot  be said about Chuck Wood.

Yep right OK. As Jimmy Bailey he did tunes or more parts like of tunes where he starts to sing louder like in 'hush' or 'keep on running' both on Columbia.

Or 'hold back the dawn' on Mala as J.R. Bailey where you don't get to hear his silky-er smooth singing 'trade mark' at all times.

That smooth silky singing of his that he will keep after his fantastic rendition of 'love wears off' on Calla in 1968. At least I believe that. 

And then there was Kurtis Scott (aka Kurtis Harris or actually Curtis Futch Jr) - see review from Dave Godin's Rhythm and Soul USA New Series #1 (dated 1966) and a couple more early photographs of Jimmy.

 

For anyone still awake on this topic, BMI's Songview website lists 319 of his songs to go through, under various combinations of his names (most interesting are the names of his collaborators, which may - or may not  - indicate they are separate people).

BAILEY RALPH

319 Work Titles

Current Affiliation: BMI

IPI #: 1833916

Landing on this and reading the opening lines I thought for a second 'finally a background on our 'Chuck' but then coming on about the Warner Brothers singer (that which is not our 'seven days too long' Chuck) it all died flat in an instant. With utterly stupid comments -thought forgotten popular in Soul clubs in the UK a decade later- SAY WHAT ?

As the Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield once wrote (quoting Edgar Allan Poe), "Believe half of what you see, and none of what you hear".  If they had known about the internet, perhaps they would have added " and even less of what you read on-line".