This tune is currently a favourite of mine. Can anyone tell me more about the duo Bob & Fred ?

It took me years to appreciate this record, I used to think it sounded like The Everly Brothers.

Sorry that's no help to you though.

I honestly do not like duet etc but instruments. However this particular record as become an "earworm" to me

What about the instrumental version , if your taste is more instrument.

If the link is not working above , at least you can search for it on YouTube.

Edited September 18Sep 18 by Happy Feet

Fantastic thank you so much

Eccentric Soul: The Big Mack Label by Various Artists

Numero album 2006

https://eccentricsoul.bandcamp.com/album/eccentric-soul-the-big-mack-label

leaflet has some background info and this image

and a paragraph on them

images from discogs

it looks this review has used the above for this clip but easier to read

When he moved into his new facility, McCoy hit on a novel way to build a talent pool and make money doing it: He offered anyone the chance to record in his studio for $15. You could show up on a Monday, sing your song, and have your record by the end of the week. Lord knows what happened to most of these recordings-- or what some of them sounded like-- but the sides Numero Group have resurrected all deserve a proper airing. Easily the most notable is Bob & Fred's "I'll Be on My Way". McCoy rightly saw something in the song and had them rehearse it for weeks. The final recording comes complete with a gorgeous string arrangement, which is still no match for the simple, amazing two-part harmony that tops it. It's the definition of a lost classic.

Pitchfork

Various Artists: Eccentric Soul: The Big Mack Label

Latest entry in Numero Group's Eccentric Soul series focuses on a long-forgotten Detroit label.

couple of topics on them a 20 year plus one here mainly views on the track rather than background

Northern in a different way

 

Incredible how 2 guys could harminise in such a way ?

fantastic record. the harmonies, the backing. perfect.

I remember it getting plays at the allnighters in the late 1980's.

It sounded great up at the Allanton Shotts allnighters in Scotland where I first heard it.

Also as it turned out, a friend of mine already had it in his collection🙂👍!

Edited September 19Sep 19 by Solidsoul

Worthy final track on this great CD box set from 1998

13 hours ago, Happy Feet said:

What about the instrumental version , if your taste is more instrument.

If the link is not working above , at least you can search for it on YouTube.

adore the Baha Strings...just wish they hadn't sung those few bars in the middle and had left it purely instra.

Edited September 19Sep 19 by Kenb

Something about this Majjestees record always sounds a little like the Bob and Fred record to me! The flip to "Take Back All Those Things".

Edited September 22Sep 22 by Solidsoul

I agree and also what a very nice tune / song too

Thank you

Rightly or wrongly I always liken this to Eddy Hughes “Soul Searcher”.

Love both songs. Don Hysong. co wrote the above.

Eddy Hughes' "Soul Searcher" has a "haunting" melody that one can't forget. What a great job of singing by a young 15-year old Detroiter. Too bad it got lost in the barrage of great recordings that were made in 1964, when there wasn't nearly enough radio air time to fit all the worthy songs in. Same was true for "I'll Be On My Way". And both their record companies didn't have the connections with radio DJs and record distributors to give the music listening public any access to hearing them.

10 hours ago, David Meikle said:

Rightly or wrongly I always liken this to Eddy Hughes “Soul Searcher”.

Love both songs. Don Hysong. co wrote the above.

Exactly the same for me the songs are very similar. I think both are very good.

Robb, weren't the Detroit airwaves dominated by WKNR (a pop stn) and CKLW from over in Windsor, Canada (another pop stn) back in 1964 ?

Yes, they were the biggest. But, in The Midwest, you could pick up just about every station with a decent sized signal almost from the foothills of The Rocky Mountains to The Atlantic Ocean, especially in the evening/night, if you had a decent dial on your radio, with space between the different frequencies. At least until late 1964 there was still a lot of R&B/Soul on the Pop stations, including obscure, different local records in their individual big cities.

44 minutes ago, Robbk said:

At least until late 1964 there was still a lot of R&B/Soul on the Pop stations, including obscure, different local records in their individual big cities.

Yes, you can see that from the 2 WKNR charts I posted from that period; 45's on their chart from Timmy Shaw, Shirley Matthews (Big Town Boy), the Sapphires, Theresa Lindsay, Tony Clarke, Lenny O'Henry, Gino Washington, Emanuel Laskey + Valerie & Nick. Also a climber on Correct-tone; Sue Perrin.

On 19/09/2025 at 11:05, Kenb said:

adore the Baha Strings...just wish they hadn't sung those few bars in the middle and had left it purely instra.

I read somewhere that Bob may have been Bobby St. Thomas, sometimes known as “Mr. Hello Detroit.” Sadly I can't find where I read it.