Dayo

Big effort from enchantedrythm - fab stuff (it's not like I've appointed myself judge on this - just wanted to acknowledge everyone's time and trouble) Lovin this thread!

The case for Otis: died at 26, never made a bad record; never cheated on a lyric or a performance. Could also dance a bit! But then so could Jackie (who did - be honest - make some BAD records)

Craig W - special thanks for that groovy selection. Fab posts from everyone!

For vocal tone it's Sam Cooke; for emotion there's only one Otis; and they both came together in a guy called Al

The DJ copies may be very rare for one good reason: You probably know that E. Rodney Jones was a DJ himself. Given the highly competitive nature of American radio, I'm guessing that if a disc from a jock working at a rival station landed on the Programme Directors desk, it's not heading straight on his playlist - most likely filed straight in the trash. Just a theory.

Used to love the Sureshot label a lot - that is til I sat on my copy of Bobby Williams and broke it in half. Now I hate the bloody label! Moonshot is quite cool too.

Still to be persuaded. Some gorgeous labels there, but in terms of design, IMHO, Motown not bettered. Yet....

PS Did you know that Mike D'Abo also wrote "Build me up buttercup" for the Foundations? Gone way off topic now (sorry)!

That's interesting! And yes, what a fab British soul/pop record "Invitation" is. Had the chance to speak to Mike D'Abo once regarding this tune. You probably know he went on to great success with Manfred Mann, but sang lead on The Band Of Angels track, and, if memory serves, wrote it too. Anyway, he was chuffed the song was remembered and fully aware of it's success on the early soul/r'n'b scene.

That is sad. I remember him with a suitcase full of Okeh stuff, so the Sandi Sheldon story rings true. Jerry, are you from Gloucester? Colin

Gobsmacking moment? Flipping through a box of old 45's that were being chucked out by a well known radio station and finding both a Barbara Mills and Darryl Banks demo in less than a minute. "You sure you don't want these...."

Surely there has never been a label design more cool, more evocative, than the original US Motown label design? From the first "import" I ever bought (Tammi Terrell, This Old Heart Of Mine), to the present day, a glimpse of this label make my heart beat just a tad faster. Case closed?

Moving into more mainstream stuff, can I just make a case for my all time fave intro? Spinners "It's a shame". Those jangly guitars, the unforgettable hook, it's just sets your mouthwatering for the heavenly performance that follows.

I recall a guy called Froggy around the West Midlands. Think I met him in 1970. Was he from Wolverhampton? I seem to remember he had just come back from the States (very unusual at that time). He had things like There was a Time, Out on the Floor etc by the dozen.

Just 3 notes signal the intro to the Superlatives "I still love you". That's all it ever took to cause dancefloor mayhem at the Torch.

Thank you so much Pete. Colin

Was all the Mirwood stuff bootlegs? What about things like the Audio Arts Strings? And what's the story behind that track anyway? Did it ever get a previous issue or was it one from the vaults that Soussan dug out? And whatever happened to the eccentric one himself? Was anyone there the night he did a guest spot at Wigan. Dire, dire, dire!

Sod it - he can sue me too. That's the name I was trying to think of.

You're right Brett, but I can also see why some would be shy. It's up to all us regulars to make everyone feel welcome and enthused.

Fabulous Peps, With these eyes and Gypsey Woman. Rather OTT backing vocals and not a patch on The Impressions, but fabulous....

Yes, I remember the outrage when Leon Haywood was pressed - rather poor quality too if I recall. It was at the time when I was taking my baby steps onto the scene. Gene Chandler was a massive record, but just starting to come over in quantity, ditto the Human Beinz (great pop!) Also remember hearing Up and Down the Ladder, Check yourself, Jerryo, Johnny Taylor and the Poets at my first "do". Was it a Leicester guy did the very first boots?

Recall reading somewhere that some musicologists regard the Drifters "There goes my baby" as being the seminal soul record; if memory serves because of the string arrangement. 1959.

Jamie I know what you're going through and we've all been there. I guess I was an "anorak" before the term was invented. Used to make lists of "sounds" advertised by venues like the Pendulum in Blues and Soul. Whenever I eventually got to hear them, I would tick them off! How sad is that!? As an aside, sometimes I was disappointed on eventual hearing; Sounds of Lane and Lorenzo Manley both spring to mind. Back to my point; knowledge counts for something, but it's nothing compared to genuine love and appreciation of the music. That's really all that matters. Cliche I know, but, it's what's in the grooves that counts...

Something has puzzled me for a while. I was thinking back to the days of Selectadisc and the Simon Soussan bootlegs - or pressings, as we used to call them. Most of them, and I guess we can think of hundreds, came out on two colour labels; Saxie Russell, Alice Clark, Bob Relf etc. But occasionally he seemed to push the boat out and go for something multi-coloured; Thelma Lindsay springs to mind. Do these have any kind of legitimacy? And what about the MGM and Sceptor stuff? Thinking of Clara Ward, Dottie Cambridge, Tommy Hunt. I'm guessing these were limited run issues that he persuaded the record companies to press up? And lastly, what was the first so called Northern record to be booted? I'm guessing it may have been "Baby Reconsider" - memory is hazy on this, but was it on "Soul Sounds" or something similar. Any insights or knowledge about the early days of boots would be much appreciated. Colin

Random thoughts... Maybe there is more we could do to help newbies to the Forum? A kind of "Hi, I'm new here" section - this has been touched on before, I think. Personally I've never been afraid of revealing my lack of knowledge, which is sketchy at best. But maybe others are a little more shy? Is there some way we could encourage newbies to ask questions even if they consider them dumb? One thing is true about soul fans, they love to share knowledge and generally "show off" (in the nicest possible way!) It's hard to respond to every point on every thread, but I guess I'm not alone in a silent nod of appreciation towards some forgotten oldie or gem of a memory that pops up on here. Oh, and I STILL feel like a newbie too!