Andy Rix

Just back from Greece so been off-line for a few weeks ..... This news is just so so sad and my heart goes out to his family and friends. I can only echo what many others have said ... it is a tragic loss for so many in differing ways .. the world has truly lost an inspirational man Boba was a goldmine of information and we traded lots over the years ... and what I think I admired and respected about him the most was that he never took anything at face value .. he didn't believe rumour or myth but always set out to discover the truth and present the facts .. that often takes supreme effort and tenacity. In my eyes he was on the way to becoming as important and influential as individuals such as Dave Godin when it came to researching, preserving and promoting the music of Black America .. in that respect he was selfless .. always happy to share information and help others .. that is something that many, and I include myself, are not always prepared to do. I'll miss him terribly Rest in peace Boba Andy

I agree it is fantastic .... I got one a couple of years ago for £10 The McCoys version is available on the Ace CD 'Da Doo Ron Ron' .. songs of Ellie Greenwich & Jeff Barry An alternate take by Otis ... which I actually think is much better that the released version is available on the Ace CD 'The Bert Berns story ... Mr Success Vol 2' (CDCHD1251) Andy

Mark had this first ... years before I got it ... but it's easy to get confused as his was the 'demo' version that he christened 'The Sherry's' and the one I got off Eddie Holman was the 'finished' version by Shirley Turner ... same song, different singers and different arrangements .... I sent Shirley a rough recording of the Sherrys version and she confirmed that this was what she was given to learn the song. So Winnie you might had heard me play it first but all credit goes to Mark as he inspired me to go and find it Does anybody recall a small piece in Black Echoes in the late 70s saying the vocal version of 'Bird Walkin' had been found in a bin ... always intrigued me .. who found it and what happened to it ... one would assume this was the copy Marc ended up with but I would not like to jump to that conclusion Andy

I'll take that as a real compliment ... be good to hear the tune and then an educated guess can be made ... or a look at the archive files and tape cards might help Andy

Does it still have the fault or have they sourced a better master tape ? andy

Robb K ... sent you a pm days ago Check your in=box Andy

Might be Motherfox on Shabang andy

It does exist .. vocally it's classic Marvin but the arrangement is bizarre and totally ruins it ... you would be totally underwhelmed Andy

I'd really like to read the letter but it's too small ! Any chance of a proper scan ? Andy

Stone Blue was the recording studio in Cincinatti, where Herman lived, owned by Donald Litwin ... if memory serves me right Andy

There isn't a 'Motown' recorded version of 'You Won't Say Nothing' listed in the tape library .... So the Tamala version is the only one Andy

What I have learnt is that she was Vivian 'Tamala' Lewis and had a son with George called Tracy .... She is deceased ... She was a member of the Parlettes a.k.a the Par-Lets Andy

I've ordered a copy ..... Has had great reviews ..... Amazon £24 Andy

The original version features Johnny Hendley on lead .... It has been discussed before but I don't have time to find the thread ... Version 2 is Charles Diamond a.k.a. Charles Perry Andy

I think it was Tony Rounce who found it Andy

The Temptations - Last one out is broken hearted Andy

Yes.... Sidney Hall, a former Shrine artist, was in the Flamingo's when that track was recorded Andy

The only person who has ever met him from the UK is Gilly. He died many years ago and Ive never seen a picture. I have contact with his son but based on my experience you won't get much of a response if you contacted him andy

That is true and it's sitting on my shelf Andy

There's always a back story to tracks such as this .. so I'll share what I know In the 80's a Motown collector associate of mine purchased a number of acetates and tapes that had been retrieved from the Woodward building in Detroit. The tracks on the tapes were by various artists and were what we called 'safety copies' .. meaning you could listen to them but weren't able to move them on as they had 'bleeps' superimposed on the tracks at regular intervals throughout the songs. Our understanding is that these were tapes that writers or producers could take home to listen to and had therefore left the 'security' of the tape library and studio. One of the songs on these multi-artist tapes was ' I Can't Stop This Feeling'. The tape was damaged on the intro but recovered in time before the main vocal started. A number of the long-time Motown collectors listened to it and the conclusion was that it must be a demo, probably by the writer or a random singer, as opposed to any known Motown artist. My friend, at a later date, gave a copy to Ian Levine. who was very excited by it. He 'repaired' the damage by doing a piano studio overdub and proclaimed that it was a Contours recording and he knew because he had worked with them and knew their voices up close and personal, so in his mind there was no doubt. That is a difficult position to disagree with but none of us are deaf and not one of us had ever reached the same conclusion. So ... my view is a simple one. It almost certainly is not the Contours or any other obvious recording artist from that era. We have, as far as I can recall (need to check) ever identified the songwriter(s) ... but is is more than likely that the writer is the singer ... it could be James Dean or William Weatherspoon ... the songs is in their style.. but in reality who knows And in answer to the original question ..... No it isn't available on vinyl or any official CD release Regards Andy Rix

The Gwen Owens - One or the other - is actually Lela Martin - You can't have your cake - Melatone Tina Roberts was a few years later and C/U as the Honey Bees - He's just gotta be my baby ....... care of Mr Raistrick

This is cool ... can't wait for LaBrenda's 'In Twenty Words Or Less' ... it's been a favourite of mine for years ... I wonder if they ever meant to use this for a contest ... 'In Twenty Word Or Less Write I Love You Because .....' ... fantastic stuff Andy

With reference to the Inspirations - 'No One Else Can Take Your Place' on Breakthrough .... I had protracted, and ultimately fruitless, discussions about this with Joey Jefferson. He maintained that the Breakthrough one-sided press was done to quickly test the market with a 'proper' release scheduled for Mutt & Jeff with 'You'll Never Make The Grade' on the flip ..... He maintained he got as far as pressing white promo copies but then cancelled the release. He claimed he still had copies and it was one of those I was after. Despite on the ground assistance from Jerry Williams no deal ever happened and I never got to see the 45. I was never really convinced that he was being honest ..... I think he was just messing with my head. If the 45 did exist on Mutt & Jeff I figured we would have known about it through Neil Rushton's dealings with him. But then stranger things have happened ....... Andy