Roburt

The show is still doing good biz in NY. Hope a UK start date is set soon (though I've seen it written that it will be the NY show cast that transfers to do a London run … so while it's doing well in NY there's little hope of it coming to London) ...

Colton Thomas has reported (via Facebook) that Cash McCall has passed. Born Morris Dollison Jr. on January 28, 1941 (in Missouri) Cash was best known for his big 1966 R&B hit "When You Wake Up" but to us soul fans, he's known for much more.

Al Levine also spent many years working in the record biz … Seems he had been part of New York based Ideal Distributors in the 50's but broke away from them to start up NEW DEAL RECORD SERVICES in the early 60's. From an original base in New York, that organisation expanded and set up bases in a number of cities. Seems Baltimore was one of the later bases they had (after New York; New Jersey; Florida; Hazelwood, Missouri & LA). They morphed into Interstate Rec Distributors in 65 but the larger outfit went bust in 1966 taking Rochelle Park, NJ based Garden State Rec Dist and Florida Rec Dist / Sunshine State Dist down with them.

This is the building on Guilford Ave (Balto) where New Deal Record Service Corp was based (#1601). After them, it was occupied for many years by Weant Press Incorporated (a printing outfit) and then sold off to a group of artisans / craftsman who make & sell their wares out of the place. It looks more than suitable as the base for a record distributor (loads of storage & office space). Bradley's Studios wasn't too far away (a bit further east & north of this location). Doesn't look like the building that housed the studio still exists.

Way before late 63 … it was already open for biz in June 63 but I can't put an actual date to the opening night for the club ……...

In Record Mirror.

"Jamaican Ska" was released (on Atlantic) in the US & UK as by the Ska Kings. It's the same group / version as above but at the time they were trying to break ska acts in the US and thought that group name would give the track more clout. The UK 45 & LP release just took the same name as the US one. The track was massive at 60's clubs like the Mojo in Sheffield (+ others across the UK). We did a certain dance to it but that was a dance picked up from UK based West Indians rather than the actual ska dance itself.

Don't recall UK dancers being aware of this dance in the 60's. But then there were numerous ones that passed us by, including the Mouse …

A plea from a R&B fan back in 1963 …

The Silhouettes were re-formed in 1980 when oldies doo-wop group shows were in vogue. They stayed together, earning decent money for live show appearances till 1993. The group's Earl Beal was with them throughout their 2nd incarnation.

There's a chance it was the same guy as he'd remained in the Silhouettes till 68 when that group fell apart. ALSO, although the doo-wop group were Philly based, he was originally from Donora, Pa -- a town located between Pittsburgh & Baltimore. From the Balto photo, Earl is obviously an oldish guy AND he looks a lot like the guy top left in this picture of the doo-wop group … RobbK will probably know a lot more than me about the Silhouettes.

Guess the group had local Baltimore management, who had arranged to cut their tracks locally & then had them placed with 'out of town' Okeh Records. Their tracks must have been licensed by Okeh a good few weeks before their 45 hit the shops. Their management obviously then got them to visit local 'black music' radio stns to help plug the 45. It's a pity that, when the 45 had been released in Nov 68, the group members didn't visit local radio stns till the end of Nov 68 … … as the local association of radio stn jocks was staging a big charity live show at a local top venue, the Embassy Rooms, on November 28th. If they'd made contact earlier, no doubt they could have been added to the local acts who'd been booked to appear on that show … BY THE WAY … Arthur Conley (who had been based in Baltimore in 64/65) had obviously retained his local links (& performed on this show) even though he'd headed off with Otis Redding in late summer 65. Otis had been masterminding Arthur's music career but after his death in Dec 67, Arthur seems to have renewed his links back in Baltimore.

The studio's facilities must have been quite rudimentary in late 68 as they upgraded all their equipment just 2 years later …

Seems Lamont has been working on his own book project ... HOW SWEET IT IS by Lamont Dozier -- PUBLISHED 22nd October from BMG books You'd be hard-pressed to find a songwriter who's been blessed with more success than Lamont Dozier. As part of Motown's legendary songwriting and production team of Holland-Dozier-Holland he's responsible for such classics as "Baby I Need Your Loving," "You Can't Hurry Love," "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)," "Stop! In the Name of Love," "Heatwave," "Baby Love," "It's the Same Old Song," "Nowhere to Run," "You Keep Me Hanging On," "Reach Out I'll Be There," "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)," and many more. After leaving Motown he continued to make his mark as an influential songwriter, artist, and producer for the next five decades with hits such as "Give Me Just a Little More Time," "Band of Gold," and "Two Hearts," a chart-topping Phil Collins single that earned the pair an Academy Award nomination and a Grammy win. In How Sweet It Is Lamont shares his struggles of growing up in Detroit and navigating an unstable family life to pursue his passion for music. He takes us behind the scenes of the Motown machine, sharing personal stories of his encounters with such icons as Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, and Berry Gordy. From watching his grandfather flirt with his grandmother's beauty salon customers to getting caught in a compromising position at a "no-tell motel," Lamont reveals the moments that inspired some of his timeless songs--and pulls back the curtain on the studio secrets that helped him and his colleagues create "the sound of young America." He details the rise of own artist career, his business and legal struggles, and the personal triumphs and tragedies that defined him, both professionally and personally. At the heart of the story beats the heart of a true songwriter. Though he's racked up well over 100 Top 10 singles on the Billboard charts, been inducted into both the Songwriters and Rock & Roll Halls of Fame, and been named among Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time," Lamont continues to write music every day. Having pursued the mystery of the songwriting muse for many years, his stories are interwoven with invaluable insights and wisdom on the art and craft of songwriting that will inspire the creative spark in all of us.

Come and Get These Memories: The Story of Holland-Dozier-Holland (Hardcover) – PUBLISHED: September 26, 2019 . . . . . by Peter Benjaminson, Brian Holland, Edward Holland. Brian Holland, Edward Holland, and Lamont Dozier, known as Holland-Dozier-Holland or H-D-H, were the greatest songwriting team in American pop music history. Seventy of the songs they wrote reached the Billboard Top 40, with 15 of these reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. No other songwriting team or individual has come close to equaling, let alone surpassing, this record. They’ve been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. As tunesmiths for the legendary Motown Record Corporation, and for their own corporations, Invictus Records and Hot Wax Records, they wrote and produced hits for Diana Ross and the Supremes, including “Baby Love,” “Stop! In the Name of Love,” “Where Did Our Love Go,” “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “I Hear a Symphony,” “Come See About Me,” “Back in My Arms Again” and “Reflections.” Now the legendary composers are ready to reveal the inspirations and stories behind their chart-topping hits, providing millions of fans with the first complete history of their songwriting process, and detail the real-life experiences that led them to write each of their most famous tunes. They will also reveal their creative and intimate relationships with Motown’s biggest stars. Seems Lamont didn't get involved with the book project.

Bet Hot Rod played their 45s on his show too … most of the WWIN DJ's would spin records made by local artists at that time …

Some record shop owners are rip off merchants … I took my copy of this ad along to the store but the guy there said he could no longer honour the 59c price and I'd have to pay $1.25 for a copy of the 45 … I told him where to stick it, not gonna get ripped off like that.

No idea if this has had plays in a NS room setting (& even though I usually like soul tracks to have vocals, this would get me out on the floor) …

Seems that the play about the Temptations' story is doing big business on Broadway at present … extract from last Wall St Journal ... ALSO Otis Williams (currently touring the UK with the group) has said it's almost certain it will transfer to the UK in the near future …

Well I posted up a set of reviews that included 16 great soul 45's, so it was pretty obvious when I said there were no decent releases.

Ever heard of sarcasm … lots of us Brits use it all the time. Mayfield Singers, Flamingos, Little Milton, Freddie Scott, Janet & the Jays + Jimmy Radcliffe are my faves.

Seems a bit strange if they're all the same guy as he seemed to have links to New York, New England, Nashville & Detroit … quite a wide geographic spread there ... his Stag 45 had Detroit links as did the others tracks released on Stag … There was a vocalist with the Midnight Movers who MAY have been the same guy (the group had started out touring as Wilson Pickett's backing band but then went out on their own with Johnny handling vocals for them). There was another (?) Johnny Starr that operated out of Nashville who was more of a country folk singer (& could well have been the same guy who had Starr Studios and cut stuff released on Johnny Starr Showland Studios label).

A way of getting an idea of how the London club scene changed between (say) 1960, 1964 and 1968 is to look at Rik Gunnell's career …. He started out running jazz clubs and got involved with the Flamingo in it's later jazz times, he then took the club into it's R&B phase (with the likes of Georgie Fame & others). He took on the management of Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band (which led indirectly to the Ram Jam Club in Brixton), the Bag O'Nails followed next for him. But by 68, music tastes had evolved with blues rock groups coming to the fore. He dropped some R&B acts and got others to change their musical style. He took on bands such as Chicken Shack and Glass Menagerie (a Lancs psych pop outfit). But he was losing his influence (becoming a follower rather than a leader), so he sold his management company to Robert Stigwood and moved to New York ...

At the top of the stairs there's ...

This had quite a few MS fans heading straight for the dancefloor back in the day …