Roburt

Lots of blacks from London & Darnsouf never got into the northern scene at all but had their own genres going -- funk nights, two step nights, Brit-funk, Chris Hill discos, Pete Tong nights, etc. Some of the black DJ's were even suspicious of the Northern scene & what it entailed. My memory may be playing tricks on me but I think I remember that TREVOR NELSON came along to a Cleethorpes Soul Weekender to check it out (around 15 years ago). I seem to recall Ady telling me that he really enjoyed himself while there.

There are quite a few famous ones; Shaft, Superfly, Across 100th Street, Pipedreams, Lets Do It Again, The Mack, Trouble Man, Sweet Sweetbacks, Coffy, etc BUT there were many more made between 1970 & the mid 70's. Lots were pure garbage, film wise, but still had decent soundtracks. Dave Godin always recommended 'Cotton Comes To Harlem' and in others, decent soul artists make cameo appearances (the 3 Degrees, Mary Love & more). Anyone here recommend one either cos it's a decent watch or cos it features great music ?

You're right, the team went on BUT there was no more actual releases on the Philly Groove record label. Mind you, the Delfonics disappeared off records for almost 4 years.

LOADS .... will this do to be going on with ...

An example of a new R&B label that would have struggled to get it's new 45's played on US pop radio stations ... GOLDEN WORLD's RIC - TIC label ... a false start was made in 1962 but the label was reactivated at the start of 1964. It's 1st release (Jan 64) was Gino Washington's "Gino Is A Coward". That made a little impact and made a few radio charts (both R&B + pop in April/May/June/July). The 45 didn't actually sell that many copies, especially to pop fans. A few weeks later (September 64) the labels next release was put out; Freddie Gorman's "In A Bad Way". This struggled to make much impact at all but it gained radio airplay in St Louis. It caught on with the listeners to KATZ and actually made their chart (late October 64). AT ALMOST THE SAME TIME, Golden World 45's were themselves were doing well via the likes of the Reflections "Romeo & Juliet" which was a massive R&B + pop radio hit. From their it sold well to both black & white US record collectors and gained a relatively high placing on the Hot 100 and on Cash Box's Top 100 (#9 @ end of May 64). The Ric -Tic label stuck to the task though. Freddie Gorman's next single ("Take Me Back" -- Jan 65) made a bit of noise -- getting onto WCHB's chart low down (#25). J J Barnes was high on the same chart but he wasn't on Ric - Tic yet). It would be Edwin's "Agent OO Soul" with it's James Bond inspired topicality that would break through in a big way for the label (R&B + pop) that summer.

To illustrate my post above ... the top two acts on Philly Groove were (of course) the Delfonics & First Choice ... both groups had big hit 45's (in the US and overseas) ... AND not just R&B chart hits, but extensive pop chart success too ...

With Philly Groove being such a hit label run by really well known & successful guys, I'd guess somewhere on the net there are details on the exploits of the label and it's artists (from interviews, etc). I known the label went 'defunct' in 1974 when Bell Records all but ceased to exist (or rather morphed into another record company) and that there was loads of unissued stuff from 1974 (& earlier) still lying around. In recent years, these unfinished tracks have been used to teach kids being educated on how to make / mix a good track. Has it ever been documented who these unissued tracks were by and if any were David Lasley cuts ? It's Drexel University in Philly that has use of these tracks; has anyone been in touch to ask them for a full listing of the unissued cuts they make use of ?

I'd like to find more about his time in the Army in Europe. I know in England, USAF (& similar US unit) bases had their own newspapers (just distributed around each base & to adjacent bases -- for instance; in Suffolk; Lakenheath & Mildenhall + not too far away Alconbury). These newspapers (+ the base's radio stns) would document what had recently happened on bases & what was upcoming. Just about all these bases were almost self-contained -- their own supermarket (stocked with US made goods including food), their own bar, their own bowling alley + their own theatre. The theatres would be used to show the latest films AND to stage live shows from pop / soul acts. Lots of US soul groups were signed up to tour overseas based by the USOE and they'd be flown over to the likes of the UK, Europe, Philippines, Japan (& war zones such as Viet Nam) to entertain the troops. These shows would be heralded in the base newspapers to ensure these shows were known about by everyone on base. ANYWAY, if a bunch of base personnel formed a group & were considered good enough, they'd be asked to do a show in the base's bar or theatre. If this went well, adjacent bases would ask them to perform there also, and this info would go in each base's newspaper. As the only language Americans speak is English (we're not much better here either), even if a base was in Germany, Italy or Spain, the newspaper would be in English. I'd love to get access to some of these papers to see if the exploits of the likes of Dennis Edwards, Edwin Starr (sorry, Charles Hatcher), the Servicemen (with Larry Banks) and the like were documented back then. We know a lot more about the exploits of certain US military guys in the UK -- Geno Washington, Sonny Childe aka R B Greaves, Herbie Goins, etc. -- earlier the likes of Lou Rawls (Korean war period) had done the same. . . . But most of what we know of the above is their off-base exploits, not who they teamed with on-base and which bases the groups they played in / were with did shows at. Anyone done an in depth interview with Dennis (or the like) that asked him about his time in the military or who he sang with before he was drafted ? I got to sit down & chat with Edwin about his time in Cleveland before he was in the military & then teamed with Bill Doggett to sing lead vocals for the combo ... but I failed to ask him anything about his time in the military (3 years on European US Army bases). I know he formed groups in the army but have no idea what they called themselves or on which bases they got to perform. As Edwin had recorded with his Cleveland group (the Futuretones) before going into the military, so I'm sure that during his spell in the army (1960 to 63 ?), he'd have done all sorts musically. Same for Dennis also I'd guess.

NOT TOO MUCH HELP ... BUT ... From January 1961 to December 1963, Edwards was called up to serve in the U.S. Army. He spent most of his time stationed in Europe, where he would perform on base with other guys he served with. Before his Army stint he'd sung in gospel + R&B groups around Detroit. So, on his return from the Army, I guess it would have made sense that he'd get back into singing / performing (with a group ?) in 1964.

WAY BACK TO THE 1950's NOW ... Baltimore was already an important market for radio & black recording artists. Dinah Washington was a top star back then & had a record deal with Mercury. She used to play gigs in Balto all the time; usually @ the Royal Theatre plus down on Carr's Beach. Her latest 45 / 78 was titled "My Lean Baby" and to help promote this release, Mercury staged a competition during her week @ the Royal. Though whether running a LEAN BABY competition would encourage mothers to starve their family's new addition I can't say. The 78 didn't do as well as her label had expected, so the flip side ("Never, Never") was also promoted for a short while. Her next outing may well have been inspired by her trip to Balto, as it was titled "Fat Daddy". During her shows in the city, she performed both songs & also what would prove to be her next release. "TV Is The Thing (This Year)" was a witty piece that was inspired by TV becoming the big thing in entertainment circles at that time ... RADIO IS GREAT, BUT NOW IT'S OUT OF DATE ... etc. Luckily for everyone, radio wasn't finished & would continue to be the top medium for getting out the word on new R&B / soul releases for decades to come. Though music mags did now include a TV section within their pages (& TV show charts detailing the most popular shows). They also ran pages on night club & theatre shows (musical ones) -- printing reviews of recent performances ... so a great show by the likes of Dinah @ the Royal or at a top Balto night club would be reported on and would lead to more live bookings for her. Mercury did promote R&B singles back then, but only in a small way on their full page ads ...

It's what's in the grooves that counts ... & any announcements such as AND NOW MY LATEST C-U, Dougie & the Doggies ... give it a rest please.

Anybody got Fat Daddy's 45 ?

A few more FAT DADDY related bits ... seems his weight finally told on him as he passed away aged just 40.

I believe this extract from a 1964 Hot 100 chart sums that year up perfectly ... there are 4 'British Invasion' singles showing (including one from the instigators -- the Beatles -- & a soul cover from the Stones). There's a 45 from the biggest US white group of those times (the Beach Boys), also 3 Motown cuts rapidly climbing the chart & 3 'star climber' soul sides & lastly 2 other soul singles. Martha & the Vandellas "Dancing In .." is a perfect example to show how well Motown 45's were selling to pop / white audiences. That week it had reached the #25 place on the Hot 100 -- so it was already enjoying major pop chart success (quite soon after getting released). On black radio, it was also charting; WDAS had it entering their top 15, as did WSID. On the national R&B charts, Cash Box had it @ #14 R&B (#22 on their pop chart) -- I don't have the Record World mag data for that week. So this single was climbing the pop charts almost as quickly as it was climbing in R&B circles ... NOT SOMETHING most soul 45's did on a regular basis. FOR INSTANCE ... Willie Mitchell's "20 - 75" had just crossed over to the pop charts but was catching on at a fast rate. So Hi Records had quickly placed ads for the 45 in the national music press to help it along.

More FAT DADDY related stuff ... in September 64 Fat Daddy listed the new entries into his radio stn chart Top 15 (8 of them). Doing the same up the road in Philly were Jimmy Bishop & Georgie Woods @ WDAS (also 8 new entries). BUT only 2 of the 8 matched at each stn -- as Philly is only 100 miles from Balto, I'd have expected more similarities. Fat Daddy worked @ WSID, so I'm also posting up 2 chart listings from a few weeks later @ that stn..

Back in the 50's / early 60's, Sparrow's Beach would really compete with Carr's Beach to get the best acts on. The likes of Joe Turner, Marv Johnson, the Drifters, Clyde McPhatter, Esther Phillips, Ruth Brown, Bill Doggett, Jerry Butler and many others all starring at these venues. Best weekend for competition had to be July 3rd / 4th 1960 (US Independence weekend) when the Drifters, Jerry Butler and Marv Johnson were battling it out with 3 ex Drifter outfits (the Original Drifters, Clyde McPhatter & Johnny Darrow aka Johnny Moore) up the way @ Sparrow's Beach ...

More on Carr's Beach & the DJ's that were involved there (including Hoppy Adams of WANN) ... BTW WANN wasn't a R&B stn and it also wasn't based in Baltimore (but in Annapolis itself) ...

The poster / ads that were published to advertise the shows mentioned in the above radio ad (YouTube vid) ... the difference between the info on the poster & on the newspaper ad are marked. From the newspaper, you'd be unaware that you'd also get to see Garnett Mimms, James Carr, Percy Sledge, Sam & Dave, Patti LaBelle & BB's, Mitty Collier, the Ovations & more perform.

Artwork in all it's uses is a strong medium. Folk pay millions for old paintings & the advertising biz relies on slick selling utilising appealing artwork / scene setting. In the music biz, artwork was also used a lot to great effect. Flyers / posters for music events; record label designs, 45 picture sleeves & especially for album covers. Without the guy who was employed by EMI in London (who came up with the Tamla-Motown logo) the world would have been deprived of an iconic brand. Album cover design was also a major part of the work done by similar guys at EMI and at other record companies around the world. Black record labels in the US didn't always have the funds to employ the best artists / graphic designers, so sometimes US soul album covers didn't reach the top standard. ALSO, especially before the mid to late 60's, labels thought an album would sell more in the pop field if the ethnic identity of the artist involved wasn't emphasised -- hence many non-descript soul album cover pictures .. .. an example that instantly springs to mind is the Isley Brothers 'This Old Heart Of Mine' LP. BACK TO MY MAIN REASON FOR THIS POST ... many times, the UK record company (or a European one) wouldn't be that happy with the art work sent from the US and would design it's own cover. Such an album being James Brown's SINGS RAW SOUL ... see pic below -- US LP top left, Canadian version bottom right (LP cover similar but label different), French version bottom left, US re-issue top right AND UK LP cover in the centre ... I like the UK's cover the best. Anyone here want to post similar albums that took on a new look after leaving the US ??

Baltimore wasn't an isolated city, it was very close to Washington & not too far from the likes of Philly, Pittsburgh, Wilmington & Atlantic City. So each place had an influence on the others. Also close to DC & Baltimore was the black summer resorts of Sparrow's Beach & Carr's Beach (both in the ownership of the same family in the 50's / 60's). Back in the 50's / 60's, blacks were still restricted in what they could do & where they were made welcome even in this area, which was just north of the Mason - Dixon Line (south of that, segregation was still very strictly enforced). So blacks had to find there own summer break locations & Carr's Beach was the main one of these. It was just outside Annapolis -- less than 25 miles south-east of Baltimore. See here for more info on the venue ... https://www.carrsbeach.com ANYWAY, with it being so close to Baltimore, it used Balto radio DJ's to host some of it's shows. Baltimore radio DJ's such as Hot Rod also ran their own shows @ the venue on less busy days (obviously with folk having to drive down from the city & stay most of the day & evening, Saturday & SUNDAY were the main really busy days). Also, the family who owned the venue(s) knew how to provide most of the facilities & keep them current (changing rooms for swimmers, food trucks for the hungry, beer tent for the thirsty, fairground rides for the kids, parking facilities, etc.) BUT they weren't up to date on which black acts the crowd would travel to see (& what their fees would be). So they hired in a music related guy as their booker / general manager -- for much of the early to mid 60's this was Ru-Jac Record's maestro Rufus Mitchell ... For more on Ru-Jac see here >> https://blog.musoscribe.com/index.php/2018/08/06/the-ru-jac-records-story-part-one/#:~:text=Beginning operations in 1963%2C Baltimore-based Ru-Jac Records was,45 rpm discs%2C primarily between 1963 and 1974. All the top black acts would play Carr's Beach (& to a lesser extent Sparrow's Beach) and all the shows would be heavily advertised on Balto & DC radio stns. Some of the Baltimore stns would even send down outside broadcast units to record & broadcast some of the shows. Some weekends, Rufus M couldn't get enough top acts at the right money (or an act would accept a booking & then have to pull out), so he'd fill out the live act roster with his own Ru-Jac acts -- many times this would be a last minute affair or the act in question wouldn't have a big enough profile, so their names wouldn't be in the ads published to draw folk to the venue. Other times, their names would appear if they had a new 45 out or if they were acting as the backing band for the named acts (as the Shyndels Band and DC's El-Corols Band did many times). A big marquee was erected on the beach & this would be used to house the stage & audience. A 2nd tent would house a smaller jazz area, many times Balto's Garry Bartz's group being the live attraction in here. A radio ad for the beach ...

A quick message of thanks ...

Jumping forward to summer 66. There were two big revue shows playing the Civic Centre, with WEBB's Rockin Robin acting as MC. The 1st of these (mid May) brought the Contours back into the city -- along with a few other Motown acts & the likes of Maxine Brown (surprisingly way down the order on the ad - guess she hadn't had a hit 45 in Balto for a while). Just a couple of weeks later, the Contours would be back in town for the club date that would turn Fat Daddy's life upside down. ANYWAY, over at the Civic Centre in June, the Four Tops, Aretha, Stairsteps, Linda Jones & Freddie Scott were starring. On both these shows, local band THE ADMIRALS were supporting the main stars -- I'd think they were acting as the backing band / singers for some / most of the acts on the bill (so they must have been a tight outfit to get to play behind Motown acts, Reffa, etc.) On the local airwaves in early to mid August, in his day job, Rockin Robin (WEBB) was spinning Darrell Banks "Door To Your Heart", the Mad Lads "I Want A Girl" (probably as a result of their local high profile following their show @ the Civic), + Dee Dee Warwick, Howard Tate & the Miracles tracks. Also on the stn's Top 20 was a Temptations LP track "Say You". Lower down their chart were 45's from Eddie Holman, 5 Stairsteps (again after their local show), Roscoe Robinson ("That's Enough"), Lester Young "Barefootin In Chinatown" + Don Gardner & Carla Thomas tracks. Rockin Robin had picked the Enchanters "We Got Love" as his PIK OF THE WEEK. Lester Young's "Barefootin In Chinatown" was also on WWIN's chart which was topped by the Manhattans "That New Girl". Also on the stn's chart were Howard Tate's "Ain't Nobody Home" + Dee Dee Warwick, Darrell Banks, the Stairsteps & Roscoe Robinson (all on WEBB's chart too). Mable John's deepie "Your Good Thing" was on there, as was Sharon Soul's "Let Me Get to Know You", Les Cooper's "Wahoo" & Roger Washington's "I Won't Never Make You Cry". The WIN PIK HIT was Judy Clay's "You Busted My Mind" ...

Forgot to mention another top Balto R&B radio stn in the 60's: WSID ... They had a Shrine 45 on their charts in early 65 AND they had Darrell Banks, Donald Height & Lee Rogers on their chart in July 66 with Don Gardner, Jack Montgomery (Dearly Beloved), Ruben Wright & Gene Toone 45's as climbers.

In February 66, Hot Rod was hired to MC a big revue show @ the State Theatre. The Royal Theatre was gone as a live venue by then & many visiting soul shows would now play the Civic Centre in Baltimore. So instead of a 7 night engagement in the city to limited audiences each night, everyone got in for the one night presentation @ the Civic Centre. The State Theatre was more old school (less capacity), so the revue played the venue for 3 nights. Hot Rod was presenting & he must have watched Audrey Slo perform each night and been impressed. Roll on the summer & Hot Rod has done a deal with the owners of Forest Park in Hanover to put on a series of shows. For one of these, Hot Rod called in a few favours and had Audrey Slo, Benny Johnson, the Soul Serenaders & the Admirals on live. Audrey was promoting her Swan 45 and Benny his TARX single. The Admirals were a local R&B group (see card posted above) BUT maybe they were also the mystery outfit who cut for Volt in 65 ("Got You On My Mind"). A couple of weeks later Hot Rod was back @ Forest Park, this time with Frankie & the Spinners as the live attraction (the group became Frankie & the Spindles when they landed a record contract). I think that the Alford Girls Trio was led by Brenda Alford who would go on to be an acclaimed jazz singer. Hot Rod was also putting on shows @ the Crystal Ballroom in Baltimore to make even more money (though no live acts were advertised at this, perhaps he just got some to turn up for a PA. In his day job, he was holding down the afternoon show on WWIN. In this capacity he had been spinning (August 65) the likes of "First I Look At The Purse" by the Contours (a big hit in Balto), "Storm Warning" the Volcanoes, "Soul at Last" Bobby Sax, "Come Back Baby" Nella Dodds, "Boss Love" Lee Rogers, "Soul Heaven" by Dixie Drifter (who was a fellow DJ, but on New York's WWRL, so it was probably the old boys network tht helped this get radio plays). The WWIN DJ's power pick that week was Eddie Billups "My Faith in You". So he was keeping busy at the time.