Roburt

Gene McDanield spent a lot of time in the Uk in 1962. He did promotional work, press interviews, had a part in a film and was a member of a major tour package that went all over the UK in April / May 62. He played my home town (Donny) but as I was only 12 at the time, I didn't make it to the Gaumont that night.

Jerri / Jerry Jones started out in the music biz in Cleveland. She was a woman who dressed as a man. She MC'd / sang / joked, etc. Moved down to Miami & teamed up there with Jerry Williams. Made friends with the Jamericans in the area & then moved again, to Jamaica. With the hatred of gays on the island, she had to dress as a woman there ... had a UK 45 release of a 4 Tops cover that she'd cut on the island ...

Bought the comp CD 'Rocksteady Soul: the Original Cool Sound of Duke Reid's Treasure Isle' many years ago ... it's still available from Amazon & the like .. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rocksteady-Soul-Original-Sound-Treasure/dp/B00005NSWY A similar musical package I believe ... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Records-Presents-Dynamite-Rocksteady-Jamaica/dp/B013W9AWD0/ref=sr_1_10?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1528827860&sr=1-10&keywords=reggae+soul

"K-Jee" entered the US 45 charts at the beginning of July 71 ... here's an early ad for the band's releases at that time ... The 45 first hit the shops in the US back in April 71 when it seems RCA 74-0461 (issue) & promos SPS-45-264 + SPS-45-275 were all pressed up at the same time ... guess copies of the two promos went to different outlets (soul radio stns, rock radio stns, juke box suppliers, clubs) ...

Just about every 45 on the US Fania & Vaya labels qualify ..

A few Oriole 45's from the late 50's thru to 64 ... Anyone got a Oriole American Advance Copy 45 ?? .. or were Oriole just putting stickers on normal labels by then ?

Not the same backing track but ORIGINALLY the same song ... Gene Dozier started work on a song back in Philly ... he then moved on to Detroit & then LA. In LA he cut Lorenzo Manley on a ballad but didn't have a B side cut (due to lack of cash). So he used a demo version he'd sung on himself as the B side of Lorenzo's 45 .. thus we came to have "Swoop Down On You" (the track doesn't feature Lorenzo at all BTW). The 45 (which does feature Lorenzo on the A side) was licensed for release by Original Sound. At that time, Ugene was still using the false name he had taken on to land earlier work in Detroit; Billy Jackson. As stated earlier, Gene had started to write the song back in Philly, though it wasn't finished when he'd moved on to Detroit. So his version (credited to Jackson - Santifer -- his LA collaborator), when completed, differs a bit from the original Philly version of the song, which of course when developed by Norman Johnson became Eddie Carlton's "It Will Be Done".

The Platters management went to Detroit & asked for Detroit cut backing tracks they could use on songs for their group. As I understand it, local producers took old tracks, removed the old vocals and new lyrics were written. The tracks were then used in a New York studio with Sonny Turner & some studio backing singers doing their thing on the old Detroit tracks ... the Platters needed their sound updated back at the time & so their management team (for whom they were the cash-cow) adopted this policy as an almost sure fire winner ... not too many of those 'new songs' were 45 hits but the LP must have sold OK (both in the US and in the other countries where the album escaped). Is the story behind the Maurci tracks a similar scenario ??

Lars, do these help at all ... from 1959 & 1963 ... Dizzy was a sax player who led a band back then (if it's the same guy; this is the guy known to Henry Stone in Miami) ...

Miami's Birdland Club ... later in the 60's ... and Willie John in Miami ..

A bit off topic BUT I think it fits in with the thread ... Miami back in 64 ... at the start of the period when many islanders were becoming Jamericans ... I'm sure lots of reggae singers became quite influenced by soul during those years ...

No problem at all ... he was basically a reggae artist who made soul tracks ... lots of the best reggae soul (IMO) was actually made in the UK but owed much to Jamaica.

Mel Turner made quite a few goodies from 1962 onwards ... I have an old mag article on him from around 63 (it's on my other computer, so can't post it up here till I get home). He was from Trinidad / Tobago & did nearly all of his recording in the UK & Europe.

Jackie Opel was from Barbados, but he did his recording in Jamaica ... some of which was great soul.

Rekkids are round pieces of playstick that you put on raydiowgranns. You shouldn't have let me know it annoys you, it'll be used even more from now on BIG BRO

John Schroeder was Orioles A&R man in the period 1962 to 64 ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Schroeder_(musician) He was the guy behind Oriole's decision to release Motown product in the UK. He had a distinguished 'soul linked' music career ... SEE ... https://www.johnschroeder.co.uk/ for more details He obviously lost his job when Oriole was bought out by CBS but he moved on to Pye Records (1964) and stayed with soul there & later ...

BUT MONGO ... is it Latin soul or is it just jaaazzzzy soul ... ... another one .... this one is Latin jazz ...

A few of the rekkids pressed up by CBS in Aston Clinton in the 70's ...

70's Latin jazz ... the 1st one just released here on a 45 too (only Streetwave 12" here in the past) ...

No doubt a lot of their workers transferred to the new Aylesbury plant in 1980, after initially being employed at the Aston Clinton facility. Up to 1964, this is where all of Oriole's records were made. Thinking about the stuff the staff could have 'taken home' from the new place from 1980 onwards is totally eclipsed by what the guys in the Aston Clinton facility could have gotten hold of ... all the early Oriole America Motown stuff, all the CBS / Direction 60's / 70's soul 45's & LP's .. plus 70's stuff on Warner Bros, Atlantic, Reprise, Whitfield, etc .... ... bet there were a few priceless 45 acetates & test pressing made in there.

When I was still working (for Thames Water), I used to get jobs in the Aylesbury area a lot. Many times I'd have to attend meetings at TW's works at the end of Rabans Lane. That meant I'd drive past the old CBS Pressing Plant on that road. CBS moved from their old record pressing plant in Aston Clinton (a village just south of Aylesbury) in 1980, after starting building their new plant on Raybans Lane in 1978. From 1980 onwards, all their rekkids (& some other UK record companies) were pressed up at the Aylesbury plant. Ahead of that move, as I said, they had their factory in Aston Clinton, just to the south of Aylesbury. They'd bought this off Oriole's Morris Levy in 1964 but the plant had actually opened up way back in the 50's. JUST THINKING ... what great modern soul stuff was manufactured on Raybans Lane in Aylesbury from 1980 till the plant was taken over by Cinram in 2004. I guess some of the guys who worked there ended up taking home old 45 / 12" / LP acetates / test pressings when it was working & again when it was closed down ... Anyone from the town come across any old CBS workers who have a stash of rare soul rekkids ??

I've stirred up a hornests nest with the thread on Dora Hall, so don't want to get any flack here .... BUT .... About 90% of the time, I can't stand soul versions of pop / country/ rock songs ++ By The Time I Get To Phoenix has never been a song I like ... ... so can't say I am taken much with Court's version. Nothing against him or his vocal style, I just don't like the song.

Not quite totally true ... The Velours were brought over to the UK and made to appear as a fake version of the Temptations by UK promoter Roy Tempest. Lots of the early UK gigs they did were for Pete. He liked them & they liked him, so they asked him to become their manager. He accepted the role but got them to change their name to the Fantastics ... the rest is history ... SOME ON-LINE BITS about Roy Tempest .. ... In the late 60s I booked a lot of Roy Tempest's acts - Alan Isenberg was the agent there that I dealt with. One time I'd booked 'Fontella Bass' into a club in Wrexham for a Friday night and 'Mary Wells' at a venue in Telford on the Saturday for the same promoter. He and I went to Wrexham to see Fontella and were spotted by one of Roy's road managers. In the ensuing conversation he casually dropped in, "oh you've got Mary Wells tomorrow night in Oakengates haven't you". We had. Early the next morning, a telegram arrived saying Mary Wells had had to return to America unexpectedly, but all was not lost, Fontella was 'free' that night and could appear in her stead. Whoever the girl singer was, she was obviously being both artists. All of that said, I don't remember ever having a 'bad' act from Roy Tempest. see here for more details on the Velours & their UK backing band back then ... .... https://www.garagehangover.com/tag/roy-tempest/

Just about the biggest anthem at the Mojo ...

The news report ... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44394076