Roburt

Hope this comes to London eventually ... https://backstagebaltimore.wordpress.com/2017/12/20/press-release-baltimore-center-stage-to-present-the-world-premiere-of-soul-the-stax-musical-may-3-june-10-2018/

Rita started out (in her time associated with Ray Charles) as a Raelette in 68. She told me (@ Prestatyn) that he strung her along about recording her as a solo artist for a fair while (they were touring none stop at the time). He then did the album project on her but put it out without any promotion at all. She had been promised a better effort & so confronted him. This resulted in a big row & so she quit his entourage & left the record company in 69. With the bad blood between the two, I can't see any reason at all why Ray would put any tracks by her out around 4 years later ... so 'the story' of it possibly being a legit 45 doesn't have any legs at all.

One of my faves from her ....

The newspaper article reporting her leg amputation .... https://www.jacksonsun.com/story/news/2017/10/16/denise-lasalle-hospital-recovering-leg-amputation/768628001/

Denise LaSalle R I P View full article

Picked up numerous UK 7" copies of this for a few pence each back in 1992. Seemed not too many folk wanted copies back then. Probably still got some spares up in the loft even today.

Bought this 45 as a UK new release way back in June 69 ...

. . A new Motown related project ... https://www.fulwell73.com/motown

Rick @ work ...

Rick with Candi Staton .... AND ... one of their tunes ....

Rick Hall R I P View full article

Not too many copies of the US Prodigal issue have come to light so far ... so I'd say that version of the 45 is rare. US demo copies are easy to find (& cheap) as they don't feature CAN'T STOP SINGING.

In the mid 70's, American company ABC had local distributors in 44 foreign countries. That opens up the prospect of up to 40 different versions of 45's from the likes of Ruby Andrews, Dramatics, Clarence Carter, 4 Tops, Denise LaSalle, Carl Carlton, Lamont Dozier and more ...

Another UK effort for the UGLY bin ...

Not as bad as they could possibly have been ... UK & Aussie cover versions ....

The Philly radio stn that Steve Schorr worked at (back in the day) ... WDAS ...

Thought some might be interested in watching this ... an interview conducted on Lou in Vegas ... WARNING : it contains some adverts in places ...

The owner of Arch presenting on a St Louis show ...

Six of the different promo label variations shown here ... https://www.discogs.com/Philadelphia-International-All-Stars-Lets-Clean-Up-The-Ghetto-Vocal/master/620156 . . . . SPECIAL BOSTON EDIT version ...

Andy Belvin wrote quite a few songs and most of these were assigned (in the 60's / 70's) to Lawana Music (still registered with BMI). He had stuff cut by the likes of the Carter Brothers (Celeste), the Creators (Misty), the Birds of Paradise (Newman) and in the 70's by Don Thomas & Tommy Bush for Cal State Music Records. King Solomon (who cut for LeBam) also worked with Frank Wedlaw on other labels. 45's released by him on Don J (prod & arr by Frank Wedlaw), Cadillac (a Wedlaw/ McDaniels Prod), Magum and Resist were assigned to either Wedlaw Music or Lawana Music. Wedlaw also wrote the song he cut for Checker in summer 1961.

A question was asked on another thread about the above outfits. The 1st evidence of a LeBam company involved with the music biz came in the early 50's when LeBam Music Publishers of Sacramento (Cal) was formed. They existed through to at least the mid 50's, probably longer. A large educational campus in Sacramento was / is Cal State University. The LeBam Record label itself sprang into life around 1963/64 (to my best of my knowledge) and were Calif based (LA ?). Two of the main guys on the technical / music front at the label were Frank Wedlaw and Andy Belvin. Andy Belvin was a recording artist in his own right on Candix (62), Flashback, Vault (Atco), Rayco & Gee-Kay. Later (in the 70's), he had 45's out on Cal State Music. The Rayco label he cut for was owned by Floyd Ray and is known in NS circles for Nathan Mckinney & Valleyites "Oh How I Love You" (which was cut in Calif and featured the Chambers Bros on backing vocals). Acts who cut for LeBam included the Rocking Royals, the Vowels (aka Vows -- Morris Chestnut was a member), the Singers (who's 45 was picked up for national release by Loma), King Solomon and Don Pierce. It seems too much of a coincidence to me that Andy Belvin ended up on the Cal State Music label in the 70's, when LeBam Music had been based out of Sacramento where Cal State Uni is based. Little else about the label comes easily to hand, it seems to be another of those record labels who's output was largely ignored at the time and that knowledge on has now slipped away in the mists of time.

IPG must have had big plans in 63 as they also took on the distributing rights for an established label ... CLOCK ....

More bits on the set up & their associates .... It seems that IPG group Harry & the Keyavas was led by Harry Starr. AND ... that VIVID RECORD's L. B. Wilson was really Danny Cannon (aka Lenny O'Henry) and his cuts featured the Four Seasons on backing vocals. Danny / Lenny / L B had started out in the Vibraharps along with Donnie Elbert.