Chalky

Chuck Cockerham Interview (albeit A Very Brief One). After following up on a few leads I finally got to speak with the man behind the voice of one of the most iconic crossover records of all time, “Have I Got A Right” released on the Bell records subsidiary label Mala, the one and only Mr Chuck Cockerham. A very nice guy who agreed to briefly answer one or two of the questions that I wished to put to him. He is reputedly working with another party regarding the compiling of memoirs for a future publication and therefore only agreed to offer up limited information to some of my questions the results of which are as follows: Charles Harold Cockerham pronounced as ‘Cockeram’ with a silent ‘H’ was born in Durham, North Carolina during 1945 and being later raised in the city of Greensboro, NC. He initially began singing in his School choir which was instrumental in him forming his own Doowop group by the name of the Objectives during the early 1960’s. From 1963 to 1965 they worked regularly, culminating in the release of their solitary 45 single on Stan Lewis’s Jewel label, “Oh My Love (Come Back To Me)/Love Went Away” (Jewel 751). The Objectives later broke up following the death of Chuck’s best friend and the group’s first tenor, at this point Chuck temporarily retired from performing but later made a brief return when starting a rock group, a scenario which Chuck chose not to divulge any further information upon. In 1969 Chuck was invited to join the vocal group Bill Pinkney And The Original Drifters, the group he was to perform and record with for the rest of his performing career. Also in 1969 and just prior to joining the Original Drifters Chuck was to record his now legendary solitary solo, Mala 45. Through a chance meeting with Fred Tanner and his fellow producer Johnny Coffman, Chuck recorded the now high desirable and respected Fred Tanner penned “Have I Got A Right” backed with Hey There”. Chuck remembers that the song did receive some airplay throughout the Carolina’s upon it’s release, albeit somewhat limited. “Have I Got A Right/Hey There” was recorded at one off studio session with Chuck never ever performing the songs again. Now enjoying life as a retired performing artist, Chuck is fully aware of the huge popularity and price tag Interviewof his Mala 45 throughout the UK and indeed the rest of the world’s rare soul collector’s scene. With regards to the later, group version by The Nomads, Chuck is also aware of that but was not involved with it in any shape or form as has sometimes been reputedly mentioned. So there you have it, the sum total of what Mr Chuck Cockerham was prepare to divulge to me during our brief conversation. Words By David Welding With Acknowledgements to: Charles Cockerham.

In 1969, a 20 year old Charles Lorenzo Blakely along with fellow members of the street gang he hung out with became involved in a shoot out with another rival Milwaukee street gang which resulted in the death of one of their rivals members. Following the arrival of the Police, the shoot out developed into a high speed car chase with Charles being the driver of one of one of the evading vehicles. Charles’s vehicle was eventually brought to a halt when the Cops shot out all four tyres which caused the car to crash at 90mph into a department store called Schuster’s Warehouse. The other occupants of the vehicle managed to get away with the exception of Charles (who himself was packing a gun) having being shot twice by the Cops in the back and shoulder as well as sporting a broken arm received in the crash was the sole arrest at the scene of the crash. Following his arrest and conviction he was sentenced to 30 years for ‘Attempted 1st Degree Murder’ (due to the shots being exchanged with the Police) and a consecutive 10 year sentence for ‘Eluding’ (evading) arrest in a high speed car chase. After a subsequent retrial Charles as the car driver was found not to have been directly involved in actually shooting at the Police, so the initial 30 year sentence was quashed leaving Charles to continue the subsequent 10 year sentence at the high security Green Bay Reformatory in Allouez, Wisconsin. At the time a common practice within the US Prison System was to encourage inmates who had shown some musical ability to channel their energy into performing as groups for their own and their inmate’s entertainment. Thus in 1970 Charles Blakely formed his first ensemble under the name of the Mansion, a name he chose after reading a book on English Stately Homes! The Mansion’s line up included at different times Michael Locke, Stanley Newburn, Carl Anderson, John Crawford, Michael Smith, Larry Moses, Ronald Hardin, Jerome Wagner, Lewis Lister, Maurice Payne and Charles himself. One day while rehearsing in the prison chapel, The Mansion attracted the attention of the warden’s wife who happened to be showing some local dignitaries around. Impressed by what she heard the warden’s wife was instrumental in The Mansion being invited to perform for the city’s television station WBAY, where they recording two holiday programs. The warden later gave them permission to perform outside the prison which brought them to the attention of a Milwaukee neighbourhood program adviser by the name of Al Dunlap of the Commando Project One. It was through Dunlap that The Mansion recorded their solitary 45 release in 1974 “The Girl Next Door /Stop! Let Your Heart Be Your Guide” for the local Milwaukee label Gibbs (406). The label’s owner Bill Gibbs held the release back until some of the members of The Mansion were granted their release papers, as prisoners were unable to sign any contract agreements while still incarcerated at that time. Although Charles Blakely remained incarcerated, he was later moved to a medium security prison in Fox Lake County, Wisconsin. While there he formed a further group, a gospel ensemble called the ‘Bell Tones’ who’s line up included Charles, Mayweather Lee, Joe Hayes, and Levell Rudd. The formation of this group was seen as major factor in Charles’s rehabilitation which led to his eventual parole in late 1976, thus serving 7 years of his initial 10 year sentence. Once on the outside Charles with former ‘Bell Tone” member Mayweather Lee were joined by Charles (Sonny) Bryant and Jimmy Taylor to form a new ensemble by the name of The “Final Chapter”. As the final Chapter in 1980 they recorded a solitary release for Milwaukee main man Marvel Love’s New World Label “Now I Know/Get Down For Your Action” (NW800), a brief association that for several reasons was to eventually break down. Although Jimmy Taylor left to pursue a career as a blues musician the remaining three members of the ‘Final Chapter’ continued to perform until they finally disbanded in 1987. Although recorded, further Final Chapter songs post to their new World release remained unissued, a situation soon to be rectified with their inclusion as part of a future Soul Junction project. Charles himself is still active in the music business and is currently working on a gospel project. Following his parole in 1976 Charles has left his notorious past behind him and has stayed on the right side of the law with not even as much as a speeding ticket to his name to this day. Words By: David Welding Acknowledgements to: Charles L. Blakely for the colourful interview and photographs. Label scans courtesy of Mark (Butch) Dobson. The above article is a the fully extended version of the sleeve notes of the Soul Junction CD album “We Got A Sweet Thing Going On ” Volume 1 (SJCD 5009) released in 2014 Which will feature both sides of ‘The Mansion’ 45. The Final Chapters issued and unissued songs were also released on a further Soul Junction compilation “We Got A Sweet Thing Going On” Volume II (SJCD 2011) in 2016. Press Release: The Mansion The Girl Next Door/Stop, Let Your Heart Be Your Guide SJ548 Release Date: Monday 7th November 2022 To buy got to https://www.souljunctionrecords.co.uk/SJ548.html or send @Louise a message The Mansion were initially a prison group formed by Charles Lorenzo Blakely in 1970 while serving time in the Green Bay Reformatory at Allouez, Wisconsin. The Mansion’s line up included at different times Michael Locke, Stanley Newburn, Carl Anderson, John Crawford, Michael Smith, Larry Moses, Ronald Hardin, Jerome Wagner, Larry Lister, Maurice Payne and Charles himself. One day while rehearsing in the prison chapel, the Mansion attracted the attention of the warden’s wife who happened to be showing some local dignitaries around. Impressed by what she heard the warden’s wife was instrumental in the Mansion being invited to perform for the city’s television station WBAY, where they recording two holiday programs. The warden later gave them permission to perform outside the prison which brought them to the attention of a Milwaukee neighbourhood program adviser by the name of Al Dunlap of the Commando Project One. It was through Dunlap that the Mansion recorded their solitary 45 release in 1974 “The Girl Next Door /Stop! Let Your Heart Be Your Guide” for a local Milwaukee label Gibbs (406). The label’s owner Bill Gibbs held the release back until some of the members of the Mansion were granted their release papers as at that time prisoners were unable to sign any contract agreements while still incarcerated. Although Charles Blakely remained incarcerated, he was later moved to a medium security prison in Fox Lake County, Wisconsin. While there he formed a gospel group, called the ‘Bell Tones’ who’s line up included Charles, Mayweather Lee, Joe Hayes, and Levell Rudd. The formation of this group was seen as major factor in Charles’s rehabilitation which led to his eventual parole in 1976. Once on the outside Charles with former ‘Bell Tone” member Mayweather Lee were joined by Charles (Sonny) Bryant and Jimmy Taylor to form a new ensemble by the name of The “Final Chapter”. As the final Chapter they recorded a solitary release for Marvel Love’s New World Label “Now I Know/Get Down For Your Action” (NW800) during 1980, a brief association that for several reasons was to eventually brake down. Although Jimmy Taylor left to pursue a career as a blues musician the remaining three members of the ‘Final Chapter’ continued to perform until they finally disbanded in 1987. Three previously unissued Final Chapter songs can be found on Soul Junction Various Artists CD compilation “We Got A Sweet Thing going On” Volume II. The Mansion’s Gibbs 45 is now is a highly prized and sort after item amongst Sweet and Group Soul collectors. For further information please contact Soul Junction at: Tel: +44 (0) 121 602 8115 or E-mail: sales@souljunctionrecords.co.uk SJ548 The Mansion - Promo.mp3 SJ548 The Mansion - Promo.mp3