Sunnysoul

Seems that the price fetched in 2007 doesn't apply in the modern world of today. Two copies went only last week on ebay at $361.00 and $399.00 US . Both mint. When you say Only Offers over 500 - do you mean US or GBP ?

Interesting to think what musical directions Otis would have taken over the decades had he lived. Unlike Aretha who went with the flow of funk and disco in the mid 70s and then uptown, contemporary RnB with writers and producers like Luther etc in the late 70s /early 80s, you get the feeling that Otis would gradually have aligned himself more closely over the decades to the "blues" movement in the same way that Johnnie Taylor , ZZ Hill and others did. In fact, Otis would probably have wound up at Malaco in the 80's like the rest of them and then in the 90s and new millenium would have been feted and brought back into the spotlight by rockers such as the Stones or in the way U2 did with BB King ... What do the rest of you think ?

Paul Johnny Wyker co-wrote one of my favourite soul tunes and one of the first soul records I ever bought , "Let Love Come Between Us" by James & Bobby Purify on Stateside. As a kid you sometimes remember the most insignificant things and the composers' names always remained in my memory to this day "Wyker - Sobotka " probably because their names were a little unusual, not Hayes Porter or Holland Dozier !!! So when you posted this topic and I saw the heading I knew immediately who it was about. Did a little digging just now and found out a little bit of info on Johnny Wyker. As you indicated above, Johnny Wyker was one of those white southern country boys with a whole lot of soul: "Let Love Come Between Us" was originally recorded by the Alabama group The Rubber Band earlier in 1967, and written by their members Joe Sobotka and Johnny Wyker. The Rubber Band was fronted by Johnny Townsend, who later had a hit with "Smoke From A Distant Fire" as half of the Sanford-Townsend Band. Townsend told us how the group came together: "My first experience in recording in Muscle Shoals area was at a studio over in Sheffield with Marlin Green. The recording was essentially a demo to help us get gigs. We recorded some James Brown and Otis Redding songs, about 8 in all and had some acetates pressed up. I had been playing with a group of guys from Decatur and Tuscaloosa, The Rubber Band, and at the time, we were one of the most popular bands in Alabama even though we weren't doing it full time and most of us were still going to school. Later we started taking some of our gig money and going into the studio doing our songs we wrote ourselves, or by friends like Eddie Hinton. We recorded one of Eddie's songs called 'Down In Texas' at Rick Hall's FAME Studios. That's when I met Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham. They'd been having some success as songwriters and really inspired us to start writing our own songs. They all seemed like characters out of a dime novel at first. They were full time into music, something that also inspired us to want to do it full time. Some of the stuff we had been recording got heard by a big time New York producer named Charlie Calello and he brought us up to New York where we recorded a song written by two of our members, Johnny Wyker and Joe Sobotka called 'Let Love Come Between Us.' Our version on Columbia Records was considered a turntable hit in that it went to #1 in 20 major cities in the US. Columbia didn't get any records in the stores because they didn't even know it was their record. We were such novices in the business that it got by us and was gone before we knew it. It did however give us a taste of success and we wanted more. That song was later recorded by James and Bobby Purify and went up the charts." The Purify's were the cousins James Purify and Robert Lee Dickey. They're biggest hit was "I'm Your Puppet" in 1966. Other artists to record this song include Mavis Staples, Delbert McClinton and The Pointer Sisters.

PMd you

The man revealed at last.

Yes, I agree with you about sexuality not being material . And no , I wasn't trying to be funny or disrespectful to Van McCoy's legacy or memory. I have always been in awe of his work. The main point of my post was in fact the pleasant surprise and irony that he was romantically linked with a northern soul icon such as Sandi Sheldon. I am happy to retract the last section of my post if it has offended but it was never my intention to offend.

"Van never married; his songs were his “children.” He was at one time, engaged to marry Kendra Spottswood, the “girl next door” sweetheart, whom he met in 1961 when he first moved to Englewood New Jersey. She loved to sing and was soon harmonizing in the studio with Van and Norman. For the next five years they were inseparable. Van recorded her as Kenny Woods and later as Sandi Sheldon. They had big fun in the studio turning out singles together with such names as Jack & Jill and The Fantastic Vantastics. Their engagement and music ventures ended when Van delayed wedding plans to take the contract with Columbia Records." Thought I knew Van's story fairly well , especially his production on Sandi Sheldon's OKEH classic but didn't know that they were a couple for 5 years and engaged to to be married at one point. The website rather tactfully mentions that the wedding plans were "delayed" although you would think it probably had more to do with the fact that Van came to the realisation in his life that he preferred to bat for the other side , so to speak.

One could probaby compile more than a few CD's of brilliant Van McCoy related music, such was the talent of the man.

SOULFUL ILLUSION LP ? What LP ?

Yes, twice Mal, both versions too

Could probably mount a decent class action against Universal ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67RT0ctQMJg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUg-6nEsZ1g

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWGjhGzP1Go The Poindexter Brothers - Backfield In Motion (Verve)

Wikipedia - as we all know unreliable at the best of times - puts his birthdate at 1951 Ronnie McNeir From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ronnie McNeir is an American singer and songwriter born Lewis Ronald McNeir on December 14, 1951 in Camden, Alabama

Thanks Robb ... can't remember now whether we've previously had a topic on a discography for De To label ?

Can anyone confirm the year of release ? Want to ascertain how old Ronnie was when he made this record. He was born December 1951. Thanks.

Anyone have one for sale ?

With Blowing My Mind To Pieces on the other side, makes this disc a definite contender for the greatest ever soul double sider .

Australian issue on Parlophone ! https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/mel_and_tim/backfield_in_motion___do_right_baby_f4/

PMd you too

Anyone have one please ?!