soulfulsaint

I was looking at a Lebanese issue of Bobby Moore and The Rhythm Aces 'Hey Mr DJ' last night and was reminded that a few soul records were released in Lebanon in the late '60s. This may have been discussed on a previous thread but I can't find it via search. Is there a discography of Lebanese releases or any others that spring to mind?

Better to be a 'flawed' genius than never to have tried at all. Still rate Bert.

Malc if I'm every stuck in Monk Bretton, Barnsley on the third Saturday of the month can you recommend a club?

C'mon syd the big punchline is what? Surely you're not Bert's antipodean love-child.

Best I could find was Cuba Gooding's biog which actually has more on Sylvester than Bertie boy but here it is: Gooding, born April 27, 1944, in New York City, grew up with Tony Sylvester, Luther Simmons, Jr., and Donald McPherson in Harlem. Sylvester, Simmons, and McPherson formed the vocal group the Poets in the mid-'60s. They released singles on legendary songwriter/production team Leiber & Stoller's Red Bird label: With Cuba Gooding on lead vocals, the Main Ingredient had their first million-selling single with "Everybody Plays the Fool," which hit number three pop and held the number two R&B spot for two weeks on Billboard's charts in fall 1972. The follow-up, "You've Got to Take It (If You Want It)," was included on the album Bitter Sweet, which hit number ten R&B in summer 1972. Their next LP, Afrodisiac, peaked at number 16 R&B in spring 1973 The group produced their 1974 LP Euphrates River, which included their second million-seller, a cover of Ronnie Dyson's 1973 hit "I Just Don't Want to Be Lonely". Tony Sylvester left the group to become a record producer and Carl Thompkins joined the group. Teaming with arranger/producer Bert DeCoteaux as Tony "Champagne" Sylvester, he had hits with Sister Sledge ("Love Don't Go Through No Changes on Me"), Ben E. King ("Supernatural Thing" and "Do It in the Name of Love"), and Linda Lewis. Rolling Down a Mountainside was the title of their 1975 LP (number three R&B, spring 1975) and of the title track single that hit number seven R&B. "Shame on the World" the single peaked at number 20 R&B, while the Shame on the World LP made it to number 27 R&B in late 1975. In 1977, Gooding signed as a solo artist with Motown Records. Amid much anticipation and critical raves, his solo debut, The 1st Album, produced by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter (Tavares, the Four Tops), was released in spring 1978 with only one single, "Mind Pleaser," charting number 91 R&B in spring 1978. Another Motown LP, Love Dancer, produced by Michael Lovesmith, was issued in spring 1979. Gooding re-teamed with Sylvester and Simmons, recording the Main Ingredient LPs Ready For Love (RCA, fall 1980) and the Patrick Adams-produced I Only Eyes for You (RCA, late 1981). Gooding recorded a remake of "Happiness Is Just Around the Bend" for Streetwise Records, which became a huge dance hit in late 1983. Simmons left the act and was replaced by Jerome Jackson with the group recording the 1989 Polydor album I Just Wanna Love You.

I travel all over the UK with my work so you can't rely on 'picking up flyers' nor on small circulation mags, worse still magazines owned by promoters. The internet is the best mechanism for a pan-UK view of the scene. Its even attracted me to going to Hitsville in US, Oslo and Rimini, which for all their importance flyers wouldn't.

Puliter would be a prize for pulling-it

Loved his nickname Bert 'Super Charts' DeCoteaux. One of the great supa-producers of '70s uptempo soul (aka 'Disco Shit') Parise the lord and hit the hi-hat. A minor genius.

I belive the original review won a Puliter Prize - congratulations Sean. Anyone who doesn't have a soft spot for disco shit like Mixed Feelings 'Sha La La' (United 7") must have a hard heart.

One of the most common insults on 'Soul Source' is the dimissive term 'disco shit'. Sometimes it accurately describes a poor '70s record but it is often used indiscriminately, to trash good uptempo soul, which could easily be played and is increasingly collectable. In another thread Steve G posted an old review from 'Blackbeat' which read - "Stargard "I'll always love you" (MCA) This is going to be huge. No ifs, no buts, from 1978 featuring Rochelle Runnels, Debra Anderson and Janice Williams, who deliver the vocals with the power of a neutron bomb, imagine Shirley Brown and Aretha rolled into one, you got the picture. Don't be put off by their image, this is devastating. Phew!" So can we have suggestions of great records from the 'disco era' that are collectable soul any format will do but those tantalising 7" babies are always the best.

Marmalade were previously the Glasgow R&B Beat band Dean Ford and Gaylords and did 'Seven Days is Too Long' in their live set in the late '60s. Like Liverppol and LOndon there were hundreds of Glasgow bands doing R&B covers - major among them the Beatstalkers, Frankie Miller and the Bruins and Maggie Bell. On the same theme, Midge Ure was lead singer of another Glasgow R&B showband called Slick, they covered Archie Bell's 'Here I Go Again'. But corrupted the lyrics to 'Here I Go Again, Looking For My Hole Again' ... disgusting innuendo. I think he was last seen saving Africa from famine...

Yes Audrey is Johnnie Mae's daughter she was a prominent singer in the family's first grouop Raw Integrated Funk which evolved into Black Nasty. Still love 'Cut Your Motor Off'. Audrey was born in 1956 and stayed with Black Nasty through their Detroit days at Big HIt, and I think three records with Stax. Audrey eventually married Black Nasty's other permanent lead singer Terrance Ellis. They now have kids - rappers on the Detroit hip-hop scene apparently. Funk collectors chase the 'Talking to the People' LP which is rare and collectable. It has a great photo of Audrey as a street-cleaner with the rest of the Nasties. The Girls - Mary Davis, Eula Buford and Maxine Jones are the credited on the album too. I think you can get a CD via Dusty Grooves in Chicago.

My sense was 70% classic northern and 30% new era sounds, which latterly became 'modern' As Dave says - two sub-cultures for the price of one. But still very much a 'north rules soul music' attitude, there was quite considerable resentment towards the southern based 'jazz-funk' scene which was in its infancy. Some of the records described as 'funk' - e.g. Bobby Franklin's The Ladies Choice' (Fee) 'Diane Jenkin's 'I Need You' (Creative Funk) and Oscar Perry's I Got What You Need (Peritone) were on small obscure indie labels, and so still perceived as rare soul. In contast, the southern clubs were laregly new release contemporary soul and jazz/funk at the time. The internal rivalries on the dance floor of the Ritz are the origins of the current '60s versus modern disputes on the curent rare soul scene. It has an important place in shaping the subsequent history of the scene.

Yes i remember the floor was sprung and you could feel it moving with the dancers, really strange expereince. I saw Tavares live and they made me laugh. 'Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel' was huge . They kept asking the crowd to join in but got confused between Manchester and Westchester in the USA. They kept shouting 'We Love You Westchester'' Ritz also played a role in the scene's shifting history it was a Mecca for what we now call Modern, Floaters, Rare uptempo disco etc.alongside classic northern. I loved it.

Yes it was Celtic he was signed from the Chicago Maroons and he played in the same Celtic side as Jock Stein in the early '50s. Surely that Bristol player Junior Agogo sang one of Butch's cover-ups

Rosey Grier is a very good example of a sports star that 'crossed-over' to soul music. The Pizza Pie Man was an American Football legend. England fans will also have a soft-spot for Bobby Moore and the Rhythm Aces. But I almost choked on my cornflakes this morning when I read that Scotland's under 18 golf team had won the home internationals and that a star player of the tournament was a kid from the north of scotland called Lew Kirton. Any other sporting soul stars you can think of?

Strange one this one but my sister and her pals who were original mods used to go to an allnighter in my hometown, Perth. It was called the Ingle Neuk. I was too young and just stood outside gazing at the mods going in. They played original R&B and it attracted the main mod squads from across Scotland. The house band were called the Vikings who later became the Average White Band. Always felt there was something I was missing.

One of my additions would be that being passionate can often lead to 'intolerance' of other music forms. i can't see past soul and so tend to dismiss other music, maybe too quickly. Mind you nothing i've heard outside soul makes me feel too guilty about rejecting it.

I was eating a chocolate bar at the time - A Careless Wispa.

To be fair to Robert Elms he has been a black music fan for many years although not in the obsessive way that soem of us on Soul Source are. I worked with him at the Face and frequently met him at Le Beat Route in London at the time it was a mix of street funk, northern and new club music. Some gerat music and some dire. I once danced to Wham Rap but I was on the way to the bogs at the time.

Twink DJ'd at Huddersfield West Indian Club, Venn Street with Frank as Frank 'n' Twink. Hector was his real name last seen at Red Records in Brixton, sporting trade-mark buck teeth. Lovely guy - more into house now I think. Ginger Taylor of Ginger and Eddie maybe that name now needs some explaining to younger soul fans - he used to have ginger hair. Can't remember Poke's real name?

Amazing how he can bput the oldie classic next to the underplayed modern sound. Brave and class.

You right he didn't he's still stuck at Channel 4 and hanging about dodgy soul websites - pathetic.

I think the quality is very good - when I crack the mp3 file transfer I'll post a version. Definitly worth buying. Also like the solid feel, almost like a technics, and has a variable belt drive for those midtempo gems that should have been stompers.

Soul Sam is one of the unlikliest pop-culture characters in Britain. A DJ, a teacher and a lifelong devotee of the scene, he has broken more great records than most of us will ever own. This forum is quick to criticise, so I'd like to hear of great records he broke, great moments you remember and great Soul Sam trivia. In true Channel 4 style we will end the thread with 'Top Ten Soul-Sam Moments'.