Robbk

You didn't finish your sentence. The notes say................ What do they tell us that we didn't know? I read them all on both videos, and saw nothing new.

The background tracks are good. The song is okay, writing wise. But he's not much of a singer. I've seen that record before in Chicago in the late '60s, and passed it up, even for 25 cents, or whatever the low price was. I know it was a low price, because I was wrestling with myself to decide if I should waste the few cents just to hear it and satisfy my curiosity. But, I finally decided there was 99.7+ % it would be garbage (and it turns out I was right). 😎 I'd never heard it before just now.

Interesting. I didn't know that.

I agree. That sounds more likely, given that we haven't seen Amnon Feldman listed as a Chess writer. I forgot about Artie Feldman. I wonder if he was Amnon's father? 😁

I don't know for sure. But that group worked with Chess Records, and so did he. Despite the fact that his record was out a few years before Rotary Connection had that LP released, he might well have known Minnie Ripperton when she was a member of The Starlets. Maybe Feldman was hired as a staff songwriter for Cadet-Concept's not-so-soulful (more mainstream) material? How many Feldmans worked for Chess? The odds are good that he was the writer.

Also the fact that The Chess Brothers knew Feldman's name when they signed him. Why would they wait until his record had already been, slated, assigned a number, and some of his records were pressed up before realising that his name might cause sales to be less than reasonably profitable? I don't remember any major atrocities committed by Jews in USA around that time. Had they felt that way, they'd have signed him only under the condition that he'd adopt a "stage name", if he wanted to have a significant singing career.

So Mel Anton and James Jamerson co-produced it. That's the first time I can remember James Jamerson getting producer credits. Until now, I've only seen arranger and songwriting credits.

Several of The Platters' mid-to-late '50s hits had luxurious strings, and so did The Flamingos' cuts for Decca, and The Five Keys at Capitol, and Jesse Belvin at RCA, and Brook Benton with Epic and Mercury.

So, that was the Chicago and Gems' connection. But, most of The Gems were also in The Starlets, headquartered in Chicago. So, they weren't likely to also be members of The Gems(e.g. Louise Bethune moved to New York, and formed a new Gems group, which was no problem, because the old Gems had already changed into The Starlets, OR, she left The Starlets, or disbanding Gems, and formed a new Gems group, and through a New York contact, got a production deal with Gloria Toote, who got her new Gems a record deal with Riverside).

I'm sure that they weren't the same group.

Chicago's Gems were a Girls Group lead by ultra-high voiced Minnie Ripperton. The Riverside Gems are very likely to have been a New York Metro group, given that Riverside was a NY label, and their producer was Jesse Herring, Jr. Neither group had national hits. So, there was no reason for either to even know about each other. The Chicago Gems were well-known in Chicagoland. I'd bet virtually nobody knew who New York's Gems were. Their records didn't sell at all. At least 3 of Chicago's Gems' records had good Chicago local sales, and some other Midwest area sales. No way to confuse them. Chicago's Gems were led by ultra-high-voiced Minnie Ripperton, while the New York group lead singer had a deeper voice. Chicago's Gems were a tighter group, working better together in tight, more intricate harmonies.

I remember it being out in 1959. Was it really recorded as early as 1958??? I just looked it up. It was recorded on March 6, 1959, and not released until late April. What a weird memory I have! Half the time I can't remember my own name, how to walk or talk, and yet I can remember when songs came out over 60 years ago. I remember loving "There Goes My Baby" BECAUSE of the sweet strings, and that most of the R&B music on the radio in 1958 had gone WAYYY-YYYY downhill from its height in 1953-54, each year. '58 was the WORST! -until FUNK started bumping all the sweet Soul (except Motown) off the radio in 1966. The new Drifters' style was a breath of fresh air, and started the transition of "R&B" to "Soul".

Here's The Janettes' "He's Crying Inside" from late 1962-early 1963: The lead is a lot closer to Cholli Maye's voice than that of Shirley Alston, but Cholli's seems quite a bit deeper. But singers are certainly capable of singing in deeper or higher registers.