Robbk

Are you making a joke? BOTH the music and the voices on The Royal Imperials' cut sound NOTHING like those on Billy Butler and The Enchanters' record. They are another group singing someone else's song, with a different arrangement and musicians, recorded in a different studio in a different city, with the label owner changing the song's title, and placing bogus credits on the label, ostensibly to "steal" royalties.

They must have been negotiating for the lease arrangement, and it fell through at the last minute.

I boght it new on Calla in 1967 or 1968. I've never seen it on Parkway. Calla was distributed by Cameo-Parkway at that time. I don't remember Cameo or Parkway leasing any Calla records to put out on one of their own labels.

Yes. I never meant to imply that Northern Soul high prices for rare records are in any way related to "a con job", or any kind of trickery or chicanery.

During the 1960s through 1980s, the market for DooWop/Old R&B records rose steadily, as the youthful fans of that music became middle-aged, and prosperous in their work, and could afford to bid up the prices. But, during the early 2000s, as those fans died off, or became too old to care, or needed the money for health care costs, the market prices started a precipitous fall, that has excelerated with each passing year. Fairly rare records i saw priced in the thousands can now be bought for $100 or $200, and many that were in the several hundreds can be bought for less than $75, or even $50. That will also happen to Northern Soul records, eventually.

Got it mixed up with the British film, "The Crying Game".

Thus the spelling difference. Thanks for clearing that up.

I have read that in several places, but have no direct first or second-hand knowledge on that question.

Brenda Holloway's "Crying Game" listed above is VERY CLOSE to her unreleased Motown song, "Crying Time". Did she actually sing two songs with those titles, or is "Crying Game" an error?

There was no Sidra 9001/9002. That number in the Sidra number series was used by Team Town #9001/9002 - Ronnie & Robin "Cradle of Love"/"Dreamin' ", just as W.I.G. Records shared Sidra's number series. I never saw any of those Team Town or W.I.G. Records show up on a Sidra pressing of those numbers. Here's Team Town 9001/9002:

The only regional variation should have been caused by some pressing plants having larger stock of the older 3 colour blank labels left over after the change, and using them until all used up. That period might have been 6 months to a little over a year.

Yes, that's a legit issue I saw during the 1960s. It is the styrene - looks like the Monarch pressing.

I Wow!!! This song is a direct stealing of "My Heart Is Hurtin' " written by Billy Butler, and recorded by Billy Butler and The Enchanters, and released on Okeh Records in 1964. What a nerve! And Sylvester "Sly" Stewart produced this in L.A., and took half credit for writing it! No way these singers are Billy Butler and The Enchanters. Mellow Town was located in L.A. (or. at least pressed there). Stewart worked out of The San Francisco Bay Area and L.A. The singers sound like they could possibly be The Servicemen. I first saw the Patheway orange release at least a year later than the Chartmaker (1966), and the Wind Hit in the late '60s (1968 or 1969). The multi-coloured Patheway is a late '60s label (1968, 1969 or 1970?). So, I'm convinced it was a (legitimate) later pressing (re-issue). The dates for the Chartmaker, Mellow Town, and 2 Patheway releases should be traceable by their Delta press code numbers. Wind Hit was a Phoenix label, and I'm not sure what plant pressed it. The Roy & The Dew Drops looks like a Chicago pressing plant label style and font from 1969-73.

How could you leave out The Monitors' "Crying In The Night", Carolyn Crawford's "Lover Boy" and "Until You Came Along", The Contours' "Baby Hit and Run", Tammi Terrell's "All I Do (Is Think of You)" and The Marvelettes' "I Should Have Known Better"? I'd have used Jimmy Ruffin's great vocal version of "On The Avenue". What about Shorty Long's great "A Woman Just Won't Do Right"?

That name is also on "Soul In The Back-Yard" on Mas-Ter Records, sung by Don. It stands to reason that he shortened his real name to the "catchy" name, "Heart" (and trying "Hart", as well), for his stage name, which is a lot more easy to remember and pronounce.

So...... his real name is Donald Erquhart!

Thanks! I see that they ARE the same group, having sung the 2 Double Check cuts. The 3 ladies dominated the sound on "You're Acting Kind of Strange", so as to sound like an all-female group. The 2 men's voices are strong on their Double Check cuts.

I knew about this Baltimore group. They are clearly a group with a male lead, and sound like all members are male. They don't sound, AT ALL, like The Bedford Chappells, who clearly sound like an all female group. I really doubt that these 2 groups have anything at all to do with each other.

Herb Kent played this song a lot, and it sounds like a Chicago recording. Does anyone know if The Chappells were a local, Chicago group? I lived on Chappel Avenue near 87th St. in South Chicago, during the 1960s. If so, maybe the group members lived on that street (adding an "L" to the end of the name). Ray Patterson was their producer. I seem to remember his name. Did he work out of The Windy City? But, I don't recognise Bedford as a Chicago label (Bedford, Massachusetts?), and the label font and label design don't look like late '60s Chicago style.

I have way too many "favourite" male singers to choose 1 as the "best voice". Ray Pollard, Nat "King" Cole, Arthur Prysock, Sonny Til, Clyde McPhatter, Sollie McElroy, Cornell Gunter, Jesse Belvin, Eugene Mumford, Sam Cooke, Richard Street, David Ruffin, Rudy West, Johnny Moore, Willie Winfield, Jackie Wilson. Lenny Welch, Willie Jones, Nate Nelson, Maithe Marshall, Freddie Scott, Jerry Butler, Rudy Lewis, Morris Chestnut, Cleve Duncan, Brook Benton.......etc. I'm sure there are several more that I'd place right up there with these (many from the late 1940s and early 1950)s.

I read in a previous Soul-Source thread that Dusty Wilson said he was NOT the singer in The Tomangoes, but research found out that it was Dusty Williams.

Merry Christmas from the white snows of Manitoba! Happy and prosperous New Year to all members.

Seems a distinct possibility.

I hope not. At least he shouldn't have tried to copy what Eddie did on the chorus' main line. "How to sing wildly off key, and hit flat notes".

I see why this was never released. The instrumental track is great, but Eddie's singing is terrible in the choruses. He's far off key and flat over and over, with regularity. Notably, the "Ready, Willing and Able" line. It really hurts my ears. I've never heard him do that before.