Robbk

I never saw The Precisions in a show, nor have I heard that they were great dancers. The Mike Hanks act that I know were great dancers were The Peps/Fabulous Peps. They were said to have beaten The Temptations in same show (head-to-head" competitions. I'd be curious to see any clips of The Precisions dancing. Now that I think of it, I can't remember ever even having seen a clip of them.

And it is by far, their best cut ever (IMO). There was a ridiculous amount of super songs out when this was released (including great British Invasion songs, Beach Boys, Four Seasons. Lesley Gore, and a ridiculous amount of Motown super recordings. It just got "lost".

The Vibrations, The Contours and The Peps

So, the Imperial Baby Ray was from Tennessee, and The Cap City Baby Ray was from D.C. So, they WERE 2 different blokes, after all. Hard to believe that neither The Capitol City people, nor the D.C. Baby Ray and his manager, had never heard of the Imperial singer, given that the former was making the Soul charts in late 1966, well before 1970's Cap City release..

I did that with 1964!

ALL the Me-O records I've seen look like L.A. label styles, fonts and plastic. They look just like Jimmy McFarland's RPR font (and all other RPR Records), and there are many other small L.A. labels from 1965-68 using that font. They don't look like ANY Detroit pressings I've ever seen. Romeo Taylor was likely, at least a partner in Me-O Records, as its in-house music publisher was Rocormeo, and Taylor was one of their 2 producers, along with Thurman Hollis. The "meo" portion stands for him. The "Rocor" portion may stand for the label's financier partner. They sound Detroit, Detroiters Herschel Hunter, The Martiniques, Romeo Taylor and a Hollis are involved (Detroiter Sandy Hollis is the only other Hollis known). So, I'm convinced that the productions were done in Detroit. But the pressings look like L.A. to me.

ALL my original 1964-66 American Arts singles, whether black or white, have hand engraved rather than machined stamped matrix numbers, and they ALL have pasted paper rather than moulded labels.

I always thought he was the same guy. He sounded pretty much the same to me. I never heard of 2 Baby Rays. He was pretty well known on The Chittlin' Circuit. It doesn't make any sense that someone else would use the same name. Surely they'd have heard of the famous one and NOT used it for fear of lawsuits. He went to prison late in his career, and did some recording while being incarcerated. He died in 2000, at the young age of 62. He was one of VERY Few "White" artists played on Soul stations. Here's a link to a bio and a photo: https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=105753877

Hi Dave, I've sent a 300dpi scan of Barbara English to your e-mail address, both as a .tif file, and a .jpg file, so you can choose the best quality version. Robb

That's what I assume. Buddy Bailey went solo in the early '60s.

Did Buddy Bailey have a connection to The Carolinas? I thought he was from Washington, D.C.

I wonder if J R Bailey and Jay Jay Bailey are more likely to be the same guy than Buddy Bailey and JJ?

Yes, the name R. McGlothin is spelled out in full. Engraved into the trailer lower left is: 5535 . Straight down and slightly right is: 68 - 3155. L.A. Stomp has opposite positions: 68 - 3156 on lower left, and 5535 on lower right. No stamps or any other engravings.

Thanks a million, Ted. I HAD heard it a few times years ago. And, yes, I like it much, much more than the flip. I guess I'm more of a Popcorn and Lowrider guy than a Northern Soulie!

Bayerisch, eh? Ha! I have to put up with you lot 3 months every year. Ich wohne in Schwabing in München, beim der Uni im Sommer.

I have only L.A.'s Monarch pressing with me now, and my duplicates are in another country. so I can only provide this info: The Cameo Catalogue # is engraved in: straight left: 2-word stamped script masterer company name (like Bell Sound or Sheldon - but I can't make it out) 3/4 inch to the right and down (lower left): C 375-B 1/2 inch to right at bottom: stamped Circle with "R" inside (a Monarch designation) 1 inch to right ((lower right): Delta # 59686 - x The x is only on the "B" side -not on "A". On my Cameos from that period from the same East Coast plant as your issue's font, I have only C - 375 B engraved ( C - 375 A - R) engraved on the other side , and stamped script Bell Sound, and another stamped entry. The latter is hard to read, but it looks like: *2012 but the numbers are on an Italic slant, with *2011 on the A side. So, 2011 and 2012 are pressing plant order numbers from this different plant, analogous to Monarch's Delta numbers. A boot won't have stamped entries.

That "double negative means the opposite of "nobody CAN deny". Therefore, that means EVERYBODY can deny that The Tootsie Rollers' cuts sound 100% like Detroit. But, I am guessing that you really mean that The Tootsie Rollers' cuts sound like they were cut in Detroit. Is that not so? Personally, I think they were cut in Detroit, and like The Martiniques' cuts, were leased to an L.A. label. Or, the former owner of the masters moved to L.A. and released them there, or found a financier there to release them.

I think Me-O was an L.A. label. But, I think The Martiniques' production was Detroit, and am wondering whether The Tootsie Rollers was, as well.

Thanks, Andy.

I'll list those when I get home.

I'm not home now. But when I get home I'll list the runoff markings.

I've got a bone to pick with not only those blokes who chose to place the sped-up version of the so-called "Detroit Prophets" on The Internet, but also those poor tasters who uploaded the lousy, alternate take version of "Suspicion" by The Originals, rather than the better version that we had selected for "From The Vaults #2", and that I sent with Rod S. to The UK for its debut there. Now that sub par version is the ONLY one on The Internet (about 10 different videos). So everyone knows only that not-as-good version.

Yes, the black label is original. I saw many of those when the record was out. It was pressed both on black, and blue. The blue was at Monarch, and one other plant. The black was at a 3rd plant.

I've heard the NS side many times since the end of the '70s. But, I don't remember ever hearing the flip side (which may have been the original "A" side. I tend to like mid tempos and ballads more than the minor-key driven Northern Soul fast sides (i.e. I love "A Lover's Stand" much more than "The Airplane Song"). So, I'd really love to hear "He's A Lucky Guy". Can anyone post a soundfile of it? I couldn't find it on The Internet. Also - is Telma Laverne Telma Hopkins (her maiden name or middle name being Laverne)?

The Martiniques and Tootsie Rollers on Me-O both sound to me like Detroit recordings. There was a long-time Detroit group called The Martiniques on Danceland Records. I think I've seen Thurman Hollis' name, (writer producer on both of my Me-O records) on other Detroit records. And Sandy Hollis (possibly his daughter or wife?) was associated with Detroit's Big Wheel Records (where "T. Hollis" also appears as a writer). H. Hunter also appears on Martiniques on Me-O and Danceland Records, and should be Detroit's Herschel Hunter, who was associated with Detroit's Astra Records, and was the lead singer of Detroit's Moments (Hit, Hit Productions Records). Yet, I've heard many times from Soulies that The Tootsie Rollers was an L.A, record. Both of my Me-Os look like L.A. pressings. And, "H. Hunter" could also be L.A.'s Hank Hunter. Could Me-O have been an L.A. label owned by an ex-Detroiter, releasing Detroit recordings? Or, could it have been a label owned by an L.A. owner who leased 2 Detroit-produced records for his own release? Could this be a situation similar to Doc Records in Pennsylvania releasing 2 L.A. Jobete - produced records received from Ed Cobb, Hal Davis or Marc Gordon?