Ian Dewhirst

Yep, I guess so. What I was suggesting was whether the Impressions version acted as a kind of demo for the Stairsteps & Cubie one? I presume it's exactly the same backing track and they just re-recorded the vocals. It'd be interesting to know how far apart the recordings were? It may have been just days, since both versions came out at around the same time. The Five Stairsteps (and Cubie) was undoubtably the more commercial of the two, that's for sure. Ian D

But surely Curtis would have recorded it with the Impressions first wouldn't he? I presume that Curtis probably had it in the can ready to go and then gave it to the Five Stairsteps......and Cubie on the basis that it was a cute song and would probably fit the guys, gal & 3 year old kid better..........? Ian D

We're using The Stairsteps "I'm The One Who Loves You" on a forthcoming Backbeats. We actually included the Impressions version of "Stay Close To Me" on another volume 'cos most people know the Stairsteps (and Cubie) version but not the Impressions which is more straightforward and Curtis sings it beautifully........ Ian D

Yep, that makes total sense. Ian D

Maybe they were just invisible.....? Well, it was always a weird fit for Alohe and Cubie was a last minute add-on so if anyone was going to leave........ Ian D

Who was in and who was out when they went to "Second Resurrection" on Dark Horse then? I always wondered how come they signed to George Harrison's label as well. From Curtis to George Harrison is an interesting move. Ian D

OK, that's 3 potential lead singers in the course of this one thread - Cubie, Clarence or Keni? I'm gonna have to listen now 'cos I always thought it was a bird called Cubie...... ........and if it was Keni I'll rib him about his balls not dropping when he sang that! But it's Clarence right? Ian D

Cubie isn't a she??? Dammit. What kind of a name for a bloke is Cubie? No wonder it's confusung.......... In that case, I wonder how Alohe felt when Cubie butted in.........? Bloody kids stealing all the limelight and all that..... But if I was Cubie I'd be wondering why the font on my name on the label is reduced to lower case and why did they leave my name off the Billboard ad? Ian D

Whoever proof-read that ad needs shooting! They missed off Cubie for God's sake! Come to think of it, who the hell was Cubie anyway? What's her story I wonder? I always felt a bit sorry for Cuby. It always felt like she was a bit of an add-on. The Five Stairsteps...and.....er...Cubie........ Anyone know what happened to her? Ian D

Probably. I haven't seen nor heard of him since the mid 70's and that is 35 + years ago. RIP Bob. Ian D

I reckon it's all a question of programming Lenny. It's a fantastic good time record that's totally infectious, sounds great loud and is sung by a Soul music heroine. What's to lose? The last 3 times I've played this out it's been a floorpacker every time. Stick it on after Ila Vann You Made Me This Way" and it'll hold the floor beautifully! Ian D

I can't believe you swallowed the bait so easily LOL..... I've got this on a BEAUTIFUL mint yellow promo. Funny how some records stay isn't it......? Ian D

Totally brilliant Northern Soul and I kick myself every time for not hammering into a monster in the early 70's! One of my favourite records these days! Ian D

Good question Mark. Ian D

The coolest music produced in the UK over the last 50 years has always been as a direct result of black America whether it was from the Beatles, the Stones or Led Zeppelin. The UK has always been a cultural sponge for serious influences and black America has been the major influence since Robert Johnson in the late 20's. I don't know why that is but I suspect it's because of the UK's imperialistic past and the fact that we're possibily a bit more in tune with different cultures as a result of our colonial history. We're a nation of very committed librarians who like documenting stuff and luckily we have a very solid knowledge base of experts in many fields. I've always found it quite sad that the USA fails to value it's own history in the same way that the UK does. It's somewhat ironic that we should all be having a LIVE conversation in 2011 with such an iconic figure in our history as Lorraine Chandler on a UK forum. Hey, Dusty was great for sure (and one of my favourite singers of all time), but she never enjoyed the level of credibilty that you have Lorraine. The internet is a beautiful thing and this thread is the living confirmation. Ian D X

The American record business of the 60's is my passion. I'm absolutely fascinated by the stories and I'm very lucky to be in a position where I've managed to meet many of the serious movers and shakers from that period. In 2 weeks time Kenny Gamble is rolling into town and has gracefully agreed to do some PR for the Philadelphia International 40th Anniversary. Kenny doesn't really know it yet, but he's going to be doing a filmed in-depth interview where he'll be grilled by Richard Searling on his 60's and early 70's career and Ralph Tee on his mid 70's to present career. Richard and Ralph will be prepping for this interview none stop for the next 2 weeks without a doubt. I for one can't wait. I'm re-reading "House On Fire: The Rise And Fall Of Philadelphia Soul" by John A. Jackson this weekend, just to make sure we're totally prepped. https://www.amazon.co.uk/House-Fire-Rise-Fall-Philadelphia/dp/0195149726 Can you imagine Kenny taking us through his early solo career on Arctic and Columbia and then moving on to Neptune, Excel, North Bay, Crimson, Gamble, Huff Puff etc, etc and then how he and Leon set up Philadelphia International? This is the stuff that dreams are made of! Ian D

All makes perfect sense to me. Berry Gordy was necessarily a tough businessman which is what you had to be to even be in contention in the independent music biz of the 50's and 60's. He knew exactly how it worked and he would have run all parts of the operation with a rod of steel from top to bottom. Also, let's not forget that he was a black man from Detroit, so to accomplish what he did was really way against the odds and a monumental task anyway. I think he learnt the business really well with his early experiences with Jackie Wilson (including co-writing "Reet Petite). He learnt some more when he sold Marv Johnson "You Got What It Takes" to United Artists and found out how the majors worked. I think his key advantage to getting paid by his distributors was that he always had more hot records coming month in month out, so it wasn't worth screwing him over because you'd lose out on the future releases. His single greatest achievement was in setting up a faultless production line of fantastic records. Once he got that in place then the rest was just about good management. He even brought in Barney Ales to enforce collections which shows you that he knew what he was doing. So yes. Berry would absolutely have his own system for dealing with returns, which I believe would have been zero. Ian D

Now that's just blatant profiteering! I thought we were all in this together.....? Ian D

Some record company execs Chalky. One reason why I bounce around a lot in this business is because I always end up getting on the boss's nerves with my uncannily accurate predictions of why the business has been going to shit for the last 25 years.... There's no point anymore. Nobody cares or wants to even listen. Sad really. Ian D

I'm presuming the Impressions but does anyone know for sure? I think they're both from '68 but I dunno which is the original. Hadn't ever even heard the Impressions until I started trawling Curtom for some Backbeats goodies......... Ian D

Why dontcha drop in on Bob Catanneo if you can locate him? He used to be in Daly City but seems to have dropped off the map..... Ian D

And available so cheaply! It looks like it was bargain time before this thread started! Ian D

Depends what you collect really. Early CD's which have been long deleted can fetch major money....try finding those Japanese P-Vine CD's now - they're gold dust..... Also, with vinyl, if your house goes up in flames or there's a flood in your record room then that's it. Goodbye music collection. If my lappy goes down I've got several back ups so I would argue that having digital back up for your collection is just good sense. If you actually listen to the music that is...... Ian D

Collectors are often a different audience Chalky. I prefer a collectors session either at my or someone else's house where you can relax and actually listen to stuff at leisure without any contraints. Or a Sunday afternoon session in a garden when the sun's out. Or a radio show. For me personally, the collector's thing is just something I appreciate more with a smaller group of people. Mind you, I've had the best part of 40 years in these kind of gatherings and I get restless these days.......... So when I'm out and about I want to have a bit more of a general buzz and some decent social interaction. I'm not really in the mood for too much introspection when I'm out and I've had a few drinks. I just wanna have fun. So in that kind of mood, I really couldn't give a damn about what format something is on. Some of the best sets bar none that I've heard in the last 10 years have been right off a computer anyway. So I'm 100% not a format freak that's for sure. But for Northern and Rare Soul the vinyl is obviously a key component for all the reasons we know about and I guess that's a large part of the appeal. It's very difficult to explain to strangers about the compulsive nature of this scene. As someone else said earlier, you either get it or you don't...... Ian D

I don't think House Of Sounds was John Lamont. I would probably have avoided him as I knew he'd been around the block with Global and John Anderson so there seemed little point in going there. In fact I wasn't in Philly that long - maybe 2 or 3 days. I actually stayed at Val Shively's whilst I was there and I went to House Of Sounds on day 2. Philly was a bust out compared to L.A. I would have had to stay there months to turn up stuff I reckon. John A had been ploughing Philly for years already so the best bet was to try and get to something where there was a huge turnaround, like House Of Sounds. It didn't take me long to realise I'd have to live there for a year, to do the place seriously. I still think the hit rate would have been sluggish though. Just too many records....... Ian D