Amsterdam Russ

Not a problem, Gareth. To the uninitiated, all Clangers look the same...

Impression is the first label. The song was picked up by Jerhart in Chicago and became a minor hit reaching something like number 55 in the Billboard R&B charts.

Excellent - that's good info to know. To answer your question, 'Delilah/Deliala' is a mono recording. This and the other one that came with it are 10" acetates, which I've always presumed came out fresh from the studio as opposed to some 7" acetates that were used for advance promo purposes (that are nonetheless typically much rarer than the demos - and more so than later vinyl/styrene issues).

Agreed Rob, it is wonderfully primitive. At about 1:44 backing vocals kick in with (I presume) Samuel Gooden on Bass. Then they almost immediately break down: Curtis Mayfield and Fred Cash come in too late, which is surprising for the listener as we always think of them as being near perfect in the studio. My feeling is that the range or key is too high for the backing vocalists and so the expected harmonies are cut swiftly short. Major Lance, on the other hand, does a brilliant job and it's his vocals that support the whole track. So much for the claims that The Impressions were deliberately used to support someone who was supposedly considered a very poor singer!

Thanks, Tony. Any observations about the differences between the two versions appreciated...

Picked up a nice acetate recently. It features Major Lance singing Delilah on one side (spelled on the disc as Deliala) and a version of Keep on loving you on the other. I believe that a slower version of this, with a different arrangement, features on the Major's 1963 LP The Monkey Time. If so, what about the 'uptempo' version, or another take of it, did that get a release at all? https://youtu.be/PV19XiWJ1s8

Ray Pollard and The Wanderers...

I'd like a copy. What's the postage to the Netherlands and how can I pay? Thanks...

Without question the hardest to find on the Loma label are: * The Soul Shakers - I'm getting weaker (Loma 2047 - issue) * The G-Clefs - I can't stand it / Whirlwind (Loma 2048 - issue or promo) It's interesting to note that both of the hardest to find on the label came out one directly after the other! Also, two or three of the non-soul releases on the label are very difficult to get hold of as issue copies.

In my book it has to be the one, the only... Lorraine Chandler.

I'm surprised that people didn't realise which Gloria Jones was being referred to here as soon as Ed Cobb was mentioned!

And what about overseas orders?

"Don't ask who said it. Ask what they said."

To paraphrase Samuel Johnson: A man who is tired of waiting for that elusive 45 to turn up is tired of life.

But have you got a copy to sell?

Great, but I'd have to get one first!

Thanks for that...

Wanted: Faye Adams - The Hammer - Herald. Minimum condition VG+, preferably better. PM's please.

The song was written in support of the then presidential candidate Jimmy Carter. He was elected to the White House in 1976. The label of the Bareback release gives a year of 1977, when Carter was already in office, so I would be inclined to believe that the APO release came first. Also, I'm presuming that the name APO is contrived from the initials and letters of one of the songwriters, Art Polhemus (although I'm aware that as an acronym APO stands for Army Post Office!).

I think it would be a marvellous idea (although I suspect you would be better served by asking the question in a fresh post).

An excellent soul travelogue. Looking forward to the second instalment.

Parka was her husband's label. Isn't there a third release as well - on Expo?