Amsterdam Russ

The title of and discussion in the thread gives it away. Some people buy tunes because they are in-demand. In-demand by whom? Peers. Sheep are everywhere...

Another one just come to mind... The Manhattans - Summertime in the city

Can't believe I forgot... Jackie Wilson - Nothing but blue skies

Summer kind of love - Four Voices My world is on fire - Jimmy Mack

I agree with all of the points that peer pressure is an influencing factor. Sometimes as a species we are more sheep-like than human. There is one other factor that hasn't been mentioned yet, and that's the fact that tracks sound completely different when played out at a venue than they do when on your turntable at home. A tune played to you round at a mate's house, and which you express no real like for, suddenly becomes something completely different when you hear it pumped out loud and bassy at a venue for the first time. Mind you, numerous times in the past, 45s bought because I'd heard them played at clubs or allnighters have sounded, well, quite disappointing when played in the quiet and comfort of home; so much so that they sound like completely different songs that perhaps I wouldn't have bought had I heard them in a domestic situation first.

Yes, it is performed in English - although I would still have been thrilled if at the start JJ had burst into Spanish!

From Argentina - JJ Jackson LP on WB.

I recently put Jimmy Robbins 'I can't please you' on a cd for my father to listen to - he grew up in the 50s. Said he really liked it. Why? Because, he says, it reminded him an awful lot of Chuck Berry. Sometimes I think that we suffer from too much of a desire to label things and stick them in pigeon-holes.

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Excellent info - thanks for sharing!

Off the top of my head... Push on Jesse Jackson - The Pace Setters Free at last (great day a comin) - James Barnes & The Agents (& Jock Mitchell) I'm tired, I'm tired, I'm tired - Marva Whitney The prayer - Ray Scott

Thank you!

From what I've read, reissues include The Marvellos, The Soul Shakers & Charles Thomas (although the press release states 'Carl Thomas' - perhaps they meant both Carl Hall and Mr Thomas). Here's a link to the original press announcement, which primarily focuses on their participation at the last WFMU record fair and how they're getting back into vinyl: Warner Bros story The bit about the Loma reissues is in the last paragraph or two. The announcement provides a press contact and at the time I did email them for more info on what their plans were. Sorry to say no rely was forthcoming from the WB media room. Has anyone actually seen or got any of these reissues?

Chunning or Channing? Chunning is an oriental name. At the same time, Channing Way is the name of a street in the Berkeley, 94704 zip code.

A quick search online shows that the company was the country's sole pressing plant; certainly existed in 1964 and signed a licensing deal with Monument in 69; was pressing and distributing for WB possibly late 60s, but definitely early 70s. They also pressed stuff locally for the Barclay label. Further digging shows that they were co-owned by the Italian RIFI organisation that was centred in Milan. The MD of the Lebanese outfit was called Mario G Haddad.

A couple of years back WB/Rhino were looking to put together a complete anthology of the Loma label. As well as compiling all the A & B sides into one box set, it was to also include a good trawl through the archives to find any unreleased material. That though, was a couple of years ago, and I've not heard anything since. As I recall, Rhino laid off a good number of people some months ago, so it's possible that the Loma project was shelved along with any intention to dig in those archives. WB did, of course, recently reissue a number of Loma soul tracks in the States - on 45! This being part of their re-kindled love affair with vinyl. Is there unreleased material in the Loma archives? Of course there is.

The genesis of the group War can be traced back to the LA funky/Latin outfit Senor Soul. Via their founder, Chuck Miller, they connect directly to The Romeos of Loma & Double Shot fame. Also, in his autobiography, the Magnificent Montague (of 'Burn, Baby Burn' fame), states: "I finally built my studio on Vermont at 84th in the heart of South-Central LA using what I'd learned at the hands of Don Robey in Houston and Jimmy and Vivian Bracken at Vee Jay in Chicago. Bobby Womack... recorded for me. So did a group called the Watts 103rd Street Band and the Romeos. In the early seventies those two bands merged to become War, which later recorded with the British star Eric Burdon."

Love it - you must be quackers to not like it!

My understanding is that there are no charges when money is taken from your linked bank account (not your linked debit card) - except when a foreign exchange transaction is being made. Then there is something like a 1% charge. If you're the buyer it is your choice as to who swallows that charge - you or the seller. Of course, there are other 'costs' involved courtesy of the lousy exchange rates given by Paypal.

Going back to the 40s and 50s, the music that Wexler supposedly first described as Rhythm and Blues was very often referred to as Blues and Rhythm!

Yup, must admit I did for a while! One track that always me thinking something else is being sung is Bobby Banks - I'm a bachelor. In parts it sounds like he's singing "I'm a bastard". This sentiment is echoed by the backing vocalists who for certain are singing out the words "great big bastard" with so much conviction that it would hard to disagree!

Roosevelt Grier was half of 'The man with two heads' (aka 'The thing with two heads'). The other half being Ray Milland...

Barbara McNair plays Sidney Poitier's wife in the film 'They call me Mr Tibbs'. The gospel song sung through the opening titles of the film 'Inherit the wind' is performed by Leslie Uggams. Ketty Lester appeared in numerous episodes of 'Little house on the prairie'. Once, and this is tenuous, when catching the tail end of a contemporary American medical drama (possibly ER), I saw among the end credits an actress by the name of Anne D'Andrea.

I agree with you there, Paul. Have always thought 'Mr Moonlight' is a lovely little gem.

I saw him and Irma Thomas around this time, possibly earlier, at the Astoria (I think it was called) at the top end of Charring Cross Road in London. He was very poor then, much as he was at the Malaco concert in Hammersmith a few years earlier. I had a guest pass to that one and spent couple of happy hours with all the acts at the press cocktail party. I and a friend spent a good hour just talking to Bland's guitarist, Wayne Bennett. Top concerts: Curtis Mayfield - London, at a long closed venue in Victoria, possibly also called the Astoria?T & LaTouche - fantastic Midlands reggae band that I saw at the underwhelming Shrewsbury Music Festival about half a dozen years ago.King Pleasure & The Biscuit Boys - 100 Club in the mid 80s.The Neville Brothers - Shepherd's Bush Empire in early 90s. Truly great performers!