I Reckon This Is Edwin Starr

[Kev Cane]

This has to be Edwin Starr on lead vocals, anyone confirm, while we are on the subject, its not half bad IMHO

Kev

MP3 file removed by site, as per house rules

[Benji]

"In The Style Of" Edwin, rather than the man himself, but a lovely record in any event! Thanks for posting Kev...

I agree, lead singer obviously influenced a lot by Edwin Starr yet he sounds like the same lead as on many (if not all) other Shades of Blue recordings.

BTW, Shades of Blue are online. Click here

[Godzilla]

I agree, lead singer obviously influenced a lot by Edwin Starr yet he sounds like the same lead as on many (if not all) other Shades of Blue recordings.

BTW, Shades of Blue are online. Click here

Damn! I was hoping nobody would link to this just yet. I was planning to do a Sunday Picture Quiz with Suart Avig/Ames as the subject

[De-to]

they are still doing it apparently,

https://www.theshadesofblueonline.com/the-shades-of-blue-biography-carlos-valverde.php

[Kris Holmes]

Edwin Starr had a hand in coaching the Shades of Blue & also wrote a couple of songs for them, so it's totally believable that the singer from Shades of Blue is heavily under his influence.

[Kev Cane]

Thanks for the feedback everyone, Kris,s last post there really makes me even more curious, the fact he was involved with them officially.

Kev

[purist]

Years ago me and Blue Max spent the evening with Edwin, including quizzing him on his memory of Detroit Labels, music and musicians etc and somehow the subject came up of the Shades of Blue and he got very vocifierous about them.

He was most adamant that it was his group and that he introduced the various members to each other, his phrase was " I put that group together". He was adamant he taught them how to harmonise properly in the current contemporarystyle, and that he wrote all their material. I was a fan of their album, and asked Edwin about it. He sang extracts of the bulk of the songs and told us how he'd come to write some of the tracks.

It became obvious that this was a touchy subject because Edwin felt he should have had credit in the financial sense as well as the other sense. He really started to go off on one and as we were there with the idea of asking him to do a charity soul nite at a greatly reduced rate I hastily tried to change the subject, but he kept going at it like a dog with a bone. It became more than a little uncomfortable and ended up with him going on about how all the artists got ripped off etc.

Some time later I accidentally found John Rhys and I asked him about Edwin's recollections. He told me his side of the story and it was significantly different from edwin's on many areas, including The Shades. I think in subsequent years John has written a lot of this stuff down (Mark hanson who's on here would know more I think) but when you have 2 people who were actually there telling you different versions of the story it's hard to know which is the most accurate?

btw Hitsville Chalky is a friend of S Avig's so any onfo relating to him, or Detroit groups he knew, he's the best bloke to ask. Chalky stops at his house when he goes to Detroit and he gave Chalky a copy of Angelina he had stuck up on the wall, how good is that !

[Kev Cane]

Years ago me and Blue Max spent the evening with Edwin, including quizzing him on his memory of Detroit Labels, music and musicians etc and somehow the subject came up of the Shades of Blue and he got very vocifierous about them.

He was most adamant that it was his group and that he introduced the various members to each other, his phrase was " I put that group together". He was adamant he taught them how to harmonise properly in the current contemporarystyle, and that he wrote all their material. I was a fan of their album, and asked Edwin about it. He sang extracts of the bulk of the songs and told us how he'd come to write some of the tracks.

It became obvious that this was a touchy subject because Edwin felt he should have had credit in the financial sense as well as the other sense. He really started to go off on one and as we were there with the idea of asking him to do a charity soul nite at a greatly reduced rate I hastily tried to change the subject, but he kept going at it like a dog with a bone. It became more than a little uncomfortable and ended up with him going on about how all the artists got ripped off etc.

Some time later I accidentally found John Rhys and I asked him about Edwin's recollections. He told me his side of the story and it was significantly different from edwin's on many areas, including The Shades. I think in subsequent years John has written a lot of this stuff down (Mark hanson who's on here would know more I think) but when you have 2 people who were actually there telling you different versions of the story it's hard to know which is the most accurate?

btw Hitsville Chalky is a friend of S Avig's so any onfo relating to him, or Detroit groups he knew, he's the best bloke to ask. Chalky stops at his house when he goes to Detroit and he gave Chalky a copy of Angelina he had stuck up on the wall, how good is that !

Cracking contribution, thanks for that, love these kind of stories, something really must have p----d Edwin there.

Kev

[Guest Paul]

Very nice track, Kev, even though it obviously isn't Edwin.

Those records seem to sound better as they get older.