Margaret Little

[Andy Rix]

Like many I've always strived to reach out to those who created the music we hold so dear.

The incentive has not just been about the search for elusive 45s but also to try and gather information about those individuals and their story.

I've just come off the phone to a very bemused Margaret Little, in Detroit, who for the first time has been told that her recordings of 'Love finds a way' & 'I need some loving' escaped beyond the Detroit city limits to be appreciated by others.

It was sad to hear that Margaret has never owned a copy of the 45, barely remembered the former and had no memory of the latter. She was lost for words when I played her poor quality recordings of them.

She said her memory is not the best having suffered a small stroke a few years ago but recalls being taken by Gene, surname forgotten, to Motown for an audition. She was rejected as not being what they were looking for compounded by the fact that she was "a little plain" in the looks department. Gene wanted to record her so went over to see Popcorn and a deal was done. The 45 was cut, Gene kept the stock, she never received a copy, never heard it played so decided it wasn't her time and moved on.

I wasn't really prepared for my conversation so need to call her back to get a better story. She is going to talk to her sister to try and add some more bits to the jigsaw. I'll share what I discover.

I'd at least like to be able to send her a top quality recording of the tracks and maybe scans of the labels. She'd like to be able to share the dream she once had with her family. So ... if any of the current owners want to help out then please drop me a line .. AndyRix@aol.com

Thanks

Andy

[Sean Hampsey]

Nice one Andy.

Made me smile that one.

Anyone any thoughts on who Gene might be?

Sean

[Guest Matt Male]

Brilliant and moving story Andy, nice one.

Gene might be Gene Page?

[Sean Hampsey]

Popcorn worked with Gene Page on his ABC album, and Gene Pello was also at Motown, but both in LA.

Gene Moore ex Funk Brother in Detroit?

Gene Redd certainly was working with Barbara Mercer / Popcorn at that time.

Herrrrrrmmmmm could end up with the whole Gene pool here!

And so to bed!

Sean

[Fishcake]

Like many I've always strived to reach out to those who created the music we hold so dear.

The incentive has not just been about the search for elusive 45s but also to try and gather information about those individuals and their story.

I've just come off the phone to a very bemused Margaret Little, in Detroit, who for the first time has been told that her recordings of 'Love finds a way' & 'I need some loving' escaped beyond the Detroit city limits to be appreciated by others.

It was sad to hear that Margaret has never owned a copy of the 45, barely remembered the former and had no memory of the latter. She was lost for words when I played her poor quality recordings of them.

She said her memory is not the best having suffered a small stroke a few years ago but recalls being taken by Gene, surname forgotten, to Motown for an audition. She was rejected as not being what they were looking for compounded by the fact that she was "a little plain" in the looks department. Gene wanted to record her so went over to see Popcorn and a deal was done. The 45 was cut, Gene kept the stock, she never received a copy, never heard it played so decided it wasn't her time and moved on.

I wasn't really prepared for my conversation so need to call her back to get a better story. She is going to talk to her sister to try and add some more bits to the jigsaw. I'll share what I discover.

I'd at least like to be able to send her a top quality recording of the tracks and maybe scans of the labels. She'd like to be able to share the dream she once had with her family. So ... if any of the current owners want to help out then please drop me a line .. AndyRix@aol.com

Thanks

Andy

[Hitsville Chalky]

Great Story mate sadly like so Many former recording artist's , next time I'm over in Detroit I would love to meet her .

[Fishcake]

Like many I've always strived to reach out to those who created the music we hold so dear.

The incentive has not just been about the search for elusive 45s but also to try and gather information about those individuals and their story.

I've just come off the phone to a very bemused Margaret Little, in Detroit, who for the first time has been told that her recordings of 'Love finds a way' & 'I need some loving' escaped beyond the Detroit city limits to be appreciated by others.

It was sad to hear that Margaret has never owned a copy of the 45, barely remembered the former and had no memory of the latter. She was lost for words when I played her poor quality recordings of them.

She said her memory is not the best having suffered a small stroke a few years ago but recalls being taken by Gene, surname forgotten, to Motown for an audition. She was rejected as not being what they were looking for compounded by the fact that she was "a little plain" in the looks department. Gene wanted to record her so went over to see Popcorn and a deal was done. The 45 was cut, Gene kept the stock, she never received a copy, never heard it played so decided it wasn't her time and moved on.

I wasn't really prepared for my conversation so need to call her back to get a better story. She is going to talk to her sister to try and add some more bits to the jigsaw. I'll share what I discover.

I'd at least like to be able to send her a top quality recording of the tracks and maybe scans of the labels. She'd like to be able to share the dream she once had with her family. So ... if any of the current owners want to help out then please drop me a line .. AndyRix@aol.com

Thanks

Andy

What a great piece of research Andy,its guys like you who keep the northern soul scene keeping on.Finding the real soul of music and the great stories behind the music.thanks Tony

[Guest]

Like many I've always strived to reach out to those who created the music we hold so dear.

The incentive has not just been about the search for elusive 45s but also to try and gather information about those individuals and their story.

I've just come off the phone to a very bemused Margaret Little, in Detroit, who for the first time has been told that her recordings of 'Love finds a way' & 'I need some loving' escaped beyond the Detroit city limits to be appreciated by others.

It was sad to hear that Margaret has never owned a copy of the 45, barely remembered the former and had no memory of the latter. She was lost for words when I played her poor quality recordings of them.

She said her memory is not the best having suffered a small stroke a few years ago but recalls being taken by Gene, surname forgotten, to Motown for an audition. She was rejected as not being what they were looking for compounded by the fact that she was "a little plain" in the looks department. Gene wanted to record her so went over to see Popcorn and a deal was done. The 45 was cut, Gene kept the stock, she never received a copy, never heard it played so decided it wasn't her time and moved on.

I wasn't really prepared for my conversation so need to call her back to get a better story. She is going to talk to her sister to try and add some more bits to the jigsaw. I'll share what I discover.

I'd at least like to be able to send her a top quality recording of the tracks and maybe scans of the labels. She'd like to be able to share the dream she once had with her family. So ... if any of the current owners want to help out then please drop me a line .. AndyRix@aol.com

Thanks

Andy

Just A Fantastic Fantastic post !

Unbelieveable !

Who is she? what has she been doing all these years ?

Its so good to hear that this lady knows that her recording has been one of the biggest 45s on the scene in the last 10 years !!!

Brilliant !

[Mal C]

Thats Really Cool, Buy alas I don't own this 45... suppose she will be in the same boat as Frank Wilson then, sang it, loved it, Lived it... (in her case soon to live it) but cant afford to buy it...!!

Thank god for MP3's..

Mal.C.

Edited May 29, 2010 by Mal.C.

[boba]

Like many I've always strived to reach out to those who created the music we hold so dear.

The incentive has not just been about the search for elusive 45s but also to try and gather information about those individuals and their story.

I've just come off the phone to a very bemused Margaret Little, in Detroit, who for the first time has been told that her recordings of 'Love finds a way' & 'I need some loving' escaped beyond the Detroit city limits to be appreciated by others.

It was sad to hear that Margaret has never owned a copy of the 45, barely remembered the former and had no memory of the latter. She was lost for words when I played her poor quality recordings of them.

She said her memory is not the best having suffered a small stroke a few years ago but recalls being taken by Gene, surname forgotten, to Motown for an audition. She was rejected as not being what they were looking for compounded by the fact that she was "a little plain" in the looks department. Gene wanted to record her so went over to see Popcorn and a deal was done. The 45 was cut, Gene kept the stock, she never received a copy, never heard it played so decided it wasn't her time and moved on.

I wasn't really prepared for my conversation so need to call her back to get a better story. She is going to talk to her sister to try and add some more bits to the jigsaw. I'll share what I discover.

I'd at least like to be able to send her a top quality recording of the tracks and maybe scans of the labels. She'd like to be able to share the dream she once had with her family. So ... if any of the current owners want to help out then please drop me a line .. AndyRix@aol.com

Thanks

Andy

Nice. Surprisingly ended up being a real name too and she somehow ended up keeping that name!

Edited May 29, 2010 by boba

[Simon T]

. Love finds a way to make you feel a little bit better

Love finds a way to put your broken heart back together, don't worry.

Love can take something good and make it so much better

Love can take something broken and put it right back together

Love finds a way to make you feel a little bit better

Love finds a way to put your broken heart back together, don't worry.

Love can take something bad and make it good, oh yeah

Love can take something sad and make it happy, just like it should be

Love finds a way to make you feel a little bit better

Love finds a way to put your broken heart back together, don't worry.

Love can make you smile when you're worried or down

Love can lift something up when it ain't supposed to be down

Love finds a way to make you smile and take away your frown

Love finds a way to lift you up and when you're feeling down

Love finds a way to make you feel a little bit better

Love finds a way to put your broken heart back together,

MARGARET LITTLE - LOVE WILL FIND A WAY - GENEBRO -

Edited May 29, 2010 by simon t

[Guest]

. Love finds a way to make you feel a little bit better

Love finds a way to put your broken heart back together, don't worry.

Love can take something good and make it so much better

Love can take something broken and put it right back together

Love finds a way to make you feel a little bit better

Love finds a way to put your broken heart back together, don't worry.

Love can take something bad and make it good, oh yeah

Love can take something sad and make it happy, just like it should be

Love finds a way to make you feel a little bit better

Love finds a way to put your broken heart back together, don't worry.

Love can make you smile when you're worried or down

Love can lift something up when it ain't supposed to be down

Love finds a way to make you smile and take away your frown

Love finds a way to lift you up and when you're feeling down

Love finds a way to make you feel a little bit better

Love finds a way to put your broken heart back together,

MARGARET LITTLE - LOVE WILL FIND A WAY - GENEBRO -

When you put it like that, it aint just a cracking 60s Detroit 45 is it !

Its a heart felt poem of the highest order !

This is quality from Mr Rix !

A little bit of Northern Soul history for us to think about !

Edited May 29, 2010 by mossy

[Harrogatesoul]

Great research from Andy as usual - His story of Shrine as read in Shades of Soul all those years ago widened this young mans eyes to the depth of the soul scene and the people involved and thanks to the hard work of people like Andy make it all a little more real and relevant. Well done indeed.

As an aside from this - Is Margaret aware of the 're-issue' of her track a couple of years ago? Dont want to cause a storm but were they official in any way? Or is a case of the bootleggers taking illegal advantage (again!).

[Chalky]

Hi Andy, great work as usual. Alas don't own a copy, got scans of one that was on t'ebay. There is the re-issue/boot that came out few years ago, maybe get one of those with some decent scans off one of the owners of a real one and send her a copy?

[Agentsmith]

thats a lump in the throat post andy, the saga of the record is not world's apart from that of do i love you, whereas, frank wilson, regards his talent and notoriety quite frankly, couldnt be more different. there are now several threads attached to this story, how the first copy came to turn up, where it was played first and then the quick discovery of the second one that resides with mick.h. on top of that, tim brown aqquired the original studio acetate from popcorn wylie. when members read a thread put across in such an unassuming yet resounding manner as this, you just have to set aside your preferences, regarding THIS recording.

wether, you love it or hate it, it dosnt detract from the fact it is a significant piece in an ever expanding jigsaw that is our understanding of how music in detroit developed in the 60's.

i have always found greatsolace in the liner notes to andy 'tats' taylor's account of the late dave hamilton's contribution to the detroit scene, which resulted in topper records being brought to the attention of a greater audience through kent records and i can read those over again, so, if you put together a concise story that documents margaret's life, it'll make our scene that little more richer and colourful and bring pleasure to a lady who never knew that 3000 miles away, someone heard....someone danced and someone acknowledged her contribution.

im sure its a heartwarming story and it needs to be told....good on yer andy, go for it!.

[Guest martyn]

Nice one Andy.

Made me smile that one.

Anyone any thoughts on who Gene might be?

Sean

Throwa a little light why it was called the GENEBRO label perhaps ?????????

[Agentsmith]

may i also add, with regards the name "gene", i would have to agree with the possibility it could be gene redd...many, many productions and lyrical credits....just off the top of my head, did he not also produce roy handy and shirley scott on stephaney?

[Chalky]

i have always found greatsolace in the liner notes to andy 'tats' taylor's account of the late dave hamilton's contribution to the detroit scene, which resulted in topper records being brought to the attention of a greater audience through kent records and i can read those over again,

thought it was Gilly who did the liner notes (to the first of three anyway). Know Tats was with Gilly in Detroit when they went to dave Hamilton's.

[Steve L]

Agree with all the previous comments, well done Andy and all the others like him that dig this information out.

Brings the records to life even more

Edited May 29, 2010 by Steve L

[Steve L]

oops!

Edited May 29, 2010 by Steve L

[Gilly]

Well done Andy,just the kinda shit i used to get involved in (as you know)makes me smile take it all the way and continue to share,looking forward to part two Gilly and Nicola

[Premium Stuff]

may i also add, with regards the name "gene", i would have to agree with the possibility it could be gene redd...many, many productions and lyrical credits....just off the top of my head, did he not also produce roy handy and shirley scott on stephaney?

Correct with the Shirley J Scott and Roy Handy 45s - plus also the Prophets release on Stephanye.

Also Golden World - e.g. Tamiko Jones - Spellbound - and Ric-Tic e.g. Fantastic Four - (I've Got To) Live Up To What She Thinks.

Cheers

Richard

[Guest Bearsy]

[Wayoutgirl]

What a post!!

Intriguing, although sad at the same time that she never heard her voice on vinyl.

Hope you are successful in finding out the missing pieces of this fascinating jigsaw.

Good Luck

[funkyfeet]

Andy if you still need a high res scan and sound bite contact me. Great bit of research by the way.

[Agentsmith]

thought it was Gilly who did the liner notes (to the first of three anyway). Know Tats was with Gilly in Detroit when they went to dave Hamilton's.

correct as usual chalks, mans on here as well....these people do a great job joining up the dots. the apparent boot is on stardust but i thought that was supposed to be some legit re-issue label so, correct me if im wrong....either way, now its known she's alive, it would be great to find out if she still posesses a voice...then bring her over (big intake of breath)....prestatyn motown legends perhaps?....something like that would put a few dollars in her pocket....i know thats way down the line and its early days with andy's project, if thats what he decides it is,but its worth pondering.

[funkyfeet]

correct as usual chalks, mans on here as well....these people do a great job joining up the dots. the apparent boot is on stardust but i thought that was supposed to be some legit re-issue label so, correct me if im wrong....either way, now its known she's alive, it would be great to find out if she still posesses a voice...then bring her over (big intake of breath)....prestatyn motown legends perhaps?....something like that would put a few dollars in her pocket....i know thats way down the line and its early days with andy's project, if thats what he decides it is,but its worth pondering.

Boot is on Detroit Stars not Stardust, done in Detroit so I was told.

[Jumpinjoan]

Nice one Andy

Edited May 29, 2010 by jumpinjoan

[Mick Holdsworth]

I remember years ago finding some promising info regarding Margaret Little, just never managed to follow up on it - If Margaret has a granddaughter called Sharima (now about 36/37), I may have a little more to add.

If, however this is not the same lady, as I suspected, then .....

Cheers

Mick Holdsworth

[Rob Wigley]

Detective Rix comes up trumps again.. I once had a little stroke-got a slap for it !

good stuff Andy

Rob

[max millward]

Like many I've always strived to reach out to those who created the music we hold so dear.

The incentive has not just been about the search for elusive 45s but also to try and gather information about those individuals and their story.

I've just come off the phone to a very bemused Margaret Little, in Detroit, who for the first time has been told that her recordings of 'Love finds a way' & 'I need some loving' escaped beyond the Detroit city limits to be appreciated by others.

It was sad to hear that Margaret has never owned a copy of the 45, barely remembered the former and had no memory of the latter. She was lost for words when I played her poor quality recordings of them.

She said her memory is not the best having suffered a small stroke a few years ago but recalls being taken by Gene, surname forgotten, to Motown for an audition. She was rejected as not being what they were looking for compounded by the fact that she was "a little plain" in the looks department. Gene wanted to record her so went over to see Popcorn and a deal was done. The 45 was cut, Gene kept the stock, she never received a copy, never heard it played so decided it wasn't her time and moved on.

I wasn't really prepared for my conversation so need to call her back to get a better story. She is going to talk to her sister to try and add some more bits to the jigsaw. I'll share what I discover.

I'd at least like to be able to send her a top quality recording of the tracks and maybe scans of the labels. She'd like to be able to share the dream she once had with her family. So ... if any of the current owners want to help out then please drop me a line .. AndyRix@aol.com

Thanks

Andy

what a wonderful little story!!

sounds like another bit of super sluething!!

well done andy!!

look forward to reading the full story!!

max...

[Andy Rix]

thank you all

I've always had a thirst for knowledge that went beyond the vinyl. As has been said it gives life to what we listen to and, for me, makes it more real and personal. That was one of the main reasons for doing the Shrine stuff.

I'm simply following in the steps of people like Gilly et al (Hi Gilly) who always knew the value in finding out the facts and then telling the story.

Our conversation last night wasn't in-depth but I will go back to her and do a proper job. I didn't tell her the 45 had been 'reissued' or how much it has sold for ... I thought that might be a little insensitive and would turn what was a joyous conversation into something that might have left a bad taste afterwards. I'll approach this one step at a time and see where it goes.

Be assured that the search for the mystery Gene chap will continue.

The irony is that, like others, I've been dipping in and out of this search for a few years. My latest approach was talking to Louvain Demps, of the Andantes, as I suspected it might be them singing the BVs. I knew they used to moonlight for Popcorn on some of his recording sessions. That was a dead end. This diverted me from calling a number I've had for about 9 months and I only did it last night as a spur of the moment thing. You can imagine my shock when, after a few questions to 'test' me, Margaret confirmed I'd got the right person. I was actually lost for words.

More later

Andy

[Dave Thorley]

Nice one Andy.

Made me smile that one.

Anyone any thoughts on who Gene might be?

Sean

The clue is the label

Gene Bro, he was a hairdresser on the west side of Detroit, in fact it is believed by some that he also employed Larry Wright how was also a hairdresser. It was where Popcorn went to get his hair cut.

Edited May 29, 2010 by Dave Thorley

[Cunnie]

Thanks for the post Andy.

Makes modding on here so worthwhile when story's like this get posted

[De-to]

Thanks for the post Andy.

Makes modding on here so worthwhile when story's like this get posted

same from me what a fantastic post,

[Tony Smith]

Great work Andy, keep it up pal!

[Guest Brian Ellis]

Perhaps all those who grabbed a bootleg, yet self righteously harp on about original artists losing out on royalties, should chuck a fiver into a fund for ML - she's unlikely ever to have hold of an original of her work, yet a small financial contribution might be some small gesture of appreciation from the soul scene in the UK?

[John A]

Perhaps all those who grabbed a bootleg, yet self righteously harp on about original artists losing out on royalties, should chuck a fiver into a fund for ML - she's unlikely ever to have hold of an original of her work, yet a small financial contribution might be some small gesture of appreciation from the soul scene in the UK?

WOW, this could prove expensive,if i now feel obliged to send a fiver to everyone who's ever been on any bootleg i've ever owned over the years. No I don't have a ML boot btw.

Great work Andy.

[Dave Abbott]

excellent stuff; well done andy, can't wait for more!

[Simsy]

There were some interesting points made about this record in the recent Look at your Box thread.

Sam played this last night and we were having a rare old step about. Vocally I thought Margaret sounded a bit white, would you know anymore on that Andy?

[Agentsmith]

andy, i was going to bring the fact about the bootleg up in my most recent post

but held back incase it did cause some sort of furore, not just with the artist, but as much with people who have purchased it because, hypothetically punters have engaged in funding someone elses ill gotten gains and it wrankles now because of your shock discovery that margaret is, infact still alive. you know it may have been easier, back in the day had she summised then, that there was some dodgy dealing going on behind her back, for which she was recieving no recompense....but to have this broke to her 40+years down the line....even though it was only "discovered" 8 or so years ago....she'd could be of a mind to say "well, hey can i see any of these moneys in my latter years?"....especially when you get round to telling her HOW MUCH a genuine one has sold for....of course, she would only have to look on ebay, courtesy of a relative even, to see one at auction. the other side of the coin is that she may not even be bothered about what might have been, but just admiring of the fact her recording is at last, being appreciated by generations of soul lovers across the pond....a legend not lost on many northern soul hero's still alive in the states.

well, louvaine came over here with the detroit spinners for prestatyn and she's in her 70's....she loved the attention.....original post reference: andy, do the talkin and then set about getting her over to north wales and let her have her moment in the spotlight?

[Guest KEN-SOUL]

WELL DONE ANDY. REALLY FREAK HER OUT BY TELLING HER PEOPLE THE LENGTH AND BREADTH OF THE BRITISH ISLES DANCED THEIR HEARTS OUT TO HER STOMPERS- EVEN REMOTE PLACES IN BONNIE SCOTLAND. AND HER CLASSICS WILL ALWAYS HAVE A PLACE IN OUR HEARTS.

[funkyfeet]

Boot is on Detroit Stars not Stardust, done in Detroit so I was told.

[Guest ruppy]

nice to get to the root of this fantastic 45 ,good work Andy

Mick H

[Agentsmith]

well, strictly speaking, we assume its a boot, but......that may not actually be strictly true as it was produced by ron murphy and being as both he and popcorn have passed away, technically we have no varification that it was a legit reissue or otherwise.

[Robbk]

Ron Murphy told me that his Detroit Stars and Soul King Records were legitimate re-issues, with original rights owners being paid fees for use of their products. Ron and Popcorn still had contact with those people. I knew Ron (for over 40 years) to be an upstanding man of his word. I'm sure those were not bootlegged.

[Robbk]

The clue is the label

Gene Bro, he was a hairdresser on the west side of Detroit, in fact it is believed by some that he also employed Larry Wright how was also a hairdresser. It was where Popcorn went to get his hair cut.

Yes, but "Bro" was probably only his nickname. As I remember it from a discussion we had on Soulful Detroit Forum, with Ron Murphy and other long-time Detroit music collectors and people in the music business, Bro's last name started with the letters "B-R-O....., but the real family had had other letters after those. I remember reading the name, but don't remember what it was. Unfortunately, that thread was lost during the reorganisation/reconfiguration of the SDF website.

[Agentsmith]

Ron Murphy told me that his Detroit Stars and Soul King Records were legitimate re-issues, with original rights owners being paid fees for use of their products. Ron and Popcorn still had contact with those people. I knew Ron (for over 40 years) to be an upstanding man of his word. I'm sure those were not bootlegged.

id forgotten all about this post and having just backtracked the trail has seemingly gone cold, so we're all in suspense at andy's next revelation. in all honesty, knowing that the reissue is legit, shouldnt margaret have recieved some form of remuneration by now, and thats regardless of the fact the aforementioned names are deceased? or is that very fact an obstacle because we dont know who now owns the rights to ron/popcorn's output?.

[Robbk]

id forgotten all about this post and having just backtracked the trail has seemingly gone cold, so we're all in suspense at andy's next revelation. in all honesty, knowing that the reissue is legit, shouldnt margaret have recieved some form of remuneration by now, and thats regardless of the fact the aforementioned names are deceased? or is that very fact an obstacle because we dont know who now owns the rights to ron/popcorn's output?.

According to Ron, those 45s pressed up on Soul King and Stardust were basically to get the music to some few people who'd appreciate the music. Ron said he gave more than half of them away. He gave me two of each (one set to give to a collector friend of mine). He gave away copies to several others of his friends and some collector friends. He didn't really plan to make money on them, and I'm sure that he didn't make money on them. If I remember correctly, he told me he paid the rights holders small fees for the rights to press them up (I'm guessing a few hundred Dollars each). I'm also guessing that he either paid Gene Bro,,,,,? a fee, or couldn't find someone to pay for that production's rights. Wouldn't the artist, Margaret Little, only be due a percentage of sales revenue AFTER production costs are taken out? If so, as they really made no profit, she would have been due nothing, in any case. He told me he pressed up very few (I would guess 300, AT MOST, but possibly only 200 or maybe, 100), and did NOT market them to the Northern Soul scene. I'm guessing that those copies that got to UK came directly or indirectly from people who got them from Ron.

Edited February 18, 2013 by RobbK

[Dave Thorley]

id forgotten all about this post and having just backtracked the trail has seemingly gone cold, so we're all in suspense at andy's next revelation. in all honesty, knowing that the reissue is legit, shouldnt margaret have recieved some form of remuneration by now, and thats regardless of the fact the aforementioned names are deceased? or is that very fact an obstacle because we dont know who now owns the rights to ron/popcorn's output?.

Not sure who owned the publishing on Margaret's track, But all Popcorn's other material was either, jointly with Ollie McLaughlin's publishing company or his own, which the family now hold the paper work on, although there is some dispute over this due to a deal he did, just before he died, and I haven't heard from the family for somewhile.