Detroit Land Apples

[Chalky]

I Need Help on Shotgun.

One of my fave instrumentals.

Anyone know who they were?

Written by George Soul, Produced By Carl Spelbring.

[Agentsmith]

I Need Help on Shotgun.

One of my fave instrumentals.

Anyone know who they were?

Written by George Soul, Produced By Carl Spelbring.

just had a conversation with the oracle mate, it seems this group would more than likely, just be session musicians. the bootleg if you are acquainted, was quality vinyl as opposed to soussan's trademark styrene and turned up circa, 76/77 alonside yvonne baker and the magicians/ servicemen amongst others and were convincing look-a-likes. apparently, john anderson was responsible for the detroit landapples. as for it being detroit, as logged in kieth rylatts book of last year, that could be contentious as well, bearing in mind that the song writer is listed as one george soul (e). the possibility of two g.s's existing at the same time? the more prominent one of course, is a famed southern soul icon ( alabama ) and if it is indeed one AND the same on this production the it is in the same boat as g.davis & r. tyler......a southern soul record with absolutely nothing to do with detroit.....its open to debate

for "oracle" see: tim brown

[Premium Stuff]

Have seen the Shotgun release which is #203 listed as the missing number on the Groove City numbering system - after Fred Briggs #202 and before Steve Mancha #204. Interesting that because the labels are also similar colours

The label of the I Need Help side credits Artie Fields on the publishing side so a Detroit connection there

Cheers

Richard

[Chalky]

I was just about to mention the Artie Fields Detroit connection Richard.

The record came on my iPod today and got wondering who they were. If Detroit session musicians which is the likely anser then maybe Motown staff musicians (Funk Brothers) involved? Whoever can only assume they were moonlighting?

[Godzilla]

Definitely Detroit. The flip "Precious Memories" is by "Rockin' Robbie D" - credited as plain old "Robbie D' on the label. I remember reading on the Soulful Detroit forum that Precious Memories was recorded at Golden World studios.

Robbie D was apparently the only only white DJ on Detroit's WCHB station and people liked to copy his patter which went "Hey! Baby! This is me! Rockin' Robbie D! I'm so bad I make flowers die I make babies cry I take candy from babies and give dogs rabies and if that ain't bad the rain don't fall and that ain't all "biscuits ain't bread."

Here's Robbie

[Chalky]

I asked the same question on Soulful Detroit. I assumed they were simply Detroit backing musicians but would have been nice to find out who exactly.

Anyway here is an email on SD from Ron Murphy from Feb 3 2006.

"I have the original half inch 4 track master of the Robbie Dee side on Shotgun, Robbie Dee was a DJ on Detroit's WCHB, he came to Detroit from Pittsburgh and became the first white DJ on the station. He used to vist the studio I was working for at that time and this was the spring of 1966, Telma Hopkins and Robbie got married for what I heard lasted about a month, the female voice on the record is Telma and I think it's just her and him. the record was basically used as Robbie's closing theme song every night (he was on 7 to midnite) the multi track tape it's on has other Golden World unreleased recordings, I do know I got the tape years later from one of 3 studios but not from Artie's studio, but right now I can't recall which one. As pointed out here it's very interesting that the only issue on the label is numbered 203 which is the same number nothing appears on Groove City and I believe the timing of the Shotgun records falls very close to where a Groove City release would have been. My guess is maybe Don Davis pressed the record for Robbie in exchange for Robbie playing Groove City Records using the next number for Groove City, for the other side I'll have to play that side and see if I can match it to any of the dozens of unfinished GW tracks that I have."

[Chalky]

someone else asked does it use the backing track of The Fantastic Four's 'Girl have Pity'? I'll have to dig it out and have another listen.

[Prophonics 2029]

It is the same track Chalky, I was surprised to find this with such a strange vocal on the other side. I have an Archer stamped copy of this.

[Prophonics 2029]

Just dug my copy out and its a Nashville stamp and not Archer, my minds playing tricks on me again.

[Guest anm0552]

Maybe it's time to put the misinformation and speculation about this recording to rest. My name is J. Paul Henderson. In my previous life and through most of my radio career, my name was Robbie D. Herein, I'll address all the previous posts. Shotgun Records was my record label and this was its only release (#203 was just an arbitrary number). "Precious Memories" was the original "A" side, which while produced for the Detroit market, received airplay in a few other markets, as well. The "B" side, which has become a very sought after collectible, was work for hire. I was the executive producer and Carl Spelbring produced the session. George Soul, the person credited with writing "I Need Help" was a pseudonym used by Mr. Spelbring, who also played the great piano on the recording. Artie Fields was given the publishing rights in exchange for studio time and musicians. Those in Detroit at the time who remember my radio program on WCHB, might also remember that "I Need Help" was originally produced as a vocal and served as the theme song for "The Robbie D Show". Mr. Spelbring also wrote and performed the vocals. We remixed it for the record. "Precious Memories" was written and performed by me, produced by the great Don Davis and recorded at United Sound Systems in Detroit. It was not uncommon in those days for radio DJs to record "talking" records. The background vocals were sung by Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent, both Motown session singers back then, who later went on to team up with Tony Orlando to form the very successful group, Tony Orland and Dawn. And Telma was also my wife at the time. Telma and I were married for considerably longer than a month, but we did separate (quite publicly) after a month together. To this day, Telma and I remain good friends and will always have a place in each others hearts. Telma now lives in Los Angeles. The music for "Precious Memories" was a remix of "Girl Have Pity" by the Fantastic Four which was recorded at Ed Wingate's legendary Golden World studio. We left bits and pieces of the Fantastic Four's vocals in and with a careful listen, you can hear them. Unfortunately, the vocal version of "I Need Help" used as my theme song is no longer part of my memorabilia. If anyone has a clean recording of it, I'd love to have a copy. My days in Detroit, my wonderful audience and my association with some of the world's greatest musicians, will always be my life's most precious memories, and I'm honored to have had a place in it.

[Steve G]

Great post Paul, thanks for clearing that up with your interesting story

[Pete S]

Wow, what fantastic information, straight from the horse's mouth so to speak, thanks for sharing that J. Paul / Robbie, when everyone gets back from their Christmas break I'm sure you'll be inundated with questions.

[Chalky]

Maybe it's time to put the misinformation and speculation about this recording to rest. My name is J. Paul Henderson.

Fantastic. Thanks for sharing all this information with us and nice to have you on Soul Source.

What other stories do you have about your days back then, we are always fascinated by the stories from back then.

[Johnmcc]

Fantastic post, thanks for such great information.

Ady Croasdell has recently been playing a version of "I Miss My Baby" by Telma Hopkins (Unreleased Pied Piper Production).

Seasons' Greetings, John

[Chalky]

Apart form Carl Spelbring (George Soul) on piano can you remember any of the other musicians on "You Need Help"?

[Wilxy]

Absolutely superb to hear from the "original source" so to speak and it's almost like finding"another piece from a very large jigsaw"....from a musical perspective, and personally the Detroit connection puts the icing on the cake, having finally secured a copy last March at anglo-american on a visit to Todmorden, having doubted the origin......Respect J. Paul

wilxy

[Guest anm0552]

Thanks to all who replied to my post. My three years in Detroit were absolutely surreal. At eighteen I had moved from Amish country in Pennsylvania to the music capital of the world. As someone who had been into R&B, jazz, blues and doo wop from the age of about ten, I felt like I had died and gone to Heaven. And yes, I have GREAT stories about people in the music business in Detroit, as well as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, but I believe they would violate the privacy of those still living. My first book, "The Government Never Sleeps", was published last month and can be found on Amazon. (Buy it; I need the money!) And now my CPA is bugging me to write a book about Detroit's golden years and my place in it. I'm seriously considering it. One night I'll never forget was my first public appearance in Detroit. WCHB had kept me under wraps until I had established myself with my radio audience. My "coming out" was at WCHB's Soul Night at the 20 Grand. Once the audience had settled down and accepted me, my job was to introduce my good friends (the other seven baddest white dudes to come out of Amish country), the Magnificent Men. Their first single, "Peace of Mind" was number one or two on WCHB's play list. The curtain went up and there stood seven guys with Beatle hair cuts. I'm sure it was also a night not to be forgotten by the thousand pairs of eyes staring at us in disbelief. But, hey...some of my tribe know how to clap on two and four. One other thing. Three years ago after a Canadian vacation with my (now ex) wife, we came back to the States through Windsor, Ontario into Detroit. And while there I took her to the Motown Museum. If you haven't been there, make it a vacation destination. When Motown moved from Detroit to Los Angeles, they just locked the doors and left. EVERYTHING is intact, just as it was. You can breathe in the history.

[45cellar]

Many Thanks Paul.

Information like this is brilliant to read about.

Like Chalky says "we are always fascinated by the stories from back then"

It's great to have you on Soul Source.

[Guest gordon russell]

Just one question...........why the detroit land apples?.........gotta be the strangest name

[De-to]

https://faac.us/adf/m...html?1134532791 a little bit of robbie d info here... Edited December 27, 2011 by de-to

[Agentsmith]

Thanks to all who replied to my post. My three years in Detroit were absolutely surreal. At eighteen I had moved from Amish country in Pennsylvania to the music capital of the world. As someone who had been into R&B, jazz, blues and doo wop from the age of about ten, I felt like I had died and gone to Heaven. And yes, I have GREAT stories about people in the music business in Detroit, as well as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, but I believe they would violate the privacy of those still living. My first book, "The Government Never Sleeps", was published last month and can be found on Amazon. (Buy it; I need the money!) And now my CPA is bugging me to write a book about Detroit's golden years and my place in it. I'm seriously considering it. One night I'll never forget was my first public appearance in Detroit. WCHB had kept me under wraps until I had established myself with my radio audience. My "coming out" was at WCHB's Soul Night at the 20 Grand. Once the audience had settled down and accepted me, my job was to introduce my good friends (the other seven baddest white dudes to come out of Amish country), the Magnificent Men. Their first single, "Peace of Mind" was number one or two on WCHB's play list. The curtain went up and there stood seven guys with Beatle hair cuts. I'm sure it was also a night not to be forgotten by the thousand pairs of eyes staring at us in disbelief. But, hey...some of my tribe know how to clap on two and four. One other thing. Three years ago after a Canadian vacation with my (now ex) wife, we came back to the States through Windsor, Ontario into Detroit. And while there I took her to the Motown Museum. If you haven't been there, make it a vacation destination. When Motown moved from Detroit to Los Angeles, they just locked the doors and left. EVERYTHING is intact, just as it was. You can breathe in the history.

sir,

you DEFINITELY need to do that book, no holds barred!!...when it comes to detroit in THIS country...the word ANORAK springs to mind and, fresh off the back of barney ale's contribution, we'd be absolutely spoiled!!

[Mrtag]

Great Reading!! Do Write The Book!!

[Guest anm0552]

Just one question...........why the detroit land apples?.........gotta be the strangest name

The story of how the "group got its name is about as silly as the name itself. WCHB had a DJ named Greg Pitts who did overnights. He repeatedly, relentlessly and endlessly backsold every record with, "How 'bout them apples, Detroitland?" It was kind of a joke at the station. When we were thinking of names for the group, in a brief moment of insanity we decided to name it after the only thing Greg could think of to say about each record he played. It was an inside joke that everyone at the station got, except Greg. Hence: The Detroit Land Apples. And remember, at that time, odd names for groups were all the rage. Everything from the South Street Tool and Die Company to the Chicago Transit Authority to Jefferson Airplane. So why not?

[Guest gordon russell]

The story of how the "group got its name is about as silly as the name itself. WCHB had a DJ named Greg Pitts who did overnights. He repeatedly, relentlessly and endlessly backsold every record with, "How 'bout them apples, Detroitland?" It was kind of a joke at the station. When we were thinking of names for the group, in a brief moment of insanity we decided to name it after the only thing Greg could think of to say about each record he played. It was an inside joke that everyone at the station got, except Greg. Hence: The Detroit Land Apples. And remember, at that time, odd names for groups were all the rage. Everything from the South Street Tool and Die Company to the Chicago Transit Authority to Jefferson Airplane. So why not?

FAIR ENOUGH!!! .............it,s a great name