Bill Spoon and the Soul Notes by JR Smith

Bill Spoon and the Soul Notes

In 1997 a Channel 4 TV documentary dealing with the duties of the LA Coroners office was screened in the UK.One of the people whos day to day tousle were illustrated in this programme was a department member by the name of William Bell. Now for most people who saw the documentary this will prove to be their one + only insight into the like of William Bell. However northern / modern soul fans will already be acquainted with his work in the music business where he is better known under his recording / stage name of Bill Spoon. William Bell (Bill Spoon) was born on November 6th, 1942 in Jefferson County, Alabama.

His interest in music began at an early stage under the tutelage of the late Alex Bradford. His home area must have been a hot bed for musical talent as Bill grew up in the company of numerous others who were later to forge successful recording careers. Bill attended High School with Frederick Knight, Barbara Joyce Lomas ( later to become a founding member of BT Express ) and Richard ~ Jessie Fisher. In fact, for a short period, Bill and Richard sang in the same street corner group. He would get together to write songs with his neighbour, and long time friend, Roger Hatcher and he also participated in local talent shows with the likes of Eddie Kendncks &: David Ruffin. Bill was also a member of the Miles College Chorus where one of his fellows was Mitty Collier who would go on to enjoy success with Chess Records. In the early sixties Bills plans for a musical career seemed as if they would have to be put on hold as he was called up into the Army. However he soon turned the situation to his advantage, as he spent two years ( 1962/3 ) entertaining the troops in Korea as lead singer for an outfit known as the Soul Masters.

He was relocated to Germany for a further period where he was lead singer for a group who went by the name of the Uniques. In 1965, at the end of his tour of duty, he returned to Alabama where he completed his education in Birmingham At the time, however, there were few opportunities in the area to make the inroads into the recording business that Bill aspired to. As a result of this he followed the example set by Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin and moved north to relocate in Cleveland, Ohio. Other locals took the same road, Richard and Jessie Fisher also making the same move with Roger Hatcher following a few years later. On his arrival in Cleveland, Bill was reunited with Walter Ricky Dannison who he had got to know before going into the Army, this occurring in June 1965. Walter introduced him to Leroy Elie, with whom Ricky had sung while Bill was in the army. Riki, Leroy and Bill realised that they had the gist of a competitive singing unit, but were one voice short of a true blend. In August 1965, they met John Cornbread Berry and he became the fourth member of the as yet un-narned group. The group started to perform in night clubs but only on weekends as they all had full time day jobs. Walter did some form of quality control at the Cleveland Chrysler Auto Plant, Leroy was a commercial electrical and mechanical architect while John was the floor manager at a metal photo processing plant.

Bill himself was a criminal investigator for the State of Ohio. Soon after the line-up adopted the name the Soul Notes their collective efforts were recognised as in November 1965 they were signed to a recording contract by locally based Way Out Records. The group continued to gain experience and hone their performances and by 1967 Way Out were ready to let them record in their own right. Initially two tracks were laid down, How Long Will It Last and Dons Make Me Beg but Way Out were in the process of negotiating a national distribution deal with MOM and so the companies releases were delayed while this was completed Early in 1968 though the two tracks were released as a single, Way Out 1001. The group returned to the recording studio and a further two tracks were recorded, I Got Everything I Need and Ive Been Waiting For Your Love. Way Out decided a second single was warranted on the group and so in 1969 they enjoyed another release, I Got Everything I Need / How Long Will It Last - Way Out 1006. For some reason Way Out decided to leave Ive Been Waiting For Your Love on the shelf as they re-used one side of the groups first single. This decision undoubtedly robbed uptempo soul fans of a potential favourite as Ive Been Waiting For Your Love had definite dance floor potential.

The song had been driven by Bill along with group member Walter Riki Dannison and the Sensations Johnny Washington. Someone at Way Out must have thought the song had potential though as they got James Calloway to come up with an alternative set of lyrics.The revised version of the song was later (1971) to be recorded ~ released for the company by Jessie Fisher, the songs new title being Your Not Loving A Beginner - Way Out 104. The Soul Notes cut a further 6 tracks in Way Outs studios in 1969 but unfortunately none of these gained a release. The songs laid down by the group were Please, Baby Please ( a version of the Sensations track), I Cant Wait Until The Weekend, Try It, Youll Like it, Im On My Way, Ill Wait For You and Alone. The groups treatment by Way Out was fling its members and in 1969 John Berry quit the group. His place was taken by Avon Wells but Avons stint with the Soul Notes was short lived as within a few months he moved on, becoming a member of the Imperial Wonders. Bill, Riki,Leroy continued on as a trio but in early 1970 a power struggle broke out at Way Out and the companies management became chaotic. In the confusion a number of projects got lost, a new Soul Notes release being amongst these.

Bill is sure a few test pressings featuring tracks they had laid down in 1969 were made but none enjoyed an official release. Discouraged with their future the Soul Notes broke up.Bill Spoon decided a change was again called for and so he moved back down south, relocating to Memphis where he worked briefly with Frederick Knight. Bill soon returned to Cleveland though and later in 1970 he cut his first tracks as a solo artist. He cut five songs in all (Gotta Go On, Its Hard Livin Alone, etc.) and these were destined for release on Springboard Records. A few demo copies were pressed up but unfortunately the scheduled release failed to make it into the shops. Bill next acted as producer /arranger on a session for Walter Dannison, who now went by the recording name of Riki Sonda, but again a release failed to materialist. In the meantime Bill had formed a relationship with Bobby and Friendly Womack and so he moved out to California which was where they were based. Here he met Pete Peterson and Tom Wilson and in conjunction with them he landed a recording deal with Angel City Records who were to be distributed by Polydor. Bill cut 4 tracks for the label in 1972, 2 more in 73 and another 4 in 1974 however the untimely death of their executive producer, Tom Wilson meant the project ended. A number of the tracks were co-written / produced by Gene Dozier these marked the first occasion that Bill and Gene had collaborated in the recording studio.

Four of these tracks were to find favour with UK soul fans in the late 80s when they were reissued on a Hense Forth 12". The tracks involved were I Can Feel It from 1972, Shell Be Lucky from 1973 (both of these being written /produced by Bill himself), The One Who Really Loves You and I Bet You Cant Love Me One More Time from 1974 (both being co-written &produced by Gene Dozier). Yet again Bill returned to Cleveland and here he organised a deal with Hot Ice Records. In 1976 he recorded 2 tracks for the company, a further 2 in 77 and 5 more in 78. One of the tracks that he recorded at this time was a song Bill had written with ex - Soul Note Riki Dannison, I Got God On My Side. Once again unfortunately nothing really resulted from He association. By 1980 Bill had thrown his lot in with Bob Davis who had earlier run the Day-Wood label. Gene Dozier, who at the time was working for Solar Records, was fetched across to Cleveland to oversee the proposed recording session. At this session Bill laid down 2 tracks, Love Is On The Way ~ Dont Play With My Love and these were released on the newly instigated Highland label. Unfortunately the company didnt have the finances to properly promote and distribute the single and so commercial success eluded Bill yet again.

The quality of the tracks was appreciated by UK fans though and the single became a much sought after item on this side of the pond.Eventually, to satisfy the pent-up demand, the record was also reissued on Henseforth in the late 80s. The problems the Highland release experienced finally convinced Bill that he wasnt going to establish a successful recording career in Cleveland and so in the early 80s he returned to Los Angeles. Over a period of several years he collaborated on projects with the likes of Friendly Womack, Leon Haywood, Lou Ragland and Gene Dozier. By the end of the eighties he was ready to give a solo career a try again He linked up with Hense Powell and a number of tracks were laid down. The result of this work saw the light of day in 1990 when the Henseforth LP Talk To Me was released This 8 track strong album immediately found a receptive audience in the UK but unfortunately maldug the US record buying public aware of its existence and quality was to prove a more difficult task.

A number of songs on the allbum help illustrate the enduring musical associations that Bill had developed over his long career as they were co-written with old allies. One of the LPs most popular hacks, Kick Back was composed in conjunction with Lou Ragland whilst Riki Dannison assisted with Look At Yourself. Further Henseforth recordings escaped in 1995 when the single I Rode The Crest Of The Wave / No Way To Live was released but again it failed to find a wide audience. Bill isnt a person whos easily discouraged though and hecontinues to work on new material. He has re-recorded I Got God ~ My Side along with a number of other songs.

Bill feels his duties on behalf of the L.A Coroners Office are becoming too arduous on a day to day basis and so he is determined to make another effort in the recording field He has plans to release a new C D. I hope that thissees the light of day in the near future and that, at long last, it results in Bill getting the recognition long overdue to him.

JR Smith Oct. 98

Taken from Soulful Kinds Music Dec 98 issue with permission