Roy Handy - Baby That's A Groove - Lyrics?

[Premium Stuff]

Anyone got any idea please?

 

Not just the fish and chips bit! - the lot! 

 

Cheers

 

Richard

[Premium Stuff]

Try this - it might help 

 

[Weingarden]

Here, I've taken a crack at it for you.

 

Two o'clock in the morning

and all the joints have just closed

We picked up a bag of fish and chips

and we headed for this place called home

Love is on our mind, hey hey,

and we're in the mood

It's just a matter of time, oh,

and baby, that's a groove

 

My imagination is something else

It's like looking through a crystal ball

and what I see looks good to me

as we climb the steps and walk down the hall

 

Before I put the key in the lock, hey hey,

I just had to stop

because my baby turned and kissed me,

said we've no time to lose

I said, "Good, oh baby, that's a groove"

 

Sweat was popping off of my face

and [indecipherable lead vocal echoed by what sounds like "shit" from the backing singers] was all over the place

You should have seen my baby move

now that we had found our groove

 

[MIKE TERRY BARITONE BREAK!]

 

Put on a stack of fine 45s

like "Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide"

Found our groove and was having fun

We were jumping [jamming? dancing?] to the sound of Junior Walker's "Shotgun"

 

Sweat was popping off of my face

and fish and chips was all over the place

You should have seen my baby move

now that we had found our groove...[repeat/fade]

 

Then there's this later version, with a funkier beat and a Kinks-like backing chorus...

[Premium Stuff]

Fabulous!!

Gonna give that a proper listen later.

Looking forward to it

Cheers

Richard

[Pete S]

Fish and chips all over the place.

Possibly the worst lyric ever.

[Chris L]

"We picked up a bag of fish and chips and we headed for this place called home" I always thought it was "We picked up a bag of fish and chips and headed on a plane to Rome" !

[Robbk]

Interesting that this Jobete song was placed on Gene Redd's label.  I guess because Handy was a George Clinton artist, but Clinton farmed this one to Redd's Stephanye Records (both Clinton and Redd joined Ed Wingate's Golden World after Berry Gordy shut down Jobete Music's New York office in mid/late 1964.  Clearly Clinton just wanted to use one of the songs he had sold to Motown (which they hadn't used for release-and per his contract, he could use in an independent outside production (as he had on Handy's and Tamala Lewis' Marton releases)).  Interesting that he had Jobete spelt: "Jobette", as Anna Records had done, and a few Tamla misprints had, as well.  I wonder if that misspelling was a sneaky way of not cheating, but hiding his action from Berry Gordy?

 

It is also  interesting that One of The Holland's and Lamont Dozier also got credit as writers (could that be because the lyrics mention songs written by them?-so that he couldn't be accused of trying to benefit from their success?  I seriously doubt that Clinton was sitting together with them at 2648 Grand Blvd. in Detroit.  I have no doubt he wrote the song with Handy in mind (as its singer) in 1964, in Jobete's New York office.  Although I doubt that there was ever a chance that Handy would have been given a Motown singing artist's contract and recorded in Detroit, Clinton had hoped the song would have been recorded by Motown and become a hit.  When that didn't happen, he still thought he could do a good job on it with Handy.   It probably ended up on Redd's Stephanye Records, because Wingate didn't want to record Handy and release the record on Golden World (with whom Clinton was working under contract).  So, as Clinton's buddy and ex Jobete-NY colleague was also working right there in Wingate's building, and had full control of what was released on his own label, -it ended up coming out on Stephanye. 

[Robbk]

Speaking of Gene Redd Jr. and George Clinton's New York Motown Office crews joining Golden World after Gordy closed down his NY office, George Kerr's NY Jobete crew (including Sidney Barnes) also joined them, with Kerr's Maltese Records being recorded, pressed and distributed by Golden World.  Does anyone else here think that maybe Ed Wingate approached all the now unhappy and label-homeless "Detroit-style" producers, offering to give them a Detroit home, after knowing what a good job they did for Motown, and to give Gordy a mild "slap-in-the face"?  Maybe his doing that was part of the reason Gordy decided to force him out of the business (make the buyout his only alternative)?

 

I think it may have been enticing to those New York producers, because they had come to like writing/producing/recording in "The Detroit Style", and found an easy way to continue that and have the same Motown musicians record their music by teaming up with Wingate.

[Robbk]

I think it's also interesting that all 3 of Clinton, Redd and Kerr recorded songs they had written for Jobete Music by their own artists (Dolls, Handy, Tamala Lewis, and The Parliaments.  Those songs were not released by Motown during the contracted period, and so, these producers were within their rights to do so.  I also think that The Parliaments' "That Was My Girl", although published by Wingate's Myto Music, had been written by Clinton in New York's Jobete Office in mid 1964, with The Temptations in mind to record it.  But, it hadn't yet been bought by Motown by the time Gordy closed down the office without warning (due to Miss Ray's pressing up "my Guy" and selling it to East Coast distributors).  So Clinton used it for his Parliaments with Wingate's Golden World, having The Funk Brothers play on it (as they would otherwise have done with Motown, anyway).

[45cellar]

 

[Robbk]

Interesting that when Clinton decided to record his own group on "Baby That's A Groove" (-a song owned by Gordy's Jobete Music), he changed the title, and gave the publishing rights to Armen Boladian's Bridgeport Music.  Of course, with that new, super-funky style, it would never have been recognised by Gordy or any of his staff.

[Weingarden]

And the Funkadelic version omits the "Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide" line, hence no Holland and Dozier writing credits? Robb, I should know this, but where were the Stephanye records (there are three, right?) recorded, mastered, pressed? Who's playing on this one? Great info, keep it coming, man!

Edited May 8, 2013 by weingarden

[Robbk]

And the Funkadelic version omits the "Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide" line, hence no Holland and Dozier writing credits? Robb, I should know this, but where were the Stephanye records (there are three, right?) recorded, mastered, pressed? Who's playing on this one? Great info, keep it coming, man!

I've heard from several sources that at least the background tracks were recorded at Golden World, and, I believe that the final vocals were recorded there, as well.  Apparently, Stephanye Records was located at Golden World.  That was the business address Redd used.  Several sources stated that Wingate Gave him an office there (as he also did to George Kerr, and George Clinton.  Maltese Records listed their address there, as well.  The records were mastered at Columbia, Chicago, and pressed at Columbia Terre Haute (Indiana) (Thus the ZTSC pressing code numbers).

 

I don't know, specifically, who played on that recording.  But, I suspect that most of the same Motown "moonlighters"  that were playing on most of Golden World's recordings played on this one.  The drumming was quite good.  So, I suspect it was pistol Allen or Uriel Jones.  Benny Benjamin's style is VERY identifiable.   In addition to current Motown musicians, former Motown Musicians, such as Don Davis on guitar, Mike Terry (sax), Joe Hunter (piano), George McGregor (drums) and several others.

[Weingarden]

Thanks, I knew you'd have the info! Great stuff as usual, Robb.

[Robbk]

Upon listening to it again, anyone can hear Mike Terry playing bari sax on it.  I also think that base line sounds very much like James Jamerson.  Guitars are harder to place.  I know that Eddie Willis did some moonlighting for Wingate.  But, Don Davis played a lot on Wingate's productions (he was also a producer at Golden World).

[Premium Stuff]

Great stuff guys - really enjoying this thread and it's reinvigorated my interest in the Roy Handy 45 too 

 

Cheers

 

Richard

[Ian Dewhirst]

My pristene beautiful original copies of Roy Handy, Shirley J. Smith and Tamala Lewis now reside with one George Clinton esq. He didn't have any of 'em so I gave him my copies. How's that for benelovence ay? I still feel kinda good about it.....

Ian D