Detroit Soultown As It Is Today

[Guest detroitdude]

hello everyone, i am currently in detroit and i come over here 3-4 times a year. the soul scene here is pretty much gone. i listen to 104.3 which is the oldies station but pretty much here its all rap and i cant even bear to listen to it. detroit itself downtown isnt very good, right in the heart of downtown is ok but outside that its very run down and i was told that some places that were left in ruins after the riots of 67 are still derilict. the city itself is bankrupt but there is talk of private investment comming in and devloping parts of the city. the suburbs are ok but a couple of miles past telegraph road driving towards the city and the place drops off dramaticly. i guess the best place to buy records from are the garage sales and hundreds of them are held here every week. my friend bought a big box of records which were all 45's the other week for 40 bucks. i went down to hitsville usa a few months ago and it was interesting. i asked who was the last artist to record there and it was the commodores around mid 1976. they have a big pinano in there that was pretty beat up and when paul mcartney visted the place he asked about it, i believe it was a steinway, they told him that it was pretty done with as it needed quite alot of refurbishment. he told them that the piano should be restored and that he would pick up the tab and the piano was sent to mnew york and restored to its former glory. its a shame that the soul scene has moved on over here, its not like england at all, over here it seems like everyone is looking for the next new thing. i bought a couple of bsa's off a guy here and we got talking about soul music and he told me that he knows a guy who is a soul singer and he is now pretty penniless and that he gave him 5 bucks to sing to him in a gas station, could that ever happen to an artist in the u.k. the guy is called carl carlton and he did everlasting love among over stuff, i bet he would jump at the chance of doing a weekender in the u.k. weather here is hot and muggy and currently fine. have a nice day everyone. cheers, detroitdude. triumph bsa and norton parts man.

[Pete S]

hello everyone, i am currently in detroit and i come over here 3-4 times a year. the soul scene here is pretty much gone. i listen to 104.3 which is the oldies station but pretty much here its all rap and i cant even bear to listen to it. detroit itself downtown isnt very good, right in the heart of downtown is ok but outside that its very run down and i was told that some places that were left in ruins after the riots of 67 are still derilict. the city itself is bankrupt but there is talk of private investment comming in and devloping parts of the city. the suburbs are ok but a couple of miles past telegraph road driving towards the city and the place drops off dramaticly. i guess the best place to buy records from are the garage sales and hundreds of them are held here every week. my friend bought a big box of records which were all 45's the other week for 40 bucks. i went down to hitsville usa a few months ago and it was interesting. i asked who was the last artist to record there and it was the commodores around mid 1976. they have a big pinano in there that was pretty beat up and when paul mcartney visted the place he asked about it, i believe it was a steinway, they told him that it was pretty done with as it needed quite alot of refurbishment. he told them that the piano should be restored and that he would pick up the tab and the piano was sent to mnew york and restored to its former glory. its a shame that the soul scene has moved on over here, its not like england at all, over here it seems like everyone is looking for the next new thing. i bought a couple of bsa's off a guy here and we got talking about soul music and he told me that he knows a guy who is a soul singer and he is now pretty penniless and that he gave him 5 bucks to sing to him in a gas station, could that ever happen to an artist in the u.k. the guy is called carl carlton and he did everlasting love among over stuff, i bet he would jump at the chance of doing a weekender in the u.k. weather here is hot and muggy and currently fine. have a nice day everyone. cheers, detroitdude. triumph bsa and norton parts man.

 

Thanks for sharing that story.  Carl Carlton is a legend on the Northern Soul scene, I'm positive he'd go down a storm over here at a weekender.  

[Chalky]

Carl Carlton has made a weekender appearance here, 2006 at Cleethorpes along with Darrow Fletcher I think.

[Dranny]

Really sad that story

Carl Carlton Competition all time favourite tune at 14

This should really not happen to these guys

As Pete says thanks for sharing the story

Martyn

[Frankie Crocker]

WOW - Carl Carlton - maybe a Cleethorpes or Prestatyn act for the future? Detroit is in a bad way and could well be the first industrial city to fall off the map. However, the music will live on for ever. Berry Gordon did the place no favours decamping to Hollywood - time to return and rejuvenate the soul scene perhaps? The good news is, rare tunes are turning up in quantity eg Gary Dean, Sherri Taylor, Four Tracks etc. Not been for a few years but would recommend staying near Royal Oak. The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn is a must-see with an excellent Motown exhibit. Drivers beware - Hitsville is marked on the wrong place on the map so be prepared to go up and down West Grand Boulevard a few times. Hopefully a weekender promoter can follow up this lead...

[Chalky]

Again....Carl Carlton has been and done Cleethorpes. Great he was too, real showman full of energy. Think he was on is arse finance wise back then as well? Ady will know more.

[Guest detroitdude]

WOW - Carl Carlton - maybe a Cleethorpes or Prestatyn act for the future? Detroit is in a bad way and could well be the first industrial city to fall off the map. However, the music will live on for ever. Berry Gordon did the place no favours decamping to Hollywood - time to return and rejuvenate the soul scene perhaps? The good news is, rare tunes are turning up in quantity eg Gary Dean, Sherri Taylor, Four Tracks etc. Not been for a few years but would recommend staying near Royal Oak. The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn is a must-see with an excellent Motown exhibit. Drivers beware - Hitsville is marked on the wrong place on the map so be prepared to go up and down West Grand Boulevard a few times. Hopefully a weekender promoter can follow up this lead...

[Guest detroitdude]

hello frankie, i am based in garden city which isnt far from dearborn. i am a member of the ford museum and i went to the titanic exibit there which was good. what blows me away here is what people here throw away, my friend arron has garbage picked allsorts of good things and thousands of records must be in landfill. i am seeing henry later today, so i will get some more info about carl carlton. cheers. detroitdude.

[Hitsville Chalky]

I've been in talks a few times with Carlton about coming back over to perform .. sadley nothing  happens .  hope he is keeping well  was informed he was not in very good health recently will try and give him a call  soon .