60S Uk Soul Releases

[Liamgp]

They were the foundation of the UK's obsession with rare soul and latterly what became Northern, but what was the reason why certain Soul/RnB records were released in the UK? OK, Tamla Motown was set up as a conduit for selected material from the Detroit label(s) releases, and UK Sue seemed to exist to reflect Guy Stevens' own personal tastes. PYE seemed to concentrate on the blues stuff, but what about others? Oriole, UK King, Stateside etc. Were their releases chosen becasue they were regional/national hits or because they just caught the fancy of some record exec?

 

Some of the Stateside releases for instance.

 

Baltimore and Ohio Marching Band b/w Lapland/Condition Red (Only made 94 on the US charts. Does this justify a UK release?)

 

Mary Love - Lay This Burden Down (Didn't seem to be a success in the US charts, unlike 'You Turned My Bitter Into Sweet' which probably led to the 1965 UK King release)

 

Same goes for:

 

The Sharpees - Tired of Being Lonely;

Vernon Garrett - Turn Back the Hands of Time;

The Fascinations - Girls Are Out to Get You;

Dean Parrish - Determination;

Alvin Cash - The Philly Freeze;

Darrell Banks - Open The Door To Your Heart b/w Our Love (Is In The Pocket);

Rufus Lumley - I'm Standing;

The Invitations - What's Wrong With Me Baby; etc...

 

Why some records and not others?

[Pete S]

Some licensed in whatever they could get their hands on, they may have had a deal to take 10 tracks from a label when only one had been a hit.  Things like Sharpees, Alvin Cash etc, big local hits in the USA.  As for Baltimore, that was released in Europe and Australia so it must have been at least a local hit - they even had a UK Stateside album released!

[Liamgp]

Some licensed in whatever they could get their hands on, they may have had a deal to take 10 tracks from a label when only one had been a hit.  Things like Sharpees, Alvin Cash etc, big local hits in the USA.  As for Baltimore, that was released in Europe and Australia so it must have been at least a local hit - they even had a UK Stateside album released!

 

Yes, I presume there must have been deals with companies e.g. Goldwax to release a certain amount of tracks. As for 'Condition Red' - well, it probably fuelled many a youth-club night. They played it at our school discos sandwiched between Terry Jacks and The Wombles!

[Pete S]

Yes, I presume there must have been deals with companies e.g. Goldwax to release a certain amount of tracks. As for 'Condition Red' - well, it probably fuelled many a youth-club night. They played it at our school discos sandwiched between Terry Jacks and The Wombles!

 

But don't forget, that's the B side. The A side must have been popular - somewhere - I doubt if Condition Red is even by the Baltimore & Ohio Marching Band.

[Liamgp]

But don't forget, that's the B side. The A side must have been popular - somewhere - I doubt if Condition Red is even by the Baltimore & Ohio Marching Band.

 

I believe they were a group of session musicians not an actual marching band. You would have problems marching around with a Hammond organ and a piano to be honest.

[Chris L]

There a group of people in the UK that were big, big soul fans and either worked for UK record companies like Trevor Churchill or started their own UK labels like John Abbey. Releasing records in the sixties was a lot simpler than maybe nowadays, also in the late 60s a lot of UK record companies started releasing and re-releasing record due to popular punter demand.

[Soulstu]

Wow, great topic, superb answers as usual! This was a question that always bugged me too.

[Rick Cooper]

 

They were the foundation of the UK's obsession with rare soul and latterly what became Northern, but what was the reason why certain Soul/RnB records were released in the UK_

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Good question which I don't have any answers just more questions.

Take EMI for a start; did they have the rights to every US issue from Amy/Mala, Capitol/Tower/Uptown, Musicor,Okeh etc and did they get a copy of each 45 and LP.Did the EMI exec have a panel of the in-crowd to get reaction to prospective issues or was it just down to the label managers. Some titles seemed to get worldwide release, was this due to pressure from the US? Did some acts push for overseas issue? What about publishers input.

I've read that Decca in the 50s had staff in the States who were employed to sign up titles as quick as possible to stop other companies getting them but did this happen in the 60s ?

Some UK companies seemed never to get it right ,RCA for instance, so was it due to who they had working there. And what was going on at Polydor

with Ric Tic/Golden World, J.J. Barnes- Day Tripper but no Please Let Me In or Real Humdinger, no Agent O O Soul or Backstreet from Edwin Starr. Other releases like Tony Middleton and Inspirations , great records but why put them out.

Before the trippy hippy Summer of Love in 67 there may have been enough people and shops that would order every TMG ,Chess, Stateside, Capitol etc soul release to make it worth releasing a steady stream of US stuff. After 68/69 it was left to the likes of Action and Soul City to issue obscure titles.

Rick

Edited March 27, 2014 by Rick Cooper

[Godzilla]

But don't forget, that's the B side. The A side must have been popular - somewhere - I doubt if Condition Red is even by the Baltimore & Ohio Marching Band.

 

 

I believe they were a group of session musicians not an actual marching band. You would have problems marching around with a Hammond organ and a piano to be honest.

 

 

I was reading about them last week and copied this note - from Amazon I think:

In 1960, Ernie Freeman assembled a group of studio musicians at Liberty Records and recorded a rock version of the 1906 march National Emblem which he called National City under the billing The Joiner, Arkansas Junior High School Band, and in late May/early June it made it to # 53 Billboard Pop Hot 100. There was, of course, never any such band in Joiner (home town of Liberty president Al Bennett) but for a while there organizers all over the U.S. were calling around to try and book the "high school band" for one of their parades.

Seven years later, Joey Day and Alan Dischel resurrected the idea with another group of studio musicians, this time at Jerry Blaine's Jubilee Records in New York City, and in late 1967 released Lapland as The Baltimore And Ohio Marching Band and in late October it peaked at # 28 Adult Contemporary and # 94 Hot 100 on Jubilee 5592 b/w Condition Red.

Around the same time they also released this album (Jubilee JGS-8008) which contains: 1. Lapland; 2. Do Re Mi; 3. The Yellow Rose Of Texas/Whistle While You Work; 4. Girl Watchers Theme; 5. Bach Minuet; 6. The B&O Marching Band Song; 7. The Happy Wanderer; 8.. The Colonel Bogey March; 9. The Kazoo Special; 10. The Children's Marching Song; 11. St. Louie Street March; 12. Seventy-Six Trombones.

Early in 1968, The Happy Wanderer/The B&O Marching Band Song were culled from the LP and released as the single Jubilee 5614, but this time no cigar. Later that year they released their second and last LP (Jubilee JGS-8014) titled "The Baltimore And Ohio Marching Band Plays Music From The Comics" containing: 1. Simon Says; 2. Alley Oop; 3. I'm Popeye the Sailor Man; 4. Jubilation T. Cornpone; 5. The Kids Next Door; 6. Barney Google (With the Goo Goo Goggly Eyes); 7. Snoopy Versus The Red Baron; 8. Little Orphan Annie; 9. Lady Bird; 10. Gogo Togo; 11. Batman Theme; 12. Sgt. Crunch. That is a rare one indeed.

From that album there came the single Sgt. Crunch b/w a new tune called The Tipsy Gyspy on Jubilee 5644, and a bit later in 1969 they released Little Arrows, with a mono version on one one side and a stereo version on the other as Jubilee 5672. Again, nothing charted.

[Roburt]

Club exposure (import copies initially) and pirate radio plays (again initially import copies) influenced what was released here from (say) 1964 onwards. I'd say that some UK record companies passed early import copies of certain US 45's they had the rights to onto London club DJ's and pirate radio DJ's and they would play many of them. The ones that took off with club or radio audiences would then get more consideration regarding UK release I'd say.

Of course, being a minor / major hit in the US would also be a big influence on the A&R guys at the labels.

Pete Stringfellow (of Sheffield's Mojo Club) used to travel down to London every week (to work on RSG) and he always returned home with loads of new sounds that would be played in the club the very next weekend. Sometimes a new US track would be a UK club hit before it had really had the time to establish itself on the US charts  --- some UK club hits would go on to climb the US charts but others wouldn't. 

Big UK outfits (EMI, Pye & the like) already had deals with loads of US labels, so they would be receiving copies of their newly released 45's every week. 

Lots of UK labels sourced US 45's with a view to getting Brit acts they had signed to do cover versions of songs, no doubt if they found it easy to 'license' the original version in cheaply, they would follow that course instead.

Edited March 28, 2014 by Roburt

[Roburt]

Don't forget that the Beatles broke in America in January 64 and the 'British Invasion' followed just weeks later. Every US record label was trying to get access to UK recordings and offering licensing deals (you can have all our stuff if we can release yours back here). The Beatles, Stones, Hollies, Searchers, Hermans Hermits & dozens more UK acts were having hits with covers of US blues / R&B tracks. The Beatles & Stones were naming all their fave artists; just about everyone being US blues, R&B, soul acts.

The Drifters, Mary Wells & Marvin Gaye were enjoying UK hits, by 65 the likes of Otis Redding & Wilson Pickett were also on the UK 45 charts. They were soon followed by Lee Dorsey, Roy C, Percy Sledge and more.   

UK labels got their US stuff without incurring any recording costs (& UK studios were very busy back then cutting new & recent hit acts). Little or no expense was involved in promoting the US product. They just pressed up some demos, sent them out & claimed the costs as a tax loss.

Many UK label A&R men were so out of touch in 64 they had no idea anymore what was likely to be a hit (hence Decca turning down the Beatles).

If 1 in every 20 releases sold a decent number of copies then they could break even. Why wouldn't they put out US soul stuff over here under those conditions ?   

Edited March 28, 2014 by Roburt

[Pete S]

This thing about Decca turning down the Beatles isn't quite as clear cut as people think it is.  They were told they could only sign one of either Brian Poole & The Tremeloes, or The Beatles.  The decision wasn't taken musically or stylistically, it was taken because BRian Poole's lot lived in an easy commute to the Decca Studios and The Beatles would have had to come from 100 miles away - and that is the only reason they were rejected by decca.  The "beat groups are on their way out" statement most closely associated with this incident, is an urban myth.

[Darkes]

But don't forget, that's the B side. The A side must have been popular - somewhere - I doubt if Condition Red is even by the Baltimore & Ohio Marching Band.

It was also released by the Honor Society, on Jubilee, with the flip "Sweet September", can't remember which is the A side. Identical recording of condition red.  I have absolutely no idea why it was released in this format!  Sweet September has some great drum breaks in it as I remember.

[Guest john s]

On a slightly different note, the UK release of 'I can only give you everything' by the Bram Rigg Set has always  puzzled me - it's a 60s garage record that didn't even get a national release in the US as far as I can tell (it's on Kayden), but it came out on Stateside here.

[Roburt]

Another factor to take into consideration from those times was that many 'US soul' 45's sold over an extended time period. 

So even though they never made it onto the 45's Top 50, many sold more copies than some 45's that did make the charts.

A classic example of this has to be a release such as Bob & Earl's "Harlem Shuffle". 1st issued in the UK in July 65, it sold solidly as a Sue 45 for over 3 years.

It was then re-issued on Island in February 69 and entered the UK 45's chart a few weeks later.

It would be interesting to know just how many copies of the Sue single had sold up to the beginning of 1969. 

"Open The Door To Your Heart" and other EMI 45 releases also enjoyed months & months (turning into years) of sales before they were deleted (with some then being re-issued again at an even later date).

[Alan Bonthrone1]

With reference to Post 2, it was also issued in Argentina but credited to "The Baltimore".Plays at 33rpm.

[Godzilla]

With reference to Post 2, it was also issued in Argentina but credited to "The Baltimore".Plays at 33rpm.

 

As was their version of the Batman Theme.

 

[dthedrug]

 HI ALL the answer to the question is straight forward, it was in Denmark Street SOHO, TIN PAN ALLY if you like, to get the song rights of US songs many R&B/SOUL records were released and given no promotion at all, most of UKs POP started of as Afro American , in the UK it was given to white people and in many cases exported back to the states as part of the BRITISH Invasion following the BEATLES "we love MOTOWN" Yeh Yeh YEH! with a love like that we whites will rule the world PEAS & LUV parched peas are luvlley said RINGO  DAVE K,