Popular Post Roburt Posted March 10, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted March 10, 2016 (edited) I have spent most of tonight speaking on the phone with Lou Ragland in Las Vegas. Lou & I go all the way back to the Ric Tic Revue days. We met up @ the Ritz and hit it off as friends. I corresponded with him for some years & then started going over to Vegas to meet up with him & his family. We (the wife & I) would go to his group's shows in the local casinos & Lou would make it OK for me to take photos of the group performing (the use of cameras is usually banned in casinos for security purposes + to stop people being captured on film that weren't officially there). So we really built up a good relationship. I ran Lou's UK tour back in 1990, he & I ran the 1998 Soul Trip to Las Vegas for UK fans. He then got to perform @ the Prestatyn Weekender & I became his official UK agent (collecting his royalties, etc.). As time has passed, we have met up less (Lou is now 78 & I'm 67) plus I no longer make it across to Vegas (stopping short in Florida these days). But our bond is still strong & I thought (before it's too late) I would interrogate Lou about his days as a studio engineer (he was one of the first fully trained black recording studio engineers in the north east USA). So that's what I have been doing tonight. We talked for over an hour in the end AND I NOW have to write up my scribbles & make sense of all the technical info he gave me (types of tape deck, microphones, mixing desks, echo chambers, etc). Plus all the data on the artists involved, musicians, the A&R guy, Jim Brown, the promotions & marketing guy, the other studios used, visiting singers using 'his' studio, etc. When I have gotten everything typed up and have run it past Lou, I'll post the article up here ..... but as a taster I'll first post up a few old photos ......... 1/ Lou as a kid (early teenage years I'd guess). 2/ Lou with a friend in Cleveland. 3/ Lou (with guitar) -- a hip 19 yr old musician. ............... MORE TO FOLLOW ............. Edited March 10, 2016 by Roburt 11 Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Winsford Soul Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 That's fabulous. Please keep us posted. Love all the background information that these interviews bring out. Had the pleasure of seeing Lou at Prestatyn. Thank you. Steve Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Ian Dewhirst Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Hey Roburt, If you get the chance, can you ask Lou about a guy I met in L.A. in '76. I think he may have been called Al Rosen (?). Al claimed that he was Lou Ragland's manager at one time and this made sense 'cos I bought a promo of "I Travel Alone" from him. He couldn't believe that I even knew the record and he had many fond memories of his time with Lou. When I bumped into Al he was down on his luck and owed the mob a lot of money. I went round to his place and he wasn't doing too well but I did believe that he was connected with Lou and he was a lovely guy. I'm sure if you mention it to Lou he'll probably remember him..... Ian D Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 6 minutes ago, Ian Dewhirst said: Hey Roburt, If you get the chance, can you ask Lou about a guy I met in L.A. in '76. I think he may have been called Al Rosen (?). Al claimed that he was Lou Ragland's manager at one time and this made sense 'cos I bought a promo of "I Travel Alone" from him. He couldn't believe that I even knew the record and he had many fond memories of his time with Lou. When I bumped into Al he was down on his luck and owed the mob a lot of money. I went round to his place and he wasn't doing too well but I did believe that he was connected with Lou and he was a lovely guy. I'm sure if you mention it to Lou he'll probably remember him..... Ian D Will do, Ian. Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 When Lou was interviewed by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame guys ................. https://rockhall.com/blog/post/9395_cleveland-soul-interview-with-lou-ragland/ 1 Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Kris Holmes Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 the career overview of stuff that came out on Numero a couple of years back was great Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Kris Holmes Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 perhaps some of his best songwriting is this stuff, absolutely outstanding etc, all six songs on this are amazing Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted March 11, 2016 Author Share Posted March 11, 2016 (edited) The above look like Boddie acetates .... Lou explained to me that he got his first ever experience in the control room (!?!?!) of a recording studio in the early 60's at Boddies. I have put the (!?!?!) in the above coz Boddies studio had been built in the garage to his house & was so rudimentary that there wasn't really what you could call a separate 'control room' in the place. But then some of the best 60's soul was cut in converted garages / sheds / basements. BTW, the above vids have 'disappeared'. Are they still up on Youtube ? Edited March 11, 2016 by Roburt Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted March 11, 2016 Author Share Posted March 11, 2016 A piece from a Cleveland Newspaper (a bit hard to read it all though) .......... AND WHAT LOU SAID ABOUT IT ............. THE RECORDING THAT IS .......... To make this recording I used musicians from The Cleveland Orchestra as I did on stuff by all the local bands, Mother Braintree, Bel tell funk, the Dazz band, Soul, New York Stock Exchange, Hot Chocolate, Seven Miles High, Sonny Lovell, True Movement, etc. What a production. Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted March 11, 2016 Author Share Posted March 11, 2016 (edited) Some info from Lou on Photo 3/ (Lou (with guitar) -- a hip 19 yr old musician) in my initial post on this thread .............. I am wearing a vest that my mother made for me. I'm standing by the hall steps of the (Cleveland) Music Box, where the Band Masters were the house band along with Don Gregory, I was 19 years old then. Edited March 11, 2016 by Roburt Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted March 11, 2016 Author Share Posted March 11, 2016 (edited) Speakin of the Bandmasters ..... ....... here they are (though Lou ain't up there with them on this occasion) in Cleveland backing up Betty Everett on a gig ..... Lou tells me the personnel are; Drums - Bill Matlock, Bass - Joe Yancy, Trumpet - Robert Lee , Tenor Sax was from Don Gregory's band and the guitar player was the personal one for singer Betty Everett. Edited March 11, 2016 by Roburt Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 (edited) Another 'earlyish' photo of Lou ........ the guitar man ............ Edited March 12, 2016 by Roburt Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Smudger Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 i remember when Lou came into the radio room at Prestatyn, he started fiddling with all the control knobs on the mixer to get a better sound and at the time i wondered how the hell he knew on a strange set up he had never seen before what he was doing. I guess all the knowledge built up over the years never leaves you. 1 Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 I'd forgotten about that our kid (& it was MY radio show he was on not YOURS). But you're right, Lou did and he got the systems in their working correctly for the 1st time that weekend -- BACKGROUND INFO : the 1st thing Roger Banks did @ every Prestatyn Weekender was change all the settings on each piece of the equipment in the radio room, so that everybody else who followed after him sounded sh*te ... Oh, we all thought Roger was so funny !!! NOT). Lou is a wizard on any piece of recording gear .... in fact for the last 10+ years (& he's now 78) Lou has been employed to run the City of Las Vegas Arts Recording Studio. There he takes 'troubled youngsters' & others, helping give them a purpose in life (as a singer, rapper, musician, engineer, etc). Lou also had the use of & helped run Harvey Fuqua's Vegas studio + he works with Freddie Empire who also has his own studio. I guess everyone knows, Lou's your man to get the best sound out of the gear in their studio. Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 (edited) A picture of Lou & some fellow (vintage) artists in the studio in the very recent past ........... Edited March 12, 2016 by Roburt Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 On 3/10/2016 at 23:06, Ian Dewhirst said: Hey Roburt, If you get the chance, can you ask Lou about a guy I met in L.A. in '76. I think he may have been called Al Rosen (?). Al claimed that he was Lou Ragland's manager at one time and this made sense 'cos I bought a promo of "I Travel Alone" from him. ... When I bumped into Al he was down on his luck and owed the mob a lot of money. Ian D Ian, it couldn't have been Arnold Rosenburg could it ?? Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 A Cleveland recording studio that Lou cut tracks in ............ Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Great story and by the sounds of things a few to tell I hope I had the chance to meet him and he signed a poster once it was a long time ago might of been Rushden /kettering area bit guessing here ill have to dig out the flyer not sure if it said where the event was though great you still manage to stay in touch is he still singing - Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Ian Dewhirst Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 9 hours ago, Roburt said: Ian, it couldn't have been Arnold Rosenburg could it ?? Could have been. I think he was a promoter at one time. I met him in '76 and I believe he worked with Lou in the late 60s...... Ian D Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 1 hour ago, becker154 said: Great story and by the sounds of things a few to tell I hope I had the chance to meet him and he signed a poster once it was a long time ago might of been Rushden /kettering area bit guessing here ill have to dig out the flyer not sure if it said where the event was though great you still manage to stay in touch is he still singing - That would have been the gig in Souldrop, south of Rushden (1990). Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted March 15, 2016 Author Share Posted March 15, 2016 Two mates of Lou's from the old days; Larry Hancock & Eddie Levert (can't think what group he's in) ......... 1 Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted March 15, 2016 Author Share Posted March 15, 2016 (edited) Another old friend of Lou's from back in Cleveland: WJMO DJ Ken Hawkins .......... ...... don't think I've seen that picture of the Spinners before (pity it ain't clearer) ..... Edited March 15, 2016 by Roburt Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted March 15, 2016 Author Share Posted March 15, 2016 (edited) Going back 2 pictures, Larry Hancock, as well as being a mainstay in S.O.U.L + a solo artist, had started off in the Intertains. He also wrote songs that the likes of the O'Jays recorded ............ .... a talented guy all round; their 45 escaped around November 65 ..... Edited March 15, 2016 by Roburt Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted March 15, 2016 Author Share Posted March 15, 2016 A little song you might know that Larry Hancock wrote .......... bet the Intertains sang it live on their live shows too .... Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
George G Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 If you want to know about Arnie Rosenberg I can ask a friend who worked with Arnie for several years. Arnie passed away some years ago. Agency Recording burned down in 1984. Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Ian Dewhirst Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 17 hours ago, George G said: If you want to know about Arnie Rosenberg I can ask a friend who worked with Arnie for several years. Arnie passed away some years ago. Agency Recording burned down in 1984. We're trying to identify a guy I met in L.A. in 1976 George. I thought his name was Al and he told me that he'd been been Lou Ragland's manager for a while - I think the same period when "I Travel Alone" cane out on Amy. He had a room full of records so I think he was a promo guy at one point and/or had a record store. He was in hock to the mob so he wasn't doing too well at the point when I met him. Lovely guy though. Ian D Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
George G Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 12 hours ago, Ian Dewhirst said: We're trying to identify a guy I met in L.A. in 1976 George. I thought his name was Al and he told me that he'd been been Lou Ragland's manager for a while - I think the same period when "I Travel Alone" cane out on Amy. He had a room full of records so I think he was a promo guy at one point and/or had a record store. He was in hock to the mob so he wasn't doing too well at the point when I met him. Lovely guy though. Ian D Ian, Arnie Rosenberg the audio engineer is not the guy you met, for what that's worth. George Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted March 17, 2016 Author Share Posted March 17, 2016 Spent another enjoyable hour in the (electronic) company of Lou this afternoon ......... I'm getting so much info from him I'd better not enter it up as numerous separate posts (I get in trouble as it is for posting too much). So I think I'll pull everything together into 1 or 2 articles and post all the stuff up that way .......... As I said earlier, we haven't actually met up in the flesh since the Prestatyn Weekender (2006?) but we chat on a regular basis. The guy is now a very distinguished looking elder statesman, judge for yourselves ..... 2 Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Stevecee Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Fantastic posts, thanks for sharing! Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted March 18, 2016 Author Share Posted March 18, 2016 This really p*sses Lou off ................. UK Rare Groove BOOTLEG .......... ......... AND ........... unlicensed / uncredited / no royalties paid LOVERS ROCK COVER by Londoner Barry Boom ........ .......... and the lovers rock version escaped on a recognised UK reggae label ............ Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted March 20, 2016 Author Share Posted March 20, 2016 (edited) I'm getting ready to write up a full article on Lou, so there will not be much appearing on this thread for a while .... .. HOWEVER .... I'll be speakin at length with Lou again on Tuesday afternoon (morning his time) and so if anyone wants me to ask him a specific question about anything from his long career, post it up here. I'll then prepare a list of them (should there be any response) and ask him. To keep things tickin over, thought I'd post up a street pic of 1966 E 55th St, Cleveland, the site of the Way Out Records studio .......... a railway line ran behind the studio, so I asked Lou if the noise of trains ever interfered with a recording session. He said that the recording sessions were held at night and trains didn't seem to run on that line at night ............... Edited March 20, 2016 by Roburt Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted March 22, 2016 Author Share Posted March 22, 2016 Just got off the phone again with Lou, another enjoyable 90 minutes speakin' with him. He really does have a great memory, I ask, he ponders & then you get the info right back. Loads more fascinating facts have been unearthed. Lou went on the road (in his Cleveland days) in a major way on 4 different occasions. His recall of exact dates is not brilliant but everything else he remembers. The 1st time he went off was around 1964. He was an item with Kim Tolliver at the time & her guitar player / band leader. She had other singers in tow & so their show was billed 'The Kim Tolliver Revue. Top of the bill on the package was (CM &) the Impressions. The next time he went on tour was with Terry Knight, right after Terry had a hit record out. They played the 'white club 'circuit & Lou got to play the Bitter End & Peppermint Lounge in New York. Then came a long spell (after his short period as lead singer with Billy Ward & Dominoes) with the O'Jays and that road job lasted about 2 years. Lou fronted Hot Chocolate from 70 to 73 and they undertook an extensive tour (Georgia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida). That was the spell when the group came up with "Since You Said You'd Be Mine" & when they sold their name and became Seven Miles High. When Lou was with the O'Jays, they weren't doing that well (having returned from LA nearly broke). They played the 'black club' circuit so never made top dollar then. Lou knew they needed more publicity to generate more gigs (as the group's records weren't really selling that well --the George Kerr spell about 68).So Lou prepared a 22 page booklet as publicity for the group. As well as sending copies out to get bookings, they sold copies to the public at gigs & made a few extra $$. Below is a screen grab of the front cover of that publicity booklet ..... 1 Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Phild Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 I met Lou back in 1987. I went to see him at his house in Las Vegas. He was rehearsing and writing new material (mostly gospel if I recall). A true gentleman. 1 Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted March 23, 2016 Author Share Posted March 23, 2016 Available today on US web site BESTBUY ........... Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Kris Holmes Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 That I Travel Alone set is outstanding, comprehensive liners as well, Numero did a grand job on that. Ask Lou about the time he spent in New Zealand with Kim Tolliver back in the early 80s. I'd love to hear what he remembers of the couple seasons of night club work he did there back then. Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted March 24, 2016 Author Share Posted March 24, 2016 (edited) Kris, I talked with Lou again (another 90 minutes) and he told me all about his Aussie / NZ adventures. ... BUT .... he never went there with Kim Tolliver. Lou knew Kim from the very early 60's & led her backing band for some years. On & off, they were an item over almost a 10 year period. Kim, in the 60's had 6 children to look after, 3 of her own & 3 who came with her 1st husband. So Lou knew the family well throughout the 60's. However, when Kim married Fred Briggs, Fred didn't want Lou anywhere near them (& I can see why with Kim / Lou's history, so Lou became persona none grata). Kim worked outside Cleveland a lot, spending some considerable time on the road (even in the 60's) .... that's probably how she met Fred Briggs. Kim toured as part of Otis Redding's review package for some time, up until Otis's death (he was killed in a plane crash on 10th Dec 67. flying from Cleveland to Madison -- he had just completed 3 shows @ Leo's Casino in Cleveland + done a TV show there). Anyway, getting back on point, Lou wasn't allowed to play in Kim's band after she hooked up with Fred Briggs. So he never toured Australia & N Zealand in the 80's with Kim. He did tour Australia & New Zealand (6 weeks in Aus + 3 in NZ) with a group and as a solo artist, more on that later. Thought I'd finish off with an Aussie / Lou link ........ so here's a pic of Lou, Sonny Turner (Platters), me & the Gold Coast's (Aus) top soulster John Phillips. We're all together in Vegas in 1998 ......... Edited March 24, 2016 by Roburt Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Kris Holmes Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 hmm, super weird, February 1979 there was a newspaper article with both artists & mentioned their September 1979 return, even a picture, it used to be online but i can't find it now. maybe they came separately? Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted March 25, 2016 Author Share Posted March 25, 2016 I have now asked lou about this on 3 occasions BUT each time he denies being on the tour .... AND YET ... people back in Cleveland even tell me he went with Kim. Either he's forgotten all about it (& he has a great memory) OR he's decided to forget all about it. He was down there with the Ink Spots in the 80's. The only original guy in the group was very old & couldn't be bothered to do any promo work for their shows, so Lou did it all. He would visit radio stns, meet the press, etc. He would always take along & hand out copies of his records (GLO 45 + Love Moods 12" -- the EP that contains his much bootlegged anthem "Makin Love") ...... the press & DJs loved Lou & his attitude, so they would 'big up' his records & play them. The duet cut on his GLO 45 (forget the title & femme singer) became a popular radio play. So when the Ink Spots tour was over, Lou was approached by a promoter to stay on & do solo shows. They teamed him with a (jazzy) big band and he did numerous extra shows. So, this is the Aussie / NZ experience he relates when asked. Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted April 13, 2016 Author Share Posted April 13, 2016 On 3/19/2016 at 19:02, Roburt said: I'm getting ready to write up a full article on Lou, so there will not be much appearing on this thread for a while .... .. HOWEVER .... I'll be speakin at length with Lou again on Tuesday afternoon (morning his time) and so if anyone wants me to ask him a specific question about anything from his long career, post it up here. I'll then prepare a list of them (should there be any response) and ask him. To keep things tickin over, thought I'd post up a street pic of 1966 E 55th St, Cleveland, the site of the Way Out Records studio .......... a railway line ran behind the studio, so I asked Lou if the noise of trains ever interfered with a recording session. He said that the recording sessions were held at night and trains didn't seem to run on that line at night ............... The Way Out studio ........... a story I was told ......... before the recording gear was stripped out of the building & it was still in use by locally based soul singers / musicians. John Wilson & his group had been cutting in there one day & had left some gear in the place. But they were heading off on the road early the next morning. So JW & his conga player went to get the stuff. The security guard knew John and said it was OK to get the drums. But he had forgotten that the alarm was still on. The 'alarm' was a shotgun pointed at the door to stop burglars who had tried to steal equipment from the studio. It went off when the door was opened. Forgetting this, John pulled the door open and the gun went off. By the grace of God. he was not injured .... but the concussion from the blast blew his hat off and also blew a 6 inch hole in the left side of the wall right next to his right shoulder. 1 Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted April 13, 2016 Author Share Posted April 13, 2016 More news from Lou: he's in Harvey Fuqua's studio this afternoon laying down the music for a new record by Bobby Jonz / Bobby Jones. It's a song titled "Moonlight Handyman" that Lou co-wrote. The track will feature real brass (sax & trombone) + just about all real instruments. Lou was close friends with Harvey & used / still uses his studio a lot (Lou once set me up to chat with Harvey while I was in Vegas ... but I was about to head back to the UK & the only time I could make it was a Sunday morning. Harvey said OK but we'll have to chat on the golf course, while I play a round with friends. I said that would inconvenience them & I'd do it another time. The friends it turned out were Smokey & Johnny Bristol .... DOOH). Anyway, back to now, Lou (& John Wilson's Sly, Slick & Wicked) are pencilled in for shows in LA, Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus & Lorain plus maybe one in Vegas. Early days yet but at present it seems likely that these will take place this summer. A picture to finish ... Lou with Harvey's HAL ('Tribute to Heroes And Legends') award .......... Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Jim Elliott Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 Fascinating stuff, many thanks a great read . ATB Jim. Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted April 19, 2016 Author Share Posted April 19, 2016 (edited) Had my usual Tuesday afternoon chat with Lou today.The subject matter moved on to more modern work AND his time on the road with the O'Jays and Terry Knight. Lou had become a bit disillusioned with the music industry in 67 but local Cleve guy Terry Knight had a big seller on his hands late in 66 ("I (Who Have Nothing -- a UK Cameo Parkway 45 released on 13th Jan 67). Anyway, Terry Knight needed to go on the road to cash in on his hit 45, but he needed a road band. He hired Lou to play guitar behind him, lent Lou a guitar (as he had sold his own) and off they went. Terry played the white club circuit where the pay was better and so was the treatment. So Lou was well paid & had guys (roadies, club techs to set up / sound-balance his gear). So for about 12 months, Lou toured & lived well. Eventually, with no follow-up 45 hit, Terry Knight went cold & came off the road. So in late 67 Lou became Road manager for the O'Jays. Lou always has been a good businessman & so set about sorting the O'Jays finances out. They played the chitlin circuit where life was hard. Off they went, all over the US, playing black clubs. Their fee (for the group, musicians, roadies, tour manager) was $1000 a night but the group members & musicians were just on salary (by their manager Leo Frank -- owner of Leo's Casino back in Cleveland). When on the road, the group members got a salary of $350 a week each with the musicians getting $75 a week. All other monies went back to Leo Frank. Work was hard but enjoyable & Lou went about their biz. The group hadn't had a hit 45 in over a year, so it was hard work pleasing audiences & club owners. But in Dec 67 they had their 1st hit for Bell. Work really started to flow in but at the usual fee; $1000 a night. They were soon turning work away as their 45 climbed the charts (where it stayed for almost 3 months). Lou could see what was happening, so started to tell the group to stay on the bus when they arrived at a venue while he had a chat with the club managers. Lou negotiated an increased fee as the venue could charge more for tickets now. So the fee went up to $1800 a night ($2500 for some big venues like the Apollo, Howard, Uptown, etc.). When they weren't working on the road the group member's salaries dropped to $100 a week though many times Leo Frank would have them work Leo's Casino back in Cleveland those times. With a hit, work was also secured in white venues (blacks would watch the shows in black clubs, whites only in white clubs). So the group would play 2 shows in each city; one black, one white. They worked all over the US and were kept busy. Lou stayed in that post till 1970 when he quit and went off (to many of the same venues) as leader of Hot Chocolate. More later on more current work & the artists involved. A few pics to finish off (the group is Lou with Hot Chocolate) .......... Edited April 19, 2016 by Roburt 2 Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Kev Cane Posted April 19, 2016 Share Posted April 19, 2016 26 minutes ago, Roburt said: Had my usual Tuesday afternoon chat with Lou today.The subject matter moved on to more modern work AND his time on the road with the O'Jays and Terry Knight. Lou had become a bit disillusioned with the music industry in 67 but local Cleve guy Terry Knight had a big seller on his hands late in 66 ("I (Who Have Nothing -- a UK Cameo Parkway 45 released on 13th Jan 67). Anyway, Terry Knight needed to go on the road to cash in on his hit 45, but he needed a road band. He hired Lou to play guitar behind him, lent Lou a guitar (as he had sold his own) and off they went. Terry played the white club circuit where the pay was better and so was the treatment. So Lou was well paid & had guys (roadies, club techs to set up / sound-balance his gear). So for about 12 months, Lou toured & lived well. Eventually, with no follow-up 45 hit, Terry Knight went cold & came off the road. So in late 67 Lou became Road manager for the O'Jays. Lou always has been a good businessman & so set about sorting the O'Jays finances out. They played the chitlin circuit where life was hard. Off they went, all over the US, playing black clubs. Their fee (for the group, musicians, roadies, tour manager) was $1000 a night but the group members & musicians were just on salary (by their manager Leo Frank -- owner of Leo's Casino back in Cleveland). When on the road, the group members got a salary of $350 a week each with the musicians getting $75 a week. All other monies went back to Leo Frank. Work was hard but enjoyable & Lou went about their biz. The group hadn't had a hit 45 in over a year, so it was hard work pleasing audiences & club owners. But in Dec 67 they had their 1st hit for Bell. Work really started to flow in but at the usual fee; $1000 a night. They were soon turning work away as their 45 climbed the charts (where it stayed for almost 3 months). Lou could see what was happening, so started to tell the group to stay on the bus when they arrived at a venue while he had a chat with the club managers. Lou negotiated an increased fee as the venue could charge more for tickets now. So the fee went up to $1800 a night ($2500 for some big venues like the Apollo, Howard, Uptown, etc.). When they weren't working on the road the group member's salaries dropped to $100 a week though many times Leo Frank would have them work Leo's Casino back in Cleveland those times. With a hit, work was also secured in white venues (blacks would watch the shows in black clubs, whites only in white clubs). So the group would play 2 shows in each city; one black, one white. They worked all over the US and were kept busy. Lou stayed in that post till 1970 when he quit and went off (to many of the same venues) as leader of Hot Chocolate. More later on more current work & the artists involved. A few pics to finish off (the group is Lou with Hot Chocolate) .......... Brilliant and fascinating read Roburt, can't wait for next instalment, me and my mates met him briefly at Prestatyn around 2005 or 2006 I think, it was the Friday when a lot of people were arriving, jut got sorted and were hanging about having a pint, we saw this guy and thought he was one of the Masqueraders so we approached him as he was stood right near us, I will never forget the reply, "No, I'm Lou Ragland" he replied, we were in raptures as we were well aware of his massive influence in soul music in the Ohio area, a fantastic conversation ensued, my lasting memory was, "what a fantastic guy" got a really nice 45 that was produced by him on Day Wood by The 7 Nombres, "Listen People" Kev Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
George G Posted April 20, 2016 Share Posted April 20, 2016 (edited) Thanks a lot for sharing this info.... A bit more about Terry Knight. He was from Flint, MI and fronted the group Terry Knight and the Pack who were all from that area. Yes, this the same Flint made (in)famous by Michael Moore and most recently by poisonous drinking water. Anyways, Knight and the band recorded most of their records at Cleveland Recording. The band was really popular in Northern Ohio and performed on the Upbeat show in Cleveland several times. In early-mid 1967 (April 1967 is cited by one source), not long after the release of "I..." and a couple of follow ups, he and the Pack split. It was then that Knight formed the Terry Knight Revue. He contacted Clevelander Tom Baker, a near musical genius who could play numerous instruments, write, arrange, engineer - Baker had worked with Knight on Upbeat and at Cleveland Recording. Knight asked Baker to help put together the Terry Knight Revue, so he asked Lou and a few other locals - the most noted being sax player Ernie Krivda, who was at the beginning of a career as being one of Cleveland's greatest jazz musicians. According to Krivda, the group would travel around to different cities with their core group and would add players as needed. This lasted until late 1967 (I don't know if Lou had bailed earlier) when Knight did a complete 180 degree turn to perform as a solo hippie type busker. During this time, Knight released 2 45s on Cameo Parkway - Lizbeth Peach / Forever and a Day (CP 482) and Come Home Baby / Dirty Lady (CP 495). Dirty Lady was produced and arranged by Baker. I don't have any idea (besides Baker) who was involved in the recordings. Leos Casino had a mostly black audience, but there were a handful of young white Clevelanders who attended and saw the groups. Ernie Krivda (who is white) was one of musicians used by the club. The main band aka the O'Jays backing band during the early-mid 1960s was Jerry Baxter on drums, Russell Evans on guitar, Richard Shann on keyboards. All three are on numerous Cleveland soul and funk records. Baxter, a black albino, spent time in LA (I think he went out there with the O'Jays) as a session drummer. Here's a pic of him, one of the only ones I've seen.... https://photos.cleveland.com/plain-dealer/2015/02/jimmy_baynes_collection_2.html From the same source, Lou with the Bandmasters https://photos.cleveland.com/plain-dealer/2015/02/jimmy_baynes_collection_7.html Edited April 20, 2016 by George G update 2 Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Kris Holmes Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 Terry Knight & The Pack have some cool records, I used to play "Widetrackin" quite a bit. Two of the guys from The Pack went onto form Grand Funk Railroad. Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted April 24, 2016 Author Share Posted April 24, 2016 (edited) Not only did Lou arrange this Imperial Wonders 45, but he also played drums on the track ... coz the group's drummer just couldn't get it right !!! Lou also played guitar & bass on the track, but he was supposed to do that. This was almost the 1st time most of the Imperial Wonders had been in a studio (Agency in Cleveland) & so they were a bit raw. Lou cut 4 tracks on them that day. Lou says that the group's lead singer, Leo Green, had a great voice & was really easy to work with in the studio. Edited April 27, 2016 by Roburt 1 Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
SHEFFSOUL Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 On 09/03/2016 at 22:55, Roburt said: I have spent most of tonight speaking on the phone with Lou Ragland in Las Vegas. Lou & I go all the way back to the Ric Tic Revue days. We met up @ the Ritz and hit it off as friends. I corresponded with him for some years & then started going over to Vegas to meet up with him & his family. We (the wife & I) would go to his group's shows in the local casinos & Lou would make it OK for me to take photos of the group performing (the use of cameras is usually banned in casinos for security purposes + to stop people being captured on film that weren't officially there). So we really built up a good relationship. I ran Lou's UK tour back in 1990, he & I ran the 1998 Soul Trip to Las Vegas for UK fans. He then got to perform @ the Prestatyn Weekender & I became his official UK agent (collecting his royalties, etc.). As time has passed, we have met up less (Lou is now 78 & I'm 67) plus I no longer make it across to Vegas (stopping short in Florida these days). But our bond is still strong & I thought (before it's too late) I would interrogate Lou about his days as a studio engineer (he was one of the first fully trained black recording studio engineers in the north east USA). So that's what I have been doing tonight. We talked for over an hour in the end AND I NOW have to write up my scribbles & make sense of all the technical info he gave me (types of tape deck, microphones, mixing desks, echo chambers, etc). Plus all the data on the artists involved, musicians, the A&R guy, Jim Brown, the promotions & marketing guy, the other studios used, visiting singers using 'his' studio, etc. When I have gotten everything typed up and have run it past Lou, I'll post the article up here ..... but as a taster I'll first post up a few old photos ......... 1/ Lou as a kid (early teenage years I'd guess). 2/ Lou with a friend in Cleveland. 3/ Lou (with guitar) -- a hip 19 yr old musician. ............... MORE TO FOLLOW ............. brilliant..i'll post up a pic which i hope you'll forward to Lou..should raise a smile.. 1 Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted April 29, 2016 Author Share Posted April 29, 2016 Spoke with Lou again this week and he was tellin' me about the song he helped write that Edwin Starr shopped to 20th Century for him back around 1980. Seems Edwin was using 20th Century Fox's desire to lease the track to help swing him a renewal of his own record deal. But Edwin's deal fell through, so he wouldn't let them have Lou's track ("Patch Up"). Many years later, Edwin cut his own version of the song .... Lou says Edwin retained the master tape for Lou's version (cut in LA), so it should still be out there somewhere .. see here to listen to Edwin's version .... ...... https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002HTWODI?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0 Lou also told me about coming over to the UK with Edwin (the Ric Tic tour). He thought he'd fetch a few 45's along to see if he could interest any Brits in buying them. So he took 25 copies of his GLO 7" along to the 1st gig in Hinckley and everyone of them sold in a few minutes. He instantly wished that he had brought 100+ copies of the 45 with him. That was his 1st time performing for a UK soul audience. He recalls Edwin dividing the audience into 2 halfs (Lou played guitar on 3 songs on each show during the tour -- he can read music, so the fact that he didn't really know the songs didn't matter at all). Anyway, Edwin got each side of the room to sing along with the song in turn as a sort of contest. Lou couldn't believe what he was seeing. He instantly fell in love with UK soul fans. Jumping back in time, Lou told me about the fascination of the Cleveland soul musicians with the Motown sound. The Clevelandtown guys wanted to find what the magic was, so they'd hire in Detroit guys to work on stuff. Lou also made trips to Detroit as early as 1963. He would go to local clubs and at the Chit Chat he met & got to know the likes of Benny Benjamin, Earl Van Dyke & James Jamieson. Back then, they would be playing jazz & soul numbers for the club's audience. Lou always wanted to meet Beans Bowles but said he never got to. ....... MORE NEXT TIME ....... 2 Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted May 8, 2016 Author Share Posted May 8, 2016 Chattin' with Lou recently and got to talkin' bout his recent / current work in the studio. He's still trying to get Bobby Jonz / Jones into the studio to add his lead vocals to a song that the backing track is just about finished for (just some lead guitar solo work to add when the lead vocals are in place, Lou doesn't want the solo to clash anywhere with the lead voice). After that we talked about the stuff cut in Harvey Fuqua's studio (which Lou still uses at times) right up to Harvey's passing. It seems that Harvey was on an ol' skool kick & had set up a few old 60's artists to record. He was gonna put out a few new releases all at once to establish an ID for his proposed new label. So Harvey had fetched Etta James into Vegas and they had cut some new duets together. He'd also recorded Brenda Holloway on new stuff and another couple of old 60's artists. But when he died, no one else in his family / circle seemed interested in taking these tracks forward or makin proper use of the studio. Lou is trying to see what he can do but the family (who obviously now own these recordings) aren't really interested. We then sidetracked to old recording work & Lou spilled a few facts .... he told me that Jan Jones (RIP some years back in a car crash) cut "Independent Woman" in Agency studio but the masters were taken over to Boddies studio to have a disc cut from the tapes. Early publicity (back at the time that the Jan Jones 45 was released) stated that a 2nd song would form the B side to the 7" release (can't recall the title now but have the details somewhere) .... anyway, the 2nd song was all ready to be recorded but Jan never got round to it in the excitement of the studio session & getting a master disc cut of Indy Wolman. So, the 45 was released as Part 1 & 2 with the 2nd song never actually being recorded. Lou's recently been in touch with Lilian Kyle in an attempt to track down the master tape for his version of "Patch Up" which was cut in an LA studio in the late 80's but she isn't co-operating with his attempts to find it. ......... MORE LATER .......... Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
Roburt Posted May 19, 2016 Author Share Posted May 19, 2016 Spoke with Lou again yesterday & got back onto the subject of Harvey Fuqua's proposed new label (the label died when Harvey did). They had cut tracks on Harvey & Etta(James), Brenda Holloway, G C Cameron, a NEW Moonglows, another more recent group (Lou couldn't recall their name when we were chatting) + other artists. The label was to be called Resurging Artists & Lou tells me that a CD did escape (no idea what's on it though). Harvey also cut duets with Smokey Robinson on a couple of songs ("Tracks of My Tears" being one of them). They were also talkin' of licensing in material. They were talking / working with Phil Flowers Jnr (son of the 60's / 70's recording artist) and were going to release a great ballad he had laid down. They thought it need a bit of work though, so Lou added some backing vocals & did a new mix. Seems it will never escape though as Harvey has passed (I've got a copy of it & it's good ... but it's only for my ears unfortunately unless a deal can be sourced). Link to comment Social source share More sharing options...
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