Gotta Give Her Love-The Volumes

[Gotsoul]

This song is a killer, released in[1964]it has a great lead, good backing but went nowhere[go figure]two years after their monster hit[I l Love You].

[Roburt]

The current version of the Volumes were over in the UK to perform a few years back (March 2009). I wrote their bio for the Weekender web site .... AND ... got to spend hours with the guys over that weekend. All great fellas & very interesting to chat with. 

For a brief period, they also recorded under the name of the Magnetics, that story is really fascinating .... wrote it up & it went in a UK soul mag (Manifesto I think) .... talk about being in the right place at the write time (me that is).

Edited April 1, 2016 by Roburt

[Robbk]

9 hours ago, Gotsoul said:

This song is a killer, released in[1964]it has a great lead, good backing but went nowhere[go figure]two years after their monster hit[I l Love You].

And it is by far, their best cut ever (IMO).  There was a ridiculous amount of super songs out when this was released (including great British Invasion songs, Beach Boys, Four Seasons. Lesley Gore, and a ridiculous amount of Motown super recordings.  It just got "lost".

[Dave Pinch]

i think it was in the bottom end of the national r n b charts... so not quite lost and their last 45 to do so.... i love i just cant help myself..which was definately lost

are the astra copies not counterfeits... i had one on yellow vinyl.... looked like nothing out of 1964 and poor sound quality

[The Yank]

The Astra label from Pittsburgh was a mostly reissue label.  There was an Astra label from Detroit also.

[Robbk]

4 hours ago, the yank said:

The Astra label from Pittsburgh was a mostly reissue label.  There was an Astra label from Detroit also.

The Astra label was one label only.  It started in Detroit.  It was owned and run by Preston Carnes, and had such artists as The Aqua-Nites and Clara Hardy (the latter was played on The Northern scene).  I believe that Joe Hunter was his A&R man.  All their productions were Car-Hun Productions, and I've seen the name "Hunter" as a writer.  I don't think that was Herschel Hunter (of The Martiniques and Moments). 

In 1966 or 1967, A Pittsburgh Entrepeneur (I believe, at the behest of a local DJ) wanted to start an "oldies label", and wanted to start with buying the rights to Astra's Aqua Nites' release.  The going rumour was: that during the negotiations for those songs' rights, they ended up buying the rights to Astra's entire catalogue, as well as the label name.  Carnes, apparently needed money, and decided that he was never going to try to revive his label.  The Pittsburgh Astra then started up operations in their city, and started buying the rights to release songs from many other different, small, defunct independent labels across USA.

Edited April 2, 2016 by RobbK