Trent Sisters Tracked Down

[Roburt]

A post on Southern Soul today .........

In the mid-1960s the music director of a SF Bay Area college radio station wanted a copy of every current release and just about hustled them all. They mostly ended up in his home closet and ten years later by fluke many fell my way.
They've been dispersed, alas, good Lord what a trove, but one that I actually squeezed some money out of was the delightful disc in the subject header (£2445 IIRC...). 
So the other day I was explaining to my banker lady that I'd led a shiftless dissolute life of wheeling and dealing in the realm of collectibles and mentioned the GoGate disc as an example of an infrequent jackpot, due to the weird world of the subgenre phenomenon known as Northern Soul.
SMALL WORLD-
She: I think I know them. 
Me: like, uh huh sure. I had one of 4 known copies. The label had two releases and afaik next to nothing is known...
She said she'd ask.
I dropped by the bank subsequently, and her older sister was indeed friends with them. They don't even own a copy, and the guy who had one and asked for it to be autographed at their high school reunion would not sell it to them. I can't be objective about the musical quality but hey despite it being a NS Holy Grail it's far from junk, IMO. 
I was, in the branch lobby, let in on some tidbits: recorded in LA, the Trent Sisters had one song initially ready to record, not, LOL "A Letter a Day"--which was hurriedly composed in a motel room by the Trents to serve as the lowly B flip and recorded the next day.
Anyway, a Trent or two is quite willing to be interviewed regarding her or their all-too-brief professional music career and I'd be pleased to arrange for pro and am journalists to get in touch.
https://youtu.be/24fTwPVOGSQ
Jim in Sili (con) Valley   -- Jim Pollock

SO .... don't get in touch if you're actually after a copy of the original 45 .... BUT if you're interested in doing an article on them ... by all means, get in touch.

Rene Hall worked (as arranger) on both Gogate 45's; it would be interesting to learn how a guy who worked with so many great top artists for major labels ended up doing the Gogate sessions as this was obviously a tiny indie outfit. The ladies also say they wrote the song whereas the 45's label credits a La-Monte Howard & Shermonte Music (neither still registered @ BMI), so I'd guess he had something to do with the label and nicked the song credits. However, he's also credited as a song writer on Rene Hall sessions for Keymen (Fuller Bros) and Soul Clock (Connie Tanzell) ... both of those songs were joint comps with a Fuller brother ... so maybe he did do some songwriting work. These other sessions date from 67 & 68, so no doubt that's when (or close to when) Gogate was in operation.

 

Edited August 18, 2017 by Roburt