Contact label Chicago and The Traits

[Rictic66]

Help needed please. Just bought a great double sider The Traits Some Day Some Way and Youve Waited To Long (misspelt too for to maybe). Contact 4058 and according to discogs there were at least two variations of the label - one has CONTACT at the top and the other down the side. Both yellow. Anyway I’m sure lots of members know this record but I’ve never heard it played out and it’s great for now imho. 

I do have Willie Cager on CONTACT 504 and The TrAITS do have another nice midtempo on CONTACT 501. 

Contact seems to be a Barry Despenza sister label to Despenza of Ivories Please Stay fame - one of my cherished all time favourites. 

Anyway any info appreciated especially who were the Traits and were they the same as the Too Good to be True group. 

Also there seems to be another expensive CONTACT record by Paulette- who is she - any info?

ive done some research but not a lot out there. 

Thx. Paul Temple

 

 

[The Yank]

Can't find anything on The Traits, but "Someday, Someway" was later redone by Center Stage- 

 

[Nick Soule]

Bob Abrahamian did an interview with The Traits/Center Stage in 2005. The episode can be found here:
https://sittinginthepark.com/interviews.html

[Rictic66]

Hey guys thanks so much. Turns out they are the same group and recorded the same record with different arrangements in 1966 and 1971. And I had the Dispo version as well all along but hadn’t connected. Just listened to the interview and the band members were William Ledbetter, Willian Kirk Davis, Kenny Rydell, Gregory McEastland and Ronald Christian. Very little about them in Rob Pruter’s great Chicago Soul so the interview was brill. Some interesting stories about Barry Despenza, The Gems, Donny Hathaway and many others. 

Incedentally both versions have different but great flip sides. 

SS does it again. Cheers. Paul Temple

[The Yank]

Here's the group in 1971 - 

 

[Greedy]

On 29/10/2020 at 20:26, Rictic66 said:

Help needed please. Just bought a great double sider The Traits Some Day Some Way and Youve Waited To Long (misspelt too for to maybe). Contact 4058 and according to discogs there were at least two variations of the label - one has CONTACT at the top and the other down the side. Both yellow. Anyway I’m sure lots of members know this record but I’ve never heard it played out and it’s great for now imho. 

I do have Willie Cager on CONTACT 504 and The TrAITS do have another nice midtempo on CONTACT 501. 

Contact seems to be a Barry Despenza sister label to Despenza of Ivories Please Stay fame - one of my cherished all time favourites. 

Anyway any info appreciated especially who were the Traits and were they the same as the Too Good to be True group. 

Also there seems to be another expensive CONTACT record by Paulette- who is she - any info?

ive done some research but not a lot out there. 

Thx. Paul Temple

 

 

Hi. You say that you have never heard it out I played it a couple of times but it is one of those sounds that not many know and didn't go down well with the dancers 

[Pga1]

Hiya greedy Mick, if I walked into a venue and you were spinning this tune,. I'd go yep, this is the right venue,  cheers

[Greedy]

12 hours ago, Pga1 said:

Hiya greedy Mick, if I walked into a venue and you were spinning this tune,. I'd go yep, this is the right venue,  cheers

Thanks for that mate.  If you  ever see me behind the decks please ask for it. I'm also looking forward to playing the chantels and the aqua lads I'll never know

 

[Soul-slider]

7 hours ago, Greedy Mick said:

Thanks for that mate.  If you  ever see me behind the decks please ask for it. I'm also looking forward to playing the chantels and the aqua lads I'll never know

 

Aqua Lads & Chantells, great 45! I have a photo of the Chantells somewhere, from memory 2 white females.

Edited October 31, 2020 by Soul-slider

[Greedy]

On 31/10/2020 at 19:55, Soul-slider said:

Aqua Lads & Chantells, great 45! I have a photo of the Chantells somewhere, from memory 2 white females.

Would love to see the photo if you can find it 

[Soul-slider]

1 hour ago, Greedy Mick said:

Would love to see the photo if you can find it 

 

Here you go Mick, The Chantells were Vicki Skinner & Debbi Newton. This has been confirmed on one of the other youtube clips of the 45 and on 45cat here.... https://www.45cat.com/record/88755

 

 

[Mike]

10 hours ago, Soul-slider said:

Here you go Mick, The Chantells were Vicki Skinner & Debbi Newton. This has been confirmed on one of the other youtube clips of the 45 and on 45cat here.... https://www.45cat.com/record/88755

 

 

are you johhnyhotspur on there?

there's more info on here

 

[Soul-slider]

34 minutes ago, Mike said:

are you johhnyhotspur on there?

there's more info on here

 

Yes Mick, I'm Johnnyhotspur.

[Tricky]

Traits is on 4 designs. 2 yellow and 2 gold.

[Corbett80]

On 29/10/2020 at 20:26, Rictic66 said:

Help needed please. Just bought a great double sider The Traits Some Day Some Way and Youve Waited To Long (misspelt too for to maybe). Contact 4058 and according to discogs there were at least two variations of the label - one has CONTACT at the top and the other down the side. Both yellow. Anyway I’m sure lots of members know this record but I’ve never heard it played out and it’s great for now imho. 

I do have Willie Cager on CONTACT 504 and The TrAITS do have another nice midtempo on CONTACT 501. 

Contact seems to be a Barry Despenza sister label to Despenza of Ivories Please Stay fame - one of my cherished all time favourites. 

Anyway any info appreciated especially who were the Traits and were they the same as the Too Good to be True group. 

Also there seems to be another expensive CONTACT record by Paulette- who is she - any info?

ive done some research but not a lot out there. 

Thx. Paul Temple

 

 

Two other rare contact releases: Anita anderson ‘secretly’ and melvin johnson ‘don’t let yourself go’.

Both great soul 45s.

 

j

[Greedy]

On 02/11/2020 at 22:27, Soul-slider said:

 

Here you go Mick, The Chantells were Vicki Skinner & Debbi Newton. This has been confirmed on one of the other youtube clips of the 45 and on 45cat here.... https://www.45cat.com/record/88755

 

 

Thanks for posting this. Always think it's great to actually see the artists behind the music we love. 

[Chalky]

8 hours ago, Corbett80 said:

Two other rare contact releases: Anita anderson ‘secretly’ and melvin johnson ‘don’t let yourself go’.

Both great soul 45s.

 

j

Not forgetting Paulette. 
PS. Just seen that Paul mentioned Paulette in the opening post, need to go back to specsavers

Edited November 5, 2020 by Chalky

[Chalky]

The Traits far from unknown or even semi known these days IMO.  It has had quite a bit of turntable action in recent years.  One of the variants was always pretty cheap so maybe why it was ignored by some?

[Chalky]

On 29/10/2020 at 20:26, Rictic66 said:

Help needed please. Just bought a great double sider The Traits Some Day Some Way and Youve Waited To Long (misspelt too for to maybe). Contact 4058 and according to discogs there were at least two variations of the label - one has CONTACT at the top and the other down the side. Both yellow. Anyway I’m sure lots of members know this record but I’ve never heard it played out and it’s great for now imho. 

I do have Willie Cager on CONTACT 504 and The TrAITS do have another nice midtempo on CONTACT 501. 

Contact seems to be a Barry Despenza sister label to Despenza of Ivories Please Stay fame - one of my cherished all time favourites. 

Anyway any info appreciated especially who were the Traits and were they the same as the Too Good to be True group. 

Also there seems to be another expensive CONTACT record by Paulette- who is she - any info?

ive done some research but not a lot out there. 

Thx. Paul Temple

 

 

Discogs has Paulette down as Paulette Dispenza so Barry’s wife maybe?