John Westley Moffett = Johnny Wesley ?

[mtwallet]

(Hello to you all / my first post here)

I did some research regarding this singer John Westley Moffett aka

-Johnny Moffett on Canterbury (writing credits: J. Moffett)

http://www.45cat.com/record/c518

-John Westly on Renfro (writing credits: James Mofett)

-John Westly on Crafmaster Records, Inc.

https://www.popsike.com/RARE-Northern-Deep-JOHN-WESTLY-on-RENFRO/330395543866.html

https://www.raresoulman.co.uk/230106-keep-loving-you-call-on-me.html

-John Westley (writing credits: John Westley-Moffett)

http://www.45cat.com/record/nc795325us

-John Wesley on Vivid - no "T" (writing credits: John Wesley) ; produced by LEE YOUNG

http://www.45cat.com/record/nc927275us

copyright credits confirm Wesley = Moffett on that one: https://books.google.fr/books?id=szQhAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA735&lpg=PA735&dq="You're+Gonna+Miss+Me"+wesley+copyright&source=bl&ots=MW3NQ8cvVh&sig=ACfU3U2tgu441Yo17Bky1_QUJmDJPQynnw&hl=fr&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjA5I2c6Kz1AhVMUxoKHbwcCQUQ6AF6BAgCEAM#v=onepage&q="You're Gonna Miss Me" wesley copyright&f=false

 

BMI gather all his writing credits under John Westley Moffett : https://repertoire.bmi.com/Search/Catalog?num=v0RixSBqgEeGRXdF%2bIsISQ%3d%3d&cae=UsqupUYhm07jssJ6owMYRg%3d%3d&partType=WriterList&search={"Main_Search_Text"%3A"I Found Joy"%2C"Sub_Search_Text"%3Anull%2C"Main_Search"%3A"Title"%2C"Sub_Search"%3Anull%2C"Search_Type"%3A"all"%2C"View_Count"%3A100%2C"Page_Number"%3A0%2C"Part_Type"%3Anull%2C"Part_Id"%3Anull%2C"Part_Id_Sub"%3Anull%2C"Part_Name"%3Anull%2C"Part_Cae"%3Anull%2C"Original_Search"%3Anull%2C"DisclaimerViewed"%3Anull}&resetPageNumber=True&partIdSub=YO0HedHMatLb45JzS23DVw%3d%3d

 

---Deep soulful voice to my ears---

 

Then we have two other records :

-Johnny Wesley on Melic (writing credits: J. Livingston, H. Symes, Al Neiberg) ; produced by LEE YOUNG

http://www.45cat.com/record/4170

-John Wesley on Melic (writing credit on B-side : ERNIE SHELBY) ; produced by LEE YOUNG

http://www.45cat.com/record/nc487704us

 

---Higher pitch soulful voice to my ears---

 

And finally we have two tracks on Quincy Jones' soundtracks:

- Johnny Wesley "I Needs To Be Bee'd With" written by ERNIE SHELBY (Cactus Flowers score 1969)

- John Wesley "Celebration" (The Split score 1968)

 

---Higher pitch soulful voice to my ears--

 

All those songs are available on YT ; I think that the Lee Young credit is a coincidence and that the Melic / Quincy Jones singer IS NOT J.W. Moffett.

What do you think?

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 13, 2022 by mtwallet

[Benji]

His full name is John Westley Moffett.

Canterbury release "You're the one" was also released on Corsair with different flip. "You're the one" being different take/mix but definitely same singer.

Canterbury, Renfro and Melic were all LA based labels. So there's a chance it's the same singer on all three labels. However, the singer on the Melic release is definitely not the same as on Canterbury and Corsair. Probably different artist. I couldn't find any sound file of the Renfro release. Do you have one to share?

Vivid was a Chicago label according to Discogs. I listened to John Wesley "You're gonna miss me" and I'm sure its the same John Westley Moffett. No idea how a west coast artist ended up on a Chicago label.

Couldn't find any info of the Crafmaster (Craftmaster?) release. Can you please share the details and if possible sound files?

And last but not least I have no idea how and if the Quincy Jones Johnny Wesley somehow fits in. Any idea if the score was recorded in LA?

 

 

[The Yank]

 

1 hour ago, Benji said:

 

Vivid was a Chicago label according to Discogs. I listened to John Wesley "You're gonna miss me" and I'm sure its the same John Westley Moffett. No idea how a west coast artist ended up on a Chicago label.

 

 

 

  Lee Young was the owner of Melic Records. He later went to work for Vee Jay which distributed the Melic Label.

  The John Wesley on Vivid would make more sense on Vee Jay but for some unknown reason ended up on Vivid. 

Edited January 13, 2022 by The Yank

[Benji]

Thanks for the info. So there's a link between West Coast John Westley, Melic and Vivid. However, I'm still unsure about the Johnny Wesley release on Melic. It's credited to Johnny Mesley and the Four Tees. Lead singer on both side is not "our" John Westley, for sure. I listened to a few other Four Tees songs and the lead voice sounds similar to the Melic release. So my guess the Melic release it's either just the Four Tees (and they credited Johnny Wesley for whatever reason on the label) or Johnny is singing backing vocals. Maybe @Robbk can have a listen? He's pretty fit in identifying different voices.

Edited January 14, 2022 by Benji

[The Yank]

1 hour ago, Benji said:

Thanks for the info. So there's a link between West Coast John Westley, Melic and Vivid. However, I'm still unsure about the Johnny Wesley release on Melic. It's credited to Johnny Mesley and the Four Tees.

  I've only seen this version. Do you have a pic of the Mesley variation ? 

 

[Robbk]

2 hours ago, Benji said:

Thanks for the info. So there's a link between West Coast John Westley, Melic and Vivid. However, I'm still unsure about the Johnny Wesley release on Melic. It's credited to Johnny Mesley and the Four Tees. Lead singer on both side is not "our" John Westley, for sure. I listened to a few other Four Tees songs and the lead voice sounds similar to the Melic release. So my guess the Melic release it's either just the Four Tees (and they credited Johnny Wesley for whatever reason on the label) or Johnny is singing backing vocals. Maybe @Robbk can have a listen? He's pretty fit in identifying different voices.

I've always thought that L.A.'s and Melic's Johnny Wesley was the same guy as Chicago's Vivid's Johnny Wesley.  As Chicago's and VJ's Richard Parker was VJ's L.A. office chief producer, who produced both Wesley and L.A.'s Fred Hughes.  I wonder if Wesley's Vivid cuts were produced in L.A.  I never thought that their voices were from 2 different singers.  

Both his Vivid cuts and his Melic cuts were produced by L.A. producer, Lee Young.  So, either Parker brought Young and his artist , Wesley, to record for VJ, or he leased the production from Young.  Wesley, also went by Westley for a period, was a big favourite on the nightclub circuit in L.A. from 1964-70.  The Four Tees were his back-up group.  He had excellent range in his voice, and sang in different registers/keys for different music genres.  He sang in a higher register for his sweet Soul/R&B  songs, but sang in as much deeper key for his straight Blues, and Bluesy R&B.  I really doubt that his Vivid cuts were sung by The Four Tees' lead, with Johnny in the background, or missing altogether.  If that were the case, they would have had just credited "The Four Tees", or "Johnny Wesley's Four Tees.  As I remember, VJ did have a couple cuts credited to just The Four Tees (who also recorded for Modern Records.

Wesley's "Girl With The Red Dress On" on Vivid, is his most Bluesy Vivid  cut, and is sung on a really low key.  The flip, which is less Bluesy, is sung at a slightly higher register about half way between "Girl With The Red Dress On" and his much higher Melic Sweet Soul cuts.

Edited January 14, 2022 by Robbk

[Robbk]

2 hours ago, The Yank said:

  I've only seen this version. Do you have a pic of the Mesley variation ? 

 

I've seen a few Melic pressings where his name is spelled: "Westley".  I can't remember which particular issues.  But I also remember his name spelled that way on some venue appearance posters.  I think there was general confusion due to the almost silent "t" as in the name Johnston, or that so many people saw the frequent misspellings, that people weren't sure of the official spelling, or even thought that he went by the other spelling for some portion of his career.  Similar to Sam Cook(e), Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick(e), etc.  I also seem to remember some late '60s and early '70s 45s of his that used the "Westley" spelling.

[mtwallet]

10 hours ago, Benji said:

I couldn't find any sound file of the Renfro release.

 

 

Here's one on the songs of the Renfro 7":

---

and yes it's CrafTmaster Records, Inc. ; here's one of the songs of the 7"

---my mistake ; this one from the 80s is by a different guy ; BMI credits "John R. Westly" and there's another 7" on the same label crediting JRW for vocals---

https://repertoire.bmi.com/Search/Catalog?num=tfaUduYuQubLIkXhHrmLlQ%3d%3d&cae=MFOLD1r7I4OYXMNVebX%2fng%3d%3d&partType=WriterList&search={"Main_Search_Text"%3A"King Freak"%2C"Sub_Search_Text"%3Anull%2C"Main_Search"%3A"Title"%2C"Sub_Search"%3Anull%2C"Search_Type"%3A"all"%2C"View_Count"%3A100%2C"Page_Number"%3A0%2C"Part_Type"%3Anull%2C"Part_Id"%3Anull%2C"Part_Id_Sub"%3Anull%2C"Part_Name"%3Anull%2C"Part_Cae"%3Anull%2C"Original_Search"%3Anull%2C"DisclaimerViewed"%3Anull}&resetPageNumber=True&partIdSub=YO0HedHMatLb45JzS23DVw%3d%3d

---

Regarding the Quincy Jones / Johnny Wesley recordings, the score has been engineered by Arthur Piantadosi, a NYC engineer working in West Coast studios : http://arthur.thejqs.com

Here are both songs by Johnny/John Wesley :

Vocals start at 0'28

Sorry for being stubborn but he sounds like the Melic singers to my ears, with the light tremolo at the end of each sentence... Moffett has definitely a deeper and stronger voice, but no tremolo in it...

Edited January 14, 2022 by mtwallet

[Robbk]

The singer credited above as "John Westley" is NOT the Melic/Vivid artist.  The Quincy Jones vocalist IS L.A.'s Johnny Wesley.  I don't remember Johnny Wesley as ever going by "John".  But, I have to admit that I lost track of his career during the early 1970s. 

[Benji]

10 hours ago, The Yank said:

  I've only seen this version. Do you have a pic of the Mesley variation ? 

 

Sorry, was a typo.

[mtwallet]

On 14/01/2022 at 11:27, Robbk said:

The singer credited above as "John Westley" is NOT the Melic/Vivid artist.  The Quincy Jones vocalist IS L.A.'s Johnny Wesley.  I don't remember Johnny Wesley as ever going by "John".  But, I have to admit that I lost track of his career during the early 1970s. 

I'm sorry I'm a bit lost now!

So you think that John WesTley Moffett with a T is NOT the Melic singer AND the Quincy Jones singer?

That's what I think too.

Still the Vivid singer IS John Westley Moffett according to the copyright catalog: https://books.google.fr/books?id=szQhAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA735&lpg=PA735&dq="You're+Gonna+Miss+Me"+wesley+copyright&source=bl&ots=MW3NQ8cvVh&sig=ACfU3U2tgu441Yo17Bky1_QUJmDJPQynnw&hl=fr&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjA5I2c6Kz1AhVMUxoKHbwcCQUQ6AF6BAgCEAM#v=onepage&q="You're Gonna Miss Me" wesley copyright&f=false

[Robbk]

6 hours ago, mtwallet said:

I'm sorry I'm a bit lost now!

So you think that John WesTley Moffett with a T is NOT the Melic singer AND the Quincy Jones singer?

That's what I think too.

Still the Vivid singer IS John Westley Moffett according to the copyright catalog: https://books.google.fr/books?id=szQhAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA735&lpg=PA735&dq="You're+Gonna+Miss+Me"+wesley+copyright&source=bl&ots=MW3NQ8cvVh&sig=ACfU3U2tgu441Yo17Bky1_QUJmDJPQynnw&hl=fr&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjA5I2c6Kz1AhVMUxoKHbwcCQUQ6AF6BAgCEAM#v=onepage&q="You're Gonna Miss Me" wesley copyright&f=false

I just meant that The "Call on Me" and "Just Believe Me" singer didn't sound enough like the voice on the Melic cuts, and really not quite enough to the voice on the Vivid cuts.  But, I Could be wrong about the Vivid cuts.  But, now that I listened again, it sounds to me like the Vivid singer IS the same singer as the two 80s cuts on the video recordings above.  Now, I'm thinking they either they are ALL the same singer or The Melic singer is different from John Westley-Moffat.  But, that doesn't seem all that likely, given that I've seen some Melic 45 alternate printings spelling the name Westly (WITH the "T").  It makes more sense that there weren't two different Johnny Westlys (both Soul singers operating in L.A. during the 1970s.

Edited January 17, 2022 by Robbk