Fabulous Detroit

[Soulfulsolutions]

Couple of sought after Detroit 45s up for grabs, neither show up regularly and both very much in the groove.

Sound files on request, happy to take questions or reserve / bid, by PM please.

Stewart Ames – Angelina, oh Angelina / King for a day – J&W 1000 Vg+ £1350

Ames, is Stuart Avig, lead singer of Motown’s Valadiers. He moved on in 1963 and cut this double sider for JoAnne Batton and Ed Wingate’s J&W label in 1964. Reportedly Berry Gordy Jr wanted to team up with Wingate, but wife JoAnne convinced Ed it wasn’t in his interests, leading to the formation of their own shared label, which it appears is the only release on the label.

Recorded at Golden World on Glendale Ave, this epic double sider written by Popcorn Wylie and the little-known Thelma Williams was also produced by Wylie alongside Bob Hamilton, who was the unfortunate victim of a drive by shooting in Detroit in 1969. Golden World was underpinned by excellent subsidiaries in the form of the mighty Ric-Tic, prolific Maltese and short lived Volkano labels. That man Gordy wouldn’t go away though, picking up all these labels in 1968 to satisfy the needs or quench the rivalry for an expanding Motown empire, with Golden Worlds studio becoming Motown’s Studio B.

This highly regarded double sider emerged in the ‘Top of the World’ era of the Northern scene, becoming massively popular at the hands of Guy Hennigan and Keb Darge. The top side ‘Angelina’ is a raucous serving with crowd participation and driving beat, the downbeat flip ‘King’ shares the same backing track as Jock Mitchells ‘No mad woman’.

Detroiters loved their music, as such many of the 45s to have emerged from the Motor City show signs of use. In this instance the surface whilst glossy, does harbor some surface marks, and the labels exhibit mild ring wear, but no writing to stickers etc. Whilst those marks and the blank run in and out may produce some audible feedback, it is barely noticeable on these pounding productions. Visually a tad better than Vg+, the playback is fantastic at Ex+.

 

 

Sharon McMann – Got to find myself another guy / Hello stranger 66 – Karen 803K-1525 M- OFFERS

More formally known as Sharon McMahan, but it appears a typo on the credits of this rare Detroit 45 presented an alias. One of two outings for this lady on Ollie McLaughlin’s Karen imprint. Although she was a recording artist at the age of 13, she appears to have a greater talent penning lyrics, which she did on several respected northern tracks for the likes of Barbara Lewis ‘Straighten up your heart’, Deon Jackson’s stunning ‘That’s what you do to me’, Gracie Darnell ‘So long lover’, and Johnnie Mae Matthew’s exquisite ‘I have no choice’.     

This is one very talented lady so it’s no surprise that she’s responsible for her own vocal masterpieces on this label. Both releases are very sought after and over the 4 sides Sharon shows she’s very capable of vocal, style and tempo variation. ‘Find myself another guy’ is a sultry almost seductive mid-tempo dancer, oozing class right from the off, classic drum roll intro, a captivating wistful beat punctuated by dramatic brass fanfares. The flip ‘Hello stranger’ is a more sedate expression of sanctity. This 45 has remained rare and I guess still outstanding in many Detroit collections! Not seen for sale since about 2017 and even then, it commanded a pretty penny.

Unbelievably for Detroit, its mint minus vinyl with just a hint of edge lift, which does not affect play. The labels are clean, but like every other copy I have viewed and read about, it does have some label wear on the top side spindle hole, but this is clearly due to the pressing process not mishandling. Up for offers with the minimum at £1000, I’ll let it run until Thu 16 Feb at 9pm, unless an offer I won’t refuse arrives before.

  

 

PayPal by friends or add 4% please, or bank transfer.

Postage:

£10.65 - Special Delivery (Fully insured up to £2500)

Overseas on Request

 

Cheers, Lee

Edited February 13, 2023 by Soulfulsolutions