First Major Imported NS 45.

[Roburt]

This thread will most likely throw up a lot of arguments, but hey ho, here we go.

I was attending niters & similar local clubs from 1966 (1965 for the later). My early niter experiences came mainly via the King Mojo, Nite Owl, Tin Chicken & Wheel and I was collecting soul releases way before I attended my first niter.

In 65, it was all based around 45's released here in the UK, we only had the money for British releases (& then not enough to buy all of the ones we danced to). Course, back then it was just as common to dance to a track by Sam & Dave, Don Covay, Lee Dorsey, Otis Redding as it was to dance to an Impressions, Darrell Banks or Bobby Sheen effort.

ANYWAY, demand for UK 45's (new releases & older outings) soon meant that the supply dried up. When, say UK copies of "I Dig Your Act" dried up we started to try to obtain import copies of the 45, but they were hard to get and expensive (relatively). Soul City record shop was an early source of quality US imports, but that was only (to us up north) after they relocated to central London (67 ?). Leighton Buzzard's F L Moores soon followed on, as did posted out auction lists via Postman Pat. Later on, B&S / Contempo and then Soul Bowl made things a whole lot easier. 

ANYWAY, I'm trying to decide what was the first import soul dancer that we started to chase. Of the 45's sourced from US sources (NY area discount record warehouse lists, Randys Records of Gallatin (they sent our annual catalogues of what they had in stock) & Ray Aveys Rare Records (monthly listings) were soon being contacted as good sources. Some UK 45's were in short supply from day one. The 1st of these that springs to mind is Bunny Sigler's "Let The Good Times Roll" -- UK release in August 67. By that September, it was almost impossible to get a copy on Cameo Parkway. EMI came to our rescue & mass imported French Stateside copies from around November 67.

BUT my choice of first import 45 to be chased is the Dec 62 outing on Duke "Call On Me" from Bobby Bland. This was still an anthem in UK soul clubs in 67/68 and was (to my knowledge) the first soul dance 45 we chased THAT HADN'T gained a UK release at all. After that we found it was still 'EASY' (remember there was no tinternet, no discogs, no ebay) to get US copies, if you knew where to go. Soul City was always a good source as DG knew the tracks northerners were chasing by 68 -- I still have my letters from SC's Rob Blackmore telling me ... we're out of UK copies but we can get you a US copy for 15/- or 17/6d. When we were chasing a newly 'discovered' sound, we'd even take the train down to London to visit the store in person. They always had boxes of import 45's to tempt us -- though Dave only caught me out the first time I visited in person. He picked out his fave 45 in that box and foisted it on me. On later visits I spurned his pleas to buy a(nother) copy of the issue release of a Mala 45 by Tobi Legend -- getting 17/6 out of a Yorkshireman for an obscure cut that wasn't even played in the clubs was a hard task for him. I do credit him with putting out the first specific NS 45 (re)release in the UK though (Gene Chandler's SOUL CITY 45 "Nothing Can Stop Me" in April 68), so he's still a gudguy in my books.

So, "CALL ON ME" is my nomination then. What do other's say ?? 

BTW, we weren't knowledgeable enough to chase copies of CALL ON ME on an Aussie release but then we were still young, foolish & uneducated ... SORRY happy.

          

Edited June 24, 2023 by Roburt

[Roburt]

Even I knew these old letters / handbills would be collectable one day ... framed up in my record room (but suffering from the effects of the sun after 30 years exposure) ... SOUL CITY; the place to go in 67/68 ... 

[Bo Diddley]

Interesting.

With regard to Bobby Bland, I bought this on eBay years ago and it came with a home-made paper sleeve! A pic of Bobby and the date 14.12.64. I assumed that someone put the date of their new purchase when they picked it up.

[Smudger]

The first four imports I got at the time were the afore mentioned I dig your act ,walking up a one way street ,washed ashore and at the top of the stairs.We used to go onto Cusworth Hill (local beauty spot)with my discotron and play em loud as possible cause we were cool or so we thought.

[Thinksmart]

An older friend who was a Wheel member travelling from Nottingham did two tapes of his singles from the era with notes for me years later. I recall him saying Yum Yum Tree was huge in the same era which I still adore and was on the tape with all the above plus Mr Soul, The Cheater, Darkest Days, I Got What It Takes, Tightrope, Outcast & I Can't Do It, Earthquake, Baby Reconsider, You've Got To Pay The Price, Grits Ain't Groceries, Backstreet, The Horse, You Left The Water Running, You've Got To Pay Your Dues & I'll Take You Where The Music's Playing, Turn On Your Love Light, It's Me, Help Me, Nothing Can Stop Me, (I Love Her So Much) It Hurts Me, Nothing Worse Than Being Alone and others. I remember now The Platters also had With This Ring and Don't Hear, Speak, No Evil on the tapes in addition to Washed Ashore mentioned above. The tapes got damaged, I wish I had them now. 

Edited June 25, 2023 by Thinksmart

[Happy Feet]

1 hour ago, Thinksmart said:

An older friend who was a Wheel member travelling from Nottingham from the same era did two tapes of his singles from the era with notes for me years later. I recall him saying Yum Yum Tree was huge in the same era which I still adore and was on the tape with all the above plus Mr Soul, The Cheater, Darkest Days, I Got What It Takes, Tightrope, Outcast, Earthquake, Baby Reconsider, You've Got To Pay The Price, All Around The World, Backstreet, The Horse, You Left The Water Running, Turn On Your Love Light, Help Me, Nothing Can Stop Me, (I Love Her So Much) It Hurts Me and others. The tapes got damaged, I wish I had them now. 

After buying my first copy of The CODs, I'm A Good Guy , from Keith Minshull around 74 at WC. For a poultry £5. and he told me it was a wheel spin , I had no reason to disbelief him( a mear 17teen yr.old ) and then a better 2nd copy from him at at Stafford 83ish ( if my memory is still intact ) then from a purely Northern Soul / Early Soul angle this must have been imported by the bucket full as it's still only worth a £Tenner , and still a great tune , I also bought for the 3rd time a Mint copy 2 yrs ago just for the B side  the only Mint copy I ever and still own , so the previous copies being  say used somewhat ,surely puts it into the early mass imported section ,, but still a classic .

 

[Roburt]

Just about all the above mentioned tracks got a UK release & so UK soulies would have been chasing copies of their UK versions before resorting to trying to get an import copy.

RE: Bobby Bland's UK 45's -- he had 3 x UK 45's out on Vogue in 61, then an EP on Vocalion + 2 x 45 on Vogue in 62 before a Vocalion 45 in 63 and then an EP + 2 x 45's on Vocalion in 64. So his stuff was well known in the UK by the mid 60's. 

"Call On Me" also escaped in France on a 45, as it did in Canada, Italy Aussie & New Zealand. Both sides of the 45 escaped here on a 1963 LP titled after each side of this 45 ... so that's where UK soulies would have first heard the 2 cuts from ... but that LP must have sold in very small numbers.

 

[Roburt]

Thinking about it, I'm surprised (now) that UK Action didn't put it out here on a 45 in 1969 -- after all, they knew enough about the UK soul club scene to release Z Z Hill's version of "Make Me Yours" on 45. At that time, it was almost impossible to pick up a UK copy of Betty Swan's original version on a UK 45

.

Edited June 25, 2023 by Roburt

[Mal C]

20 hours ago, Roburt said:

So, "CALL ON ME" is my nomination then. What do other's say ?? 

BTW, we weren't knowledgeable enough to chase copies of CALL ON ME on an Aussie release but then we were still young, foolish & uneducated ... SORRY happy.

          

 

I can't comment on imports in the late 6ts, but for a bit of eye candy, here's the Australian Test Press for the Festival release of 'Call on Me' as it came out twice. Lots of Bobby's early Duke tracks were on Aussie Top Rank, Cry Cry Cry etc...W&G had loads of releases on Bobby also, as well as some really interesting early Motown Releases, such as Bunny Paul and Contours. Also, someone mentioned Willie Tee, here is the Aussie Atlantic test press for that release, dunno bout you lot, but I get very hot under the collar with Aussie Test Presses!

Edited June 25, 2023 by Mal C

[Mal C]

Question, would 'Chris Kenner - Land of 1000 Dances' been an early import that got played at the Wheel ? Think that would have been 'Instant Records' in the States, very early 62/63. Just in keeping with Aussie Test Presses, cause I like lookin at em.....lol

Edited June 25, 2023 by Mal C

[Thinksmart]

It was issued on UK Sue in 1965, so less need to import it.

[Smudger]

Strange that at the time imports were looked down as not original British ,when playing them out used to get asked things like is that the Cameo Parkway original when showing them the import the reaction was oh no it isn’t.Do love some of the British demo’s though especially ones like the pink mgm ones.

[Davebanks]

Pretty sure the first imports I saw were Motown and Chess stuff in late 60's. Barrett Strong/Little Milton that kind of thing. The first NS/in demand record on import was probably Edwin Starr SOS. That started our search for all things RIC TIC.

[Roburt]

1 hour ago, Davebanks said:

Pretty sure the first imports I saw were Motown and Chess stuff in late 60's. Barrett Strong/Little Milton that kind of thing. The first NS/in demand record on import was probably Edwin Starr SOS. That started our search for all things RIC TIC.

Most of Edwin's stuff escaped here on Polydor, so need to look for his stuff on import. Polydor were 'switched on' too -- if an old 45 was in demand, they'd re-release it or put it out again on a new version of the original UK 45. other Detroit stuff was escaping here on Track; so again -- no need to chase import copies. The likes of F L Moore & then B&S / Contempo had loads of Motown & Chess import 45's (+ Stax) but that was more like 1970 (for B&S), so they were following the market, not leading it (though lots of the obscure Chess stuff B&S were selling @ 10p a copy (in soul packs) or 75p/ £1 a copy if you selected a particular single were new to us Brit dance soul fans).  I worked for BR at the time, so got free rail travel. Would jump on the train @ Donny on a Saturday morning, heading to Leighton Buzzard. Once there, walk to the old house & spend 4 hrs or so

Edited June 25, 2023 by Roburt

[Tobytyke]

I had no idea blues and soul were doing 10 records for a £1 in 2016.

Darrell Banks was quite a bargain!

Is this for real?

[Rick Cooper]

It would have been around 67/68 I started buying old soul (as NS was called then) and then I'd probably only heard about the record rather than heard them in a club. My local youth club played quite a lot of Motown/Stax/ Atlantic and Edwin Starr but that was about it. I used to get F L Moore's lists and would buy a couple every month or so and then bought fairly regularly from B&S/Contempo when they started listings in B&S . I went to Soul City and Contempo once around 68/69 and bought a few but lack of funds and knowledge limited my spending.

I've often wondered about F L Moore so maybe @Roburt or others could shed some light.

Who was/is F L Moore and was it a regular shop that spotted the  demand for old records. Where did they get the records from, was it in bulk job lots from the US, ordered by title from the US or via an importer in the UK. How did they know what to charge for each title as from what I remember of the lists there was a price range from under 10/- to 17/6 +. I think I heard that they had some titles in very small quantities that never made the lists such as one copy of Leon Haywood's  Baby Reconsider. If so did they  know they were valuable and who to and how did they sell these. Finally, they seemed to stop the lists just as demand was taking off. Why was this, as being one of the first to sell NS they should have been able to capitalise on the rising demand, did their supplier cut them out? 

As to what was the first major imported NS title Bobby Bland- Call On Me is a good candidate. I remember it was one that was in demand and supply was very limited. At the time I tended to think that Bobby Bland was an artist for the old RnB and Blues fans so not for a young gun like myself, of course I now see the error of my ways. 

I got Bunny Sigler's - Let the Good Times Roll on French Stateside from Contempo and remember this being quite an event as up till then they had not had many in demand titles just loads of Chess/Checker/Cadet titles. I don't think EMI were involved in importing this as they wouldn't have bothered importing a few hundred copies just for a niche market and the legality could have been tricky . There used to be an importer called Conifer that handled European EMI label titles that UK EMI didn't issue but when I was dealing with them in the 70 and 80s they only handled albums. Maybe Blues and Soul imported them from France which would have been fairly easy. I reckon this could be the first NS major import,even if it had been released in the UK, as it was a one off from France rather than the hundreds of US titles coming over.

 

[Roburt]

2 hours ago, Tobytyke said:

I had no idea blues and soul were doing 10 records for a £1 in 2016.

Darrell Banks was quite a bargain!

Is this for real?

The date maybe a tad out.

 

[Mal C]

30 minutes ago, Rick Cooper said:

Who was/is F L Moore and was it a regular shop that spotted the  demand for old records.

 

I'm sure you are aware, but Colin Curtis interviewed Pep recently, and they talked about FL Moore. I think they said he was the first person to stock / have any Ric Tic 45's. In fact, they really shed allot of light on the period, 67/68/69 and then 70/71/72, really worth listening to. They talk about Cheapo Cheapos, Moon Dogs, places like that...

https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/colincurtis/episodes/2023-02-18T10_26_16-08_00

Edited June 25, 2023 by Mal C

[Roburt]

I first started visiting F L Moores in 68. Then, he was based in a big old house between L Buzzard station & the town centre. I think he lived upstairs as most of the downstairs rooms had record shelves on all 4 walls, floor to ceiling. I THINK he sourced his 45's from New York / New Jersey based record warehouses. One I had lists from were selling 45's for 10c to 25c each -- 10c for little known soul acts, 25c for acts that had enjoyed hits & were known to record buyers. You could also buy 'random' soul 45's by the tea chest full & these worked out around 2c per copy -- though you had no idea what you were getting (bit like a giant soul pack). 

When I first went, he seemed to have no idea which items were in demand. A 45 on a Motown label from the Tops, Tempts, Supremes would be 4/- or 5/- but one from a generally unknown artist (Barbara McNair, Monitors, Tammi Terrell, Brenda Holloway, etc) would go for 2/6d. It wasn't too long until guys up in Yorks / Lancs started sending him 'wants lists'. Once that happened, the 45's that were on the wants lists soon jumped up to 10 /-, 12/6 or even 17/6. I got a copy of Soul Bros 6 "Check Yourself" (bought blind, though I knew the group's name) for around 2/6 early on.

Working for the railways, I'd go down there for free. Buy 20 -30 45s on a Saturday morning & sell just about all of them @ the Wheel later that night (for a tidy profit). Made the mistake of telling guys where I'd got them from & then the wants lists started winging their selves down to L Buz. He soon started advertising in the UK music press.

After a few visits / months had gone by, he moved into a space in the town centre (the 1st floor above some shops -- so it was stull more a 'warehouse' than a shop).

By the 70's, he'd branched out & had actual record shops in many towns across an area north of London. By then, I'd moved on & was buying from elsewhere.

Edited June 25, 2023 by Roburt

[Roburt]

I wasn't a Wheel goer till 14th October 67 (after the Mojo had been closed & the Nite Owl was about to close), so I have no knowledge of which Bobby Bland tracks were played at the club(s) (1st & 2nd incarnations) when they were more blues based in play listings. When I first started attending, it was "Call On Me" that was the biggie by BBB.

Ahead of that time (late summer 67), Bobby had enjoyed 12 UK 45 releases + 2 UK EP's, so he was well known to UK blues fans. However I seem to recall many Brit blues fans hating his 61 LP 'Two Steps From The Blues' as they viewed it as 'un-authentic' (not true blues). So there was something of an anti-Bland movement in UK blues circles up to just before the mid 60's. It's strange as since the mid 60's, the album has come to be regarded as a 'classic'.

Other tracks by him came big after 67; "Shoes" was a Nov 67 US release but was a 45 B side -- I think that took some time to be 'discovered' by UK soulies and then even longer to become a 'niter anthem'. "Shoes" had however escaped on a Bland album in 68 and this also gained a UK release (by Island) that same year (around April 68). Maybe folk heard it on the LP and went looking for copies of the US 45 but that wouldn't have been till early 68 at the earliest (more likely summer 68).  Neither "Shoes" or "Yum Yum Tree" made the US 45 R&B (or pop) charts. With regard to "Yum Yum Tree", that wasn't even released until April 71 and again was just a 45 B side. Duke was struggling by 71 and a lot less stuff was being released by them. I don't believe "Yum Yum Tree" was ever an LP track. ABC had bought out Don Robey & taken over Duke / Peacock by 73.

Anyone know of any Bobby Bland tracks (UK released 45's or US) that were popular at the Wheel ahead of 1967 ?

[Roburt]

From summer 64, it wasn't just in the clubs that we got to hear soul tracks (including US 45's).

Pirate radio was beginning it's take-over of the UK's radio airwaves and they too were pushing obscure soul tracks. I was an early listener to Radio Caroline (both Nth & Sth) and Radio London ... their charts show just how much soul they played.

Closer to home (for me), was Radio 270 and they followed the same tend with regard to playing soul tracks (from June 66). Radio 270 was run out of the offices of a supermarket in Scarboro (weird but true). But 270 was a late-comer to the pirate scene & other bigger stns (Caroline / London) must have had suppliers of imported US 45s from late in 1964. 

Of course, they obtained some of these US soul imports via UK record companies, who had licensed tracks from US labels or were thinking of licensing a particular single from a US label. If, when played by the pirates, a record took off, then the UK company would instantly license the 45 and release it here. 

But, at other times, they must have sourced imported US soul 45's from elsewhere. Anyone know from where ?

I'd guess it was from specialist record shops such as those run by Barry Class (the Foundations manager) who ran a chain of record shops in the London area that imported US soul 45's. He even got one of his acts to record a song titled "BAREFOOTIN IN CHINATOWN", so maybe had obtained a copy of Lester Young's US 45 before September 67. 

Edited June 26, 2023 by Roburt

[Roburt]

Barry Class's record shops ... see ad below ... His chain was going strong as early as 1966.

The Foundations were known (in their early days -- from January 67) for doing covers of US soul tracks (both those that had a UK release & some that hadn't). when asked by music journo's they'd say ... we have a large record collection of US soul 45's and chose the songs we like best to cover in live shows ...  It was far more likely that their manager (Class) imported the 45's to sell in his chain of shops & held on to a copy of lots of them for his own use. "Stop Her On Sight" was just about the most popular cover song in their act (a live recording of their version has even been released).

One of his shops was in Bletchley -- just north of Leighton Buzzard ... home of F L Moores ... wonder if it was his operations that inspired FLM to mass import US 45's ?? 

Edited June 26, 2023 by Roburt

[Thinksmart]

Fascinating that Yum Yum Tree was '71, the Wheel member who shared all that may of been mixed up telling me in the 1990s. I did see his card though. Wigan was ironically his exit from the scene. Yum Yum Tree certainly sounds earlier than 71, I wonder if recorded then or sat in the can for a while.

[Roburt]

Bobby had "Shoes" out in November 67. Then he had 4 x Duke 45's in 68, 2 x Duke 45s in 69 and another 2 x Duke 45s in 70. "Yum Yum Tree" followed in April 71 and he had a 2nd 45 out later in 71. He had 2 more US singles out in 72 & 1 in 73 (at about the same time as ABC started re-releasing his old tracks on ABC Dunhill Goldies 45's).

The release after "Yum Yum" on Duke was by an outfit named on the 45 as Hot Chocolate (not the UK group or Lou Ragland's Cleveland group). No such group actually ever existed & the tracks on the 45 actually featured Gene Dozier & some of his mates from Philly (Bunny Sigler, etc.). Don Robey had contacted Gene & asked him to work with Duke on some tracks ... AND AS GENE had record company contacts in LA still + Philly & @ NY based Atlantic, to help him sell Duke / Peacock to a major label.  Robey had to maintain the output from the label to sustain it as a viable concern that was worth buying. Bobby Bland was their top act & so he had to keep having releases to maintain his profile. ALSO, having a new 45 out helped live show bookings & that's where Bobby was making most of his money from back then (Robey obviously had to keep Bobby happy, so he wouldn't be tempted to move to another label).

Other 45's released towards the end of Duke's life, were from the likes of a Jackson 5 type boy group (the Greer Brothers) and ex-Ovide act the Masters of Soul. 

Andre Williams produced "Yum Yum Tree" and his other cuts on Bobby were released in April & July 69, so I'd say it was an old track that had been sitting in the vaults for around 2 years.

Edited June 26, 2023 by Roburt

[Roburt]

Anyone know how come Jimmy Cliff cut a cover version of "Call On Me"   ... he used to play the London, Yorks & Lancs soul clubs before he went 100% reggae, so he probably heard Bobby's track there & saw the dance floor action it generated.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdx7_09e7HM

Edited June 26, 2023 by Roburt

[Tlscapital]

4 hours ago, Roburt said:

Anyone know how come Jimmy Cliff cut a cover version of "Call On Me"   ... he used to play the London, Yorks & Lancs soul clubs before he went 100% reggae, so he probably heard Bobby's track there & saw the dance floor action it generated.

Not that I would know for fact nor tell you something you don't know yet but my 2 cents ; once deep into the Jamaican sounds for 15 years I can tell you that I quickly realized that I shan't bother with Jimmy's career after 1964 and his UK materials (even more so as a soul fan) for the "souled-out' opportunist he was or became.

This cover of Bobby Bland was likely due IMHO (either at his initiative or more likely as an advised cover interpretation order) for release to please the UK 'soul boys & girls' appetite for this popular tune then. A UK only LP on Island at first then (?) released as a 7" on Fontana and your classical "un" official Jamaican 45...

 

Edited June 26, 2023 by Tlscapital

[Nickinstoke]

There’s a much earlier UK cover of “Call on me”, by Jimmy Lloyd, released on Phillips in 1963. That’s 2 years before the Vocalion release of Bobby Bland’s LP, so perhaps the Duke 45 was getting heard somewhere in the UK in ‘62/63.

[Roburt]

10 hours ago, Tlscapital said:

 A UK only LP on Island at first then (?) released as a 7" on Fontana

It seems the Fontana 45 came first; in January 1966. The Island LP followed in December 67 (just a few months before Island released Bobby's 'A Touch Of The Blues' album.

[bri phill]

Roger Eagle was a massive Bobby Bland fan and had an arrangement with the Duke records stable Peacock Sureshot to receive their releases direct from the US to The Wheel.Yield Not To Temptation Ain't Nothing You Can Do  and Call On Me were played at the Brazenhose Street Wheel ( I was told)Good Time Charlie With These Hands Call On Me Shoes and. Back In The Same Old bag were played at The New Wheel.

Roger and Guy Stevens imported many records from the US from 64 onwards as did others.

 

 

 

[Roburt]

10 hours ago, Nickinstoke said:

There’s a much earlier UK cover of “Call on me”, by Jimmy Lloyd, released on Phillips in 1963. That’s 2 years before the Vocalion release of Bobby Bland’s LP, so perhaps the Duke 45 was getting heard somewhere in the UK in ‘62/63.

Thanks for that info; Jimmy seemed quite influential on the UK blues / R&R scene in the 50's & early 60's but then faded away quite quickly. He was from Trinidad (born 1929) & yet doesn't seem to get much (any?) recognition on web sites celebrating singers from the island. He made a start in the music biz on his home island in 1948 & by 1953 was known as 'the king of the crooners'. He moved to the UK in the mid 50's and started performing as a singer with bands such as Wally Stott's (who also worked with the likes of Frankie Vaughn & Harry Secombe!!). His first UK record release was in 1958, but he was appearing on the top UK TV music show (6-5 Special) in 57. He cut quite a few covers of US soul songs (Ed Townsend, Sammy Turner, Johnny Nash, Sam Cooke, Don Covay, etc.). Seems he was ideally placed (as a black singer based in England) to build on his 6-5 Special profile to become a R&B recording star ... but it didn't work out  as he had no hits.  "Call On Me" was one of his last releases (ignoring an Israeli cut & released album from 1977).

Jimmy cut Ed Townsend's US R&B / pop chart hit "For Your Love" in 1958. His version seems to have sunk like a stone. The song remained popular though & was later recorded by the likes of the Righteous Brothers, Peaches & Herb, Gwen McCrae, Bobby Lewis, Joe Tex ,Carla Thomas, Houston Person plus the Supremes and Four Tops. 

Edited June 27, 2023 by Roburt

[Roburt]

Going off topic here, but as Jimmy Lloyd ("Call On Me" --  UK Phillips 45; 1963) was on the 6-5 Special TV show, thought I'd post this up too...

'6-5 Special' was the 1st pop TV show in the UK. It started in early 1957 and helped make the name of Jack Good (who would soon be heading off to the US to make TV music shows there -- Shindig, etc.).

Anyway, it was very influential at the time (late 50's).

The opening titles ... www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E-ga4mb9TU

A later tv tribute to the show included a clip on US gospel / R&B act the Deep River Boys (@ 9 mins 23secs in) performing live. The group recorded in the UK in 1958 & 1960 .... www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfchRKvc0Cs

Edited June 27, 2023 by Roburt

[Nickinstoke]

Returning to the original question, I’d also plump for “Call on me”. Other tracks I remember being played on import in the 60s (Earl van Dyke’s “6x6” and “I can’t help myself”, “From the teacher to the preacher”, “Out on the floor”, “Playgirl’s love”, “You ought to be in Heaven”, “Soul a gogo” among them) were all released a few years later than “Call on me”.

[Roburt]

An 'add-on' to my original question ...

From what's been posted above, Roger Eagle had an arrangement to get Duke 45's direct from the record label. So I assume, he was playing "Call On Me" from the early days of the Wheel. The original club opened early in 63 & then it moved in September 65 to the location that I first visited (Whitworth St).

"Call On Me" escaped on US 45 in Dec 62 & on a UK LP in Feb 1965. In fact, Vocalion put out 3 x B Bland LPs here over a period of just a few months in 64/65 ('Ain't Nothing You Can Do', 'He's The Man' & 'Call On Me / Thats The Way Love Is').

On the cover of one of these albums, Roger Eagle is quoted, as is another guy from Lancashire. Some of Bobby's tracks get a mention but not "Call On Me". Lets say Roger E had a US 45 copy in 1963 then & the UK album was being bought by Lancs R&B fans / mods from March 65, then Whitworth St opened in Sept 65 ....

BUT when did "Call On Me" become a Wheel anthem ??

To the best of my recollections (it is 56 years ago), it was only at the Wheel that I remember it being played (not @ the Mojo or Nite Owl) ... so it seems it's anthem status (in 65 ? / certainly in 67) was just @ the Wheel. 

BUT when did "Call On Me" become a Wheel anthem ??  Anyone here know ?

 

Edited June 28, 2023 by Roburt

[Roburt]

Bobby Bland 45's were always popular in Houston ... 

But he sold right across the USA and not only in the black / R&B market. "Call On Me" was the B side of the 45 when released & it was tuva side that got the black radio plays & that initially made the R&B charts. When it shot up the R&B charts, white stns also started to pick up on it -- but their DJ's liked "Call On Me" better and so played that side.

"Thats The Way Love Is" made the national R&B charts in early Jan 63 and stood @ # 7 when the effects of white stn plays meant "Call On Me" also entered the R&B charts (@ #20 - 2nd Feb 23). BUT ... BUT .. it was tuva way around on the Hot 100 chart. "Call On Me" entered 1st and stood @ #60 in late Jan, whereas "Thats The Way .." had just entered stood at #81 & then #80 ....  

 

Edited June 28, 2023 by Roburt

[Roburt]

Bobby Bland was still obviously cutting lots of tracks for Duke towards the end of the 60's & into the early 70's but lots of them were being left in the vaults (unlike "Call On Me").

Some of these tracks escaped in 1996 on the MCA CD 'That Did It' ( & a couple are escaping again thanks to Soul4Real) ...

Edited June 29, 2023 by Roburt

[Roburt]

Even the BBC (it seems) cottoned on to "Call On Me" ...

they included on one of their BBC Radioplay compilation albums, but not till 1990 (so it's in CD format & not vinyl) ...

[Roburt]

US ad for the LP that was released here in the UK ...

It was Vogue Records Ltd, of 113-115 Fulham Rd that released it here. They also put out the 2 x BBB 45's + an EP on Vogue Pop in 62 plus another 45 by him in 63 on Vocalion. Vocalion became a Decca Records label in 63.

In 64 Decca was also responsible for UK releases on Atlantic, London, RCA Victor, Brunswick & Warner Bros.

Edited July 2, 2023 by Roburt

[Roburt]

I was chasing an import copy of "Call On Me" in late 67 (right after I became a regular @ the Wheel). It was played @ the Wheel way before then, so others would have been buying copies from US suppliers ahead of that.

I SUSPECT, it was individuals doing their own personal deals to get copies of this Duke 45 that transpired, not a 'mass import' situation.

NOW, BY OCTOBER 68, the situation had changed as EMI (& others) got involved ...

Why UK Cameo Parkway copies of it had dried up soon after early Sept 67 I have no idea (though the UK label ceased to exist from Sept 67) ... in the US, the Parkway label died in early 68 (the Olympics "Looking For A Love" being the last release).

How did the US MGM distributed late Parkway 45's come about ?

 

Edited July 7, 2023 by Roburt

[Mal C]

On 02/07/2023 at 10:03, Roburt said:

US ad for the LP that was released here in the UK ...

It was Vogue Records Ltd, of 113-115 Fulham Rd that released it here. T

Wow, used to work an ageny 'Idols' just round the corner from there, had no Idea Vogue records had their office nearby.