Early Soul Music Video (film)

[Roburt]

Back in the 1960's, US 'black' TV channels usually struggled to get loads of high priced advertising. Coz of this, they had to put on cheap shows. With soul music making stars of black singers / groups, many being based in the cities where black TV channels existed, it was only natural that these stations would have their own black music TV show. Some became big & went national (American Bandstand -- both pop & soul acts starring on this). But others stayed local or were shown on far less stations. Shows such as Shindig, Hollywood A Go Go, Shivaree (all featured both pop & soul acts), The Beat, SOUL (see ad below), Teen Town, Upbeat, etc were typical of the type of music shows that aired back then. Many times, they'd play host to a national act who was appearing in their city that week and add in local acts who were always available to appear.   

But some weeks they'd struggle to get enough acts on to make a full show. So, enterprising music biz folk decided if they filmed one of their acts singing their latest release, then this footage would have a lot of potential customers & the act wouldn't have to travel to numerous different locations to appear on local TV shows. This practise spread to soul acts around 1967 and these short films (the equivalent of later videos) were shot & mailed out to likely customers at black TV stations.

One such 'early' film was made of THE BANDWAGON performing "Baby Make Your Own Sweet Music". This track had been released on an Epic 45 in mid November 1967 -- initially as 2 different promo copy 45's -- one featured 2 Bandwagon tracks, whilst the other featured the Bandwagon's plug side track in conjunction with Sly & the Family Stone's track "Dance To The Music". Sly's cut was well received and his cut was soon getting lots of radio plays, it made the R&B charts and then the pop charts. The same can't be said for the Bandwagon's offering. Although their cut was a very commercial song written / produced by Sandy Linzer & Denny Randell, it failed to take off. It's lack of radio plays was probably the reason why (early in 1968) a film was made of the group performing the song. This was duly sent out to a number of black TV stations. But again, take up was slow.

THEN, for whatever reason, a black TV station in Detroit added it to their local music show and it aired. The film got a good response, so they added the film to another edition of their music show. The response to the film hadn't gone unnoticed & soon a local pop radio station added "Baby Make Your Own Sweet Music" to their playlist (this was in late March, 1968 -- this was aver 16 weeks after the 45 had been originally put out. Again, the track got a good response and soon it entered the radio station's chart; CKLW. Before the middle of April it was in that station's Top 10. Plays for the track began to spread, with it getting radio spins in Chicago, New York as well as in Detroit. This 'action' was noticed by the A&R guys at Mercury and that instructed one of their Philly based guys to cut a version of the song. Thus, in April 68 a Smash 45 was released; Jay And The Techniques  -- "Baby Make Your Own Sweet Music". 

The Jay & Tech's version was picked up by many radio stations, both pop & soul orientated. A battle was now on between the two versions. Jay & the Tech's had an existing track record, with a couple of their earlier 45 tracks getting lots of radio exposure, where the Bandwagon were a 'new' group, their version of the song being the plug side of their first ever release. The battle between the two versions unfolded, with the Bandwagon's version doing best on the R&B charts, whilst Jay & the Tech's did far better on the US pop charts. Jay & the Tech's were made available to TV music shows, whilst the existing Bandwagon film continued to get aired.

Both versions made a noticeable impact, so much so that both were also released overseas. Jay & the Tech's being put out in Canada, the UK, Spain and Japan. The Bandwagon's version gaining release in Canada (not unusual for a track that had done well in the Detroit area), UK (on Direction) and Holland. The song caught on with US & UK soul fans and other versions followed. Motown group, the Monitors cut a version which was included on their album 'Greetings We're The Monitors) late in 68. Ahead of that, ex US group the Velours / Fantastics cut a UK recorded version of the song that was released here on MGM (September 68).

So, in this instance, it was the film of the Bandwagon performing the song that eventually resulted in the tracks US chart success and it gaining a UK release. The group's follow up 45 did OK in the States but became a massive UK pop chart hit ("Breakin' Down The Walls Of Heartache"). This success led the group to come over here to tour and they soon decided to settle in the UK and to further their recording career outside their native country. WITH the film of this track being just about the first example of a 'soul music video' creating interest in a 45 and eventually resulting in that 45 charting, you'd have thought that SOMEONE would have deemed it 'historic footage'. With this status, the film should therefore have been preserved and 'rolled out' during TV documentaries about TV music shows and how 'videos' would soon become a major way of promoting record releases. That does not seemed to have happened as the web searches I've undertaken have failed to identify the current whereabouts of this footage. 

 

[Roburt]

The Bandwagon's US 45 was doing so well by late May 68, that Epic sent out new promo copies to radio stations & music mags across the States. Their new 45 followed just after & was reviewed as a potential pop chart contender in those mags in June 68 ... the mags having reported their original 45's regional breakout status in April 68. 

Edited October 6 by Roburt