JAD & the Pittsburgh / New York Connection

[Roburt]

JAD Records was a record label that was co-owned by Johnny Nash, producer Arthur Jenkins, and businessman Danny Sims, whose initials formed its logo.
JAD Records Co. Inc. was located 221 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019. They cut lots of their tracks @ Broadway Recording Studio (1697 Broadway, NY).

Johnny Nash had been in the recording biz a long time; his 1st US 45 escaping in 1956, with his 1st UK release following in 1957 (Ladder Of Love on HMV). He went through lots of style changes & had releases on many US labels (ABC, Warners, Groove, Argo, Cadet, Atlantic, MGM, Epic). He first started Joda in 65 with Jad following in 68 (they also used the Jomada & Jocida label names).

You'd think with a long musical pedigree, his big hits around the world, his connections in the biz (Lloyd Price, Howard Tate, Kim Weston, Don Covay & many more) + his links with reggae / Bob Marley from 1968, that everything would be known about his career / his recording work. BUT there a large gaps in knowledge right thru his time in the biz -- 1953 thru to 2006. He was born in Houston & initially made his name on a TV show in 1953. He was recording from 1957 and also made a name for himself as an actor.

The period I'm focusing on here are his Joda & Jad days; 1965 to 1970. He was working out of New York & (then) Jamaica / New York in that period, collaborating with the likes of Arthur Jenkins, Gerry Thomas (of the Fatback Band) and others. For Jocida, he signed & recorded Pittsburgh based (white) jazz organist Gene Ludwig. How that connection came about I'm totally in the dark about. He also signed better known names to his labels' Lloyd Price, Howard Tate, Kim Weston, Gloria Gaynor, Rosco Gordon, Larry Santos, Johnny Daye, Sam & Bill, Bill Johnson (half of Sam & Bill), the Jamaican artists, etc. But lots of 'unknowns' also had releases on his labels -- Vic & Joe, Joe Richardson (Groundhog), the Jodarettes & the Joda Orchestra (both probably just studio based outfits). 

Before being signed to Jocida, Gene Ludwig had been a constant on the Pittsburgh club / recording scene (mainly on the jazz side of things. But he must have collaborated with some of the other acts that recorded for the same local labels as himself -- acts such as Curtis & the Showstoppers for instance.

Anyone here shed light on some of the lesser known details from this period ?   

Edited 12 hours ago by Roburt

[Blackpoolsoul]

"JAD Records for decades was Joe Armone, head of one of the biggest crime families in America" 

"Sims and Johnny Nash left America for Jamaica in 1966, reputedly to escape the FBI."

https://nelsongeorge.substack.com/p/rhythm-and-gangster-4

A story in Pittsburgh Courier 15 Oct 1966 page 8A indicates this is Curtis Davis who lived in the Pittsburgh neighborhood Beltzhoover. The story says that he and three friends were asked by Odell Bailey to record Sad Girl in 1965, and it was a hit in Pittsburgh and elsewhere. The story does not indicate which label first released the song, but it was probably Victan.
 

Edited 10 hours ago by Blackpoolsoul

[Roburt]

A couple of the tracks shown above ... 

 

[Roburt]

What Sir Shambling has to say about Vic & Joe .... no bio info ... but the arranger on their track was Arthur Jenkins, so it must have been cut in New York ... Arthur Jenkins was a jazz based keys player, so he might have brought Gene Ludwig to Jocida.

Arthur Jenkins was (later) in the group Cousin Ice that had lots of releases (they cut a house version of "Can I Get A Witness" among other things).

https://sirshambling.com/artists_2012/V/vic_joe/index.php

Edited 10 hours ago by Roburt

[Roburt]

2 hours ago, Blackpoolsoul said:

A story in Pittsburgh Courier 15 Oct 1966 page 8A indicates this is Curtis Davis who lived in the Pittsburgh neighborhood Beltzhoover. The story says that he and three friends were asked by Odell Bailey to record Sad Girl in 1965, and it was a hit in Pittsburgh and elsewhere. The story does not indicate which label first released the song, but it was probably Victan.
 

It was Odell Bailey who sent Chuck Corby & his then group (Four Plus One) to Golden World in Detroit to cut the songs Chuck had written  -- “Man Loves Two” & “Happy Go Lucky”. 

Edited 8 hours ago by Roburt

[Roburt]

Chuck (Corby) has got back to me to say that one of the guys in Curtis & the Showstoppers (Rodney Allen) was with him as a member of his backing group, the Entrees. Rodney now lives in LA.

Chuck also knew Gene Ludwig really well.

Edited 8 hours ago by Roburt

[Blackpoolsoul]

10 minutes ago, Roburt said:

Chuck (Corby) has got back to me to say that one of the guys in Curtis & the Showstoppers (Rodney Allen) was with him as a member of his backing group, the Entrees.

Can you ask who Phillip and Martin (surnames as writer credits) were please and were they part of The Entrees

[Roburt]

1 hour ago, Blackpoolsoul said:

Can you ask who Phillip and Martin (surnames as writer credits) were please and were they part of The Entrees

Phillips & Martin were the guys who wrote the song originally. The song was 're-worded' & used again by Chuck & the Entrees (as using the original backing track & just adding the new vocals was a much cheaper option to cutting a whole new track) -- I'll still ask Chuck who they were though.

BTW, Curtis sang with the Arketts too (the group comprising Argie Lyerly, Marian Lyerly and Pat Hendricks) for Ronnie Records ... AND this is Curtis yet again on another expensive Pittsburgh 45 (below) ... 

Edited 7 hours ago by Roburt

[Roburt]

More info on one of the other Jad acts ...

Joe 'Groundhog' Richardson ... who also had stuff out on other labels (including Turbo, so Steve G might know more about him) ... 

[Roburt]

Johnny Nash's 2nd UK 45 -- issued here in late 57 or very early 1958 ... it was the HMV single released just ahead of Danny & the Jnr's "At The Hop".

[Roburt]

Arthur Jenkins (part owner of Jad) wasn't an official member of the Latin Jazz Quintet but he did play on many of their tracks between 1961 & 1965, here's one of them ... "Mambo Bobbie"

the album this comes from was reissued in the UK & Japan in the 90's (& twice more since in Japan)

 

Edited 3 hours ago by Roburt