Ann Robinson

[Tomangoes]

How long has this been played for ?

Got to admit its only in the last couple of months I have come across this vocal.

Always something turning up that makes you realise theres a long way to go before youve heard em all. No doubt its been about years and its played all over, but its only just come to my attention.

Ed

[Sebastian]

Don't know when it first started to get plays, but it was issued on a Goldmine CD back in 2000.

[Guest Byrney]

Don't know when it first started to get plays, but it was issued on a Goldmine CD back in 2000.

Early 90s for Butch methinks

[Steve L]

First heard it mid 90s round East Mids

[Guest hudsoul]

Butch played it first early/mid 90s ,he played his version as the SHERRYS ,the one he played in my opinion was a better version ,a less polished version than the one put out on cds etc. as ann robinson which andy rix played first at the end of the 90s,brillaint track always used to make the hairs on the baCK of my neck stand up

[Jerry Hipkiss]

Pretty sure I heard it a a Stafford all-dayer in 1990 - mind you, it was known about as far back as 77/78.

Jerry.

[Sunnysoul]

Pretty sure I heard it a a Stafford all-dayer in 1990 - mind you, it was known about as far back as 77/78.

Jerry.

Ady Pountain used to play it Down Under in Sydney all the time back in the 90's!

[Dave Moore]

Pretty sure I heard it a a Stafford all-dayer in 1990 - mind you, it was known about as far back as 77/78.

Jerry.

Hi Jerry,

Who? Where? Tell us more. I hadn't heard this until the late 80s. Can't remember it at Wigan /Yate/Cleethorpes etc. As far as I could ascertain there are 3 versions of this and all are on individual Virtue acetates? Are there more? I'm interested as I've just completed The Harthon Story ....AAARRGGHHH!!!

Regards,

Dave

www.theresthatbeat .com

www.hitsvillesoulclub.com

[Pete S]

Hi Jerry,

Who? Where? Tell us more. I hadn't heard this until the late 80s. Can't remember it at Wigan /Yate/Cleethorpes etc.

Obviously with the Emanons Orchestra getting spins in late 756, everyone presumed there must be a vocal but like you Dave, I didn't hear it - or even hear of it - until the 90's. You sure it was this one Jerry?

[KevH]

must admit when i heard this gettin big spins (butch?), i thought i'd already heard it before,seemed so familiar..did someone mention 77/78?

[Chalky]

As far as I know Butch the first to spin this. It's not Ann Robinson either....

Here's something Andy Rix wrote few years back....

Ann Robinson & World of happiness .....time to put this story to bed I think by reviewing the evidence that is available.... as we know the song was written by Eddie Holman & James Solomon and produced by Luther Randolph. The flip side 'In one ear and out the other' was written by Jesse James and it was he who bought this girl , from Norristown, to Harthon. The track was cut at the same time as 'She's wanted' & 'Love is all right' ... I have an 8" acetate with both of these band tracks on back to back and at the end of LIA there is a snippet of WOH ...so off the same tape reel and further evidence of a 1965 recording... the recollections of Eddie & Jessie in particular confirm these sessions all take place within the same time frame. 'She's wanted' by Larry Clinton was issued in November 1965 which again confirms the recollections of Eddie & Jessie that 'WOH' was a '65 recording ... when Jesse fell out with the Harthon team over musical differences specifically concerning 'LIA' the girl from Norristown had also left the scene.

As I have stated before elsewhere nobody remembers her name ...and when talking about 'her' I mean the girl who sings the version that I play and not the version that Butch plays ... Eddie & James seemed to recall one of the girls who cut a demo was Tina Britt and another was called Elaine ...Jesse & Harriet James cannot remember but knew the girl's family and are confident that when her parents pulled her out of the record business because of their religious beliefs she never made another record... certainly not while they were around. Luther Randolph was equally puzzled and suggested Cindy Gibson or Roseanne Jefferson but these names did not register with Eddie, James or Harriet who are all able to describe what the girl looked like ....as far as Weldon McDougal was concerned when I first played the song to him a couple of years ago he didn't know it at all but was able to recognise it as a Harthon thing. When I phoned Weldon again yesterday and had yet another conversation about it he struggled to recognise the song I was talking about so when I played it he was adamant that the singer was NOT Ann Robinson, whose range was totally different, and more importantly he does not have a mastertape of the recording.

I believe that this Ann Robinson story eminated from Dave Brown & Sonny Hopson in Philly and may in fact be a misunderstanding..... Eddie Holman knew Ann very well and recalls that she arrived in Philly, from Virginia, in about 69, so years after WOH was first recorded ...he again said that she did not cut WOH at Virtue.

Ann recorded initially for Sonny Hopsons All Brothers label which released 'Bird Walkin' by the Emanons Orch, which despite didfferent writer/publisher credits, is a reworking if the rhythm track of 'World of happiness' ..... The Emanons as 'The Freedom Now Brothers' released a track called 'Sissy walk' on All Brothers and Ann cut a vocal on this entitled 'you did it' ....what Sonny told Dave was that he had wanted to do 'Bird Walkin' as a vocal but the Emanons (a male group) couldn't cut the vocal track how he wanted so he got Ann to do a vocal on that tune as well which was never issued ... I believe it was assumed from this discussion this meant Ann had cut 'World of happiness' and was therefore the mystery girl ....I think not.

I have just listened to Ann singing 'You did it' and there is no way she is the girl singing my version of WOH ...the voices are totally different. The problem now is that many in the UK believe the Ann Robonson story is true and as she has been proclaimed by all to be the mystery girl it's hardly likely the story is gonna be retracted as a misunderstanding ... I've told Dave Brown he should check his facts before circulating half-truths but it's a bit late now .... so in conclusion WOH is not by Ann Robinson and when I find out who it is I will let you all know I rest my case unless anybody wishes to put forward some equally convincing evidence.

Just to finish off the reason we called it Cindy Scott is because we thought as Butch called his the Sherry's we should go for a solo femme artist to identify it as a different version and as we were actually leaving Philly to fly out to visit Cindy in LA & she was from Philly .... well it just seemed logical

Take care

Andy Rix

[Jerry Hipkiss]

Obviously with the Emanons Orchestra getting spins in late 756, everyone presumed there must be a vocal but like you Dave, I didn't hear it - or even hear of it - until the 90's. You sure it was this one Jerry?

Don't think anyone actually had it at that time Pete, otherwise we would have heard it, but it was referred to in a Soul Time mag in 77/78 (when Siz Sayles was doing it I think) in a throwaway line to the effect of "...vocal to Bird Walking ended up in the bin, I'm not surprised". As to whether anyone had actually heard it then, I'm not sure, but I would guess that it was rescued at a later date.

[Guest Stuart T]

Am I right that Kenny Burrell has an acetate from John Anderton with the same backing track but with a different song again over the top? Pretty sure that was right as Gregory McOirish played me a snippet of it, and may have put Kenny onto it. Or was that something else?

[Md Records]

The "Emanons - Birdwalkin" aint the "Emanons" but an unnamed instrumental that Jesse James gave Sonny Hopson to put on the flipside of "Emanons - Look In The Want Ads" and therefore, in effect, has very little to do with Sonny Hopson or All Brothers records.

DES PARKER

[Chalky]

Am I right that Kenny Burrell has an acetate from John Anderton with the same backing track but with a different song again over the top? Pretty sure that was right as Gregory McOirish played me a snippet of it, and may have put Kenny onto it. Or was that something else?

I thought it came from Rob Thomas?????

[Simon T]

As far as I could ascertain there are 3 versions of this and all are on individual Virtue acetates? Are there more? I'm interested as I've just completed

Not sure if there are three acetates, I suspect there are only two i.e. Butch's & Rix's;

one has just a the string section, whereas the other has both string and horns sections.

I seem to remember the version that came on on the UK single and CD's is Rixy's acetate, but it's been 'cut' and 'remastered' so that the verses are in a different order?

[Chalky]

Not sure if there are three acetates, I suspect there are only two i.e. Butch's & Rix's;

one has just a the string section, whereas the other has both string and horns sections.

I seem to remember the version that came on on the UK single and CD's is Rixy's acetate, but it's been 'cut' and 'remastered' so that the verses are in a different order?

Sure Kenny Burrell has one but totally different take from both Butch's and Andy Rix's.

[SteveM]

Edited June 8, 2007 by SteveM

[Guest Stuart T]

Sure Kenny Burrell has one but totally different take from both Butch's and Andy Rix's.

He has it down as Peggy Byres. Same title but think that the lyrics were a bit different?

[Mike]

He has it down as Peggy Byres. Same title but think that the lyrics were a bit different?

can't remember exactly, but dont think the lyrics are/were that different to notice

if know what i mean

think my thoughts on it at time of hearing it, was it was a more sort of polished/produced version

[Guest Stuart T]

can't remember exactly, but dont think the lyrics are/were that different to notice

if know what i mean

think my thoughts on it at time of hearing it, was it was a more sort of polished/produced version

You may well be right Mike, have to confess that this is just a memory from listening to it on a walkman in a pub when Kenny was living in London and I don't think I had a recording of the other version(s) at the time. Greg had the tape, maybe he still has it, I'll ask him.