Garethx

Come On With It is more famously known by Lew Kirton on Marlin. A great version too, but Clarence edges it for me. I think it's no great stretch to call this guy a genius, and to me he's often unfairly overlooked when people talk of the great singer-songwriters such as Bobby Patterson, Sam Dees, Bobby Womack, Phillip Mitchell, Jimmy Lewis etc. He deserves to be bracketed with that elite bunch. Please remember too all the great 'Northern' and rare soul tracks he was involved with as writer, singer and producer, such as Paul Kelly, Helene Smith, Purple Mundi, Jimmy Bo Horn, etc. Add the prolific Blowfly into the equation and you have quite a CV. Kinell, don't I sound posh on the 'radio'.

I'm a huge fan of Clarence Reid. His original version of Come On With It is currently glued to my turntable.

Is this I Can't Leave Your Love Alone?

This 45 is Floyd White, Fragile, Handle With Care on Paro. It's from San Francisco/Oakland and is produced by Johnny Heartsman, the guy behind the early Jesse James records on Shirley. Sold two of these to Paul Havakin over the last few years, after finding some in California, years after getting one off John Manship. An odd record to my ears, just on the right side of early soul, but I think the guy's got a good voice, and it sounds very atmospheric out. Think I also sold one to Rob Messer, but my memory may be playing tricks on me there. The label design is beautiful: I'll post up a scan if I've still got one in my files. I don't think this is a rare record, as I bought copies from several different stores, even one in Amoeba, which is a very mainstream oldies shop in both SF and Berkeley. Keep digging Steve, there are copies out there.

Blake: are you still looking for a copy of Billy Proctor on Epic?

Martin Thompson has had one for sale on these pages for the last couple of weeks. Don't know if it's still available. Over to you, Martin...

To me Garden Of Eden is the best release on the entire label, and that's saying something.

What a great story. Hope the link works... https://www.austinrecords.com/?gallery/index.htm

Ann Peebles too. You Got To feed The Fire was one of the first soul records I ever bought and still use it as a benchmark for all that is good in the game.

Priceless. This is from the Ed Sullivan show isn't it? Is there a bad version of this song? Baby Washington, The Delfonics and Grant Green are all big favourites of mine. The genius of Teddy Randazzo strikes again. Thanks for sharing.

I love the Hi label and it's associates. Many great records mentioned so far, particularly the Bobby McClure 45. The first time I heard this I just shook my head and smiled, as one would when faced with a great treasure. So fantastic you wonder why all records aren't this good: it's a masterpiece. I must also concur with Binsy over the Willie Walker: nothing earth-shattering on first hearing, but once you're hooked a side whose majesty reveals itself more with each play. Although it's quite some claim I've probably played this particular record more than any other over the last five years. Back to Jean Plum and has there ever been a more bittersweet love song than Here I Go Again, a truly exquisite piece of grown-up soul music. We must also not forget the momentous contribution to the label of Al Green, whilst celebrating the lesser known talents such as T99, Teacher's Edition, Erma Coffee, Jimmy Mack and a cast of thousands.

For deep soul fans out there the other side of the Johnny Gilliam 45, "A Broken Hearted Man's Prayer" is every bit as good as its title suggests.

The other Blackjack label (featuring The Performers, The Fabulous Performers and Kissi Jacobs etc.) is indeed out of Philadelphia, so the confusion is understandable.

Blackjack is definitely a Cincinnati label: it was part of Fraternity Records and the other records on the label all feature local talent like Clyde Dean, Kenny Smith and so on both in front of and behind the mike. There is a chance that this could be the EW of JYF fame. I have been told that he was killed shortly after the record came out in a shooting (this seems to be a common theory expounded about many artists we simply know nothing about) so that could be taken with a large pinch of salt. As an aside there is a link between sports and soul that is maybe far wider than many realise. In many small towns across the USA school sports like football (US) and particularly basketball are phenomenally important to the local populace and economy. If they have a high school student who seems to be showing enough promise to lead to a famed college career and then lucrative pro career that athlete often becomes the most important person in the town, a real local celebrity, and something of a money spinner. To this end, and to heighten their profile in the wider district, the athletes in question were often coaxed into recording studios to make records. In the black community in the 60s this would have meant making soul or funk records. When I think of a few concrete examples of this phenomenon, I'll post them up, but it was surprisingly widespread. Although he was a white guy this is the score with the L. Allen and Larry Allen 45 on Green Dolphin, for example.

Not as bad as people claim; not as good as a £500 tune should be, though. Another case of an enigmatic artists name selling an obscure record? Possibly. I know it always gives me a very slight buzz if a good record just happens to have a strange title or band/artist moniker. Can any of you discofunk boys explain why that Carmen "Throwdown" record on ebay should always arouse such massive interest. That really is w-nk, if you ask me.

As an aside to all this talk of Cajun Hart, some friends of mine were in a band which had the good fortune to sign to US Warner Brothers in the early 90s. On their first trip to the states to visit the record company, one of the Vice Presidents, Jeffrey Weiss, took them to the floor of the Warners building where they kept file copies of previous releases. He asked them if there was anything they were interested in picking out, thinking that maybe they'd want some Rolling Stones or Neil Young albums. Chancing their arms, they asked for copies of Cajun Hart and Joannie Sommers "Don't Pity Me", and were gobsmacked when he arrived back just a few minutes later armed with small piles of each in pristine Dj and issue format. WB always treated its artists pretty well, it seems. Don't think the same could always be said for staff or suppliers, mind...

Since the mid 70s there have been at least a couple of scenes running concurrently under the umbrella term Northern Soul. Since the Casino started running specifically Oldies all-nighters reviving sounds from the Torch, Wheel, Cats, early Wigan etc. there has been a (seemingly massive) demand for that sort of night. But running alongside that has always been the desire to find and play new sounds. Richard Searling's plays from the late Wigan era defined the idea of 'progressive'. Records like Cecil Washington, John & The Wierdest etc. had a very different sound in the late 70s to records which had been huge only eighteen months before: harder-edged, darker, more esoteric. Add the new releases or recently made rarities that he was programming into the mix and this was a very different type of NS. He wasn't doing anything specifically new in terms of his approach, because the 'pioneering' spirit had always been the bedrock of the scene from day one until 'oldies mania' took a hold as stated above. Searling was by no means the only one, but he was a figurehead for those who thought that something of that pioneering feel had been lost. The Stafford deejays and a dedicated number of collectors took up the baton in the 80s, and that spirit clings on to this day: Lifeline, Soul Essence etc. all feature a host of deejays not content to go down the defeatist route of saying there are no great rare soul records left to be found and programmed. It's not merely about reactivations only, because I can think of a reasonable number of plays from the likes of Butch, Soul Sam, Andy Dyson and others that have never been tried anywhere before; the great thing is that a number of these records are fantastic, certainly good enough to have been played anywhere, any time. Yes, there's going to be a law of diminishing returns in trying to find new sounds to play, but are you saying that no-one should attempt to keep things fresh or even mildly radical, Winnie? This scene is smaller, but is that such a bad thing? The Lifeline weekender was only about a tenth of the size of Prestatyn in terms of people attending, but there were still enough people there to fill the venue, have a great time and listen to fresher sounds. It was by no means about 'chin stroking' alone: the dancefloor saw plenty of action and the atmosphere was buzzing for the nighter sessions. The aspect of the Northern scene that keeps me coming back is the hope of experiencing great soul records I've never heard before, rather than revelling in a historical reenactment society dedicated to something that was great thirty years ago. I realise that I may be in a minority, but as far as I'm concerned it is the only way forward: without a feeling that it is moving forward in at least some small way, the scene as a whole (including oldies only all nighters) will die on its arse.

If you view the Dan Folger record as a piece of singer-songwriter pop from the classic age, like Tim Hardin or Jimmy Webb rather than as a pice of soul music, it's actually a phenomenally well-crafted record. Interestingly, from the press advertisement reproduced in a Kent CD, it was marketed very definitely as an example of blue-eyed soul. I personally love this record and think it does still have a place on the scene: I wouldn't want to hear it everywhere I go, but played occasionally it does still have the power to evoke a strong feeling of nostalgia.

A different Otis Smith, methinks.

Many truly great singers mentioned so far: I'm in agreement with Binsy in suggesting that, great as The Spinners' GC Cameron and Phillipe Wynne were, few in the history of soul music could hold a candle to John Edwards in terms of pure vocal talent. One who arguably could would be Rance Allen, whose singing is seldom less than amazing. I'm also going to nominate someone who probably won't get too many mentions, as he didn't make too many records and probably didn't even sing lead on all his group's records: Reggie Saddler of the Reggie Saddler Review, Janice & The Jammers and so on. He had a truly electrifying presence on the tracks he did commit to vinyl, with top marks going to his contribution to Janice's Fantasy side "Goody Two Shoes", a wonderful example of sincerity and sheer emotion outweighing the triteness of the lyric. Reggie's singing on this is simply mind-blowing.

We've done this one before. This is the actress Lonette McKee as a teenager. She's not white. There is a great press picture of her from the MS era somewhere on here. Anyhow, here's the IMDB entry about her... "Lonette McKee's career began in the music industry in Detroit, Michigan as a child prodigy, where she started writing music/lyrics, singing, playing keyboards and performing professionally at the age of seven. At fourteen she recorded her first record, which became an instant reginal Pop/R&B hit. McKee wrote the title song for the film 'Quadroon' when just fifteen. She has written and produced three solo LPs, the most recent, 'Natural Love', for Spike Lee's Columbia 40 Acres and A Mule lable. McKee scored the music for a well-received cable documentary on the lower Manhattan African Burial Ground, as well as numerous infomercials. She has toured extensively throughout the world in concert performances, including the JVC Jazz Festival at Carnegie Hall. McKee continues to write and produce music, as well as mentor and help develope young musical talent. She offers consultation and coaching to young performers. Her feature film credits include; 'Sparkle', 'Cuba', 'Which Way Is Up' and 'Brewsters Millions' - both opposite the legendary Richard Pryor; 'The Cotton Club' and 'Gardens of Stone' for Francis Coppola; 'Lift', for which she earned a Black Reel nomination. Other films include 'Honey', 'Men of Honor', 'Round Midnight' for the great filmmaker Bertrand Tavenier, 'Jungle Fever', 'Malcolm X', 'He Got Game' and 'She Hate Me' for Spike Lee. Television mini series and films include; 'Women of Brewster Place', for which she received an NAACP nomination, 'Having Our Say', 'Queen' with Halle Berry, 'To Dance with Olivia' "For Love of Olivia' - both opposite Louis Gossett Jr. for CBS television network and 'Blind Faith' for Showtime Cable Network. Lonette also received an NAACP nomination for her appearences on the long-running CBS soap opera 'As The World Turns'. Recently, Lonette did a recurring role on the NBC hit drama 'Third Watch'. She was recognized in People Magazine's 'Fifty Most Beautiful' issue. She studied film directing at The New School in New York and apprenticed film directing with Spike Lee. She teaches a master acting workshop at Centenary College in New Jersey, where she serves as an adjunct professor in the theater arts department. Lonette is currently producing her feature film 'Dream Street' with Spike Lee, which she wrote and will direct."

Looks like a Monarch, styrene press of the 45 to me. I've never seen one of these before, but would imagine that it was pressed there for the west coast market at the time. This 45 was quite a big seller throughout the states for the other side, She's Gone.

A tough record. Only on the issue copies of the release. The official A side ain't bad either.

There is presumably an interesting story about the copy that just went through ebay...

I nominate Hermon Hitson's cut of Love Slipped Through My Fingers as a benchmark for full-on, abandoned, Northern Soul. Just on the right side of chaos. Also, The Mello Souls must take some beating in this respect, surely. Not for the faint-hearted, and for those who don't get NS probably something of a racket. A full-on masterpiece for the initiated, though.