Dave Moore

Tears In My Eyes — Recounted by Kenny Hamber and John Smith The market for soul related material at the moment does seem to be sadly focused on ill-designed badges with owls on, memories drawn from a specific era in a North West UK ballroom and the fashions that somehow have been mistakenly been given a soul creditation. With cringingly TV snippets and British films with a soul ‘Scene’ theme at their core, it’s refreshing to discover that some people are still spending time, effort and even money on recording the stories of the people that created the music and songs that are the lifeblood of our musical heartbeat. Such is the latest offering from Kenny Hamber and John Smith. The book project was first hatched when Kenny and John met and became friends at The Prestatyn Weekenders, one of which Kenny appeared at, (2010). From those early discussions the pair decided that Kenny’s long and diverse career was worthy of documenting properly and here, three and a half years later is the final project. Researched by John and confirmed by Kenny himself over hours of interviews and supported by vintage material from the local Baltimore press it’s an insight to a singer whose story is worth listening to and probably reflects many of the Rare Soul rosta’s favourite sons and daughters’ similar experiences. Recalling events of fifty years ago, often not having thought about such things for almost as long is a laborious business sometimes fraught with misconceptions but John manages to steer the history of the era in the right direction and paints an atmospheric canvas of the golden era of our music. Having interviewed Kenny Hamber myself I can vouch that the man is an indefatigable musical journeyman of the highest calibre. Having to commence his musical career in the projects of The Charm City (Baltimore), where he was born wasn’t the greatest start out of the starting blocks for a black youth with a penchant for songs by Little Willie John, Little Anthony And The Imperials, Lee Dorsey and Joe Tex et al. (1) As you’d expect John relates the early days of a young Kenny Hamber’s life revolving around singing on the stoops of their homes and the advent of the street corner harmonisers, which in hindsight as admitted by Kenny himself was probably to the detriment of his education. With Baltimore being almost devoid of any substantial professional soul community and certainly bereft of any notable studios at which to progress his career, Kenny became something of a travelling minstrel. (2) As John relates though, Kenny’s career may not have exactly set the Billboard Charts alight but a career spanning 50 years and having appeared on shows with many of the golden era’s royalty acts including Jackie Wilson, Chubby Checker, Jerry Butler and Tommy Hunt. Weaved into Kenny’s story are snippets of the club-land night life of the era, often at which Kenny appeared and provided a good living for him. The Author also entwines the potted history of some of the legendary theatres of the area and of course the Royal Theatre situated in West Baltimore’s Pennsylvania Avenue features in the chapter dedicated to Baltimore’s thriving entertainment scene. The house band at the famed Chitlin’ Circuit auditorium were Tracy MacCleary and His Royal Men Of Rhythm and it was good to see them mentioned in the book. Too many of these unsung heroes of black music and especially the musician have seen their contributions ignored over the years and it’s great to see a band like the Royal Man Of Rhythm get some kudos. John also gives a good account of the Charm City’s radio history and introduces the reader to some of Baltimore’s AM stations and their personalities of the day. One of whom, Bill “Sparky” Mullen, would play a pivotal roil in the career of Kenny Hamber. The TV spin offs from American Bandstand also get a mention and Kenny’s appearances are duly noted. In addition to charting the musical career of Kenny Hamber the book also, whether by design of by default, relates the history of Baltimore’s musical history and that of its more salubrious locations, Church gave way to clubs, which gave way to theatres and eventually the live entertainment scene gave way to huge auditoriums that squeezed the smaller more intimate venues out. John also includes a good account of the active radio involvement in music of the 60s, which eventually led to Kenny hooking up with Philadelphia’s WDAS radio star Jimmy Bishop. This musical liaison would of course lead to Kenny’s involvement with the Jamie Guyden owned Arctic imprint, on which he released two 45s including the much sought after outing, Kenny Hamber — “Ain’t Gonna Cry (Over One Girl) b/w Anything You Want” — Arctic 131. It’s an interesting period in Kenny Hamber’s musical career and one which highlights the vagrancies and peaks and troughs of the music business, especially the black part of it during the late sixties. Recording studios, radio stations, theatres, black owned record labels, all intertwined with a period of turmoil for America’s black population, especially with the rise of the civil rights movement and sometimes talent wasn’t enough to see you reach your potential. For Gamble and Huff, another couple of aspiring black record guys up the road in Philly that found themselves at the vanguard of the changing music scene, life must have seemed pretty easy to Kenny who continued to move forward in his chosen profession, albeit at a slower pace than the aforementioned participants. From Kenny’s humble beginnings he forged a full and lasting musical career which included a number of interactions with singing groups of the era and in fact as a member of a couple himself. (The Enchanters, The Hitchhikers). Still performing today with his Kenny Hamber Revue it’s a journey that’s not over yet. With dotted rendezvous on his musical journey including The Brooks Brothers, the radio DJ “Fat Daddy”, Philly producer Jesse James, Jerry “Swamp Dog” Williams, Kenny Gamble, his fellow Baltimorean Winfield Parker, and with John Smith guiding the reader through the radio hey days, the legendary club life and Carr’s Beach events of the era, “Tears In My Eyes”, named after Kenny’s very first release on the tiny Zenette label, is a worthwhile addition to collection of books who’s readers are remotely interested in the lives, trials and tribulations of our musical heroes. With an eight page montage of vintage photos and show ads of the period to compliment the text, it gets a big thumbs up from me. Not easy to produce such niche market material nowadays, so pop along to either of these links or contact John Smith via PM on here and pick up a copy. His membership name is Robert. Tell him, I sentcha... https://www.facebook...ennyHamberStory Dave Dave Moore : April 2014 Notes: 1. Despite Sonny Til And The Orioles being from Baltimore, the city never really delivered a national impact in relation to black music despite having a thriving jazz and entertainment scene. 2. The area of Baltimore, Maryland delivered a few record labels of note to fans of rare soul Bay Sound and Ru-Jac being the two main ones. Bay Sound lasted almost two years but only managed 13 releases, including sought after 45s by The Chaumonts and The Bleu Lights and what is probably the most sought after release Nicky C and the Chateaux — “Those Good Times b/w Try Some Soul” — Bay Sound 67012. The Rufus Mitchell/Jack Brown owned Ru-Jac imprint is probably the most famous of the RnB labels having lasted for over a decade resulting over 50 45 releases. Once again many are sought after by rare soul fans including a couple of outing by Winfield Parker, especially, Winfield Parker — “I Love You Just The Same b/w My Love” — Ru-Jac 0017 and the rarity actually penned by the label owners, The Caressors — “I Can’t Stay Away b/w Who Can It Be” — Ru-Jac RoburtApr 08 2014 02:26 PM Many thanks for the review Dave. I have copies of the book here in the UK which I will be taking to soul events I attend this year (Sunday Chill-Out @ Horse & Groom in Doncaster on 20th April and Cleggy Weekender for instance). Kenny also has copies in the US as shipping across the pond doesn't make economic sense. Kenny will be performing in New York on Tuesday 22nd April (the Bert Berns book launch @ the Bitter End). Matt Male, 45cellar and dancingcollector like Like doowop78 Apr 11 2014 02:45 AM Disc was recorded a few blocks from where i grew up in baltimore...... Rodney LeePeaceApr 14 2014 03:14 PM It's in the post,so looking forward to this well done Like jocko Apr 14 2014 10:07 PM Bought it directly from Blurb. their service is great as always. Looks good, some nice pictures and looks meaty enough to get your teeth in. Bit disappointing there are a few typos in Kenny's introduction, hopefully only there, pedantic I appreciate, but one of those things that I don't like in books. Maybe opportunity to correct it in Blurb as not sure if they print to order?

One In A Million: The Songs Of Sam Dees - Various Artists (Songwriter Series) CDKEND 411 Meet Samuel L Dees — A Song-writing Phenomenon As Tony Rounce clearly states in his opening gambit to the liner notes of the Kent offering: The Songs Of Sam Dees, “Few songwriters command the level of respect amongst soul fans that Sam Dees does. No single compilation could cover the whole career of a writer whose song list is a big as Sam’s”. As is usual with the Kent releases, you’d be hard pushed to find a better selection of Sam’s song-writing ability that highlights the selected time frame that concentrates mainly on his seventies decade compositions right through to the early eighties. Having already released a couple of Sam Dees CDs documenting his life and earlier career this particular compilation brings together a collection of 25 artists that recorded Sam’s songs that range from the, maybe not too well known, Larry Graham, a former bassist with Sly And The Family Stone to the majestic Gladys Knight And The Pips and all stops in between. Surely a fitting testament to Sam’s song-writing skill is the list of artists that came a knockin’ when they needed the ‘right’ song’. http://acerecords.co.uk/cache/images/CDKEND-411a_383_383.jpg Having said that... the opening track on the album is a monolithic performance from the man himself singing his stunning self penned, “My World”. The song was picked up for release from a local label by Polydor but the version included here is different one. The emotive and passionate ballad sees Sam accompanied by a piano for the most part with intricate contributions from strings and guitar but make no mistake, it’s Sam’s own deeply soulful vocals that steal the show. The first lady of Malaco, Ms Dorothy Moore sees her outing “Girl Overboard” which saw a release on RCA featured and it’s a great reminder of how she could melt the most stringent of hearts with her pitch perfect soulful expressionism via her distinctly velvet yet southern sounding vocals. A collaboration with long term song-writing partner Frederick Knight the song is a play on the nautical theme as Ms Moore uses Sam’s poetic license to tell us she’s overboard in love for her man. The sassy “Woman’s Way” from Alabama’s Rozetta Johnson that appeared on the Clintone imprint gave her (and Sam) a bone fide hit record when at the end of 1970 it slid into the Top 40 RnB Chart at #39. Rozetta’s oft spoken vocal sits atop a string and horn laden track arranged by none other than Warren Dale and is a musical hand in glove moment. It’s difficult to imagine the song being done by anyone but Ms Johnson and her slightly strained at times vocal. Having played Jackie Wilson’s “Just As Soon As The Feeling’s Over”, for most of my adult life and having developed a huge love of all things Davis-Sims- Sanders it’s great to see it included with such exalted company. With Jackie’s powerful range and clarity the song is almost wrung dry by him. When musical titans meld rather than clash then the end result can be stunning and stunning is exactly what this Sam Dees penned, Carl Davis produced. Lifted from Jackie’s final Brunswick LP “Nobody But You”, even now forty years after first discovering it Sam and Jackie still manage to set my soul alight. When you combine the talented Fame studio band with a distinctively plaintive song from Sam and elicit the deeply soulful vocals of Alabama born singer Clarence Carter, it’s a fair chance that the whole kit and caboodle will cling together and fashion a performance of note. That’s exactly what happened as Clarence and producer Rick Hall cashed in on Clarence’s international smash hit ‘Patches’ and included Sam’s ”Changes” on the Atlantic album they produced in 1970. A mid tempo ballad telling the story of abandoned love, it relies on Clarence’s impassioned tones that rightly takes pride of place amongst the stabbing but subdued horns and bongo breaks. Probably overlooked by many as it quietly nestled on the album it drips the quality associated with the legendary Muscle Shoals studio and will delight fans who are hearing it for the first time. Sam’s ability to write songs that seem to be tailor made for their individual singers is highlighted on the inclusion of Millie Jackson’s contribution to this compilation. The decision to re-edit Millie’s version of “Mess On Your Hands” and omit the rap based profanity that peppers some of her outings is a good one. The tale of warning Millie tells her new man’s lady is as you’d expect from such a defined singer. With a voice that growls her pity for the woman but then wraps around title words like a spoon in warm treacle it’s one of the highlights of the entire CD for me. Famed Philly musical giant Bobby Martin encouraged Sam to make the move to the West Coast in the mid 70s. Originally furnishing Martin with songs for acts including Tavares he stayed a decade and ended up signing with A&M’s publishing division which saw his songs exposed to a larger list of both singers and indeed listeners. Included here is veteran jazz pianist/vocalist Les McCann’s, “So Your Love Finally Ran Out For Me”, a desperately lonely tale of a love withering on the vine and McCann’s inability to put it right. It’s a first hearing for me and has led to me searching out Les’s “Tall Dark and Handsome” album, that Mr Rounce declares is stuffed full of Sam Dee’s songs. http://acerecords.co.uk/cache/images/CDKEND-411b_383_383.jpg Loleatta Holloway’s deep soul vocal outings rank up with the very best and the inclusion o Sam’s ‘The Show Must Go On’ , is a well chosen representation of her style and will enthral lovers of her sometimes earthy performances and her powerful prowess in soaring from a vocal standing start to the dizziest of heights within a few seconds. For me this performance is another hand in glove musical moment, right singer, right song. In our house, it doesn’t get much better that Loleatta belting out a Sam Dees song. http://acerecords.co.uk/cache/images/CDKEND-411d_383_383.jpg The CD encompasses a number of Sam’s eighties composition sand included are four songs that showcase Sam’s development alongside the musical requirements of a new generation whilst remaining true to the soulful quality he’d always placed at the very core of his music. Cultured lyrics, immensely passionate vocals to interpret them and strong tenets of musicianship are the glue that hold Sam’s catalogue together and it’s a small group of songwriters that can straddle the changing times of which Sam is one. A collaboration with Jeffrey Osborne delivered a song that ushered in Sam’s eighties work and ‘Where Did We Go Wrong‘, by Los Angeles’ ex funk band and 9 piece outfit, Love, Togetherness And Devotion. Osborne, the lead singer of the group would shortly leave a strike out as a soloist but this plaintive ballad outing would ensure that he left on a high as it reached a credible #7 on the RnB Chart. The production techniques, (some may say values) , of the eighties ushered in the use of more and more reliance on synthesized instrumentation and sometimes this can, in your author’s opinion at least, dilute the whole listening experience. Gladys Knight And The Pips had a more than fruitful relationship with Sam and included here is their Columbia outing “Save The Overtime (For Me)” and I have to be honest and say it left me a little cold. Included as a, ‘tip of the hat’ to the creative combination of the pairing of the group and Sam, the song unfortunately gets ‘mullered’ by the tacky production for me. Bringing up the rear at Track 21 and Track 22 are two The first one is collaboration between Sam and his long time friend ex Tramps member Ron (Have Mercy) Kersey and is a better example of the soulful eighties dance style for me. Sung by Johnnie Taylor the soulful disco outing “Seconds of Your Love”, it gained both a 7inch and 12 inch release on Beverly Glenn Records (as did an LP on Taylor), but failed to make any commercial impact. The final track on this congregation of Sam’s work comes from Larry Graham, the former bassist with Sly and The Family Stone that has also had recent work released on the UK Soul Junction imprint. It’s quite fitting that this tribute to Sam closes with what was his biggest selling hit “One In A Million You”. Selling over a million copies the release on Warner Bros breached the RnB Chart in 1980 and in August of that year achieved the #1 spot eventually remaining on the charts for a full six months. It’s an impeccable ballad with which Larry’s crooning style is well matched and the success of it broadened Sam’s musical reach to artists even more. “The Songs Of Sam Dees” is a CD that will be snapped up by the legion of Sam’s already ardent fans but it will also provide an insight of his genius to soul fans who haven’t already been converted. If my memory is correct, this is the third CD that Kent has released on Mr Dees and if Mr Rounce true to his word than Sam’s Nashville outings and his work with his own Pan Pad label are in the offing. The Songs Of Sam Dees is available shortly from the Ace/Kent website at http://acerecords.co.uk/kent-label so pop along there and treat yourself to 22 tracks of from the work of a musical icon....tell ‘em I sentcha. Dave Dave Moore March 2014 http://acerecords.co.uk/one-in-a-million-the-songs-of-sam-dees http://acerecords.co.uk/cache/images/CDKEND-411_383_383.jpg Video preview Sam Dees is held in the highest regard by producers and fellow-artists alike. Here are a selection of 22 of his best songs from 1970 to the early 80 Track Listing Side 1 http://acerecords.co.uk/docs/CDKEND_411/CDKEND_411-1-1.mp3 My World - Sam Dees http://acerecords.co.uk/docs/CDKEND_411/CDKEND_411-1-2.mp3 Stop This Merry-Go-Round - John Edwards http://acerecords.co.uk/docs/CDKEND_411/CDKEND_411-1-3.mp3 Girl Overboard - Dorothy Moore http://acerecords.co.uk/docs/CDKEND_411/CDKEND_411-1-4.mp3 Your Love Is Like A Boomerang - Corey Blake http://acerecords.co.uk/docs/CDKEND_411/CDKEND_411-1-5.mp3 A Woman's Way - Rozetta Johnson http://acerecords.co.uk/docs/CDKEND_411/CDKEND_411-1-6.mp3 Vanishing Love (UK remix) - The Chi-Lites http://acerecords.co.uk/docs/CDKEND_411/CDKEND_411-1-7.mp3 Cry To Me - Esther Phillips http://acerecords.co.uk/docs/CDKEND_411/CDKEND_411-1-8.mp3 Standing In The Wings Of A Heartache - Ted Taylor http://acerecords.co.uk/docs/CDKEND_411/CDKEND_411-1-9.mp3 Just As Soon As The Feeling's Over - Jackie Wilson http://acerecords.co.uk/docs/CDKEND_411/CDKEND_411-1-10.mp3 Changes - Clarence Carter Dropped a bit of a faux pax above. Of course it was Dale Warren, not Warren Dale (Whoever the hell that is!) that arranged parts of Rozetta Johnson's "Woman's Way". An error for which I shall complete copious amounts of sit ups at a dae and location to be determined. Regards, Dave

Extra Rich In Soul - Various Artists Cat # SJCD5007 Release date Monday March 17th 2014 The Soul Junction label operated by John Anderson and Dave Welding regularly release recordings that appeal to a complete spectrum of soul fans, many of them appealing to a cross section of fans of differing genres. Their latest CD offering entitled “Extra Rich In Soul” stitches together fifteen tracks that highlight the labels’ ethos by blending some of their previously released songs with a few that are seeing a release for the first time. The CD kicks off with a couple of outstanding earlier Soul Junction releases : The recently sadly passed Oliver Cheatham’s melodic ”Don’t Pop The Question” and Jesse James “I Can Feel Your Love Changing” . Both are fantastic efforts and the Jesse James even had your miserly author shelling out for a vinyl copy back in 2012! Of course Philly legend Jesse is well known around the soul bazars with a slew of classics that have filled Northern and Modern Soul dance-floors for decades. The inclusion of the song on this compilation, which I always thought sounded similar to Al Green’s better stuff, will hopefully let more folks know that for Jesse, there is/was a musical life after “If You Want A Love Affair”. Another soulful stalwart who has recently passed on that saw his work picked up by Soul Junction is William Bell Weatherspoon and their 2010 release of “I Can’t Wait (Until The Weekend)” paid homage to the unique voice that was originally first head by UK soul fans as a member of Ohio’s The Soul Notes on Way Out Records and is justifiably included here. Natural Impulse area group championed by Soul junction, the label having licensed a modern soul monster double sider from the former Californian High School band back in 2008. On this particular album the third track from the sessions that were rediscovered in 2010 is included. Entitled “We’re Gonna Make It Through” is a mid-tempo, almost shuffling dancer with a prominent horn section waving its way in tandem to a strained male vocal supported by angelic femme back up and a lilting alto sax providing timely solos. If there are any other tracks in the can from this group than we need to hear them for sure. Unreleased at the time many of Detroiter Clayton Hooker’s recordings have gained favour in recent times and Soul Junction look to satisfy fans of this smooth sounding vocalist and multi-talented musician with the inclusion of two tracks that see the light of day for the first time. “Have You Had Enough”, a lilting ballad that sways along with Clayton’s velvet laid back vocal up front and centre and “Say It Again” which sees Clayton adopt a high tenor range on a slightly disco sounding track peppered by what sound like handclaps which for me is a waste of his vocal talents. The song is pretty nondescript to my ears although fans of this semi-disco styled soul may well appreciate it more. Janet Wright, a native Detroiter enjoyed her first recording sessions for the famed Magic City Records logo before being employed at the legendary United Sound Studio undertaking backing vocal duties for many of the classics recorded there. With such a pedigree it’s no surprise that she later struck out with other backing singers to form Consumer Report and enjoyed a release for Atlantic Records. Back in Detroit and under her stage name of Pix’y she recorded in 2013 her unique version of the Rose Royce classic “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” and it’s this outing that is included here. Cover version for me at least, need to ensure that it’s not an imitation of the original and Ms Wright captures the passion of the original whilst still stamping uniqueness on her own vocal interpretation which on such an iconic song is just what’s required. In case you’re wondering about the title of the compilation it’s taken from the work of Eric Oliver Harris who records under the name of E.R.I.C (Extra Rich In Class) a former bank teller from New York who is now a full time musician and who’s “Backstage”, from 2012 that is featured here. A modern anthem now, it’s once again a laid back vocal performance that highlights that quality, well produced soul music is alive and well. So, Soul Junction’s “Extra Rich In Soul” CD covers a number of releases from the past six years of the labels history and combines it with a spattering of new voices/music for the first time. I’ve left some for listeners to discover for themselves, having given a flavour of it. It manages to combine the sound of laid back soulful vocals with strong musicianship and will delight fans of the, almost lounge music sounding, side of the soulful sound. If your idea of ideal soul is Joe Hicks belting out “Don’t It Make You Feel Funky” or Gil Scott Heron’s hard driving social commentaries, then you’ll need to move along because there’s nothing here for you but if, like me, you can step into different genres with the ease of a hand sliding into a silk lined glove and if you don’t won these tracks on vinyl then this CD is a must for you. So... off you pop and secure you’re copy from soul junction at http://www.soujunctionrecords.co.uk tell em I sentcha. Dave Moore March 2014 Listen Track Listings 1. Oliver Cheatham - “Don’t Pop The Question(If You Can’t Take The Answer)” 3:21 2. Jesse James - “I Can Feel Your Love Changing” 3:46 3. August Heat - “Fly Away” 4:42 4. E .R.I.C (Extra Rich In Class) - “Backstage” 5:35 5. A udio (Featuring Vince Broomfield) - “Won’t Somebody” 4:09 6. Clayton Hoo ker - “Have You Had Enough” 3:25 7. David Washington - “Games” 4:42 8. Pix’y - “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” 4:40 9. Vince Broomfield - “Remember September”(Instrumental) 4:52 10. Natural Impulse - “Thank You Baby” 4:52 11. Clayton Hoo ker - “Say It Again” 2:25 12. Bill Spoon - “I Can’t Wait (Until The Weekend)” 3:33 13. N atural Impulse - “We’re Gonna Make It Through” 4:11 14. One Nation - “I Like Your Style” 3:07 15. Darold Ghoulston - “Love That’s Real” 4:31 Soul Junction page link - hit to read more info and purchase... LouiseMar 19 2014 07:10 AM Thanks for the review Dave But I would just like to point out to the readers that the Jesse James in question (a.k.a James McClelland) was originally from Richmond, California and has for some considerable time now been a resident of Stockbridge ,Georgia.Therefore he is not the same guy as the Jesse James out of Philadelphia. Dave Soul Junction tfk likes this MarkH Mar 28 2014 05:36 PM Top quality cd from start to finish. Great to be reminded of the calibre of previous releases such as David Washington , Audio , Jesse James and Bill Spoon but to me the icing on the cake is the previously unissued Natural Impulse cut. Lovely track. Another winner from Soul Junction. Mark Houghton http://www.souljunctionrecords.co.uk/SJCD5007.html