Andy Rix

Ady Croasdell was asked to list his Top 5 Detroit recordings, by Keith Rylatt, for the Groovesville USA website. For some of us it came as no surprise to see the inclusion of a Sharon Scott recording given how he has championed her work since discovering a batch of her songs in the infamous RCA Vaults find. Anyone visiting the site will see this review "SHARON SCOTT I'm Not Afraid (unissued RCA/Pied Piper master tape and acetate) Kent CD From the fabulous trawl of Pied Piper masters from the RCA vaults, I could have chosen brilliant tracks by Lorraine Chandler, Nancy Wilcox or the Metros but this is the one I never tire of hearing. It's understated arrangement just builds and builds on a ferocious rhythm and Sharon sings wistfully and enigmatically: somebody please find this girl." I'm pleased that last night I was able to tell Ady that somebody had indeed found that girl. Alive, well and happy, as a Church Minister, in the USA. It's been a 10 year, on and off, search with not many clues to go on. Prior to the release of the first 'Rare, Collectable And Soulful' Kent CD I recall asking Lorraine Chandler about Sharon. She responded that she was from Philadelphia but had no other information. Conversations over the years with various Stateside figures yielded nothing more; Jack Ashford was unable to add anything of substance. A further trawl threw up a reference to one Sharon Scott being a member of a late 50s group, from Harrisburg PA, called The Chanels aka The Five Chanels aka Virgil & The Four Chanels. Their recordings for Julius Dixon's Deb label remain of interest to collectors of that genre To cut a long, and tedious, story short my detective work finally paid off last night when a cold call, just like the one to Margaret Little, hit the spot. Residing many miles from her Harrisburg origins, the now 70 year old Sharon, born on 1st Jan 1942, was speechless to hear of the admiration and affection afforded to her by the rare soul community. She doesn't use a computer, has no interest in the internet and, therefore, has never 'googled' herself. I suggested that maybe she should. She's had a lovely life. She remembers her songs well and looked back with a sense of pride. She's lived in New York, Detroit, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia and it sounds like she's loved every minute. We will of course send her the iconic Pied Piper/RCA tracks and there will be a 'proper' interview as opposed to my erratic ramblings. I suggested to her that she should come and sing for us but she said her faith meant that she only now sings for God. We've all heard he moves in mysterious ways so I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I was thrilled to speak to her after searching for so long. Ady was really thrilled to have had his plea answered ... and Sharon, well she said she was "humbled" by what I told her. We'll keep you posted Andy Rix