Andy Rix

I've spoken about the Mello Souls before ... Chalky is the one with the sense to keep track of threads going back over the years so if required he can post anyting of interest The track was mastered at Virtue ... the publishing was Mary Hill Music .. named after the wife of Frank Virtue. Mary died a few years ago in a bizarre accident when clearing snow from her front porch after heavy snow fall .. the porch collapsed and she was crushed. Anyway..... . I would think any acetate, given what I know, could only be a Virtue one given they were done at the mastering / recording stage The flip side is called 'i've got my pride' Silas Phifer has been dead for a few years now. The co-writer George Wilson is nowhere to be found. He did compose some tracks published by Jamie/Guyden but they have had no contact for years Will anybody ever find the remaining stock ... I don't think so .. enough have tried to locate those involved and have all fallen short Unless there is divine intervention it will remain one of the rarest of the rare Andy

I have two Dollettes 45s on ABC ... the review above was written by me for Shades of Soul in the early 80s Small Talk ( doesn't bother me) ( Edward Thomas, Bob Mcree, Cliff Thomas) & Free From The Chains Of Love (Thomas - Thomas) ABC 10625 and the aforementioned ... Believe It or Not / I'm A Lonely Girl I've only seen issues and all have the same pressing fault As mentioned there is the Gloria Edwards version Andy

There are three known vocal versions ... all unreleased The Sherrys .. as played by Butch .. i don't think anybody knows who it really is. This was the demo version Shirley Turner .. the one I used to call Cindy Scott .. she recorded this on her 18th birthday in 1965 and said the 'Sherrys' version is the one she listened to to learn the words Peggy Byres - a later recording, probably from 68, and sounding the closest to the 'Bird Walking' track .. Kenny Burrell own this the only other thing Shirley ever did was play tambourine on 'Eddie's My Name' The irony is that Shirley knew Cindy Scott as they were at the same school Andy

This should be a scan of the acetate Andy

As Dave says Pat had the original acetate at Stafford and called it Robbie Lawson ... the acetate has a blank label with the title 'Mister Misery' written on by hand. The only difference I can tell is that the acetate has a countdown intro and has no strings ... when it was issued, as Padded Cell, Larry Nestor added strings The lead singer on the record is a guy called Marv Jonesi. I sent him a CD of the tracks a few years ago when Larry put us in touch. I still have the original acetate somewhere. Andy

I didn't think you were being funny at all . It was a totally valid observation and a good question to ask. the fact that I adore Switch Around' just shows it's different strokes for different folks. I guess the important thing is they both got played and people had the chance to decide for themselves I'm really pleased Kae Williams is still out there and giving people enjoyment Andy

Not quite .. I did rate it but I didn't like it as much as the other stuff I was playing so it was down the pecking order. A lot of people did like it so it was sensible to listen to the opinion of others who often had better taste than I did. I think i was pretty narrow minded but not completely oblivious Andy

In response to Jumping Joan Why would you play a track you thought was average? ... I think it' was about what I wanted to do at the time which was to play uptempo rare soul. So when compared to stuff like .. Marrying Kind .. Switch Around .. World Of Happiness ... Crying Time... The Hurting Is Over ... and so on, this didn't seem that exciting to me. Rob always loved the track so encouraged me to give it a push.. I liked it but didn't love it Would you play a 'known' track you thought was average? .. probably not .. Andy

"So you have the acetate and gave a few carvers to your mates, fair play !!!!" Not exactly ..there is no 'rea' acetate ... just the original master tape from which my acetate was cut via a CD. It was Rob Thomas who subsequently gave CDs to others to do with as they wished. I was never that enthusiastic about the track. I thought it was average. Rob simply loved it Andy

As has been said it is Kae Williams - There was a time - unissued I covered it up as Herman Lewis - Our Love is Dying I'm not exactly sure when I first played it but seem to think it might have been at a Cleethorpes Weekender .... I'm fairly certain it was when I first played Moses Smith - Try My Love, which I c/u as Bobby Sheen ... I had them cut on the same acetate Maybe somebody will know when that was but I packed up in in 2003, I think, so it would have been a couple of years prior to that Andy

I am deeply saddened to hear this news. Glen was indeed one of the best; the cream of the crop. I remember DJing for him on a few occasions and I always had the utmost respect for his passion and enthusiasm. I offer my condolences to his family and friends Andy Rix

This is terribly sad news and I extend my sympathy to his family and friends. From the many posts it is obvious to those of us who only knew him from a distance that he was a man who was loved, and respected, by many. His contribution was legend and the tributes are fitting for a man who was so widely admired. Rest in peace Andy Rix

thank you all I've always had a thirst for knowledge that went beyond the vinyl. As has been said it gives life to what we listen to and, for me, makes it more real and personal. That was one of the main reasons for doing the Shrine stuff. I'm simply following in the steps of people like Gilly et al (Hi Gilly) who always knew the value in finding out the facts and then telling the story. Our conversation last night wasn't in-depth but I will go back to her and do a proper job. I didn't tell her the 45 had been 'reissued' or how much it has sold for ... I thought that might be a little insensitive and would turn what was a joyous conversation into something that might have left a bad taste afterwards. I'll approach this one step at a time and see where it goes. Be assured that the search for the mystery Gene chap will continue. The irony is that, like others, I've been dipping in and out of this search for a few years. My latest approach was talking to Louvain Demps, of the Andantes, as I suspected it might be them singing the BVs. I knew they used to moonlight for Popcorn on some of his recording sessions. That was a dead end. This diverted me from calling a number I've had for about 9 months and I only did it last night as a spur of the moment thing. You can imagine my shock when, after a few questions to 'test' me, Margaret confirmed I'd got the right person. I was actually lost for words. More later Andy

Like many I've always strived to reach out to those who created the music we hold so dear. The incentive has not just been about the search for elusive 45s but also to try and gather information about those individuals and their story. I've just come off the phone to a very bemused Margaret Little, in Detroit, who for the first time has been told that her recordings of 'Love finds a way' & 'I need some loving' escaped beyond the Detroit city limits to be appreciated by others. It was sad to hear that Margaret has never owned a copy of the 45, barely remembered the former and had no memory of the latter. She was lost for words when I played her poor quality recordings of them. She said her memory is not the best having suffered a small stroke a few years ago but recalls being taken by Gene, surname forgotten, to Motown for an audition. She was rejected as not being what they were looking for compounded by the fact that she was "a little plain" in the looks department. Gene wanted to record her so went over to see Popcorn and a deal was done. The 45 was cut, Gene kept the stock, she never received a copy, never heard it played so decided it wasn't her time and moved on. I wasn't really prepared for my conversation so need to call her back to get a better story. She is going to talk to her sister to try and add some more bits to the jigsaw. I'll share what I discover. I'd at least like to be able to send her a top quality recording of the tracks and maybe scans of the labels. She'd like to be able to share the dream she once had with her family. So ... if any of the current owners want to help out then please drop me a line .. AndyRix@aol.com Thanks Andy

Thanks Dave I had a look on Soulful Detroit but could only find the odd reference. Trawled through my mags last night but nothing to find. I'm quite surprised that nothing of substance has ever been written on his career given the groups he was involved with. I'm happy for somebody to prove me wrong on that point. The offer of connecting to his family is appreciated but not needed just now. Regards Andy

Hi Does anybody know if there's ever been a comprehensive article written on Joe Stubbs that chronicles his recording career. I have a vague memory that one was done many years ago, possibly in a fanzine like Shades of Soul, but I'm struggling to remember any further details Any help in pointing me in the right direction would be appreciated Thanks in advance Andy

Chris Savory did have a white demo ... a photocopy was featured, as I recall, on the front of one of his mags but I can't find it to say exactly which one When I spoke to Chris about it he told me he'd done a VIP listing in a previous edition with VIP 25006 listed as unreleased/unknown .... a copy of the 45 then arrived in the post from Tom De Pierro with a note that here was the missing number .. or something like that anyway Wonder what happened to that copy ? Andy

The simple answer is no he didn't "At some point in 1965 the decision was taken to launch Frank Wilson as a Motown artist in his own right. At the latter end of the year, almost certainly during October, he went into Armin Steiner's 8 track Sound Recorders studio, in Los Angeles, to cut some songs...... The session musicians for the day were pulled from the studio regulars that included Billy Strange, Glen Campbell, Hal Blaine, Al De Lory, Carol Kaye and Tommy Tedesco. Frank seems to think that he played keyboard but clearly recalls that he sang backing vocals with the help of Brenda and Patrice Holloway. Both tracks were produced by Hal Davis and Marc Gordon." This is taken from the piece I wrote for John when the 45 was auctioned. The full article was on his site for a while and was reproduced in the catalogue that was on sale at the time Hope that helps Andy

As Kev said owned by James Chavis. His publishing company was named after the street on which he lived, Vandever, until a few years ago. My last contact, with his son, about 2 years ago revealed that James was still around and living in a retirement home aged 92. When I'd spoken to James previously he wasn't that interested in discussing the old days Andy

Here's the Sound sleeve ... I hope Andy

I've listened to the track ... i'm 99.999999% sure it isn't Mike Terry. Just isn't tight enough Andy

this might be a reference to the Edgewood 10" acetate, which had probably 6 tracks on, that were all unreleased Enjoyables tracks. They were probably cut during their Capitol Records period. The acetate was in pretty poor shape and sound quality was pretty bad. It belonged to Maxx Kidd. andy

I recall that Steve Jackson, from Lincolnshire, played Purple Mundi - Stop Hurting Me Baby .. about 1977, when he c/u it up as The Ideals ... I seem to think he got it from Soul Bowl Steve was way ahead of the times when it came to 70s sounds and predicted the birth of Modern Soul before many of us even entertained it as a possibility. I personally thought his claims that the records he played me back then would become monsters was aspirational to say the least .... given I was very 60s driven... but his vision was true and I have to say one that was based on good taste ..... he pioneered tracks like the Vee Gees, Four Tracks, Dolly Gilmore and so many more. So ... credit where it's due. There are many inspirational DJ's and collectors and Steve was certainly one of them He taught me a lot Andy

This is very sad news. Alan was a true gent. A caring and considerate man who always had a smile. His love of music was infectious and his dedication honorable. My thoughts go out to Judy. I'll think of him often Andy

The story is a simple one .. Rob & I were given a number of unissued things from a contact in the States. As I recall included in this batch was the Avons alternate version of 'When the boy that you love is loving you' .... we did the thing that Ady did with some of his early unissued finds to protect the source and covered it up. Kae Williams was therefore known as 'Herman Lewis - Our Love is dying' for the first 12 month, or so, of it's life. My vague memory is this might have made it's debut when I played it at a Cleethorpes weekender but the passage of time tends to fog things. I guess this must have been about 7 years ago or maybe even a little longer. I certainly recalling playing it at Scenesville which would make it a good 7 years ago. Rob always rated the tune highly, at the time I wasn't quite as enthusiastic as he was but over a period of time it did sound better and better. Given my exit from DJing and Rob's gradual reduction in that area the track did get given to a few people to continue playing. This isn't the only thing that has been passed on for similar reasons.... 'Switch Around' springs to mind Personally i'm really pleased that it has continued to grow in popularity and it's a credit to DJs like Andy Dyson and Marco et al who are committed to pushing quality tunes which are a perfect reflection of their good taste. Regards Andy