Rick Cooper

Dave Thanks for your help again, they are all the ones I have on the old tape. The Sir Shambling site is a great help once I know the artists name. Rick

Thanks for your help with these two. The James Barnett track sounds like a duo but must have been Rick Hall messing about in the studio. Track 8 is Bobby Harris (there's an MP3 on the Sir shambling site).

From an old cassette of some 60s US singles I need some help to identify the artists and labels for these: 6. "Have a Heart" Male vocal and backing singers Lyric sample: Hello baby whats on your mind/ What's the use of treating you nice and kind/ Cause when a man loves a woman like I love you 7."The Right to Love You" Male vocal ,guitar and horns Lyric: Baby I don't want to be the one that hurts you/ Baby I don't want to be the one that causes you pain 8. "That's When I'll Stop Loving You" Male vocal (sounds like Sam Cooke) Lyric; Believe me when I tell you darling/ I ain't never gonna stop loving you/ I know, I know, I know/ When the wind no longer blows/ When the stars no longer glow 9. "Take a Good Look" Male duo, with horns Lyric; Take a good look/ Take your last look/ At the man who once loved true 10."Don't Go Away" Male vocal ,guitar intro and horns Lyric; Don't go away you don't know how I need you/ Don't go away I need someone to cling to/ Can't you see I'm crying/ feel like I'm dying. thanks Rick

Dave , The Frankie Lee is the right song but not the version I have so must be Reuben Bell. Hopefully I'll be able to get hold of a copy of this and the others now I know what to look for. thanks Rick

Bob Thanks for your help. John"Rootman" Henry is probably the one I have but could be J P Robinson as I can't find a soundclip. Either way I know what to look for now. Rick

Dave Thanks for your help. Bobby Mac and Dellie Hoskie on Noble are the ones, I remembered them as soon as I saw the names. John Henry is the right song and singer but the version I have is slower than the Amber Antique one. Nightingales not the same but I'll listen again. "Wrong Girl" by Betty Wright should be on YouTube but a quick look hasn't shown anything. The song is about a boy and girl who fall in love then find out they are brother and sister which should narrow it down. thanks Rick

I found an old cassette compilation of some US singles that were big in the Netherlands clubs and parties in the late 70s. I only listed the titles so haven't a clue who some of them are by. Found quite a few on Refosoul but would be grateful for any help with identifying artists and labels of these:- 1. "Say It" ( not J J Barnes or Masqueraders) Male vocal with horns and strings Lyric sample If you found someone who loves more than I do then just say it say it say it (Wilson Picket type growls) 2."Lovin on Borrowed Time" (the William Bell song but done similar way to Mitty Collier version ) Male vocal , backing singers, horns, guitar intro Lyric I'm caught in a love trap, captive to your charm 3."The Wrong Girl" Female vocal and backing singers Lyric He walks the streets at night, his shadows follow him in the moonlight. Chorus: he fell in love with the wrong girl 4. "May the Best Man Win" Male with female singers, piano intro and horns Lyric You say that you really love him and I know that you care a little bit about me, You can't make up your mind 5. "How Much Can a Man Take" (not Big John Hamilton) Male vocal , guitar intro and organ Lyric I have a woman, she treats me so mean. There are another 5 or 6 but this will do for a start. I think all were on small US labels from mid sixties to early seventies. Hope someone can help. Rick

I've not got them now but bought these from Oldies Unlimited in Telford around 1977/78; Stone Records:- Precisions- If This is Love Precisions- Instant Heartbreak Precisions- A Place Timmy Willis- Mr Soul Satisfaction Eddie Parker- Love You Baby Multiple copies of all of the Stone releases Brunswick:- Billy Butler- I'll Bet You Warner Bros:- Ben Aitken- Satisfied All these were found scattered through thousands of US singles so how did they get there. At Global Records a huge shipment of mixed US singles included about 50 copies of the Eddie Spencer record (about 20 of them cracked in two).Again why did Canadian issues turn up in the US. Did US companies pick up overstocks from Canada or did Canadian labels ship stuff to US shops. Anyone else find Canadian records in bulk in the US ? Global Dog Productions web site has some Canadian label listings https://www.globaldogproductions.info/ Rick

And here's one for all you dentists out there............... Obviously this is before the soul era but is typical of the blues and R n B music that so outraged parents of white kids who started listening to black radio stations in the 50s. To get plays on the major soul radio stations labels had to clean up such smut but some still got through. Rick

Can't speculate who Manship is referring to but if he had been selling the record in 1975 I would have qualified as the only other person in Europe to own a copy but ,alas , not as the worlds No 1 DJ, more like 101st. If anyone's interested in the history of the Showstoppers test pressing the early part is that I was given two copies by Irvin Weinroth, owner of Showtime and Partytime after I had leased "Ain't Nothing But a Houseparty" for Global's Cream label. I gave one away and kept the other for a few years then sold it with a load of others to either Rod or Francis T. I think Neil Rushton got either one of these copies or the third one from Irvin when he put it out on Inferno. If I remember correctly both copies I had were slightly warped but not cracked and were vinyl white label pressings with no writing on. The record shown on a Youtube video of "Gotta get Closer" which claims to be a Partytime demo looks strange to me as Irving said the record had never been issued . I don't think there would be any more copies as when I had the Cream records pressed the pressing company always sent three test copies. This could be the usually number that all pressing companies would do as standard. If Manship knows of three copies does anyone know , or have a wild guess, who has the other copy outside Europe. Rick

Oops,,, Sorry Robb. I wasn't seriously saying Simon lives in the desert , it was just an example of somewhere away from mainstream society with no internet, google , facebook, twitter and soul source . I could have said a beach hut in Norfolk but that would have been asking for trouble, Rick

I have a few old Simon Soussan lists and this is one of the best examples of his style. It's from June 1973 so could be just before he got into bootlegging big time but when he had started going off into the realms of fantasy. Award yourself points if you can identify all the fictitious titles listed . The claim at the end of the list that he ran a northern soul club in L A where 700 people attended sounds dubious. I couldn't imagine young kids in 73 wanting to hear 60s soul music. To get back to the original question of this thread I think it's strange that Simon never re-appeared 15 or so years ago trying to flog his bootlegs, dodgy instrumentals or even write his memoirs (file under fiction). If he had died he was enough of a bit player in the US record business that it would have been reported or at least someone like Ian D would have heard something. Maybe he is a repentant sinner and lives a simple life in a log cabin in the Arizona desert, but this seems unlikely . However until someone finds out where he is , like it or not, the speculation will go on. Like a lot of villains, of all types, they seem to hold a fascination with the public. Rick

Spot on Kev. How could I ever doubt you? Here's the first Casino add to list Paul Anka as Johnny Caswell "Can't Help Lovin' You" from Blues and Soul No 137 June 18th 1974. Interesting advert as it also lists some of Soussans instrumentals that he made.Did they all get an issue for general sale? In the same issue Frank Elson writes up his interview with Simon Soussan so it must have been about the time he made his infamous visit to the Mecca and his DJ spot at the Casino. Rick

Russell Thanks for putting the link up. It may be simple but only if I knew what paste and url mean.....!!!! Rick.

This may have been posted about before, but if anyone hasn't seen it yet take a look at Robs Big City Soul recent You Tube video. Could be his best yet. Not sure how to put a link up but search for "Chuck Jackson Hand it Over" and click on the entry for Rob. Worth looking at his other stuff as well. Rick

This album and the others in the series would have been imported from Europe by Conifer Records. They had a sales force who sold to most of the record chains in the UK but probably not the small one man shops. The titles they stocked mainly came from the Netherlands, France and Germany, and would be from the Capitol and Liberty back catalogue plus some specialist Classical music labels. UK EMI didn't seem to bother issuing old recordings but demand in Europe seemed to be enough to make it profitable to issue these US recordings. For example UK EMI had a "Best of" Julie London record but Europe had every Liberty LP she made available (at least 12 titles). I think they allowed fairly generous sale or return for shops, and the overstocks and returns ended up in Woolworths . They sold for about £4.50 compared to the UK companies mid price range at £3.00 to £3.50, but probably a lot less in Woolies. There wasn't much Soul product, most of it being 1940 to early 60s MOR, Jazz , Big Band and Pop . Rick

Mark If the Florida thrift shop haul was when stuff like Lee David , George Carrow, Lada Edmund turned up , I think Paul Anka was just before these, but the general consensus is that ICHLV is a Soussan/ Wigan play but I'm not convinced. Ian definitely played it and Soussan wouldn't send a record to Levine. Also Levine tended to play different stuff to Wigan and I thought it was known prior to Wigan. Maybe a trawl through back issues of Blues and Soul could come up with the answer. As to the original question of why play a Paul Anka record when looking for a potential Northern track is probably because some people have said that almost every recording artist active in the US during mid 65 to late 66 recorded a "northern" track. From ageing rockers, country crooners, swinging jazzers, old doo woppers and Italian pretty boys, all were possible candidates. Hence tracks by Elvis Presley Gene Pitney, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Rich and Mel Torme to name a few, got exposure. It was usually the producer, arranger , musicians and song writers who gave the record a northern sound. The singers, as they were often told, were entirely inter changeable. I'm sure many artists could have done I Can't Help Loving You just as well using the same track. Charles Calello was certainly a name I was looking for in the search for new tracks, Others were Herb Bernstein and Bob Crewe on pop artists and Horace Ott , George Kerr, James Carmichael, Mike Terry and loads of others on soul artists. Even a well known northern act needed the right names on the label. Rick

I remember this as being an Ian Levine discovery, covered up at first I think. This was before Richard Searling worked for RCA. Agree that the other names on the record would make it worth a play. Rick

The following may add a little more to the story. According to Johnny Powers and/or Mike Valvano Joey Delorenzo was a car dealer who wanted to have a record made. Mike Valvanno did a deal with Joey for a car( or discount on a car) and Mike recorded Joey on a track he already had. This would be 73 but the track may have been recorded earlier but after Mike V had moved to Albuquerque so not Detroit. There is supposed to be an unreleased version sung by Mike Valvano, but as a producer he could have just done it to have a finished track for consideration of a later issue or other artist. Joey Delorenzo took the finished copies for his own use to maybe give away or sell at clubs he sang at. So basically..... By day, "Honest" Joe Lorenzo ,Albuquerque's premiere used car salesman, by night JOEY DELORENZO New Mexico's top singing sensation (available for weddings and bar mitzvahs) now appearing at the Nero Motel's Pineapple Lounge. Special offer this week, Monday through Thursday, first 100 in get a free copy of Joey's great new single "Wake Up to the Sunshine Girl" Really? No I made the last bit up. Rick

Ian I'd go along with you on Lillie Bryant, Had one but never seen more than 2 or 3 others. Never heard that the Showstoppers "Gotta Get Close To You" came out on Partytime. After leasing "Ain't Nothing But a Houseparty" from Partytime the owner gave me two white label test pressings of " Gotta..." saying it was never released . Would like to see a scan of it.Maybe someone has been creative with a scanner and printer. Rick

Barry was certainly playing it at the Pendulum early seventies. I eventually managed to do a deal for it, kept it for a few years then swapped it for some records from Steve Vickers. Extreme embarrassment, however, prevents me from saying what I swapped it for, suffice to say Lillie Bryant would now buy the records 100 times over. The Lillie Bryant was in rough condition and as other people have said must be very hard to get in mint condition. Rick

Ritchie Yes , the copies of Mikki Farrow were genuine. About 25 copies in a container load that also had Eddie Spencer, Tobi Lark, Jimmy Soul Clarke and stuff on Miracle. Had Global booted it they would have been nasty, thin and warped, credited to Mikki Barrow . Rick

Records as ships ballast is another NS myth. Why would a shipping company sailing from the richest country in the world sailing to Europe have difficulty filing a ship. In the 70's Global in Manchester shipped containers full of singles and LPs from the US and had to book well in advance to get a ship and pay the going rate. Records were dirt cheap in the US and the dollar exchange rate meant a profit could be made even after shipping costs and selling for under 50 pence. The water damaged Motown LPs mentioned by Mark S (post 23) above got wet in a US warehouse when a fire was put out, I spent about 4 days sorting them in a New Jersey warehouse with Ed Balbier of Global. You should have seen the ones we didn't pick. The drilled holes and cut corners of LP covers were so that taxes and royalties didn't have to be paid and distributors couldn't try to send them back to the record label for full price credit. Rick

Drinks coaster.......... OVO?.............of course...........cheers !!!

Pete Thanks for the "Candy" pic. Now I'll have to find one ...... Rick