Dmc

The Clock Stoppers were a Chicago group, recorded in Chicago. The act are reported to have been from the Kenwood neighborhood and likely approached Saturn label owner Alton Abraham for help in putting the record out (hence the Enterplan publishing). Though Sun Ra and the Arkestra relocated to Philadelphia circa late 1968, Abraham remained in Chicago and conducted the label's business from there through the late 60s and 70s. No members of the Arkestra play on the Clock 45, which is a scarce item, as I've only encountered 2-3 copies in many years of record hunting in Chicago.

Hillyard's final years were spent in Merced, California, where he had a "store" for a time. His first foray into the record biz was most likely at Imperial, but I do know for a fact he worked at Riva Records in the late 70s. There is a Riva-produced book from 1979 entitled Trend Setters which contains one of the few vintage Hillyard photos I've seen. According to the book, John was from Montreal.

Being in Chicago, I've found/had at least six copies of the Mystery Men 45, only one of which played the Living Color instrumental. The label and deadwax markings (NMP-PH-1002) are identical on each Penthouse pressing, so it's a case of having to play the 45 in order to determine which version you're dealing with. Also interesting to note that the Living Color 45 shows an RCA mastering job in the deadwax, where the Mystery Men does not. I think this is simply a case of a mix-up at the pressing plant, and not any kind of special product aimed for the Northern market.

Pretty sure the town of Niles that is cited in the article is the one located in Michigan, not Illinois.

The plant was Apex Record Pressing at 7247 S. Racine, owned in part by Sunny Sawyer. If one were to own every record pressed at Apex, they would certainly have a premier collection of 60s soul and garage from the Illinois-Wisconsin-Indiana tri-state area. A quick list of Apex-pressed soul monsters includes COD's "She's Fire" and Combinations on Kellmac, Walter & The Admerations on La-Cindy, Ben Brown on Steeltown, Emeralds on Vick, Del-Tours on Starville, Aspirations on Peaches, and on and on. Apex seems to have been the go-to for smaller indies in Chicago in the 60s, as the other plants like Sheldon and United were likely clogged with orders from the larger operations in the city like Chess and the Leaner stable of labels.

https://gripsweat.com/item/352284445739/the-black-exotics-i-hate-hate-boogie-to-the-beat-mark-i-45-macon-ga-hear-mp3

I have a suspicion that the above article was basically cribbed from this one that appeared in 2018: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/counterfeit-queen-soul-180969340/

Not an uncommon occurrence, so that could be the case. Also to consider is that many times the name of the act that appears on a 45 is not the actual performing name a particular group used, so the fact that many Detroit folks have not heard of the Tootsie Rollers or the Martiniques could be caused by that.

Taylor was actually from Toledo, Ohio, and like many Toledo acts he did most of his studio work in Detroit. His move to Los Angeles in the mid-60s resulted in most of the records with his name on them, beginning with the R.T. & The Pot Lickers 45 on Hooks. It's safe to assume that the Me-O artists are mostly Los Angeles-based acts, but with Taylor shuttling production between LA and Detroit/Toledo. Taylor also had his hand in writing the Originals 45 on Associated Artists 1464, again a Los Angeles release. As far as I know, Romeo Taylor is still alive and well, as a friend interviewed him recently regarding his career.

The Brothers Of Soul on Rhythm is from east Arkansas, so very unlikely it's related to the Lifetime record in any way. "Brothers Of Soul" is one of the most common band names in 60s and early 70s soul (similar to The Outcasts or The Chosen Few in the garage genre), so to immediately link any groups sharing this moniker is a fool's errand.

The only Way Out releases actually pressed at Boddie are the Exceptional 3 (101), Bobby Wade (102/ 3) and Norman Scott (01). Both versions of the Jesse Fisher "Beginner" have the Boddie "B" inscription in the deadwax, meaning it was likely plated there, but the actual pressing was done at ARP.

Deke 5411 is credited to Jimmie Lee Jones, so that may be a source of the confusion. Jones also cut "Do It Yourself/ If I Had A Hammer" on Gospel Truth 1215 in 1974. I think the Jimilynn 45 might be the work of Jimmy "Handyman" Jones rather than the Chicago artist.

Baxter was Jerry Baxter, a Cleveland drummer and producer with close ties to the O'Jays. Baxter was certainly in Los Angeles for a short spell, as evidenced by the Jerry & the Medicine Men 45 on Edco. I assume that Wright-Hanson-Baxter made a production deal with Uptown in LA and culled most of their talent from Cleveland.

Addition: Sacca Twins Revue “You Got To Funkafies/ Ooh Baby Baby” (Virtue 61975) 1975

Lucky / Lucky Inc. 1000 The Embracers “Stop And Let Yourself Go/ Mr. Sunrise” 1004 Otis Leavill “Gotta Right To Cry/ Rise Sally Rise” 1005 Singing Sam & his Sparks “Messin/ Box Lunch” 1005 Velle Scott “You’re Gonna Cry Some/ Merry Christmas” 1009 Phil Orsi & the Little Kings “C’mon Everybody/ Oh My Darling” 1015 Phil Orsi & the Little Kings “Don’t You Just Know It/ ???” 0017 Doc Oliver “Going Thru’ A Change Of Love/ Inst.” 1779 Doc Oliver and the Sergeons “Tighten Up Your Game/ Inst.”

Lee Bonds "It's Not But So Much Love Can Do" on Unidad from South Carolina.

I addition to the "normal" releases on SA, there are several custom jobs on the label as well. At least two of these 45s were the result of Walt Maddox's Super M Talent search in 1974, with The Family being a superior funk release. I would also love to see what kind of discography could be cobbled together.

Brave and Extremely Brave were the same label, both vanity imprints of Hayden Thompson's Brave Studio in Harvey, Illinois. Pretty sure Sugar were from Maywood, Illinois. Lead singer Ross Young has a later solo 45 on Cash entitled "Super Woman" and member Samuel Dupre's name can be found on a few marginal releases from the late 70s.

001 Rev. Will Garvin "Lord, Let It Be / Pt. 2" 1979

Here's what I've compiled over the years: Boo-Ga-Loo 101 Mary Johnson “I’m Tired/ Inst.” 102 Jerry O “Karate Boo-Ga-Loo/ The Pearl” 104 Jerry O “Popcorn Boo-Ga-Loo/ Pt. 2” 107 Jerry O “The Funky Chicken Yolk/ Get A Line” 108 The Ideals “The Mighty Lover/ Dancing In The USA” 110 Jerry O “Scratch My Back/ Soul Pearl” 111 Tom & Jerrio “(Papa Chew) Do The Boo-Ga-Loo/ Pt. 2” 112 Green Grunchon’s All-Stars “Guys And Gals Bounce/ Ode To Wash Alley Girls” 466 Jerry O “Funky Four Corners/ Soul Lover” 466 Milton Jefferson “Cole Slaw/ ???” 468 The Mighty Lovers “The Mighty Lover/ Soul Blues” 468 The Ideals “The Mighty Lover/ Soul Blues” Double Soul 107 E. Rodney Jones & Larry and the Hippies Band “Right On-Right On/ Chicken On Down” 108 The Bronzettes “Moments/ (Beggin) Baby Don’t Leave Me” 110 E. Rodney Jones “Pushing The Buck/ Soul Sister” 112 Scoop Sanders “I’m The Boss/ Pt. 2” DS-1044 Barnie Hayes “Tribute To A Black Woman/ Pt. 2” Jerry O 101 Plookie McCline “Uncle Willy/ The Gorilla Walk” 101 Charles McCline “You Conquered Me/ Say That You Care” 103 Willie Logan & the Plaids “You Conquered Me/ Say That You Care” 104 Bobby Rush “Let Me Love You/ Someday” 105 The Dukays “The Jerk/ Mo Jerk” 106 The Dukays “Mellow-Feznecky/ Sho Nuf M.F.” SP-106 Mutt and Jeff “Soul L-O-V-E-R/ Soul Blues” 107 Maurice Miller Trio “Fly Me To The Moon/ Karachi” EX-801 Maurice Miller Trio “Fly Me To The Moon/ Karachi” 110 Paul Tate “Fool For You/ Save Your Love” 110 Tom & Jerrio “Boo-Ga-Loo/ Boomerang” 111 Tom & Jerrio “Papa Chew Do The Boo-Ga-Loo/ Pt. 2” 112 Joe Berry “(Do) Wang Dang Doodle/ Inst.” Larry-O 101 Charles (Plookie) McCline “You Conquered Me/ Say That You Care” 404 Johnny Moore “What More Can I Do/ Let’s Get It Together”

There's at least two gospel LPs on Incentive as well.

The "Funky Preacher" 45 is probably the rarest of the Cold T releases, and one of the best if you ask me. It seems an unknown Loretta release appears every year or so...pretty obscure stuff outside of Chicago. In addition to the two Beige LPs and the Billy Hinton solo LP, here's what I know on the label: LO-1950 Cold T "Pieces Of A Love Affair/ Think Of Nice Things To Say" 1975 LO-1951 Cold T "Fall In Love (Lady Love)/ Ain't No Love At All" 1976 LO-1952 Cold T "Funky Preacher/ Inst." 1977 959 Cold T "You Ain't Never Seen A Roach/ Pt. 2" 1979 LOX-1962 TBA "Plastic City/ Somebody's Love" 1980 761 Beige "A Challenge/ Give Her Up" 1983 LO-5835 Billy Hinton "Holiday/ Pt. 2" 1984

Never seen Prez Kenneth "Devil Dealing" as 011, probably a typo as the R&B Indies is rife with error. Add: 012 Buddy Scott & the Rib-Tips "Slippin' And Slidin'/ I Ride Alone" no # The Fabulous Go-Go's "Traffic Light/ If We Only Knew"

United International was one of journeyman producer George Redman's many labels. Cornelius Neal (actual spelling) and the Smart Brothers were from Wichita, Kansas, but came to Chicago to do much of their early recording (presumably at IRC Studios on Evergreen St. on the city's north side). The same session that yielded United International 111 also provided the Summits "Toy Soldiers," which had Smart Brothers backing and was also released on United International. Redman's associated label, United Continental, was also active at this time, issuing two records by the Skytons, but I don't believe there is any Smart Brothers involvement there. Cornelius Neal was from the very musical Neal family, and recorded solo sporadically throughout the late 60s and 70s, his most common record being the Soul Craft 45 as CC Neal. He also sang on the two Smart Brothers singles on Vantage, the Hard Road on Kanwic, and the Chocolate Snow on Solo. Chocolate Snow went to Los Angeles in the late 70s and released a 45 as Mojave that has been getting attention from the Modern Soul crowd. The Smart Brothers also aired a rare 45 on Moneytown (another Redman imprint) from the mid-60s called "Felz Necks and Cool Gents," and this was probably cut at the same time as the Cornelius Neal on United International.

The blue issue is the earlier of the two, recorded at Appalachia Sound (hence the Lantern Light BMI) and pressed at Musicol. The immediate second issue on the green label was pressed at Musicol, but was "distributed" by the IRDA scheme in Nashville (Hit Kit was one of their many publishing fronts). The follow-up 45 on Black Forest by Earth's Delight is a complete IRDA job.