Ady Of Newark

For over 100 years now Detroit has been a hotbed of musical talent with over 1500 labels operating alongside each other, issuing music from the Motor City alone Having shown an interest in the art of recording at a very young age, by the time he was 12 years old Gary Rubin had built a recording facility in his family's basement which grew to become Pioneer Recordings, a studio at the cutting edge of technology in the heart of Detroit. Here Gary gives a candid account of life in the industry including sharing a studio with Lou Rawls, being raided by the FBI in search of gangsters, moonlighting Motown musicians, to being at the wrong end of a handgun for the sake of some stringed instruments! Unfortunately the audio files are too large to upload here so please visit www.shinyl.co.uk/gary-rubin-detroit-label-owner-producer-recording-engineer gary rubinshinyl p1.mp3

You know that thing where you're singing in a club and some chap comes up afterwards and says 'come with me to LA and i'll make you a star?' Judy Street took the guy at his word and found herself in the studio with the legendary H.B. Barnum and the iconic northern soul song What was born. You can hear Judy's story here, and did i mention she's still recording?

Thanks to Alan Johnston for putting me in touch with the lovely lady that is Elsie Gray, original member of the Debonaires who gave me an insight into her singing career initially as part of the Sterophonics aged just 14 years and then alongside Dot Garland, Joyce Vincent and latterly Diane Hopkins as The Debonaires. Elsie and i chatted about her life in music, within (and outside) Golden World in 60s Detroit and beyond. You can hear our conversation here

We regret to learn of the sad passing of Bonnie on 8th June 2020 and of Anita on 31st December 2022, Interview with Bonnie & Anita Pointer recorded 2018 View full article

Wardell is a dance, disco, funk, R&B music artist legend. She received international acclaim with her hits Super Sweet, Captain Boogie, The Power Of Love along with recent singles Be Sure, Distant Star and Legendary. Plus she was a founding member of 70s Philly vocal trio First Choice Here Wardell recalls her long career in music and discusses her exciting new projects: www.shinyl.co.uk/wardell-piper

Originally recording as Marshall & The Chi-Lites, The Chi-Lites became one of the best known groups of the 70s thanks to mega hits such as Have You Seen Her and Oh Girl. Here Marshall Thompson recounts his life as the driving force behind a group whose records went triple platignum, his pride at their having been awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and their new release, Love On A Two Way Street. Recorded in the nineties, it’s a previously unreleased cover of the Moments’ classic, produced by the legendary George Kerr, which is available now from all streaming sites You can hear our conversation here: www.shinyl.co.uk/marshall-thompson-of-the-chi-lites

Bobby is a man whose resume includes every aspect of the music business. He’s a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, producer, label owner and promoter. At just 10 years old, Bobby began performing publically and as a result he embarked on a career that’s spanned 65 years and counting! During that time he has been honoured with gold discs, awards and accolades and rightly so. Bobby is The Storyteller, and you can hear his story here: https://www.shinyl.co.uk/bobby-patterson/

Legendary jazz drummer, writer, producer & arranger Norman Connors, who’s career has spanned 60 years, has led some influential jazz and R&B groups achieving big hits featuring the vocal talent of Phyllis Hyman, Michael Henderson, Rena Scott, Gloria Jones, Adaritha and Eleanore Mills to name but a few. Here Norman recounts his life in music, announces his autobiography and also his forthcoming CD https://www.shinyl.co.uk/norman-connors/

Known as ‘The Queen of Northern Soul’, Gloria Jones is a singer/songwriter for labels such as Motown, EMI, Sidewalk and Uptown. A prolific backing singer, she also took to the stage performing in musicals such as Hair, she is mother to Marc Bolan’s son Rolan and very much a philanthropist. Fresh from her appearance at the Skegness Northern Soul weekender, Gloria recounts her career, discusses unreleased material and her mission to improve the lives of Sierra Leone children through a self financed free school. You can listen here: www.shinyl.co.uk/gloria-jones/

Patrinell Staten Wright, recording under her maiden name, took Seattle by storm with her self-penned ‘Little Love Affair’. Widely considered to be one of the truly ‘holy grail’ tracks on the UK soul scene, her roots and calling was in the world of gospel music. In 1973 she formed a youth choir called The Total Experience Gospel Choir which disbanded an impressive 45 years later, in October 2018 Here Patrinell chats with Ady about her life in music, travelling the world with her youth choir, meeting the President (having helped him win his election campaign) and her efforts to assist disaster relief. You can hear their chat here: https://shinyl.co.uk/patrinell-staten-wright You can find out more about Patrinell’s life in gospel music here: https://totalexperiencegospelchoir.org

Best known in Europe for his northern soul classic ‘If You Ask Me’, Jerry’s recording career began as a child musician in 1954. He recorded his debut solo release just 6 years later and here gives a humerous insight into grinding out a living in the 60s. He goes on to speak about the birth of Swamp Dogg, his ill-fated association with Jane Fonda’s anti-war movement and being un-invited to the country music awards! His track I Had A Ball (i did it all) really does sum him up…. An amazing 66 years later Jerry has just released his 18th album ‘Sorry You Couldn’t Make It’ which he plans to promote in the UK in 2021. You can hear our chat below: https://www.shinyl.co.uk/jerry-swamp-dogg-williams/ With grateful thanks to Bernie O’Brien for making the interview possible

When Gerald was asked to lend his PA equipment to local band The Manhattans for a performance in his school there was no way he could have known that less than a year later he would join them as lead vocalist, and be attracting sell-out audiences around the world. Here Gerald chats about his life in music with the Manhattans, his solo career at Motown and beyond, his love of Sam Cooke and a return to his gospel roots: https://www.shinyl.co.uk/gerald-alston-of-the-manhattans/

Born into a musical family, Canadian born Eric performed with groups The Pharoes and The Soul Searchers before relocating to New York and embarking on a solo career that took him to a variety of platforms including Stax, Motown and Columbia. An all-round performer, Eric trod the boards of Broadway and also appeared on the silver screen in the movies The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh and American Hot Wax Eric tells us about his latest project, Bright Eyed Woman, a track that precedes an eagerly awaited album. You can hear all about it and more besides, right here: https://www.shinyl.co.uk/eric-mercury/

You know that thing where you double-dare a school friend into entering a beauty pageant, win it and soon wish you hadn’t? Former Miss New York State Linda Clifford began singing professionally at just 4 years old. She appeared on TV and in blockbuster films before returning to the music industry and embarking on a recording career that continues to this day. Here Linda recalls her journey through the entertainment industry, which it turns out hasn’t always been easy. She recounts life on the road as a single parent, about being so ill she had to be tied to a bar stool so she could still perform, about the very personal circumstances behind her disco classic Runaway Love, and so much more. Then, her smash hit If My Friends Could See Me Now, a track that Linda initially rejected, saw her stay at No1 on the dance chart for 26 weeks and was the first of a string of chart successes. Today Linda still performs both as a solo artist and as one third of the First Ladies Of Disco ensemble alongside Martha Wash and Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King You can hear our chat here: https://www.shinyl.co.uk/linda-clifford/

What were you doing aged 6? Mashelle (Shelly) Clark was already a professional entertainer appearing in the Broadway hit ‘House Of Flowers’ and also touring with Cab Calloway in the Cotton Club Revue. She secured a recording contract with Columbia records alongside her brother Elia as one half of the Clark Kids just 2 years later. Spotted by Ike Turner’s assistant, Shelly became an Ikette following an impromtu audition in her own living room and jetted out to join Ike and Tina the following day, however her association was to be cut tragically short after the tour bus she was travelling in became involved in an accident leaving her hospitalised. Undaunted, Shelley went on to tour with Dusty Springfield, Bill Medley, Little Richard and others before being discovered by Eddie Holland and signed, along with Edna Wright and Carolyn Willis, as his flagship act on his Hot Wax imprint, generating 3 million selling singles in the early 70s. Here Shelley recounts her life in music and tells us about the various current projects that keep her and husband Verdine so busy: https://www.shinyl.co.uk/shelley-clark-of-the-honey-cone/

Discovered at a talent show singing with Detroit girl group The Donays, Yvonee was offered a solo contract at Correc-Tone when the group disbanded and created the northern soul anthem Just Like You Did Me. Shortly after she was recruited to replace Saundra Edwards in The Elgins. Yvonne continues to record and perform and is looking forward to coming to England next July as part of the star-studded line-up of the Detroit A Go-Go weekender at Cleethorpes You can hear our chat here: https://www.shinyl.co.uk/yvonne-vernee/

During a recent interview, Eric Mercury told me he'd recorded a full album for Columbia which, aside from the 45 Take Me Girl I'm Ready that was released to promote the LP, remained unissued. He named some of the tracks as Ain't That Good Enough, Do You Believe In Magic and Give In To Love Can anyone shed any light please? TIA Ady

George McCrae’s debut single as a solo artist “Rock Your Baby” was one of the landmark recordings of early disco music. Having sold 11 million copies, it is one of fewer than 40 all-time singles to have sold 10 million (or more) physical copies worldwide. George is still performing, he’s also back in the studio recording his next album, yet still had time for a chat and here he recalls his long and glittering musical career https://www.shinyl.co.uk/george-mccrae/

Happiness is still a life mantra for the bubbly modern soul and house diva Jeanie Tracy who recently enjoyed success with her latest single, Happiness, a reworking of her 1997 release Described by Aretha Franklin as being one of the top ten voices of all time, Jeanie recalls her long and varied career in music, screen, stage and kiddies TV ! You can hear our chat here: https://www.shinyl.co.uk/jeanie-tracy/