Roburt

Anyone know how the Chicago related Contributors Of Soul 45 ("Look What You Done For Me") ended up getting released on the NY based New Miss Record label ? New Miss was 100% New York based and had connections to Sir Charles Matthews (Village Soul Choir, etc.) and Benny Gordon !! One of the cuts they put out ..........

I was a Sprotboro lad mesen, went to night school @ Granville Rd Tech College (above Sheffield Midland Stn) but attended Sunday nites @ the Mojo initially then started going to the niters there. Great place; great crowd, great atmosphere !! A picture of where the Mojo used to be; the club stood back from the road where the white block of flats now stand.

Another soul related night that springs to mind took place a few weeks before 1967 kicked in .... Radio London (the pirate stn) organised a UK tour for (mainly) British R&B bands, with Georgie Fame & his Band topping the bill. The main mod attraction (by that date) was Geno Washington & The RJB, even though Chris Farlowe, Eric Burdon & New Animals, Eyes of Blue & Butterfield Blues Band (from US) were also on the bill. Anyway the tour played a number of Yorkshire / Lancs dates in late October 66 ....... RADIO LONDON tour Oct / Nov 66 -- Georgie Fame: Sat Oct 22nd, Odeon, Leeds; Sun Oct 23rd, Gaumont, Doncaster; Tues Oct 25th, Odeon, Manchester; Weds Oct 26th, Odeon, Liverpool; Thurs Oct 27th, Gaumont, Sheffield. The Dony crowd attended the Sunday night (23rd Oct) show @ the Dony Gaumont and we were rewarded with having Pete Stringfellow as the compere that night (the Radio London DJs who normally acted as show compere's all being busy in London that day / night). Can't remember much about the show though (the brain cells are dying fast). I do remember that in that October, Georgie Fame's (& Bobby Hebb's) "Sunny" was high on the pirate stn charts (Radio London & Caroline) + Geno Washington's "Que Sera Sera" was on the R. London chart along with 45's by Eric B & Animals, Chris Farlowe, Shotgun Express, Alan Bown ("Emergency 999") & Jimmy James & V's ("Ain't Love Good, Ain't Love Proud"). Also on the charts were tracks by the 4 Tops, Temptations, Ike & Tina, Lee Dorsey, Johnny Wyatt & Robert Parker with Billy Stewart, Dean Parrish, Jackie Edwards, Mitch Ryder things also getting spins.

Great record.

I've asked him the question (+ others) & await his replies. I'll post up the info when I have it.

Warren Schatz was only involved with a little soul stuff, he did much more on the disco & pop sides of things. However he is remembered for his work on the Loma sides made by the Voicebox. Warren tells me that he made those tracks and they were licensed for release on Loma (as an act of friendship) by Jerry Ragovoy. Warren produced and arranged the cuts and even played drums on them (though he admits himself that he's no drummer). I guess he's still a little fazed by the popularity that "I Want It Back" achieved in the UK .........

Another big Balto show he was on in 68 ..... I guess the song the handbill refers to ("Candy, Candy") was really "(My Girl Is Made of) Candy" ...

It has been reported in the Baltimore press that Franklin Kennedy -- lead singer of Frankie & the Spindles has passed away aged 67. RIP Frankie . https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/obituaries/bs-md-ob-franklin-kennedy-20160427-story.html The group started out in the mid 60's as Frankie & the Spinners but soon amended their name. They recorded from 1968 till 1977. They were a mainstay on the Baltimore club scene. More on Frankie & Spindles ...

Franklin (Frankie) C Kennedy, lead singer of Baltimore's Frankie & the Spindles has passed away, aged 67. Tap to view this Soul Source News/Article in full

Spoke with Lou again this week and he was tellin' me about the song he helped write that Edwin Starr shopped to 20th Century for him back around 1980. Seems Edwin was using 20th Century Fox's desire to lease the track to help swing him a renewal of his own record deal. But Edwin's deal fell through, so he wouldn't let them have Lou's track ("Patch Up"). Many years later, Edwin cut his own version of the song .... Lou says Edwin retained the master tape for Lou's version (cut in LA), so it should still be out there somewhere .. see here to listen to Edwin's version .... ...... https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002HTWODI?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0 Lou also told me about coming over to the UK with Edwin (the Ric Tic tour). He thought he'd fetch a few 45's along to see if he could interest any Brits in buying them. So he took 25 copies of his GLO 7" along to the 1st gig in Hinckley and everyone of them sold in a few minutes. He instantly wished that he had brought 100+ copies of the 45 with him. That was his 1st time performing for a UK soul audience. He recalls Edwin dividing the audience into 2 halfs (Lou played guitar on 3 songs on each show during the tour -- he can read music, so the fact that he didn't really know the songs didn't matter at all). Anyway, Edwin got each side of the room to sing along with the song in turn as a sort of contest. Lou couldn't believe what he was seeing. He instantly fell in love with UK soul fans. Jumping back in time, Lou told me about the fascination of the Cleveland soul musicians with the Motown sound. The Clevelandtown guys wanted to find what the magic was, so they'd hire in Detroit guys to work on stuff. Lou also made trips to Detroit as early as 1963. He would go to local clubs and at the Chit Chat he met & got to know the likes of Benny Benjamin, Earl Van Dyke & James Jamieson. Back then, they would be playing jazz & soul numbers for the club's audience. Lou always wanted to meet Beans Bowles but said he never got to. ....... MORE NEXT TIME .......

likealaff, were you a Mojo goer back in the mid 60's ... if so, where did you live back then ??

I (with the help of Bernie O'Brien, Lou R & Nancy Yahiro) set up the trip for numerous UK soul fans ... we headed straight to Vegas (via in-direct flights .. but that's another story). Spent about a week in Vegas visiting soul shows in various Casinos -- Isley Bros, Touch of Silk, Bobby Wade & Emperors (Imperials really) plus more. Visited some record shops + recording studios, etc. Went to Motown Cafe (after letting them know we were coming) & was filmed by LA News crew. Spent time with Lou, Freddie Empire & more. Shot over to LA for a show Nancy organised (with Brenda Holloway & Nth Calif Mod Soul Band) then held big live show in Vegas (with about 15 soul artists in attendance). Quite a few US based fans also attended (Greg Tormo & more). After about 8 days, everyone headed home (though Dave Leedham headed off to spend time in LA with an old mate & the wife & I visited our son in Hoboken -- where Greg Tormo was kind enough to take me to a big NY record show). So, all in all, we had a great time. BTW, it was February 98 when the trip took place.

Knew Mick for many years, at niters & the like. A good fella, last saw him on a regular basis when he went to the soul nights in Newbury. RIP

With a name like John Smith (& me being very late to join this site), I had a struggle to find a name not already taken, so I corrupted my middle name (Robert) as my ID. Seems there will not be a Mojo CD as Ady thinks there aren't enough 'under-used tracks' that could feature on it. So, I guess this is where we met then .......... the night that Lou Ragland organised for me (& the visiting Brits) ........

A section from the 'Alan Bown Set' book ............

Guess this is the 45 version then (from 72 it says) ...........

Stringers appears in this clip ... talkin' bout King Geno & the King Mojo ....

What, this one .............

It's now being reported that Billy Paul has passed (though earlier this was thought to be a scam). Seems that it is unfortunately true !!!

BTW, some discogs list Billy as being the guy who also worked in Detroit (as 'Billy the Kid' on cuts by Theresa Lindsay & Pat Lewis). That wasn't so. That was Gene Dozier (after his spell with Motown), Gene using the name of a 'more famous' Philly guy to get 'an IN' with the folks in Detroit. Someone who knows the Philly recording scene better than me should do a full run-down on Billy's many musical achievements.

Famed Philly writer / producer / arranger dies Tap to view this Soul Source News/Article in full

Not only did Lou arrange this Imperial Wonders 45, but he also played drums on the track ... coz the group's drummer just couldn't get it right !!! Lou also played guitar & bass on the track, but he was supposed to do that. This was almost the 1st time most of the Imperial Wonders had been in a studio (Agency in Cleveland) & so they were a bit raw. Lou cut 4 tracks on them that day. Lou says that the group's lead singer, Leo Green, had a great voice & was really easy to work with in the studio.

Another montage of Mojo / Stringfellow related bits ......... ... the Fantastics had just changed their name from the Fabulous Temptations & had appointed Stringers as their new UK manager. If the big Queens Hall show had been held around 7 / 8 weeks earlier, Stringers would no doubt have had the Topics on as well (they had just been touring the UK as the Impressions).