Roburt

Not really soul -- UK R&B group / beat group related though. R G Jones studios in Morden & then Wimbledon cut lots of stuff in the 60's, 70's and even later (D-_influence, etc.). Though R G Jones acetates crop up at times on Evilbay and the like and you can even get hold of some of the outfit's Oak Records 45's and EP's, it still seems to be shrouded in some mystery. Has a full list of 'R&B related acts' RG Jones acetates & Oak Records releases ever been compiled ?? With their 'releases' only ever being made available as one-offs or as pressing runs of 99 copies, tracking down facts as to who many of the acts involved even were is hard (even more so, who were the members of the groups involved). Of course a few are well known to record collectors; Chris Farlowe, the Bo Street Runners, the Rats (from Hull, with Mick Ronson being a member). But others remain a complete mystery to me ... the Joybelles cut gospel tracks but seems much closer related to the Sally Army than to the Winans. What's the Chester Harriot 7 like (chef Ainsley Harriot named his 1st kid Chester Harriot; was the recording guy a relative of his ), was the Ray North Trio's "Blues in Three" a jazz or blues track ? Who were the Five of Diamonds, The A-jaes, the Wild Oats & the Thyrds for instance ? Anyone here shed much light on this subject ? The company (R.G Jones) is still a going concern, anyone approached them to see what documents, details from those times are still known ?

POSTED ON FACEBOOK BY THE MASQUERADERS ... It is with utmost regret to inform you that our beloved brother, and fellow Masquerader, Sammie “Sam" Lee Hutchins passed away this morning. He was a lead singer for the 1970s Masquerader soul music group for over sixty years. Prior to joining the group, he had a successful solo career. Sam was an amazing musician, singer, and world-renowned performer.

That's not the right contents for the new edition of the mag.

In the 70's, Don Gardner gave up touring & took up building work as his day job. He was employed on a job by Curtis. Curtis took him aside one day & asked why he'd given up on music. Don wasn't the name he had been 10 years earlier & that was his answer. So Curtis, knowing how well Don knew the road & what was required to survive on tour, took Don on as his 'road manager'. That eventually came to an end but Don had gotten to spend many hours in Curtis's company by then. When Don came over to play the Prestatyn Weekender, I took him for a day out in Liverpool as other acts at the weekender wanted to visit the Beatles Museum, etc. Don wasn't that bothered about doing a Beatles tour but didn't want to stay behind on his own. So while the others did the museum, etc. I got an hour or so with Don to chat about all things music. He told me of his days with Curtis and so I asked what was Curtis's song writing method. Don had gotten to see this over an extended period. He said that usually Curtis would be inspired for a song's theme by what he had read in the newspapers, seen on TV news or had just seen happening in person or via TV. He said a topic would inspire Curtis and sometimes the whole song would be complete in a single night. But other times, he wouldn't be happy with his efforts and would just put them aside. Then, weeks or months later, he'd go through the unfinished stuff & select one that he'd had fresh inspiration about. He'd then add to / amend and complete his original efforts. The finished song would then end up being recorded at his next studio session. Curtis certainly did have a way with words ...

Does the above discussion encompass both NS & MS or are more MS fans a younger set ?

My collection runs to many 1000's of 45's, 12's, LP's and CD's ... many of which are worth next to nothing. As I'm in my mid 70's, the wife keeps telling me to rearrange them all -- into boxes of stuff with real value and then stuff of little value. My collection is totally disorganised already (I couldn't put my hands on a particular 45, 12 or LP if asked to & it would probably take me hours of looking thru racks, boxes, the wardrobes, the loft & the garage to locate a particular item). I have to agree with her, that as nobody else in the family has the slightest idea of what I've got or what any records are worth, what she is asking me to do does make a lot of sense.

Big players on the 'new' UK R&B scene back in 63 (& 64) would be booked to play IN clubs like the Scene in London ... Mike Cotton at the time was still performing jazz. One such group being Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames. They also took their shows to USAF bases in the UK and thus informed US black GI's based over here that there was a 'scene' for them down in London. Georgie would allow GI's in the audience who said they could sing to get up on stage with him & perform. HENCE the emergence of the likes of Sonny Childe, Geno Washington & the like. Many black GI's in the 60's looked forward to being posted to the UK as their elders had told them how well they had been treated here in WW2 (by the Brits at least).

Taped the 1st two shows -- on too late for her indoors (AND she does love her disco).

JACKIE WILSON has had a few nominations on this thread; hard to argue that he shouldn't be up top in the running ... it's a great pity that although Jackie had enjoyed 3 big UK pop 45 hits by 1960 .... “Reet Petite” being a much bigger pop hit in the UK than in the US. Here it made it onto the UK Top 10 over Christmas 57 (though “By The Light Of The Silvery Moon” had been the intended A side in both the US & UK). His follow up single, “To Be Loved”, escaped in both the US & UK in February 68. It took off quickest in the UK and made the pop charts here in mid March. A British cover version of the song by Malcolm Vaughn however prevented Jackie's version from repeating the very high chart placing his first single had achieved. "To Be Loved" was on & off the UK pop charts three times between March & May 59 .. due to sales surging & falling coz of record shop stocks running out & the UK cover version sales. Jackie's 3rd UK hit in September 60 was "All My Love" -- STRANGELY his two biggest US pop hits of those times; "Lonely Teardrops" & "Doggin Around / Night" never made the UK charts. Likewise, his #1 US R&B hit "You Better Know It", also failed to sell here --- he never came to the UK to perform till 1972. That was a major oversight by his manager / record company as it was a well known fact THAT .... JACKIE was a much better singer live (& a very very dynamic performer with a huge stage presence) than his studio sessions ever illustrated. If he'd have done a UK theatre tour say in 1960 or 61 I'm sure his shows would have raised his profile here and would have resulted in more UK hits for him in the period up to 1969 (when "Higher & Higher" returned him to the UK charts). BTW, you can read much more on JACKIE WILSON -- LIVE in my article in the current edition of SOUL UP NORTH . . . . . (BLATANT PLUG !!!).

When others took a Curtis song & returned it to it's roots ...

Back when I was still living in Donny in the early 70's ... a bunch of our kids 'reggae music fans' used to come round to our house to play / buy 60's & very early 70's reggae 45's off me (we had young kids / a mortgage & therefore I needed the cash made from selling stuff). Those guys were soon replaced by soul (& then NS fans) who had learnt that I had an extensive collection of soul 45's / LP's. They'd come round to listen to stuff they didn't know (& to try to buy some 'rarer' stuff off me -- I was much more reluctant to sell soul stuff). They were soon coming on a regular basis & so it became a common occurrence -- I'd leave them to thumb through my 45's while I made us all a drink. A while later I found my US copy of the Dynamics "Ain't No Sun (Since You've Been Gone)" with a big piece of the 45 missing. Obviously one of them had dropped it, it had broken, so they'd just stuck it back in the sleeve, returned it to my 45 shelf and kept quiet about the mishap. I wasn't too pleased.

Yes, Curtis certainly was a soul genius, especially due to his song writing prowess. It was his work that steered Chicago black music away from the blues and towards the strong soul music presence it had attained by 1962 (via the work of Jerry Butler, Major Lance, Dee Clark, Fascinations, Jan Bradley & more).

One I should have nominated earlier (with my connections to it) ... Otis Williams – I Got To Have You / Take Me Back ...

The 100 Club getting in on the act in early 1964 ... it was still mainly a jazz venue at the time ...

Used to hang out with the Nottingham crowd in 67 @ the Mojo (Sheffield). Then, when we'd hitch down to Leicester (on our way to the Nite Owl), we'd call in a pub in Nottingham to see some of them en-route. In the 80's, we'd go to the MS nights at Rock City & to live shows there (Frankie Beverly & Maze). BUT BACK TO 63 .... this time in London ... the jazz guys were swopping over to R&B and many clubs there were doing the same. Alexis Korner started up a Blues / R&B club (The Blues Club) by hiring the Empire Rooms on Tottenham Ct Rd (just round the corner from Euston Stn & next to Warren St tube). There his band would play + he'd book other similar acts. One such act being the Graham Bond Quartet. Graham himself having just moved from jazz (with the The New Don Rendell Quintet) to R&B. Also with Graham in that jazz band had been Phil Kinorra aka Julien Covey. By the time Graham Bond had started his own R&B band, Julien Covey had also moved on and was playing drums in the Brian Auger Trio (along with Rick Laird who would later help to start the Mahavishnu Orchestra). At the time, the Brian Auger Trio were playing jazz gigs at Ronnie Scotts (see ad). They too would soon transition to R&B, with Auger adopting the Hammond B3 organ and working with Rod Stewart, Julie Driscoll, Long John Baldry & more. Over time Brian Auger would change musical styles a number of times. He'd started out in jazz, then R&B, soul before becoming one of the leaders in the musical movement to jazz/ rock fusion with his Oblivion Express (but even then he'd still cut tracks such as "Inner City Blues").

From the above (the ad sheet for the Dankworth, Ronnie Scotts & the Marquee) I noted that UK record shops were already importing US discs (mostly jazz I'd think back then) as early as April 1963. No doubt it was these stores that also got US blues and R&B records for British fans back then -- owning a US blues LP was a top status symbol back then. Another early status symbol was having a mohair suit ...

In 1963, it was jazz bands (of many different styles) that ruled the roost in UK clubs. Most clubs back then advertised themselves as being jazz clubs & many independent promoters put on jazz shows utilising local civic buildings (town hall) & local ballrooms. BUT a change was starting to occur. Big UK live jazz acts such as the Mike Cotton Jazzmen & Cyril Davies All-Stars were moving over to play R&B. This was being reflected in the fact that many jazz clubs started playing host to R&B nights. The Flamingo in London had started up it's allniter sessions with the likes of Georgie Fame, the Stones, Alexis Corner, Graham Bond & John Mayall all being regular acts for those sessions. The influence of US jazz, Blues and R&B acts was beginning to spread thru UK music circles (fashion store Cecil Gee advertising mohair suits as stage wear for musicians). Cyril Davies took on the likes of Sth African femme trio the Velvettes to perform with him (they recorded here). Lots of the scene then was based in London, but it had spread out right across the UK -- one club that was playing it's part was the Dancing Slipper, West Bridgeford, Nottingham (just down the road from the Brit). Here, an enterprising sound boffin had installed a good sound amplification / speaker system to ensure live acts sounded their best. His skills went further, as he'd also set up a decent recording system, linked into the venue's sound system. It appears he always asked permission first (which was given) but then he'd record each 'jazz' acts live performance (pop acts weren't recorded as they weren't deemed important). BUT, as I stated earlier, many jazz bands were including R&B numbers in their acts. The Mike Cotton Jazz Band (who would soon become the Mike Cotton Sound (with Lucas) were one act who played the Dancing Slipper in 1963. so it's likely their show was recorded. Times moved on, the jazz scene died, R&B clubs took their place and then changed into mod / soul clubs. Eventually the Dancing Slipper shut down & the venue was reused for other purposes. The sound guy from the venue eventually died, but his 'tapes' were saved by Lake Records of Workington. Some of the jazz recordings he made have escaped on CD since Lake took them on but I'm unsure if they've put out any of the shows where the act included some R&B numbers in their repertoire. Anyone out there, Familiar with the Nottingham venue or the record label know if this is the case ?

Very sad news. John would always visit out caravan @ the Cleggy weekender. Beer, music & a good crack were always the order of the day. Got to know both Barbara & John really well down the years. He'll be much missed.

AND OF COURSE ... Geno's biggest 'LIVE SHOW' song was the C.O.D.s "Michael" which Pye released as a 45 A side in 67.

If there was more demand for a particular Verve 45 than Bostocks had supply of ... Kegsy would resort to this method to make extra mula ...

A small indication of the pulling power of UK acts in the US in the mid 60's ... this booking agency was on the up & that was mainly coz it represented so many 'popular' UK acts (the UK acts getting 'top billing' above many local acts in their ad) ...

The letter was sent by Motown to the top US music mags & I copied it from an edition of RECORD WORLD as they published it.

Lots of acts that we loved (via their live performances or their records) were immigrants into the UK. They arrived here from different countries & in different ways .... The likes of Geno Washington, Sonny Childe (R B Greaves) & more were over here in the US military ... P P Arnold, Jimmy Thomas, Rosetta Hightower & more jumped ship from American acts touring here & stayed. Jimmy Ruffin, Edwin Starr, Sheila Ferguson, the guys in the Fantastics & Drifters + the gals in the Flirtations liked the UK better than the US and so settled here. Jimmy James, Jimmy Cliff, Errol Dixon & more had started his music career in the Caribbean & relocated here to develop it further. Sharon Tandy had a similar route to the UK. Starting her singing / recording career in South Africa, she relocated to the UK to take her career to a higher level. Later entrants to the UK music scene were the children of Caribbean or African immigrants who entered the UK music biz here when they grew up. Are there any decent books that document the path any of the above took to find success in the UK music biz ? I'm listening to the audiobook 'Musical Truth' by Jeffrey Boakye at present. I also seem to recall buying a book on this subject a few years back (but still haven't gotten around to reading it).

From the start of the R&R era right through to 1964, the US just about had things all their own way; pop music wise. It was US artists that dominated record sales right around the world. At the time, UK acts experienced very little commercial success in the US and so were no opposition to American pop / R&B acts. BUT after the Beatles broke thru in the States in December 63 & particularly after the group had been on the Ed Sullivan show, all things British became the new big thing there (music, fashion, cars, accent, films, etc.). This caused massive problems for the US immigration service, who pressurised by the US music biz to help US singers / musicians, banned lots of UK acts from visiting the US for promotional purposes or to play live gigs. Not liking this situation, the UK government responded by banning many US acts from entering the UK. With countries all around the world now booking more & more UK acts and 45's by British acts topping the charts everywhere, US officials could see they were onto a big loser. HOWEVER, before sense prevailed, some US music people stepped forward to back up the Brits (& so, give support to their acts who wanted to go to the UK to perform). In the end sense prevailed & a DEAL was arrived at. For each UK act allowed into the US, a US act had to be allowed to come to the UK. This agreement worked well for UK R&B / soul fans as most insipid US pop acts were now dead in the water here. The answer for US record companies, who had UK acts on their books via licensing agreements, was to team one of their soul acts with one of their UK pop acts and thus meet the terms of the US / UK working agreement. So many American soul acts came over here to play British mod / soul clubs while acts such as the Hollies, Searchers, Gerry & the Pacemakers, Dave Clark Five went the other way. I know it served their own ends, but it was nice to see that Motown was to the fore in trying to influence US government policy in 1965 ...

There are quite a number of 'covers' that I like. Not too many decent Beatle's songs covers on the soul side but I do like E,W&F's attempt + Syretta's effort too. For me, Jose Feliciano was at his best on covers -- his take on "Golden Lady" is just sublime. One song that never really did it for me was "Pony Time" -- that certainly inspired quite a few cover versions in very quick succession after Don Covay's group's original effort ...