Roburt

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Seems that my old mate Gene Dozier worked with the group on their last 2 outings (both sides of their 2nd Gamble 45) -- he co-wrote the 2 songs. The group's leader was Eugene Williams by all accounts. Anyone have more info on Eugene & the other members (who's names are listed in the SHS book) ?

BTW, this Gamble 45 was also released in Canada (on Apex). Anyone got a copy of the Canadian 45 that they could post up here ? One of their 1960 V-Tone 45s also escaped in Canada (on Reo), so this group were certainly favoured north of the border, which is something that puzzles me a bit ........... search the net & little or nothing seems to be available on the history / career of this fine group. The outfit was in existence for at least 9/10 years (if not more), they had 4 x 45 releases & yet they don't seem to have left any digital footprint. We really are losing '60's soul knowledge' at a worrying rate now.

"I Need You So" shows off the Cruisers doo-wop heritage & will be a popular cut with the likes of RobbK (I'm sure). HOWEVER, I never play this side of the Gamble 45 COZ I love the 'Chicago soul' sounding tuva side ... "Take A Chance". Gamble & Huff were obviously trying to update the group's sound at the time (summer 67) and so laid down the more 'cutting edge' TAC with that in mind. It reminds me of the Artistics "I'm Gonna Miss You" (a Sept 66 release & the ender record from my 1st love niter venue).

The above look like Boddie acetates .... Lou explained to me that he got his first ever experience in the control room (!?!?!) of a recording studio in the early 60's at Boddies. I have put the (!?!?!) in the above coz Boddies studio had been built in the garage to his house & was so rudimentary that there wasn't really what you could call a separate 'control room' in the place. But then some of the best 60's soul was cut in converted garages / sheds / basements. BTW, the above vids have 'disappeared'. Are they still up on Youtube ?

Bits from Johnny Moore's obit (as published in the Independent) ............ Born in Selma, Alabama, in 1934, Johnny Moore moved to Cleveland when he was a teenager. After singing in the church choir, he made his name with the Hornets, a doo-wop and gospel group. When the Drifters came to town, the young Johnny introduced himself backstage, showed off his falsetto and was hired on the spot. He was first heard with the group on "Adorable", a single recorded in September 1955 under the supervision of Nesuhi Ertegun in Los Angeles. The song was a big hit and Atlantic soon released "Ruby Baby", a Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller composition culled from the same session. Backing Moore at the time were Gerhard Trasher (tenor), his brother Andrew (baritone) and Bill Pinkney (bass). Johnny became just about the stalwart vocalist with the group (in terms of longevity). Over the course of a 45-year career, the Drifters had many line-up changes but, though he never attained the fame of the founder Clyde McPhatter or the lead singer Ben E. King, Moore was one of the few regular members. Indeed, he was the frontman when the Drifters hit a purple patch with eight British Top 10 hits in the mid-Seventies. The reason I have posted the above is to give background to a discussion I was party to some years back (that links to another recent thread). I have interviewed Lou Ragland many times in the 25+ years I have known him. We were once in discussion about Lou's young days (his school years) and Lou related how he was inspired to get into the music biz by the successes of a near neighbour. I asked who the guy was & Lou says 'Johnny Moore of the Hornets'. Oh, the guy who went on to lead the Drifters for so many years, I say. No. he was lead with the Hornets was Lou's response ..... I explained that it was one & the same guy & that Johnny had lived in the UK for many years and had made a good life here. Lou had just assumed that the Hornets had 'gone cold' after the doo-wop era and that Johhny & the group had faded into obscurity. He never linked the guy he knew to the guy leading the Drifters at all .... BUT THEN ... Lou was off making his own way in the music world & had just lost track of Johnny coz he was so busy himself. .

The Major made many great records, especially in the 60's. Back then, coz of his earlier successes (hit 45's), he was hooked up with the cream of the Chicago soul world (Curtis Mayfield, Carl Davis etc) .... so he couldn't really go wrong back then. As time passed, his releases didn't sell as well, the guys he worked with got real busy coz their careers were advancing and Major was shunted off onto the 'slow track'. A great pity coz he had a great voice. Major suffered when Carl Davis jumped ship from Okeh & went with Dakar. The Major went too, but Carl had bigger hits with newer artists on Dakar. Unfortunately, in the US, you were only as good as your last commercial hit. Go cold, selling wise, & the gigs started to dry up & less people returned your calls. I think Carl took his eye off the ball with regard to the Major. Here in the UK we're a bit more loyal to our 'musical legends' but then we hardly ever had the power to influence their career paths.

When Lou was interviewed by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame guys ................. https://rockhall.com/blog/post/9395_cleveland-soul-interview-with-lou-ragland/

Will do, Ian.

I have spent most of tonight speaking on the phone with Lou Ragland in Las Vegas. Lou & I go all the way back to the Ric Tic Revue days. We met up @ the Ritz and hit it off as friends. I corresponded with him for some years & then started going over to Vegas to meet up with him & his family. We (the wife & I) would go to his group's shows in the local casinos & Lou would make it OK for me to take photos of the group performing (the use of cameras is usually banned in casinos for security purposes + to stop people being captured on film that weren't officially there). So we really built up a good relationship. I ran Lou's UK tour back in 1990, he & I ran the 1998 Soul Trip to Las Vegas for UK fans. He then got to perform @ the Prestatyn Weekender & I became his official UK agent (collecting his royalties, etc.). As time has passed, we have met up less (Lou is now 78 & I'm 67) plus I no longer make it across to Vegas (stopping short in Florida these days). But our bond is still strong & I thought (before it's too late) I would interrogate Lou about his days as a studio engineer (he was one of the first fully trained black recording studio engineers in the north east USA). So that's what I have been doing tonight. We talked for over an hour in the end AND I NOW have to write up my scribbles & make sense of all the technical info he gave me (types of tape deck, microphones, mixing desks, echo chambers, etc). Plus all the data on the artists involved, musicians, the A&R guy, Jim Brown, the promotions & marketing guy, the other studios used, visiting singers using 'his' studio, etc. When I have gotten everything typed up and have run it past Lou, I'll post the article up here ..... but as a taster I'll first post up a few old photos ......... 1/ Lou as a kid (early teenage years I'd guess). 2/ Lou with a friend in Cleveland. 3/ Lou (with guitar) -- a hip 19 yr old musician. ............... MORE TO FOLLOW .............

I'd have to say their 60's UK albums Big 16 & Big 16 Vol.2 are my faves as they are 2 of the 1st soul LPs I bought (alongside the 1st two Sam & Dave Stax LPs). I have every Impressions album as they have always been my fave group PLUS the two Big 16s remind me of my youth AND getting into this great music. I was at night school at that time & would play the albums over & over in my bedroom as I did homework & studied. Great music, good times.

So have I, plus a spare copy of a few volumes.

Just about to hit the UK shops ........ 4 LP set -- Loma -- A Soul Music Love Affair Around 64 tracks from this 60's label that WB ran out of LA. Tracks licensed in from all over the US back then. SEE STORY ........ https://lightintheattic.net/releases/2324-loma-a-soul-music-love-affair-volume-one-something-s-burning-1964-68?ct=t(LITA_Newsletter_3_10_163_9_2016)&mc_cid=90a40bc863&mc_eid=1340ffe198 Haven't had time yet to check how these compare to the 1976 set ... This Is Loma (Volumes 1 to 7)

So does "Harlem Shuffle" count as NS .... as many yunguns on here seem to class it more as 'Youth Club Soul'. It's classic soul to me as I spent my yuff dancin to it in Yorks / Lancs mod / soul clubs from mid 65 onwards.

I agree with JOT, even many of the album covers displayed in the F&SC book have no detail at all on the actual records & their contents. Marvin Gaye's (& other) massive sellers do get some data about them included in the book but it's all the others we really need info on ......

A fascinating chapter of her life / career was the long spell she was married to (& managed by) Andy Stroud. He would tour with her (he came to the UK in the 60's & maybe 70's as well). Of course they owned (& he ran) Ninandy Records. Nina 'discovered' the Swordsmen while gigging in Cleveland & they were signed to the couple's label. When Nina landed a deal with RCA, they took on some Ninandy artists, the Swordsmen being the main one. So the group had NS / AS connected releases from 67 (?) thru to 71. Any mention of Ninandy & the Swordsmen (Eddie Anderson & Ray Thompson) in this book ?

A female on lead but it was before the STANG Moments signed with Stang. Possibility then that she was with the guys in 67 & they were backing her up. However, most members of the group came out of earlier outfits so I doubt that they were involved.

Nina drew much criticism from the press down the years. The song "4 Women" that she wrote & performed really got them going at her ....... .... does it get a mention at all in this book ?

Another car crash victim in 1962 ..........

There must be 9 or more books about the complex Miss Simone. Just about all of them deal with her troubled life and strained relationships (both with partners & record companies), but there is no denying her musical genius. This book joins a 'crowded market' where older attempts to document her life are currently selling for just pence on-line & in 2nd hand book shops. I wish it well but will (for the present) stick with the 2 books on her I already own.

I like "I've Got The Need" (though Chuck's version is better), so I'd have to go with the obvious "69 Times".

Cheetah's was a famous discotheque located in Manhattan, New York. The place opened on May 28, 1966 and closed in the 1970s. The club was located on Broadway @ 53rd St. It is said to have been (at that time) the most elaborate of discotheques; where three thousand colored light bulbs dimmed, flickered and popped into an infinity of patterns all reflecting off shiny aluminum surfaces. Cheetahs held two thousand people and offered not only dancing but a library, a movie room, and colour TV. The musical Hair was first performed at Cheetahs before becoming a major production on Broadway. In addition, the Cheetah Club is widely cited as the birthplace of salsa music (the style of pan-Latin music being created in NY back then). On August 26, 1971, the Fania All-Stars headlined the club and drew an overflowing crowd that was later captured on film as 'Our Latin Thing'. Broadway @ 53rd St is just south of Central Pk and very close to where Charles & Beau Huggins based their Hush & Orpheous Productions set up around 2000 when I visited their premises to chat with the guys. If I'd known the site of Cheetahs was just yards away, I'd have gone looking for the building. Today the Broadway Theatre stands here but so do 2 giant skyscraper office blocks, so perhaps the original building has been demolished. Back in 1967, the live residency at the Cheetah Club was held by Ruth McFadden + Karl Holmes & the Commanders. With the 2pm opening time on Sundays, looks like they were holding soul alldayers there as early as 1967 (just when I attended my first soul alldayer -- King Mojo Club: 16th July 67: Drifters (really Invitations I think) ... those were the days my friend, I thought they'd never end... ).

If we start counting bootlegs as well, then I think we are getting onto slippery ground. Surely only official licensed releases should figure.

6 UK versions I think (Coral, MCA SoulBag, MCA, Brunswick, SMP x 2), so I'd guess not as many reissues (here or worldwide) as Bob & Earl. Jackie's "Reet Petite" escaped here at least 4 times (with 2 versions being back in the 50's ! -- Vogue-Coral & then Coral).

But it's still B&E's "Harlem Shuffle" and many an 'ordinary punter' wouldn't notice the difference (though I can, the Jay Boy mix is awful) !!