Roburt
Members
-
Joined
-
Last visited
Everything posted by Roburt
-
Kegsy, so you've given up sampling the spots AND now you're spotting the samples ....... MAKE YOUR MIND UP LAD :-) -
A picture of Lou & some fellow (vintage) artists in the studio in the very recent past ...........
-
RE: A POSSIBLE JAMAICAN LINK .............. In Jamaica in the 80's / 90's lots of pressing plant equipment was still around & underused. Plus they had loads of old KreamKracked 45's that they could grind up & put back into the presses. So all the equipment & materials were around. One Jamaican outfit (back in the 60's) had licensed in all the Scepter / Wand stuff (probably WIRL but I'm guessing here) & pressed up local copies. Anyway, they knew there was a market for old 60's soul 45's & LPs, so they started making 'look alike' copies of many of the things they'd put out in the 60's. I know I came across quite a few different Chuck Jackson Wand things on trips to the Caribbean around the early / mid 90's. These LOOKED just like original LPs but were still mint (OR AS MINT as it is possible for a Jamaican pressed record to ever be).
-
A later SR&Miracles 45 (A side a reissued track I think) came out in Germany with a dance track on the B that only made a it onto a 45 release anywhere on this particular 7". I know I have that 45 somewhere here but can't recall the title of either side of the record at present (& there's 25+ boxes to sort thru to find it) .... ..... so someone with a less-shot memory will have to enlighten folk as to what the 2 cuts are.
-
I'd forgotten about that our kid (& it was MY radio show he was on not YOURS). But you're right, Lou did and he got the systems in their working correctly for the 1st time that weekend -- BACKGROUND INFO : the 1st thing Roger Banks did @ every Prestatyn Weekender was change all the settings on each piece of the equipment in the radio room, so that everybody else who followed after him sounded sh*te ... Oh, we all thought Roger was so funny !!! NOT). Lou is a wizard on any piece of recording gear .... in fact for the last 10+ years (& he's now 78) Lou has been employed to run the City of Las Vegas Arts Recording Studio. There he takes 'troubled youngsters' & others, helping give them a purpose in life (as a singer, rapper, musician, engineer, etc). Lou also had the use of & helped run Harvey Fuqua's Vegas studio + he works with Freddie Empire who also has his own studio. I guess everyone knows, Lou's your man to get the best sound out of the gear in their studio.
-
I talked a lot with Oliver Cheatham (when he was signed to Move Records of Edinburgh). We spent a weekend with him in Kirkcaldy when he had a club gig there & then a night out on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh itself. Apart from the wife & I acting as his backing singers (in his hotel room, not on stage), we talked music the rest of the time. Oliver was linked with Al's labels for quite a few years (as Round Trip, Oliver & also solo). He first got an in with Al as the studio roof was leaking & Oliver was a fully trained roofer -- so he was invited to join 'Al's in-team' as long as he mended the roof. From there, they cut many great tracks together. Oliver knew the circumstances surrounding Al's death & told me the full story -- he knew as he was around in the run up to Al's killing & knew the who & the why .... but (it goes without saying) to have told the police would probably have meant that Oliver's body was the next that would have been found.
-
"Tears Of A Clown" escaped on 45 in various forms / countries ......... it was paired with "I Second That Emotion", "Who's Gonna Take The Blame", "You Must Be Love", "Promise Me" and probably further tracks too.
-
Another 'earlyish' photo of Lou ........ the guitar man ............
-
-
Was it his Contempo cut "How Can I Say Goodbye" that never escaped anywhere else (though it was a Chicago recording). May be getting this UK only release mixed up with another Chicago / Contempo 45 cut though.
-
All the T/Mot 45's I've got from Barbados & Jamaica are via WIRL. Didn't EMI ever operate out in the Caribbean ??
-
T/M (EMI) UK following their own path agin, I guess the demo B side is the same as the US 45 release. Is It ?
-
Ignore Kegsy, he's just jealous that we're both Dony Lads !!
-
A bit from another publication about "Four Women" ..........
-
Speakin of the Bandmasters ..... ....... here they are (though Lou ain't up there with them on this occasion) in Cleveland backing up Betty Everett on a gig ..... Lou tells me the personnel are; Drums - Bill Matlock, Bass - Joe Yancy, Trumpet - Robert Lee , Tenor Sax was from Don Gregory's band and the guitar player was the personal one for singer Betty Everett.
-
Some info from Lou on Photo 3/ (Lou (with guitar) -- a hip 19 yr old musician) in my initial post on this thread .............. I am wearing a vest that my mother made for me. I'm standing by the hall steps of the (Cleveland) Music Box, where the Band Masters were the house band along with Don Gregory, I was 19 years old then.
-
Happier days for the group ....... 1960 .... and their V-Tone 45 was selling enough copies (in most areas) to make the US Top 100 Pop Chart ... but the V-Tone guys didn't have sufficient cash to 'tip' enough radio DJs, so "If I Knew" wasn't being played in many areas of the south & west ...... so it's impact was downgraded & it just missed making the main charts over a 4 week period ...... they did however place higher than the likes of Teddy Vann, Neil Sedaka, Bill Haley, Elvis, Teddy Randazzo, Ray Bryant & the Coasters during that month ...........
-
A piece from a Cleveland Newspaper (a bit hard to read it all though) .......... AND WHAT LOU SAID ABOUT IT ............. THE RECORDING THAT IS .......... To make this recording I used musicians from The Cleveland Orchestra as I did on stuff by all the local bands, Mother Braintree, Bel tell funk, the Dazz band, Soul, New York Stock Exchange, Hot Chocolate, Seven Miles High, Sonny Lovell, True Movement, etc. What a production.
-
-
Look, ain't seem our kid for ages, so I make mistakes AND ain't got no help from him or Willie Hutch .... otherwise Mart cuda been a Brother whos Gonna Work It Out before you get to add your silly comment. BTW seen Keith's sad news on Facebook :-(
-
One thing about the jazz world (especially in the US) ..... the fans were / are a lot more loyal. FOR INSTANCE ............ long after Willie Tee stopped getting calls to perform his old soul numbers (except from the UK), he was kept busy working with his brother Earl Turbington on jazz club bookings (& they made some recordings together of a similar nature).
-
No thank you, we don't want any talk of Herbie Mann (Memphis Underground) or the Crusaders (after all who did they work with ...apart from Bobby W, Altrina, Randy Crawford, etc), Cannonball Adderley, George Benson (Breezin), Idris Muhammad and their like on here !! As for all that Salsa stuff ........... stuff it.
-
CD REVIEW – Dave Hamilton's Detroit Soul Volume 2 KENT The CD opens with “Party Time” by Chico & Buddy (of the Tokays but performing here as a duo). Even though this dates from 1970, it has the throwback sound of a mid 60's Sam & Dave call & response track. Fast and quite funky, the strong vocals really make this cut. A track that could successfully grace the decks at any late night soul party. The CD features quite a few numbers from Dave Hamilton himself and most are mainly instrumental dominated cuts that showcase Dave's guitar work. “When I Say Groove” and “Cracklin Bread” (vocal version) are both uptempo and have a psychedelic feel. However track 23 is something quite different. On this, “I'm Shooting High”, Dave tackles a classy vocal song which he takes at mid-tempo pace. He doesn't possess the best voice in the world but his performance makes this an effective floater of some renown. Little Ann exhibits her potent vocal style on a chugger; “I Gotta Have You -- alt take”. Productive use of a sax add to the bluesy feel of this number, a 5 star cut of some character. 1 Party Time - Chico & Buddy 2 When I Say Groove (Vocal) - Dave Hamilton 3 I Gotta Have You (Alt take) - Little Ann 23 I'm Shooting High (Vocal) - Dave Hamilton “Showdown” is again mid-tempo but this one is much more R&B slanted. The group here, Simon Barbee & the Barbabes (what a great name) warble away in fine style and really sound to be enjoying themselves in the studio. The “Fife Piper” style flute break only adds to the atmosphere on this gem. Heading uptempo again with O. C. Tolbert's “Love Bandit”. Another track that didn't originally escape from the tape vaults, though for the life of me I can't think why. From 74 we drift back to 72 with the Tokays taking on “A State of Mind”, a story song with great lyrics. The group's vocal performance stands comparison with the song's quality. Again, it makes you wonder just why this failed to make it onto vinyl in the 70's. “The Dreamer” features a classy rhythm track over which Felicia Johnson adds her powerful vocals. A supper club ballad outing that I can see having captivated the audience in the Driftwood or Phelps Lounge back in the day. Rita DuShay is another premium grade female singer and she tackles a song done in 1966 for Motown by Barbara McNair. Barbara was mainly a night club singer (+ actor) and Rita's take of “All I Need” also has that supper club feel. “My Sweet Baby” is 100% backing track and I much prefer the released version. As is, I find it somewhat lacking. 4 Showdown Part 1 - Simon Barbee & The Barbabes 5 The Love Bandit (Edit of CDBGPD 251) - O.C. Tolbert 6 (Marriage Is Only) A State Of Mind - The Tokays 7 The Dreamer - Felecia Johnson 8 All I Need (Steal Away Tonight) - Rita DuShay 9 My Sweet Baby (Instrumental) - JT's Rhythm Band Back once again to the ladies; Tobi Lark's Topper outing “Challenge My Love” is one you surely don't need my views on. Another returnee as O C Tolbert takes on “All I Want Is You”, which again is a well known number. Here we get the longer & later (1972) rap version. For me, whilst the 1967 released take has that 60's Detroit charm, this version from OC has much more guts to it. One for lovers of REAALLL soul. Yet more eminent vocal work is displayed on Presberry's majestic deep soul opus “Somebody Is Wrong”. Who was Presberry; maybe Buddy Lamp, maybe a Temptation, nobody knows ! It's back to doo-wop days on the Del-phis “It Takes Two”. One I'm sure that RobbK would love, especially with it's Motown links. More soul royalty pops up next; Carolyn Franklin. A very sparse demo recording by Aretha's sister helps demonstrate the vocal beauty she possessed. I would have loved them to have completed a full recording of this one. Dave Hamilton's illustrious guitar work opens up Anxiety's “Love Me Or Leave Me”. We then get a group vocal offering of the highest order on this worthy ballad. Their performance leans towards the sweet soul side of things but that's no criticism. I do wonder why this 1980 recording (made at GM studios) didn't get to lead the group towards major success. Perhaps the track was never fully finished as it has a 'live feel' to it that maybe was to be refined in final mixing. A cut of high value that lasts over three and a half minutes. Elayne Starr was better known as a songwriter but on this display (“Must Have Had Company”) she had the chops to make it in her own right as a singer. Ady thinks that the Morning After had been influenced by the Honey Cone's Hot Wax work. However they were not to follow their triumphant counterparts into the charts, or even onto record shop shelves. 10 Challenge My Love - Tobi Lark 11 All I Want Is You (Long rap version) - O.C. Tolbert 12 Somebody Is Wrong - Presberry 13 It Takes Two - The Del-Phis 14 I Guess I'll Go To Packin' - Carolyn Franklin 15 Love Me Or Leave Me - Anxiety 16 Must Have Had Company - Elayne Starr 17 Mister Fireman - The Morning After Next up; the Dynamics. This group enjoyed a long and sometimes commercially successful career path. We catch them here (1984) towards the end of their recording life, though the group is still in existence today. “Surely” allows them to demonstrate the many studio skills they had picked up down the years, the result being yet another classy cut. Little Stevie's “Moving On” is an uptempo gospel item of value that should even appeal to those that usually avoid religious outings. An uptempo late 60's blues number comes next and has that timeless feel of many blues recordings. A 2nd gospel offering from The Prophet & his disciples follows. This one deals with the issue of drugs and it speeds along like an express train. The reward of having the final cut on this release is awarded to Jimmy Scott and this guy can 'sang'. Though it dates from 1984 it has that classic throwback soul sound evidenced on many 'golden era' recordings. I can just imagine Jimmy, up on stage at the 20 Grand, singing this direct to a beautiful woman he had picked out in the crowded club. I'm sure he would have brought the house down had this scenario played out in the real world. 18 Surely - The Dynamics 19 Moving On - Little Stevie & The Sensational Reynolds Singers 20 Four O'Clock Blues - Glemie (Blue Boy) Derrell & The Detroit Dynamite Blues Boys - Guitar: Littl 21 You Fool, You Fool - The Prophet & His Disciples 22 Cracklin' Bread (With vocals) - Dave Hamilton 24 Remember Me - Jimmy Scott All in all then, this is a release of many highs and a few lows (depending on your particular taste). Some cuts must surely have been included just to keep the completists happy. But that said, there are more than enough top quality outings on display here to ensure the CD has distinction in abundance. Play it through a few times and many tracks on here will 'sink in' and have you hitting the 'repeat button' time & time again. John 'Roburt' Smith March 2016 Video trailer Track listing 01 Party Time - Chico & Buddy 02 When I Say Groove (Vocal) - Dave Hamilton 03 I Gotta Have You (Alt take) - Little Ann 04 Showdown Part 1 - Simon Barbee & The Barbabes 05 The Love Bandit (Edit of CDBGPD 251) - O.C. Tolbert 06 (Marriage Is Only) A State Of Mind - The Tokays 07 The Dreamer - Felecia Johnson 08 All I Need (Steal Away Tonight) - Rita DuShay 09 My Sweet Baby (Instrumental) - JT's Rhythm Band 10 Challenge My Love - Tobi Lark 11 All I Want Is You (Long rap version) - O.C. Tolbert 12 Somebody Is Wrong - Presberry 13 It Takes Two - The Del-Phis 14 I Guess I'll Go To Packin' - Carolyn Franklin 15 Love Me Or Leave Me - Anxiety 16 Must Have Had Company - Elayne Starr 17 Mister Fireman - The Morning After 18 Surely - The Dynamics 19 Moving On - Little Stevie & The Sensational Reynolds Singers 20 Four O'Clock Blues - Glemie (Blue Boy) Derrell & The Detroit Dynamite Blues Boys - Guitar: Littl 21 You Fool, You Fool - The Prophet & His Disciples 22 Cracklin' Bread (With vocals) - Dave Hamilton 23 I'm Shooting High (Vocal) - Dave Hamilton 24 Remember Me - Jimmy Scott More info via http://acerecords.co.uk/dave-hamiltons-detroit-soul-vol-2 -
-
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) ?
