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Everything posted by Roburt
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She recorded with / worked with Vernon Harrell. Harrell was from New York & he made some recordings himself in the 60's and 70's. Under the name Keidar Syenon Harrell he also co-wrote songs with J R Bailey. Decca Records got involved with the duo in 1964 .............
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Seems that Little Gigi made a few good records in the 60's ..... Very little seems to be known about her but I've found a few relevant bits ..........
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I have some (a couple I think) Indian pressed 45's from the 70's ... can't recall what they are though (memory shot due to old age). ALSO ... India was one of the countries that EMI used to ship it's old equipment to. Hence, you can find 78 releases there that run through to around the mid 60's (so some early soul tracks there will have been made available in 78 rpm format). In fact it seems that 78's were still being made in India up to 1970 .... see here ........... https://www.mustrad.org.uk/reviews/indrecbk.htm
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Info on the set-up here ........... https://www.discogs.com/label/265890-EMI-Studios-301?page=1 https://www.milesago.com/industry/emi.htm
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The people involved on the Motortown Revue shows would change even during the course of a single US tour ...... ..... The revue would be out on the road for around 3 months (they would play week long stints in all the big chitlin-circuit theaters (Fox, Regal, Royal, Howard, Apollo, etc.) and this would sometimes clash with some artists recording schedules. So, if Stevie Wonder was on the package as it left Detroit but 9 weeks later, he had to be back in Hitsville to cut some new stuff, he would be replaced on the revue line-up by another artist (who say had a new 45 out that needed promoting). ... ALSO .... when the revue were playing a gig close to home (the Fox Theater, etc.), extra acts / musicians would be added to the numbers involved. For instance, in 1964 (?) the show undertaken @ the Fox Theater in Detroit include the likes of Tommy Good & the Headliners and I'm sure these two acts weren't on the rest of the tour.
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Articles: Marie Knight That's No Way To Treat A Girl
Roburt replied to Roburt's topic in Front Page News & Articles
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So Ruth was playing live gigs with Karl Holmes & the Commanders at the time that she was signed to Gamble (Huff Puff) and the group were signed to Verve (after Karl & the guys had been with Cameo Parkway). No wonder they never recorded together. Were the tracks included on the French EP (see above) released on Parkway in the US ?? .... OR ..... was the deal to cut & release those 4 tracks a 'France only' thing (were the tracks recorded in France) ?
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The song "My Little Red Book" gets mentioned in a 5 page long section of the BB book. The Manfred Mann + the Love version are talked about + the fact that the song was written for the 'What's New Pussycat' film .... BUT Tony Middleton never gets a mention (either for providing the vocals on BB's version of the song OR with regard to him working with BB at all) ...... SAD OMISSION ME THINKS. Didn't Tony sing this song live when he was on @ Cleggy ??
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Articles: Marie Knight That's No Way To Treat A Girl
Roburt replied to Roburt's topic in Front Page News & Articles
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BOOK REVIEW ‘ANYONE WHO HAD A HEART - MY LIFE IN MUSIC’ : BURT BACHARACH Like many on here, I enjoy reading a good soul music related book. Lots are great but many are a real disappointment. Too many artists gloss over the detailed information of their recorded work as they feel cheated / let down by the labels they were signed to. Many music related books fall outside the boundaries of what appeals to me, dealing mainly with none soul related matters. One such book was the biography on Burt Bacharach (written in conjunction with Robert Greenfield in 2012). Burt started out in the music biz writing R&B songs and cutting the songs on R&B artists. But by 1970, he had moved onto MOR material / singers and these are of no interest to me at all. However, things changed when I walked into the local Dollar Tree shop here in Florida last week (we winter in Florida these days). There I saw dozens of copies of the hardback version of the book for (strangely) $1 each. Needing something else to read while lying around the pool, I purchased a copy and headed home with it. The book runs to 280 pages but only around 70 of these detail R&B / soul related topics. Still that worked out at one cent per relevant page, so I deemed it a good purchase. The synopsis of the book on Amazon UK (where it can be bought -- new & used – new for under £3) states ... "Burt Bacharach is one of the most celebrated and legendary song-writers of the twentieth century. Throughout his sixty year career he has worked with artists from Dionne Warwick to Dr Dre, Marlene Dietrich to Elvis Costello. In Anyone Who Had a Heart, Bacharach steps out from behind the music to take an honest, engaging look at his life. It traces the life and times of the man who created the music that has become the sound track for the lives of his millions of devoted fans all over the world.” The book deals with Burt’s whole life (up to 2012 at least) and complete sections of it will be of very little interest to your average soulie. However, the parts that deal with Burt’s method of writing R&B songs and his studio work with singers such as Dionne Warwick, the Drifters, Jerry Butler, Cissy Houston, Dee Dee Warwick, Chuck Jackson, the Shirelles, Tommy Hunt, Dusty Springfield and Leiber & Stoller are fascinating. The likes of Lou Johnson, the Coasters, Ray Charles, Booker T & the MGs, Natalie Cole, Dee Dee Sharp, Bill Cosby, Aretha Franklin, Isaac Hayes, Whitney Houston, Gloria Lynn, Gene McDaniels, Pointer Sisters, Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson & Miracles, Luther Vandross & Stevie Wonder all also get a mention. Some of the detail Burt goes into in the book is really interesting (to me at least). He writes about his way of working when based in the Brill Building and 1650 Broadway. How he cut the demos he made of the songs he wrote (with various collaborators). The non-standard song structures he utilised and the unusual instruments he featured on some tracks. How certain songs sat in a drawer (“What The World Needs Now Is Love”) and some recordings in the tape vaults (“Walk On By”, “Make It Easy On Yourself”). Info on working at Bell Sound Studios, cutting his songs, with producers such as Leiber & Stoller. How many takes he would insist on before he was happy with the results (32 on one occasion) even though he would usually first get together with the singer (before going into the studio) to allow them to learn the song. So if the above sounds interesting to you and you enjoy a good read, then get hold of a cheap copy of this book from Amazon or the like and be prepared to learn many facts about how things were in the music biz back in the 1960’s. JOHN ‘Roburt’ SMITH Feb 2016
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A bit more info on Ruth's work with Karl Holmes & the Commanders in 1966/67 ...... In July 66, Ruth + Karl Holmes & the Commanders undertook a big gig in Paris. By all accounts, Ruth was knocking audiences out with her performances. After Paris, the ensemble headed off to Italy for additional gigs. They were packing them in @ Club Bussola di Bernardini near Viareggio where Ruth was the darling of the Italian Riviera at the time. In 1967, the ensemble were back in the US and jumping between regular bookings at the Cheetah Clubs in New York & Chicago. It seems that Karl & the guys had an EP released (by Barclays) in France after their gigs (with Ruth) in the country -- I don't believe Ruth appeared on any of the tracks on the record though .....
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Found a report that members of Gladys Knight & the Pips were injured in a highway crash near Fairfax, Va while touring (January 1962). No detail on whether they had to cancel any proposed gigs.
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Articles: Marie Knight That's No Way To Treat A Girl
Roburt replied to Roburt's topic in Front Page News & Articles
A few extra facts on Marie to update the above ..... When she was touring with Jersey Joe Walcott in January 1952, the revue (booked by Glaser's Assoc Booking Agency) was pulling in $1,500 a night. The backing singers on the tour were named the Knightingales, reinforcing Marie's position on the package. In 1954 she was said to be involved in a love affair with Sonny Carter, the singer with the Joe Thomas Band -- this could have been a front to deflect gossip about her long affair with Rosetta Tharpe. But by 1955, Marie & Rosetta split following a big argument, so the earlier story may have been true. Marie immediately went out as a solo act playing night clubs performing jazz & blues numbers. In 1959, it was reported that she was making good money from her regular night club gigs. While in Miami for some night club gigs in March 1962 (see Knight Beat ad above), she did a guest solo gospel spot at a Sunday service in a local church. In Feb 62 she was signed up by Queens Artists Booking Agency and was expected to be signed to a deal with Columbia Records (here deal with Okeh must have expired, however she next turned up on Diamond Records). Later that year (62) she undertook a 23 day long tour of Sweden along with King Coleman, Lester Young & others. -
Yes you're right. Marvin Marshall was musical director (& guitar player) for the Supremes & then for the Temptations for a while in the 70's (I believe). He also played on Ronnie McNeir recordings. Guess others who backed up Motown artists on the road (at times) were Tony Newton, Andrew Smith, Johnny Griffith, Richard Allen, etc.
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Studio 76 in New York was owned by Ed Chalpin who ran PPX Enterprises. PPX had it's own label (but mostly licensed stuff out to bigger outfits) + links with RSVP Records. In 1965 / 67 the likes of Curtis Knight & the Squires (who included Jimi Hendrix in their line-up) used Studio 76 a lot. Some of their tracks escaped on RSVP. These are (some of) the tracks that have been issued many times down the years, re-badged as by Jimi Hendrix (sometimes Jimi Hendrix & Curtis Knight).
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Probably dates from the mid 60's when Don (& Leo) were cutting demos for DCP ...... Don Costa Productions ....
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Ruth was touring in 1960 on a bill topped by Jackie Wilson. She played the Regal Theatre in Chicago in June that year ......
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It seems that Choker & his orchestra backed up the Motortown Review (incl Stevie Wonder) @ the Regal Theatre in Chicago . A picture off the net ................
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A PIECE OFF THE NET by Bay area musician LARRY VANN .............. .... We played the Oakland clubs. We were able to get our feet wet with great R&B acts such as The Whispers, The Ballads, Marvin Holmes and the Uptights. We gained a lot of ground. It was a great time to learn and be on the scene – getting our feet wet with great R&B acts, the great talent in the area. We played the big rooms in the area. One was the Continental Club in Oakland - they brought James Brown, Bobby Bland, Charles Brown; another was The Sportsman Club, one of the premier Black clubs in Oakland. Some of the artists they brought were Jerry Butler, The Impressions, and Major Lance. And history tells us that Billy Holiday also played there, but that was before my time, but still very interesting information. Another premier club in Oakland was the Showcase. Some of the artists they brought were Johnny Talbot and Johnny Hartsman. These were all premier “cats” in the area we had to gauge ourselves from and learn from. It was an important time in my musical growth. In 1966 or ’67 I went on my first tour – it was with The Whispers. We were part of a “review”. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was able to be on the “Chitlin’ Circuit” right before it ended. Many of the clubs in the circuit unfortunately closed. At that time it was an incredible circuit. You could see some of the biggest names. While out on that tour, I met: Buddy Miles in Omaha, Nebraska at the Paul B. Allen Showcase; Sam and Dave – we opened for them in Buffalo, New York at the Dellwood Dance Hall. We almost starved a week before they came because something went wrong with the booking and we were there one week before they arrived, in the dead of winter. I also met Dyke of Dyke and the Blazers who did “Funky Broadway” down in Phoenix where he lived. He used to always come see us all the time when I was with The Whispers. This was an incredible tour for me, a big, big journey for me in my career. I learned and grew a lot, I learned a lot about life .......