Roburt

This 'George Jackson" was from Baltimore .... though like other Balto Soul singers, he recorded elsewhere. This guy usually cut his solo tracks in New York. He had started out in Baltimore based group, the Plants. Much info on them & George here ........... https://www.uncamarvy.com/Plants/plants.html

Reave Watkins seemed to have a big hand in The "Q" record. I'd guess that he was this guy (though there are a few Reave Watkin's across the US even though it can't be that common a name) .......... Reave M Watkins, 952 Bethany Tpke, Honesdale, PA 18431 The above guy probably originated in Pittsburgh (where quite a few Watkins still live) and seemed to spend his college years in the New Orleans area. Might be worth contacting him to check out if he is the right guy to get The "Q" info from. Phone number removed and slight edit made to text to reflect this. Although it is possible that this Reave Watkins was involved in the 45, it is by no means certain. Imagine how miffed you would be if you started receiving unsolicited phone calls about something someone else did 40+ years ago.

Stang # 5000 was issued in 1968. Stang # 5010 dates from 1970. Stang # 5033 -- Moments "Key To My Happiness" -- dates from 1971 Stang # 5039 -- Linda Jones & Whatnauts -- dates from 1972 Stang # 5042 will also date from 1972 Stang # 5058 dates from late 1974 Stang # 5059 dates from 1975 Stang # 5066 dates from 1976

Sit at the back of the class with the dunces hat on, Moore. .... and have you done your homework yet (the History of 919 Studios Project) ???

Back then, for a record to be based on a dance, the actual dance had to exist. So, somewhere (in a long lost almost 50 year old US teen mag) there will be the steps / moves of 'the Pearl' explained / demonstrated. Lots of dance moves were self explanitory (the Monkey, the Jerk, the Shake) but I can't even begin to guess what the moves were in 'the Pearl'.

Lots of specialist UK DJ's have done a good job on radio down the years but most were just following the example set by (black & white) US DJ's from the 60's. US radio station plays were reflected in chart positions and some cities / stations were very influencial. Baltimore had 2 / 3 soul stns through the 60's (1 was pop in the day, soul at night) and the DJ's held quite a lot of power (till they were no longer allowed to select what they could play themselves). Lots of cuts were 'trialed' on Baltimore Stns by record companies. If they put a 'push' behind a particular track and it took off there, they would instigate a major promotional push behind it across the US. So DJ's such as Fat Daddy, Hot Rod (both influential in getting Kenny Hamber's recording career started) and the like did a great job and influenced what pirate radio DJ's got up to / sounded like over here back in the day.

On US Amazon you can 'Look Inside' his book -- though the most interesting pages can't be viewed there (there's chapters on the various incarnations of the TV show and even a chapter on the Apollo & one on Motown) ...... the index for the book is there in its entirity though and Dean Parrish's name isn't shown. Seems Dean was a guest on the show at least 3 times (who was on EVERY show isn't known anymore) ...... anyway Dean was on at least once in 65 and twice in 66). Some others of interest I didn't list above .... Dobie Gray was on twice in 65, Skip Cunningham actually performed in late November 65, Barbara Mason was on in 65 and Tamiko Jones in 67. The Motown Special went out in April 67 and featured the 4 Tops, Marvelettes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Isley Brothers, Chris Clark & R Dean Taylor. The Wiki entry for the Clay Cole Show states that its Motown edition was historic (for US TV) as it was the 1st show to feature a full hour of all-black performers --- with Chris Clark & R D Taylor on there ..... yes, I'm sure. As Dean Parrish isn't listed in the book index, it seems the full list of guests on the show isn't included in the book.

If you do a search (under his name) on the on-line Billboard Mag site, you get 20 / 30 entries about him & his show ..... also about the records he made (he had 45's out on Roulette & Imperial -- mainly twist related) and he starred in a 'Twist' film alongside Chubby Checker. But exact details on who the guests were on his show do not pop up there. Do a general Google search and you get more info on him & the show, but still not all the 'show guest' details. The show has its own Wiki page ..... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Clay_Cole_Show I was interested in his TV show, especially after I found out that Skip Cunningham (Coral, 20th Century Fox recording artist) deputised for him when he went on holiday. Coz of my interest I posted a thread on SDF as that has lots of 'old' US based members (who are a great source of info for 60's Philly, NY, LA, Detroit info .... as they were there back in the day). Got responses across there from folk who used to attend the live shows he staged at Pallisaides Park (NJ) and at Coney Island PLUS a guy there posted details of just about all the guests he had on the show (in the 60's). He had 6 / 7 live guests every show, so during the 60's years when the the show was running he must have had around 2000 guests appear (some being repeat performances by previous guests rather than it being 2000 different guests). Not all were soul related, loads of UK / US pop acts were also on. But a fair number of 'lesser known NY based' singers such as Dean Parrish were among those that got to appear more than once. When Clay lost interest coz the rock acts started to take over from 67, he quit the show and another guy (can't recall his name at present) took over the presenting from him and it ran for a further period under the replacement MC's name. Cole passed away a few years back but not before a book about him & his career had been published. Maybe the guest listings for his TV show are detailed in that book ('Sh-Boom; The Explosion Of Rock & Roll' -- I ain't got it so can't be certain).

Seeing as we currently have a thread going about old radio DJ's, thought I'd post this up here. The Clay Cole Show (1959—1967) was a music television show based in New York that seemed to be quite innovative but didn't really garner as much praise as say 'American Bandstand'. The show had a few variations in name and when the original station that broadcast it (WNTA-TV) was sold in 1963, it moved over onto WPIX-TV. There it lasted almost 6 years (to late December 67) and helped usher in the 'British Invasion' (I believe that the Who and Rolling Stones made their US TV debuts on the show). BUT IN ADDITION ........ the show staged a full 1 hour long Motown Special that was said to be quite groundbreaking at the time (for US TV). the Motown Special was screened around February 1967. Cole & his TV crew visited Detroit to film interviews with Motown execs & artists that January . The usual format of his show was to have 5 or so live acts on and break up their performances with shots of kids dancing in the studio to some of the latest records. When Clay took a break from presenting the show (to have short holidays) recording artists such as Skip Cunningham were brought in as replacement hosts (August 65). Acts who featured on the show included Helena Ferguson, Chris Clark, Tammi Terrell, Chuck Jackson, Lit Anthony, Maxine Brown, Dean Parrish (at least twice), Mongo Santamaria, Ramsey Lewis, Joe Cuba, Dee Dee Sharp, Tommy Hunt, Roy Hamilton, the Exciters, Christine Cooper, Lenny Welch, Deon Jackson, Percy Sledge, the Royalettes, Robert Parker, Bobby Hebb, Five Stairsteps, Dee Dee Warwick, Bunny Sigler, Patti LaBelle, Jay & Techniques, Brenda Holloway, Marvelettes, Jackie Wilson, Duprees, Shirelles, Isley Bros & all the top Motown acts. It seems that just about all the tapes were wiped many years ago, so little evidence remains today of its content (mores the pity).

A link to a typical Radio Caroline Chart from back in the day ....... https://www.radiolondon.co.uk/caroline/stonewashed/carolinecharts/040%20June%204%201966.htm This one is from when the World Cup was first held in the UK; Percy Sledge was No.1 (on this chart), "Stop Her On Sight", "The Drifter" + cuts by Diane Ferraz & Jackie Edwards also figured.

Lots of DJ's on the pirate stations off the UK coast in the 60's played soul. Emperor Rosko played loads of obscure stuff & had "I Spy (For the FBI)" as his theme tune for a while. Back then soul was still 'flavour of the day' so loads of soul tracks (from the likes of Edwin Starr, Garnet Mimms, the Impressions, Lee Dorsey, etc) reached high positions of the pirate stn's charts (Radio London & Caroline in particular). One stn (can think why) even had RLT's "Wade In The Water" as its theme tune.

Definitely got one of them (soul 'superiority' complex) & proud to have it.

A good NS dancer from Jewel .............

It seems that we have yet lost another 60's soul singer. A posting on Southern Soul stated that Jewel passed away yesterday (1st March) in an LA hospital. Tap to view this Soul Source News/Article in full

A 20th Fox 45 release I've always been after (NOT) is Rolf Harris' "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport" which was out as Fox # 207 in August 1960. Wobble boards were provided to guests on TV shows such as Clay Cole's Music Show in New York & the record was played on the show & members of the studio audience provided with boards. STRANGELY this track was a big US national R&B chart hit when re-issued on Epic (Top 20 Billboard R&B hit in summer 1963). Wonder if the 20th Fox version of the 45 is rare ........ should I be chasing a copy if it is rare .... decisions, decisions.

Dave, I'd guess that this is the guy who recorded for Kapp (61) & Coral (63) before 20th Century Fox .... he seemed to be both a song & dance man going by this TV show clip from 1964 .... Below is a photo of the dancer. Even though it seems to date from later than 1964 (going by how old he looks in it), I'd say this guy shows a great similarity to the guy in the clip above. The dance guy was born in 1936 & had a spell in the army (around the mid to late 50's), so that would make him 25 years old in 1961 and 28 yrs old in the TV clip.

There's an article up on the net about 12" singles -- 'Zoo Story: For The Longest Time' that includes this section .... ... 1974 .... Tom Moulton, an A&R rep for King Records, was about to make a mix of the Al Downing disco track "I'll Be Holding On". Like so many great innovations of the modern age, he invented the 12-inch single by accident. In the book 'Record Players: DJ Revolutionairies', Moulton simply tells the history of the first 12-inch single: “The seven-inch blanks, they were out of them. So he had to give me a twelve-inch. And I said, that’s ridiculous. So they said, I know what we’ll do: we’ll spread the grooves and make it louder. And, of course, when I heard it, I almost died.” This new format started to make the rounds with the DJs before any 12-inch singles were commercially available. It split the difference between the fidelity of the 40-minute, 12-inch 33-rpm LP and the brevity of the three-minute, 7-inch 45-rpm single. The 12-inch single emerged in the mid ’70s at the height of discotheques, as DJs called for longer songs to entertain the bell-bottomed girls who made the disco ball go ’round. As Moulton said, the grooves cut for a 12"³ record are wider, which makes the bass deeper and the sound louder. The benefit of the 12-inch single is simple physics: Not only do the wider grooves allow the record stylus to create wider sound waves for louder amplification and bigger bass; but also the further out the groove is from the center of the record, the more space there is for the stylus to move. Just try spinning the 10-minute live version of Bruce Springsteen’s “The Incident on 57th Street” from the B-side of the 1987 “Fire” 7-inch. You’ll hear what’s called “inner groove distortion” because the grooves on the 45 are so close the center. It sounds like shit. Eventually, the 12-inch single started to creep out of the disco clubs blasting Double Exposure’s 10-minute “Ten Percent” and Donna Summer’s 17-minute “Love to Love You Baby” and into the mainstream pop consciousness. Everything .... just about became available on 12" after that ........................... ........................ Apart from the fact that Tom Moulton was a freelance mixer (who was affiliated to King Records way back in 1963) and the Al Downing track was cut in 1974 for DCA Records out of Washington DC and released on Chess & Janus (via GRT), I guess most of the above rings true. Tom was getting success as a re-mixer with cuts by the likes of B T Express & (coincidently) Don Downing. He was soon to be in demand with every record label who wanted a disco hit (& was so influential in such matters back in 1975, the Billboard gave him his own weekly column). ANYWAY to my points .......... Was it a HAPPY ACCIDENT that the plant was out of 7" blanks when he needed one ? .... ALSO ...... I know (from my own collecting habits) that 12" singles can be a pain for a number of reasons ..... 1/ Because of the space they take up. 2/ Coz they mean a 3 min 30 track can be extended to infinity and thus 'lose the plot'. 3/ Coz for the last 20+ years, they have been putting out numerous remix versions on different 12"ers .... so findin the 12" that has the right soulful mix can be a right pain. BUT THAT APART ....... and especially as it states above, most tracks over 4 minutes long 'sound like shit' when pressed on 7" vinyl ... ....... why do NSers continue to be so against 12" singles (they ain't even too keen on LP's & CD's). Are they just 'dinosaurs' who bury their head in the sand & resist all technological progress ?

When soul artists made LP's back then, little thought went into what went on them (Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On' changed everything but that was still 3 years down the line). If an album was trying to secure sales off the back of a big hit 45, then it would be rush recorded and would contain sound-alike tracks & covers of other recent soul hits. I'd say Jesse's album (when recorded) was initially meant to sell to the people that went to see his live shows (and he was a very popular draw on the west coast back then). As with his live show I'm sure he was trying to cover all the bases when it came to the sound of the various tracks he cut. Down the years, he cut Impressions, James Brown, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis & 'big city soul' sounding tracks. Like many other singers trying to establish his own sound, he was just going with what was selling at the time to remain current (& thus keep the work coming in).

Well I was a regular at the Wheel from 67 to 70 ............ and less than half those on the Wheel CD meant anything to me back then. Before the Wheel I was doing Yorks soul clubs / nights from 65 (where very similar stuff to the common wheel sounds were played) & I'm including that period in my assessment of the tracks as well. I guess its all subjective though, but if I (& most other regulars in 67) had to choose the big Bobby Bland Wheel track I'm sure we'd go for "Call On Me". Loads of Dells cuts played back there, but "Its Not Unusual" isn't one I ever remember hearing and my Esquires cut would be "Get On Up" rather than the copycat "And Get Away". The guy who selected the tracks must have visited the club on different nights to me.

No way that it 'gnaws at my soul' ....... in the 70's I was into bringing up my family & getting on at work ...... ...OHH, AND LISTENING TO REAL MUSIC; Curtis Mayfield, Leroy Hutson, Reffa, Al Green, Bobby Womack, Latimore, O'Jays, Joe Simon, Gwen McCrae, Tyrone Davis, Marvin Gaye, Willie Hutch, Candi Staton, Spinners, Emotions, Tommy Tate, Donny Hathaway ......... DEFFO NOT the pop trash played at Wigan. ....... if I went to a soul night back then, I wanted to enjoy the music that was being played .... so Wigan was not a destination for me.

Not being one of the 'Casino Kids' I never did get all the pop crap that was played there in the 70's. Thankfully, most of that rubbish died a death on the scene many years back, however Peggy Marsh still seems to get plays. Never got her at all mesen (in soul terms at least). She was massive in Germany & Japan, sold millions of records in both countries. She made lots of tracks in German & Japanese and toured both countries (she seemed to visit Germany to play live / TV gigs a number of times a year from around 64 thru to 73). Going by the titles of some of her German outings, she seemed to be a bit of an Anglophile ...... but even that doesn't get her into my good books. Mind you, she seemed to like flashing her thighs back then, so she can't have been all bad ..........

I'm liking Tommy Sears "Salvation train" that you've posted up on youtube. It has the same sort of feel to it that many Terry Callier cuts have.

This Philly based label PROBABLY had something to do with 20th Century Fox calling the 1st incarnation of their record label just 20th Fox .....

In Jesse's first stint with 20th Century, he was initially handled by the label's west coast office (by Hosea Wilson). But the label closed down its west coast office and so Jesse was transferred across to be dealt with by the label's New York office. Things didn't improve though and he was left without a record deal when the label was closed down. They didn't really do right by him during his 2nd stint at the label either ..... talk about being jinxed.