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Everything posted by Roburt
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The Wheel And Late 60S Proto Northern Soul Scenes
Roburt replied to Ady Croasdell's topic in All About the SOUL
Are you talking about Kegsy back in the day ... OR ... how he carries on @ every Cleggy Weekender (coz it certainly sounds like the later to me). -
We loose yet another old hero .......... Jimmy McC passed away yesterday .... R.I.P. ..... http://www.sfgate.co...eer-4136929.php added by site Jimmy McCracklin, one of the most prolific blues singers and songwriters of all time, with a recording career that spanned 1945 to 2010, died Thursday at Creekside Healthcare Center in San Pablo after a long convalescence. Read more: http://www.sfgate.co...p#ixzz2FkjMne2e Jimmy Mc Cracklin http://creativecommo...enses/by-sa/3.0)], by Lionel decoster (Own work), from Wikimedia Commons
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Articles: Edwin Starr's Cleveland Years
Roburt replied to Roburt's topic in Front Page News & Articles
Edwin Starr was recruited by Bill Doggett in 1963 and went on the road with Bill's revue (singing lead vocals) from then. One of the early things Edwin must have done (though he wasn't using the name Edwin Starr yet) was to play percussion on the tracks included on Bill Doggett's ABC LP 'Wow' (cut in 64, released in January 1965). This album was issued in the US, Canada, UK, India & other regions, with a 7” jukebox 'Little LP' escaping in the States in May 65. However, Edwin can't have been on the road solidly with Bill's outfit all the time throughout 1964 (and up to June 65) as he isn't name checked on some shows that took place during that period. On August 23rd 1964, Bill Doggett's Orchestra played Carr's Beach in Maryland and for that show the featured people were Betty Everett, Billy Garner & Betty St Clair. On a show in Cleveland on Sunday March 21st 1965 at the 'House of Blues' (really Gleason's) — see attachment above -- Edwin, along with Betty St Clair were the featured singers with the review. Next time they turn up on a live show (that I know of) was in mid May 1965 when the ensemble had a week long engagement at the 20 Grand Club in Detroit. For this engagement, the featured people in the review were Edwin & Vanilla Thomas. It must have been after one of these shows that first Holliday Records & then Golden World signed Edwin to a record deal (the 1st contract was allowed to lapse when Golden World got involved). Edwin had been looking to cut a song he had recently written, “Agent OO Soul” but Doggett had been against the idea. So Edwin jumped ship, went into the Golden World studios in June 65 and his 1st Ric Tic 45 was cut, pressed & in the shops (+ on the Detroit charts) by the beginning of July 65. The rest is history …....... -
A much later duet that features Jimmy ................
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Gone but never forgotten ...........
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We loose yet another old hero .......... Jimmy McC passed away yesterday .... R.I.P. ..... Tap to view this Soul Source News/Article in full
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... & a later solo effort from Terry ..........
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An early record that featured Terry & his brother Andy ............ ... Andy & the Marglows (Liberty) with a cover of a Doris Troy biggie ....
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A tune from Terry & the group .....
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Seems that he passed away 7 days ago at George Washington Hospital in DC.. https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2012/12/17/d-c-soul-legend-terry-huff-dead-at-65/ An article on him ........... https://www.washingto...-a-cop-an-rampb
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This guy was involved with Way Out ............... Don King was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He ran an illegal bookmaking operation and was charged for killing two men in separate incidents 13 years apart. The 1st was determined to be justifiable homicide after it was found that King shot Hillary Brown in the back and killed him while he was attempting to rob one of King's gambling houses. King was then convicted of 2nd degree murder for the second killing in 1966 after he was found guilty of stomping to death an employee who owed him $600. King's attorney plea bargained his conviction down to non-negligent manslaughter for which he served just under four years in prison. King was later pardoned for the crime in 1983. King entered the boxing world after convincing Muhammad Ali to box in a charity exhibition for a local hospital in Cleveland with the help of singer Lloyd Price. Early on he formed a partnership with a local promoter named Don Elbaum, who already had a stable of fighters in Cleveland and years of experience in boxing. In 1974, King negotiated to promote a heavyweight championship fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire ('the Rumble in the Jungle').
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This article I wrote almost 15 years ago illustrates what a frustrating time Clevland based soul singers had to endure. It deals with the career of the Soul Notes & Bill Spoon but it could apply to just about any local soul singer .......... ............. BILL SPOON ............ In 1997 a Channel 4 TV documentary dealing with the duties of the LA Coroners office was screened in the UK.One of the people who's day to day tasks were illustrated in this programme was a department member by the name of William Bell. Now for most people who saw the documentary this will prove to be their one & only insight into the life of William Bell. However northern / modern soul fans will already be acquainted with his work in the music business where he is better known under his recording / stage name of Bill Spoon. William Bell (Bill Spoon) was born on November 6th, 1942 in Jefferson County, Alabama. His interest in music began at an early stage under the tutelage of the late Alex Bradford. His home area must have been a hot bed for musical talent as Bill grew up in the company of numerous others who were later to forge successful recording careers. Bill attended High School with Frederick Knight, Barbara Joyce Lomas (later to become a founding member of BT Express) plus Richard & Jessie Fisher. In fact, for a short period, Bill and Richard sang in the same street corner group. He would get together to write songs with his neighbour, and long time friend, Roger Hatcher and he also participated in local talent shows with the likes of Eddie Kendncks &: David Ruffin. Bill was also a member of the Miles College Chorus where one of his fellows was Mitty Collier who would go on to enjoy success with Chess Records. In the early sixties Bills plans for a musical career seemed as if they would have to be put on hold as he was called up into the Army. However he soon turned the situation to his advantage, as he spent two years (1962/3) entertaining the troops in Korea as lead singer for an outfit known as the Soul Masters. He was relocated to Germany for a further period where he was lead singer for a group who went by the name of the Uniques. In 1965, at the end of his tour of duty, he returned to Alabama where he completed his education in Birmingham At the time, however, there were few opportunities in the area to make the inroads into the recording business that Bill aspired to. As a result of this he followed the example set by Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin and moved north to relocate in Cleveland, Ohio. Other locals took the same road, Richard and Jessie Fisher also making the same move with Roger Hatcher following a few years later. On his arrival in Cleveland, Bill was reunited with Walter Ricky Dannison who he had got to know before going into the Army, this occurring in June 1965. Walter introduced him to Leroy Elie, with whom Ricky had sung while Bill was in the army. Riki, Leroy and Bill realised that they had the gist of a competitive singing unit, but were one voice short of a true blend. In August 1965, they met John Cornbread Berry and he became the fourth member of the as yet un-narned group. The group started to perform in night clubs but only on weekends as they all had full time day jobs. Walter did some form of quality control at the Cleveland Chrysler Auto Plant, Leroy was a commercial electrical and mechanical architect, while John was the floor manager at a metal photo processing plant. Bill himself was a criminal investigator for the State of Ohio. Soon after the line-up adopted the name the Soul Notes their collective efforts were recognised as in November 1965 they were signed to a recording contract by locally based Way Out Records. The group continued to gain experience and hone their performances and by 1967 Way Out were ready to let them record in their own right. Initially two tracks were laid down, “How Long Will It Last” and “Don't Make Me Beg” but Way Out were in the process of negotiating a national distribution deal with MGM and so the companies releases were delayed while this was completed Early in 1968 though the two tracks were released as a single, Way Out 1001. The group returned to the recording studio and a further two tracks were recorded, “I Got Everything I Need” and “I've Been Waiting For Your Love”. Way Out decided a second single was warranted on the group and so in 1969 they enjoyed another release, “I Got Everything I Need / How Long Will It Last” -- Way Out 1006. For some reason Way Out decided to leave Ive Been Waiting For Your Love on the shelf as they re-used one side of the groups first single. This decision undoubtedly robbed uptempo soul fans of a potential favourite as “I've Been Waiting For Your Love” had definite dance floor potential. The song had been driven by Bill along with group member Walter Riki Dannison and the Sensations Johnny Washington. Someone at Way Out must have thought the song had potential though as they got James Calloway to come up with an alternative set of lyrics.The revised version of the song was later (1971) to be recorded & released for the company by Jessie Fisher, the songs new title being “You're Not Loving A Beginner” -- Way Out 104. The Soul Notes cut a further 6 tracks in Way Outs studios in 1969 but unfortunately none of these gained a release. The songs laid down by the group were “Please, Baby Please” (a version of the Sensations track), “I Cant Wait Until The Weekend”, “Try It, You'll Like it”, “I'm On My Way”, “I'll Wait For You” and “Alone”. The groups treatment by Way Out was distressing its members and in 1969 John Berry quit the group. His place was taken by Avon Wells, but Avons stint with the Soul Notes was short lived as within a few months he moved on (becoming a member of the Imperial Wonders). Bill, Riki & Leroy continued on as a trio but in early 1970 a power struggle broke out at Way Out and the companies management became chaotic. In the confusion a number of projects got lost, a new Soul Notes release being amongst these. Bill is sure a few test pressings featuring tracks they had laid down in 1969 were made but none enjoyed an official release. Discouraged with their future the Soul Notes broke up. Bill Spoon decided a change was again called for and so he moved back down south, relocating to Memphis where he worked briefly with Frederick Knight. Bill soon returned to Cleveland though and later in 1970 he cut his first tracks as a solo artist. He cut five songs in all (“Gotta Go On”, “It's Hard Livin Alone”, etc.) and these were destined for release on Springboard Records. A few demo copies were pressed up but unfortunately the scheduled release failed to make it into the shops. Bill next acted as producer /arranger on a session for Walter Dannison, who now went by the recording name of Riki Sonda, but again a release failed to materialist. In the meantime Bill had formed a relationship with Bobby and Friendly Womack and so he moved out to California which was where they were based. Here he met Pete Peterson and Tom Wilson and in conjunction with them he landed a recording deal with Angel City Records who were to be distributed by Polydor. Bill cut 4 tracks for the label in 1972, 2 more in 73 and another 4 in 1974 however the untimely death of their executive producer, Tom Wilson meant the project ended. A number of the tracks were co-written / produced by Gene Dozier these marked the first occasion that Bill and Gene had collaborated in the recording studio. Four of these tracks were to find favour with UK soul fans in the late 80s when they were reissued on a Hense Forth 12". The tracks involved were “I Can Feel It” (from 1972), “She'll Be Lucky” (from 1973 — both of these being written / produced by Bill himself), “The One Who Really Loves You” and “I Bet You Cant Love Me One More Time” from 1974 (both being co-written & produced by Gene Dozier). Yet again Bill returned to Cleveland and here he organised a deal with Hot Ice Records. In 1976 he recorded 2 tracks for the company, a further two in 77 and five more in 78. One of the tracks that he recorded at this time was a song Bill had written with ex - Soul Note Riki Dannison, “I Got God On My Side”. Once again unfortunately nothing really resulted from the association. By 1980 Bill had thrown his lot in with Bob Davis who had earlier run the Day-Wood label. Gene Dozier, who at the time was working for Solar Records, was brought across to Cleveland to oversee the proposed recording session. At this session Bill laid down 2 tracks, “Love Is On The Way” & “Don't Play With My Love” and these were released on the newly instigated Highland label. Unfortunately the company didnt have the finances to properly promote and distribute the single and so commercial success eluded Bill yet again. The quality of the tracks was appreciated by UK fans though and the single became a much sought after item on this side of the pond.Eventually, to satisfy the pent-up demand, the record was also reissued on Henseforth in the late 80s. The problems the Highland release experienced finally convinced Bill that he wasnt going to establish a successful recording career in Cleveland and so in the early 80s he returned to Los Angeles. Over a period of several years he collaborated on projects with the likes of Friendly Womack, Leon Haywood, Lou Ragland and Gene Dozier. By the end of the eighties he was ready to give a solo career a try again. He linked up with Hense Powell and a number of tracks were laid down. The result of this work saw the light of day in 1990 when the Henseforth LP 'Talk To Me' was released This 8 track strong album immediately found a receptive audience in the UK but unfortunately making the US record buying public aware of its existence and quality was to prove a more difficult task. A number of songs on the allbum help illustrate the enduring musical associations that Bill had developed over his long career as they were co-written with old allies. One of the LPs most popular tracks, “Kick Back” was composed in conjunction with Lou Ragland whilst Riki Dannison assisted with “Look At Yourself”. Further Henseforth recordings escaped in 1995 when the single “I Rode The Crest Of The Wave / No Way To Live” was released but again it failed to find a wide audience. Bill isn't a person whos easily discouraged though and he continued to work on new material. He re-recorded “I Got God on My Side” along with a number of other songs. Bill's duties with the L.A Coroners Office were becoming too arduous on a day to day basis and so he was determined to make another effort in the recording field. He had plans to release a new C D but again this project failed to materialise. More recently Bill got to retire and so quit LA to be nearer to famoily members. He certainly deserved to get more recognition for the fine work he had undetaken in the recording studio down the years, he never really received the plaudits long due to him.
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Articles: Edwin Starr's Cleveland Years
Roburt replied to Roburt's topic in Front Page News & Articles
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Some good East Yorkshire sleeves there ........... I used to be a regular in Hull for a few years from the middle to the end of the 60's. Bought quite a few bits at Sydney Scarborough's + a few more places in the city centre & on Holderness Rd. The 2nd hand shops up Beverley Rd were also good for UK & Euro soul 45's (the Uni was up that way & skint students used to sell their 45's to buy food at the end of term + with Hull docks being a thriving port back the,n records came in on the boats from Germany & the like). The Skyline Ballroom (top floor of the Co-op Dept Store) had good acts on (UK & US soul outfits) until it was transformed into a night club (when the likes of the Flirtations & Fantastics would be on with all the usual pop acts). Also had 3/4 decent clubs; Discotheque on Whitefairgate (they had the odd soul niter there), the Gondola, Intercon (in the 70's) and a place next to the river in Witham (can't recall the name of it though). My mate, Steve Mercer DJ'ed at the last two clubs. There was a good club in Grimsby that I seem to recall was mentioned on a SS thread a while back. Spent much of summer 66 in there. They also had a decent soul club in Goole & in Brid (the Jungle -- down on the harbour) back around 1967 .... ... & a couple of decent ones in Scarboro (in the 70's).
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Heard back from my Cleveland contacts & it seems that a deal on the Way Out stuff is still possible (people still around who hold the rights). All it needs now is someone who wants to license the tracks and a fair portion of luck ........... The master tapes for the unissued stuff has to be 'found' in the studio vaults and have still to be in 'salvageable condition'. I now that when Ady was there, the guys at the studio were in 'very lazy mood' & not willing to look for much of anything in the tape vaults.
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Ady, I have sent you a pm message.
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Articles: Edwin Starr's Cleveland Years
Roburt replied to Roburt's topic in Front Page News & Articles
Losing their lead singer finished off many a group, but when Johnny Moore jumped ship to join the Drifters, the Hornets soldiered on. The group's new leader was Ben Iverson and they stuck with the plot through to the early 60's when the group landed a record deal with Way Out. Eventually they gave up due to changing music styles but Ben Iverson still wasn't finished. He relocated to New York and continued his music career as both a solo artist and as a group lead singer. He helped form the group Ben Iverson & Nue Dey Express who had a 45 out on Britne. The group then landed a deal with RCA and had the track "(You Can't Bend My) Super Rod" out that featured Ben on lead vocals (on the voc side of that single). The group teamed up with new producers & for whatever reason (conflict between those producers & Ben who saw himself very much as the group leader or the producers not liking his old style vocal delivery) Ben was ousted from the group. Their producers & RCA re-named them; Crown Heights Affair) & they went on to have worldwide hits. -
Articles: Edwin Starr's Cleveland Years
Roburt replied to Roburt's topic in Front Page News & Articles
Some mid 1950's shows in Cleveland. Groups featured include the El Dorados, the Metrotones, the Hornets and others. The Hornets were another local outfit that recorded. In 1953 they were doing well, their lead singer being Johnny Moore. The Drifters came thru Cleveland for a show, spotted Johnny and recruited him to join their group. So he packed a bag & went on the road as a Drifter. He had a solo spell after his run in the military (as Johnny Darrow) and then went back to the Drifters when a vacancy occurred, It was Johnny who led the Drifters when they relocated to the UK in the 70's. -
Articles: Edwin Starr's Cleveland Years
Roburt replied to Roburt's topic in Front Page News & Articles
Like every big US city, Cleveland had its own TV version of 'American Bandstand'. Cleveland's equivalent went out weekly on ABC from 1964 to 1971, it was called UPBEAT. Loads of top acts got to appear on the show including some local soul acts. The O'Jays were on, as was Sonny Turner with the 60's Platters. Otis Redding was on in December 1967, he sang solo ("Respect" backed up by the Barkays) & then did a duet with Mitch Ryder ("Knock On Wood"). He was in the city to do the show & play a gig at Leo's Casino. After the show, he touched base with Kim Tolliver who was back home after being a member of Otis' touring review. After that he headed to the airport & his private plane to get to his next engagement. The plane crashed en-route & Otis + some of the Barkays were killed. -
Articles: TOPPS 45s 'Yeah, But Can You Play ‘Em?'
Roburt replied to Dave Moore's topic in Front Page News & Articles
Dave, did you manage to track down any more of those Eastern European Motown cardboard singles ?? -
You're wrong there Bob. I googled her & quickly learnt that she's the illegitimate daughter of Ben Franklin ... now I never knew that !!
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Articles: Edwin Starr's Cleveland Years
Roburt replied to Roburt's topic in Front Page News & Articles
Yes, Ann Bogan (later a Marvelette & member of New Birth) & the guys in the Challengers were from Cleveland. George Hendricks, a current member of the Hesitations, has a long musical pedigree...... His first major singing position was in the Sahib's who around 1960 were one of Cleveland's finest soul groups (they performed on bills with the likes of James Brown, Jackie Wilson and most of the Motown acts). The group were just about the top local draw at the time but had no interest in recording and so never left a 'vinyl legacy' to look back on. After this, he was a member of 'Ann Bogan and the Challengers' who recorded "Honey Honey Honey" / "Everyday" for the Tri Phi label. He was then to serve in Viet Nam & after returning took a break from the music biz. Then in the 70's, he joined Red Top and the Young Family who recorded "Love Power / Barbara" released on the Tri City Label (owned by Choker Campbell). George toured the US with the group for several years. In the late 70's he joined long time friend (& former Sahib) Lou Ragland & they formed the Chosen Few. Later still, George was vocalist for Harvey and the Phenomenals (ex of Daywood label). .... more on George (& Edwin) here ....... https://rockhall.com/...-music-history/ Cleveland in the 50's & 60's had the artists and the recording studios (though in the 50's these were very basic) ... ..... the city never had a local guy with money who was prepared to invest cash into setting up a label and properly financing releases with decent distribution. Way Out came the closest to becoming an established label (& their studio was really more of a front for 'number runners'). Way Out established deals (for distribution) with the likes of Atlantic & MGM but still didn't have the money to really go for it big time. Their biggest investor (after the start up) was Amer Football player Jim Brown (hence their Big Jim label). But Brown hooked up with the Friends of Distinction & went off to Hollywood to star in film's & build that group's career. Too many Cleveland soul 45's say ... 'from the album ????' but those albums never got released (even though the tracks were cut) because of lack of funds. Many of the master tapes for loads of unreleased 60's soul cuts lay locked in a studio vault just outside the city to this day. If they aren't 'rescued' soon, they will fall to pieces and the cuts will be lost forever. -
Articles: Edwin Starr's Cleveland Years
Roburt replied to Roburt's topic in Front Page News & Articles
I know little about the Annuals, except that they were managed by Marty Conn & had 45's out on his labels (Marconn & Conn Records; based on South Green Rd) ....... this ain't soul, its doo wop ... but this is the sort of sound Edwin's group was making back in the 50's ..... ......... "Everybody talks about 'Get a Job' ... " (should please Robb though , if he checks out this thread). -
Articles: Charles Drain: Two Stupid Feet
Roburt replied to Roburt's topic in Front Page News & Articles
Charles Drain pictures ..... ..... one a publicity shot, the other him in action ...... Charles Drain in the studio ............... Charles' Emkay 45 ............. The Tabs on tour ................ Baltimore Royal Theatre: 1962 -
Charles Hatcher (Edwin Starr) was born in Nashville in January, 1942 but his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio while he was still young. Here Edwin was educated at the city’s East Technical High School. Whilst a student at this school his interest in singing developed. This isn’t surprising as the school seems to have been a spawning ground for male vocal groups at the time. The likes of the LaSalles & Carousels, who were both to go on to secure recording contracts, started up while the members were attending the school. Edwin also became a member of a group formed at the school, his group adopting the name of the FutureTones. The group got its name by adapting the name of an established local group, the Metrotones. The Metrotones had started to come together as early as 1953 and they quickly built up a local following. Initially an all male outfit, the group's manager recruited Kim Tolliver to join them for a short period. The group's popularity led to them securing a recording contract and in 1958 they had enjoyed a release on the local Reserve label, “Please Come Back / Skitter Skatter”. The links between the two groups went further than just similar names though. They came from the same part of the city and the Metrotones leader, Sonny Turner, took Edwin under his wing and helped teach him to sing properly. The Reserve single was to prove to be the high point of the Metrotones career, however Sonny Turner was to go on to become lead singer with the Platters in the 60’s. Another member, Leonard Veal, ended up joining the Hesitations a few years later. The FutureTones consisted of Edwin, John Berry, Parnell Burks, Richard Isom and Roosevelt Harris. The group performed at school shows and set about increasing their profile locally after Edwin graduated from school in 1956. They became ground breakers on the Cleveland scene as they soon became the first local outfit to be fully self contained, having their own instrumentalists as members. The musician members of the group were Russell Evans (guitar), Pinhead (trumpet), Julius Robertson (bass), Brownie (drummer) and Gus Hawkins (sax). The group would enter local talent contests such as those that were held at the Circle Ballroom. At these they would be up against other aspiring groups of young hopefuls trying to get onto the bottom rung of the ladder they hoped would eventually lead to recording success. Group names that Edwin recalls are the Sahibs, the Monarks and the Crescents. The Sahibs had also been formed at a local school, this time though it had been Rawlings Junior High School. At the time one of their members was George Hendricks who was later to become a member of Way Out group, the Exceptional 3. A couple of years later Lou Ragland was to be co-opted into the group by its leader, James Dotson. Edwin acknowledges that the Sahib’s would almost always put on a fantastic performance, which his outfit had to strive to top. The FutureTones would usually perform the Metrotones song “Skitter Skatter” and they must have done it well as they won contests on 8 or 9 separate occasions. Edwin puts this down, in part, to his outfit’s better stage act as they were better dancers than most of their rivals. Edwin particularly remembers one contest though, at this the FutureTones and Sahibs were pitted against each other and their performances couldn’t be separated. As a result of this, the two groups were adjudged joint winners. The leader of the Crescents was William Burrell, who adopted the professional name of Billy Wells. Billy went on to enjoy a long and successful recording career both with the Crescents and later with the Invaders and the Outer Realm. Billy relocated to Florida in the 60’s and here he cut a track, “This Heart, These Hands”, that was to go on to find favour with UK northern soul fans. The Monarks, Edwin recalls, would perform mostly El Dorados and Spaniels type tunes. Other local outfits around at the time were the Fabulous Flames, Annuals and Cashmeres. The Fabulous Flames would enjoy releases in the late 50’s and early 60’s on Rex, Time and Baytone. Their line-up included Harvey Hall who would later go solo and record for Thomas Boddie’s Luau label. The group would alternate between having four and five members and so would always be taking on temporary members. One such member was Richard Fisher (Jessie’s brother) who was to relocate to New York in the sixties and join the Jive Five. The Annuals later secured a recording contract through their manager, Marty Conn, who started his own label, Marrconn Records. When the group broke up, members went on to join the Springers (Jeff Crutchfield) and Hesitations (Arthur Blakey). The Cashmeres, like the Sahib’s, never recorded in their own right, but the outfit’s Kenny Redd made it into the studio’s in the early 70’s when he was with Miystic Insight group True Movement. The FutureTones, along with the other groups mentioned, would do the rounds of all the Cleveland live venues. The Mercury Ballroom, the Lucky Strike, Gleason’s, the Che Breau Club, the Rose Room at the Majestic Hotel, the Cedar Gardens, Playmor and Chatterbox Club. Joan Bias, who recorded for Way Out in 1963, recalls watching a really good FutureTones performance at the Cedar Gardens in the late 50’s. The Majestic Hotel was at that time employing two émigrés from down south, Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams. Eddie was employed in the kitchen while Paul was a bell hop. The pair were using their positions at the hotel to good effect though. They would rehearse songs after work from around midnight to 3am along with the third member of their outfit, Kell Osbourne. They would also occasionally secure bookings to perform properly at the hotel. However the pair soon decided that Cleveland didn’t offer them the musical opportunities they were seeking and so they moved on to Detroit. Eventually the FutureTones got to appear on a local TV show, the 'Gene Carroll Talent Show' and not long afterwards they went professional. The first engagement they secured after this was at the Chatterbox Club (which was located on Woodland near 55th Street) as support act to Billie Holliday. Edwin was totally in awe of Billie and although he got the opportunity to visit her dressing room to speak with her he doesn’t think that his attempts at conversation would have been too coherent. Further successful engagements followed and in 1959 the group secured a recording contract with Tress Records. A single, “ I Know / Rolling On” was released and made a few waves locally. With a promising future in prospect for the group things appeared to be on the up for its members' but fate was to take a hand. In 1960 Edwin was drafted into the Army. Here his obvious talent as a singer was soon recognised and he got to perform for other servicemen at bases across the USA and Germany. Upon his discharge in 1962 he returned to Cleveland and attempted to pick up the reigns with the group again. In his absence, one of his old friends Demon (William Isom) had joined the group but they hadn’t been able to progress their career. With Edwin back in the fold they continued to perform locally but they had lost the impetus they had possessed a few years earlier. In 1963 Bill Doggett and his group swung through Cleveland and at the time Doggett was on the lookout for a new vocalist. Edwin caught his eye and so was offered the position. He accepted, quit the FutureTones and left town to tour with his new outfit. Bill Doggett had a great influence on Edwin, especially with regard to his professional attitude to the business. He didn’t drink, always expected good discipline and insisted that those associated with him were accessible to the people they came in contact with. After a couple of years on the road with Doggett, Edwin began to develop his song writing skills and inspired by a James Bond movie he wrote ‘Agent OO Soul’. He thought the song had commercial potential but knew that to tie in with the hype currently associated with the spy movie it would have to be recorded straight away. He took the song to Doggett but, obviously not wanting to lose his talented vocalist, Doggett suggested it was too early for him to be contemplating cutting a record. Luckily for Edwin one of their next live performances was at the Twenty Grand in Detroit. At this he was approached by Lebaron Taylor, which led to an introduction to Ric Tic Records and the rest is history. With an instant solo hit on his hands, Edwin had to immediately put together a backing band so that he could tour to cash in on his new found success. He didn’t really know too many available musicians in Detroit so it was only natural that he returned to Cleveland to recruit the backbone of his needed line-up. The FutureTones had soldiered on after Edwin had left them but the vocalist’s in the line-up began to loose interest and gradually drifted away into normal 9 to 5 jobs. In fact no other vocalist from the group would go on to forge a career in the music industry. The musician side of the group however had gone from strength to strength. They found employment around Cleveland backing up visiting acts such as the Temptations. The respect that they commanded locally also led to them being used on recording sessions, with work on O’Jays and Intertains sessions being amongst those secured. On Edwins return to scout out members for his tour band he sought out his old friends and in no time he had persuaded Gus Hawkins and Julius Robertson to go on the road with him. The pair stayed with him for some time before they eventually tired of living out of a suitcase and returned home to Cleveland. The pair’s departure with Edwin had finally signalled the end for the FutureTones and leader Russell Evans took a position in the O’Jays backing band. In the 70’s Gus Hawkins was to become a member of Musicor recording group S.O.U.L. and Russell Evans was to lead the backing band for Sounds of Cleveland / Devaki recording group, Truth. Edwin hadn’t finally severed his links with Cleveland though as in 1970 he returned to the city once again. This time he recruited local outfit, Mother Braintree, as his road band. After a year or so they also returned home where members were to merge with another local outfit to form the Dazz Band. Edwin’s many years of commercial world-wide success only took off after he had left Cleveland, however he had spent his formative years in the city. Without the grounding he gained there who can say how his career would have progressed. He was still certainly well remembered by many residents of the city in the 1990's. Among the old friends that were hoping Edwin would return to the city was William ‘Demon’ Isom, who at the end of that decade still worked at Republic Steel.