Roburt

No actual example of Sam actually singing Sam yet ............. ... had to put that right ...... & I could just have easily jumped many years & put up "After All" .... But back then, it wasn't just Sam ..... there was Curtis, Smokey, Sam Cooke, H-D-H, Gamble & Huff, the Fame, Quinvy, Stax, Motown gangs + many many more.

Sam Dees back in the 70's ............. ..... not singing or writing this time ........... ... they let him loose in the studio as the producer this time ..... .... C.L. Blast was good but Sam 'improves' him ............ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD6kKJn_OK8

More Sam Dees magic ............ he learnt his skills in soul's golden period & never let go of those prinicpals ......... ... the 'best of the best' who came later were wise enough to make use of his work .........

Whitney wasn't daft ............ her take on the song mimics Sam Dee's original precisely ..... .... though he put a lot more emotion into his delivery....

Of course, not all the 60's soul hits were truely original. Lots of chart cuts featured 're-worded' gospel faves ........... so an already proven song (with a few word changes & a funkier arrangement) became a popular soul track (or pop hit) but many times top records featured new singers on an original song cut in a 'back street' studio out in the sticks. One guy who has real talent (singing / writing wise) is Sam Dees .......... his talent knows little limit. He honed his skills back in the 60's / 70's and held onto all the talent he had developed. His genius was appreciated by the music biz types steering Whitney Houston's career and she cut a number of his songs. One song he wrote that both he (on demo & live) sang and that Whitney turned into a hit album track was "Lover For Life". I had a copy of Sam's demo of this song before I even heard Whitney's take so always loved his original version the best ... but even her version was very good. After the song had become etched in my brain, I actually saw the lyrics written down. The song conveys really strong emotional feeling and yet when you scan the actual lyrics, they are quite simplistic ............. ................................. I hope you realize baby Just what you mean to me Hey you where I run for cover Your loving shelter for me And when I find myself needing some lifting up One night with you and that always is enough How you make being in love A true rare affair So take me I'm your prisoner Will you sentence me to be your lover for life Your lover for life Will you sentence me I want to be your lover for life Your lover for life r+for+life_20146365.html ] I just want to hear you say You'll be my lover, lover for life Capture, there's no getaway You're my lover, my lover for life Under your spell or under my own power It really doesn't matter to me See I fell in love the first time I saw you And I have been falling in love ever since You heard my testimony You've seen my evidence Hey, it's a crime of passion In every sense And justice would decide If you stay here in my world Take me I'm your prisoner Just goes to show, keeping it simple is the best answer lots of the time. Lots of newer guys involved in the biz seem to get too tied into the technology available and fail to stick to bog basic first principles.

I don't want this topic to instantly descend into a era based slagging match and I certainly don't want to piss off MS fans with the thread title (after all I'm a big MS fan myself) .... but just why has the soul music laid down in studios over 30 years ago stood the test of time so well. Back then, most people involved (singers, musicians, songwriters, producers) had no formal musical training,the instruments used (many times) were cheap & rudimentary. Studios were housed in make-shift buildings and utilised simplistic, beat-up recording equipment. Song writers were (lots of the time) people who the school system had failed, who had trouble with skills such as spelling and stringing sentences together. Yet, the music that resulted when all those folk got together was little short of magical (much of the time). Back then, the singers had dedication and would practise on street corners & in friend's basements for hours on end to hone their vocal skills. Even when there seemed little prospect of an outfit progressing to getting real bookings & eventually making it into a recording studio, they would still practise for hours. Young musicians would be inspired by the likes of the Funk Brothers or the Chess, Stax or Fame studio band members and be inspired to try to play as well as their heroes. Producers / arrangers would spend hours going over parts of a song to improve it's form, they would then lift those in the studio with them to produce their very best efforts. Producers would also develop ties with local music schools to gain access to whole string / brass sections that ordinarily they couldn't hope to have the money to hire. These players would add their efforts to trcks for little financial gain but in the knowledge that they were improving their skills, learning new tricks and had something good to add to their CV's. Move on 20 years, and their were 32 track studios just about everywhere. 100's of formally educated people were gaining qualifications from music schools and the range of new musical developments (keyboards, etc.) was continuing to appear. Recorded sounds could be slowed down, speeded up, or replayed backwards. Computers were beginning to appear in studios. The industry was making money hand over fist and so investment in new facilities was exploding. Move forward to today and lots of the creative spark seems to have gone out of the musical side of recording. Loads of effort goes into the technology utilised & what use it is put to .... but something (most times) does seem to be sadly lacking in the final product. Singers who can't sing live end up with massive hits; X Factor shows rule the roost and 'music biz svengalis' make all the decisions on who cuts what and where. Many times, to end up with a new hit, the studio crew just sample a hook from an old 60's / 70's track and loop it many times to create a 'new tune'. Everything today is set up (apart from cost cutting corner cutting processes) to make new music be better than the old stuff ............. but very rarely is it actually better or even as good. WHY ?????

Music Merchant mama hits Miami ............. ...... & she's a human bean ?!?!

Couldn't take any other version of SITP over Billy Stewarts or of GN over Bessie Banks effort ......... but I much prefer Georgie Fame's take on "Point of No Return" over Gene McDaniels original.

Over 30 years ago now & the memory's faded. Can't recall his name but he was around 30 years old (& a nice guy). His house was up a side street, straight off the main Worksop to Mansfield main road in Mansfield Woodhouse (Marples Ave).

Yep, the self same label. They struck a deal with New York based Half Moon Records (958 Atlantic Ave Brooklyn, N.Y. 11238) and put out about a dozen soul 7" / 12" singles. Many of them found favour with UK MS fans & RSearling played a number of them when he had his soul show on Sheffield's Radio Hallam (1981). I visited the guys house to pick up a few copies of each of their soul releases. He wasn't long back from the Far East & had an Asian wife. He had no idea how to promote his soul releases, so I got him to send a copy of each to RS @ Radio Hallam. Richard spun them on his radio show & sales levels picked up instantly. The only mistake he made was putting the same Rainbows Valley track on both sides of the UK 12" (voc + inst) instead of releasing the tuva side of the group's US single.

............. info from Jesse Boyce ............ about his early work with Moses Dillard ..... The Dynamic Showmen; the band was founded by Moses Dillard, Leo Adams, and Jesse Boyce. As the first keyboard and organ player and the second original bass player (taught by Moses Dillard) for the Showmen. I was replacement bassist but was pretty clueless about the business at age fifteen. It was all about the music and the dream of being successful. We were all still in high school and just happy to be accepted. For the record, I wrote most of the songs attributed to Moses Dillard ................ Pretty As a Picture; Go Away Baby; Soul Symphony - (Jesse Boyce-Piano); I Feel It Coming - (Bobby Marchan); Punchinella - (Peabo Bryson), I'll Pay The Price, and Bring Your Dreams to Me - (Peabo Bryson) It was not until after I left the band and then returned to join Moses in Pensacola, Florida (where I met Poppa Don) that I realized that I had not been given credit for my music nor did I get paid. But I stayed with Poppa Don because he educated me as a writer and he treated me with fairness and respect. We cut a lot of hit records together.

A Jock Mitchell 45 back in January 1966 ..... PLUS 2 versions of "Love Makes the World Go Round" wish I could find a copy of the Leon Jackson version

Two 4 the price of 1 ........... down @ a Miami Beach club in November 74 ........ ............ TK outfit Miami PLUS Vaya Records act Cafe ................. Anyone know owt about Cafe ? ..... guess they were from NY (or at least recorded there) .............

In November 1951, Marie Knight cut a track in association with world boxing champ 'Jersey Joe' Walcott ....... ................. mind you, I have never heard it so don't know if JJW sang on it or just talked.

Should have asked this earlier ................ The Flamingoes "Boogaloo Party" was written / recorded less than a year after the first song was cut that included 'Boogaloo' in its title. So it was one of the early Boogaloo hits (it made the US national charts in March 66, returning the group to hit status for the 1st time in almost 6 years). But the actual song is credited as being written by 2 members of the group (who probably got their credit for agreeing to cut the song & making minor changes to it during the recording session) and Miami's Willie Clarke. Willie seemed a long way from 'Boogaloos' home turf (New York or Chicago depending on whichever story you believe about the genre's origins) and a long way from where the Flamingoes based themselves. Anyone know the story behind the song's composition or how Willie got it to the Flamingoes ?? ........ I'd guess they were down in Miami undertaking some gigs there & Willie met up with them.

Joe Simmons was cutting tracks for Tropical in September 1970 ......... .............. did any of them escape on 45 ????????

That was big on the UK MS scene about 20 years back ....... I only have it on a VA album though.

An earlier Jackie Opel effort at covering Sam Cooke ....... (he improved a lot after this & made some fine soul sides) ....

Can't beat Jackie Opel for me ............... some of his JA / Bajan 45's must go for a pretty penny now.

A couple more soul acts down at Miami Beach's Swinger Club in the mid 70's ..............

Sprinter Carl Lewis also made a record -- "Break It Up".

Justin Fashanu .............. it was his UK 12" that landed Roundelet Records (of Mansfield Woodhouse) their licensing deal with NY's Half Moon Records (Cliff Dawson, Eddie Hooper, Lou Thom, Rainbows Valley, etc)

Dodgers Baseball player Don Drysdale (NOT a soul singer) signs with Reprise back in 63 ..........

Rosey Grier in his American Football playing days ..............

Maury Wills; baseball player for the LA Dodgers ................