Roburt

After Bert Berns died, his wife attempted to keep Shout / Bang going as viable labels. She hired Harold Berkman to run the company in summer 68 & they set up deals for the likes of Teddy Vann, Rick Hall, Phil Walden, George Tobin & Johnny Cymbal to produce acts for the labels. They also kept tenure at Incredible Sound Studio, (126 West 42nd St) New York. In late summer / early fall 68, Mike Valvano was signed to work for the labels. Maybe the Joey Delorenzo tracks date from Mike's period in New York in late 68 / 1969. By 1970, Mike was back in Detroit working (for Motown) with the likes of Rustix (& then Stoney & Meatloaf). By summer 69, Harold Berkman (who had been with MGM in mid 60's) had given up on Shout / Bang and was heading up Life Records (who put out the Wind 45 "Groovin With Mr. Bloe" that got NS scene plays back in the 70's -- Tony Orlando sang lead on this outfit's vocal tracks).

............... FROM BMI database ................... WAKE UP TO THE SUNSHINE GIRL ..... BMI Work #6146787 Songwriters / Composers .... PAVLIK JOHN LEON & VALVANO MICHAEL Publishers .... JET EYE MUSIC INC

Wasn't Mi-Val a label owned by Mike (& the Modifiers) Valvano ?? After Motown relocated to Los Angeles in the 70's, they were looking for new talent and different sounds. The company signed Xit, a Native American band from Albuquerque, New Mexico to a contract. So Berry Gordy sent Mike Valvano to Albuquerque to oversee the new act. The group had an LP out on Rare Earth in April 1973. Whilst in Alberqurque, Valvano fell in love, married a local, and stayed in the city for 20 years. So that would place the Mi-Val 45 release at around the mid 70's (so it had a real throw-back sound) -- of course it could have been cut much earlier (in Detroit?) & just released after Mike moved to Alberquque.

.............. this record fell foul of the same old tiresome too white/too poppy thing ....... ........Yea, when you're into soul, what's not to like about a white poppy stomper (apart from everything that is !!). ........... Bring back Wigan's Ovation I say.

Chalky posted the link to this page .... but didn't highlight the fact that .... ... they run tours of United Record Pressings Plant .... every Friday 11am ... $5 .... Has any soulie that has visited Nashville been on the tour ?? (....... https://www.urpressing.com/history.php)

Southern Plastics .... back in the day .....

Info on Southern Plastics (United Record Pressing) ..... United Record Pressing, this nation's largest vinyl record pressing plant, is near downtown Nashville. It was formed in the late 1940s as Southern Plastics. In the early 1960s, when the company became United Record Pressing and began pressing records for some black-owned and managed record companies (particularly Motown and Vee Jay), the black executives and artists of those companies could not get hotel rooms or eat in restaurants here when they came in to oversee the pressing of their records, due to lingering Jim Crow attitudes. So, United turned most of the uppermost floor of their main building into a large, comfortable apartment for its visitors, complete with a big party room. They named the apartment the "Motown Suite." It has all been preserved mostly just as it was back then, with the original 1960s blond wood paneling, chrome dinette set, Art Deco lamps, vintage furniture and TVs and large console stereos. When I toured the United plant recently, it was a very odd feeling to sit at the same kitchen table where Berry Gordy and Smoky Robinson and other Motown notables sat and had breakfast because they weren't welcome in Nashville's downtown hotels or cafes. The pressing plant itself today is very impressive to watch in action. Making phonograph records is an incredibly complicated process and is very labor intensive. This is not an automated record plant where you push a button at one end and get widgets popping out at the other. Human beings are very involved with every step, all down the line. Link to full article .... https://www.cmt.com/news/nashville-skyline/1646608/nashville-skyline-nashvilles-motown-suite-is-a-storied-part-of-history.jhtml

Company Name: NASHVILLE PHONO MATRIX, INC. Address: 1314 LEWIS ST, NASHVILLE, TN 372100000 USA Registration Number: 000022332 Status: Inactive — Terminated Formation Date: 1961-12-01 NASHVILLE PHONO MATRIX formed on 1961-12-01 in Tennessee.

A bit out of a 1962 Nashville music article .....

I'll leave Ady or Dean to answer that one ...... I'm struggling to keep up with all the 'Fame related' CD releases (though have managed to get a copy of all the vinyl releases that have come out up till now). I'd guess there has to be a detailed discog on one of the compilation CD's (if only to help ID which are the previously unissued tracks). Here's a start ............... https://acerecords.co.uk/features/label-profiles/fame

Just about all the interesting info on Fame Records is being included in the booklet notes that go with Kent's ongoing Fame CD series releases (some out already; more to follow) ...

Nashville Phono Matrix Inc. 310 Chestnut Ave ................ ....... to see full sleeve see link to ebay on Cody Black -- Ram-Brock thread ......... ........... item sold to Archer for their use (on behalf of Ram-Brock).

Some Little LP's that were available on order back in 1966 .........

Not about Nashville Matrix but a related subject .... this took place in 1973 when the vinyl & related products shortage was in full swing following the oil crisis that year ... ... seems that US firms made 'masters' for clients in at least 78 overseas countries !?!?! .....

The Black Exotics "What Am I Waiting For" (United # U-0311) has been included on the recent comp CD 'Loving On The Flipside'. The BOOK that comes with this CD (& it is a small book -- about 8" x 6") has loads of details on the group. The Black Exotics hailed from Macon Georgia & were formed in 1970 and played loads of gigs around their home area initially. They eventually landed gigs in Florida & toured around there, sharing a gig with Sundia & the James Jenkins Band. After that, they headed off to SC to see United Records. They cut the O'Jays track & either 250 or 500 copies of their 45 were pressed up. But they hadn't had permission to record the song & got in trouble coz of this. The 45 wasn't really distributed at all after the trouble kicked in but it doesn't seem to be known what happened to all the 'stored copies' (guess the guy who owned the label sold them over recent years). To get over the problems they had experienced with their 1st 45, they wrote some original songs & cut a couple of these. They cut one of the songs (in 1976) but it didn't gain a release (it was a disco-y item "Boogie To The Beat"). They next went on the road as Sam & Dave's backing band until their singer / bassist Michael Burnett was lured away to join Cameo.

Seems that some manufacturers were still making / pushing mini LP's as late as 1973 ...... .... Dave, do you know much about this outfit ??

This ad 'implies' that the likes of Jerry Butler & Terry Callier MAY have been on some of these Dell's album tracks ...... ........ do they get a name check on the LP cover (other than as writers) ??

............ and he gets a very brief mention here .............

1974 info on Terry ...............

I went to the site & bought the Dan Penn & George Jackson 45's ... plus found a copy of the 'Record store Day' Fame EP on there as well. All 3 now winging their way to my place. .... HINT .... it would be good to have a 'sound clip' of "Victim of a Foolish Heart" up on the site .... it would help sales I'm sure.

As everyone knows .... back in the late 50's / early 60's, guys (like Curtis) who were gospel singers in church met up with their mates outside 'church circles' to sing doo wop on street corners. This was popular as it helped them practice harmony singing & also attracted girls, something all teenage guys liked to do. If a few 13 year olds had played hoops with younger guys (as Terry told me he did with Curtis), I'm sure that when the older guys started their 'singing practise', the younger kids would also hang around & try to join in (as it made them feel older & more important). I'm sure the older guys wouldn't want them joining in but it COULD well have happened. Terry did also tell me that the opportunity to team up with him (at Curtom or when Terry was in Jerry Butler's songwriting workshop team) never presented itself, so he never sang 'professionally' or actually worked in the biz with Curtis

Not to do with this side of the UK 45 but ..... When Bobby Hutton played Prestatyn, Paul Temple fetched a beat up copy of the UK 45 to the weekender to get it signed. I showed it to Bobby & he was blown away. He wanted a copy badly ...... ... needless to say, he went back to the States with Paul's copy in his luggage. Wonder if a similar thing happened when Willie came here to perform ???

When I chatted with him at the Jazz Cafe, he talked specifically about playing hoops with Curtis Mayfield in the projects when he was young. He never mentioned singing with Curtis but no doubt he did a bit of harmonizing on the street corner with Curtis & their friends. Perhaps Boba can confirm if they grew up in the same area.

Thanks for the compliment. This one was actually a bit easier than some other articles as I had direct input from some of those involved (Howard Biggs, Lenis Guess, Jerry Williams). But I still needed to do lots of research & select which topics to include & which to leave out.

The Royalettes in 1965 ..............