Roburt

Another Miami based female soul singer; Ella Washington .... ........ plus support acts ............

Are you going along to the 100 Cub tonight Tony ? I'm almost sure to be there as I want to say Hi to Nolan and have a chat with a guy out of Stone Foundation.

It would be good to ask him about his work with Rick James, I'm sure funk & Motown fans would be interested in that aspect of his career. ALSO, ask him who's idea it was that his 45's were released under so many different artist names .... seems a strange decision for a guy tryng to build a career to have people think his records were by 3/4 different people.

Here's the main part of a piece I wrote on Nolan some years back ...... ..... perhaps the 'gaps' in the info here would be a good place to start when putting together questions to ask him ....... Nolan was born in 1949 in Los Angeles and his family soon realised he possessed real talent as a singer. He started to write songs when only 6 years old (his first successful composition being "I Like What You Give"). Initially, he developed his singing skills in church before developing them further in school. He quickly developed a strong love of all aspects / types of music, learning to play the viola and falling in love with the piano at the age of 12. At 15, he performed for the first time in a night club, this being at the Players Ring Theater in Westwood, California. He followed this was a performance at the Hullabaloo Club at the Aquarius Theater and then secured a gig at De Paul's Club in Hollywood whilst still only 17. After graduating from Los Angeles High School, Nolan attended Los Angeles City College where he started singing in a madrigal group together with Gabriel Mekler's sister. Israeli born Gabriel Mekler was mainly working as a record producer for ABC-Dunhill at that time and was known for his work with the likes of 3 Dog Night, Janis Joplin and Steppenwolf. Via his sister, Nolan was introduced to Gabriel Mekler and an audition was arranged. At the time, Nolan was only singing classical music but he selected Donovan's hit song "Sunshine Superman" as his audition piece. Even though Nolan classes his performance as being lame, Gabriel heard a potential soul singer in him and insisted he start listening to recordings by the likes of Otis Redding and the Rolling Stones to become more familiar with the style of singing. Nolan followed his instructions for the next 2 years and by 1969, the pair were ready to start recording. Time was booked at Wally Heider's Studio in Hollywood and with the likes of Jimmy Carl Black, Roy Estrada and Lowell George (ex of the Mothers of Invention) handing the backing, at least 10 tracks were laid down. The majority of the songs cut were written by Nolan himself but a cover of a Stax number ("Iron Out The Rough Spots"; written by Booker T Jones / Steve Cropper / David Porter) was included to give the proposed album stronger R&B credentials. One of the songs, his "What Would You Do If I Did That To You" would later enjoy much success when covered by Steppenwolf. Another artist who linked up with Mekler at that time (1970) was Rick James. Due of this connection, Nolan & Rick ended up undertaking some performances together. These shows taking place at the Troubadour in LA and at the Corral nightclub in the Los Angeles hills. Gabriel Mekler decided to start his own record labels and place Nolan's material on these. Thus in 1971 he opened Vulture & Lizard Records, based on Sunset Boulevard in LA. Other artists he signed to the label and wrote for / produced included the likes of Clydie King and Paul Humphrey & the Cool Aid Chemists. Paul Humprey's 1st single on Lizard climbed straight up the charts and so Nolan was recruited to work with his outfit. Nolan wrote the song "Funky LA" which Paul and his group cut. When this was released as the A side of his follow-up 45, it also made it into the top 50 of the national soul charts in August 71. By that time Nolan's own 'No Apologies' album had been released (Lizard # 20102) and this created enough interest for additional tracks to be cut for proposed single release. Thus, his first 45, "I Like What You Give" (Lizard # 1008), was released early in summer 1971. This quickly started to garner radio plays and soon broke out across the USA, making its entry on the national soul chart in July. The cut would remain on the national chart for 8 weeks, climbing to reach No. 40. Nolan had also cut a reggae style track and it was decided this had chart potential. "Groovin Out On Life" when released on the Vulture label (# 5002) under the name Frederick II, shot straight onto the charts in Nov 71(peaking at # 25 & spending 10 weeks in all on the national chart). Within days of "Groovin Out On Life" entering the charts, "Keep On Keepin On" (written by Nolan and Richard Flowers) was released as a single on Lizard (# 1010). Under the name N. F. Porter, this also became an instant national soul hit in December, making the top 40 and spending 7 weeks on chart. Lizard / Vulture Records releases enjoyed a lot of commercial success, but the company was having to grow too fast and the people running it didn't have the same goals. The problems it faced became too great and the labels were closed down. Before the company folded, Nolan went into the Sound Factory studio and cut some new tracks, one of these being a song titled "If I Could Only Be Sure", on which Johnny Guitar Watson played. With Mekler's help, Nolan was signed to a deal with ABC Records and the tracks to fill a 2nd album were assembled (some of his earlier 45 & LP cuts being re-used). "If I Could Only Be Sure" was released on a single (ABC # 11343) and this entered the charts in February 73 where it stayed for 8 weeks reaching # 29. The success of this single and his ABC album resulted in both being released in the UK (the single forming Probe # 580). In the US, ABC lifted "Ooh Baby" off the album to form a follow up single but this failed to chart. Nolan wasn't to cut any more tracks for ABC. He did however, in conjunction with Gabriel Mekler, work on tracks for Billy Preston and Wilton Felder. Although his solo recording career had ended, Nolan continued working in LA nightclubs as a musician / comedian. He also performed in clubs across the States and in such overseas locations as Singapore, China, and Bali.

This track is just pure NS heaven .... anyone on the scene who don't like this just 'ain't got no soul in their old shoes'. Only pity is that it seems any remaining 'spare' copies of the 45 went to the tip when the label owner's kids cleared their late parents house out.

Another Mary Hylor related post (see post 95 for the 1st one) ..... Late 69 & she was supporting Johnny Adams at the Continental .. ..... they even included a photo of her on the show ad .....

Never thought I'd ever say this ..... but the Willie Wright track above MIGHT even top Curtis M's original. WW's take on the song is so different it almost becomes another song altogether. Just LOVE LOVE LOVE the flute in it & his voice is so gritty .... .... a real gem that I'd love to be played out a whole lot more (beats 99% of Wigan Stompers into the ground).

Anuda one for a show featuring J P Robinson (this one's for a revue he was a part of) ...

I just like soul ......... all soul ........ tall soul, small soul, fat soul, thin soul, gay soul. If it's good, then play it out .... don't matter if the Wigan stomper / Brid Weekender main room / Stafford / 100 Club fans don't rate it .... ......... don't matter if it's rare or common ...... don't matter if it's 'blaxplotation soul' even ........ if it gets the feet moving, play it.

As the Challengers III have been mentioned (fellow Tri Phi artists) & Robb is the expert on such matters ........... ...... thought I'd ask this q ............ Below is a rare photo of the Challengers (who later had a 45 out credited to the Challengers III featuring Ann Bogan) The group is shown as being 5 strong .... I know who three of the members were ..... .... Ann Bogan 2nd from right, George Hendricks 2nd from left, George's ex wife in the centre .... Usually the group is just credited as being 3 strong, anyone know which Tri Phi tracks (if any) all 5 members of the group sang on ?? Think I'll have to get in touch with George Hendricks & find out all the group member's names & who was on which recording.

Andre has been involved with the music biz for about 60 years now. He learnt the 'tricks of the trade' very early on (probably coz when he was young, he got ripped off by label owners, managers, clubs) .... ... since then he has been applying 'the unwritten rules' to his own advantage. Andre used to bounce about between Detroit, Chicago & St Louis. He was originally put in charge of Bamboo Records when the label was started up in St Louis (1968) but he was soon relieved of his post & Gene Chandler took over (by all accounts, Andre was running the label for his own benefit & not that of the owner or the artists who had been signed up).

RE: the people who run the system don't think that there's anything wrong with the system and can't understand why I would get so upset ....... I know Ian didn't mean it to apply to this case .... BUT ... the above statement just about perfectly sums up the state of the UK banking industry at present.

I guess that Jerry O wasn't featuring his own cuts prominently in his live show as 1970 approached ...

Boba, we are at cross purposes here I think. I'm talking about Birmingham, ENGLAND not Birmingham, Alabama.

I believe a good 'standard' by which to judge the record buying scene is sweet soul. Many on here will not value sweet soul ballads at all & would have unloaded such tracks bought blind not long after acquiring them. For years, sweet soul 45 tracks (unless C/W a NS, SS, DS, MS or funk cut) sold for a few cents. Then harmony group collectors started to buy them. More recently there has sprung up a whole swath of sweet soul collectors and so prices are climbing & some 45's are now much sought after. But if a NS fan had received a collectable sweet soul 45 say 20 years ago, they would probably not have checked out if it was 'rare', they would have 'dumped it' if it wasn't to their liking. So they would have been happy to get rid of it for (say) 50p, whilst today a sweet soul collector might be willing to pay 250$ for a copy. So it's all 'horses for courses' as they say. I like SOME sweet soul (the Delfonics / Van Dykes are fine with me but Stylistics tracks I have a lot more trouble with). As Boba knows the sweet soul 'market' but most on here don't .... perhaps it would be enlightening for him to give a quick rundown on that scene ... .... how quickly (or not) it has built up, what are the 'in-demand' 45's at present and which of these are actually rare 45's. Over to you Bob.

This ain't really about soul cuts, but I thought someone here who is Birmingham based might be able to help a bit. I recently bought a few 10" & 12" acetates that contain 1950's R&B tracks (in all I'd say that the acetates contain around 40 tracks). No info at all on the tracks & the acetates are in great condition. However the cuts on them are all over the place in recording quality / volume settings (some sound to have been lifted off old 78's). I know very little about the source of these discs apart from the fact that they were mastered by Midas Music Complex of Birmingham (ADDRESS: New Enterprise Workshop, Nechells, Birmingham B18 7RL). Anyone know anything at all about this outfit & what type of music they usually get involved with ??

A bottle of your best Rose Battiste please ............

Chalky, I have enough to do already (mag articles + a book) without going back to 'improve' old pieces I have done in the past (which must number in the 100's by now). The wife sometimes expects me to do stuff around that house that doesn't just involve my sitting in front of a keyboard. Plus Robb has elaborated on the full facts, so everyone interested will know now anyway.

Yet anuda un ...........

Get your orders in now ...... https://www.northernbrewing.co.uk/90300/info.php?p=2 Charlie Rees (from Cheshire area originally ... so not OVO.... Original Vagrant Only) used to call that way on his journey up to the Cleggy weekender & lay a stock in for the event (I'd wager that our's wasn't that only caravan fridge that had no room for food during the weekender).

RE: if a record is decent and rare enough that you don't see it every day, it gets stuck into the ?00 pound category ........ I concur with Bob, but lots of times' the 'seller / owner' will not realise just how rare a certain 45 is. I recall a number of tales told by John Anderson about him selling very rare 45's for 'next to nothing' because at the time he didn't fully realise how rare the item was ..... if a box with 20 copies of a 45 lands on your desk, it's not that rare to you !! I knew about the 1979 Emkay Records 45 releases back in the early 80's. I'd had copies of most of these 45's in my hands by the mid 80's coz a friend had them. I had the cuts on tape a few weeks later & played the tape all the time. Eventually I obtained a copy of every 45 on the label & they sat in one of my record boxes (pushed under the bed in the spare bedroom). Then about 18 months ago, info on the Otis Williams 45 on Emkay was all over the net ... as it was getting a UK release. But just about all the talk was of 'previously unreleased' gems to gain UK 45 release .... I for one knew the 2 tracks had gained US release back in the late 70's ... BUT .... had no real idea how rare this US 45 was. I had looked for it on EvilBay & in rare price guides without success but to me that didn't automatically make it rare or sought after.

Robb, of course you are right about the Renfro 45 coming 1st ... but my piece had to be kept down to a max length (in 'number of words' terms). So I chose to write a couple of sentences focusing on the group's Bell releases and just added the info on Renfro as an aside. Writing a piece on an artist that is restricted in max length (because the space allocated for it has already been determined) can be very difficult at times. If a old soul artist only had a couple of releases then it's easy. But if a singer was in a number of groups & sang solo (as Morris Ch did), then you have to skip some of the detailed explanations on one topic to ensure all the major issues still get mentioned.

..it appears to be neither 'Northern' nor 'Rare' nor 'danceable'... Surely these aren't the ONLY CRITERIA that count in making a 45 expensive to buy ???

...................... After his discharge from the Services, Morris Chestnut ended up in Los Angeles where he met up with members of the doo wop group, the Vows. His cousin Ralph was a member of the group that had a record released on Markay in 1961, this being produced by George Motola. Via the Vows, Morris got to know Motola, who impressed, signed Morris to his L&M label. Using the Vows on backing vocals, Motola cut Morris on a song he had written himself, "I Need Somebody", this being released under the name of James Washington Lee. Musical styles were moving on though and the line-up of the Vows was revised, Morris became a member and the group hooked up with Jobete Music's LA office team. They cut some demos of songs the team had written and these were forwarded onto Detroit to be considered by Motown's hit acts as future recording material. If these songs were rejected, the LA team had a deal with Motown that allowed them to cut them locally and release them on a LA based label. This arrangement resulted in a Vows 45 being issued in 1964 on the Tamara label. Using the revised name of the Vowels, Morris also fronted an outfit that had a couple of singles released on the Le Bam label. Motown hadn't given up all interest in the Vows though and in 1965 they were signed to a deal, cut some tracks and enjoyed a 45 release on the VIP label, "Tell Me" (# 25016 -- May 1965). Promotion of this single was only half-hearted and it sank without a trace. Unfortunately this was to prove to be their only Motown release and so the group moved on. Morris had already teamed up with Roy Haggins, David & Robert Jones to form the Sound Masters. Herman C Allen signed the group to Julet Records and the 45 "Lonely, Lonely" (Julet # 102) was released. Morris' stay with the group was to be short lived however. Next he teamed up with Jones, Bledsoe & Smith to form the Attractions. The group secured a contract with Bell Records, their first release being "Destination You" (# 659) in January 1967 (also issued on Renfro). Two further 45's followed later that year, "That Girl Is Mine" (# 674) in June and "Why Shouldn't A Man Cry" (# 690) in September. Morris must have been extremely busy that year as around April his NS anthem "Too Darn Soulful" was released on Amy (# 981), another of the Bell Record's family of labels. None of these records enjoyed any great measure of commercial success and no more of the group's releases were to escape on Bell. By 1971, under the revised name of the Hollywood Attractions, they had a last release on the Sugar Shack label ..................

This one's just for Ady then ......... nobody else is allowed to look at it !!