Roburt

UK Paramount must qualify: James Phelps, Mark Radice, Stephanie Mills & Samuel E Wright

The Jon Thomas Trio in 1958 consisted of Jon on Hammond plus Gene Walker & Slim Jackson on sax. They were gigging at the Copa Club in Newport, Kentucky when recruited to back-up Brook Benton on tour. After that, the Jon Thomas Group secured a spot in a club in Buffalo and then moved on to play at the Baby Grand Club in Wilmington, Delaware. They had one song called "Heartbreak" which everyone loved and they ended up playing it over and over at the club. While playing at the Baby Grand, Gil Askey, the arranger and trumpet player for the Chris Columbo Band, walked into the club one night and asked Gene Walker if he would like to join the Chris Columbo Quintet. Gene was reluctant to make the move but Jon Thomas knew the Columbo Quintet worked steadily and his band did not have the same prospects once they returned to Cincinnati. Thomas encouraged Walker to go with Columbo and so he joined the group. Thomas then returned to Cincinnati where he used his 'down time' to go into King Studios and cut "Heartbreak (It's Killing Me)". The track was such a hit that the Jon Thomas Group suddenly had more than enough work. Chris Columbo certainly had some good guys in his groups as from around 1960 to 1962, Earl Van Dyke was the Hammond player in his outfit. By the 70's, Jon Thomas was back in Cincinnati & getting gigs wherever he could, usually playing as a solo musician in clubs, bars & restaurants ......... a 1978 spot he had ........

I love Hammond organ led instros & this one (issued out of Philly) is I believe by a guy from Ohio. Jon Thomas was born 1918 in Biloxi, Mississippi but his family moved to Cincinnati in 1921. Jon took up music & was a pianist who turned organ player. He formed his own jazz group in 1955 and was recording in no time (I believe he played on the Little Willie John session during which "Fever" was recorded. Jon himself had 45's out on Note in 1955 and Mercury in 1957. He made a recording himself & took the 45 around to DJs in Cincinnati & Cleveland. This caught the attention of ABC andthey signed him in 1960 -- releasing the single "Heartbreak/ Teasin" (there are vocals on both these) cuts. Another decent ABC 45 followed shortly after. Later on in 1960's, a 45 was issued on Junior (Philly) by a Jon Thomas -- it was an organ instrumental titled "Tizzy". I'm guessing that this has to be by the Ohio based guy, anyone confirm this ? .... A 45 definitely by the guy from Cincinnati ...... ...

Kapps a weird label; loads & loads of MOR stuff - old ladies music, old orchestras, etc .... and then the great soul stuff !!! Who owned & ran the label and just what was their game plan for the label ...... ANYONE KNOW ??

RE: Glenn Hunter would have been impressed ...... Cleggy & Prestatyn (now also sadly gone) will never seem right without Glenn being there. RIP old mate.

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Yep, I've got a copy of that B&S 'Motown Story' mag here somewhere.

Forgot to mention Hit & Run plus loads of good soul 45's on Pama of course.

Mike Raven went off to appear in Hammer Horror films ..... ... was it Dave Symonds that replaced him as host of the Radio 1 Soul Show ?

The Maxine Brown 45 on Major Minor ........ There were a few other Detroit connected 45's on Ember (Jones Girls, Ed Robinson, etc) PLUS a few nice items on King Records (Mary Love).

Another B&C label in the UK > People (Brothers, Doris Troy, Don Gardner & Baby Washington etc) Satril (by Spartan) -- Amusement Park + Dunn & Bruce Street in 80's Demon -- some 45's (& 12's) on their own label (Lamont Dozier, Persuasions, etc). Big Wave (the Waters) The famous specialist soul labels -- Soul City; Deep Soul; Move, Expansion & many more ... and numerous NS related labels (Absoulute, Joe Boy, etc).

No, France isn't trying to privatise its postal service so postage costs remain cheap.

I also have a copy of B&S 17 ... and all the others round that number that had parts of the 'CurtisMayfield' story & discog in them (5 or 6 in all I think). Think I'll hang on to em unless people want to pay 'silly money'.

Other labels with decent soul stuff: Major Minor (Isleys & Maxine Brown LP) B&C (home company for Action as well) SrB or SnB (a girl group with a strange name soulie thing) Quality (the Canadian label: distrib by Private Stock) -- a Sweet Blindness 45 Orbitone -- a few London soul things mixed in with the reggae 45's Jungle (a Nina Simone 45) Lovebeat (James Cobbin & Prime Cut 45) World Dance Records (Hannah Jones, etc)

Was it Faith, Hope & Charity (+ Ben E King) 45's that came out on Crewe (the UK version of Bob Crewe's label I think). With regard to the 1960's UK Carnival label, there were dozens of copies of those Manhattans UK 45's all together in a box of 45's a Dony 2nd hand shop (on Copley Rd) had back in the late 60's. Every other 45 in the same box (all bought together by the shop owner) were UK reggae label things. That's why I always assumed it was a UK reggae label that had put these 45's out (maybe they were distributed by Phillips back when new, however the singles label gives no clues at all to which company issued or distributed these 45's).

I'll have to find my copy of "love Lots Of Loving" out; it sounds damn fine to me now !!!

I thought the Marmalade label was part of the Polydor group -- Julie Driscoll & Brian Auger Trinity's "Open" LP was on the label (one side vocals, tuva organ instros -- some good mod type stuff on it).

With the thread about Inferno / Destiny 45's, thought I would ask which are the 'little' UK labels that put out the best soul 45's ...... A few that instantly spring to mind with me are ......... BUFFALO: the Justin (issued as by Justine) and a Betty Harris & Lee Dorsey duet if I'm not mistaken. CARNIVAL: The UK version of the (NY) label that the Manhattans early cuts were on. Run & put out by a London based reggae label if I'm not mistaken. My fave on this label is the Manhattans "That New Girl" ...... in the 80's there was also the Nite Life label that had the Carnival logo on it as they issued the New Jersey Conn's "Love Don't Come Easy" in 1982. PAGE ONE: Some nice items that look especially good on red & white demos. The Pic & Bill 45's are among the best on the label in my opinion. Lots of 60's & early 70's releases (Fab, Rainbow,etc) but the labels kept going well after that .... the later releases not being of too much interest to the NS crowd though. There was the Mojem label which I believe was owned / run by Jimmy James (label name probably derived from Mojo & gem). Have an EP from Jimmy James on the label but its a bit strange as 2 of the tracks seem to be re-recorded versions of tracks he had out on Pye just before the label dropped him. Others include Ardent, Barak & Tammi plus some nice items on bigger labels such as Ember (Mickey Stevenson 45's, etc). Lots more UK groups on London based little labels, especially after Soul to Soul went massive but as these increase in number its hard to keep track of all the arists / labels out there (some are The Brothers Org; Rugged Ram; Heaven Sent; A & W; Soultown; TPL; Kongo, etc).

a remix version of the track ........ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDMF4A6VZ7w I prefer the original though.

RE: Your'e right with the Kelly Temple, but before his time there John Green run a soul show .... That was the early to mid 70's soul show guy on Hallam .... John Green. I'm sure he quit the radio stn show when he bought a record shop in Woksop.

Another early Soul Searchers collectable 45 ....... their take on JB's "There Was A Time" .......

BTW, Chuck Brown and this group has nothing to do with Jake Wade & the Soul Searchers who were from the Michigan area.

An early Soul Searchers funk track ........

More info on the influence an early Soul Searchers track had on the later US music scene ..... https://funky16corners.wordpress.com/2008/02/06/the-soul-searchers-ashleys-roachclip/