Roburt

Okehdokeh, thanx for the gud ad-vice. Suppose I could try looking for a likely leggy blond when I'm next in Tesco's buying cans of processed root vegetables. By all accounts, supermarkets are the in place to pick up women now (it was down the fish filleting shed when I was last looking).

This is one of my all time favourites - a cover of Curtis Mayfield's (Impressions) "I've Been Trying" - a much covered song but this for me is one of the best versions. ............... Got to agree, this is my fave Peps track by far (but then I am a massive Curtis fan too).

Could always buy her this as an anniversary present and call her bluff............ I suppose so, but I'm over 60 & don't cook, know how to work the washing machine or clean / tidy up !!! Can you buy replacement wives on Evilbay ??

CHEERS. So it seems that Ben Smith was running NY based record labels back in the mid to late 50's & signing acts even then from the DC / Balto area. He must have stayed in the biz for at least another 10 years & just moved a few buildings along Broadway.

I make mention of Howard Tate's Turntable Records album above, so here's a bit more on how it came about ..... The story of how records get made is often more interesting than the music itself. Such is the case with Tate's LP 'Reaction', which came out in 1969 on Lloyd Price's Turntable label. Price's career as a no-holds-barred mover and shaker in the black music world truly sets him apart. Befitting the man who schooled the young Cassius Clay in self-promotion, Price's handsome photo appeared as part of the Turntable logo, even on the 45s. "Everyone said, 'Lloyd will get you your money,' so he decided to sign with Price, who was then fronting the Lloyd Price Turntable Club on Broadway near 52nd Street. The 'Reaction' album was made in conjunction with two other long time Price associates, singer Johnny Nash and the legendarily promoter/executive Danny Sims. Among the first Stateside music biz pros to recognize the burgeoning potential of reggae, Sims and Nash were already seeking to corner the market. The pair had hooked up with Bob Marley and never blind to a potential next-big-thing, Price gave Tate some of Bob Marley's ska-era songs to record. Marley tunes like "You Think I Have No Feelings" were first cut by Howard Tate. What could have been an influential footnote in the history of pop crossover (the Wailers served as Tate's uncredited backup band) became a blip when' Reaction' sold almost no copies. It was another event, however, that would end Tate's association with Lloyd Price's Turntable Records. This occurred in 1969 at the Turntable Club, when Price's partner, the aspiring songwriter turned bookkeeper Harold Logan (together the two had formed L and L Records in Detroit and put out Wilson Pickett's first hits), was shot dead in the club office. We have to rely on the possibly not totally reliable account of one Frank Lucas, an infamous drug-dealing American Gangster who stated that Turntable was actually owned by Harlem dope pushers like himself and Zack Robinson. Lucas spent many nights kicking back with some ladies at the Turntable Club enjoying Howard Tate's act. Logan came to a sticky end, getting two bullets in the same place smack between his eyes, whilst he was in the office above the club (May 69). By all accounts, Logan had upset Zack Robinson over some 'business deal' and the shooting was the result of his actions. Tate more or less confirmed Lucas's version of the Turntable incident, Tate shivered when the name Harold Logan came up. He stated that he had bad dreams about Logan for years, lying there dead like that. It's thought that Logan stole some money but back then, Tate wasn't world wise enough to know who was a hoodlum and who wasn't. He was just a green kid and all he cared about was whether the audience liked how he sang and that he got paid. But after Logan was killed at the club, he got out of the place and never went back. The incident scared him so much that it was the beginning of him leaving the business and everything that happened after that.

What's the story behind the Tarx label ?? Obviously New York based & almost certainly they cut their tracks in that city, but who owned it & who was the in-house producer, when did it operate (mid to late 60's ?), etc. ?? Benny Johnson (from Baltimore) also had a 45 out on the label (in 1966 I believe) & this was cut with his usual hometown backing band (the Soul Serenaders), so just maybe this was laid down outside New York (but I doubt it was recorded back in Baltimore).

RE:.... Perfect for sorting out edge problems... ........ I've got an 'edges problem ..... .... I married one (an 'edges) & she now threatens to divorce me whenever I order any records or CDs. She thinks that just coz I already have 20,000 records & 2,000 CDs I don't need anymore !!! .............. How can I get around this major difficulty ??

Vessie Simmons may have a few collectable records, but she has been a 'bad girl' at times .... In 1973, she was touring with a group of fake Shirelles ...... A band of southern guys were hired by a Los Angeles fella to back the Shirelles at a show at Fort McClellan, Anniston, Alabama. The gig went well & so they stayed on as the girls backing band for further shows across Oklahoma and then Texas (mostly at military bases). Another show they played was at Kelly AFB in San Antonio. On all the shows, the 3 'other' girls opened with a couple of songs then they would bring out Vessie, the 'star Shirelle' & the show would really kick in. Vessie also claims to have been an Ikette & to even have led one of the incarnations of the Ikettes, but I can find no real evidence of this (apart from Vessie's own statements). Anyway, she was brought up in court in Newark New Jersey in the 70's for 'impersonating' a Shirelle on live shows but somehow got off (the piccy on the left shows her leaving the Newark court after being acquitted). BTW, she WAS a member of the Ribbons from the early to mid 1960's.

To reinforce what I posted above (post 10 in this thread) ........ Here's a current news story ........ Lionel Richie owes $1.1 million in back taxes ........ April 13, 2012 Lionel Richie owes U.S. government $1.1 million in taxes for 2010 Pop music legend Lionel Richie reportedly owes the U.S. government over $1 million in taxes. According to celebrity gossip site TMZ, the POP & COUNTRY STAR (??!!??!!??) owes the feds $1,130,609.11 in unpaid income taxes for 2010. The IRS has reportedly put a lien on Richie, meaning he now needs to pony up the dough or the government could seek to claim the amount by taking over the singer's property. It seems unlikely things will get that far however, as TMZ estimates the former Commodores' lead singer to be worth well over $200 million, making his latest tax issue a small drop in an otherwise very large bucket. Richie recently released his country music debut Tuskeegee, a collection of his classic hits re-recorded with a Nashville sound, and featuring duets with some of country's biggest stars. According to The Toronto Sun, the album debuted in Canada at the No. 1 position on the charts.

It doesn't seem to work for me with tinned jellied eels but that's probably coz I'm a northerner ... However Italian collectors tell me the it works with tins of anguilla, French with tins of aspic d'anguille and Germans with tins of Aal in Aspik but I have never tried these.

... the above piece was from 1963 .... but the group started out much earlier

Down to DC now & a guy / group that had their own label ...

God places no restrictions on your hair -- he accepts you as you are Yes, Bob, but shouldn't God have set up rules to prevent other collectors from outbidding you on Evilbay ??

A typical record dealer ......

There was Aretha & Erma, but who was the 3rd one ......

Al Serafini must have been Cleveland's equivalent to Googie Rene (LA based). Many of Googie Rene's late 50's / early 60's tracks are big band jazz & MOR cuts but then there is the stuff like "Smokey Joe's La La" that got UK mod club dance floors heaving !!

So thanks to Mr. Dewhirst (& the compilers) we will get a 2fer CD containing loads of great Jewel - Paula - Ronn gospel tracks. What we then need is a similar release containing loads of the Chess - Checker gospel stuff !!! After all, you could just about fill a CD with NS related Chess gospel cuts, so that should be even more of a commercial bet !!! BTW, anyone else here really like the Gospel Six's Checker 45 track "God Done Got Tired" ??

Bob, he's a minister now, so I guess he wears his hair different these days !!!

......... would of said Tommy Hunt has made the most out of the scene ........ Tommy would have made much more (in comparison) back in the US in the early to mid 60's. The trouble with most artists is that they did't realise that everyone was ripping them off, record companies, promoters, managers, accountants, girl friends et al. By the time they 'wise up' to the ways of the biz, loads of money has slipped thru their fingers. ALSO, by then the taxman is chasing them for arrears & most of the money has gone (which is why David Ruffin & others ended up in jail & Edwin Starr moved to the UK). Tommy Hunt gets some regular club bookings BUT it is his main job. So £20k a year doesn't go too far when you have a mortgage, fuel, food & the like to pay for. Just about ALL soul singers gave the biz up because of the hours, travel, lifestyle, uncertainty etc. They settled for a day job and brought up their families (driving trucks, painting & decorating, etc) coz at least that way they got a steady wage. No, unless you were a Gladys Knight, Chuck Jackson, Reffa or Otis Williams the money you earned singing was never enough.

RE: Maybe they changed it because Stevie Wonder had released a track called Travelin' Man earlier in the year (Feb 67)? ....... that is why they changed the title, but Lou still didn't agree with the decision.

.... bought some great records there in late 60's early 70's ...... So did I, but I got there before smudger !!!

I believe that warps & dishes in 45's occur because the singles haven't been stored correctly. They may have been kept (for years) on their sides & / or kept somewhere way too hot (near a window where the sun streams through). Don't forget, that many 45's sat for years in hot or damp warehouses / basements as 'overstocks'. As they were only being sold (back then) for a few cents each, no one saw the need to look after them properly.

RE: I will have to ask Lou if Al was actually on that session (when he cut "I Travel Alone", etc) or if Al's name was just put on that 45 coz he was so well known on the Cleveland music scene. I contacted Lou & he has given me the full story about the Al Serafini 45. I have started a new thread all about it & the "I Travel Alone" recording session; didn't want the tale to just get buried in the middle of this long 'instrumental' thread.

On the instrumental thread, mention has been made of tracks credited to Al Serafini, who was the musical director of the 'Upbeat' TV show back in the mid to late 60's. These were two Al Serafini Orch releases (out of Cleveland) back then ......... Al Serafini Orch + Sir Alberts - Hey, Soul Man / Lil Rosey (Audio Fidelity) Al Serafini Orch + Sir Alberts - Earthquake / Seven Steps To Freedom (A & R) SOME BACKGROUND: By the 1960s, the big band era had all but ended, but a few live band broadcasts continued. Cleveland based saxophonist Al Serafini still ran a band & they made live national radio broadcasts from both the Sahara Hotel on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland and the Steel Pier in Atlantic City. In 1965, 'People', an album by Al Serafini had been released (I don't know which tracks are included on the LP). But it was the 45 containing "Hey, Soul Man" credited to the Al Serafini Orchestra & the Sir Alberts that Lou had strong connections with. I contacted Lou to get the full story .... Lou told me ....... When the "I Travel Alone" recording session was finished, he had sung the lead, but they (Lou & Tom Baker) had to finish their mix for "Traveling Man" (which the record company later changed the name of without his permission). The cut was then sent to Amy-Mala-Bell's Larry Uttal and Irv Biegel. Anyway, Lou was asked by Baker if the other tracks could be used for an instrumental release. He (Tom Baker) was also working with Al Serafini at that time, producing and arranging tracks for him. Lou said yes and was rightly gven the writers credits, but he never got any publishing revenue. Lou continues ... "Tom Baker knew that my musical changes and track production was unique and extraordinary. Tom had never heard changes arranged that way before. I knew that all of my musical creations had more movement than normal R&B songs". So Lou wrote and arranged all of those recordings plus he played several guitar parts on the tracks. Tom Baker then came on the scene just to arrange the horns and strings. Lou says that the two of them made a wonderful 'creative' team, but he didn't get paid from any of that work and that situation still holds true right up to today. Lou recalls that Jackie Cooper played drums, Tom Backer played bass and trumpet with Richard Shann on piano on all 4 songs recorded during the session. Lou adds ... "Perhaps when things change, someone will come forward with some kind of compensation for me before my final curtain call". I guess he has every right to feel bitter about the whole situation that unfolded back then & ever since.

This thread has been slumbering for a while now ........ Any answer yet on what the track listing on the CD will be ?? ....... I really like the Meditation Singers version of "A Change Is Gonna Come " (Paula 356). Might that track be on the CD ?????