Roburt

I was chasing an import copy of "Call On Me" in late 67 (right after I became a regular @ the Wheel). It was played @ the Wheel way before then, so others would have been buying copies from US suppliers ahead of that. I SUSPECT, it was individuals doing their own personal deals to get copies of this Duke 45 that transpired, not a 'mass import' situation. NOW, BY OCTOBER 68, the situation had changed as EMI (& others) got involved ... Why UK Cameo Parkway copies of it had dried up soon after early Sept 67 I have no idea (though the UK label ceased to exist from Sept 67) ... in the US, the Parkway label died in early 68 (the Olympics "Looking For A Love" being the last release). How did the US MGM distributed late Parkway 45's come about ?

US ad for the LP that was released here in the UK ... It was Vogue Records Ltd, of 113-115 Fulham Rd that released it here. They also put out the 2 x BBB 45's + an EP on Vogue Pop in 62 plus another 45 by him in 63 on Vocalion. Vocalion became a Decca Records label in 63. In 64 Decca was also responsible for UK releases on Atlantic, London, RCA Victor, Brunswick & Warner Bros.

Of course, black radio wasn't the major player on US airwaves; the pop stns had many more listeners (most of the time) and what they played was more influential in getting a soul 45 onto the Hot 100. But lots of soul stuff did break through & get major white radio airplay ... Top selling 45's in 2 US cities at one point in 66 ... most would have achieved their sales via radio exposure ... more soul stuff selling in Detroit at the time; lots of the 45's being local product. Nice to see a top Mojo / Wheel spin @ #5 in Detroit.

Even the BBC (it seems) cottoned on to "Call On Me" ... they included on one of their BBC Radioplay compilation albums, but not till 1990 (so it's in CD format & not vinyl) ...

I like lots of new releases; both of old tracks & newly cut tracks .... I even get them in digital format, if cheap, free or sent to me. BUT, I don't value them in digital form (my age I guess). I have been supplied with lots of unreleased tracks over the last 10 / 15 years in digital form but tend to leave them on old computers & therefore lose them .... that's the reason I always prefer cuts in a physical form (vinyl or CD).

Bobby Bland was still obviously cutting lots of tracks for Duke towards the end of the 60's & into the early 70's but lots of them were being left in the vaults (unlike "Call On Me"). Some of these tracks escaped in 1996 on the MCA CD 'That Did It' ( & a couple are escaping again thanks to Soul4Real) ...

Bobby Bland 45's were always popular in Houston ... But he sold right across the USA and not only in the black / R&B market. "Call On Me" was the B side of the 45 when released & it was tuva side that got the black radio plays & that initially made the R&B charts. When it shot up the R&B charts, white stns also started to pick up on it -- but their DJ's liked "Call On Me" better and so played that side. "Thats The Way Love Is" made the national R&B charts in early Jan 63 and stood @ # 7 when the effects of white stn plays meant "Call On Me" also entered the R&B charts (@ #20 - 2nd Feb 23). BUT ... BUT .. it was tuva way around on the Hot 100 chart. "Call On Me" entered 1st and stood @ #60 in late Jan, whereas "Thats The Way .." had just entered stood at #81 & then #80 ....

Down in Houston, Bobby Bland was always popular ...

An 'add-on' to my original question ... From what's been posted above, Roger Eagle had an arrangement to get Duke 45's direct from the record label. So I assume, he was playing "Call On Me" from the early days of the Wheel. The original club opened early in 63 & then it moved in September 65 to the location that I first visited (Whitworth St). "Call On Me" escaped on US 45 in Dec 62 & on a UK LP in Feb 1965. In fact, Vocalion put out 3 x B Bland LPs here over a period of just a few months in 64/65 ('Ain't Nothing You Can Do', 'He's The Man' & 'Call On Me / Thats The Way Love Is'). On the cover of one of these albums, Roger Eagle is quoted, as is another guy from Lancashire. Some of Bobby's tracks get a mention but not "Call On Me". Lets say Roger E had a US 45 copy in 1963 then & the UK album was being bought by Lancs R&B fans / mods from March 65, then Whitworth St opened in Sept 65 .... BUT when did "Call On Me" become a Wheel anthem ?? To the best of my recollections (it is 56 years ago), it was only at the Wheel that I remember it being played (not @ the Mojo or Nite Owl) ... so it seems it's anthem status (in 65 ? / certainly in 67) was just @ the Wheel. BUT when did "Call On Me" become a Wheel anthem ?? Anyone here know ?

Still miss Glen & his old mate Jim Smirk. We lost Glen in 2010 (right after the Cleggy Weekender) & Jim on this day in 2017 .... enjoying themselves @ the Soul Barn ... Can't believe that Glen's been gone 13 years & Jim 6.

Going off topic here, but as Jimmy Lloyd ("Call On Me" -- UK Phillips 45; 1963) was on the 6-5 Special TV show, thought I'd post this up too... '6-5 Special' was the 1st pop TV show in the UK. It started in early 1957 and helped make the name of Jack Good (who would soon be heading off to the US to make TV music shows there -- Shindig, etc.). Anyway, it was very influential at the time (late 50's). The opening titles ... www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E-ga4mb9TU A later tv tribute to the show included a clip on US gospel / R&B act the Deep River Boys (@ 9 mins 23secs in) performing live. The group recorded in the UK in 1958 & 1960 .... www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfchRKvc0Cs

Thanks for that info; Jimmy seemed quite influential on the UK blues / R&R scene in the 50's & early 60's but then faded away quite quickly. He was from Trinidad (born 1929) & yet doesn't seem to get much (any?) recognition on web sites celebrating singers from the island. He made a start in the music biz on his home island in 1948 & by 1953 was known as 'the king of the crooners'. He moved to the UK in the mid 50's and started performing as a singer with bands such as Wally Stott's (who also worked with the likes of Frankie Vaughn & Harry Secombe!!). His first UK record release was in 1958, but he was appearing on the top UK TV music show (6-5 Special) in 57. He cut quite a few covers of US soul songs (Ed Townsend, Sammy Turner, Johnny Nash, Sam Cooke, Don Covay, etc.). Seems he was ideally placed (as a black singer based in England) to build on his 6-5 Special profile to become a R&B recording star ... but it didn't work out as he had no hits. "Call On Me" was one of his last releases (ignoring an Israeli cut & released album from 1977). Jimmy cut Ed Townsend's US R&B / pop chart hit "For Your Love" in 1958. His version seems to have sunk like a stone. The song remained popular though & was later recorded by the likes of the Righteous Brothers, Peaches & Herb, Gwen McCrae, Bobby Lewis, Joe Tex ,Carla Thomas, Houston Person plus the Supremes and Four Tops.

It seems the Fontana 45 came first; in January 1966. The Island LP followed in December 67 (just a few months before Island released Bobby's 'A Touch Of The Blues' album.

Anyone know how come Jimmy Cliff cut a cover version of "Call On Me" ... he used to play the London, Yorks & Lancs soul clubs before he went 100% reggae, so he probably heard Bobby's track there & saw the dance floor action it generated. www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdx7_09e7HM

Bobby had "Shoes" out in November 67. Then he had 4 x Duke 45's in 68, 2 x Duke 45s in 69 and another 2 x Duke 45s in 70. "Yum Yum Tree" followed in April 71 and he had a 2nd 45 out later in 71. He had 2 more US singles out in 72 & 1 in 73 (at about the same time as ABC started re-releasing his old tracks on ABC Dunhill Goldies 45's). The release after "Yum Yum" on Duke was by an outfit named on the 45 as Hot Chocolate (not the UK group or Lou Ragland's Cleveland group). No such group actually ever existed & the tracks on the 45 actually featured Gene Dozier & some of his mates from Philly (Bunny Sigler, etc.). Don Robey had contacted Gene & asked him to work with Duke on some tracks ... AND AS GENE had record company contacts in LA still + Philly & @ NY based Atlantic, to help him sell Duke / Peacock to a major label. Robey had to maintain the output from the label to sustain it as a viable concern that was worth buying. Bobby Bland was their top act & so he had to keep having releases to maintain his profile. ALSO, having a new 45 out helped live show bookings & that's where Bobby was making most of his money from back then (Robey obviously had to keep Bobby happy, so he wouldn't be tempted to move to another label). Other 45's released towards the end of Duke's life, were from the likes of a Jackson 5 type boy group (the Greer Brothers) and ex-Ovide act the Masters of Soul. Andre Williams produced "Yum Yum Tree" and his other cuts on Bobby were released in April & July 69, so I'd say it was an old track that had been sitting in the vaults for around 2 years.

Barry Class's record shops ... see ad below ... His chain was going strong as early as 1966. The Foundations were known (in their early days -- from January 67) for doing covers of US soul tracks (both those that had a UK release & some that hadn't). when asked by music journo's they'd say ... we have a large record collection of US soul 45's and chose the songs we like best to cover in live shows ... It was far more likely that their manager (Class) imported the 45's to sell in his chain of shops & held on to a copy of lots of them for his own use. "Stop Her On Sight" was just about the most popular cover song in their act (a live recording of their version has even been released). One of his shops was in Bletchley -- just north of Leighton Buzzard ... home of F L Moores ... wonder if it was his operations that inspired FLM to mass import US 45's ??

From summer 64, it wasn't just in the clubs that we got to hear soul tracks (including US 45's). Pirate radio was beginning it's take-over of the UK's radio airwaves and they too were pushing obscure soul tracks. I was an early listener to Radio Caroline (both Nth & Sth) and Radio London ... their charts show just how much soul they played. Closer to home (for me), was Radio 270 and they followed the same tend with regard to playing soul tracks (from June 66). Radio 270 was run out of the offices of a supermarket in Scarboro (weird but true). But 270 was a late-comer to the pirate scene & other bigger stns (Caroline / London) must have had suppliers of imported US 45s from late in 1964. Of course, they obtained some of these US soul imports via UK record companies, who had licensed tracks from US labels or were thinking of licensing a particular single from a US label. If, when played by the pirates, a record took off, then the UK company would instantly license the 45 and release it here. But, at other times, they must have sourced imported US soul 45's from elsewhere. Anyone know from where ? I'd guess it was from specialist record shops such as those run by Barry Class (the Foundations manager) who ran a chain of record shops in the London area that imported US soul 45's. He even got one of his acts to record a song titled "BAREFOOTIN IN CHINATOWN", so maybe had obtained a copy of Lester Young's US 45 before September 67.

I wasn't a Wheel goer till 14th October 67 (after the Mojo had been closed & the Nite Owl was about to close), so I have no knowledge of which Bobby Bland tracks were played at the club(s) (1st & 2nd incarnations) when they were more blues based in play listings. When I first started attending, it was "Call On Me" that was the biggie by BBB. Ahead of that time (late summer 67), Bobby had enjoyed 12 UK 45 releases + 2 UK EP's, so he was well known to UK blues fans. However I seem to recall many Brit blues fans hating his 61 LP 'Two Steps From The Blues' as they viewed it as 'un-authentic' (not true blues). So there was something of an anti-Bland movement in UK blues circles up to just before the mid 60's. It's strange as since the mid 60's, the album has come to be regarded as a 'classic'. Other tracks by him came big after 67; "Shoes" was a Nov 67 US release but was a 45 B side -- I think that took some time to be 'discovered' by UK soulies and then even longer to become a 'niter anthem'. "Shoes" had however escaped on a Bland album in 68 and this also gained a UK release (by Island) that same year (around April 68). Maybe folk heard it on the LP and went looking for copies of the US 45 but that wouldn't have been till early 68 at the earliest (more likely summer 68). Neither "Shoes" or "Yum Yum Tree" made the US 45 R&B (or pop) charts. With regard to "Yum Yum Tree", that wasn't even released until April 71 and again was just a 45 B side. Duke was struggling by 71 and a lot less stuff was being released by them. I don't believe "Yum Yum Tree" was ever an LP track. ABC had bought out Don Robey & taken over Duke / Peacock by 73. Anyone know of any Bobby Bland tracks (UK released 45's or US) that were popular at the Wheel ahead of 1967 ?

I first started visiting F L Moores in 68. Then, he was based in a big old house between L Buzzard station & the town centre. I think he lived upstairs as most of the downstairs rooms had record shelves on all 4 walls, floor to ceiling. I THINK he sourced his 45's from New York / New Jersey based record warehouses. One I had lists from were selling 45's for 10c to 25c each -- 10c for little known soul acts, 25c for acts that had enjoyed hits & were known to record buyers. You could also buy 'random' soul 45's by the tea chest full & these worked out around 2c per copy -- though you had no idea what you were getting (bit like a giant soul pack). When I first went, he seemed to have no idea which items were in demand. A 45 on a Motown label from the Tops, Tempts, Supremes would be 4/- or 5/- but one from a generally unknown artist (Barbara McNair, Monitors, Tammi Terrell, Brenda Holloway, etc) would go for 2/6d. It wasn't too long until guys up in Yorks / Lancs started sending him 'wants lists'. Once that happened, the 45's that were on the wants lists soon jumped up to 10 /-, 12/6 or even 17/6. I got a copy of Soul Bros 6 "Check Yourself" (bought blind, though I knew the group's name) for around 2/6 early on. Working for the railways, I'd go down there for free. Buy 20 -30 45s on a Saturday morning & sell just about all of them @ the Wheel later that night (for a tidy profit). Made the mistake of telling guys where I'd got them from & then the wants lists started winging their selves down to L Buz. He soon started advertising in the UK music press. After a few visits / months had gone by, he moved into a space in the town centre (the 1st floor above some shops -- so it was stull more a 'warehouse' than a shop). By the 70's, he'd branched out & had actual record shops in many towns across an area north of London. By then, I'd moved on & was buying from elsewhere.

The date maybe a tad out.

Most of Edwin's stuff escaped here on Polydor, so need to look for his stuff on import. Polydor were 'switched on' too -- if an old 45 was in demand, they'd re-release it or put it out again on a new version of the original UK 45. other Detroit stuff was escaping here on Track; so again -- no need to chase import copies. The likes of F L Moore & then B&S / Contempo had loads of Motown & Chess import 45's (+ Stax) but that was more like 1970 (for B&S), so they were following the market, not leading it (though lots of the obscure Chess stuff B&S were selling @ 10p a copy (in soul packs) or 75p/ £1 a copy if you selected a particular single were new to us Brit dance soul fans). I worked for BR at the time, so got free rail travel. Would jump on the train @ Donny on a Saturday morning, heading to Leighton Buzzard. Once there, walk to the old house & spend 4 hrs or so

Thinking about it, I'm surprised (now) that UK Action didn't put it out here on a 45 in 1969 -- after all, they knew enough about the UK soul club scene to release Z Z Hill's version of "Make Me Yours" on 45. At that time, it was almost impossible to pick up a UK copy of Betty Swan's original version on a UK 45 .

Just about all the above mentioned tracks got a UK release & so UK soulies would have been chasing copies of their UK versions before resorting to trying to get an import copy. RE: Bobby Bland's UK 45's -- he had 3 x UK 45's out on Vogue in 61, then an EP on Vocalion + 2 x 45 on Vogue in 62 before a Vocalion 45 in 63 and then an EP + 2 x 45's on Vocalion in 64. So his stuff was well known in the UK by the mid 60's. "Call On Me" also escaped in France on a 45, as it did in Canada, Italy Aussie & New Zealand. Both sides of the 45 escaped here on a 1963 LP titled after each side of this 45 ... so that's where UK soulies would have first heard the 2 cuts from ... but that LP must have sold in very small numbers.

Even I knew these old letters / handbills would be collectable one day ... framed up in my record room (but suffering from the effects of the sun after 30 years exposure) ... SOUL CITY; the place to go in 67/68 ...

WWRL was always a biggie ...