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Roburt

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Everything posted by Roburt

  1. I seem to recall that the Macce soul crowd were in touch with his son ... but the 2 main men there have now passed (Glen & Jim). So don't know if any of the others kept up the contact.
  2. The Star label 45 was from Finland and the PARK 45 from Belgium. Their hit track also escaped in Iran on a Royal label 4 track EP (anyone got a scan of that one's label ?).
  3. I'd certainly put the likes of Chuck Jackson, Garnett Mimms, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, Jackie Wilson, O V Wright, Billy Stewart, Frankie Beverly, Donny Hathaway, Al Greene, Jeffrey Osbourne & Luther Vandross up there with those shown above.
  4. The Showstoppers seemed to be 'dead in the water' back in the US by 1969 ... they spent a lot of time over in the UK (+ in Europe) from then, playing gigs here in 69, 70 & 71. Their last 3 single release (excluding reissues) were all UK productions. The 1st of these was produced by Beacon's house producer Milton Samuels (+ the group themselves) & this escaped on Beacon in April 71. Next came yet another Beacon 45 in September 71, this being a joint effort by Milton Samuels & Biddu. Their last single release, which escaped in October 72, was produced by the same pair. By 1972, Beacon seemed to be struggling to stay afloat & their major artists were leaving the label for pastures new. None of the Showstoppers later 45's sold too well and the group (having become discouraged) returned to the US and broke up. Their guitar player, John Henry Fitch Jnr, stayed on in the music biz. He'd actually started out as one of Frankie Beverly's Butlers & had later been given his own solo 45 by Beacon back in early 69 (John Fitch & Associates). This was to reward him for the good work he was doing in the UK with the group. After his work with the Showstoppers ended, he mainly took to song writing and did well at this till the end of the 70's (the likes of Evelyn King, Carol Douglas & Wardell Piper all cutting his songs). His 1st (?) song writing success had been with "What Can A Man Do". By the time their hit was being reissued on Cream (76) & then Inferno (79), the group were just a distant memory to just about everyone back in Philly.
  5. A few more piccy bits ... starting back in the USA ...
  6. The best that their hit 45 did back in the US (on national charts that is) was back in May 67 ... when it was bubbling under the Hot 100 ...
  7. More Showstoppers info & pieces from that time ...
  8. We know lots about soul artists these days (well about many of them, not the really obscure acts) ... but that wasn't always the case. Back in the mid 60's (& for a few years after then), lots of the info available to us was a bit iffy ... to illustrate that here's an article from 1968 that was written after the group were interviewed when HOUSEPARTY was a chart single ... seems that Philly soul hadn't broken through commercially yet in spring 68 (?!?!?) plus that artists like the Artistics & Impressions were from Philly ...
  9. A 1965 EMI 45 release ... what would we have done without their product in the 60's / 70's ...
  10. Up to about a year back, BET (TV channel in the US) used to show 1 or 2 old episodes of the show each weekend (down in Florida it was on a Sunday morning) ... got to see many during our 45 day winter break there over the last 5/6 years. I believe the tapes of just about every show still exists ... BUT Don C makes a lot of money from licensing the shows for TV screening or licensing clips from the shows for inclusion in newer music documentary videos. I'm sure, at some time, he'll license em for DVD release (if new DVD release's still exist in the future). He may also sell em to a NETFLIX or similar company.
  11. A few more bits on Billy & the group ... Billy as a kid & back in 1966 (looking a bit like a young Obama) ... Billy on stage: with Spyder & solo ... The Precisions pictured with Spyder back in the 60's ... A montage of pics of the group; 5,4,3 (one extra just about totally hidden) & 2 ....
  12. A montage I put together based around the Precisions shows at Harlem's Apollo ... a week of shows that commenced on Friday 29th Nov 68 ... The line-up of artists that week was certainly very strong .. The Bandwagon were enjoying their 1st big UK pop chart hit at the time. They'd soon head across the pond to base themselves in the UK. The other guys in the group soon returned to the US but Johnny (accompanied by any number of different backing singers even though his health was beginning to fail) continued on here thru to 1975.
  13. Other bits of useful / useless info on the group & it's members ... After "If This Is Love" did quite well commercially, it prompted Sidra to place ads to promote the 45 nationally in November 67 ... On the back of the 45's success and as a result of the fact that the group's stage show was judged only just 2nd in ranking to the Temptations live work, they toured all over back then. On their way to some shows in Jamaica, the group played a big gig in Miami early in 1968 (a good time to leave the frozen wastes of Michigan). The distribution agreement with Laurie was agreed in Feb 68 and April 68 saw the 1st release under the agreement with Drew, this being the group's "Instant Heartbreak". DON'T ASK ME WHY ... BUT ... a big week long soul show was put on in Detroit in March 67. It was titled the 'MEMPHIS SOUL SHOW' and featured the following as the top 3 live acts on the bill; Deon Jackson, The Precisions & Betty Harris ... what any of them had to do with Memphis is beyond me. Their last Drew 45 -- "this Place" -- did well for radio plays in May 68. It was a featured pick track on WLOU in Louisville, Kentucky. They signed with Atco in Nov 68 and were assigned Jerry Williams (Swamp Dogg) as their producer. Their 1st Atco 45 escaped in Jan 69. Billy Prince is on FACEBOOK and is always happy for group related items to be posted on his page. I've posted quite a few bits up there over the last 5 -10 years. He will usually post a comment related to the item put up & many times, his input gives us more facts on the activities of the group back in the day. He still performs in & around San Diego, mainly with a group of musicians for whom he acts as lead singer.
  14. You didn't make mention of the unreleased Swamp Dogg / Atlantic tracks that escaped on the Swamp Dogg / Billy Prince compiled CD that was also available for the 1st time at the group's initial appearance in Prestatyn. Also the fact that the group weren't present in the studio when the backing track to "If This Is Love" was laid down. One of the guys on that backing track who had just been visiting Detroit and happened to be in the studio when the session started was Lou Ragland. He participated on the session and played tambourine on "If This Is Love" ... ... I was a member of the production team for the Prestatyn Weekender back then and visited San Diego about 4 months ahead of the groups appearance there. Billy came to my hotel & I interviewed him in person and talked with one of the other guys on the phone. I used the info from those chats to write a full bio on the group which appeared in the printed programme for the weekender (it's since been posted up on here after some objected to the fact that Billy & Swamp had put their own CD out).
  15. Back in the day, EMI had control of 2 of the 3 locations music fans came from around the world to London to see ... 1/ Abbey Road Studios 2/ The staircase in EMI House, Manchester Square WITH ... the 3rd (the only one with public access) being the zebra crossing outside Abbey Rd Studios. Most fans got to take a picture of themselves on the zebra crossing but hardly any made it into the actual studios or into EMI House. Back in the 80's, I had a good contact who worked for EMI in their Manchester Square offices. I used to visit but security control was always really high. You were never allowed free access in the building. Reception used to take charge of visitors and keep you there till the person you said you'd come to see was contacted & approved your entrance. You'd then but put in the lift, the right floor button pressed & you'd be met (when the lift doors opened) by your contact. I used to ask if I could walk up the staircase to get to the right floor but was never allowed to (the stairway in question was pictured on the front of the Beatles 'Please Please Me' album). One time (when we lived in Northampton), I'd arranged a EMI visit & my son was at college in Hatfield. He asked me to go there & meet up with him before I went into London. When I got there, he'd got 3 of his pals with him who he'd said could tag along. We set off & arrived at EMI House, where we were asked to wait for Alan to approve our entrance. Lots of folk were milling about in the reception area, also trying to gain access. We got the nod & so this old guy & 4 young lads headed for the lift. Two blokes saw us passing, assumed I was the manager of a new boy band & wished us well in our attempt to land a recording contract ... we couldn't stop laughing as we rode up in the lift.
  16. A few more EMI UK single releases ... back in time ...
  17. Back in time again ... with EMI ...
  18. A few decent 60's EMI UK 45 releases ... all these on the MGM label that they handled back then ..
  19. A few Dutch EMI releases (all on their version of the Stateside label) ...
  20. AND WOULD ... Motown have become the UK powerhouse it has without the early help here from EMI ...
  21. More old EMI related bits ... showing their worldwide reach back in time ..
  22. Back in the 60's, on the back of all the success they were having with the Beatles & British beat groups, EMI was just about the most powerful international record company in the world plus the most influential music publishing company . But the guys at EMI House in London's Manchester Square (long since disposed of) let things slip. Universal bought the record labels (but have since spun some bits off to the likes of Warner Music Group). Now Sony have bought up most of EMI's publishing .... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44206075 With the brand diminished and many of their old labels long gone, it's easy to forget just what a force EMI was back in the 60's. They owned Capitol in the US and ran branches right around the world ... licensing tracks from US labels and releasing them everywhere they operated a branch (UK, Ireland, Europe, Mid East, India, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Caribbean and Sth America) ... we got many of our fave UK released soul 45 release's courtesy of EMI ... stuff on Stateside, HMV, Liberty, Columbia, Top Rank, Tamla Motown and the like.
  23. Tony passed away at the very end of last year. His great friend Colton Thomas posted the fact up on Facebook at the time. There's an interview with him (Tony D) posted up on the net .. https://indangerousrhythm.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/chancellor-of-soul-interviews-tony.html
  24. This book review looks at Vol.2 of John Lias's in depth information on Soul LP's. This volume lists the albums by artists from L to Z ... Patti LaBelle to Zulema. The recorded work of both famous acts & obscure singers are addressed in exacting detail. Tap to view this Soul Source News/Article in full
  25. I got to review Volume.1 of this book two years ago and now comes the concluding volume that takes us from L to Z. This weighty book kicks off with Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles 1960's albums and speedily progresses right through to the end of the alphabet. Info on the output of Little Milton, Charles Mann, Curtis Mayfield and Ullanda McCullough follows on in quick succession. Until I started to peruse the details chronicled here, I hadn't realised that the McCrays had enjoyed 8 album releases down the years. This came as a surprise even though their late 70's Portrait release 'On The Other Side' has always been a favorite of mine. Entries vary between the prolific output of the Meters (11 albums under that name + other work released under the Neville Brothers name) to the sole outing from the Metros. New Birth's underrated work benefits from a fully detailed rundown, whilst reference is also made to the associated recordings of Love, Peace & Happiness plus the Nit-Liters. Entries for Greg Perry, Oscar Perry Phil Perry and Perry & Sanlin follow on in order before pieces on Positive Change, Positive Express and Positive Force are reached. Where the info is known, the full list of each group's members is listed (a useful tool, especially where the lead singer later split to try a solo recording career). There have been quite a few male singers in the soul world that had Robinson as their surname. The work of Alvin, Dutch, Johnny and Roscoe help highlight the fact that even the most talented of black singers weren't always well served (album wise) by their record companies. Alvin Robinson's only album is the 1988 UK compilation of old tracks pulled together by Charly, while Roscoe had three similar 'reflective compilations' issued in the 1980's to supplement his two 70's and one 80's gospel packages. It's obvious from many entries that John's opinion on what makes a good soul track align quite closely with my own. So not only do I find his reflections on the studio output of D.J. Rogers both detailed and informative but I find myself agreeing with his choice of the highlight cuts. He certainly knows his subject and the depth of knowledge and passion for the music he enjoys comes out throughout the book's pages. A perfect example of his expertise shows in his entry for Roy C's only 1960's LP release. Roy C's biggest ever hit, “Shotgun Wedding” had charted internationally in the mid 60's. To benefit from the success of his 45, Ember here in the UK had released their 'That Shotgun Wedding Man' album in 1966. However, the LP didn't even feature one solo Roy C track but consisted entirely of 1950's recordings by the group he was then a member of (the Genies). It would be as late as 1973 (a full 14 years after he had first entered a recording studio with the group) before he got to enjoy a real solo album release ('Sex & Soul' on Mercury). The many differing shades of soul are reflected on here. Everything from the gut wrenching strong southern soul of Sam & Dave, through the sophisticated late 60's solo outings of David Ruffin to disco soul from the likes of Shalamar. Both groups who took on the name of Lost Generations big 45 hit “Sly, Slick & Wicked” make it into the book as does Lost Generation's own album named after their 1970 anthem. Some artists and their recorded output have been well chronicled down the years, whilst an air of mystery still surrounds the work of others. This is illustrated well in the entries for Otis Redding and Rudy Love. Most facts connected to the Big O's album releases have been well documented, whereas the exact story behind Rudy's two UK album releases seems lost in the mists of time. Even Rudy himself has no idea how his British album releases came about, quite a mystery. A similar story also attaches itself to the 'Great Scott' album by Peggy Scott, which for some unknown reason only ever found it's way onto Italian record shop shelves (that being in 1980). Likewise, Gwen McCrae's 1975 Dutch LP that contained her 10 earlier CBS cuts, though this release was obviously prompted by the success of her “Rocking Chair” 45 that year. McKinley Mitchell was another classy soul vocalist who was granted an album release in the UK and (later) Japan, even though no US album of his work ever materialised. Another soul outfit to gain a UK release without ever enjoying the same privilege back home were 100% Pure Poison. If you're unaware of the fine tracks laid down by the likes of Marie 'Queenie' Lyons, David Oliver or Danny Pearson then you need look no further than here. I do however have to part ways with John when it comes to the O'Connor LP. I rate it a lot higher than he seems to. The entry for the eccentric genius that is Swamp Dogg occupies almost two full pages, the Jackie Wilson section runs to over two pages, with info on Bobby Womack's output filling over three pages. Earlier in the book, the O'Jays insert had taken up over four pages (even though it ignored all the group's compilation albums). Gino Washington also gets an entry, but strangely Geno doesn't. Zingara, Zoom & Zulema bring the book to a close, with the narrative staying on track to the very end. John ensuring that readers know Zulema's 1975 RCA album is a must have item. As an added bonus, at the very end John lists the 125 soul albums from the book he couldn't live without. These include a few that I will now have to bring myself up to speed on. If soul LP's are your thing, you definitely need a copy of this 430+ page epic opus. I have to commend John for his detailed and diligent work, it can't have been the easiest of projects to complete. JOHN Roburt SMITH


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