Boxy

The Marvin Smith Story Contents: Introduction Interview (August 2014) (The Unissued Songs) Discography Wilton Concert Details The Marvin Smith Interview Introduction This is an article based on an interview with Marvin Smith this year. Marvin was better known by his time as lead singer of the Artistics, so I will first give a little background of Marvin as lead singer of the Artistics, and his solo recordings. click to view in full The Artistics story was typical of most vocal groups of their era; they were part of the street-corner scene of the 1950’s, when a capella harmonizing was the style. The group formed in 1958 with Curt Thomas on lead, Larry Johnson as first tenor, Jesse Bolian as second tenor and Aaron Floyd as baritone-bass. Larry Johnson remembered, in an interview conducted by Robert Pruter (for his publication Chicago Soul): “We started singing in social affairs, high school functions, things like that. There were lots of groups at Marshall High School, but we were the most popular. We were very competitive and would always want to outshine the other groups. In 1963, we formed the group with another lead singer, Robert Dobyne. We were rehearsing up north in an area where Major Lance lived, Cabrini Green. Major asked us to back him up on a record to be included on his first album, “The Monkey Time”. His manager, Carl Davis, heard our backing and signed us up on Okeh, releasing our first record “I Need Your Love” in October, 1963.” A good song, expertly done, although not hit material. Dobyne left because of conflict within the group, and was replaced by Charles Davis as lead. Charles was a singer of some experience, who had previously been with the Dukays, but this association didn’t work out and after a few months, in 1964, a new lead in the shape of Marvin Smith was found. click to view in full Marvin was another singer with earlier professional experience, having sung for a few years with famed Chicago 1950’s group the El Dorados; he sang with the El Dorados and the Tempos from 1957 until 1961. With Marvin as lead, the Artistics had an immediate local hit with a cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Get My Hands On Some Lovin”. The record was a top five hit in Chicago in July, 1964, going to the 45 position on Cash Box’s r&b Chart. The most successful of Artistics’ Okeh releases was a song composed by Barrett Strong “This Heart Of Mine”, which made the national soul survey for five weeks in December, 1965. Later, in 1967, the success of “This Heart Of Mine”, and other equally good songs, caused Okeh to release their first album titled “Get My Hands On Some Lovin”. In 1965, the Artistics played at a homecoming dance at Crane High School on the West Side, on the bill with the Vontastics. In January of the next year, they played the Regal Theater with such acts as the Impressions and Otis Reading. Later, in 1966, they achieved greater success on the Brunswick label, when they followed Carl Davis over to that label. click to view in full Marvin co-wrote “I’m Gonna Miss You”, a spectacular song, thoroughly Chicagoan in its sound; it stayed four months on the national Billboard charts and became close to a million seller. Whilst the Artistics were peaking, they were also undergoing a rift. Marvin was trying to establish himself as a solo artist, and had a pretty good hit going with “Time Stopped”, backed with “Have More Time”. After an initial tour with “I’m Gonna Miss You”, he left the group to pursue his solo opportunities. Marvin was born on 8th October, 1940, in Palestine, Arkansas. He moved to the West Side of Chicago with his family in the late 1940’s. I first met Marvin some 12 years ago, on one of my annual visits to the Windy City. With the help of some of my friends from the 60/70’s music business, I called him and Marvin agreed to meet me at his home later that week. After greeting Val and myself, and friend Edward Keyes, we were escorted to his basement and provided with drinks all round. For the next three hours we talked about Marvin’s musical history. He could not believe how much we knew about his record releases with the Artistics, and his solo work. When I told him how much we enjoyed his music in the UK, he just couldn’t believe it. At this time, he was totally unaware of the UK soul scene; this was about to change when he visited the UK, a couple of years later, to do a concert, and was introduced to the hundreds of UK soul fans. During our visit, Marvin dug out some dusty old acetates containing tracks that he never got released. We were knocked out by the quality of the songs, and just couldn’t understand why they were not released at the time. Whilst some of the rather crackly tracks were being played, Marvin got out his guitar and sang along to them. What an amazing experience. The condition of most of the acetates was very poor and needed a great deal of restorative editing just to get them back to somewhere near their original condition, and this work I arranged when we returned to the UK. We then sent the cleaned up masters back to Marvin. One of the tracks was the backing track to the song “I Never Thought I’d Be Losing You”, a song Marvin gave to Major Lance. Marvin always wanted to record his own version of this song, so the cleaned up master was sent to him for this purpose. Actually, Marvin never did his own version of the Major Lance song at that time, but 10 years later, in 2012, he paid for the session himself and cut the track again from scratch, with his vocals. He used many of the original musicians and it was skillfully arranged by no other than the legendary Tom Washington. The end result was just fantastic — don’t miss the first live performance of this song, and others, at the Wilton on the 15th November. At this point in the article, I would like to hand over to Marvin (I interviewed him in August this year, 2014) to find out a little more about his unissued tracks, so let Marvin tell his own story... The Marvin Smith Interview - August 2014 click to view in full DB The two songs — “Heartache Coming On” and “Hearts Made Of Stone”, you told me that they were written by Barrett Strong MS That’s correct. DB Can you tell me a little bit about both those songs? MS Well, what happened was, I‘ve always liked the way Barrett Strong wrote songs, of course, you know, with Marvin Gaye, Temptations and Gladys Knight, and so many other people. But it was “This Heart Of Mine”, when he wrote that song it just seemed like that song was especially written for me. And I always, you know, we were all friends, you know, Barrett Strong, myself, Bobby Miller, and they were songwriters that pretty much everybody, you know, would love to have gotten songs from, so I don’t know if Carl Davis sent for Barrett, or, because he was still with Motown when he came to Chicago. DB All the Motown guys and Funk Brothers all spent their time getting on a bus and coming to Chicago and doing sessions for Carl Davis anyway. MS Well, you know that’s the past, like I say, I really didn’t know DB Berry Gordy didn’t know that was happening for a while, but found out later and threatened them with a fine if they did it again, but they did it anyway. MS And I didn’t really know nobody there, but Barrett, and Bobby, and so what happened is when Barrett came to town I guess Carl told him, you know, to come up with a song for us and that’s when he wrote “This Heart Of Mine”. And also his friend was Bobby Miller and Bobby also wrote songs for us. I can’t remember the titles of the songs right now that Bobby wrote, but when Carl had the session he had Sonny Sanders do the arrangements. Now you familiar with Sonny? DB Oh yes. MS Okay. I talked to Sonny, maybe a few weeks ago. DB Is he here in Chicago? MS Yes, he’s here in Chicago. Matter of fact, I got a call from Sonny, he had been kinda ill, and, but he did the session for… DB “This Heart Of Mine” and “I’ll Keep Running”. MS Yeah, “I’ll Keep Running”, “This Heart Of Mine”, and that was pretty much it, I think. I think Barrett wrote another song for us called “I’ll Leave It Up To You”, I can’t remember for sure, but there was another song Barrett wrote. DB Yes, that song was released on a 45 and it was included on the later album. MS Yeah, it was a record. They played it, I don’t know how long they played it, but they did play it, and I don’t know how much airplay we got, but people really did like it. DB So during that time you actually got “Get My Hand On Some Lovin” released on Okeh, it was the title track on the album. Where did “Heartache Coming On” and “Hearts Made Of Stone” come from, did he write those for you at the same time? MS Oh no, no, no, “Heartache Coming On” and “Hearts Made Of Stone” was sometime later. I think, if I can remember right, I think I went to Detroit and met with Barrett, and this is when he gave me these two songs, “Hearts Made of Stone” and “Heartache Coming On”. And not only that, but even when Barrett wrote “This Heart Of Mine”, he also wrote the song “Have More Time”, but that was during “This Heart Of Mine” time, but the other songs, they came much later. Matter of fact, this was after a long time after I had left Carl Davis, you know, the record company. DB You say you went to Detroit and he gave you those songs? MS Yeah, I went to Detroit. DB How did they get recorded, where did you record those? MS Well, I came back to Chicago and I think maybe it was a few years later, I just can’t remember the years, you know, DB It’s a long time ago. MS Yeah, ‘cos we talking about years and years ago. DB You must have put a session together with musicians to do that? MS What happened is, like, I came up with the money, to go in the studio, this is years later. This is when I contacted Tom Tom and Tom Tom told me he’d give me a good deal on the session. DB He did the arrangements for both of them? MS Yeah, he did the arrangements to “Hearts Made of Stone” and “Heartache Coming On”. DB But there was no record company at that stage involved with those tracks. MS No, right. DB You paid for the session? MS Yeah, I paid for the session. The problem was like after I paid for the session I really didn’t have any more money so, it .. DB And they didn’t make you any money, because they never got out. MS No, they were never out. DB That was money down the drain. MS Right, they were never with no record company. I really didn’t try to go to any record company because I hadn’t finished. I wanted to go back into the studio, because everybody loved the tracks, so I wanted to produce it myself. DB You wanted to do some more mixing to them? MS Right, I wanted to do mixing, more voice-overs, and eventually I came up with the money to do the vocal background, and the vocal background was by a group of young ladies called The Kitty Haywood singers.. DB I know the Haywoods, they backed many of the Chicago acts. MS You know about them? Yeah. I haven’t seen Kitty in years, but they came, they did my vocal background and man, it was just, it was just great. DB Right, so “Hearts Made Of Stone”, “Heartache Coming On” — we’ve covered those but we don’t know which studio you did them in, but somewhere in Chicago. MS I remember, you know, I’m thinking it might have been Paul Serrano, DB PS Studios MS Yeah, right. That was pretty much where everybody was going, other than when we weren’t recording at Columbia Records any more we made a lot of our recordings over at Universal studios, over on Chestnut and Walnut. DB Universal is where Carl run most of the sessions for his Brunswick releases. MS Yeah, that’s what he did, that’s where he did his recordings. DB I want to talk to you about “I Never Thought I’d Be Losing You”, but we’ll leave it for the moment. What about “Peace”? When did you do “Peace”? MS Well, that was Tom Tom Washington. DB Was that done at the same time as “Hearts Made Of Stone”? MS Oh yeah, yeah, all four of those songs were recorded. Right, you making me remember now. So all those songs were done at the same time, that was “There Must Be Peace”, “Heartache Coming On”, “Hearts Made Of Stone”, and one more … DB Well, “I Never Thought I’d Be Losing You” — was that done at the same time? MS No, that was later. DB Yes, that was when Major Lance picked that up. MS Yeah, Major Lance. DB So is there another track somewhere we haven’t got? MS Well, what happened was Major Lance went to Motown and Berry Gordy, and Major called me up much later and asked me, did I have a song for him. And I told him, I had some songs that I was trying to record but I couldn’t really get them out, so he was desperate for a song, so I gave him my best song, and that was “I Never Thought The Day Would Come When I’d Be Losing You”. When I gave him the song, like, Gwen Gordy sent for me and I went out to California and I stayed at Gwen’s house for maybe a week, almost a week, and she was gonna record me. DB Who was that, Berry Gordy’s sister? MS Yeah. She was recording a group of girls, something about something in the middle. Every time I try to think about that song I think about something in the middle. But she was recording them. DB She was recording in California for Motown? MS Yeah. She was gonna sign me, you know, because she liked the songs that I wrote. As a matter of fact, she loved “Peace”, but told me that she didn’t want to record me then because “Peace” was too close to Marvin Gaye. DB I was just going to say that. MS So you know, but I had no idea that, I never thought about it that way, because when I wrote the song I had no idea it was gonna be in a Marvin Gaye type vein, because I didn’t really like it that way, but that’s the way Tom produced it, because Marvin Gaye was hot, of course. DB Well, you’re going to do that, you want a hit, and if that style is in vogue at the time you’re going to make a record like that. MS But I didn’t like it. I still didn’t like it because the way I wrote it, it was more of a Sam Cooke type of a song, cos that’s the way I sung it. But Tom, the arranger that he was, you know, he put it right into that Marvin Gaye vein. But I did like it, and I didn’t like it. DB We like it. I loved it ever since you gave it me 12 years ago. MS Yeah, everybody liked it, but I just thought that the vein that I had it in would have been more… I thought it was more soulful, more churchy. DB Did you ever think about what you would put on the flip? I saw a copy of “Peace” on a United acetate, a 10” acetate, you had it 12 years ago when I first met you. Were there any plans for a B-side if it came out, or did you only have the one track at the time. Because the acetate you had was only one sided. MS Well, you know, it’s kinda like where “Peace” and “I Never Thought I’d Be Losing You”…. DB Were they about the same time? That could have been the flip. MS Right, those were all I had, you know. When I say I had, I felt like those were songs that were mine, that were finished, I was still trying to write, but after I made those two songs I kind of stopped writing because I was spending most of my time trying to get those songs out, but I never did go to a record company because I didn’t have the money, I didn’t have the transportation, I didn’t have the means. DB And in a way you got your fingers burned on the other two, you spent the money for the sessions and never got anywhere. MS Yeah, I was still working too, I was still working at the Post Office. So, you’re talking about trying to pay a mortgage, trying to take care of my family, all at the same time. Actually, when I left the group, I left the group after “I’m Gonna Miss You” was a big hit. Ok, I was concentrating also on “Time Stopped”, because I … DB That was your solo work. MS Right, Carl said it was time to make me a solo artist ‘cos he had promised me that he would make me a solo artist when I signed up to the record company, when I first came to Columbia, you know Carl told me that he would sign me up as a single artists, I just had to drop that Sam style. I tried to, I tried to find my own sound. DB And you did on the solo releases on Brunswick. MS Well, pretty much, me and the group were… DB Well, they were actually there on those solo sessions? MS Right. Doing the background. Right. They were the background, but maybe, at that time, like, I had a chance to go to Motown. DB I was going to ask you about that. MS Yeah. Berry Gordy and Diana Ross called the office, and Pam McCullen answered the phone and she said there’s Motown on the phone. I said Motown? Wanna talk to me? She said yeah, so I came to the phone and it was, it was Berry Gordy and Diana Ross. DB Was that at Carl’s office? Was Carl there? MS Yeah. Carl was there, so, but at that time I had gotten real popular with all of the Motown acts, from them saying, the Artistics saying I was worth it, saying how I took care of myself on stage, and like…. click to view in full DB Did you tour with a lot of the Motown acts? MS Oh, I, Oh man, we were good friends, all of them. Motown acts loved us, and, so anyway… DB I know you used the same barber shop… MS Ah Yeah. So anyway, when Berry and Diana Ross asked me about coming to Motown, I told them, you know, I didn’t know, I had to go talk to Carl. I went and asked Carl what did he think and Carl said he didn’t know. DB I can imagine what Carl thought! MS He didn’t want me going to Motown records; I had had two hits with him, like “This Heart Of Mine” and “I’m Gonna Miss You”. Like I said, all the Motown acts liked us. I can remember when — a lot of people don’t know this — it was when Michael Jackson was on the show at the Regal and Michael was standing there in the wings and I was singing “This Heart Of Mine” and he was just blown away, watching me so intently. And I never will forget that, how much he was really admiring me. And… but that’s pretty much that. DB So you must be the only guy that got an offer from Motown and refused it. MS Yeah, I always say that. I say, I guess if Berry was ever asked that question he would say yes, he would remember me. Cos I was hot, I was hot. Well you know not only that, but people thought just like when we wrote “I’m Gonna Miss You”, like I had a good false tenor, as well as my natural voice, so this is the way we performed, like I could sing all of my songs, or anybody else’s songs, yeah I could sing Eddie Kendrick’s songs, so… DB You could also do Smokey’s. MS Smokey, yeah, I’m just saying Eddie Kendricks because Eddie had a more of a false tenor than Smokey. Smokey could go in and out with his tenor, but Eddie was just a natural tenor. But I could sing anybody’s songs, and I think I got that experience from being with the Eldorados. Because I had to sing all the Pirkle Lee Moses’s songs, and after singing… Well, I liked the guy with the pretty voices, you know. There was a guy by the name of Sollie McElroy, that was with the Moroccos. I loved Sollie. So I will sing everybody, I will sing Sollie, I will sing Nate Nelson, the Flamingos, I sing Sam Cooke, I sing Eddie Kendricks, I was just that kind of guy, I could sing anybody. DB You could do a show on your own, then Marvin. MS Well, the voice is not like it used to be. I still sing a lot of my songs. DB So, then you finished up working with Curtis. MS Yeah, with Curtis. Now let me tell you how that went. DB How did Carl react to that? MS I don’t know, I had left Carl then, I had left Carl. Matter of fact, after I left Carl I went straight to Curtis. So, when I went to Curtis, he signed me up right away. After about a year going back and forward to the studio, Curtis didn’t have time to record me, and I would come out there and sit around, and sometime he would pay me to go to the airport and pick somebody up. DB That’s a little bit like Otis Leavill used to be with Carl. MS Yeah, Otis knew everybody. Everybody knew Otis. So anyway, one day they were having an Impressions session, and I came down to the session. When I came in, I come in and I had my fists balled up, I was mad, cos I’d been with him for maybe a year, and he still hadn’t got time, you know, so I come in, but you know they didn’t keep me out or nothing. So I came in to the studio and the track “You’re Really Something Sadie” was playing and when I came in the room with Curtis and they were playing the track, I said, Curtis, I said, man, I sure like that tune. He said you do, he used to call me cat, he said you do cat? I said yeah, I do like that. He said, you know what, do you wanna try it? I said yeah, can I try it? He said ok, so he wrote the words down real quick, so, he played the track a couple of times, and he said, can you handle it? I said yeah, yeah. He said ok, go on out there, so I went out there, in the studio there, put the earphones on, put the words down, put the track on. Now it’s a funny thing about singers, you can look at the lyrics and they will tell you which way you think you might wanna go. DB The mood. MS Yes, the mood. When I looked at the lyrics, and listened to the track, my mind thought about Aretha. I thought about Aretha Franklin. I put the track on and I started singing and when I sung it, I think we did maybe two takes, and after that Curtis said that’s it, that’s it. I had been on the Dick Clark show previously, with “Time Stopped”, and there on the Dick Clark show they had Rate A Record, and they played “You’re Really Something Sadie”, and the kids were dancing to it, and they gave it a 95. Man, I ran out of the house shouting, Oh I got a hit. DB The thing is, you said they liked that track, but in the UK the fans like “Who Will Do Your Running Now”. MS But I never thought about that, I was so happy about “You’re Really Something Sadie”, I knew I was going somewhere. DB When did you cut the other side then, more or less at the same time, as a filler? MS No, I did that later. That wasn’t the only track that Curtis did, I did another track you haven’t heard, a song called “Stay with Me Baby”. You know that? Ok. That was the session, “Stay With Me Baby”, “Who Will Do Your Running Now”, and another song called “Stay, Stay With Me”, a different song. And he gave me… matter of fact I had about four other songs, he gave me the tracks to all of them. I was to learn them. So, after that, you know, nothing really… DB So they picked the best two, Sadie went on the top, and whatever Curtis thought best of the rest on the B-side and left the others alone. MS After that I went back to Curtis and he told me that he was pretty much establishing himself as a single vocalist and he didn’t have time to finish me up, so he gave me my release. DB I can remember you giving me a cassette tape of Curtis teaching you a song on the guitar, which is amazing to listen to, Curtis teaching you the rhythm track, and singing along. MS Right, and he also gave me a song called .. what was the name of that song .. “she made another man of me — got me standing on my own two feet — with a love I never knew before — now my mind is completely sure — she made another man of me, another man of me”. That was just like … DB You never recorded that? MS No, that was just like “don’t know much about history, don’t know much about geo…” see ‘cos Curtis knew who I came from as far as my voice, and I never did record that song. And then, after that, you know, I got my release from Curtis and I was out there again, trying to make a deal. DB Well, it would seem as though Major Lance did ok with your track, as it was the first track on his album for Motown. MS Yeah, but the thing about it was like, you know, they tried to take my publishing, you know, I had the song, I had my own publishing company and the next thing I knew they were trying to take my publishing - he was. DB So, you, I presume, when you gave Major Lance the song, you gave the guys an idea of what the arrangement should be. MS Yeah, I played it on my guitar. DB But they just picked up on that, and on the album, the arrangement is based on yours. MS Right. You know how good they were, as far as if they had a good song, I mean, if Motown had arranged it, they could have had Jerry Long; Holland, Dozier, Holland…, but the original session was cut here in Chicago. The arranger was, I think. James Mack, he did the arrangement on it first, and it was cut at a session at Paul Serrano’s studio. DB He wasn’t involved with Motown in any way. He was always in Chicago with Carl. MS Yes, that was in Chicago. I think he did an arrangement on it and did the session at PS, then it got sent to Motown. DB I’ll have a look on the album, and check the credits. Well, that more or less covers those four unissued tracks; everything that came out we know the history around most of those. After that you have actually done very little. I know you were busy bringing up a family, working. MS Well, I could do then was like… No, what actually happened is, I went back in the studio with the group and we recorded standard songs, like “I Wish You Love”, “What The World Needs Now Is Love”, those were great songs. DB Did some of those come out on the later album? MS Yeah, they released them later, on an album, but none of those songs were ever played on the radio. Great songs, I wish somebody would play them some day, especially I loved “I Wish You Love”, “What The World Needs Now Is Love”, “With These Hands”, “Lucky Old Sun”. Oh man, people would love those songs; if they ever saw us perform those songs… those were great tunes, we sung them like the Temptations would have sung them; people never knew that side of us. These guys could really sing, and they could step. DB How many of the Artistics are still alive today? MS Well actually, I can only account for the guys I sang with. There were other guys in the group — Tommy Green took my place, and before Tommy Green there was a guy called Robert Dobyne who sang lead. I don’t know what problem he had with the group, but that was when Carl brought me into the group as lead singer. The actual group was myself, Larry Johnson, Jesse Bolian, and Aaron Floyd, and these guys were real characters, people just loved us. DB How many of those are still with us today? MS Just Larry Johnson and myself. Jesse Bolian is deceased, and so is Aaron Floyd. Tommy Green is also deceased, but he took my place. Robert Dobyne is still around, haven’t seen him in years. But there was another guy — Charles Davis, he’s deceased. I’m a friend of his family. DB You’ve never thought of going back and putting a group together? MS Yeah, sure. I’d say, even right now, I feel like there’s money out there for the group. DB The Chi-Lites are still doing it. MS Oh yeah. Chi-Lites. Just Marshall alive now, but he keeps himself a group. But I’m sure I could do the same thing. Matter of fact, I was telling some of my friends that if I could find two guys that I could get along with and that could really sing, I’d want maybe two more guys with me. As a matter of fact, Barrett Strong suggested that to me too. Matter of fact, he told me he had two guys that he would like for me to try to sing with me. David & Val Box. August 2014 Well, that’s the interview over, but not the end of the story. Marvin is coming to the UK for a second time to perform at the Wilton Soulful Sessions on the 15th November this year... Ten years have passed since his last visit, but this concert is going to be very special. Marvin is going to perform all of his unissued tracks for the very first time on stage. He will also be performing his classic Artistics and solo releases. See end of article for details. Acknowledgements: Marvin Smith (For taking time for the interview); Robert Pruter (For his invaluable information in Chicago Soul); Dave Moore (For additional information); Dave Rimmer (For additional discography info.); Val Box (For all the interview transcribing and typing etc) Marvin Smith Discography The Four El Dorados (members Marvin Smith (lead), Jewel Jones, James Maddox and Louis Bradley) Academy 8138 — A Lonely Boy / Go Little Susie — 1958 The Tempos (members Marvin Smith (lead), Jewel Jones, James Maddox and Louis Bradley) Rhythm 121 — Promise Me / Never Let Me Go — 1958 The Artistics (members Marvin Smith (replacing Charles Davis) (lead), Larry Johnson, Jesse Bolian and Aaron Floyd) Okeh 4-7193 — Get My Hands On Some Lovin’ / I’ll Leave It Up To You — 1964 Ted Taylor / The Artistics Okeh Jzsp 111745 / Jzsp 111809 — Stay Away From My Baby / This Heart Of Mine* - 1965 (demo copies issued in purple vinyl) *flip by The Artistics. The Artistics (members Marvin Smith, Larry Johnson, Jesse Bolian and Aaron Floyd) Okeh 4-7232 — This Heart Of Mine / I’ll Come Running — 1965 — written by Barrett Strong Okeh 4-7217 — In Another Man’s Arms / Patty Cake — 1965 (both sides written by Marvin Smith 1964) Okeh — 4-7243 — Loveland / So Much Love In My Heart — 1966 Marvin Smith Brunswick 55299 — Time Stopped / Have More Time* — 1966 (backed by The Artistics) *written by Barrett Strong — directed by Gerald Sims The Artistics (members Marvin Smith, Larry Johnson, Jesse Bolian and Aaron Floyd) Marvin Smith left the group in 1967 but sang on studio recordings. (Other lead singers were Tommy Green and Fred Pettis) Brunswick 55301 — I’m Gonna Miss You / Hope We Have — 1966 (first released in the UK on Coral Q 72488) Marvin Smith (solo) Brunswick 55314 — I Want / Love Ain’t Nothing But Pain — 1967 Brunswick 55348 — Fading Memories / Hold On — 1967 Mayfield 942 - You’re Really Something Sadie / Who Will Do Your Running Now — 1974 LP’s The Artistics Okeh OKM/S — 12119 — Get My Hands On Some Lovin’ — 1967 Side 1: Get My Hands On Some Lovin’ / I’ll Leave It Up To You / Patty Cake / So Much Love In My Heart / I’ll Come Running Side 2: This Heart Of Mine / What’ll I Do / Loveland / I Need Your Love / In Another Man’s Arms. --------------- WILTON'S SOULFUL SESSIONS NIGHT MARVIN SMITH Live at the Wilton Wilton's Soulful Sessions Presents: Direct from the “Windy City” Chicago, we are proud to present a soul night featuring a very special performance from: * MARVIN SMITH * Soloist & Lead Singer of the Artistics Supported by the incredible full eight piece band, including background vocalists - PUSH - who backed Debbie Taylor at our last event. At the New Wheatsheaf Conference & Banqueting. Altofts Lane, Whitwood, Castleford, WF10 5QB Saturday November 15th 2014 - 9.00pm - 3.00am - No admission after 11.00pm Some of the songs Marvin will be performing at this special night at the Wilton are his previously unreleased 60/70’s recordings, performed on stage for the very first time along with timeless classics from Chicago’s finest years. Previously unreleased: “Peace” “Hearts Made Of Stone” “I Never Thought I’d Be Losing You” “Heartache Coming On” Plus favourite Classics: “This Heart Of Mine” “Have More Time” “I’m Gonna Miss You” “Who Will Do Your Running Now” and more. Dj's on the night will be Arthur Fenn - Mike Charlton - Boxy - Mouse Get your tickets early to avoid missing this fantastic night. Tickets are now available at: http://www.wheatsheaf.com/allnighter by Paypal or Credit Card Admission: Advance Tickets £20 + Paypal and Postal charges or £23 OTD if not sold out. Info: Boxy - 01924 894555, Mouse - 07717 338009 LATEST UPDATE! Tickets are now available online at: www.wheatsheaf.com/allnighter by PayPal or Credit Card. Tickets are £20 + paypal and postage charges. OTD price is £23 if not sold out. Tickets can also be purchased by contacting: Boxy - 01924 894555, Mouse - 07717 338009 or by hand from Arthur Fenn or Mike Charlton. Tickets are already selling fast so don't miss out on this fantastic night. Marvin is so excited to be able to perform in the UK again and have the chance to include his previously unissued songs in a full concert all of his own. His performance will be split into two sets as we did last year with Debbie Taylor (Maydie Miles). After the concert, Marvin will be available for signing autographs etc. Expect to hear not only his unissued songs, that he has never performed on stage before, but also classics from his time as lead singer for the Artistics and his solo work produced by the late Carl Davis and Curtis Mayfield. Add to that the unforgettable professional musicians of the band PUSH - we can't fail to have another fantastic night at the Wilton's Soulful Sessions. November 15th will be on us before we know it! So get ya tickets now! click to view in full

DEBBIE TAYLOR LOST AND FOUND DEBBIE TAYLOR is a highly acclaimed but relatively obscure soul singer who released nine singles and an album during an eight-year period from 1967 to 1975, during the ‘golden days’ of soul music. Three of her 45s reached the R&B charts but, despite her obvious talent, she failed to make a significant impact in commercial terms and her name was soon forgotten by most. THE MARKET WAS CROWDED in the golden days and dozens of new releases competed for precious exposure each week. Many fine records were overshadowed or completely overlooked and many gifted singers were restricted to regional success or even total obscurity. Only one of Debbie’s 45s was released internationally and although it was championed by soul fans it was doomed to fail at a time when the focus of most people was on the emerging disco sounds which were beginning to dominate the airwaves. Despite the odds, her records were cherished by loyal and passionate soul fans in many parts of the world, particularly in the UK, Europe and Japan where she acquired a cult ‘underground’ status with a level of admiration usually reserved for more prolific and successful artists such as Aretha Franklin or Gladys Knight. And the notion that Debbie Taylor was ‘lost’ just added to the mystique. But Debbie wasn’t lost at all. She hadn’t slipped into obscurity in 1976, she had intentionally put her ‘Debbie Taylor’ identity on the shelf and had returned to ‘real’ life as Maydie Myles. No wonder so many music journalists and fans had been unable to find her. GOSPEL ROOTS MAYDIE MYLES was born Maddie Bell Galvin on 23 June, 1947, in Norfolk, Virginia. Maddie is pronounced as Maydie so that’s how she spells her name today. She was the youngest of four children born to Janie Galvin and the Reverend James Galvin, a pastor in the Pentecostal church. Her upbringing was typical of many who went on to be soul singers: she played piano at home from the age of five and with her older sister was singing in church ahead of her father’s sermons by the time she was a teenager. They travelled from church to church in one state after another, singing gospel music. That was Maydie’s introduction to performing in public. Reginald Walker, her high school choir teacher, had a jazz trio and he invited Maydie to sing with the trio when she was age 11. She worked with Walker’s group for two years, gaining more musical knowledge and valuable experience of performing in front of an audience. As a teenager she also toured with several gospel groups, one of which also featured Barbara Stant, and even performed at the 1965 World Fair. Because her parents were so religious, Maydie adopted the name ‘Debbie Taylor’ for secular music and hung out at sessions on Church Street which was Norfolk’s centre of activity for R&B and home to a record store owned by Noah Biggs who also operated an independent label called Shiptown. Maydie’s friend Barbara Stant would later record for Shiptown Records but Maydie got a bigger break when in 1967 she was spotted performing at Bob’s Lounge by Joe Medlin, a regional promoter and talent scout for MCA’s Decca Records subsidiary. TEENAGE SUCCESS Maydie was still a teenager so her mother co-signed the contract which enabled her to record for Decca using her ‘Debbie Taylor’ pseudonym. She had crossed from gospel and jazz into soul music; she had become Debbie Taylor. The first Debbie Taylor sessions were held at Willie Mitchell’s Royal studio in Memphis and yielded four masters which were essentially produced by Stax hitmakers Isaac Hayes and David Porter, although credited to Joe Medlin, and featured members of Mitchell’s in-house rhythm section with The Memphis Horns. Her first single, ‘The Last Laugh Is On The Blues’, was penned by Buddy Scott and Jimmy Radcliffe and was issued on Decca 32090 in 1967 (not 1968 as is often reported). Coupled with the Don Bryant song ‘I Get The Blues’, it was an impressive debut which showed the world that Debbie had a natural soul ability and it hinted at a promising future. The follow-up was even stronger. Written by Willie Dean Parker and Henderson Thigpen, ‘Wait Until I’m Gone’ (Decca 32259) is a moody slow-beat song with a tearful lyric and a soulful delivery. It got enough airplay to reach the top 40 R&B chart in early 1968 and was a well-deserved success. Anyone who bought that 45 would have been delighted to find that the slower flip, ‘Check Yourself’, offered an even more deep and soulful demonstration of Debbie Taylor at her most intense. ‘Check Yourself’ is a haunting blues-flavoured ballad written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter who also recorded the song as ‘I’d Better Check On Myself’ with Stax/Volt artist Ruby Johnson during the same period but her version was unreleased at the time. ‘Check Yourself’ showed that the teenage Debbie Taylor could convincing play the role of a woman hurt by a lover who had eyes for someone else. An emotive performance any soul singer would be proud of. If she had never made another record, Debbie would have been eternally admired for her four Decca sides. Little would she have thought that her youthful performances would have such a profound and lasting impression on so many strangers in distant places. I was just a 9-year-old kid when those singles were released but thankfully I stumbled on them a few years later when I developed a heavy thirst for soul music as a teenager. And ever since then I kept a sharp eye out for Debbie Taylor or whoever she really was. NEW YORK CITY In March 1969 Debbie launched Gerard Purcell’s GWP label and the dreamy midtempo ‘Never Gonna Let Him Know’ (GWP 501) gave her a second R&B chart entry, this time reaching the top 20. Once again she sounded even more in control on the dramatic B side, ‘Let’s Prove Them Wrong’, written by Eddie Jones with George Kerr who also produced these sessions with Paul Robinson who was GWP’s vice president. Later that year came the brassy uptempo ‘Don’t Let It End’ (GWP 510) which was paired with the ballad ‘How Long Can This Last’, another song co-written by Eddie Jones and another opportunity for Debbie to really express herself as a soul singer with strong conviction. Less commercial was her third GWP single, issued in late 1969 and featuring Debbie on only one side. Credited to Debbie Taylor & The Hesitations, ‘Momma, Look Sharp’ (512) was a Sherman Edwards song from a Broadway musical called ‘1776’. Produced by Paul Robinson, it was a piano-led duet between Debbie and an uncredited member of The Hesitations. Curiously, the flip side was a Hesitations track called ‘No Brag, Just Fact’. Debbie’s next single was released in early 1970 on the Grapevine label, a short-lived GWP subsidiary, and both sides were penned and produced by Ray Dahrouge and Billy Terrell, the team who had written ‘Never Gonna Let Him Know’. ‘Don’t Nobody Mess With My Baby’ (202) was an obvious attempt to replicate the classic Motown sound, as was the even more uptempo ‘Stop’ on the other side. Debbie sounded comfortable and in control but these sides sounded a little more dated and less distinct than her earlier GWP sides. As with all of her GWP tracks, these sessions were arranged by Ed Bland. Whilst at GWP Paul Robinson also cut Debbie on a Larry Saunders song called ‘All That I Have’, recorded circa 1969 and supported by The Hesitations, but it remained on the shelf until 2005 when it was featured by Ace Records on a Kent compilation album of material from the GWP archives. ALBUM DEAL In 1972 Gerard Purcell hooked Debbie up with Terry Phillips and Boo Frazier at Perception Records and she recorded an album at New York’s Blue Rock studio which was released on Perception’s Today label subsidiary. Comin’ Down On You (Today 1007) is a nine-track LP produced by David Jordan with Patrick Adams who also served as arranger. The highlight of the album was the sparse and dreamy ballad ‘Leaving Him Tomorrow’, which had previously been recorded for Today Records by The Exciters on their 1971 album Black Beauty, but the song was perfect for Debbie and its theme was sorrow; once again, her man was running around with other women. She said she was gonna leave him tomorrow and I hope she did. Only one 45 was lifted from the album, the infectious and uplifting ‘No Deposit, No Return’ (Today 1510) which was written by Jordan and Adams and is similar in style and spirit to some of Freda Payne’s Invictus hits. The single deserved more success and should have been issued in the UK where its commercial potential would have been quite strong at the time. On the flip was ‘Too Sad To Tell’ which was also taken from the LP. Other high points from the album include the ballads ‘Second To None’ and ‘Touchin’ You’ (which Jordan and Adams also cut with JJ Barnes for his Perception LP Born Again in 1973) and the uptempo tracks ‘Romance Without Finance’ and ‘No Ifs, Ands Or Buts’ which was also recorded for Today Records by Black Ivory in 1972. THE PHILADELPHIA SESSIONS David Jordan took Debbie to Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia for a session with MFSB and arranger Richard Rome which sadly only resulted in one single. The excellent ‘I Have Learned To Do Without You’ / ‘Cheaper In The Long Run’ was issued on Polydor 14219 in late 1973. Jordan had penned ‘I Have Learned To Do Without You’ with JJ Barnes and Don Davis, producer of the original Mavis Staples version which had been issued on Volt in the summer of 1970. Few singers can compete with Mavis Staples but Debbie’s version is equally worthy and it deserved more support than it received. A follow-up single was scheduled for release on Polydor 14252 in 1974 but for some reason it never surfaced. ‘Superstar’, a version of the oft-recorded Leon Russell and Bonnie Bramlett song, was to have been backed with ‘A Good Woman Don’t Grow On Trees’ which Jordan had previously cut on JJ Barnes as ‘Good Men Don’t Grow On Trees’. More than a year would pass before the release of her next single and, sadly, it would turn out to be her last record as Debbie Taylor. It’s also considered by many to be her very best... I DON’T WANNA LEAVE YOU The tearful ballad ‘I Don’t Wanna Leave You’ was produced by David Jordan at an ambitious live session at Broadway Sound in New York in 1975. With a full band and orchestra, featuring Motown veteran Earl Van Dyke on keyboards, the result was a stunning slow-build arrangement of an anguished love song co-written by Jordan with drummer and arranger Andrew Smith. The dramatic musical setting was perfect for Debbie’s intensely soulful performance. Yet again she played the convincing role of an emotionally tortured woman who loved her man but could no longer trust him. Jordan hired Tom Moulton for the final mixdown at Sigma Sound’s New York studio and leased the master to Arista Records who had the confidence to release ‘I Don’t Wanna Leave You’ (Arista 0144) in its entirety — with a duration of 5:30 — but radio DJs were also serviced with an edited version. It was playlisted on many stations and rode the R&B charts for three months which was impressive for such a slow and soulful ballad at a time when the black music scene was dominated by disco and funk sounds. Much of its success may have been due to independent promotions man ‘Rocky G’ who was hired by Arista to work the record on east coast stations. His methods may have involved payola because in August 1975 Rocky G (Ellsworth Groce) admitted to a grand jury in Newark, New Jersey, that he’d paid more than $10,000 in cash to influential radio DJs such as Frankie Crocker who ruled the airwaves at WBLS, the most popular New York station for black music. ‘I Don’t Wanna Leave You’ was the first Debbie Taylor single to gain international release but when Arista’s UK office issued the single via EMI in early 1976 they disappointed soul fans by using a short edit which was also sonically inferior. The uptempo flip side ‘Just Don't Pay’ was also edited, losing over a minute, and lacked the vibrancy of the original Tom Moulton mix. The single was also released by Arista licensees in Japan and Brazil. ‘Just Don’t Pay’ eventually found popularity in underground UK soul clubs and in 1989 it was briefly reissued on a 12” single. THE LOST YEARS Nothing more was heard from Debbie Taylor after 1975 and it was a mystery that such a talent could have just disappeared into obscurity without any explanation. It later transpired that she had declined an opportunity to sign a direct deal with Arista because it would have meant cutting David Jordan and Andrew Smith out of the picture. Loyalty is quite rare in the music business and few artists would have refused such an offer. Disillusioned with the business, she put her ‘Debbie Taylor’ persona in the closet and became Maydie Myles once again. She left Virginia in the early 1980s and moved north to Stamford, Connecticut, before relocating to the nearby city of Norwalk in 2003. Maydie didn’t leave the music business but kept a lower profile. She was featured vocalist on six 12” singles issued by indie dance label K4B Records between 1994 and 1998 and continued to perform with her band in soul and jazz clubs. More recently she has done many vocal sessions for TV and radio adverts and jingles. REDISCOVERY Early in 2011 Maydie Myles self-released a jazz-flavoured CD album titled The Ones I Love and casually revealed that she had previously recorded under the name of ‘Debbie Taylor’, not really expecting anyone to be very interested. And that’s when her phone started going crazy... The word was out: ‘Debbie Taylor’ had been found at last, even though she had never been lost. Understandably, Maydie was completely overwhelmed. In November 2011 Selrec issued an extended mix of ‘Just Don’t Pay’ on their Shotgun label in the UK, intended to coincide with a scheduled live performance of ‘Debbie Taylor’ at a weekend soul festival. Sadly she was unable to appear at that event but it has now been confirmed that she will visit the UK in November 2013 to perform on stage with a full band for her most loyal fans, some of whom have waited more than thirty years for the opportunity. PAUL MOONEY NOTES: Numerous attempts have been made to locate David Jordan over the past thirty years. He seems to have ‘disappeared’ in the 1980s and is now assumed to be deceased. Sadly, Andrew Smith passed away in East Brunswick, New Jersey, in 2000 Copyright © 2013 DISCOGRAPHY Debbie Taylor Decca 32090 - The Last Laugh Is On The Blues / I Get The Blues - 1967 Decca 32259 - Check Yourself / Wait Until I'm Gone - 1968 GWP 501- Never Gonna Let Him Know / Let's Prove Them Wrong - 1969 GWP 510 - Don't Let It End / How Long Can This Last - 1969 Debbie Taylor & The Hesitations GWP - Momma, Look Sharp - 1969 (unissued at the time. Alternate lead group vocalist to version released on GWP 512. This version was released in the UK on a 2009 Kent CD GWP : NYC : TLC Volume 2 CDKEND 326) GWP 512 - No Brag Just Fact / Momma, Look Sharp - 1969 GWP - All That I Have - 1969 (Unissued at the time. This track was released in the UK on a 2005 Kent CD "GWP NYC . TCB" CDKEND 249) Debbie Taylor GWP's Grapevine 202 - Don't Nobody Mess With My Baby / Stop - 1970 Today T-1510 - No Deposit, No Return / Too Sad To Tell - 1972 Polydor PD14219 - I Have Learned To Do Without You / Cheaper In The Long Run - 1973 Polydor 14252 - Superstar / A Good Woman Don't Grow On Trees - 1973 (Unreleased) Arista 0144 - I Don't Wanna Leave You (3:58) / I Don't Wanna Leave You (5:30) - 1975 (Promo release only -label miss-press on (5:30) version) Arista 0144 - I Don't Wanna Leave You (3:58) / I Don't Wanna Leave You (5:30) - 1975 (Promo release only) Arista 0144 - Just Don't Pay / I Don't Wanna Leave You (5.30) - 1975 Arista 50 - I Don’t Wanna Leave You (3:58) / Just Don't Pay - 1976 Old Gold OG 4509 — Just Don’t Pay — 1989 (12” single with B side by Jeff Perry) Shotgun 110 - Just Don’t Pay (Long version 4.40) / Just Don’t Pay - 2011 (UK) LPs Today TLP 1007 - Comin' Down On You - 1972. Track listing: No If's, And's Or But's / (I Can't Believe I'm) Touchin' You / Too Sad To Tell / Second To None / Romance Without Finance / Leaving Him Tomorrow / No Deposit, No Return / Eye Doctor / Jeremiah. CDs UK Releases: Debbie Taylor Sequel 50232240941 - Still Comin' Down On Ya! - 1997. Track listing: No If's, And's Or But's / (I Can't Believe I'm) Touchin' You / Too Sad To Tell / Second To None / Romance Without Finance / Leaving Him Tomorrow / No Deposit, No Return / Eye Doctor / Jeremiah. J J Barnes / Debbie Taylor Sanctuary 5050749415011 - Soul Twins - Volume 1 - 2007. Track listing: J J Barnes - Can't See Me Leaving You / Time Is Love / Good Men Don't Grow On Trees / You Are Just A Living Doll / Wishful Thinking / You Owe It To Yourself (Part 1) / You Owe It To Yourself (Part 2) / No If's And’s Or But's / I Just Make Believe (I'm Touching You). Debbie Taylor - No If's And’s Or But's / (I Just Can't Believe I'm) Touching You / Too Sad To Tell / Second To None / Romance Without Finance / Leaving Him Tomorrow / No Deposit, No Return / Eye Doctor / Jeremiah / Time Is Love / No If's And’s Or But's / Wishful Thinking. THE DEBBIE TAYLOR UK CONCERT - Saturday 9th November 2013 Debbie Taylor will be making her debut performance in the UK at the New Wheatsheaf Conference & Banqueting, Altofts Lane, Whitwood, Castleford, WF10 5QB. This venue has been the home of the legendary Wilton Allnighter for almost 20 years. Although the allnigher sadly closed last year, the promoters continue with their Soulful Sessions Nights which include occasional live acts from the US. Last year Darrow Fletcher, direct from the Windy City, performed an amazing set that will be remembered for a very long time by the capacity crowd who attended. Saturday 9th November 2013 features a very special debut performance in the UK from the fabulous Debbie Taylor (Maydie Myles) supported by PUSH, an incredible full eight piece band including background vocalist Band leader and bass player Ernie McKone has secured a very special keyboard player for the night, no other than Mick Talbot. Mick is the former keyboard player for the Style Council; he played with them for over 6 years until they split. Prior to joining them he was with Dexys Midnight Runners and then went on to work with Paul Weller. The night will run from 9.00pm through till 3.00am. Debbie’s performances will commence around 11.30pm. Please note there will be no admission after 11.00pm. Dj's on the night will be Arthur Fenn - Mike Charlton - Boxy - Mouse A few of the songs Debbie will be performing at this special night at the Wilton: " Just Don't Pay" / "I Don't Wanna Leave You" / "Don't Let It End" / " I Have Learned To Do Without You" / "Kiss Of Life" / "No Deposit, No Return" plus other classics she recorded in the 60/70’s Get your tickets early to avoid missing this fantastic night. Tickets now available at: http://www.wheatsheaf.com/allnighter by Paypal or Credit Card. Admission: Advance Tickets £15 + Paypal and Postal charges or £18 OTD if not sold out. NOTES. Michael 'Mick' Talbot (born 11 September 1958, Wimbledon, London) is a British keyboardist famous for playing with the 1980s outfit The Style Council. He attended Rutlish School in Merton, south London. Talbot played with the late 1970s mod revivalists The Merton Parkas, Dexys Midnight Runners and The Bureau and can be seen in the latter's music video for their song "Only For Sheep". In 1982 he started working with Paul Weller to form The Style Council which released their first records early in 1983. Since the break-up of the Style Council in March 1990,Talbot has continued to play with Weller on his solo material. He is a member of the current lineup of Dexys (formerly Dexys Midnight Runners). He has also released albums with fellow former Style Council member Steve White, under the name Talbot/White. He has since begun playing alongside White and former Ocean Colour Scene bass guitar player Damon Minchella, in the jazz/funk band, The Players. Talbot played keyboards in Galliano, on tour with Gene, and on the 1991 Young Disciples album, Road to Freedom. Talbot toured the UK in 2009 with Candi Staton Soul Source Event Guide Entry Link Debbie Taylor biography courtesy of Paul Mooney — Selrec Discography/additional text by Dave Box. August 2013