Robbk

In Chicago in 1953, to watch The Flamingos recording "Golden Teardrops" with lefty Bates and his band, and all those great Chicago session players. I WAS in Chicago for Christmas -New Years, and most of the summer. But I was a "White" kid of only 8 years old. So, naturally, I wasn't invited. I think the session occurred in spring, before I arrived, in any case. I DID get to meet some of the Blues and R&B singers at my uncle's grocery store on The South Side. But i never met The Flamingos. I might also have wanted to be in the studio in New York in 1955, when Okeh Recorded planned to record "Screamin'" Jay Hawkins singing several Blues cuts for an upcoming LP, and he (and his entire band) came in roaring drunk, and they ended up with a novelty album and a giant national hit single that vaulted his career to fame.

The Furys had another lineup as follows: Jerome Evans (baritone lead), with Robert Washington, Melvin White, George Taylor, and Jimmy Green. I assume that this group was the later group on the last Mack IV release, and The Keymen issue in 1965, from after Tony Allen left to go solo again, and Charles Jackson left to join Vernon Greene's new Medallions. But, I had thought that Jimmy Green left to join them as well. Maybe this was a short, transition roster, with Green already gone when the group signed with Keymen? Scott Engel (one of The Walker Brothers) was their main arranger, and P.J. Proby (under his pen name, James K. Smith) was one of their major songwriters.

Yes, the original "Night Owl" was sung by Tony Allen and The Champs on Specialty Records. Tony Allen had a lot of different background groups and sang for lots of small, independent L.A. Labels. He was also a non-lead member of several groups.

The Furys (1962-64) on Jimmy McEachin's Mack IV Records were a Los Angeles based group, which had the following members all of whom had sung since the mid 1950s: Jimmy Green-tenor lead (ex of The Medallions), Tony Allen-tenor (ex of The Champs), Charles Jackson-tenor (ex of The Shields), and Jerome Evans-baritone and main lead singer (ex of The Medallions). In 1965, without Tony Allen, they got back together with lead singer Vernon Greene, to re-form The Medallions. From 1962 through 1964, Vernon Green had sung backed by a "new" Medallions group.

I CAN'T pick just one of each! Male: Ray Pollard, Nat Cole, Rudy West, Sollie McElroy, Richard Street, Sonny Til, Jackie Wilson, Eugene Pitt, Garnett Mimms Female: Dee Dee Warwick, Baby Washington, Sarah Vaughn, Carolyn Crawford, Darlene Love, Gloria Lynne

Candace Love also sang it quite well on Aquarius Records. But I like The Honey Bees' better.

"Good-bye Cruel Love" by Linda Griner was released on Canadian Tamla Records (M-1037). It was released on Motown 1037 in USA.

I doubt that very much. If General Motors started a record division, it would have had a much longer run and many more records issued, and many LPs issued. It would have been more like RCA, Columbia, Decca, -or, at least, like a secondary sub-major label, like 20th Century Fox or Colpix. A label owned by General Motors would have had a giant payroll and budget just to get started. They would have gone at least 5 years, and had over 100 releases. This 15 45RPM releases over a couple-year period seems more like a tiny independent like "Go Go Music".

Yes, I have that album. LOTS of the unreleased cuts issued in The Motown 25th Anniversary Series were slated by me, and Tom DePierro for our jettisoned "From The Vaults" LP series. I like The Temptations' version, but I think The Spinners' version got the "A" Hit treatment, and is much better.

I've NEVER heard of 60 % of the singers on that list! Should I resign from this Soul music forum in shame? No Ray Pollard? No Garnett Mimms? No Isleys? No Eugene Pitt? No Jerry Butler? No Billy Stewart? no Chuck Jackson?

Dionne Warwick - "A House Is Not A Home" Gloria Lynne - "I Wish You Love" Rita Wright _ "I Can't Give Back The Love I Feel For You" Spinners - "Truly Yours" Satintones - "My Beloved"

The harmonica solos by Big Walter Horton in Jimmy Rogers' "Walkin' By Myself" and "Chicago Bound". The guitar break by Matt Murphy on "Lonesome" by Memphis Slim, The guitar break by Pops Staples in "I'll Fly Away" and "Hammer And Nails" (Riverside version), The soaring Alto high notes in The Flamingos' Chance and Parrot ballads. Benny Benjamin's, Pistol Allen's and Uriel Jones' snare drum rolls in too many Motown instrumental tracks to mention, and Johnny Allen's 1964 arrangements meshing together all those great Motown instrumental performances. The Five Keys' fantastic five-part harmony on their 1951 and 1952 cuts (especially "Red Sails In The Sunset" and "My Saddest Hour", and the same for The Flamingos' 1953 and 1954 cuts "Golden Teardrops", "If I Can't Have You", "I'm Yours". The 1963 and 1964 great harmony backgrounds by Billy Butler and The Enchanters and The Impressions backing Major Lance, Otis Leavill, Jerry Butler and Jan Bradley and Gene Chandler. 1954 guitar solos by Johnny "Guitar" Watson, and many from the 1940s by T-Bone Walker. The rolling plunky piano of Otis Spann, Memphis Slim, Champion Jack Dupree. The haunting guitar licks of Elmore James. The early Motown sax and flute solos of Beans Bowles. The great ensemble sound of The Afro Blues Quintet and Afro Blues Quintet +1 on "Liberation" and "Moses", and really everything on their first four LPs. The haunting clarity of Ray Pollard's lead vocals in his cuts as lead of The Wanderers.

Yes. !974 sounds right for the gold re-issues. Those were done directly by Brunswick (which was sill in business) -must have been by their Oldies Department/Division. By 1983, I believe that Brunswick was out of business. So Collectables probably just bought or leased the rights to those cuts, and re-issued them on a lookalike Brunswick label, similar to their re-issuing of Phil-les records and previously unissued material on look-alike labels with the Collectables logo superimposed. They did that for some other defunct labels, as well.

I saw so very many of them during my wanderings in USA, even sold as oldies in record shops. I just thought they were Brunswick's "oldies" line in the 1970s, like Capitol Starline was Capitol's oldies line in the 1960s. If they were commissioned by a Brit for sales in The UK, how did so many end up sold retail new, in US record shops?

Listen to this Funk band, and tell me if they could be the same group as is on Tonce Records. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=JcRk4jrlBgE

It looks like a 1971-74 font used in a Chicago pressing plant. Maybe Bob A. can help here? "Just Us" rings a bell with me. I'm sure I saw that name on some other labels. I never picked up anything with a group name that modern. I don't like much music made after 1967. Just Us was a folk/rock group that had a record out on Massachusetts' minuteman Records, picked up for national distribution in 1965, by Colpix Records. There was also a Canadian psychadelic rock group from Southern Ontario with that name. They had a record out on Canadian Barry Records in 1967. They MIGHT be the same group as the group on Minuteman. I suspect that the Tonce Record is a Funk record, maybe from Akron or Cleveland, Ohio. It is from 1974. There was a Funk record from 1973 by Jus' Us on Annthonette Records from Akron. There was also a funk instrumental record by Just Us & Brass Jam on International Mod Records. also from the early 1970s. [url=https://s77.photobucket.com/user/Robb_K/media/JustUs-FunkInstGroup_zpsd09a19c5.png.html][/url I've only heard Just Us & Brass Jam, of the three. I don't know if the other 2 are Funk instrumentals or Soul vocals, or funk vocals.]

This is a ridiculous question. But, if it were worded thusly: "If only 1,000 recordings from Motown Corp. or 1,000 non-Motown recordings, recorded after 1966, existed, which group of 1,000 recordings would you choose to keep?" - I would keep the Motown recordings. For me, if the choice were simply Motown vs, non-Motown recordings, Motown, alone, or even Detroit, alone, wouldn't have a chance against ALL other recordings, as I like thousands of recordings from the 1930s, '40s and '50s. If considering only 1960s, Detroit and Chicago vs, all others would win fairly easily, and Detroit alone vs. all others might lose slightly, but be fairly competitive.

I wish I had it. But I've never even seen it. I've got a Barbara Jean & Lyrics, Cynthia & Imaginations, and Johnnie Mae Matthews.

It's a fabulous documentary, full of great photos, clips and interviews.

Whenever I see a label that has print that "breaks up" (not solid), I am leery of it, and suspect a boot. That's what happens when the label is photocopied.

"She's Alright" by Reggie Milner, written by Reggie, released on Ron Murphy's Ron's Records, is listed as copyright 1967. But, it has a wonderful earlier 1964-65 sound. Ron was a good friend of mine, and usually gave me copies of his label's releases. I never got that one. If memory serves me right, that was pressed in 1971. He did record some local Detroit artists, himself, singing songs they wrote. But, he also got hold of (bought the rights to) some earlier recorded ('60s) master tapes, and released those on his labels. I think this is one of those (maybe recorded as a demo for Milner, in 1965, but, for some reason, not published by a music publisher until 1967, and not pressed up until Murphy did it in 1971). I wish I had heard it and asked him about it and obtained a copy years ago. Does anyone here know the story of this recording and what group is backing up Reggie on this cut? Clearly (based on the writing style and sound, it was recorded before 1967, and before Milner's recordings by Ollie McLaughlin, that were leased to and recorded for Volt Records. That's a great tight sound by his backing group. I'd bet they were a professional group that appeared outside the studio, rather than just a studio group or random collection of back-up singers.

It's a fine, classy production, as are most of the Thelma recordings. But, I like "Lucky To Be Loved by You" far and away better, and "Don't Lead Me On Baby" much better.

Another from the DETROIT Fantastics group is on Herman Griffin's Hit Records (Detroit label that also had Herschel Hunter's Moments record on it?)

Yes. The above 2 are different pressing plant pressings of the original. The bottom is a late 1970s boot pressed up at the same plant around the same time as The Magnificents on Dee Gee, and several others with that same font and label design.

And The DMD group was a local Detroit group. The RCA group was Sammy Strain's Brooklyn group, who also were The VIP's on Big Top. Wasn't the group on Bell Records also the Texas group?