Robbk

Ha! Ha! I've bought THOUSANDS of '60s Soul records for 10¢ (US) each or 5¢ each, at record shop bargain bins, Woolworths' 10¢ sales and in thrift and junk shops, all within 1-3 years of their release. I would be dead before finishing the list on this thread (I'm 66 years old, and I'm a slow typist). And, yes, many (if not most) would now be considered "Northern Soul" (at least one side). My best find was NOT NS, however. In 1966, i was in a usually heavily picked through "Goodwill Store" in Los Angeles, and for some reason (instinct), I moved a bookshelf (which had only a few old children's records on it) , just for a quick peak behind, as I was frustrated in finding NO records to look through. Lo and behold! There were 3 45 RPM records that had fallen behind the shelf. One was "Dreams of You" by The Royals on Okeh Records. A Black R&B vocal group harmony record from 1952 (worth over $1,000 US at that time, as well as a 45 by The Aladdins on Aladdin Records from 1953 (worth about $300 then), and a 45 by The Five Keys on Aladdin from 1952 worth about $500 then. The Royals was in M- and the Aladdins were in VG++ condition. That was the highlight of my thrift-shopping career. When I told Steve Propes about that find, his face turned all sorts of red and purple. That made me feel better about all the records that were held for him to look at AFTER I had visited many thrift shops, because propes had bribed those workers with gifts of pies from his pie delivery route (he drove a truck delivering pies to groceries and restaurants).

I hate far too many to pare a list down to 3. (1) I guess "Deutschland Ãœber Alles" would be my first hated, as half my family was murdered by The Nazis. (Ironically one of my high school alma mater songs used that very tune! Should have been against a law! (2) "Talk, Talk"-The Music Machine (3) "Inna Godda Da Vida"- Iron Butterfly (?) I don't hate ANY Soul song enough to even approach the hate I have for noisy, a-tonal, non melodious, screaming "Rock Music", hard Rock, Acid Rock and commercial so-called C&W music (Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and the like), and some of the milk-soppy MOR/Pop music of the '50s.

The football origin is the "correct" origin story. The 3 footballers, Rosie Grier plus 2 other players who had been stars on The New York Giants for many years, and recently had been traded to The Los Angeles Rams, had ventured into the record business and managing a singing group, within a few years of moving to L.A., only after Grier had already started to, himself, become a successful singer. So, the ex-footballers moving from New York directly to San Diego is inaccurate.

Several people say the partner moving to San Diego was Ben Gresham, NOT Johnson. Rosie Grier (MGM, D-Town, etc. was a US Football Hall of Fame 16 year veteran of The New York Giants and L.A. Rams. He and his 2 other New York Giant/ L.A. Rams partners had been living in L.A. for several years before they started Tac-Ful Records. So, no one moved from New York to San Diego. Ben Gresham had been an L.A. record producer and arranger since the 1950s. Apparently, HE moved to San Diego, and took the Tac-Ful master tapes with him.

I doubt that it was even "Thought of", as it was Ed Wingate's policy to not use #13. Golden World #12 and #14 came up long before Ric Tic 112 and Ric Tic 114. Golden World never had a #13. Why, all of a sudden, would they plan a Ric Tic 113? Later, Wingate skipped # 013. In 1972, Ron Murphy purchased all the back stock of Ed Wingate's labels, complete with catalogue lists. There was no listing for Ric Tic 113.

I got the white/blue promo with "I Don't Know" on both sides when the song was first released. It's a legit promo from the period.

Ha! Ha! You blew your chance, Rod! When they asked if you were undercover coppers, you should have said YES! Then you'd have gotten free food, and the royal treatment to watch the show! At least that's the way things went down during the '50s and '60s, as I remember. Cops were always copping freebies.

Yes, "Mad Mike's Moldies"!

I doubt there's ANY Detroit connection. It doesn't look like a Detroit pressing. No Detroit names involved. Wasn't Rufus Lumley from Minnesota? He was a legend there. Even Garrison Keillor revered him.

The termed them "moldies" in Pittsburgh. (as in moldie oldies).

Herb Abramson worked on projects in D.C. and Baltimore. He was early involved in D.C.'s music because he was friendly with Ahmet and Neshui Ertegun, whom he had first met in Washington. That, eventually got him involved with Jubilee Records. It may be that M.B.S./Mir-A-Don's recordings were made in D.C., or New York, or New Jersey, or, even Philadelphia. But, as they brought the group to NY to make the demo recording, it's most likely that they recorded the final mix and pressed in New York, as well. But not absolutely certain.

I don't remember Roscoe Bowie involved in a Chicago production. As far as I remember, he worked strictly on The East Coast.

I saw US LPs and 45s for sale at HMV as early as 1965. But they cost a pretty penny.

I thought it all started at 1719 Gladstone St.

I've always thought the person was female, based on the voice and mannerisms in the voice. I had also thought I had remembered her being part of the San Francisco Bay music scene in the mid-late '60s (e.g. seen a photograph-proving she was a woman). Sometimes people name their children with a name that might be thought of as belonging only to one sex. Men have been named Shirley and Beverly. One would guess that the female name would be "Othella", but some people like to be different. If THAT singer IS a male, he had serious hormone problems. That is not a "falsetto" performance.

After listening to both his 20th Century Fox record and watching the clip, I can say, without a doubt that both are the same person. One can hear his "trained voice" in both, with similar tone quality. I've always thought that the Fox artist must have also been a "Broadway" wannabee. I don't remember hearing his Coral cuts. Are they good?

Earl Connelly was likely to be Louisiana Blues singer, Earl King. Some of his early '50s King records list him as "Earl Connelly King".

I have a white background (with gold "stars" and constellation lines) with black print, having the Boola Boola etched, and X-3382 on "This Must Be Love", and with 1234-8 etched in the wax on "You're Still On My Mind".

I like The Steve Mancha best. The Funk Brothers' instrumental is the tightest and cleaner than that on The Professionals' version.

Here's a small photo of Mary from her Modern records period:

Here's The Calla record: The Producer is New York's Richard Rome. Little Jerry Williams (Swamp Dogg) was co-writer along with Rome on one side, Verdell Smith wrote the other (perhaps she was married to "Buddy Smith", or was his sister? Despite the credits not producing another connection, I'd say there's NO doubt that it's the same group on all 3 labels (potentially with group member changes-but the same origin). Two different NY Soul groups with the same unique name existing at the same time would be absurd.

The Volumes' cuts were all Detroit, and so were the Bobbie Smith and some others leased to that label by Harry Balk. But, that's no different from showing Big Top sleeves for Balk and Micahnik's records leased to Big Top (New York label), or Columbia sleeves for Detroit productions leased to Columbia, and Coral sleeves for Ortheia Barnes' releases, or RCA sleeves for Pied Piper's Detroit productions. They aren't Detroit record label sleeves. So far, I only know of Motown and Sound, and Dearborn (although, Dearborn is a Detroit label, like All Platinum(located in New Jersey) is a New York label (Metropolitan area)).

I'm 66 going on 67. Does that qualify? I started buying records (Black American Blues, R&B, Gospel, Jazz) in 1953. You tell me when the first Northern Soul record came out, and I'll tell you I bought it new, found it in a bargain bin within 1 year of its release, or bought a similar record new. Not being a Brit, I was introduced to Northern Soul collectors in the early 1970s. I went to my first all-nighter in Lancashire in 1980 or 1981.

Cheating, in that American Arts was a Pittsburgh (rather than Detroit) label? Harry Balk had some business relations with the owner. But, the company's operations were in Pittsburgh and many of their artists were located and produced away from Detroit. We can get Big Top covers as well. Balk leased a lot of his productions to that company. But it was also a non-Detroit company (operating out of New York).

Great article, Rob. Nice, thorough job. Unusual that I didn't learn anything I hadn't known before from other sources, other than the fact that Mancha was his real family name, and that his family had Spanish roots. Nice to know, however, that what I did think was true is confirmed. Normally, I find that some of the long-time rumours going round were only conjecture.