Robbk

Here's a link to the first page of a 3-page discography of all Dora Hall's releases: https://www.discogs.com/artist/Dora+Hall I saw only MOR Pop, old standards and a few Soul/pop crossover hits. What's interesting is that her husband spent many, many thousands of dollars on recording her and producing TV specials starring Dora. with guest stars such as Frank Sinatra Junior, Rosey Grier and others. It was quite laughable. You can watch all her TV shows on video.

I've seen the overall list of Dora Hall's record releases. MOST of her songs were MOR Pop music. She sang remakes of maybe 15-17 "Soul" songs. But, from what I remember NONE of them were "obscure". All of them charted, and, more importantly, I believe ALL were not only Soul chat hits, but ALL were pop chart hits ("I Heard It Through The Grapevine", "Groovin' ", "Barefootin' ", etc.). I don't remember her singing any songs that didn't make the Pop charts. She lived in Chicago. I imagine she heard those songs on WLS. I doubt that she listened to WVON. Do you remember, offhand, any "obscure" Soul songs she sang (released either on 45 or LP)?

I knew you were kidding. I just wanted to get my deadpan joke in. I have resisted using smilies most of my Internet career. But, I see, now, that I'm going to have to use them almost all the time. ARRRGH!

The Knights and Arthur made some pretty decent vanity records, which could have been much better with a "real" professional lead singer. The other group members were a solid Soul group, and the always used some of the best philadelphia musicians, and arrangers, and they sang great songs written by Curtis Mayfield, and other top Chicago and Philadelphia Soul music writers.

What a waste of a decent backing track. The Gino Johnson recording was quite nice. Brings to mind Dora Hall, and her Calamo, Cozy and Reinbeau labels funded by her multi-millionaire husband, owner of the Solo Cup Company. https://youtu.be/dPoBTToXBLo

I'll say! There are no synagogues nor kosher butcher shops in The Arizona Desert, and certainly not enough religious Jews to form a minion!

Then, it may be the original, local pressing, BEFORE Bandera made the distribution deal with USA Records. Bandera was distributed by VJ, and then (if I remember correctly) Constellation (via Dart Distributors), just before USA. That particular label format (of the Navy Blue pressing) looks more akin to Dart than USA or VJ.

I've never seen a Navy Blue pressing before. it might be legit, or might be a boot. I have seen only powder blue pressings on the original store stockers, which I bought in 1965: Otherwise, I have only sen the white DJ. Both have Distributed by USA Records along the label outside edge, and have MW 931 and MW 932 etched into the groove trail. The navy blue copy to which you refer has a legitimate 1965 Chicago label style and look to it. I remember that style being used, and also some labels having used that on a press run at a different pressing plant from their major first local run. So, perhaps it is a legitimate issue. Maybe Bob A. knows the history of this pressing, and if a navy blue labeled press run was made in a different pressing plant?

Same to all of you, and everyone else in this great forum community!

I'd rather not say how many records I have. I've never counted them in any case. But I collect Old R&B, Blues, Jazz, Gospel, and early-mid '60s Soul (mainly 1946-1967). Someone looking for NS would find it interspersed among all the other genres. I live in four different countries each year, and have records in all of them and records in storage as well. So a NS-oriented burglar wouldn't find much of what he would be looking for. Even given THAT, given some of my previous experience, I don't think I'd want it known on this forum, the locations of my various domiciles. I think that most of you will understand that. I've kept most of my collection intact, trading off mostly only duplicates. But, I have traded off a handful of big NS records for rare Detroit Soul items. I specialise in Detroit and Chicago.

I'm not at all surprised, considering the fact that he did a lot of underhanded dealing with people. Your comment on karma is very true, and has been proven by science. People who are not comfortable with themselves as a person have that expressed in affects on their health. I don't believe I've ever seen people that hurt other people at ease with themselves. They always suffer from one anxiety or another. If one can't look in the mirror and say "That guy (or Gal) is a good person", "that guy (or Gal) did his/her best to make The World a better place (or at least not to worsen it)", one cannot be really content, and when one feels badly about him(her)self, that often shows up in various types of illnesses both making them more susceptible to natural illnesses, or resulting in psychosomatic illnesses. Anxiety can make the blood pressure go up, change chemical balance to hurt sugar processing (leading to diabetes or other problems, can lead to hardening arteries, making the heart work too hard, digestion problems, ulcers,etc. The list goes on and on. In any case, I believe that people who knowingly choose to hurt other people or do them wrong in any way (for selfish reasons), are already hurting mentally, and suffer even before they perform the act. I'm in my mid '60s already, and don't know how long I have left on this Earth. I can see already that I won't be able to take my records with me. All that I really will have at the end is to be able to be able to look back on my life and think: "Is The World a better place because I was here?". That will tell me the answer to the question I'll ask to the mirror-"Is that a good person?". The answer had better be YES, as otherwise I'll have nothing else for my time here. Talking about my records, I've got no children. Neither of my younger sisters, nor my brother, nor their children care about my records, (although one of them likes the old music a lot). So, I have no one to give them a good home. I'm hoping to put my records together with a few other Dutch big-time collectors, to found a Museum of African-American Recorded Music. I'm hoping to also get The Dutch Government to help with some funding to start it and run it, but that the latter part is pretty unlikely, given current and expected future budget problems. But, maybe we can get the space (facility) donated. Anyway, I'm also hoping maybe we can place it in Den Haag, and I can earn some money being a receptionist/guide/curator for it. One of the big collectors also lives around there.

One can't make that assumption. What happens with national distribution depends upon the individual deal made between the local label and the distributor. As far as I remember, EVERY Four Brothers single that was released during the time they were distributed by Atlantic was picked up by Atlantic. If they made that deal BEFORE that particular Sam and Kitty record was released, then, there would be no local, Chicago, non-Atlantic pressing, unless Four Brothers made a deal to have their own local distribution (which, I don't believe occurred). That type of deal DID happen, when Berry Gordy leased Tamla 101 and 102 to United Artists, and 54027 ("Money" (That's What I Want") to Anna Records and their distributor (Chess Record Corp.). Sometimes, distributors working with local labels make a deal in which they have refusal rights to decide to NOT pick up certain releases from the local label. In those cases, the local label may have several releases pressed up and distributed by the national label or distributor, and random releases in between being pressed up by the local label on their previous logo design. That happened with Nathanial Mayer and The Twilights' releases on Fortune Records released on UA pressings with a UA number series and different label design, and other Fortune Records in between being released on the old, traditional Fortune Records label design.

Yes. "A Dream" by Barbara Mercer was an unreleased Groovesville/Solid Hit recording that remained in the can. I don't think it had any connection to Sidra. That was either funded by Don Davis or LeBaron Taylor, or both, together. The Embraceables on Dover was the one I remembered, incorrectly, as being from Nashville. I don't have and haven't heard that one on Sandy Records. But, I believe that that is, like the group on Dover, a male group (possibly the same one?).

I just listened to "Let My Baby Go"-which sounds very like Pearl Jones, and "Here I Go", which sounds less like her, but still is clearly NOT Barbara Mercer. Isn't The Embraceables on Titanic Records an L.A. production and label? There was an L.A. Group called The Embraceables, and I also have a record on a Nashville label by a similarly named group (but, I believe they are all Male.

Pearl Jones was supposed to be the lead singer of The Sidra Embraceables.

That's what I've always read. The lead of The Embraceables on Sidra sounds to me a lot more like Pearl Jones than like Barbara Mercer.

I think Barry already answered that. Not enough members are posting on here to tell him much.

I don't think anyone here is claiming that Simon is the Anti-Christ. And I don't think they were trying to diminish his contribution to The Northern Soul scene or Disco Music/modern Soul production. I think they were just commenting on things he DID do to them or others. SOME of them (not all) were saying that the negatives outweigh the positives in terms of overall effect on The Northern Soul scene. I can't even know, for sure, if his action affecting me wasn't legitimate. There's a reasonable chance that Tom DePierro SOLD the Frank Wilson to him (his own idea), despite his telling me that Simon took it and never returned it. He needed cash badly, and I wouldn't have been surprised if he had sold it (maybe for $500 or so). He really didn't know what it would be worth. And Simon knew it was and would be worth much, much more, of course). Nevertheless, people who were wronged like to be able to complain about it, to get at least THAT as paltry compensation.

Yes. And I didn't say that she wasn't a talented singer. I just implied that if non-Soul singer, Margaret Whiting (a la Paul Anka) can have a NS hit, then, I suppose, Helen Shapiro could conceivably, have one too. I was referring to the time of the "stompers", when anyone singing over a fast instrumental of a given "proper" beat, could have a NS hit.

It was a Jobete Music song, originally recorded by The Velvelettes in late 1963, or possibly very early 1964, called "Mama Please". At least that was the title on The Velvelettes' master tape, and on their reference acetate, and also on the Jobete Music publishing rights reference acetate. To me, it's one of The Velvelettes best recordings. I have no idea why it wasn't released as the "A" side of a Velvelettes' 45, even before "Needle In a Haystack". We had that slated for the 2nd "From The Vaults" album.

No,- probably the Frenchman (photo above) who works part-time in L.A.

I've seen a red pressing with the same label design as the green store stocker. I believe that it was a legit original issue (pressed at Columbia Midwest), with a stamp in the groove trail (but it was many, many years ago, so I can't remember, for sure, if I got a look at the groove trail.

I think Simon had a storage space somewhere in LA (perhaps Hollywood?).

There are 4 Shlomo Soussans and 2 Simon Soussans on that service. Soussan MUST be a Sephardic Jewish family name. So, it's a decent bet that Simon was born a French or Moroccan Sephardic Jew. It's interesting to me that he is rumoured to have turned ultra religious, and yet is socialising and networking on Facebook. He should be hanging around his local synagogue, reading The Torah, The Mishna, and sitting around discussing with the other elders, the sayings of the great rabbis.

Numbers running was one of the major sources of income which could be laundered through record labels and recording studios and record distributorships owned by MANY of the African American entrepeneurs. Otherwise, we'd have seen a LOT fewer decent-sized Black-owned labels. Ed Wingate (Golden World), Wilbur Golden (Correc-Tone). etc. Some, like Diamond Jim Riley, had nightclubs as well, but also probably also had numbers feeding into their "empires".