Robbk

Ha! Ha! You're kidding, of course! Reggie's singing is SLIGHTLY reminiscent of MOR's Andy Williams. But, this singer was Detroit's Reggie Alexander. I've seen his name on several other Detroit records. A. Williams is clearly Andre Williams, who worked on many Sport/Boss/Sir Rah productions. He had his OWN release on Sport, "Pearl Time". How could anyone think the "A. Williams" on this record is ANOTHER, different A. Williams? The odds are way too slim.

That rings a bell. But too many years have gone by for me to be sure.

Yes, he was still married when in L.A. (at least as late as 1982, when i last saw him. But, I don't remember her name. But how many Soussans would be living in Beverly Hills? It would probably be easy enough to track her down.

That tells me that he was still living in Beverly Hills in 2000. I wonder if he was still producing music? Not being into "modern" music, I wouldn't have a clue.

Would he have needed to get a US Social security number to live in USA as a resident alien, if he ran a business, rather than working for someone else? I rather think that he remained a French citizen, and has, instead, a residency card and an employer tax number for his entrepeneurship. maybe he eventually became a US citizen. But, I haven't heard of him doing anything in L.A. since the early 1980s. Of course, I was out of the loop since Airwave folded in 1984, and I started spending most of my time in Europe. I wonder if he moved back to Paris years ago?

Ah yes, "The Soulful Sounds of Helen Shapiro"! Well, I guess it Margaret Whiting can have a Northern soul hit..........

Ha! HA! I think that's quite an understatement. Several are really very, very good. But quite a few of the other cuts are "drek" (as we say in Holland). They are "worshipped" because of their rarity.

Simone Soussain (Soussan) (AKA Michael Saint Simon) seems likely to be of Middle Eastern descent. He may have been of Moroccan origin. But, I have no doubt that he was a French citizen, and lived in Paris for many years before moving to The U.K. He may be of mixed French Colonial (Morocco) and Arab Moroccan blood. As I remember, he had moved to Paris, then to London, (then, possibly elsewhere in England?), then went to USA in the mid 1970s. I met him in Los Angeles in 1976 or 1977. He was producing new records there, and also running his Soul Galore label, re-releasing Northern Soul cuts. He was there straight through into the early 1980s. He lived in Beverly Hills, with his wife. I visited him there. He had dealings with us at Airwave Records. I believe he ended up keeping (my business partner) Tom DePierro's copy of "Do I Love You" by Frank Wilson. Tom told me that he let Soussan tape it, and when he (Tom) returned to the recording room , Soussan was gone, and so was the record (along with a copy of The Andantes on VIP, and a few other NS-related records (possibly some Motown acetates?). I don't know if THAT is what happened, or that Tom sold him those records. But they had been in our company's record room, and I never saw them again. Tom (and, more importantly, Airwave Records needed money at the time (that was in 1982, just before we re-organised financially, into Airwave International Records). I don't know any more than anyone else about what really happened. Soussain being a Jew would come as no surprise to me. Now that I think about it, I believe that I had heard that he was born a Moroccan Jew. However, his becoming an observant, practising, Orthodox Jew, would shock me, given his former moral standards and lifestyle.

I always thought so (at least in theory). But sometimes it was the weaker side. In the case of Brunswick, (and Decca and Coral Records for awhile), the added diamond was invariably on the weaker side (so, for those companies, the extra mark seemed to mean the NON-plug side!).

I like Mary Wells' version. So do Popcorn fans.

Very nice sound! I missed a lot by not testing '70s records! I don't remember hearing this on Nederland Drie's "The Soul Show". Still, I don't think I'd pay $5-6.000 for it. I'll settle for an MP3. I bet there are a LOT more '70s cuts I'd like. I've probably only heard maybe one or two thousand '70s songs, while probably hearing several hundred thousand '60s songs.

Motown cut records at Muscle Shoals in 1972??? Wal - I'll be a blue-nosed gopher. If I hadn't up 'n moved residence to Den Haag, i might'a knowed that! Pobably too "modern-sounding" for me in any case. Early 1972 Detroit-recorded cuts with The Funk Brothers was probably "The Last of the Summer Wine" for me.

That's the RCA (Midwest(Indianapolis)) issue. Different press runs from different plants had different label layouts.

I believe that ALL the Drew releases were distributed nationally by Laurie. But, sometimes they were sold in thin blank white and blank manila-coloured sleeves, and other times they were sold in the Laurie Records company sleeves. I don't remember any MULTI-COLOURED Laurie sleeves. All those I remember, and still have, were only ONE colour (powder blue)-with the logo formed as a snapping finger. I've never seen any other Laurie sleeve. If I remember correctly, the music industry newspaper adverts stated (roughly): that "a new record label, Drew Records, is being formed as a subsidiary to owner, Sidra Records, specifically to handle releases by The Precisions. Sidra has signed an agreement with New York's Laurie Records, to distribute the new label, nationally."

Still no Edward Earling??? Only 2 Pronouns, and NO Sons of Zion!!!! Oh well, nice to see so many Creations, Freddie Gorman and Hattie Littles. And a bunch of Mike and The Modifiers! What about that so-called "enough Linda Griner cuts to fill an album" ? How come they still haven't seen the light of day? And what about those 1972 cuts by Gwen Owens? We should still have lots of nice surprises coming our way over the next several years (if the Motown gods are kind.

Don't forget the female Magnetics (Motown unreleased).

In addition, the seller should be required to upload a clear 200 dpi label scan of both sides, and clear-sounding audio MP3 of both sides.

I also think no one would disagree with your point. I've seen some unbelievable frauds on e-Bay in the last several years. People selling artwork looking absolutely nothing like the artwork of the famous artist purported to be the creator of the auction item. The fraudulent purpetrators are getting bolder, and seemingly more ignorant and stupid, to boot. They are laughing in the face of the public. They should be made to pay large monetary fines (and threatened with jail sentences for repeat offences). I don't care if it is the buyer's responsibility to check out what he is buying. It is the seller's responsibility to reveal just what he is selling (especially when the prospective purchaser can't examine it physically). Misrepresentation is fraud, and a misdemeanor (unless the monetary amount is over a given threshold, and then it becomes a felony). I realise that a problem occurs because we are not allowed to sell an "unauthorised" pressing (bootleg) on e-Bay. But that problem is solved by calling it a "re-pressing". If the seller knows that the record he is selling was pressed in the mid-to-late 1970s, rather than 1966, when the original was issued, it is up to him to reveal that to potential bidders. That should be required. I resent that we have to e-mail the seller to ask what is stamped or etched in in the groove trail, when the seller is trying to get 10 to 20 times the value of the boot from an unsuspecting novice collector, who wouldn't buy it if he were to know the truth about the pressing.

Regardless of the "relative ease" of finding information on the boots and original record, the seller should have laid out very clearly that the record he put up for sale was not the original 1960s release.

I started listening to my parents' Jazz, Blues and R&B 78s from the late '30s, '40s and beginning of the '50s, and, naturally progressed through the '50s in real time (being exposed to the '50s Black music while working in my uncle's store on The South Side of Chicago during summers). I progressed into the '60s and from R&B to Soul. I didn't move into the '70s with anything but Jazz. The Soul became either too funky, or the sweet Soul too formulaic and having a synthetic sound with synthesizer/keyboard replacing acoustical instruments. But, yes. I thought it was very strange during the '70s that Northern "Soulies" liked only "stompers", and didn't like mid-tempo Soul(Beach and Popcorn) and ballads, and deep Southern Soul, and Gospel and City Blues, Chicago and Delta Blues. Now, Soulies finally have much wider taste. And many of them like '70s and "Modern Soul", which I don't like all that much.

Not exactly Soul per se, but there was Monti Rock III. I don't know if he ever sang about two men in love, because I didn't like his singing enough to listen enough to hear the lyrics. What about Tiny Tim? I only remember him singing standards.

I thought that Aware Records operated out of BOTH Detroit AND North Carolina (probably more the latter, than the former (possibly at different times? (i.e. Detroit first?).

Jock Mitchell was either sole owner or co-owner in Golden Hit and Golden Hit Productions. I have also heard that James Barnes was Jock Mitchell. But Jock Mitchell was working out of Detroit, at the same time as well-known J.J. Barnes (another James Barnes) was at the height of his career. Why would Mitchell choose a stage name the same as a known rival singer/songwriter? Not to mention the James Barnes from New Jersey (of Jimmy Barnes & Gibralters). I also seem to remember a James Barnes Gospel singer (or was that just Jock Mitchell?)

Joe Hunter played piano and arranged this. Naturally, he had several other Motown session players playing on it. What I can't figure out, is why Armen Boladian didn't release "It's Alright To Cry Sometimes" by J,J, It's fantastic. Also, it was so modern sounding for 1965, that, at first, I thought it was an unreleased Motown cut. Speaking of that, -I've only heard 28 seconds of it. Can anyone send me an MP3 of "It's Alright To Cry Sometimes"? I'd really appreciate it. 1964-66 Motown (and related Motown soundalikes by Motown session players) are my first love in music. I've GOT to hear that whole song!