Robbk

There are no decent bios on him with any timeline. He must have been on leave from The Service in the very late '50s or at the beginning of the '60s. I don't remember any record with an arranging credit for him before 1962.

He seemed to be always an independent arranger. It doesn't appear that he ever had an exclusive contract with any one company. It also doen; look like he was the major A&R man wit any label, unless he was for one or two very small NY labels while he was also free lancing with the majors.

That would be greatly appreciated. You can go to www. Photobucket.com or www.imageshack.com (or a similar image uploading service), and sign up for a free account, and upload the scan. Then use "copy" the "for Forums" version's location code and paste it into your reply to this thread.

A great Christmas song that's probably never played anywhere but Baltimore. I'll have to add it to one of my Christmas tapes.

Wasn't "Say It Isn't So" just a production that Popcorn hadn't succeeded in placing with a label? It just fell through the cracks. He hadn't had plans to release it on a label of his own, nor was he able to get her a recording contract with a major, or even a decent-sized Soul label. It wasn't really ever slated for release during the '60s at any stage (was it?). As stated above, the RCA demo was only cut for the Grapevine release. I don't remember Wylie placing any record with RCA. As far as I know, from Detroit, only the Pied Piper crew did that.

Don't forget "Beach", "Southern Soul", "Deep Soul", "The Chicago Sound", "Swamp music", "Sound of Philadelphia", "Sound of Memphis", "Muscle Shoals", "Detroit Soul" (non-Motown), "North Carolina", "Low Rider Soul"(East L.A.), "New Orleans Sound", "New York Sound", L.A. Sound", " , etc.

Thanks. Bella Flowers was the sole owner, Syng McGowan just shared publishing rights to the songs he wrote, with Bella Flowers (the label owner). That's fairly unusual for a non-star. But, he seemed to have a decent following, with a fan club. So, they recorded in New York, with the likes of Jesse Herring arranging. I haven't heard of Tonny Kaye as an arranger (maybe that should be "Tommy Kaye").

Then Higdon may have been a songwriter for Jobete music's office in New York in 1963-64, as Eddie Singleton, who ran it with Raynoma Liles Gordy, came from Washington D.C. and worked with many of the Baltimore people in the industry. As you state above, Higdon probably wrote it, and Stevenson added small changes, later in the pre-recording process.

Running Numbers operations was a major way that many Black businessmen got working and investment capital in the 1930s-1960s in most of the big cities in USA. Most of them laundered that money through legitimate businesses. Some of those entrepeneurs were also in the record business.

I think it's also interesting that Alphonso Higdon went to prison accused of Numbers running (just for a matter of months). And Syng McGowan went to prison for 2 years (1964-66), (and recorded while incarcerated there).

Here are scans of the two Roleaks sides:

Hope Records was a Baltimore label. The Roleaks' record was Hope 556 ("Keep On Loving You (Just Loving You)" and 557 ("As Long As You Love Me"). Alphonso Higdon was the A&R man, and probably arranged and ran the recording session along with producers Belle Flowers and someone named Howard. The music publishers were Three-Letter and Belsyng Music (presumably representing rights of Howard (3-Letter) and Belle Flowers and Syng McGowan (BelSyng). Given that, the owners may have been Howard, Flowers and McGowan. I have no idea who the members of The Roleaks were, other than Barbara J. Vanlandingham, their lead singer. But I'd guess that they were all from Baltimore, as she was. She had started out in singing with her family's Gospel group. The pressing numbers show that the record was pressed in early 1966. That girls group sung this fast-tempoed Nothern Soul favourite-that can be heard on You-Tube -here: Here is a discography of Hope Records that I've pieced together from several sources: 1846A/B Syng McGowan - Not Sympathy / How Will I Know 2052A/B Syng McGowan - Loneliness Is A Pleasure / Dear Santa 550/551 Syng McGowan - That's What I Want / Peggy Did 552/553 Syng McGowan - Loneliness Is A Pleasure / Just In The Nick Of Time 554/555 Del Thompson - The Love Waiting For Me / First And True Love 556/557 The Roleaks - Keep On Loving You / As long As You Love Me 558/559 Billy Joy - One Twenty One / When You Cry I believe that Hope Records operated from 1965-1966 (possibly slightly into 1967?). Does anyone know a producer from Baltimore/Washington D.C. Area named Howard? Does anyone know who the other (non-lead) members of The Roleaks were? Was Belle Flowers related to Phil Flowers? Wasn't he from the Baltimore/D.C. Area? Does anyone know who the owner/owners were? Does Syng McGowan bear any relation to Sam McGowan, who recorded for Smash in 1967-68?

I have confirmed (without a doubt) that Lark Records was a Detroit label that was connected under the umbrella of Detroit's Sound, Inc. Production company. Brothers, Danny and Larry Lick (Pavelik), and their cousin, country/rockabilly singer, Johnny Powers (Pavelik), (all Detroiters) owned it. Ernest Kelly may have been involved at some time). It was located Northeast of Detroit. Sound Incorporated had more than 20 labels affiliated to it, including: Sound, Universal Sound. Sound City, Velgo, Lark, Thump, Sidra, W.I.G., Amon, Poo Pan, Drifter, Walker, Cupid, Keepsake, Lusty, Monee, Radio, Oceanside, Fink and Trash Records. It had it's own rcording studio and pressing plant. Here is a link to a thread we had on Soulful Detroit Forum some years ago, in which the owners Detroit's Pavelik Brothers, including Johnny Powers, and their headquarters' address (in the Greater Detroit Area), and listing all the labels involved: https://faac.us/adf/m...html?1237305322 The SI pressing number series is the same as all the other Sound, Inc. -related labels use (as I stated above), they had their own pressing plant.

I really like his early '50s Blues recordings with Modern, his early Duke recordings, and his later Duke recordings from the mid -late '60s. I haven't heard most of his recordings made after ABC bought out Duke. But he certainly was intense on his Blues recordings and his early Duke recordings. "Call On Me" is my favourite of his "Soul" songs. It sounds like an early '60s Detroit-recorded song (although it was not written by Detroiters, nor recrecorded in Detroit. Which is ironic, because Robey later had a production agreement with Detroit's Joe Hunter, in which Hunter's Detroit crew wrote songs, and recorded Detroit artists AND Duke artists (including Bland, himself) both in Detroit and Houston, for release on Duke, (Peacock?), BackBeat and Sure Shot Record labels.

Did Evans own or co-own any labels other than Spar?

I'd bet that A LOT more DJs (all over USA) were at least co-owners or had minority interests in record labels. So, who were some of those Philly DJs that were co-owners (we've only got Jimmy Bishop so far)? What about all those New York, Boston, Washington DC, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Miami, Atlanta. New Orleans, Denver, Houston (Besides Huey Meaux), Dallas, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Minneapolis/St. Paul.....etc.. etc.?

Doesn't anyone else have some other DJs to list that were record company owners and co-owners. As you can see, I only know Chicago and L.A., having lived only in those 2 cities in USA. My having lived many years in Winnipeg and Den Haag will not help this thread. Doesn't anyone know East Coast DJs from the '60s?

Yes, that Xyland Bill Hawkins song was the only one on Velgo. Was Bill Carnes Preston's brother?

I'll send you the Parkway, Dave-if you still need it. Robb

Cleveland is a regular stop for local distribution out of Detroit. It's more likely that it was a Detroit record with connections to Cleveland than the other way round. As I stated above, Jesse Greer was Detroit based, and Vivian jones recorded for Harry Balk's Detroit-based Twirl Records. Sound, Inc. also used Wilhurte and Xyland Music (Velgo), and Devotion Music (Sound City). In addition, the pressing plant code numbers look like they were from American Pressing Plant in Detroit (as the Velgo records used.

I've read that after investigations, Dick Clark was found to have had % minority interests in all those record companies. I can't vouch for the accuracy of that statement. But, I did read that.

I'd like to hear at least snippits of both sides if it is possible (without joining a pay service to do so). Can anyone help?

I assume that's a Detroit recording. Sound, Inc. was a Detroit production company, who owned Velgo and Sound City Records. And Jesse Greer was a Detroit songwriter (with HOB/Spartan/Soul Records, etc.) I know she once recorded for Harry Balk's Twirl Records.

I didn't mean to pretend you didn't list any, just so I could list more. I merely re-wrote your entries to add the labels they owned or co-owned.