Robbk

I will send you scans at 300 dpi. No, I don't have the Kentone. But I have the Wolfie and Sleeper releases. I think I got them all when Herman Griffith sold his last stock when hye closed down his record shop on Adams and West Blvd. in 1967, or, if not, it was when Pat's Record shop on San pedro Place and Vernon Ave sold out in 1969. If i bought them at Griffiths they were likely at only 10 for a dollar at that time (last reduction). If at pats, they were 50 cents each.

Here it is: Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us

I have no reason to doubt her word. I was just commenting on my being surprised because the names were so close, and they sounded so alike. With no lead voice, it's reasonable to realise that they could sound very alike if both groups harmonise well.

The other side is actually the "A" side, title "Many Mood (of a Man)". I didn't like it, and played it only once in 1967, when I got it. So, I don't remember how it sounds. But my taste runs towards sweet melodies and beat is irreleveant to me (so it "might" be a NS-type sound. But, as no one has played it on The Scene, I'd guess that it is just weak all around. Otherwise we'd have heard about it (as the record is not all that hard, and has been around). I'm shocked to hear that The Imaginary Three are not The Imaginations. They sound very like them, and after The Romantics of Ruby & Romantics, I think they are the best backup group to a female lead that never sangon their own.

It's from 1967, out of Pitsburgh,- produced by Joe Rock (producer of The Skyliners). Pressed (and seemingly distributed by Atlantic/ATCO Group). "Tell Her" is a ballad. I'm pretty sure that I remember "Letter Full of Tears" being the same mid-tempo song as Gladys Knight v& Pips version. It sounds like early '60s R&B/Soul transition recordings (more of a shag/beach sound than a NS beat. But, I guess those are considered NS "crossover" now. Sorry, I don't have sound files to upload. Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Big Dee Irwin sang "I Only Get THIS Feeling"-released on Imperial. I also have it by him on a Redd Coach white DJ. I'd guess that the latter was the original label and Wally Roker and Jesse Herring (or whoever owned it) leased it to Imperial. Uploaded with ImageShack.us

That looks original to me (just like the new one I bought in 1965). It should have a Nashville Matrix stamp. The boots have whiter label background, and the print is lighter and less even (e.g. from photograph).

A printer error on one pressing order. I've gone though probably over several million 45s since that record was released (I lived in Chicago at the time). I'd say I've seen more of Wise World(maybe 60%-40%). And, it was pressed with several label background colours.

I KNEW there was a link between the Allrite and Bonnie Magnetics. It was Bobby Peterson. After his Magnetics broke up, he joined The Volumes. When The Volumes (minus Eddie Union) wanted to use a different name, Peterson must have suggested his old group's name.

"A Change is Gonna Come" was pressed originally, in several different plants. That is an original. The first re-issue of that came out on RCA's Gold "Oldies" series with a different number in front (447?)

The Downbeats were led by Johnny Dawson. I remember having seen the names of the other three members, as well as all of the names of The Allrite Magnetics, and if I remember correctly, NONE of them matched. I'm almost positive that The Magnetics on Allrite did not have any connection to Motown's Downbeats.

The recording sounds way too old in acoustics and song-writing style to be from 1965. I bought those Storm records in about 1962. I guessed they were released in 1961 or 1962. The Prelude release is likely just a re-issue of J.J. and The Jackals, June Jackson put out in 1965 to try to cash in on his local popularity. He was making some appearences in the L.A. area then (which got him his contract with Imperial). Does anyone here know who owned Prelude Records?

There are lots of interesting lyrics in "Strange Fruit" sung by many (but my favourite is Billie Holliday's version). Although it is a bit painful, as I stay part-time in USA, and I still have to witness terrible racism that still exists there. When I visited thee in 1952, I saw a sign on a beach there (in Indiana) that said that I was not allowed to set foot on it (neither were dogs, nor "Ni-----"(people with black skin). Indiana is where the KKK was first formed). I do like these lyrics: "She can be covered with a rash..... Long as she's got some cash. "

"Pretty Girl" by Popcorn (Wylie) & The Mohawks on Johnnie Mae Matthews' Northern Records 3732.

Duplicate post.

Yes, Gerald Mathis. That's the guy. J. (John) "SoulSmith" (Smith) interviewed former Volumes' member, Bobby Peterson (during a Prestatyn visit to UK), which can be found here: https://jsoulsmith.blogspot.com/2009/06/magnetics-volumes.html What he says that Peterson revealed jibes with the other story that was going around, that they were, indeed, actually the Volumes' lineup that existed after Eddie Union had left the group to pursue a solo career. Assuming this is true, I still am inclined to think that there is a connection to the Allrite label group (at least one member).

So, then VJ was already out of business when J-V operated? I thought it was the same time that Exodus was being run by VJ's people (name change due to Vivian and Jimmy's lawsuit against their LA managers). I had thought that Customa Music was VJ's other publishing after Conrad (Vivian and Jimmy) and Tollie (Vivian, Jimmy & Ehwart Abner), to divide royalties between Vivian, Jimmy and Calvin. Maybe J-V had no direct connection to VJ, in that Vivian, Jimmy and Calvin couldn't operate as VJ after it had gone bankrupt, and was currently in litigation. But, that was also the situation with Exodus (was it not?). It wasn't a subsidiary of VJ, but was VJ's same people, operating a new company (but even using masters that had been paid for by VJ during their operation. I'm sure that Calvin got at least some of the money to operate J-V from Vivian and Jimmy (thus, the letters J and V in the label name). I doubt that Customa Music was owned outright, just by Calvin, alone. This was a similar situation to ours at Airwave Records. We went bust as "Airwave Records", and immediately reorganised a new corporation, "Airwave International", with the identical staff, and started releasing records on that label, which appeared almost as a continuum of "Airwave Records". No one noticed any difference.

It was long before Northern Soul, the first songs I liked were some of my father's 78s-"Junkers' Blues"-Jack Dupree, "Saturday Night Fish Fry"-Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five, "Minnie The Moocher"-Cab Calloway, "Stormy Monday"-T-Bone Walker. The first records I bought were R&B group harmony in 1953, "Golden Teardrops" The Flamingos, "Money Honey" - The Drifters, "Crying in the Chapel-Orioles. It would be impossible to tell which Northern Soul record I heard first (as what is classified as NS keeps changing, adding earlier cuts to the genre). But, I have been listening to "Black" or "African-American"-artist music from 1951 to the present (Blues (Ciity & Delta), Jazz, Boogie Woogie, R&B, Jump Blues, Gospel/Spiritual, R&B/Soul transition, early Soul, classic Soul (and also sub-genres -Motown, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, L.A. and Southern Soul)-with no break. I didn't notice an abrupt change from R&B to "Soul" music. It was gradual-and I liked much of both. I like all sorts of Black American music, in all tempos, vocal and instrumental, with all sorts of melodies and tempos. As far as records played on the Northern scene, I like too many to mention. My very favourites would be several hundred. Songs I like would likely be over 100,000. So, way too many to mention. Which ones would be in "my Top 100" would change daily, to fit my mood (or current memories)-as I am a senior citizen, so it doesn't work the same way as it did when I was younger.

I've read that The Magnetics on Bonnie were made up of a morphed version (personnel changes) of The Magnetics that had recorded for Allrite Records, with the Volumes' later lead singer (not falsetto lead Eddie Union-but their lead on the later Inferno releases). I seem to remember Ron Murphy mentioning this (possibly on Soulful Detroit Forum).

The faster Johnny LeMac is a better tempo and arrangement than the JV cut (in my opinion)-although both are very good. Clearly, he just took his same song and gave it a different treatment. I assume that the J-V is the original. But i don't know for sure. I bought the J-V new. It was a V-J label, when they were going out of business due to the overspending by new ("clueless") management in L.A. Calvin Carter produced that in Chicago. I think it was during the Exodus run in late 1965. Could someone upload a scan of the Johnny Lemac? BobA -when was the latter released? Was this the Chess or Brewtown release? I assume the Brewtown was the latter, in the early '70s.

That guy's got a lot of Krass!

Awful singing! The guy can't sing! On the Roulette record, the great song, and his group bail him out, and disguise his lack of range, and lack of feeling for the song. Same is true for the Landa cuts. He's left bare on this one, and found very wanting.

"Found True Love"-Billy Butler & 4 Enchanters, "Grand Spanish Lady"-Royal Ravens, "I'm Gonna Love You So"-Dukays, "Young Boy"-Barbara Green, "Up On The Roof"-Drifters, "Someone To Call My Own"-Equadors, "I'll Be There"-Uptones, "Delilah"-Major Lance, "My Beloved"-Satintones, "Feel Like Lovin' "-Sheppards, "I Didn't Know"-Voice Masters (Lamont Anthony (Dozier)), "Free"-Voice Masters (Ty Hunter), "Good-Bye Cruel Love"-Linda Griner (& Love-Tones), "I'll Come Running"-Carolyn Crawford, "This Heart of Mine"-Artistics, "That Was My Girl"-Parliaments, "A Tear From A Woman's Eye"-Temptations, "Come On"-Distants, "Cry"-Majestics, "Tears, Nobody and a Smile-Serenaders, "Pretty little Angel"-Little Stevie Wonder, "I'll Always Love you"-Spinners, "Any Girl In love"-Kim Weston, "A Favor For A Girl"-Brenda Holloway, "You Turned my Bitter Into Sweet"-Mary Love, "Run One Flight of Stairs"-Gloria Jones "Senorita I Love You-Impressions, "Walk Softly Away"-Starglows, "Do It To Me"-Hector Rivera, "Come Monkey With Me"-Gino Washington (& Rochelles), "A Little Too Long"-Wanderers, "Never Felt like This Before"-Five Quails.

1959-1964 were great years for transition from R&B to Soul. I like THOUSANDS of songs from those years (Much much much more than cuts from 1965-1969-and I only like, perhaps a handful of cuts from 1970-72, and maybe only one made after that ("Right Back Where I Started From"). There are way, way , way too many to start listing them (virtually everything released by VJ, Chess, Motown, Anna/Checkmate, virtually all the Popcorn and Beach cuts from that period, all the Brill Building written cuts from then, etc. The Volumes, Dukays, Five Quails, Royal Ravens, Serenaders, Poets, Caravelles (Harry Gates), Dynamics, Sheppards, Victorials, Barbara Green, Barbara Lewis, Jive Five, Marcels, Four Buddies (Van McCoy group), Chaunteurs/Presidents, Billy Butler & 4 Enchanters, etc. come to mind.

Definitely got that L.A. mid-to-late '60s Jazz-tinted R&B instrumental sound. I knew I had that cut. The Hideaways MUST have had some of the same players as did The Packers. They were basically mainly studio groups in any case, weren't they? Although, I DO remember the Packers making the rounds at clubs in L.A. in 1966-68.