Robbk

Here's another Larry Johnson production and Lucky Token Record (108) - The Resonics, who had an earlier hit with "Pepe Le Pew":https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOqQXwWEKsk

One can only hope.

People make mistakes all the time. I'm not blaming them for not knowing something. I'm angry that one person making that mistake and wording it such that it sounds like a proven fact, can snowball eventually into an entire society think that it is a fact.

Of course there are lots of people NOW who know there were two different Dramatics groups, both from Detroit reasonably close to existing at the same time. There are still people who KNOW that Austin Taylor from New Orleans is NOT Austin Theodore (TED) Taylor. That hasn't seemed to stop it from becoming an "Internet fact" that the two men were one-in-the-same. When the people living now who KNOW they were different people are gone, The World population, on the whole, will likely "be sure" that they were the same person. And "Toy Soldier" will be forever until in The Ron Banks Dramatics' discography, until Humans no longer exist/or 1960s Soul music is forgotten, altogether (whichever comes first).

It was Ted who was born in Okmulgee Oklahoma. Austin was born in New Orleans, according to the man that first protested about the two men being listed as being the same person. At the time of his comment, Austin had just died, and Ted was still alive. The photo above is TED! Apparently, despite his several 45s issued by Laurie, Austin Taylor is so unremembered, and was so obscure that there are NO photos of him on The Internet, - not even a photo of his Laurie LP. Also, his own family members are not even protesting about this omnipresent misinformation. Mark my words: Soon after the last of our generation die, someone will see the label and hear The first Detroit Dramatics' song, "Toy Soldier" and make the observation that "THAT must be The Ron Banks Dramatics first record release." There will be enough research done to realise that it was a Detroit production, with Brohun Music listed (pointing to Fred Brown and Joe Hunter), and F. Brown and J. Hunter are listed as the songs' writers. The "discoverer" will say that The Dramatics were a Detroit group otherwise starting their recording career in 1966. This was a 1963 record. Only 3 years before. This is too close in time for it to have been a different group. It MUST have been them, just with a different lead singer. Banks would have been only 12 then, and the lead's voice was too deep for that age. Others will see this new discovery, and others will agree with his logic, and it will soon spread as an Internet fact. That's the same logic has Austin Taylor from New Orleans and Austin "Ted" Taylor as the same person, with hundreds of us who know better and different, powerless to expunge that new "fact". It will be even easier for misinformation to spread even faster after all of us, who LIVED those facts, are gone.

Man, Ted Taylor's birth name being Austin DOES complicate things. And, I suppose he could have rubbed charcoal all over his body to make himself look much darker when posing as Austin Taylor, "The Push, Push singer". And, I suppose he could have worn giant lifts inside his shoes to make himself 7-8 inches taller, or stood on stilts. And, as was describes on 45 Cat, he could sing in a lower register. And Austin had a shaved head when "Push, Push" (Laurie 1067) came out, and Ted had a full head of hair at that time (1076). Did Austin Ted Taylor shave his head for his time living and working in New York, and wear a wig over it, when commuting to New York each day from L.A. in his private jet, and while living in The New York/New Jersey Metro Area? But, if he were living that double life, then, why on Earth would he have changed his name to an alias while still with Laurie Records, if he didn't want his Austin doings to be known as being done by Ted??? And how can one change the unique tone in one's voice to sound like a completely different person. Even though Nat and Ike Cole's voices have that close familial tone, they each still have a uniqueness in their tone to allow close listeners to tell them apart - same with Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick. Talk about weird coincidences!!! What were the odds of this one occurring???

It IS a mistake. That theory is just wrong. It all must have come from one original mistake. Their voices sound VERY, VERY different. Austin came from New Orleans and worked a lot out of New York. Ted was from Oklahoma, and sang there first, then moved to Texas while with Duke. He then moved to L.A., where he stayed the rest of his career. He didn't gig in L.A. and then fly to New York, and commute back and forth. Laurie Records leased one of his records, just as so many of his freelance productions were, when he didn't have a long-term contract with a label, like he had with Duke and Okeh. He got productions placed with a LOT of small, indie labels, which resulted in only one record released, and a few with 2. There is no way they were the same man. I've seen photos of both. Austin looked very, very different from Ted. If I remember correctly, he had his photo (in a dancing stance) on his Laurie LP, "Push, Push". You can find hundreds of photos of Ted on The Internet.

Yes, that's another possibility, and probably must have been some of the "evidence" used to start, or "substantiate" the rumour. But clearly, none of these clever "history detectives" didn't notice that their voices were extremely different, with in-born tones that couldn't be faked-by even the best voice people, like Mel Blanc; and also they didn't notice what happened afterward (Austin having a long career staying with Laurie, and Ted being with Okeh for a long period while Austin was still with Laurie, and then with Zell Sanders' Sprout Records. And he couldn't have signed with Okeh under the alias, because he had used both names with Laurie, for everyone to observe. This is why young people interested in what happened 60-100 years ago need to check with us ancient people, who were around back then, to make sure that the "discoveries" about the past aren't just seeing coincidences, and surmising things based on way too little evidence, with no cross referencing, and to use a hockey term, no cross-checking.

Ted Taylor DID have an alias, but it wasn't "Austin", - it was Ivory Lucky. He used that name when he sang lead for Bob Reed's Band when they recorded for L.A.'s Melatone Records, while he was still under contact for another label (I think it was Don Robey's Duke Records). Robey was notorious for being late on payments to his creditors and employees, and contract artists, as well. No doubt the Ted Taylor/Austin Taylor rumour started due to both of those Soul singers having their names and photos on the same page, next to each other, and because the positioning of the printing of the names and the photos wasn't quite obvious, so the reader matched the wrong name to a photo, and then, upon seeing the same photo matched with the OTHER singer's name, on a different site, made that important "discovery" that those two singers were "the same person", and thought it his duty to bring that "Earth shattering" news to the general public.

Thanks, yes, I knew that. I supplied a missing Sprout record for remastering for a Kent CD, and have or have seen most of the Sprout records. But why did you quote my post about Ted Taylor's and Austin Taylors' biographies saying they were the same person??? Your statement seems a lot more related to my earlier post, about Taylor's Sprout record.

And what's all that garbage about Austin Taylor having actually been Ted Taylor under an alias??? The public is getting more ignorant as time moves on. Their voices are nothing like each other's. Austin sounds like he was born and spent his youth on some British Caribbean island (NOT Jamaica), and then spent most of the rest of his life in New Orleans, before moving to New York. Ted was from somewhere in Oklahoma (Muskogee?), and then lived in California during most of his singing career. Because someone who is speculating, writes it on The Internet as a FACT, it becomes a general knowledge "FACT". I've even seen totally ridiculous so-called "facts" about myself.

I bought Taylor's big hit, "Push, Push", plus 3 other of his Laurie 45s. But, I never saw "Why Oh Why", even among some rare Sprout records. So, it must have always been quite rare. I But I don't like it at all. He sounds drunk, like Screamin' Jay Hawkins did on his entire "I Put A Spell on You" LP session (which sounded weird and interesting-and decent on the ears-but "Why Oh Why" as a drunk just doesn't come off well to my ears). The A side is a really nice New Orleans-style ballad. If I had seen it I'd have bought it for THAT side.

I didn't mean to imply that they sang the song better than Rita and The Tiaras. I just meant that their delivery was a more Soulful sound than ABBA's (which wasn't at all very "Soulful", and that I had never before heard the remotest link to decent singing or anything to which I could listen without having the urge to vomit, from a "Heavy Metal" song.

That's the first heavy metal song I've ever heard with actual singing (not screaming), and they actually can carry a tune! Too bad about the awful instrumental. The drummer was good, however. Their singing is more soulful than ABBA. It's not really heavy metal. It's "Light Metal"!

The Drifters' "Money Honey", The Five Keys' "Glory Of Love", and The Checkers' "The White Cliffs Of Dover". They were all songs I heard on Al Benson's R&B show on WGES, and they were all huge and heavy 78 RPMs that I played on my parents' Victrola. I replaced them all with 45s a few years later, after having dropped two of my burgeoning collection, and breaking them, and finding out that I could have my pick of hundreds of 78s and 45s for 10¢ a piece, or 5 ¢ a piece at charity shops, if I put a lot in a box, and in 3., 4, and 5 for a Dollar bargain bins in record shops. They were 59¢ each brand new, back then (which was a lot of money considering the average father was earning maybe $35-$40 per week.

I can't remember buying a record after 1993 or so. But, I could list my favourite 3 records I bought in 1953.

There was a Grier listed as a songwriter on a couple songs on records related to Larry Johnson. Also, James Conwell was a writer on one, (a Bobby Mac song) as well. So, Johnson crossed paths with several key L.A. music production people.

I agree! Little Larry Johnson was a child protege of James Brown while producer, Larry Johnson was an adult, writing songs and producing records. Did ANY of you ever Dance "The Elephant"??? I've never yet seen it done!

From when he lived in Texas, before he moved to L.A. Run-of-the-mill Rock & Roll song, other than the fantastic sax solo in the extended break in the middle.

You heard a rumour that she was in that Gospel group? But you couldn't find a list of their members? Can't help with that. I know a lot about Chicago and Detroit Gospel groups, but very little about Los Angeles groups, other than The Cogic Singers, because I knew Gloria Jones.

Stands to reason.

Here are the last Vended record we have to show, plus the 2 Garlon Davis records Johnson joint-ventured and co-produced with Zeke Strong. The Garlon Davis cut "Oh My Soul" is a super Bluesy R&B song, with a fantastic Blues guitar solo in the break. Everyone should take a listen to it on YouTube. It's L.A. Bluesy Soul at its finest.

There were at least 7 singles on Vended Records operating throughout most of 1962 and 1963, all produced by Larry Johnson, and all published by his own, Vendo Music. Vended Records was located in Hollywood, at 1000 Cahuenga Blvd (a few blocks from where I and ex-Motown sound engineer Mike McLean worked at Hanna-Barbera/Turner Feature Animation, some years later). Vendo Music was located at 859 N. Wilcox Ave. in Hollywood. Garlon Davis' was on the first release(101), "Oh My Soul". And that song also appeared on the flip of another Garlon Davis record produced by Johnson, on Zeke Strong's Progress Records. Both cuts were published by Johnson's Vendo Music. Strong also released a Garlon Davis record on Strong's Kick Off Records, and Strong and Johnson shared the publishing on both of those songs. So, it appears that Davis was Johnson's signed artist, and the latter leased his production of Davis's songs to Strong, who paid for the pressing and distribution. 102 was by Anita Tucker, 104 by Bobby Mac (who had a local hit with "Walkin' Together" on Moonglow and Original Sound Records), 105 was by The Lashons, 106 was by The Roscoe Weathers Quintet, Len Johnson and The Hi-Lighters sang on 107 (scanned above by The Yank). I'm pretty sure Johnson was the Leonard Johnson who sang "The Bug" on L.A.'s Arvee Records. I have no idea whether or not he was related to Larry Johnson, but my guess is that he was (maybe his brother?).

No doubt about it. Larry Johnson is listed as co-producer, and Vendo Music shares the publishing. Johnson probably worked on a lot more joint-venture projects than those which were his alone, probably because of a need for obtaining financing. I've seen several more Vended records, which I will show below, and certainly, more Tokens, Gold Tokens, and Lucky Tokens.

Ruby Johnson was Ruby, Ruby Jean, and Ruby Sherry. As for Vendo and Vended Music,- William Larry Johnson (AKA Larry Johnson) seems to have owned Vendo Music, while Vended Music may represent Larry's partnership with either his wife, or an associate (perhaps a money partner?). I have the following other records published by Vendo and Vended Music, in addition to those above: Both The Charmers and The Tri-Dells were well-known groups in L.A. when I got there in late 1965. Larry Johnson was a small-time, reasonably successful, local producer (in the burgeoning L.A. Soul local production scene). The Charmers' double sided chart record ("My Love"-Great Mid-Tempo late R&B/and Flip Low-Rider style Ballad) charted well, and were minor local hits. The Tri-Dells never had a big hit, but charted a few times, and were gigging favourites in local venues. Tommy Reed and The Runaways didn't get airplay, and is very rare. Token Records evolved first into Gold Token, and then, Lucky Token Records. Token 105 was a Henry Dixon record (Not Detroit's Hank Dixon, who sang with The Five Stars, Voice Masters, and The Originals) - but L.A.'s Henry Dixon, who, if I remember correctly, had recorded for my old boss' husband, John Dolphin's Money Records, among a few other L.A. labels. The Crossfires later became The Turtles. Robert McGlothin, Grier, and Crain are some additional names of people involved that ring a bell in my memory from other credits on records not involved with Johnson. I wonder if Grier was Rosy (Roosevelt)Grier, the pro football player, who produced a fair amount of records in L.A., wrote songs, and had a Soul singing career, as well? I've seen Crain's name a fair amount on L.A. records. I wonder if he was also the original owner of Crain's Records on Adams Boulevard, where I made my best "killing" on buying several thousand individual mint Soul records, at 10¢ apiece, at his closing out sale in 1967? I also notice that Johnson worked with Fred Smith, manager of The Olympics, and prolific L.A. long-time producer, in his own right. Also, I wonder if these Imus Brothers are related to celebrity radio personality Don Imus, a DJ who became the dean of talk-show radio hosts in L.A., and an L.A. institution?