Robbk

Hope it gets better fast. When I'm in L.A., it's usually MY turn to be up all night posting with you Brits. I've been gone from Holland since late November of 2019.

What are you all doing awake so early in the morning???

Here it is: Etched into the run-out is: U - 54857 M - B Benn-X 59 B copyright sign Philley Archives / Benn-X

Yes, I have that GA record. I didn't remember buying mail order records from US dealers after the late 1970s. I always thought that General American record WAS The Brooklyn group. But, in any case, it shows that The Companions recorded in Philadelphia with Gamble and Huff, and so, Ben-Lee as well. Many Philly groups recorded in NY and vise versa (just like Baltimore and DC, they are very close. But why did one issue have "The Companions" and the other have "The Inspirations"?

I have no idea. All I know is that my record has The Inspirations listed as singing "I Can Feel It" on the flip. I bought it in maybe 1973 or 1974, and there was no white pressing available and no Companions' version available. I think those white pressings were issued in the late 1980s or 1990s. I never saw them in the early days. But, I can't guarantee anything. I'm no Philadelphia Soul expert. Maybe it WAS a Philly group, also called The Companions, and that original error was discovered much later, and corrected???

I bought my yellow store stocker of The Inspirations from Val Shively during the early-to-mid 1970s, along with 2 other records containing other recently discovered Philadelphia 1960s Soul recordings that had been unreleased till then (probably discovered and issued by the same Philadelphia record dealer/collector. The Companions was a fake name. The group was The Inspirations. I bought it because the record presser and Val both were pretty sure that it was the same Philly Inspirations that recorded "Dry Your Eyes" for Jamie. The real Companions were a Brooklyn, NY group from 1957-65, and they did NOT sing "Gotta Find A New Love" and "I Can Feel It", and I don't believe they ever worked with John Bendinelli (Ben-Lee Productions). They always recorded in New York, as far as I know. Maybe the owner of Impact Sound Studios found the masters when he bought the studio? Here's my yellow copy, plus the other 2 releases of the newly-discovered Philly Soul masters I bought at the same time (Ronnie Walker and The Topics, with Stella and The Gazelles on the flip):

The original has ZTSC 125853 and 125854 stamped in the runout plus a small bit of writing master's logo? or name? (can't read it- only tops showing). The boot with 99528 delta number was made by Monarch in L.A. in 1976. Several people at the time said it was Soussan, but there were also others getting boots made there back then.

The Benn-X Inspirations were from Philadelphia. The Midas Inspirations were from Chicago. The Inspirations (Joey Jefferson's group) who sang "No One Else Can Take Your Place" were from L.A. So, no, these weren't a group who had another NS hit. It was rumoured that they were, however, the same Philly former Doo Wop group who had a hit with "Dry Your Eyes".

That "alternate" take was the first one we found, and I've always liked it much better, and it will always be the "real" and definitive version, to me. I thought IT was the version Rod Shard took to The UK first, and was placed on a carver, just as all the best of the others he had taped. But, for whatever reason, the other 1965 version took over as The NS favourite, and mine never appeared on The Internet again. The 1970 version is way too modern sounding for me. We had my "classic version" slated for "From The Vaults LP #2". A shame we didn't get to release 5 or 10 of them.

Those don't look to me like original the Motown pressings I saw in The Motown Vaults in 1978. One was a cream-coloured uncredited (no artist name) Jobete Music acetate (used only for song proof of ownership, and another was a 10-inch Motown Originals acetate with, if I remember correctly, 5 or 6 of their songs, from 1965. These 2 look too new (from the 1990s - probably made after the originals were auctioned of at the beginning of the 1990s). Even in the mid 1970s, when I first saw the real acetates, the paper on them from being pasted on only 10 to 13 years before, was already yellowing or browning slightly from oxidation. Also, I've never seen that particular print font on a 1960s Moton or Jobete acetate or vinyl demo record. Clearly, those paste-ons were done after 1990.

Quite an understatement, that! Oyyyy! Vey ist Mir!!!! Some influence from The Good Reverend James Hendrix, and some from the writer of "Randy The Newspaper Boy" !!!

Thanks!

Can anybody post a file of Clifford's "Again it's Christmas"? I've never heard it, and it doesn't seem to be on The Internet.

The article also states that Talty's involvement in "Night Owl Records" after "Behind The Curtains" was actually his stealing the label's name for his own, new label. So, all those night Owl releases from 1966-'68 with the different print are Talty's, and those with the older, original font are Krichstein's. Has anyone heard the Jan and Chuck? If so, was it a duet with Chuck Tillman singing? - or just his combo backing up Jan?

I found a website with Jan's history, containing these label scans: I just found a website on Jan Bradley's history, which has theses scans, and the rest of her discography of her recordings and songs written. I have the Prism Paulette record, but only on white DJ issue, and although I've seen several WDJ's, I've never seen a store stocker before. I don't believe the other 3 were ever released commercially, as I lived in Chicago in 1963 and 1964, when they were released, and looked regularly through thousands of records each week from their release through 1966, and part of each year from 1967-70, and I never saw them, and I never saw them in friends and other local collectors' collections. I didn't know that Don Talty released anything else by Jan on Jim Kirchstein's Night Owl Records. I would have guessed that after seeing that Kirchstein had no distribution for Soul and R&B records, and that all their local sales of "Behind The Curtains" were made through Talty's and Curtis Mayfield's connections in Chicago and Milwaukee, they would have decided to have them pressed and distributed by a label with decent distribution, like they did with Jan's "Christmas Time, making a deal with Stacey Records, or placing Paulette with Prism (not much better distribution than Cuca). But, maybe Talty just went to Krichstein because the latter let them record in his studio for free, just so he could get the pressing job (as was his usual deal)? - and they let the label remain "Night Owl" because Jan's "Behind The Curtains" was released on that label? Chuck was Chuck Tillman, the leader of a Jazz Combo and, earlier, a Jazz Band. So, it may not be a duet, but just Tillman's Combo (Trio or quartet) backing up Jan's singing. The Royal Chessmen were a Chicago Mexican Soul Band (Lowrider style ballads and regular Soul uptempo sides). The Chapter sang Garage in a slightly (marginal) soulful style - so that record was on the right label, as almost every Night Owl release was Garage bands, other than Jan's 2 releases, and one or two weak Pop groups and single artists. I can't imagine why Kirchstein chose to release Jan on Night Owl, when he released his R&B and White Doo Wop mainly on his Sara Records subsidiary, and Cuca was mainly Polka music and C&W, with some MOR Pop, and a couple R&B/Soul (Birdlegs & Pauline, Harvey Scales & 7 Sounds, and Betty Moore (AKA Moorer). Maybe Jan and Talty liked the owl face label icon so much they demanded that label?

He put on some weight.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah and happy New Year to all!

Thanks for that great article. I always wondered what Sandy's story was, and didn't know she had been a member of The Wonderettes.

He became a hypnotherapist!!! Good decision to not try to pursue a singing career.

I'm flabbergasted that 2 of my favourite Detroit Soul Christmas songs "Spending Christmas Day With You" by The Nibbs, and "The Joy of Christmas" by Freddie Pride aren't available on You-Tube!

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+ronettes+frosty+the+snowman+