Detroit Files: Arthur Ashford - The Precisions Interview

another great interview graham    please keep them coming

Yes indeed fantastic once again. Respect Arthur. R.I.P. and thanks a lot Geoff for your fabulous sensitive and knowledgeable work in testimony of historical relevance to these beloved Detroit recording soul heroes.

Could the white southern guy Arthur refers to while walking into Sidra's office be Sam Coplin who did the Barbara Mercer 'Call On Me' deal with Capitol and then conceal in his suitcase soon as right after Sidra's shut down some reels to later re-record over the Precision's backing track of 'Such Misery' with the Stemmons Express 'Woman Lover, Thief' to release it on his own Texan Karma label and later lease it to Wand ?

On 22/11/2023 at 00:49, Tlscapital said:

Yes indeed fantastic once again. Respect Arthur. R.I.P. and thanks a lot Geoff for your fabulous sensitive and knowledgeable work in testimony of historical relevance to these beloved Detroit recording soul heroes.

Could the white southern guy Arthur refers to while walking into Sidra's office be Sam Coplin who did the Barbara Mercer 'Call On Me' deal with Capitol and then conceal in his suitcase soon as right after Sidra's shut down some reels to later re-record over the Precision's backing track of 'Such Misery' with the Stemmons Express 'Woman Lover, Thief' to release it on his own Texan Karma label and later lease it to Wand ?

I never heard of a Sam "Coplin".  Did you mean Sammy Kaplan, who was a Detroit Soul producer and part owner of a few Detroit record labels?

5 minutes ago, Robbk said:

I never heard of a Sam "Coplin".  Did you mean Sammy Kaplan, who was a Detroit Soul producer and part owner of a few Detroit record labels?

1 minute ago, Tlscapital said:

Thanks for clearing that up.  Quite a coincidence that those 2 record label owners' names sound the same but are spelled quite differently.

Thanks again for another interesting and valuable interview of a 1960s group member.  Is Arthur Ashford a relative of Jack Ashford (both being Detroiters)?

On 24/11/2023 at 16:32, Robbk said:

Thanks again for another interesting and valuable interview of a 1960s group member.  Is Arthur Ashford a relative of Jack Ashford (both being Detroiters)?

I didn't ask him (should have) but I don't think so - instict tells me he wasn't as I reckon he'd have said something.

On 22/11/2023 at 16:49, Tlscapital said:

 

Could the white southern guy Arthur refers to while walking into Sidra's office be Sam Coplin... 

No - the man Arthur is referring to (at 7:14) is Joe Casey.

At the end he states "when the  Atlantic record thing was being.... we died" did he ever tell you more about how / why that happened Graham?  You would think getting a song out nationally would have helped?

Yes... logically that would be the start of things taking off.

Arthur was a bit reticent in that interview, especially at the very start and it felt like an interrogation... trying to get him to elaborate and describe events. 

He can't have said anything after that bit about Atlantic - from memory the phone went and he disappeared for a minute. When he came back the interview was done. 

thats a shame, did he, or others speak about working with Dale Warren?  my favorite track by them is 'What I want' it's got Dale Warren all over it...

On 05/12/2023 at 04:23, Mal C said:

thats a shame, did he, or others speak about working with Dale Warren?  

The only person who I recall talking about Dale was Bettye Lavatte - she wanted him to arrange her song in New York.

I asked Robert Bateman if Dale ever sang with The Satintones, but he said he didn't.