A GATHERING OF THE PLAYERS.... 3 POSTS......3 GENRES!!! - The Players - He,ll be Back (1967) Minit - Rare Soul

In life some artists only ever record 1 Gem of an album in their careers & sink without trace. So is the case of The Players. To say this album is good does it no justice whatsoever,IMHO its BRILLIANT!...beyond words! the Players weren’t really a group at all. They were strictly a studio concoction of singers from other groups … well, mostly from one other group.The lead singer was Herbert Butler, and he was joined by four members of the Dells, Chuck Barksdale, Johnny Carter, Vern Allison, and Mickey McGill. They got together in a studio in Chicago in 1966 and cut a record called “He’ll Be Back,” which was released by Minit Records. The sweet, sad ballad was a hit on the R&B chart but didn’t manage a crossover to the Pop chart. Still, it was a big enough record to send the Players out on the road to tour, and since there were no real Players, and the Dells were busy with their own career, Otha Lee Givins and Tony Lee Johnson joined Butler to perform the song live. The brain trust at Minit knew that it was important to follow up the success of the single with an album, so they rushed one out with the two new members accompanying Butler on most of the album tracks. The Vietnam war was raging on and is not forgotten by the artists.The story that began with “He’ll Be Back” had a happy ending that was depicted in the second Players single, “I’m Glad You Waited,” in 1966. The only Dell that sang on that one was the bass vocalist Chuck Barksdale, and Joe Brackenridge was added to the touring unit. The Players released Two more singles for Minit in 1967, but neither “That’s the Way,” or “Get Right” found any chart success and the short, sweet career of the Players was over, leaving only two modest hit records, and the beautiful first tenor voice of Herbert Butler as a memory...But also this fantastic slab of soul!...thanks to Yves for the nudge!

AMM

                                                                       The Tasters!

 

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