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I,m going fishing for a few days to think stuff over in my head. I must admit i did lose my cool and blow my top,sadly i am quick tempered and dont suffer fools, my weakness i guess?..They say what goes around comes around, well hakase my friend did you know that i sent the lee rogers album to a friend 10 years ago,it appeared against my wishes on the web and has since gone round and round in circles. i lost it and clash kindly sent it back!..strange life ?,as my other good friend gmortars has mailed me much ado about ?...lol!...Moxy is no longer an author though he may still contribute occasionally. My only rule still applies if i continue to plod on NO SHARING ANYWHERE ELSE PLEASE..if you cant adhere to this mail me and i will remove you from the readers list without malice.
A great album split between top drawer R&B and get down Soul!...this two CD set is a treasure trove of hits, misses, rarities, and smoking grooves. Certainly Nash Vegas is the capital of country music, but in its day it also boasted a wealth of stomping rhythm and blues music that flourished in the city for the better part of three decades, until the bulldozers of "urban renewal" destroyed much of its cultural base and forced it from its terrain. With 35 tracks, plus a pair of bonus tracks that are commercials, this set is an affordable, indispensable introduction to a nearly forgotten part of American musical history. The labels represented here are a cross-section of the great regional independents that were so numerous n the '40s, '50s and '60s. Imprints such as Do-Ra-Mi, who recorded Audrey Bryant, Excello, Champion, Sun, Hickory, Bullet, Dial, A-Bet, Elf, and Sound Stage recorded both luminaries and nobodies. Here are early sides by Hank Crawford when he was in a jump band, the wild and wooly Esquerita, Joe Tex, Arthur Alexander, Roscoe Shelton, Joe Simon, Etta James, Johnny Adams, and Christine Kittrell. And there are cuts by cats like Johnny Jones, Nashville's premier blues guitar slinger, Audrey Bryant, the city's Sarah Vaughan, and others who scored big on Nashville radio and jukeboxes, such as Peggy Scott and Jo Jo Benson, Clifford Curry, and Robert Knight. While some of these names might not mean much to causal listeners of old rhythm and blues and soul, connoisseurs will be delighted to find these sides, many of them on CD for the first time. However, the appeal of this collection should not be limited to aficionados, as virtually every track is crackling with energy, verve, and raw immediate soul. Sound is better than decent, the selection is impeccable, & a few dancers to boot!...and the track notes by Michael Gray are top-notch. Thanks moxy for booklet.
All 3 Albums were Recorded by Ray Dobard(Owner) in Oakland, California between 1971-1975 . Omnivore Recordings takes you back to the early 1970s for three volumes of various artists, vinyl-only, Bay Area funk, soul, and R&B! Richmond, California, boasts a defiantly working-class blue-collar landscape. It's a tough, no-nonsense comprised environment, where the street rules supreme. In the 1970s, the city began a still ongoing tug-of-war between redevelopment and urban decay . Richmond has produced some of the most vibrant and engaging musical talent to emerge from the East Bay fixture throughout the 1970s and 1980s in the entire San Francisco Bay Area, particularly in the R&B field. The struggles of Richmond are reflected in its music with a large African-American community of the East Bay Area of Richmond,Oakland, & Berkley. Oone place where a hopeful soul or R&B act got to put down the sound was the funky East 14th Locale of Ray Dobards Music City recording Studios in Oakland. This particular album demonstrates the talent of that area,its hard edged uncompromising Funk not for the faint hearted or purists!..Ive alredy posted a few albums from this great label and more to come!
The Music City Sessions, Volume 2 - Super Strut explores this nightclub groove with gems from many of the top East Bay players of the time, such as Al Tanner (with Love Uprisers), Victor Green and The Two Things In One, featuring organist Kevin Burton. Both funky jazz instrumentals and soulful dancefloor items populate the tracklist, and there are notable sides cut at Music City by outside funkateers like The Houston Outlaws and Cookin’ Bag. Cult favorite Darondo can be heard chanting on Charles Doc Williams’ hip medley of “Bumpin’ On Sunset” with “We Got More Soul.”
The Music City Sessions, Volume 3 Soul Show gathers together a healthy dollop of uptempo R&B and balladry from the Music City vaults, to approximate the kinds of radio specials that the record label sponsored in the mid 1970s. Local hits from The Soul Sensations and The Ballads vie with unissued goodies from the likes of Darondo, New Generation (featuring Mary McCreary) and northern soul specialists The Performers. Spiced with vintage radio spots, the full exciting programme whisks the listener back to the magic era of FM, head-hugging ‘phones and sweet sweet soul.
Actress and singer Patti LaBelle was born in philadelphia in 1944 and is widely regarded as the queen of rock and soul music. She has received acclaim for many of her songs, including "Lady Marmalade," "When You Talk About Love" and "New Attitude." This was her 5th studio album from 23 recorded as a solo artist and also 8 with Labelle as well as 7 recorded prior to that with the Bluebells...She began her career as part of the Ordettes in 1959, who became the Bluebelles in 1961. Her success as a solo artist started in 1983 when she released her hit album "I'm in Love Again". Going out on the road, the Bluebelles earned national fame at The Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York, where they became "Apollo Sweethearts." The group also enjoyed modest success with remakes of songs such as "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and their ballad "Down the Aisle (The Wedding Song)" became a top 40 hit. Yet nothing compared to their early success. In 1967, Cindy Birdsong left the group to join forces with Diana Ross and the Supremes. Meanwhile, the remaining members of the Bluebelles tried to pull out of their musical slump. In 1970, unable to recreate their early success, the Bluebelles were dropped from their label and abandoned by their managers. LaBelle turned to UK promoter Vicki Wickham (Producer of UK show "Ready,Steady,Go" in the 1960,s) for help with their antiquated image. Under Wickham's management, the group changed their name to the edgier "LaBelle," altered their fashion to reflect the 1970s glam rock era, and pushed the limits with their lyrics and music. After releasing several albums on the Warner Bros. label, their 1974 release 2Nightbirds" finally caught on with listeners. The first single off the album, "Lady Marmalade," about a seductress in New Orleans, became the group's first No. 1 hit in 12 years. In response to the album's success, the group began a whirlwind tour, becoming the first group to play at the Metropolitan Opera House, and the first Black vocal group to land the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Yet, underneath the success, there was a layer of tension within the group over musical direction. In 1977, after creative differences, the group split up to focus on solo projects. LaBelle released her eponymous solo debut in 1977, which received critical acclaim. In 1982, after the moderate success of albums such as Tasty (1978) and Released (1980), LaBelle recorded the ballad "The Best is Yet to Come," which reached No. 14 on the R&B chart, and garnered LaBelle her first solo Grammy Award nomination. That same year she had a No. 1 hit with "On My Own," sung with Michael MacDonald. Throughout the 1980s, LaBelle continued to score hits with songs such as 1984's "New Attitude" and "Stir It Up," which both became pop radio staples, as well as 1989's "If You Asked Me To." In 1991, LaBelle released "Burnin", which hit gold status and landed the singer her first Grammy Award. She was honored again for her work in 1993, when she was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She also continued releasing popular albums throughout the 1990s, including Gems (1994), Flame (1997), and Live! One Night Only (1998) which won LaBelle a second Grammy. In 2008, LaBelle and former LaBelle group members Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash reunited to release "Back to Now", their first full album as a group in 32 years. The collection featured a combination of new songs and singles recorded before the LaBelle group break-up. The album was followed by a successful reunion tour. In June 2009, LaBelle was honored yet again, with her induction into the Apollo Legends Hall of Fame. In 2017, the singer unveiled her first jazz album, "Bel Hommage", which featured standards previously delivered by Frank Sinatra and Nina Simone, among others. Patti has starred in numerous stage and screen productions & has written several books. The first taster was her huge hit in the UK NSS.
Here is another example of a guy with a fantastic voice who should have been a lot bigger than he was. Bobby Hendricks was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1938. Like many artists, he started singing with his church choir. At age 16, he joined his first group, the Crowns, based in Columbus. He would go on to sing for the Swallows and the Flyers before joining the Drifters in late 1957. With the Drifters, he toured at the Apollo Theatre and recorded “Drip Drop”, “Moonlight Bay”, and “Suddenly There’s a Valley” in 1958. Leaving the Drifters later that year to start a solo career with Sue Records, Bobby recorded the smash hit “Itchy Twitchy Feeling”, which reached #25 on the Billboard Hot 100. He would record more than a dozen other songs with Sue Records, including the hit “Psycho”, which reached #75 on the Billboard Hot 100. Throughout the 60’s, he recorded songs with Mercury Records, Cub/MGM Records, and Williams Records. Bobby also recorded songs with Bill Pinkney’s Original Drifters in the late 60’s, and would tour with them off and on until 1972, i met him at a gig in manchester and what a nice guy and great performer!.... In 1977, he moved to Los Angeles to establish his own vocal group. Since then, he toured the country, performing in nearly every state, including a six-month engagement in Las Vegas. One of the recent highlights of his career was a performance with the Spokane Jazz Orchestra. Bobby has also performed internationally in Aruba, Austria, Canada, China, England, Ireland, Jamaica, and Singapore. In 2001 Bobby was inducted into the Doo Wopp Hall of Fame of America at Symphony Hall in Boston. That same year, Bobby reunited with Bill Pinkney’s Original Drifters to perform on PBS’s Doo Wop 51, and again in 2007 for PBS’s Doo Wop Love Songs. Both performances were televised nationally and are currently available on DVD. Bobby passed away at home on March 25, 2022 surrounded by his loving family after a nearly decade-long battle with Alzheimer’s. The Northern scene has never forgotten some of his great records still spun in recent years. This collection just about gathers all his 45,s sadly no solo albums recorded.
Brand new release this week from Kent, The latest volume in their acclaimed Masterpieces Of
Modern Soul series is as strong as ever and drips with brand new, old
recordings. An amazing 12 tracks are previously unheard and a further
two are very different versions of already popular numbers. Some rare-soul
household names have new material featured on here. Ronnie McNeir hits a
wicked dance groove with ‘Let’s Make A Move’ and Dee Ervin offers a
superbly soulful ‘You Make Me Happy’ – sure to become a modern classic.
The lesser known Joe Graham’s ‘Higher Than High’ is already halfway
there, thanks to advance plays in Europe from UK DJ Dave Thorley. It’s from
an Atlanta session around 1976, in between his Chant and later Hotlanta
releases. Jean Shy is a highly thought of artist who recorded firstly
in Chicago and later in L A. ‘What Tomorrow Brings’ was cut in the
latter city, under the auspices of Kent Harris, it’s a very classy
midtempo jazz infused number. Ramona King had her best-known records in
the 60s but ‘Happy Times’ was recorded in the Bay Area’s GSR studios in
the 70s and is a laid-back gem. Kent drifted
into the late 70s / early 80s disco sound with numbers found on tape
that were just crying out to be heard. Joe Simon cut the unknown group
Cynic on ‘I Want You’ at Spring early in 1982. Detroit’s Exportations
very catchy ‘Second Time Around’ and the equally fast, funky and
fantastic ‘Have A Good Time’ by Atlanta’s Maggabrain were laid down in
the late 70s as was Fox Fire’s ‘Don’t Play Me Cheap’. The early 80s is
the likely era for Melanie Burke’s ‘I Can’t Turn You Down’ which, like
the McNeir and Hodges James & Smith offerings, were Mickey
Stevenson productions made in L A. Kent have
lifted three great LP only tracks from 1975 Fantasy albums by Janice,
Betty Everett and Three Pieces that fit so well into this album.
Margie Joseph singing a Willie Tee song called ‘Nobody’ is virtually
guaranteed to be great music. It is still for sale at a reasonable price, as opposed to the arm and a leg you’ll need to offer for ‘You Done
Let The Daylight Catch You’ by Second Ressurection. Kent even found a quite different vocal take for Phillip Mitchell’s ‘I’ll See You
In Hell First’ and a much longer version of Dave Hamilton’s ‘Who’ as
recorded by the unknown Jackie Dee, it was remixed from the master
tape. Another Dave Hamilton song ‘Must Have Had Company’ by Elayne Starr
has only appeared on one of the later Dave Hamilton CDs & is well worthy
of a rewind for modern soul movers. The highly talented west coast
producer George Semper gives us ‘Doo Doop Dee Deep Doot Doo’ which owes a
lot to the Sly Stone sound of the time and is similarly enthralling.
There’s some moody Bay Area jazz-soul from the Karen Sanders Group;
recorded in the 70s but only ever available on a 2011 US LP. Finally, we
have yet another top quality, unheard 70s soul recording from Joe
Hinton who had many tracks abandoned and left in the vault when
Atlanta’s GRC records crashed due to the nefarious behaviour of its
owner. More info in the booklet for you to read and enjoy!...Not many tasters to choose from as most tracks unreleased.
This digital copy has same tracks as CD apart from 1 omitted not on here,tracks by The New Philadelphians & Headliners are split up and extended compared to CD....Tracks below back cover.. AMM
The Tasters!
Track Listing
01 Frankie Greer Quartette - Spooky 02 Bill Beau Trio - Early in the Morning 03 Eunice Haze - String Around My Heart 04 Phylis Hendricks - My Man 05 Eddie Buster Band - Kitchen Cookin 06 The New Philadelphians - The Mustang, Pt. 1 07 The New Philadelphians - The Mustang, Pt. 2 08 The Kats - Under the Covers 09 Ronny Pellers Satin Sound - Coming Home Baby 10 The Lido - Evil Ways 11 Herb Crawford Jazz Ensemble - Title Town 12 The Runningboards - Louisville Assembly Plant 13 Brazada - El Mexicano 14 The Headliners - Little Sister, Pt. 1 15 The Headliners - Little Sister, Pt. 2 16 Victoria - Body Wave 17 Maxwell - Radiation Funk 18 Starfoxx - Oh Linda
This Digital copy has 19 tracks as opposed to less on LP & CD with a track omitted from here on CD & 2 tracks split & extended on here.....AMM......VOL 9 IS PUBLISHED..YOU WILL HAVE TO SCROLL DOWN TO COMMENT....Blogger acting up again!
The Tasters!
Track Listing
01 Papa Albert French - Bald Headed Beulah 02 Herb Jones - Tell Old Bill 03 Thyme - Bony Bony 04 Kay Dennis - Feeling Good 05 howlett smith - Slow Down, Girl 06 Joe Wilson - Sam Sam the Money Man 07 Shelley Fisher - I'll Leave You Girl 08 Doc Rand & The Purple Blues - I Need a Woman 09 The Noteables - Funky Frog 10 King Leo & The Champions - Chicken Scratch, Pt. 1 11 King Cain Silvertone Band - Don't Give a Damn 12 Ulysses Crockett - Sunshine Superman 13 Respect - Soul Entertainer 14 Pedicin-James Ltd. - Ode to Billy Joe, Pt. 1 15 Pedicin-James Ltd. - Ode to Billy Joe, Pt. 2 16 Nathan Bartell - Top Going Down, Bottom Going Up 17 Deep Heet - Funky Beat 18 John Timmons & Funkshun - Love at First Sight (Vocal) 19 John Timmons & Funkshun - Love at First Sight (Instrumental)
The CD only has 16 tracks this digital has 22 listed below back Cd Cover!!
The Tasters!
Track List
01. Carl Westmoreland - Shakers and Movers Pt.1 02. Carl Westmoreland - Shakers and Movers Pt.2 03. Rudy Tee & Reno Bop's - Talk About Soul 04. Dino & The Dell-Tones - Sticks and Stones 05. Preston Love & Band - Cissy Popcorn 06. D.M. Movements - Ooo-Wee Baby Pt.1 07. D.M. Movements - Ooo-Wee Baby Pt.2 08. Bro. Byron - Booty Whip Pt.1 09. Bro. Byron - Booty Whip Pt.2 10. Bro. Byron - Booty Whip Pt.3 11. Iris Bell & Jive-ettes - Honky Games 12. Old Metropolitan Band - Summertime 13. Dave Harris Trio - Night Club 14. James Ironhead - Crossing The Baha 15. Zodiacs - Hey Rugh Nut 16. Ricky Williams - Discotheque Soul Pt.1 17. Ricky Williams - Discotheque Soul Pt.2 18. C. Forture & J. Brinson - Hipster 19. Soul Brothers Inc. - I Don't Think We Are Going Back Again 20. Ernest Skipper with Flag and the Boys - Shot Gun Joe Pt.1 21. Ernest Skipper with Flag and the Boys - Shot Gun Joe Pt.2 22. Odyssey Group - Machine Gun
The CD version has 1 track that is omitted from the Digital, but the Digital has split 2 tracks and extended them....strange....Tracklist below the back cover ?...i see they included 3 northern classics!!
The Tasters!
Track List
01 Bobby Allen & Exceptions - Soul Chicken 02 Ray Weatherspoon - Stop stuffin and start sho nuffin Pt.1 03 Ray Weatherspoon - Stop stuffin and start sho nuffin Pt.2 04 Lil' Buck & the Top Cats - Monkey in a sack 05 Lee Fields - Funky screw 06 Jimmy Gilford - Nobody loves me like my baby 07 Jimmy Ellis - Puttin it on your mind 08 Lonnie Lester - You can't go 09 Eddie Buster Band - Churn the butter 10 Jimmy Rowles & the Gravel Pit - Behind the face 11 Iris Bell Trio feat. Butch Miles - Baby you've got soul 12 Dave Harris Trio - Summertime 13 Nannie Porres with Claes-Göran Fagerstedt Trio - It ain't necessarily so 14 Alley Pat - Pat's rubber band 15 Wildfire - Tend to your business Part 1 16 Wildfire - Tend to your business Part 2 17 Sunrize - Ease it on in 18 Theodis Ealey - Deepest sympathy
Track 10 & 12 on CD is split and extended on this Digital copy..track 1 on CD omitted from digital ?.....again the tracklist is below the CD back cover......Booklet courtesy of Gmortars ..AMM
The Tasters!
Track List
01 Rudy Lambert - Love 02 Dynamic Duke Royal - I Wanna Know 03 The Impacts - Thunder Chicken 04 The Casuals / Arnold Albury - Thanks for Waiting 05 Ural Thomas - Pain Is the Name of Your Game 06 Roy Porter Sounds - Lonesome Mood 07 Bob French's Storyville Jazz Band - St. James Infirmary 08 Marie Adams / The Tommy Dodson All-Stars - That's the Way to Get Along (feat. The Tommy Dodson All-Stars) 09 Los Keys - Mister T.C.B., Pt. 1 10 Los Keys - Mister T.C.B., Pt. 2 11 Billy Young - Suffering with a Hangover, Pt. 1 12 Billy Young - Suffering with a Hangover, Pt. 2 13 Little Mell - Ain't That Funky Monkey Fonky (Vocal) 14 Little Mell - Ain't That Funky Monkey Fonky (Instrumental) 15 Marvelle & the Blue Mats - The Dance Called the Motion 16 Changes - Feel so Bad 17 Society Inc. - Disc Jockey Jam 18 The Dell Vikings - Welfare Blues 19 Professor Lett / Study - We Oughta Get Together
BLACK WAX is a musical-political entertainment film produced and
directed by Robert Mugge. It centers on the late African American
poet-singer-songwriter Gil Scott-Heron - the man Melody Maker called
"the most dangerous musician alive" and many dubbed the forefather of
rap music - and his Midnight Band.
This is a very rare series of soul/funk gems from germany,11 volumes in total of deep funk.The Movements series started in 2004 when Tobias Kirmayer released his first compilation on Munich’s Perfect Toy Records. here,s what the man himself says..... "Perfect Toy Records is a label focusing on creative musicians of the Jazz, Funk and Rare Groove scene around the globe. Run by Munich based DJ, Jazzman and former Spinning Wheel Records head Marcus Hacker, his new label features both old school sounds from the past and present productions. After Departure of Marcus Hacker the label was absorbed for a short period by Jerker Kluge. Today it is run by a collective of record collectors and DJs. There were three people in the beginning who brought me into funk.and hiphop. Most importantly was my brother. he was listening to all the dope hiphop acts like Jungle Brothers, Brand Nubian, Cypress Hill, and older stuff like Grandmaster Flash, Spoonie Gee, as well as funk artists like James Brown and Kool & The Gang, to name only a few. After listening constantly to his records (and compact discs!) I found myself totally into these sounds. The second guy who put me in the right direction toward funk was Fritz Egner. Fritz had a weekly radio show in the early '90s called "Black Friday." it was broadcast on Bayern 3, a radio station under public law! Playing mostly standard soul and funk tunes, sometimes I heard those so-called "rare groove" tracks. I remember exactly when he said: "There is a new compilation out there called 'The Sound Of Funk, Vol. 1'." The song he played from it was no other than Leroy & The Drivers' "The Sad Chicken." I was like..."damn, what the f**k is this!? I must get this compilation." I bought it only a few days later. Immediately after getting it home, I was hooked to the rare groove sound. I couldn't believe there were so many good tracks on one album. Damn! Over the next three years, I bought every compilation released; The Sound Of Funk, Luv 'n' Haight, not forgetting all the bootleg comps, too. All of these people (My Brother, Fritz Egner, The Desco (later Daptone) Crew and others) have influenced me regarding the style and quality of how good funk should sound. I remember well when I bought 'The Meters' "People Say" 45RPM single for 12 Deutsch Marks (about $8). After leaving the shop with the 45 in my hands, I kept thinking how crazy I was to buy a 7" single for 10 Deutsch Marks! Funny, ain't it? And that was only the beginning...Most of my knowledge regarding soul/funk 45s and albums came from those compilations. You can imagine that that became costly, but now, several years later, I am very happy that it happened like that". From vol 3 onwards all released on Tramp.You might find it hard to get these anywhere online without forking out your cash,but thanks to another very good friend of the blog here thay are!...DAMN this IS a good blog!...Even i,m starting to get it!
There,s 2 versions of this album, this one and a FLAC Digital Download that only has 12 tracks strange ? listed below Back cover
The Tasters!
FLAC COPY 12 TRACKS
01 Phil Flowers - It Feels Good to Do It 02 1984 - There's a Wrinkle in Our Time 03 Carlton Basco - Don't Chain My Soul 04 House Guests - My Mind Set Me Free (Pt. 1) 05 River Front Band - Warm Daddy's Choice 06 Blues Palmer With The Jimmie Coe Trio - Misery Is Gone (Pt. 1 & 2) 07 Elmer & Brenda Parker And The Nite Lighters - Got to Get Back to Louisiana (Pt. 2) 08 Emperors Soul 69 - Bring Out Yourself 09 Funky Nassau - Bahama Soul Stew 10 Harmonica Paul - Motherless Child 11 Gene Boyd - Thought of You Today 12 Ray Anthony - The Arabian Funk
William Hart was the legendary lead singer and songwriter of The delfonics who passed last week. He was a terrific singer who had a keen interest in singing from a very young age. who also went by the fond nickname "Poogie". At first, he sang with the local groups in Philadelphia, where he was born. The local groups he used to sing with include ” The Four Gents,” & “The Veltones,”. However, in 1964, he formed an ” Orphonics ” group with his brother Wilbert and other team members such as Randy Cain and Richie Daniels. This group, “Orphonics,” was later converted to The Delfonics.....They released their first recording, "He Don’t Really Love You b/w Without You" on Moonshot, in August 1966. This was followed by their second recording, "You’ve Been Untrue b/w I Was There" on Cameo, in April 1967. The group then released a single, "La-La - Means i love you" on Philly groove in December 1967, a big hit that topped the Billboard Hot 100. The Delfonics released their first album "La La Means I Love You", in 1968, and 10 more albums followed this. After a long record of delivering successful hits, the group split into two groups in 1975. The first included Major Harris, Wilbert Hart, and Frank Washington, while the other featured William Hart with new members. Harris joined Hart’s group in 1980 alongside Randy Cain and Washington joined Wilbert’s group in 1985. Although the lineup included Hart, Harris, and Washington, they toured as separate trios with additional members. The trio also appeared together on The Arsenio Hall Show in the USA. The Delfonics continued to perform in 1990s and Harris and Washington recorded several numbers. The group reorganized, and all the members continued to tour. Cain later toured with Hart until his demise in 2009. Hart, along with Russell Thompkins Jr. and Ted Mills, recorded a CD, The Three Tenors of Soul posted here a while back. On July 14, 2022, William passed away at 77. Williams son Hadi revealed that his father was having breathing problems. He was immediately admitted to Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, where he died from complications related to surgery...The man will be missed with his incredible voice.
THIS ALBUM
From 1971 onwards, “The Sound Of Philadelphia” dominated black American popular music in much the same way as Motown had done for most of the previous decade, until it moved out of Detroit at the end of the 1960s. Created by a select group of hightly gifted musicians, producers and arrangers, it seemed to arrive from out of nowhere to stamp its influence on all that succeeded it, right up to the end of the 1970s when real musicians suddenly began to find themselves playing second banana to drum machines and/or string and horn sections that could be played on synthesiser keyboards. Of course, nothing arrives completely out of nowhere, and the Philly Sound was actually a slow builder that had its genesis in the mid 60s with the early success of the Intruders. But it was the early records of the Delfonics, arranged and orchestrated by musical genius, Thom Bell, which really began to push the envelope and expand the boundaries of musical creativity in the City Of Brotherly Love. Led by the unique, soaring tenor of William Hart, the Delfonics looked back simultaneously to Philly’s rich doo wop history, and forward to the ‘symphonic soul’ that Thom Bell would continue to create in the next decade, with the Stylistics and the Spinners. The Delfonics’ first Philly Groove hit (mentioned above) was the first really big hit to embrace the new sound and the first of its kind to reach the top three of the US Hot 100. Follow-ups, followed on and the still-ahead-of-its-time "Ready Or Not Here I Come", saw them and their arranger-producer Bell reach dizzy undreamed heights of soulful creativity. It was a sad day for soul lovers everywhere when that creative partnership ceased in 1971, not long after they made the record by which all future examples of group soul would be judged "Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time". The two albums on this Kent CD are the first two released gy them on Philly Groove & of the three that the Bell-Delfonics partnership forged in nearly four years of working together. Their generous blend of hits, should-have-been-hits and expertly chosen revivals is forever enthralling, and will help those who only caught on to the Philly Sound in later years to understand why the Delfonics will always be among the two or three most important acts to ever represent it. two sweet tasters and one of their northern classics to end. One of my all time fave groups, rest in peace William.
Frankie "Love Man" Crocker was born in 1937 in Buffalo Upstate New York & passed 2000 in Miam Florida. He was a famous New York radio DJ. (Coined "Hollywood" & "Love Man" for his keen sense of showmanship and self marketing tactics.Frankie began his career in Buffalo, then moved to Soul station WWRL New York before being hired by top 40 WMCA in 1969. He later worked for WBLS-FM as program director, taking that station to the top of the ratings during the late 1970's. He sometimes called himself the "Chief Rocker," and he was as well known for his boastful on air patter as for his off-air flamboyance. When Studio 54 was at the height of its popularity, Crocker rode in through the front entrance on a white stallion. In the studio, before he left for the day, Crocker would light a candle and invite female listeners to enjoy a candlelight bath with him. At his peak, Crocker was the most famous black DJ in the world and the first to command and receive a six figure annual salary. His popularity was so immense, he worked in NY six months and worked the remaining six months in Los Angeles for a short time. His name came to prominance here in the UK when the fantastic left field "Ton Of Dynamite" on Turbo Records was played at Blackpool Mecca for the first time and went massive on the northern scene everywhere. Frankie sadly died of pancreatic cancer in 2000. This CD is quite unique in that most of the records are played within his show on WLBS New York. Many northern classics on here when the scene accepted newer releases.
This is without a doubt one of the albums that changed my life. Its impact was profound to say the least. . Three Quarters of the album are Northern Soul Classics that set me off on a quest to explore the USA and hunt down as many records as my greedy hands could collect. I still have the LP on Tamla which is worn to a frazzle (like so many others i hammered them to death on the old Dansette) so the CD came along which was a godsend for me...Like most record collectors we were mesmerised first by the music emanating from the discs but the labels were something else!...wonderful illustrations from the 4 corners of America on tiny unknown labels..But back to the man,what a legend he is..rather than me do a Bio you can get the picture on him Over Here... I loved his early albums and not that keen as he has progressed sadly but have full respect for this LIVING LEGEND!...Let his music do the talking!
This was the debut album on the backbeat labels short history. For those who were not around back in the 1980,s ,or just asleep, Garage music was named after the Paradise Garage, where resident Soul DJ Larry Levan held court in New York. The garage sound was born in New York and across the river in New Jersey as disco morphed into house music. More spacious and synthetic than disco, yet more soulfully musical than later house, it's a best of both worlds sound. If you enjoyed the 20 volume streetsounds series i posted a while back then you,ll love this...or not. Here's an unexpected complement to the compilations that celebrate Paradise Garage DJ and remixer Larry Levan such as Journey into Paradise: The Larry Levan Story and Classic West End Records Remixes (1999) which were 3 x LP,s..and i do have them if anybody wants me to upload just ask, though it is very time consuming ripping Vinyl. This album does not contain any of the tracks from that set and boasts some of best post disco/pre house singles from the decade, including Young & Company's "I Like (What You're Doing to Me)," Cultural Vibe's "Ma Foom Bay (Love Chant Mix)," Sleeque's "One for the Money," and the Class Action version of "Weekend" (more electronic-oriented than the Phreek version heard on Journey into Paradise). Serious collectors likely have most of what's here, but newcomers will be knocked out by just about everything, especially if you like the streetsounds series.
When the label first kicked off,the compilations done with love by my old m8 Northern/Jazz Funk/House DJ Ian Dewhirst or "Frank" as he was known back then (from Leeds but now based in London) wanted to cover other genres of black dance before the series got into the real soul as it progressed. Here are his own words ..."So welcome to the second volume of Backbeats, "The House That Jackin' Built" in which we explore the basic brutal sound of Chicago House Music. I first came under the spell of House Music when I was compiling new dance music albums in the mid 1980's and began hearing records which sounded very basic and unsophisticated compared to many of the other polished productions of the era. This music was uncompromising, very basically recorded, shabbily packaged and, for the most part, sounded like someone had recorded the stuff in a bedroom. But the grooves were utterly irresistible! As usual it was a trip up North to a Few clubs when everything began to make sense. Suddenly wave after wave of energetic, brutal House rhythms were washing over me and I got right into the zone...Then suddenly the sound took hold throughout the U.K. and out of nowhere Steve 'Silk' Hurley hit No.1 with "Jack Your Body" and the U.K. became a House nation. So my colleagues at the time and I didn't waste much time in getting on a plane to Chicago to try to get to the source before anyone else. What we found when we got there was a like a scene from the music biz of mid 60's. Everybody sold their records for cash, sometimes several times over. Multiple contracts would be exchanged for the same record. Nobody trusted anyone. The Trax label was situated in an office above a dirty vinyl pressing plant and run by the majestic Larry Sherman, an ex musician and a relation of famed mob financier Meyer Lansky. Generally nobody messed with Larry if they could avoid it!. Added to the list of characters were rival label owner Rocky Jones, Lewis Pittsley, the effervescent Rachel Cain aka Screaming Rachel, Bann Barn, Frankie Knuckles, Farley Keith, Darryl Pandy, Ray Barney and a host of other Chicago House Music luminaries. Suffice to say, we had a great time and returned to the UK even more confused then we were before. We've selected some of the more popular tunes from the Trax label for this particular volume as we want to draw people into these uncompromising grooves and keep 'em there! These were absolutely among the greatest records from the first era of House and include some of the most legendary names of the era including Marshall Jefferson, Frankie Knuckles, Farley lackmaster Funk, Adonis, Jamie Principle, Mr Fingers (aka Larry Heard), Ra1phi Rosario and Joe Smooth among others"....As with everythin on this label,all deleted and very sought after.
