I had to do this today regardless how i feel to show the man the love we had for him..Its with great sadness another great Detroit Soul Legend has passed away a few days ago. To say the influence this man had on soul music,collectors,& the northern scene is incomparable ! Yet only 4 studio albums (3 in the UK), 9 compilations, and 50 odd 45,s released highlights the pure quality of the mans output is beyond belief! In my book he was one of the greatest american Soul singer/songwriters to walk this planet.Virtually unknown in the United States, clocking up only three minor Billboard R&B hits, but whose recordings achieved more lasting recognition in the United Kingdom where they helped define the early Northern Soul sound,so much so that he has been called The King of Northern Soul (but there are many contenders) Born James Jay Barnes, in Detroit, Michigan on 30th November 1943, and brought op in the notorious Black Bottom area of detroit which was a predominantly black neighborhood., in his teens he attended North Western High School and sang in two local groups; the first the Halo Singers sang Gospel, the second the Five Seniors sang Doo-Wop. Overheard by his postman Fred Brown who just happened to have his own record label he was offered a recording deal. It was therefore at the age of 17 that J.J, released his first single, "My Love Came Tumbling Down" for Kable Records. Produced by Don Davies and featured backing vocals by( the Del-Phi,s who would go onto change their name to Martha & The Vandellas). the record achieved national distribution via Rich Records but failed to chart. Kable released a number of further singles by J.J. on its Mickay lable Just One More Time did well enough to be picked up by Scepter Records but the sales never amounted to much. J.J. had one release through Ring Records in 1964, "Poor Unfortunate Me", before returning to the Mickay lable for what proved to be the last time in 1965 for "Lonely No More" Kable Records ceased trading and J.J. ended back on the Chrysler Motors assembly line but not for long, as he was soon back recording for a new Detroit label named Ric Tic along with Golden World owned by Ed Wingate plus his namesake label. His first release was "Please Let Me In" in 1965 was promising, but its successor "Real Humdinger" gave J.J. his first taste of success, hitting number 20 on the R&B chart and number 60 on the pop chart. A George Clinton produced version of the Beatles' "Day Tripper" which achieved some success in the United Kingdom where it was issued by Polydor. Unfortunately for J.J. (as it turned out) there was another record label in Detroit, owned by one Berry Gordy Jnr that didn't like the competition, and eliminated it by the simple expedient of buying it up. The Ric Tic/Golden World empire was acquired by Motown Records and with it J.J. Barnes's contract. Despite recording a great deal of material for Motown, nothing was ever released. The tale is that J.J. sounded too much like Marvin Gaye (and he does), and there already was one Marvin Gaye at Motown, and he'd married the owner's daughter and didn't like the competition, so J.J.s career hit a dead end . He co-wrote a couple of songs that were recorded by other Motown artists , but that was as much exposure as he got, so he asked for and obtained a release from his contract, frustrated no doubt at having almost but not quite making it. he was quoted as saying "I got the hell out as soon as I could!...Meanwhile in Detroit, producer Don Davis set up a company named Solid Hitbound Productions with Lebaron Taylor which was to release material on the Groovesville and Revilot labels. Freed from his obligations to Motown, J.J. joined up with his old friend and released "Baby Please Come Back Home" in 1967 which made number 9 on the Billboard R&B chart, which, it has to be said, was the closest that J.J. Barnes ever really got to any kind of real commercial success in the country of his birth. Its successor, "Now That I Got You Back" only made number 44 and the third release, "Sweet Sherry" by some strange aberration of fate, failed to sell at all ? (one of my dave tracks). In the end, tired of competing for attention with the might of Motown, Don Davies decided he'd had enough , and went south with the master tapes to Memphis. Lebaron Taylor struggled on single handed, issuing material on the Revilot label including "Our Love (Is In The Pocket)" for J.J. 2 years after Darrell Banks Issue before going out of business. Don Davis went to Memphis for a purpose, he had a job working as a staff producer for Al Bell,s Stax Records. Without a record deal in Detroit, J.J. followed the trail to Memphis but the end result wasn't particularly successful with only the one single "Got To Get Rid of You" being released on the Volt label. However the Don Davis association with Stax did result in the repackaging and release of some previous Groovesville material on the Rare Stamps album. This album featured five tracks by J.J. on one side 11 with other side featuring fellow Groovesville artist Steve Mancha. Rare Stamps might not have threatened the charts but it did bring J.J. wider exposure, particularly in the United Kingdom. His hardest to locate 45 was in 1974 on the tiny Invasion label outta detroit, you,d need a mortgage to buy it!..This guys influence on me as a soul loving person has been immense over the years,i saw fim perform 4 times and he always came through with clasic after classic. I regard him and Edwin Starr as perhaps my fave artists from the "D"..Lets hope their both dueting somewhere !..I feel the way i felt when i heard Marvin,Wommack,& Edwin passed away...Gutted... but his music lives on and we shall never forget ANY OF THEM!....+ Essential Bonus Tracks listed under back cover. I choose this album and bonus tracks as i consider them to be his best songs. I have everything available by him so any requests fire away.
AMM
The Tasters !
Bonus Tracks
Ric Tic - 110 (A) - JJ Barnes - Real Humdinger
Ric Tic - 115 (A) - JJ Barnes - Day Tripper
Ric Tic - 115 (B) - JJ Barnes - Don't Bring Me Bad News
29 comments:
R.I.P J. J. Barnes - I am with you there. Thanks for review, P.
So sorry of JJ,s passing true soul soldier and have to say nothing of all his work was filler it was all class RIP JJ in Soul Heaven Thanks AMM for this one
getting up from your sick bed .Well not feeling great my self after fill me up with this fluid today for my heart op next week.
Regards Pedro
Yes this is very sad news, JJ is one of Souls greatest without a doubt, a massive influence on me R.I.P JJ
No link req, I have everything by him
Thanks AMM for paying tribute to JJ Barnes. RIP.
REALLY sad loss!!Real Humdinger got me into the RicTic label and the journey began....
Thanks for sharing this great review R.I.P JJ
Many thanks once more AMM R.I.P JJ Barnes
Rest in Peace J.J. Barnes, thank you AMM for this tribute
one of my all time favourite artist , great review AMM .
The essential is there for those who do not know but there must be very little in my opinion.
Great Soul pioneer with a capital S.
RIP
No link for me.
Yves
Thanks for n great review AMM
RIP JJ Barnes
Many thanks for the info & Bonus Tracks
What a great lost for the soul communities everywhere. R.I.P JJ.
cheers,ELtel
A sad loss. Thank you for the review.
But first: get better!!
Great review. Thanks. Feel better.
Me getting a virus or my computer. I don't know which would be worse! Trust you get vertical soon. All the best
Sorry we have lost another of the greats of Soul. Thanks AMM for the review.
thank you so much for this tribute for the another great soul singer lost
Thank you AMM For The JJ Barnes Album,May He (R.I.P)
So sad, thanks for your tribute and review
Sad to hear JJ has passed away, great singer
thanks Reb
R.I.P. J.J.-One more legend gone!
Thanks for this review. As you said he is relatively unknown here in the US and that is a shame. RIP...
What beautiful music. I had the rare stamp with him an steve mancha. The song that always hunts me is beautiful soul ballad "Gotta Get Rid of You" Thanks AMM.
Ui, another artist with a warm and shining legacy. And death sucks, especially in such a case ☀️☮️✌🏻
Thank you for the obituary and short review of J.J.'s music.
look forward to the link.
Thanks for the JJ,I did already have it but I`d rather have twice than not at all!I hope your flu has flown.ATB
Cheers!
Bill
Please and thanks!
Watched a YT blogger last night who highlighted J.J. Barnes, interesting story and your tasters are excellent.
Post a Comment