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Produced by the precocious, 16 year old L.A mover and shaker Michael Lloyd (whose career in music began at age 13!), this 6 piece group whip up a real spooky piece of macabre psych on this excellent track, which is ripe for the season. The story of the group is complex (but interesting) and their allmusic entry is well worth checking out.
Surprisingly, this record was not released at Halloween time, but in the spring of 1968.
Don't worry; Daily 45 isn't going anywhere! I've simply launched a new site to focus on the visual aspect of records; namely, label designs, picture sleeves and album covers (as well as information to help other vinyl junkies identify original pressings.)
The Casinos were an all white soul group from Cincinnati that did a fantastic job in nailing the dreamier sounds of the time. The group started out as The Legends in the late 50's, and after it was apparent that their was at least one other group with the same name, they changed it to The Casinos. As with practically every other ensemble with a long run, this nine piece group experienced numerous personnel changes throughout the years.
This record was the followup release after their excellent version of "Then You Can tell me Goodbye" (a past 45 of the day) was a good sized national hit. This track follows in the same vein, has a bit more of a kick behind it but still retains the ethereal qualities of "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye".
While the Standells are lumped in with the crowd of garage rock bands that formed in the wake of the British Invasion, their history goes back further than that, as they formed in 1962. So, in effect, the claims of this Los Angeles group as being the fathers of garage are not too far from the truth (although their early records are quite pedestrian until they hooked up with producer Ed Cobb for the immortal "Dirty Water" and its equally excellent followups).
Unfortunately, after the release of this record a reactionary right wing radio man Gordon McLendon (himself the man who was thought to have created the top 40 radio format) stated the suggestive record as "obscene" and unfit for young minds on the radio. Precisely the reason why it's great.
The song was an early co-composition of Joey Levine, who went on to great success in the bubblegum scene of the late 60's (his rockin' nasal voice is heard on those hits from The Ohio Express, Kasenatz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus, as well as the Nuggets LP classic "Run Run Run" by The Third Rail). The Ohio Express later recut this track with Levine on lead vocals which is cool, but it just doesn't pack the wallop that this original does.
Bobby Womack has had an extraordinary career; discovered by Sam Cooke while he was barely a teenager, Bobby released a long string of excellent singles with his brothers in the group The Valentinos (read my post about them here at Bedazzled), Bobby struck out on his own beginning in the mid-60's with an earthy, rootsy, powerful voice and the ability to pen lyrics with the type of depth that earned him the well-deserved nickname "The Poet".
On this track (taken from the film of the same name), Bobby takes on a number of subjects that deal with life on the mean streets of the ghetto in the early 70's and tries to make some sense of it. Just give a listen to Bobby's vocals on this track, especially what starts happening around the 3 minute mark; the man was FEELING this track. Sadly, the following year his brother Harry (who he sang with in the Valentinos) was dead of a drug overdose.
For some unknown reason, New Orleans has never had much of a harmony singing group tradition. Surprising, considering this city has been (and continues to be) one of the universal epicenters of musical melting pots incorporating jazz, r&b, soul and funk into the local styles and beyond.
The Barrons (or as they were more commonly known on most releases, The Barons) were an exception, and the group shows off a gorgeous harmony blend on this record, featuring falsetto lead singer Lloyd Shepard in full flight. The group found their recording debut in 1964, co-billed with Eddie Bo on Eddie's "Gotta Have More" (a past 45 of the day which I'll re-post at the Daily 45 Facebook page to correspond with this posting).
By the time this record was released, the group had experienced the type of line-up changes that are seemingly always an inevitable in the world of groups.
Junior Parker released an almost unfathomable amount of records in his career which spanned from 1950 until his young death (of a brain tumor) in 1971. For the most part, his late 60's records are sub-standard; not as a fault of his own (his voice was ALWAYS stellar) but more as a result of weak material.
Luckily, producer Huey P Meaux helped Junior NAIL this one, which is one of his greatest records. Huey is one of those people in the music field whose personal life was full of deplorable acts (he did jail time TWICE for statutory crimes) but was simply brilliant behind the mixing board. Huey's production work with the likes of Barbara Lynn and The Sir Douglas Quintet yielded some of the greatest music of the 60's. This record takes Junior's deep south blues roots (he was born in the heart of the delta in Clarksdale, Mississippi) and adds some sophisticated uptown swing for results that are simply magic. Junior's cool vocal delivery is just outta sight.
Driven along mightily by bubbling bass (more than likely played by the great Bernard Reed) and brassy backing vocals by Jo Armstead (who also co-produced and co-wrote the track), Bobby Hutton's excellent vocal rides smoothly right along top this excellent track. Anyone who has been following this site for any length of time knows my love of Chicago soul, but I'll state it again; I LOVE the Chicago sound, which is epitomized so nicely here on this track. while the lyric may be melancholy, the propulsive Chi-town beat just DRIVES the song into another world.
even if they would have written only one of the three following songs: "I'm Your Puppet", "Dark End Of The Street" or "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man", the writing team of Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham would go down in history as perhaps THE greatest writing duo in all of southern soul music. Not bad for a couple of young white fellas.
What is relatively unknown, however, is that Dan Penn is one of the greatest blue eyed soul voices as well; a pity, as his own recorded output is scant compared to his "behind the scenes" work. I saw Dan perform in new Orleans a few years back at Ponderosa Stomp, and the mere thought of the majesty of his voice performing THOSE songs makes the hair on the back of my neck stand at end. He may not be able to hit the high notes today as he did in this majestic recording, but his voice is so full of depth and passion that it can easily be ranked as one of the greatest in soul music, regardless of ANY color.
This record was one of the final collaborations Dan made with Muscle Shoals producer Rick Hall, before his move to Memphis and association with Chips Moman at American Studios. These collaborations resulted in a cache of music that is simply some of the finest to be recorded anywhere, by anyone.
This record shows the depth of Dan as an artist, and I am at a loss for words at describing its beauty. Curiously, this track was initially the b-side of the record (the a-side being a good but rather pointless cover of "Willie And The Hand Jive". Why would a man of this talent be reduced to covering a novelty number?). The tell-tale "X"'s on the label show that the promo person who sent the record out to radio knew better; THIS was the side.
Unfortunately, I don't know a whole lot of info (actually, none at all) about this group that recorded a few sides for Stax, with both Stax c0-founder Jim Stewart and Staple Singer Pervis Staples behind the mixing board.
Whoever they are, The Sons Of Slum waxed this fabulous take on Marvin Gaye's "Right On" which, of course, was taken from the 'What's Going On" LP; a groundbreaking record (to say the least) in which Marvin expressed serious social commentary which went against the commercial grain, causing a big change in soul music and mass shift towards social comment within lyrics.
The lead vocalist sounds quite familiar, but I don't wanna make an assumption on who it might be; I would sure like to know more info about this group!
New England is typically not known as a hotbed of rhythm and blues activity in the 60's, but here we have a fantastic side from Pearlean Gray, who is thought to be from Connecticut. Unfortunately, that's all I know about her. This excellent track was co-written by Lloyd Price, and Pearlean's voice cuts through some judicious (and delicious) layers of reverb like glass.
New England certainly LOVED r&b though, as a visit to the great Boston record store "In Your Ear" proved to be a treasure trove of great singles. The man who was working in the store (who I think was the owner) explained that there was a local distributor who was bringing in small label soul records from all over the country to meet the insatiable quest for records.
A fabulous double sider, and yet another with producer/ writer Van McCoy's stamp displayed prominently.
The mysterious Toni LaMarr had two releases on Buddah records, and seemingly there are no other records cut by her (at least under that name).
Both sides are excellent, and Van McCoy's ethereal backing vocals (one of his trademarks) offer an excellent complimentary counterpoint to Toni's earthy lead vocals.
I believe that the bouncier "I'd Do Anything" was the actual a-side, but in my humble opinion the gritty "If I Didn't Love You" is the stronger side. But it's a tough choice, as BOTH cuts are A-side material.
It always surprises me when there's a record released by a big label and there is barely any biographical info about the artist known. It is known that Lenny was in a doo-wop era group called The Vibra-Harps with Donnie Elbert (who cut a few hit sides in the early 70's) and that his real name is Danny Cannon.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and speculate that Lenny may have passed away young, as this WAS after all, the Vietnam war era...Of course I have nothing to back my hypothesis, but being as this record has been so revered by "Beach Music" enthusiasts since the 60's and there has been no sightings of Lenny, it may be logical.
As for the song, it's absolutely gorgeous and behind its upbeat enthusiasm features incredibly deep lyrics that deal with alienation and a female sung brudge that outright KICKS.
To my ears, this record has MASSIVE hit appeal and truly should be one that is ubiquitous on oldies radio.
The son of a preacher man, Ken Parker began his singing career in church. As a teenager, he struck out into the secular music field, and first formed a group called the Blues Benders before striking out on his own, working with legendary Jamaican producers Coxsone Dodd and Duke Reid. This record was cut circa 1971, which was near the end of Duke Reid's life. Duke was one of *the* key figures in the development of Jamaican music beginning with his legendarily loud mobile sound system which powered dances from the mid-50's onward, and eventually led to him producing his own sounds.
As for Ken, his career as a reggae singer ended around 1973, as he had grown tired of the business side of music. In the late 70's, he returned to his roots and began releasing gospel music.
This is an especially soulful reading of a Kris Kristofferson song, and, like my other favorite reggae tracks from the late 60's-early 70's, has a downright haunting sound. Haunting in a very, very good way- the type of thing that sticks in your brain all day.
There's not a whole lot of biographical info out there about Jimmy Delphs that I've been able to find (none in fact). He released a few records, one of which, "Dancin' A Hole In The World" sells for upwards of $2000. Although I like that record and its anthemic qualities (which I do not own an original), I find this track to be Jimmy's finest side and the one that shows the range of his excellent voice, with a superbly beautiful backing track full of swirling strings and delightful female harmonies.
Production is courtesy of Ollie McLaughlin; the man behind the board for all those fabulous Barbara Lewis and Deon Jackson tracks.
This beautiful song has a rather strange story, and one that is unique to this record (to my knowledge); namely, the same track was released three times, in a span of 4 years, by three separate labels, and under two different group names!
Originally released in 1965 by the Joytones, apparently the producers of the record felt strongly enough about the record to re-release it, hoping for the success that it deserved. Unfortunately, it did not hit the charts on any of its releases.
I believe that it is a Detroit recording, but I may be wrong.
From rural Albany, Georgia, Jesse Boone cut quite an impression locally; starting out as high school band director, eventually he performed, wrote and produced a number of singles, ran his own labels and eventually owned and operated his own cable TV station! His success did not spread nationally, but it's very cool to see an example of a performer that followed his own path to the end.
This lovely record shows off his incredibly clear and sweet voice.
Call it record collectors intuition, but this is the type of record that simply doesn't look like it would be a worthwhile listen. I suppose it's because of the relatively generic title and a band name that has negative connotations; however, this one is proof that one cannot always judge a 45 by its label.
Hailing from the Washington DC/ Frederick, MD area, The Bad Boys cut this record in Louisville, KY with future country music star Charlie Daniels behind the board and also allegedly playing bass. The group lays out a seriously r&b influenced garage groove with some ferociously punky guitar work and excellent soulful vocals from Gary St Claire. The group later changed their name to Flavor, and cut the excellent blue eyed soul track "Sally Had A Party" for Columbia.
Kenny Gamble, of course, is most famous as being part of the Gamble/ Huff writing duo that is ubiquitous with Philadelphia soul, and a run of massive hits that began in 1967 (with The Soul Survivors- "Expressway To Your Heart"). Young Kenny was quite precocious as a young man, and in addition to having ran a record store, worked in radio and began crudely producing records as a teen, he was signed to Columbia Records at age 19. On this track (recorded when he was 22), we hear the beginnings of his songwriting brilliance, matched with a gruff, soulful voice that was not heard much afterwords, as songwriting became his forte.
This is a record that I wasn't aware of until very recently, and upon hearing it for the first time I felt as though I'd been missing out on something extra special for my entire life. Stomping soul beat? Check. Powerful female vocals? check. A false stop that brings one to their knees? check. Outrageous fuzztone? CHECK!
While this is seemingly a one-off record, The Jewels (aka Lady Bo & The Family Jewel) were a relatively long running side group for Bo Diddley guitarist Lady Bo (I sure hope that's her laying out the outrageous fuzzed out guitar, never mind whoever it is playing the outrageous fuzz BASS!)
This record is erroneously reported elsewhere as being from 1961; definitely not, as the catalog number fits it smack dab in the middle of 1966 (where it belongs).
Showing off the sweeter side of Johnny Sayles' voice (he could shout with the best of them, as heard on the buildup to the chorus of this song), and also the fabulous studio group (probably the Brunswick studio band?) that lays out some serious Chicago soul, this record nicely bridges the gap between the harder edged sounds out of Chicago that were morphing into a sweeter, vocal harmony based sound. This track MOVES!
Sayles was born in Texas but forged out his career in Chicago (after a short St Louis stint singing with the Ike Turner group in the late '50's). Sadly, Johnny released only two other 45's after this one (1972 and 1983, respectively) and one LP (1972) before passing away in 1993.
The root of my passion as a musician and record collector is all because of John & The Beatles. Mom exposed me to them while I was literally still in the cradle, and I've been a fanatic for life.
Also, thanks to the group's own impeccable taste as record collectors, the lads own passion for their favorite discs inspired me to do what you, the readers of this site know me as- a fanatical, passionate collector and lover of 45 RPM sounds. John Lennon took every opportunity to spout off his love for the rock n roll of his youth, and also the r&b/ soul sounds of the 60's. John even took a portable jukebox with him on tour, and it was full of fabulous soul from the likes of Booker T & The MG's, Fontella Bass, Bobby Parker, Jimmy McCracklin, Timmy Shaw, and dozens of others, including this favorite from The Contours.
The Contours were undoubtedly the hardest hitting act within the Motown stable, both vocally and musically and had a great run of dance hits, and throughout numerous lineup changes is still active today. The fantastic lead vocals that are so memorable on the Contours 60's recordings were shouted by Billy Gordon.
With no escape possible from their hotel fortresses on tour without the risk of fan mauling, at least the Beatles had some fantastic music to listen to in those pre-ipod days. One could just see them grooving out backstage to the sounds of this jam.
By 1967, Boogaloo (aka bugaloo), was all the rage in the clubs of New York City; a fusion of sorts of Cuban rhythms mixed with soul and blues styling, this style of music burned brightly for a few years but was eventually disowned by many in the Latin music scene as being un-pure and of poor musical quality. The boogaloo sound was (sadly) dead and buried by 1970.
I have never understood why this music was so disliked by many in the Latin music community, and their points of derision were driven home in a BBC documentary about Latin music in the USA in the 60's-70's that I saw when I was in the UK last summer. Put on a boogaloo record, and there's bound to be smiles all over the room; plain and simply, it is music that inspires happiness and dancing.
Jazz pianist Ray Bryant caught a ride on the boogaloo train for today's selection and my LORD does this record swing! Admittedly, my taste for jazz does not run very deep, and I find that the majority of my listening to the genre is (you guessed it) found within the three minute confines of a 45 RPM single. I know, this is blasphemy to the jazz community, but long improvisation just doesn't cut it very often for this listener. In 2:58 seconds, Ray Bryant shows the world that he can play rings around just about anybody on the piano, and it's all within my attention span.
Much to the chagrin of vegetarians everywhere, a very psychedelicized Eric Burdon pays homage to his favorite musicians and things by comparing them to meat (much to the delight of omnivores everywhere) on this trippy, rocking jam from near the end of his helm as an Animal.
Buried on a relatively unlistenable, pretentious double LP, this track is one of the reasons why 45's are such a great choice for the consumer, as we are truly treated to very lean "all meat" and no filler.
Recorded in Nashville and sponsored by DJ "Hoss" Allen, Lucille Mathis cut a scant pair of 45's, both in 1968.
I don't know what happened to Lucille or why she was only able to cut two records, but goodness gracious this is incredible! The top side is just the type of gritty, hard hitting soul that plain and simply makes life glorious! The other side is the type of deep soul that will break your heart in the best way possible; just LISTEN to how Lucille phrases the first line of the song, with some INCREDIBLE pitch control as she precariously slides into the notes. It's the kind of thing that (record collector's) dreams are made of.
First off with this track: how cool is it that they reprised the "ooh aah" chant from Sam Cooke's "Chain Gang"? What a sweet touch and a nod to one of the father's of soul music.
Detroit's Spinners had a long career that continues to this day, with the requisite uncountable line-up changes. The group saw minor success with a few labels until "It's A Shame" hit big the following year, and even more success was had at Atlantic Records starting in 1972.
This track is simple in its loveliness; Over a fantastic Motown groove that somehow has a lilt while it stomps, the group proudly shows off their vocal talents within a song that's pure poetry.
As a member of the legendary Mar-Keys, Floyd Newman's voice is heard on their smash hit "Last Night" with his immortal line "aaahhhhhh last NIGHT", and his baritone sax graced oodles of Stax/Volt records. Surprisingly, this record doesn't really feature his horn (even though he's the artist listed, go figure). The tune IS a showcase for organ and guitar though (probably Jerry Lee "Smoochy Smith" on organ and Charlie "Redman" Freeman on guitar; certainly doesn't sound like Booker T or Steve Cropper!) and these fellows lay down some seriously groovy sounds within.
A great cover song performance can take both the song into another dimension, and also show the personality of the performer in a unique way. Plus, they can just be a helluva lot of fun. This one falls into all three categories.
Yvonne Elliman (best known as portraying Mary Magdalane in the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar") takes here the Who's classic debut single and turns ii into a steamy, soulful and ultra sexy groove that shows off her killer voice.
Hailing from L.A, The Invincibles were made up of three transplants from the south (Louisiana and Texas) with a lovely vocal blend with a soaring falsetto lead.
I love the sweet, lilting sound of this record, which was actually the b-side to their debut single (which reached the top 40 of the r&b charts). Two other singles went nowhere and by 1967 the group was no more. THE INVINCIBLES - I'LL COME CRAWLIN' TO YOU
With a long career that has seen massive success as a songwriter (with material such as "One Bad Apple" by The Osmonds and "Old Time Rock N Roll by Bob Seger), southern soul man George Jackson was sadly overlooked as a singer through the years.
I love the hypnotic, swampy feel of this record in which George waxes a fantastic, restrained lead vocal over the type of groove that is the epitome of early '70's Memphis soul.
