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This hot shot record has quickly become one of my favorite bay area
releases; Johnny Talbot (real name Tolbert) was born in Texas but moved
to Oakland at a young age. He has had a long career and is known mostly
for his blues/ funk sides (as well as being a staple of the local live
scene). Here. on this early release, we find him churning out a
fantastic uptempo r&b scorcher that starts in fifth gear and doesn't
let up for two and a half minutes.
Hailing from Detroit, Gwen Owens was apparently still a teenager when
this track was cut. Talk about precocious, with a seasoned voice like
this!
She cut a few more records on her own (some of which sell for
massive bucks, but this one is my personal fave), then went on to work as a
session backup singer, lead a group in the 70's and today, she is "back
home" teaching music and singing at her church (in Los Angeles). Great
to read that she is still singing.
2020 Update: Gwen's daughter, Xiantoni Ari, is active in the Los Angeles soul scene, with several releases and a fantastic live set. In fact, I had the pleasure of playing this song about two years ago. She does an amazing job singing this song; must make mom very proud!
From Birmingham, AL, Sam Dees journeyed to Nashville as a young man to
begin recording (of which this is one of his earliest sides) in the mid '60's. Sam later
recorded for Atlantic in the 70's and appears to be somewhat active in music to this
day.
This is one of those records that isn't messing around; high octane, earthy, and pounding.
My personal favorite records featuring the legendary Mr Wilson are those
he recorded with Chicago soul production/ arrangement/ songwriting wizards Gerald Sims, Carl Davis, and
Sonny Sanders. These records were capturing the cutting edge of a harder
soul sound that was perfectly suited to Jackie's powerful vocals. This
double sider is pure dynamite; both sides are performed at a blazing
tempo and delivered with pure excitement.
from 1967...
JACKIE WILSON - THE WHO WHO SONG + SINCE YOU SHOWED ME HOW TO BE HAPPY
While it's a wonderful thing that Betty has had a career renaissance in
recent years with excellent new recordings and extraordinary live
performances, her mid to late 60's releases are simply unbeatable. This
is the type of record that could easily be used to demonstrate what soul
music is for someone who hasn't a clue. "I Feel Good" is an intense,
pounding and swirling number; the kind of things that makes me go wild
over 45's.
This seems to be the only record that this Detroit singer cut (at least
under this name...) and what a favorite it is! I'm a complete sucker for
any record that has a groove like this, and the first time I heard it I was hooked within the first five seconds.
Several years before he became one of the first of the country-pop crossover hitmaking acts, Ronnie Milsap began his career deeply rooted in rock and soul, releasing several singles in that bag. This, his own composition tucked away on a b-side, is my fave. His vocal performance is incredible, the band is raw, and there's some blistering, swampy guitar work.
When I put this site to rest a few years back, it was mostly because I felt the records I was featuring weren't up to a high enough standard by that point. However, it sure is nice to come across an occasional gem that gets me fired up about 45's again. This is one of those kinda records.
I was familiar with (L.A soul group) The Autographs, as their uptempo stomper 'I Can Do It' was an early feature on this site, so it was a pleasant surprise to hear this sweet soul mini-masterpiece and welcome it into my collection.
Apparently, this group was working with (west coast Motown producer) Hal David, and they were likely the backing voices heard on several Brenda Holloway records. Hal hooked them up with the tiny Los Angeles label Joker, where they cut a few records of their own. Another Los Angeles R&B legend, Chester Pipkin, produced and co-wrote this gorgeous track.
It's dreamy, propulsive, and features some glorious male/ female vocals on top of an excellent song; the type that had serious hit potential if it would have fallen into the proper channels.
When I originally wrote about this record (nearly ten years ago? WOW. Can't believe how time slips away), there was little to no information out there about the group or the record, and the same rings true today (although we do know that this was a Los Angeles record). At the time, I had the UK reissue from the mid 70s and for years I've casually searched for an original copy, as this is truly one of my favorite soul singles. Thanks to a good friend and a great deal, this well loved (but still great sounding) OG copy is now in my stash.
Many of these mysterious records have seen information come to the surface in the internet age, and one of the coolest aspects of writing this blog was that many of the relatives of the artists would come forward, and in a few occasions the artists themselves did, more often than not touched that anyone still could be excited about records they made many years ago. Sadly, no more info has come to light on this amazing one-off record.
They don't come more exciting than this quick rush of energy! Kicking off with a guitar riff that could have stepped straight off of a psych record from the same year, a swirl of strings and then a POUNDING four on the floor drum beat, we're then graced with the glorious, powerful vocals of the Vel-Vets, with all of their infectious 'WOO's' and a lead vocal that captures the yearning of the lyrics. They don't come any finer.
Los Shakers were from Uruguay, and brothers Hugo and Osvaldo abandoned a budding successful career in jazz when they heard the Beatles. These guys were YOUNG when they started (they were teens when they became professional jazz musicians) and the original lineup released three INCREDIBLE albums and a handful of singles (this is one of their non-LP tracks). Their 1968 album (which is essentially an answer to the Beatles Sgt Pepper LP) titled "La Conferencia Secreta Del Toto's Bar" is simply the best relatively unknown rock n roll (although it incorporates strong South American elements and even a few jazzy passages) album of the sixties. I would argue 'til I'm blue in the face about that! Los Shakers took a strong Beatles influence and didn't merely copy, but used their love for the Beatles to unlock their own creativity.
Beatle-esque harmonies over a tropicalia sound; it doesn't get any better than 'Adorable Lola".
Barbara Lynn is certainly no stranger to this blog!
Seems
as though I have featured more of her singles on this blog than any
other artist. No way for me to hide how much I love her.
I
am very happy to say that after a long period of either being outbid on
ebay for it (and also thinking GASP do I really want to pay THAT MUCH
for this record????) I'm now the proud owner of this 45 that is said
there are about 20 known copies of. It's NEVER been reissued or included
on any comps (I'd like to fix that- if anyone who produces reissues is
reading, please email me. I would love to see this get reissued
somehow). (Update - I provided a dub of my copy that was used on the Jazzman compilation).
Of course, just because something is RARE doesn't mean I want to listen to it! This infectious record absolutely slays me!
This
record was cut after Barbara Lynn moved to L.A and was comfortably
settled into motherhood and only gigging locally, occasionally. There
was a LONG period (about 5 years) where she didn't record anything, and
there was a gap of another 4 years or so after this.
