BEN E. KING & DEE DEE SHARP - WE GOT A THING GOING ON

Two giant voices together on one little record!

Philadelphian Dee Dee Sharp saw moderate success after her smash hit solo debut (her first recording was an uncredited duet with Chubby Checker "Slow Twistin'") at 17 years old ("Mashed Potato Time"). Dee Dee's voice gained more power as she entered her twenties, and this record (along with the immortal "What Kind Of Lady", a past 45 of the day) show her to be a force of nature to be reckoned with. While many singers can wail away, Dee Dee was in CONTROL of that powerful voice.

Of course Ben E. King needs little introduction; his work with the Drifters and on his own are some of the mos immortal, beautiful sides in all of music. Here, he shows his rarely heard rough side, and he truly wails right alongside Dee Dee.

And the band, whoever they are, lay down some serious heat beneath them.

Whoever had the idea to pair these two up deserves an award; it's too bad that they at least didn't get the REward of a hit single.

from 1968...

BEN E. KING & DEE DEE SHARP - WE GOT A THING GOING ON

THE REMARKABLES - IS THE FEELING STILL THERE

Somewhat remarkably (please pardon the pun), the Frank Wilson listed here is NOT the same FW that wrote a number of hits for the Motown stable (and also cut the legendary and probably world's most valuable 45- "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do"), althought THIS Frank Wilson also ended up working with Motown!

As part of a Los Angeles sibling act known as The Wil-sons (not to be confused with another bunch of southern California singing Wilsons), Frank Wilson found his group broken up while he was just entering his 20's in the early sixties. He began staff writing at Del-Fi, and after getting a contract with the Audio Arts label the Wilson siblings re-grouped for two releases that went nowhere. I especially love Virginia Wilson's catchy, haunting and almost spoken vocal line which MAKES the song, in my opinion. Frank Wilson himself turns in a fantastically smooth vocal as well, and remarkably the groove and horn arrangement has a very Motown-west feel.

from 1965...

THE REMARKABLES - IS THE FEELING STILL THERE

RUBY WINTERS - JUST LIKE A YO YO

One would be forgiven for thinking that the source city of this record is Chicago, as it NAILS the sound of the windy city from the last year of the 60's, from the steppin' beat to the bubbling bass in the style of Bernard Reed.

Ruby Winters, a native of Kentucky, grew up in Cincinnati (which is where her recording career began). Sadly, she never had any national hits in the 60's, but did have one fluke national chart hit later in the 70's.

from 1969...

RUBY WINTERS - JUST LIKE A YO YO

BLACK HEAT - SUPERCOOL

This New York group released three LP's in rather quick succession in the early 70's and disappeared from the scene completely.

By the time of this single (which is also on their excellent 2nd album, "No Time To Burn"), the band had lost some of their horn section, but it seems that the personnel loss just drove them to be an even stronger unit. Unlike many of the funk outfits of the time, Black Heat put a strong emphasis on their songwriting; an aspect that makes their music stand out dramatically from so many other rhythm oriented outfits.

from 1973...

BLACK HEAT - SUPERCOOL

LIKE "DAILY 45" ON FACEBOOK & DIG THE RE-POSTS! BELITA WOODS - MAGIC CORNER b/w GROUNDED

Over at the Daily 45 Facebook page, I'm having a ball re-posting long expired posts like this one, either by request or the chef's whims.

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Long before she joined 70's disco/funk band Brainstorm, Belita Woods released two top notch singles on the tiny Moira label, of which this is the first. Both sides are showcases for her powerful voice, and both songs are top shelf Detroit soul.

Belita has been a member of the _Funk gang for many years, and still has the strong pipes that drove these tracks into the ether.

from 1967...

BELITA WOODS - MAGIC CORNER



b/w GROUNDED

THE END - SHADES OF ORANGE

Major Rolling Stones connections with this one; not only was the record produced by Stones bass man Bill Wyman (who also managed the band), it was also cut during the Stones "Satanic Majesties Request" sessions with Charlie Watts thumping on some tabla drums. The connection is easy to spot, as this track takes on the otherworldly sound of that LP, and a Stones version easily could have improved that LP.

The End also released a full LP with the assistance of Wyman that is highly collectable.

from 1967...

THE END - SHADES OF ORANGE

THE VISITORS - I'M GONNA STAY

The success of the Chi-Lites brought about a glorious resurgence of group harmony within the already fertile Chicago soul scene, spawning a whole crop of fabulous records. Given the sound, it's no surprise that the record was produced by Willie Henderson (he worked often with Carl Davis on arrangements for the likes of The Chi-Lites and Barbara Acklin to name but two). Other than the fact of two releases on the Dakar label, I'm afraid that I know nothing of the Visitors. Thankfully, we have this reminder of their fabulous sound, which rates in the upper echelon of sweet soul.

from 1969...

THE VISITORS - I'M GONNA STAY

ROSCOE SHELTON - RUNNING FOR MY LIFE

There's nothing like these HOT records made in the mid-60's, which find seasoned hard blues singers adopting then current (and in this listener's ears timeless) uptempo, uptown soul sounds. Any way you look at it, this record cooks relentlessly for 2:33 and Roscoe Shelton's strongly passionate performance DOES sound like he's running for his life.

Born and Lynchburg, Tennessee Roscoe Shelton's career spanned from 1949 (where at age 18 he joined gospel group The Fairfield Four in Nashville) and ended in 1969 when he left the music business to work at a Nashville Music College, which he did until he began singing again with The Excello (Records) Legends group.

from 1967...

ROSCOE SHELTON - RUNNING FOR MY LIFE



ROSCOE SHELTON - RUNNING FOR MY LIFE

SYMPHONIC FOUR - WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE FOOLING (part 1 & 2)

Making itself known with one of the most incredible, dramatic intros in all of soul music, this East St. Louis group allegedly traveled to Detroit to cut this record, and legend has it they were backed by the Parliament/Funkadelic crew. This is easy to believe, as it has a sound very similar to the sides they were cutting in 1968-69.

I debated on whether or not to include part 2, but listening to it again this morning, and hearing the spoken, echoed piece that the lead singer lays out made it necessary to post both sides. A haunting, epic record.

from c1969...

SYMPHONIC FOUR - WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE FOOLING (part 1)



PART 2

Weekly 45 at Bedazzled!

I have a new column over at the incredible Bedazzled! Blog...Derek's Weekly 45!

Thanks to Cookie @ Bedazzled, I have another forum to keep the hits coming, both in reposts and Bedazzled exclusives.

Be sure to check it out; if you haven't seen Bedazzled, it's a treasure trove of vintage media that's always fun and awe inspiring. I'm glad to be a part.

Derek's Weekly 45

STU GARDNER - NEVER GONNA HURT AGAIN

Eventually going on to success as a TV music writer in the 80s (most notably the Cosby Show and offshoots), here we find Stu Gardner helped out by folks such as Hugh Masekela and Wayne Henderson laying out some seriously hot soul in the late 60's. While this record was cut in Los Angeles, it sounds straight out of Memphis and could easily be lumped in as a Stax/Volt track.

from 1967...

STU GARDNER - NEVER GONNA HURT AGAIN