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With a yearning voice that is unrestrained and full of emotion, some of my favorite records on the Stax label were cut by Mary Frierson, aka Wendy Rene. Not only did Mary possess a unique and powerful voice, but she had a hand in writing all of her records, as well. I was very sad to read that Mary passed away yesterday. "Wendy" was given her stage name by fellow Stax legend Otis Redding, and this was the name which she used for all of her records. Even though none of Wendy Rene's records sold well, she toured regularly with other Stax artists in the mid-60's, and was initially scheduled to be a part of Otis Redding's final (tragic) tour. Wendy became pregnant shortly before, and dropped out of the tour and ended her musical career.
Wendy's solo career began after releasing a few Stax 45's with her brother and two friends in a group called The Drapels (whose records are by far among the rarest Stax releases, and probably the hardest records to find on the label in general). "After Laughter", written with her brother, is the record which Wendy is most known for; this record was initially supposed to be a Drapels release, but became the first Wendy Rene release in 1964.
No matter how many times I've heard this record, its undeniable spook
factor still scares the heck out of me- something about the performance
here sounds like something a tad bit too personal; something we're not
SUPPOSED to hear, as if listening in on an audio diary.The backing (provided by Booker T. And The MG's) is an unbelievable performance in itself. WuTang Clan famously sampled this record, and it also appeared on the soundtrack of the film Lucky Number Slevin in 2006.
Wendy's next single (also released in '64) was an amazing, double sided masterpiece: "Young And Foolish" carries on the type of almost-too-personal emotion found on "After Laughter", while the flip side "Bar-B-Q" is as rollicking a tribute to soul food as one could ever wax.As silly as Bar-B-Q may seem on the surface, Wendy hits a few notes with incredible soul power and force, while MG Steve Cropper lays out a NASTY soul that drips grease 'n' sauce all over the place.
YOUNG AND FOOLISH
Bar-B-Q
Wendy's final release, 1965's "Give You What I Got" may well be my favorite of her records. Booker T & The MG's seem especially inspired (Cropper co-wrote, dig how Duck Dunn mimics her vocal line on bass!), while Wendy turns in a performance of Otis stye intensity, pushed along by a brilliant female backing vocal section.
Thankfully, Light In The Attic records compiled all of Wendy's
singles a few years back (both solo and with The Drapels) and added a
few non-released tracks as well; the amazing "Crying All By Myself" is
worth the price of admission alone. The vinyl pressing sounds great, as
well.
This beautiful track seems to be a one off for Curt Darin, unless this is another singer working under a pseudonym. Considering that both Ivy Hunter and Robert Bateman (both Motown alums) are credited on the label, all signs point to this being a Detroit production.
The Montanas hailed from Wolverhampton, UK ("the Midlands") and had a rather long run together which later produced two minor US hit singles. Most of the groups releases found more of a pop flavor, but this track matches two of my favorite things; namely, a strong R&B influence and devastating FUZZ guitar.
As one of the most successful songwriting teams in history (Holland/Dozier/Holland), Lamont Dozier also released several records as a performer that didn't achieve the hit status that they deserved.
Lamont didn't have a hand in writing this song, but it is certainly up to the quality of his work. Co-writer/ producer/ co-arranger McKinley Jackson was a very prolific writer whose name appears as the writer of many excellent Detroit soul tracks of the '60's, released on some of the many labels that modeled themselves as "mini-Motowns". This track has the propulsive, positive feel that highlights so many of the best early to mid '70's soul singles.
After spending several years away from R&B or rock 'n' roll after a brush with death on an airplane that made this star turn his back to fame and embrace the life of a minister, Little Richard's mid-'60's return to recording secular music (his stage return was earlier) waxed some of his most devastating records.
Richard shared some history with musician/ Okeh Records A&R man/ real life gangster Larry Williams, as they both recorded for Specialty Records in the 1950's (Larry was groomed to be Specialty's replacement for Richard when he went to the cloth in the late '50's), but they didn't become close friends until the mid '60's. By this point, Williams was working with Johnny "Guitar" Watson in L.A as musicians and an A&R team for Chicago based Okeh (essentially as a west coast branch). The Williams/ Watson soul revue band worked the California clubs with Little Richard to great acclaim, and eventually the team made some stellar records, none of which achieved the success they deserved.
'Discuss It' sports a massive groove, and some phenomenal dual vocals from Richard and Larry Williams (that's Larry heard on the semi-spoken intro).
A funky groove, fuzzed out, wah-wah'ed, acid fried guitar, and a raw vocal- yes, all of the above!
This track would fit right in (right on?) in the soundtrack of any late '60's/ early '70's LSD exploitation film, and would work very well to enliven the scene where everybody freaks out. It's not the type of record that I would classify as a great song per se, but the arrangement and performance make it interesting and create a definite vibe.
Johnny K(illens) was (is?) a Florida based artist who released half a dozen or so singles between the mid '60's up to the mid '70's.
Perhaps the greatest record that Little Richard never cut????
I haven't a clue who Ba Ba Thomas is (there are 2 45's on King records from this mysterious figure), but it sure is a convincing imitation of a style that Little Richard had given up (and not yet come back to), and was also a complete anachronism at the time of its release in 1964. However, a wild slab of pure adrenalized rock n roll/ R&B never goes out of style, so I'm proud to present to you the excellent sounds of 'Miss Shake It'. Use this stuff with caution; it's lethal!
Magic Sam. Two words that send a chill up my spine...
Sam Maghett was a master of the electric guitar, born in Mississippi and transplanted to Chicago at a young age). As Sam was born in 1937 and a bit younger than the others on the electrified Chicago scene of the fifties and sixties, he took the blues into a whole new bag by incorporating not only the influence of soul but some rockabilly as well (check out his genius track '21 Days In Jail' from 1958). Sam's 1967 LP on Delmark, West Side Soul, is easily among the top ten blues LP's ever cut to wax, and in many ways may be my personal favorite.
On this side, fellow new breed Chicago bluesman Bobby Rush is credited as songwriter and producer. I'm not gonna lie; 'I'll Pay You Back' is essentially a plagiarized rewrite of The Isley Brothers' 'It's Your Thing'. However, the record is bad ass and infectious, and elevated Sam into a whole new thing that matched his always powerful vocals and guitar work into a very contemporary, hard hitting funk bag.
Tragically, this 45 was Sam's final release, as he died of a heart attack on December 1, 1969 at the age of 32 years old. I can only imagine how many more raw, from the gut records he would have given us had he lived.
from 1969...
MAGIC SAM - I'LL PAY YOU BACK
As a bonus, here's an incredible clip of Magic Sam performing live in Europe, probably from 1969 as well. Not only is he demonstrating his earthy, straight from the soul guitar playing, but the opening interview show the man to be a soft spoken gentleman as well.
Phew, what an EXCELLENT double sider, oozing with vibe and Northern Soul goodness.
'In Paradise' has a mysterious, dramatic intro that leads way to an easy tempo stomper full of hooks, great vocals and hypnotic strings. Flip it over, and 'Take It Baby' is sure to amaze with a strong Motown-like groove and those always fantastic lead vocals, courtesy of the late, great General Johnson.
While the Swan Record label was releasing a slew of fantastic singles during '65-'66, they were having great difficulty getting their records distributed, and were verging on the brink of bankruptcy which turned out to be their fate in '66.
Led by the incredibly powerful vocals of Atlanta native General Johnson,
The Showmen scored one national hit with their debut single (the
anthemic "It will Stand", which hit the charts twice- once in '61 then
again in '64). The music of the Showmen played a very important role in
the "beach music" craze of the Carolina coast.
Bizarrely, this righteous boogaloo track was buried on the flip side of a Dickie Goodman (of 'Flying Saucer' "break-in" fame) novelty record.
Johnny Colon (a New Yorker of Puerto Rican heritage) was an important figure on the development of the boogaloo sound, although he isn't as well known today as some of his contemporaries.
Here's one of those amazing one-off records that, when listening today, one wonders why it wasn't a massive hit in its time. Producer and co-writer Bob Relf was one half of Bob & Earl ('Harlem Shuffle' fame) and 'Try A Little Harder' is a great example of Los Angeles aping Motown with glorious results.
The flip side is an excellent deep soul track in its own right. Nothing else seems to be known about who The Fi-Dels were, but it wouldn't surprise me if Mr. Relf himself is singing on the record; the only release from The Fi-Dels.
