Today we're in for a treat, courtesy of the Patterson Singers! They featured on this blog repeatedly, albeit so far only in the guise of their third outfit (with Mildred Lane's lead vocals ... I love her voice so much, check it here!). Back in 1960, when Robert Patterson had formed the second outfit, they first appeared again as the »Patterson Singers of Brooklyn, N.Y.« (they had used this billing as early as 1954) and recorded some sides for King/Federal. In the first week of February 1962, they were signed to Vee-Jay Records; their first Vee-Jay session is recorded as of Feb. 5, '62. During the following three years, they recorded five LPs with Vee-Jay, ending in 1965 when Vee-Jay faltered. The Patterson Singers (feat. Ruth Williams, lead vc?): »Heavenly Father« from the Vee-Jay LP # VJLP 5046 (1963):
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»Heavenly Father« is a most beautiful song and has not escaped the attention of others; it was awarded prominent attention by Bob Marovich on The Black Gospel Blog when he included it in his series »Essential Gospel - Classic Recordings«. It was released on the Patterson Singers's third Vee-Jay LP, Songs of Faith (out in late 1963). I would not stress so much, as Bob does, the indebtedness of the song to the girl group sound of the time (... charming, a cross between the religious gravity of the Caravans and the
watery-eyed innocence of the Chantels (“Maybe”) or the Quintones (“Down
the Aisle of Love”). The recording is clearly influenced by the girl
group sound that by 1963 was emanating from transistor radios ... all across America, he writes). Yet when he goes on to wonder why the song was not chosen for a single release, he brings up various interesting points: Why Vee Jay chose not to release “Heavenly Father” as a single may have
had to do with it not sounding like the kind of gospel music then
dominating the charts or record sales. Or it may have remained an album
selection ... because it wouldn’t have
been featured much, if ever, during the ensemble’s programs, not being
the type of performance that would wreck a church or auditorium. Then
again, perhaps it was, to paraphrase a comment once made by the late,
great Alan Freed, simply too beautiful for radio.
(click to enlarge)
And Bob was right in another thing: the song isn't at all typical for what the Patterson Singers were recording at the time. In fact, their third Vee-Jay LP features 12 songs, 10 of which are uptempo. Side 1 has its fair share of tunes which even at the time were direly conventional (»Down By The River Side«, »When The Saints«, »He's Got The Whole World«) but with broad appeal to the mass public; they are arguably the least remarkable tracks on the entire LP. However, these tunes had proven their commercial value by easily crossing over from the church to secular venues, and that Vee-Jay was following this trend eagerly is shown by the fact that they released »Down By The Riverside« and »When The Saints« as the only single from this LP (Vee-Jay # 929). And it paid off, because Billboard reviewed the record ... under the heading POP Spotlight !! (issue of August 3, 1963, p. 18) Still, even the uptempo songs as performed by the Patterson Singers are often unconventionally arranged and thus stand out from many other recordings of their times. Outstanding in this sense are in particular two songs from their third Vee-Jay LP, viz. »I Am So Glad« and »He's Real«. Especially the percussion in »I Am So Glad« is quite amazing ... listen here:
The Patterson Singers: »I Am So Glad« / »He's Real« from the Vee-Jay LP # VJLP 5046 (1963):
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P.S. I just like to add that the Vee-Jay LP Songs of Faith was, as often with Vee-Jay, poorly produced and obviously rushed out in a hurry. Both back cover and labels show a song list for Side 1 which does not correspond to the sequence of songs on the actual disc. In fact, songs nos. 3-6 as indicated on the label are actually nos. 1-4, and the first two songs come last on the disc. So, »Heavenly Father« is no. 5 if you play the record.
It's almost eight months ago that you could hear the powerhouse voice of Mildred Lane on this blog ... and I thought it is about time to have her on again. Tonight, two songs from the 1968 album Give Him A Chance by the Robert Patterson Singers (Veep Gospel LP # VP-13532, mono), released sometime in or before December '68.
This LP was recorded at the A&R Studios in Los Angeles, on 22 & 29 June 1968. Apart from Mildred Lane (lead vcl) and Robert Patterson (piano, organ), the rest of the group reportedly consisted of Mary Stephens, Barbara White and Barbara Appling. Now I'm not about to ascertain this; it is presumably correct anyway. The history of the Patterson group is fraught with difficulties because there were a lot of changes over the years and the group had a long history, going back into the early '50s. As far as I can see nobody ever tried to sort out this mess. What we know is that the Patterson Singers were over in Germany in autumn 1967 and back there again a year later. In 1967, when in Germany, the group consisted of Mildred Lane, Elaine Davis, Everlena Miles, Mary Stephens and Irene Leader; same more or less for the 1968 outfit (there is some confusion about one person being replaced, though; can't go into the details here). In 1970, once again in Germany, we know the group consisted of the same personnel as we have it for the '68 Veep Gospel LP. So a good guess is that in 1968 there was a »U.S.«-group and a »tour«-group, both featuring Miss Lane, and later, around 1970, the U.S.-group took over.
The 1968 Veep LP features eleven songs, and not too much diversity. A number of songs were written by Robert Patterson and they tend to sound, I am sorry to say, much alike. However, there still are several good songs here, and most (not all, because there is at least one song with another female lead singer) are dominated by Mildred Lane's forceful lead vocals. More precisely, they are two songs which bear out Mildred's voice even stronger than the others, and it is these two you can hear in the following. The first tune has a stunning finale; the second tune has her singing in a lower register and, wow!, she's killing me. Happy Sunday all!
The Robert Patterson Singers (feat. Mildred Lane):
»Trouble Don't Last Always« / »I've Been Born Again« from the Veep Gospel LP # 13532 (1968):
During the '60s, black gospel was somewhat of an export success story. Several groups toured Europe, and few more so than the Robert Patterson Singers from Brooklyn. Repeatedly they went to the Netherlands, Germany and the UK, and some of their concerts in Europe were recorded.
Saba LP # 15153 back cover
Robert Patterson, pianist and arranger, first recorded with a vocal group in December 1950. They then built a solid recording career, albeit the members of the singing group were chang- ing over the years. Their spiritual way came to an end when they »turned pop« in August '71 and signed a contract with Atlantic; in Feb- ruary '72 their one and only Atlantic album (Atco LP # 380) saw the light of the day. Fittingly, they now didn't play Gospel venues but opened at the Hilton International in Las Vegas on June 26 of the same year, squeezed in between such bored Nevada-veterans the likes of Tom Jones and Elvis.
Back in 1965, they had come to Germany for the first time, appearing at the American Spiritual Festival in Bremen. In November '67, they were back in Europe, first in Amsterdam, then in the town of Villingen in the Black Forest region. Enthustiastically received, they gave a concert in the local SABA auditorium on November 30, 1967. This concert was taped and released in 1968 on a German pressing. Another concert, in Frankfurt, was likewise recorded and released in the U.S. on Minit Gospel # 24021 (as »The Soul of Gospel«). However, being too much in the pop mould for some, too long abroad for others the Patterson Singers elicited more than one biting remark in the contemporary press:
»The singers, resembling the Supremes in appearance and demeanor, went through their set with all the professionalism and showmanship of that soul group. Their voices left nothing to be desired. But something was lost amid all the glitter in their slick interpretation of gospel material. ... The group seems to have carved out a successful niche miles from "down home"« wrote Daniel Goldberg in Billboard (Sept. 6, 1969, page 32).
The vocal group of the Patterson Singers in November 1967 included Elaine Davis (formerly of Inez Andrews's »Andrewettes«), Everlena Miles, Mary Stephens, Irene Leader and Mildred Lane (lead vocals). Mildred was part of the Back Home Choir of the Greater Harvest Baptist Church during the early '60s and then became a member of the Patterson Singers.
Saba LP # 15153 (1968)
The Black Forest concert of the Patterson Singers consists of palatable gospel standards popular in Europe (»He Got The Whole World In His Hands«, »Down By The Riverside«) and some other material besides (»Freedom«). Quite clearly, the latter stuff is the one that is of interest to us and, equally obvious, the highlight of the concert is their 6-minute-plus rendition of »He Won't Fail You« (variously mis-spelled on the German LP sleeve as »We Wan't Fail You« or »We Won't Fall You«, lucky us they didn't concoct variants of the »We Won't Nail You«-sort!!) Sorry, back to serious. The song comes at the middle of the concert (if the sequence of songs on the LP is to be trusted) and makes for a soaring climax. It is basically separated into two parts both showcasing lead singer Mildred Lane.The first, more traditionally-styled part has Mildred shouting along with the group behind her, and it already makes for a nice listening experience, soulful, beat-driven and all. But after some 4 minutes and thundering applause, Mildred kicks it really off with a remarkable and sky-downing solo that'll send the shivers down your spine. Listen to her how she does it and freeze in awe:
The Robert Patterson Singers feat. Mildred Lane:
»He Won't Fail You« from the Saba LP »Gospel Meeting Tonight« (1968):
I am interested in the music, not in the relative rarity of discs. I also listen with great pleasure to Aretha Franklin, because she has the voice of the century. Music is no Faith and therefore has no heretics.
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