... tonight, I updated some older posts (one of them substantially) because I came across new material that couldn't be ignored. So there is no time left to write anything new ... to make the best of it, I simply post one of those songs which, many years ago, opened my way into the soul universe. It has remained one of my favorite songs and I still consider it one of the greatest tunes ever recorded. And as with many of O.V. Wright's songs, it has memorable lyrics ... just think of »if I get lonely, I can spin the nickel – th'nail won't spin« ... has there ever been said some- thing remotely comparable to express utter destitution? ... from 1971 O.V. Wright: »A Nickel And A Nail« on Back Beat #622A (1971):
... sounds weird? No, I didn't think it up! Instead, you'll find it on the back cover of Jackie Wilson's Brunswick LP # BL 54110 released in April 1963. This LP was entitled after his recent hit, »Baby Workout« (02/1964). Now let's just for a moment imagine that Jackie Wilson browsed the Billboard issue which was issued exactly t o d a y 5 0 y e a r s a g o . He would have found his latest single »Baby Workout« for the first time entering the pop Hot 100 charts on # 81.
ad in BB March 09, 1963, p. 17
It took another two weeks until »Baby Workout« also entered the R&B singles charts, immediately rocketing to # 14. As you will probably know, »Baby Workout« was to become Jackie's fourth #1 r&b hit, and it eventually made it to #05 pop, becoming one of the biggest successes of his entire career.
In the charts of the time, Jackie's »Baby Workout« competed with »Our Day Will Come« (Ruby & the Romantics), »Puff (The Magic Dragon)« (PP&M) and the Orlons' »South Street«, not to mention the girl groups dominating the upper charts regions, e.g. the Chiffons with »He's So Fine« and the Cookies with »Don't Say Nothing Bad About My Baby«. In April, »On Broadway« (Drifters) and »Surfin' U.S.A.« were coming up strong against Jackie's hit tune.
However, »Baby Workout« was released at a time when Jackie Wilson wasn't passing the best of times. Well, there was still some of the glamorous life left for Jackie, for example at a dinner in honor of the president of Brunswick Records in the New York Key club when he was approached by »cute Playboy Club bunny« Marion Barker for an autograph (from JET, Dec. 20, 1962, p. 33):
But there were problems as well, because a year ago Jackie had been shot in his abdomen by a woman. The bullet had never been removed, but towards the end of 1962 the bullet started to move in his body and Jackie had to cancel several enga- gements. In January 1963, he even entered a hospital in order to prepare for an operation to have the bullet removed. In the end, there was no operation because the bullet's wanderings were judged less dangerous than risking an operation. The medics concluded that Jackie was overworked and a »victim of nervous exhau- stion«, so they sent him home, bullet and all. »Singer Jackie Wilson checks X-ray which indicated that he is not in need of an operation, because of a bullet moving about in his abdomen ...« (from JET, January 24, 1963, p.32):
In January '63, Jackie also escaped a paternity-case warrant by the Detroit police by sending a buddy of his to turn himself in and claiming to be Jackie Wilson while Jackie himself left the town and disappeared (JET Jan. 24, 1963, p. 43). Living on with the bullet (and an open paternity case), Jackie did not heed the medics' advice to relax but rather went back to the stage and in mid-February performed at Pittsburgh's Syria Mosque. In March, he then witnessed the rise of his latest single release »Baby Workout« (the first reports, on March 2, indicated »strong airplay« of his song in the New York area), and later that month he made an appearance on the Ed Sullivan show.
At the beginning of April, Brunswick rushed an album out which was meant (as so often) to cash in on the recent success of »Baby Workout«.
The 12 songs on the LP, including of course »Baby Workout«, are claimed on the back cover to be »patterned after Jackie's smash hit single« in order to »lend further proof that Jackie Wilson is probably the greatest delineator of rhythm singing of his day« (oh, how I love that term!). As a dance compilation, the LP is no bad at all as there are mostly uptempo songs, but we have little overall variety and indeed the album seems very much constructed around Jackie's latest hit. It may be considered a pity, though, that Jackie's artistic talent and magnetic voice was - hmm, let's say: - squandered for rather mainstreamy stomp-your-feet-and-clap-your-hands tunes which recall, in their banality, many of the ditties Elvis was pumping out on his movie soundtracks during the mid-1960s. However, there are no outright turkeys on Jackie's LP, and the instrumentation and the arrangements are way better than what we find, to continue the comparison, on Elvis's movie albums. I for my part espe- cially love »The Kickapoo«, in itself little else but the umpteenth novelty dance tune, for its »overture« that has Jackie's voice shine forth so characteristically. And then there is »Baby Workout« which first charted today 50 years ago.
Jackie Wilson: »Baby Workout« / »The Kickapoo« from the Brunswick LP # 54110 (1963, mono):
After his fabulous success with »Mercy, Mercy« (feat. Jimi Hendrix on guitar) Don Covay was soon picked up by Atlantic. In February 1966, they put out his album See-Saw, the second on Atlantic but actually the first entirely produced and recorded under Wexler's supervision; it has acquired its place in the history of memorable covers, showing a decently dressed white girl in a wintery landscape on a see-saw ... so much for Atlantic's shrewd (if inherently racist) policy of how to sell the energy-loaded music of a black singer, tall, handsome and sexually attractive, to the mainstream market in mid-60s America.
Covay's initial time at Atlantic was not as successful as many had hoped for, the only hit in 1965-66 being the album's title song »See-Saw«. What most don't know, however, or do not care to remember, is that four of the album's 12 songs were written by Steve Cropper & Covay and recorded at Stax Studios in Memphis on 30 June '65: »See-Saw«, »I Never Get Enough Of Your Love«, »Iron Out The Rough Spots« and »Sookie Sookie«. (According to some, »Iron Out The Rough Spots« was recorded in a later session but this is almost certainly wrong.) The personnel playing in the June '65 session was actually made up of Booker T. & the MG's, together with other known Stax session musicians: Duck Dunn, Steve Cropper, Al Jackson, Booker T Jones, Wayne Jackson, Andrew Love and Floyd Newman. Hard to think of anything more »Stax« than this mix! And indeed, those four songs are about the best on this album which has its fair share of fillers; hear two of them below.
In the Stax studio: Jim Stewart, Don Covay, Steve Cropper, David Porter (right to left); photo from Rob Bowman's Soulsville U.S.A.
As is known, Atlantic brought on several occasions promising singers to Memphis, and for the use of the Stax studio and musicians Atlantic then split with Stax the publishing and Stax got a share of the sales from Atlantic product recorded in Memphis. Before Wexler headed to Memphis with Covay, Atlantic had recorded Wilson Pickett there. So towards the end of June, Covay appeared in the Stax Studio. Rob Bowman in Soulsville U.S.A. has some details about the Covay sessions (p. 62 f.); in particular he quotes Steve Cropper with the words:
I remember that Jim Stewart [the boss of Stax] called Jerry Wexler and said, 'Get Don Covay out of here. He's driving us nuts.' Don Covay was a little bit on the weird side. I loved Don to death. We get along great but I don't think Jim and them understood Don. He ... was kind of driving people bananas. ... He's kind of frantic when he makes decisions. He jumps from this place to that. You never know what he's gonna do next.
Bowman puts this a bit more neatly in saying that »Covay's high energy and extreme unpredictability were the antithesis of Jim Stewart's banker personality«.
Both Pickett and Covay were difficult to work with and their respective Stax sessions turned out to be rather turbulent. What is more, the Stax studio musicians started to rebel and Jim Stewart was likewise not gifted with undue patience. So after the Pickett and Covay sessions, Stax wouldn't let Atlantic stars record as often or as easily as before. However, the Covay sessions produced some prime Memphis soul from the first heyday of the legendary Stax sound.
Don Covay: »Iron Out The Rough Spots« / »Sookie Sookie« from the Atlantic LP # 8120 (1966):
Hi everybody! First of all I am happy to announce that this blog is no longer orphaned and utterly neglected by its owner. Thing is that I moved home last week, and then I spent several days in Italy. More than enough things to keep me busy for a while!
Date LP # TEM 3004 (mono, 1967)
Tuesdays is duet time on this blog, but today this comes with a twist: I had in mind to play something from Peaches & Herb's first LP Let's Fall In Love and, well, I'll do just that ... but! The »but« consists in the fact that I listened again to this LP this afternoon and eventually found that the songs which are most of interest on this album are the two solo bits (yes, the »Sweethearts of Soul« each have their solo spot). Of course, the first album by Peaches & Herb is basically a duo effort. It was rushed out in February 1967 after her first single (Date # 1523) finally charted in Dec. 1966 (curiously, the 45 was released in August 1966, but both the record company and the music press first pushed »We're In This Thing Together« which, however, didn't catch on ... several months later, the B-side »Let's Fall In Love« started to get airplay and finally made it to # 11 r&b and #21 pop). As it is, the success of their first single then prompted an album by the same name. The LP also contains their second (even bigger) smash, »Close Your Eyes« which was released only in around March, that is after the LP. It rocketed up the charts and in mid-May peaked at #04 r&b, topping Aretha's »Respect« at the time.
The duo »Peaches & Herb« was very much a creation of Dave Kapralik. »Peaches« was Francine Day (Hurd Parker), »Herb« Herb(ert) Fame (Feemster), both from Washington, D.C. The back cover of the Date LP contains a nice summary, written by Marty Wekser, of how this act came into existence:
Herb Fame (...) began singing in his church choir when he was seven, and he remembers sneaking out of the house as a child at night to meet friends on a street corner to practice singing. Then, after his graduation from high school, he took a job in a large record shop in Washington (...). His eagerness to make it as a singer paid off when album producer Dave Kapralik and song- writer and singer Van McCoy visited the record shop. The two auditioned Herb, liked his freshly unique approach and signed him to a contract. He had one record released as a solo performer before being paired with Peaches. The idea to team Peaches and Herb came from Kapralik. "On the way to a record hop," he recalls, "the two began singing together in the back seat of the car to pass the time." Their blending of voices so impressed Kapralik that he decided then and there to build a brand new act ...
Kapralik (who was A&R man at Columbia) used his own »Daedalus Productions« to produce the duo, for the Columbia subsidiary Date. In 1967, he went to Epic, again in charge of A&R. In any case, the success of Peaches & Herb's first single came somewhat as a surprise, but the following LP is way better than many an album rushed out after one smash hit. There are several nice songs here but as said, I think the two solo parts by Francine and Herb most merit attention. Not only because they're really beautifully done (see here for another appreciation), but also because their respec- tive voices stand out so much more than when singing together (and most duets by Peaches & Herb of the '66 and '67 are pretty »close-voiced«, i.e. their voices blend- ing into each other ... and although this creates a nice and harmonious effect the single voices are somewhat lost in the process). So now you have the opportunity to listen to both Francine's and Herb's voices shining forth in their individual splendor:
Peaches (Francine Day) solo: »Time After Time« / Herb Fame, solo: »When I Fall In Love« from the Date LP # TEM 3004 (1967):
In the little sparetime I recently had I was, once again, reading here and there in John Broven's marvelous Record Makers and Breakers. This is a book always worth your while. I came across the pages where Boven speaks about Shelby Singleton's SSS Int'l Records (p. 293 ff.).
Shelby Singleton (c.) in a Mercury studio, spring 1963
Now, Singleton has always, for as much as I know about him, struck me as the entrepreneur in the independent record business during the later '60s; Broven calls him »a real record man«. He had been ten years with Mercury (see left) before setting up, in Nashville, his own SSS Int'l Records in early 1967. He immed- iately spent a lot of money on ads and promotion and soon after became a darling with Billboard where every move of his was announced with some fanfare. First he concentrated on Southern Soul, but in 1968 he set up Plantation for C&W and hit it big with Jeannie Riley's memorable »Harper Valley P.T.A.«; 7 million singles sold of that one. He bought Red Bird and Sun with that money, and other labels besides. In 1970, he dealt with 18 labels, 15 of which he owned. Before that, in 1968, he had set up a movie and TV production company.
Singleton (r.) with friends, Aug. 1970
His chief secret in the beginning was monitor- ing the radio stations of the South: Whenever a song started getting airplay, he would try to get it for distribution or, better still, he would buy the master. One of the earliest cases he did just that was Big John Hamilton's »The Train«, out on Minaret # 124 in spring 1967 (the often found notice that the 45 was released as early as 1964 is not correct). Minaret was the label of Finley Duncan in Valparaiso, Florida, and Singleton purchased the master of # 124 in May. By September, he had become the »exclusive distributor« of Minaret and actually owned the label. To Billboard, Singleton explained his strategy: The truth is that Southern radio stations are more likely to pick up on a good r&b record faster than stations in the North or the East and West Coasts (issue of Oct. 7, 1967, p. 6).His aim was »cracking the Mason-Dixon Line«, the radio programming barrier which, according to Singleton, prevented new r&b records of getting much airplay outside the South. He finally cracked this barrier first with Mickey Murray's cover of »Shout Bamalama«. Big John Hamilton never charted.
But in the end, he made more money with Jeannie Riley than any of his black artists, and after purchasing Sun in 1969, Singleton lost interest in the black market. And the late 1960's were the time when »concept albums« and LPs in general got an ever larger share of the market. But the black records during those years sold absolutely no LPs, Singleton said to Broven. So he gave up on it. Before doing so, however, SSS Int'l released an anthology of (more or less) r&b flavored songs called Soul Gold (LP # 3). It has featured on this blog before (see here), so I don't need to present it again. This LP features two songs by Big John Hamilton, the before-mentioned »The Train« and »I Have No One« (orig. released in autumn 1967 on Minaret # 129). I am happy that the first of these songs enhances the bluesy side of this blog ... dig it here:
Big John Hamilton: »The Train« / »I Have No One« from the SSS Int'l LP # 3 (1969; recorded in 1967):
* * *
P.S.As we are into Big John Hamilton tonight, you might also like to hear one of his fine & funky early 70's duets with Doris Allen. You can do so over at the Groovy Rotations blogspot: BJH & Doris Allen with their version of »Them Changes«!
This post was written with Mitt »We-Don't-Need-Europe« Romney's
recent babblings in mind ...
Today's featured album: Curtis Jones, Now Resident in Europe(Blue Horizon # 7703).
Curtis Jones (piano): »I Want To Be Your Slave« from the Blue Horizon LP # 7703 (1968):
The album was recorded at Tony Pike Studios, London, July 2, 1968.
Curtis Jones, from Naples, Tx, died 1971 in Munich, Germany. He had been living since 1962 in Europe and also spent a couple of years in Morocco.
His most famous song is »Lonesome Bedroom Blues« (1937) which is accessible on CD (see here).
His grandparents were slaves. There is a piece on the Blue Horizon album that has Curtis Jones speaking about his life, followed by the song »Soul Brother Blues«:
Curtis Jones talks about himself and plays guitar (1968):
After Lonnie Mack's legendary instrumental »Memphis« skyrocketed the r&b and pop charts in summer 1963, Cincinnati's Fraternity Re- cords put together an album which eventually was released (mono only) in October. This LP (Fraternity # F -1014) features all the better known tunes associated with Mack's influential guitar style (»Memphis«, »Wham!«, »Down In The Dumps«, »Suzie-Q«) and some more songs besides.
Lonnie Mack has the distinction to call a very decent Wikipedia article his own, actually much better, more complete and more meticously documented than most other entries on '60 r&b music; over on WangDangDula you also find an exhaustive discography. On the back cover of his LP, Lonnie is credited, by Cincinnati Post's Dale Stevens, with a »lowdown, dirty and twangy« guitar style. But Stevens also portrays him as a »country boy, and I mean back country«. This image stuck with Mack for a long time, and the Output critic John Morthland wrote in 1984: »It was the era of satin pants and histrionic stage shows, and all the superior chops in the world couldn't hide the fact that chubby, country Mack probably had more in common with Kentucky truck drivers than he did with the new rock audience« (quoted from Wikipedia). If you like to read a more recent assessment of Lonnie's music and career, have a look at Greg Schaber's article »Mule Train«, published in the October 2000 issue of Cincinnati Magazine.
The Charmaines (publicity shot from 1966)
There are two tracks on Lonnie's Fraternity LP which stand somewhat apart from the rest. The first of these is »Baby, What's Wrong«, an uptempo adaption of a Jimmy Reed song. This tune (a dynamic feet mover in and by itself) earned its place on this blog by the simple fact that it features The Charmaines prominently as backing vocal group. The Charmaines from Cincinnati were a female trio of 18 year-olds when they won a local contest in 1960 and then were given a contract by Fraternity. More details on their work with Lonnie Mack you'll find in the liner notes to Ace CD # 1135. However, their appearance in »Baby, What's Wrong« remained uncredited on Lonnie's Fraternity LP. Even when the song was released as a 45 in November '63 (Fraternity # 918, shortly entering the pop charts at # 93) it went into the market as a Lonnie Mack release without any mention whatsoever of The Charmaines. Ah-Oom-Ba!
The second song of a somewhat different flavor on Lonnie's LP is the bluesy instru- mental »Down And Out«. Here we have Lonnie Mack & his band (Marv Lieberman, Ron Grayson, Wayne Bullock, Truman Fields and Irv Russotto) moving a long way from their country roots. And they're really into it:
Lonnie Mack (*feat. The Charmaines): *»Baby, What's Wrong« / »Down And Out«
from the Fraternity LP # F-1014 (The Wham Of That Memphis Man!, 1963)
Tonight, I have a personal confession to make. You know, the very first LP I bought with my own (sort of) money was Boney M's Nightflight to Venus. It was fresh out of the press, I was about ten years old then and I loved it; still do, somehow. Well, the second LP I got was an anthology of Chicago Blues, actually a 2-LP album. And these discs I played until they were positively worn out. One of the songs on this album was Willie Mabon's »I'm The Fixer«. Not really a song for the ears of a 10-year old. But I didn't get the message then anyway and was just carried away by the beat.
The song starts very abruptly with Willie kick- ing it off with »Ba-by! ...«. This had, for me, much the same effect as Tina Turner's outcry at the beginning of »A Fool In Love« had on the soul of Peter Guralnick*, that is, ushering a new sound into my world with a bang.
(*I remember with a degree of certainty it was Peter Guralnick who wrote somewhere about this experience of his ... can't find the passage right now.)
So on my side there is a lot of autobiography in that song. For the record: »I'm The Fixer« was released as B-Side on USA # 741 in late June 1963, and Billboard listed it as a new release in the July 6 issue. A-side is »Too Hot To Handle«. According to the most detailed Willie Mabon discography on the net, »I'm The Fixer« was recorded in Chicago on May 23, 1963, »Too Hot To Handle« on February 7; information about the musicians at the session you'll find on the discography page indicated before. The A-side, Eddie Noack's »Too Hot To Handle«, was originally a pure country bopper and some country flavor still pervades Willie Mabon's version. (By the way, another nice example of how intertwined the realms of Blues, r&b and c&w really were.)
Willie Mabon: »I'm The Fixer« / »Too Hot To Handle« on USA # 741 (1963):
* * *
I almost forgot: In case you're curious where I took the inspiration for the title of today's post, read this passage about the »soul craze« as it appeared in the Dec- ember 1961 issue of Ebony magazine (page 112).
Wow, I was way ahead of this when I was about ten: I knew Willie Mabon but I had never heard of Lasagne or foie gras ... uh, seems it was a sign of things to come ... well, not quite, I came to know (and love) lasagne in the meantime as well.
C.C.Rider. Everyone from Leadbelly to the Grateful Dead has performed "C.C. Rider," but the question remains: Who was C.C. Rider?
The song is listed as "traditional," meaning no one knows who wrote it. During the Civil War, C.C. stood for Cavalry Corporal. Riding is probably the most common metaphor for sexual intercourse in the blues. The rider is a sexual partner, a steady lover. Was a woman singing to her soldier lover in "C.C. Rider"?
On the other hand, both male and female blues singers have sung "C.C. Rider." This makes sense, given that in African American usage, "rider" may be used to mean a lover of either sex - and it makes the soldier theory rather interesting.
(Debra DeSalvo: The Language of the Blues from Alcorub to Zuzu, New York 2006, p. 34 f.)
C.C. Rider broke a pattern for Chuck. Until that time he had only recorded songs of his own. C.C. Rider is a traditional folk song whose authorship is obscure. It has been a favorite of many great blues singers, including Ma Rainey, Lil Green and Bea Booze, all of whom recorded it. Chuck's adaptation is his own and is striking in the originality of its styling.
(From the notes on the back cover of Atlantic LP 8018 by Guy Remark)
"C.C. Rider" became a triumph of production technique for Jerry Wexler. ... This was one of the best records of its time, not really rock 'n' roll or rhythm and blues but an inspired mood that drew from both styles and also from conventional popular music.
(Charlie Gillett: The Sound of the City. The Rise of Rock and Roll, new ed. New York 1996, p. 71)
Baker reached way back to the repertoire of the "Mother of the Blues," Ma Rainey, for the classic "See See Rider." Many young listeners must have as- sumed - as I did at the time - that it was a new song.
(Chip Deffaa: Blue Rhythms. Six Lives in Rhythm And Blues, New York 2000, p. 193)
For the record:
Chuck Willis: »C.C. Rider«. Recorded Jan. 31, 1957, in New York. First rel. on Atlantic # 1130 in March '57, the tune first charted in April, eventually reaching #1 r&b (BB) and #12 pop. Released on Atlantic LP # 8018 (Chuck Willis: King Of The Stroll) in late March 1958. Personnel included Gene Barge (tenorsax), Phil Kraus (marimbas) and Jesse Stone (arr/cond). In July, the album had passed the half- million sales mark; Chuck Willis died only two weeks after its release. BB Review Spotlight: Watch this one. Willis exhibits his usual sock show- manship and drive on "C.C. Rider," a great old blues with a haunting arrangement.
Atlantic LP # 8071 (cover)
LaVern Baker: »See See Rider«. Recorded Sept. 26, 1962, in New York. First rel. on Atlantic # 2167 in Nov. 1962, the tune charted first in Dec., eventually reaching #9 r&b and #34 pop. It was to be the last of LaVern Baker's songs in the r&b Top Ten ever. Released on Atlantic LP # 8071 (See See Rider) in late Dec. '62 or early '63 (copyright on the back cover says 1962). BB 4-star-review: The old blues-standard is handed a wild, swinging, middle tempo rea- ding. The tune is handled in a modern groove with smart backing ...
*** BONUS SONG added March 31, 2012 ***
A smooth, jazzy-mellow reading of »C.C. Rider« from King Curtis' Atco LP King Size Soul (1967), recorded in Memphis, July 4, 1967 (yeah, they were working that day...). I don't know whether this album version is the same as the one released on Atco # 6711 in 1969.
King Curtis & The Kingpins: »C.C. Rider« from the Atco LP # SD 33-231 (1967):
One week ago you could hear something from the LP »The Soul Of .... James Cleveland« (Savoy LP # MG-14068), released in 1962.
This is, by all standards, an interesting album, especially as it contains several unusual ver- sions of very popular songs. I had promised to post some of these, and that's what I do today. In the following, you can listen to »Joshua« and »When The Saints Go Marching In«. Cleveland is innovative here: »Joshua« actually is not the known tune »Joshua Fit The Battle«, but only adapts some of the latter's basic harmonies and key passages from the lyrics. Cleve- land then adds lyrics of his own which stress the relevance of this song for his own time. So, it's really a new song here, inspired by an old tune, and the feel is almost jazzy throughout. The same is true for »When The Saints ...«. Again some liberty, albeit less, with the lyrics and again much jazzy feel. And remember, there is Billy Preston at the organ. Happy Sunday!
James Cleveland: »Joshua« / »When The Saints Go Marching In« from the Savoy LP »The Soul Of James Cleveland« (1962):
Another name that needs no introduction: James Cleveland. However, not all of his albums may be equally known, and those from the early '60s are in generally less remembered today.
Savoy LP # MG-14068 (1962)
One of those albums was released in 1962, entitled »The Soul Of .... James Cleveland« (Savoy LP # MG-14068). Yes, another of those »Soul of ...« gospel LPs which abounded during the '60s, quite obviously called thus in order to cash in on the success of soul music in the secular market. No »soul« on this LP, though, at least not soul in the conventional sense. But still this LP stands out in the gospel field of the early '60s: four instrumentalists playing together, and several instrumentals among the songs. What is more, several well-known tunes (»When the Saints ...«, »Down By The Riverside«, »Joshua Fit ...«) are here inter- preted in a very original and pleasing fashion. And the liner notes on the back cover tell it correctly:
This album is a radical departure from anything James Cleveland has ever attempted before. Besides being a great singer and writer, James is also one of the finest religious pianists in the world, and here he displays his virtuos- ity in a most interesting and entertaining experiment. Along with James at the piano, is the sensational Billy Preston at the organ, Joe Marshall at the drums and Barney Richmond on the bass volin. ... Thanks to the imagination of James Cleveland, This is a first in the field of gospel recordings which opens more avenues in which the word of God can be expressed.
Quite an assembly of talents here! As said above, one strength of the album are the original and unconventional versions of various old gospel standards. I'll post some of them soon. After all, it's hard to listen to such tunes as »When The Saints Go Marching In« today, having heard them countless times in ever-the-same versions. Cleveland's version therefore really comes as a delight, because he offers the song in a new garb, so to speak, and some of those over-popular gospel standards are in dire need of this.
Another strength of the album are the instru- mentals, and it's one of these you can listen to below. As summer is about to end, I thought it fitting to select a song two vocal versions of which I posted back in May: »In The Garden«. Now, on Cleveland's 1962 LP we have an instrumental version of it, here entitled (after the first line) »I Come To The Garden«. This tune very much embodies the idea behind Cleveland's album: Doing something different with commonly-known material. And he certainly did: Together with Barney Richmond on violin and Billy Preston at the organ, Cleveland created an impressionistic 5-minute pastiche losely based on the harmonies of that tune, with the violin being the dominant instrument in the most remarkable passages. If at all, the overall effect is, to my mind, only marred by a slight overdose of the snare drum in the second part. Well, judge for yourself:
James Cleveland (feat. Billy Preston): »I Come To The Garden« from the Savoy LP # 14068 (1962):
Today, I try to do something else. You can test your knowledge, or your intuition, in a little quiz.
The following list shows the categories of the 1967 winners of the NATRA-Awards (NATRA = »National Association of TV and Radio Announcers«, basically an associ- ation of Afro-American DJs) and you are invited to guess the right answers. Some answers are pretty obvious and you'll easily guess. However, some others are quite surprising and I bet you won't hit the correct solution.
The Award list was published 44 years ago today, on August 31, 1967 in JET (p. 56 f.).
To see the correct answers, move your mouse beyond the dotted lines!
Top Female Vocalist ........... ARETHA FRANKLIN
Top Male Vocalist .............. JAMES BROWN
Top R&B Record ............... ARETHA FRANKLIN: »Respect«
Top LP .......................... ARETHA FRANKLIN: I Never Loved A Man
Top Vocal Group ............... DIANA ROSS & THE SUPREMES, THE TEMPTATIONS
Most Promising Group ........ GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS
Most Promising Duo ........... SAM & DAVE
Top Instrumental .............. BOOKER T & THE MG's: »Hip Hug-Her«
Top Gospel Group ............. THE STAPLE SINGERS
Top Producer ................... HOLLAND, DOZIER & HOLLAND; JERRY WEXLER
Top Jazz Record ............... CANNONBALL ADDERLEY: »Mercy, Mercy, Mercy«
Top Jazz Vocalist (Male) ............... LOU RAWLS
Top Jazz Vocalist (Female) ............ NANCY WILSON, NINA SIMONE
Top Blues Vocalist ...................... BOBBY BLAND
Most Promising Vocalist (Male) ....... O.V. WRIGHT
Most Promising Vocalist (Female) .... BETTYE SWANN
Most Promising Duo (Mixed) ........... BRENDA & THE TABULATIONS; THE FIVE STAIRSTEPS
Some unexpected names on this list, huh? Especially in the lower part ... Not that there is a single name that wouldn't deserve to be mentioned in it ... but clearly, seen from today's perspective, some of them come to mind immediately, while others do not. And one could also consider which names are missing from the list
... and would maybe be included if the list was drawn up today.
One of the more unexpected names on the list is, to my mind, O.V. Wright as the Most Promising Male Vocalist. Well, in hindsight, his being mentioned was fully justified, but how many would have known in summer 1967? He had started out, on Goldwax, in 1964 and moved to Backbeat the following year. In 1967, he was nicknamed »The Nucleus of Soul« and had considerable success with »Eight Men-Four Women«. At any rate, he lived up to the promise of the 1967 list during the following years. He came to be one of the greatest soul singers of all times. It is fair to say that today he is best remembered for his truly wonderful songs »Ace Of Spades« (1970) and »A Nickel And A Nail« (1971). My favorite song of O.V. Wright is »When You Took Your Love From Me« (rel. in Feb. 1971 and in the charts up against Marvin Gaye's »What's Going On«). It is deeply moving and has beautiful lyrics spicked with poetical, strange and at the same time curiously appropriate metaphors. And nobody like O.V. Wright could have performed this tune with the same intensity. Promise delivered!
O.V. Wright: »When You Took Your Love From Me« on Backbeat # 620A (1971):
1964 was an annus horribilis for Ray Charles. When his album »Have A Smile With Me« (ABC-Paramount LP # 495) was released in late June, he had lost a paternity suit barely five months ago and become, at least by way of judicial decision, father of Sheila Jean Robinson. Charles himself had »admitted to sexual intimacies with pretty, 21-year-old Ohioan Sandra Jean Betts on at least five occasions«, but said he did not believe that he is the father of the baby girl. He didn't take it with much of a smile. However, worse was still to come: his concert tour in autumn during which he was arrested on drug charges led not only to riots in several locations, but was over- shadowed by racial incidents. Some three weeks before his tour, a Jet Magazine staff writer speculated (Sept. 3 issue, p. 63) whether Ray Charles was about to quit singing. Quote: »That's what the man, Charles, himself, said in Paris. He said he would give up singing "very soon and play with my orchestra ...".« Well, this didn't happen as we know, but given the events of 1964 (and especially after touring in Europe and the Boston drug arrest in November) Ray Charles quit touring the following year. In his autobiography he said: »I decided not to tour in 1965. This
was the first time in twenty years that I wouldn't be performing in public. I had lots on my mind, and I couldn't see myself running around. I needed to stop and think.« (Ray Charles with David Ritz: Brother Ray. Ray Charles' Own Story, New York 3rd ed. 2004, p. 254).
ABC-Paramount LP # 495 (1964)
The LP »Have A Smile With Me« fits into that gloomy year 1964, the untimely title included. Billboard (Aug. 1.) hyped it, against all good reason, with the thinly-veiled panegyric: »Charles, the master of the soulful blues, shelves it all in this outing for a raft of fun songs. He sings 'em all with his usual genius. ... A real ball for all.« The curious expression »his usual genius« excepted (can genius ever be usual?), I beg to disagree. I think it's an awful album and quite a contrast to the brillant live recording »In Concert« which was taped some months later in L.A. The personnel on the record is outstanding, though, David »Fathead Newman« on alto sax, The Raelettes backing. Alas, this was to little avail, and Charles's choice of songs was meant to result in a »lighthearted« album »with the idea of letting Charles just kick back and have fun« (Richie Unterberger in the AMG to Soul). The sleeve notes stressed that point: »Here's the other side of the coin! ... this time around your phonograph, he'll bring you a smile, and even a laugh. Here is the light-hearted Ray Charles, again exploring material that, until now, has never been heard by his listeners.« Yet the overall impression doesn't live up to what Charles was aiming at. The best that may be said about this album is, in the words of Mike Evans, that it was »a collection of humorous novelty songs« (The Birth Of Soul, p. 179). And this, again, was also trumpeted out on the back cover: »This novelty package explores still another facet of the art of Ray Charles.«
As it goes with novelty packages, they tend to be a mixed blessing. As mixed as the songs on the album: jazzy C&W, old vaudeville songs or even »pop standards« (that's how Billboard described »Feudin' & Fightin'«). On the other hand, all ten songs on the LP (six with the Raelettes) sound strangely alike, professionally done oldtime jazz-pop, but actually little of that was in any way up to the »modern trends« in music. Charles, who was proud of being a trend-setter and indeed had set different trends in the past, offers nothing much trendy on this LP. And just think what times these were! The first year of the Great British Invasion during which, ironically, black music played by white UK bands outsold black music played by black US artists. In this context, Ray Charles acquired, for some diligent observers at least, the status of a »father figure«, but with a twist to it: He had prepared the way of the »Mersey Sound« in many ways yet his UK emulators outstripped his fame by 1964. In a noteworthy gloss by P.F. Kluge, published in LIFE (Oct. 2, 1964, p. 28: »U.S. Roots of the Beatle Beat«), we read: »If the Mersey sound is an art form, this (i.e. black U.S. music) is the music that gave birth to it, although not one of its inventors, not even the very popular composer-performer Ray Charles, has ever been as sought after, televised, filmed, interviewed and just plain loved as their English imitators.«
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The 50's-sounding song »Smack Dab In The Middle«, shuffling along in a R&B-style of years past, was the only moderately successful tune of that album. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 Pop the first week of October and one month later was lingering at #52. Another week later, in mid-November, the song dropped out of the charts. This all becomes more emblematic of Charles's status and style in '64 if you consider for a moment the songs which meanwhile climbed the charts: When »Smack Dab In The Middle« entered the Hot 100, »Dancing On The Street« (Martha & The Vandellas) had reached # 04, »The House Of The Rising Sun« (Animals) stood at # 08. The Shangri- Las' »Leader Of The Pack« and The Velvelettes with »Needle In A Haystack« were coming up behind; at the beginning of November, Motown's sequin-dressed valkyries made it to the top with »Baby Love«; when Charles's song left the charts, the Rolling Stones' cover of Irma Thomas's »Time Is On My Side« was approaching the Top Ten. Compared to all that, Charles's album seems come out of another epoch.
Need some demonstration of this? Well, there is ample choice on the LP. As I have a special liking for the Raelettes, you can hear in the following two songs that feature them as backing vocal group. I picked »Two Ton Tessie (from Tennessee)« and »Who Cares For Me« since in these tunes the backing vocals are given much room. The first song was recorded on May 7, '64, at the N.Y. Bell Sound Studios (days before Ray Charles would depart for Europe), the latter back in February 1962 in L.A. For the record I can add that almost all other songs of the LP were recorded in May '64 in New York, with the exception of »Move It On Over« (likewise from '62). Here you go:
Ray Charles (feat. The Raelets/Raelettes):
»Two Ton Tessie« / »Who Cares (For Me)« from the ABC-Paramount LP # 495 (1964, mono):
Today's song needs no introduction. It's one of the very hymns of Soul music and a staple standard of contemporary Soul Revival Shows. But there is more to the song than meets the ear, starting with the fact that most people nowadays won't be able to name the original singer ...
Atco LP # 33-215 (April 1967)
It was Atlanta-born Arthur Conley ... not a household name today except among those who are living in the R&B-universe anyway. His name didn't acquire eternal fame as did his song »Sweet Soul Music«. In January 1967, when the tune was recorded, Arthur had just turned 21. Judging from the pictures of the time he was a pretty guy and certainly nice to look at twice. However, he didn't make it on the cover of his own first LP. Instead, on the cover we see a dark skinned beauty posing on a plushy sofa. We behold her as if looking through a keyhole, a visual effect which was certainly meant to enhance the overall seductive feel. Sex sells. And not only in this case: There are myriads of LPs from the '60s and early '70s, above all in the instrumental and jazz realms, graced with unknown beauties or cuddling couples who had no relation whatsoever to the musicians or the songs. Like to see some examples? Google for the 1963 LP »Got That Feeling« by the Johnny Lytle Trio (Riverside), Dave Pike's 1964 LP »Manhattan Latin« (Decca) or Brother Jack McDuff's 1968 LP »The Natural Thing« (Cadet)!
Arthur Conley
Arthur Conley was made by Otis Redding: Otis discov- ered him 1965 in Baltimore and then took him under his wings. Arthur's first recordings were released in the same year on the Jotis label which was financed and produced by Otis Redding. It is unknown, or often underestimated, of how astute a businessman Otis was. And Arthur was a valuable asset in Otis's business plans because apart from being a singer Otis pleased to see himself as a producer and songwriter. For this he obviously needed a gifted singer who sounded like Big O but wasn't Big O. In fact, Otis discovered, it could be Arthur. In the authoritative words of producer Tom Dowd, therefore, »Arthur Conley was the invention of Otis Redding« (quoted in Peter Guralnick's Sweet Soul Music. Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Free- dom, New York 1999, page 318).
But clever Otis wasn't satisfied for long with having Arthur on the insignificant Jotis label. Aiming higher, Otis got Arthur onto the Atlantic roster for his first LP, Atco LP 33-215 (»Sweet Soul Music«). This LP not only features five songs by Otis but he also wrote the notes on the back cover and presented himself as »producer« and »A&R man«. And the song »Sweet Soul Music« was penned by Otis as well. Rumor has it that Otis wished to record that song himself, for his house label Stax, but Jim Stewart (of Stax) found the tune not inspiring enough and vetoed to have it recorded. Otis was little amused and gave the song to his protégé Conley.
Indeed, the song is anything but original: Parts of the melody are taken from an obscure Sam Cooke-song, »Yeah Man«, and the intro comes right out of the Marlboro ad song »The Magnificent Seven«. The popular Marlboro tune was composed in 1960 for the known Western of the same title and only from 1963 used to sell cigarettes. It was then used by Otis to sell »Sweet Soul Music«: »He [=Otis Redding] believed in that song and Stax refused to put it out (...). Listen to that song. The introduction and the harmony in the middle come from a classical song. But nobody relates to the fact they heard it every single day on the radio and TV, a thousand times a day. It was the Marlboro theme song.« (Wayne Cochran as quoted in Scott Freeman: Otis! The Otis Redding Story, New York 2001, page 190).
If you listen to the lyrics of »Sweet Soul Music«, which are familiar enough, you will realize that the song puts Otis on a pedestal and makes him into sort of a Soul Monument, accompanied by Lou Rawls, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett and James Brown. It's a little embarrassing, really. The unsympathetic interpretation of this fact would be that this did flatter Otis's well-developed self esteem. A kinder legend has it that it was actually Arthur's idea to mention Otis in the song, earning him a co-writer's credit. Whatever. In any case, Arthur honors his mentor again at the end of the song and calls him up with the fading words »Otis Redding got the feelin' ...«
But there is more: By 1967, Otis's relations with Stax had become strained. Although he was contracted to Stax for another three years (having prolonged his contract for another five years in 1965), many suspected that Otis was double-crossing Jim Stewart by putting out feelers to the rival Atlantic Records and their A&R man Jerry Wexler. When Otis brought Arthur Conley to record in Rick Hall's Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the rumors grew louder: The Fame Studios were in 1967 mainly used by Wexler's Atlantic stars to reproduce the famed »Memphis Sound« of Stax. And it certainly didn't quiet the rumors when Arthur's first LP was then released on a subsidiary of Atlantic, Atco Records ... On the contrary, it put the cherry on the pie for those who thought that Otis was having his cake and ate it, too.
BILLBOARD April 29, 1967
Thus, »Sweet Soul Music« is a song with an interesting story behind it. It was recorded on January 20, 1967, in Muscle Shoals and rushed out in March. It immediately shot up in the charts, reaching # 02 r&b and # 02 pop in spring '67. And it had to compete with Aretha Franklin's »I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)« and »Jimmy Mack« by Martha & The Vandellas, among others! You can listen here to the mono album version:
Arthur Conley: »Sweet Soul Music« from the Atco LP # 33-215 (mono, 1967):
Do you like good music, ha, that sweet soul music
Just long as it's swingin', oh yeah, oh-oh yeah
We are here on the floor y'all, are goin' to a go go
Dancin' with the music, oh yeah, oh yeah
Spotlight on Lou Rawls y'all, ah don't he look tall y'all
Singin' »Love's A Hurtin' Thing« y'all, oh yeah, oh-oh yeah
Spotlight on Sam and Dave y'all, ah don't they look great y'all
Singin' »Hold On I'm Comin'«, oh yeah, oh-oh yeah
Spotlight on Wilson Pickett now, that wicked picket Pickett
Singin' »Mustang Sally«, oh yeah, oh-oh yeah
Spotlight on Otis Redding now, singing »Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa«
Fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa, oh yeah, oh-oh yeah
Get in on this! (??)
Spotlight on James Brown y'all, he's the king of them all y'all
He's the king of them all y'all, oh yeah, oh-oh yeah
Do you like good music, that sweet soul music
Just 'long with it swingin', oh yeah, oh-oh yeah
I got to get the feelin', I got to get the feelin'
Do you like good music, that sweet soul music
Help me get the feelin', I want to get the feelin'
Otis Redding got the feelin', James Brown, he got the feelin' Oh I love good music ...
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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No music downloads on this site. All mp3s (with very few exceptions where noted) are ripped from original vinyl discs. If something on this blog is objectionable to anyone or should, for valid reasons, be re- moved from the net please let me know; it will be removed. And to reiterate: This is a non-profit blog.
