The mention of Freddie Hughes in the last post prompted me to post some of
his material. One of my favourite singers who has been greatly
overlooked. Hopefully some of the material here will turn you on to
him if you are not familiar with him.
Discogs states that he was a member of the following groups: Cymbals, Markeets, The Four Rivers, The Ballads, The Music City Soul Brothers. I can find no evidence that he was a member of The Ballads even though a bootleg CD Fred(die) Hughes & His Groups was released listing 4 tracks with The Ballads. Perhaps he stood in for some recording sessions?
In any case I do not intend to cover his work with these groups as a lot of the material is 50s and early 60s.
Discogs states that he was a member of the following groups: Cymbals, Markeets, The Four Rivers, The Ballads, The Music City Soul Brothers. I can find no evidence that he was a member of The Ballads even though a bootleg CD Fred(die) Hughes & His Groups was released listing 4 tracks with The Ballads. Perhaps he stood in for some recording sessions?
In any case I do not intend to cover his work with these groups as a lot of the material is 50s and early 60s.
Vitamin E [1977] - Sharing [Buddah BDA 574]
SoulStrutter's Rating: 9.9
Let's kick-off with one that may easily pass you buy as he does NOT seem to
be credited on the album or 45 produced by Norman Connors and James
Mtume. The only way to listen to it is the full length album version
which is 90 seconds longer than the 45. This tune is absolutely
faultless getting the top rating on this blog so far.
Right with that off my chest and out of the way, let's work through Freddies
discography.
The Casanova Two [1966] - I Was A Fool [Early Bird 49658]
SoulStrutter's Rating: 7.8
Northern Soul on San Francisco's Early Bird label from 1966 with his
unmistakable vocals. Early Bird released around 11 45s between
1966-67, two of which were from The Casanova Two (II). The Casanova Two were
Freddie Hughes and Wylie Trass (an ex-Holiday [Music City]).
The Casanova Two [1966] - We Gotta Keep On [Early Bird 49658]
SoulStrutter's Rating: 8.75
Northern Soul favourite.
Freddie Hughes [1968] - We Got To Keep On [Wand WDS 664]
SoulStrutter's Rating: 9
He did a different (more jazzy) version of the song on his only album Send
My Baby Back on Wand in 1968. I love both versions but if pushed
would choose this one.
The Casanova II [1967] - Maybe They're Right [Early Bird 49661]
SoulStrutter's Rating: 7.6
The Casanova II [1967] - Love's Philosophy [Early Bird 49661]
SoulStrutter's Rating: 7.5
Freddie Hughes [1967] - Take Me As I Am [Hip Star H-1013]
SoulStrutter's Rating: 7.8
Out and out Northern Soul from 1967 with an instrumental version on the flip
side.
Freddie Hughes [1968] - Send My Baby Back [Wee 1006]
SoulStrutter's Rating: 8.6
Crossover from 1968 which saw a national release on Wand.
The flip side is 'Where Is My Baby' which to my mind isn't as good as many other releases so I haven't
posted it in order to limit posting to the best ones.
Freddie Hughes [1968] - My Baby Came Back [Wee 1011]
SoulStrutter's Rating: 7.8
Skip-a-long Northern Soul from 1968.
Freddie Hughes [1968] - Natural Man [Wand WND 1192]
SoulStrutter's Rating: 9.0
Freddie's rendition of Aretha's classic. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural
Woman.
SoulStrutter's Rating: 9.5
Released initially as the flip side to Natural Man and then as A side to
He's no Good.
Freddie Hughes [1968] - He's No Good [Wand WND 1197]
SoulStrutter's Rating: 8.8
Written by Lonnie Hewitt, this is very similar to
Tammi Terrell - I Can't Believe You Love Me.
Freddie Hughes & The Chevelles [1972] - I've Got My Own Mind [Janus J
196]
SoulStrutter's Rating: 8.75
Great toe-tapping crossover from 1972.
Freddie Hughes & The Chevelles [1972] - I Just Found Out [Janus J
196]
SoulStrutter's Rating: 9.6
Superb deep soul / crossover from 1972.
Freddie Hughes & The Chevelles [1973] - Will You Be There [Happy Fox
504]
SoulStrutter's Rating: 8.4
Promo only (?) sweet / deep soul / crossover from 1973 that also got a promo
release on Janus J 208.
Freddie Hughes [1977] - Sarah Mae [Greg-U-Rudy 002]
SoulStrutter's Rating: 8.4
Deep soul on label owned by Greg Crockett (writer/arranger) and Rudy
Henderson (producer). As far as I know they only released one other
45 on the label Tap Dance by Yowza (which I've never heard).
The sound clip here is a later re-recording not the original. I'll have to get my own copy out an try and post it on YouTube.
The sound clip here is a later re-recording not the original. I'll have to get my own copy out an try and post it on YouTube.
Freddie Hughes [1977] - Don't You Leave [Greg-U-Rudy 002]
SoulStrutter's Rating: 7.6
Modern Soul from 1977 which got a few spins on release.
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