Soul Strutter: Eric & The Vikings

Eric & The Vikings were Eric McClinon, Phillip Taylor & Cliff Moore who started out in 1969 whilst still in High School. Their first 45 was on Richard 'Popcorn' Wylie's Soul Hawk label and Wylie co-wrote both sides A side with Tony Hestor and B side with Charles Johnson. Their next 2 releases were on Motown's Gordy label. I'm not sure when McClinton left the group but they recorded their final 45 on Voyage as The Vikings and by 1980 McClinton had joined Meli'sa Morgan and Alyson Williams to form High Fashion. He also has a gospel 45 listed as Eryke McClinton on presumably his own label Eryke EM 401 (no release date).

'Hurting', a previously unreleased Soul Hawk track, was discovered and released in UK on Kool Kat in 1987.

Discography

1970 - Vibrations (Made Us Fall In Love) / Get Off The Streets Y'all [Soul Hawk 1009]

1972 - It's Too Much For A Man To Take Too Long / Time Don't Wait [Gordy G-7116F]

1973 - I'm Truly Yours / Where Do You Go (Baby) [Gordy G-7132F]

1975 - Heartaches Don't Last Forever / Never Seen A Stranger [Voyage V-1001]

1987 - Hurting [Kool Kat (UK) KOOL 5]

Eryke McClinton

197? - God Specialises / Peace In The Valley [Eryke EM 401]

The original members got back together in 2010 and release a couple of CDs Motwon Reloaded and CD Retro Millennium Renaissance which includes the singles Vibrations, Heartaches, Stranger and Hurting in addition to a 2011 revamp of Vibrations and a new track(?) Rainy Nite vocal and instrumental.

Live footage of Vibrations and It's Too Much For A Man To Take Too Long.

Eric & The Vikings [1987] - Hurting [Kool Kat KOOL 5]

A UK only release on Neil Rushton / Dave Barker Kool Kat label of a previously unreleased track which has same (similar?) backing to Jimmey (Soul) Clark's Sweet Darlin' on Soul Hawk.

Another 2 unreleased tracks were on the flip side.

Willie Jones - My Baby AIn't A Plaything - an unreleased track which was recorded by The New Holidays on Westbound in 1970. There is also another version by Willie Harvey which has appeared on a few Goldmine Soul Supply compilations. I'm not sure whether it is the same version as Willie Jones under a different name as the vocals sound the same to my ears. The track has the same backing as Stanley Mitchell's Quit Twisting My Arm on Dynamo.

Detroit Strings - In The Pocket - a storming previously unreleased Northern Soul instrumental credited to Parker? Sounds like it could be an alternative instrumental take of Our Love Is In The Pocket? An absolute monster all-nighter sound mid 80s at Top Of The World, Stafford.

Eric & The Vikings [1970] - Vibrations (Made Us Fall In Love) [Soul Hawk 1009]

Soul group harmony written by Popcorn Wylie and Tony Hestor.

Eric & The Vikings [1970] - Get Off The Streets Y'all [Soul Hawk 1009]

Funky Instrumental writteny by Popcorn Wylie & Charles Johnson.

Eric & The Vikings [1972] - It's Too Much For A Man To Take Too Long [Gordy G-7116F]

Deep Soul group harmony

Eric & The Vikings [1972] - Time Don't Wait [Gordy G-7116F]

Northern Soul

Eric & The Vikings [1973] - I'm Truly Yours [Gordy G-7132F]

Not the same song as Spinners - Truly Yours. This one written by George Gordy (one of the 8 Gordy siblings), Larry Brown (wrote many Motown songs and was a member of Finished Touch) and Elgie Stover (who wrote a couple of tracks on Marvin Gaye's What's Going On album and performed background vocals on it, he is Kenny Stover's brother who was with Leo's Sunshipp and Finished Touch).