The latest offering from Dave Welding's Soul Junction are two sides
from Detroit's The Counts aka The Fabulous Counts. The
'main' side is their superb modern soul classic "What's It All About", which was the only release on Terry Mendelson's T.M. label in 1978,
coupled with a previously unreleased funk track. Terry Mendelson is the brother of Bernie Mendelson who produced The
Floaters self-titled debut album in 1977.
The single will be released on vinyl only on 12 Nov 2021 and is available to pre-order from Soul Junction website.
"What's It All About" was written by Leroy Emmanuel who also performs the
lead vocals. It was part of a self-funded session recorded in Atlanta in 1978 from which
the previously unreleased flip "Watch The Clock" is taken written by Mose Davis who is also lead vocalist on the
track.
One of the original members of the group was Jim White who I wonder, and
wouldn't be surprised, if it is the same Jim White who has recently released
a load of previously unreleased 80s material.
The Fabulous Counts were originally a Detroit High School group of five
musicians who were later joined by Leroy Emanuel and managed by Fred McClure
who also managed The Metros. They regularly worked with Dwight 'Spyder'
Turner and were initially billed on his major hit "Stand By Me"
as Spyder Turner & The Fabulous Counts but their name was dropped
due to contractual reasons at the insistence of their manager Fred
McClure.
They recorded three singles on Ollie McLaughlin’s Moira label in 1968-69
all of which appeared on a Cotillion album "Jan Jan" in 1969 along with some
cover versions. In 1970 they left Moira to join Westbound changing their
name to The Counts where they released just one single and an album "What's
Up Front That-Counts" in 1971, which gained a CD reissue in 1994 and
included both sides of the 1978 T.M. 45.
However, whilst still at Wesbound they recorded another three singles, one
under the pseudonym Bad Smoke on Chess and two as Lunar Funk on
Bell.
They then moved to Atlanta becoming a quartet, with two
members (Jim White and Raoul Mangrum) deciding to remain in
Detroit, joining Michael Thevis's Aware label releasing two albums and four
singles between 1973-75.
| Rating: | 8.6 |
| Genre/Style: | Modern Soul / Funk |
| Format: | Single |
| Media: | 7" |
| Label: | Soul Junction |
| Cat No: | SJ1017 |
| Date: | 15/12/2021 |
| Key/BPM: | 6B/110 / N/A |
| Value: | £12 |
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