As you will have probably noticed already, I'm having a Northern Soul day
today as there's not much on the new release front of interest around today. It's a
mixture of well known and not so well known tunes.
This one, however, is a well known classic double-sider with one of the best stompers
ever and still exceedingly rare to find an original. Both sides were written
by group member James Mitchell and Hadley Murrell who had previously written
songs with, and recorded by, Eddie (Campbell) & Ernie (Johnson).
The Servicemen, as the name implies, were a 5 member group which consisted
of three serving members of US Airforce and one from the army, all based in Arizona, plus another.
The connection between Murrell, Eddie & Ernie & Servicemen is that they were all based in Phoenix, Arizona.
There's a great story about them on
Soul Source
by Karl 'Chalky' White from an interview with Larry Banks who was a member
of the group. Banks provided several interesting photos. Note this is
not the same Larry Banks who was married to Bessie Banks.
Servicemen [1967] - Are You Angry / I Need A Helping Hand [Wind Hit #M-101]
This track was originally a doo-wop ballad. It was recorded by
Thee Midniters
on Whittier in 1966 which is almost unrecognisable to the stomping version
by the Servicemen.
The Servicemen performed the song acapella (along with
some other songs) in the intermission of a dance at a US Air Force base
where Hadley Murrell was the DJ. After hearing them, Murrell decided
he wanted to record them. Subsequently he released 2 songs on his own Wind
Hit label in 1967.
Only one other record was released on Wind Hit (co-written by Murrell and Eddie Campbell) by Roy
& The Dew Drops - curiously there is a
clip on YT
where '(Servicemen)' has been hand written on the label underneath the
artist name - could the group also be them, or are they being credited with writing the song? Apparently only 200 Wind Hit
copies were pressed hence its scarcity.
It was bootleged on a 'counterfeit' look-alike label in the 70s to 'meet demand'. They are easy to recognise as the original is vinyl with moulded label, whilst the booleg is sytrene with 'stick-on' label. Originals are now selling for 4 figures.
Are You Angry (Acapella)
Servicemen [1967] - Need A Heping Hand [Wind Hit #M-101]
This side was also later issued on Patheway with
'My Turn'
(a doo-wop / soul harmony tune) on the flip side. Most pressings on
Patheway had the labels reversed.
