UK rare soul DJs Cliff Steele in a joint venture with Andy 'Tats' Taylor, under the banner of Creative Soul Records, are putting out a double-sided 7" vinyl
single of a pairing of Ruby Winters tracks which featured on a 1999 compilation "The Best Of Ruby Winters". Cliff tells us that they are due for release in July direct from the Creative Soul website which is still under development. Coincidentally it was Cliff who first introduced me to Minnie
Riperton's "Memory Lane" about 20 plus years ago that has just been covered
by Raheem Devaughn on his new album.
The two sides are "I Can't Help But Love You" and "If Only (We Had Met Sooner)" (a cover of Linda Jones). The first side is a George Kerr composition on which he and the Poindexter brothers (Richard and Robert who have written so many great songs) performed background vocals. It may have been written for Linda Jones but she never recorded it.
This release will be the first time on vinyl for both tracks and I think will be heavily in-demand, so grab a copy when it is released as these will almost certainly soar in price once they're sold.
The album appears to be on a UK CD only "The Best Of Ruby Winters" (issued by Pegasus) and is well worth seeking out as it contains many previously unreleased
tracks, but beware as there is another K-Tel album of the same name released
in 2007 which is not the one you want. However, it looks like they're scarce as only one has ever sold on Discogs and there are none currently available for sale. Cliff believes that it is quite rare and may have been withdrawn and George Kerr had no idea of it's existence and hence wasn't paid for it so perhaps that's why it was withdrawn?
It contains about five of her Diamond singles (A & B sides), but not one of
her best "I Want Action" / "Better", and I believe that the nine remaining tracks are all previously
unreleased.
01 - A Last Minute Miracle
02 - Just A Dream [Diamond 1969]
03 - Just Like A Yoyo [Diamond 1969]
04 - Try Me [Diamond 1967]
05 - I Can't Help But Love You
06 - Guess Who [Diamond 1969]
07 - Sweetheart Things [Diamond 1969]
08 - Someone Out There For Me
09 - I Don't Wanna Cry [Diamond 1969]
10 - There Goes My Everything
11 - The Bells Of St Mary's [Diamond 1967]
12 - Pledging My Love
13 - We're Living To Give (To Give To Each Other) [Diamond 1967]
14 - It's Not Easy
15 - If Only We Had Met Sooner
16 - Is It Love
17 - I Was Born To Love You
18 - Always David [Diamond 1969]
19 - I Don't Want To Hurt Nobody [Diamond 1967]
So how did these recordings come about? George Kerr, as you may
know, worked with Linda Jones and The O'Jays around 1967 which
brought him to the attention of Phil Kahl, the owner of Diamond
Records, by friend and producer Teddy Van (Vann) (who Northern
Soulies will know for his "Theme from Coloredman", a mid 70s Wigan
Casino instrumental monster). Kerr was drafted in to record sessions
with Ruby Winters but only one track saw release, "We Only Have One Life (Let's Live It Together)" with Johnny Thunder in
1968.
George had Ruby listen to some Linda Jones recordings to demonstrate
the sound he was trying to achieve and three of them were recorded, the
two on this single and "A Last Minute Miracle" a song also recorded by The Shirelles in 1967 (another Northern Soul spin).
| Rating: | 8.7 |
| Explicit: | N |
| Genre/Style: | Classic Soul |
| Format: | Single |
| Media: | 7" |
| Label: | Creative Soul |
| Cat No: | CS-1001 |
| Date: | 07/2022 |
| Key/BPM: | N/A |
| Value: | £? |
Great song in two different interpretations. But why that of Ruby Winters was never released at the time? I think it's a matter of greater notoriety for Linda Jones. Nice discovery for that of Ruby who is also a great singer.
ReplyDeleteYves