The new vinyl boutique label Creative Soul has so far released two singles, a
couple of previously unreleased tracks (except for appearing on a 90s CD
compilation) from
Ruby Winters
and two sides from Southern Soul veteran
Don Bryant.
Their next release is perhaps the most interesting. It will consist of two
tracks taken from a 1979 album "Lawdy, Lawdy, Lawd" by a group named Centaura from Bimingham, AL, who won the Budweiser showdown in their
home town in 1983 and as a result featured on one of the Budweiser Showdown
singles "Your Love Is All I Need" which was the prize for winning the competition.
However, before that in 1978 they cut an album for Atlanta based Equity
Recording Co. which was released in 1979. It was produced by Bob S Riley (Robert Stanley Riley Sr). Now
this is where it gets intriguing as he is credited as co-writing "Just
Walkin' In The Rain" by The Prisonaires with his then co-inmate Johnny Bragg
at Tennessee State Prison (Nashville, TN). Riley wasn't a member of the
group and in fact Bragg wrote the song and Riley got songwriter's credits for
transcribed it as Bragg couldn't read or write. The Prisonaires had a minor hit with the
song which was recorded on Sam Phillips' Sun Records in 1952. It was later
recorded by Johnnie Ray in 1956 who had a million seller with it reaching #1
UK and #2 US. In 1967 Johnny Bragg recorded "They're Talking About Me" on Elbejay which went on to become a Northern Soul monster in the mid 70s.
The Centaura album was reissued in 2013 by Numero Group who Creative Soul has
licensed the tracks from. They have selected "I Need Love" / "Just Don't Love You" to issue as a 7" single. The latter was recorded as The Carbon Copies on Atlanta's Git Down, Inc. and got a UK release on
Grapevine in 2002 flipped with "Baby Coming Home". Riley is on writing credits
with Jewel Bass on the top side with Bass credited with the flip.
Annie 'Jewel' Bass was the female lead singer in the group, apparently gaining
the name Jewel from her "jewel" voice. She released four singles on Malaco
between 1973-79 and in 2010 Garry Cape put out a dozen of her recordings (all
her singles and six unreleased songs) on a Soulscape CD "Malaco Soul Sisters" along with nine tracks by Dorothy Moore.
Bass also sang with artists such as Z.Z. Hill, Denise LaSalle, Bobby
Bland, King Floyd, Jean Knight, Little Milton, Johnnie Taylor Anita Ward, Fern
Kinney.
Whilst the The Carbon Copies track features on the album I'm not entirely sure that they are in fact the same group. It is believed that the track was tacked onto the end of the album by producer Riley, although it appears that it is clearly Jewel Bass on vocals.
No date of release has been given as yet but watch this space
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