Clifford Curry, not to be confused with an artist with the same name who is still
performing as part of The Notations, was from Knoxville, TN, born in
1936 and later became known as "The King of Beach Music" and was
inducted into the Beach Music Hall of Fame in 1995.
He was a member of several groups in the 50s initially joining The
Echoes. They took a song Curry had written called "Mr. Moon" to Atlantic
Records who declined it so they then took it to Savoy who released it in
1955 changing the group's name to The Five Pennies. They were later
renamed The Chimes and Freddie Scott joined them but by this time Curry
had left in 1956.
His next recordings appeared in 1959 first as a featured singer with The
Continders and then his first solo outing on Ridgecrest billed as Clifford
Curry Jr. In 1964/65 he released two singles on Excello as Sweet Clifford
and then his first, and only, hit record on Elf in 1967 with "She Shot A Hole in My Soul" (video below with a short interview afterwards) which reached #3 R&B
and #95 Hot 100. He released another seven singles on Elf up to 1969 but
couldn't emulate the success of the first hit.
However, one of those singles on Elf from 1968 has been a big tune on
Northern Soul dancefloors with "I Can't Get A Hold Of Myself" being christened at The Twisted Wheel but quite how the B side "Ain't No Danger" was overlooked is anyone's guess, probably because back in those,
amphetamine fuelled, days it may have seemed 'pedestrian' compared to the A
side, but it is certainly no slouch! It got a later release in the UK on
Pama in 1970, no doubt due to the demand for it on the Northern scene.
He continued recording through the 70s,80s and 90s on various labels and I
would guess was embraced by the North Carolina Beach Scene in the 80s as his
first record in 1980 was titled "Shag With Me".
Every single write up I've seen regarding Clifford Curry says what a great
person he was, sadly he died in 2016 aged 79.
| Rating: | 8.5 |
| Explicit: | N |
| Genre/Style: | Northern Soul |
| Format: | Single |
| Media: | 7" Vinyl |
| Label: | Elf |
| Cat No: | 90,013 |
| Date: | 1968 |
| Key/BPM: | N/A |
| Price: | £80-£100 approx. |
Copyright © 2009-2022 SoulStrutter All Rights Reserved
2 comments:
Excellent singer that I had discovered, in my youth, with "She Shot A Hole in My Soul" in these magnificent UK Bell's Cellar Of Soul. Thank you for sharing these songs with everyone. And what about "Soul Festival" also on Elf!!!
Yves
Thanks Yves .. not familiar with Soul Festival so will check it out .. I note it's Cason and Gayden yet again along with Curry on writing credits.
Post a Comment