The Masqueraders [2023] - How // One More Chance / Be Happy For Me [Hit And Run #HR 1547]

The second new reissue from Hit And Run consists of three sides from The Masqueraders from the catalogue of Lou Beatty's La Beat label from 1966 and 1967. The label was co-owned with James Hendrix who had earlier set up the Carrie label in Detroit.

We've covered The Masqueraders in depth recently as, sadly, lead singer Sam Hutchins died on 20 Dec 2022. So for background information on the group please visit the link above.

Some unfortunate events outside of their control prevented them becoming household names, such as the civil rights riots when they were on the verge making a breakthrough in 1967. However, they got a glimpse of the spotlight some 50 years later, three members still together, in 2017 appearing on America's Got Talent winning the hearts of a nation.

The A side is their very hard to find 1966 single "How" on La Beat which has been a Northern Soul favourite for many years. The B side consists of a superb slice of 'crossover' soul "One More Chance" which is possibly my own favourite from them but they did record some great music which has languished in relative oblivion. It is paired with "Be Happy For Me", another 'so soulful' mid-temp song, both released in 1967 on La Beat.

It's 'criminal' really that none of these even entered the R&B chart at the time, but are now available for a fraction of the cost of original vinyl which are now all well into three figures with "How" being the rarest which is into four figures.

Available now from Paypal hitandrunsoul45@gmail.com

£15.00 each + £3.00 UK postage (good for 1-3 records) , US postage £6.00 per order. 

Big thanks to Garry J. Cape (Hit And Run Records) for servicing us with this release.

Details

Rating:	8.8
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Northern Soul / Crossover
Format:	Single
Media:	7" Vinyl
Label:	Hit And Run
Cat No:	HR 1547
Date:	10/02/2023
Key/BPM:	N/A
Price:	£15 + postage

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