Yesterday we learnt of the death of music executive Clarence Avant (The
Black Godfather) and today another soul music figure, Toussaint McCall aged 89. Neither will
be 'household' names.
McCall was one of twelve children born and raised in Louisiana to a Baptist minister. After singing for many years, he was signed to Ronn in 1967 and hit the ground running with his first two singles, which were his only two hits.
His first, and biggest, "Nothing Takes The Place Of You" reached #5 R&B / #55 Hot 100 which he followed up with "I'll Do It For You" (#26 R&B / #77 Hot 100) both funeral paced deep southern soul songs
on Jewel subsidiary Ronn in 1967. The former was on the second Dave Godin
Deep Soul Treasures compilation released by Kent in 1999 as well as
featuring on dozens of others.
On the strength of the two singles, he recorded an album but achieved no
further commercial success. His hit song was featured in the 1988 comedy movie
'Hairspray' on which he made a cameo appearance lip-synching it. A
bit of an anachronism given that the film was set in 1962 and his hit was
in 1967 but that's poetic license for you!
His next album, "Make Love To Me" didn't appear until 1976. It is a one-off recording on an obscure label McCowan Records (a private press perhaps?) which sells for big money and included his biggest hit. Whether or not it's a re-recorded, different, version or the original we don't know.
A previously unreleased 1970 Dore recording, "I'll Laugh Til I Cry", was
released by Kent in 2014 which included the superb Natural Resources "If
There Were No You" on the flip. Another unissued Dore recording, "Saigon To San Francisco", appeared on Kent's "Dore L.A. Soul Sides 2" compilation in 2015.
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