The second release from Soul4Real's Jai Alai imprint due on 14 Oct pairs two album tracks from Malaco. One from Johnnie Taylor's "Gotta Get The Groove Back" (1999) and another from Bobby Bland's "Members Only" (1985)
It was Taylor's last album before he died of a heart attack in May 2000 aged 66, although a studio and a live album were released posthumously. The first two tracks on the album were paired as the only single from the album. The track selected for release for the first time on 7" is "Let's Get Back On Track" co-written by Frederick Knight and Chares Brooks. We are told that the backing track was used seven year later on David Sea's "Stay In My Arms".
Taylor's career dates back to the 50s, first as a member of a doo-wop group, The Five Echoes, and then as part of gospel group The Highway Q.C.s which included Sam Cooke. Cooke left to join The Soul Stirrers and when he left that group, for a secular career in 1957, Taylor replaced him. The connection didn't stop there as, when Cooke set up his own label SAR in 1961, Taylor became one of his first signings releasing his first solo single in 1961 on SAR. Soon after the death of Cooke in 1964, SAR was closed and Taylor signed for Stax releasing his first single there in 1966. He had five minor R&B hits until he hit the R&B #1 spot with "Who's Making Love" in 1968 which crossed over to 5 Hot 100. He had two further R&B chart toppers with Stax but none broke into the Hot 100. After Stax's demise, owing to bankruptcy, in 1975 he signed to Columbia and had his fourth R&B #1 hit and first Hot 100 #1 with "Disco Lady" in 1976 which was re-recorded in 1998 as "Disco Lady 2000" and was his final R&B chart entry but only reached #98. By 1981 Taylor had left Columbia for new label Beverly Glen run by Otis Smith where he released four singles and two albums before being signed by Malaco in 1984 (apparently after being heard by the company founders singing at Z.Z. Hill's funeral) where he recorded ten album in sixteen years.
Taylor was nominated for three Grammy awards, for "Who's Making Love", "Disco Lady" and for the album "Gotta Get The Groove Back". The song "Disco Lady" was the first ever Platinum Award by the RIAA.
Robert Calvin Brooks acquired his name Bobby Bland from his stepfather, Leroy Bridgeforth also known as Leroy Bland, after his birth father left the family not long after his birth in Barrettville, TN, in 1930. At 17 he moved to Memphis and began singing in gospel groups later venturing into Beale Street and acquainted himself with the Beale Streeters (i.e. B.B. King, Junior Parker, Johnny Ace and Rosco Gordon).
Having recorded a few unsuccessful singles in the early 50s for Modern and Sun, he was signed to Duke Records. Bland had dropped out of school in third grade and was illiterate. After spending two years in the Army, upon his return Duke had a new owner who duped him into signing a contract which short-changed him to receive a quarter of the industry standard per record i.e. $0.005 instead on $0.02 per record sale.
His first single on Duke was released in 1955 with his first hit appearing in 1957. He had a string of R&B hits including three #1 hits up to 1985 but none troubled the Hot 100 Top 20 and only two broke into the Top 40. Duke was bought by ABC/Dunhill and Bland was retained where he stayed until signing for first MCA in 1979 and then with Malaco in 1985 where he stayed until his death in June 2013 aged 83.
The track selected from his first Malaco album ("Members Only") in 1985 is "Heart Open Up Again" which appears as a single for the first time.
Despite never really crossing over into the mainstream, he received seven Grammy nominations and multiple awards such as being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997 amongst several others.
The single is available to pre-order from Sou4Real for release on 14 Oct.
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
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