Soul Strutter

Showing posts with label Intruders. Show all posts

Sunday, 14 May 2023

The Intruders [1973] - I'll Always Love My Mama [Gamble / PIR #ZS7 2506]

Today is Mother's Day in the U.S. so to commemorate it there is only one song ... the classic Philly anthem by The Intruders and a video below of an appearance on Soul Train.

It is also the 50th anniversary this year of the record's release in Mar 1973. Back in those days there were no 12" singles, so the 6:36 album track (from "Save The Children") was spilt into two parts for release on 7".

Surprisingly, for such an iconic song, there are very few covers of it. We know of only three: Tony Strong (2012), an instrumental by The Armada Orchestra (1976) and a semi-instrumental by Dee Brown (2014). If you know of any others, let us know.

In case you missed it, Paul Simpson has done a set of his Philadelphia Re-edits for The Intruders which includes this song.

Details

Rating:	8.8
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Philly Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	Vinyl
Label:	Gamble / PIR
Cat No:	ZS7 2506
Date:	1973
Key/BPM:	12A/120
Price:	£N/A

Tuesday, 9 May 2023

The Intruders [2023] - The Philadelphia Re-edit Sessions [Simphouse Productions]

The Intruders were possibly one of the underrated groups on Philadelphia International, in the shadows of The O'Jays and Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. However, arguably, they achieved success well before both those groups with R&B Top 10 hits in the 60s such as "Together", "Cowboys To Girls" and "(Love Is Like) A Basketball Game".

Probably best known in the 70s for their PIR hit "I'll Always Love My Mama" which they weren't able to top chart-wise but did release some great music in the mid 70s Philly era and Paul Simpson has selected fourteen of them for his re-edit session.

All tracks are taken from just two albums and a single:

1973 - Save The Children *

1974 - Energy Of Love **

Track Listing

01 - A nice girl like you (Paul Simpson Re-edit) 4:14 **

02 - I'll always love my mama (Paul Simpson Re-edit) 7:41 *

03 - Everyone's a star (Paul Simpson Re-edit) 07:37 **

04 - Energy of love (Paul Simpson Re-edit) 4:53 **

05 - What's easy for two is hard for one (Paul Simpson Re-edit) 4:44 **

06 - Plain ol' fashioned girl (Paul Simpson Re-edit) 3:56 **

07 - Be on time (Paul Simpson Re-edit) 6:49 **

08 - Be thankful for what you got (Paul Simpson Re-edit) 5:03 **

09 - Mother & child reunion (Paul Simpson Re-edit) 5:19 *

10 - Hang on in there (Paul Simpson Re-edit) 4:48 *

11 - (Win, place or show) She's a winner (Paul Simpson Re-edit) 4:02 * [1]

12 - Traveling home (Paul Simpson Re-edit) 4:13 * [1]

13 - To be happy is the real thing (Paul Simpson Re-edit) 4:30 *

14 - I wanna know your name (Instrumental) 5:50 *

1 Bonus track on 2008 Japanese CD reissue

Full tracks are available to listen to on Paul's dedicated website available for an extended two weeks, but best be quick on this one as it was released a few weeks ago and the website states 'held over' so it may disappear soon.

Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.

Details

Rating:	8.6
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Philly Soul / Re-edits
Format:	Album
Media:	Digital
Label:	Simphouse Productions
Cat No:	None
Date:	04/2023
Price:	$11.99

Friday, 27 January 2023

The Intruders [2023] - You're My One & Only Baby / I've Got Love For You [Soul Direction #SD015]

The Intruders will probably be best known for their 60s hits on Gamble ("Cowboys To Girls" and "(Love Is) A Baseball Game" from 1968) and their 70s hits on Gamble & Huff's PIR label especially for their 1973 hit "I'll Always Love My Mama" in particular first released on Gamble a month earlier.

The group was formed in 1959, originally as a quintet but reformed as the long-standing quartet of Sam 'Little Sonny' Brown, Eugene 'Bird' Daughtry, Phillip 'Phil' Terry and Robert 'Big Sonny' Edwards. Big Sonny Edwards left the group to be replaced by Bobby Starr returning to the group around 1973 in time for their third biggest hit.

The story Soul Direction owner, Alan Kitchener, relays in his write up is that Big and Little Sonny worked in a barber shop in north Philly and sang over the phone for Gowen label owner Barry Golder to get his attention. Golder then sent his 19 year old son down to the shop to audition them and signed them to the label where they released two singles in 1961 and 1962 (the latter as Four Intruders), neither of which dented the R&B charts. They next released a single on Lost Nite in 1963 and one on Music Voice, which was also released by Musicor, in 1964 followed by another on Excel in 1966. None made any impact on the charts.

Another single was released on King Tut as 4 Intruders, date unknown but is believed to have been from a 70s discovery (the preceding cat. no. is dated 1979) of an unreleased acetate of one of their very early recordings as it's a doo-wop song and a cover of a song recorded by The Plurals (from Newark) in May 1959, as was their first Gowen single "I'm Sold".

In July 1963, after they left Gowen, they recorded two songs for Benn-X/B&L productions "Dance Boy" / "Let's Try It Again" produced by Frank Bendinelli and Leroy Lovett which never saw a release. Then started their relationship with Gamble & Huff singing to the Gamble label in 1966. Their first single for the label was their first charting single "(We'll Be) United" / "Up And Down The Ladder" which reached #14 R&B and #78 hot 100. The majority of their Gamble singles charted on both R&B and Hot 100 with one or two exceptions. They stayed with the label until switching to Philadelphia International re-releasing "I'll Always Be Your Mama" (which was originally on Gamble) achieving their third (and last) Hot 100 Top 40 entry.

The two sides presented on the latest Soul Direction 7" release, "You're My One & Only Baby" / "I've Got Love For You" were written by B&L staff pianist Leon Huff and recorded late 1964/early 1965 for a possible released Mercury. The group were not offered a contract with Mercury so they departed company with B&L productions when their contract expired in Jul 1965 and the recording has been left in the can until now.

The songs have been licensed from Frank Bendinelli of Ben-Lee Music and re-mastered from original studio master tapes and released for the first time and are available to pre-order from today (27 Jan 2023) from Soul Direction for release in mid Feb.

Both songs feature on a very limited edition CD compilation "The Intruders The Ben-Lee Recordings 1963-65" released in May 2021 by Funkadelphia Records.

Details

Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Northern Soul / 60s Soul
Format:	Single
Media:	7" Vinyl
Label:	Soul Direction
Cat No:	SD015
Date:	27/01/2023
Key/BPM:	10B/66 / 9B/68
Price:	£1

Thursday, 4 August 2022

Version Excursion - Cowboys To Girls

I've just seen a rare version of The Intruder's "Cowboys To Girls" posted on facebook by Richard Gilbert aka Gilly who's a well known 'face' on the UK Northern Soul scene. It's a version by The Composers. Although not listed under the same artist on either Discogs or 45Cat, I wonder if it's the same group who did "Let's Get To The Point" on Complex 3 Records as it has that same naive / raw sound. Both recordings are the only recording on the respective labels i.e. Composer Recordings in 1969 and Complex 3 in 1970, so probably both private pressings. However, digging a bit deeper probably not as The Composers were known earlier as The Knightriders from Portland, OR and the other Composers recording was on a NYC label.

Anyway I thought I'd bundle together all the different versions I could find (23 so far) and to be perfectly honest none after 1980 quite cut the mustard!

Links to Discogs on cat. no. and to YouTube on artist.

1968 - The Intruders [Gamble #G-214]

The original, obviously. A #1 R&B hit and #6 Hot 100 and their biggest hit.

1968 - The Fantastics [Hit #324]

Nashville group not the group originally known as The Velours who moved to England as The Fantastics. The label released mainly covers of soul hits recorded by relatively unknown artists.

1968 - Gene Chandler [Brunswick #BL 754131] LP There Was A Time

One of the first covers by The Duke Of Earl which is album only.

1968 - The Hollywood Youngsters [Center #17026 ST] Top Hits Aus USA, Folge 2 LP

I've not heard this and can't find a sound file but don't expect much as it looks like one of those 'Top Of The Pops' type recordings but from Germany.

1968 - Detroit City Limits [Okeh #OKS-14127] 98c Ninety-Eight Cents Plus Tax and Other Great Hits LP

A surprising find, an instrumental version released on an Okeh album.

1969 - The Composers Feat. Arlee Evans [Composers Recording #1001]

You'd hardly call this a polished performance but as one comment on the YT post puts it, that's the 'essence' of rare soul. These guys probably turned up to a studio and did it in one take and put it on vinyl to sell at their gigs.

1969 - Joe Bataan [Fania #SLP 375] Singing Some Soul LP

Latin soul, album only, version.

1968 - Incredible Soul-Tet [Empire #WWR 868-585] Various Reading 1968 LP

Obscure Philly version reissued in 2017.

1968 - The Jalynne Sound [Dakar #1451]

An instrumental version by a one-off group led by Willie Henderson.

1971 - The Ripples [Apace #AM 2005]

One of the best versions, a sweet soul female version which flips it to Cowgirls To Boys and takes the tempo down.

1975 - Sweet Blindness [Quality #2150X]

Disco version played on Northern Soul turntables.

1980 - Norfolk [Barbara Jean International #BJI 751] 12"

Modern Soul / Disco version which has an instrumental version on flip.

1980 - Philly Cream [WMOT #WS7 5350]

Disco version produced by Philly's Butch Ingram.

1983 - Commodores [Intermedia #QS-5047] Uprising LP (Rise Up in Europe)

Instrumental version by the Commodores on their second album after leaving Motown.

1983 - The Dirk Howell Band [Dirk Howell Records #DH3-83001]

Horrible blue-eyed beach version

1989 - Payday [Aircraft #AC-4511]

No sound file available but I'm guessing that it's a blue-eyed version on this Pittsburgh label.

1995 - Chris Gaffney with Lucinda Williams [Hightone #HCD 8062] Loser's Paradise LP

Blue-eyed country/soul version later recorded with Hacienda Brothers

2002 - Jimmy & The Soul Blazers [Self Released] It's About Time LP

Blue-eyed beach version

2002 - The Embers [Eee Records #None] With Love LP

Blue-eyed beach version

2006 - Hacienda Brothers [Proper American #PRPACD004] What's Wrong with Right LP

Blue-eyed country soul version recorded earlier by group member Chris Gaffney

2007 - Rickie Fox [Self Released #None] Monomusical LP

Another blue-eyed version

2012 - Tony Strong & The Philly Soul [Essential Media Group #None] It Ain't Over LP

Out of Bruce Ingram's stable

2013 - Tony Strong & The Philly All Stars [Essential Media Group #None] Perform Hits of Intruders LP

Probably the same recording as above

Sunday, 8 May 2022

The Intruders [1973] - I'll Always Love My Mama [PIR #KZ 31991]

Today in the US is Mother's Day, whilst the UK celebrated it on 27 March.

Here's an obvious selection from The Intruders with the unexpurgated album version ("Save The Children") of their 1973 Philly classic "I'll Always Love My Mama" written by Gamble & Huff along with McFadden & Whitehead.

Details

Rating:	8.8
Explicit:	N
Genre/Style:	Philly Soul
Format:	Single / Album Track
Media:	LP
Label:	Philadelphia International Records
Cat No:	KZ 31991
Date:	1973
Key/BPM:	12A/120
Value:	£-

Sunday, 29 March 2020

Disciples Of Soul [1969] - Together [Phantom RI 2755]

Only release on Phantom out of Richmond, VA but looking deeper it is linked to Recordings, Inc. Baltimore which is a custom pressing service so this is probably a one-off self-release, although this 45 was also released on Odeon (Stateside series) in Chile with Spanish and English titles, which some claim may well be the first release before Phantom. I don't detect any Spanish accents - in fact it sounds distinctly blue-eyed on the flip especially.

Disciples Of Soul [1969] - Together [Phantom RI 2755]

Cover of The Intruders 1967 Gamble & Huff song.