Johnnie Mae Matthews - A Profile

A belated profile for what would have been Johnnie Mae Matthews' centennial birthday on 31 Dec 2022, but coincides with the anniversary of her death on 6 Jan 2002 aged 79.

Most certainly not a household name to many other than soul stalwarts, but Johnnie Mae Matthews was instrumental in the Detroit soul scene of the early 60s dubbed as the "Godmother of Detroit Soul". She was born 31 Dec 1922 in Bessemer, AL, and died after a long battle with cancer on this day in 2002. However, there is a newspaper clipping from 1974 stating that she was then 39, which would give her birth year as 1935, but several others sources (including the reliable Soulful Detroit) state 1922 which would put her age in 1990, when the video below was shot, at either 55 or 68, you decide. UPDATE, I found a memorial site and her grave states 1934 as her year of birth (in line with the newspaper article but the site gives her birthdate as 1922) so if this is correct then she would have been 89 on her birthday and 68 when she died.

As with so many soul singers she began singing in church in the deep south. Her family moved to New Jersey when she was 12 in 1934 and then on to Detroit in 1947. In 1957 she formed a quintet, The Five Dapps who released a single in 1958 on Brax singing lead on the flip "You're So Unfaithful". The same year she created her own label Northern Recording Company and later other labels such as Art (her husband's name), Audrey (her daughter's name), Reel, Bon, Jam, Big Hit and Tank and became one of the first Afro-American females to own and operate her own labels.

Five Dapps

Her early recordings featured future Funk Brothers Joe Hunter and James Jamerson and she nurtured Richard 'Popcorn' Wylie who was in a group The Mohawks with Norman Harris. In 1960 she released the first single by The Distants ("Come On" on Northern) who of course later became The Temptations when Otis Williams, Elbridge "Al" Bryant, and Melvin Franklin from the group joined forces with Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams of the Primes. The single also included The Adantes who would go on to become the house backing singers with Motown.

Berry Gordy credits Matthews for teaching him the ropes and made overtures to recruit her which she declined. She was also influential in the early careers of David and Jimmy Ruffin and wrote (uncredited) Mary Wells breakthrough hit "Bye Bye Baby".

By the end of the 60s her labels folded and she spent the early 70s focussed on a group called Black Nasty that her children,  Artwell and Audrey, were members of, who would later rename themselves The ADC Band. They had a #6 R&B (#101 Hot 100) hit in 1978 "The Long Stroke" which prompted Matthews to reopen Northern but it was short-lived closing down in 1980. The ADC Band had a further five R&B charting singles but sadly neither Johnnie Mae herself nor Black Nasty managed to chart any of their releases.

However, Johnnie Mae is revered in Northern and rare soul circles for her 1969 outing on Big Hit "I Have No Choice" which Black Nasty covered on their solitary 1973 album "Talking To The People" on Stax subsidiary Enterprise. A couple of other versions have surfaced over the years, one attributed to Audrey Matthews, which she refutes and suggested that it was a demo recording by the song's writer Sharon McMahon, but a few years later McMahon's version  was released on 7" by Hayley which is a different recording so it is still unknown who recorded the earlier version. All versions were posted HERE last year.

Other tunes played on the NS circuit included "Lonely You'll Be",  "Here Comes My Baby", "Love Hides All Faults" and "Two Sided Thing".

The video below is footage from Andy 'Tats' Taylor and Richard 'Gilly' Gilbert shot on a visit to Detroit in 1990.

Discography

NB Links to tracks found on YouTube, alternatively a composite YouTube playlist.

Five Dapps

1958 - Five Dapps - Do Whop A Do / You're So Unfaithful [Brax #HB-207]

Johnnie Mae Matthews And Her Dapp's

1959 - Dreamer / Indian Joe [Northern #C 3727]

1959 - Mr. Fine / Some Day [Northern #C 3729]

Joannie Mae Matthews

1960-08 - Ooh Wee / Give Me True Love [Northern #3736]

1961- Oh, Baby / You Worrie Me [Glodis #1004]

1961 - So Lonely / Help Me [Northern #3742]

1961 - Oh, Baby / You Worrie Me [Reel #3743]

1961 - No One Can Love Me (The Way You Do) / No More Tears [Reel #3745]

1961-12 - The Headshrinker / My Little Angel [Reel #112]

1962 - Oh Mother / Come Home [Reel #119]

Johnnie Mae Matthews & Timmy Shaw

1962 - I Don't Want Your Loving Part 1 / I Don't Want Your Loving Part 2 [Reel #120]

Johnnie Mae Matthews

1962 - Lonely Road / I Won't Cry Any More [Reel #122]

1962-01 - My Little Angel / The Headshrinker [Sue #755]

1963 - No Body Business (What I Do) / My Destination (Is True Love) [Northern #4736]

1964-05 - Worried About You / Itty Bitty Heart [Spokane #S-4008]

1964-11 - Baby What's Wrong / Here Comes My Baby [Blue Rock #B-4001]

1965 - Baby What's Wrong / Here Comes My Baby [Limelight #Y-3042]

1965-03 - My Man (Sweetest Man In The World) / I Can't Live Without You [Blue Rock #B-4011]

1965-06 - Luck Walked Through My Door / Love Hides All Faults [Audrey #100]

Joe L. Carter / Joe L. Carter & Johnnie M. Matthews

1966? - My Life Story / Don't Cry Baby [Audrey #ST-112]

Johnnie Mae Matthews

1966 - Lonely You'll Be / That's What My Man (Is For) [Jam #TZ-103]

1966 - Don't Talk About My Man / He Really Loves Me [Big D #R-855]

Johnnie Mae Matthews And The Wonderettes/ Johnnie Mae Matthews

1967-10 - Cut Me Loose / Lonely You'll Be [Art #TY-002]

Johnnie Mae Matthews

1967 - Got - To Be On (The Case) / You're The One [Art #TY-003]

1967 - Got - To Be On (The Case) / You're The One [Atco #45-6528]

1969-04 - Two Sided Thing / You Make Me Feel Good [Big Hit #TS 104]

1969 - I Have No Choice / That's When It Hurts [Big Hit #TS 105]

1969-11 - It's Good / (Come On Back.) [Northern #BTZ 10039]

1970 - My Momma Didn't Lie / Your The One [Big Hit #TZ 108]

1972 - Don't Be Discouraged / You're The One [Big Hit #TZ-111]

1980-03 - It's Good / (Come On Back.) [Cotillion #45010]

1980-05 - I Can Feel It / Crazy About You [Northern #BZT 10040]

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'I Have No Choice' - now you have 4 choices! Johnnie Mae Matthews, Audrey Matthews, Black Nasty, Sharon McMahan

The original version of this song has long been regarded as a Northern Soul classic even though it is not typical of the type of record played.  In this post I'll bring you a few other versions, two of which were previously unreleased until relatively recently.

To kick off this article here's some footage filmed by Richard 'Gilly' Gilbert and Andy 'Tats' Taylor from arond 1990 on a visit to Detroit showing Johnnie Mae Mathews and her daughter Audrey (Kaiya) singing part of the song in their kitchen.

Johnnie Mae Mathews [1967] - Big Hit #TZ 105]

Johnnie Mae Matthews, was dubbed 'The Godmother of Detroit Soul' as she was the first Afro American woman to own a record company. George Clinton referred to her as 'Mother Funker'. She created several labels (Northern, Big Hit, Tank, Reel, Bon, Jam, Art and Audrey, the last two named after her son and daughter respectively) in Detroit in the 60s on which many future established artists started their recording career e.g. Otis Williams & The Distants who later became The Temptations.  Apparently Berry Gordy asked her repeatedly to record for Motown. 

This is a highly in-demand rare record, now fetching up to 4 figures.  It was written by Sharon McMahan who had her previously unreleased 1967 version released by Hayley around 2016 (see below).

If you want to read more about her career there is a good article on SoulfulDetroit.

Black Nasty [1973] - I Have No Choice [Enterprise #ENS 1031]

Taken from their 1973 album 'Talking To The People' on Stax subsidiary Enterprise. The group contained members of the Matthews family. Artwell was drummer and Audrey was lead singer.  Johnnie Mae Matthews managed them and produced their album with Sir Mack Rice who had recommended the group to Stax when he began working at the label.

They released an album on Enterprise and half a dozen 45s, 3 on Big Hit (Johnnie Mae Matthews label) and 3 on Enterprise.  The last single on Enterprise 'Cut Your Motor Off' was a big NS tune around 1976.  Prior to being named Black Nasty they were know as Raw Integrated Funk and afterwards changed their name to Nazty (who recorded an album 'I Got To Move' and two singles for Mankind in 1976) and then ADC Band and continued recording, mainly on Cotillion (5 albums and a dozen or more 45s), into the 80s.

Audrey Matthews [2001] - I Have No Choice #Kent #CDKEND 192]

Previously unreleased and discovered on an acetate and believed to be Audrey Matthews, the daughter of Johnnie Mae Matthews. It first got a release on Kent Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities CD in 2001 and has since been issued on a 45, on a 'look-alike' Northern label, with her mother's version on the other side - I don't know whether this is an official release, I suspect not, but is sells for between £75-£100. It is still not known for sure who the singer is and many have speculated that it was a demo cut by Sharon McMahan who denies it , and Audrey Matthews also doesn't recall recording it. She renamed herself Kaiya and released around 4 singles in the 80s as well as recording with Black Nasty, Nazty and ADC Band.

Sharon McMahan [2016] - I Have No Choice [Hayley #HR 021]

McMahan wrote the song and recorded a previously unreleased version in 1967 at Detroit's United Sound Systems which got a released on Hayley around 2016.  For some time it was believed that the Audrey Matthews version was in fact Sharon McMahan, but this has now been dispelled with the release of her version, which for me is probably the best as the production by Ollie McLaughlin and arrangement by Mike Terry is fuller.

As an added bonus here's some footage from Cleethorpes Weekender in June 2015 of her performng it live. It is more like Johnnie Mae Mathews version rather than the Hayley version and starts approx 2:30 into the video. (Thanks to Karl White for uplodaing the video).