The first releases on Cliff Steele and Andy 'Tats 'Taylor's Creative Soul
label in 2002 consisted of two sides from Ruby Winters languishing on a
1999 UK only CD compilation of her work ("The Best Of Ruby Winters"). It contained two previously
unreleased, George Kerr written, songs "I Can't Help But Love You" and a cover of Linda
Jones' If Only (We Had Met Sooner)"
Two versions of "I Can't Help But Let You" were released on vinyl in Oct last year by Charly and are now available digitally, curiously, with the title changed from 'love you' to 'let you" which is actually what was sung so perhaps the compilation title was originally mistake?
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There's a few dozen versions of this Johnny Bristol, Vernon Bullock and Harvey Fuqua written song "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)" originally recorded in 1969 by Jr. Walker & The All Stars.
This is a previously unreleased version by Jackey Beavers who reputedly cut it around the same time as the original having been present during the recording of Jr. Walker's version.
It was released on 45 by Charly last year along with an alternate take of "Lover Come Back" and both have now been made available digitally.
Beavers co-wrote "Someday We'll Be Together" with Bristol & Fuqua which they recorded as Johnny & Jackey in 1961. In 1969 it was a big hit for Diana Ross & The Supremes and was their break up song as not long afterwards Diana Ross left for a solo career.
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Well the saga continues! After buying one of only two known copies of
Frank Wilson's "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)" on Soul S-35109 (a white label
test pressing has subsequently turned up making three known copies on
vinyl) in Aug 2020, the buyer Lee Jeffries has put it up on his
Sonic Wax website
for a set sale of a staggering £150,000. He, allegedly, paid
£100,000 for it, so 'only' a 50% mark up in under four years! Will anyone
bite?
We originally posted about the record and it's history in
Sep 2009 (which has now received 10,245 views) when Edinburgh DJ Kenny Burrell auctioned his copy via John Manship Records(which he had bought for £15,000 in 1999 from record dealer Tim Brown) to an unnamed buyer for almost £26,000. In Aug 2020 we posted an update when Lee Jeffries bought that copy for what was
said to be £100,000.
It is most definitely now out of most people's league at that sort of price
and only the very rich (and perhaps stupid?) are able to afford it but no
doubt 'someone' will buy it for the 'kudos'.
The latest vinyl release from Soul Direction consists of three songs by
Sharisma that were released digitally for the first time in Aug '22 on a compilation
"Emandolynn Music Presents: Rare Soul, Vol. 3".
The compilation had nine tracks with three of them from
Sharisma who were a 2 male, 2 female quartet from Wilmington, Delaware. They met Emandolynn's Manny Campbell (Soulville
Productions) at a show in 1969 and then travelled to Philadelphia to record
with him in the hope of completing an album. They started recording an album
in 1969-70 at the famed Sigma Sounds studios but before it was completed the
group disbanded because some members were drafted for the Vietnam
War.
The first two songs, “Love Is The Way" and "Something Wonderful” , were recorded as demos at Upper Darby Studios in 1969 with the last
"My Son Trouble Trouble" recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in 1970 and was intended to be the
group's debut single. It was engineered by Sigma's Joe Tarsia and included
musicians who would later become members of The Trammps.
The single will be available to pre-order from Soul Direction on 29 Apr
for release on 7 May.
The lead side, "Trouble Trouble" is a mid tempo Northern Soul / Crossover sound with "Something Wonderful" sounding like something that The 5th Dimension / Friends Of Distinction may have recorded at the turn of the decade. The ballad "Love Is The Way" having more appeal to the Lowriders and sweet soul lovers.
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A couple of weeks ago a 1966 recording on Sound Of Soul by
Little Tommy
was reissued. Today we have another by
Dickie Wonder (Richard L. Jackson). Both sides have been
reissued separately i.e. "Nobody Knows" and "Story Of My Love" but we're only posting the former as the latter is quite a dreary
doo-wop style ballad.
"Nobody Knows" is a 'proper', archetypal Northern Soul stomper. There were two
versions of the song released: a slightly shorter version which has female backing vocals
(SS 5002) and this one which has no female backing (SS 217672).
We've also posted the version with female vocals from YouTube below which was reissued
on a single sided 7" by Sonic Wax in 2020. Which camp are you in as some prefer the early raw version and others the sweetened version with backing vocals (we're in the latter camp)?
The digitally reissued version is the first release. The song was later
re-recorded with female backing when Cameo Parkway picked up a distribution
deal for it. It was then reissued on Golden Triangle (possibly around 1976) billed as Dickie (Sweet Sugar) Wonder which, even though a reissue, commands high
prices.
Like the Little Tommy song, this track also featured on the "Free Angela" compilation released by Golden Triangle in 1971 so perhaps the 45 was released around the same period? A comment on 45Cat states that the A side ("All My Friends Call Me A Fool") was registered in 1976 but perhaps he may be confusing it with Larry Saunders' version on his 1976 album "Stranger"?
Whilst digging around BMI we noticed that August Moon Music now seems to be managed by Secret Stash, so these digital reissues are probably from Secret Stash. We headed over to their website to confirm this and it transpires that August Moon (the owner of Sound Of Soul and Golden Triangle) passed in Jul 2023 and a tribute page was posted if you wish to learn more about the music scene in Norfolk, VA, in the 60s and 70s.
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On 30 Jan we alerted you to the forthcoming album "Brothers And Sisters" by Michelle David & The True-tones with the lead
single which was pre-released on Bandcamp. It was then released on all
platforms the following week.
We still have just over three weeks to wait for the album due on 5 Apr
and no further tracks have been leaked as yet. However, a couple of weeks ago the group performed the lead single live, video below.
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artist.
A hugely in-demand record on the Northern Soul scene, which commands
over four figures if you manage to track one, down as only one has
ever sold on Discogs but there are plenty of sales listed on Popsike, has been reissued digitally today.
The song in question is "Baby Can't You See", the B side of Little Tommy's second, and last, release on August Moon's (aka Alexander
Randolph) Richmond, VA, based Sound Of Soul label in 1965.
The song also featured on the "Free Angela" compilation released by Golden Triangle in 1971. The compilation
was produced by Moon under another alias, Dickie Diamond, along with
Larry Saunders (the estranged father of Ledisi) and was released to raise money for political activist Angela Davis' legal
defence.
Little Tommy is William Tyrone Thomas, also from Richmond, VA, who
later recorded a self-titled album, and two singles from it, as
Wolfmoon on Fungus in the early 70s produced by Jerry Williams Jr. aka
Swamp Dogg. We've always had a bit of a soft spot for "God
Bless" which was written by Jerry Williams Jr.
He then went on to become the band leader of another Richmond, VA,
group, The Whole Darn Family, who recorded an album and four singles
all on Moon's Sound International label in 1976. The group released a
version of his first single, a deep soul song, "I'm Hurt" as a flip
side on two of the singles. The group also recorded a 12"
instrumental, "Seven Minutes Of Funk", which has been sampled by many
(no fewer than 50+) hip-hop artists including Grandmaster Flash on
"Superappin'". More recently by Busta Rhymes on "Luxury Life" on
"Blockbusta" in Nov last year.
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Since Oct '22 Northern Soul DJ, promoter, author Kev Roberts presented
a series of podcasts titled "Mountain Of Soul" sponsored by Charly Records. The ten songs from each show were also
released as digital compilations and some even saw 7" vinyl
release.
This compilation "Wigan Casino 50 Golden Years" seems to select those played at the venue. We haven't diligently
checked each track, but from a glance many, if not all, of the 20 tracks
have featured on the Mountain Of Soul compilations.
The compilation came up in the new releases on Amazon on Friday but
appears to have been initially released on 24 Nov '23. It's available
digitally and on CD.
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artist.
The second Hit And Run vinyl reissue today comes from Chicago's
Paul Smith. Very little seems to be known about Smith (and a Google search with
such a name would prove futile). What is know is that he released two singles on
Chicago label Jacklyn in 1966, the label's first release "I'll Run" / "Ain't That Something" which he followed with a pairing of "Ain't That Something" and "Only Once In A Lifetime" on the label's fourth release.
The label was owned by Johnny Haygood and named after one of his daughters.
He was also the stepfather of one Darrow Fletcher and set up the label as a
vehicle for 15 yr old Fletcher after being disillusioned by the royalties
received from Fletcher's first four singles leased to NY's Groovy label.
Jacklyn ran for only two years between 1966-68 and released just ten
singles.(whether or not Jacklyn 1007 was ever released is a mystery as it is
not listed anywhere). Whilst Haygood set up the label primarily for his
stepson, Fletcher only released three of the ten singles.
The label's first release by Smith is probably the most sought after and is
an in-demander on the rare soul scene, sufficiently for it to be bootlegged.
Only one original is for sale on Discogs so they are very hard to come by
but now you don't have to settle for a bootleg (apparently quite a
convincing counterfeit identified by the running time of 2:30 vs 2:20 on
original) as you can now buy an official reissue.
For his only other known single he reused the first's flipside along with
"Only Once In A Lifetime", so this reissue consists of all his known
recordings. Smith is on writing credits for two of the three songs We wonder what happened to him as all three songs are top quality, with "I'll Run" being a firm favourite for many years and "Ain't That Something" being very much in the Darrow Fletcher vein.
Available now to order by sending £15.00 each + £3.00 UK postage (good for
1-3 records) via Paypal (friends & family) to
hitandrunsoul45@gmail.com
Numero Group reissue another single from Harvey Scales & The 7 Sounds
(last May they reissued
"Welcome Home" / "Trackdown"). Both singles were originally released in 1969 on Milwaukee based Magic
Touch label owned by Lennie LaCour.
The group was from Milwaukee founded in 1961. The reissue is of the
superb deep soul cut "Don't You Ever Let It End" written by Scales and LaCour flipped with a Northern Soul style
instrumental "The Sound Of Soul" penned by Scales and band co-founder Albert Vance.
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A record acquired from one of those, now legendary, Soul Bowl soul packs
from the mid 70s now gets a first ever reissue by Soul Junction.
It's price has risen in more recent years (it has a price tag of around
£250 now on Discogs) as it has become more appreciated after being
overlooked in the heyday because it wasn't deemed fast enough! It must
have sold well enough locally in Chicago as there are at least three
different pressings on the Capri label. It was the Scott Brothers' label's
first release on the label which 45Cat lists as 1968 (copyright for both
songs were registered 29 Jan 1968). Soul Junction is releasing it exactly
56 years later on 29 Jan 2024.
Soul Junction's Dave Welding has drawn somewhat of a blank trying to
source information about Cam Cameron except that his real
name was the A side song's writer, Alvin Cameron. He doesn't appear to have released any further material. BMI
lists "They Say" along with another song "Merriam" (sung by George Spice
which we can find no trace of) under another Alvin Cameron who may or may
not be the same person (we think not).
Whilst "They Say" is more uptempo to "I'm A Lonely Man", the latter (written by the Scott Brothers) is also now getting
attention. They were both arranged by Johnny Cameron who worked on many
Chicago recordings embraced by the rare soul scene, most notably "I Really
Love You" recorded by Jimmy Burns and Bobby James and also versions by The
Mystics and Brand New Faces, all of which we
featured in 2020.
He also worked with the likes of The Esquires, Syl Johnson, Betty
Everett, Garland Green, Denise Chandler (aka Deneice
Williams), The Lovelites and many others.
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
Alan Kitchener set up Soul Direction in 2020 and has to date released
around 20 singles on the main label. A subsidiary imprint called Origins was
created to focus on particularly rare records and has it's eighth release
due tomorrow (12 Oct).
It consists of two rarities from Baltimore's Ru-Jac label set up by
Rufus Mitchell and Jack Bennet in 1963 and ran until 1974, although one further release
materialised in 1980. The label released between 40-50 singles whilst
in existence. In 2018 four compilations of the label's output "The Ru-Jac Records Story" Vol's 1-4" were released by Omnivore, from
whom these tracks have been licensed. We noticed only last week that
they re-emerged on Amazon's new releases, so assume that they are
either being re-issued or re-marketed.
The two recordings being paired for Origins 1008 are
The Caressors "I Can't Stay Away" and Sir Joe "Every Day (I'll Be Needing You)".
No one at the label recalls anything about The Caressors who recorded
two sides for Ru-Jac in 1968. The song is credited to co-owner Rufus
Mitchell and George Charles Brown. It has never sold on Discogs and
only a handful are listed on Popsike (selling for around the £1,000
mark) along with a few bootlegs on Soulwax (which isn't listed on
Discogs).
Sir Joe is Joe Quarterman from Washington D.C. possibly best known
for his only hit single, the funky "(I Got) So Much Trouble in My Mind" as Joe Quarterman & Fee Soul on GSF in 1972.
He met Eddie Best (Gene & Eddie) and Don Downing and became lead
singer with The Knights. After several of the members were drafted
into the military he formed formed Sir Joe & The Maidens, later
joining El Corols Band & Show who released a single "You Must Be
An Angel" / "Chick, Chick" on Tiny in 1968. The single was also one of
very few (3/4 listed) releases on Tommy Rouse's Washington D.C. Rouser
label billed as just The El Corols in 1971 which sells for big
bucks. 45Cat lists another release with an alternate title of "Ain't
No Bragg" for "Chick, Chick" with a different cat. no. (but no label
scan). All Rouser releases sell for well into four figures.
Quarterman wrote and recorded "Every Day (I'll Be Needing You)" in 1970 for Ru-Jac which was the official B side to "Baby, I'd Drop
Every Thing". It is not even listed on 45Cat and we found only one
listing for it on Popsike which sold for £348 in Nov 2012.
He had one other earlier release on Ru-Jac in 1967 both sides of
which were released as the second Origins release (1002). Soul
Direction tell us that "Nobody Beats My Love" along with an unreleased song "A Guy For
You" were recorded using spare studio time at Edgewood Studios after the
recording of The El Corals single. The flip, "If You Give Up Your Love”, was recorded later at Virtue.
The second delayed release from Hayley Records are both unreleased
instrumentals of Northern Soul classics.
The A side leads with the backing track of J.J. Barnes' "Sweet Sherry" (also used for an unreleased Edwin Starr recording, "Has It Happened To You Yet", which surfaced on Goldmine Soul Supply on 7" in 1997) credited to
Groovesville Players under it's original title "Don't Hurt Me". Note that a song with the title "Has It Happened To You Yet" was recorded by The Falcons on Lu Pine in 1964 which is a different
song.
The flip is the instrumental backing track for Al Kent's "The Way You've Been Acting Lately" which was originally on the flip side of the vocal but this is an
unreleased version with a false start and no backing singers.
There is a
female version
floating around YouTube which shows a photo of The Supremes but it was a
Neil Ruston release on his Inferno Soul Club label from 1983 by
Tina Lewis which has a cover version of Edwin Starr's
"Back Street" as the A side.
A couple of releases of previously unissued Detroit recordings announced in June, which seem
to have been delayed, are now available.
The first consists of two sides from Deon Jackson. "Happily Ever After" was originally recorded by Len Barry on Decca in 1966,
but found its way to Detroit and producer Ollie McLoughlin and arranger Mike
Terry in the mid 1960s.
The flip "(You've Got) The Power Of Love" was written by Richard McDougall (a member of the Capitols but they never recorded the song). The Esquires released it under a shortened tittle "You Got The Power" via Wand
in 1968 and it found it's way onto a CD compilation "The Esquires – Get On Up ... And Get Away With The Esquires" in 1998 by Westside compiled by Tony Rounce, as well as a couple of others.
Hayley released another couple of unissued Deon Jackson songs which we posted on a Deon Jackson Profile in Jan '23 (on his posthumous birthday) which included a superb new digital compilation of his music.
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