Remembering Teddy Pendergrass (26 Mar 1950 - 13 Jan 2010)

Another soul legend would have been celebrating his 74th birthday today. Teddy (Theodore DeReese) Pendergrass, born in Kingstree, SC, on 26 Mar 1950, died from respiratory failure on 13 Jan 2010 aged 59. He was lead singer of Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes from 1971-1975, who had four #1 R&B hits during his tenure, before launching a solo career in 1977. 

Teddy was sadly left as a tetraplegic from a spinal injury after a car accident in March 1982. He continued to record despite his condition and released a further six albums between 1984-97 albeit he wasn't the same singer, the two albums released in 1982 and 1983 were recorded before his accident. Having viewed a documentary on his life ("If You Don't Know Me" BBC) the circumstances were suspicious as his brakes had failed and some believe may have been tampered with but that has never been proven. More tragedy and conspiracy surrounded his life earlier in 1977 when his girlfriend, and manager, Taazmayia 'Taaz' Lang was shot dead at her home which is suspected to have been a hit by the Black Mafia but no one has ever been charged with her murder. Also his father left the family when he was young and not long after they met again, when he was 11 in 1962, his father was stabbed to death in a fight. 

Pendergrass' first recording was "Angel With Muddy Feet" for Gene Lawson's Up Look label in Philly in the late 60s. I can find no trace of it apart from it being on a 2006 Grapevine compilation CD "The Up Look Records Story" which also has two other tracks by him, "We Got Love" and "Should I Go Or Should I Stay". Only a handful of singles seem to have been released on Up-Look and those that were released were all from Charles Mintz or Delegates Of Soul between 1969-70. Teddy sang backing vocals for Charles Mintz in his first session.  Lawson was also a publicist for Otis Redding and co-wrote a song "Free Me" which was posthumously released in Aug 1969 (Redding was killed in a plane crash in Dec 1967 along with members of The Bar-Kays).

He played drums for several local Philadelphia bands, eventually becoming the drummer of The Cadillacs and came to the attention of Harold Melvin in 1970. However, Melvin was impressed with his vocal ability and made him lead singer in Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes. The group joined Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International setup in 1971 and the rest is history. 

Their first single with PIR was "I Miss You" in March 1972 (a Gamble & Huff song written for, and unbelievably turned down by, The Dells) which was a Top 10 R&B hit and made #58 Hot 100. It was followed by a #1 R&B / #3 Hot 100 hit "If You Don't Know Me By Now", another song originally intended for another i.e. LaBelle who were not able to record it owing to other commitments. Patti LaBelle eventually recorded it in 1985. With Teddy at the helm, the group had it's most successful period achieving nine R&B Top 10 hits from their following eleven singles, with four achieving the top spot and several crossing over to the Hot 100 Top 20.

By 1975 there was a rift between Pendergrass and Melvin over finances and also with Pendergrass wanting the group renamed to Teddy Pendergrass & The Blue Notes as he felt that he was constantly being mistaken as Harold Melvin. Despite one album ("To Be True") being billed as Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes featuring Teddy Pendergrass, the conflict wasn't resolved and Pendergrass left for a solo career in 1977 by which time the group left for ABC with Pendergrass staying at PIR. The group did not have any further Hot 100 entries and only minor R&B hits whilst Teddy P had a dozen top 10 R&B hits (10 top 5 with 3 #1s) and ten Hot 100 entries with another four just outside, so I think we know who won that battle.

He went on to release fourteen solo albums between 1977-98. The first five albums all went Platinum (over 1m sales) with another two ("Love Language" (1984) and "Joy" (1988)) going Gold (over 500k sales). Pendergrass retired from recording in 2008.

With so much great music to choose from, narrowing down the playlist below was a challenge as it could have been filled with the 'obvious' material that most already know and love. Therefore, vintage footage of the hits have been included, mainly from the official PIR YouTube channel, along with playlist of some of perhaps his lesser known material i.e. mainly album tracks and B sides.

Album Discography

1977 - Teddy Pendergrass

1978 - Life Is a Song Worth Singing

1978 - Live! Coast To Coast

1979 - Teddy

1980 - TP

1981 - It's Time for Love

1982 - This One's for You

1983 - Heaven Only Knows

1984 - Love Language

1985 - Workin' It Back

1988 - Joy

1991 - Truly Blessed

1993 - A Little More Magic

1997 - You and I

1998 - This Christmas (I'd Rather Have Love)

Singles Discography

Chart positions in brackets (Hot 100 / R&B), if missing then the record didn't chart. Top 10 R&B hits in bold.

1977 PIR

I Don't Love You Anymore / Somebody Told Me (41/5)

The Whole Town's Laughing at Me / The More I Get, The More I Want (102/16)

1978 PIR

Close the Door / Get Up, Get Down, Get Funky, Get Loose (25/1)

Only You / It Don't Hurt Now (106/22)

Life Is a Song Worth Singing / Cold, Cold World

1979 PIR

Turn Off the Lights / If You Know Like I Know (48/2)

Come Go With Me / Do Me (-/14)

Shout and Scream / Close The Door (-/21)

1980 PIR

Where Did All The Lovin' Go / It's You I Love (-/44)

Is It Still Good To Ya / Girl You Knew

Can't We Try / This Gift Of Life (52/3)

Love T.K.O. / I Just Called To Say (44/2)

1981 20th Century-Fox

Two Hearts (with Stephanie Mills) / I Just Wanna Say (40/3)

1981 PIR

I Can't Live Without Your Love / You Must Live On (103/10)

You're My Latest, My Greatest Inspiration / Keep On Lovin' Me (43/4)

1982 PIR

Nine Times Out of Ten / The Gift of Life (31/)

I Can't Win for Losing /  Don't Leave Me Out Along The Road (-32)

1984 PIR

I Want My Baby Back / Life Is For The Living (-/61)

1984 Asylum

Hold Me (with Whitney Houston) / Love (46/5)

You're My Choice Tonight (Choose Me) / So Sad The Song (-/15)

In My Time / Stay With Me

1985 Asylum

Somewhere I Belong / Hot Love (-/76)

Never Felt Like Dancin' /  Love Emergency (-/21)

1986 Asylum

Love 4/2 /  One Of Us Fell In Love (-/6)

Let Me Be Closer / Love Emergency (-/67)

1988 Asylum / Elektra

Joy / Let Me Be Closer (77/1)

2 A.M. /  2 A.M. (Instrumental) (-/3)

Love Is the Power / I'm Ready (-/57)

1990 Elektra

Glad to Be Alive (Edit Of Remix) (with Lisa Fischer) /Glad to Be Alive (Remix) (-/31)

Glad to Be Alive (with Lisa Fischer) / With You (with Minnie Curry) (Europe only)(-/31)

Make It with You / Love Is The Power (-/23)

How Can You Mend A Broken Heart / She Knocks Me Off My Feet

1991 Elektra

It Should've Been You (4 versions) (-/1)

I Find Everything in You (3 Versions) (-/31)

1993 Elektra

Voodoo (Single Edit) / Voodoo (Radio Edit)(-/25)

1994 Elektra

Believe in Love (Phat Phili Mix / Believe Dat Dub / Teddy Bear Club Mix / Instrumental) (105/14)

I'm Always Thinking About You (Single Edit) / LP Version (-/90)

The More I Get, The More I Want" (with KWS) (35 UK)

(Radio Edit / Original 1977 Version / Loveland Club Version / Chris King's Street's Of Philadelphia 94 Remix / Long Island Remix

1997 Surefire

Give It To Me (Remix / Album Version / The Seduction / Remix Instrumental / Acappella)

Don't Keep Wastin' My Time / Slow Ride To Heaven (90/39)

Copyright © 2009-2024 SoulStrutter All Rights Reserved

Chaka Khan - A Profile

Chaka Khan is celebrating her 70th birthday today so as a tribute we have put together a playlist of 40 of, what we consider, her best recordings. Some of her mid 80s recordings and obvious hits have been deliberately omitted as we've all heard these a million times!

Having performed with local Chicago groups from around 1969, Chaka replaced Paulette McWilliams in Rufus in 1972 recording five albums with them before going solo in 1978 but appeared on a further three up to 1983. Her first solo hit was "I'm Every Woman" in 1978 (R&B #1 / Hot 100 #23) but her biggest hit was "I Feel For You" reaching #1 R&B and #3 Hot 100.

It may come as a surprise to discover that, in a recording career spanning 50 years, she has had only 2 US Top 40 solo pop hits with "I'm Every Woman" (1978) and "I Feel For You" (1984). She achieved seven with Rufus. In the UK she has fared a little better with those two along with "This Is My Night" (1984), "Eye To Eye" (1985) and two remixes of "I'm Every Woman" and "Ain't Nobody" all being UK Top 20 pop hits. In the R&B chart she has had a dozen Top 20 hits with eight of them being top 10 and three #1s.

Khan has recorded around fifteen solo albums (13 studio and 2 live) plus eight with Rufus between 1974-83. She has won ten Grammys and sold an estimated 70m records.

Copyright © 2009-2023 SoulStrutter All Rights Reserved

Tammi Terrell - A Profile

Tammi Terrell (Thomasina Winifred Montgomery 29 Apr 1945 - 16 Mar 1970) is perhaps best know for her duets with Marvin Gaye as she released three albums with him between 1967-69 and prior to that a dual album with the recently departed Chuck Jackson on Wand.

Tammi was born in Philadelphia, PA in 1945 and tragically died on this day in 1970 of brain cancer aged only 24.

She was signed to Specter Records by Luther Dixon in 1960 aged 15 where she sang on demos for The Shirelles. Her first single was released as Tammy Montgomery on Specter in 1961 when she was just 16 followed by one on Wand in 1962. She then spent nine months as a member of James Brown's Revue and released a Brown written and produced single, "I Cried", on Brown's Try Me label (named after his hit record) in May 1963. The chord progression on "I Cried" would later become the template for "It's A Man's, Man's Man's World". A final single as Tammy Montgomery appeared on Checker a year later in 1964 (which was an uncredited duet with Jimmy Radcliffe).

In 1961-62 she was briefly a member of The Sherrys. Northern Soulies will know the group as they consisted of the daughters and niece of Little Joe Cook and their 1966 record "Put Your Arms Around Me" (which has the same backing as Cooke's 1965 song "I'm Falling In Love With You Baby") was the first record ever played at Wigan Casino when it opened its doors on 23 Sep 1973 (so is celebrating it's 50th anniversary this year).

After the Checker single Tammi was invited to tour with Jerry Butler and it was during one of these shows at The 20 Grand Hotel in Detroit that she was spotted by Berry Gordy who signed her to Motown on her 20th birthday on 29 Apr 1965 and changed her name to Tammi Terrell.

Terrell released only two solo singles on Motown before she was paired up with Marvin Gaye with only another two interspersed within the nine duets released. So, Motown only released four solo singles for her: "I Can't Believe You Love Me" / "Hold Me Oh My Darling" (1965), "Come On And See Me" / "Baby Don'tcha Worry" (1966), "What A Good Man He Is" / "There Are Things" (1967) and "This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You)" / "Just Too Much To Hope For" (1968). I guess that the company didn't want to interrupt a winning run as five of the duet singles were Top 3 R&B (two of them reaching #1).

Only one solo album was recorded "Irresistible" in 1968 which featured six of the eight sides of the singles in addition to another five songs not released on singles including "Tears At The End Of A Love Affair".

Terrell collapsed on stage in 1967 which led to her diagnosis for brain cancer and underwent eight surgical operations to have a tumour removed. It was following the last operation that she fell into a coma and eventually died on 16 Mar 1970 at the very tender age of 24.

It is said that Tammi had romantic relationships with James Brown, when she was 17, and later David Ruffin, both allegedly abusive. When she died, Gaye went into a depression resulting in drug abuse, however, it was during this period that he wrote and recorded his iconic album "What's Going On".

For her last duets album with Gaye, "Easy" (1969), Valerie Simpson stepped in to do Tammi's vocals when she was too ill to do them. There are conflicting stories between Simpson and Gaye as to whose vocals ended up on the final release.

In Jun 2005 Tammi's sister Ludi Montgomery had her book "My Sister Tommie - The Real Tammi Terrell" published. She was called Tommie as a child (short for Thomasina) and later changed it to Tammi. There have been rumours for the last few years that the book was being made into a film but as far as I can tell it has not materialised yet.

The playlist below is 50/50 solo material and duets with Marvin Gaye.

Thanks to Yves Lambert for the suggestion to do this profile.

Copyright © 2009-2023 SoulStrutter All Rights Reserved

Nancy Wilson - A Profile

Nancy Sue Wilson (20 Feb 1937 - 13 Dec 2018) was born in Chillicothe, OH, 86 years ago today. She was fundamentally a jazz singer, who preferred to be called a song stylist, whose career spanned seven decades from 1956 until she retired in 2011. 

Nancy got her break by entering a talent show on WTVN radio when she was 15 which earned her a role on a TV show "Skyline Melodies". She didn't actually win, as is often reported, she was asked not to participate as the station felt that she would run away with it and offered her two slots per week on the TV show instead. 

Her first recording was as a featured vocalist on a single by Rusty Bryant And The Carolyn Club Band "Don't Tell Me" on Dot in 1956 who she toured with from 1956-58.

She moved to New York in 1959 on the suggestion of mentor Cannonball Adderley and got a spot performing four nights a week in a club. Adderley's manager and double-bassist, John Levy sent demos of four songs to Capitol Records who signed her in 1960.

Whilst her third single "Guess Who I Saw Today" is one of her signature songs, it was her fourth single "Save Your Love For Me" that was her first R&B chart entry. Her debut album "Like in Love" was R&B but, again on the suggestion of Cannonball Adderley, she transitioned to jazz and it was her collaborative album with him in 1961 where the hit single "Save Your Love For Me" came from.

Further hits included "Tell Me The Truth" and "(You Don't Know) How Glad I Am" for which she won her first Grammy for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording. However, with around sixty recorded albums, she rarely crossed over to the Hot 100 singles chart (she had a total of 22 R&B chart entries between 1962 and 1994) with her biggest crossover hit being "Face It Girl It's Over" in 1968 which reached #29 and had her Northern Soul classic "End Of Our Love" on the flip. 

As well as receiving a Grammy in 1965 for "How Glad I Am", she received two more for Best Jazz Vocal Album for "R.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, Very Personal)" (2005) and "Turned To Blue" (2007). In addition to many other awards she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1990.

Such was her popularity in the mid/late 60s that she had her own TV show "The Nancy Wilson Show" which won an Emmy. She also appeared on many other TV shows as both a singer and  an actress.

Interview transcript on Jazz Wax.

Whilst a lot of her material consists of jazz standards, for the playlist below, we've aimed to select the more soulful tracks.

Copyright © 2009-2023 SoulStrutter All Rights Reserved

Leon Haywood - A Profile

Leon Haywood was born Otha Leon Haywood in Houston, TX, on 11 Feb 1942. He died in his sleep on 5 Apr 2016 aged 74. 

His biggest hit for which he will probably be best remembered is "Don't Push It Don't Force It" in 1980 which rose to #2 on the R&B chart (#49 hot 100) and was his only UK hit reaching #12 on the UK pop chart in Mar 1980 spending eleven weeks there. 

His biggest hit came almost 17 years after his debut single in Oct 1963. His only other top 10 hit was "I Want'a Do Something Freaky to You" in 1975 although he did write Carl Carlton's biggest hit, "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)" which was a #2 R&B hit (#22 Hot 100) which was also Carlton's only UK hit reaching #34 on the UK pop chart in 1981. He also wrote the flip side, "This Feeling's Rated X-Tra", a song that has better stood the test of time. Haywood recorded it on his 1976 album "Come Get Yourself Some".

Haywood started playing the piano from the age of 3 and by his teens was performing with a local group and accompanied Guitar Slim (aka Eddie Jones) who was a pioneering rock n roll guitarist who was distorting tones a full ten years before the great Jimi Hendrix.

He moved to L.A. in the early 60s and worked with saxophonist Big Jay McNeely who he would make his first recording with on "Without A Love" / "The Squat" in 1961 billed as Big Jay McNeely and Band featuring Leon Haywood at the Organ on two instrumental songs co-written with McNeely. However, he had featured as pianist on a self-titled album by Pee Wee Crayron prior to that in 1960. Big Jay McNeely and Band backed Sam Cooke on the road until Cooke's death in Dec 1964.

His first solo single arrived in Oct 1963 on Fantasy where he released two singles and his debut album, "The Mellow, Mellow Leon Haywood", on subsidiary Galaxy in 1964.  He then released four singles on various labels, two for Imperial and one on each on Josie and Convoy. His first on Imperial, "She's With Her Other Love" billed as Leon Hayward, in 1965 was his first hit reaching #13 RB and #92 Hot 100. The Josie single was credited as Leon & The Burners.

Haywood was also a pianist with The Packers, an instrumental group set up by saxophonist Charles 'Packy' Axton who was the son of Estelle Axton, who founded Stax with her brother Jim Stewart, and a founding member of the Stax house band The Mar-Keys. Other members were Mar-Keys and Booker T. & The M.G.'s members Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper and drummer Al Jackson Jr. The Packers had an R&B Top 10 hit (#5 R&B / #54 Hot 100) with "Hole In The Wall" on Pure Soul. He was also a member of The Romeos who had a #31 R&B hit with instrumental "Precious Memories" on Mark II in 1967 and  he also played on sessions with Dyke & The Blazers.

In 1966 he signed to Vault label Fat Fish where he released four singles and an album "Soul Cargo". His last single on Fat Fish in 1967, "Baby Reconsider", became a Northern Soul classic at Manchester's Twisted Wheel. It, and "Ain't No Use", were originally released on his first album on Galaxy.

An interesting piece of information on "Baby Reconsider", from producer Arthur Wright, is that it was getting good airplay which Motown's Berry Gordy put a stop to as he threatened legal action believing that it sounded too much like The Contours "Just A Little Misunderstanding". He had just won a similar case against Curtis Mayfield for The Impressions' "I Can't Satisfy" (which he claimed plagiarised "This Old Heart Of Mine" by The Isley Brothers). So Fat Fish withdrew the record rather than risking it, which has resulted in a scarcity, and hence high value, of the issued Fat Fish single. It was reissued on Fantasy in the UK in 1978 and a review in Blues & Soul also drew comparisons to The Temptations "Ain't Too Proud To Beg"!

In Jul 1967 he was signed to Decca and hit with his first single for the label "It's Got To Be Mellow" which has been a firm favourite over the years on the UK rare soul scene. He released another four singles for the label with only the follow up, "Mellow Moonlight", registering on the charts in 1968 (#35 R&B / #92 Hot 100). 

He then switched to Capitol releasing two singles in 1969 and 1970 which weren't commercially successful but "Consider The Source" is a gem which is a firm favourite in rare soul circles which some regard as his best recording. A few years later, in 1975, he re-recorded it at a slower pace on 20th Century. 

Two more singles followed on Atlantic in 1971-72 which again were commercial failures. Just to queer the pitch, Haywood set up his own label, Evejim (named after his parents), and the Decca single "It's Got To Be Mellow" and the two on Atlantic singles ("There Ain't Enough Hate Around To Make Me Turn Around You" and "Your Moody Ways" (another favoured on the rare soul circuit) were also released on Evejim, so perhaps they were leased to the majors for release or national distribution?

By 1972 he'd moved to 20th Century where he would next hit the charts with his third single for the label, "Keep It In The Family", with the B side, "Long As There's You (I Got Love)", charting separately. All six singles on the label afterwards charted including his biggest hit to that date "I Want'a Do Something Freaky to You" in 1975.

He was on the move again in 1977, to Columbia this time, for only two singles with only the first, "The Streets Will Love You To Death", being a minor hit (#63 R&B). It was then off to MCA for six singles between 1977-79, four of which were minor hits all outside the R&B Top 50.

In 1980 he returned to 20th Century Fox with his first single "Don't Push It Don't Force It". being an R&B #2 hit. Only two more singles followed on the label with the first, "If You're Lookin' For A Night Of Fun (Look Past Me, I'm Not The One)", reaching R&B #67 and the third, "Daydream", not charting.

Only a few more singles were released by Haywood, two on Casablanca in 1983 ("I'm Out To Catch" *#R&B #27) and "T.V. Mama" (R&B #87)). His next single, "Tendoroni", was released on Evejim and Modern in 1984 which climbed to #22 R&B. A new version of "I Want'a Do Something Freaky to You" was also released on his own label Evejim in 1994 as "Freaky 94" followed by "The Legacy" (1995). A 12", "Agony", was another on the label released in 1984 as Leon Haywood feat. Captain Rap.

Although his chart success, in the main, was rather modest he still managed to put out over a dozen albums. One on his own Evejim label, "Then And Now", was unreleased from 1984 but was gained a release a few years later. His early material on "Soul Cargo" was Hammond organ instrumentals in the main, much loved by the UK mod scene which is how "Baby Reconsider" was discovered. His 1973 album "Back To Stay" has a cover of Bettye Swann's "Make Me Yours".  An album titled "Hey! Mr.BigBen" was released in Japan only in 1976 and seems to be a collection of tracks from his 1973 and 1975 albums on 20th Century.

Album Discography

1964 - The Mellow Mellow Leon Haywood [Galaxy]

1966 - Soul Cargo [Fat Fish]

1967 - It's Got to Be Mellow [Decca]

1973 - Back to Stay [20th Century]

1974 - Keep It in the Family [20th Century]

1975 - Come and Get Yourself Some [20th Century]

1976 - Hey! Mr.BigBen  [20th Century] Japan only

1976 - Intimate [Columbia]

1978 - Double My Pleasure [MCA]

1979 - Energy [MCA]

1980 - Naturally [20th Century]

1983 - It's Me Again [Casablanca]

1994 - Freaky Man [Evejim]

There is a limited amount of his material available on Spotify (only 5 albums), but here's a selection of the best of what is.

Copyright © 2009-2023 SoulStrutter All Rights Reserved

Barbara Lewis - A Profile

Barbara Ann Lewis was born in Salem, MI, on 9 Feb 1943 so is 80 today. She began writing songs from the age of 9 and was recording as a teenager with Detroit's producer Ollie McLaughlin who at the time was a DJ at Ann Arbor radio station WHRV (now WAAM). He set up a number of labels in Detroit named after his wife (Ruth) and daughters (Karen (1962), Carla (1965), Moira (1968)). He also owned another label named after himself, Omack, on which there were only one or two releases (The Happy Cats and Joe Hunter).

Her first recording was "My Heart Went Do Dat Da" in April 1962 on McLaughlin's Karen label that got a national issue on Atlantic. It was a local hit but didn't chart. She followed it with "My Mama Told Me" in Aug 1962 again with little success (some sources state that these two sides were recorded at Motown's Studio A claiming that Andantes were the backing vocals and even suggests that Marvin Gaye may have been on drums, yet the Atlantic Discography 1962 states Chicago).

It was her third single, "Hello Stranger", that broke through and was an R&B #1 and Hot 100 #3 hit in May 1963, for which The Dells sang backup on. It had a Bossa Nova tempo in vogue at the time. On the back of it's success an album of the same name was released on which she wrote all the songs and included all six sides of her first three singles. Only one of her next three singles entered the R&B chart, "Puppy Love", which had non-album track, "Snap Your Fingers", on the flip which charted separately. One of the non-charting singles "Someday We're Gonna Love Again" has been played on the Northern Soul scene and was covered by Liverpool beat group The Searchers who had a UK Top 20 pop chart hit with it reaching #11 in Jul 1964.

The reason several singles charted on the Hot 100 without registering on the R&B chart is because Billboard suspended the R&B Chart between Nov 1963 until then end of Jan 1965

Her next big hit was the Van McCoy written "Baby, I'm Yours" (R&B #5 / Hot 100 #11 Jun 1965). Backing vocals were provided by Van McCoy's girlfriend Kendra Spotswood who Northern Soulies will know as Sandi Sheldon. She followed it with another Bert Berns produced song "Make Me Your Baby" (#9 R&B /#11 Hot 100 Oct 1965). The latter song had been recorded earlier for Cameo Parkway by The Pixies Three (a white girl trio from Hanover, PA) but wasn't released, and when Lewis had a hit with it they abandoned it and not long after disbanded. However, it did see the light of day on a 2001 compilation "The Pixies Three – Our History". Another Lewis album ensued. "Baby, I'm Yours", which had a photo of a young white couple on the sleeve to sell to a white audience, it reached #7 R&B. Another album was sandwiched in between that one and the first titled "Snap Your Fingers" (1964) which mainly consisted of covers along with her non-hit singles and none of her own written material.

Her next single, "Don't Forget About Me", failed to chart followed by her last R&B charting single "Make Me Belong To You" which did better on the Hot 100 (#28) than the R&B (#36). She released another six singles and two albums for Atlantic, "It's Magic" (1966) which was jazz and pop standards and "Working On A Groovy Thing" (1968), and then joined Stax subsidiary Enterprise in 1969 and recorded fifteen tracks with Mike Terry in Detroit.        

At Stax she released one album "The Many Grooves of Barbara Lewis" in 1970 (which is a superb album throughout) and just three singles. The singles included three tracks not released on the album including a cover of Four Tops' "Ask The Lonely". No further chart action was achieved on the R&B singles chart.

She retired from the music business after her last single on Reprise in 1973 and will be best remembered for the song "Hello Stranger" which has been successfully covered by many, perhaps the best known by Yvonne Elliman who had a UK Top 30 hit (#26) with it in 1977, but there have also been versions by Martha & The Vandellas on "Heat Wave" 1963), Elkie Brooks (1964), also The Capitols (1966 on flip to "Cool Jerk"), The Supremes & Four Tops ("Dynamite" LP 1971), Carrie Lucas & The Whispers (1985 #20 R&B), and Queen Latifah (on "The Dana Owens Album" 2004) to name but a few. Lewis had to be tracked down after Elliman's hit with it as even her agent didn't know where to send the royalties. 

Her next biggest hit, the Van McCoy penned "Baby, I'm Yours", has also had many cover versions. Possibly the best known this side of the pond by Linda Lewis who had a UK pop #33 hit with it in 1976. But such Brit pop luminaries as Cilla Black and Petula Clark also had a bash at it, as did the likes of Cher, Jack Jones, Harry Nillson, Cass Elliot (The Mamas & The Papas), B.B. King, Billy Preston and K.C. & The Sunshine Band.

Lewis came out of retirement in the 90s playing the nostalgia circuit such as the Carolina Beach music scene and in 1999 received the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame in 2016. In 2017 she was forced into retirement with health issues.

Many compilations are available with perhaps the best being the latest in 2020 "Don't Forget About Me (The Atlantic & Reprise Recordings)" which does what it says on the tin. However, it obviously omits her Stax/Enterprise material, which was some of her best and doesn't seem to be available on any compilation, but the Enterprise album was reissue don CD in 1992/93.

Many of her songs have been played on the UK rare/Northern Soul scene over the years including "Someday We're Gonna Love Again", "I Remember the Feeling", "Love Makes The World Go Round", "I'll Make Him Love Me". "Thankful for What I Got", "Baby That's A No No", "How Can I Tell You", "Just The Way You Are Today", "You Made Me A Woman" "Ask The Lonely" and "The Stars".

Album Discography

Year	Title	Cat.No
1963	Hello Stranger	Atlantic #SD 8086
1964	Snap Your Fingers	Atlantic #8090
1965	Baby, I'm Yours	Atlantic #8110
1966	It's Magic	Atlantic #SD-8118
1968	Workin' on a Groovy Thing	Atlantic #SD 8173
1970	The Many Grooves of Barbara Lewis	Enterprise #ENS 1006

Singles Discography

Year	Title	Cat.No
1962-04	My Heart Went Do Dat Da / The Longest Night Of The Year	Karen #313 / Atlantic #45-2141
1962-08	My Mama Told Me / Gonna Love You Till The End Of Time	Atlantic #45-2159
1963-03	Hello Stranger /  Think A Little Sugar	Atlantic #45-2184
1963-07	Straighten Up Your Heart / If You Love Her	Atlantic #45-2200
1963-11	Puppy Love / Snap Your Fingers	Atlantic #45-2214
1964-04	Someday We're Gonna Love Again / Spend A Little Time	Atlantic #45-2227
1965-10	Pushin' A Good Thing Too Far / Come Home	Atlantic #45-2255
1965-03	Baby I'm Yours / I Say Love	Atlantic #45-2283
1965-08	Make Me Your Baby / Love To Be Loved	Atlantic #45-2300
1966-01	Don't Forget About Me / It's Magic	Atlantic #45-2316
1966-01	Baby I'm Yours EP A1: Baby I'm Yours / A2: My Heart Went Do Da Dat / A3: Puppy Love // B1: Hello Stranger / B2: Someday We're Gonna Love        Again B3: Snap Your Fingers	Atlantic #LSD 8110
1966-07	Make Me Belong To You / Girls Need Loving Care	Atlantic #45-2346
1966-10	Baby What Do You Want Me To Do / I Remember The Feeling	Atlantic #45-2361
1967-04	I'll Make Him Love Me / Love Makes The World Go Round	Atlantic #45-2400
1967-06	Only All The Time / Fool, Fool, Fool (Look In The Mirror)	Atlantic #45-2413
1968-02	Sho-Nuff (It's Got To Be Your Love) / Thankful For What I Got	Atlantic #45-2482
1968-05	I'll Keep Believing / On Bended Knees	Atlantic #45-2514
1968-08	You're A Dream Maker /  I'm All You've Got	Atlantic #45-2550
1970-03	Just The Way You Are Today / You Made Me A Woman	Enterprise #ENA-9012
1970-11	Ask The Lonely / Why Did It Take You So Long?	Enterprise #ENA-9027
1971-03	That's The Way I Like It(I Like It That Way) / Anyway	Enterprise #ENA-9029
1973-03	Rock And Roll Lullaby / I'm So Thankful	Reprise #REP 1146

Copyright © 2009-2023 SoulStrutter All Rights Reserved

Major Harris - A Profile

Major Harris was born in Richmond, VA, on 9 Feb 1947 and died 9 Nov 2012 so would have been 76 today. He will be forever remembered for his biggest selling solo single "Love Won't Let Me Wait" which has been covered by Luther Vandross and many others. 

The song was co-written by Bobby Eli, who also played guitar and produced the session, with Gwendolyn Woolfolk under her pen name Vinnie Barrett and featured the Sweethearts of Sigma (Barbara Ingram, Carla Benton and Evette Benson) on backing vocals. It was his only Top 10 single which topped the R&B chart in 1975 spending twenty weeks on the chart and crossed over to reach #5 Hot 100. The record also made Top 40 on the UK pop chart peaking at #37 which is no mean feat for a virtually unknown singer at the time.

 

Harris was from a musical background, his grandparents performed vaudeville, his father was a guitarist and his mother a church choir leader. He sang with several groups early in his career such as Charmers, Frankie Lyman's Teenagers (briefly), the Jarmels (also from Richmond of "A Little Bit of Soap." fame) and then joined his brother Joe (Joseph) Jefferson in Nat Turner's Rebellion. Jefferson went on to write for many high profile artists such as Johnny Mathis, The Stylistics, Three Degrees, Bunny Sigler, New York City but had most success with The Spinners ("Mighty Love," "Love Don't Love Nobody," and "One of a Kind Love Affair").

They were cousins of Norman Harris who was a founding member of MFSB and a cornerstone of The Philly Sound for Gamble & Huff as a member of the trio (Ron) Baker, Harris & (Earl) Young.

Nat Turner's Rebellion broke up acrimoniously in 1972 and Major joined The Delfonics replacing Randy Cain who left and later introduced WMOT to Shades Of Love who would become Blue Magic. Harris featured on their 1972 album "Tell Me This Is A Dream" and then "Alive & Kicking" in 1974 before re-launching his solo career. He had already recorded two singles for Okeh "Just Love Me" / "Loving You More" in 1968 and a cover of Bob Dylan's  "Like A Rolling Stone" / "Call Me Tomorrow" in 1969, the latter getting spins on the Northern Soul Scene. One of Nat Turner's songs, "Ruby Lee" written by Norman Harris and Ron Baker, would later feature on his second album.

The Delfonics split up in 1975 splintering into two groups using the name. Harris, Wilbert Hart, and new member Frank Washington, formerly of the Futures, formed one and William 'Poogie' Hart formed another but it was like musical chairs with members swapping between the two groups. Garfield Fleming ("Don't Send Me Away") was a member of one of the incarnations which included William 'Poogie' Hart and the returning Randy Cain in the 80s. Wilbert Hart is now the only living original member.

Harris was signed to Atlantic and released his first single for them in Oct 1974 ("Each Morning I Wake Up" / "Just A Thing I Do") which scraped into the R&B chart at #98 but is another that was picked up on by the UK rare soul scene along with the flip side to his biggest hit, "After Loving You", "Loving You Is Mellow", "Jealousy" from his singles and "Walkin' In The Footsteps" from his second solo album "Jealousy". He recorded four albums and continued to record into the 80s up to 1986 with limited success.

Harris died on 9 Feb 2021 age 65 of congestive heart and lung failure.

Album Discography

Year	Title	Cat.No
1975	My Way	Atlantic #SD 18119
1976	Jealousy	Atlantic #SD 18160
1976	Live!	WMOT #WM2-5000
1978	How Do You Take Your Love	RCA Victor #APL1-2803
1984	I Believe In Love	Streetwave (UK) #MKL 3

Singles Discography

Year	Title	Cat.No
1968-07	Just Love Me / Loving You More	OKeh # 4-7314
1969-03	Like A Rolling Stone / Call Me Tomorrow	OKeh #4-7327
1974-10	Each Morning I Wake Up / Just A Thing I Do	Atlantic #45-3217
1975-02	Love Won't Let Me Wait / After Loving You	Atlantic #45-3248
1975-11	I Got Over Love / Loving You Is Mellow	Atlantic #45-3303
1976-??	It's Got To Be Magic / Just A Thing That I Do	Atlantic #45-3336
1976-03	Jealousy / Tynisa (Goddess Of Love)	Atlantic #45-3321
1976-10	Laid Back Love / This Is What You Mean To Me	WMOT #WM-4002
1981-05	Here We Are / Living's Easy Now	WMOT #WS8 02091
1983-??	All My Life // (Short Version) / (Dub Mix)	Pop Art #PA 1401
1983-??	Beside Me / Beside Me (Instrumental)	PopArt #P-4915
1983-??	I Want Your Love // (Radio Edit) / (Dub Mix)	Pop Art #PA-1402
1984-??	Girl Of My Dreams / Rediscovered	D.A.L. International #D.A.L. 101
1984-??	Gotta Make Up Your Mind / (Inst)	Society Hill #SH001
1984-??	I Believe In Love // (Radio Edit) / What Ever Happened	Streetwave (UK) #MKHAN 35
1985-??	The Game / Oh Girl, I Love You	Renaissance #RRI-00527
1986-??	Love Is Everything / I Want Your Love	Nicetown #NT-012

The playlist below spans his full recording career from 1968 thru 1986.

Copyright © 2009-2023 SoulStrutter All Rights Reserved

Otis Leavill - A Profile

Otis Leavill Cobb was born in Dewy Rose, GA, on 8 Feb 1937 (and died on 17 Jul 2002 of a heart attack aged 65) so would have been 86 today.

His family moved to Chicago when he was 2 years old and, with his father being a pastor, began singing in church and as a member of the family gospel group (he was one of six siblings), The Cobb Quartet, from an early age.

He became friendly with Major Lance in his teens as they were amateur boxers at the same club. The pair were also friends with Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler who would form The Impressions. Leavill and Lance formed a group called The Floats with Barbara Tyson and another unknown female singer in the 50s and, although they recorded a demo, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" / "Lover" around 1958/59, on which Leavill took lead on the flip and Lance on The A side, nothing was released.

In a recording career spanning just over a decade between 1963-75 he released around sixteen singles, but no albums, and only three would chart with his biggest hit coming in 1970 with "I Love You" on Dakar reaching #10 R&B and #63 Hot 100. It entered in Nov 1969 and spent ten weeks on the chart.

His first single in 1963, "Gotta Right To Cry" / "Rise Sally Rise" was one of only a handful of releases on Chicago's Lucky label. The A side was written by Curtis Mayfield and later recorded by Major Lance on a compilation in 1964. Lance would also record an updated version in 1975 on Osiris. The flip was written by Marion 'Doc' Oliver, who also released some singles on the label.

His next two appeared on Mercury subsidiary Limelight in 1964 followed by his first of three on Blue Rock (1964-65), "Let Her Love Me", which was his, and the label's, first hit reaching #31 R&B. It was written by Jerry Butler's younger brother Billy (who's also playing lead guitar and singing backing vocals) and produced by Major Lance. He label hopped for the next few singles with one for Columbia (1966), Brunswick (1967), Smash (1968) and then another on Blue Rock (1968).

Several of his singles were co-written by Carl Davis who he continued to work with at Brunswick both as a producer and a talent finder. He is credited with discovering The Chi-Lites, Tyrone Davis, Hamilton Bohannon, and a 16 year old Chaka Khan (or Yvette Stevens as she was then known along with her younger sister Yvonne (aka Taka Boom who was a one time member of Undisputed Truth) but Davis passed on them as he felt they were too young and too much of a distraction to the older men. 

After leaving Brunswick in 1967, Davis formed Dakar Records with Leavill joined him as Vice-President and as an artist. It was the home of his next, and biggest, single "I Love You" (#10 R&B / #663 Hot 100) in 1969 written by Eugene Record with backing vocals provided by Barbara Acklin. All his remaining five singles between 1971-72 were on Dakar with only one of them reaching the charts "Love Uprising" (#19 R&B / #72 Hot 100 Aug 1970 also written by Eugene Record) which was covered by Jackie Wilson (Dec 1970), The Chi-lites (Sep 1971), and Mister 'T' (aka Alonzo Tucker who was a member of 50s group The Royals (aka Hank Ballard & The Midnighters) (1972), all on Brunswick.

Blues & Soul's Contempo label in the UK reissued "I Love You" along with a previously unreleased B side "Tell the World" in 1975. Although he didn't release any further material himself and, surprisingly no albums, he continued writing and producing (occasionally using his surname Cobb) for many Chicago artists such as Major Lance, Gene Chandler, Tyrone Davis, Marvin Smith and Robert Dobyne of The Artistsics, Lee Charles, Johnny Sayles, Sidney Joe Qualls, Barbara Hall, The Chi-Lites, The Dells, Windy City, Magnum Force, Paris ("I Choose You").

After several years hiatus, in which he undertook various job such as owning a car wash and gas station and being a policeman, he toured with The Dells in Europe in 1999 and set up his own label OK Records in 2000. He died in Chicago of a heart attack in 2002, aged 65.

Discography

Year	Title	Cat.No
1963-09	Rise Sally Rise / I Gotta Right To Cry [1]	Lucky #1004
1964-04	I Am Amazed / Just A Memory	Limelight #3020
1964-09	Don't Let Me Down / Jane Girl	Limelight #3037
1964-11	Let Her Love Me / When The Music Grooves	Blue Rock #4002
1965-04	To Be Or Not To Be / Boomerang	Blue Rock #4015
1965-09	A Reason To Be Lonely / Because Of You	Blue Rock #4031
1966-06	Right Back In Love / Keep On Loving	Columbia #43661
1967-08	Can't Stop Loving You / Baby (Why Can't You Hear Me)	Brunswick #55337
1968-02	Nobody But You [2] / Charlotte (Yes I'm Gonna Miss You)	Smash #2141
1968-09	It's The Same Old Me / Let Me Live	Blue Rock #4063
1069-11	I Love You / I Need You	Dakar #614
1970-05	Glad I Met You [3] / Why Why Why [4]	Dakar #617
1970-08	Love Uprising [5] / I Need You	Dakar #620
1971-01	You Brought Out The Good In Me / I'm So Jealous [6]	Dakar #622
1971-09	There's Nothing Better / Glad I Met You	Dakar #625
1972-09	It Must Be Love / I Still Love You	Dakar #4511
1975-10	I Love You / Tell The World (UK release, B side previously unissued)	Contempo #2074

1/also recorded by Major Lance in 1964 and re-recorded in 1975

2/ also recorded by Esther Phillips (1969)

3/ also recorded by The Artistics (1967)

4/ also recorded by The Artistics (1967) and Mill Evans (1967)

5/ also recorded by Jackie Wilson (1970), The Chi-Lites (1971) and Mister 'T' (1972)

6/ also recorded by The Hi-Lites (Chi-Lites) (1965)

Compilations

1999 - The Class Of Mayfield High [Westside #WESM 581]

NOTE: A track titled "You Babe" included on the compilation 'The Class Of Mayfield High' in 1999 (which consisted of tracks by Billy Butler, Major Lance and Otis Leavill) is incorrectly credited to Leavill. It was in fact Carl Davis doing guide vocals of the Curtis Mayfield written song on a demo for Dana Valery's recording of it for her "Not The Flower But The Root" album 1972. Dana's name is well known on the Northern Soul scene for her take on Simon & Garfunkel's "You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies" (Columbia 1967). Richard Searling's Go Ahead label released it as a single in 2012 along with "This Love Is Real" on the flip which was recorded by Jackie Wilson in 1970 on Brunswick as "(I Can Feel Those Vibrations) This Love Is Real" with his version of "Love Uprising" on it's flip.

There is a limited amount of his material available on Spotify, one compilation which covers his Dakar releases only and a couple on other compilations. Therefore, a YouTube playlist has been created which includes all singles listed above with the exclusion of "Just A Memory"  (which is an early 60s doo-wop style ballad which I have a copy of so will try to upload to SoulStrutter YouTube channel). A few not found by him on Spotify have been replaced by alternate versions i.e. Major Lance and Esther Phillips along with a few other alternate versions in addition to his.

The only YouTube footage found for him was performing a re-recording of "Nobody But You" for Ian Levine's 'The Strange World of Northern Soul' around 1998, 30 years after he recorded the original version.

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