A 12" vinyl release on 20 May (which we posted from promo on 10 May)
was surprisingly released digitally on 20 Jun.
It's a set of previously unreleased music from Florida's
Rose Cornelius of Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose who will probably be best remembered for their million selling #2
Hot 100 hit "Too Late To Turn Back Now", covered by many (e.g. Chi-Lites and the recently deceased Renée Geyer), from late 1972. Sister Rose being Rose Cornelius who was a soloist and member of the Gospel Jazz Singers in the
late 60s, and even made a solo appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in Jun
1967.
However, at her mothers request, in 1970 she returned home to join
her brothers Carter and Eddie (who were performing as a duo the
Cornelius Brothers) and use the contacts she'd made to progress the
group. The Cornelius Brothers became Cornelius Brothers & Sister
Rose and released their first single, "Treat Her Like A Lady", in 1970 on Platinum, a small local Miami, FL, label owned by sound
engineer Bob Archibald who also produced all their later recordings at his
Music Factory studio. The single was picked up by United Artists who
signed the group and the record peaked at #3 on the Hot 100 in
1971.
They recorded three albums for UA, an eponymous debut in 1972, by which
time they were joined by sister Billie Jo, followed by "Big Time Lover" in 1973 and "Greatest Hits" (1976). Around nine or ten singles were released by the label, all but
the last two taken their three albums.
The group disbanded in 1976, presumably due to lack of success and being
released by United Artists? The brothers found religion, Carter joining a
Black Hebrew sect and Eddie becoming a born again Christian and that was
that, or was it?
Rose rekindled her solo career and recorded a number of songs at The
Music Factory (produced by Shirley Cowell who later received a Grammy
nomination for her work with Lena Horn). The music industry was in the
grip of Disco by this time and the session produced "Here" and "I Want You To Stay With Me" but didn't gain release and the recordings sat collecting dust.
However, in 2018 well known, Berlin based, rare soul DJ/collector Dave
Thorley (who, for those who don't already know was behind the, now
legendary, Stafford 'Top of The World' Northern Soul all-nighters in the
80s) spotted and bought an acetate for sale online credited to Rose
Cornelius. It was initially purchased for use in his DJ sets but he
offered it to the Disco Bizarre crew from Berlin's KitKatClub for their
label who approached Rose for permission for its release. In addition they
obtained approval to do some remixes/re-edits. New York producer DJ Duke
was commissioned to do the remix and San Francisco Disco authority Jim Hopkins did the restoration and re-edit.
Each song has been restored by Jim Hopkins and "Here" has a re-edit by him whilst "I Want You To Stay" has a 'No Sax' remix and all four tracks will be released on 12".
Vinyl copies are £17 plus postage (UK £12, Germany £6, Italy £11, USA £15.50).
To order contact Dave Thorley davethorleyuk@gmail.com
| Rating: | 8 |
| Explicit: | N |
| Genre/Style: | Disco |
| Format: | Single |
| Media: | 12" Vinyl / Digital |
| Label: | Disco Bizarre |
| Cat No: | DB03 |
| Date: | 20/05/2023 /20/06/2023 |
| Key/BPM: | N/A |
| Price: | £17 / £3.16 |
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