tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1830590464385623192024-03-13T09:16:04.746-07:00red kelly's SOUL SAUCE archivesRed Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04507845466367181285noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183059046438562319.post-75262065810270582322019-10-10T18:13:00.001-07:002020-12-16T18:24:28.938-08:00Billy Lawson<div class="separator"><p id="text_box2" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="billy" class="right" src="http://souldetective.com/images/billy19.png" title="" width="140" />Billy Lawson grew up just outside of Muscle Shoals next door to <a href="http://www.souldetective.com/">Junior Lowe</a> and, like Junior, he had a guitar in his hand by the time he was six years old. Lowe became sort of his mentor (and guitar hero), and would allow him to sit-in with his band at local State Line clubs before he was out of grade school.</p></div>
<p id="text_box2"><img alt="peanutt" class="left" src="http://souldetective.com/images/peanutt.png" title="" width="170" />His Zip City neighborhood was also home to Earl 'Peanutt' Montgomery, the man whose career as a songwriter included a slew of top ten Country hits he penned for his main man George Jones... Billy was paying attention. The Music was in him, and he knew he had no choice but to follow where it might lead. While still in his teens, Billy and his band began working that same State Line dance hall circuit Junior had.</p>
<p id="text_box2"><img alt="wishbone" class="right" src="http://souldetective.com/images/wishbone80s.png" title="courtesy Terry Woodford" width="188" />In his early twenties he got himself a job at Terry Woodford and Clayton Ivey's <a href="http://musictrail.una.edu/?page_id=618" ytarget="_blank">Wishbone Studios</a> in Muscle Shoals, learning about songwriting from some of the best in the business. Billy and his band were still playing most nights out on the strip, which got them noticed by casting director <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonya_Suzanne_Holly" target="_blank">Tonya Holly</a>, who would hire them to appear in the Oscar winning film <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109306/">Blue Sky</a> in 1994. Setting his sights on Nashville with stars in his eyes, it looked like he might have a shot at making it as a performer when he was signed by Epic Records... but Billy soon realized that wasn't going to happen.</p>
<p id="text_box2"><img alt="trevino" class="left" src="http://souldetective.com/images/trevino.png" title="" width="150" />His unique way with words caught the attention of Tree Publishing executive <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/don-cook-mn0000796966" target="_blank">Don Cook</a>, who signed Billy on as a staff songwriter in 1995. By the Summer of '96 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_as_You_Go_(song)" target="_blank">Learning As You Go</a>, a song Lawson co-wrote with <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/larry-boone-mn0000105251/biography" target="_blank">Larry Boone</a>, would top the Country charts for Rick Trevino. Within a few months, Trace Adkins would take another Lawson composition (this time written with <a href="https://kxrb.com/behind-the-classics-songwriter-john-schweers/" target="_blank">John Schweers</a>), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Left_Something_Turned_On_at_Home" target="_blank">I Left Something Turned On At Home</a>, straight to number one. In just a few short years, <a href="https://www.ascap.com/repertory#ace/writer/144071108/LAWSON%20BILLY%20RAY" target="_blank">Billy Ray Lawson</a> had become an in-demand Music City songwriter, placing dozens of other songs on the charts. As the nature of the music business began to change in Nashville after the turn of the century, however, it would become ever more difficult to make a living as a songwriter in the digital age.</p>
<p id="text_box2">Billy Ray decided to stay closer to home...</p>
<p id="text_box2"><img alt="hall" class="right" src="http://souldetective.com/images/rickhall.png" title="" width="165" />The Shoals was his stomping grounds, and Lawson began hanging out with the man who had put the town on the map, Rick Hall. Over lunches at their favorite Italian restaurant, Billy just soaked it all in. He knew what he was called upon to do.</p>
<p id="text_box2"><img alt="board" class="left" src="http://souldetective.com/images/billyboard.png" title="" width="165" />Opening his own Big Star Studio, Billy began producing a few records. After that, it seemed like things all began to fall into place. <a href="https://www.wishbonestudios.com/" target="_blank">Wishbone Studio</a>, which had been empty for years, became available and Lawson figured out a way to buy it. When Larry Rogers' <a href="https://sonicscoop.com/2015/09/30/the-second-life-of-nashvilles-studio-19-with-engineer-kyle-hershman/" target="_blank">Studio 19</a> was marked for demolition on Nashville's Music Row in 2015, Billy worked out a deal with Larry to install the studio's Trident 90 console at Wishbone. One of the first records cut there was Willie Hightower's great come-back album, <a acerecords.co.uk="" href="<a href=" https:="" out-of-the-blue="" target="_blank">Out Of The Blue</a>. With the legendary <a href="http://souldetective.com/case8part3.html" target="_blank">Quinton Claunch</a> on board as his executive producer, the album features some of the best songs Billy has ever written, like this one:</p>
<div align="center"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="157" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JmlSJcJMD_E" width="280"></iframe></div>
<p id="text_box2"><img alt="hall" class="right" src="http://souldetective.com/images/claunch18.png" title="" width="181" />The first time we met Billy was when <a href="http://reggieyoung.org/" target="_blank">Reggie and Jenny Young</a> brought us to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Claunch-Cafe-189929087693432/?fref=nf" target="_blank">Claunch Cafe</a> in Tuscumbia so we could check out Johnny Belew's amazing cornbread salad. Billy invited us to visit Wishbone the next day, where he was in the process of cutting another come-back album of sorts, Darryl Worley's <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Second-Wind-Greatest-Darryl-Worley/dp/B07P9DPHV6" target="_blank">Second Wind: Latest & Greatest</a>, with he and Darryl producing. The first single pulled from the album, co-written with the great <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Matters-Me-Ed-Hill/dp/1945549084" target="_blank">Ed Hill</a>, has become a breakthrough digital hit:</p>
<div align="center"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="157" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3ErLeayaMpE" width="280"></iframe></div>
<p id="text_box2"><img alt="champys" class="left" src="http://souldetective.com/images/champys.png" title="" width="108" />Billy Lawson and his band (now called 'Wishbone') are back out there performing locally in The Shoals area, to rave reviews. Performer, songwriter, producer, studio owner - it might seem like he had this whole music thing sewn up - but there was one thing missing... his own record label.</p>
<p id="text_box2">Not anymore. Along with partners Mike O'Rear and James Wright, Billy launched <a href="http://muscleshoalsrecordings.com/" target="_blank">Muscle Shoals Recordings</a> this past week with the release of their first single, <a href="http://muscleshoalsrecordings.com/musicrreleases/" target="_blank">Avalon</a>:
</p><div align="center"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="157" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/co0LrgpaBJA" width="280"></iframe></div>
<p id="text_box2">A loving tribute to Rick Hall and all things Muscle Shoals, that's Junior Lowe and Travis Wammack on guitar there, folks and Clayton Ivey and Jim Whitehead on the keys, same as it ever was...</p>
<p id="text_box2"><i>Billy Lawson's got it going on!</i></p><p></p>Red Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04507845466367181285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183059046438562319.post-55739174280833095922019-09-18T06:49:00.000-07:002019-10-17T06:49:59.749-07:00WILLIE HIGHTOWER - Out Of The Blue<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t4OoJci-zsM/XahvKK6q5hI/AAAAAAAB4qQ/9mYulM__GcwRy9E-Ji39-liIeHeSTFLdgCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/willieblue.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="613" height="316" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t4OoJci-zsM/XahvKK6q5hI/AAAAAAAB4qQ/9mYulM__GcwRy9E-Ji39-liIeHeSTFLdgCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/willieblue.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div id="text_box2">
<span style="color: #000059; font-size: 0.9em;"><i>Every once in a while the forces of the Universe seem to align just right, and pull things together in unforeseen and miraculous ways... this is one of those times.</i></span></div>
<div id="text_box2">
Willie Hightower, one of the truly great Soul Singers of our time, has just released his first album in <i>FIFTY YEARS!</i> As good as anything he's ever done, it was recorded in Muscle Shoals, and produced by none other than <a href="http://souldetective3.blogspot.com/2015/09/quinton-claunch.html" target="_blank">Quinton Claunch</a>, the legendary Goldwax impresario who gave us <a href="http://www.45cat.com/record/nc206973us" target="_blank">The Dark End Of The Street</a>. That in itself is remarkable enough, but the fact that Willie is now 77 years old and Quinton turns <i>NINETY SEVEN</i> in December makes this event truly extraordinary.</div>
<div id="text_box2">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Oc2AHFSImJM/XahvSixPWFI/AAAAAAAB4qU/IQAM7J8QBiAEIai9kKMSZdcaDOCCjTJ3wCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/quinton2012.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="251" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Oc2AHFSImJM/XahvSixPWFI/AAAAAAAB4qU/IQAM7J8QBiAEIai9kKMSZdcaDOCCjTJ3wCNcBGAsYHQ/s200/quinton2012.png" width="139" /></a></div>
<div id="text_box2">
I had first met Quinton back in 2008, as we put together the <a href="http://www.ovwright.org/schedule.html" target="_blank">O.V. Wright Memorial</a> weekend, and I made it a point after that to go see him whenever I was in Memphis. Sharp as a tack, he's still got one of the best 'ears' in the business. After the passing of his wife of <i>sixty nine</i> years in June of 2013, this dyed in the wool 'record man' decided to return to the studio. When my partner John Broven and I visited him on our Soul D Road Trip the following August, he played us the tracks he had just cut in Muscle Shoals on a Kentucky guitarist named Alonzo Pennington. Although they sounded great, Quinton had trouble finding a distributor for the album when he released it on his own SoulTrax label in early 2015. <i>Hold that thought...</i></div>
<div id="text_box2">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z_S-qwF7JR4/Xahvncw2taI/AAAAAAAB4qk/xtfftL2KmV0X7z7sP4eCdnmIr8YEcRipQCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/stomp12.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="212" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z_S-qwF7JR4/Xahvncw2taI/AAAAAAAB4qk/xtfftL2KmV0X7z7sP4eCdnmIr8YEcRipQCNcBGAsYHQ/s200/stomp12.png" width="165" /></a></div>
<div id="text_box2">
Years back, Dr. Ike of The Ponderosa Stomp asked author Peter Guralnick (who knows a little bit about Soul Music) which Soul Singer he would most like to see perform at The Stomp. <i>"Willie Hightower!"</i> was his immediate reply. After a few false starts, Ike contacted us here at Soul Detective to see if we could locate him for Stomp #12 in 2015. As fate would have it, John Broven's intrepid friend Seamus McGarvey had spoken with Willie several times at his home in Gadsen, Alabama, and was happy to supply Ike with his number. Once The Stomp booked Willie, Ike naturally wanted Peter to interview him at that year's Music Conference... only he had a prior committment and was unavailable. <i>"What about Red Kelly?</i>" John Broven suggested <i>(bless his heart!)</i>, and so I was invited to do an <a href="http://souldetective.com/hightower.html" target="_blank">interview and presentation</a> with Willie Hightower in New Orleans in October of 2015. <i>I was just over the moon...</i></div>
<div id="text_box2">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QGwripfw5TQ/Xahv0KvkCMI/AAAAAAAB4qo/uwTtMMATaKMYY7yQF3qc95zVQ9_APCnAgCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/hidden.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="514" height="198" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QGwripfw5TQ/Xahv0KvkCMI/AAAAAAAB4qo/uwTtMMATaKMYY7yQF3qc95zVQ9_APCnAgCNcBGAsYHQ/s200/hidden.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<div id="text_box2">
Like most people, I didn't know much about Willie beyond his amazing Fame singles, but as I began to do research for the interview, I discovered that he had recorded at Royal Studio in Memphis (the very studio that Quinton Claunch and his partners founded in 1957) in 1982, with Quinton handling the production. Although not released at the time, the album finally saw the light of day on a Japanese CD in 2007. I called Claunch to ask him about the sessions, and told him about Willie's upcoming Stomp performance. <i>"Let me know how he sounds,"</i> he said.</div>
<div id="text_box2">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jol1ieOmX5M/XahwD-MKGlI/AAAAAAAB4qw/6gGerCZ-GuU0yXcdYLNIbad4LcRgxbJ7wCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/willieshow.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="328" data-original-width="250" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jol1ieOmX5M/XahwD-MKGlI/AAAAAAAB4qw/6gGerCZ-GuU0yXcdYLNIbad4LcRgxbJ7wCNcBGAsYHQ/s200/willieshow.png" width="151" /></a></div>
<div id="text_box2">
Well, as anyone who was there that night can tell you, Willie Hightower gave one of the most solid and soulful performances I have ever witnessed, and proved to the world he had lost absolutely nothing off his incredible voice. <i>He was back!</i> I reported all this to Quinton, as requested, and went on to send him a video of the show to prove my point. I didn't know it at the time, but Billy Lawson, the Muscle Shoals studio owner and engineer who had worked with Quinton on the Alonzo Pennington CD had asked him <i>"Don't you know of any old school Soul singers we could cut - that's what you do best!"</i> There's those forces of The Universe now, folks... <i>Quinton had his man!</i></div>
<div id="text_box2">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div id="text_box2">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OAPSwVm1S-s/XahwQktEoUI/AAAAAAAB4q4/6R7TuW6xQy0uvdSJUs5Mhcge34Vt8RemACNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/wishbone2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="709" height="117" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OAPSwVm1S-s/XahwQktEoUI/AAAAAAAB4q4/6R7TuW6xQy0uvdSJUs5Mhcge34Vt8RemACNcBGAsYHQ/s200/wishbone2.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<div id="text_box2">
Lawson had just recently taken over Wishbone, the studio built by Clayton Ivey and Terry Woodford after they left Fame in 1973. When Larry Rogers' Studio 19 in Nashville (formerly Scotty Moore's Music City) faced the wrecking ball, Billy bought the console and just about went insane re-wiring and installing it at Wishbone. <i>"I'll never do that again!"</i> he told me when we visited the studio last month.</div>
<div id="text_box2">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yllUwENs0o0/Xahwd2GObvI/AAAAAAAB4rA/fQlFGOLWhYUjiSucEal6gT_vcnvax2yvQCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/billyboard.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="451" data-original-width="693" height="208" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yllUwENs0o0/Xahwd2GObvI/AAAAAAAB4rA/fQlFGOLWhYUjiSucEal6gT_vcnvax2yvQCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/billyboard.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div id="text_box2">
With the equipment finally where he wanted it, Billy brought in studio veterans like the aforementioned Clayton Ivey, Travis Wammack and Will McFarlane, and proceeded to cut a record that is pure Muscle Shoals magic. As the tracks were completed, Quinton began sending them up to John Broven and I here in New York, and we were just knocked out. This was Real Soul, as good as anything Willie had ever recorded! John in turn played them for </div>
<div id="text_box2">
Roger Armstrong at Ace in the UK, who jumped at the chance to release this landmark album.</div>
<div id="text_box2">
<br /></div>
<div align="center">
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="157" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2B9-Retid5I?rel=0" width="280"></iframe><br />
<br /></div>
<div id="text_box2">
<a href="https://acerecords.co.uk/out-of-the-blue" target="_blank">Out Of The Blue</a> was officially issued on August 31st, and is now available from <a href="https://acerecords.co.uk/out-of-the-blue" target="_blank">Ace</a> in Vinyl LP, CD and MP3 formats. <i>You need to own a copy!</i></div>
<div id="text_box2">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h8suOIFbYcg/XahxDocPKAI/AAAAAAAB4rQ/e8NiHe8NpYszmGcsfjawuzlZlv9DxPqRACNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/elipresents.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="286" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h8suOIFbYcg/XahxDocPKAI/AAAAAAAB4rQ/e8NiHe8NpYszmGcsfjawuzlZlv9DxPqRACNcBGAsYHQ/s200/elipresents.png" width="130" /></a></div>
<div id="text_box2">
<i>...but the forces of The Universe weren't through.</i> Old friend Noah Schaffer got in touch a while back and asked for Willie's number. His buddy Eli Reed wanted to throw a 40th birthday party for him, he said, and was hoping Willie would agree to sing with his band. I honestly didn't think they could pull it off but, lo and behold, Willie Hightower performed what may have been his first ever Boston area gig on September 7th at Club Sonia in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Along with Deep Soul songstress Thelma Jones and The Natural Wonders, this show just rocked the house! Peter Guralnick was there, John Broven was there and so was I. <i>I wouldn't have missed it for the world!</i></div>
<div id="text_box2">
<br /></div>
<div id="text_box2">
<br /></div>
<div align="center">
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="158" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F1VQ6nipOrc" width="280"></iframe><br />
<br /></div>
<div id="text_box2">
...and as you can see, the show was truly amazing! Both Willie and Thelma Jones performances were an absolute revelation, and Eli's smoking band just tore it up! <i>Life is Good!</i></div>
<span style="color: #b80000; float: right; font-size: 0.9em; margin: 0px 20px 10px;"><i>- red kelly</i>, September 2018</span>Red Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04507845466367181285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183059046438562319.post-7981696848526076992015-09-15T09:47:00.001-07:002021-03-20T08:37:49.294-07:00Henry Henderson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3vPgiCTRTnI/XrW2J1qzcvI/AAAAAAADSFc/BsAaJFxEeq0hh3JGO2qT0bJECn775zkeQCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/nybeat.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="161" data-original-width="540" height="95" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3vPgiCTRTnI/XrW2J1qzcvI/AAAAAAADSFc/BsAaJFxEeq0hh3JGO2qT0bJECn775zkeQCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/nybeat.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yGzYQuRIjxI/XrW2akisBdI/AAAAAAADSFk/5JSlZ_zu58kIfjJ_THCOR6TwHXgAIiqvQCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/apollo1965.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="478" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yGzYQuRIjxI/XrW2akisBdI/AAAAAAADSFk/5JSlZ_zu58kIfjJ_THCOR6TwHXgAIiqvQCNcBGAsYHQ/s200/apollo1965.png" width="175" /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yGzYQuRIjxI/XrW2akisBdI/AAAAAAADSFk/5JSlZ_zu58kIfjJ_THCOR6TwHXgAIiqvQCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/apollo1965.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>I know we talk a lot around here about places like Memphis and Muscle Shoals, New Orleans, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia and Nashville, but somehow it seems I haven't paid enough attention to my own hometown. As the site of the premier Black entertainment venue in the world, New York truly had it going on throughout 'The Soul Era'. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Y8HEtWdCgQ/XrW25QtkzLI/AAAAAAADSFs/Vsvk9GoaTb8fC15bcQkDhFmxV92JEi-6wCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/fire1017.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="725" data-original-width="726" height="199" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Y8HEtWdCgQ/XrW25QtkzLI/AAAAAAADSFs/Vsvk9GoaTb8fC15bcQkDhFmxV92JEi-6wCNcBGAsYHQ/s200/fire1017.png" width="200" /></a></div>
The Big Town knew few rivals as a recording center in those days as, in addition to Bobby Robinson's Harlem empire, it was home to 'major independents' like Atlantic, Scepter, Big Top, Roulette, Sue, Jubilee and Bell, (to name a few), all of which cut at various 'hole in the wall' studios in and around Manhattan.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://souldetective.com/images/long.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Uz4HQA8cR20/XrW3KyE75SI/AAAAAAADSF0/9e1a_z48_Vgy5Bna679jIeYSra9-tIc-QCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/long.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="237" data-original-width="374" height="126" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Uz4HQA8cR20/XrW3KyE75SI/AAAAAAADSF0/9e1a_z48_Vgy5Bna679jIeYSra9-tIc-QCNcBGAsYHQ/s200/long.png" width="200" /></a></div>
Home to such luminaries as James Brown, Don Covay, Gary U.S. Bonds, Roy C and Freddie Scott, Long Island enjoyed a thriving Soul scene all its own, with night clubs and lounges that featured live music springing up wherever there was a sizable Black community.
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D2euGoecn_E/XrW3ggFt9OI/AAAAAAADSGA/xvo2uPh8epsCc1HQD3FCm7a00ktWT-I_QCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/celebrity.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="835" height="241" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D2euGoecn_E/XrW3ggFt9OI/AAAAAAADSGA/xvo2uPh8epsCc1HQD3FCm7a00ktWT-I_QCNcBGAsYHQ/s400/celebrity.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy Freeport Historical Society</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Calling themselves 'The Showcase of Talent', the Celebrity Club on Sunrise Highway in Freeport was one of the most celebrated of those clubs, and when they brought in <a href="http://www.ponderosastomp.com/music_more/272/Little+Leo" target="_blank">Leo Price</a> to put together their 'house band' in the early sixties, he decided to stick around. As he told Seamus McGarvey in <a href="https://www.nowdigthismagazine.co.uk/" target="_blank">Now Dig This</a>, <span style="color: #000059;"><i>"I stayed up there... playing around those clubs, and backing up groups. In those days [most] recording artists didn't have their own bands, and the Jimmy Evans Booking Agency - I was his band - he had the acts... we played behind."</i></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y8BQtqWiaUU/XrW4CBAZebI/AAAAAAADSGI/vJs0qR5smDM5QzKZFP4oRAGxFSiavcAYwCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/shirelles.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="463" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y8BQtqWiaUU/XrW4CBAZebI/AAAAAAADSGI/vJs0qR5smDM5QzKZFP4oRAGxFSiavcAYwCNcBGAsYHQ/s200/shirelles.png" width="183" /></a></div>
It was his connection with Evans that made Leo a favorite with Long Island club owners, as he was able to bring in national level acts like Wilson Pickett and The Shirelles to keep the cash registers ringing. Price soon had more work than he could handle, and helped install a young singer named Henry Henderson as the leader of the house band at another popular club named Mister C's in Roosevelt.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Henderson had grown up in Jackson, Mississippi, and by the time he was a teenager he was fronting his own group that was represented by Tommy Couch's Malaco Attractions. After cutting a few sides for them that were never released, Henry took off for the bright lights, and wound up here on Long island in 1964.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ATsyKpvW64o/XrW4NTf234I/AAAAAAADSGM/Aj72ApVL-t0fOTBytdKNz23mJKEpWkfawCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/cb641128.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="241" data-original-width="258" height="186" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ATsyKpvW64o/XrW4NTf234I/AAAAAAADSGM/Aj72ApVL-t0fOTBytdKNz23mJKEpWkfawCNcBGAsYHQ/s200/cb641128.png" width="200" /></a></div>
This was right around the time that <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2006/05/little-buster-looking-for-home-jubilee.html" target="_blank">Little Buster</a>'s phenomenal <a href="https://redkelly.hipcast.com/export/Pca7a2b04fc385e758fa72133729b23bfZ1x4R1REYmtw.mp3" rel="enclosure">Lookin' For A Home</a> was garnering some airplay on local radio. Henry met Buster shortly after that when he was performing at Brownie's Lounge in Lakeview and the two transplanted Southerners hit it off, following each other around the Long Island club circuit from The Freeport Yacht Club and The Steer Inn to Club 91 and The Bluebird Cafe way out in the sticks.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5PGD6KNWpJ8/XrW4a1Mvu3I/AAAAAAADSGU/mLH1y1xc6R0sCyT4EbrhAF580GhYcabdACNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/obi.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="667" height="126" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5PGD6KNWpJ8/XrW4a1Mvu3I/AAAAAAADSGU/mLH1y1xc6R0sCyT4EbrhAF580GhYcabdACNcBGAsYHQ/s200/obi.png" width="200" /></a>In a scenario truly remiscent of <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/02/02/otis_day_animal_house_shout_scene_dewayne_jessie_on_how_playing_a_fake_r.html" target="_blank">Animal House</a>, in the late sixties notorious bar owner Robert Matherson hired Little Buster to play for his all-white clientele every Sunday at The Oak Beach Inn. When Buster wasn't available, Henry took his place and, between the two of them, they introduced an entire generation of essentially clueless caucasians to the Real Soul music that was happening all around them.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kKFVVBzeTqE/XrW4mVbh5TI/AAAAAAADSGc/nlMPSaHe_h8CAYs6DFRJpGckbbkeWX68QCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/henrysuit.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="427" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kKFVVBzeTqE/XrW4mVbh5TI/AAAAAAADSGc/nlMPSaHe_h8CAYs6DFRJpGckbbkeWX68QCNcBGAsYHQ/s200/henrysuit.png" width="121" /></a>As the sixties gave way to the seventies, The Highway Inn in Uniondale eclipsed the Celebrity Club as ground zero for Long Island Soul, with Leo Price's band once again providing the back-up. When Leo decided to move on, he called on Henry to take his place as leader of the house band, backing up everyone from Big Mama Thornton to The Ohio Players.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jeXsjMZfYQM/XrW46nunjvI/AAAAAAADSGo/QusBQLgni38kSQAFggWC21kwm5fSErPdgCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/i95.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="580" height="198" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jeXsjMZfYQM/XrW46nunjvI/AAAAAAADSGo/QusBQLgni38kSQAFggWC21kwm5fSErPdgCNcBGAsYHQ/s200/i95.png" width="200" /></a>In the early seventies, Henry got together with producer Clyde Wilson and cut a single for a Long Island label named Interstate 95. As Henry recalls it, the studio was located in the Chrysler Building in Manhattan, and they were all set to release the 45 when the label owner, Daniel Yudow, died suddenly, and that was the end of that. Sir Shambling calls the <a href="http://www.sirshambling.com/artists_2012/M/l_l_milton/index.php" target="_blank">L.L. Milton</a> release that Clyde Wilson produced for the label <span style="color: #000059;"><i>"a real throwback to the 60s,"</i></span><br />
and that's just what Long Island Soul has remained all these years.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R6GehgiD0jA/XrW5NcjnQYI/AAAAAAADSGw/sDy4FzkQj6YOzXWrHiFjayfzSeUebDsVQCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/discohenry.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="326" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R6GehgiD0jA/XrW5NcjnQYI/AAAAAAADSGw/sDy4FzkQj6YOzXWrHiFjayfzSeUebDsVQCNcBGAsYHQ/s200/discohenry.png" width="127" /></a></div>
As disco began to take hold in the mid-seventies, Henderson had the good sense to lay low for a while, and returned home to Jackson for a few years. By the early eighties he was back on Long Island, starting up a new band, <i>'The Honey Holders'</i> that would help him carry on in that soulful tradition...<br />
<br />
As you may know, I was a huge fan of Little Buster and, as I've <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2006/05/little-buster-looking-for-home-jubilee.html" target="_blank">said before</a>, I'd seen him perform <span style="color: #000059;"><i>"more times than anyone else, ever."</i></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dxTYBfuUEhQ/XrW5q6KDNiI/AAAAAAADSG4/vgikN_TnxBYpsW9Dvh3QF6JuiSWzMW4SQCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/busterized.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="314" height="143" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dxTYBfuUEhQ/XrW5q6KDNiI/AAAAAAADSG4/vgikN_TnxBYpsW9Dvh3QF6JuiSWzMW4SQCNcBGAsYHQ/s200/busterized.png" width="200" /></a>When Buster passed on in May 0f 2006, I was devastated. It was at a tribute to Buster held that June that I first met Henry Henderson. Once I heard him sing, I knew he was the real deal. We would become good friends, and his stories about the scene in those days have never failed to fascinate and enlighten me.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://souldetective.com/images/bash10.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://souldetective.com/images/bash10.png" width="80
"></a></div>
When Sir Lattimore Brown was diagnosed with cancer in 2010, we flew him up here to New York for treatment, and began arranging what we thought might be his final performance. I asked Henry if he would be willing to get The Honey Holders back together to back him up, and he jumped at the chance.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WhUDIy8pnzU/XrW57aEhAgI/AAAAAAADSHA/eaDHfyUmXsEJRFL5WITYWaR1okUpHwRsQCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/henrylatt.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="394" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WhUDIy8pnzU/XrW57aEhAgI/AAAAAAADSHA/eaDHfyUmXsEJRFL5WITYWaR1okUpHwRsQCNcBGAsYHQ/s200/henrylatt.png" width="154" /></a>Once the two Mississippi natives got together, they were thick as thieves, and I knew that Real Soul was in the house. As anybody who was there that night can tell you, it was a performance we won't soon forget. After Lattimore tragically passed in 2011, both Henry and I decided to keep his memory alive by bringing back his Honey Holders every year to what has come to be known as the CLUB 91 SIR LATTIMORE BROWN MEMORIAL NOFO SOUL BASH.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m7NjNy9wIfo/XrW6FN0DluI/AAAAAAADSHE/s4gz4pecqr8-vRM2mcTkug5qsPbok6wegCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/samfred.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="337" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m7NjNy9wIfo/XrW6FN0DluI/AAAAAAADSHE/s4gz4pecqr8-vRM2mcTkug5qsPbok6wegCNcBGAsYHQ/s200/samfred.png" width="131" /></a>Although the personnel may vary from year to year, Henry has never failed to deliver the genuine article. Featuring veterans like <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SAXYRIC330?fref=ts" target="_blank">Saxy Ric</a>, guitarist Sam MacArthur (who was a member of Leo Price's Celebrity Club band), bass player <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FredThomasoftheJBs" target="_blank">Fred Thomas</a> (of The JB's), sax man Bobby Gaither (who played on Joe Haywood's <a href="https://hipcast.com/export/P28492a5e2b7b5bce1cb62bde1d68b4b5Z1x4R1REYmZ3.mp3" rel="enclosure">Warm and Tender Love</a>), drummer Joe Mannino, bass player Douglas Jackson, and many more, The Honey Holders are the place where Long Island Soul lives!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Embedded below is a short video of Henry & the Holders at this Summer's Soul Bash shot by The New York Times' own <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqI49rM5Bm0_hALDIBHZOUg" title="_blank">Corey Kilgannon</a>:<br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="253" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VIFHAhC8yrY?rel=0" width="450"></iframe><br />
<br />
Like I said, Henry Henderson is the real deal... I love this man.<br />
<br /></div>
<span style="float: right; font-size: 1.1em; margin: 0px 20px 10px;"><i><span style="color: red;">- red kelly, September 2015</span></i></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GnlldoV5AA4/XrW6jKPUsBI/AAAAAAADSHQ/LHKclgwEIeom6673-35CSDJQvJnXdLCcACNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/riphenry.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="298" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GnlldoV5AA4/XrW6jKPUsBI/AAAAAAADSHQ/LHKclgwEIeom6673-35CSDJQvJnXdLCcACNcBGAsYHQ/s400/riphenry.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div id="text_box2">
And now it is my sad duty to inform all of you of the passing of Long Island Soul legend Henry Henderson. According to his good friend Mary Forehand <i>"He passed on January 18th... he was having chest pains and drove himself to the Hospital. He was found sitting in his car the next day."</i><br />
<br />
Just So Sad...<br />
<br /></div>
<div id="text_box2">
<i>May He Rest In Peace.</i></div>
<span style="color: #b80000; float: right; font-size: 0.9em; margin: 0px 20px 10px;"><i>- red kelly, February 2019</i></span>
Red Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04507845466367181285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183059046438562319.post-84933344969057113102015-06-29T17:57:00.001-07:002021-03-20T08:42:30.395-07:00Quinton Claunch<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://souldetective.com/images/gwrendezvous.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://souldetective.com/images/gwrendezvous.png" width="275"/></a></div>Back in 2008, when we were working on the <a href="http://www.ovwright.org/schedule.html" target="_blank">O.V. Wright Memorial Weekend</a>, Quinton Claunch (then 87 years old) agreed to join us for lunch at what we billed as the <a href="http://www.ovwright.org/goldwax.html" target="_blank">Goldwax Rendezvous</a>, where he would be reunited with <b>Roosevelt Jamison</b>, the man who introduced him to O.V. (as well as to Goldwax mainstays <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2007/09/james-carr-forgetting-you-goldwax-311.html" target="_blank">James Carr</a> and <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2007/10/ovations-featuring-louis-williams-im.html" target="_blank">The Ovations</a>). A last minute illness forced Claunch to cancel, but we never gave up.</p>
<p>In 2012 (thanks to Quinton's wife Nell, his son Steve and Roosevelt's wife Linda), John Broven and I were finally able to bring them together. Over the course of a lazy August afternoon spent at <a href="http://www.leonardsbarbecue.com/" target="_blank">Leonard's Pit Barbecue</a>, we were enthralled by these two men as they shared their stories about the very dawn of Memphis Soul.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://souldetective.com/images/qnr2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://souldetective.com/images/qnr2.png" width="500"/></a></div><p>We didn't know it then, but this would be the last time they would see each other. Roosevelt would pass away the following Spring, falling victim to the cancer that had ravaged his brain. Just a week after Jamison's funeral, Quinton and Nell were involved in a serious automobile accident - an accident from which she would never recover. She passed away from injuries sustained in the crash in June of 2013. After being married for sixty nine years, Quinton was suddenly alone.</p>
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://souldetective.com/images/alonzo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://souldetective.com/images/alonzo.png" width="300"/></a></div>He would find solace in his music and began writing songs again. Incredibly, at 92 years of age, Quinton returned to Muscle Shoals (where it had all started for him some <i>seventy</i> years before!) to produce an album on an artist he had discovered that just 'knocked him out', a young guitar player and singer from Kentucky named <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Alonzo-Pennington-Band/278244342441" target="_blank">Alonzo Pennington</a>.</p>
<p>Released on his own revitalized <a href="http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/label/Soul+Trax/a/Soul+Trax" target="_blank">Soul Trax</a> imprint, Claunch had dedicated the entire project <span style="color:#000059;"><i>"to the Memory of my Beloved Wife Nell,"</i></span> and invited John and I back to his house this past August to listen to the song he had written about her for the album, <a href="https://www.hipcast.com/export/P2610030bbd7824d34a4b98c7609550e4Z1x4R1REamt2.mp3">Taste Of Heaven</a>.</p>
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://souldetective.com/images/q2014.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://souldetective.com/images/q2014.png" width="200" /></a></div>To sit there in that place, in the same room where Quinton had sat on the floor with Roosevelt, O.V. and James Carr and listened to that mythic demo tape they had cut with Earl Forest fifty years before, was an experience we will not soon forget. Incredibly, even though Claunch was recently listed in <a href="http://www.trademarkwhoswho.com/">Who's Who</a>, even though his place in American Music History is secure as one of the greatest songwriters, label owners and producers of all time, he has been unable to find a record company willing to distribute the album.</p>
<p>Last I heard, he was still waiting for some of the friends he thought he had in the industry to return his phone calls... he deserves better.</p>
<p><span style="float:right; font-size:1.1em; margin:0px 20px 10px;"><i>- red kelly, June 2015</i></span></p>Red Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04507845466367181285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183059046438562319.post-3525866119462473392014-05-15T06:42:00.000-07:002014-06-04T10:10:31.402-07:00John Németh Testifies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xlQTJPuZVhU/U3J38l2n3bI/AAAAAAAAJUc/gx3Xmx1FPF4/s1600/MGcvr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xlQTJPuZVhU/U3J38l2n3bI/AAAAAAAAJUc/gx3Xmx1FPF4/s400/MGcvr.jpg" /></a></div>
<iframe frameborder="0" height="20" scrolling="no" src="http://www.hipcast.com/playweb?audioid=P99a684f21ccb2cdf84937607b65676b8Z1x4R1REamd1&buffer=5&fc=000066&pc=CC0000&kc=FFCC00&bc=000000&brand=1&player=ap25" width="106"></iframe><br />
<b><script src="http://cosimocode.com/player.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Testify My Love</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-122yEN0dtPg/U3PX_jCUpgI/AAAAAAAAJUw/aFMZ5p2TCNE/s1600/bma.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-122yEN0dtPg/U3PX_jCUpgI/AAAAAAAAJUw/aFMZ5p2TCNE/s200/bma.png" /></a></div>
<b>Soul Blues</b>, that's what they call it. Although I'm not quite sure how they make the distinction, it's a category at The Blues Foundation's annual <a href="http://www.blues.org/foundation-programs/blues-music-awards/" target="_blank">Blues Music Awards</a>, and one that the myopic and increasingly irrelevant Grammys should look into. In 2011, when the only place the Grammys could figure out to put <a href="http://youtu.be/Sc09WSNMsDM" target="_blank">Solomon Burke</a>'s phenomenal <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2007/08/willie-mitchell-woodchoppers-ball-hi.html">Willie Mitchell</a>-produced last album was in it's 'Contemporary Blues' designation, it lost out (understandably so) to Buddy Guy's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Living-Proof-Buddy-Guy/dp/B0040HJNKC" target="_blank">Living Proof</a> which, lo and behold, actually <i>was</i> a Contemporary Blues album. Back in Memphis, Buddy Guy's great record won as well, but there was still room for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nothings-Impossible-Solomon-Burke/dp/B0037EDIKK/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1400158747&sr=1-1&keywords=Nothing%27s+Impossible" target="_blank">Nothing's Impossible</a> to win as the Soul Blues Album of the Year, and for Solomon to be named (albeit posthumously) as the Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-28fUyOgnClk/U3QoDfJBVMI/AAAAAAAAJVA/T6uBw1Pb1wY/s1600/TruthIsCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-28fUyOgnClk/U3QoDfJBVMI/AAAAAAAAJVA/T6uBw1Pb1wY/s200/TruthIsCover.jpg" /></a></div>
This year's round of nominees for best Soul Blues Album included <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2006/04/otis-clay-brand-new-thing-hi-2206.html" target="_blank">Otis Clay</a>'s truly wonderful <a href="http://www.amoeba.com/truth-is-putting-love-back-into-the-music-cd-otis-clay/albums/2873765/" target="_blank">Truth Is (Putting Love Back In The Music)</a> and the cool Dave Keller CD we talked about last time out, <a href="http://souldetective3.blogspot.com/2013/10/dave-kellers-got-soul.html" target="_blank">Soul Changes</a>, neither of which garnered any Grammy recognition at all (despite our man <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2012/01/darryl-carter-looking-straight-ahead.html" target="_blank">Darryl Carter</a>'s involvement in both of them). Although it was Bobby Rush who took home the award for his inspired <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Down-Louisiana-Bobby-Rush/dp/B00AJLHV0M/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1400158982&sr=1-1&keywords=Down+In+Louisiana" target="_blank">Down In Louisiana</a>, the fact that there is this 'grey area' between Soul and The Blues where records like these can find a home does my heart good, and has greatly increased my appreciation of the work that <a href="http://www.blues.org/" target="_blank">The Blues Foundation</a> is doing.<br />
<br />
So, who won Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year at the 2014 awards?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2huQGytsxHM/U3SjQM3KWZI/AAAAAAAAJVg/L4MX4_aDRZ8/s1600/ne%CC%81meth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2huQGytsxHM/U3SjQM3KWZI/AAAAAAAAJVg/L4MX4_aDRZ8/s200/ne%CC%81meth.jpg" height="320" width="204" /></a></div>
<b><a href="http://johnnemeth.com/" target="_blank">John Németh</a></b>. <i>"Who?"</i> you might ask... I know I did when I first heard the name. Well, as it turns out, Németh is well known in 'Blues Circles' not only for his big fat harmonica, but for his albums with folks like Junior Watson and Elvin Bishop. To us guys over here on the 'Soul' side, not so much. When I heard that Németh was recording at <a href="http://electraphonicrecording.com/" target="_blank">Electraphonic</a> with our friends <a href="http://www.thebokeys.com/" target="_blank">The Bo-Keys</a>, it didn't ring any bells, to say the least.<br />
<br />
I think you already know how I feel about the work Scott Bomar is doing, work which I've referred to in the past as <i><a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2011/10/bo-keys-featuring-john-gary-williams.html" target="_blank">"...the place where Memphis Soul lives."</a></i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VUw4c2nBflA/U3SqSI_HVII/AAAAAAAAJVw/nMNFnEuf5iw/s1600/buses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VUw4c2nBflA/U3SqSI_HVII/AAAAAAAAJVw/nMNFnEuf5iw/s400/buses.jpg" /></a></div>
Németh (judging from the fact that he patterned his back cover photo after the famed <a href="http://thewitherscollection.com/" target="_blank">Ernest C. Withers</a> shot of the B.B. King bus) is apparently a student of the music, and 'gets' that too. Not only did he choose to cut this latest CD there in The Bluff City, he moved his wife and family there as well. Just like in the days he spent with his <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00INZ8M2C/ref=dm_mu_dp_trk12" target="_blank">Elbows on the Wheel</a>, Németh's in it for the long-haul.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S09v_HPWBfs/U3SyOxswGAI/AAAAAAAAJWA/49fCXODH7K4/s1600/memphis3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S09v_HPWBfs/U3SyOxswGAI/AAAAAAAAJWA/49fCXODH7K4/s200/memphis3.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Memphis-Grease-John-N%C3%A9meth/dp/B00I89RQB6/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1400156503&sr=1-1&keywords=memphis+grease" target="_blank">Memphis Grease</a> has been holding its own near the top of the Blues Charts since its release in March, and Németh and The Bo-Keys have been out touring in support of the record. Who was this guy that now had the best of Memphis behind him? Who is it that could possibly have <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2008/10/percy-wiggins-cant-find-nobody-to-take.html" target="_blank"><i>Percy Wiggins</i> </a>singing background vocals for him? I didn't know what to expect when I attended a sold-out show here on Long Island last month, packed with the usual 'Blues' crowd.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9PvnzAvmwyA/U3Sz-hEuonI/AAAAAAAAJWM/sqPFAoJdW-M/s1600/testify.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9PvnzAvmwyA/U3Sz-hEuonI/AAAAAAAAJWM/sqPFAoJdW-M/s640/testify.jpg" height="301" width="400" /></a></div>
Well, I'll tell you what folks, this guy can sing! Between those impressive pipes, his top-shelf songwriting skills, and the best possible backing band on earth, there, right in front of me, was the real deal. I think you can hear that in this obvious <a href="http://www.ovwright.org/" target="_blank">O.V. Wright</a> tribute we're featuring here today. With the whole front-line (even Kirk Smothers!) joining in on the vocal harmonies, and Joe Restivo's shimmering Telecaster, this is the Sound of Memphis, baby!<br />
<br />
After the show, as the Blues boys lined up to buy CDs and T-Shirts and stuff, you could tell that Németh and the Bo-Keys had gotten their message across: Long Live The Soul Blues!<br />
<br />
Don't miss your chance to see Németh, Percy Wiggins and the gang from South Main this Summer:<br /><br />
<b>May 17:</b> The Doheny Blues Festival w/ John Németh. Dana Point, CA<br />
<b>June 11:</b> W.C. Handy Blues Festival w/ John Németh. Henderson, KY<br />
<b>June 15:</b> Long's Park Summer Music Series w/ John Németh. Lancaster, PA<br />
<b>June 16:</b> Hill Country Barbecue Market w/ John Németh. Brooklyn, NY<br />
<b>July 4:</b> Waterfront Blues Festival w/ John Németh. Portland, OR<br />
<b>July 11:</b> Ottawa Blues Fest w/ John Németh. Ottawa, ON Canada<br />
<br />
<iframe width="500" height="281" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/HtVngk0oSXo?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />
Tell 'em Red sent ya!Red Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04507845466367181285noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183059046438562319.post-17295752060773151182013-10-29T09:12:00.001-07:002021-03-20T08:43:56.341-07:00Dave Keller's got Soul<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-npp-KfF8sak/UmZ2QDkDITI/AAAAAAAAJCk/Cxnwk0QueHw/s1600/DKcvr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="393" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-npp-KfF8sak/UmZ2QDkDITI/AAAAAAAAJCk/Cxnwk0QueHw/s400/DKcvr.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<iframe frameborder="0" height="20" scrolling="no" src="https://www.hipcast.com/playweb?audioid=P9cd31c350487bfd1b5d82466fbf32a51Z1x4R1REamJw&buffer=5&fc=000066&pc=CC0000&kc=FFCC00&bc=000000&brand=1&player=ap25" width="106"></iframe><br />
<b>17 Years</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M9FNfLkGdHY/UmbGmxs_flI/AAAAAAAAJC0/QJjL5_0U8Ag/s1600/1329135085_500cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M9FNfLkGdHY/UmbGmxs_flI/AAAAAAAAJC0/QJjL5_0U8Ag/s200/1329135085_500cover.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="http://davekeller.com/">Dave Keller</a>'s last album won the Blues Foundation's <a href="https://www.blues.org/ibc/selfcdrules.php#ref=ibc_selfcdrules">International Blues Challenge Best Self-Produced CD Award</a> in 2012. Backed by <a href="http://therevelations.bandcamp.com/">The Revelations</a> and produced by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bob-Perry-engineerproducerguitar-for-hire/241893739216422">Bob Perry</a>, <a href="http://davekeller.bandcamp.com/album/where-im-coming-from">Where I'm Coming From</a> wasn't a Blues album, it was a Soul album. Obviously a huge fan of the music, Dave sings his heart out on covers of some of the greatest Southern Soul tunes of all time, no doubt introducing songs originally performed by the likes of O.V. Wright, James Carr, and Clarence Carter to a whole new generation of listeners. His take on one of my own personal favorites, Darryl Carter and Bobby Womack's classic <a href="http:/">More Than I Can Stand</a>, stays pretty close to the Chips Moman produced original until Perry and The Revelations bring things into the present day and funk things up towards the end... very cool stuff!<br />
<br />
So how do you follow an award winning album that had also climbed to #2 on the Blues charts on Sirius XM?<br />
<br />
Go to Memphis, of course.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V76eG412RFg/UmcQidsiZRI/AAAAAAAAJDI/i6qFI6I_2HM/s1600/boo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V76eG412RFg/UmcQidsiZRI/AAAAAAAAJDI/i6qFI6I_2HM/s320/boo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Bob Perry, who had co-produced the Revelation's last album, <a href="http://therevelations.bandcamp.com/">Concrete Blues</a>, with our friend Boo Mitchell down at <a href="http://royalstudios.com/">Royal Studios</a> in 2011, knew it would be a perfect fit for Dave Keller as well. Dave liked the idea so much he launched his own <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/854509743/dave-keller-goes-to-memphis-to-record-a-modern-sou">Kickstarter Project</a> to fund the journey, and cut six tracks down on Willie Mitchell Boulevard this past February.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S8RymFiLnZ4/UmcYUkmJvLI/AAAAAAAAJDY/4EL0Gjh3-gU/s1600/dreamteam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S8RymFiLnZ4/UmcYUkmJvLI/AAAAAAAAJDY/4EL0Gjh3-gU/s320/dreamteam.jpg" /></a></div>
Assembling a Dream Team of musicians that included Charles, Teenie and Leroy Hodges, Bobby Manuel and Lester Snell (along with a horn section led by old pals Marc Franklin and Kirk Smothers), Perry managed to re-create that patented Hi 'Sound of Memphis' and bring it to five of Keller's original compositions about Love and Loss.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8-DPBMZhsQk/UmceDO3CjfI/AAAAAAAAJDk/_N-FdcEQ4pA/s1600/darryl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8-DPBMZhsQk/UmceDO3CjfI/AAAAAAAAJDk/_N-FdcEQ4pA/s320/darryl.jpg" /></a></div>
The coolest thing he did though, in my opinion, was to bring in our man <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2012/01/darryl-carter-looking-straight-ahead.html">Darryl Carter</a> to co-write this great song we have here with Dave. As I <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2012/01/darryl-carter-looking-straight-ahead.html">said</a> about Darryl last year: <i><b>"In a way, perhaps that has been his greatest strength, the rare ability to truly collaborate with other people, and create something greater than the sum of its parts."</b></i> Which is something (he informed me just last week) that he learned from his mentor <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2008/01/triumphs-raw-dough-volt-100.html">Chips Moman</a>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ts6VMlcNiuU/UmcmxZW6U7I/AAAAAAAAJDw/hjp-XCXDxNA/s1600/BACK+BEAT+628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ts6VMlcNiuU/UmcmxZW6U7I/AAAAAAAAJDw/hjp-XCXDxNA/s200/BACK+BEAT+628.jpg" /></a></div>
After talking to Keller about the recent break-up of his marriage, Darryl proclaimed <i>"There's the song right there!"</i> and - just as he told me he had done with O.V. Wright and Charles Hodges on <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2008/09/ov-wright-id-rather-be-blind-cripple.html">Blind, Crippled and Crazy</a> at Royal some forty years before - he and Dave <i><b>"wrote that song together... in about 25 or 30 minutes, and we cut it that same day."</b></i> With a horn chart that could have been written by James Mitchell, Dave's own stinging guitar work, and all those Hodges in the house, <i><b>"This one,"</b></i> as Darryl said, <i><b>"is a hit!"</b></i> <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wt790o8YM0A/Um_P1x2PkqI/AAAAAAAAJEg/oNb4628L82U/s1600/bobby2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wt790o8YM0A/Um_P1x2PkqI/AAAAAAAAJEg/oNb4628L82U/s320/bobby2.jpg" /></a></div>In a truly once-in-a-lifetime Memphis moment, Dave told me that while they were cutting <b>17 Years</b>, photographer <a href="http://www.thomgilbert.net/index.php#mi=1&pt=0&pi=1&s=0&p=-1&a=0&at=0">Thom Gilbert</a> (who would also provide the cover photo for the album) brought <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2013/06/bobby-bland-youre-one-that-i-need-duke.html">Bobby Bland</a> down to Royal for a photo shoot as part of his <a href="http://www.thomgilbert.net/index.php#mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=0&p=0&a=0&at=0">Stax Records Memphis Music Project "Soul Men"</a>. After he helped Bobby make his way back to the control room, Dave sat there pretty much in awe as Bobby listened to the playback, then gave him a few pointers on how best to go about singing it. How very cool is that?
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-08057dL5TrI/Um_LrlvkFjI/AAAAAAAAJEU/GBJ_o-fGFYo/s1600/bklyn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-08057dL5TrI/Um_LrlvkFjI/AAAAAAAAJEU/GBJ_o-fGFYo/s320/bklyn.jpg" width="284" /></a></div>The rest of the album consists of five more worthy covers of great Soul tunes (including one that I called the <i><a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2007/12/bobby-womack-dont-look-back-liberty.html">"absolute best record"</a></i> I ever put up on <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/">The B Side</a>) cut with The Revelations back at their home base in Brooklyn, making <a href="http://davekeller.bandcamp.com/">Soul Changes</a> an all-around must have that reflects the incredible talent of all involved.<br /><br />In the liner notes, Keller quotes the great <a href="http://www.louislamour.com/">Louis L'Amour</a>; <i><b>"There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning."</b></i><br /><br />I am right there with that.
Red Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04507845466367181285noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183059046438562319.post-82751478082965657852013-10-02T05:25:00.000-07:002013-10-02T05:40:24.547-07:00A New Road for Nathan & The Zydeco Cha-Chas<iframe width="500" height="320" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/FjWcmJlmNQY?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>In this post-Rounder Records world we're living in, Nathan Williams has landed squarely on his feet, with a new self-produced Zydeco Cha-Chas album that just rocks the house, and is sure to be a Grammy contender.</p>
<p> Like Nathan himself, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/a-new-road/id694905826" target="_blank">A New Road</a> remains vibrant and alive, while being firmly rooted in the Zydeco tradition handed down by <b>Clifton Chenier</b> and Nathan's good friend and mentor <b>Stanley 'Buckwheat' Dural</b>.</p>
<p>With a brand new website, and an appearance later this month at New York's Apollo Theater, the hardest working man in Zydeco is back, and he's ready to sock it to ya! <i>"Et Toi! F'attention!!"</i></p>
<p><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/a-new-road/id694905826" target="_blank">A NEW ROAD</a> is now available on ITunes. <i>Be sure and visit the new site:</i> <a href="http://zydecochachas.com">zydecochachas.com</a></p>Red Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04507845466367181285noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183059046438562319.post-88911018118959199712013-07-29T10:14:00.000-07:002013-08-12T13:30:40.443-07:00Darryl Carter is Back!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LF7gwbYecSY/UfaZouADJVI/AAAAAAAAI9k/R3RDnthJwLY/s1600/dccvr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LF7gwbYecSY/UfaZouADJVI/AAAAAAAAI9k/R3RDnthJwLY/s400/dccvr.jpg" /></a></div><iframe src="http://www.hipcast.com/playweb?audioid=Pbafe88787c5ce191d51ceaf46d1aa340Z1x4R1REamN3&buffer=5&fc=000066&pc=CC0000&kc=FFCC00&bc=000000&brand=1&player=ap25" height="20" width="106" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><br />
<b><script src="http://cosimocode.com/player.js" type="text/javascript"></script>STARTING TOMORROW (edit)</b>
<p>Songwriter, producer, raconteur and all-around awesome person <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2012/01/darryl-carter-looking-straight-ahead.html" target="_blank">Darryl Carter</a> is back on the other side of the microphone performing as an artist, which is something he hasn't done in a very long time. As you may know, we are big fans of Darryl's singing voice, and have been urging him to record an album for years. This EP is a start, with a remixed version of his own take on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CZDS85O/ref=dm_dp_trk1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375115169&sr=1-2-catcorr" target="_blank">Woman's Gotta Have It</a> giving Womack a run for his money!<p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CZDS8E0/ref=dm_dp_trk2?ie=UTF8&qid=1375115169&sr=1-2-catcorr" target="_blank">Starting Tomorrow</a>, a song he wrote with the late great <a href="http://www.discogs.com/artist/Jonah+Ellis" target="_blank">Jonah Ellis</a>, was originally slated for <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2006/03/syl-johnson-let-them-hang-high.html" target="_blank">Syl Johnson</a>, and had been on the shelf for over fifteen years before Carter decided to cut it himself... we're sure glad he did - can you say <i>funky?!</i> Ellis, who passed on in 2010, had been Darryl's songwriting partner for many years, and four of their amazing compositions (including the title track) were included on <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2006/04/otis-clay-brand-new-thing-hi-2206.html" target="_blank">Otis Clay</a>'s latest release, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B46UWB6/ref=dm_dp_cdp?ie=UTF8&s=music&sr=1-2" target="_blank">Truth Is</a>.</p>
<p>Darryl's EP is available at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CZDS7WI/ref=dm_sp_alb?ie=UTF8&qid=1375115169&sr=1-2-catcorr" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, and for $1.78 you owe it to yourself to download a copy. He's the real deal!</p>Red Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04507845466367181285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183059046438562319.post-35458211281776075022013-04-29T14:59:00.000-07:002013-04-29T14:59:57.536-07:00Reunion of The Southern Soul Legends<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UVjuUVl1oZo/UX7sBiqB2lI/AAAAAAAAI40/_9JvrromuIc/s1600/SINCLAIR_FLYER_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="357" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UVjuUVl1oZo/UX7sBiqB2lI/AAAAAAAAI40/_9JvrromuIc/s400/SINCLAIR_FLYER_.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
<iframe frameborder="0" height="20" scrolling="no" src="http://www.hipcast.com/playweb?audioid=P5be45cffbe08be8f10b0f09f19a26d69Z1x4R1REZWp8&buffer=5&fc=000066&pc=CC0000&kc=FFCC00&bc=000000&brand=1&player=ap25" width="106"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://www.hipcast.com/export/P5be45cffbe08be8f10b0f09f19a26d69Z1x4R1REZWp8.mp3" rel="enclosure">Southern Soul Legends Radio Spot</a>Red Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04507845466367181285noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183059046438562319.post-9971895222096066202013-03-06T10:33:00.001-08:002021-03-20T08:49:38.446-07:00RAT ON!Hi Folks... you'd never know it, but I'm a huge fan of <b><a href="http://www.swampdogg.net/" target="_blank">Jerry 'Swamp Dogg' Williams</a></b>. Although I've <a href="http://www.google.com/cse?cx=016527741736330934969%3Akuvcm40eggw&q=swamp+dogg&sa=Search&siteurl=redkelly.blogspot.com%2F%3F&ref=&ss=3299j1466297j10#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=swamp%20dogg&gsc.page=1" target="_blank">mentioned his work</a> as a songwriter and producer any number of times, somehow I never got around to writing about him as the groundbreaking artist and all-around Great American that he is. Well, as it turns out, now I don't have to.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jF6xt3VwLpE/UTd_8odoGhI/AAAAAAAAI0Y/m5g3GD2V_7Q/s1600/sdogg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jF6xt3VwLpE/UTd_8odoGhI/AAAAAAAAI0Y/m5g3GD2V_7Q/s320/sdogg.jpg" /></a><b>David Marchese</b> has put together a knockout interview and profile over on <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/swamp-dogg-total-destruction-rat-on-the-real-doggfather?page=0" target="_blank">SPIN</a> that covers all the bases (and then some!). From his early days hawking songs in the Brill Building, to becoming the first black producer at Atlantic (<i><b>"Just draw your money and shut the fuck up"</b></i>), to the great records he cut for Canyon and Mankind on folks like <a href="http://souldetective.blogspot.com/2010/02/case-seven.html" target="_blank">Freddie North</a> and <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2007/05/irma-thomas-we-wont-be-in-your-way.html" target="_blank">Irma Thomas</a>, to his emergence as an acid-fueled R&B visionary, Marchese has captured the tone and spirit of this uncompromising self-made Legend intact. <i><a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/swamp-dogg-total-destruction-rat-on-the-real-doggfather?page=0" target="_blank">Check it out!</a></i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-40MqDCdQUkM/UTeFT3nVaYI/AAAAAAAAI0k/PuCBXMHFQjs/s1600/first2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-40MqDCdQUkM/UTeFT3nVaYI/AAAAAAAAI0k/PuCBXMHFQjs/s400/first2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The Dogg's first two albums, <a href="http://www.bompstore.com/servlet/Detail?no=14703" target="_blank">Total Destruction Of Your Mind</a> and <a href="http://www.bompstore.com/servlet/Detail?no=14701" target="_blank">Rat On!</a> were re-issued on high quality vinyl and CD just yesterday by <a href="http://www.alive-totalenergy.com/x/?page_id=3848" target="_blank">Alive Naturalsound Records</a>...<br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<iframe width="400" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7_HqCQnBMeo" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />
It's great to see Williams finally getting some of the respect and name-recognition he deserves in the mainstream press... after all, he <i>is</i> <b><a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/swamp-dogg-total-destruction-rat-on-the-real-doggfather?page=0" target="_blank">Tha Real Mother****ing Doggfather!!</a></b>Red Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04507845466367181285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183059046438562319.post-43481462924631195142012-12-17T08:53:00.011-08:002021-03-20T18:27:30.732-07:00recent releases <p><i>Hi Folks... After I posted about a couple of new records by <a href="http://souldetective3.blogspot.com/2012/08/percy-wiggins-writing-on-wall.html" target="_blank"><b>Percy Wiggins</b></a> and <a href="http://souldetective3.blogspot.com/2012/07/northside-soul.html" target="_blank"><b>Marion James</b></a>, I thought it might be a good idea to put together an edition of <b>Soul Sauce</b> every once in a while that focused on the current 'small label' projects of some of our friends. Here goes...</i></p>
<h1><a href="http://souldetective.com/">clifford curry</a></h1>
<a href="http://www.offrowrecords.com/ARTISTcliffordcurry.html" target="_blank" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="284" width="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gSGgkUIlPNs/UHQUivUEwiI/AAAAAAAAH_E/jf-kuhsTVnI/s320/clifford.jpg" /></a><br />
<a href="https://hipcast.com/export/Pfb72cb0ec3add8836fe93592e521d41aZ1x4R1REZWN3.mp3" rel="enclosure"><b>STACKED IN THE BACK</b></a>
<p><b>When we spoke with <a href="http://redkelly2.blogspot.com/2008/03/clifford-curry-she-shot-hole-in-my-soul.html" target="_blank">Clifford Curry</a> during the <a href="http://youtu.be/0lgBxOPF654" target="_blank">Soul Detective Road Trip</a> this Summer, he gave us a copy of his latest album, <a href="http://www.offrowrecords.com/ARTISTcliffordcurry.html" target="_blank">The Soul of Clifford Curry</a>. Once we popped it into the CD player in the rental car, we never took it out! With a bang-up production job by old hands Bruce Dees and Clayton Ivey, Clifford's amazing songwriting never sounded better. <i>Available now at <a href="http://www.offrowrecords.com/ARTISTcliffordcurry.html" target="_blank">Off Row Records</a></i>.</b></p>
<h1><a href="http://souldetective.com/">ralph 'soul' jackson</a></h1>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OJ_WHI95VIQ/UHQfEhNdrEI/AAAAAAAAH_w/TK3NdSSszoA/s1600/ralph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="295" width="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OJ_WHI95VIQ/UHQfEhNdrEI/AAAAAAAAH_w/TK3NdSSszoA/s320/ralph.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://hipcast.com/export/Pfa710db97316a13a9faa774d55eb3a6bZ1x4R1REZWN2.mp3" rel="enclosure"><b>SEARCHING</a></b>
<p><b>Some three years in the making, <a href="http://www.therabbitfactory.net/ralph-soul-jackson-on-sale-at-dusty-groove/" target="_blank">The Alabama Love Man</a> is the debut album from the great <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2007/04/ralph-soul-jackson-cause-i-love-you.html" target="_blank">Ralph 'Soul' Jackson</a>. We all knew Ralph could sing, and this package showcases his songwriting skills as well. With the committment to quality (and real instruments) we've come to expect from our friends at <a href="http://www.therabbitfactory.net/" target="_blank">The Rabbit Factory</a>, it's available on both heavyweight vinyl and CD. <i>Get it now at <a href="http://www.dustygroove.com/item.php?id=rty3pzp5x2&ref=index.php" target="_blank">Dusty Groove</a>.</i></b></p>
<h1><a href="http://souldetective.com/">arthur adams</a></h1>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gqEn-yOQhG0/UHQnOOAX32I/AAAAAAAAIAE/bBZ0Q6Kz348/s1600/arthur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="317" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gqEn-yOQhG0/UHQnOOAX32I/AAAAAAAAIAE/bBZ0Q6Kz348/s320/arthur.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://hipcast.com/export/P9cdfb243cbaa73682c0f38732706ffe7Z1x4R1REZWNx.mp3" rel="enclosure"><b>LIKE ONLY SHE CAN DO (preview)</a></b>
<p><b><a href="http://www.arthuradamsband.com/" target="_blank">Arthur Adams</a> came up out of Jefferson Street in Nashville as the protege of our man <a href="http://sirlattimorebrown.com/" target="_blank">Sir Lattimore Brown</a>. Considered by most to be a 'blues man', there's so much more to Arthur than that. His new double sided single, <a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/arthuradams1" target="_blank">Feet Back In The Door</a>, was produced by <a href="http://www.kebmo.com/site/" target="_blank">Keb' Mo'</a>, and gives you an idea of the depth of his talents. We'll be taking a closer look at Arthur's career soon over on <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The B Side</a>. <i>In the meantime, you can download the single on <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/feet-back-in-the-door-single/id561226585" target="_blank">iTunes</a>.</i></b></p>
<h1><a href="http://souldetective.com/">willie wright</a></h1>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EGuogA37h8E/UHQwBoalq5I/AAAAAAAAIAY/OjVFPKOzOqI/s1600/willie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="286" width="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EGuogA37h8E/UHQwBoalq5I/AAAAAAAAIAY/OjVFPKOzOqI/s320/willie.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://hipcast.com/export/Pb6a55c7a66147ead8b9c4d31085696f8Z1x4R1REZWNw.mp3" rel="enclosure"><b>THIS IS NOT A DREAM (preview)</a></b>
<p><b>After The Numero Group reissued Wright's incredible and ultra-rare 1977 LP <a href="http://www.numerogroup.com/catalog_detail.php?uid=01222#" target="_blank">Telling The Truth</a> last year, it inspired Willie and his longtime friend Bob Green to 'come slightly out of retirement' and cut <a href="http://www.williewrightmusic.com/index.html" target="_blank">This Is Not A Dream</a> some thirty five years later. Despite ill health, Willie's soulful spirit remains, as does the haunting sincerity of his music. <i>Available now from <a href="http://www.williewrightmusic.com/index.html" Target="_blank">Green Coil Records</a></i></b></p>
<h1><a href="http://souldetective.com/">roy c</a></h1>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pKT7glnKu5Q/UHQ7DSz7iAI/AAAAAAAAIAs/U1-8ZHptsAQ/s1600/roy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="317" width="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pKT7glnKu5Q/UHQ7DSz7iAI/AAAAAAAAIAs/U1-8ZHptsAQ/s320/roy.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://hipcast.com/export/Pf1bb8383b9c95c845244a4a4c4df2d60Z1x4R1REZWNz.mp3" rel="enclosure"><b>WHERE DID ALL THE LOVE GO</a></b>
<p><b>When <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2006/09/roy-c-ill-never-leave-you-lonely-alaga.html" target="_blank">Roy C</a> called me and told me that he had just finished his first Gospel album, at first I couldn't believe it. After I thought about it a while, though, I realized that Roy's been out there preaching in his own way for almost fifty years! Released as a tribute to his good friend <a href="http://redkelly2.blogspot.com/2011/02/marvin-sease-motel-lover-london-876-224.html" target="_blank">Marvin Sease</a>, <a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/royc311" target="_blank">Let's Go Back To God</a> represents Roy's unique perspective on Religion in America. <i>Available in both CD and MP3 formats from <a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/royc311" target="_blank">CD Baby</a>.</i></b></p>
<h1><a href="http://souldetective.com/">ronnie grieco</a></h1>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vGSXVxWMTdQ/UHRBybZP3vI/AAAAAAAAIBE/TvilbM1FlHM/s1600/ronnie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="313" width="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vGSXVxWMTdQ/UHRBybZP3vI/AAAAAAAAIBE/TvilbM1FlHM/s320/ronnie.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://hipcast.com/export/Pe1702217ac15a28a8a6104c02df7f6a4Z1x4R1REZWNy.mp3" rel="enclosure"><b>LOVE MAKES A WOMAN (preview)</a></b>
<p><b>Here's the new single from our friend and veteran sax man <a href="http://www.ronniegrieco.com/" target="_blank">Ronnie Grieco</a>, who was one of <a href="http://redkelly2.blogspot.com/2008/12/benny-gordon-gonna-give-her-all-love-i.html" target="_blank">Benny Gordon's Soul Brothers</a> back in the day. Ronnie's still out there performing, and has remained true to his R&B roots. <i>You can purchase the single, along with a whole lot of other great music over at Ronnie's own <a href="http://www.ronniegrieco.com/#/buy-music/4561239773" target="_blank">Online Music Store</a>.</i></b></p>
<h1><a href="http://souldetective.com/">jimmy church</a></h1>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PjdDZ-I0H-w/UHRIZppXDMI/AAAAAAAAIBY/gHz4HQwtBGM/s1600/IN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="318" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PjdDZ-I0H-w/UHRIZppXDMI/AAAAAAAAIBY/gHz4HQwtBGM/s320/IN.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://hipcast.com/export/Pf55da8c805c7a0b4344314f466db1a7aZ1x4R1REZWN9.mp3" rel="enclosure"><b>ARE YOU IN</a></b>
<p><b>When <a href="http://www.thejimmychurchband.com/index.html" target="_blank">Jimmy Church</a> was kind enough to let us visit his home during the <a href="http://youtu.be/0lgBxOPF654" target="_blank">Road Trip</a>, I noticed a stack of these CD singles on the kitchen table. Conceived as a benefit and theme song for The <i>Concerned Citizens for the Re-Election of President Barack Obama</i>, Jimmy wasn't selling them, he was giving them away to help spread the word. There's even a cool video on YouTube:</b></p>
<p><iframe width="360" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZShR_-qvHUc?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.barackobama.com/obama-for-america-2012-campaign?source=om2012_LB_G_core-search_campaign_&omtype=&subsource=mkwid%7CEBrnYR24%7Ckw%7Cobama%20for%20president%7Cmatchtype%7Cb%7Cpcrid%7C13630425483%7Cpl%7C%7C&gclid=CI_m7dqp9LICFQqk4AodGTAAug" target="_blank"><i>ARE YOU IN?</b></i></a></p>
Red Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04507845466367181285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183059046438562319.post-24824885778432643182012-09-15T06:00:00.003-07:002021-03-20T18:33:29.984-07:00melvin carter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qBJo44AGdyg/W-dVdl4f-zI/AAAAAAABvN8/QLLc64z7c5wJPoKMj78_6O250eg_RtkdACLcBGAs/s1600/robeyss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="463" data-original-width="380" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qBJo44AGdyg/W-dVdl4f-zI/AAAAAAABvN8/QLLc64z7c5wJPoKMj78_6O250eg_RtkdACLcBGAs/s400/robeyss.jpg" width="327" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
This is a picture of Don Robey, the man Willie Mitchell referred to as the <i><b>"Houston Mafia,"</b></i><br />
and Roosevelt Jamison depicted as a <i><b>"cold-blooded man."</b></i> His place in the history of this music we all love is secure, but he certainly leaves you wondering if his ends justified his means. In the superb <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Chitlin-Circuit-Road-Rock-Roll/dp/0393076520" target="_blank"><b>The Chitlin' Circuit and the Road to Rock 'N' Roll</b></a>, <b>Preston Lauterbach</b> paints the most complete (and chilling) picture yet of this gun-toting Texas misanthrope who knew how to get things done.<br/>
<br />
Although he most certainly was not alone in the practice, Robey made sure he got a piece of the songwriting and publishing on virtually every R&B record he released, often sharing it with the actual composer on the top side, but taking it all for himself on the flip.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q65PCJw6_jA/W-dV912O0SI/AAAAAAABvOM/NFN0nq4gU5kbFibjFNUAv7K7L4O5-mFaQCLcBGAs/s1600/duke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="197" data-original-width="380" height="165" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q65PCJw6_jA/W-dV912O0SI/AAAAAAABvOM/NFN0nq4gU5kbFibjFNUAv7K7L4O5-mFaQCLcBGAs/s320/duke.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
After he took over the Duke label (literally at gunpoint) in 1952, he had no qualms about listing <b>'D.Robey'</b> as the sole composer on most of <b><a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2006/02/bobby-bland-ive-just-got-to-forget.html">Bobby Bland</a></b>'s and <b>Junior Parker</b>'s early B sides. I'm not sure why (maybe he just thought it was too obvious or something), but by the early sixties, he had developed a songwriting alias, <b>'Deadric Malone'</b>. The source of much speculation over the years as to whether or not this was an actual person (some said it was his wife), I've come to believe he just made it up.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bzmVPPh559U/W-dVnx5pX4I/AAAAAAABvOI/EFjWa0Dr4loHJCxmUBCPM11fCN6igWHGACEwYBhgL/s1600/deadrick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="146" data-original-width="360" height="129" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bzmVPPh559U/W-dVnx5pX4I/AAAAAAABvOI/EFjWa0Dr4loHJCxmUBCPM11fCN6igWHGACEwYBhgL/s320/deadrick.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
It was the ever vigilant Lauterbach who pointed out to me that there are two Memphis streets which follow each other in quick succession as you cross over Lamar Avenue on Airways Boulevard on the way out of town - <b><i>Deadrick</i></b> and <b><i>Malone</i></b>! One can only imagine the wily Robey on his way to the airport, seizing on this random sequence as his new <i>nom de plume</i>. Wild!<br />
All of this has been on a kind of hypothetical back burner over here for a while, but something happened just recently that really sort of drove it home. Ace's indefatigable <b><a href="http://www.acerecords.co.uk/content.php?page_id=355">Tony Rounce</a></b> told me that they had recently acquired a tape of demos from Goldwax co-owner <b>Doc Russell</b>'s son, and that this was on there:<br />
<b>Melvin Carter</b> - original Goldwax demo<br />
<a href="https://www.hipcast.com/export/P8c6543baa98c5058c888db397d12bb39Z1x4R1REZGRy.mp3" rel="enclosure">Ace Of Spades</a><br />
It just gives me chills.<br />
I was finally able to get a hold of our friend <b><a href="http://redkelly2.blogspot.com/2011/09/otis-redding-thats-how-strong-my-love.html">Roosevelt Jamison</a></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rALlODdM-u0/W-dWdEdsdeI/AAAAAAABvOU/na8qpzD1oucpyJRZmYJe3_F-VREaQtTMQCLcBGAs/s1600/roosevelt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rALlODdM-u0/W-dWdEdsdeI/AAAAAAABvOU/na8qpzD1oucpyJRZmYJe3_F-VREaQtTMQCLcBGAs/s1600/roosevelt.jpg" /></a></b></div>
<br />
the other day who, you'll be happy to hear, has responded amazingly well to the radiation treatment he received for <i>eight</i> brain tumors, which as of now no longer exist... <i>how great is that?!</i> Although he doesn't recall anything about the actual tape that Tony has, he knew Melvin Carter well. <b><i>"Melvin and O.V. were very tight,"</i></b> he told me, <b><i>"He was the guitar player for The Sunset Travelers when O.V. was with them, and when he crossed over, Melvin came along with him and started playing in O.V.'s band."</i></b>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1AqpNwdk3EM/W-dWnVRw8kI/AAAAAAABvOY/FD6Lnu-zm0A8NQfY_ZeOXqmbgtwfpTDJQCLcBGAs/s1600/backbeat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="197" data-original-width="380" height="165" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1AqpNwdk3EM/W-dWnVRw8kI/AAAAAAABvOY/FD6Lnu-zm0A8NQfY_ZeOXqmbgtwfpTDJQCLcBGAs/s320/backbeat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><i>"Yes, Melvin wrote </i>Ace of Spades - Eight Men, Four Women<i> too! All Robey ever gave him was twenty five dollars for each of them, then when the records came out he took full credit for himself, and never paid Melvin another dime!"</i></b><br />
<i>Imagine?</i> The discovery of these demos, which were apparently recorded before O.V. ever signed with Back Beat, points out what a ruthless son of a bitch Robey really was. Like O.V., Melvin had a day job as a sanitation man in Memphis, and he came in off his shift one day and laid down for a nap, asking his wife to wake him up around seven for a rehearsal that evening. When she tried to rouse him, however, he was dead - the victim of an apparent massive heart attack in his sleep.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EkGL6_zQVNQ/Uztn4RdIrYI/AAAAAAAAJQA/1wMdBDZVU0A/s1600/peacock1934.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EkGL6_zQVNQ/Uztn4RdIrYI/AAAAAAAAJQA/1wMdBDZVU0A/s200/peacock1934.png" /></a></div><br/><br/>
<b>Peacock 1934</b><br />
<a href="https://www.hipcast.com/export/Pee4aad6943d7f9b435dbea68858f5a31Z1x4R1REZGR9.mp3" rel="enclosure">Something Reminds Me</a><br />
Melvin Carter had a couple of releases of his own on Robey's Peacock label in the mid-sixties (with Malone taking the composer's credit, of course), which go for big bucks if you can find them. This beautiful ballad comes to us courtesy of <b><a href="http://sirshambling.com/">Sir Shambling</a></b>, and illustrates how great Carter was.<br />
I'd like to fill in some of the blanks on him (like - <i>do any photographs of him exist?</i>), so please, detectives, get in touch if you have any further information on Melvin to share with us.<br /><br/>
Thanks!<br />
<h3>
<i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="update1">update:</a></i></h3>
Thanks to super detective <b>Marc Demuynck</b>, here is the first known photograph of Melvin Carter:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OXbMlpuxYHY/UFSgY8P4GzI/AAAAAAAAH8Y/NMAl3kSCqZw/s1600/melvinss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="497" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OXbMlpuxYHY/UFSgY8P4GzI/AAAAAAAAH8Y/NMAl3kSCqZw/s400/melvinss.jpg" width="380" /></a></div>
Originally a publicity photo from Don Robey's Buffalo Booking, it was included in the ultra-rare book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Duke-Peacock-Records-Illustrated-Discography/dp/0936433124">Duke/Peacock Records-An Illustrated History with Discography</a> by Galen Gart & Roy C. Ames. Interestingly, if you look closely,
you'll notice that it says <b>The Three Keys</b> in parentheses after his name. Initially, I thought that this might be a reference to the mysterious credit to 'The Keys' that is listed on <a href="http://www.ovwright.org/">O.V. Wright</a>'s sole Goldwax single, the immortal <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2007/09/ov-wright-thats-how-strong-my-love-is.html">That's How Strong My Love Is</a>. I asked <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2007/09/ov-wright-thats-how-strong-my-love-is.html">Quinton Claunch</a> about that on our recent <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jauGloRA4cI">Fact Finding Mission</a>, and he said no, The Keys was the name of the vocal group that sang behind O.V. on the session, a group which included Wright's wife at the time, <b>Norma Rudd</b>. So, does anybody have any clue who <b><b>The Three Keys</b></b> were, then?<br />
I asked <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3n58hvpKfY">Howard Grimes</a>, who was on the session, about Ace of Spades. He said <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oajDcNWDJUQ">Willie Mitchell</a> cut it on Melvin first, and that they were all under the impression that Robey was going to release it as a 45. When O.V.'s version (over that same initial backing track, no doubt) was released instead, it led to some bad blood between Carter and Wright, as Melvin watched the song he had written (and got no credit for) climb the charts in the Fall of 1970. As we said before, if nothing else, Robey was one cold-blooded son-of-a-bitch.<br />
I have recently learned that there is some unreleased Melvin Carter material in the Universal vaults from back in those days... man, I'd love to hear that!<br />
<i>Thanks Marc for the photo... you're the greatest!</i>Red Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04507845466367181285noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183059046438562319.post-6906905577365654202012-08-07T07:50:00.001-07:002012-08-07T08:11:45.397-07:00Percy Wiggins - Writing On The Wall<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FBxB-7Uqfsg/UCEnsMDkG0I/AAAAAAAAH20/ie0DTxtqbPk/s1600/Percy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FBxB-7Uqfsg/UCEnsMDkG0I/AAAAAAAAH20/ie0DTxtqbPk/s400/Percy.jpg" width="329" /></a></div>
<p>Don't miss out!</p>
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mr_MmbxQLJE/UCEn7ZgiQPI/AAAAAAAAH3A/XHjM4Dup34Y/s1600/EP104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mr_MmbxQLJE/UCEn7ZgiQPI/AAAAAAAAH3A/XHjM4Dup34Y/s200/EP104.jpg" width="199" /></a></div>
Electraphonic Studios has just announced the release of a <a href="http://electraphonicrecording.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7985ef35b287e26e5cd23e66&id=293354e694&e=3904184c9a">limited edition vinyl 45</a> featuring our friend <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2008/10/percy-wiggins-cant-find-nobody-to-take.html">Percy Wiggins</a>; <i>"The BO-KEYS, team up with vocalist PERCY WIGGINS to bring you a double shot of Memphis Soul and R&B. PERCY WIGGINS, who cut classic Northern Soul sides in the 60s for ATCO and RCA, is featured on two original songs penned by The BO-KEYS and WIGGINS. The Bobby 'Blue' Bland inspired R&B of 'WRITING ON THE WALL' and the Southern Soul ballad, 'I’M STILL IN NEED.'" </i></p>
<p><a href="http://electraphonicrecording.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f7985ef35b287e26e5cd23e66&id=293354e694&e=3904184c9a">Order yours</a> today!</p>
<p>We'll be visiting with Percy and the Bo-Keys in Memphis next week during the <a href="http://souldetective.blogspot.com/2012/08/2012-road-trip-and-fact-finding-mission.html">Soul Detective 2012 Fact Finding Mission</a>. Can't Wait!</p>Red Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04507845466367181285noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183059046438562319.post-79629666481434202332012-07-30T07:17:00.004-07:002021-03-20T18:37:46.621-07:00Marion James - Northside Soul<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lrwd9vH30aA/UBaF6VhpWZI/AAAAAAAAH1s/fXLppP0M-Gk/s1600/marionlatt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="226" width="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lrwd9vH30aA/UBaF6VhpWZI/AAAAAAAAH1s/fXLppP0M-Gk/s320/marionlatt.jpg" /></a></div>Great news from our (and Lattimore's) good friend Marion James down in Nashville...</p>
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s8AtUw6juwQ/UBaG65EulOI/AAAAAAAAH14/f11rfr_Bh3g/s1600/lb219cov_450_600.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="200" width="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s8AtUw6juwQ/UBaG65EulOI/AAAAAAAAH14/f11rfr_Bh3g/s200/lb219cov_450_600.jpeg" /></a></div>Marion is the focus of an eight page full color spread in the current issue of <a href="http://www.livingblues.com/">Living Blues</a>, along with some great photographs of Jefferson Street from the days when it stood at the center of the Southern Black Universe, and Marion and her beloved 'Buzzard' ruled the roost. <i>"Looks like to me all the musicians kind of cared about each other and tried to help each other back then,"</i> she told <a href="http://wiredjournalists.com/profile/TimGhianni">Tim Ghianni</a>, and Marion, through her beloved <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marion-James-Musicians-Aid-Society/184992481516775">Musician's Aid Society</a>, has certainly done her part to keep that spirit alive.</p>
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7NDbae6SCmI/UBaNuRobHNI/AAAAAAAAH2M/z4zBUehnbp0/s1600/mj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="214" width="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7NDbae6SCmI/UBaNuRobHNI/AAAAAAAAH2M/z4zBUehnbp0/s320/mj.jpg" /></a></div>One cool thing about the article is that it appears as part of Living Blues' very first <a href="http://digital.livingblues.com/publication/?i=112707">Digital Edition</a>, and so you can check it out right here online.</p>
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wyk2u4Ibeak/UBaREzuxKEI/AAAAAAAAH2g/xO8JOC0xVsc/s1600/Marion_James_Northside_soul_final_cover_art.127114339_std.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="176" width="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wyk2u4Ibeak/UBaREzuxKEI/AAAAAAAAH2g/xO8JOC0xVsc/s200/Marion_James_Northside_soul_final_cover_art.127114339_std.jpeg" /></a></div>
<a rel="enclosure" href="https://www.hipcast.com/export/P583bbb0dd2ddabbd60c4a850e95156b8Z1x4R1REZGp9.mp3">I Fell</a><br/><br/>
Marion is also excited to announce that <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Northside-Soul-Marion-James/dp/B008F8IVUA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343656898&sr=8-1&keywords=marion+james">Northside Soul</a>, her first new album in many years, was released earlier this month on <a href="EllerSoul Records">EllerSoul Records</a>, to <a href="http://www.americanbluesscene.com/2012/06/northside-soul-from-marion-james-is-overrunning-with-it/">excellent reviews</a>. She wrote most of the material herself, including this scorcher we have here. No wonder they call her the Queen of the Blues!</p>
<p>We will be hanging out with Marion on Jefferson Street next month as part of the <a href="http://souldetective.blogspot.com/2012/08/2012-road-trip-and-fact-finding-mission.html">Soul Detective 2012 Fact Finding Mission</a>. Can't wait!</p>Red Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04507845466367181285noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183059046438562319.post-30723008268222212612012-07-18T11:57:00.000-07:002013-08-29T15:42:33.179-07:00Curtis Salgado Medical Fund<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gsfabdexgoU/UAcJUFE4xCI/AAAAAAAAH1Y/NNY4XJ_S4vw/s1600/curtis.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="214" width="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gsfabdexgoU/UAcJUFE4xCI/AAAAAAAAH1Y/NNY4XJ_S4vw/s320/curtis.jpeg" /></a></div>
<div><br /></div><div>Award-winning soul blues singer/harmonica master Curtis Salgado will undergo surgery on July 18 in Portland, Oregon, to remove a cancerous growth from his lung, according to his manager Shane Tappendorf.</div><div><span style=""><br /></span></div><div><span style="">A partial lobectomy will be performed to remove a segment of Curtis's left lung where a metastasized mass was found. It is suspected to be the same type of cancerous mass that was removed from his lung in 2007.</span></div><div><span style=""><br /></span></div><div><span style="">Salgado will be hospitalized for a period of four to six days and will require a recovery time of up to four weeks. Salgado and his doctors anticipate a complete recovery.</span></div><div><span style=""><br /></span></div><div><span style="">"I am extremely grateful for the overwhelming support of my family, friends and fans and the courageous people that have faced this fight before me," the 58-year-old Salgado wrote from his home this week. "I also want to thank the promoters and venues for their understanding regarding my medical situation. We will do our best to reschedule all of our performances affected by my surgery."</span></div><div><span style=""><br /></span></div><div><span style="">Salgado, who was diagnosed with liver cancer on March 23, 2006, underwent successful liver transplant surgery on September 30, 2006 at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska.</span></div><div><span style=""><br /></span></div><div><span style="">Donations to help with Curtis's expenses can be made online at: </span><a href="http://curtissalgado.chipin.com/curtis- salgado-medical- fund">curtissalgado.chipin.com/curtis- salgado-medical- fund</a><span style="">. Donations can also be made to the Curtis Salgado Fund c/o Odaglas LLC Donation Account at all US Banks or by mail to US Bancorp, 2550 NW 188th Avenue, Hillsboro, OR 97124. For additional information please visit </span><a href="http://www.curtissalgado.com ">www.curtissalgado.com </a><span style="">and </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/CurtisSalgado">www.facebook.com/CurtisSalgado</a></div><div><br /></div><div>And, of course, your prayers are always appreciated!</div>Red Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04507845466367181285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183059046438562319.post-69478035074175100242012-06-12T05:00:00.004-07:002021-03-20T18:40:24.456-07:00muscle shoals mystery<h1>muscle shoals mystery</h1>
<p><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 1px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 160px; height: 200px;" src="http://souldetective.com/images/cape.jpg" border="0" alt="garry cape">Speaking of British record guys with unreleased tapes, <b><a href="http://www.garryjcape.com/home.htm">Soulscape</a></b> head honcho <b><a href="http://www.garryjcape.com/home.htm">Garry Cape</a></b> got in touch a while back with this: <b><i>"I have all the Wishbone tapes sitting here in my office and am steadily going through them looking for unissued stuff... I found this song which, to me, sounds like it was cut at Hi. It sounds like O.V. Wright - but I think it is just different enough for it to not be him.</p>
<p>"Although it doesn't immediately sound like a Muscle Shoals recording - it may be that it is a song associated with the Shoals. I've run it by Wishbone head <b><a href="http://woodfordworld.startlogic.com/">Terry Woodford</a></b> and he has no idea - except to say what we already knew, that it's not one of his productions. I have thrown this around the UK, and nobody can come up with who it is - or may be."</i></b> He went on to say that Terry thought it might have been written by <a href="http://boogiesmusicreporters.ning.com/profile/FrankJohnson"><b>Frank Johnson</b></a>, but it's not listed as one of his compositions in the BMI database.</p>
<p><b>Unkown Artist</b><br/>
<a rel="enclosure" href="https://www.hipcast.com/export/P67262128ec7b44ce6e0b623e92b0ce9bZ1x4R1REZGR8.mp3">If I Could Kiss Her Lips One More Time</a><br/>
</p>
<p>I agree, it certainly does put you in mind of O.V., and has a kind of 'Hi' sound, but in the end you can tell it's not him. I originally ventured a guess that it could possibly be <b><a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2007/11/oscar-toney-jr-aint-that-true-love-bell.html">Oscar Toney, Jr.</a></b>, but on second thought, I don't think it's him either. <i><b>"It sounds to me like a 'finished' master, and probably has already been released,"</i></b> Garry said, <i><b>"I really do think it is someone 'obvious' though!"</i></b>
<p>So, why don't we do like we did in the old <i><b><a href="http://souldetective.blogspot.com/2008/04/blog-post.html">Mystery Contest</a></i></b> days, and award a prize (of as yet unknown origin) to the first detective to correctly identify who this might be (along with the evidence to back it up) in the comments... <i><b>"Maybe someone can put us all at peace!"</i></b></p>
<p><i>...Detectives?</i></p>Red Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04507845466367181285noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183059046438562319.post-44437620838713943592012-05-14T10:14:00.001-07:002021-03-21T13:26:30.254-07:00the memphis boys again <img border="0" height="345" src="http://souldetective.com/images/mbss.jpg" width="380" alt="memphis boys cd">
<p>The long awaited 'Soundtrack to Roben Jones' Book', <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Memphis-Boys-Story-American-Studios/dp/B006WAF3ZO" target="_blank"><b>Memphis Boys - The Story of American Studios</a></b> is to be released here in the States on March 13th. As our man <b><a href="http://johnbroven.com/" target="_blank">John Broven</a></b> says in his excellent introductory essay,<b><i> "It seems scarcely credible that 'Memphis Boys' is the first compilation devoted to Chips Moman's American Recording Studios..." </b></i>It most certainly does. As I'm sure you know by now, we are just huge fans of Chips and his mighty American Group, and it does my heart good to see them getting some of the attention they deserve.</p>
<p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/search?q=american+soul" target="_blank"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 1px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 174px;" src="http://souldetective.com/images/vid.jpg" border="0" alt="video"></a>Just as Roben told us in the <b><a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/search?q=american+soul" target="_blank">interview thing</a></b> we did two years ago now <i>(!)</i>, her liner notes point out that <b><i>"There is passion in all of the American Group recordings... the passion that comes from knowing that one has endured"</i></b> Endured they most certainly have, as has the timeless music they created there in those few short years in Memphis.</p>
<p>This essential CD manages to provide an in-depth overview of that music (no mean feat in this one disc package), by including obligatory chart toppers like <b>Son of A Preacher Man</b>, <b>The Letter</b>, and <b>Angel of the Morning</b> while paying close attention to the Soulful side of things as well.</p>
<p> <img alt="date 1647" border="0" src="http://souldetective.com/images/date1647.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 194px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 200px;" />Major R&B hits from <b><a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2007/03/king-curtis-kingpins-8th-wonder-atco.html" target="_blank">King Curtis</a>, <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2006/09/arthur-conley-in-same-old-way-fame.html" target="_blank">Arthur Conley</a>, <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2006/10/joe-tex-you-better-believe-it-baby.html" target="_blank">Joe Tex</a>, <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2006/01/wilson-pickett-nothing-you-can-do.html" target="_blank">Wilson Pickett</a>, <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2007/12/bobby-womack-dont-look-back-liberty.html" target="_blank">Bobby Womack</a>, <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2007/10/james-bobby-purify-so-many-reasons-bell.html" target="_blank">James & Bobby Purify</a>, <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2007/11/oscar-toney-jr-aint-that-true-love-bell.html" target="_blank">Oscar Toney, Jr</a>. </b>and <b><a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2007/09/james-carr-forgetting-you-goldwax-311.html" target="_blank">James Carr</a> </b>stand alongside little known gems from favorites like <b><a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2006/05/solomon-burke-what-am-i-living-for.html" target="_blank">Solomon Burke</a>, <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2007/10/spencer-wiggins-walking-out-on-you.html" target="_blank">Spencer Wiggins</a>, <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2009/06/percy-milem-crying-baby-baby-baby.html" target="_blank">Percy Milem</a></b> and <b><a href="http://www.songsofsamcooke.com/LC_Cooke.htm" target="_blank">L.C. Cooke</a></b>. One of the highlights of the album is an obscure take on <b>Dark End of the Street</b> by <b>The Glories</b>, the <b><a href="http://www.soulcellar.co.uk/frankieg/FrankieGearing.html" target="_blank">Frankie Gearing</a></b> led Detroit vocal group that would soon rename themselves <b>Quiet Elegance</b> and begin recording across town with <b><a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2009/08/willie-mitchell-bum-daddy-hi-2147.html" target="_blank">Willie Mitchell</a></b> at Hi.</p>
<p><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 1px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 198px;" src="http://souldetective.com/images/SS72589.jpg" border="0" alt="Joe simon"></a>Speaking of Hi, I'm sure you've all heard the story of how James Carr's original, definitive version of <a rel="enclosure" href="https://www.hipcast.com/export/Pff75dfc13cc59f5f8919c808cb14592fZ1x4R1REZGFw.mp3">Dark End of the Street</a> was waxed at Royal Studio as well, while the board at American was under repair. Well, according to <b><a href="http://www.acerecords.co.uk/content.php?page_id=355">Tony Rounce</a></b>'s brilliant track commentary, <b><a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2006/09/joe-simon-come-on-and-get-it-sound.html" target="_blank">Joe Simon</a></b>'s top twenty R&B hit <b>Nine Pound Steel</b> (the tune that <b>Wayne Carson</b> and <b>Dan Penn</b> wrote <i>'a pound a day'</i>) was cut on South Lauderdale Street under similar circumstances, while the American console was acting up again. As you may recall, <b><a href="http://youtu.be/JbxfPp-cpZw" target="_blank">Sam Baker</a></b> told us that he also recorded for Sound Stage 7 at Royal, cutting the great <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/I-Believe-You-Sam-Baker/dp/B001G2S42C" target="_blank">I Believe In You</a></b> there, presumably around the same time. This kind of synergy with Hi goes all the way back to when Chips brought <b><a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/search?q=carla+thomas" target="_blank">Carla Thomas</a></b> around the corner to cut <b>Gee Whiz</b> in 1961, and <b>Sandy Posey</b> across town five years later for the same treatment on <b>Born A Woman</b> (which is on the CD, by the way).</p>
<p>One could go so far as to say that American actually represented the evolution of the early Hi Sound, as <b>Reggie Young, Bobby Emmons, Tommy Cogbill</b> and <b>Mike Leech</b> were all session musicians at Royal at one time or another... not to mention the fact that Chips hired <b>James</b> and <b>Willie Mitchell</b> to run his horn section up until Willie left to concentrate on Hi full time in late 1968...</p>
<p><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px; height: 166px;" src="http://souldetective.com/images/williess.jpg" border="0" alt="marker">On March 1st, which would have been his 84th birthday, Willie was honored in a <b><a href="http://www.examiner.com/entertainment-in-memphis/willie-mitchell-the-architect-of-the-memphis-sound" target="_blank">private unveiling ceremony</a></b> of the newest Shelby County historical marker, located directly in front of the studio he loved and ran tirelessly until the day he died. Still in operation under the guidance of his beloved <b><a href="http://www.williemitchell.com/" target="_blank">Boo</a></b>, Royal remains a Soul Mecca.</p>
<p>The same cannot be said for American, I'm afraid...</p>
<img border="0" height="252" src="http://souldetective.com/images/american2012ss.jpg" width="380" alt="american 2012">
<p>This is what the corner of Chelsea and Thomas looks like today, with a brand new Family Dollar location completely occupying the space where the Ranch House Restaurant and American Sound once stood... what a shame.</p>
<p>For now, though, get out there and buy <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Memphis-Boys-Story-American-Studios/dp/B006WAF3ZO" target="_blank">the CD</a>, read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Memphis-Boys-Story-American-Studios/dp/1617031992/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331137045&sr=1-1" target="_blank">the book</a>, and <i><b>"Stand and feel the echoes of the countless hits of ages past!"</i></b></p>Red Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04507845466367181285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183059046438562319.post-40627257679758834262011-12-18T07:10:00.001-08:002021-03-21T13:39:36.532-07:00lee roberts<p><i>The Netherlands own Head <a href="http://www.motownhead.nl/Welcome.html">MotownHead</a> <b>Roger Heijster</b> contacted us recently after reading some of the stuff I've written about <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2007/11/arthur-conley-burning-fire-atco-6588.html" target="_blank">Arthur Conley</a>:</i></p>
<p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VrN0YV7v8rM/TrsmGEbMkHI/AAAAAAAAHMM/kQP4w7I0fQ0/s1600/arthurbw.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VrN0YV7v8rM/TrsmGEbMkHI/AAAAAAAAHMM/kQP4w7I0fQ0/s200/arthurbw.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673170041312153714" /></a><b>"Arthur was indeed one of the greatest soul singers of that era, and he was so much better in the later days of his life! Such a pity the world did not witness this... My friendship with Arthur, or Lee as he called himself mostly in those days, started in '97. Around 2000 I started to write more 60's inspired soul music which Arthur liked a lot and plans where made to record a new album as well as a show around this new music. It was not easy, as Arthur had a great fun side, but was also in a struggle with his personal demons. His experiences in the music industry still affected him a lot.</p>
<p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-04jvazH7acs/TrsPObK2anI/AAAAAAAAHL0/LtnDm-rGCTM/s1600/ATCO6463.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 194px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-04jvazH7acs/TrsPObK2anI/AAAAAAAAHL0/LtnDm-rGCTM/s200/ATCO6463.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673144896089123442" /></a>"He and I were very close, and he told me some amazing stories, for instance; <i>'I was relaxing on this bed in a hotel room. Then through the closed door came a huge black guy built like the old slaves, and behind this big man my late grandmother walked. She came to me, lying frightened and astonished on the bed, and bending towards me she pointed her finger at me, saying</i> 'Boy, you're gonna have a big hit - A biiiiiiig hit!' <i> and then the two left walking straight through the closed door out of my room. A few days later I went into the studio to record <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcOdSHDjoJU">Sweet Soul Music</a> with Otis Redding at Fame... and the rest is history'</i></p>
<p>"The first person to say that he thought Conley would become a star was <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2010/01/do-push-and-pull-pt-1-stax-0079.html">Rufus Thomas</a>. Arthur was young and had not even met Otis yet. He maintained contact with Rufus until he passed away in 2002. After the death of Otis, which was a huge blow for Arthur, the only one who cared enough to call him was <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2007/04/little-richard-i-dont-know-what-youve.html">Little Richard</a>.</p>
<p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hbwzCAd53cM/TrsPa8wIOzI/AAAAAAAAHMA/PV_zJJ3Q-bs/s1600/ATCO6640.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 194px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hbwzCAd53cM/TrsPa8wIOzI/AAAAAAAAHMA/PV_zJJ3Q-bs/s200/ATCO6640.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673145111262280498" /></a>"Arthur told me that he was in the middle of writing a song called <i>'We Gonna Rock This World'</i> with <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2007/01/herbie-mann-new-orleans-atlantic-2621.html">Tom Dowd</a> when <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2008/08/wilson-pickett-soul-dance-number-three.html">Jerry Wexler</a> came in. He made them stop and record <i>'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da'</i>, the Beatles song. The idea was to cut a crossover... but I think all of us would rather have heard the other song!</p>
<p>"Another time he was in a studio session, and they wanted him to sing a song that he really hated... so he refused to sing it. The 'producer' put a gun to his head and told him <i>'Sing Motherf**er!'</i></p>
<p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2WaRAp1LGP0/Trsmu36xTcI/AAAAAAAAHMY/jT4Fibk829E/s1600/lee2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 143px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2WaRAp1LGP0/Trsmu36xTcI/AAAAAAAAHMY/jT4Fibk829E/s200/lee2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673170742329560514" /></a><b><i>MAY</i></b><br/>
<a rel="enclosure" href="https://www.hipcast.com/export/P1177062582d1a96758f0aa14f7baeed4Z1x4R1REZGBz.mp3">May</a><br/></p>
<p>"There is a friend of mine and Arthur named <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FROrcNyQQ64">Alwin Mutgeert</a> with whom Arthur wrote some songs, <i>'May'</i> and <i>'Soul Heaven'</i>... <i>May</i> is just stunning, mainly because of the superb lyrics and the beautiful singing of Arthur. At his funeral three songs were played, <i><a href="https://youtu.be/ShwaA4gvOKI">I'm A Lonely Stranger</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/grE0lwTsSPg">Sweet Soul Music</a></i> and <i>May</i>. This is so, so Arthur Lee Conley. Actually, I think Arthur was his whole life a lonely stranger in a certain way...</p>
<p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bNcQoDA6zGY/TrhbN1y1O3I/AAAAAAAAHLE/j234_e_iwc0/s1600/lee.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 153px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bNcQoDA6zGY/TrhbN1y1O3I/AAAAAAAAHLE/j234_e_iwc0/s200/lee.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672384024009849714" /></a><b><i>SOUL HEAVEN</i></b><br/>
<br/><a rel="enclosure" href="https://www.hipcast.com/export/P8e6e41124e6773aa7765f2be23cebb44Z1x4R1REZGBy.mp3">Soul Heaven</a><br/>
</p>
<p>"<i>Soul Heaven</i> was recorded just a couple of months before Arthur was hospitalized because of his illness... I said goodbye to him just a few hours before he passed away. I'll never forget the words we said and the look he gave me. I was very close to Arthur and I lost a friend. Such a pity that such a great talent did not shine more for this world..."</b></p>
<p>And so, courtesy of Arthur's friends from Holland, it is an honor and a privilege for me to be able to present to you these achingly beautiful unreleased Lee Roberts songs in their entirety... he was, quite simply, a Superstar.</p>
<p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.acerecords.co.uk/content.php?page_id=59&release=8755"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 199px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L4qwoPTAVNk/TrhbYPvEhVI/AAAAAAAAHLQ/UHLMlLYC6Sw/s200/ssac.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672384202772088146" /></a>An opinion that is apparently shared by <a href="http://www.acerecords.co.uk/content.php?page_id=59&release=8755">Ace Records</a> in the UK, who will be releasing a killer compilation of Arthur's more soulful material this week. Simply a must-have, I applaud Ace for the sheer persistence it took to make this happen.</p><br/><br/>
<p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kvqqUmw5tmw/TrhbiyFwSdI/AAAAAAAAHLc/JhtzmNO7NMg/s1600/ssfame1007.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 194px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kvqqUmw5tmw/TrhbiyFwSdI/AAAAAAAAHLc/JhtzmNO7NMg/s200/ssfame1007.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672384383792728530" /></a><b>fame 1007</b><br/>
<a rel="enclosure" href="https://www.hipcast.com/export/P51427ce1e0ff6d34cab977bd798e7dd2Z1x4R1REY2B3.mp3">In The Same Old Way</a><br/>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://mediaplayer.yahoo.com/js"></script></p>
<p>Oddly, one of my all time favorite Conley recordings isn't on there... it doesn't appear in the track listings of their soon-to-be-released <a href="http://www.acerecords.co.uk/content.php?page_id=59&release=8849">Fame Sudios Story 1961-73</a> either (although it's crankin' <a href="http://redkelly2.blogspot.com/2006/09/arthur-conley-i-cant-stop-no-no-no.html">A Side</a> does). This just wasn't making sense until I realized that it had already been included on <a href="http://www.acerecords.co.uk/content.php?page_id=59&release=8631">Sweet Inspiration</a>, the Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham edition of their Songwriters Series that was released earlier this year. You guys have been doing a cracking job lately, man... <i>thanks!</i></p>
<p>According to Roger, there is more unissued Lee Roberts in the can. He said that much of this material was offered to <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2006/05/solomon-burke-what-am-i-living-for.html">Solomon Burke</a> in the Summer 0f 2010, and he was definitely interested, but passed away before anything was finalized. I think the time has come for it to be heard.</p>
<p>A special thank you goes out to Roger, Alwin, and their good friend Lee Roberts. You have made this world a better place.</p>
<p><div align="center"><iframe width="370" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DbE7VITW440" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p>
<p><i>Just magnificent...</i></p>Red Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04507845466367181285noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183059046438562319.post-13741311523148679052011-11-11T07:06:00.001-08:002021-03-21T13:42:59.710-07:00the starrs<p><i><a href="http://desosquichante.blogspot.com/">Singing Bones</a> proprietor <b>Ana-B</b> wonders:</i></p>
<p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WjnY-dg5yMM/To4UOjz_zzI/AAAAAAAAHH8/UNye2coKJkg/s1600/PHANTOM%2BCR2-B.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WjnY-dg5yMM/To4UOjz_zzI/AAAAAAAAHH8/UNye2coKJkg/s200/PHANTOM%2BCR2-B.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660484022015348530" /></a><b>PHANTOM 200</b><br/>
<a rel="enclosure" href="https://www.hipcast.com/export/P94725a9921fd22918325628938160c2eZ1x4R1REZGBx.mp3">Crying Over You</a><br/></p>
<p><b>"I've got a seriously mysterious record that's been driving me nuts for over two years. A really great record. No listing for the label, no info on the group anywhere, not even a BMI listing for the b-side song, which is credited to Ike Turner, or the publishing company itself. Three other folks more savvy than I have looked into it and we can't find anything.</p>
<p>"The only other copy I've seen showed up on Ebay about six months ago. I contacted the seller to see if he knew anything, turned out he was a very knowledgeable dealer out of Oakland. He was like, 'I don't know anything, first time I've ever seen it, thought I'd put it up as an unknown and see what it does'... the record went for over $200, which about gave me and the seller a joint heart attack!"</p>
<p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K8_xgz9jFAA/To4WcdJNMnI/AAAAAAAAHIE/dqd34IPZDxk/s1600/SHOCK200ss.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K8_xgz9jFAA/To4WcdJNMnI/AAAAAAAAHIE/dqd34IPZDxk/s200/SHOCK200ss.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660486459766682226" /></a>SHOCK 200<br/>
<a rel="enclosure" href="https://www.hipcast.com/export/Pd0226dea32a731542560834a77b9d50dZ1x4R1REZGB1.mp3">I'm Hurting</a><br/></p>
<p>"The best guess so far is that it might be <a href="http://www.stlmusicyesterdays.com/Billy%20Gayles%20Band.htm">Billy Gayles</a> (post-Ike Turner?). It does sound something like Gayles' 'I'm Hurting' (also credited to Turner) on the Shock label, a record on which some people say Turner plays piano, not guitar. If this record was done around the same time, that would date it as '61 or '62, which sounds dead-on to me."</b></p>
<p>We both agreed that the Starrs 45 sounds like a New Orleans record (the flip is a cover of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_OHa2QWZOo">Ain't Got No Home</a>), and talked about the fact that <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2006/12/george-jackson-my-desires-are-getting.html">George Jackson</a> supposedly cut his first 45 with Ike Turner down in the Crescent City around the same time that <a href="http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2005/12/dr-john-mos-scocious-atco-6957.html">Mac Rebennack</a> places him down there in those free and easy pre-Jim Garrison days... do you think it's possible that Ike brought Billy to Cosimo's back then to try and cash in on some of that Sugar Town chart magic?</p>
<p>Hmmmm.... thanks for this one Ana, your record collection continues to amaze and delight us all!</p>
<h3><i>update:</i></h3>
<p>OK folks, Ana did a little more digging...</p>
<p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8FUv2PVO5MA/Tpg6dhVGkxI/AAAAAAAAHIs/5CxGmb_30sU/s1600/katss.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 172px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8FUv2PVO5MA/Tpg6dhVGkxI/AAAAAAAAHIs/5CxGmb_30sU/s200/katss.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663340810255897362" /></a><b>"I now have slightly more info on the Starrs record than when I was last in touch... Around the same time I posted this 45 on <a href="http://desosquichante.blogspot.com/2011/03/im-just-lonely-frog.html">my blog</a>, a collection called <a href="http://www.raucousrecords.com/rock-and-roll-cds_19/that-kat-sure-could-play-4cd-boxed-set_11966.aspx">That Kat Sure Could Play</a> was released (very nice, btw). It purports to include every Ike Turner related cut issued between 1952 and 1957, and the Starrs 45 is included.</p>
<p>"However, it's the only 45 in the collection on which no information is given. Fred Rathwell, who wrote the liner notes, calls it a 'discographical blank', and opines that the singer might be Jackie Brenston (not an opinion I agree with).</p>
<p>"A short while after that, a friend who'd seen my blog post contacted me to say he'd traced the run-out code some months before... and hadn't he told me that it was pressed at the Monarch plant in California sometime in December 1960? Well, no, he hadn't.</p>
<p>"Anyway, that info has since been re-checked and is in fact correct. Which not only means that the 45 falls outside the time period supposedly covered by 'That Kat Sure Could Play', but also places it fairly close in time to the Billy Gayles 45 on Shock..."</b></p>
<p><i>...detectives?</i></p>Red Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04507845466367181285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183059046438562319.post-7321446908097290182011-11-11T07:05:00.001-08:002021-03-21T13:46:22.531-07:00james lewis fields<p><i>UK Soul Maven <b>Nick Sands</b> postulates:</i></p>
<p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UVZwi_8Vn6c/To4Pvu3eCFI/AAAAAAAAHH0/Wf2OQSdTIuQ/s1600/topopo2262.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 199px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UVZwi_8Vn6c/To4Pvu3eCFI/AAAAAAAAHH0/Wf2OQSdTIuQ/s200/topopo2262.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660479094360246354" /></a><b>TOP POP 2262</b><br/>
<a rel="enclosure" href="https://www.hipcast.com/export/Pac6d0a684c91461cdb3f5016537fd3daZ1x4R1REZGB0.mp3">How Long Shall I Wait</a><br/></p>
<p><b>"I have just heard for the first time (shame on me) James Lewis Fields 'How Long Shall I Wait' on the Top Pop label out of NY.
As soon as I heard it I said <i><a href="http://www.truthandsoulrecords.com/lee-fields/">Lee Fields</a></i> (the clue is in the second and third names), as this sounds like James Brown as did Lee Fields - who was known as 'Little James Brown'...</p>
<p>"Looking around the net there is no reference to this, and even <a href="http://www.sirshambling.com/artists/james_lewis_fields/james_lewis_fields.html">Mr. Ridley</a> has a straight review of it being just James Lewis Fields. Lee Fields also worked out of NY (still does), so my guess is it's him???"</b></p>
<p>Well, as you might have guessed yourself, Sir Shambling has little use for this funky A side, and is more enamoured with it's 'deep' flip, <a href="https://youtu.be/P9e7pZ3u6Mo">I Really Love You</a>. Both sides are great, as far as I'm concerned, and if this soulful slab of vinyl is indeed Lee Fields, I can't imagine why he wouldn't want to be credited for it.</p>
<p>What do you think?</p>Red Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04507845466367181285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183059046438562319.post-73873487876789690032011-11-11T06:54:00.001-08:002021-03-21T13:50:58.432-07:00shirley ellis<i><b>Nick Guarino</b>, Film & TV Music Director at <b><a href="http://www.universalmusic.com/label/universal-music-enterprises">Universal</a></b>, asks:</i><br />
<p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-or1GIkUBtl4/TkJsaRNy0zI/AAAAAAAAHDk/G5EpBw7XknA/s1600/I-40.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639188881974940466" src="http://souldetective.com/images/columbia44021.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 201px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a><b>COLUMBIA 44021</b><br />
<a href="https://www.hipcast.com/export/P7f78fccec926f1f571f71c358d88033fZ1x4R1REZGF8.mp3" rel="enclosure">Soul Time</a></p>
<p><b>"I'm sorry to trouble you, but I was wondering if you knew anything about Shirley Ellis (of <a href="https://youtu.be/Ez8fEJ86hGI"><i>The Name Game</i></a> fame) and what might have become of her. I'm placing her music in a commercial and am trying to make sure that all the payments make it to her, but we've got no current contact info and very little to go on. I'm sorry if I'm imposing on you but I thought maybe you or someone in your vast Soul Network might have a lead."</b></p>
<p>I warned Nick that our 'Soul Network' was really only <i>half-vast</i>, and I have as yet have been unable to find out anything definite about Ms. Ellis. I find it hard to believe that someone who had been as well-known as Shirley, who had released two top 5 R&B hits that are still heavy in the rotation today, could have disappeared from the public eye so completely.</p>
<p><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F-xKFp93u8g/To4BngILLHI/AAAAAAAAHHU/usPKu9Jg4Uw/s1600/se.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660463559802039410" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F-xKFp93u8g/To4BngILLHI/AAAAAAAAHHU/usPKu9Jg4Uw/s200/se.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 141px;" /></a>Both Google and Wikipedia lead nowhere, and there seems to be no record of her after 1968. This great 45 we have here would be her last chart appearance. It was released in the Spring of 1967. I don't know, do you think that perhaps Shirley has been overlooked by the 'serious' Soul fan out there because she was too 'Pop' or something?</p>
<p>Her real name was <b>Shirley Marie Elliston</b>, and she was born in The Bronx. A search of the <a href="http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/">Social Security Death Index</a> yielded this:</p>
<p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZqFsXhaGY3I/To4F2Vq6kII/AAAAAAAAHHc/V1sE28C4qHA/s1600/shirley.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660468212739510402" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZqFsXhaGY3I/To4F2Vq6kII/AAAAAAAAHHc/V1sE28C4qHA/s320/shirley.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 68px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></p>
<p>Although Wikipedia lists the year of Elliston's birth as 'circa 1941', it certainly seems plausible that she may have lied about her age back when the phones were still ringing. Although I sincerely hope I'm wrong, this may indeed be her.</p>
<p>Can anyone out there shed any light on all of this?</p>
<h3><i>update:</i></h3>
<p>Nick got back in touch with us to report, sadly, that the SSDI entry we found did indeed refer to <a href="http://keepkey.yochanan.net/shirley1.htm" target="_blank"><b>Shirley Ellis</b></a>...<br />
<b>"I just spoke to Shirley's niece who says she loves the <a href="https://youtu.be/6vA5cppq9j0"><i>commercial</i></a>... Shirley did leave the business in the late 60s and never seems to have looked back, only occasionally belting out a tune at block parties."</b></p>
<p>Well there ya go... thanks, Nick, and may she rest in peace.</p>Red Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04507845466367181285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183059046438562319.post-81946656239604401262011-10-06T06:50:00.001-07:002021-03-21T13:53:02.468-07:00bobby williams<p><i><b>updated March 9th</i></b></p>
<p><i>Detective <b>Naoya Yamauchi</b> wrote in a while back with this:</i></p>
<p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-or1GIkUBtl4/TkJsaRNy0zI/AAAAAAAAHDk/G5EpBw7XknA/s1600/I-40.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639188881974940466" src="http://souldetective.com/images/ARC.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 196px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a><b>ARC 12433</b></p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.hipcast.com/export/P2e084988eb60b755faa736960053e333Z1x4R1REZGF9.mp3" rel="enclosure">Nobody Knows You (When You're Down And Out)</a><br /></p>
<p><b>"I am looking for information about the captioned singer who was based in Florida. As far as I know, Bobby was born in Washington DC and relocated to Florida and had been recording since the late 50s. He released several 45s and 3 LPs from Rew and R&R labels in 1975 or so. His last 45 was for the Nickelodeon label in North Carolina.</b></p>
<p><b>"I recently purchased this 45 which was released by the ARC (Another Record Co.) label in Georgia under the name of Bobby Williams. I was told by one man that this 45 was released in 1979... I asked some people about this Bobby Williams but no one seems to know much about him. It is not so far between Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida, so I am thinking that this Bobby on ARC label is maybe the same singer as the Bobby Williams from Florida, but I have no evidence."</b></p>
<p>As usual, neither do I, so I figured I'd open it up to the rest of you detectives out there... any ideas?</p>
<h3><i>update:</i></h3>
<p><i>Good ol' detective <a href="http://homeofthegroove.blogspot.com/">Dan Phillips</a> weighed in with this:</i></p>
<p><b>"Hi, fellow obsessives. Long time no comment... been kind of busy hitting my own dead-ends! I have a question for Naoya. Was the Florida Bobby Williams the same guy who cut 'Funky Superfly' for Duplex Records our of Orlando, FL in 1973???? I've got a copy (not rare), and I think Grogan featured it years ago. Interestingly, it was produced by Clarence Samuels and Jimmy Liggins, who have historical significance in the blues and jump blues fields of the late 1940s and early 1950s. I am sure there is a good story there... Also, that Bobby Williams is not the same guy as the New Orleans drummer who worked with Eddie Bo and cut a couple of obscurities with his band, the Bobby Williams Group, in the 1960s..."</b></p>
<p><i>To which Naoya replied:</i></p>
<p><b>"Yes, The Florida Bobby Williams is the same singer who cut "Funky Superfly" for Duplex Records and one of his LPs released from R&R label was tittled "Funky Superfly" as well. Most of his 45s have been released in Florida. I know there are some Bobby Williams who are singer in Detroit, Chicago, etc. but I am looking for an information on Bobby in Florida and Georgia. Anyone?"</b></p>
<p><i>This just in:</i></p>
<p><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XzqiydU-hTs/TupYr2VJ0lI/AAAAAAAAHRQ/a2qgwAvVvTI/s1600/bwarcss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:.2em"><img border="0" height="200" width="190" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XzqiydU-hTs/TupYr2VJ0lI/AAAAAAAAHRQ/a2qgwAvVvTI/s200/bwarcss.jpg" /></a><b>"I recently got information from one of my Japanese friends that Bobby had released an LP on the ARC label which is attached hereto for
your reference... both songs on the ARC 45 are included on the LP, but I still do not know if he is the same as the Bobby Williams in Florida... I would appreciate it if you would post the LP image on Soul Detective so that someone may be able to provide me with new information on Bobby..."</b></p>
<p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n4IShVwbTlM/T1oslp-VcuI/AAAAAAAAHek/xAw-z5Wr6MY/s1600/bobby-williams1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:.2em"><img border="0" height="200" width="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n4IShVwbTlM/T1oslp-VcuI/AAAAAAAAHek/xAw-z5Wr6MY/s200/bobby-williams1.jpg" /></a>OK, according to the very cool <a href="http://greenvilleandbeyond.wordpress.com/artists/bobby-williams/">Greenville & Beyond</a> website, all of the Southern records were cut by the same Bobby Williams (pictured at left). According to the site, <b>"Robert Moore was born in South Carolina but raised in Washington DC. By the late 50s he was based in Orlando, Florida and proceeded to make a name for himself as Bobby Williams... As his music career wound up in the 80s, Bobby often worked as a chef back in Orlando before passing away in 1992."</b></p>
<p>Thank You, Naoya!</p>Red Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04507845466367181285noreply@blogger.com0