Sunday, August 24, 2008

Smitten

I can’t concentrate. It must be love. You can love a vinyl record, can’t you?

Strictly speaking it’s just the song that's giving me this sweet torture because I don’t own the record – yet. But I will one day. I know it will cost me more money than I have ever spent on one record before but I MUST have it.

I stumbled across this on YouTube a couple of days ago and it’s been spinning around in my head ever since. When it seems it maybe fading into the background I go to the computer and play it again. Yes, I’m smitten. The sound of Detroit circa 1970 (or maybe ’71 or’72)....



Over at In Dangerous Rhythm you can see a picture of Dee Edwards on a pic sleeve of, incredibly, a German issue of the 45, and a label scan of the original Bump Shop (great name) 45.

Dee Edwards (born Doris Harrell) was active on the music scene from the early 60s right through to the 80s, although her only really consistent run of issued singles was on the D-Town label in three years up to 1966. Sadly she is no longer with us, having died in January 2006. Another of her 70s singles “I Can Deal With That” has been a favourite on the scene in recent years and turns up on compilations fairly regularly, and a man of excellent taste - Gilles Peterson – has included “Why Can’t There Be Love” in his latest compilation Digs America Vol 2.

You can find a good article on her early career here. The Bump Shop 45 barely gets a mention. Ah, that Bump Shop 45 by Dee Edwards, excuse me but I must go and play it again.

Dee Edwards – Why Can’t There Be Love (mp3) 197?

"the birds do it, the bees do it"... there is love I know it and I’m in love with this record.

2 comments:

whiteray said...

Hey Darcy . . . according to the Dee Edwards discography at Soulful Kinda Music (http://www.soulfulkindamusic.net/dedwards.htm), the Bump Shop 45 dates from 1972. A great record!

Darcy said...

Hi Whiteray.. yeah I saw that discog at SoulfulKindaMusic, a mine of information that I should quote more. I'm not sure 72 is right though, in the Soulful Detroit link I gave it says 1970, and I have also seen 1971 mentioned on a Jap site. It sounds earlier than 72 to me.

I also found this on the Soulful Detroit site http://www.soulfuldetroit.com/archives/3838/2246.html?1054046163

Fascinating stuff. It confirmed my private thought that Bump Shop was named after a car body shop! Nothing conclusive on the date of the Dee Edwards disc but looking at the dates of other records mentioned on Bump Shop will later release numbers I would say it points to Dee beinf earlier than 72. (I'll take my anorak off now!).