I enjoyed watching the Stax Soulsville USA documentary series shown recently Sky Arts. It followed up nicely my visit to the Stax Museum last year, and coincided with my re-reading of Peter Guralnick’s excellent book Sweet Soul Music where I just happened to be in the middle of the chapters dedicated to Stax Records when I watched the documentary.
Two of the earliest
soul singles I bought, back in the early 70s, were Isaac Hayes’
Theme From Shaft and The Staple Singers’ I’ll Take You
There. The documentary spent, quite rightly, a deal of time on
Isaac Hayes, and Theme From Shaft, including footage of it
being worked through in the studio. Back in the early 70s, when I was
a young teenager, I was simply loving the music without any idea of
the backdrop to its making. My concerted dive into all things Stax
over the last few months has finally brought home to me the
tumultuous times, both culturally in the USA, and in the business
runnings of Stax Records, in which these records were being made. I
have to say I got quite emotional watching the final episode of the
documentary marrying up memories of my young innocent self listening
to those singles at home with the footage of the actual artists and
backroom staff who were involved in their making and distribution,
and what they meant for black Americans at that time.
Today’s record is
one that recently dropped on my doormat.
Volt was one of Stax
Records labels. Hot Sauce were… who? Well, “they” (as I had
always thought) had a run of six 45s on Volt, this being the first in
the late summer of 1971, and she (as it turns out) had the
unfortunate pleasure of having the final 45 released on the label in
early1975 just before Stax finally had to shut it doors for good.
There was even a Hot Sauce album (in truth predominantly a collection
of tracks form the six already released 45s – but Stax were
struggling by then) slated for release and given a catalog number
(and name checked on that final 45), but it was never to be. Ace
Records finally did the honours, in a way, in 2012 by releasing the
album as it would have been on CD. The CD was credited to Rhonda
Washington because she was, essentially, Hot Sauce.
The track featured
here is a beautiful ballad, the B side of the wonderfully titled I’ll
Kill A Brick (About My Man). (“Kill
A Brick” meaning a demonstration of extreme anger. The phrase was
in use in the black population – at least in Harlem and at least as
far back as the early 60s – as documented in a New York Times
article published in 1964). For this first single Hot Sauce were,
apparently, a trio – Rhonda on lead vocals with two male backing
singers. But after that Hot Sauce was Rhonda Washington alone.
It is believed that
Rhonda hailed from St. Louis and was Chuck Berry’s niece. Her first
known appearance on wax was as the lead singer of the (Mighty)
Mustangs who had two singles released in 1964/5 on the Sure-Shot
label. All four sides of these singles were written by Gladys Battle,
Rhonda’s mum. I would say Rhonda sounds young on these outings,
probably in her teens. The second of the two singles is very rare.
There followed, probably in early 1967, the only 45 released under
her own name, again on the Sure-Shot label. This 45 appears to be
insanely rare; it’s on Discogs but with no copies for sale and
nobody claiming to own it, it’s not listed on 45cat, and there are
no recorded sales on Popsike. It’s possible it was never actually
released. Between 1967 and her appearance as Hot Sauce in 1971 she
does not seem to have had any recording credits.
All the Volt Hot
Sauce sides were credited to Irene Productions, Irene being Irene
Perkins, wife of Al Perkins DJ, singer, songwriter and producer
(latterly of Al Hudson & The Soul Partners / One Way), who was
based in Detroit after being a DJ in Memphis. Velma Perkins appears
in some credits (as songwriter Vee Allen) and was Al Perkins sister.
However, despite being on Volt but also bearing strong Detroit links
most of the Hot Sauce sides were actually probably recorded at Willie
Mitchell’s Royal Studio just down the road from Stax’s studios.
Rhonda Washington
had a great voice and, who knows, if Stax had had more money for
promotion and hadn’t had to close its doors when it did she might
well be much more of a household name. As far as is known though, as
the doors at Stax closed for good they did also on Rhonda’s
recording career. It is rumoured she went back to St. Louis and,
possibly, gospel music. Certainly nothing seems to be known now of
her whereabouts, if indeed she is still alive.
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