A nice break

We all know where Steve Davis is this week – well, snooker fans do, at least). The World Snooker Championship is in play in Sheffield and that’s where Steve will be, commentating and providing analysis. I know where Steve was on the first Saturday of this month - at my local record fair, and I went to it quietly confident he would be because he seems to be making a concerted effort to trim down his record collection and is frequenting the fairs quite a bit lately. That chimes well with me because he is continuing to offload a lot of soul 45s (the background to this I expanded upon a bit in my February post).

So I went a bit mad again and bought another 32 singles! Most of them came from the cheap (£2.50) boxes, but I indulged in a few higher priced gems too. I tell myself I am not likely to find this many of my go to type of record – i.e. 60s/70s soul with a big hole in the middle – in one place in the wild(ish) anywhere else in the UK so I better take the opportunity and “fill me boots”!

I did apply some quality control this time as the stack I originally pulled was probably twice as high as the one you see in the picture, but I religiously gave each one I didn’t know a needle drop on my Soundburger look-alike. This contraption got a few appreciative comments this time, strangely the first time I can remember that happening when I have been using it at a fair.

So, to use a snooker analogy, a think I amassed a nice break – plenty of reds (the cheap ones) but a few colours too (the relatively expensive ones).

A red: 

Recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound in 1978, the studio is know known as Cypress Moon and where, almost exactly a year ago, Mrs Darce and I were taking a stroll along the river . 

Muscle Shoals was very much moving with the 1970s times with this one which has a distinctively funky feel.    

The Dealers - We Want To Get Through To You  1978

A colour: 

A classic Memphis sound, Barbara Brown either billed alone or with The Browns never made a bad record.   

Barbara & The Browns - If I Can't Run To You I'll Crawl  1971

Really feeling like we need to get back to the Deep South soon.

The key ingredient of Hot Sauce

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.

Hot Sauce – I Can’t Win For Losing 1971

One of those

You know the feeling when you hear a song and it quickly gets inside your head and you just can't stop replaying it to yourself, sometimes to the point you wish it would go away? "That's an earworm", I hear you say, and you are absolutely right. So why didn't I just say the word? Well, there is no doubt it perfectly describes the experience, but for reasons I can't explain I just don't like the word.

Anyway, this obscure song by Don Austin has recently become one of those for me. I heard it on Doug Schulkind's excellent WFMU Give The Drummer Some radio show. He usually plays a set of soul - often deep soul - 45s at the end of his program and this was one he played on a show from a few weeks ago. On hearing it immediately went onto the Internet to see if I could find a copy. Discogs had two for sale in the UK and I bought one of them. By the time it dropped through the letterbox the song The Thrill Of Yesterday (a B side) was already installed in my head, so maybe I hadn't needed to buy it all.    

First of all I should say this track is not deep soul, and it's questionable you could really call it soul at all actually. Don Austin was born Donald Austin and usually recorded as Donel Austin. His first two 45s were released in 1959 on the Mida label and could be categorised as rock-a-billy. In the 70s and 80s he had, after quite a hiatus, a steady trickle of 45s released, all of which I think fall into the country bag. He did, however, have a couple of 45s released on the ALON label in 1962. This was a New Orleans label (it of course spells NOLA backwards), and the writing credit on both sides of this 45 is N.Neville i.e. Naomi Neville, in fact the one and only Allan Toussaint. How Don(el) ended up on a New Orleans label (his first label - Mida - was based in Miami) I have no idea about, nor why he appeared subsequently to have no records released between 1963 and 1974.

The song races along at quite a clip, the jaunty horn fills are wonderful; the female backing singers brief refrains are placed just about right in the mix; you have to think it is Allan Toussaint himself on piano;  and, although Don's vocals are undeniably rooted in country and rock-a-billy, the whole thing does have an early New Orleans feel I think.      

Prepare for that thing to happen!

Don Austin - The Thrill Of Yesterday  1962                    

Another Feel It birthday.. and more big names lost.

This blog is 19 years old today. That is the bare fact, although it's a bit of a stretch to say it has been been trucking along for the entirety of those 19 years due to recent periods of dormancy. 

This blog, as you know, tends to celebrate soul and funk (and jazz and reggae) music of an increasingly bygone age. Soul and funk music in particular was arguably really at its height in the 60s and 70s. And there's the rub - it should be no surprise that the icons of that time will be very much in the twilight of their life. So it is proving as this year is building up to be another particularly bad one for long time lovers of soul and funk music as we have lost some big names on the scene already this year, and in the last few weeks in particular it has been difficult to keep up with the sad news flow.

Sam Moore, Jerry Butler, Gwen McCrae, Roberta Flack, Chris Jasper of the Isley Brothers, Muscle Shoals session man Albert 'Junior Lowe', Angie Stone, and Roy Ayers - all artists close to my heart over the years - have passed this year already. All have featured strongly in the soundtrack of my life since the early 70s. 

All I can say to all of those mentioned above is Rest In Peace and thank you for the music.    

    

Gwen McCrae - Keep The Fire Burning  1982

Roy Ayers Ubiquity - The Memory  1976 

PS: As it's this blog's birthday today, it also means, of course, that Candi Staton will be celebrating hers - Happy Birthday Candi! (I shall not tempt fate by saying anything more).  
     

Pot Black

Steve Davis was at the record fair a few days ago. He of snooker fame.

This is the fourth time I’ve come across him at my local record fair. On all four occasions I have come away with a very satisfying haul of soul 45s.

Steve was a big fan of soul music back in the 80s and 90s at least. He also partnered with a well known DJ and dealer on the Northern scene back then - Rod Dearlove. They imported tens of thousands of records, and Steve also helped with funding for Rod's magazine Voices From The Shadows that ran for about 25 issues.

At previous fairs he had boxes and boxes of 45s for £1 each. I was like a pig in sh*t! He had a lot more albums this time but my focus as usual was 45s. Inflation has kicked in though. Sadly the £1 boxes are no more. This time there were about 6 boxes of priced soul, blues, and R&B and 5 or 6 rows of £2.50 45s on the floor. And a small box of expensive ones in the inner sanctum. In fairness nearly all the priced stuff was of higher quality/rarer than previously present in his £1 boxes, but I reckon a lot of the £2.50 stuff was £1 last year.

The prices evidently didn’t put me off though as I bought another 25 45s off him! I did get a bit carried away though as seeing so many records that float my boat in the flesh in one place is a rarity in the UK. In reality there are only a few of these that I really wanted, and maybe part of my brain was still operating as if they were only £1 each. The provenance had something to do with it as well I think – imagining they had been imported by Steve and Rod as deadstock decades ago and have since been sat around in storage somewhere is something that, strangely, piques my interest. The records are generally in great condition too.

At the fair I didn’t have time to check if I had any in this latest stack already. When I got home it turned out I did have one – The Soul Ambassadors - which cost me £4. I discovered I had bought, an albeit more beat up, copy on my first plundering of Steve’s £1 boxes back in 2023!

I have found that a fair few of these 45s are featured on Sir Shambling’s great (and now sadly no longer updated?) site. So perhaps some of these records were from Steve’s own personal collection as, like me, I believe he has/had a penchant for deep and/or Southern soul.

Here are two deepies from my stack with a similar feel -  melancholic, simple production, nice guitar and horns, and a good vocal to the fore.  

Nat Hall hailed from the Washington DC area and had several singles released in a roughly 10 year period starting in 1966. He doesn't feature on Sir Shambling, but this track would be a worthy entry. I love the way this one just sort of stops at the end.    

Nat Hall with The Mellow 3 – A Broken Hearted Clown 1970

Ricky Lewis has four documented releases, this, from 1968, being his final release. Ricky does have his page at Sir Shambling, but it seems little is known of him beyond the fact his recording career started in New Jersey.     

Ricky Lewis and the Afro Band –Welcome Home 1968

Forever a 45 cat

Ort Carlton passed away in January a couple of years ago. I feel like I need to pay my respects now here as at the time of his passing this blog was off air.

I’m posting this today because in my mind Ort passed away two years ago today. But I misremembered the date, he actually passed on the 21^st January 2023.

You didn’t know Ort? Well, no, neither did I, but I felt like I knew him. Let me explain.

As something of a record collecting nerd I frequent the 45cat site. For those of you who don’t know the site it is something of a crowd sourced venture with the goal in it’s original form (it has since expanded to 45worlds sort of sister site which encompasses albums, magazines, memorabilia) essentially to document every 45rpm 7” record ever released. Anybody can add a record to it under strict guidelines. One can also document their own collection on it via an “I Own It” button, and their want/wish list via an “I Want It” button. Over the last few years I have documented the bulk of my collection by hitting that “I Own It” button, and my own account page is currently telling me I have 3,663 singles (and a further 2,000+ albums and 12” singles on 45worlds). You can also see what other people own.

I found over the years that whenever I added a US release 45 to my collection (predominantly of the soul variety), or hit the “want” button, and then went to see who else owned or wanted a copy Ort.Carlton’s name was there. Wow, I thought, our tastes strongly align. I don’t think it was until I became aware of his passing that I went to his account page and saw how many 45s Ort had recorded as owning (32,714!), or wanting (34,703!!). So maybe our tastes weren’t that closely aligned, it was just that Ort owned or wanted everything! (Interesting to note that he joined the 45cat community in 2015, that’s five years after me, so in just a few years he was very busy documenting his collection).

So who was Ort Carlton? His full name was William Orten Carlton and he was a character, that’s for sure. He was very well known in his hometown of Athens, Georgia, where he was born, and resided for the bulk of his life. He ran a record shop called Ort’s Oldies on College Avenue there for some years and hosted radio shows on WUOG-FM called Ort’s Oldies and Ort’s Radio Problem, starting in 1972 and continuing right up to 2022. He was well known in the local music scene, and was there as bands such as REM and the B-52s blossomed. During some of the 80s at least he was working for a company measuring the strength of AM radio signals (with a view to ensuring local stations did not drown each other out). This meant he travelled extensively, particularly in Tennessee and Alabama. He had a photographic memory and apparently knew the call sign of every AM station in the South and every zip code in Georgia. It’s possible therefore that the act of documenting his record collection on 45cat was simply a case of accessing his memory rather than physically looking up his records. I’m not sure he could vouch for the condition of some of those records though judging by some of the pictures in the reel here! I would bet though that he put together his collection at least in part by making numerous stop offs at thrifts etc. as he travelled through the southern States measuring those radio signals. Sounds like it was a dream job.

I have gleaned this information on Ort from lovingly put together tributes here, and here which also gives links to Youtube clips of Ort on Public Access TV during the 80s. There is also a heartfelt tribute from a  friend describing time he spent in Atlanta here. I urge you to follow these links to get a better sense of the man.

I wish now I had researched Ort whilst he was still alive as I like to think I could have struck up at ast an email/message based friendship with him based on our shared love of music. It seems like he was an easy guy to get on with.

A stash of fliers and other music ephemera of the Athens music scene that Ort had has now been taken in by the University of Georgia (Extent: 7 Linear Feet 1 box, 4 oversize boxes, 1 oversized folder). I can’t help but wonder what has happened to his record collection.

Ort’s account at 45cat is “archived”, but still there in all it’s glory for all to see. The last comment he made on a record was just a month before he passed. The comment reads “For some reason, nice crackly copies of this just sound better to me. Maybe it's too late to hunt down a near mint one.” The record in question is by The Vanguards, a soul group from Indianapolis. When I found out about Ort’s passing as a mark of respect I went online and bought a copy of this record (due to the unfavourable exchange rate, and ever increasing postage and import costs, it was the first record I had bought from the States in quite a few years). Now whenever I pull it out of it’s storage box or just browse past it I think of Ort).

I’m sure Ort will live forever in the memories of his family and many friends he made in Athens. Also, hopefully, he will live forever at 45cat.

The Vanguards – It’s Too Late For Love 1970

The Feel It Advent-ure 2024: Door 24

As the last door opens another Advent-ure comes to an end. Hope you enjoyed the, sometimes scratchy, records I picked up on our holiday earlier this year.  

Mrs Darce and I thoroughly enjoyed tripping around the Deep South of America, and we would happily go back tomorrow and do it all over again.

I thought I would leave you with a playlist of some of the well known, and not so well known, classic soul that has been recorded in the four States we drove through -  Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. A lot of these I have in vinyl format, and some I don't and furthermore would require deep pockets to ever stand a chance of acquiring.   

So, if you use Spotify and need a change from all the Christmas songs when all the festivities have calmed down a bit why not take a virtual trip around the Deep South courtesy of this playlist. (Note: this playlist is still a little bit work in progress, so expect it to be tweaked a bit in the next few days.)  

Compliments of the Season to you all!       

The Feel It Advent-ure 2024: Door 23

Where has the month gone? It's flown by. 

This is the last of the 45s I picked up on our tour of the Deep South earlier in the year. I was chuffed to find it as I had put it on my wants list about five years ago after hearing it on a mix, turns out it was one of those, often, elusive and underplayed B sides. In the UK there have never been many copies for sale it seems and to buy one you would not get much, if any, change from £20. I had always been hanging out for a cheaper copy because I felt one would be bound to turn up eventually. And finally one did, in Euclid! It still turned out to be one of the more expensive purchases of the trip, but at only $4.99 I was more than happy.

This one is for Mrs Darce. She indulged me on these digging interludes on our holiday, and I am very grateful. For the Euclid visit I had researched some local cafes/bars that might be suitable but as our walk took us closer to the shop we realised there wasn't going to be one she felt comfortable going into on her own, most of them seemed to be closed in the afternoon anyway. So she came into Euclid too. As we alighted upstairs (where most of the 45s are) we saw, in amongst the shelves of records, just the one chair, unoccupied. It was as if it had been put there especially for her. She was always prepared with a book in her bag so, as I dug, she was sitting in "her" chair patiently reading. 

Jackie Moore - Somebody Loves You  1977

I have featured Jackie Moore a couple of times here, but a long time ago now. She passed in 2019 (she was 73), but unfortunately I didn't pay my respects at the time. 

RIP Jackie Moore.   

  

The Feel It Advent-ure 2024: Door 21

 

Here is another early one from The O'Jays, you can't really go wrong with them. 

Another on the Imperial label too, and there will be another on that label tomorrow. Euclid are "old school" when it comes to filing their 45s, they do it primarily by label. That threw me a bit initially, and it can be a bit of a pain when you have a particular artist in mind but you have to a) remember the label(s) they were on and b) have to trawl through a lot of records to try and find one you want - think Atlantic for example. Anyway I think I was in the Imperial boxes because I was looking for Irma Thomas, but I didn't find any of hers in the end.      

The O'Jays - Oh, How You Hurt Me  1964

The Feel It Advent-ure 2024: Door 19

Willie Clayton was born in March 1955, which means he would have been 20 years old when he recorded this 45. Maybe only 19 in fact, as his first Pawn 45 was released in 1974 and he had a number of others released between that and this one here, so it's entirely possible a fair few tracks were laid down at the same time sometime in 1974. Willie is another singer who has remained active on the soul scene through thick and thin up to this day.

Pawn was a sort of sub-label to Hi, and Willie Mitchell's unmistakable sound is very much to the fore on this track. Willie Mitchell signed Willie Clayton to Pawn after seeing him support Al Green on tour.

This 45 would have been recorded at Royal Studio. We swung by Royal while we were in Memphis, I hadn't realised how close it was to the Stax Museum. It's not a studio you can go inside but I got my picture.

The studio is in a neighbourhood that has plenty of substantial looking houses, but their better days are very much behind them now it seems. With some youths cruising around on electric scooters it did not feel particularly safe, so I just jumped out of the car, locked Mrs Darce in, took these pictures as quickly as I could, and then we drove off.

Willie Clayton - Abra Ka Dabra  1975

   

   

The Feel It Advent-ure 2024: Door 17

I think I first became aware of Jimmy Lewis in the mid 70s when I bought the Stax Story compilation album, his song Stop Half Loving These Women was on it and has always stuck in my mind. A few years later it was another compilation album that led me to his excellent The Girls From Texas. It has taken me all this time, though, to buy any of his singles - two this year of which this is one.

Until looking at his catalog this year, I didn't really know how prolific he was. As a singer he has over twenty singles to his name, and quite a few albums too, spanning a few decades. He was also a respected songwriter, producer, and arranger with no less than 246 writing and arrangement credits on Discogs. I was going to call him a journeyman, but I think he was more than that. He was also a member of The Drifters for a couple of years in the 60s. Ray Charles bumped into him in 1968, liked what he found, and the connection lasted into the 90s, starting off with six 45s released on Charles' Tangerine label, of which this one was the first. In the mid 90s Jimmy started his own label - Miss Butch - and racked up a reasonable number of releases - both singles and albums (CD and cassette only in those days when vinyl had virtually died out completely). He also, evidently, teamed up with Peggy Scott and she also had a few releases on the label. I've randomly dived into a few tracks off these albums and I think they stand up pretty well considering the era in which they were released (after all the golden age of Soul was long past), there is the low budget production to deal with - inevitable with someone who is essentially self releasing and promoting their output, but the songwriting is strong, as is his voice - Bobby Womack and Joe Tex comes to mind at times.          

He was still very much active and releasing and writing music (his discography on Discogs lists an album with a 2004 release date) when on September 11th 2004, at age 66, he passed away, too young. 

Jimmy Lewis - We Can Make It  1968        

The Feel It Advent-ure 2024: Door 16

Today's 45 is housed in a plain brown paper sleeve. I love brown sleeves, they are proper vintage and I am happy to believe the record and sleeve have been together since release (early 1969 in this case). The record looks like dead stock to me and has probably been lying around in some warehouse or other since its release. This sleeve now sports a Euclid price sticker that is also month/day stamped. The sticker looks fresh and tells me the record had most probably only been out on the floor for about a week before I added it to small buying pile. (This is in contrast to yesterday's O'Jays 45, which had a date on its sticker that was about a year old at least, possibly multiple years). 

This was Jo Armstead's (or "Joshie" as she was known) only release on Tay-Ster, a New York label. It is a bit of a puzzle as to why she had a release on this label in early 1969 as she continued to have releases on her own Chicago based Giant label into 1970.

I have recently been reading old Record World, Cash Box, and Billboard music industry papers on World Radio History (as you do) where, amazingly, they (or I should say a small army of dedicated submitters) have collated scanned copies - all the pages! - of most of these papers going back decades. Quite a feat. This 45 was listed in the "4 **** Singles Reviews" section in the Feb. 8th 1969 issue of Record World: 

"Jo tells it like it is on this R/Beat number. Gal knows her way around a ditty." 

Short and pithy as they tended to be. In what I consider to be an amazing coincidence the 45 that immediately preceded it in the review section was The Johnny Otis Show's Country Girl, which, of course, I also bought on this trip and featured a few days ago behind Door 12. (I have updated that post to include the record World review).      

Jo Armstead - No Better For Ya  1969   

The Feel It Advent-ure 2024: Door 15

It would have been nice to have found some records in thrifts and antique malls (truly in the wild) but I wasn't going out of my way to seek these out as digging was very much a secondary motive for our holiday and, besides, it wouldn't have been fair on Mrs Darce. The fact is we came across very few thrifts or antique malls. I did get a bit twitchy driving from Natchez to New Orleans when,  on the outskirts of Baton Rouge, we passed what looked like a very large car boot sale (or whatever they are called in the States). But I couldn't inflict a browse around that on Mrs Darce, and I was also conscious we needed to return the hire car to New Orleans airport by a certain time. The French Quarter was our planned base in New Orleans and we had decided to rely on our legs and public transport for getting around in the city. As we were in The French Quarter and its immediate surroundings we did not see a single thrift as far as I recall. 

The rest of the records I'm going to feature here all came from the same record shop in New Orleans - Euclid. One that had been on my radar for some years and was definitely on the NOLA itinerary.

Here is an early one from The O'Jays. The label maybe difficult to read as it so worn, but this 45 is over sixty years old now. The group started out as The Mascots in 1958 but changed their name to the O'Jays in 1961 in tribute to a Cleveland DJ Eddie O'Jay who played their third single Miracles a lot on the radio and also gave the group advice. This fact I have just learned from their Discogs summary page.

This one dates to 1963 when Soul as a distinct genre was starting to form out of the primordial soup of Rhythm & Blues, Doo Wop, Gospel and Pop. The A side has a distinct Pop feel but I particularly like the B side (as did someone who marked the label with an X), it has elements of Doo Wop and Pop, but the Soul is coming through strong in the vocals.

The O'Jays - The Storm is Over  1963      

The Feel it Advent-ure 2024: Door 13

Here is the only record I found on our tour that didn't come from a record shop. Except I had already found another copy of the same record in a record shop. Before our trip I had downloaded a copy of my collection (as recorded on 45cat) to my phone. It came in handy at Shangri La in Memphis and saved me from buying some doubles. I hadn't, though, updated this list with my purchases along the way. So, when I found a copy of this single in an antique mall in Vicksburg it wasn't already on my list. The memory is not as good as it used to be, so although I knew I had bought some Little Milton 45s already, I couldn't remember which ones, and it turned out I had bought a copy of this one in Shangri La. Still, it was only $2 so no matter. 

As I have two copies of this 45 now it makes sense to share both sides. This will be Little Milton's final appearance on this year's advent-ure.

Little Milton - Somebody's Changin' My Sweet Baby's Mind  1970 

Little Milton - I'm Tired  1970

   

The Feel It Advent-ure 2024: Door 12

This one is reminiscent of Alvin Robinson's Down Home Girl. 

Times have changed, what chance would this have of getting an airing on the radio nowadays? 

The Johnny Otis Show - Country Girl  1969 

Update: Just found this review in the "4 **** Singles Reviews" section in the Feb. 8th 1969 issue of Record World: 

Bouncy R/Ballad entry could go very far. Good party time sound to it.

Bouncy indeed! :)

The Feel It Advent-ure 2024: Door 11

Back to some records that I did find on our Deep South trip. 

Our next stop was French Camp, slap bang in the middle of nowhere. I wasn't expecting any record digging opportunities, but in a roundabout way it turned out I was wrong.

Soon after leaving Muscle Shoals and heading back east we took a left and picked up the Natchez Trace Parkway. I had read about it in a Sunday Times article years ago (and had kept the article) and I guess it was then that my bucket list, such that it is, first came into being and, mentally, "driving the Natchez Trace Parkway" became the first entry. So, all these years later, here we were. Serene and empty sums it up I think. Fantastic scenery, which actually can get a little samey after a while, so we would dive off every now and again and try and find some small towns. The roads immediately off the Parkway we found to be  extremely quiet too, no Interstates (we hardly hit a big Interstate in the entire trip) but some sizeable roads. It was almost surreal driving down a highway the size of a UK motorway, except bigger because of the  enormously wide central reservation, that is almost deserted. 

Anyway we stopped at French Camp for the night, a tiny town that is essentially dry, and we respected the advice to not take any alcohol onto the premises of our B&B. The next morning we happened to have an extremely serendipitous conversation with another couple at the breakfast table. They were interested in our trip and I mentioned that I was keeping an eye out for records along the way (cue Mrs Darce rolling her eyes). The guy said he knew a place in the middle of nowhere further south in Mississippi that was full of records and showed me where on his phone. My heart started beating faster. What were the chances? - it was literally on the way to the next stop on our journey, Vicksburg.

So it was, later that day, we ended up in Raymond MS. Just across the road from the record store we first of all found a lovely little book/nick nack/coffee shop which was perfect for Mrs Darce to while away the time, and I then hot footed it over to The Little Big Store. 

I walked through the door and my heartbeat ticked up a few notches - it was indeed full of records, including plenty of 45s which I had decided to limit myself to on this trip. I thought: serendipity sent me here, it's off the beaten track, it's full of records, I'm going to fill my boots! So I dug, and I dug, and I frantically dug. But unfortunately I only found two 45s worth buying. When paying for them (nothing was priced so I didn't know what to expect, but I needn't have worried) I had a chat with the owner, who was lovely but whose name I now can't remember, and she let me have a free tote bag with the shop's name on it which I was really chuffed with. She admitted that the place was a bit picked over now, but only in the last five years or so. It seems it has become very popular with people travelling the Blues trail. So, I was only a few years late in finding this place. One can only wonder at was once there. Imagine if we had made this trip six years ago instead of doing the New England road trip? Stop it. She did say there were lots more records upstairs still unsorted though....

Fenton Robinson - Leave You In The Arms Of Your Other Man  1970                     

The Feel It Advent-ure 2024: Door 9

Whilst we were in Muscle Shoals we* took in a couple more studios for photo opportunities  One was planned (Muscle Shoals Sound at 3614 Jackson Highway, Sheffield AL), and one was happenstance (Cypress Moon at 1000 Alabama Avenue, Sheffield AL). 3614 Jackson Highway is, of course, a very famous studio where the likes of The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and various other members of music royalty have recorded down the years. The Stones' recorded four tracks there that found their way onto Sticky Fingers, which happens to be one of my favourite ever albums. Cypress Moon Studio we stumbled upon. We had decided to drive down to the river and take a walk and parked right by the studio. I had never heard of it and took a picture to remind me to research it. It turns out it was where Muscle Shoals Sound relocated in 1979. They then sold it to Malaco Records in 1985 and some of my favourite Soul artists - Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland, and Little Milton(!) - recorded there late in their careers. Every day is a school day, as they say. I'm doubly glad I took a picture of it now  (although annoyingly I can't find it at the moment).   

But I have been kicking myself since for not visiting 104 East 2nd Street, Sheffield AL and 1307 Broadway St., Sheffield AL. It is quite possible we drove down East 2nd Street on the way from Muscle Shoals Sound to Cypress Moon because checking Google maps just now the most direct route between the two is along East 2nd Street. I'm not sure we took the most direct though, but if we did we drove past the site of Quin Ivy's first studio without even realising it!  

Quin Ivy may not be a name your are familiar with. But there is a fair chance you will be familiar with at least one song recorded there - Percy Sledge's When A Man Love's A Woman.  

I knew he had operated a studio - Quinvy - in Sheffield AL, and I have a few singles that were recorded there - Judy White's Satisfaction Guaranteed being one, significant because it is on my list of all time favourite Soul tracks. So I have beat myself up a bit for not doing my revision properly before this trip. and because of that not visiting these "shrines", when they were literally just down the road.   

In recent months since coming back home I have done a very deep dive into all things Quinvy and I will share some facts next time. 

I have also bought a fair few records that were recorded there in the last few months, here is one from one of Quin Ivy's labels... 

Don Varner - Down in Texas  1967   

... i might as well have been down in Texas! 

*Mrs Darce was tagging along like the dutiful wife. She did indulge me and I was very grateful. 

The Feel It Advent-ure 2024: Door 8

When I decided to do this year's Advent-ure I realised I only had 19 records to share with you from our Deep South road trip, and there are, of course, 24 doors to open. It's OK, I have a plan. 

After we left Memphis behind our next stop was Alabama, and that meant Muscle Shoals. It had to be!

Ever since I heard my first Candi Staton record (for me that was back in 1972) I have been completely sold on the Muscle Shoals sound. It was a very distinct sound and it still stands up today. Rick Hall's FAME Studio was where the sound began but there were other studios in the area that picked up the ball and ran with it and I will mention one in particular in the next post. Of course the musicians and writers - Spooner Oldham, Dan Penn, The Swampers et al - were key to the sound and played at all the studios at one time or another. 

I have never been one to draw up an extravagent bucket list, but I suppose I have one of sorts. The Deep South road trip was on it and FAME Recording Studios, 603 East Avalon Avenue, Muscle Shoals, Alabama has always been on it, and that was where you could have found me back on the 23rd April this year. 

Whilst waiting for the tour to start I had a short chat with Linda, Rick's widow who now runs the studio on the business side. I mentioned that I have been a great fan of Candi Staton for a very long time and she said they are good friends and keep in regular touch, which was nice to know. So I did the tour and bought the T Shirt. It was quite something to just stand in Rick Hall's office and imagine how many icons of the real Soul music of the Sixties had sat in the leather chair on the other side of the desk to his and discussed and signed contracts. And then to just stand in the studio where so many records that are very close to my heart were recorded... well, words fail me really.     

One thing I didn't find whilst in the Muscle Shoals area was a scratchy record or two to buy. The closest I got was a copy of Billie Holidays's Strange Fruit in a thrift, but it was just too beat up to buy. So these next few doors will reveal some records that were recorded in the hallowed area of Muscle Shoals / Sheffield. Starting with....

Jimmy Hughes - I'm A Man Of Action  1967

            

    

The Feel It Advent-ure 2024: Door 7

Hello, who is this at the door?

Ah, it's you again Mr. Campbell, welcome.

Little Milton was prolific throughout the 60s and most of his singles, especially on Checker, are worth picking up. This one is a stormer.

Little Milton - Grits Ain't Groceries  1968   

The Feel It Advent-ure 2024: Door 6

We spent a few days in Memphis on our Deep South road trip. It warranted a few days as, of course, there was a lot to see and experience: 

We stayed at The Peabody so were treated to a duck march every day for starters :) 

Graceland was not as glitzy as we expected it to be, and all the better for it. The house itself was much smaller than I expected and had quite an intimate feel. The whole experience was well worth it.

Sun Studios was well worth a visit, it's great to know studio space itself is virtually unchanged from the Fifties.

There was great live music - and food - on offer from the bars on Beale St. 

The Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel was a really moving experience.  

And, of course, no trip to Memphis would be complete without a visit to the Stax Museum. They have a wall of records there which displays every single released on the Stax and Volt labels. Not quite every single actually, there were eight missing when we visited, and I have one of them! (Joni Wilson on Volt, which I have featured here a couple of times in the past). I could donate my copy but I don't feel ready to part with it yet. 

It was appropriate, then, that I bought a Stax single at Shangri-La Records.

The B side of this single I have written about twice before here, initially in 2006 (the first year of this blog's life!), and then again in 2010 when I wondered why I was all of a sudden getting a lot of views on my original post. It turned out it was because the song had appeared on the Treme soundtrack. This all seems like such a long time ago now. Just A Little Overcome  I have always had on a Stax compilation album. In the original post I said that you could probably pick up a copy of the single it appeared on for no more than £10. Little did I know then that I would finally pick up a copy of it (for $7) in the city of its birth.   

Time to give the A side an airing.

The Nightingales - I Don't Want To Be Like My Daddy  1971