The Metros were another short lived
group, lasting little more than a year. They racked up three
single releases in that time (a few tracks that were evidently left
in the can – for decades - have subsequently appeared on a couple
of 45s), and one album. That they managed an album release must have been due to the fact that, unusually for a new group coming out of seemingly nowhere, they had been signed to a major label – RCA. Their second
45 Since I Found My Baby, actually a B side, was massive on
the Northern Soul scene having the perfect our to the floor beat, and
you wouldn’t get much change out of £300 for a tip top copy. If you want that track on original 1967 vinyl then you can pick up a copy of the album, because it is included, at a more reasonable price.
This was
their debut 45, released in the fall of 1966. It sounds earlier to
me, with a distinct doo-wop style backing, and an early 60s feel to
the guitar. Great record, another B side, and very affordable compared to their NS monster.
Here is another singer where the usual
Googling yields very little information. This 45 appears to be the
only record Russ Lewis released as an artist. He hailed from St.
Louis according to the usual go to sites. The short lived Sharp label
was based in Chicago and was started by Bill “Bunky” Sheppard a
mover and shaker on the Chicago doo-wop and soul scene in the 60s. So
it is reasonable to assume this track was recorded in Chicago. Into
the 70s it would appear Russ concentrated on writing and production
as his name is credited on a number of obscure small label releases
including the Gold Future label which was based in Sunset Hills, St.
Louis County, MO and was, in fact, his own label. T Washington also
appears as an arranger on more than one of these 45s and I believe
this is Tom “Tom Tom 84” Washington, a respected arranger who also
started out in Chicago and was a main arranger for Brunswick Records
in the 60s. It’s possible they met up when Gene Chandler recorded
Groovy Situation, a song that Russ wrote and Tom Tom arranged.
Russ was also listed as president of a music publishing company
called Best Bet Music, addressed in Kirkwood, MO and active in the
70s at least. According to Discogs he was dabbling in the music
business whilst at the same time holding down a day job as a mail
carrier in Kirkwood.
The accepted A side
of this 45, Brand New Recipe, is a good up beat number with some cool
organ fills, but again, it’s the moody, bluesy B side that I’m
sold on. It features some nice horns too.
A full on day today so no real time to
craft many words around today’s post.
The
Charmels had a brief run of four singles on Volt between 1966 and
1968, under the wing of Isaac Hayes. Some of the group had previously
been members of The Dixiebelles, and then The Tonettes who had two of
the earliest releases on Volt sandwiching Volt 102 which just
happened to be Booker T & The MGs Green Onions. (I’ll
take this opportunity to say RIP Steve Cropper).
Bought the tree today (you know – that
one), the deccys were going up in our local watering hole near the
farm shop where the transaction took place, and the Christmas tunes
were being played (you know the ones). It’s far enough into
December now to be able to embrace the season and all its trappings.
So I’m
feeling good and today’s song makes me feel even better.
I always
remember The McCrarys for their 1982 song Love On A Summer Night,
which I think Robbie Vincent was partial to playing on his radio
show. That was a feel good record, and so is this one. Listening to
it you can’t help but feel uplifted. The lyrics can be taken equally as a gospel song or a secular one - take your pick. The group were rooted in gospel and it’s no real surprise to discover they founded The
McCrary Foundation in 2014, a non-profit organisation aimed at helping
those in need through the healing powers of music.
I’m feeling mellow today or, maybe more
accurately, jaded after a rather boozy night with Mrs Darce’s
family. The recycling boxes are full and we sent our daughter home
with more empties. A sign of an enjoyable – and long – evening.
Consequently this post will be brief.
Let’s
return to the sixties for a beautiful slice of soul from Fred Hughes
hiding on the B side of his third 45, released in the summer of 1965.
It was also the B side of his subsequent release.
Fred’s
recording career followed the same pattern as so many soul singers
who started out in the sixties: a string of singles (eleven in all in
Fred’s case) released on a number of different labels (and also one
album release which was a collection of his later singles with a few
covers thrown in to get the running time up). His final single was
released in early 1971 following which no more was heard from him,
and nothing about his later life seems to be documented.
A micro pub close to me has a "bring your
own" vinyl night every now and then. I have been a regular attendee
this last year. The DJ seems quite taken by the little selection box
of singles I take along, especially the 60s soul, and has been known
to take a picture for future reference of a few of the ones he is
unfamiliar with. As any good DJ should. he takes some of his own to
play too in case there are insufficient BYOs, which is usually the
case. We have very similar tastes although he is 10 – 15 younger
than me so if he plays anything from the 90s or more recent I usually
don’t know it so if I like it I, in turn, take a picture of it for
my future reference. So it was a couple of months ago when he played
a Cathy Dennis single. She was new to me but I was quite taken. I
wasn’t paying much attention to music in the late 80s and 90s. I
didn’t much care for what was being pumped out on the radio and
none of it really encouraged me to dig deeper. Family duties were
very much uppermost in my mind back then.
Anyway, the
Cathy Dennis single left enough of an impression on me that over the
next few weeks I immersed myself in her back catalogue. Her output is
generally very much of its time, mostly upbeat dance pop confections
aimed at the clubs (and maybe MTV?) which I have seen described as “synth pop”
and “euro house”. It’s not music I would normally seek out, and
no doubt there were any number of artists and producers pumping out
similar tunes at the time, but for some reason I can’t begin to
understand or explain I find her music quite uplifting. I like her
voice and, watching some of her videos on You Tube, I like her style - ahem, I may be a little bit smitten! In short order I have acquired four of her singles, they're cheap as chips.
Cathy’s
chart star shone particularly brightly between 1989 and 1994. The
single Touch Me (All Night Long) was her biggest hit peaking at #5 in the UK
charts in 1991. It is in fact a remake of Tuch Me, which was
written by Patrick Adams and Greg Carmichael (names of note on the
Disco scene in the 70s and early 80s) and released by Fonda Rae in
1984. I prefer Cathy’s version.
Cathy has gone on to be a very successful, and prolific, songwriter: Britney Spears' Toxic, and Kylie Minogue's Can't Get You Out Of My Head being just two notable examples. (Who knew? Not me, every day's a school day!)
Timeshift
backwards a couple of years from 1967 and today’s somewhat “under
the radar” soul singer’s recording career could be said to have
mirrored exactly that of Bill Brandon who featured in yesterday’s
post. Putting aside a group appearance on a 1959 doo-wop 45 Chuck
Bernard put out singles on a few different labels for about eleven
years between 1965 and 1975. Despite making some excellent records
only one of them could be said to have been a hit - this one, Funny
Changes. The R&B
Beat column in the New Year’s
Day 1966 edition of the US music paper Record World said
it had gone Top 10 in the Chicago radio station WVON’s chart (45cat
had it’s release date as Feb 1966 but based on this comment I
plumped for a revision to Dec 1965). Chuck hailed from St. Louis but
much, if not all, of
his recording career was spent in Chicago. It was, of course, one of
the key cities for soul music in the 60s and 70s.
It’s
only in the last year or two I have become aware of Chuck Bernard.
This is the third
45 of his I now have and there are a few more on my wants list now; I
really like his voice. Once
again I think Sir Shambling is the only font of knowledge on Chuck. I
have searched in vain for more information on his life. Who
knows? Maybe, like Bill Brandon, Chuck Bernard went on to become a
truck driver after he stopped recording. There
are at least a couple of Chuck
Bernard’s of about the right age listed as currently, or recently,
residing in the Chicago area so one of those might be him.
This
single would make it into the
national R&B charts in early 1966
and it’s easy to see why. It
would have sounded great coming out of a radio speaker, and must have
been a dancer’s delight too. It also has an excellent, slower, B
side.
Mostly vinyl, mostly a private pleasure - until now.
Music posted here I have bought and gained much pleasure from listening to down the years (or months, or days!). So in the spirit of an 'all back to mine' it's time to share it.
DISCLAIMER: If you hear something you like I urge you to seek it out and purchase it in your format of choice. Mp3s found here are posted for a limited time and are for illustrative and previewing purposes only. If you are the creator or copyright holder of any material posted and object to it's appearance on this blog then please email me at darcyfeelit (at) gmail.com and it will be removed forthwith.
The Metros were another short lived
group, lasting little more than a year. They racked up three
single releases in that time (a few tracks that were evidently left
in the can – for decades - have subsequently appeared on a couple
of 45s), and one album. That they managed an album release must have been due to the fact that, unusually for a new group coming out of seemingly nowhere, they had been signed to a major label – RCA. Their second
45 Since I Found My Baby, actually a B side, was massive on
the Northern Soul scene having the perfect our to the floor beat, and
you wouldn’t get much change out of £300 for a tip top copy. If you want that track on original 1967 vinyl then you can pick up a copy of the album, because it is included, at a more reasonable price. 
