The Feel It Advent-ure 2025: Door 19

 

In my head Atlantic Starr are filed as a 70s band as that is when I first heard them. But in truth most of their output came in the 80s and they hit it big commercially in the mid 80s.

Three of their songs have lodged themselves permanently in my memory to the extent that I can replay them in my head at will. Those songs are When Love Calls, Circles, and this one, Silver Shadow.

.. Pause .. Hmm, have I featured one of these songs before here? … opens a tab to check … yes I have.

Way back in 2011. I featured a Youtube clip of Silver Shadow because, as I said at the time, I couldn’t believe I had never had a copy of it. Well I finally picked up a copy a few weeks ago, and I did so because I was spurred on by recently playing Circles a few times (you can’t play these songs just once, they are infectious), which was the other track I featured back then. That 2011 post was published on the 29^th October which, weirdly, was the birthday of one of my old flames – and she had the album that When Love Calls was on and I remember borrowing it at the time (I gave it back eventually) - and, somewhat weirdly, Mrs. Darce’s birthday is the 30^th October. I must be attracted to Scorpios.

Silver Shadow is a gorgeous track. It was released in 1985, but I had it fixed in my mind it was from earlier in the 80s. I think it must have sounded a bit out of time in 1985 when soul was becoming increasingly bright and shiny, and poppy. It has an ethereal feel to it and, from memory, there was only one other track on the album it came from – As the Band Turns – that really approached it’s feel. 

Atlantic Starr – Silver Shadow 1985

RIP Wayne Lewis, a founding member of Atlantic Starr who passed away earlier this year (June 5th), he was only 68.   

The Feel It Advent-ure 2025: Door 18

 

Look at Gwen Owens’ catalog of originally issued 45s and they span soul’s golden decade almost precisely. Gwen’s singing extended beyond that though, singing in the group Hot later in the 70s and having one more single released in her name in 1979, whilst still a member of Hot. Her 60s recordings were mostly cut in Detroit, where she grew up; and her 70s output was mostly recorded in Muscle Shoals. In the 70s and into the 80s she continued in the music business as a session and backing singer, for some big names too. Into this century she was singing with a gospel group The Melodious Hearts.

Gwen is still very much alive. I can say that with confidence as I have found her, very much current, Instagram account. She occasionally puts up pictures of her old publicity shots, including one she described as her very first one. She was, and I have no doubt still is, a very attractive lady. On the internet it seems her birth date is most often quoted as June 19^th, 1953 but I’m not sure that can be true. That would have made her 11 when she recorded her first single. But elsewhere I have seen someone quoting an article from the Michigan Chronicle dated June 19^{th ,} 1965 (coincidentally her birthday) where it refers to her two 1964 released 45s and states that she was just graduating from Pershing HS in Detroit, which would have most likely made her 16 or 17 when she first recorded.

Her 1967 45 - Just Say You’re Wanted And Needed - is a very rare record that commands very high prices on the Northern scene. It is a belter. even allowing for the somewhat out of tune horns. Looking at Gripsweat it seems only five copies have gone through Ebay in the last 12 years or so, and if one in decent condition came up for sale now I’m betting it would sell for $5k+.

This Josie release of hers is not a rare or in demand record, but it is a good one. I had heard the B side - It Ain’t Hardly Over - years ago and had it mentally filed as one to get at the right price. Now I have finally secured a copy it is the A side that is really grabbing me.

Gwen Owens– Keep On Living 1969

The newspaper clip is from Record World July 12th, 1969

The Feel It Advent-ure 2025: Door 17

Here’s a bit of a curiosity. A funky record from 1977 celebrating Jimmy Carter making it to The White House.

The funk is tight, and the horns have some definite similarities with the horn arrangements that can be found on mid70s Parliament releases. No surprise at all as it happens – Walter Foster had links to the JBs, and Fred Wesley is credited as producer and arranger on this record. Walter had just a handful of 45s released over period of more than 20 years. This was his second release, some twelve years after his debut on Loma. That 45 was produced by James Brown, and I would think it is entirely possible Fred Wesley featured in the backing group.

Have a contemporary funk group ever made a record singing the praises of the orange one, I wonder? I don’t know of one and I suspect the odds are vanishingly small.

Walter Foster – The Peanut Man (We Got A Friend) 1977

The B side is a nice slower number too.

Walter Foster – It Makes You Wanna Cry 1977

Now, that’s a title that could grace a song about the orange one.

The Feel It Advent-ure 2025: Door 16

 The next three records in this year’s Advent-ure are all late entrants, they dropped through the mailbox only a few days ago.

Lou Johnson must have liked a bit of yomping – and the circus. In a short period of time in the 60s he had records released on Hilltop, Big Hill - and BigTop. All were distributed by Bell. These labels were all run by the music publishing company Hill & Range which was run out of the Brill Building in New York, home to more than a few significant songwriters such Bacharach & David, Leiber & Stoller, Goffin & King. And Jeff Barry & Ellie Greenwich. Importantly (for them), Hill & Range had control over the recording output of Elvis Presley in the 50s and 60s.

In fact Lou Johnson had the only documented 45 issued on Hilltop - It Ain’t No Use, arranged by Burt Bacharach, a truly great record which is actually worthy of it’s own label! I have a copy of it and I must give it it’s own post here sometime. It bears a catalog number (551) in the same 55* range as Big Hill. 45Cat actually conflates the two labels. There were a few labels named Hilltop in the US in the early 60s so I’m guessing they changed the label name to Big Hill to avoid any possible copyright challenges. Lou also had the only releases (three) on Big Hill before he moved over to Hill & Range’s main imprint – BigTop. Possibly they were planning to focus the different labels on different musical genres but then thought better of it.

My copy of this 45 sits in it’s nice original Bell sleeve, and is a promo as stated on the label. It was common for promos to have, as well, either a white background colour and/or a printed star on the label to denote the A side. No such thing here. Radio DJs, or distributors maybe, would often also mark the A side with a big felt tip pen star or some such mark. In the case of my copy there is just an A written on one side and B on the other in red felt tip, which makes it very hard to see and a bit pointless. The DJ would have needed to know what he was doing.

And what is in the grooves? This from the 3^rd April 1965 edition of the US music paper Record World; straightforward and on point, life was so simple then:

Lou Johnson– Please, Stop The Wedding 1965

The Feel It Advent-ure 2025: Door 15

 

Following on from yesterday’s post New Orleans gets another mention today. But, again, the music is not really New Orleans in style.

The Barons were a New Orleans group (this is the one only release of theirs that gave them two RRs), but although some of their releases had a funky edge I wouldn’t say they had the classic sound of that NOLA syncopation. This group were certainly active between 1967 and 1973/4, and were credited as backing vocalists on some singles that may have been released as early as 1964. Their currency as a group then pretty much mirrored the span of the soul’s “golden decade” ( roughly 1964-1974). Their discography shows a few singles released later in the 70s but I believe those were all recorded no later than 1974. 

There is no definitive statement that I can find about where this track was recorded. The group certainly recorded a number of their later tracks at the Malaco studio in Jackson, MS, and although Super Dome was a New Orleans label Malaco it is possibly where this one was laid down.

A pretty detailed account of their career can be found at the The Home Of The Groove. This was one of the soul/R&B/funk music related sites I used to visit a lot. Dan Phillips hasn't maintained the site for some years and I can’t believe The Barons article was written nearly twenty years ago now. It was important I think that such research and on line documentation of the music of the 60s was done back then, as now so many of the artists and people involved will no longer be with us and their history may otherwise have died with them.

The A side of this record – Some Kind Of Fool - is a great number with a funky feel, but it’s the other side that really does it for me (I do like my B sides). I’m So Lonely is sweet and deep, and a gem. I notice a rogue apostrophe crept into the title on the label, unless it is deliberate and is trying to convey the message of being “soooo” lonely?

The Barrons– I’m So Lonely  c.1973

The Feel It Advent-ure 2025: Door 14

 

I was alerted to this 45 during my deep dive last year into the history of Quinvy recording studio. This 45 was recorded there in the last days of the studio, probably in 1972. It is a fine slice of southern soul.

Jimmy Jules, whose real name was Charley C. Julien, was born in New Orleans. He had a total of six 45s released spanning a long period (1961-1977). Before that he was a member of bands going back into the 50s too I think. Under different group guises he also released three albums between 1977 and 1980. As well as singing I believe he also played saxophone, trumpet, and keyboards. He also wrote a number of songs that were recorded by other artists including a couple by a young Johnnie Taylor, and apparently backed artists such as Marvin Gaye and Otis Redding in the 60s. In the late 60s he also started his own label – Jim Gem. The first single on that label was written by Charley but the credited singer is a Charley Wynn. Sir Shambling doesn’t believe this singer could be Charley Julien, but I think it is a possibility. Although the Jim Gem label has a Colorado address the Charley Wynn 45 had a “Cosimo Code” which means it was likely recorded in New Orleans.

Just about as much information as I can find on Jimmy/Charley’s recording career can be found buried in part 11 of an exhaustive history ofNorala/Quinvy studios. This history was written some years ago. After some dedicated googling I have found that Charley passed away in September 2021. His obituary says that Charley was father to no less than thirteen children, some of which may well have been adopted.

All together it seems Charley led a very full life.

RIP Charley C. Julien aka Jimmy Jules

Jimmy Jules– Ten Carat Fool 1973

The Feel It Advent-ure 2025: Door 13

 

Behind Door 8 I shared some gospel soul. Here is some more. It is more overtly gospel, and the soul is definitely present in Alicia Myers voice; in the final analysis though it can be labelled a disco or, to be more precise, boogie banger.

I picked up a 12” of this a few years ago, but it was not in the best condition (one of, thankfully, only a handful of disappointing ebay experiences I’ve had). I was punching the air when I found this 45 in a local charity shop a few weeks ago. It was a branch of a local chain of charity shops and this particular branch mostly sells furniture, but it has quite a bit of vinyl too and I’m guessing it’s the branch they send the vinyl to when it hasn’t sold in their other shops. The final resting place, next stop the tip. Records are 20p each.

Alicia Myers was originally a member of One Way, a disco group who made some fine records in the late 70s and early 80s. She went solo in 1980. This track was written by Kevin McCord who was also a member of One Way so it was still something of a family affair. Originally released in 1982 in the US it was her biggest hit, although I wasn’t aware of it back then. It was reissued as a B side in 1984 in the US and the UK.

Alicia Myers – I Want To Thank You 1982