“After making the label an important artistic nest for major jazz artists like Nina Simone, Carmen McRae, Chris Connor and Mel Tormé,” notes Discogs in a summary overview of Bethlehem Records, its founder Gustav Wildi, in 1958, “gave the major label King Records half ownership as payment for distribution, and in 1962 Wildi sold King Records the second half of Bethlehem Records.”
With “Monster Mash” topping Billboard’s singles chart in late October 1962, Mann Drake‘s “Vampire’s Ball” — released on Bethlehem and rated as a “new single” in Billboard‘s November 17, 1962 edition — appears to be King’s attempt to cash in on the smash hit by Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt Kickers:
“Vampire’s Ball” Mann Drake 1962
“VAMPIRE’S BALL” MANN DRAKE 1962
Billboard designated the single three stars (“moderate sales potential”) in their November 17, 1962 edition, while that same week, Cash Box had no compunction about stating the obvious in their “graded” singles review:
Mann Drake (Bethlehem 3049) (B) “Vampire’s Ball” (2:34) [Lois-Beck BMI — Zanino, Canton] Side undoubtedly was inspired by the “Monster Mash” hit and, like the original, features [Bela] Lugosi & Boris Karloff imitations against a “mash” sound from the combo-chorus.
(B) “Horror Movie” (2:32) [Lois-Beck BMI — Zanino, Golding] Voice here is that of a hip-talking fella. Back-up sound resembles that of the top portion.
The King recording session notes compiled by Michel Ruppli indicate the 45 to have been released October, 1962, both sides having been recorded elsewhere and “leased” to King.
“Vampire’s Ball” would be remembered in decades hence as having been deemed worthy of inclusion in the following various artists compilations:
Both 45Cat and Discogs indicate this sole 45 to be Mann Drake’s entire recorded output — is this stage name (i.e., “Mandrake“), therefore, simply sleight-of-hand? Al Zanino, who co-wrote both sides of this 45, seems to be the key that unlocks the mystery behind the artist’s identity, so says Discogs:
A songwriter, band promoter and manager, Al Zanino co-owned his own record label in Reading, PA, Al-Stan. He released a popular horror record in the 1950s, “The Vampire Speaks” and also released “The Vampire’s Lair.” Additionally, he sang on his own under the stage name “Tony Albert”.
Vintage copies of the original “Vampire’s Ball”/”Horror Movie” 45 have fetched decent money at auction in the past ten years.
Five years earlier, Zanino had recorded a horror 45 for the local market in Reading, PA — one that would be reissued on the single’s 50th anniversary in a limited edition of 500:
“The original was recorded back in 1957 by Al Zanino and Cliff Juranis of Reading, PA. Only a few copies of the original pressing survive. This pressing features a new picture sleeve designed by John Fundyga along with artist Rick Ulrich. The back features a copy of a rejection letter written by Roland/Zacherle on his original 1957 letterhead. Al Zanino sent a copy of the 45 to Roland when he hosted his Chiller Theater show back in 1957 in Philly. His letter was recreated from the original copy on the back of the sleeve. The letter has some funny comments written by Roland himself! The record label was painstakingly made to look like the original [on Al-Stan, presumably].”
[James] Brown discovered [The Dapps] in Cincinnati’s Inner Circle nightclub and used the band on his and other performers’ recordings. At various times the band included guitarist Troy Seals, who became a major Nashville songwriter; Tim Hedding, organ; Eddie Setser, guitar; Tim Drummond, bass; Les Asch, saxophone, and [William] Beau Dollar [Bowman], drums.
McNutt also notes the band’s shared history with Jo Ann Campbell prior to the formation of The Dapps, in The Cincinnati Sound:
Petite vocalist Jo Ann Campbell made her mark as a 1950s recording artist who appeared on disc jockey Alan Freed’s live rock-and-roll shows. She recorded an answer song called “I’m the Girl on Wolverton Mountain.” By 1964, however, she had married Troy Seals, a Fairfield, Ohio, bass player [born in Bighill, KY] who had toured with Lonnie Mack and other Cincinnati acts. Campbell and Seals moved to Cincinnati, formed their own white soul band called The Cincinnati Kids, and started performing at the Inner Circle near the University of Cincinnati. The band was one of the hottest acts in town. When Campbell became pregnant, she dropped out, and the band evolved into the Dapps.
Image courtesy of Dave Parkinson — CLICK on image TO VIEW IN HIGH RESOLUTION
[L to R] Dave Parkinson; Eddie Setser; Jo Ann Campbell; Troy Seals; Tina, the “designated” go-go dancer; Tim HedDing; Doug Huffman
Sometimes we come and watch the Dapps, an all-white band. You remember the white guy who used to be like James [Brown] — Wayne Cochran? Well, he used to come to town all the time and everybody would go and see him. His band was real tough [Jaco Pastorius played bass for Cochran – Jim Payne notes]. Well, the Dapps had a better white band than him. They were so cold they were ridiculous! ‘Beau Dollar’ played drums and sang lead, and they had another drummer named Ron Grayson, who was bad. Ron could play right-handed or left-handed. Tim Drummond, the bass player, was also in the Dapps.
Prior to becoming The Dapps, the group had already released two 45s under the name, Beau Dollar and the Coins. The band’s second single features a classic arrangement of “Soul Serenade” that is, in fact, a track produced by Lonnie Mack for Fraternity Records, with Chuck Sullivanon lead guitar, Wayne Bullock on Hammond B-3, and Bill Jones on bass According to Stuart Colman‘s liner notes from the Ace UK anthology, Lonnie Mack — From Nashville to Memphis:
“Sax supremo King Curtis could hardly have imagined the kind of track record that his immortal ‘Soul Serenade’ would one day generate. Not long after its public debut, this mellifluous instrumental became part of the Lonnie Mack repertoire where it sat alongside such well-loved favourites as Don and Juan’s ‘What’s Your Name‘ and Bobby Parker’s ‘Watch Your Step‘. The personnel of Lonnie’s road band at this point included guitarists Troy Seals and Eddie Setser, who’d previously worked together backing Johnny Tillotson and Tommy Roe, along with a remarkably solid drummer named Bill Hargis ‘Beau’ Bowman Jnr. However, with a line-up that was in a constant state of flux the trio departed for pastures new, leaving the Lonnie Mack legend to take a significant turn during 1965 towards a musical enterprise known as Soul Incorporated.”
“Beau was the really funky one. I remember hearing Beau Dollar and the Coins at a forgotten club in Middletown, about twelve miles north of Hamilton [Beau’s hometown]. Back then he had curly brown hair–sort of a white man’s afro–and sang some terrific blue-eyed soul. He came up with his name as a play on Bo for Bowman; he paired it with dollar because of the natural connection: a beau dollar, an old Southern term for silver dollar. By the mid-1960s, Beau Dollar and the Coins had become one of the area’s more popular white soul bands, with a devoted following that enjoyed dancing. Beau sometimes wore a fancy vest befitting his name–a beau, or a dandy. He seemed poised for the local radio charts …
In those days, you could find white soul bands, many of them with good horn sections, in clubs throughout southwest Ohio–places called the Half-Way Inn (halfway between Hamilton and Middletown [and owned by the parents of guitarist, Sonny Moorman]), the Tiki Club in Hamilton County, and the Hawaiian Gardens in Cincinnati.”
Brian Powers‘ first-rate interview [42-minute mark] with saxophonist Dave Parkinson (of Canton, Illinois) for Cincinnati’s WVXU answers so many questions about how Beau Dollar and The Dapps first converged:
“We were a popular band in the Cincinnati area called The Cincinnati Kids, and we were the house band at The Inner Circle, which is now Bogart’s.
“Troy Seals and Jo Ann Campell headed up the band, and I played saxophone, and Les Asch was the other saxophone player, and Eddie Setser — we called him “Fat Eddie” — was the guitarist. Tim Heding [sometimes spelled with one D] played keyboards, and Tim Drummond played bass with us for a time, although Troy Seals doubled on bass and sang a good amount of that time. We had Ronnie Grayson play drums with us, and we had two or three different drummers. Doug Huffman, who lives in Indianapolis now, played drums with us when I first joined the band. I don’t recall any other drummers. A good friend of ours was Beau Dollar, but Beau was more of an entity to himself, and he never actually played with the band. He didn’t necessarily record with us at King that I remember, but I know he did some recording with James [Brown]. Beau was a big part of the music scene around the Cincinnati area. He was a really good funky drummer and a great singer.
“I think James just started coming around The Inner Circle. Of course, that was a big thrill for all of us, and he started to sit in occasionally with the band. That was about the time “Cold Sweat” and “There Was a Time” — it was about that era, ’67-’68, I guess — and James became interested in the group. That was a kind of delicate time racially, and I think James thought it might behoove him to become involved with white groups similar to ours. We did a lot of soul and we did pop covers, too, but the rhythm and blues and soul was pretty much our forte.
[On how The Cincinnati Kids became The Dapps] “That would have been after we became disassociated with Troy and Jo Ann, and actually, James tagged the name The Believers on us, that was our first name with James. We eventually turned into The Dapps.”
For this same 2018 WVXU broadcast, Brian Powers also interviewed Eddie Setser, who wryly remarked, “It was hard to believe we got $45 for, like, a three-hour session.” Setser informed Powers that their first studio collaboration, “I Can’t Stand Myself (When You Touch Me),” was originally inspired by a riff from a jazz artist, possibly Kenny Burrell, but altered substantially enough by James Brown as to be unrecognizable. When asked to describe James Brown’s creative process, Setser told Powers:
“When he starts doing things, these arrangements are put together, he always does the drums first, then the bass. He gets the groove going, then he’ll do the guitars and then, you know, the horns will do their thing. The keyboard works in there somewhere. You get the groove going and you just keep playing it, you know what I’m sayin’?
One local music venue where the group enjoyed playing, located in the basement of Cincinnati’s Hotel Metropole, was called The Trip when The Dapps played there, says Setser, who added that later it became a club – Tommy Helms’ Dugout – named for the Reds’ second baseman (and later one of the first area discos, with “girls in cages” and all the frippery).
In this hotel’s basement once dwelled a club called The Trip
Zero to 180 spoke with both Les Asch and Dave Parkinson in May/June/July of 2020. During our first phone conversation, Dave Parkinson expressed his own confusion over the irony that “The Dapps” ended up being known as James Brown’s white backing band when, in fact, the original concept was to have a show band that featured black members of JB’s renowned live orchestra.
Parkinson auditioned for the group in late 1965 (possibly early 1966) at the Holly Oak in Indianapolis — a storied venue that once hosted Fats Domino, Little Richard, Wayne Cochran, Wayne Newton, Kenny Rogers, and Dolly Parton, according to the fine folks at East Side Tire & Wheel.
This building – confirms East Side Tire & Wheel – was once the Holly Oak
At the time of Parkinson’s audition, the group was named for its two lead artists, Jo Ann Campbell and Troy Seals who – as “Jo Ann and Troy” – recorded a pair of singles for Atlantic in 1964-65. With regard to the band’s membership at the time of his audition, Parkinson, who played tenor sax and “a little alto,” recalls Seals and Roger Troy sharing bass duties, with Eddie Setser on guitar, Tim Hedding on keyboards, and Doug Huffman on drums.
Soon after the audition, the group played a 10-week engagement at The Beachcomber in Seaside Heights, New Jersey “having more fun than anyone has a right,” according to Parkinson, who indicated that Ronnie Grayson also went along for the ride.
The band subsequently anchored itself in the Cincinnati area, playing the three big music clubs at the time: The Inner Circle, Guys and Dolls, and The Roundup Club, the latter two venues located in nearby Northern Kentucky. Les Asch joined the band during this period and recalled that the group — billed as Troy Seals and the Cincinnati Kids — had a regular Wednesday-through-Sunday engagement at The Inner Circle, with Jo Ann Campbell joining the group on Saturday and Sunday nights.
Asch remembers Troy Seals bringing in another drummer, Tommy Matthews, when Ronnie Grayson (who would later play on Delaney Bramlett’s 1972 debut album with Tim Hedding) was recovering from injuries sustained in an auto accident. During this recovery period, Seals would insist that Grayson remain a contributing band member. Grayson, it turns out, had some trumpet experience, and thus was recruited for the horn section, where he played under the stage name, Ronnie Geisman.
After Grayson had healed, Tommy Matthews was then let go by Seals, prompting some of the band members — Eddie Setser, Tim Hedding, Les Asch and Dave Parkinson — to defect from the group temporarily to link up with Lonnie Mack, who was present at the Inner Circle when Matthews got his pink slip, according to Asch.
The Cincinnati Kids, with Lonnie Mack now at the helm (and Eddie Setser on bass), continued at the Inner Circle for another five to six weeks, says Asch, before Mack informed the group of an engagement in Florida at a place called Johnny’s Hideaway. The gig proved a bust after only a couple weeks, however, when a liquor violation shut the club down. Tim Hedding, fortunately, would field a phone call from Troy Seals, who informed the musicians of a work opportunity at a Hamilton, Ohio music venue named The Halfway House. After locating a U-Haul trailer for Les Asch’s 1966 Plymouth Fury, the group then reformed in Cincinnati.
Tim Drummond (of Canton, Illinois) – Dave Parkinson’s original connection to the band – had almost certainly joined by this point. According to Parkinson, “Tim joined us for a few months prior to when he left to go with the James Brown band” — sometime in 1967, by his estimation. James Brown’s guest appearances with the band at The Inner Circle led to invitations to record at King Studios for other artists produced by Brown, such as Bobby Byrd, Marva Whitney, and James Crawford.
The Dapps backing James Brown @ The Trip [L to R] Les Asch, Dave Parkinson; Panny; James Brown; Eddie Setser
Dave Thompson – in his Funk listening companion – states in the entry for “Beau Dollar & The Dapps” that James Brown “took the group into the studio that same year [1965] to cut the two-part ‘It’s a Gas‘ single, intended for release on King under the name the James Brown Dancers.” However, “Brown’s then ongoing dispute with the label saw the single go unissued, but Brown kept tabs on the Dapps.” By the way, you can now hear both sides of this unreleased 45 (originally slotted for February 1967), though the odd thing is, when you scrutinize Alan Leeds‘ musician credits for “It’s a Gas” on James Brown: The Singles, Volume 4 (1966-1967), none of the players are from The Dapps.
A: The session for James Brown’s “Why Did You Take Your Love Away From Me,” the lone track recorded at Cincinnati’s King Studios on April 27, 1967:
Special Note: Les Asch (who plays baritone, tenor and/or alto saxophone) and Dave Parkinson (who plays primarily tenor) both agree that some of the horn credits below might have been unwittingly switched in the Ruppli session notes – a red asterisk (*), therefore, is used to indicate such instances.
>AUDIO LINK for “Why Did You Take Your Love Away“ by James Brown [with The Dapps]
Written by James Brown & Bud Hobgood
ACCORDING TO RUPPLI’S SESSION NOTES —
James Brown: Vocals William “Beau Dollar” Bowman: Drums Tim Drummond: Bass Troy Seals: Guitar Eddie Setser: Guitar Tim Hedding: Piano David Parkinson: Tenor & Baritone Sax* Les Asch: Tenor Sax* Ronnie Geisman: Trumpet
“Why Did You Take Your Love Away” would end up on 1968’s, I Can’t Stand Myself When You Touch Me album, whose rear cover reveals Brown’s endorsement deal with the Vox musical instrument company (whose guitars Eddie Setser did not enjoy as much as his Fender Telecaster and Gibson ES-335).
Rear cover — I Can’t Stand Myself When You Touch Me
These twelve tracks were sold in Europe under a different title, This Is James Brown, (albeit with “Fat Eddie” as the final track rather than “Funky Soul #1), while in France and Israel, this same set was issued as Mr. Soul. (and in Argentina as El Rey Del Soul – “The King of Soul”).
The Dapps returned to King Studios on August 8, 1967 to serve as Bobby Byrd‘s backing band on “Funky Soul #1,” a song that calls out praises to key musical destinations — NYC, DC, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, The Bay Area, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Detroit:
>AUDIO LINK for “Funky Soul #1 (Pts. 1 & 2)” by Bobby Byrd
Written by James Brown, Bud Hobgood & James Crawford
ACCORDING TO RUPPLI’S SESSION NOTES —
Bobby Byrd: Vocals William “Beau Dollar” Bowman: Drums Tim Drummond: Bass Troy Seals: Guitar Eddie Setser: Guitar Tim Hedding: Keyboard David Parkinson: Saxes* Les Asch: Tenor Sax* Ronnie Geisman: Trumpet
Ruppli’s session notes (below) indicate that this King master recording [K12439 “Funky Soul (Vol. 1)” = red star] was used as the backing track for James Brown‘s own recording of “Funky Soul #1” onto which Brown overdubbed organ at a King recording session [marked with a red circle] that took place exactly two weeks later on August 22, 1967. Billboard‘s September 23, 1967 edition predicted Bobby Byrd’s version would “reach the R&B singles chart,” while the November 25, 1967 edition predicted Brown’s organ version would “reach the Hot 100 chart.”
Also notice in the King session notes posted above that James Crawford, one of the song’s authors, recorded “I’ll Work It Out” at King Studios on August 8, 1967 — the same date as theBobby Byrd “Funky Soul #1session — with “possibly same [personnel] as on K12439” [greencircle]. Seems pretty reasonable to assume that The Dapps backed both vocalists that night.
>AUDIO LINK for “I’ll Work It Out“ James Crawford backed by The Dapps?
Written by James Brown, Bud Hobgood & James Crawford
Billboard predicted in its October 23, 1967 issue that “I’ll Work It Out” would “reach the R&B Singles chart.” Cash Box‘s review in their November 4, 1967 edition: “James Crawford could grab a nice piece of airplay with this feelingful, slow-paced, James Brown-produced moaner. Give it a spin. Flip: ‘Fat Eddie‘” Record World gave it a “four-star single” with this review in the November 11, 1967 issue: “Nitty gritty wild one here [‘Fat Eddie’]. James sings the slow ballad with all the soul he can muster [I’ll Work It Out].”
Marva Whitney would also have a go at “I’ll Work It Out” which found release in 1968 as a King 45 — is it possible that The Dapps provided musical backing on this recording?
>AUDIO LINK for “I’ll Work It Out” by Marva Whitney
The Dapps backed James Brown on the next (undated) session listed in Ruppli’s notes (wrongly attributed to “prob. band without James Brown“) that yielded “The Soul of J.B.” plus one ‘unknown title’ left in the can.
>AUDIO LINK for “The Soul of J.B.“ by James Brown [with The Dapps]
James Brown: Organist, Arranger & Producer William ‘Beau Dollar’ Bowman: Drums Tim Drummond: Bass Troy Seals: Guitar Eddie Setser: Guitar Tim Hedding: Piano Alfred ‘Pee Wee‘ Ellis: Alto Sax Les Asch: Tenor Sax* David Parkinson: Baritone Sax* Ron Geisman: Trumpet
James Brown – The Singles, Volume 5 (1967-1969) affirms that the same Dapps lineup above were the musical unit that laid down the sounds for “Just Plain Funk,” recorded August 30, 1967 and used as the B-side for “I Guess I’ll Have to Cry, Cry, Cry” — a single that saw release in both Rhodesia [now Zimbabwe] and South Africa.
>AUDIO LINK for “Just Plain Funk“ by James Brown [with The Dapps]
Bobby Byrd [?]: Organ William ‘Beau Dollar’ Bowman: Drums Tim Drummond: Bass Troy Seals: Guitar Eddie Setser: Guitar Tim Hedding: Piano Alfred ‘Pee Wee‘ Ellis: Alto Sax Les Asch: Tenor Sax* David Parkinson: Baritone Sax* Ron Geisman: Trumpet
One week after the “Just Plain Funk” session, Hank Ballard laid down a pair of tracks with unnamed musicians at the King Studios on September 7-8, 1967 that would be released as a King 45 — “Which Way Should I Turn” b/w “Funky Soul Train.” Given that the A-side was written by James Brown, Bud Hobgood, Beau Dollar & Troy Seals, could it be possible that The Dapps backed Hank Ballard on these two tracks?
You might think that The Dapps served as the backing band on the James Crawford recording session at King Studios on September 14, 1967 that produced a song entitled “Fat Eddie” — undoubtedly named for guitarist “Fat” Eddie Setser. However, you would be mistaken.
Ruppli’s session notes say that The Brownettes recorded a pair of songs on October 17, 1967 at King Studios — and nothing more. Thanks to Nothing But Funk Volume 3, however, we can rejoice in knowing the names of both the singers and players of instruments (as noted below):
>AUDIO LINK for “Never Find a Love Like Mine” by The Brownettes
>AUDIO LINK for “Baby Don’t You Know” by The Brownettes
Both sides written by James Brown, Bud Hobgood & Troy Seals
Grace Ruffin, Martha Harvin & Sandra Bears: Vocals William “Beau Dollar” Bowman: Drums Tim Drummond: Bass Troy Seals: Guitar Eddie Setser: Guitar Tim Hedding: Organ David Parkinson: Baritone Sax* Les Asch: Tenor Sax* Ronnie Geisman: Trumpet
Is it a coincidence that the vinyl seller who has received the highest bid yet on Ebay ($82) for the Brownettes King 45 is also the one who added “Dapps” to the title of the auction? Interesting to note that the 45 seller is from Japan.
Ruppli’s session notes state that Vicki Anderson recorded two songs at King Studios on October 23, 1967 with unnamed musical support. 1998’s double-disc celebration, James Brown’s Original Funky Divas, fortunately, named names, so we now know that The Dapps were Anderson’s backing band on these two tracks (as detailed below). The A-side, interestingly, had already been recorded six days prior by The Brownettes, while the Lowman Pauling-penned B-side was originally recorded byThe ‘5‘ Royales:
>AUDIO LINK for “Baby Don’t You Know“ by Vicki Anderson [with The Dapps]
>AUDIO LINK for “The Feeling Is Real“ by Vicki Anderson [with The Dapps]
Vicki Anderson: Vocals William ‘Beau Dollar‘ Bowman: Drums Tim Drummond: Bass Eddie Setser: Guitar Troy Seals: Guitar Tim Hedding: Organ David Parkinson: Saxophone Les Asch: Saxophone
One week later on October 30, 1967, a lean contingent of The Dapps returned to King Studios to back James Brown on “I Can’t Stand Myself (When You Touch Me)”:
>AUDIO LINK for “I Can’t Stand Myself (When You Touch Me) Pts. 1 & 2“ by James Brown and the Famous Flames
Written by James Brown
ACCORDING TO RUPPLI’S SESSION NOTES —
James Brown: Vocals William “Beau Dollar” Bowman: Drums Tim Drummond: Bass Eddie Setser: Guitar Tim Hedding: Organ
Dave Parkinson points out that Tim Drummond enjoys the distinction of being the one band member called out by name (at the 2:50 mark) on this recording.
Troy Seals and the horn section then joined Brown on “Baby Baby Baby Baby,” recorded at that same session and included on 1968’s I Can’t Stand Myself LP:
>AUDIO LINK for “Baby Baby Baby Baby“ by James Brown and the Famous Flames
Written by James Brown, Bud Hobgood & James Crawford
ACCORDING TO RUPPLI’S SESSION NOTES —
James Brown: Vocals William “Beau Dollar” Bowman: Drums Tim Drummond: Bass Eddie Setser: Guitar Tim Hedding: Organ Les Asch: Tenor Sax* David Parkinson: Baritone Sax* Ronnie Geisman: Trumpet
By year’s end, The Dapps would finally get a recording session under their own name at King Studios on December 12, 1967. But wait a minute, it’s not what you think — “The Dapps Featuring Alfred Ellis,” in this case, means Clyde Stubblefield (drums), Bernard Odum (bass), Jimmy Nolen & Alfonzo Kellum (guitars), Alfred ‘Pee Wee’ Ellis (tenor sax & arranger), and Maceo Parker (tenor sax), according to Alan Leeds’ liner notes for James Brown – The Singles Vol. 5 (1967-1969). These musicians recorded two instrumental tracks at that session, “Bringing Up the Guitar” and “Gittin’ a Little Hipper.”
The Dapps first 7-inch release
A-Side by James Brown B-Side by James Brown and Bud Hobgood
“Bringing Up the Guitar” (3:00) [Dynatone, BMI-Brown] James Brown penned instrumental that carries a zest which could score with r&b audiences. Very fine staccato track with plenty of dance appeal. Flip: “Gittin’ A Little Hipper” (2:59) [Golo, BMI-Brown, Hobgood]
March 5, 1968 was an especially productive day at King Studios, according to Ruppli:
THE DAPPS: Incl. Alfred Ellis Cincinnati, March 5, 1968
K12588 The Rabbit Got the Gun King 6169 K12589 I’ll Give You Odds unissued
VICKI ANDERSON: Vicki Anderson (vo) with prob. same band Same date
K12590 I’ll Work It Out King 6221, 6251; Brownstone 4204
BOBBY BYRD: Bobby Byrd (vo) with prob. same band Same date
K12591 My Concerto King 6165, LP1118
JAMES BROWN: James Brown (vo, org) Bobby Byrd or Timothy Hedding (p) Eddie Setser (g) Tim Drummond (el b) William Bowman (dm). Cincinnati, March 5, 1968
K12592 Shhhhhhhh (For a Little While) King 6164, LP1031 K12593 Here I Go — —
James Brown (vo, p) Eddie Setser (g) Tim Drummond (el b) William Bowman (dm). Same date.
Notice the musician credits listed for “Shhhhhhhh (For a Little While)” and “Here I Go” (released as a King 45 that “bubbled under” the Hot 100, you might recollect) — both songs also included on 1968 LP I Got the Feelin’:
>AUDIO LINK for “Shhhhhhhh (For a Little While)“ by James Brown and the Famous Flames
But then check out the musician credits for “Here I Go” as supplied by Alan Leeds in James Brown – The Singles Vol. 5 (1967-1969), and notice the inclusion of two horn players:
>AUDIO LINK for “Here I Go“ by James Brown and the Famous Flames
William “Beau Dollar” Bowman: Drums Tim Drummond: Bass Eddie Setser: Guitar Tim Hedding: Piano Les Asch: Tenor Sax Ronnie Geisman: Trumpet
Ruppli’s session notes above indicate that three members of The Dapps backed James Brown on “Maybe I’ll Understand (Pts. 1 & 2)” at this same March 5, 1968 session:
>AUDIO LINK for “Maybe I’ll Understand“ by James Brown
Written by James Brown and Bud Hobgood
According to Ruppli’s session notes —
James Brown: Vocals William “BeauDollar” Bowman: Drums Tim Drummond: Bass Eddie Setser: Guitar [Tim Hedding: Piano]*
These Discogs credits* credit Tim Hedding for piano on “Maybe I’ll Understand” (though not on Ruppli’s notes above).
But take one last critical look at the Ruppli session notes for March 5, 1968 and notice that the Bobby Byrd track (“My Concerto”), as well as the Vicki Anderson recording (“I’ll Work It Out”) both indicate “with probably same band” as the one listed at the very beginning of the list — The Dapps — without actually naming any of the musicians who played on “Rabbit Got the Gun” and “I’ll Give You Odds,” vexingly enough, other than Alfred Ellis.
>AUDIO LINK for “My Concerto“ by Bobby Byrd [with The Dapps]
Written by James Brown, Fred Wesley & Bobby Byrd
>AUDIO LINK for “I’ll Work It Out“ by Vicki Anderson [with The Dapps]
Written by James Brown, Bud Hobgood & James Crawford
>AUDIO LINK for “Rabbit Got the Gun“ by The Dapps Featuring Alfred Ellis
Written by James Brown, Bud Hobgood & Reggie Lavong
The Dapps second 45
“There Was a Time” — you might recall — came close to cracking Billboard‘s Hot 100. Cash Box‘s review in their June 15, 1968 edition [musician credits further down]:
“James Brown produced this has-to-be-heard instrumental reworking of his while back hit. Albert [sic] Ellis’ hard driving sax stirs this side to a frenzy sure to make it a disko favorite. Should produce good sales. Flip: ‘The Rabbit Got The Gun‘.”
As was also recently noted, future Neil Young and Bob Dylan bassist, Tim Drummond, played the famous funk lines on “Licking Stick Licking Stick” — one of five James Brown sides recorded at Cincinnati’s King Studios on April 16, 1968, along with two others by different vocalists:
K12602 You’re Still Out of Sight [unissued] = Bobby Byrd [April 16, 1968?] K12603/123604 no information (rejected titles) K12605 You’re Still Out of Sight = Leon Austin “with probably same band” [April 16, 1968]
James Brown: Vocals Bobby Byrd: Vocals & Organ John Sparks: Drums Tim Drummond: Bass Jimmy Nolen: Guitar Maceo Parker: Tenor Sax Alfred Ellis: Alto Sax St. Clair Pinckney: Baritone Sax
April 29, 1968 also ended up being a particularly productive day of recording at King Studios, as indicated by Ruppli‘s session notes:
THE BELIEVERS: (actually The Dapps)
K12606 I’ll Be Sweeter Tomorrow . (Than I Was Yesterday) King 6201 K 12607 A Woman, A Lover, A Friend —
MARVA WHITNEY: Marva Whitney (vo) with prob. James Brown band Cincinnati, April 29, 1968
K12608 Things Got to Get Better King 6168
JAMES BROWN: Prob. same band Same date
K12609 Soul With Different Notes King LP1034
THE DAPPS: Incl. Alfred Ellis Same date
K12610 In the Middle King 6205 K12611 There Was a Time (instr.) King 6169
Clyde Stubblefield: Drums Tim Drummond: Bass Jimmy Nolen: Guitar Alfonzo Kellum: Guitar James Brown: Piano Alfred ‘Pee Wee‘ Ellis: Tenor Sax St. Clair Pinckney: Baritone Sax Waymon Reed: Trumpet Fred Wesley: Trombone Levi Rasbury: Valve Trombone
Ruppli’s session notes above say that the musicians used for Marva Whitney’s “Things Got to Get Better” is “probably the same band” who backed James Brown on “Soul With Different Notes” — used as the eight-minute opening track for 1968’s James Brown Plays Nothing But Soul. Zero to 180 just noticed that the B-side “What Kind of Man” (co-written by Troy Seals) is not listed in the Ruppli sessionography, though the presumption is that its recording took place at the same April 29, 1968 session.
Worthy of mention: Two of The Dapps — Les Asch & Dave Parkinson — participated in a June 27, 1968 New York City recording session that produced six songs that were included on Thinking About Little Willie John And a Few Nice Things, plus one that ended up (“Let Them Talk”) on Say It Loud I’m Black And I’m Proud [click on song titles below for streaming audio].
ACCORDING TO RUPPLI’S SESSION NOTES —
James Brown: Vocals Bernard Purdie: Drums Al Lucas: Bass Wallace Richardson: Guitar Alfred ‘Pee Wee‘ Ellis: Organ & Piano Les Asch: Tenor Sax* David Parkinson: Baritone Sax* John Grimes: Trumpet Waymon Reed: Trumpet Sammy Lowe: Music Director
Back in Cincinnati at King Studios the following night, June 28, 1968, Hank Ballard laid down two songs that were released as a King 45. Ruppli’s session notes do not list any musicians, but thanks to Nothing But Funk Volume 4, we now know who provided musical support on “I’m Back to Stay” — a track you won’t find on Ballard’s 1968 album, You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down:
>AUDIO LINK for “I’m Back To Stay“ by Hank Ballard [with The Dapps]
Written by James Brown, Hank Ballard, Reggie Lavong & Lucky Cordell
Hank Ballard: Vocals William ‘Beau Dollar‘ Bowman: Drums Tim Drummond: Bass Eddie Setser: Guitar Tim Hedding: Organ Pee Wee Ellis: Alto Saxophone
Likewise, thanks to Nothing But Funk Volume 2, we can see who’s behind the big horn sound on the flip side, “Come on Wit’ It” — although, I am a bit surprised to see such a vastly different lineup, with only one member of The Dapps overlapping between the two bands recorded the same night at King Studios:
Hank Ballard: Vocals Clyde Stubblefield: Drums Tim Drummond: Bass Alphonso Kellum: Guitar Jimmy Nolen: Guitar James Brown: Piano Maceo Parker: Tenor Sax St. Clair Pinckney: Baritone Sax Waymon Reed: Trombone Fred Wesley: Trombone Levi Rasbury: Valve Trombone
“Come on Wit’ It” was predicted by Billboard “to reach the R&B Singles chart” in their July 20, 1968 edition. Cash Box‘s singles review from their July 27, 1968 edition: “Hank Ballard, absent from the hit scene for quite some time, makes his comeback bid with this pulsating, highly danceable outing which is vaguely autobiographical. Good juke box & disko item. Flip: ‘Come On Wit’ It’.”
Sometime in July of 1968 (best guess), The Dapps recorded two songs (likely at King Studios) that remain unissued, according to Ruppli’s session notes — “Who Knows” and “I Can’t Stand Myself.”
On September 6, 1968, James Brown recorded an organ instrumental with The Dapps at King Studios entitled “Shades of Brown” (a.k.a., “A Note or Two”):
>AUDIO LINK for “Shades of Brown“ by James Brown [with The Dapps]
James Brown: Organ William ‘Beau Dollar‘ Bowman: Drums [unknown]: Bass Eddie Setser: Guitar Alfred ‘Pee Wee‘ Ellis: Tenor Sax Les Asch: Tenor Sax* David Parkinson: Baritone Sax*
On September 11, 1968, according to Ruppli, Hank Ballard was joined by The Dapps at King Studios to record two songs that got released as a King 45 plus an early attempt at “Thrill on the Hill” (that remains unissued) — thanks to Nothing But Funk Volume 4 for providing musician credits:
>AUDIO LINK for “How You Gonna Get Respect (When You Haven’t Cut Your Process Yet)” by Hank BallardAlong With “The Dapps”
Written by James Brown, Hank Ballard & Bud Hobgood
Hank Ballard: Vocals John ‘Jabo‘ Starks: Drums William ‘Beau Dollar‘ Bowman: Drums Charles Summers: Bass Eddie Setser: Guitar Tim Hedding: Organ David Parkinson: Saxophone Les Asch: Saxophone Ken Tibbetts: Trumpet Ron Geisman: Trumpet
“How You Gonna Get Respect” peaked at #15 on Billboard‘s R&B Singles chart on December 14, 1968.
>AUDIO LINK for “Teardrops on Your Letter“ by Hank BallardAlong With “The Dapps”
Written by Henry Glover
Same Hank Ballard recording session = Per Discogs —
Hank Ballard: Vocals John ‘Jabo‘ Starks: Drums William ‘Beau Dollar‘ Bowman: Drums Charles Summers: Bass Eddie Setser: Guitar Tim Hedding: Organ David Parkinson: Saxophone Les Asch: Saxophone Ken Tibbetts: Trumpet Ron Geisman: Trumpet
Inferring from Ruppli’s session notes, October 1968 is approximately when The Dapps (thanks to these musician credits supplied by Alan Leeds) backed James Brown on three recordings for the Thinking About Little Willie John LP — “I’ll Lose My Mind” plus “What Kind of Man” (co-written by Eddie Setser and Troy Seals) and “You Gave My Heart a Song to Sing.”
>AUDIO LINK for “I’ll Lose My Mind“ by [The DappsAlong With Bobby Byrd]
Written by James Brown, Bobby Byrd & Bud Hobgood
William ‘Beau Dollar’ Bowman: Drums Tim Drummond: Bass Troy Seals: Guitar Eddie Setser: Guitar Bobby Byrd: Organ Tim Hedding: Piano Alfred ‘Pee Wee‘ Ellis: Alto Sax Les Asch: Tenor Sax* David Parkinson: Baritone Sax* Ron Geisman: Trumpet
>AUDIO LINK for “What Kind of Man“ by [The DappsAlong With Bobby Byrd]
Written by James Brown, Bud Hobgood, Eddie Setser & Troy Seals
William ‘Beau Dollar’ Bowman: Drums Tim Drummond: Bass Troy Seals: Guitar Eddie Setser: Guitar Bobby Byrd: Organ Tim Hedding: Piano Alfred ‘Pee Wee‘ Ellis: Alto Sax Les Asch: Tenor Sax* David Parkinson: Baritone Sax* Ron Geisman: Trumpet
>AUDIO LINK for “You Gave My Heart A Song To Sing“ by [The DappsAlong With Bobby Byrd]
Written by James Brown, Bobby Byrd & Bud Hobgood
William ‘Beau Dollar’ Bowman: Drums Tim Drummond: Bass Troy Seals: Guitar Eddie Setser: Guitar Bobby Byrd: Organ Tim Hedding: Piano Alfred ‘Pee Wee‘ Ellis: Alto Sax Les Asch: Tenor Sax* David Parkinson: Baritone Sax* Ron Geisman: Trumpet
The Dapps returned to King Studios on October 23, 1968 to back The Soul Believers on a pair of tracks that comprised a King 45 — “I’m With You” and “I Don’t Want Nobody’s Troubles”:
>AUDIO LINK for “I Don’t Want Nobody’s Troubles“ by The Soul Believers With The Dapps
The Soul Believers: Vocals William ‘Beau Dollar‘ Bowman: Drums Tim Drummond: Bass Eddie Setser: Guitar Tim Hedding: Organ David Parkinson: Saxophone Les Asch: Saxophone Ken Tibbetts: Trumpet
B-side written by Lowman Pauling — one of ‘5’ Royales’ final King A-sides
Ruppli’s notes indicate that The Dapps recorded a version of “White Christmas” (presumably at King Studios) c. mid-November 1968 that remains ‘unissued.’
Les Asch and Dave Parkinson both recall The Dapps supporting James Brown at Madison Square Garden, a concert we know to have taken place November 22, 1968, thanks to Asch’s mother, who purchased this program on the night of the performance:
Image courtesy of Les Asch — CLICK on image TO VIEW IN HIGH RESOLUTION
Menu for May 8, 1968 White House State Dinner attended by James Brown (included in Madison Square Garden concert program)
[Thank you, Maralah Rose-Asch]
.
“James Brown Scores Knockout With Soul Music at the Garden” was the title of Robert Shelton’s review in the November 23, 1968 edition of the New York Times. Dave Parkinson remembers Count Basie and Slappy White (et al.) being on the bill that night.
It was during this same New York City visit that Hank Ballard & the Dapps appeared on the November 27, 1968 episode of The Merv Griffin Show, along with James Brown (plus Lily Tomlin early in her career).
Ken Tibbetts (valve trombone); [unnamed] “English” trumpeter; Bob Thorn (trumpet) Jerry Love (drums); Eddie Setser (guitar); Les Asch (tenor sax) Dave Parkinson (tenor sax); Howie McGurty (baritone sax)
[Dapps Photos courtesy of Dave Parkinson]
Indianapolis News TV listing for December 4, 1968
Parkinson also recalls The Dapps accompanying James Brown as guests at The Apollo Theater, where they were acknowledged from the stage by Joe Tex and Little Johnny Taylor.
The Dapps – along with The Sisters of Righteous (sisters Geneva “Gigi” Kinard and Denise Kinard together with cousin Roberta DuBois) – would next back James Brown at a King recording session that took place December 2, 1968 and yielded two songs, “Sometime” and “I’m Shook,” plus one track – “Bobby Kaie” – that was ultimately ‘rejected.’
>AUDIO LINK for “Sometime“ by James Brown [with The Dapps & The Sisters of Righteous]
James Brown: Vocals Geneva “Gigi” Kinard: Backing Vocals Denise Kinard: Backing Vocals Roberta Dubois: Backing Vocals William ‘Beau Dollar‘ Bowman: Drums Bob Thorn: Bass Eddie Setser: Guitar Tim Hedding: Organ Les Asch: Tenor Sax Ronald Lewis: Baritone Sax
James Brown: Vocals Geneva “Gigi” Kinard: Backing Vocals Denise Kinard: Backing Vocals Roberta Dubois: Backing Vocals William ‘Beau Dollar‘ Bowman: Drums Bob Thorn: Bass Eddie Setser: Guitar Tim Hedding: Organ Les Asch: Tenor Sax Ronald Lewis: Baritone Sax
My eyebrows go up as I read these notes on Discogs related to the “I’m Shook” 45:
“[45] Never got a full distribution. Most copies were probably pulled back for unknown reasons and a few quantities of this exist. Both tracks [“I’m Shook” b/w “Little Groove Maker Me“] feature on It’s A Mother. ‘I’m Shook’ is a different recording than featured on the album.”
Ruppli’s sparse notes also indicate an undated session (early December 1968?) in which Hank Ballard was supported by unnamed members of The Dapps on two recordings, “You’re So Sexy” and “Thrill on the Hill.” Just before the guitar break on “You’re So Sexy” (around the 1:20 mark), Hank calls out “Fat Eddie, play your thing” — so at least we know that Eddie Setser was part of the backing ensemble.
>AUDIO LINK for “You’re So Sexy“ by Hank Ballard Along With The Dapps
Written by James Brown, Hank Ballard & Bud Hobgood
Ruppli then follows with two entries for December 10, 1968 at King Studios — (a) the first session has Hank Ballard recording “How You Gonna Get Respect” with unnamed musicians plus two ‘unknown titles’ — all three tracks unissued; (b) the second entry is for The Dapps, with one attempt at a track named “Later for the Saver” that remains in the vaults.
“Who Knows” — recorded by The Dapps c. July 1968 though kept in the can — finally got a release by King, although attributed solely to Beau Dollar, as the B-side of his second and final King single, “(I Wanna Go) Where the Soul Trees Grow”:
>AUDIO LINK for “Who Knows“ by Beau Dollar [with The Dapps]
Written by James Brown, Bud Hobgood & William ‘Beau Dollar’ Bowman
William ‘Beau Dollar‘ Bowman: Drums Bobby Byrd: Tamborine Charles Summers: Bass Eddie Setser: Guitar Tm Hedding: Organ David Parkinson: Saxophone Les Asch: Saxophone Kenny Tibbetts: Trumpet
How curious to discover that in 1992 Pure Records, a French boutique label, decided to pair Beau Dollar’s “Who Knows” with a funk track by Lee Majors (“The Bull Is Coming“) for a twelve-inch “maxi-single.”
According to Ruppli’s session notes, Beau Dollar, along with unnamed musicians, recorded 21 songs over the course of three days [January 20-22, 1970] most likely at King Studios — 12 selected for King LP 1099 (to be titled Beau Dollar), plus 9 other tracks that remain ‘unissued’ to this day. The funny thing, however, is how utterlyimpossible it is to retrieve an image of the album cover on the Internet. Ruppli refers to King LP 1099 as an actual release, yet Discogs has no entry (yet) for this King LP. The King LP discography at Both Sides Now Publications references it by catalog number and album title but no cover image, curiously, nor song titles (the latter which you will find listed at 1540brewster.com).
There are a few other ‘unissued’ Beau Dollar recordings from 1969 (“My Concerto”; “Looking For Someone to Love”; “But It’s Alright”; “I Gotta Get Away From You”) in addition to the outtakes from Beau Dollar’s alleged LP (“Funky Street”; “Everybody’s Talkin'”; “Na Na, Hey Hey, Kiss Him Goodbye”; “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy”) that remain in the vault.
Fast forward to 1971 — 45Cat’s RogerFoster points out that “Just Won’t Do Right” by Lyn Collins “is actually a duet with James Brown and according to the booklet notes by Alan Leeds in the 2009 CD compilation James Brown – The Singles Volume Seven: 1970-1972 this was to be released with Mr. Brown being the headline act on King 6373 but only promos were made.” Ruppli gives no indication as to when Collins made this recording at King Studios with The Dapps:
>AUDIO LINK for “Just Won’t Do Right“ by Lyn Collins [with The Dapps]
William ‘Beau Dollar‘ Bowman: Drums Julius Reliford: Congas Dave Harrison: Bass Eddie Setser: Guitar Tim Hedding: Organ Alfred “Pee Wee” Ellis: Alto Sax Les Asch: Tenor Sax* David Parkinson: Baritone Sax* Howard McGurty: Trumpet Ken Tibbetts: Trumpet
“Just Won’t Do Right” was picked by Record World as one of its “Hits of the Week” in the January 8, 1972 issue and praised thusly: “James Brown both wrote and produced this impressive debut disc. Powerful r&b ballad of the kind that crosses-over pop so often these days.”
“Just Won’t Do Right” was the B-side to “Wheels of Life” when released in France with a charming sleeve designed by noted graphic designer, Jean-Claude Trambouze, who also did complementary designs for a dozen other James Brown productions out of the King studios.
1968 FRENCH B-SIDE SLEEVE DESIGNED BY JEAN-CLAUDE TRAMBOUZE
(1) “There Was a Time” (King 6169), which bubbled under Billboard’s Hot 100 at #103, and (2) “How You Gonna Get Respect (When You Haven’t Cut Your Process Yet),” (King 6196) which peaked at #15 on Billboard‘s R&B chart.
By 1970, The Dapps had disaffiliated itself with the James Brown organization. According to Les Asch, the first fissure occurred early on when Brown’s studio manager, Bud Hobgood, attempted to get the group under contract, only to find out that Troy Seals and Jo Ann Campbell were already signed to Atlantic Records. Ultimately, The Dapps ended up working for James Brown without any contractual arrangement. As Dave Parkinson confessed to Bob Miller in 1991:
“If I’d stuck with Troy [Seals] I would be quite well off today. But Troy was a lot more patient than the band, we had stars in our eyes and when we got an offer to join James Brown’s production company, it was a mass defection.”
During the James Brown years, recalls Les Asch, Beau Dollar was first accorded bandleader duties within The Dapps, followed by Dave Parkinson and then Asch. At one Dapps rehearsal held at The Inner Circle, Asch made the “mistake” of admitting (perhaps in the egalitarian spirit of the times) that, as bandleader, he was being paid double. When band members balked, Asch met with Mr. Brown to inform him that this differentiated pay scale was “killing morale.” Brown, however, was not only unsympathetic but profoundly disappointed that Asch would make such a tactical error as the band’s musical director. At that point, relations between The Dapps and the James Brown organization would cease.
When asked by Brian Powers why The Dapps broke up, Eddie Setser had this to say:
“[Bud Hobgood] kept saying we were gonna be making all this money, big money. Thought we were doing pretty good, but he put us on a retainer, and the guys didn’t like it. Hank Ballard came and told us, he said, “You ain’t gonna be making any money. He says, “You’re all gonna be paid the same thing” … the thing just kind of blew up.”
The Dapps, however, carried on with that name for somewhere between six months to a year, reckons Asch, with The Golden Lion, a short jaunt up Interstate 75 in Dayton, essentially serving as base of operations. Dave Parkinson informed Brian Powers in that same interview for WVXU how The Dapps first joined forces with Roger “Jellyroll” Troy (née McGaha):
“After The Dapps had become disassociated with James [Brown], we were the house band at a place called [The Golden Lion in Dayton, Ohio], and we were there about a year under the leadership of a guy named ‘Jellyroll,’ Roger Troy.”
Trumpeter Bob “Maynard” Vandivort (who spoke to me over the phone recently) auditioned for The Dapps during this period at The Golden Lion. Leader (along with Jerry Gehl) of The Hi-Fi Band and later, Maynard & the Countdowns, who opened for Lonnie Mack at The Hawaiian Gardens and played many of the area’s sock hops, roller rinks, and teen clubs in the early 1960s, Vandivort’s experience would be marked by the Vietnam War. Three of the Countdowns, including drummer Dave Listerman, received their draft notices soon after winning a “Battle of the Bands” contest, while Vandivort (who did Air Force ROTC at the University of Cincinnati) himself would get called up on March 23, 1966. Vandivort — who studied under Frank Brown (later lead trumpet for James Brown) and Bill Berry (who played with Duke Ellington) — served at Fort Knox in the 158th Army Band, a unit whose function was to recruit volunteers, and a job that kept the musicians on the road six months out of the year. Owning an automobile during his three years of active duty made Vandivort a valuable commodity, as he often shuttled fellow musicians to James Brown gigs in Indianapolis and Louisville (while “lookalikes” would be used as stand-ins for the AWOL soldiers). Bud Hobgood and Vandivort, coincidentally, were once neighbors at Charlestown Square in Cincinnati’s western area (one-time home for Les Asch, too).
James Brown was initially furious at the continued use of the Dapps name and sent Charles Bobbitt to order the band to desist. Asch recalls that, thanks to the largesse of the Dayton club owners, an attorney was hired to defend the band. The court would make a determination that the musicians — having been seen in a public capacity as The Dapps (i.e., Merv Griffin Show appearance, Madison Square Garden concert, and the visit to the Apollo) — therefore, had “inherent properties” with respect to the band name, according to Asch.
Despite the legal victory, the band continued only briefly as The Dapps, as the Dayton scene began to sour for the band, and the musicians were heading in various directions. Asch remembers a late-night stealth mission to liberate Roger Troy from his current engagement with The Fendermen (a stint at the Holly Oak, no less) that involved the unforgettable image of a jettisoned laundry bag landing within inches of the car, followed by Troy’s exhortation to the band, “C’mon boys, let’s skirtsy!”
Once liberated, the group of musicians then headed to Boston for a three-week stint playing five hours a night, seven days a week at a place called (I’m not making this up) K-K-K-Katy’s.
“K-K-K-Katy” was a popular WWI-era “stammering” song
During this period (c. late 1969), the group — which numbered ten musicians — made some demo recordings at a Boston-area sound studio, with one of the stand-out tracks being the band’s arrangement of Jimmy Webb’s “By the Time I Get to Phoenix.”
Following the Boston engagement, the band would return to Dayton and find itself ensconced at The Golden Lion’s main competitor — The Diamond Club, owned by Jennie Krynzel.
Meanwhile, drummer/manager Stu Perry told his friend Richard Podolor (engineer behind albums by Three Dog Night and Iron Butterfly (et al.), along with Bill Cooper) that he knew “this group from the midwest” and gave him a copy of the Boston demos. Particularly impressed by the band’s arrangement of “Phoenix,” Podolor in turn sent these recordings to Jay Lasker, president of Kapp Records, who then set about arranging a showcase for the band at one of the music venues on Sunset Strip.
The band would subsequently relocate to the West Coast to take advantage of this new major-label opportunity — although the ten-member ensemble would not survive the cross-country trek. For one thing, Stu Perry’s involvement meant that Jerry Thompson was no longer the drummer. Also bowing out of the venture were saxophonist Howie McGurty and bassist Ken Tibbetts, who also played trombone. [Tibbetts’ response would be to gather Thompson and McGurty and organize a funky new horn-heavy outfit called Melting Pot, whose 1970 debut album on Ampex was produced and engineered by Johnny Sandlin].
Band residence during the Jellyroll sessions — according to Les Asch
The Jellyroll-led outfit that played for Jay Lasker at a private after-hours showcase, sadly, only numbered seven musicians. Asch recalls Lasker being distinctly underwhelmed by the band’s overall sound, which was noticeably thinner than the larger ensemble recorded in Boston. Nevertheless, Kapp would commit to a full-length album that featured an elaborate design in a gatefold cover. A $50,000 advance, according to Asch, went to the group’s attorney, who “doled out money in dribs and drabs.”
Jellyroll‘s debut album was released in 1971 on MCA-owned Kapp (and reissued in 2015 in South Korea). Discogs notes that a test pressing of the album was actually done in 1970, with the group’s debut 45 “Strange” b/w “Help Me Over” issued September 1970 in the US, according to 45Cat (although curious to note that two completely different tracks were selected for the 45 release in Turkey). Tim Hedding wrote one of the album’s tracks (“Quick Trip“), Eddie Setser got co-writing credit on another (“Standing on the Inside“), and the band itself is listed as the author on half the songs.
Gatefold LP cover art
Roger Troy: Bass & Lead Vocals Stu Perry: Drums & Percussion Cosme Joseph Deaguero: Congas Ed Setser: Guitar Tim Hedding: Keyboards & Backing Vocals Les Asch: Alto, Tenor & Baritone Saxophones Dave Parkinson: Tenor Saxophone Bob Thorn: Trumpet
There was no accompanying tour, sadly, to promote Jellyroll’s debut album. Roger Troy and five of his bandmates — Tim Hedding, Eddie Setser, Les Asch, Dave Parkinson, and Stu Perry — soon found themselves back in Cincinnati, this time based at a club named Reflections, located at Calhoun and Vine in the University of Cincinnati area. But alas, after just a couple weeks, Stu Perry (following an argument with Roger Troy) snuck into Reflections one night and removed all of his percussion gear without informing the band. The owner of the club, according to Les Asch, was livid when notified by the band that they could not fulfill their engagement. This would prove to be the group’s last gasp.
History, however, demands that I make mention of Roger Troy’s participation in a local recording session for Wayne Perry — at the behest of his producer, Randy McNutt — that ended up generating a buzz in English clubs when reissued in 2020 nearly fifty years later as a limited edition 45that sold out in three months! McNutt recounts the tangled tale on his music history blog, Home of the Hits:
We cut “Pain” in the summer of 1972 at Rusty York’s Jewel Recording in suburban Cincinnati, where we did much of our local work. Now this part is important–vital–to understanding this story: We cut two versions of the song. Both shared the same rhythm track, so they sound nearly identical. Wayne sang the first version; Wayne and a guy from Alaska sang the second as a duet. Their voices sounded a lot alike, and they sang the choruses together and exchanged on the verses. Shortly after recording the duet version of “Pain,” the narrative began to get muddied. We had two vocal versions that used the same rhythm track.
The track cooked from the start. This was due to the musicians. They included Roger “Jellyroll” Troy, a singer-bassist who led the group Jellyroll on Kapp Records. Roll, as we called him, had come home on vacation, and Wayne asked him to play on the session. On drums was Jerry Love, a popular blues-rock drummer in Cincinnati. He did a lot of sessions over at King Records. He was a favorite of guitarist Lonnie Mack, the father of Cincinnati’s blue-eyed soul movement. The B-3 organist was a kid (only 17) named Terry Hoskins, who lived in our home city, Hamilton, Ohio, about 25 miles northwest of Cincinnati. We just let him wail on that song. We had to get his father’s permission to take him to the studio with us. On guitar we hired Gary Boston, a freelance session man at King and a local band veteran. Like so many of these guys, Gary also did some work at King’s studio and at times worked on sessions with James Brown. (Today, I use Gary on new recordings.) The horn guys were Les Asch, Craig Shenafeld, and Terry Burnside. They also played on some James Brown sessions over at King. On the day we cut the rhythm track, we were all standing in the little studio, talking about the song, and suddenly a guy we didn’t know walked in and asked, “Hey, who owns the cool Firebird sitting out front?” Jellyroll said proudly, “Why, I do!” The guy said, “Well, it just got repossessed.”
The original 45 was issued on McNutt’s own Beast imprint, which was distributed by Shad O’Shea‘s Counterpart label. Though the single did not see much action beyond the tri-state area initially, both mixes of “Pain” were included on 2012 compilation, Souled Out: Queen City Soul-Rockers Of The 1970s. At one point, a songwriter friend informed McNutt about the growing buzz on YouTube, where the 7-inch was first uploaded in 2010. Nik Weston of London’s Mukatsuku Records then contacted McNutt in 2018 about reissuing the two “Pain” mixes as a 45 (that remains “out of stock“).
Roger “Jellyroll” Troy (who played on Shades of Joy’s Music of El Topo LP from 1970 with Jerry Love) would join The Electric Flag for their final album, The Band Kept Playing, before going on to collaborate with Mike Bloomfield, Howard Wales, Jerry Garcia, Mick Taylor, and the Goshorn Brothers, among others. Troy Seals, under the mentorship of Conway Twitty, went on to enjoy a successful songwriting career in Nashville, where he was inducted in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1988. Seals, in turn, provided similar strategic guidance for Eddie Setser, who also became one of the Nashville’s top songwriters (before leaving us this past January). Tim Hedding (who played organ on Delaney Bramlett’s 1973 album, Mobius Strip) became part of Gregg Allman’s band for 1987’s “comeback” album, I’m No Angel and its follow-up album, When the Bullets Fly. Howard McGurty, holder of numerous industry patents and inventor of the first Phantom Sound speaker system, is founder of a Mason, Ohio-based company that has provided sound systems for such clients as Bruce Springsteen and the Cincinnati Symphony. Dave Parkinson, who returned to Central Illinois in 1971 to tend to his mother’s health, has been a leading light in Peoria’s jazz scene, as well as founding member of funk-fusion group, Kriss Kross, a local favorite. Les Asch continued to play locally after The Dapps disbanded at places such as The Roundup Club before deciding to pursue work opportunities outside the music industry.
In 2013, Egon of Now-Again Records penned a paean to Beau Dollar for Red Bull Academy that spelled out his contributions to the field of funk drumming using precise music terminology:
“‘I Can’t Stand Myself When You Touch Me,’ recorded in October 1967, is a different beast altogether. Its groove surely owes a debt to Stubblefield’s ‘Cold Sweat’ rhythm, but gone are his swinging eighth note hi-hats, replaced by William Hargis ‘Beau Dollar’ Bowman’s lockstep quarter notes, bashed onto a slightly askew hi-hat. Bowman avoids the ‘one’ – the first beat of a measure, all important to James Brown’s establishment of funk – in the second half of each two bar phrase and builds up to the one’s return with 16th note bass drum interplay, and what rhythm researcher Alan Slutsky called ‘two accented snare drum attacks.’ Brown ‘gave’ Stubblefield four uninterrupted bars in ‘Cold Sweat’ and the drummer was able to showboat. In contrast, Bowman’s metronomic groove doesn’t change when Brown explains to his band that he wants ‘everyone to lay out but the drummer.’ Brown, notifying Bowman of his task the same way that he would soon instruct Stubblefield on ‘Funky Drummer,’ seemed to know when he needed to keep a drummer under a tense bridle.
Had Bowman only recorded ‘Can’t Stand Myself,’ his place amongst Brown’s elite cadre of funk drummers would have been earned, and his enduring presence assured. While no one can say definitively who invented the style, Jim Payne, author of Give The Drummers Some, calls Bowman’s groove ‘the Quarter Note High Hat style – quarters on the high hat and everything else beneath it: a difficult thing to do, by the way.’ Its influence grew. To follow the timeline from 1967 onwards is complicated, but to my ears it goes something like this: Bowman hears Stubblefield’s ‘Cold Sweat’ and ponies up a response when Brown crashes his band’s – the all-white The Dapps – recording session for an improvised vocal performance.”
Dave Parkinson Remembers My Association with James Brown, Bud Hobgood And All the People at King Studios
It all started at a place called The Inner Circle in Clifton up by the University of Cincinnati. I was playing tenor sax with a band called the Cincinnati Kids led by Troy Seals and Jo Ann Campbell. Tim Drummond from Canton, IL near where I grew up was playing bass. Tim later joined James’ traveling group. He recorded on many of James’ hits, including “I Can’t Stand Myself When You Touch Me” and many more. James started frequenting the Inner Circle and sitting in with us. Most memorable was “Cold Sweat” and “There Was a Time.” James gradually wooed Tim, Les Asch, Tim Hedding, and “Fat Eddie” away from Troy and Jo Ann and we signed to James Brown Productions. We recorded behind Bobby Byrd, Marva Whitney, Hank Ballard and many others.
“Good God! A Thousand Dollars” was coined by James’ brilliant manager, Bud Hobgood.
This is the time we met and befriended Bud Hobgood. He always had a $1,000 bill in his wallet, which he would show us once in awhile. Bud was a long, tall shrewd country boy who advised James and kept him in line. I think to this day, that if Bud was still alive, James would be too. When we recorded with James or watched him set up tunes with his band, he would go to each member; horns, percussion, bass, guitar, conga and tell or sing to them their parts. It invariably came out perfect and amazingly funky.
I was in the studio when he did “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud” with those children and it brought tears to my eyes.
I recorded “Honky Tonk” and the band recorded “The Rabbit Got the Gun” and we covered instrumentally a lot of James’ hits.
At first James called the band the “Believers.” I remember one night he got us all together and kind of sized us up as to what role we played in the band. When he came to me, he gave me the biggest compliment I’ve ever had. He said, “Dave, you the musician” I can’t describe how good that made me feel. For a time, he made me the band leader and we went to New York to the main offices of Cash Box magazine and he introduced me to the CEO. It wasn’t long after that Billboard picked James up and the rest is history. During that stay in New York we played Madison Square Garden with Count Basie, Slappy White, and many others. The next evening we all went by limo with James to the Apollo Theater and saw Little Johnny Taylor, Joe Tex and a host of other great talent. We then went to Lloyd Price’s club and someone tear gassed the place. James then took us to Long Island where his father stayed and fed us some incredibly hot chili. The next day, we did the Merv Griffin Show, along with Lily Tomlin. The following day, James took me to A & R Studios, where I played with his band. I remember walking in and Bernard Purdie had an easel set up that said “Purdie, Purdie.” He was on the session.
After returning home, James put us on the road to Atlanta with Hank Ballard. Had too much fun with Hank! He looked at me one night in my apartment in Cincinnati and said, “You’re a Scorpio, right?” He was dead on.
Then James took us to Cleveland to see Marvin Gaye in an intimate nightclub setting. It was indescribable!
Then we were off to L.A. to do the Donald O’Connor pilot show [1968], which flopped. Remember, Bud Hobgood was in the wings, keeping a lid on everybody.
After that, things began to taper off. I could have gone to the Ivory Coast and Vietnam, but marital problems were getting in the way.
Getting back to Troy Seals, I had the privilege of sitting in on a meeting in Troy and Jo Ann’s apartment in Hamilton, Ohio between Troy and Conway Twitty. After that meeting, Troy and Jo Ann moved to Nashville where Troy’s career went to the stratosphere. Troy became one of the biggest writers and producers, writing songs like “I’ve Got a Rock and Roll Heart” [Eric Clapton], “Honky Tonk Angel” [Conway Twitty] and many more. He took “Fat Eddie” Setser with him and they collaborated on “Seven Spanish Angels” [Ray Charles & Willie Nelson] and numerous others. “Fat Eddie” was the guitar player for the Cincinnati Kids. He was a very gifted writer in his own right. I collaborated with Troy on a song called “But I Do,” which was picked up by The Oak Ridge Boys who put it on their Room Service album.
Back in 1970 I had a meeting with Mac Heywood. Not being too well versed in business and the Hollywood scene, nothing came of it; but shortly thereafter, I started seeing the Heywoods all over television. Quiz shows and the like. The meeting with Mac took place at The Roundup Club in Erlanger, Ky., just across the river from Cincinnati.
When I first came to the Cincinnati area, I became fast friends with guys like Lonnie Mack, Beau Dollar, Roger “JellyRoll” Troy, Ronnie Grayson, Jerry Love and later on Glen Hughes of The Casinos. Just about every time I went to L.A., I’d run into Gene walking around Hollywood.
The members of The Believers were: Panny Saracason on bass, Les Asch on tenor with me, Tim Hedding on B-3, and “Fat Eddie” on guitar.
I cannot stress enough the role Bud Hobgood played in James Brown Productions. He was the bedrock that kept James grounded. As I stated earlier, if Bud was still alive, so would James be.
I am only just now discovering that Little Richard‘s musical influence had a direct impact on King Records, first when his live backing band, The Upsetters, became Little Willie John’s support group after Richard renounced rock ‘n’ roll in 1957, and then again soon after when the Upsetters backed James Brown for a time.
On December 2, 1958, Little Willie John did a session for King in New Orleans — at Cosimo Recording Studios, no doubt — in which The Upsetters served as his backing band. Four songs were recorded that day:
Musician credits according to Ruppli’s session notes —
Little Willie John: Vocals Emile Russell: Drums Olsie Robinson: Bass Milton Hopkins: Guitar Wilbert Lee Smith: Piano & Guitar Jimmy Booker: Piano Grady Gaines: Tenor Sax Clifford Burks: Tenor Sax Melvin Lastic: Trumpet
2016 Spanish EP —
INCLUDES “DO YOU LOVE ME” & “LEAVE MY KITTEN ALONE”
Fun to point out that exactly one year later, on December 2, 1959, Emile Russell served as the drummer on a Hank Ballard and the Midnighters recording session at King Studios that netted four songs, including “The Coffee Grind” and “I Love You, I Love You So-o-o.” Would you be surprised to know that Emile Russell was also the drummer at Little Willie John‘s June 3, 1959 session in New York City that produced “Leave Me Kitten Alone,” along with “Let Them Talk,” “Right There” & “Let Nobody Love You“?
Grady Gaines, by the way, is also connected to King through his brother, Roy Gaines, who released two 45s for King subsidiary label, DeLuxe in 1957 – “Annabelle” b/w “Night Beat” plus “Isabella” b/w “Gainesville” – the latter tune being one of his signature guitar statements.
Important to note that Little Richard battled mightily with Specialty Records owner Art Rupe to be allowed to record with The Upsetters, who Richard favored over the studio session players. As Robert Palmer wrote for the New York Times in 1990:
“The early Upsetters sessions present a band that lacked studio polish, but made up for it with a remarkable ensemble cohesion and rhythmic creativity. The Upsetters’ drummer, Charles Connor, has been credited by no less an authority than James Brown with sparking the rhythmic transition from fifties rock & roll to sixties funk.”
New Orleans’ Ponderosa Stomp — who pronounced The Upsetters to be “quite possibly the greatest touring rock and roll band on the planet during the mid-1950s” — wrote a lengthy tribute in 2017 to drummer Chuck Connor, who elaborated on the origins of the band:
“A guy by the name of Wilbert Smith—his professional name was Lee Diamond—we looked alike and everything. I was a little taller than him. We were struggling musicians around Nashville,” says Charles. ‘I was starving, man. I was kicked out of the hotel room, and I was behind in my rent. Little Richard heard us and brought us back to Macon, Georgia because he wanted New Orleans musicians. Richard had to get my drums out of the pawn shop. He paid for all of that, and he brought us to Macon, Georgia, and that’s when we formed Little Richard and the Upsetters.”
Just a couple weeks after Little Willie John’s session with The Upsetters, James Brown and the Famous Flames recorded a session in Los Angeles on December 16, 1958 with “Lee Diamond” on tenor sax and Chuck Connor on drums that yielded four songs:
Musician credits according to Ruppli’s session notes —
James Brown: Vocals John Terry, Bill Hollings & [unidentified]: Backing Vocals Chuck Connor or Nat Kendrick: Drums Bernard Odum: Bass Bobby Roach: Guitar Alvin ‘Fats‘ Gonder: Piano & Organ Lee Diamond: Tenor Sax J.C. Davis: Tenor Sax
Most of these same musicians reconvened on January 20, 1959 at a recording facility in New York City to record two more songs with James and the Famous Flames:
Musician credits according to Ruppli’s session notes —
James Brown: Vocals John Terry, Bill Hollings & [unidentified]: Backing Vocals Chuck Connor: Drums Bernard Odum: Bass Bobby Roach: Guitar Alvin ‘Fats‘ Gonder: Piano & Organ Lee Diamond: Tenor Sax J.C. Davis: Tenor Sax
[Unidentified]: Trumpet
Saxophonist J.C. Davis (“with prob. same band”) recorded two numbers as bandleader at that same NYC recording session:
Lee Diamond, as it turns out, had already crossed paths with King Records before — as Wilbert Smith, part of the horn section for James Brown and the Famous Flames’ 1956 breakout hit, “Please Please Please“! Smith has two co-songwriting credits on “Hold My Baby’s Hand” and “Chonnie-On-Chon” — notice the vocal resemblance to Little Richard on the latter track — both from 1956.
Chuck Connor explains the impact of his New Orleans musical upbringing on the development of James Brown’s music:
“We would work the clubs around Macon, Georgia, like the VFW clubs, the Elks clubs, and places like that. And I’m playing behind James Brown. The drummer always sits in the back. We didn’t have no riser in these little small clubs in those days. We only had drum risers in the big theaters. So I’d be playing behind James and I’d do a little second-line thing, a syncopation on my bass drum. But I was doing that to attract the girls’ attention.
“James Brown would say, ‘Hey, that’s funky! That’s funky!’
‘I’d say, ‘I’m doing the second-line!’
‘I like that! I like that!’
“And he discovered that I put the funk to the rhythm. Because a lot of drummers weren’t using the bass drum that much. But a lot of New Orleans drummers used their bass drum a lot. I got that from the second line. So that’s why he said, ‘Charles was the first to put the funk into the rhythm.’
“When Willie and the Upsetters became a team and hit the road, Richard insists there were no hard feelings. He was proud that the Upsetters, at one time or another, backed up the heaviest hitters in rhythm and blues. ‘Sam Cooke also had them for awhile and Sam Cooke’s brother L.C. as well,’ Richard recalled. ‘Little Willie John and James Brown traveled with my band as me, once I was famous.’ The Godfather of Soul screaming ‘Wop bop a doo wop’ – it’s not such a stretch. ‘We had some dates booked and my manager wanted to fulfill the dates, so they had James go out and be me,’ Richard explained.”
Chuck Connor confirms that James Brown really did do shows billed as Little Richard:
“Lee Diamond started playing with James Brown, but when Richard came out (to L.A.) to do the screen test for the movie [The Girl Can’t Help It], he left 15 dates behind. So Clint Brantley, the booking agent, he didn’t want to lose the deposits on those dates. So guess who played those dates for him? James Brown! And it was Little Richard’s picture on the placards. But James Brown played Little Richard’s dates. People would complain and say, ‘He don’t look like him!’ James is short. ‘He don’t look like Little Richard to me, but he sounds good!’ But he fulfilled all those dates, and then when Richard came back from the West Coast, James wanted me to go on the road with him too. I said, ‘Well, James, I’m going to tell you—I don’t mind, but I can’t disappoint Richard because Richard was the one that helped me when I didn’t have nothing, paying my hotel rent, and he bought me shoes, and he fed me and everything.’ So that would have been a guilt trip, so that’s why I didn’t go with James Brown. He wanted to take me on the road too. But I remained with Richard.”
James Brown himself recounted the experience of being billed as Little Richard in his autobiography, James Brown: The Godfather of Soul:
“Not too long after I got to Macon, some people started hitting on Richard about recording for them instead of Peacock. Eventually Bumps Blackwell got him for Art Rupe’s Specialty label out of Los Angeles. After ‘Tutti Frutti’ broke, Richard left Macon for California, left everybody without saying a word—[Little Richard manager, Cliff] Brantley, the Dominions, the Upsetters, and a lot of bookings. Mr. Brantley asked me to fulfill Richard’s dates. He put me together with the Upsetters and the Dominions and sent me out as Little Richard. Meantime, Byrd and the fellas were doing the Famous Flames bookings. I was getting paid as Richard while Bobby was getting paid as me. I guess I did about fifteen of Richard’s dates. I’d come out and do ‘Tutti Frutti’ and all those things, and then I’d do some Midnighters’ stuff, some Roy Brown, and even ‘Please Please Please.’ I guess the audience thought I was really Richard. then, near the end of the show, I’d say, ‘I’m not Little Richard. My name is James.’ After a few shows like that, Fats [Gonder, organist/emcee], who also went on the tour, started announcing me as Little James. I didn’t that stay too long, either.”
Historian (and James Brown manager), Alan Leeds, offers another perspective in There Was a Time: James Brown, The Chitlin Circuit, and Me:
“In 1955, when Little Richard went to Hollywood to sign with Specialty Records, he left behind a band and some unfulfilled bookings. A young James Brown, who shared managers with the Georgia peach, reluctantly agreed to pose as Richard for a couple weeks. According to Johnny Terry, one of Brown’s original Famous Flames, it came to an end one night in Nashville when somebody—a fan, or maybe the local promoter—recognized that James was not Little Richard. After a hasty retreat in which gunshots were reportedly fired, Brown decided it might be better for his well-being to concentrate on his own career.”
Life Imitates Art: The 1000-Mile Trek As “The Upsetters“
Later in his autobiography when The Famous Flames got word that King Records was ready to record its new act, James Brown recalled a comic aspect to the grueling drive from Tampa to Cincinnati:
“We were working down in Tampa when Clint [Brantley] called to tell us that King wanted us in Cincinnati to record right away. We hadn’t heard from anyone there since Ralph Bass signed us the morning after he’d seen us at Sawyer’s Lake. Since then we’d been working clubs around Tampa and Jacksonville, and we were beginning to wonder if he’d really liked us …
We drove the four hundred miles from Tampa to Macon, stopped and picked up some money there, and continued for another six hundred miles to Cincinnati in a station wagon that had The Upsetters painted on the side. Clint had let Little Richard use the car before, and now we were jammed into it with all our clothes and instruments. We rode all night, stopping only for gas. It was the first time out of the South for any of us, and when we got to the outskirts of Cincinnati somebody came out from King and let us to the hotel, a place caled the Manse. It was a fleabag, but it was better than anything we’d stayed in before.”
First Four-Bar Rock ‘n’ Roll Drum Intro? Rock’s Roots Bear Fruit
Until Little Richard’s passing, I was similarly clueless about the well-known “secret” that Chuck Connor‘s drum intro on “Keep a Knockin'” (recorded at a small radio station in Washington, DC close to the Howard Theater) served as the source of inspiration for John Bonham‘s famous intro on Led Zeppelin‘s “Rock and Roll” — listen for yourself:
“Keep a Knockin’” by Little Richard
“Rock and Roll” by Led Zeppelin
ChuckConnor claims in that same Ponderosa Stomp piece that “Keep a Knockin'” was the first four-bar drum intro on a rock and roll record:
“Richard was saying, ‘I want the guitar to play the four-bar intro.’ So the guitar player, he tried it. Then Richard tried it. He said, ‘I don’t like that.’ Then he let the saxophone play the four-bar intro. I said, ‘Wait a minute, Richard. Let me do something. Let me do a four-bar intro because this has never been played on a rock and roll record!’ It had never been played on a rock and roll record. So I came up with a ‘tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat…’ Richard gave me a thousand dollars for that idea, and that was a lot of money in those days.”
My ambitiousness got the best of me with the posting of the two-part history piece, “Quirky 45s That Bubbled Under (1959-1976).” If you go to Zero to 180’s home page now (as of April 2020), you might be frustrated that it takes so goshdarn long to finish loading all the content (i.e., 200+ audio clips spread out amongst the two parts). This latest piece — a tribute to all the 45s released by King and its subsidiary labels that “bubbled under” the Billboard Hot 100 chart — features “only” 50 (ish) audio clips. However, coming on the heels of the previous two-parter, all that additional “weight” only compounds the problem, unfortunately.
Thanks once again to Top40Weekly.com, who generously provides chart information about these uncharted songs that peaked just beyond the reach of Billboard‘s Hot 100. As with the previous post, this piece is chronologically arranged and begins in 1959, the year Billboard began keeping records of these near-hits. Given the amount of historical detail below, I have highlighted some of the big takeaway points and discoveries that came out of this research:
Summary Highlights
Lowman Pauling, whose work with The ‘5’ Royales as both a songwriter and guitarist was under-recognized for its influence on the emerging soul music (not to mention Jamaican ska), would later be championed by King (James Brown, Vicki Anderson, Hal Hardy) and non-King artists (Shirelles, Mamas & the Papas, Detroit Wheels).
Whodunit around the authorship of “Cute Little Ways” — was the song written by Hank Ballard or Henry Glover?
Speaking of whodunit, why exactly did “Please Please Please” by James Brown and the Famous Flames come close to entering Billboard’s Hot 100 four years after its original release? Two theories offered.
Syd Nathan was not afraid to dust off an older King recording, “modernize” the sound and/or spiff up the artist name, if that’s what it took to sell records, as in the case of “Every Beat of My Heart” by Henry Booth (or is it?) and the Midnighters (the song by Johnny Otis that would launch the career of Gladys Knight and the Pips).
Hard to believe that “Please Come Home For Christmas” never officially entered the Hot 100 given how often Billboard deemed it a “Christmas Best Bet” throughout the 1960s, as well as the song’s enduring popularity, as evidenced by all the many cover versions. Fun to find out that Charles Brown’s original recording is held in especially high regard “along the route from Houston to New Orleans.”
How ‘Mad Men’-esque to learn that King’s promotional efforts for “Seagrams” (a “Tequila”-inspired instrumental ) by the Vice-roys included “half pint of Seagram’s VO whiskey and a package of Viceroy cigarettes” to select personnel at radio stations around the country.
“Lonesome 7-7203” by Hawkshaw Hawkins was written for Jean Shepard by Justin Tubb, who points out that the song was originally conceived from a female perspective.
More evidence of the Cincinnati OH–Kingston, JA connection via Hank Marr’s organ instrumentals.
A shift in cultural consciousness can be seen manifesting itself with Billboard renaming its “R&B” chart as “Soul” Singles beginning in the August 23, 1969 edition (as pointed out in the Marva Whitney section below).
Even if King’s entire roster consisted solely of James Brown, hard to overstate the global impact of this one artist alone — be sure to look for the “Hey America” World Tour of 45 picture sleeves plus a news item about King’s “largest promotional/merchandizing budget” used for the “ James Brown Month Of Soul” campaign in March 1969.
In a bonus section of Fraternity 45s that “bubbled under” the Hot 100, we learn from Harry Carlson himself — one of the most beloved figures in the music industry — what a struggle it was to go ten years between hits (i.e., from 1957’s “So Rare” by Jimmy Dorsey to 1967’s “Then You Can Tell Him Goodbye” by The Casinos).
King Trivia!
Q: Name of subsidiary label that was financed by Mickey Stevenson and distributed by Starday-King, announced via a full-page ad in Record World‘s December 11, 1971 issue?
A: Mpingo — three Mpingo 45 releases in all before Starday-King ceased operations.
Note: Click on song title links below to hear streaming audio of songs.
AUDIO LINK for “I Know It’s Hard But It’s Fair” by The ‘5’ Royales
peaked at #103 on June 8, 1959 [King]
The Lowman Pauling-penned “I Know It’s Hard But Fair” also serves as the kickoff track of 1959 King LP, The Five Royales — an album that some are willing to pay several hundred dollars to acquire.
Sundazed saw fit to reissue the original mono LP on vinyl in 2015 and had this to say:
“Suddenly in the news thanks to their recent induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, the ‘5’ Royales also recorded for King. Sundazed’s 180-gram reissue of their self-named 1959 King LP (which butchered the spelling of their ‘5’ moniker on its cover) is a romping overview of some of the R&B vocal quintet’s then-recent singles. The gospel-drenched lead vocals of Johnny Tanner (or sometimes, his brother Eugene) presaged the rise of soul music, but it’s the blistering guitar of chief songwriter Lowman Pauling, a primary influence on Steve Cropper, that grabs most of the glory now.”
“I Know It’s Hard But Fair” is also the title of Ace UK‘s “hits and rarities” anthology from 2005.
King LP 678 = It’s gonna cost you
AUDIO LINK for “Let Nobody Love You” [B-side] by Little Willie John
Both sides were reviewed in Billboard’s June 22, 1959 edition: “The artist has two potent entries that could get him back on the charts. He gives ‘Kitten’ a feelingful belt over strong New Orleans type ork backing. ‘Let Nobody’ is a ballad with beat, and he’s given a fem chorus assist. Either can score.”
“Let Nobody Love You” also reached the #29 position on Cash Box‘s Rhythm & Blues Top 50 chart for the week ending September 26, 1959.
Johnny’s Record House in New Orleans reported in the October 31, 1959 issue of Cash Box that “Let Nobody Love You” was a top ten seller.
One British music enthusiast shelled out £68 in 2004 for the UK single release.
AUDIO LINK for “Cute Little Ways” by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters
peaked at #106 on September 7, 1959 [King]
Billboard‘s review in the August 24, 1959 edition: “Hank Ballard sells an uptempo blues with a lot of spirit, over a strong backing. Could get coins.”
“Cute Little Ways” also reached the #24 position on the “Singles – Looking Ahead” chart, Cash Box‘s equivalent of Billboard‘s “Bubbling Under” releases.
Detroit’s Horn Records reported in the October 3, 1959 issue of Cash Box that “Cute Little Ways” was a hot 45, as did Wilkes-Barre’s Joe Tomato of WBAX.
Billboard‘s March 14, 1960 edition includes this review: “A slow and strongly gospel flavored chant by the group. Lead offers a good shouting sound. Spinnable.”
Cash Box listed “I’m With You” as #6 on its “Singles – Looking Ahead” chart for the week ending June 25, 1960 while still holding strong at the #10 position on the same chart for the week ending August 6, 1960.
45Cat stalwart mickey rat offers up this praise: “Great gospel tinged proto-soul from hugely influential group. This one has a riffing ‘ska’ beat, another example of the kind of R&B that influenced Jamaican artists. Flip [“Don’t Give More Than You Can Take“] is a fast rocker featuring Lowman Pauling’s distinctive guitar.”
Noted roots rock author, Peter Guralnick points out on his blog: “The ‘5’ Royales were always at the heart of the discography of my book, Sweet Soul Music. As one of their album titles proclaimed, their music represented “the roots of soul.” Further down the page, Guralnick adds, “By 1960, even with such transformative songs as ‘I’m With You’ and ‘Wonder When You’re Coming Home,’ the ‘5’ Royales were slipping off the charts, and it was the Shirelles and James Brown who were recasting Lowman’s music.”
Robert Christgau – “Dean of American Rock Critics” – takes Collectables to task for not including “I’m With You” on their Very Best of the ‘5’ Royales anthology, even though, oddly, the song is listed on this 2004 CD release!
Written by jazz trumpeter/bandleader, Harry James, along with Zanesville-born trumpeter and King music director, Andy Gibson, “If You’re Lonely” also peaked at #17 on Billboard‘s R&B chart on July 18, 1960.
“If You’re Lonely” was pegged as an R&B “Best Buy” in the July 18, 1960 edition of Billboard.
Thanks to 45Cat’s jukebox george, who informs us that the July 30, 1960 edition of Cash Box lists “If You’re Lonely” #23 (out of 25) on their “Looking Ahead” singles chart for the “possibility to break into the Top 100.”
Jon Hartley Fox writes in King of the Queen City: The Story of King Records — “‘If You’re Lonely’ made the [R&B] Top Twenty in 1960, but that was the only other hit from her second stint on DeLuxe. Laurie reportedly retired from secular music not long after that and devoted her magnificent voice solely to church work.”
Co-written by Ricky Lyons and Rudy Toombs, 45Cat’s jukebox george points to evidence (i.e., lower matrix number) that “Shim Sham Shuffle” might be one of those B-side breakout hits that “attracted attention” to a much greater degree than the intended A-side.
However, Billboard‘s selection of “Shim Sham Shuffle” as one of the “Spotlight Winners of the Week” in their October 3, 1960 edition leads me to question accusations of the song’s B-side status — this review puts the matter to bed: “The younger chanter comes thru with an exciting vocal here of a rocking item based on ‘The Eagle Rock.’ Flip is ‘Have No Fear.’
Cash Box picked “Shim Sham Shuffle” as one of its “Best Bets” for the week ending October 15, 1960: “The ‘latest’ dance is conveyed with solid rock-blues vigor by the singer and combo. Deck’s got sound and humor.”
Spectropop playfully observes that Ricky Lyons’ vocal “adds a Bob Wills-style whoop to the R&B lexicon.”
“Shim Sham Shuffle” was also released as a King single by Johnny Brandon in 1956 — although, a quick listen to the earlier release reveals the existence of two completely different tunes that merely share a song title.
45 reissued on King in 1965 — Discogs contributor, bob.dalrymple.7 notes the two releases by the same parent company and makes the distinction between “one with bells [i.e., vibraphone] at the end and one without,” adding that the “King release doesn’t have the bell ending [likely played by Gene Redd].”
AUDIO LINK for “Please Please Please” by James Brown
peaked at #105 on October 21, 1960 [Federal]
Having a devil of a time trying to determine why this #6 R&B hit from 1956 almost hit the Billboard Hot 100 four years later, as I can only find two single releases by King – 1956 and 1964 – with neither of them 1960 (or its environs) — theories, anyone?
Possible theory#1: Might The ‘5‘ Royales’s version released in 1960 (on the Home of the Blues label) explain the resurgence of the original version by Brown and the Famous Flames?
Possible theory #2: Is King’s 1959 “Please Please Please” EP release the more likely explanation for the song’s appearance on the Billboard “Bubbling Under” chart?
Billboard reviewed “Please Please Please” in their October 31, 1960 edition: “Brown intones a pounding chant with the Flames lending a good gospel flavor to the backing. A lot of spirit here.”
Billboard‘s January 3,1957 edition pegged “Please” as one of 1956’s Top Rhythm & Blues Records with regard to “best seller in stores” (#17), “most played in jukeboxes (#48), and “most played by disc jockeys (#20).
What delicious irony that Syd Nathan (who initially and loudly dismissed “Please” as a “piece of [dung]”) made the decision to add live crowd sounds to the original studio recording for release in 1964 (during a contract dispute with Brown), no doubt to capitalize on the runaway success of 1963’s Live at the Apollo (another Brown recording of some renown that Nathan famously fought at first).
45Cat’s teabiscuit, however, boldly asserts — counter to received wisdom — that “by 1960, not 1964, the overdubbed ‘live’ version of the A side was issued.”
Alan Leeds’ “James Brown Drummers Discography” (included in Jim Payne’s The Great Drummers of R&B, Funk & Soul) notes that Brown himself served as the drummer on this track.
Billboard‘s review in their December 31, 1960 edition: “A wild instrumental version of the Bill Doggett oldie, complete with screams, that could get some action if exposed. The screamer also comes through with a slight vocal now and then.”
Billboard‘s February 13, 1961 edition notes another James Brown single — “Bewildered” (a ‘Regional Breakout’ hit in Philadelphia) — in an ever higher position (#103) than “Hold It” on the same “Bubbling Under the Hot 100” chart.
“Hold It” is the lead-off track for the 1961 King instrumental LP, Night Train.
AUDIO LINK for “Sweethearts on Parade” by Etta Jones
peaked at #115 on April 3, 1961 {King]
Written by Carmen Lombardo and Charles Newman, “Sweethearts on Parade” appeared on the “Bubbling Under” chart, along with another Etta Jones 45 (although recorded for Prestige), “Canadian Sunset,” for two consecutive weeks — March 27 and April 3, 1961.
AUDIO LINK for “Every Beat of My Heart” by Henry Booth & The Midnighters
peaked at #113 on May 15, 1961 [DeLuxe]
Written by Johnny Otis, King’s West Coast talent scout (and disc jockey and television show host), “Every Beat of My Heart” was originally recorded in 1952 by The Royals, who later became The Midnighters, and subsequently covered by [Gladys Knight and] The Pips and James Brown and the Famous Flames, among others. That’s right, the same recording from 1952 would get a reboot in 1961, albeit under a new artist name (and, as one YouTube contributor notes, modernized with overdubbed “rock and roll instrumentation“).
Marv Goldberg adds further clarity in his history of The Royals:
“Note that the lead singer with the beautiful smooth sound isn’t Henry Booth, but Charles Sutton. Because of the success of Gladys Knight and the Pips’ remake of ‘Every Beat Of My Heart’ in 1961, King’s DeLuxe subsidiary reissued it, with the label crediting ‘Henry Booth and the Midnighters.’ Possibly they just got it mixed up or possibly Henry was still with the Midnighters at that point. Whatever the reason, R&B fans have believed over the years that Henry was doing lead; he isn’t.”
The two versions of “Every Beat” by The Midnighters and The Pips made Cash Box‘s Top 100 chart for the week ending May 27, 1961 and, if I’m not mistaken, tied for the same position (#70)! The same phenomenon would take place the following week (#48).
Billboard‘s review of this 45 side in the May 8,.1961 edition was (unwittingly) their second one: “Henry Booth and the Midnighters turn in a very pretty and restrained reading of an attractive tune penned by Johnny Otis. It has a chance.”
Billboard‘s original review of The Midnighters’ debut 45 in the April 12, 1952 edition (page 36) has this to say about the flip side, “Every Beat of My Heart”: “This is a little disappointing after the fine performance [“All Night Long“] on the other side. Judged from these two efforts, the Royals are more effective with a tempo that has a strong beat.”
Jon Hartley Fox in King of the Queen City notes that “Every Beat” is “the hit that launched Gladys Knight and the Pips.”
Also worth reading the comments about the original 1952 release from various 45Cat contributors, such as mickey rat, who opines, “Right from the start the Royals/Midnighters used an electric bass in the rhythm section and I have to say that’s what I liked about a lot of later ‘50s King R&B product.”
“The Matador” by George Scott and the Bud Mote Orchestra
peaked at #104 on June 12, 1961 [Fairlane]
[streaming audio not yet available]
45Cat contributor jukebox george informs us — “Cash Box May 6 1961 (pg. 38): New York – D.L. ‘Boots’ Woodall, formerly veep of the National Recording Corp. (NRC), has announced the first release on his new Fairlane label, a master purchase from the Margo label tagged “Matador.” King Records is handling Fairlane’s distribution.”
Billboard‘s review in their May 8, 1961 edition: “Here’s a different kind of instrumental, featuring a mariachi-styled brigade of trumpets against strong guitar work. Has a solid rhythm in the Mexican groove and it can move.”
Billboard Music Week would also review this 45 in their April 10, 1961 issue: “Here’s a bit of slower-paced fare again much in the polka tradition. There’s also a touch of flamenco about the horns here.”
Cash Box‘s review from their April 8, 1961 edition: “Interesting color to this fast-beat stand, featuring guitarist Scott & trumpets, on a catchy Spanish-flavored tune. Original sound that could mean something for the Atlanta label.”
AUDIO LINK for “Hully Gully Callin’Time” by Jive Five with Eugene Pitt
peaked at #105 on March 1, 1962 [Beltone]
Released on King-distributed Beltone, “Hully Gully Callin’ Time” was a “Regional Breakout” in the NYC area, as reported in Billboard‘s April 21, 1962 edition.
Two weeks later, Billboard filed this report from Chicago: “[New independent distributor] Kent is also working on what it hopes will be its first big hit, ‘Hully Gully Callin’ Time’ by the Jive Five on Beltone. The tune has hit position 28 on the influential WLS Silver Dollar Survey and is getting good supporting air play around the city.”
Billboard‘s review in the March 3, 1962 edition: “Attractive hunk of teen wax with the lead selling the hully gully effort solidly over listenable support by the group.”
Cash Box listed “Hully Gully” at the #37 position on its “Singles – Looking Ahead” chart for the week ending March 24, 1962.
AUDIO LINK for “I Wish I Could Cry” [B-side] by Little Willie John
peaked at #116 on June 30, 1962
Billboard had high hopes for this 45’s A-side — “Every Beat of My Heart” (!) — while saying nothing about the flip side in its review published in the May 28, 1962 edition.
Cash Box was a little more optimistic about the prospects for this B-side (near) breakout hit in its review for their May 26, 1961 issue: “Here the songster and the ork-chorus up the tempo slightly to a shuffle-beat-ballad pace. Take your pick. Both ends have the goods.”
The following year, Cash Box reported in their July 28, 1962 edition this brief news item: “Sue Sandler, co-cleffer of Little Willie John’s ‘Until Again My Love‘ and ‘I Wish I Could Cry,’ excited with all the action on the artist’s 2 King releases.”
According to our old friend, mickey rat — “Almost certainly produced in Los Angeles by Johnny Otis … Songwriters on a couple of their other songs registered with [Library of Congress] were Shirlee Brooks, Jacqueline Scruggs, Rosemary Reeves, Beverly Simmons & Novella Simmons, so I’m guessing they were all members of the group.”
Coincidentally or not, “Wonderful One” was cited by Billboard as a “Regional Breakout” single in Los Angeles.
Billboard would review this single’s A-side in the July 21, 1962 edition — and it wasn’t “Wonderful One” (B-side breakout hit?) about which the reviewer had nothing to say.
Cash Box listed “Wonderful One” at the #42 spot on its “Singles – Looking Ahead” chart for the week ending September 15, 1962.
AUDIO LINK for “Please Come Home for Christmas” by Charles Brown
peaked at #108? on December 22, 1962 [King]
Did Top40Weekly.com misfire with the inclusion of this stellar yuletide track — written by Charles Brown and Gene Redd — that has been covered by Willie Nelson, Aaron Neville, Johnny Adams, (“Little“) Johnny Taylor, Johnny & Edgar Winter,Freddy Fender, William Bell, The Eagles, Martina McBride, and Bon Jovi, among others? Billboard tells us this 45 peaked at #76 on January 6, 1962. However, is it somehow possible this track came close to entering the Hot 100 later that same year close to Christmas? As it turns out, yes! Billboard‘s December 22, 1962 issue confirms that, indeed, “Come Home For Christmas” bubbled under at the #108 position.
That same Billboard edition also reported “Christmas” to be a “Regional Breakout” single in New Orleans, while one year prior. Billboard noted the song’s strong performance in the Philadelphia market. The 1963 Christmas season would also find this track no less diminished in popularity, says Billboard, who would also peg this single in 1967 as one of its “Best Bets for Christmas” and then again in 1969.
The original 1960 release — which peaked at #21 on Billboard‘s R&B chart on December 31st that year — features another Christmas classic, Amos Milburn’s “Christmas (Comes But Once a Year),” on the flip side. This 45 squeaked into Cash Box’s Top 100 chart (#96) for the week ending December 31, 1960. “Christmas” also made Cash Box‘s Top 50 R&B chart (#30) for the week ending December 24, 1960, and then again, even higher (#21), for the week ending January 6, 1962.
Chris Varias contributed a special piece to The Cincinnati Enquirer in 2017 about the enduring appeal of a classic Christmas song that was “born in Cincinnati” at King Studios — article features reminiscences from Don Henley and Cincinnati native, Nick Lachey, as well as music history from Cincinnati Public Library’s own, Brian Powers.
Lake Charles, LA’s 92.9 (“The Lake”) offers up “The Story Behind ‘Please Come Home For Christmas” in which we learn the regional popularity of the song in a particular part of the Deep South: “In 1960, King Records released ‘Please Come Home for Christmas’ and the song, for some reason, went nowhere nationally, but along our part of I-10, it became an instant classic. Since 1960, radio stations all along the route from Houston to New Orleans have played the record every single Christmas.”
Although there no musician credits in Ruppli’s King Labels sessionography, this song — recorded at Cincinnati’s King Studios on November 27, 1962 — no doubt includes the drumming work of legendary session musician, Philip Paul, who also played on the previous featured track by Charles Brown.
Small news item in the January 26, 1963 issue of Cash Box: “With promo man Ralph Cox, the biggies to watch are “Seagrams” by The Vice-Roys (Bethlehem), “The Bossa Nova Watusi Twist” by Freddy King, Hank Ballard’s “The Rising Tide” and “Every Beat Of My Heart” by James Brown.”
The fluke hit of 1958’s “Tequila” inspired a host of alcohol-themed instrumentals in its wake, including that same year’s more generic “Cerveza” (‘Boots Brown’ a.k.a., Shorty Rogers), as well as the brand-specific 1961’s “Bacardi” and “Seagrams” from the previous year.
As previously noted, 1960’s “Seagrams” by The Viceroys was issued on Bethlehem, a subsidiary label of King. Seagrams Corporation, however, did not take kindly to the appropriation of its name and threatened to sue for trademark infringement, with some stations refusing to play a song named for a commercial product without being paid for advertising time. A sheepish notice in Billboard’s March 23, 1960 edition said, “We Goofed!” — more specifically:
“When this instrumental came to us, it was titled ‘Seagram’s.’ We missed the possible legal conflict with the Seagram’s trademark and also the policy at many radio stations of not playing a record with a commercial product name in its title.”] and indicated that “Seagrams” was now changed to “Seagreen.”
Worth noting that on page 22 of that same March 23, 1960 edition of Billboard was this wink-wink news item:
SAN FRANCISCO— A novel record promotion originated by Bob Earl, San Francisco branch manager for King Records, has been picked up by the national record distributor and will be repeated in Cincinnati, Chicago and New York.
Bethlehem’s new recording of “Seagram,” sung by the Vice-roys, prompted Earl to include a half pint of Seagram’s VO whiskey and a package of Viceroy cigarettes when delivery the disk, all wrapped up in gay “Mardi Gras” gift paper. Uniformed messenger delivery personnel called upon local deejays in the four top r & b and rock and roll stations in San Francisco and Oakland — KSAN, KEWB, KDIA and KYA.
innocent mistake
AUDIO LINK for “Lonesome 7-7203” by Hawkshaw Hawkins
peaked at #108 on April 6, 1963 [King]
Just three days after this song’s release, notes West Virginia Public Broadcasting, Hawkins perished in a plane crash that also took the lives of fellow King recording artist, Cowboy Copas, as well as country superstar, Patsy Cline.
Justin Tubb, who wrote the song, recounts in this 1997 episode of “Country Family Reunion” how he gave the song originally to Jean Shepard – Hawkshaw’s widow – who recorded it for Capitol (in whose vaults the song remains unissued). Tubb points out that “Lonesome” strikes him as a “girl’s song” because “when a husband and wife break up, it’s usually the guy who has to leave, and the wife stays home and keeps the house and furniture.”
Billboard‘s review in their February 2, 1963 edition: “A fine new weeper ballad. Hawkshaw’s girl has walked out and he pleads with her to call him on his new phone.”
The biggest hit of Hawkins’ career, “Lonesome 7-7203” stayed on top of the Country chart for four weeks after his death.
The single’s flip side — titled (ironically, in hindsight) “Everything Has Changed” — was written by King A&R executive and producer, Ray “Starr” Pennington, who produced Hawkins’ final album, “one of the first country albums to feature both black and white session musicians,” as noted by Rocky 52.
Still trying to make sense of this 45Cat catalog record which indicates “Lonesome” to have been released (a) not only as a “split” single in January 1963 with “Seagram’s” by the Vice-Roys on the flip side [!] but also (b) issued with a different labelon each side (i.e., King on the A-side, Bethlehem on the B-side). For real?
Written by Hank Marr and Gene Redd, “Greasy Spoon” — which came within a hair of hitting Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart — was a “Regional Breakout” single in the Memphis-Nashville area, as reported in Billboard.
“Greasy Spoon” also hit the #68 spot on Cash Box‘s Top 100 Singles chart for the week ending January 11, 1964.
Billboard‘s August 26, 1972 edition noted that the “Greasy Spoon” single was one among many reissued by Starday-King in a news item entitled, “32 King Oldies Released; Many Are Classics.”
Randy McNutt in King Records of Cincinnati writes that “King groomed Marr as Bill Doggett’s successor,” also noting that later in life, “Marr became a music professor in Columbus.”
AUDIO LINK for “Again” by James Brown and the Famous Flames
peaked at #107 on April 25, 1964 [King]
Billboard‘s review in the April 11, 1964 edition makes direct reference to the fact that James Brown had (temporarily) left King for Mercury/Smash: “Brown has a string of ’em on his former label and he’s got another romantic side here. Tender reading of the standard that’s not in conflict with his other release.”
“Again” just squeaked onto Cash Box‘s “Singles – Looking Ahead” chart (#50) for the week ending April 25, 1964 — this same chart also includes one of Brown’s singles (his cover of Louis Jordan’s “Caldonia“) recorded for Smash.
AUDIO LINK for “Wee Wee Hours (of the Nite)” [B-side]
by James Brown & the Famous Flames
peaked at #125 on April 25, 1964 [King]
Billboard awarded this single four stars (i.e., “new singles with sufficient commercial potential in their respective categories to merit being stocked by dealers, one-stops and rack jobbers”) in its February 8, 1964 edition.
This full-page King ad of James Brown releases published in the previous week’s edition of Billboard (a) touts the new “live” version of “Please Please Please” [discussed above] and also (b) reveals that “Wee Wee Hours” ended up being yet another B-side breakout hit. (a James Brown original, by the way, not to be confused with Frank Sinatra’s 1955 classic, “In the Wee Small Hours“).
AUDIO LINK for “How Long Darling” [B-side]
by James Brown & the Famous Flames
peaked at #134 on June 6, 1964 [King]
Speaking of B-side breakout hits, “How Long Darling” is the B-side of “Again” — the single that was discussed mere moments ago.
Cash Box‘s April 18, 1964 edition provides this review — and once again speaks of Brown’s contractual relationship with King in the past tense: “James Brown has been running extremely hot recently and this top-notch item, ‘Again,’ cut during his days with King should quickly develop into a best-seller. The tune is a slow-moving, shuffle-beat pop-blues lament with a nostalgic while-back sound sold with authority by the songster. On the flip, ‘How Long Darling,’ Brown dishes-up a funky, traditional, low-down r&b weeper with a contagious repeating riff.”
AUDIO LINK for “So Long” by James Brown and the Famous Flames
peaked at #132 on June 27, 1964 [King]
“So Long” was pegged by Billboard as “Hot Pop” in the “Programming Specials” section of its June 6, 1964 edition.
Cash Box‘s review in their June 6, 1964 issue: “The chanter might well do Top 100 business with this hard-driving full ork-backed pop-r&b teen-angled danceable weeper cut during his days with King. Loads of potential here.”
“So Long” also spent two consecutive weeks on Cash Box‘s “Singles – Looking Ahead” chart (#48 and #50) before dropping off altogether at the end of June.
Cash Box‘s review in their March 20, 1965 issue provides credible evidence (though not solid proof) that “Silver Spoon” is (yet another) B-side breakout hit: “‘No Rough Stuff‘ written by Gene Redd] Wailin’jazz-styled instrumental with plenty of sax and organ. [‘Silver Spoon’ written by Hank Marr & Gene Redd] Slow-paced shufflin’ jazzer.”
Cash Box‘s review of Anderson’s version of “Tears of Joy” — written by Lowman Pauling for The ‘5’ Royales — was included in their July 15, 1967 issue: “Anderson vocalizes nicely on this shuffling, soul-filled romance ode. Bears watching.”
“Tears of Joy” hit the #46 spot on Record World‘s Top 50 R&B chart, as reported in the September 30, 1967 issue. That same issue also listed “Tears of Joy” at the #40 position on their “Singles Coming Up” chart, Record World‘s equivalent of Billboard‘s “Bubbling Under” chart. Record World also reported the previous month that the single was “selling well in Atlanta.”
Here is a link to King’s half-page ad for “Tears of Joy” that was published in Billboard‘s September 2, 1967 edition.
AUDIO LINK for “You’ve Got to Change Your Mind”
by Bobby Byrd & James Brown
peaked at #102 on March 16, 1968 [King]
“You’ve Got Change Your Mind” – which came this close to making the Hot 100 – was predicted by Billboard to reach the Top 20 of the Top Selling R&B Singles chart, as noted in their February 10, 1968 issue: “Byrd and Brown join forces in this groovy rock ballad that’s given a wailing, soulful vocal workout. Loaded with top sales potential for both pop and r&b markets. FLIP: ‘I’ll Lose My Mind‘.”
Cash Box posted this review in the issue for the week ending February 10, 1968: “Outstanding pairing of James Brown and Bobby Byrd makes for some grand spinning material for r&b deejays. The team grooves slowly on a [indecipherable adjective] ballad that shows strength without speed through powerful vocals and throbbing orchestral backing. Cute lyrical snatches should stir up plenty of excitement for the side.”
“Change Your Mind” also hit the #93 spot on Record World‘s 100 Top Pops chart for the week ending February 24, 1968.
Written by Brown and Byrd along with Gene Redd and Ron Lenhoff (with an arrangement by Sammy Lowe), “Change Your Mind” features Bernard Purdie on drums, Al Lucas on bass, Carl Lynch & Wallace Richardson on guitars, and Alfred “Pee Wee” Ellis & St. Clair Pinckney on tenor saxophones.
AUDIO LINK for “Shhhhhhhh (For A Little While)”
by James Brown & the Famous Flames
peaked at #102 on June 15, 1968 [King]
“Shhhhhhhh (For A Little While)” was part of Billboard‘s “Special Merit Spotlight” (i.e., new singles deserving special attention of programmers and dealers) in its May 4, 1968 edition: “Raunchy instrumental is given a powerhouse workout by the Brown band.”
Written by James Brown and Bud Hobgood, “Shhhhhhhh” was released around the time Brown and his band toured Vietnam and the Far East, as reported by Ed Ochs in his “Soul Sauce” column for Billboard shortly after their return: “Brown opens the National Soul Festival at Yankee Stadium, Friday as his three singles, ‘Licking Stick,’ ‘America Is My Home‘ and ‘Shhhhhhhh (For A Little While)’ work their way up the charts.”
The previous month, Ed Ochs filed this report in the same Billboard column: “James Brown, everybody’s ‘Soul Brother No. 1,’ will trail his ‘I Got the Feelin’‘ giant with ‘America Is My Home,’ a song that echoes one man’s patriotism, which James already proved with his words to thousands on TV in Washington and in Boston last month. Another single, ‘Lickin’ Stick,’ will also be released and will join ‘Shhhhhhhh (For A Little While),’ an instrumental with James on the organ, and ‘You’ve Got the Power‘ with [Vicki] Anderson — all on King Records.”
“Shhhhhhhh” hit the lucky #13 spot on Cash Box‘s “Singles – Looking Ahead” chart for the week ending June 15, 1968.
King’s ad in the June 1, 1968 issue of Record World predicted this 45 (along with “Lickin’ Stick”) to be a US #1 record.
AUDIO LINK for “There Was a Time” by The Dapps Featuring Alfred Ellis
peaked at #103 on July 27, 1968 [King]
“There Was a Time” reached the #27 position on Billboard‘s Best Selling Rhythm and Blues Singles chart, the week prior to November 2, 1968.
This 45 also appears to have peaked at #45 on Cash Box‘s Top 50 R&B singles for the week ending July 27, 1968.
Cash Box‘s review in their June 15, 1968 edition: “James Brown produced this has-to-be-heard instrumental reworking of his while back hit. Albert [sic] Ellis’ hard driving sax stirs this side to a frenzy sure to make it a disko favorite. Should produce good sales. Flip: ‘The Rabbit Got The Gun‘.”
AUDIO LINK for “Soul Pride (Pt. 1)” by James Brown
peaked at #117 on April 5, 1969 [King]
Co-written and arranged by Alfred “Pee Wee” Ellis, “Soul Pride (Pts. 1 & 2)” features the musicianship of Clyde Stubblefield (drums), Alfonzo Kellum (bass), Jimmy Nolen (guitar), Alfred Ellis (alto sax), Maceo Parker (tenor sax), Fred Wesley (trombone), and Richard “Kush” Griffith & Waymon Reed (trumpets).
Cash Box‘s review in their March 8, 1969 issue: “Booming instrumental side with the brash James Brown brass and a terrific bass showing make the songster’s new side a solid programming choice with blues and pop deejays. Splendid dance side here that should see the same good response his instrumental of last year met.”
“Soul Pride” reached the #38 position on Billboard‘s Best Selling Rhythm and Blues Singles in their April 12, 1969 edition.
“Soul Pride” just made it into the bottom reaches of Cash Box‘s Top 100 Singles chart in late March and early April 1969.
King’s ‘March Is James Brown Month’ Label’s Strongest Drive Ever
NEW YORK — King Records has allocated the largest promotional and merchandising budget in its history for a special “March Is James Brown Month Of Soul” campaign.
Col. Jim Wilson, Starday-King Vice President of Marketing, said that the national program will extend through the month of March and is designed to further “accentuate the all-market appeal and widespread saleability” of James Brown recorded product at the consumer level.
Special deejay kits which include an exclusive “not-for-sale-radio programming only” EP album along with James Brown spot intros and bio material have gone forward to radio stations.
A deluxe packaged Brown album, Say It Loud, I’m Black And I’m Proud, featuring the title song along with other James Brown chartsellers hits such as “Lickin’ Stick” and “Good-Bye My Love” has been prepared for immediate release to coincide with the “Month of Soul” campaign.
In addition to the current top-writing chart hit single, “Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose,” a new instrumental single “Soul Pride” featuring James Brown playing and conducting his band has just been shipped to radio stations and all King distributors.
Additionally, attractive James Brown calendar posters, cut-out floor displays, complete album and singles catalogs and other point-of-sale dealer aids are available at all King distributors.
Network TV appearances during March, including the Hollywood Palace Show and Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show, plus an intensified ad campaign will add further impetus to recognition of the month-long drive.
AUDIO LINK for “Things Got to Get Better” by Marva Whitney
peaked at #110 on August 23, 1969 [King]
Written by Alfred “Pee Wee” Ellis and James Brown, “Things Got to Get Better (Get Together)” also reached the #22 position on Billboard‘s Soul Singles chart on September 6, 1969.
Transition Alert! You can see for yourself the change in terminology from “R&B” to “Soul” by examining the same chart from just a few weeks before, where the Marva Whitney 45 can be found at the #49 spot on Billboard‘s “Rhythm and BluesSingles” chart, as of August 16, 1969. By the following week (when the 45 has inched up to #48), that same chart has been renamed the “Soul Singles” chart for the week ending August 23, 1969.
“Things Got to Get Better” reached #11 on Cash Box‘s “Singles – Looking Ahead” chart for the week ending July 26, 1969. That same week, Record World listed this 45 at the #49 position on its “Singles Coming Up” chart.
“Things Got to Get Better” = Kickoff track on 1969 live album
AUDIO LINK for “From Atlanta to Goodbye” by The Manhattans
peaked at #113 on October 7, 1970 [DeLuxe]
Ed Ochs reported the following King/DeLuxe news in his “Soul Sauce” column published in the September 19, 1970 edition:
Related news item entitled “Gil Music Into Soul” from Billboard‘s October 17, 1970 edition:
“Gil Music, headed by veteran publisher George Pincus noted for easy listening hits such as ‘A Taste of Honey’ and ‘Calcutta,’ is invading the soul music field. The firm is scoring with disks by Carolyn Franklin on RCA Records, ‘All I Want to Be Is Your Woman’; Little Richard on Reprise Records, ‘I Saw Her Standing There,’ and the Manhattans on DeLuxe Records, ‘From Atlanta to Goodbye.'”
“From Atlanta to Goodbye” entered Billboard‘s Top 50 Soul Singles chart at the #48 position on October 31, 1970.
“From Atlanta to Goodbye” also reached the #7 position on Cash Box‘s “Singles – Looking Ahead” chart on October 10, 1970, while Record World listed the song at the #12 spot on its Singles Coming Up chart.
Co-written by Nat Jones and Addie Williams (Jones), “Hey America” was predicted by Billboard to reach the Pop Top 60 in their December 12, 1970 “Spotlight” single review: “Brown swings back to his message lyrics and this one is set to a driving rock beat loaded with Hot 100 and Soul chart potency. Much of the potential of his recent ‘Super Bad’.”
“Hey America” reached #27 on Cash Box‘s “Singles – Looking Ahead” chart for the week ending December 26, 1970.
“Hey America” also reached the #43 position of Record World‘s R&B Singles chart for the week ending December 26, 1970.
Billboard reviewed the Hey America Christmas album (cover by Dan Quest) exactly one week later: “Here is a delightful blend of Christmas and Soul, packaged the way only Soul Brother No. [1] could do it. Into his inimitable soul format, Brown has woven messages of peace, love and happiness that are applicable, not only at Christmas, but throughout the year. The material here is all original, written by Nat Jones.”
Billboard also reviewed in that same issue Bobby Byrd’s King album, I Need Help, (two spaces to the left of Hey America): “From the James Brown Show and the original Famous Flames comes singer-organist Bobby Byrd, who broke the soul market wide open with his ‘I Need Help‘ hit. Byrd sounds like he’s in for a big run as a top soul attraction with a distinct, but popular brand of funk to make his ‘You Got to Change Your Mind,’ ‘You Got to Have a Job‘ and ‘Hangups We Don’t Need‘ successive hits.”
AUDIO LINK for “I Know You Got Soul” by Bobby Byrd
peaked at #117 on June 26, 1971 [King]
Co-written with Charles Bobbitt and James Brown, “I Know You Got Soul” — predicted by Billboard on May 15. 1971 “to reach the Soul Singles chart” — in fact, made it all the way to #30 on Billboard‘s Soul chart on July 10, 1971.
“I Know You Got Soul” also reached the #24 position on Cash Box‘s Top 60 R&B chart on July 24, 1971 (not to mention the #23 spot on their “Singles – Looking Ahead” chart in that same issue).
Thanks to 45Cat’s RogerFoster for providing this review of “I Know You Got Soul” b/w “If You Don’t Work, You Don’t Eat” from the June 23, 1971 edition of UK’s Blues and Soul: “More of that infectious James Brown beat, with the music being supplied by the man’s own band, the J.B.’s. In fact, both sides have been hits for Bobby in the States and they are both ultra-funky dance items in the ‘I Need Help’ vein. If anything, the top [i.e., A] side is stronger than ‘I Need Help’. The rhythm, as always, is the dominant factor and this is something that James specializes in. A big R&B record that won’t go ‘pop’.”
AUDIO LINK for “A Million to One” by The Manhattans
peaked at #114 on May 27, 1972 [DeLuxe]
“A Million to One” is also the title track of their second album for Starday-King released on the newly-revived DeLuxe subsidiary label.
Ed Ochs would report on March 11, 1972 in his “Soul Sauce” column for Billboard that “Starday King has landed Ben E. King and the Vibrations.” Also, this just in: “The Manhattans’ ‘A Million to One’ is still strong in the song”
AUDIO LINK for “One Life to Love” by The Manhattans
peaked at #102 on October 21, 1972 [DeLuxe]
“One Life to Love” reached the #68 position on Record World‘s Top 100 Singles chart for the week ending November 18, 1972.
Cash Box‘s November 22, 1980 issue includes a lengthy biographical profile most likely underwritten by Columbia in celebration of their first gold single for “Big Red” after leaving Starday-King:
“Early in 1972, The Manhattans recorded ‘A Million To One,’ written by Teddy Randazzo, whose publishing was handled by Hermi Hanlin. The group was looking for new management at the time, and after ‘Million To One’ charted, Hanlin took over. The group soon found itself in King’s studio in Macon, Ga. [i.e., Bobby Smith Studios] cutting its second Deluxe LP, A Million To One, with Bob Riley producing. It resulted in another big hit with the single ‘One Life To Live,’ written by Lovett. Although its records were charting regularly in the R&B field, pop success remained too elusive. ‘One Life To Live’ caught the attention of Columbia’s Mickey Eichner, and as King Records was in its death throes, he brought the group to Columbia late in 1972.”
Elsewhere in that same profile, longtime friend, Rob Riley, looks back on a long career:
“The Manhattans were very much into what I commonly refer to as “my kind of music,” the ballad — filled with that old street corner churchy harmony. I had listened to them for years on Jo Evans’ Carnival Records. But in 1972, there we were, face-to-face in the Starday-King‘s Records office in Nashville, Tenn.
My normal function with King had been strictly national R&B promotion. That particular morning, Hal Neely, the president, had requested that I make certain I was in the city for I was to meet with The Manhattans and their manager, Hermi Hanlin.
I walked in expecting to meet another cocky group with a manager full of ‘why nots’ and ‘how comes.’ My notes were ready to cover the last single release, ‘A Million to One,’ the ‘why nots’ and ‘how comes.’ Instead, here sat five guys smiling and an oval-faced jovial female who immediately said, ‘Okay, Bob Riley, when do we start cutting our first record?’ It was a challenge – more in jest. Although I had produced some Joe Henderson, Joe Tex, and a couple of Midnighter sides along the way, I thought what kind of joke is this? Me, Bob Riley producing The Manhattans!
But this is what Hal and Hermi had agreed upon prior to my arrival. Immediately, it was a warm and open thing which seemed to flow among the seven of us — the five Manhattans, Hermi and myself. We actually forgot Hal was there for a few minutes as we talking about many things, mostly outside the realm of music.
It was agreed that I was to take the group down to Macon, Ga. to King’s other studio which was handled by Bobby Smith, the actual discoverer of Otis Redding. The session became a team effort with the greater position of the input flowing around through Blue, Hermi and myself. The session produced a good album, out of which came one hit song, ‘One Life to Live.’
“Back Up” peaked at #18 on Cash Box‘s R&B Top 65 chart on March 3, 1973.
After The Manhattans signed with Columbia in 1973, Starday-King released two more singles on DeLuxe, with the final one — “Do You Ever” — reviewed in the August 11, 1973 edition of Record World, who deemed it a “Hit of the Week”: “Group established themselves as crossover giants with their last outing [Columbia’s] ‘There’s No Me Without You.’ Their old label releases this ballad and the outcome could spell h-i-t. We’ll take Manhattans!”
Other 1/2 of Dec 71 Record Mirror ad — new Starday-King subsidiary, Mpingo
Click on image above to view in ultra-high resolution
Review of Mpingo’s debut 45 — “Nobody” by Hodges, James, Smith & Crawford — in the January 1, 1972 issue of Record World: “Mickey Stevenson’s new label has a super strong soul side as its first release. Powerful vocal work by new girl group gives it real hit potential. Watch out!”
H O N O R A B L E M E N T I O N
AUDIO LINK for “60 Minute Man” by The Untouchables
“Here’s a new version of ‘Sixty Minute Man’ that swings even more than the original Dominoes record did. It could be a hit again.”
AUDIO LINK for “Twistin’ Fever” [B-side?] by The Marcels
peaked at #103 on March 1, 1962 [Colpix]
“Twistin’ Fever” was a “Regional Breakout” single in the Hartford area, as reported in Billboard‘s March 31, 1962 edition.
Cash Box‘s 45 review in their April 7, 1962 edition assumes “Twistin’ Fever” to be the B-side:
THE MARCELS (Colpix 629)
(B+) “FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND”
(2:19) [Wemar BMI —
Elias, Reid, Richards] Guys who put
“Blue Moon” and some other standards
on the teen map with their
whacky chant style offer an exciting
teen sound here. Lead and fellow
songsters do a very slick job on the
first-rate item, and they’re supported
by a strong Latinish instrumental
sound. Can be another chart go for the
team.
(B-f) “TWISTIN’ FEVER” (2:05)
[St. Louis BMI — Blackwell,
Scott] Old ditty gets a sly, grow-on-you
twist reading. Should also be eyed.
Alvin Robinson’s version of the King classic was a “Regional Breakout” single in Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, Atlanta, Chicago, Charlotte & Houston, as reported in Billboard‘s September 19, 1964 edition.
Here are the 45s that “bubbled under” Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart from Fraternity, Cincinnati’s other notable “indie” label from the original roots rock era. Founded by Harry Carlson in 1954, Fraternity was a “one-man operation” that did business out of Carlson’s office/residence in Cincinnati’s old Sheraton Gibson Hotel. Carlson sold Fraternity in 1975 to Counterpart Records‘ Shad O’Shea, who later sold Fraternity to Victor Piagneri in 2008 “with the promise that he would keep the labels active,” according to Big Boppa‘s Fraternity labels and company sleeves website.
AUDIO LINK for “Book Of Love” by Bobby Bare (Fraternity 878)
peaked at #106 on May 29, 1961
Billboard‘s review in their April 10, 1961 edition: “A big, big ballad gets a mighty convincing vocal from Bare over a soaring string and choral group accompaniment Flip is ‘Lorena‘.”
“Book of Love” – a 45 that enjoyed release in Australia, also somehow ended up (licensed?) that same year on a Swedish EP, whose wild cover image makes promises that the music in no way can come close to delivering.
“The Charmaines were a soul girl trio. Sisters Marian (who used the name Gigi on some of the records) and Jerri Jackson had sung together, but at the start of the girl group sound in 1959/60, Marian started a trio with Irene Vinegar and Dee Watkins. The group was signed to Fraternity records and started recording at King studios. They released two 45s on Fraternity, with the second one, “What Kind Of Girl” being their highest charting record, although only making it to #117 in the Billboard [Bubbling Under] charts. They had a one shot 45 on Dot before returning to Fraternity.
While recording their own 45s, the sessions included other local musicians like Kenny Smith and most notably, Lonnie Mack, who got his big break thanks to a Charnaines session that finished early, allowing him time to record ‘Memphis.’.[which peaked at #12 on Billboard‘s R&B Singles chart]”
THE CHARMAINES
(Fraternity 880)
(B+) “WHAT KIND OF GIRL
(Do You Think I Am)”
(2:22) [B. F. Wood ASCAP— Seneca,
Steward] Gals display lots of
rhythmic-rock polish, and are backed
by an infectious combo arrangement.
Upbeat sound that might make the
chart grade.
(B-h) “ALL YOU GOTTA DO”
(2:14) [Dorsey ASCAP —
Starr, Kahn] The larks move quickly
again, and come-up with more catchy
teen doings.
“What Kind of Girl” reached #26 on Cash Box‘s Singles-Looking Ahead chart on August 26, 1961.
AUDIO LINK for “Where There’s A Will” [B-side] by Lonnie Mack
peaked at #113 on October 30, 1963 (Fraternity 918)
The Charmaines provide backing vocals on “Where There’s a Will” as well as the flip side, “Baby What’s Wrong.” According to PragueFrank, these two sides were recorded at the same 1963 King Studios session as “Wham!” and “Suzie-Q,” where Lonnie Mack was assisted by Wayne Bullock [bass], Ron Grayson [drums], Irv Rusetto [sax], and Marv Lieberman [sax], with Carl Edmondson serving as producer.
“Where There’s a Will” also reached #27 on Cash Box‘s Singles – Looking Ahead chart for the week ending December 28, 1963.
Billboard’s November 9, 1963 “Pop Spotlight” review tags “Where There’s a Will,” however, as the B-side: “The ‘Memphis’ man, Lonnie Mack, enters the singer’s ring on this side culled from this current LP, [‘Baby What’s Wrong‘] is a Jimmy Reed blues that has strong sell and swing. The flip is ‘Where There’s a Will’.”
Gibson Guitars relays this amusing related anecdote in a tribute piece entitled “Unsung Guitar Hero — Lonnie Mack“: “Mack’s staggering soulfulness is clearly on display on ballads like ‘I’ll Keep You Happy,’ ‘Why,’ and ‘Where There’s a Will There’s a Way’—Lonnie’s third Fraternity single and a tune that received airplay on black radio stations, including one in Birmingham, Alabama, until Lonnie arrived one day for an interview and revealed he was white.”
“Baby What’s Wrong” (the A-side) peaked at #93 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart.
1964 — Australia (“A Fraternity Recording from U.S.A.”)
AUDIO LINK for “Lonnie on the Move” by Lonnie Mack
peaked at March 7, 1964 (Fraternity 920)
Cash Box‘s singles review in their February 15, 1964 issue: “The versatile vocalist-instrumentalist can get back in the chart swing-of-things with his newest for Fraternity. It’s a frantic, hard-driving all-instrumental affair, tabbed ‘Lonnie On The Move,’ that can go the ‘Memphis’-‘Wham!’ smash route. The easy-on-the-ears beat-ballad romantic shuffler,[Ray Pennington’s] ‘Say Something Nice To Me‘ displays Lonnie’s winning vocal way.”
Cash Box‘s March 7, 1964 edition reported that “Lonnie on the Move” was in a group of 45s that were “going strongly” with “juke box ops [operators]” even though “not on Cash Box‘s Top 100″ — also listed at #41 on Cash Box‘s Singles – Looking Ahead chart.that same week.
According to Led Zeppelin biographer, Mick Wall, prior to Zep’s first ever rehearsal, Jimmy Page played for John Bonham “a single called ‘Lonnie on the Move’. It’s like ‘Turn On Your Lovelight‘ [by Bobby Bland] as an instrumental, and it’s got this drumming that’s really super hooligan [and] I said, ‘This is the kind of angle I’m coming in at’.”
“Lonnie on the Move” has been part of Jeff Beck’s live repertoire in recent years, as these YouTube performance clips indicate.
The YouTube contributor who uploaded the above audio clip indicates the vocal contributions of The Charmaines.
According to PragueFrank, the early 1964 recording session that produced “Lonnie on the Move,” “I’ve Had It,” “From Me to You” and four other songs was the first time Mack had recorded anywhere other than King Studios — in this case, RCA Victor Studio in Nashville.
“I’ve Had It’ reached #34 on Cash Box‘s Singles – Looking Ahead chart for the week ending May 16, 1964.
Cash Box‘s June 6, 1964 edition reported that “I’ve Had It” was “going strongly” with “juke box ops [operators]” even though “not on Cash Box‘s Top 100″ chart.
peaked at #121 on February 26, 1966 (Fraternity 956)
Record World‘s review in their February 19, 1966 issue as a “four-star” singles pick: “Well done protest type song. Mouse will get the cheese with. Lyrics capture imagination.”
“A Public Execution” entered Cash Box‘s Top 50 Singles – Looking Ahead” chart at the #50 position on March 12, 1966 and reached the #27 spot two weeks later.
“Execution” also reached #5 on Record World‘s “Singles Coming Up” chart for the week ending March 5, 1966.
Mouse is short for Mouse & the Traps, garage rockers from Tyler, Texas.
peaked at #125 on October 8, 1966 (Fraternity 972)
2 of Clubs, according to Spectropop, is a duo comprised of Patti Valentine and Linda Parrish:
“Linda is from Cincinnati and I’m from Covington, Kentucky, just across the Ohio River,” says Patti. “There was at the time a very popular nightspot called Guys & Dolls. Linda and I each worked there, but not together at first. Singing at Guys & Dolls was my first paying job. Before that I performed anywhere a band was willing to let me get up and sing. Some were sort of bad news places, and at first I wasn’t even old enough to be in them. Ben Kraft, who owned Guys & Dolls, heard about me from people who’d seen me perform. He came to listen to me, liked what he heard and hired me. At some point, it was discovered that Linda’s voice and mine blended together really well, and we decided to become a duo. Linda was married to Carl Edmondson, who headed up the house band.”
One 45Cat contributor reports that this debut 45 was a “sizeable hit in the Albany, NY market (#2), held out of the top by The Royal Guardsmen” and then asks “where else did this do better locally than nationally?” Answer: Cincinnati, where “Heart” was a Regional Breakout single, as reported in the October 15, 1966 issue of Billboard.
Spectropop also reports that “Heart” was recorded at King Studios and “reached the Top 10 in places like Chicago.”
Billboard‘s November 19, 1966 edition found “Heart” included on its “Spotlight” list of 45s “predicted to reach the Hot 100.”
“Heart” also reached #21 on Cash Box‘s Singles – Looking Ahead chart, as well as #22 on Record World‘s Singles Look Up chart in October of 1966.
AUDIO LINK for “How Long Has It Been” by The Casinos
peaked at #121 on June 17, 1967 (Fraternity 987)
The Casinos started out as The Legends, a teenage doo wop group whose members had attended Woodward High School, according to White Doo-Wop Collector music history blog.
Billboard‘s review in their June 17, 1967 edition: “The well-blended vocal group should ride high on the charts with this top rhythm ballad. Has the feel and sales appeal of their big one ‘Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye.’ Powerful entry. Flip: ‘Forever And a Day’.”
“The show business fraternity has always loved a comeback story, and none is being more warmly received today than that of Harry Carlson and his Cincinnati-based Fraternity Records.
Currently racking up hefty sales on two singles, ‘Walk Tall,’ by the 2 of Clubs, and ‘Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye,’ by The Casinos, Carlson told Record World last week that it has been about 10 years since his label had a real hit: Jimmy Dorsey’s ‘So Rare.’ Now, however, things are really swinging for Fraternity and Carlson has just singed four new artists: Danny Scholl, Cal Starr, Kitty West and Chris St. John.
‘All our artists are signed to long-term contracts,’ noted Carlson.
Furthermore, the company is about to bring out four new albums featuring the Casinos, who have signed with Premier Talent, the 2 of Clubs, Lonnie Mack and Cal Starr. ‘This is the first time we’ve had in release more than one LP at a time,’ Carlson further revealed.
Carlson attributes much of the success they are having with ‘Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye’ to the Acuff-Rose publishers of the John D. Loudermilk tune. ‘They’ve given me greater support than anyone else in this business ever got. For example, on one Friday, there were three areas in which I needed help; on Monday, Acuff-Rose sent promo men into the area.’
The song had been discovered by producer Glen Hughes (following a few recordings of it that failed to click) who then started using it in clubs.”
Carlson, noted Shad O’Shea in Greg Evans’ history of “The Cincinnati Sound” for Cincinnati Magazine, “really was loved by the entire record industry worldwide.” Glen Hughes of The Casinos (and later Glen Hughes Promotion out of Nashville) enthuses unabashedly that Carlson “was one of the sweetest, kindest men in the world, like a father to everyone who recorded for him. You hear about musicians in those days didn’t receive all their royalties? I honestly think Harry overpaid us — he was worried about us not getting our fair share.”
“I had originally heard ‘They You Can Tell Me Goodbye’ on a Nashville station. It was sung by Johnny Nash, and we had no idea of recording it — we just thought it would be a good song to play in clubs. We kept getting a tremendous response from it, and requests for it.
One day we were recording a jingle for WSAI at King, and we had some time left on the session, so we cut ‘Goodbye.’ We took it to Harry Carlson and he said ‘I believe that’s a hit.’ The song, released in December of 1966, was a hit, reaching number four on the Billboard charts and selling 1.3 million copies. The group which contained as many as nine members, mostly old neighborhood friends from Over-the-Rhine, began touring the country, spurred on by the success of the single.”
AUDIO LINK for “Sometimes You Just Can’t Win” by Mouse and the Traps
peaked at #125 on June 8, 1968 (Fraternity 1005)
Tragedy befell the band around the time they were promoting this single, as Billboard reported in their April 27, 1968 edition in an ironic news item entitled, “Ya Jes’ Can’t Always Win“:
“CINCINNATI—The Mouse and the Traps, who recently scored handily with their ‘L.O.V.E.‘ single on Harry Carlson’s Fraternity label, suffered the loss of some $9,000 in equipment recently when their car and trailer went off the road and overturned near Jackson, Tenn., while on the hop from Texarkana, Ark. to Louisville. With borrowed instruments, the group appeared on the ‘Upbeat’ TV-er in Cleveland the next day. The boys feel the loss incurred in the accident ties in neatly with their latest Fraternity release, ‘Sometimes You Just Can’t Win,’ which last week received its first big play in the Midwest area.”
Cash Box‘s review in their April 27, 1968 issue: “Coming off a noise-maker with ‘L.O.V.E.’ the group carries on in a heavy pop ballad with arrangements that highlight a fine lead vocal. Flip: ‘Cryin’ Inside‘.”
Billboard‘s June 1, 1968 edition reports “the platter showing exceptionally well in Louisville; Columbus, Ohio, and Dallas” — those same three areas cited in a Record WorldMay 18, 1968 news item.
The two-volume King Labels recording sessions discography (i.e., “the red books“) compiled by Michael Ruppli with assistance from Bill Daniels, can be frustratingly incomplete, especially with regard to musician credits. Although this reference source is a great starting point, scholars of James Brown funk are forced to do quite a bit of digging on their own in order to piece together a more complete history.
Your ears might tell you, for instance, that William “Bootsy” Collins played bass on “Licking Stick,” a song first released as a two-part King 45 in May, 1968.
>AUDIO LINK for “Licking Stick Licking Stick (Pt. 1)”
James Brown and the Famous Flames (1968)
This classic funk bass riff, you might be startled to learn, was played by future Nashville session musician, Tim Drummond — one of six musicians who accompanied Mr. Brown on a Vietnam tour that same year. “Licking Stick” would also be issued as a single track on 1969’s Say It Loud I’m Black And I’m Proud album.
Musician credits, however, are absent on the original gatefold LP release — a common occurrence with King. This kind of information would not become more widely known until decades later, when these recordings were reissued on compact disc, with some of the better anthologies including detailed liner notes.
Say It Loud‘s barren back cover, information-wise
Bootsy first appears in Ruppli’s King Records discography — along with his brother Phelps “Catfish” Collins — as part of the studio backing band on an undated 1969 session (possibly July) for Hank Ballard‘s “Butter Your Popcorn“:
>AUDIO LINK for “Butter Your Popcorn”
Hank Ballard (1969)
According to Ruppli’s session notes —
Hank Ballard: Vocals Don Martin: Drums William Collins: Bass Phelps Collins: Guitar Clayton Garnell: Piano Robert McCallum: Tenor Sax
“Butter Your Popcorn” was originally released as a 45 track only and not included on Ballard’s You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down LP released the previous year. Subsequent reissue in the UK in 2008 would see the song included as a bonus track. “Butter Your Popcorn” can also be found on Ace UK’s seminal anthology, KingFunk.
What Ruppli doesn’t tell you, however, is that Bootsy, Catfish and the other members of The Pacesetters* had been enlisted earlier to back Bill Doggett on what would be the A-side of a King 45 – “Honky Tonk Popcorn” – recorded on June 4, 1969 at (what is assumed to be) Cincinnati’s King Studios and released that same month:
>AUDIO LINK for “Honky Tonk Popcorn”
Bill Doggett (1969)
As R.J. Smith writes in On the One, his biography of James Brown:
Henry Glover started hiring the band [i.e., The Pacesetters* — Frank “Kash” Waddy (drums), Phillippé Wynne (vocals), Robert “Chopper” McCullough (saxophone), and Clayton “Chicken” Gunnels & Darryl “Hasaan” Jamison (trumpet)] on sessions, including an Arthur Prysock record and Bill Doggett’s contribution to popcornography, “Honky Tonk Popcorn.”
Check out this full-page ad in the September 6, 1969 edition of Billboard placed by Starday-King on behalf of James Brown’s then-current single “World (Pts. 1 & 2)” that also name-checks five other “red hot sizzling” King 45s, including both Hank Ballard’s “Butter Your Popcorn” and Bill Doggett’s “Honky Tonk Popcorn.”
R.J. Smith’s tip (thank you!) leads me to a May 13, 1969 session at Cincinnati’s King Studios for Arthur Prysock that lists no musician credits for the four songs recorded that day, all but one included on 1969’s Where the Soul Trees Grow album produced by Henry Glover, who also wrote the title track that kicks off the LP:
>AUDIO LINK for “Where the Soul Trees Grow”
Arthur Prysock (1969)
Is that Bootsy and other members of The Pacesetters* backing Arthur Prysock on “Where the Soul Trees Grow“; “Soul Soliloquy” & “If I Were Young Again” [plus one unissued track “Let’s Talk Things Over“]? “Soul Soliloquy” b/w “Soul Trees” (both, in fact, penned by Henry Glover) were released as a King single, with a promo 45 issued June 1969, according to 45Cat. This album review from the November 22, 1969 edition of Billboard notes “Prysock’s move to the King label” and opines that this LP’s mix of “contemporary and standard songs demonstrates why he is one of the best singers around.”
The rest of the album, as it turns out, was recorded at another session that took place on June 16, 1969 at Cincinnati’s King Studios. Ruppli’s session notes list 9 songs recorded that day (though no musician credits), with a re-worked uptempo “Fever” being one of the standout tracks. Did members of The Pacesetters* play on both session dates for the Arthur Prysock album?
You will see this group of Cincinnati musicians referred to as either The Pacesetters or The Pacemakers — so which is it? I have to go with Don Martin, Bootsy Collins, and Frank “Kash” Waddy who all say The Pacemakers.
Hold on a second, some funk scholars would assert — these Cincinnati musicians actually entered the picture back in 1967, thanks to songwriter (and future King A&R executive), Charles Spurling, whose “The Boy Needs a Girl” for Junior McCants was his initial connection to King Records. Charles Waring provides the back story about Spurling, who grew up in Lincoln Heights and was part of a gang whose rivals were The Isley Brothers:
More importantly, perhaps, Spurling was allowed to cut his own records for the company, and issued five singles, of which the driving, Motown-esque “She Cried Just A Minute”—released in 1967—has achieved cult status on the UK’s Northern Soul scene. (Original copies of the 45 can exchange hands for three hundred dollars.) Says Spurling about the song’s inspiration: “I had this woman, and every time I wanted to make love, she said, ‘Just a minute.’ She was always putting me on hold. So I decided to write a song about it. That’s a true story. She was the same girl that inspired ‘Ball Of Fire,’” as recorded by Connie Austin and Marva Whitney.
Backing up Spurling on the session was a teenage group he had discovered in Cincinnati that included bassist Bootsy Collins and his brother Catfish on guitar. They would later become [The Pacemakers] and, in 1970, the nucleus of James Brown’s backing band, the JB’s. “I was riding through town and I heard these guys practicing,” recollects Spurling. “I just stopped, parked, and listened to them. And I said to myself, ‘All these guys need is a little bit of coaching.’ So then I went in, introduced myself, and sat down and listened to them. They was at their mother’s home. We ended up on the road for three years.” When Syd Nathan asked Spurling to assemble a studio house band for King, the singer-songwriter knew who to call up: “I said, ‘Mr. Nathan, I know some guys who had been with me for three years. We’re tight and they’ll play anything.’ He said, ‘I’ll leave it up to you because if they play like you, these guys are good.’ So then I went and found Bootsy and them.”
Spurling used another Ohio band, Dayton’s The Untouchables, on some King sessions—they later morphed into The Ohio Players—and also nurtured a white band called The Dapps, which James Brown took under his wing.
Is it true (as Chuck Da Fonk and Charlie Fishman declare) that The Pacemakers’ first session at the King Studios was when they provided musical support for Charles Spurling on “That Woman,” recorded in early November 1967 along with its flip side “Which One”?
>AUDIO LINK for “That Woman”
Charles Spurling (1969)
Would love to know who backed Charles Spurling on this classic slice of soul, but unfortunately, the King recording session info (page 392 of Ruppli) is bereft of even a recording date, as you can see:
(Click on image to view in High Resolution)
Fortunately, drummer Don Martin was at this session, and he was able to confirm with Zero to 180 these musician credits:
Charles Spurling: Vocals
Unknown: Backing Vocals Don Martin: Drums William Collins: Bass Phelps Collins: Guitar Artie Sherman: Piano
Artie Sherman would later become part of Midnight Blue, a Chicago outfit that has served as backing band for Buddy Guy, Jimmy Vaughn, and Aaron Neville, according to Discogs.
Bootsy’s next entry in the Ruppli sessionography is one that somehow escaped the book’s index — an uncredited appearance that is a bit of an oddball situation. That is, on page 427 you will find a listing for “More Mess on My Thing (Pt. 1 & 2)” by a group identified as The New Dapps but who we now know (thanks to these musician credits) to be The J.B.’s. Ruppli indicates that a single — King 6271 — was issued, and yet, no evidence exists of any releases whatsoever by a group called The New Dapps. Even stranger, check out this 45 Discography for King Records – 6000 Series and notice that the entry for King 6271 is a duplicate listing of its neighbor, 6272!
50 years later (this past November 29th, to be exact), “More Mess on My Thing” would finally be liberated, thanks to Now-Again Records, whose liner notes (by noted James Brown historian, Alan Leeds) indicate the recording to have been made at Cincinnati’s King Studios on July 2, 1969. How exhilarating to hear Bootsy, through sheer determination and the ferocity of his playing, will the musicians – who initially drop out at the 4:40 mark – back into the performance (after James Brown counts the band in) for one final musical burst:
>AUDIO LINK for “More Mess on My Thing”
The J.B.’s (1969)
Don Juan “Tiger” Martin: Drums William “Bootsy” Collins: Bass Phelps “Catfish” Collins: Guitar Robert “Chopper” McCollough: Tenor Sax Clayton “Chicken” Gunnells: Trumpet Ron Lenhoff: Engineer James Brown: Composer (& Coach)
The remaining months of 1969 and into the first few months of the new decade would see various players occupy the bassist chair, including the aforementioned “Sweet” Charles Sherrill, as well as West Coast session musicians, Ray Brown and Bob West, plus various collaborations with Cincinnati-area musicians, including Lee Tucker of The Dee Felice Trio.
Bootsy next appears in Ruppli’s sessionography on the legendary “Sex Machine” session that took place April 25, 1970 at Starday-King’s Nashville studios. This session yielded the “Sex Machine” recording released as a two-part King 45 in June 1970:
>AUDIO LINK for “Get Up I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine (Pt. 1)”
James Brown (1970)
Musician credits According to Ruppli —
James Brown: Vocals John “Jabo” Starks: Drums William “Bootsy” Collins: Bass Phelps “Catfish” Collins: Guitar Bobby Byrd: Organ Robert “Chopper” McCullough: Tenor Sax Clayton “Chicken” Gunnells: Trumpet Darryl “Hassan” Jamison: Trumpet
“Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine (Part 1)” — a #2 R&B hit that also peaked at #15 on the Pop chart on August 8, 1970 — enjoyed a chart run that lasted 9 weeks.
May 20, 1970 found The J.B.’s making their first solo recording – “The Grunt” – at Cincinnati’s King Studios, a two-part 45 released on the heels of “Sex Machine” (and whose opening sounds would be famously sampled on “Rebel Without a Pause” by Public Enemy):
>AUDIO LINK for “The Grunt (Pts. 1 & 2)”
The J.B.’s (1970)
Frank “Kash” Waddy: Drums Johnny Griggs: Congas William “Bootsy” Collins: Bass Phelps “Catfish” Collins: Guitar Bobby Byrd: Piano Robert McCullough: Tenor Sax Clayton “Chicken” Gunnels: Trumpet Darryl “Hasaan” Jamison: Trumpet James Brown: Producer Ron Lenhoff: Engineer
Billboard, in its August 8, 1970 edition, would select “The Grunt” as part of that week’s Top 20 Soul Spotlights “predicted to reach the Top 20 of the Top Selling R&B Singles Chart.”
That same May 20, 1970 Cincinnati session also produced a gospel recording by vocalist Kay Robinson, who enjoyed musical support from members of The J.B.’s on “The Lord Will Make a Way Somehow“:
>AUDIO LINK for “The Lord Will Make a Way Somehow (Pts. 1 & 2)”
Kay Robinson (1970)
“The Lord Will Make a Way Somehow (Pts. 1 & 2)” Kay Robinson 1970
Musician credits according to Ruppli —
Kay Robinson: Vocals & Piano Frank “Kash” Waddy: Drums William “Bootsy” Collins: Bass Phelps “Catfish” Collins: Guitar James Brown: Backing Vocals Charles Bobbitt: Backing Vocals Faye Pridgon: Backing Vocals
Dr. Kay Robinson currently lives in Columbus, Ohio, and started singing at the age of 18. She recorded for King Records and James Brown Productions. James Brown flew her down to Cincinnati from Dayton (she was living in Springfield) for recording sessions. Her career with James Brown Productions ended when she wouldn’t record R&B songs.
The May 20, 1970 session at the King Studios also yielded a two-part James Brown track written by David Matthews — “The Drunk” — (on which Bootsy plays bass) that was issued on King subsidiary, Bethlehem. According to Ruppli’s notes, Part Two ended up being issued as the B-side of “A Man Has to Go Back to the Crossroads,” with Part One locked away to this day in Polydor’s vaults.
William “Beau Dollar” Bowman: Drums William “Bootsy” Collins: Bass Kenny Poole: Guitar Frank Brown: Trumpet Jerry Conrad: Trumpet Marie Speziale: Trumpet Millard Dusenbury: Trombone Larry Dickson: Baritone Sax David Matthews: Composer & Arranger
The double-album set Sex Machine, meanwhile, combined studio tracks disguised to sound as stage recordings, along with actual live performances recorded in concert at Atlanta’s Bell Auditorium on October 1, 1969, with a large ensemble that featured three personnel on drums — Clyde Stubblefield, John “Jabo” Starks & Melvin Parker — plus a six-member horn section, and Charles Sherrill on bass, among others.
Ruppli’s sparse notes (no musician credits) indicate the three-song medley on side B to have been recorded in Cincinnati on July 23, 1970 (along with unissued versions of “The Boss” and “There Was a Time“) — musician credits for Sex Machine‘s medley (below) provided courtesy of this German pressing:
James Brown: Vocals Clyde Stubblefield [prob.]: Drums Johnny Griggs: Congas William “Bootsy” Collins: Bass Phelps “Catfish” Collins: Guitar Bobby Byrd: Organ Robert “Chopper” McCullough: Tenor Sax Clayton “Chicken” Gunnells: Trumpet Darryl “Hassan” Jamison: Trumpet
“There Was a Time” (a.k.a., “I Got to Move“), from the July 23, 1970 Cincinnati session referenced above, found freedom 25 years later as track number five on a collection of 1970 James Brown recordings that feature members of The J.B.’s, Funk Power – 1970: A Brand New Thing:
>AUDIO LINK for “There Was a Time (I Got to Move)”
James Brown (1970)
James Brown: Vocals John “Jabo” Starks: Drums Johnny Griggs: Congas William “Bootsy” Collins: Bass Phelps “Catfish” Collins: Guitar Bobby Byrd: Organ Robert “Chopper” McCollough: Tenor Sax Clayton “Chicken” Gunnels: Trumpet Darryl “Hasaan” Jamison: Trumpet Ron Lenhoff: Engineer James Brown: Producer & Songwriter
That same Cincinnati session also produced a version of “Sex Machine” that, according to Ruppli, is the nearly 11-minute version you hear kicking off side A of the Sex Machine LP released in September of that year. Amusing to note that Augusta, GA and Cincinnati are the first two cities name-checked by Brown in his wide-ranging roll call of US cities prior to the song’s final bridge:
>AUDIO LINK for “Sex Machine (Extended LP Version)”
James Brown (1970)
MUSICIAN CREDITS TAKEN FROM DISCOGS
[SAME Cincinnati SESSION AS “LIVE” MEDLEY]
James Brown: Vocals Bobby Byrd: Vocals Clyde Stubblefield [prob.]: Drums William “Bootsy” Collins: Bass Phelps “Catfish” Collins: Guitar Bobby Byrd: Organ Robert “Chopper” McCullough: Tenor Sax Clayton “Chicken” Gunnells: Trumpet Darryl “Hassan” Jamison: Trumpet
Sex Machine would peak at #29 on Billboard‘s Top 200 album chart [#4 R&B].
Brown’s next album Super Bad would give the King engineering team another opportunity to fashion a “live” album — via the superimposition of concert crowd sounds — from recordings produced at Starday-King’s studio facilities in both Cincinnati and Nashville. “Super Bad,” the 9-minute opening title track recorded on June 30, 1970 in Nashville, is the album’s sole selection to feature The J.B.’s:
>AUDIO LINK for “Super Bad (Pts. 1-3)”
James Brown (1970)
Musician credits According to Ruppli —
James Brown: Vocals John “Jabo” Starks: Drums Johnny Griggs: Conga William “Bootsy” Collins: Bass Phelps “Catfish” Collins: Guitar Bobby Byrd: Organ Robert “Chopper” McCullough: Tenor Sax Clayton “Chicken” Gunnells: Trumpet Darryl “Hassan” Jamison: Trumpet
“Super Bad” — a #1 R&B hit for James Brown (#13 Pop, peak date Nov. 21, 1970) — would spend a total of 10 weeks on the chart. The Super Bad album, meanwhile, would reach as high as #4 on Billboard’s R&B chart, #61 on the Pop chart.
At that June 30, 1970 session, The J.B.’s also laid down two of their own recordings: **“When You Feel It, Grunt If You Can” (includes musical quotations from songs by Kool & the Gang, The Meters & Jimi Hendrix) and “I’ll Ze“:
>AUDIO LINK for “When You Feel It, Grunt If You Can”
The J.B.’s (1970)
James Brown: Vocals John “Jabo” Starks: Drums Johnny Griggs: Conga William “Bootsy” Collins: Bass Phelps “Catfish” Collins: Guitar Bobby Byrd: Organ Robert “Chopper” McCullough: Tenor Sax Clayton “Chicken” Gunnells: Trumpet Darryl “Hassan” Jamison: Trumpet
Note: These liner notes say that (1) Frank “Kash” Waddy played drums on “I’ll Ze” and (2) Clyde Stubblefield [possibly Frank “Kash” Waddy] played drums on “When You Feel It, Grunt If You Can.”
Also captured on tape at that June 30, 1970 Nashville session was a vocal tune by James Brown, with help from Bobby Byrd and backing by The J.B.’s, that was initially kept in the can — “Since You’ve Been Gone” — but has since been issued on such collections as 1988’s Motherlode and 1996’s Funk Power – 1970: A Brand New Thang:
>AUDIO LINK for “Since You’ve Been Gone”
James Brown (1970)
James Brown: Vocals Bobby Byrd: Vocals Clyde Stubblefield: Drums Johnny Griggs: Percussion Bootsy Collins: Bass Catfish Collins: Guitar
Ruppli’s session notes for “Since You’ve Been Gone” state “same band” as the personnel used for “Super Bad” — on which “Jabo” Starks served as the drummer, not Clyde Stubblefield — so I feel compelled to point out the discrepancy with the credits above. Starks played drums on “When You Feel It, Grunt If You Can” & “I’ll Ze” – tracks all recorded the same day – so it stands to reason, perhaps, that he performed likewise on “Since You Been Gone.”
On September 10, 1970, The J.B.’s laid down the title track “These Are The J.B.’s.” for what was intended to be their debut long-player:
>AUDIO LINK for “These Are the J.B.’s”
The J.B.’s (1970)
Ruppli’s session notes indicate this recording to be part of King LP 1126, a four-song test pressing engineered by Ron Lenhoff (as previously noted) that would be shelved, once James Brown inked a new contract with Polydor, in favor of a more expansive ten-track debut album on James Brown’s People label in 1972 [By the way, that original four-song mix of These Are The J.B.’s finally saw daylight in 2014, thanks to Now-Again Records, with liner notes again by Alan Leeds — the previous year, someone had paid $1600 for a copy of the test pressing that allegedly came from the estate of Hal Neely (who directed operations for the merged Starday-King labels after Syd Nathan’s passing on behalf of new owner, Lin Broadcasting)].
$1600 test pressing (1971) for These Are the J.B.’s
Given that Myra Barnes (a.k.a., Vicki Anderson) made her recording of “Message From the Soul Sisters (Pt. 1 & 2)” at Cincinnati’s King Studios on September 10, 1970 — the same session where “These Are The J.B.’s” was recorded — it should come as no surprise to learn that The J.B.’s provided musical support:
>AUDIO LINK for “Message From the Soul Sisters (Pts. 1 & 2)”
Myra Barnes (1970)
Myra (“Vicki Anderson”) Barnes: Vocals Clyde Stubblefield: Drums William “Bootsy” Collins: Bass Phelps “Catfish” Collins: Guitar Bobby Byrd: Piano St. Clair Pinckney: Baritone Sax Robert McCollough: Tenor Sax Clayton “Chicken” Gunnells: Trumpet Darryl “Hasaan” Jamison: Trumpet
October 1, 1970 would find The J.B.’s backing James Brown on a pair of recordings made at Bobby Smith Studios in Macon, Georgia, with one of the tracks (“We Need Liberation“) locked away in the vaults never having been issued, while the other — “Talkin’ Loud and Sayin’ Nothing” — was held back for release until January, 1972:
>AUDIO LINK for “Talkin’ Loud and Sayin’ Nothing”
James Brown (1970)
But wait! One additional recording (not mentioned in the Ruppli discography) was made at that October 1, 1970 session — a J.B.’s instrumental named “The Wedge” that only saw freedom when issued as the second track on the More Mess On My Thing album released this past November:
2019’s More Mess On My Thing album — mixed by Mario Caldato directly from the original multi-track masters — also features a 22-minute version of **“When You Feel It, Grunt If You Can” (see credits below) recorded in Nashville on June 30, 1970:
>AUDIO LINK for “When You Feel It, Grunt If You Can” [complete take]
The J.B.’s (1970)
Clyde Stubblefield: Drums Frank “Kash” Waddy: Drums Johnny Griggs: Congas William “Bootsy” Collins: Bass Phelps “Catfish” Collins: Guitar Robert “Chopper” McCollough: Tenor Sax Clayton “Chicken” Gunnells: Trumpet Darryl “Hassan” Jamison: Trumpet James Brown: Vocals [i.e., “Right On!”s] Ron Lenhoff: Engineer
Written by = James Brown, with help** from a few friends:
[“Chicken Strut”] = Art Neville, George Porter, Jr., Joseph Modeliste & Leo Nocentelli
[“I Was Made to Love Her”] = Hank Cosby, Lula Hardaway, Stevie Wonder & Sylvia Moy
[“Let the Music Take Your Mind”] = Gene Redd + Kool & The Gang
[“Power of Soul”] = Jimi Hendrix
[“Something”] = George Harrison
The first week of November, 1970 would see two big King 45s committed to tape at Cincinnati’s King Studios. Ruppli tells us that Vicki Anderson‘s response record to “Super Bad” (penned by James Brown ) — “Super Good (Pts. 1 & 2)” — was recorded on November 3rd, while Dave Thompson, in his Funk listening guide, confirms that “Bootsy Colllins-era JBs” are the backing band on this single, as Ruppli’s notes do not contain musician credits:
>AUDIO LINK for “Super Good (Pts. 1 & 2)”
Vicki Anderson (1970)
“Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved (Pts. 1 & 2)” — a #4 R&B (#34 Pop) hit that spent a total of 8 weeks on the charts, having peaked on February 6, 1971 — was also recorded in early November at King Studios:
>AUDIO LINK for “Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved”
James Brown (1970)
Ruppli’s session notes also identifies five tracks recorded at the King Studios on November 5, 1970 by James Brown (backed by a group of unnamed musicians) that remain unissued: “All the King’s Men” (a name later used for Maceo Parker’s own band) and “I’ll Be There” (presumably, a version of that year’s big Jackson 5 hit), plus three recordings of no fixed title. Could this Untitled Instrumental (taken from 1988’s Motherlode funk compilation) be one of those unnamed recordings from the session at the King Studios on November 5, 1970?
>AUDIO LINK for Untitled Instrumental
James Brown (1970)
January 26, 1971 would find James Brown at Washington, DC’s Rodel Studios, with “Soul Power” being one of the key recordings captured that day. Ruppli neglects to mention, however, that The J.B.’s provided musical support on these tracks:
James Brown: Lead Vocals Bobby Byrd: Backing Vocals John “Jabo” Starks: Drums Johnny Griggs: Congas William “Bootsy” Collins: Bass Phelps “Catfish” Collins: Guitar Bobby Roach: Guitar St. Clair Pinckney: Tenor Sax Fred Wesley: Trombone Clayton “Chicken” Gunnells: Trumpet Darryl “Hasaan” Jamison: Trumpet
“Soul Power” reached as high as #4 on the R&B chart (#29 Pop) and spent 9 weeks on the charts, having peaked on April 3, 1971.
Zero to 180 asked DC’s Dave Nuttycombe if he knew where Rodel Studios was once located, to which he typed forth this reply:
[Rodel] was in Georgetown, off Wisconsin down by Key Bridge. The “Ro” was Fritz Roland, perhaps the top cinematographer in town. The studio did a lot of film post-production, back when DC was churning out industrial and government films.
Dave’s friend, Paul Dunlap, meanwhile provides this complementary bit of information:
During the same January 26, 1971 session at DC’s Rodel Studios, Lyn Collins also recorded the A-side of her next single — “Wheels of Life” — which was then completed, according to this website, the following month on February 15, 1971 at Bobby Smith Studios in Macon, Georgia:
>AUDIO LINK for “Wheels of Life”
Lyn Collins (1971)
Lyn Collins: Vocals & Handclaps James Brown: Piano Don Juan “Tiger” Martin: Drums Johnny Griggs: Tambourine William “Bootsy” Collins: Bass Phelps “Catfish” Collins: Guitar Bobby Roach: Guitar St. Clair Pinckney: Tenor Sax Clayton “Chicken” Gunnells: Trumpet Darryl “Hassan” Jamison: Trumpet Fred Wesley: Trombone
“Wheels of Life” was issued as the fourth single release on People – a subsidiary label for James Brown Productions that was active from 1971 through 1974 – as well as King.
Ruppli also informs us that Roberta Dubois – one of The Sisters of Righteous – recorded “Who Am I” on January 26, 1971 at DC’s Rodel Studios (with these same musicians, one presumes). “Who Am I” would be selected as the A-side of King 6375. Good luck, however, finding a copy.
Dubois was not the first King artist to record “Who Am I,” as this song makes several appearances in the Ruppli sessionography around this time, interestingly enough, Ruppli’s notes for King master K13740 indicate that “Who Am I” attributed to King recording artist Leon Austin (who had taught James Brown “the right way to play piano,” according to biographer Don Rhodes) was “transferred to K13792” on September 10, 1970. When you then skip to K13792 (an undated entry), you find the song “Who Am I” instead attributed to The Famous Flames — a King 45 released December, 1970. James Brown would record his own unissued version the following month, shortly before Vicki Anderson then recorded her version of “Who Am I’ at the Cincinnati studios on January 21, 1971 that also never saw the light of day.
Which brings us to the final entry of The J.B.’s in volume one of the Ruppli “red books”:King LP1137. Go to Discogs and type the terms “King 1137” and you will encounter a lot of “noise” — but if you go back and add the word “Olympia,” notice that you pull up exactly one item for a triple-album test pressing of an unenhanced live performance of James Brown & The J.B.’s recorded March 8, 1971 at the Olympia Theatre in Paris that got shelved for 20 years, until the release of Polydor’s Love Power Peace CD in 1992, an edited mix of the concert. In 2014, Sundazed performed a tremendous public service with their issue of a 3-LP “trifold” album that included the following statement:
This collection represents original stereo mixes, as overseen and approved by James Brown in 1971, of materials intended for a 3-LP set with uniquely titled discs: “Love,” “Power,” and “Peace.” Documentation shows that the sides would have been presented in then-common automatic record changer, with side one and side six appearing together, sides two and five, and three and four following suit [i.e., “auto-coupled“] to facilitate continuous play; we have honored that intention in this edition. In the aftermath of both a change in labels and key members of the band departing just after these [eight-track] masters were completed, the project was not issued. Although a CD edition of the album was issued by Polydor in 1992, it was not the complete show and was newly mixed. This is the first time this storied slice of searing soul has been available exactly as James Brown envisioned.
James Brown: Vocals Bobby Byrd: Vocals John (Jabo) Starks: Drums [Primary] Don Juan (Tiger) Martin: Drums [Secondary] William (Bootsy) Collins: Bass Phelps (Catfish) Collins: Guitar Hearlon (Cheese) Martin: Rhythm Guitar Bobby Byrd: Organ St. Clair Pinckney: Tenor Sax Clayton (Chicken) Gunnells: Trumpet Darryl (Hassan) Jamison: Trumpet Fred Wesley: Trombone David Matthews: Conductor [Horns And Strings] Ron Lenhoff: Engineer
To replicate concert, play 3-LP set “auto-coupled” on a Crosley Stack-o-Matic
Compared to the 1992 CD with 17 tracks, check out the three-LP Sundazed mix that has a total of 31 selections across six sides. These three discs contain the entire Paris show with one notable exception — “Who Am I” recorded January 12 and April 12, 1971 at King Studios, Cincinnati, Ohio (with Kenny Poole on guitar).
Worth mentioning that on page 452, close to the end of Ruppli’s King sessionography, you will find an undated session on which The J.B.’s recorded a pair of unissued songs, “My Brother” and “Texas Green.”
1972’s Get on the Good Foot album includes one recording with the Collins brothers — “The Whole World Needs Liberation” — that must be among their last recordings with James Brown:
>AUDIO LINK for “The Whole World Needs Liberation”
James Brown (1972)
James Brown: Vocals Bobby Byrd: Backing Vocals Hal Neely: Backing Vocals Lois Wong: Backing Vocals Clyde Stubblefield: Drums Bootsy Collins: Bass Catfish Collins: Guitar H.B. Barnum: Conductor
After their departure from the James Brown organization, Bootsy Phelps and Complete Strangers put out a single, “Fun In Your Thang (Pts. 1 & 2)”:
>AUDIO LINK for “Fun in Your Thang (Pt. 1)”
Bootsy Phelps and Complete Strangers (1972)
Released in 1972 on General American, an independent label out of Columbia, Missouri (that was also based in Cincinnati), this 45 would be re-issued the following year on Cincinnati-based Philmore Sound: Would love to know where this recording was made – possibly at King Studios?
This vinyl-only collection (with liner notes by RJ Smith + these musician credits) is a limited edition release from Shake It Records, who have this to say —
A slab of Cincinnati hard funk slammers – most reissued (legally) for the first time! Post JB’s / Pre-P-funk outfits headed up by brothers Catfish & Bootsy Collins along with a Cincinnati who’s-who of top club players who could turn it out night after night after night in places like The Psychedelic Grave or The Round Up Club – that featured a caged bear in the club!
This selection, hand picked by Bootsy, highlights that youthful output under various names as The House Guests, The Complete Strangers and Bootsy, Phelps & Gary. The monikers may have changed, but what they brought to the stage every night – leaving the club and audience devastated – never did.
A D D I T I O N A L R E L A T E D R E C O R D I N G S
Maceo and the Macks would incorporate new horn work (as well as audio excerpts from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s stirring “Mountaintop” speech) on a reinvigorated mix entitled “Soul Power ’74” that saw release in October 1973:
>AUDIO LINK for “Soul Power ’74”
Maceo and the Macks (1973)
From poking around in Discogs, I have discovered that 1995’s Bobby Byrd anthology Bobby Got Soul includes two obscure 45 tracks, plus a pair of previously unreleased recordings that feature Bootsy, Catfish and The J.B.’s —
Bobby Byrd: Vocals & Songwriter James Brown: Backing Vocals John “Jabo” Starks: Drums Johnny Griggs: Percussion William “Bootsy” Collins: Bass Phelps “Catfish” Collins: Guitar Hearlon “Cheese” Martin: Guitar St. Clair Pinckney: Tenor Sax Clayton “Chicken” Gunnells: Trumpet Darryl “Hassan” Jamison: Trumpet Fred Wesley: Trombone
Bootsy in far-left corner of inset photo on Byrd’s European LP cover
Bootsy Talks King History @ National Public Radio
November 1, 2017’s edition of NPR radio show “What’s Good With Stretch & Bobbito” features Bootsy Collins, who reflects on his experiences at Cincinnati’s King Records (starting at age 17), as well as the birth of the J.B.’s, among other things.
James Brown’s “Hot Pants” — released June 1971 — was a #1 hit R&B [#15 Pop] that spent 11 weeks on the chart and whose popularity reached its apex on Aug. 7, 1971, around the time this issue of Mad Magazine was hitting the presses.
Grandpa Jones‘ toe-tappin’ countrypolitan “Hip Cat’s Weddin’” is one of Zero to 180’s recent discoveries:
“Hip Cat’s Weddin'” Grandpa Jones & His Swingin’ Grandchildren Rec. Nov, 1960
Too little has been written about Boudleaux Bryant‘s clever composition and its fetching arrangement — virtually nothing, in fact. “I Don’t Love Nobody” b/w “Hip Cat’s Weddin’” sadly would be Jones’s sole release with His Swingin’ Grandchildren. Given the relatively small percentage of the world’s population that owns the original 45 or 1997’s 5-CD Everybody’s Grandpa anthology compiled by Germany’s Bear Family, how tragic that this sly send-up of hep cat culture has been essentially unheard for decades.
(B-f) “I DON’T LOVE NOBODY”
(1:45) [G-J BMI — Arr. Jones]
The oldie is given a contagious
revamping by the lovable Grandpa and
with his “Swinging Grandchildren” he
gives it a rousing jubilation sendoff.
Has excellent spin value.
(B-f) “HIP CAT’S WEDDIN’”
(2:18) [Acuff-Rose BMI — Bryant]
This Boudeleaux Bryant ditty is
ideally suited for Jones’ comical
style. It’s a bouncy blueser; rates
consideration.
Thanks once again to PragueFrank for providiing the musician credits on a session that also produced “These Hills”; “Billy Yank and Johnny Reb” and the unreleased “Goodbye Reb” — although I am puzzled by the recording date of 21 February 1961 which is months after the Cash Box review above.
Grandpa Jones: Vocal/Guitar/Banjo
Harold Bradley: Guitar
Ray Edenton: Guitar
Hank Garland: Guitar
Jerry Byrd: Steel Guitar
Boots Randolph: Sax
Floyd Cramer: Piano
Buddy Harman: Drums
YouTube’s sole audio clip of “Hip Cat’s Weddin'” (posted in 2017) has only been “viewed” a total of 209 times, as of November 7, 2019. You and I can do something about that. Gratitude to WFMU’s Michael Shelley for giving this song several spins on the air.
Brown’s Ferry Four: The Original Country Supergroup
As journalist/writer Bruce Eder points out in Discogs‘ miniature biographical portrait:
“Based on their lineup alone, Brown’s Ferry Four was a country supergroup from the get-go, with an original membership consisting of Grandpa Jones, the Delmore Brothers, and Merle Travis. Though the group only existed for ten years, and almost never made any personal appearances or gave any concerts, they managed to become one of the most beloved country gospel groups through their radio broadcasts and the nearly four dozen sides they recorded for King Records between 1946 and 1952.”
Fun Facts & Trivia — Best Tweets from King Records Month 2018
As with the previous piece (“King’s Jazz Legacy“), it seems silly to keep all this rich history from last year’s King 75th Anniversary tucked away in a file attachment. One year later, it has become increasingly obvious that this “once-tweeted” information would serve humanity to a much greater degree if likewise liberated and laid out clearly, without concern for limits on text or number of illustrations. These original tweets have been richly supplemented for this updated version.
Modernist pavilion at Cincinnati’s Bellevue Park overlooking downtown
[Note: streaming audio links indicated inbold blue ink]
Fairley’s new version [of “Keep Them Cold Icy Fingers Off Of Me“] for King (his third) sold well enough to warrant three more sessions during the year, including 12 songs cut in December [1947] before the [1948 recording] ban. He was backed by Moon Mullican (with whom he also toured in Detroit) at his first two sessions, while Mose Rager and another guitarist are heard at the December date. This and a session with Curly Fox & Texas Ruby, also for King, give us the only example of Rager’s work on record [emphasis mine].
With regard to Curly Fox and Texas Ruby, since they did two recording sessions for King (as indicated by Ruppli), I am unclear as to which of the 17 tracks feature Rager’s playing, since he only played on “a” recording session, as Sax states above. However, if I were to be so bold, I suspect that Rager’s guitar work can be heard on the second King recording session that yielded “You Don’t Love Me” and four other songs — check out the “Travis-style” guitar break at the 1:48 mark. If I’m correct, that means Rager can also be heard (at least, theoretically) on “Those Dreams Are Gone” (solo guitar at the 0:50 mark); “On the Banks of the Lonely River“; “Falling Leaf” & “You’ll Remember and Be Blue” — the last track only issued on Nashville Bandstand Vol. 2 — the same album that includes (as previously noted) Merle Travis’s lone King recording as a solo artist “What Will I Do” (likewise unavailable on YouTube, unfortunately). Album also includes Moon Mullican’s “Too Many Irons in the Fire” (not on YouTube either) — song co-written by Erwin King, Henry Glover, “Lois Mann” [Syd Nathan] & Mullican.
Southwest Shuffle, Rich Kienzle‘s history of honky tonk, western swing, and country jazz pioneers, has a chapter about guitar great Roy Lanham (“Neither Fish Nor Fowl”), whose title pinpoints the musician’s unfortunate predicament, in that he was considered “too country for jazz” and “too jazz for country”! Lanham (celebrated here previously) can be heard on Hank Penny‘s very first session for King in 1944 (recorded in a room above the Wurlitzer Music Store in Cincinnati) — four songs, including “Last Night“; “Tear Stains on Your Letter” & “Hope You’re Satisfied” (with Louis Innis on second guitar).
Jimmie Widener’s “What a Line!” – produced/co-written by Merle Travis and released by King Records in 1946 – features stellar steel guitar work by Earl ‘Joaquin’ Murphey. According to the liner notes from Ace UK’s King Hillbilly Bop ‘n’ Boogie:
Jimmie Widener was born in Oklahoma in 1924, and his career included stints with the Spade Cooley, Bob Wills and Tex Williams bands – and also the 24 sides he recorded for King. “What a Line!” was from his first session held at Universal Recorders, Hollywood on 25 March 1946 during the sessions that Merle Travis produced. The song enjoyed a new lease of life in near rockabilly format when recorded by Carl Story for Columbia in 1955. The all-star personnel featured Jimmie Widener (guitar), Shelby ‘Tex‘ Atchison (fiddle), Harold Hensley (fiddle), Joaquin Murphey (steel guitar), Charlie Morgan (guitar), George Bamby (accordion), Vic Davis (piano), and Shug Fisher (bass).
Incredibly, streaming audio not yet available on YouTube
Kevin Coffey notes that “Widener had recently been playing tenor banjo with [Bob Wills backing band] the Texas Playboys and had sung ‘How Can It Be Wrong’ with Wills at a recording session less than two weeks before these September 18-23 [1946] King [Hollywood] sessions began” in the liner notes to the Shuffle Town King western swing anthology. With regard to those September, 1946 sessions at Universal Recorders —
“Syd and his King Records hit Hollywood with all the force of an earthquake,” journalist C. Phil Henderson enthused soon after in his Tophand magazine – and over the next month, at Hollywood’s Universal Recorders, Nathan waxed a hundred-plus sides on Widener, Penny, Red Egner, Tex Atchison and others.”
King History Tweet #6:
(Still) More Steel Guitar Trivia
Mabel “Big Maybelle” Smith recorded 8 sides for King
King History Tweet #9
King artists “Zebb” Turner and “Cow Boy” Copas enjoyed a split EP release in Denmark on the Vogue label in the early 1950s that includes Turner’s 1951 breakout hit “Chew Tobacco Rag” and Copas’s 1947 version of “Tennessee Waltz.” Copas, in fact, had tried to buy “Tennessee Waltz” on a song-scouting expedition for Syd Nathan in a classic capitalist tale recounted by music historian Darren Blase (of Shake It Records) for his excellent piece “The Lonesome Ballad of Cowboy Copas” published in the August 1, 2013 edition of Cincinnati Magazine.
Federal – the King subsidiary label established for Ralph Bass to produce R & B artists – nevertheless had a Federal Hillbilly Series. According to the liner notes in Ace UK’s King Hillbilly Bop ‘n’ Boogie, “only two hillbilly artists actually recorded new sessions specifically earmarked for Federal.” One of those artists, Tommy Scott, recorded the hobo train classic “Rockin’ and Rollin’” at Cincinnati’s King Studios on January 4, 1951 with a backing band that included Hank Williams‘ one-time steel guitarist Jerry Byrd and (future Nashville session fiddler emeritus) Tommy Jackson — who both backed Williams on “Lovesick Blues” (recorded at Herzog’s in 1948), along with Louis Innis and Zeke Turner.
You don’t have to be a kid to enjoy a good train song, and one of the best collections I’ve heard is an anthology of mostly obscure 45s called Choo Choo Bop (issued by German label, Buffalo Bop). The tenth track – Larry Harvey’s “Rolling Home” – is one of my faves, and happens to be a King classic from 1957 that will have you singing the refrain in no time. The person who posted this YouTube clip points out that “Rolling Home” is an update of “Fast Moving Night Train” (written by Rudy Toombs, sung by Grandpa Jones) that unfortunately is not available on YouTube.
“Rolling Home” Larry Harvey 1957
According to Discogs:
Larry Harvey was a Canadian country singer originally from Newfoundland. Moved to Toronto where he saw some success and then later to Nashville. He was one of the inaugural members of the Country Music Association in 1956. After a dispute with his record company King Records over Newfoundland distribution he left his contract. He was unable to keep food on his family’s table, so he returned to Ontario and worked in a factory, then later started a small business. Subject of the 2008 documentary “Paper Promises” by his son Shane Harvey.
In addition to the obvious (e.g., Tiny Bradshaw’s “Train Kept a Rollin’“), here are four other King train songs worth investigating:
“Chic a Choo Freight” – written by Boudleaux Bryant and recorded by Bob Newman at Cincinnati’s King Studios on March 2, 1952. Billboard offered up this “Folk Record Review” in its July 19, 1952 edition:
Clever story novelty about an engineer with a slow freight train receives a lively performance by Newman. Tune is melodic with a boogie beat. Could grab loot. A good kiddie disc, too.
Penned by Boudleaux Bryant, who (co-)authored many Everly Bros. hits
[Bob Newman, it must be said, also recorded the truck-driving classic “Hauling Freight” (from the pen of Henry Glover), as celebrated in Zero to 180’s piece from 2016.]
“Freight Train Boogie” + “East Bound Freight Train” by Reno & Smileyand the Tennessee Cutups– both recorded October 26, 1959 at King Studios but given separate 45 releases. Billboard‘s February 8, 1960 edition would note, “Pleasant blend work by pair on solid country item with standout guitar solo work” of the former, while the July 11, 1960 edition would characterize the latter thusly, “Traditional country in performance, this side also has a song reflecting the train tradition. Chanting has the hills sound.”
Billboard‘s May 3, 1952 edition reported that a Shenandoah, Iowa disk jockey held a contest, asking listeners to guess the names of King recording artists, The Harlan County Four, who had just released their version of “The Atomic Telephone” — a gospel song co-written by Henry Glover, Syd Nathan & Eddie Smith. Raise your hand if you know the secret identities behind the Harlan County Four — answer is in this Zero to 180 piece.
Co-written by Eddie Smith – artist/arranger, and later, chief engineer at King
King History Tweet #13
Famed folk duoSonny Terry (harmonica) and Brownie McGhee (guitar) played on a single recording session for King — supporting singer and Piedmont country blues guitarist, Ralph Willis — that was recorded in NYC on January 14, 1953. Four sides, including “Hop On Down the Line“; “Do Right” & “Door Bell Blues.”
“King 1371 – If this side had come out some weeks ago it could easily have pulled a good part of the action on the tune. Petula Clark warbles the opus with a smile in her voice and she’s backed wonderfully by the large ork. Disk, an English import, could still garner loot if exploited.”
Mr. Nashville Sound himself, Chet Atkins, played bass on Fuller Todd’s “Proud Lady” – according to Rob Finnis in his liner notes to Ace UK’s King Rockabilly – when session bassist, Bob Moore, had not yet arrived at RCA Nashville, where the song (co-written by Louis Innis) was recorded on March 25, 1957.
Chet Atkins on a King rockabilly that is not yet available on YouTube
King History Tweet #17
Keyboardist Dave ‘Baby‘ Cortez — who would later have instrumental hits with “The Happy Organ” (1959) and “Rinky Dink” (1962) — played on two King recording sessions:
King Records would issue over a dozen Trini Lopez single releases beginning in 1958 and ending into 1966, though none would chart, sadly. Check out this classic slice of rockabilly bop “Yes You Do” — Lopez’s debut single for King — that was recorded December, 1958 in Dallas.
Australian 45 (“A King recording from U.S.A.”) – 1964
King History Tweet #19
Cliff Davis & The Turbo Jets recorded four songs in Chicago for King subsidiary label Federal in 1958 – including “So Sassy” and “Far East Cha Cha Cha” – and then four more on May 22, 1959: “Let It Roll (Pts. 1 & 2)” “Rock and Reel” and “Back Mountain Rock.” Saxophonist, as well as songwriter and arranger, Davis would record one single for Okeh after leaving King.
German 45 – 1962
King History Tweet #20
Bruce Channel (whose harmonica player, Delbert McClinton, gave John Lennon a few tips on the instrument back in 1962 when The Beatles opened for Channel) recorded exactly four songs for King in a single 1959 Forth Worth, TX recording session that yielded two 45s. Of the four sides reviewed by Billboard, “Boy! This Stuff Kills Me” would get the most enthusiastic ink:
“Cat digs music, as he intros drums, twangy guitars and honking tenor. He shouts the tale over a driving ork and combo assist.”
One recording that remains unheard in the King vaults is Buck Floyd‘s “The U-2 Flight” – recorded in Cincinnati on October 17, 1960 in response to the major international incident that had taken place five months earlier on May 1st. There are no images of Floyd’s lone King 45 [“I’m Gonna Show You All Someday” b/w “No Love for Me“] on the web. The attached photo is of Ernest Burgess “Buck” Floyd of Carrollton, Kentucky (in Carroll County), born April 1, 1933. Could this Korean War veteran be the same Buck Floyd, who once recorded at the King Studios? Buck Floyd’s King 45 — recorded with Kenny Sowder & the Grand River Boys — was reviewed in Billboard‘s Jan 9, 1961 issue [B-side: “Heartfelt vocalizing by Floyd on moving weeper”] and rated “three stars” (i.e., “good sales potential”). Obituary for Ernest ‘Buck’ Floyd.
If you need sanctified sounds for your Sunday morning, consider giving this 1960 King album by the Bible Way Church of God — Let the Church Roll On — a spin. Billboard‘s review from the Dec 26, 1960 edition:
“These spirituals have been recorded during church service by the Bible Way Church of God Choir in Cincinnati. Performances are impassioned and capture the true gospel spirit.”
King History Tweet #23
Besides Petula Clark, King would serve as US distributor for other leased EMI recordings, such as 1961’s “spy” guitar number with a “popcorn” beat “The Swinging Gypsies” by Tony Osbourne — selected by Billboard as a Special Merit Single for the week of Oct. 23, 1961. Says the reviewer:
“A listenable instrumental featuring a hoked up piano sound against a big ork backing. The side is set in a breezy rock tempo. Could win spins.”
Reno & Smiley recorded a sarcastic slice of rockabilly (or is it mockabilly?) in King’s Cincinnati studios on April 24, 1961 — “Just Doing Rock and Roll” — under the fake name Chick and His Hot Rods. Billboard‘s September 11, 1961 edition would rate this single release three stars (i.e., “moderate sales potential”).
Rock ‘n’ roll gets Punk’d
King History Tweet #25
Ray Bell was part of an elite group of artists that helped revive King’s Queen subsidiary label between the years 1961-1962. 45Cat contributor formula (-CH2-CHI)n would post this concise appraisal of Bell’s lone 45 release “Blues Tavern” b/w “Loveless Island.”
A Side: “Blues Tavern” – nice country honky tonk sound with fiddle from ’61.
King History Tweet #26
In 1961, Audio Lab gathered up Rocky Bill Ford‘s sudsy lament of a most tuneful sort — “Beer Drinking Blues” (originally released 1950 on Gilt-Edge, a label distributed by King) — along with eleven other songs for an LP that you would be hard pressed to find today. Ford’s composition would get a nice makeover in 1969 by Eddie Noack, thanks to some driving piano and soulful dobro lines — link to Noack’s version of “Beer Drinking Blues.”
Columbus, Ohio’s King Pharoah & the Egyptians recorded a single session for Federal Records in March, 1961 that yielded the 45 “Shimmy Sham” b/w “By the Candle Lite.” Billboard‘s Apr 17, 1961 edition would rate the 45 as having “moderate sales potential” and include this review:
A-side: “This is about the women in the tropic land who look so grand. It’s a slow persistent rocker by the boys in solid bluesy r&b fashion. Good sound & catchy beat.”
B-side: “A slow, slow rockaballad done for fair results by the boys.”
Compare/contrast (1) Coleman Wilson’s original acoustic version of classic truck driving tale “Radar Blues” with (2) Swanee Caldwell’s full-band version recorded in Cincinnati on July 15, 1963.
Coleman Wilson’s A-side “Passing Zone Blues” peaked at #23 in Billboard‘s Country chart the week of Aug. 23, 1961. Amusing to scan all the 45 releases of Dave Dudley, one of the “kings” of truck driving songs, and notice that King would reach into their back catalog and reissue in August of 1963 one of Dudley’s King rockabilly 45s in the wake of “Six Days on the Road” – the runaway hit released in April of that year.
Case study in truck-driving classics: “Radar Blues”
King History Tweet #29: Obscure Instrumental Awaiting Rediscovery
“Double Whammy” by The Whammies – a driving sax and organ instrumental guaranteed to fill the dance floor – is actually the B-side of the group’s one and only 45. The one YouTube audio clip for this song has only 545 “views” as of October 16, 2018 [one year later, that total has nudged up to 599 plays] — be the first on your block to hear this winner of a track! The A-side “Walk Walk” was written by one of the West Coast’s in-demand session guitarists — René Hall (of “Twitchy” fame) — whose first King recording session (for Wynonie Harris) goes all the way back to Dec. 17, 1947 (“Your Money Don’t Mean a Thing” – with Dexter Gordon). Hall’s guitar can be heard on a number of hits recorded in Los Angeles, including “La Bamba” (electric baritone guitar), and his arrangements include Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Going to Come.”
both sides “leased” – c. June, 1962
King History Tweet #30
Sonny Thompson, who co-wrote “Had You Told It Like It Was (It Wouldn’t Be Like It Is)” for Albert King, laid down some “popcorn jazz” on August 14, 1962 at King’s Cincinnati studio on a pair of tracks that were released as a Bethlehem 45: “Loco Limbo” b/w “Just a Little Bit of Soul.” Thompson is part of an ‘elite’ group that had a special publishing arrangement with Syd Nathan. 45Cat contributor “mickey rat” explains:
“For years I’ve wondered who was involved in Boblo Music. I’ve always had it listed with that clutch of half a dozen imprints that Syd Nathan of King Records shared with his favourite producers (e.g. Men-Lo = Fred Mendelsohn & Syd Nathan and Son-Lo = Sonny Thompson & Syd Nathan, where the “Lo” bit was short for Nathan’s flagship publishing imprint Lois Music).”
Blues guitar legend Albert King did, in fact, set foot inside King’s Cincinnati studio on April 17, 1963 – two songs recorded: “This Funny Feeling” (sadly, as it says on the 45 label: a “vocal with band and vocal group” that features a sax [!] solo) and “Had You Told It Like It Was (It Wouldn’t Be Like It Is),” another vocal sans guitar. Both songs are included on 1963 King LP, The Big Blues.
Fortunately, this King albumdoes feature King’s distinctive guitar playing
King History Tweet #32: King Kiddie Pop!
Whip out “The Bunny Hop” by The Delteens – recorded at King on March 12, 1963 – at your next preschool party or Kindergarten playdate. “The Bunny Hop” (the B-side) merited three stars in Billboard‘s March 30, 1963 edition, while the Delteens take on that kiddie standard “The Hokey Pokey” earned the group an additional star!
King History Tweet #33
Billy ‘Crash’ Craddock had recorded for almighty Columbia Records, prior to a short tenure with King Records that yielded three 45 releases – all in the year 1964 – from a single 12-song recording session at the Cincinnati studios on June 15, 1964, including “My Baby’s Got Flat Feet.” Important to note that two of Craddock’s three A-sides were written by Henry Glover (just for fun: scroll these 19 pages of search results on 45Cat to see how many 45 sides were written, produced and/or arranged by Glover). The other six tracks would be rounded up for Craddock’s lone King LP – which includes “Talk to Me Talk to Me” (a Little Willie John 45 on King, originally) and the album’s title track “I’m Tore Up” (1956 Federal single written by Ike Turner and Ralph Bass).
Penned by Henry Glover (with assistance from “Lois Mann”)
King History Tweet #34: The Cincinnati-Kingston Connection
One year following Prince Buster‘s rocksteady salute to “The Cincinnati Kid” (a.k.a., James Brown), King Records – ironically, perhaps – licensed a song from Prince Buster himself [“Ten Commandments (From Woman to Man)”] for release in the United States in 1967, with a Byron Lee track [“Papa Jack“] on the flip side. 45Cat notes, “Different vocal to the track released on RCA Victor 47-9114.” Zero to 180’s related piece from 2014.
King History Tweet #36: Final Recording Session for Bethlehem?
Remember The Saloonatics from the Zero to 180 piece that questioned whether this was one of the last original sessions at Cincinnati’s King Studios for the Bethlehem subsidiary label? Azie Mortimer‘s 1971 album, Feeling of Jazz, was actually one of the last 1969 recording sessions for Bethlehem listed in Ruppli’s King Records sessionography, with musician credits that include such notable jazz musicians as Jerome Richardson, Milt Hinton, Snooky Young, Jimmy Cleveland, Quentin Jackson, Phil Woods, Les Spann, Willie Rodriguez, and Mercer Ellington (arranger & conductor). In 2014, the album was issued on CD (in Japan) for the first time. Mortimer’s earlier singles are available on YouTube, but no streaming audio yet from this Bethlehem LP.
King History Tweet #37: Last of the Licensing
Two long-playing recordings were licensed from EMI in 1972. These two albums, King LPs 1140 and 1141, belong to the same artist: Manuel (“pseudonym for Geoff Love‘s easy listening Latin themed recordings”) And His Music of the Mountains. One of the albums, Manuel and the Music of the Movies, enjoyed a US release, while the other King LP, Cascade, appears to have been issued in the UK only — is that really true?
Hard to believe this is a King release — logo in upper left corner
1973 LP cover – part of the “new social awareness”
King History Tweet #39: Final King & Federal 45s
With respect to the question of what was the final King 45, I thought it might be great sad fun to simply list all the King single releases from 1973 in order by catalog number. Note that some catalog numbers are missing in the sequence below (e.g., 45-6411) — hoping that music scholars and vinyl collectors find any and all remaining King 45 releases from 1973 not represented in this list:
B-side of final King 45 (prior to the label’s sale in 1973)?
Similarly, I thought we could take masochistic pleasure in listing all the Federal 7-inch releases from 1971-1973 in order by catalog number to determine which was the final release, prior to the sale of Starday-King to Moe Lytle and Gusto Records in 1973 (Gusto, it has been said, “is believed to maintain one of the largest independently owned collection of record masters”). As with the list above, I spy a couple missing catalog numbers (#12564 & #12565) — are there any 45 releases from these final years unaccounted for?
Fans of James Brownfunk will want to track down a series of five LPs – Nothing But Funk, all (but one) JB productions – with each volume distinct and thoughtfully selected. Click on the links below to review the extensive musician credits for each and every track.
Texas blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter Roy Gaines – a contemporary of Johnny Copeland with whom he was acquainted – had backed his hero T-Bone Walker by the time he was 14. After moving to Los Angeles, Gaines served as a backing musician on recordings for Bobby Bland, Junior Parker and Big Mama Thornton in 1955. In the 1960s, he played guitar on sessions for the Everly Brothers, the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Bobby Darin & Gladys Knight. Gaines would finally release his first solo album in 1982, Gainelining. Three years later, Gaines played one of the jook joint musicians in the film, The Color Purple (link to musician credits on the soundtrack album), 2009’s big band album Tuxedo Blues would include “Miss Celie’s Blues” which Gaines had performed in The Color Purple.
“Mr. Guitar” (as he was billed in 1956) would release two 45s for King subsidiary label, DeLuxe the following year – “Annabelle” b/w “Night Beat” + “Isabella” b/w “Gainesville” – the latter tune being one of his signature guitar statements. Gaines signed with RCA in 1958, and later in the 1960s would release singles for MCA subsidiary UNI and (pre-Arista) Bell Records, on which he recorded underappreciated “northern soul crossover” original, “Make It Easy.”
Cincinnati television and radio personality, Bob Braun, was a King recording artist! Bob’s first 45 for King was a duet with another Cincinnati TV star, Dottie Mack – “Loaded with Love” b/w “My Baby Dearest Darling” – that was recorded on Sept. 28, 1954 at King Studios. Bob’s next (and final) King 45 – “All My Love” b/w “Broken Hearted” – was actually leased in 1959 from another label. Braun would also record for Cincinnati’s Fraternity label. as well as Decca, United Artists, and KY indie, Boone. More intriguing, though, is the “rock & roll” single that Braun issued early in his career, in contrast to his clean-cut image. Music scholars are still debating whether “Rock and Roll Country Girl” was recorded in 1954, the same year Elvis cut his legendary sessions at Sun. A cataloger’s note on Discogs says, “release date from internet sources and is unconfirmed.” Picture sleeve for 1973 Christmas single (on QCA) shows that Braun also recorded at Rusty York‘s Jewel Recording Studios in Mt. Healthy.
Bob Braun’s 1st King single was a 78 written by Lucky Millinder & Henry Glover
After playing baseball with Babe Ruth for the Yankees in the 1920s, Waite Hoyt transitioned successfully in the 1940s to a career in broadcasting, as the Cincinnati Reds’ play-by-play voice for 24 years and Burger Beer pitchman.
Hoyt gained fame for entertaining radio audiences during rain delays, sharing anecdotes and telling vivid stories from his days on the field. In 1963, King put together an album of these stories called The Best of Waite Hoyt in the Rain.
Song-and-dance man and whimsical late-night television personality, Bob Shreve — with backing support from The Dee Felice Trio (celebrated in the previous piece) — would go into Cincinnati’s King Studios on four occasions between February and March of 1970 to record enough material for his lone King LP, Good Ole’ Bob Doing His Thing. A fair number of recordings remain “in the can,” according to Ruppli, such as “When I Take My Sugar To Tea“; “Just One of Those Songs“; “Do You Ever Think of Me” and “Raindrops” plus eight more songs whose titles are “unknown.”
Among the pricier items that came up in my search for rare King vinyl via Popsike:
The winner goes to a 45 that is considered to be “the Holy Grail of soul records and with good reason,” as this copy sold in 2016 is said to be “the second copy known to exist and by the far the finest example” of Junior McCants‘ second and final 7-inch (promo) release — “Try Me For Your New Love” Total price paid: $17,100!
“Try Me For Your New Love” by Junior McCants = 1967
Close behind in second place is … the same 45! With a starting bid at $10, twenty-five bids later the final bid would reach $15,099in 2008 for the Junior McCants 45 above.
Third-highest price paid for rare King vinyl is this “deep groove” copy of Roland Kirk’s debut album, Triple Threat (recently celebrated) in “near mint” condition — sold in 2015. Total price: $6886
In similar fashion, fourth-highest is a repeat winner — in this case, Roland Kirk’s debut album, sold in 2007 for $2878 [while others would sell for $2130in 2005; for $1750in 2009; and $1260 in 2015].
Other King-related vinyl that has sold in the four-figure range:
Starday-King ad from the April 25, 1970 edition of Billboard
In the groove = Extreme close-up of artist roster
King Records History Meets … George Michael?!
In the course of putting together a Spotify birthday playlist for my wife, I took a detour to find another George Michael song to substitute for “Faith” and pulled up what I thought was the promo video for “Waiting For That Day,” but was actually a behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of his 1990 album Listen Without Prejudice – Volume 1. King Records history fans, can you figure out which James Brown drum sample was used as the rhythm track for that song? Go ahead and hazard a guess (hint: Clyde Stubblefield) — you’re probably right! Answer can be found in this video clip:
George Michael in the studio with master tape of “Waiting For That Day” – 1990
Clyde Austin Stubblefield (April 18, 1943 – February 18, 2017)
I am liberating a special series of “maxi-tweets” tied to King Records‘ lesser known jazz legacy – part of 2018’s King 75th Birthday Celebration – that were otherwise buried in a PDF file attachment. The following research was conducted primarily by scanning the index of Ruppli‘s 2-volume King recording session discography for the names of jazz musicians and noting which recording sessions featured their work. For this updated piece, I have probed more deeply in order to add a few new items into the mix.
In the course of compiling this information, it dawned on me that the use of jazz musicians on popular (or “dance”) recordings by King Records was also famously done at Motown, not to mention standard operating procedure (i.e., ‘Wrecking Crew’) at the West Coast studios in and around Los Angeles. Jazz musicians bring, as has been demonstrated, a deep musicality as well as versatility to recording sessions aimed at the popular market.
[Note: streaming audio links indicated inbold blue ink]
King Records Jazz Legacy Tweet #1
Bassist Keter Betts – who spurred Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd to record the breakthrough 1962 ‘Jazz Samba‘ album that introduced bossa nova to America and the world – played on a handful of Earl Bostic sessions, including his big hit “Flamingo,” as well as flip side “Sleep” (all sessions in NYC except one Cincinnati session on August 2, 1949). NY Times Aug. 22, 2005 obituary for Betts acknowledges that “his first job of note was with the popular rhythm and-blues saxophonist Earl Bostic in 1949.”
25-year-old John Coltrane played tenor sax – on what must be among his earliest recordings – for Earl Bostic on two 1952 recording sessions in New York and Los Angeles that included such songs as “Moonglow” and “Ain’t Misbehavin’” (with William Keter Betts), as indicated on the UK 78 release below.
Cat Anderson, long-time trumpeter for Duke Ellington, and Connie Kay, drummer for Modern Jazz Quartet (et al.), backed Wynonie Harris on “I Feel That Old Age Coming On” paired with “Grandma Plays the Numbers” – recorded in Linden, New Jersey on Dec. 9, 1948 for King Records.
King Records Jazz Legacy Tweet #4
Long-time Duke Ellington bandmates, Johnny Hodges (alto sax) and Russell Procope (tenor sax) played a recording session at Cincinnati’s King Studios for Ivory Joe Hunter on July 15, 1949 – 5 songs in all, including “Please Don’t Cry Anymore” and “I Got Your Water On.”
King Records Jazz Legacy Tweet #5
Composer/arranger Neal (‘Batman’) Hefti played trumpet for the Chubby Jackson Sextet on an early King session recorded in Chicago on July 1, 1944 that yielded four songs (including “Bass Face”) released as a pair of 78s on King subsidiary label Queen and later sold as a King EP. Hefti would later arrange Elliot Lawrence and His Orchestra’s version of “Sixty Minute Man” on which Zoot Sims played tenor sax (and Cowboy Copas served as one of the backing vocalists).
Jabberwockian jazzmeister and hipster supreme Slim Gaillard (& His Boogiereeners) recorded a dozen sides for King/Queen in September, 1945 in Los Angeles, including Slim’s theme song “Vout Orenee” plus “Nightmare Boogie”; “Harlem Hunch”; and “Voot Boogie.”
Dexter Gordon laid down some tenor sax for Wynonie Harris at a NYC recording session for King Records on December 16, 1947 that yielded “Your Money Don’t Mean a Thing” plus three unreleased tracks.
Jazz drumming legend Jo Jones recorded a couple sessions for King Records, including a Cincinnati session on August 16, 1949 for Eddie ‘Lockjaw’ Davis, as part of (pre-organ) Bill Doggett Trio = two songs, “Mountain Oysters” (written by Henry Glover) and “Huckle Boogie” (ditto).
King Records Jazz Legacy Tweet #9b
Count Basie drummer Jo Jones would also back Mabel Scott on “Baseball Boogie,” a sly sports metaphor recorded for King in New York City on March 25, 1950.
Jazz pioneer and long-time NPR (“Piano Jazz“) host, Marian McPartland, would have exactly one encounter with King Records: NYC session March 15, 1951, resulting in 4 songs [“Flamingo“; “It’s Delovely“; “Liebestraum No. 3“; “Four Brothers“] that enjoyed release in the US, UK, and France. In additional to two 78 releases, Federal issued the playfully-titled EP, Progressive Piano with Cello, Harp, Bass and Drums in 1954, while these same songs would be issued in the UK four years later under the title of the Cole Porter track, It’s Delovely.
Vocalist Lee Richardson recorded a session in Linden, New Jersey for DeLuxe on February 26, 1951 that featured drummer (and future bandleader) Art Blakey on four songs, including “Just Call My Name” & “As Time Goes By.”
Charles Mingus (bass) and Billy Taylor (piano) backed Melvin Moore (the “blues shouter“) on a NYC session for King recorded December 18, 1951 – four songs recorded, including rare 45 “Possessed” b/w “Hold Me Kiss Me Squeeze Me.” Mingus would also record under his own name for Bethlehem prior to Syd Nathan’s purchase of the label in 1960.
Trivia = Someone paid $96 in 2017 for this King 45.
Al Sears – saxophonist, bandleader, and Duke Ellington alumnus – recorded a single NYC session for King with his orchestra on September 21, 1951 that netted eight songs packaged into two EPs and four 78s – including “Baltimore Bounce” and “Now Ride the D Train” (not to mention the curiously-titled “Marshall Plan“).
Caution: Back cover of Sears’ second UK EP from 1958 indicates “controversy” over whether Johnny Hodges played alto sax (as Ruppli says) on these sessions. UK liner notes:
“When these titles were originally released some years ago controversy existed over the identity of the alto soloist on ‘Steady Eddie’; some critics maintained that it was Hodges himself. In fact it is the similarly-styled Charlie Holmes, a boyhood friend of Hodges and an important mainstay of the Chick Webb, Luis Russell, and Louis Armstrong bands during the nineteen-thirties.”
“It is this band, with alto saxist Charlie Holmes substituting for the contractually debarred Hodges, which may be heard on the enclosed record.”
King Records Jazz Legacy Tweet #13
Drummer Philly Joe Jones – three years before joining Miles Davis for a series of albums – would back (Bull) Moose Jackson on a NYC session for King on Feb. 6, 1952 = four songs including “Nosey Joe”; “Bearcat Blues” & “Sad.”
Imagine that = Leiber & Stoller wrote “Nosey Joe”!
Count Basie vocalist Jimmy “Mr. Five by Five” Rushing recorded two sessions in NYC for King: Oct. 5, 1951 (four songs, including “Hi-O-Sylvester”) and Sept. 25, 1952 (four songs, including “Where Were You”). These recordings would be released in the UK on Ember & Parlophone, and in France on Vogue.
Trumpeter and orchestra leader Erskine Hawkins recorded three sessions for King = (a) four songs in NYC on December 6, 1951, including “Down Home Jump” plus Henry Glover’s “Lost Time,” as well as steel guitar classic “Steel Guitar Rag“; (b) four more in NYC on September 25, 1952, including “Fair Weather Friend” and “New Gin Mill Special“; and (c) one final Cincinnati session on September 17, 1953 that yielded four tracks, including “Function at the Junction” and “My Baby Please.”
Earl “Fatha” Hines (piano) and His Orchestra (with Bennie Green, trombone) recorded a 1953 King session in New York City for Sugar Ray Robinson = three songs including “Knock Him Down Whiskey.” Two of these songs, by the way, would be included on a French EP that also featured a pair of tracks from none other than Mickey Rooney (“Alimony Blues“)!
Gerald Wilson Orchestra’s early 1954 Los Angeles sessions for Federal and King – including “Mambo Mexicana” – would be reissued five years later on an Audio Lab LP entitled Big Band Modern, a reminder of the mambo mania that had gripped the nation at the time this song was released. Based on available discographical information, these 1954 recordings appear to be among the earliest in a career that would span well into the new century, as NPR’s 2011 piece “The Gerald Wilson Orchestra: A Living Legacy” affirms. Wilson, as it turns out, is one of many famous jazz musicians who “did time” in Earl Bostic’s band — in this case, one of four trumpeters who played on a December 4, 1958 Los Angeles recording session (six tracks, including “My Reverie” and “All the Things You Are“).
King Records Jazz Legacy Tweet #20
Noble “Thin Man” Watts – hailed by Alligator Records as “one of the early rock superstars” and one of the “greatest exponents of that honking tenor style” – recorded a session at Cincinnati’s King Studios with Tiny Bradshaw’s Orchestra on Sept. 1, 1954, joined by Rufus Gore, also on tenor sax, and “Fas’ Foot” Philip Paul on drums (profiled here in 2018), among others. Four instrumentals recorded at this session, including “Stack of Dollars” & “Cat Fruit” (co-written by Watts). The following month Noble Watts recorded two songs with his quintet (including organist Wild Bill Davis and guitarist Floyd Smith) in New York City for DeLuxe – “Pig Ears & Rice” b/w “Mashing Potatoes.”
Noble Watts & Philip Paul played on all 4 tracks = 1955 EP
Jazz pianist and composer Dick Hyman (who accompanied Charlie Parker on his only television appearance in 1952) played a single recording session for Bubber Johnson in New York City on December 22, 1955, along with Al Caiola on guitar and Ruth Berman on harp, among others — four songs recorded (none of them available yet on YouTube): “Keep a Light in the Window for Me“; “I Lost Track of Everything“; “My One Desire” & “A Wonderful Thing Happens.”
King Records Jazz Legacy Tweet #23
Roland Kirk’s debut album Triple Threat — recorded November 9, 1956 in NYC — was released on King. Discogs has this mini history:
“The debut album by jazz multi-instrumentalist Roland Kirk, originally released on King, re-released in US in 1976 on Bethlehem Records as Rahsaan Roland Kirk – Early Roots and in UK on Affinity. The original album received limited distribution and only became widely known after the Bethlehem Records re-issue, a few years prior to Kirk’s death”
A number of notable jazz musicians did King recording sessions for Earl Bostic, including drummer Earl Palmer [“Anvil Chorus” & “Southern Fried”]; drummer Jimmy Cobb [“Flamingo” & “Sleep”]; pianists Luis Rivera [“Memories”], Jaki Byard [“Blip Boogie”] & Sir Charles Thompson [“Dark Eyes”]; organist Richard ‘Groove’ Holmes [“Telestar Drive”]; tenor saxophonists Stanley Turrentine [“What, No Pearls”] & Benny Golson [“Cherry Bean”]; alto saxophonist Benny Carter [“Dream”]; trumpeter Richard ‘Blue’ Mitchell [“Jungle Drums”]; guitarists ReneHall [“La Cucaracha”], George Barnes [“Bugle Call Rag”] & Al Casey [“Serenade”]; bassist Johnny Pate [“Feeling Cool”], and, of course, the aforementioned Keter Betts [“Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams”] and John Coltrane [“Moonglow”] – subject of King jazz tweets #1 & 2, respectively.
May 4, 1955 in LA = 4 songs as the only tenor player (with Benny Carter joining Bostic on alto) including “Dream”; “East of the Sun”; and “For All We Know”
Penned by Henry Glover & Peaked at #16 in the R&B charts – March, 1959
King Records Jazz Legacy Tweet #27
I have a soft spot for Eddie ‘Lockjaw’ Davis‘s arrangement of Gershwin’s “Foggy Day” (recorded in Cincinnati on August 16, 1955) which also happens to be the lead-off track of a 4-song EP released in the UK in 1956. Here in the US, however, “Foggy Day” appears to have been a B-side – and part of a 12-track album entitled Modern Jazz Expressions that also enjoyed release in France and Denmark.
The Eddie Davis Trio and Doc Bagby’s 1955 recordings for King were done in Cincinnati, while 1956-1958 releases for King and Bethlehem were recorded in NYC.
King would also release Davis’s …Uptown LP in 1958 [with half these tracks providing an album side for 1959’s A Battle of Saxes LP with Charlie Ventura] — audio link to “The Happy Whistler.”
King Records Jazz Legacy Tweet #28
Organist Doc Bagby — who has recorded for Okeh and Epic, in addition to playing on Eddie Davis’s Modern Jazz Expressions album (et al.) — was also a King recording artist in his own right. Two 1955 Cincinnati sessions with Eddie ‘Lockjaw‘ Davis (tenor sax), Clifford Bush (guitar), and CharlieRice (drums) would yield six songs (plus one unissued track, “Call Me Darling, Call Me Sweetheart, Call Me Dear”) that would comprise side one of King LP Battle of the Organs — Luis Rivera and Doc Bagby. King would also issue two singles from these sessions, including “Grinding” b/w “Hayride” (co-written by Henry Glover), while Odeon France would issue an EP (below).
Fania All-Star percussionist Ray Barretto played on a King recording session for Bill Doggett in NYC on February 12, 1957 – three songs including “Chloe.” Barretto would also play conga on two NYC King recording dates for Eddie ‘Lockjaw’ Davis (Jan./Feb. 1957) that yielded eight songs. including the King 45 “Sheila” b/w “Say What,” as well as the LP Jazz With a Beat.
Drummer/singer/bandleader Roy Milton (and His Orchestra) recorded four tracks on October 17, 1956 at Cincinnati’s King Studios (one of them “Bam-a-Lam” unissued) = “You’re Gonna Suffer“; “Succotash“; and “One Zippy Zam.” Milton’s next session for King would take place in Los Angeles February 27, 1957, with two songs recorded — “I’m Grateful” and “Skid Row” — while his final session would be captured at King Studios on July 2, 1957 = “Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu“; “Brand New Thrill“; “R.M. Blues“; and “Jeep’s Blues.”
Jazz/gospel singer Lorez Alexandria recorded an album-length tribute to Lester Young at an ‘intimate’ Chicago club on November 6 & 13, 1957 that was issued by both King and Federal in 1958 as Lorez Sings Pres = link to the opening song, “Fine and Dandy.”
King Records Jazz Legacy Tweet #34
The Johnny Pate Quintet (featuring Bennie Druss on flute) would infuse the blues with a jazz sound and sensibility on “Swinging Shepherd Blues” — recorded in Chicago on Nov. 29, 1957 for Federal — along with three other tracks [“The Elder“; “Easy Does It” & “Five O’Clock Whistle“] that enjoyed overseas distribution.
Bill Doggett would also make great use of the flute in a jazz setting, with his arrangement of Tiny Bradshaw’s “Soft” (previously celebrated here).
King Records Jazz Legacy Tweet #35
Vocalist Jimmy Scott recorded four sessions for King, all in New York City = (a) two songs recorded on July 26, 1957 (Kenny Burrell, guitar) — “When Day Is Done” & “Home“; (b) two songs recorded on October 2, 1957 — “What Sin” & “Somewhere Down the Line“; (c) four songs recorded on April 3, 1958, including “Don’t Be Misled“; (d) four songs recorded on September 6, 1958 (Kenny Burrell, guitar), including “Somehow” and “Please.”
King Records Jazz Legacy Tweet #36
Jazz drummer and bandleader Cozy Cole [with his Septet – George Kelly (tenor sax), Gene Redd (vibes), John Thomas (piano), John Faire & Fred Jordan (guitar) and Edwyn Conley (bass)] would record for King thrice — (a) in Cincinnati on June 18 & 19, 1959 (12 songs, including “Cozy’s Mambo” and “Ha-Ha Cha Cha“); (b) in New York City on May 17, 1960 — “Red Ball” and “Cozy’s Corner” plus 2 unissued; (c) and a final Cincinnati session May 26, 1959 (7 songs, including “Blop Up”; “Blop Down”; “Pogo Hop” & “D’Mitri“). In the wake of 1962’s Jazz Samba smash hit album, King would update “Cozy’s Mambo” by slapping on a new title – “Cozy and Bossa” – and issuing as a Bethlehem 45 in 1963.
Howard Roberts (guitar), Ernie Freeman (piano), and Ed ‘Sharkey’ Hall (drums) played on a Los Angeles King recording session for Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson on July 21, 1961, with four songs recorded = one original, “Cuttin’ In” + three standards (“Nearness of You“; “Posin’“; and George & Ira Gershwin’s “Embraceble You”). Check out the modernist sleeve design below of the 1962 French EP that includes “Cuttin’ In.”
King Records Jazz Legacy Tweet #38
King session drummer emeritus Philip Paul threatens to steal the show in Milt Buckner’s blistering jazz organ instrumental version of “Fever” – recorded with Gene Redd on vibraphone and Bill Willis on bass at Cincinnati’s King Studios on March 5, 1963. The New World of Milt Buckner (reissued in Japan in 2013) would also include five more tracks recorded at King Studios on November 26, 1962 [see related Zero to 180 piece]. Audio link to “Why Don’t You Do Right.”
Hank Marr’s classic jazz organ instrumental “Greasy Spoon” – recorded at King’s Cincinnati studios on June 26, 1963 – was later used as the title track for a 1969 compilation LP issued on the King label with the groovy cover below.
King Records Jazz Legacy Tweet #40
Bill Doggett’s “mod jazz” take on “Twenty Five Miles” — Edwin Starr’s rewrite, essentially, of Wilson Pickett’s “Mojo Mamma” (penned by Bert Berns and Jerry Wexler) — was, according to Ruppli, recorded at a special 1969 session in Detroit (Motown, one can only presume) with the organist backed by a “studio band” and the producer role served by none other than Berry Gordy!
“25 Miles” = 2nd track on this 1969 King LP co-produced by James Brown
King Records Jazz Legacy Tweet #41
James Brown organized a special Los Angeles recording session on November 10, 1969 in which Oliver Nelson did the arrangements, while Brown enjoyed backing from the Louis Bellson Orchestra, featuring legendary bassist Ray Brown, as well as Ernie Watts, Buddy Collette, Chuck Finley, Jimmy Cleveland, Maceo Parker, and Cincinnati’s own, Frank Vincent, among others — 12 songs recorded, but only 11 included on 1970s Soul on Top LP (“There Was a Time” from this session unissued) — check out kick-off track “That’s My Desire.”
King Records Jazz Legacy Tweet #42: CincinnatiJazz
Cincinnati‘s own local jazz talent has appeared on King and its subsidiary labels:
Frank Vincent: played piano as part of The Dee Felice Trio on several sessions at Cincinnati’s King Studio in late 1968 and early 1969 for James Brown‘s Gettin’ Down To It album — audio links to “Willow Weep for Me“; “Time After Time“; “It Had to Be You” & “Cold Sweat.” A few other tracks recorded for this album remain in the vaults: “The Shadow of Your Smile”; “Unwind” & “The Weight” [!]
The Dee Felice Trio [Frank Vincent (piano), Lee Tucker (bass) & Dee Felice (drums)] were King recording artists whose work would be issued on Bethlehem — if you have never before seen the cover of their 1969 debut album, In Heat, prepare to be dazzled:
Audio links to “Uncle“; “There Was a Time“; & “Wichita Lineman.” Worth noting the number of songs the trio has recorded in Cincinnati that remain unissued in the vaults: 10 songs recorded ca. September, 1968 (including “Light My Fire”; “Crickets Sing for Anna Maria” and “Summer in the City”), plus 5 songs recorded on December 21, 1968 (including “Day In, Day Out”; “Gone with the Wind” & “You Came a Long Way from St. Louis”). Dee Felice, as a solo artist (with unknown musicians, though likely affiliated with James Brown) recorded a total of 9 songs on three successive days (December 10-12, 1969) that all remain unissued, including “Double Funky”; “Cold Sweat”; “Get Ready”; “Ode to Billie Joe” & “A Different Shade of Colors.”
James Brown arranged a recording session at King’s Cincinnati studios on February 17, 1969 that featured a number of notable Cincinnati musicians, including Kenny Poole (guitar), Jimmy McGary (tenor sax), Carmen DeLeone, Jr. (vibes), David Matthews (trombone), William ‘Beau Dollar’ Bowman (drums), Frank Vincent (piano), Lee Tucker (bass) & Dee Felice (percussion) – five songs recorded but only two released, including Brown’s arrangement of Burt Bacharach & Bob Hilliard’s“Any Day Now” (included on 1969’s It’s a Mother LP).
Jimmy McGary plays flute on 1971 German A-side arranged by David Matthews
“Bewildered” – recorded April 12, 1969 (my brother‘s 7th birthday) – would also bring together Jimmy McGary (tenor sax), Carmen DeLeone, Jr. (percussion), and William ‘Beau Dollar’ Bowman (drums), as well as David Matthews (piano). Matthews would also do arrangement work for James Brown on such recordings as “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” (in a ‘live’ track that also includes Poole and Bowman), “Let It Be Me” & “No More Heartaches, No More Pain” (both with Vicki Anderson) and “Georgia On My Mind.” Matthews, who co-wrote and co-arranged Brown’s 1971 Sho Is Funky Down Here album, also wrote “The Drunk” (which includes bass work by Cincinnati’s William “Bootsy” Collins). Worth noting that only “Part 2” of “The Drunk” has been released, according to both Ruppli and the Jazz Discography Project.
Kenny Poole & Bootsy on a JB B-side written by David Matthews
King Records Jazz Legacy Tweet #43: Tribute to Bethlehem Records
In 1958, Syd Nathan became part owner of jazz label, Bethlehem Records, as has been noted. When one examines Ruppli’s 2-volume recording sessionography, it becomes clear that by 1958, Bethlehem’s most vital days had already passed, as by the early 1960s, Nathan would significantly pull back on recording new jazz material in favor of issuing the label’s back catalog. Nevertheless, this 1958-1961 period would see some notable recording sessions for Bethlehem take place primarily in New York City —
Tony Ortega‘s album (with the unforgettable cover), Jazz for Young Moderns, featuring Art Farmer (trumpet, 6-10); Ray Starling (trumpet & mellophone 1-5); Jimmy Cleveland (trombone); Jim Buffington (French horn); Ray Tricarico (bassoon); Ortega (alto & tenor sax, clarinet & flute); John Hafer (tenor sax & bass clarinet); Jay Cameron (baritone sax); Dick Wetmore (violin); Bobby Timmons (piano); Ahmed Abdul-Malik, bass) & Ed Thigpen (drums) — recorded in late 1958/early 1959. Audio links to “Bat Man Blues“; “Cinderella’s Curfew“; “Four to Four” & “No Fi.”
Frank Minion‘s (Teddy Charles-produced) LP, The Soft Land of Make Believe, recorded in 1959, with backing from Bill Evans, Jimmy Jones & Tommy Flanagan (piano). Roland Alexander (tenor sax), Kenny Burrell (guitar), George Tucker, Joe Benjamin & Paul Chambers (bass) & Dannie Richmond, Ed Thigpen & Jimmy Cobb (drums). Audio links to “Introduction to Black Opium Street” & (vocal version of) “So What.”
Mal Waldron Trio‘s 1960 Left Alone album dedicated to Billie Holiday, with Julian Euell (bass), and Al Dreares (drums), features Jackie McLean (alto sax) — produced by Teddy Charles. Audio links to “Left Alone“; “Catwalk” & “Minor Pulsation.”
Vocalist Betty Blake recorded 1961’s Sings in a Tender Mood with instrumental backing from Mal Waldron (piano), Teddy Charles (vibraphone), Zoot Sims & Roland Alexander (tenor sax), Marcus Belgrave (trumpet), Kenny Burrell (guitar), Addision Farmer & Eustis Guilemet (bass) & Ed Shaughnessy & Charles Persip (drums). Audio links to “Moon and Sand“; “Blue Fool“; “Trouble Is a Man” & “Let There Be Love.”
Ruppli also notes a September 20, 1961 recording session in Los Angeles for Brown, whose backing band included Johnny ‘Guitar‘ Watson.
Charles Persip & the Jazz Statesmen‘s self-titled (Teddy Charles-produced) LP recorded on April 2, 1960, with Freddie Hubbard & Marcus Belgrave (trumpet), Roland Alexander (tenor sax), Ronald Matthews (piano), Ron Carter (bass) & Persip (drums). Audio links to “Sevens“; “Soul March“; “The Song Is You” & “Right Down Front.”
Howard McGhee‘s LP, Dusty Blue (released 1960 in the UK, 1961 in the US), featuring Bennie Green (trombone), Roland Alexander (tenor sax & flute), Pepper Adams (baritone sax), Tommy Flanagan (piano), Ron Carter (bass) & Walter Bolden (drums). Audio links to “Dusty Blue“; “Sleep Talk“; “Cottage for Sale” & “I Concentrate on You.”
Donald Byrd and Pepper Adams‘ 1961 LP, Motor City Scene, featuring Tommy Flanagan (piano), Kenny Burrell (guitar), Paul Chambers (bass), and “Hey” Lewis (drums). Audio links to “Stardust“; “Philson” & “Trio.”
Bennie Green‘s 1961 LP, Hornful of Sound, with Jimmy Forrest (tenor sax), Lem Davis (alto sax), Mal Waldron (piano), Skip Hall (organ), Tommy Lopez (congas), Wyatt Ruther (bass), and Art Taylor (drums). Audio links to “Summertime“; “Groove One” & “Dee Dee.”
Booker Ervin‘s (Teddy Charles-produced) The Book Cooks LP, featuring Ervin and Zoot Sims (tenor saxes), Tommy Turrentine (trumpet), Tommy Flanagan (piano), George Tucker (bass) & Dannie Richmond (drums). Audio links to “The Book Cooks“; “The Blue Book“; “Git It” & “Largo” — released 1961.
Azie Mortimer would record a string of singles for various labels, including Epic and RCA, in the run up to her debut album, Feeling of Jazz, on Bethlehem – recorded in 1969 but not released until 1971 (though reissued in 2014 in Japan). Mortimer would enjoy a backing band that included Jimmy Cleveland & Quentin Jackson (trombones), Jerome Richardson (tenor sax), Phil Woods (alto sax & clarinet), Les Spann (guitar), Milt Hinton (bass), Willie Rodriguez (percussion) & Charlie Persip (drums) among others, with Mercer Ellington as arranger and conductor.
… and the aforementioned Australian Jazz Quintet in a piece from last year’s King Records Month celebration, “Jazz Misrepresented As Surf?“
Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, and Gerry Mulligan were among the musicians in Gene Roland’s Boppers (accompanied by the Chubby Jackson rhythm section) who recorded a “rehearsal” in New York City on May 17, 1949 — “Sid’s Swing Symphony”; “Oh Them Saxophones”; “Blues” & “Sid’s Swing Symphony” — 67 minutes of music recorded for DeLuxe by the bandleader, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and long-time Stan Kenton collaborator that remain unissued in King’s vault.
King Records Jazz Legacy = Rare Vinyl Alert
One of the earliest recordings by trombonist Al Grey (previously celebrated in a musical tribute to grits) took place at the Cincinnati studios on October 1, 1954 — “Speak To Me (In My Dreams Tonight)” b/w “Goofa Nut” (B-side instrumental) — these two songs comprising a 78 that is VERY hard to find. Writing credits reveal Henry Glover to have had a hand in both compositions.
King Records Jazz Legacy = Genius Sighting
THIS JUST IN! Ray Charles, incredibly, has a bona fide King connection, thanks to a single 78 release at a very early point in his recording career on Rockin’, a King subsidiary — “Walkin’ and Talkin’ to Myself” b/w “I’m Wonderin’ and Wonderin’.” Note that at least one of the sides was published by Lois, Syd Nathan’s publishing firm. The fact that this 78 is not listed in either Discogs or 45Cat tells you how rare it is — and yet, someone acquired a copy in 2009 for just $31 (while someone else picked up an acetate 45 for, ironically, $78). Both tracks were recorded in Miami in 1952, as well as two unissued tracks “Jumpin’ the Blues” and “Blue Rhumba.” Ruppli adds that both 78 recordings were “also issued on Crown LP5303, Strand LP1086, Crown LP5418, Musicdisc CV964 [France], Visadisc VI245 [France & Israel] & Guest Star LP1901.”
King Records Jazz Legacy = King Kontroversy
Ruppli’s King recording notes says that the Paris backing band used by Babs Gonzales on 1953 King single “Still Wailin’” b/w “Shuckin’ and Jivin’” included Dizzy Gillespie “possibly.” Judge for yourself: Is that Dizzy on trumpet? Wynton Marsalis might settle this question.
*Tip of the hat to Brian Powers, who organized a jazz-related lecture at Cincinnati Public Library’s Main Branch on Sept. 24, 2016 in support of King Records Month:
Although more known for R&B and Country music, King Records did make a mark in the field of Jazz. The label recorded many jazz artists, while King’s production staff preferred to use jazz musicians to play on King’s R&B releases. In the 1950s, Syd Nathan purchased Gus Wildi’s jazz label, Bethlehem. Jazz had a great influence on James Brown’s music recorded at King. Music historian Uncle Dave Lewis will give a talk that will cover the salient points of this melting pot of influences and how King managed to have an impact in the history of jazz without producing any top 100 jazz albums.
Breezy, offbeat, trashy, yet intermittently illuminating – and just in time: Zero to 180’s curated highlights from 1983’s Rolling Stone Rock Almanac humbly serves as your Summer Beach Read! These carefully selected bits of humor and offbeat information have been lavished with picture sleeves from around the world, streaming audio, and tons of hyperlinks that deepen and extend the history [with all King Records references noted in red ink]. This sideways overview of the first 25 years of popular music from the original rock & roll era (1954-1979) is intended as a pleasant summertime diversion, whether lounging poolside or seaside:
1954
January 18, 1954: In what Billboard later terms “a move to capture the Negro market for potential advertisers,” New York City radio station WMGM signs Noble Sissle, the so-called Mayor of Harlem, as a Monday-through-Saturday disc jockey. Sissle, an actor and composer, is best known for collaborating with EubieBlake on “I’m Just Wild About Harry,” “Love Will Find a Way,” the Broadway musical Shuffle Along and another musical, Chocolate Dandies.
April 14, 1954: [King Records] The Midnighters have their first hit since changing their name from The Royals with the sexually explicit – and later quite controversial – “Work With Me Annie.” The first single of the so-called Annie trilogy, “Work With Me Annie” was written by lead singer Hank Ballard and featured the straightforward lines “Annie please don’t cheat/Give me all my meat.”
The Royals – vs. – The Midnighters
April 30, 1954: The Music Performance Trust Fund reports to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) that record sales in 1953 reached an all-time high of $205 million. The market is divided among 78 rpm discs (which account for fifty-two percent of all sales), 45 rpm discs (twenty-eight percent), and the relatively new category, LPs (twenty percent).
June 5, 1954: Major record labels will supply radio station disk jockeys with 45 rpm rather than popular 78 rpm singles beginning next month, Billboard reports. Although 45 rpm discs have been available since 1949, the industry has never adopted the small disc as the standard for singles. The change, which is cited as a “money-saving move,” will prove to be the subject of great debate and controversy over the next few months.
July 15, 1954: The Treniers, a black vocal group, record “Say Hey (the Willie Mays Song)” for Columbia Records’ Okeh subsidiary in New York City. The song, which also features the voice of New York Giants center fielder Willie Mays himself, is recorded under the direction of twenty-one-year-old Quincy Jones.
September 11, 1954: A survey of the National Ballroom Operators Association reveals that business is down fifty-four percent compared to the first half of 1953. Musicians and ballroom operators complain that “record hop” dances, which are cheaper and treat audiences to the most popular recorded versions of the tunes, account for the drop in attendance.
December 11, 1954: Billboard predicts that 78 rpm discs “may fade into oblivion” because of the popularity of the smaller 45s.
1955
February 26, 1955: For the first time since their introduction in 1949, 45 rpmdiscs are outselling the old standard, the 78, Billboard reports. Another change in the industry is also noted. On some New York City jukeboxes, it now costs ten cents instead of five cents to play a record.
February 26, 1955: Lavern Baker appeals to Congress, in a letter to Michigan Representative Charles Diggs, Jr., to revise the Copyright Act of 1909 so that recording artists can be protected against “note-for-note copying” of previously recorded R&B tunes and arrangements by white (i.e., pop) artists and arrangers. Baker’s R&B hit “Tweedle Dee” was covered by Georgia GibbsandVicki Young, both of these versions – at least theoretically – have deprived the original artists of the royalties they might have received if there had been no competing version.
June 29, 1955: Count Basie‘s “Every Day” enters the R&B chart. With his use of riffing, of loose, stripped-down arrangements and hard-hitting, four-to-the-bar rhythms, pianist and bandleader Basie has been an important — though mostly unrecognized — influence on rock & roll.
July 25, 1955: The Collins Kids, Larry, 10, and Lorrie, 13, sign to Columbia. A rockabilly act, the brother-and-sister duo will have several country hits, including “Mercy,” “Whistle Bait” and “Rock Boppin’ Baby” but never enter the pop chart. Larry will later write Helen Reddy‘s 1973 Number One hit, “Delta Dawn.”
September 3, 1955: Billboard reports that independent record manufacturers are continuing to expand at an unprecedented rate, despite publicized marketing efforts on the part of majors to check the growth of independents. The latter grossed $20 million in 1954, with the larger labels — Modern, Chess, Savoy, Peacock, Jubilee, Aladdin and Specialty — leading in sales.
September 17, 1955: Capitol Records releases a Les Paul single, “Magic Melody, Part Two” that it claims is the shortest song ever released — it consists of two notes. Paul decided to make the recording after Capitol had received complaints from disc jockeys about Paul’s “Magic Melody.” It seems that “Magic Melody” ended with the familiar “shave and a haircut, two bits” musical phrase – minus the last two notes – the “two bits,” which “Magic Melody, Part Two” supplies.
One second in duration = world’s shortest commercial recording?
October 29, 1955: [King Records] R&B and soul singer Joe Tex‘s debut, “Davy, You Upset My Home” (and “answer” record to the concurrent Davy Crockett trend), backed with “Come In This House,” is released by King Records.
December 17, 1955: [King Records] With “Only You” at #2, The Platters‘ “The Great Pretender” enters the R&B chart at #13. [NOTE: According to 45Cat, “Only You” was released on Mercury (June, 1955) as well as on King subsidiary, Federal (November, 1955).
1956
February 22, 1956: [King Records] Billboard reviews James Brown‘s debut record, “Please Please Please” — “A dynamic, religious fervor runs through the pleading solo here. Brown and the Famous Flames group let off plenty of steam.”
July 14, 1956: Columbia reactivates its “race record” label, Okeh, as an R&B label. Among the R&B stars who record for Okeh are Smiley Lewis, The Marquees, and a Teenagers-style vocal group called The Schoolboys. In its previous incarnation, the label included Big Maybelle and Johnnie Ray on its roster.
July 14, 1956: It’s correct, but it’s not right—a trade ad for Bo Diddley‘s “Who Do You Love” reads “Whom Do You Love.” [Link to PDF version of Billboard‘s July 21, 1956 edition — see ad at the top of page 46.]
August 18, 1956: [King Records] Little Willie John‘s original version of “Fever” enters the pop chart at #24. The song, which will later be a smash hit for The McCoys and Peggy Lee, was a Number One R&B in the spring.
August 25, 1956: The Coney Island Kids‘ “We Want a Rock & Roll President” is released on Josie Records. Among their nominees for the nation’s top position are Bo Diddley, Elvis Presley, Bill Haley and Pat Boone [see “follow-up” King history piece from the JFK era].
1957
January 1, 1957: “Cool for Cats,” a British rock & roll television show, premieres on BBC.
May 27, 1957: Mercury Records releases Swinging Guitar, an album by Jorgen Ingmann. The LP contains Ingmann’s rockabilly instrumental hit “Apache,” whose reverberating lead guitar will be emulated by future guitarists, from Duane Eddy to Hank Marvin of The Shadows, to Matthew Ashman of Bow Wow Wow.
June 3, 1957: RCA Victor releases a single “Butterfingers,” backed with “Fingertips,” by Cool Dip (born Kuldip Singh), a rockabilly singer from India [NOTE: Discographies from 45Cat & Discogs, plus profile of “The Crooner from Kashmir” from the South Asian American Digital Archive].
July 27, 1957: The Bobbettes‘ first release and only Top Forty single, “Mr. Lee,” enters the pop chart. The song is about the trio’s high-school principal. Three years and zero hits later, they will record a follow-up tune, “I Shot Mr. Lee.”
December 15, 1957: Sammy Davis, Jr., initiates a Westinghouse syndicated radio talk show a “round-table” discussion of rock & roll; his guests are Columbia Records executive Mitch Miller and MGM Records president Arnold Maxim. When Davis and Miller blast rock & roll as “the comic books of music,” Maxim takes an opposing viewpoint and says, “I don’t see any end to rock & roll in the near future.” To which Davis replies, “I might commit suicide.” A week later, Davis still will be alive — and releasing a cover of the rockabilly standard “I’m Comin’ Home” [co-written by Bob Crewe].
1958
January 1, 1958: Gibson patents its “Flying V” electric guitar. The design will become a favorite of many rock guitarists and the trademark instrument of bluesman Albert King.
March 9, 1958: As the three-day First Annual Pop Disc Jockey Convention in Kansas City, Missouri, comes to an end, the most outspoken message delivered to radio station owners, managers and program directors is that disc jockeys are opposed to the Top Forty format, which they see as “restrictive,” dull,” “unimaginative” and designed to “de-activate them as personalities by confining their duties to impersonal intros to the same top-selling records every station plays.”
July 15, 1958: During Senate hearings on the music industry, American Guild of Authors and Composers counsel John Schulman plays The Coasters‘ “Yakety Yak,” citing it as an offender in the alleged “cheapening of American music” by rock & roll, against which Schulman seeks legislation. The hearings had resulted from suits between the two biggest music licensing organizations, ASCAP and BMI.
January 19, 1959: A Billboard article on the general easing of TV and radio censorship of pop songs notes one exception, and it’s an instrumental — Link Wray‘s hit “Rumble” is still considered unplayable by some authorities because its title connotes teen-gang violence (the accuracy of this suspicion was later confirmed when Wray revealed that the title came from an incident where The Wraymen had to play the instrumental onstage in order to distract participants in a gang “rumble”). When Wray and his Wraymen recently appeared on “American Bandstand” to perform “Rumble,” Dick Clark was forbidden to mention the title, so he simply said, “and now, here’s Link Wray” as an introduction.
March 20, 1959: Dolly Parton‘s first record, “Puppy Love,” is released on Gold Band Records. Billboard‘s capsule review notes, “She sounds about twelve years old.” Dolly is thirteen. [NOTE: Check out the prices paid for an original 45].
October 19, 1959: Tommy Facenda‘s “High School, U.S.A.” enters the pop chart at #97. One of the more novel novelty discs of all time, it is released in dozens of different versions, mentioning different high schools for different cities.
November 1, 1959: The Spacemen‘s “The Clouds” enters the R&B chart at #24. Their only chart entry ever, it will eventually become an R&B Number One and will remain on the R&B chart for eighteen weeks.
December 14, 1959: A report by the Ohio State University Research Center state that though rock & roll is the overwhelming favorite of fourteen-to-eighteen-year-olds, more adults aged nineteen to seventy list it as their least favorite form of music.
1960
January 9, 1960: Emile Ford and the Checkmates, a British group of Bahamian immigrants, becomes the first homeland black act to top the British charts when “What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?” hits Number One. It will be the only such success for Ford.
February 6, 1960: Jesse Belvin, an important figure in West Coast R&B during the Fifties, dies in an automobile accident in Los Angeles at age twenty. Belvin had his first R&B hit, “Dream Girl,” as half of Jesse and Marvin in 1953. On his own, he had hits with “Goodnight My Love” in 1956 and with “Funny” and “Guess Who” in 1959. He also sang as a member of such doo-wop groups as The Cliques, The Sharptones, Three Dots and a Dash, and The Sheiks. He made his biggest impact, however, as the co-author of “Earth Angel,” The Penguins‘ doo-wop classic of 1954.
July 21, 1960: British teen idol Cliff Richard‘s “Please Don’t Tease” is knocked out of the Number One spot on the UK pop chart by “Apache” by his backing band, The Shadows (the song was originally recorded by Jorge Ingmann).
September 4, 1960: The Flamingos‘ “Mio Amore” enters the R&B chart, where it will peak at #27. It will be the doo-wop quintet’s last hit until 1966, when they will return to the R&B Top Thirty with “The Boogaloo Party.” The Flamingos, who formed in Chicago in 1952, are best known for [1959’s] “I Only Have Eyes For You.”
November 21, 1960: “Twang” guitarist Duane Eddy and producer Lee Hazlewood have parted company after three successful years, Billboard reports. Hazlewood, a former Phoenix, Arizona disc jockey, has had almost as much to do with creating Eddy’s distinctive sound as the guitarist himself: He and Eddy cowrote most of Eddy’s material, including the hits “Rebel Rouser,” “Forty Miles of Bad Road” and “Because They’re Young,” and it was Hazlewood who suggested that the guitarist play his leads on the bass instead of the treble strings and who applied the essential reverb.
1961
January 24, 1961: Le Palais des Sports, Paris, is the site of the first French International Rock & Roll Festival. The headliners are Bobby Rydell, representing the USA, Little Tony of Italy, Emile Ford of Great Britain, and French stars Johnny Halliday, Frankie Jordan, and Les Chausettes Noires.
April 24, 1961: Bob Dylan makes his recording debut, playing harmonica on the title track of Harry Belafonte‘s Midnight Special album, for which he is paid fifty dollars.
Credits affirm that Dylan really did blow harp on this LP
May 11, 1961: Soviet bandleader and musicologist Alexander Utyosov, writing in the East Berlin Freie Walt, contends that “what some people now call ‘Dixieland’ music was played for many years in Odessa in our Socialist Motherland before it was called to life in New Orleans.”
May 21, 1961: “Every Beat of My Heart” enters the Hot 100 in two versions — one on the Fury label by Gladys Knight, the other on the Vee Jay label by The Pips. They are not the same recording, but are rendered by the same act, victims of a contract dispute. The Vee Jay single will be the more successful, rising to #6 on the pop chart and Number One on the R&B chart. Gladys Knight and the Pips, whose first hits these are, will eventually sign to Motown’s Soul label.
September 23, 1961: Minit Records releases “I Cried My Last Tear” by New Orleans R&B singer Ernie K-Doe (né Ernest Kador), but his only big hit will be the novelty song “Mother-in-Law,” which made Number One earlier this year. “I Cried My Last Tear” will rise as high as #69 in the pop chart, and K-Doe will have two more minor hits in the next several months.
November 6, 1961: Minit Records releases the rock & roll anthem, “It Will Stand” by The Showmen, whose lead singer, General Johnson, will resurface in early 1970 as the distinctive scatting and hiccuping lead voice on Chairmen of the Board‘s soul hit “Give Me Just a Little More Time” [NOTE: “It Will Stand” was used as a bumper theme between ad breaks for 1979’s ABC-TV’s rock doc “Heroes of Rock and Roll“].
February 10, 1962: The instrumental “Soul Twist” is released on Enjoy Records. The record features saxophonist King Curtis, who provided the raunchy, honking tenor sax breaks in such Coasters classics as “Charlie Brown” and “Yakety Yak.” The record will eventually reach #17 on the pop chart.
April 7, 1962: [King Records] James Brown‘s predominantly instrumental “Night Train,” based on an earlier instrumental hit by ex-Count Basie saxophonist Jimmy Forrest, is released on King Records. It will reach #35 on the pop chart and #11 on the R&B chart.
July 12, 1962: The Rolling Stones make their performing debut at the Marquee Club in London. The group, according to a handbill publicizing the event, is composed of vocalist Mick Jagger, guitarists Keith Richards and Elmo Lewis, bassist Dick Taylor, pianist Stu and drummer Mick Avery. Future Kinks drummer Avory’s name is misspelled. Stu is Ian Stewart, who will remain the Stones’ unofficial pianist. Dick Taylor will soon leave the group to form The Pretty Things. Elmo Lewis is actually Brian Jones.
October 24, 1962: [King Records] James Brown records Live at the Apollo, Volume 1 at the landmark theater in Harlem, New York City. The album will sell over a million copies — an unprecedented feat for an R&B album — and will later earn a reputation for being one of the finest concert albums ever made [NOTE: NPR piece about a “missing” live album at the Apollo from 1972 that had been unearthed in 2016].
December 22, 1962: The Tornadoes‘ “Telstar” becomes the first record by a British group to top the American pop chart. The song was inspired by the launching of the Telstar commu-satellite in July. It is the only significant American hit for the organ-dominated instrumental group, although such follow-up recordings as “Globetrotter,” “Robot” and “The Ice Cream Man” make the British Top Twenty in the coming year.
January 5, 1963: “As it stands today, there’s virtually no difference between rock & roll, pop and rhythm & blues,” Leonard Chess, cofounder of Chess Records, tells Billboard. “The music has completely overlapped.”
February 25, 1963: Vee Jay Records, the small Chicago-based label, releases the first Beatles record in the USA, “Please Please Me” backed with “Ask Me Why.” In spite of “Please Please Me” being a smash hit in England, virtually no one notices it in America (perhaps because Vee Jay credits the record to “The Beattles“).
May 15, 1963: “Sukiyaki” by Kyu Sakamoto hits Number One on the pop American chart — the first Japanese song to do so. Sakamoto has been a singing star in Japan for five years, with fifteen hit singles and half as many hit albums to his credit. “Sukiyaki,” under its original title, “Ue O Mui Te Aruko,” was a huge Japanese hit before Capitol Records released it in the US, changing the title to one of the few Japanese words Americans would recognize. In spite of the record’s success, it will prove to be Sakamoto’s only US hit.
August 24, 1963: Little Stevie Wonder is the first artist to make the Number One position on the pop singles chart, the pop albums chart, and the R&B singles chart at one time. In fact, no one before him has made the pop-singles and the pop-albums charts simultaneously, let alone the R&B singles chart, too. Wonder’s wonders are The Twelve-Year-Old Genius and one selection from that live album “Fingertips, Part Two.”
September 16, 1963: The Beatles‘ “She Loves You” backed with “I’ll Get You” is released in the US on the small, independent, New York-based Swan label, as Capitol Records — EMI’s American affiliate — has refused it, just as it refused “Please Please Me” and “From Me to You.” Currently Number One in Britain, “She Loves You” will be ignored in America until early 1964, when it bounds to Number One here, too [NOTE: See related Zero to 180 history piece about Seymour Stein + other Beatle writings].
March 2, 1964: Columbia Records is suddenly inundated with requests for heavyweight boxing champ Cassius Clay‘s album I Am the Greatest, released in September 1963 but now in great demand after Clay’s defeat of Sonny Liston on February 25. Columbia expects to sell 500,000 copies. Says Clay: “I’m better and prettier than Chubby Checker” [NOTE: Check out Zero to 180’s “Ali: The People’s Choice“].
May 14, 1964: The “blue beat” dance craze has taken hold in Cleveland and Detroit in the wake of Millie Small‘s chart-climbing hit “My Boy Lollipop.” According to Billboard, the song that is based on Jamaican prereggae ska music, is a smash in Britain. Within one week, Atlantic Records president Ahmet Ertegun and engineer Tom Dowd will fly to Jamaica and return with forty newly recorded sides by ska acts like The Blues Busters, Stranger Cole, The Maytals and others [NOTE: And yet, only 12 sides issued on 1964 LP Jamaica Ska, Atlantic’s lone long-playing album].
May 30, 1964: The Jamaican Government , in cooperation with Atlantic Records, announces that it will send six dancers to demonstrate the ska at New Jersey’s Palisades Amusement Park in June. The Jamaican government will later send artists like Jimmy Cliff and Byron Lee and the Dragonaires to the New York World’s Fair in the summer of 1964.
June 20, 1964: “Mixed Up Shook Up Girl,” by Patty and the Emblems (on Herald Records), enters the Hot 100. It will eventually reach #37 and will be covered in a hit version in the late Seventies by New York band Mink DeVille.
September 5, 1964: “Mercy Mercy” by Don Covay and the Goodtimers enters the Hot 100. It will eventually reach #35 and will be one of the biggest hits for Memphis soul singer and composer Covay under his own name in the Sixties. In 1968, Covay’s song “Chain of Fools” will become a smash hit in a version sung byAretha Franklin, and will win her a Grammy for Best Rhythm and Blues Performance.
November 28, 1964: Soul singer Betty Everett enters the Hot 100 for the fourth time in her career with “Getting Mighty Crowded,” which will remain on the chart for six weeks, eventually reaching #65. The song was written by Van McCoy, at the time a house composer/arranger for Everett’s label, Vee Jay; he would go on to become a prime mover of the disco movement in the Seventies with such hits as “The Hustle.” “Getting Mighty Crowded” would be covered byElvis Costelloin the late Seventies.
January 1, 1965: England’s New Musical Express reports that the US government, for undisclosed reasons, has denied working visas to British rock bands. This means the cancellation of tours by groups like The Nashville Teens, The Zombies and The Hullaballoos, who are already in New York with DJ Murray the K of New York’s WMCA.
February 5, 1965: Screaming Jay Hawkins begins his first British tour. He tells the NME, “I want to meet this guy Screaming Lord Sutch” — referring to the British rock singer who took both his name and flamboyant stage act from Hawkins.
March 6, 1965: Memphis gospel and soul singer Solomon Burke enters the pop and R&B charts with the single that will be his biggest hit on both charts, “Got to Get You Off My Mind,” which will peak at pop #22 and be an R&B Number One.
April 19, 1965: The film The T.A.M.I. [Teen-Age Music International] Show — featuring James Brown, The Rolling Stones, The Supremes, The Beach Boys, The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles — opens in London under the title Teenage Command Performance. The film, partially financed by Phil Spector, will become one of the most popular documentaries of the rock era.
July 17, 1965: [King Records] James Brown‘s “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” enters the R&B and pop charts. It will hit R&B Number One — Brown’s first single to do so since “Try Me” in 1958 — and reach pop #8, Brown’s first to break the pop Top Ten. In the next ten years, Brown will have fifteen more R&B Number Ones and five more pop Top Tens (but no Number Ones), earning the indefatigable singer/dancer such epithets as “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business,” “Soul Brother Number One,” “Mr. Dynamite,” “The Godfather of Soul” and “Minister of the New, New Superheavy Funk.”
September 4, 1965: The Who have their equipment van stolen outside the Battersea Dogs Home in England while they are inside the Home buying a guard dog.
November 13, 1965 [King Records] James Brown‘s “I Got You (I Feel Good) enters both the pop and R&B charts. The song will reach Number One R&B and #3 pop, and will become one of the Godfather of Soul‘s most enduring and most readily identifiable classics.
January 8, 1966: The final episode of “Shindig!” featuring The Kinks (“I Gotta Move“) and The Who (“I Can’t Explain“), is broadcast on ABC-TV. The show had premiered in September 1964 and from 1965 had aired twice weekly, on Thursday and Saturday evenings.
May 7, 1966: Del Shannon, who had big hits in 1961 with “Runaway” and “Hats Off to Larry,” enters the Hot 100 for the sixteenth and last time with “The Big Hurt” which in its two weeks on the chart will peak at #94. Little will be heard from Shannon again until 1981, when he has a Top Forty hit was “Sea of Love,” produced by Tom Petty [NOTE: See Zero to 180 piece about Shannon’s “lost” album of 1967].
October 22, 1966: The Beach Boys release their classic single “Good Vibrations” on Capitol Records. The song, featuring inspired use of the sci-fi movie sound-effects instrument the theremin, is the most expensive production for a single up to this time [NOTE: See recent Zero to 180 history piece about “serious pop“].
December 23, 1966: BBC-TV broadcasts “Ready Steady Go!” for the last time after more than three years in which the weekly show was Britain’s most popular pop-music television program. The special guests for the farewell show are The Who.
1967
January 1, 1967: Country music star Moon Mullican dies at age fifty-eight of natural causes at his Tennessee home. Though he never had any pop hits, Mullican’s two-fingered “hillbilly boogie” piano style made him arguably the first white boogie-woogie pianist and a definite influence on the pounding piano style of Jerry Lee Lewis [NOTE: Zero to 180’s tribute piece to King recording artist, Moon Mullican].
February 23, 1967: Jamaican ska singer and producer Prince Buster‘s “Al Capone” becomes the first Jamaican record to enter the UK pop chart (Millie Small‘s “My Boy Lollipop,” which had earlier kicked off the ska boom, was recorded in London). The song will later be covered under the title “Gangsters” by British two-tone ska-rock band The Specials in the late Seventies.
June 23, 1967: Arthur Conley receives a gold record for “Sweet Soul Music,” his first hit. The song — a rewrite of Sam Cooke‘s “Yeah Man” — is a tribute to the current soul music explosion and names Otis Redding, (Conley’s mentor), James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Lou Rawls and Sam and Dave. “Sweet Soul Music” did equally well on both the pop and R&B charts in May.
July 1, 1967: After almost ten years together, The Parliaments make both their pop and R&B chart debuts with “(I Wanna) Testify,” which will reach #20 pop and #3 R&B. Following this initial success, The Parliaments, under the leadership of vocalist, songwriter and producer George Clinton, will modify their name to Parliament and expand their ranks to include an instrumental section, Funkadelic, which will also make its own Clinton-directed records. In the Seventies, Parliament-Funkadelic and other permutations, such as Bootsy’s Rubber Band, The Brides of Funkenstein, The Horny Horns, and Parlet, will epitomize the street-smart spaced-out jumble of rhythm & blues and acid rock called funk. Their slogan: “Funk for its own sake.”
October 7, 1967: South African émigré singer Miriam Makeba makes her pop and R&B chart debut with “Pata Pata,” which will peak at #12 pop and #7 R&B. Makeba – who came to America under the auspices of Harry Belafonte in 1960 and was married to South African trumpeter Hugh Maskela (“Grazing in the Grass“) before returning to Africa as the wife of American black nationalist Stokely Carmichael – sings this dance song in English and in her native Xhosa language.
November 2, 1967: The five members of The Move and their manager, Tony Secunda, appear in a London court for hearings on a suit filed against them by British Prime Minister Harold Wilson. The subject of the suit is a picture postcard The Move used to promote their single “Flowers in the Rain.” It depicts the prime minister nude in bed. The court will later decide in Wilson’s favor, fine The Move and confiscate all remaining copies of the offending postcard.
December 20, 1967: The First Czechoslovak National Festival of Rock Music opens for two days in Prague. Featured among the performing bands is The Primitives, who will later be known as The Plastic People of the Universe.
1968
January 11, 1968: The Daily Mirror of London reports that Jimi Hendrix has moved into the London townhouse that George Frederick Handel is believed to have composed Water Music and The Messiah over 200 years earlier. Hendrix assures the Mirror that he, too, will compose in the Handel house and “not let the tradition down.”
May 8, 1968: Buddah Records books New York’s Carnegie Hall for a promotional concert at which the entire Buddah roster — eight groups, including The 1910 Fruitgum Company, The Ohio Express, The Lemon Pipers and other leading purveyors of bubblegum pop — combines to form the forty-six-strong Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus, which follows up its Carnegie Hall triumph with a hit single, “Quick Joey Small”
July 18, 1968: South African emigré Hugh Masekela claims his only gold record, with an instrumental single, “Grazin’ in the Grass” (later given a hit vocal treatment by The Friends of Distinction).
November 1, 1968: George Harrison becomes the first Beatle to issue a solo album when he releases Wonderwall Music, the soundtrack to the film Wonderwall on Apple.
November 2, 1968: The four-day Czechoslovakian International Beat Festival, to be headlined by The Soul Men from Bratislava, is canceled by Soviet invasion authorities.
1969
January 11, 1969: Album-cover nudity hits the bubblegum genre as Buddah Records Vice President and General Manager Neil Bogart designs a cover featuring a photo of six nude women for the bubblegum greatest hits LP, The Naked Truth. Bogart claims the nudes on the cover depict “what life is really all about,” and represent “the freedom of expression common to music today and the new attitude toward living.”
January 29, 1969: “The Bosstown Sound” hype reaches Newsweek, which reports on such Boston phenomena as The Ultimate Spinach, Earth Opera, and Phluph, and the clubs where these bands may be experienced — The Psychedelic Supermarket, The Catacombs, and The Boston Tea Party. The article quotes one Peter Wolf of The Hallucinations (later of The J. Geils Band): “Kids wandered around Boston for years saying, ‘Something’s got to happen in this town,’ but nothing happened and they left. Now I get calls saying, ‘We’re coming back to Boston. Something’s happening there.'”
September 22, 1969: A new weekly prime-time rock-oriented show, “The Music Scene,” debuts on ABC. In its one-year run, the forty-five minute show, conducted by comedian David Steinberg, features such stars as James Brown, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Janis Joplin, Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder, Issac Hayes, Tom Jones, and Cass Elliott [NOTE: Not to mention Johnny Cash, in this colorful filmed segment that features overheated summer classic “Blistered”].
David Steinberg with Groucho Marx
October 3, 1969: Legendary bluesman Nehemiah “Skip” James dies of cancer in Philadelphia at age sixty-seven. His best-known song was “I’m So Glad,” which Cream covered in 1967.
1970
January 31, 1970: England’s biggest reggae stars — Desmond Dekker, Max Romeo, Jimmy Cliff, The Upsetters, The Pioneers, and Harry J’s All-Stars — kick off a package tour of England at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
March 18, 1970: British label Immediate Records (whose roster included The Small Faces), founded by former Rolling Stones manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, goes out of business.
April 17, 1970: Johnny Cash performs at the White House at the invitation of President Richard M. Nixon but refuses to oblige the president by singing “Welfare Cadillac” or “Okie from Muskogee,” which are not his songs; he does, however, comply with an executive request for his Number One hit, “A Boy Named Sue.”
June 25, 1970: KRLA-FM in Pasadena, California, drops its long-running series of gen-minute daily comedy routines by The Credibility Gap, a hip satirical outfit, explaining that “Humor is no longer funny in today’s society.”
July 12, 1970: South Dakota judge S.K. Hicks, who claims to be the inspiration for Johnny Cash‘s hit single “A Boy Named Sue,” receives autographed records and photos from Cash.
August 4, 1970: The Medicine Ball Caravan, featuring The Grateful Dead and hippie scene people like Wavy Gravy (Hugh Romney) of the Hog Farm, becomes rock’s first and last movable festival as it leaves San Francisco on a cross-country trek, pulling seven tie-dyed tepees along with it. The caravan will eventually reach the United Kingdom, document itself with an album, and its own rock band, Stoneground, will emerge from it.
September 28, 1970: A unique new music show debuts on Hollywood TV station KCET, Channel 28. “Boboquivari” (a Hopi Indian word for the neck of an hourglass, “the place where time begins”) presents rock, pop, folk and other performers in an informal, intimate studio setting — but with no host, no format and no lip-synching. The first shows feature Tim Buckley, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Roberta Flack and Freddie King. [NOTE: TV Guide provides summary listing for each episode].
December 12, 1970: Rock critic John Mendelsohn‘s band, Christopher Milk, arouses the ire of Doug Weston, owner of the Troubadour club in Los Angeles. At a Monday night audition there, the band’s lead singer, Mr. Twister, wreaks havoc by pouring hot wax all over himself, biting audience members, overturning tables and spilling drinks in customer’s laps.
January 10, 1971: Making a rare appearance, Bob Dylan accompanies country star Earl Scruggs on “East Virginia Blues” and “Nashville Skyline Rag” for a public television documentary. The latter of the two is later released as part of an LP titled Earl Scruggs — His Family and His Friends.
February 8, 1971: Bob Dylan‘s one-hour-long documentary film, Eat the Document, is screened at New York’s Academy of Music (later known as the Palladium). Much of the footage is from Dylan’s 1966 UK tour with The Band, filmed by D.A. Pennebaker, who also did Dylan’s Don’t Look Back. Performances shown include “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” and other classics. But the film is fragmentary and difficult for most in the audience to latch onto. Eat the Document is not shown on TV as the reclusive star had hoped for, until ten years later.
April 28, 1971: Barbra Streisand gets a gold album for Stoney End, one of her rare forays into rock music [NOTE: Separate from her foray into experimental pop]. That album, along with 1969’s What About Today? featured material by such writers as John Lennon, Randy Newman, Paul Simon, and Carole King. At twenty-eight, Streisand seems intent on changing her image (“The Jeaning of Barbra Streisand” is how Rolling Stone titles a 1971 piece on the singer), and even takes to lighting joints onstage in Las Vegas.
ONLY in Mexico is Barbra’s ‘Stoney End’ album entitled ‘Soul’!
June 6, 1971: John Lennon and Yoko Ono appear on stage for the first time since 1969, joining Frank Zappa for a jam at the Fillmore East. Says Lennon of the encounter: “I expected sort of a grubby maniac with naked women all over the place. The first thing I said was, ‘Wow, you look so different. You look great!'” Zappa had his own preconceptions, too. The first thing he said, recounts Lennon, was, “You look clean, too.”
September 18, 1971: The unusual pairing of Hungarian jazz guitarist Gabor Szabo and soul singer Bobby Womack enters the soul chart with “Breezin’,” a song written by session guitarist Phil Upchurch that will be a #63 pop hit in an instrumental version by jazz guitarist George Benson in 1976. The Szabo-Womack version of “Breezin‘,” however, will only hit #43 on the soul chart.
December 11, 1971: Godfather of Soul James Brown has his thirty-second album released this week. Revolution of the Mind, subtitled Live at the Apollo 3 and released by Polydor Records, opens with a song whose title only James Brown could have come up with: “It’s A New Day So Let A Man Come In And Do The Popcorn” [NOTE: Song birthed from two earlier 45 releases on King Records].
December 28, 1971: Keith Moon emcees a concert for one of his favorite acts, Fifties revivalists Sha Na Na.
1972
March 27, 1972: Elvis Presley records what will be his last major hit, “Burning Love,” which reaches #2 in October. The song was originally recorded by blues singer Arthur Alexander.
April 24, 1972: One of John Lennon‘s most controversial singles, “Woman Is the N*gger of the World,” is released. The song goes to #57, despite the fact that virtually every radio station in the country refuses to play it.
August 12, 1972: The Festival of Hope — the first rock festival used to raise funds for an established charity — gets underway at Roosevelt Raceway in Garden City, New York. The concerts are sponsored by the Nassau Society of Crippled Children and Adults, and features appearances by many rock and soul acts, including The Jefferson Airplane, Stephen Stills, James Brown, Sha Na Na and many others.
September 8, 1972: John Sinclair organizes the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival. What makes the festival different from all others, boasts the noted political activist, is that “it’s gonna be a real people’s festival — produced by freaks and for the community.” And he actually pulls it off, with a bill including Dr. John, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Bonnie Raitt, Sun Ra, Junior Walker, Freddie King, Otis Rush, Luther Allison, and Bobby “Blue” Bland.
September 9, 1972: England’s BBC-TV premieres “The Old Grey Whistle Test,” a rock & roll program that will serve as a showcase for rock talent.
November 4, 1972: London gets its first permanent rock & roll theater, the 3,000-plus capacity Rainbow Theatre. With its art-deco decor, the forty-one-year-old building (originally called the Finsbury Park Astoria) becomes one of England’s most popular venues. The Who are the inaugural act, playing three consecutive nights.
November 24, 1972: ABC-TV premieres its late-night rock show “In Concert,” produced by the man who gave you The Monkees, Don Kirshner. The first show, taped earlier at Long Island’s Hofstra University, stars Alice Cooper, Chuck Berry, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Poco, and The Allmans (then with the late Berry Oakley). Kirshner will later leave “In Concert” and begin his own “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert.”
1973
February 1, 1973: Island Records’ Chris Blackwell announces to Rolling Stone that he is founding Mango Records, a label dedicated to molding reggae artists. “I think that reggae has a chance of breaking in America,” Blackwell predicts, although he adds that he sees its audience being “musicians and professional people more than kids, who won’t quite understand.”
February 11, 1973: Jazz drummer Elvin Jones plays a pair of benefits in Sacramento, California, to raise funds to help rebuild Hanoi’s Bach Mai Hospital, which had been destroyed by US bombers last Christmas.
July 29, 1973: Led Zeppelin, in the middle of a highly successful US tour, are the victims of one of the largest cash thefts ever pulled off in New York City, as $180,000 is pilfered from the group’s deposit box at the Drake Hotel. The money mostly represents cash receipts from the first two of three Madison Square Garden shows. Police have dusted for fingerprints and are investigating the crime.
August 2, 1973: Who is Jobraith? According to Rolling Stone, impresario Jerry Brandt has announced that bids to sign his new artist must start at $1 million. Just what does Jobriath do? Sings and plays piano, for starters, but he’s also designed his own stage act, which includes a replica of the Empire State Building that turns into a penis as the star sheds his King Kong suit and slips into something more comfortable. Jobriath also plans to be filmed playing piano in the Mojave Desert during an upcoming solar eclipse.
September 9, 1973: Todd Rundgren keeps his promise and records 1,000 voices in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park for the left track of his song “Sons of 1984“; he had recorded over 5,000 fans in New York’s Central Park on the right track. But the open-air recording session ends in a rumble, as police move in to arrest a twenty-one-year-old man for allegedly peddling cannabis, and a melee erupts. Eleven persons are arrested.
September 26, 1973: The Dutch instrumental group Focus receives a Gold record for Focus 3, which comes on the heels of their lone hit, “Hocus Pocus.” The song is notable for its lead “vocals,”
March 28, 1974: The Raspberries have split in two. Rolling Stone reports that the rhythm section of Jim Bonfanti and Dave Smalley have left and have formed a band called Dynamite. Original members Eric Carmen and Wally Bryson, meanwhile, plan to continue, and have added drummer Mike McBride and bassist Scott McCarl.
April 8, 1974: “Bennie and the Jets” turns gold, no doubt pleasing Elton John. But what makes John even happier is that the tune becomes a major hit on the R&B chart, as well.
May 10, 1974: New Jersey funk band Kool and the Gang‘s Wild and Peaceful album, their seventh in five years, goes gold. The album features three top-selling singles: “Jungle Boogie” (#4 on the pop chart), “Hollywood Swinging” (#6) and “Funky Stuff” (#29). Originally a jazz-oriented band, Kool and the Gang began moving toward R&B in the early Seventies, and by the time of Wild and Peaceful had perfected a protodisco style in which “party” vocal chants and staccato horn fills sparred over a stark, heavy, metronomic funk rhythm.
May 23, 1974: According to Rolling Stone, two would-be promoters, George T. McGinis and Archie McIntosh, are indicted on federal mail-fraud charges in connection with a mail-order ticket offering for an “Elten John” concert, to be held June 8. That’s Elten spelled with an e, mind you, not an o, as the real Elton spells it. Authorities confiscate about $11,000 in checks and money orders as evidence.
November 7, 1974: Rolling Stone reports that Ted Nugent has won the National Squirrel-Shooting Archery Contest by picking off a squirrel at 150 yards. Nugent also wiped out twenty-seven more of the small mammals with a handgun during the three-day event.
1975
January 11, 1975: Shirley and Company‘s “Shame, Shame, Shame” enters both the pop and R&B charts. After sixteen weeks on the pop chart, it will reach #12, and after seven weeks on the R&B chart, it will hit Number One on March 1. The Shirley of Shirley and Company is Shirley Goodman, who, as half of the New Orleans duo Shirley and Lee, scored such hits as “Let the Good Times Roll” in the late Fifties. Shirley and Company will have only one more hit, “Cry Cry Cry,” which will reach #91 in the summer of 1975.
February 1, 1975: Down by the Jetty, Dr. Feelgood‘s first record, is put out by United Artists in England. The band, headlining in England over Kokomo and Chilli Willi on the Naughty Rhythms tour, is perhaps the missing link between pub rock and punk; its hard-edged, almost brutal R&B sound and throwback stance presages much of what emerges in England over the new two years.
February 21, 1975: John Entwistle begins the only solo tour by a Who member in Sacramento, California. The quiet bassist and his band, Ox (after his own nickname), play for five weeks in the States, with mixed results: Entwistle later complains the tour cost him a fortune and that he hates guitarist Robert Johnson. It is his last public solo endeavor for over six years.
February 22, 1975: The second single from John Lennon‘s Walls and Bridges album, “#9 Dream,” peaks at — of course — #9 on the charts.
May 10, 1975: Stevie Wonder plays before 125,000 people at the Washington Monument as part of Human Kindness Day, for which he is the honoree. Despite initial reservations as to whether the focus of his involvement might detract from the event’s impact, Wonder and his group, Wonderlove, perform for over an hour.
September 12, 1975: Hard rock band Slade‘s attempt at rock moviemaking, Flame, opens in St. Louis. The band, as popular in its native UK as it is overlooked in the US, stars as a prepackaged Sixties band. But despite the concurrent release of Flame, the book, and Flame, the soundtrack, the venture falls far short of capturing the American interest.
September 19, 1975: Dickie Goodman, master of the novelty “break-in” record—where excerpts from current hits are used to flesh out what, in Goodman’s case, is inevitably some sort of parody of current events or fads—earns his only gold record, for “Mr. Jaws,” currently on its way to #4 on the pop chart. Goodman had many other such hits, including “The Touchables” (1961), “Ben Crazy” (1962), “Batman and His Grandmother” (1966), “On Campus” and “Luna Trip” [moon landing-themed] (1969), “Watergrate” (1973), “Energy Crisis ’74” and “Mr. President” (1974). Before going solo, Goodman had scored several other “break-in” novelty hits as half of a duo with Bill Buchanan. The first of their duo hits, 1956’s “Flying Saucer,” was also the first “break-in” record and sparked controversy among the composers and publishers whose songs had been excerpted.
November 18, 1975: Rock & roll and prime-time television meet again, under the usual inane circumstances, when Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen appear on an episode of “Police Woman.” The band, playing a rock group named The Chromium Skateboard, and the Commander deliver twenty-two speaking lines. The best line actually comes from an assistant director, who outlines some professional camera behavior for the group: “Please, try not to stare at Angie’s [assets].”
November 22, 1975: British soul singer Pete Wingfield‘s only US chart entry “Eighteen with a Bullet,” reaches—inevitably— #18 on the chart, with a bullet [NOTE: Actually, Billboard indicates peak chart position to be #15 on November 29, 1975].
January 30, 1976: Texas “songster” Mance Lipscomb dies of natural causes at age eighty in his Navasota, Texas home. Popularly thought of as a country bluesman, Lipscomb used the term songster to describe himself and to differentiate himself from bluesmen, and with good reason: he was more of a minstrel than anything else, and played not only blues but ballads, reels, jigs, breakdowns, drags, shouts, jubilees, spirituals and more. In fact, perhaps no other single performer embodied as many aspects of the Afro-American folk-music tradition as Lipscomb. He performed locally in Texas all his life, but did not record until 1960, when he was discovered by Chris Strachwitz of the Arhoolie label, for whom he recorded several well-received albums.
March 13, 1976: Philadelphia soul vocal trio The O’Jays enter the charts with the double-sided hit “Living for the Weekend” backed with “Stairway to Heaven” (not to be confused with the Led Zeppelin classic), which will go on to become on the three R&B Number One hits for the group this year. The other two are “Message in Our Music” and “Darlin’ Darlin’ Baby” [NOTE: O’Jays’ first two 45s as The Ascots issued on King].
