– This piece updated with new content in 2024 –
LINK to companion piece –
Bobby’s Smith King Productions 1963-1965
Bobby Smith, we now know, had been commissioned by Syd Nathan to build a recording studio in Macon, Georgia, the adopted hometown of King Records’ biggest star, James Brown. Thomas Goodwin very helpfully clarifies [in a comment you will find attached at the very end of this piece] that “there were two Bobby Smith studios in Macon — the first in downtown Macon, and the second in the East Macon suburb on Millerfield Rd.”
Bobby Smith – Macon Recording Studio
The Macon Telegraph
Sep. 20, 1964
This second Millerfield Road location, as Goodwin can tell you from professional experience, enjoyed the services of the following musical and production staff:
Thomas Goodwin – keyboards/brass
Calvin Arline – bass/flute
Emil Handke – drums
Stanley Kimball – guitar
Julian Spark(e)s – brass/arranger
Guy McColsk(e)y – engineer/partner
Bobby Smith – producer/partner/principal
These names can all be found listed, Goodwin notes, in the musician credits for David Anderson‘s 1971 King LP, Children Of The Mist.
Two years prior, in the late summer of 1969, The Macon Telegraph‘s business writer, Randall Foskey, had reported the exciting news that Macon’s new recording studio was expected to be completed in 45 days:
“Maconite Attracts Recording Studio“
The Macon Telegraph
Sept. 10, 1969
By Randall Foskey
About two weeks ago Starday-King Recording Co. of Nashville, Tenn. announced that it will open a studio in Macon. At that time officials said the new studio would be a joint venture by Starday-King and James Brown Enterprises. This is true enough; however, there is also a third partner involved in the business.
Bobby Smith, a Macon recording producer, is the man responsible for inducing Starday to come to Macon.
Smith, said the negotiating began about three months ago when he heard Starday was planning to build its new studio in Atlanta. He went to Nashville to convince Starday President Hal [Neely] that the studio should be located in Macon, a city with a musical heritage, especially in the rhythm and blues field.
With the help of soul singer James Brown, who was also interested in Macon as the site for a new recording studio, Smith was able to convince [Neely] that Macon was a more desirable site.
Don Barkley of Fickling & Walker Realty was able to locate the old American Legion Post No. 74 building on Millerfield Rd. as a prospective location for the studio, according to Smith.
“[Neely] flew down to look at the building and was very pleased with what he saw,” Smith said.
Starday-King now has recording studios in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Cincinnati, and Albuquerque, N.M. Smith said the Macon facility will be the largest studio in the company upon completion.
He said equipment for the studio is now being shipped in and construction should begin next week with completion expected within the next 45 days.
Smith said he would like to see Mayor [Ronnie] Thompson’s desire come true; that is, to have Macon become the “soul music capital of the world.”
“We are also interested in other kinds of music,” Smith said. Macon, Ga., has a lot of songwriters who never had a chance to get their songs published; we’re here to help them.”
Smith said the Macon studio will be one of the most-up-to-date in the country and will have one of the best engineers, Guy McColsky, running it.
The studio will have its own staff of musicians who will assist new songwriters while they are not recording with an artist.
James Brown will move his complete recording facility into Macon, Smith said. “He will be doing most of his recording in Macon after he moves here, which will be sometime within the next year.”
Smith will also move his offices from their current location in the Southern United Building to the Millerfield Rd. site.
“The future in the recording business is here in Macon where the talent is,” Smith said. He said the studio will seek that talent and encourage prospective songwriters, artists and musicians to contact him for an interview or a recording session.
“Memphis, Tenn., Muscle Shoals, Ala., and Detroit Mich. are now known for R and R music, Smith said. “We want Macon to become number one in the country in R and B.”
Bobby Smith, who has been in the recording production business for six years, has given a start to such stars as Wayne Cochran, Oscar [Toney], Jr. and the late Otis Redding.
Macon Becomes Part of Starday-King Recording Empire
Ad from Billboard‘s Oct. 18, 1969 issue
“Guy McClusky” & Bobby Smith
Thomas Goodwin tells Zero to 180 that “the missing link in most of the accounts of that period in musical history is the studio engineer, Guy McColsky.* As an engineer, studio operator, and high school teacher in Jacksonville he’d made contact with the Early Allmans, The Classics 4, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. He also did session work for Bobby Smith in Jacksonville before migrating to Macon.” [* Guy’s surname has been spelled McColskey (which Discogs recognizes) vs. McClusky, which is considerably different (see Billboard ad above), so Zero to 180 will meet in the middle with McColsky (used in the Record World article quoted below)].
About a year after Randall Foskey’s page A3 story, Record World would report on Macon’s newsworthy developments in its August 8, 1970 issue with an article that (thankfully, for history’s sake) includes a photo of McColsky and Smith’s new studio with the striking mid-century modernist diamond roofline:
“Starday-King Swings“
Record World
MACON — Former Jackson-Fla., studio owner Guy McColsky is the new man-in-charge at the Starday-King recording complex here. The Studio is situated in a new building recently vacated by a fancy night club.
The equipment includes an 8-track MCI machine and an 18-input board designed and built by McColsky. Although not officially open, the 34 ft. x 75 ft. room has been doing experimental recording since February. Starday-King officials in Nashville plan a grand opening in the very near future. McColsky told Record World they had finished probably 15 masters which are ready now for release.
Producer Bobby Smith is working closely with McColsky on such artists as Mickey Murray, Johnny Soul, J. B. Ledbetter, James Duncan, Clarence Murray and Robert Moore. The majority of material cut at Starday-King in Macon will be R&B-oriented.
That same page in Record World’s August 8, 1970 edition includes a related item entitled, “Macon: City On The Move,” that boasts of Macon as a city which “now sports two 8-track studios — one, the new Capricorn facility; the other is owned by Nashville-based Starday-King Records.”
The following month, Lee Barry‘s ‘Atlanta-Macon Report‘ for Record World‘s September 5, 1970 issue would announce that “Grady Spires has joined the Bobby Smith organization in Macon,” with Spires “in charge of the country department for Bobby Smith Productions.” Already signed for production by Spires, notes Barry, “are John Night, Howdy Kempf, Margaret Conyers and Randy Howard.”
*
Bobby Smith’s King Productions = 1966-1973
Recording notes from Michel Ruppli’s The King Labels: A Discography
<click on song titles below for streaming audio (where available)>
History Wrinkle
The King session notes compiled by Michel Ruppli tell us that Thomas Bailey did a May 4, 1966 recording session in Macon (presumably at Macon Recording Studio) that yielded “Just Won’t Move” and “Fran” — a Federal single that, for some odd reason, did not find release until 1970. Perhaps Ruppli’s carbon-dating tests somehow got mishandled in the lab? John Ridley‘s liner notes for the first Ace UK/Kent compilation King’s Serious Soul provide this bit of background info:
Bailey was active in the Macon area with his group, The Flintstones, around the turn of the 70s and was involved with Bobby Smith. He wrote material for Mickey Murray, among others, as well as making his own discs. His first Federal 45 coupled the ballad ‘Fran’ with the strutting Southern funk of ‘Just Won’t Move.’
Zero to 180 recently [2018] spoke with King Records historian, Brian Powers, who asserted that Bobby Smith Studios – i.e., Macon Recording Studio – indeed, was up and running by 1966 and, in fact, had already been in operation for several years.
The following King and Starday-King releases were produced by Bobby Smith and primarily recorded at Macon Recording Studio and (beginning in 1970) Bobby Smith Studios in East Macon — with one notable exception, as indicated a little further down the page:
[1966]
Thomas Bailey (rec. May 4, 1966)
“Just Won’t Move” [Federal 12559]
Released 1970
Lois Williams (rec. May 22, 1966)
“Where You Used To Be” [King 6043]
“You Don’t Have The Key” [King 6043]
Produced by Bobby Smith, according to Macon Telegraph‘s May 3, 1970 edition
[1967]
Historical aside — Bobby Smith produced a pair of Mickey Murray singles in 1967 for Shelby Singleton’s SSS International label: “Shout Bamalama”/”Lonely Room” & “Hit Record”/”How Many Breaks Can One Heart Take“
[1968]
Historical aside — In 1968, Bobby Smith produced singles by Oscar Irvin [“Cry Cry Cry”/”One Of These Days“] and Robert Moore [“Lookin’ For A Woman” & “Harlem Shuffle” 45s] for the Hollywood label, an imprint of Starday Records, whose resources would be enjoined that same year with King Records in the wake of Syd Nathan’s passing on March 5th. By 1968, Bobby Smith would also be releasing 45s through his own Boblo label, having previously owned other labels, including Deck, Orbit, and Confederate.
[1969]
Robert Moore (rec. date unknown)
“Old Grandma” [DeLuxe 105]
Lord Thunder (rec. date unknown)
“A Little Harder” [DeLuxe 106]
Lori And Lance (rec. 1969 – see Muscle Shoals story below)
“I Don’t Have to Worry” [Federal 12548]
“All I Want Is You” [Federal 12548]
James Duncan (rec. Aug. 14, 1969 – see Muscle Shoals story below)
“Money Can’t Buy True Love” [Federal 12549]
“My Baby Is Back” [Federal 12549]
“I Got It Made (In the Shade)” [Federal 12552]
“Gonna Leave You Alone” [Federal 12552]
“All Goodbyes Ain’t Gone” [Federal 12555]
“You’ve Gotta Be Strong” [Federal 12555]
[1970]
Dan Brantley (rec. circa 1970)
“You Got to Prove It” [Federal 12556]
“Begging Just Ain’t My Bag” [Federal 12556]
Johnny Soul (c. July 1970)
“Darling, Darling I Love You” [Federal 12557]
“I Want Some” [Federal 12557]
“Nobody But You” [unissued]
“Fall In These Arms Of Mine” [unissued]
Mickey Murray (rec. 1970)
“Fat Gal“
“Try A Little Harder“
“Fever“
LP released 1970
(including Brazil)
Note: Thomas Goodwin, who played keys and brass on “Ace Of Spades,” affirms that the recording session had taken place in 1970 — not 1966, as guessed in Michel Ruppli’s session notes. Just from the sound of the tracks on the People Are Together LP – especially the wah-wah guitar on “Money (That’s What I Want)” – it stretches the range of believability that these tracks might have been sitting for four years prior to release.
Mickey Murray (c. July 1970)
“Explosive Population” [Federal 12558]
“Going Back To Alabama” [Federal 12558]
“People Are Together“/”Fat Gal”
released Feb. 1971
[1971]
James Duncan (rec. Sep. 1970)
“Stand Up and Get Funky” [Federal 12561]
“Please, Johnny, Don’t You Take My Life” [Federal 12561]
Released 1971
Clarence Murray (rec. 1971)
“Please Accept My Love” [Federal 12562]
“Book of Love” [Federal 12562]
Bobby Leeds (rec. Mar. 14, 1971)
“Yesterday’s Rain” [Federal 12563]
“No Sign Of Love” [Federal 12563]
Jack Turner (rec. 1971)
“You’re a Woman” [Federal 12564]
“Throwing Your Love Away” [Federal 12564]
– No entries yet for this 45 in Discogs or 45Cat –
*
Willie Mae Glover (rec. 1971)
“Road to Freedom” [Federal 12565]
“Pick Me Up, Lord” [Federal 12565]
– No entries yet for this 45 in Discogs or 45Cat –
*
Gloria Walker (rec. Mar. 1971)
“Papa’s Got The Wagon” [Federal 12566]
“My Precious Love” [Federal 12566]
“Lonely And Blue” [unissued]
“Dancing To The Beat” [unissued]
Both tracks also issued as People 2504
Thomas Bailey (rec. 1971)
“Wish I Was Back” [Federal 12567]
“Percy’s Place” [Federal 12567]
The Stratoliners (rec. 1971)
“What Do You Want With My Love” [Federal 12568]
Jimmy & Connie Jordan (rec. 1971)
“Actions Speak Louder Than Words” [Agape 9002]
“Guess I Never Had It So Good” [Agape 9002]
“Produced by Walter Eaton for Bobby Smith Productions“
A-side is Starday-King’s lone attempt to cash in on the bubblegum trend
*
Gloria Walker (rec. circa 1971)
“Love Is in the Air” [Federal 12569]
“Them Changes” [Federal 12569]
“When My Baby Cries” [Federal 12570]
“Gift Of Love” [Federal 12570]
“Gloria’s Tune” [unissued]
“Don’t Get Funky” [unissued]
“Am I That Easy To Forget” [unissued]
“Being Lonely” [unissued]
“Dancing To The Music” [unissued]
“I’ll Always Love You” [unissued]
“Just One Moment” [unissued]
Mickey Murray (rec. circa 1971)
“I Can’t Tell You (I Got Enough)” [Federal 12571]
“Ain’t Nothing We Can Do About It” [Federal 12571]
David Anderson
Children Of The Mist King LP
Released 1971
Coldwater Army
Peace Agape LP
Released 1971
LP released in Canada on Columbia
Coldwater Army evolved into Stillwater, who recorded for Capricorn
[1972]
Wild Goose (rec. date unknown)
“Flyin’ Machine” [Agape 9006]
“New Pair Of Shoes” [Agape 9006]
The Manhattans (rec. date unknown)
“One Life to Live” [DeLuxe 139]
“It’s The Only Way” [DeLuxe 139]
Produced by Hal Neely, Robert Riley & Bobby Smith
“Recorded in Macon, ‘One Life To Live’ caught the attention of CBS Records, and The Manhattans have been with the company ever since” – Macon Telegraph (Apr. 17, 1987)
The Manhattans (rec. date unknown)
“Fever” [DeLuxe 144]
“Back Up” [DeLuxe 144]
Produced by Hal Neely, Robert Riley, Hoss Allen & Bobby Smith
Note: Manhattans’ 1972 DeLuxe LP A Million To One was produced by Calvin Arline (uncredited), according to Thomas Goodwin
[1973]
The Manhattans (rec. date unknown)
“Rainbow Week” [DeLuxe 146]
Produced by Hal Neely, Robert Riley, Hoss Allen & Bobby Smith
Willy Wiley (rec. date unknown)
“Push and Shove” [King 6409]
“Just Be Glad” [King 6409]
Also released on Boblo in 1972
*
On a related note –
James Brown Productions
at Bobby Smith Studios
James Brown (& Bobby Byrd & The J.B.’s) (rec. Oct. 1, 1970)
“Talkin’ Loud and Saying Nothing“
“We Need Liberation” [unissued]
Bobby Byrd (& The JB’s) (rec. Oct. 1, 1970)
“If You Don’t Work, You Can’t Eat” [King 6342]
“If Something’s Wrong With My Baby (Something’s Wrong With Me)” [unissued]
The J.B.’s (rec. Oct 1, 1970)
Included on 2019 LP More Mess On My Thing
Lyn Collins (rec. Feb. 15, 1971)
“Wheels of Life” [King 6373]
“Just Won’t Do Right” [King 6373]
45 sleeve design by JC Trambouze
Both tracks also issued as People 2503
The J.B.’s (rec. June 1971)
45 sleeve design by JC Trambouze
The J.B.’s (rec. Oct 5/6, 1971)
45 sleeve design by JC Trambouze
Son’s of Funk (rec. date unknown)
“From the Back Side (pts. 1 & 2)“
“Starday-King Studio South — Macon“
Released 1972
James Brown (rec. Oct. 1971)
45 picture sleeve
James Brown (rec. Feb. 7, 1972)
45 picture sleeve
*
Must note with confusion that Bobby Smith is listed as producer on Gloria Walker’s classic slice of funk “Papa’s Got the Wagon” (along with its mate “Your Precious Love“), even though Ruppli’s sessionography states that this March, 1971 single had been recorded in “Cincinnati” — is it possible that Smith came to King Studios for this session? Brian Poust, in his comment attached to this piece, strongly doubts that Gloria Walker (resident of Millidgeville, Georgia) traveled all the way to King Studios – a judgment that is supported when you look at page 625 of the King session notes compiled by Michel Ruppli and note that every other session listed on that page had taken place in Macon. Walker’s backing band on these sessions, Poust informs us, was The Mighty Chevelles.
*
In the course of browsing the Federal Records section of Ruppli’s King Labels recording sessionography, I couldn’t help but notice one particular James Duncan session that took place in Muscle Shoals, Alabama — not Macon, Georgia. But wait, Bobby Smith’s name is attached to this entire August 14, 1969 recording session — is it possible that Smith traveled to Muscle Shoals to record James Duncan? Listen to the classic guitar work on “I Got It Made (In The Shade)” — sure sounds like Eddie Hinton, right? [Compare with “This Old Town” by Wilson Pickett, a song previously celebrated here.]
“I Got It Made (In The Shade)”
James Duncan (1969)
As it turns out, the ‘Musical Columbo‘ – Soul Detective – had already pondered this question ten years earlier, having discovered a key piece of research in John Ridley’s liner notes to Volume 2 of the Ace UK/Kent anthology series, King Serious Soul (2002) that affirms Ruppli’s assertion, pointing out that James Duncan’s Federal singles “were mainly cut at Muscle Shoals and were uniformly of a very high standard indeed.”
Liner notes for King’s Serious Soul Vol. 2
James Duncan
After an initial R&B-styled 45 for Gene in 1962, Duncan recorded a series of six singles for King between 1964 and 1966. Several of these, like his version of “Out of Sight” (King 6039), were heavily influenced by the then current styling of Brother James, although Duncan’s voice was far less harsh and more melodic. They also had a pronounced R&B flavour and tracks like “Mr. Goodtime” (King 6013) have featured on dance floors recently. Others, like his original version of the southern soul war-horse “My Pillow Stays Wet” (King 5887) are more suited to collections like this. After a gap of a couple of years, Duncan rejoined the King group via the ubiquitous Bobby Smith who placed four singles on the Federal label from 1969 to 1971. These were mainly cut at Muscle Shoals and were uniformly of a very high standard indeed. “My Baby Is Back” may just be the pick of the ballads, and is a rec-cut of his only 45 for Major Bill Smith’s Charay concern from 1964. What a great retro sound! It’s pushed by the classic 6/8 slow country soul of “I’m Gonna Leave You Alone” – only the Alabama musicians could play like that. The up-tempo “Money Can’t Buy True Love” shows how adept they were at dance cuts as well.
Thomas Goodwin agrees that the James Duncan session took place in Muscle Shoals with guitarist Eddie Hinton, but asserts that recording most likely took place at Quin Ivy‘s “new” Quinvy Recording Studio in Sheffield at 1307 Broadway Street — not Muscle Shoals Sound at 3614 Jackson Highway (just a few blocks away), as I had presumed.
Also recorded at Muscle Shoals, according to Ridley, is the Lori & Lance single “I Don’t Have to Worry” b/w “All I Want Is You.”
(1971 ad)
*
History Bonus!
< courtesy Creative Loafing – Original Atlanta >
Cover Story
Bobby Smith – King Records – On James Brown
By UNKNOWN AUTHOR
January 10, 2007
Bobby Smith was the first person to sign Otis Redding to a recording contract, and produced his first single “Shout Bamalama.” Smith also managed Wayne Cochran and built a studio in Macon that was commissioned by Syd Nathan, the president of King Records in Cincinnati.
I met James when I was with King Records. Syd Nathan put me into business. I was in Miami with Syd and they got in a tape from James, his latest recording. They sent it down to Syd for his OK, and we sat down and listened to it: “It’s A Man’s World.”
A few days later, they called from Cincinnati and said James wanted $70,000. And Syd said, “Go ahead and give it to him.” And he got off the phone and said, “He could grunt and I could still [sell] his records.
The thing I recall most of all, when I lived in Nashville and I’d been in the music business a long time. John R. — the disc jockey for WLAC-AM in Nashville — was dying of cancer and they were giving a big benefit for him at the Grand Old Opry. And all the black entertainers were there to perform. I was backstage and James just got through with an interview with NBC. And I said, “James, I’m about to leave and get out of the music business.” And he said, “What do you mean, Bobby? You’ve been in it 27, 28 years.” I said, “I’m going to change my life. I’m going back to Macon to work with this lady who does the Lighthouse Mission, and she helps people and I want to do something different.” And he looks at me and James’ very words to me were, “Well, Bobby, God put you here and look what you’ve done; you’ve helped a lot of people in the music business and helped a lot of people get into the music business. I think God intended for you to stay where you’re at.” I said, “Well, James, I just got tired of it.”
That stood out more to me with James Brown than anything. James is a performer, nobody could follow him on stage. He had certain sides about him, but I was touched when he said, “God put you here to help people in the music business.” He also knew that a lot of people took me for a ride, too.
James came down to record in my studio. He had the studio booked for a week. And when he was here, he had them bring all his sports cars to Macon so that he’d have something to scoot around town in. My son, Tommy, was 10 or 11 years old. Tommy called me the other day from Santa Fe where he was on vacation. He’d heard about James. I said, “Son, you got James’ autograph from the studio; do you still have it?” He said, “Yes, I still got it, Daddy. I wouldn’t let go of it for nothing.”
When James was in the studio recording, he wanted full attention from those musicians. I mean that with great respect. He was in there to take care of business. He recorded, I think, “Mother Popcorn.” I think three hits came out of that LP that he cut there.
*
A Tale of Two Apostrophes –
Original song title
“Talkin’ Loud and Saying Nothin’“
45 picture sleeve
Song title converted to the King’s English
*
LINK to the “prequel” –
5 Responses
The Bobby Smith / King Studio (Macon) was indeed set up before 1966. This is not likely to be the earliest example but King 45-5908 by The Fabulous Denos (an Atlanta group) was recorded in Macon and produced by Bobby Smith. Note the Boblo publishing credit. When I interviewed members of the Denos, they were already well aware of the studio when they recorded there.
Also, Gloria Walker was from middle Georgia and would have certainly recorded at Bobby Smith’s Macon studio rather than Cincinnati. Anything is possible I suppose but the backing band on this record is also from Millidgeville GA (The Mighty Chevelles).
There were two Bobby Smith studios in Macon. The first in downtown Macon, and the second in the East Macon suburb on Millerfield Rd. The second location had a staff consisting of:
Calvin Arline bass/flute
Thomas Goodwin keyboards/brass
Emil Handle drums
Stanley Kimball guitar
Guy McCloskey Engineer/partner
Bobby Smith Producer/partner/principal
The session list for the second studio is very incomplete.
I omitted Julian Sparkes brass/arranger
From the Millerfield road studio:
David Anderson – children of the mist
Shared rhythm tracks for Jackie Wilson & Wayne Cochran.
Re-recording of the Sex Machine album.(Macon not Cinncinati)
Razzy Bailey
Dennis Wheeler
Piano Red- happiness is piano Red-