Jonathan Toubin's NY Night Train Party Platter

DJ Jonathan Toubin pulls another flaming o.g. 1950s / 1960s dance party 45 out of the box to spice up your day!

[nyntpartyplatter]

Get ready for Saturday's Houston, Texas Soul Clap and Dance-Off at Walter's with this hot H-Town pepper!

You may recall the pair of Sister Mable Franklin’s pulverizing Kangaroo gospel sides I put up here last year? (https://youtu.be/i2bq26X-yCk) This hot wax from seven years in the future finds the formerly pious gospel-shouting Sister Mable Franklin throwing her vocal flames into the most secular of blues! This one was laid down at drummer Ivory Lee Semien's studio on the Fifth Ward;s tough corner of Lyons and Jensen * - an intersection that grew so violent that it was referred to as “Pearl Harbor” by the end of the 1970s.

Apparently the second and last release on Houston’s obscure Ritzy imprint, Mabel’s take on the current dance craze trend doesn’t sound like a 1965 record and is so timeless that could’ve been from anywhere deep in the post-1948 Lightnin’ Hopkins “Katie Mae” Houston blues scene. But just because what your hearing is from a strong tradition doesn’t mean what you’re hearing isn’t an exquisite example of fresh and unique post-war Bayou City blues. Franklin’s windy wailing, growling, and shouting finds its ideal accompaniment in the raw elegance of drummer C.W. Thornton (Big Mama’s brother!) and the expressive, imaginative, and downright wild guitar heroics of Texas blues legend D.C. Bender. These sparse but loud and very present recordings make for two Texas’ most exciting blues sides.

Bender and Franklin teamed up again with Ivory Lee in 1967 with “Lucille Leave My Man Alone” / “Unhappy Woman” (Ivory, 1967)

Mabel Franklin and D.C. Bender were regular attractions in the colorful and prolific 1960s/1970s Fifth Ward club scene. Here’s Mike Leadbetter's action-packed 1967 account of a typical Bender/Ivory Lee band’s set at George’s on Cavalcade for “Blues Unlimited” (Aug 1967):

“George’s is a large, wild, tough beer joint and we sat as close to the band as we could. Ivory had told me that D.C. could sing, drink beer and play guitar all at once and this I had to see. To the hypnotic beat of “Boogie Chillen”, D.C. tipped back his head and, somehow, by clenching an open bottle between his teeth (broken), and by shouting out of the corner of his mouth did the impossible. Due to too much booze, D.C.;s voice is now little more than a hoarse cry, but his weird guitar playing, relying heavily on tremolo effects, is quite something as are his gymnastics. Laying down a pounding, rock rhythm behind D.C. were Big H. WIlliamson bass, Earl Gilliam on organ and Ivory beating beautifully on drums. All the musicians took turns to sing and by 9.30 most of the customers were hip shaking round the tables. There was no room to dance, but everyone stood up, shook all over and yelled. One couple, far gone, had a noisy if futile attempt to make love, half on a table and half on a chair, behind Tom’s head.”   http://blues-facts.proboards.com/thread/130/

Other than the Kangaroo sides, Sister Mabel Franklin had another early gospel record “How Many Years”/“All Over the World" on Franklin Records. In addition to the two 1960s Bender collaboration 45s, her mid-tempo soul burner “Come on and Go” turned up on Collectibles’ 1991 “Soul of Texas Blues Women: Good 'Ol Texas 60s Soul and Blues” collection. And a live recording of her belting “Wiggle Wiggle” on the Fifth Ward’s historic thoroughfare Lyons Avenue appears on Sunnyland Records’ 1970s compilation “Gulf Coast Blues” alongside D.C. Bender, Rockin’ Sidney, Silas Hogan, and other greats (somebody was kind enough to upload the entire lp here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXNuh7ciH2s). There's also a 45 bootleg of this floating around recently...

graphics by AVI SPIVAK (http://www.avispivak.com)!

You're listening to the daily addition to the New York Night Train Party Platter playlist. Each track here is recorded directly from my original 45s (no bootlegs, reproductions, etc) to give you an idea of what the real deal authentic vinyl I turn at my parties sounds like. COME BACK EVERY DAY FOR A NEW FIX! Because the records pass so quickly on the dance floor, this channel is an attempt to stop and focus on one record at a time in hopes to personally learn more about each one and at the same time turn you on to the artists, tracks, labels, etc. I'm just hipping myself to a lot of these records for the first time as well - so you can view this as our journey into learning more about cool old records together!  But above all else I hope this music moves you as much as it moves me.

https://www.youtube.com/JonathanToubin https://www.facebook.com/newyorknight... https://twitter.com/jonathantoubin https://instagram.com/jonathantoubin/

Get your enjoys, Jonathan Toubin Soul Proprietor, New York Night Train

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Getting ready for Saturday's Fistful of Soul presents Soul Clap and Dance-Off in Houston, I put up everybody's favorite 60s Duke single, Buddy Ace's "Screaming Please" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oxP0iIWMi8) and this side, the swingin' flip that rotates in its shadow, "What Can I Do."

Born in Jasper, TX in 1936, Jimmie Lee Land was raised in a musical family in Baytown, a booming refinery town outside of Houston. He was in a gospel quartet in high school with the one and only Joe Tex. Tex won a number of Houston talent shows, including one that included the trip to New York where The Rapper won Amateur Night at The Apollo four times and was signed to King Records by legendary producer Henry Glover. Similarly Jimmie Lee Land was discovered at a Houston talent show by Duke/Peacock big bossman Don Robey. After the tragic oft-disputed suicide of Duke's biggest hitmaker Johnny Ace backstage at Houston’s City Auditorium Christmas Day 1954, Robey christened his top star’s brother, St. Clair Alexander, “Buddy Ace” to cash in on his famous sibling’s popularity. When the move didn’t pan out, Jimmie Lee Land became Duke Records’ new “Buddy Ace”. While never striking gold, he recorded a few minor hits and a number of standout sides during his Duke Records tenure that spanned a number of distinct musical eras, 1956 to 1969, from early rock’n’roll to funkier times. Buddy Ace, who went grey in the 1970s and became known as “The Silver Fox of the Blues,” continued to record and slay audiences on the road all the way up to his fatal heart attack onstage in Waco, TX December 26, 1994 - 40th years and a day after Johnny Ace’s death.

The "Screaming Please" writing credit Brown/Malone means that Texas Johnny Brown, the legendary Texas guitarist and author of Bobby Blue Bland's iconic "Two Steps From The Blues," was probably the writer. Deadric Malone is the pseudonym Don Robey to get writing credits on a number of Duke sides he wasn’t involved in composing. As this reveals so many of the dynamic brassy hallmarks of the stellar Bobby "Blue" Bland material of the era, until someone shows me different, I will conclude for now that 1) Duke's house arranger/trumpeter Joe Scott is threading the elaborate tapestry and 2) the band is the same killer all-star ensemble from "Two Steps From The Blues" driven by the dynamic beat of earth-shattering future James Brown drummer John "Jabo" Starks.

https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fla95 http://www.houstonpress.com/music/buddy-ace-moves-on-6572428 http://www.soulfulkindamusic.net/bace.htm

graphics by AVI SPIVAK (http://www.avispivak.com)!

You're listening to the daily addition to the New York Night Train Party Platter playlist. Each track here is recorded directly from my original 45s (no bootlegs, reproductions, etc) to give you an idea of what the real deal authentic vinyl I turn at my parties sounds like. COME BACK EVERY DAY FOR A NEW FIX! Because the records pass so quickly on the dance floor, this channel is an attempt to stop and focus on one record at a time in hopes to personally learn more about each one and at the same time turn you on to the artists, tracks, labels, etc. I'm just hipping myself to a lot of these records for the first time as well - so you can view this as our journey into learning more about cool old records together!  But above all else I hope this music moves you as much as it moves me.

https://www.youtube.com/JonathanToubin https://www.facebook.com/newyorknight... https://twitter.com/jonathantoubin https://instagram.com/jonathantoubin/

Get your enjoys, Jonathan Toubin Soul Proprietor, New York Night Train

[nyntpartyplatter]

Getting ready for Saturday's Fistful of Soul presents Soul Clap and Dance-Off in Houston, I tried to find some more information about my favorite 60s Duke single and all I could find were sellers explaining that Buddy Ace's soul masterpiece is currently experiencing great English appreciation. Hence, I noticed this one is ubiquitous on YouTube. But no side could be more deserving!

Born in Jasper, TX in 1936, Jimmie Lee Land was raised in a musical family in Baytown, a booming refinery town outside of Houston. He was in a gospel quartet in high school with the one and only Joe Tex. Tex won a number of Houston talent shows, including one that included the trip to New York where The Rapper won Amateur Night at The Apollo four times and was signed to King Records by legendary producer Henry Glover. Similarly Jimmie Lee Land was discovered at a Houston talent show by Duke/Peacock big bossman Don Robey. After the tragic oft-disputed suicide of Duke's biggest hitmaker Johnny Ace backstage at Houston’s City Auditorium Christmas Day 1954, Robey christened his top star’s brother, St. Clair Alexander, “Buddy Ace” to cash in on his famous sibling’s popularity. When the move didn’t pan out, Jimmie Lee Land became Duke Records’ new “Buddy Ace”. While never striking gold, he recorded a few minor hits and a number of standout sides during his Duke Records tenure that spanned a number of distinct musical eras, 1956 to 1969, from early rock’n’roll to funkier times. Buddy Ace, who went grey in the 1970s and became known as “The Silver Fox of the Blues,” continued to record and slay audiences on the road all the way up to his fatal heart attack onstage in Waco, TX December 26, 1994 - 40th years and a day after Johnny Ace’s death.

The "Screaming Please" writing credit Brown/Malone means that Texas Johnny Brown, the legendary Texas guitarist and author of Bobby Blue Bland's iconic "Two Steps From The Blues," was probably the writer. Deadric Malone is the pseudonym Don Robey to get writing credits on a number of Duke sides he wasn’t involved in composing. While Buddy Ace's performance is so sublime and beyond words here, and the entire performance is at once fluid, dynamic, and passionate, the incredible arrangement propels “Screaming Please,” beyond the stratosphere and justifies its place at the summit of soul music’s mighty canon. It’s flip, “What Can I Do" (https://youtu.be/cUsjLYiRX10), is another groovy imaginatively-arranged stunner. As this reveals so many of the brassy hallmarks of the stellar Bobby "Blue" Bland material of the era, until someone shows me different, I will conclude for now that 1) Duke's house arranger/trumpeter Joe Scott is threading the elaborate tapestry and 2) the band is the same killer all-star ensemble from "Two Steps From The Blues" driven by the dynamic beat of earth-shattering future James Brown drummer John "Jabo" Starks.

An uncommon instance when a rare in-demand collector record deserves its acclaim. This simply as good as it gets!

graphics by AVI SPIVAK (http://www.avispivak.com)!

You're listening to the daily addition to the New York Night Train Party Platter playlist. Each track here is recorded directly from my original 45s (no bootlegs, reproductions, etc) to give you an idea of what the real deal authentic vinyl I turn at my parties sounds like. COME BACK EVERY DAY FOR A NEW FIX! Because the records pass so quickly on the dance floor, this channel is an attempt to stop and focus on one record at a time in hopes to personally learn more about each one and at the same time turn you on to the artists, tracks, labels, etc. I'm just hipping myself to a lot of these records for the first time as well - so you can view this as our journey into learning more about cool old records together!  But above all else I hope this music moves you as much as it moves me.

https://www.youtube.com/JonathanToubin https://www.facebook.com/newyorknight... https://twitter.com/jonathantoubin https://instagram.com/jonathantoubin/

Get your enjoys, Jonathan Toubin Soul Proprietor, New York Night Train

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Get ready for Saturday's Houston, TX Soul Clap with one of the best Texas soul ballads of all time "That's Cuz I Love You" by Galveston soul screamer Louis "Blues Boy" Jones.

Years back I found a record for one my favorite DJs and people, Action Pat of Miami's fabulous Southernmost Soul Club and he gave me this curious platter as a thank you.  You also gotta hear its amazing A-Side, the surrealist horror rhythm and blues masterpiece informed by Alfred Hitchcock's "The BIrds"... "The Birds is Coming"!

Like Wilson Pickett, Louis "Blues Boy" Jones is one of the rare soul screamers who is also a super-musical note hitter that delivers the goods with impeccable phrasing for maximum emotional effect. While his ballads are something to behold, all five of his A-sides work hard on the dance floor. Particularly his "Come On Home" - a signature song of sorts for me that hasn't stopped rotating on my tables since nearly the beginning...

Blues Boy Jones was born in Galveston in 1931 and by the early 1950s had served in the Korean War and was in Houston lending his amazing vocal talents to the backing Bobby Blue Bland, Big Mama Thornton, and other stars of Don Robey's universe in the studio. His first record, the ringing "Rock'n'Roll Bells" on Peacock was as much novelty as high grade dynamic rhythm and blues. It was a minor hit and a favorite of Elvis Presley. Its surprising that not much followed on Duke/Peacock. He then hooked up with Bobby Scott Orchestra and churned out a couple of amazing 2-siders recorded in Beaumont and released on a Lelan Rogers' pre-International Artists imprint, Sabra Records. As a member of Bobby Scott Orchestra, Jones toured the world as a featured vocalist and behind Otis Redding, Jerry Butler, and Maxine Brown. Brown invited the band to New York where this single and another killer diller for Bobby Robinson's Enjoy were both recorded in 1963.

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fjone http://thefacts.com/free_share/article_1f8693dd-138f-538c-9ee5-a3a409a6f9fa.html graphics by AVI SPIVAK (http://www.avispivak.com)!

You're listening to the daily addition to the New York Night Train Party Platter playlist. Each track here is recorded directly from my original 45s (no bootlegs, reproductions, etc) to give you an idea of what the real deal authentic vinyl I turn at my parties sounds like. COME BACK EVERY DAY FOR A NEW FIX! Because the records pass so quickly on the dance floor, this channel is an attempt to stop and focus on one record at a time in hopes to personally learn more about each one and at the same time turn you on to the artists, tracks, labels, etc. I'm just hipping myself to a lot of these records for the first time as well - so you can view this as our journey into learning more about cool old records together!  But above all else I hope this music moves you as much as it moves me.

https://www.youtube.com/JonathanToubin https://www.facebook.com/newyorknight... https://twitter.com/jonathantoubin https://instagram.com/jonathantoubin/

Get your enjoys, Jonathan Toubin Soul Proprietor, New York Night Train

[nyntpartyplatter]

Get ready for Saturday's Houston, TX Soul Clap with Galveston soul screamer Louis "Blues Boy" Jones surrealist horror rhythm and blues masterpiece informed by Alfred Hitchcock's "The BIrds"... "The Birds is Coming"!

Years back I found a record for one my favorite DJs and people, Action Pat of Miami's fabulous Southernmost Soul Club and he gave me this curious platter as a thank you.  When Pat gave me this killer slice of eccentricity I shouted, "This might just be the best record I've ever heard!" then I asked, "But how can i get anybody to dance to it?" He told me they'll dance if they're in the right mood. And he was right!  And the flip "Cuz I Love You" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLNrnbFX2OU) is one of the ultimate Texas soul ballads and a showcase for Jones' unreal pipes!

Like Wilson Pickett, Louis "Blues Boy" Jones is one of the rare soul screamers who is also a super-musical note hitter that delivers the goods with impeccable phrasing for maximum emotional effect. While his ballads are something to behold, all five of his A-sides work hard on the dance floor. Particularly his "Come On Home" - a signature song of sorts for me that hasn't stopped rotating on my tables since nearly the beginning...

Blues Boy Jones was born in Galveston in 1931 and by the early 1950s had served in the Korean War and was in Houston lending his amazing vocal talents to the backing Bobby Blue Bland, Big Mama Thornton, and other stars of Don Robey's universe in the studio. His first record, the ringing "Rock'n'Roll Bells" on Peacock was as much novelty as high grade dynamic rhythm and blues. It was a minor hit and a favorite of Elvis Presley. Its surprising that not much followed on Duke/Peacock. He then hooked up with Bobby Scott Orchestra and churned out a couple of amazing 2-siders recorded in Beaumont and released on a Lelan Rogers' pre-International Artists imprint, Sabra Records. As a member of Bobby Scott Orchestra, Jones toured the world as a featured vocalist and behind Otis Redding, Jerry Butler, and Maxine Brown. Brown invited the band to New York where this single and another killer diller for Bobby Robinson's Enjoy were both recorded in 1963.

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fjone http://thefacts.com/free_share/article_1f8693dd-138f-538c-9ee5-a3a409a6f9fa.html graphics by AVI SPIVAK (http://www.avispivak.com)!

You're listening to the daily addition to the New York Night Train Party Platter playlist. Each track here is recorded directly from my original 45s (no bootlegs, reproductions, etc) to give you an idea of what the real deal authentic vinyl I turn at my parties sounds like. COME BACK EVERY DAY FOR A NEW FIX! Because the records pass so quickly on the dance floor, this channel is an attempt to stop and focus on one record at a time in hopes to personally learn more about each one and at the same time turn you on to the artists, tracks, labels, etc. I'm just hipping myself to a lot of these records for the first time as well - so you can view this as our journey into learning more about cool old records together!  But above all else I hope this music moves you as much as it moves me.

https://www.youtube.com/JonathanToubin https://www.facebook.com/newyorknight... https://twitter.com/jonathantoubin https://instagram.com/jonathantoubin/

Get your enjoys, Jonathan Toubin Soul Proprietor, New York Night Train

[nyntpartyplatter]

A flaming bare-bones take on "Harlem Shuffle" by the consistently fabulous Little Woo Woo on the mysterious Heat Imprint!

Edward "Little Woo Woo" Early started out in a Dayton, OH combo called The Moroccos in 1956. By 1960 they recorded the first and perhaps only single on Dayton's 3M label as Little Woo-Woo & the Moroccos' - "This Wonderful Girl Of Mine" b/w "My One And Only." The charming platter did well enough to get national distribution on Port Records. Little Woo Woo and the Moroccos next surfaced in 1962 on another obscure Dayton imprint, Greenstar, with the under-known two-sided classic featuring the explosive "The Big Swim," which you may remember from "Souvenirs of the Soul Clap, Vol. 4,"  backed with the very cool and crazy jam “Muzik Megaton.” The band next caught their big break - loading up the truck and zipping up to Detroit to record a total of six sides in two sessions at Motown. The result, under the Morrocco Muzik Makers moniker, and their sole soul 45 for Motown. The A-Side "Back to School" hit far below the band's usual standard of excellence but its fat flipside “Pig Knuckles” is a wailing firecracker and one of Motown’s most candid, unusual, and exciting instrumentals. The rarity of this record is testament to how little the label attempted to do with it and it looks like the The Moroccos disappeared from recording after their Motown adventure.

Little Woo Woo however, sans the Moroccos, appeared at least once more on vinyl - on an impossibly rare 1967 Heat Records “live” LP.  Today’s Party Platter is the scarce single contains the LP's tracks “Harlem Shuffle” and the instrumental “Outrigger.”  The band credited on the LP is Dayton organist Sammy Dobson, drummer Billy Vance, and vocalists Leatha Early (Woo Woo’s sister?), Connie Lawson (Dayton singer of Connie and Kenny?), and Leroy Rogers. Like 3M and Greenstar, Little Woo Woo also appears to be the only act released on Heat - making me wonder if his three amazing non-Motown singles were private presses. Though the band was from Dayton and the Heat records were on the log at Cincinnati’s RITE Custom Pressing, the label mysteriously includes only a Birmingham, Alabama address.

If you have any information to add about this amazing band or record, feel free to chime in!

graphics by AVI SPIVAK (http://www.avispivak.com)!

You're listening to the daily addition to the New York Night Train Party Platter playlist. Each track here is recorded directly from my original 45s (no bootlegs, reproductions, etc) to give you an idea of what the real deal authentic vinyl I turn at my parties sounds like. COME BACK EVERY DAY FOR A NEW FIX! Because the records pass so quickly on the dance floor, this channel is an attempt to stop and focus on one record at a time in hopes to personally learn more about each one and at the same time turn you on to the artists, tracks, labels, etc. I'm just hipping myself to a lot of these records for the first time as well - so you can view this as our journey into learning more about cool old records together!  But above all else I hope this music moves you as much as it moves me.

https://www.youtube.com/JonathanToubin https://www.facebook.com/newyorknight... https://twitter.com/jonathantoubin https://instagram.com/jonathantoubin/

Get your enjoys, Jonathan Toubin Soul Proprietor, New York Night Train

[nyntpartyplatter]

Since the NY Night Train is off to Pittsburgh tomorrow I figured I'd throw a Swamp Rats platter up here... Swamp Rats are of course one of the most exciting garage bands ever and this track is a bonafide classic that I initially learned from Crypt Records' canonical first volume of "Back From The Grave."  Its hard to imagine a worthy cover of The Sonic's "Psycho," but, like the "Louie Louie" on their debut 45, Swamp Rats make it their own with unprecedented speed and brutality. "Psycho," like another one of my other favorite Swamp Rats' spins, a snarling stab at The Sparkles' "No Friend Of Mine,"  is a contemporary standard that was far from an obvious cover choice in its time. Pittsburgh however was one of the only markets outside of Washington state where The Sonics both charted (and visited!) - due in no small part to the advocacy of tastemaking DJ god Mad Mike Metrovich and his inclusion of "Psycho" on his "More Mad Mike Moldies Volume 4" LP. The entire thing is perfect but stick around for the experimental backwards explosion at the end is the cherry on top and makes this one of the more unique sides of its time!

Like The Monkees, The Sex Pistols, and other earthshattering acts,  The Swamp Rats were a prefabricated band. Formed from the ashes of McKeesport, PA's amazing teen trio The Fantastic Dee Jays, WMCK DJ Terry Lee put the group together. He explains, “There was no actual "band'...the Swamp Rats was a group of people that I put together to make records and do live shows at my dances. The group slowly started to change. As it changed, there were personality conflicts, members left, members returned, and new members were added. It was like a revolving door.  The Swamp Rats consisted of over 12 people at various times..."

Pittsburgh Music History pittsburghmusichistory/pittsburgh-music-story/rock/the-swap-rats http://www.allmusic.com/artist/swamp-rats-mn0000041128/biography

graphics by AVI SPIVAK (http://www.avispivak.com)!

You're listening to the daily addition to the New York Night Train Party Platter playlist. Each track here is recorded directly from my original 45s (no bootlegs, reproductions, etc) to give you an idea of what the real deal authentic vinyl I turn at my parties sounds like. COME BACK EVERY DAY FOR A NEW FIX! Because the records pass so quickly on the dance floor, this channel is an attempt to stop and focus on one record at a time in hopes to personally learn more about each one and at the same time turn you on to the artists, tracks, labels, etc. I'm just hipping myself to a lot of these records for the first time as well - so you can view this as our journey into learning more about cool old records together!  But above all else I hope this music moves you as much as it moves me.

https://www.youtube.com/JonathanToubin https://www.facebook.com/newyorknight... https://twitter.com/jonathantoubin https://instagram.com/jonathantoubin/

Get your enjoys, Jonathan Toubin Soul Proprietor, New York Night Train

[nyntpartyplatter]

Lee Rogers "Troubles" (Mah's, 1962): NY Night Train Party Platter              

Lee Rogers was one of the finest and most prolific vocalists of the soul era in Detroit and was a big influence on Marvin Gaye and the Detroit sound in general. While Rogers is underrated and virtually unknown in the outside world, you'd be hard pressed to find a soul 45 collector that doesn't have at least a few of his jams.

Mississippi-born Lee Rogers appeared on the Detroit recording scene with a vocal group called The Peppermints, but really made his mark in the early 1960s singing with The Barons whose amazing early soul/post-doo wop group 45s "Dog Eat Dog"/"Money Don't Grow On Trees Who's In The Shack"/"While The Cats Away" are still goodtime dance party classics! In 1962 Rogers went solo with "Walk On By" but DJs flipped it for the side you're hearing, the very swinging and dynamic "Troubles." Next Morris Levy's Roulette Records saw enough potential here to pick the platter up for national distribution.

And why not? "Troubles" has everything! Check out that piano intro! And the way the up-high guitar figure slides in over a banging beat! And Rogers' stunning falsetto! Gliding and vibrating all over the top and eventually howling by the end! And all the stops and the sax that comes in outta nowhere! And its got so much fluidity and emotion that you don't even notice how much is happening! A bonafide early rockin' soul classic!

After "Troubles," Rogers moved away from the rock'n'roll/rhythm and blues influence in favor of a mid-1960s Motown soul approach and went on to record countless canonical sides for D-Town, Wheelsville, Premium Stuff, Diamond Jim, and Loadstone.

[nyntpartyplatter]

Sherri Taylor "He's The One That Rings My Bell" (Glorelco, 1961): NY Night Train Party Platter  

Since I just posted Ruben Fort's "So Good," I continue to get ready for Saturday's Detroit Soul Clap and Dance-Off at the U.F.O. factory with yet another of Motor City's most banging early popcorn soul sides! Like "So Good," this one is co-authored by the prolific Berry Gordy colloborator Billy Davis and this time his writing partner is the same Tony Clark who would later go on to sing a number of Northern Soul standards.

Sherri Taylor had a local hit with a killer lead vocal performance in her family's group, Taylor Tones, with "Too Young To Love."  She shone yet again her 1960 duet with the amazing Singin' Sammy Ward, the fist ever Motown male/female vocal duet, "(Oh) Lover" - which kicked off the label's duet lineage that spans everything from "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" To "Endless Love." Next, Taylor recorded "He's the One That Rings My Bell." As you can hear, Sherri Taylor has pipes and yet again proves that she can put a song across with the best of them. Sadly this would be her sole solo outing. After "He's The One That Rings My Bell" she returned to the Taylor Tones for a couple more releases before disappearing from the recording industry. This is all too bad because Sherri Taylor had a voice on her and should have a lot more material out there for us to dig into!

I picked this platter up many years ago at Detroit's fabulous Peoples' Records and its never failed me. The sharp production really works on loud dance party systems. The prominences of the propulsive beat in the mix grabs dancers right away. And once everything is in line, Taylor's strong vocal performance takes the room to the next level. Also the cymbal breaks at the end of every verse are a nice touch. I also loved this one enough to throw on my last mix (2013?) A super unique killer diller!

[nyntpartyplatter]

Ruben Fort "So Good" (Anna, 1960): NY Night Train Party Platter   

While "So Good" can definitely be categorized as popcorn soul, like a lot of the rockin' minor key Detroit destroyers, this one's minimal arrangement, lack of orchestration, strong dynamics, ripping guitar work, handclapping break, and rock'n'roll bridge drives this jam smack dab in the middle my neighborhood. Also while the intro warns that the backing vocals may send this track into cheeseville, the singers instead hold back until the choruses and add a little touch of Detroit group doo wop harmony to the mix. And of course Fort's soaring soulfullness is the star of this show!      

Of all of the early Motor City recording stars, its particularly difficult to find any information about Ruben Fort. And this is too bad because he possesses some serious pipes and can really push 'em way up into Willie Little John-ville with the greatest of ease. 

What little is known about Fort is that his career got lost in the Anna/Harvey/Check-mate soap opera from which Motown was born. "So Good" was cut for Billy Davis and Gwen Gordy's Anna Records imprint one month after Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)" put the label on the map. Motown mogul Berry Gordy's sister Gwen was in a long heavy romantic relationship his writing collaborator Billy Davis (the co-writer here! The team of Gordy and Davis pinned Jackie Wilson's "Lonely Teardrops," Marv Johnson's "You Got What It Takes," etc) and Gwen and Billy started Anna Records together. The Moonglow's Harvey Fuqua, the arranger here, a huge Chess Records recording star, and at the time Etta James' boyfriend and collaborator, helped Anna get the Chess distribution that enabled "Money (That's What I Want)" to become a hit. Harvey also fell in love with Gwen and the two ran off together to build the excellent Harvey and Tri-Phi imprints. The dejected Davis split with the acts he signed to start the quality but unsuccessful Chess subsidiary Check-Mate. And Berry Gordy absorbed the remainder of the Anna roster to help build the foundation of Motown Records. 

As luck would have it, Ruben Fort was assigned to Check-Mate instead of Motown.  Despite getting lost in the shuffle of history, Fort's Check-Mate platter, "I'll Do The Best I Can"/"Nobody" also illustrates what a badass Ruben Fort is. I'm gonna go in my stacks and dig that one up for you as well. If you're somewhere out there Ruben Fort, you've got fans!

[nyntpartyplatter]

  Chico Leverett "Work Work" (Bethlehem, 1963): NY Night Train Party Platter  

Detroit-born Charles "Chico" Leverett, as the principle songwriter/singer of The Satintones and as a solo artist, was one of Motown Records first recording stars. Though The Satintones' "Motor City" and his own "Solid Sender" are now considered classics, the records weren't hits and Leverett  found himself in Reading, PA cutting this side for King Records' Bethlehem subsidiary.

While the soul era was already kicking into full gear with Motown hits and The Impressions, Major Lance, and the Chicago sound topping the R&B charts and crossing over into the pop mainstream, 1963 found Chico Leverett still firmly planted in the genre's formative years. "Work Work", with all its rockin' guitar, hand clap-accented fast forward rhythm, and doo wop harmony vocals, could've been waxed while Eisenhower was still president. And while "Work Work" must've appeared antiquated to soul public, it isn't that far removed from the approaching British Invasion, and is much more timeless to today's ears than most of its contemporaries.          

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Willie Hamilton and the Counts "Cheer Up" (HRP, ?): NY Night Train Party Platter            

 Willie Hamilton's "Cheer Up" is a chunk of propulsive funky soul party fire! But its difficult to find any information about this platter outside of the Los Angeles address. There's a rhythm and blues Willie Hamilton who made a single record for Detroit's Contour label in 1960. This one's from across the country years later.... Also this is the first and probably only record for Harris Records Productions (HRP). Also there aren't many likely candidates for who producer Bill Harris would be. I got nada here! But whadda ya need to know? Cheer Up and dance!

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Patrice Holloway "Do The Del Viking" Pts 1 and 2 (Taste Records, 1963) 

Since I put teen L.A. girlgroup The Watesians “I Told You Baby” up (https://youtu.be/R1kO5xm_GIY), I plan on putting up records by all four of the members. The label here isn’t kidding when it bills Patrice Holloway as “Little 12-Year Old.” Patrice Holloway, the younger sister of Motown star Brenda Holloway and one of the all-time under-rated singers, was only 12 when she recorded “Do The Del Viking”. The siblings grew up in Watts playing all kinds of instruments, singing in church choir, and writing songs from an early age. Hal Davis, who went on to write and produce some huge Motown hits, and had just a year before put the sisters together in the Watesians / 4 J’s, was taking the sisters into the recording studio alone and together for different projects around that time (check out his 1963 duet with Brenda I just put up “It’s You” https://youtu.be/Rztf6EJiAk0).

The words and music to “Do The Del Viking” is credited to the two sisters and you can hear Brenda doing the background vocals on the recording. While versions of the Del Vikings were still together in 1963, and it had been seven years since the Pittsburgh vocal group’s huge smash hit “Come Go With Me,” this ode to the group penned by a couple of Los Angeles teens isn’t that odd when you factor in the big doo wop revival underway in the early 1960s. “Do The Del Viking” sounds like a raw take on the 1962 Ikettes hit “I’m Blue” doo wopped out on Mars. Check out that weird bass singer establishing the rhythm in the red and robotically keeping it going throught as the girls lay down a wide vocabulary of fantastic vocal ideas on top…

Part 2 is essentially Part 1 without any of the lead vocals etc and can get pretty tedious. There’s no reason for me to keep it rolling on here except that its kinda cool to hear the recording with only the basics… Not a necessary to keep it going but I tacked that on for folks that haven’t heard it.

While “The Del Viking” didn’t chart nationally and is by all means a rarity, it’s commonly associated with Pittsburgh where the legendary DJ “Mad Mike” Metrovich made it a minor local hit. You can find it on Norton Records’ “Mad Mike Monsters” compilation. In Los Angeles, where it also made a light noise, Hal Davis had Patrice lip synching it at local record hops while Brenda would go go dance behind her.

Patrice Holloway was a first-rate L.A. studio backup singer by the time she hit her teens. Sam Cook regularly called her for SAR sessions, she backed up Johnny Rivers, and she and Brenda backed Ike and Tina Turner and sometimes recorded as west coast Ikettes. Later in 1963 she stepped back up on a few Motown recordings but the label only released her Stevie Wonder ode ”Stevie” on their V.I.P. imprint and shelved the others. She went on to do some Capitol Records singles that are now big on the Northern soul scene and became the voice of Valerie in Hanna Barbara’s animated TV band Josie and the Pussycats. Patrice Holloway also continued to sing backup all over the place. You hear her on Joe Cocker and the Grease Band's huge 1968 cover of "With a Little Help from My Friends.” And Barbara insists that you hear her little sister in the background adding that killer Holloway harmony to The Supremes’ “Someday We’ll Be Together.”

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Hal and Brenda "It's You" (Minasa, 1963):

NY Night Train Party Platter Hal and Brenda are producer/songwriter Hal Davis and his first famous recording star Brenda Holloway. Not long after "It's You" Davis took Holloway to a party to meet and make an impression on Berry Gordy. One of the prettiest, best dressed, and musically talented women in music, Brenda Holloway made such an instant impression singing "My Guy" in her gold lamé pants set that Gordy signed his first ever non-Detroit vocalist right there on the spot. Within a year she and Davis would be establishing Motown's west wing and breaking into the pop Top 20 with "Every Little Bit Hurts."The Jackson who gets the writing credit with Davis is their regular collaborator at the time, Robert Jackson - the brother of future "Tainted Love" singer / Marc Bolan wife Gloria Jones. Jackson also recorded a pair of duets with Holloway that year released under both the monikers The Soul Mates and Bonnie and Clyde.

After writing about the Hal Davis-assembled Watts teen girl group The Watesians, I decided to put up one record from each of the girls today. Brenda Holloway of course has a number of amazing records but I'm focusing on the early L.A. studio system obscurities that show the kind of talent she had from the start.

"It's You," a ballad in the tradition of "I Only Have Eyes For You" has Mickey and Sylvia-style harmonies and lots of sprechgesang. Davis handles his own but even at this point you'll see Holloway's pipes, phrasing, pacing, and general delivery take this thing to a whole new level. I could do without the awkward bridge and some of the spoken parts but the guitarist is amazing and if your spirit doesn't soar when Holloway lets her falsetto loose at the end, you have no soul.check out "Do The Del Viking," Hal Davis' production of Patrice Holloway with Brenda in the background, also from 1963: https://youtu.be/6REjEt_42-Ycheck out The Watesian's 1962.

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Brenton Wood "Psychotic Reaction" (Festival, 1967) Just when you thought they couldn't improve on "Psychotic Reaction", Brenton Wood gets a hold of it... He dedicates this one to the girls out there who've cast a spell on him with all of their "oogum bogum" and keeps it weird throughout. This track never came out on 45 in the USA - so this is ripped from the Australian "Gimme Little Sign" EP pictured here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenton_... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoti...

This is my daily addition to the New York Night Train Party Platter playlist. Each track here is recorded directly from the original 45 (no bootlegs, reproductions, etc) to give you an idea of what the real deal authentic vinyl sounds like. COME BACK EVERY DAY FOR A NEW FIX! Because the records pass so quickly at my parties, this channel is an attempt to stop and focus on one record at a time in hopes that it'll turn you on to the artists, tracks, labels, etc. But mostly I hope this music moves you as much as it moves me.

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Martha Branch "All the Way to L.A." (Jim Jam, 1966)Published on May 23, 2015 I know absolutely nothing about this killer track or artist. How about you? Whadda ya know?

This video is a today's installment in the New York Night Train Party Platter YouTube playlist (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...). Every track is recorded directly from the original 45s (no bootlegs, reproductions, etc) to give you an idea of what the real deal authentic vinyl sounds like. COME BACK EVERY DAY FOR A NEW FIX! Because the records pass so quickly at my parties, this channel is an attempt to slow down a bit and focus on one record at a time in hopes that it'll hip you to artists, tracks, and other details - and, on the most base level, give you something to listen to.

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The Rollers "Troubles" (Bel Star, 1962) Published on May 23, 2015 A Los Angeles group that evolved out of the Jewels in the early 1960s recorded this weird and wild dancer produced and arranged by Gary Paxton - the legend behind Monster Mash, Alley Oop, and many more! A snappy beat, an unusual arrangement, and a pentatonic riff. While it sounds like a party, the lyrics are about "troubles" and if you missed the theme, the word "troubles" is repeated dozens of times....

This video is a today's installment in the New York Night Train Party Platter YouTube playlist (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...). Every track is recorded directly from the original 45s (no bootlegs, reproductions, etc) to give you an idea of what the real deal authentic vinyl sounds like. COME BACK EVERY DAY FOR A NEW FIX! Because the records pass so quickly at my parties, this channel is an attempt to slow down a bit and focus on one record at a time in hopes that it'll hip you to artists, tracks, and other details - and, on the most base level, give you something to listen to.