Rob Jones reviews soul records from his vinyl collection.
Marion James - I'm The Woman for You (1967)
Marion James (Mary Agnes Childress) was born in Nashville, Tennessee on October 8th 1934. She came from a musical family and began to sing when was just 5 years old. Heavily influenced by her mother's record collection and the blues singers who appeared in the Vaudeville shows of the time, Marion was singing in churches by the age of 12 before becoming interested in a solo career singing R&B. By 1962 she was billed as "The Great Miss Marion James with Her Famous Continentals”, and in 1966 she achieved major commercial success with the top-ten hit 'That’s My Man' on the Nashville-based Excello Records label.
Although Marion had achieved relatively early stardom and international success, she never forgot her roots and always went out of her way to help other singers and musicians and was often referred to as Nashville's Queen of the Blues. Her voice was quite unique and I think that's clearly demonstrated in this 1967 release on the Nashville K & J Records label which is my personal favourite of all her songs. Marion passed away in January 2016 at the age of 81, but her musical legacy lives on.
Mike McDonald - God Knows (1971)
A superb piece of uptempo blue-eyed soul which I have found often bridges the gap between soul fans and the more casual listeners on the radio and live gigs alike, and although it will be familiar to many reading this, the number of people who still hear it for the very first time and get switched on by it never ceases to amaze me. I've often put that down to Mike McDonald's vocal delivery. The record featured in the video is the original US RCA demo, but its UK release coupled with Derek and Ray's 'Interplay' circa 1978 gained quite a bit of traction some years later.
Michael McDonald was born in February 1952 in Ferguson, Missouri and played in local bands as a teenager before joining Steely Dan as a backing vocalist and keyboards player. In 1975 he joined the Doobie Brothers and was credited for the band's transition to a more soulful style, after which he went on to become a global superstar in his own right. Many may disagree, but for me this record was Mike McDonald at his best.
Moving Violation - Spinnin' Top (1974)
A somewhat forgotten but amazing old '70s record with plenty of soul appeal. The band originally formed in Cleveland while attending Patrick Henry Junior High School with members Mark Anthony (lead singer), Ulysses Barnes, Enos Scott and Ronald Sims. After recording several singles as the Elements for Saru Records in the early 1970s, they changed their name to the Moving Violation and released 'Spinnin' Top' on Atlantic, changing their name again in the late 1970s to Sonlight. There are a couple of different US demos of this, the other one being the Monarch pressing which is quite easily identified by the different font style and a the 'ST-A-28772-MO' on the middle left of the label. Perhaps not as desirable to collectors as this one, but what a tune on any label design!
Norvells - Why Do You Want to Make Me Sad (1967)
A high quality yet underrated tune which was also released on the Janis label and can still be found relatively cheaply. The Norvells were a Chicago-based vocal soul group whose tracks were written and produced by the legendary Chicago DJ and producer Richard Pegue for Penny Records. After the Norvells disbanded, Richard Pegue reformed the line-up with several of the original members and renamed the group the Perfections, pulling the 1967 master tape of 'Why Do You Want to Make Me Sad' from his Penny Records sessions and re-releasing it on Twinight Records in 1969 to give the song another chance at radio play under the new group name. This was common practice in 1960s soul and R&B production due to strict budget constraints. Despite the label confusion, one play of the video below will reveal a tune which in my opinion should be ranked up there with the best of them.
Penny Carter – We Gotta Try Harder (1966)
The second of only two records Penny Carter made on the Verve label and an absolutely brilliant tune with an authentic soul classic feel which I've played on the radio on more than one occasion. Penny was a former member of the Masterettes before they changed their name to the Exciters.
Phenomenons - Without Your Love (1978)
A sometimes overlooked classic on the flip of 'You Gave Me Happiness'. Information on the Phenomenons is pretty sparse to say the least, but it's likely they were an AVI studio group rather than a touring band. AVI was formed in Los Angeles in 1968 by Seymore Heller, Ed Cobb (who composed 'Tainted Love') and Ray Harris, although this release came at a time when the label was later expanding into the gospel/soul/disco genres. Unfortunately AVI seems to have failed to document the band members and apart from a few production notes, that's about all I know - except to say I once had a white demo but I have no idea where that went. 😄
If you were a Phenomenon, do get in touch with this website to set the record straight via the email address at the bottom of this page - which I believe has to be copied and pasted into an email in an effort to thwart the dreaded bots.
R B Hudman - Yo-Yo (1968)
A belting version of the 1966 Billy Joe Royal classic on Columbia (or CBS here in the UK) and it's certainly worth checking out if you don't have it. Robert Hudman (real name Hudmon) would have been about 14 when he recorded this version, but sadly his career was cut short when he died in 1995 at the age of just 41.