Rob Jones reviews soul records from his vinyl collection.
Freddie North - The Hurt (1964)
Freddie North (Freddie Carpenter Jr) was born in Nashville, Tennessee on May 28th 1939 into a musical family, his dad being a well known Gospel singer of the era. He began his singing career as a teenager with a band called the Rookies who recorded 'Money, Money, Money' on the Nashville Athens label which was in turn distributed nationally by Atlantic's East West label. When the band split, he changed his name to Freddie North and went on to pursue a solo career in the early 1960s while also working as a demo singer and performing on the Nashville club circuit along with making occasional TV appearances where he had the opportunity to promote his records.
From a collector's angle, the gold RIC stock copy has always been the prize, but interestingly it often goes unnoticed that there were two different RIC white demos. Furthermore, the label itself is sometimes mistakenly identified as RIK due to the logo design.
Although relatively short in duration, I believe 'The Hurt' to be the finest example of Freddie's phenomenal voice. Written by the legendary Joy Byers, the song was recorded at a time when Freddie was was struggling to find commercial success and it's a tune I've spun many times at live gigs and on the radio. The soul music genre certainly lost one of its finest voices when Freddie passed away on October 15th 2025.
George Goodman and his Headliners - I'm So Tired (1965)
A hauntingly atmospheric mid-sixties sound which is definitely a record to look out for if you're not familiar with it. Originating in Pittsburgh, the band comprised of Rodney Williams (Lead), George Goodman (Baritone) and Melvin Peters (Tenor), backed on this release by the Electrons. George Goodman who was credited with helping to break Inez and Charlie Foxx's 'Mockingbird', was involved in many aspects of the recording industry including producing, promoting and distributing records. Melvin Peters became a member of the Originals for a while. If this one takes your fancy from the sound clip below and you do decide to track one down for your collection, be sure to look out for the original 1965 Val #3 release as opposed to Val #1000 which came out in 1966. The song was also re-released in 1968 on A&M 1620 and credited simply as the Headliners on both later releases.
Invictas - New Babe (Since I Found You) 1969
A band originally formed by a group of R&B-influenced students at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York whose members consisted of Herb Gross (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Jim Kohler (bass), Dave Hickey (drums), Mark Blumenfeld (lead guitar) and Bruce Hickey (an early guitar member who was replaced in later line-up changes). Rama Rama Records was part of a small group of New York labels operated by Hy Mizrahi, a Bronx/NYC based music businessman active in the late 1960s and the short-lived label was known for very limited batch pressings, mostly aimed at regional radio and promo distribution rather than the national charts. In the case of this record, Minneapolis was the breakout city for the release and with no real local distributor presence there, this strongly indicates that the record may have spread via informal distributor leakage rather than a more structured promotional model. Cities like Minneapolis often functioned as early test markets for independent NYC records before any potential national push. With this in mind, it would be logical to assume that the record would command a relatively high price today, but at the time of writing it doesn't - making it a very affordable addition to any soul vinyl collection, especially as the band has erroneously been listed numerous times as 'Invictus' adding a further layer to their obscurity.
Jerryo - Karate Boo-Ga-Loo (1967)
A record I first heard in a small club where the sound system was so bad I was convinced it was called 'G-rotty Boo-Ga-Loo'. 😄
Originally released on the Sammy Kaplan-founded Detroit Boo-Ga-Loo label and later distributed by Shout, 'Karate Boo-Ga-Loo' reportedly sold in excess of 400,000 copies which goes some way to underscore the popularity of the Boo-Ga-Loo dance craze at the time and probably explains why the Shout label release can still be picked up relatively cheaply. That said, and with the unrivalled musicianship of the Funk Brothers on the tune, it remains one of the standout authentic Detroit classics of the era.
An interesting fact which doesn't seem to have been widely reported is 'Karate-Boo-Ga-Loo' featured teenage backing singers Joyce Vincent and Temla Hopkins who went on to find fame with Tony Orlando and Dawn. Jerry had previously worked with Tommy Dark (Robert Tharp) as Tom & Jerryo whose 1965 hit 'Boo-Ga-Loo' on ABC Paramount was key in popularising the dance and arguably paved the way for everything that followed.
Taking into consideration the aforementioned US sales figures for 'Karate-Boo-Ga-Loo', I guess it would be true to say that the original UK London demo I've featured in the video below would be the prize from a collector's perspective. Most soul fans will already be familiar with Jerry Murray's work, but for anyone who isn't, a bit of research into his music will lead you to some real gems, so do be sure to check him out.
Johnny Thunder - Just Me And You (1966)
Johnny Thunder (Leroy Hamilton) came from the small community of Okahumpka in Florida and began his singing career as a teenager in his local church and on street corners, later becoming a singer with the Drifters and the Ink Spots, also working as a backing singer for Dionne Warwick. Back in 1962 he recorded 'Tell Her' which was the original version of the more widely known 'Tell Him' by the Exciters. Out of all the tunes he recorded, I think 'Just Me and You' was his best and it has always stood out to me as a brilliant if perhaps underrated soul classic. Known as a superb entertainer and highly regarded by many artists in the industry, Johnny died in 2024 of natural causes at the ripe old age of 93.