Rob Jones reviews soul records from his vinyl collection.
Liberty Belles - Shing-a-Ling Time (1967)
Jay Boy was the go-to label for tunes like this when I was around 13 or 14 years old, which has always made them impossible to part with later in life as they hold so many great memories of those early years, so I've often ended up with two copies of the same tune having later tracked down the originals when we all got a bit more clued up. I know of three different Shout demos of this one and at least a couple of different Shout issues. Also released on the Bang label in France and the Philippines, it's a great old dancer with the excellent 'Just Try Me' on the flip side. The Liberty Belles were Dianne Christian, Terry Whittier and Marva Sasso. Dianne Christian had previously been a singer with the Darlettes and the Chic-Lets before helping to form the Liberty Belles in 1967.
Loading Zone - Danger Heartbreak Dead Ahead (1968)
Although this particular tune may not be familiar to you at first, it's certainly worth a listen as you will hear from the video.
Released back in March 1968, this obscure and relatively unknown version of the old Marvelettes classic can be found lurking on the flip side of 'Don't Lose Control (Of Your Soul)'. The band came from Oakland, California and consisted of Paul Fauerso (keyboards and vocals), Linda Tillery (vocals), Peter Shapiro (guitar), Steve Dowler (guitar), Bob Kridle (bass) and George Newcom (drums).
Lovettes – Little Miss Soul (1966)
Hailing from New Jersey, the all-female Lovettes consisted of Lois Joyner, Margie Godbolt, Lily Hammond and Lorraine Robinson. The band originally got together in high school to form the Tiaras, shortly after which they began to compete in local talent shows with friends Phil Terrell and Kool & the Flames - the first incarnation of Kool & the Gang. They later secured a recording deal with MGM and changed their name to the Pets under the supervision of Abner Spector. The relatively brief MGM era resulted in the release of just one single, 'What Kind of Girl (Does He Think I Am)'. Unfortunately, MGM didn't bother to promote the record and the Pets were axed from the label. Phil Terrell later introduced the band to Winnie Lovett of the Manhattans who renamed them the Lovettes (see the connection?) and wrote their songs, in turn introducing them to Joe Evans who signed them to Carnival Records.
There are a couple of different Carnival label designs of 'Little Miss Soul' - one has a clown on the logo and the other has the more simple lettered design as seen on this demo. Come to think of it, I've never seen a demo with the clown logo design. Beware though, the demo was bootlegged in 1972, but you can easily identify the 1966 original from the bootleg, as the original was mastered at Bell Sound Studios in New York and has the Bell Sound stamp in the dead wax.
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!