Rob Jones reviews soul records from his vinyl collection (updated 1st October 2026)
"I guess it would be true to say that many old soul singers and songwriters have found validation and appreciation for their work more in the UK than they ever did in the US and there's even an argument that bootlegs have helped them to become more recognised. While probably true, I've never met an artist who hasn't been angered or frustrated by what is essentially a criminal activity from which they have gained nothing financially, which is why I have always avoided bootlegs like the plague and none appear on these pages." - RJ
The following reviews are in artist/band alphabetical order:
Carl Carlton - So What (1965)
Carl Carlton (born Carlton Hudgens on May 21st 1952) was discovered as a child after a neighbour heard him singing during a baseball game, shortly after which he was picked up by the Detroit Lando Records label owned by Clifton Dickerson Jr and Frank 'Sugar Chile' Robinson (a famous blues and boogie-woogie pianist in his own right who had been a prominent child star in the 1940s and 1950s). The label was located at 6341 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, Michigan (see it today), although Clifton Dickerson Jr also utilised a studio space located inside the historic Fox Theater building on Woodward Avenue when working with artists such as Rufus Wonder. 'So What' was the third release on the relatively short-lived independent regional Lando label when Carl was about to turn 13 years old, the output of which was reportedly pressed in small batches and consisted of just the five records listed below. Following his stint at Lando, Carl Carlton briefly moved over to the legendary Golden World label to record the now highly collectable 'Nothin' No Sweeter Than Love' in 1965 before relocating to Houston and signing with Back Beat Records who released his first single on that label, 'Competition Ain't Nothin' in 1968.
There's plenty of information available online about Carl Carlton's successful career, but the Edd Henry penned 'So What' has always been his stand-out performance for me and I've often wondered if any outtake masters of the song are still lurking on a dusty shelf somewhere waiting to be found - always a collector's dream.😄Lando's stock copy releases were blue, but I've never seen this 45 in any vinyl format other than the DJ demo I've featured in the video below. 'Auto Cap Music' which you may notice on the right of the label just above BMI (Broadcast Music Inc), was Lando's in-house music publishing company. Here's the discography of Lando Records as we know it (the Portia Jones release being a bit of a toughie to find nowadays):
1964: Lando LR 3045 - Carl Carlton - Love True Love c/w I Think of How I Love Her
1965: Lando LR 3046 - Little Carl Carlton - Don't You Need A Boy Like Me c/w I'll Love You Forever
1965: Lando 843L-8527DJ - Carl Carlton - So What c/w I Love Only You
1965: Lando 843L-4300 - Portia Jones - No More Strangers c/w Very Little Bit of Your Time
1967: Lando NS-4021 - Rufus Wonder & the Additions - Under the Moon c/w So Upset
Carl Carlton fought a long battle with health issues, exacerbated by complications from a major stroke he suffered in 2019. He passed away on December 14th 2025 at the age of 72.
Jean DuShon - As I Watch You Walk Away (1966)
Born Anna Jean Harris, the youngest of 12 children on August 16th 1935 in Detroit, Michigan, Jean DuShon was an acclaimed American jazz and R&B singer and stage actor who began her singing career as a child performing gospel music in local churches. Heavily influenced by Dinah Washington, Jean turned professional at the age of 15, headlining at Detroit's famous Flame Show Bar and later touring and recording initial singles for labels such as ABC-Paramount, Atco and Okeh Records in the early 1960s. Managed by the legendary John Levy, Jean eventually signed with Chicago’s Chess Records, recording primarily for its Argo and Cadet subsidiaries. It was here that she released the very first recording of the classic song 'For Once in My Life' in October 1966 (Cadet 5545) - a track that was pushed aside when Motown Records used its massive industry leverage to sideline Jean's version and clear the way for the Stevie Wonder recording which went on to become a global hit. Jean Dushon: "It was a very big disappointment in my life. I stopped singing it 'cause I didn't have the song. I didn't have anything. It wasn't mine anymore." ( Note: be sure to research the 'For Once in My Life' backstage drama between Chess and Motown.)
Understandably frustrated by the cut-throat politics of the music industry, Jean made the decision to step away from commercial studio recording altogether. As a result of this departure, 'As I Watch You Walk Away' became the final single of Jean's recording career - a career during which she had been celebrated for her unmistakably soulful voice and her collaborations with major jazz icons. She transitioned completely into performing in New York jazz clubs and acting on Broadway.
Often regarded by many rare soul collectors as one of the greatest mid-tempo soul records ever made, Jean's brilliant rendition of 'As I Watch You Walk Away' was actually a cover version which was originally recorded by English singer Martha Smith for Pye Records (Pye 7N.15778) in 1965, with a US release following on the Cameo label (Cameo C-359). The track was written by Lionel Segal, a talented Scottish-born composer and lyricist from Glasgow.
While the exact session log tracking which individual musicians played on Jean DuShon's version remains elusive to this day, the song was recorded during the broader Chess/Cadet session cycles for her 'Feeling Good' album era. Consequently, the impressive collective of master backing musicians assembled for these studio dates would have included Herman Foster (piano), Earl May (bass), Bruno Carr (drums), Milt Hinton (bass), Osie Johnson (drums), Paul Griffin (piano/keyboards), Clark Terry (trumpet/flugelhorn), Thad Jones (trumpet), Phil Woods (alto saxophone), Jerome Richardson (saxophone/flute), Jimmy Cleveland (trombone), Urbie Green (trombone) and Kenny Burrell (guitar). The song was arranged by Bert Keyes and conducted by William Byers, with the legendary Phil Ramone serving as the recording engineer.
Jean DuShon passed away on July 19th, 2019 at the age of 83 in Stone Mountain, Georgia leaving behind a remarkable legacy as one of the era's greatest, though now quite overlooked vocal talents.
Ketty Lester - West Coast (1965)
Ketty Lester was born Revoyda Frierson on August 16th 1934 in Hope, Arkansas. She was the youngest of 15 children in a family of farmers and spent her early years harvesting cotton and cucumbers. First finding her voice in church and school choirs, her exceptional vocal range eventually won her a scholarship to study music at San Francisco City College. By the early 1950s she had reinvented herself as Ketty Lester and commanded the stage at San Francisco’s legendary Purple Onion nightclub. Her powerful, velvety vocals soon caught the attention of jazz titan Cab Calloway, who immediately asked her to tour Europe and South America with his orchestra, but it was a December 1957 appearance as a contestant on Groucho Marx’s game show 'You Bet Your Life' which indicated what was to come. After delivering a stunning rendition of 'You Do Something to Me', a mesmerised Marx gave her a standing ovation, boldly predicting that she would become a major singing star - and he was right. In 1962 Ketty signed with Era Records and released a soulful cover of Dick Edward and Edward Heyman's 'Love Letters'. Driven by a haunting piano arrangement and Ketty's achingly intimate delivery, the track became an overnight international sensation which soared to number 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 2 on the UK Singles Chart, eventually selling well a over a million copies. Although the song earned her a prestigious Grammy nomination in 1963, because of management gaps and distribution anomalies between independent labels and RCA Victor, Ketty was completely unaware of the nomination until a fan informed her about it in 2017 - over 54 years later.
As the music industry changed, Ketty transitioned into acting. In 1976, she joined the cast of the TV show 'Days of Our Lives', making history as the first woman of colour to appear in the daytime soap opera. For millions of television viewers worldwide though, her defining role came in 1977 when Michael Landon cast her in 'Little House on the Prairie' as Hester-Sue Terhune, the fiercely dedicated teacher at the blind school. Ketty remained a beloved anchor character of the series until it wrapped in 1983. In 2020, Elite Publishing House released her 232-page official autobiography, 'Ketty Lester: From Arkansas to Grammy Nominated Love Letters to Little House on the Prairie' - highly recommended reading.
Written and produced by Ed Cobb of the Four Preps, the powerhouse dancer 'West Coast' was originally released on the Capitol subsidiary Tower Records label (Tower 166) as the flipside to 'I'll Be Looking Back', but was released as the A-side on Capitol Records (CL 15427) here in the UK as you can see from the red A demo I've included in the video, which highlights how different British ears were when it came to evaluating a track's dance floor potential. While the US Tower Records release completely buried the song on the flip of a slower ballad, 'West Coast' still secured US pop culture exposure when Ketty performed the track live on major 1965 network television music shows such as ABC’s legendary teen programs Shindig! and Shivaree. 'West Coast' is a great classic which can be often be quite difficult to locate nowadays on either label, but I get the feeling it will eventually have a new lease of life at some point. I noticed Ketty's Shivaree performance of the song has survived and you can find it on the AI-riddled YouTube platform - you might have to watch a few ads first though.😄
Ketty Lester lives in Los Angeles and is still doing well at the age of 92.
Nancy Wilson - Don't Look Over Your Shoulder (1967)
Born on February 20th 1937 in Chillicothe, Ohio, Nancy Sue Wilson discovered her passion for singing in church choirs and local talent shows. By her teens she was already performing in Columbus clubs and hosting her own local television program. Her major breakthrough came in 1959 when she moved to New York City where within weeks of her arrival, she caught the attention of jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley and manager John Levy, who helped her to secure a contract with Capitol Records. Over a career spanning more than five decades, Nancy earned three Grammy Awards, hosted her own Emmy-winning television series, and was honoured as an NEA Jazz Master in 2004. Beyond music, she was a dedicated civil rights activist who participated in the historic 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches to secure equal voting rights for Black Americans.
Written by Neil Sedaka and Carole Bayer Sager, 'Don't Look Over Your Shoulder' originally existed as a demo recorded in New York City by Sedaka himself. Once the song reached Capitol Records, it was placed in the capable hands of master orchestrator and producer H B Barnum, whose sophisticated new arrangement provided the perfect dramatic backdrop for Nancy’s distinctive voice. It is worth noting that throughout the 1960s, Nancy became one of Capitol’s most prolific and profitable artists, second in sales only to the Beatles.
Tucked away on the flipside of her 1967 crossover hit 'Mercy, Mercy, Mercy', the song itself was pretty much overlooked by mainstream radio and essentially flew under the radar without airplay attention, only to be discovered and appreciated by UK soul fans many decades later. I've always rated this record as a top-drawer sound and if you're hearing it for the first time here, the video below will demonstrate why. Although 'Don't Look Over Your Shoulder' may not share the same recognition as Nancy's signature hits and the record thankfully doesn't command a particularly high price for vinyl collectors, to me it represents the absolute pinnacle of her 1960s mid-tempo soul output.
Nancy Wilson passed away on December 13th, 2018 and is fondly remembered as one of the most expressive and versatile voices in American music.
Temptations - Check Yourself (1961)
Released back in November 1961, 'Check Yourself' was the Temptations' second single released four months after their Miracle debut 'Oh Mother of Mine' and it represents the band's formative era long before they went on to become global superstars. The song was actually the last release on Miracle before Berry Gordy deactivated the label to avoid confusion with the Miracles group and moved the band over to his newly created Gordy imprint. While online music databases routinely credit the entire group on the track, a former Motown engineer confirmed that Eddie Kendricks actually missed this specific session due to illness. This direct insight explains why Berry Gordy brought in the song writing duo of Brian Holland and Eddie Holland to step up to the studio microphone and fill out the high-end harmonies and backing vocals to cover for Kendricks' absence.
Although 'Check Yourself' received quite substantial local airplay and became a regional hit around the Detroit area, the song never found national success. The general consensus at the time considered it to be defiantly uncommercial with a structure which sounded like several distinct songs strung together. Co-written by Berry Gordy, Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin and Elbridge 'Al' Bryant, 'Check Yourself' now stands as a fascinating artifact from Motown's musical infancy when the Temptations were still a struggling band several years before finding major success with 'The Way You Do the Things You Do' in 1964.
Perhaps more recognisable however, would be Gene Chandler's 1962 version. Released as the B-side of 'Forgive Me' (Vee Jay 511), it became hugely popular among rare soul fans decades later and just like the original, Gene’s version of 'Check Yourself' was never a major commercial hit, perhaps being completely overshadowed by his massive chart-topper 'Duke of Earl'.
I've included both demos here in the videos below as a couple of recommended records for your vinyl collection. Look out for the Miracle demo and stock copy variants which feature different font styles due to being pressed at different plants. From a collector's perspective it doesn't seem to make much difference really, but there are three Miracle label variants of the single as far as I know: MR-12, MIR 12, and MR 12, although I believe MR-12 was the first demo with the matrix identifying it as the primary RCA pressed promotional run before the others were pressed at the Columbia Records Terre Haute plant for Midwest distribution - well, that's what they taught us at school anyway.😄
Miracle label discography:
1961 MIR 01: Jimmy Ruffin - Don't Feel Sorry for Me c/w Heart
1961 MIR 02: Little Eva and Her Band - When I Needed You c/w Continental Strut
1961 MIR 03: Gino Parks - Blibberin' Blabbi' Blues c/w Don’t Say Bye Bye
1961 MIR 04: Andre Williams - Rosa Lee (Stay Off the Bell) c/w Shoo-Doo
1961 M5: The Temptations - Oh Mother of Mine c/w Romance Without Finance
1961 M6: The Valadiers - Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam) c/w Take a Chance
1961 MIR-7: The Equadors - Someone to Call My Own c/w You’re My Desire
1961 M8: Pete Hartfield - Love Me c/w Darling Tonight
1961 MIR-9: Joel Sebastian - Angel in Blue c/w Blue Cinderella
1961 M10: Don McKenzie - Whose Heart (Are You Gonna Break Now) c/w I'll Call You
1961 MIR-11: Freddie Gorman - The Day Will Come c/w Just for You
1961 MR-12: The Temptations - Check Yourself c/w Your Wonderful Love