Rob Jones reviews soul records from his vinyl collection.
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
Babies - The Hand of Fate (1967)
A classic which I would assume resides in more than a few old school collections. Arranged by Gene Page and written by his brother Billy Page, 'The Hand of Fate' was one of only two records by Los Angeles girl band the Babies released on Lou Adler's Dunhill label. The group line-up consisted of lead vocalist Phyllis Brown (who was just 17 at the time), Rita Jean Bodine (Rita Suzanne Hertzberg) who was a classically trained pianist, and two unnamed vocalists. The song was also released on RCA Victor D-4085 in Australia. Phyllis's dad Jack Brown founded Rainbo Records in Hollywood.
Ballads - My Baby Knows How to Love Her Man (1968)
Perhaps better known for their earlier classic 'I Can't See Your Love (For the Tears in My Eyes)' on the small Oakland Wee label (picked up later that year by Vee-Jay for national distribution), here's another of their great uptempo tunes which can be found lurking on the flip side of 'God Bless Our Love' on Venture 615. 'My Baby Knows How to Lover Her Man' was a Willie Hutch penned winner for the band formed by Nate Romeron in Oakland back in 1961. The other members were John Foster, Les LaPalmer and Rico Thompson. Freddie Hughes was also associated with the band during its early years. I believe Rico Thompson was lead vocalist on this one.
Bird Rollins - Love Man from Carolina (1972)
Bird Rollins also known as B Rollins, Mr Bird Rollins, Mr Bird Rollins The Good Man, etc., was born in Albany, New York back in 1934 and recorded his first record 'That's All I Wanna Do' on the Johnson label in 1957. Fast forward a few years and we find this slightly obscure uptempo dancer on Calla which bears all the hallmarks of a memorable soul classic also released on the UK Mojo label the same year.
Calla was an independent label started by Nathaniel 'Nate' McCalla which eventually became part of Roulette Records. Apparently poor old Nate (a bit of a gangster himself), fell foul of mob-connected Roulette boss Morris Levy who allegedly had him bumped off in 1980. PS: I've used the word 'allegedly' here for health reasons. 😄
Don Ray Sampson - Baby Come Back (1965)
A record I've always considered to be one of the greatest sounds in the soul music genre which saw two releases on the E label (the George Clements Productions record in the video and a later yellow E label release). Unfortunately, it wasn't until decades later that this tune came to be appreciated by a much wider audience. Don Ray Sampson hailed from San Bernadino, California. He was a member of the Jewels and in 1968 went on to replace Carl Gilbert in the Incredibles.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sounds Four - Keep On Lovin' (1968)
This superb and often overlooked uptempo tune with great harmonies was released twice on Oscar Washington's short-lived local Saintmo label out of St Louis, Missouri and is still a record which resides within the realm of affordability. I've always preferred the 203 release of this one which has the brilliant 'Hey Girl' on the flip side. The band also recorded as the Fabulous Four and far as I know, the list below was the extent of the Saintmo label's output. As you can see it wouldn't be particularly difficult to complete this label for your collection, although Saintmo 300 can be a bit pricey depending on where you find it.
The Sounds Four - A Memory Best Forgotten c/w Love Together (Saintmo 201)
The Sounds Four - Keep On Lovin' c/w A Memory Best Forgotten (Saintmo 202)
The Sounds Four - Keep On Lovin' c/w Hey Girl (Saintmo 203)
The Fabulous Four - If I Knew c/w Everybody's Got to Have a Heart (Saintmo 300)
Suzy Wallis - Tell Him (1966)
When it comes to blue-eyed soul, in my opinion Suzy Wallis is up there with the best of them and I've noticed that her records have been featured by internet soul DJs in their radio shows recently, which is great. What isn't so great is that very little seems to have been published about her, so here's a bit of info: Raised in Saint Louis, Missouri, Suzanne Wallach began her career in television at the age of 11 with a show called Suzy's Playroom. She was a gifted guitarist who appeared on numerous variety shows. Having met Lorne Greene who was also a singer, but better known for his portrayal of Ben Cartwright in the TV series Bonanza (and often credited for her discovery), Suzanne moved to Las Vegas with a name change at his behest to become one of his opening acts. This was where she connected to several top songwriters and even later became a backing vocalist for the Beach Boys.
Although her 'Kisses on Paper' recording seems to be the preferred song among the aforementioned internet soul radio DJs, the song I've featured here has always been the best for me. Suzy only recorded three records for the RCA label, but to my ear this one is the best of the bunch. 'Tell Him' brings out the very best qualities of her amazing voice and I've always been proud to have it in my collection. Listen out for a very soulful performance by the Girlfriends who were Suzy's backing vocalists.
Wilson Pickett and the Falcons – You're on My Mind (1962)
Sometimes overlooked by collectors, 'You're on My Mind' dates from Wilson Pickett's early years with the Falcons before he became a major star in his own right and it goes some way to demonstrate the transition period between 1950s doo-wop and the emerging soul sound of the early 1960s. The line-up included Wilson Pickett (who replaced Joe Stubbs in 1960), Eddie Floyd, Mack Rice, Willie Schofield and Lance Finney. I've included this particular song here as an example of an important piece of early soul history which perfectly captures the era when the Falcons were helping to shape the soul genre. Interestingly, some databases erroneously list the writers of this song as Schofield/Finney, but as you can see from this original copy, the writer was actually Bob Hamilton.