Source - Manifesto Magazine: September 2010

A Look Back At Prestatyn 2010
With Prestatyn 2011, our tenth anniversary weekender, just months away, Dave Tidswell looks back at the soul whirlwind that was Prestatyn 2010.
Rewind your mind just six months, pause and play…..what do you get? That’s right, the most recent in a succession of blissfully soulful memories that was the 9th Midnight Hour Northern and Modern Soul Weekender.
It would be hard to imagine the Weekender without the now traditional “sneaky free one” on the Thursday night (Soul Night that is!). With people arriving in a constant stream (make that a Soul Tsunami) from the early evening you could cut that “excited to be here atmosphere” with a knife. Old soul acquaintances were tracked down and bought up to date with the latest news and those trusty dancing shoes were re-acquainted with the voluminous expanse of sprung Maplewood that is the Prestatyn dancefloor. The 2009 MHNAMSW was busier than ever on the Thursday night with proceedings not coming to an end until well past three in the morning. As ever at the pre-event party you will see some of the Legendary live artistes with bemused yet delighted looks on their faces as they struggle to come to grips with the passion we have for their otherwise forgotten tunes.
Early doors on the Friday morning and the welcoming sounds of channel six soul radio burst onto the airwaves. The day starts here, a quick check through your programme reveals a vast expanse of soulful delights to suit all tastes. Friday is Live Artist night in the Modern Soul Arena, Kenny Bobien and Stephanie Cooke will be giving it some!
In the afternoon a stroll over to the complex to check out the “Northern Soul Bazaar” and sometimes “Bizarre” traders’ marketplace, everything you could ever want with a soulful slant and all in one place!
A restful late afternoon and as the skies get darker, thoughts turn to the evenings entertainment. In Arena 1 (Northern Soul) the highlight is the Dance Competition. New blood lines up with the “old guard” to stomp, spin, shuffle and glide to claim the coveted title. Mercifully for the dancers it’s all over in three records (100 mph of course!) the crowd show their appreciation and the trophies are awarded. Dashing down to Arena 2 (Modern Soul) in time to check out William “Smoke” Howard followed by Kenny and Stephanie wowing the crowd with a Gospel tinged set. Check out the Redemption Northern Soul Oldies Arena (that’s the tunes not the people of course!….ok could be both!). Run out of steam about half past three (need to keep something in the jar for Saturday and Sunday). Stroll back to the chalet with tunes ringing in the ears.
Saturday morning brings with it one of the highlights of the weekend for me. The Artistes for the Northern Soul showcase are all in the complex to complete their sound checks and you get the chance to chat and get whatever you want signed, breakfast with Sidney Barnes, Mary Love, Kenny Hamber and The Hesitations! You don’t get that at McDonalds.
Saturday night and its all happening! The Midnight Hour Revue is Awesome (nothing new there then!). The Midnight Hour Band and Singers are on it! Stand out tracks for me are “I’m Not Built That Way” and That’s What Love Is” by the Hesitations. Art Blakey in his Soul Superman suit, nice boots….. you had to be there!
Next stop was to check out the super fine soul stuff being unloaded in Carl and Maria Willingham’s Rare Redemption Suite. You just can’t hear these tunes anywhere else, a connoisseurs delight for sure.
We’d been told to have a listen to Tortured Soul, all the way from Brooklyn New York. They were playing the Modern Arena in the early hours of Sunday morning. Glad we did, these guys can sure hold down a tune.
Back to Arena 1 to revel in the All-Nighter atmosphere, it keeps keeping on as the record goes, but by four in the morning and with four hours still to go, we need a rest, so it’s back to our room to get some sleep.
We must have been having a brilliant time because it’s Sunday already (can’t believe it). Meet lots of “Facebook Friend Soulies” then settle in to hear “Listeners Letters” on Channel Six. How do they get away with that? (Nige, you knew what you were letting yourself in for mate!).
Once more in to the venue, for the Sunday Night “Big Party”. Classic tunes in both Arenas 1 and 2. Lots of double decking DJs trying to out do each other digging deep in to their record boxes to dust off that long forgotten gem. By 3am the party is over and everyone makes their way back to their chalets knowing that’s it for this one, oh well only six or so months to The “Legends Weekender”. Best make the booking before we leave, who’s on? All the top DJs of course and wow! Tavares, The Velvelettes and Dean Parrish.
Don’t want to miss that and neither will you!

Dave Tidswell

The Hesitations

by John Smith: Jan 2010

Cleveland was a hot bed of action in the 1950’s for doo-wop groups. Of course it helped that top DJ Alan Freed had launched his "Moondog Rock Roll House Party" on WJW-AM radio there in 1951, but the interest remained even though Freed himself relocated to New York in 1954. Harvey Fuqua moved to Cleveland in 1950 and formed a group there. By 1953, Alan Freed had started the Champagne label and he signed & recorded Harvey’s group; the Crazy Sounds. He renamed them the Moonglows and by 1954 they were signed to Chess Records with whom they had seven national R&B chart hits over a four year period. The Hornets were another local outfit whose members included Johnny Moore and Bill Brent (Johnny Moore would go on to lead the Drifters for many years). Sonny Turner (later to be lead singer with the Platters) led the Metrotones and this group also included Leonard Veal, Robert Sheppard and Kim Tolliver (the later for just a short period). The Metrotones were a big influence on Edwin Starr whose group went by the similar name of the FutureTones. Other locally based groups included the Mascots (who became the O’Jays), LaSalles, Carousels, Annuals, Cashmeres, the El Pollos (George Scott being a member of this outfit), Fabulous Flames (whose members included Arthur Blakey and Harvey Hall), the Crown Imperials, Crescent’s / Wigs (which all featured Arthur Blakey) and the Sahibs. The Sahibs had been formed at Rawlings Junior High School. At the time their original members included George Hendricks and William Carter. Other members (at various times) included Art Blakey, James Dotson and Lou Ragland. Edwin Starr always acknowledged the Sahib’s as being the group that his FutureTones would have to strive to top on local live shows. Unfortunately record collectors will never know just how good the Sahibs were as the group had no interest in landing a record deal, being happy to just be one of the top live group draws in Cleveland.

As the 1960’s progressed just about all of these doo-wop groups split up, but many of their members remained in the music business and joined new groups. Thus in 1965, the Hesitations were formed when Arthur Blakey (lead singer), Leonard Veal (lead singer), George ‘King’ Scott (the group’s leader), Charles Scott & Robert Sheppard came together. Soon afterwards Phillip ‘Frenchie’ Dorroh (guitar) & Jimmy ‘Frog’ Voughn (base guitar) were recruited to join them. With just about everyone in the group being experienced in both performing and recording, they hit the ground running. In no time, they had landed a recording deal with New York based Kapp Records (via Jack Ashford and Gerard Purcell’s GWP Associates) and were off to work in Detroit with the Pied Piper Productions team. The backing track sessions for their 'Soul Superman' album tracks were been laid down first, the group then adding their vocals to these. The likes of Ray Monette not only played guitar on the tracks (as did other Funk Brothers) but he also co-wrote two of the songs involved; "I'll Be Right There" (which he composed with Fred Baker) and "Soul Superman 2" (written in conjunction with Jack Ashford & Lorraine Chandler). In the studio, after being given the lyrics, the group listened to the backing tracks and then mapped out how to handle the vocal structure before singing each song in their own style. The first Kapp 45 to be released was “Soul Superman / I’m Not Built That Way” (Kapp #790) and this hit the shops in December 1966. The single entered the national R&B chart in mid January 1967, making the Top 50. In all, 8 tracks were lifted from the ‘Soul Superman’ album for single release with “She Won’t Come Back / I’ll Be Right There” (April 1967) being the 2nd best combination after the group’s initial 45.
Kapp decided to team the group up with other producers for their next recording session, which was undertaken in the fall of 1967. So, in Chicago, with the likes of Larry Banks and Teacho Wiltshire the group started cutting the 12 tracks that would comprise their follow-up album. During this period though, tragedy struck the group. During a car journey back from a friend’s wedding, the guys were handing a gun forward when it went off and George Scott suffered a gunshot wound to his temple that caused his death (George only got to sing on some of the cuts intended for the new album). Out of respect for George, the group decided to soldier on. In December, their new 45 was released; “Born Free / Love Is Everywhere” (Kapp 878). At the same time, they undertook tribute shows to honor George at local venues such as Gus’ Show Bar on Superior Avenue. The group’s distinctive take on the title song from the film “Born Free“ took off straight away and after strong regional radio plays, the single entered the national R&B charts in January 1968. They were booked for a prestigious show at Harlem’s Apollo Theatre, but were short of a replacement for George. Luckily an old friend, Bill Brent was in New York (in 1966 Bill had joined Johnny Moore in the Drifters and had participated on the group’s “Baby What I Mean” recording session) and so he teamed up with them for the gig at the Apollo. Kapp had released the groups ‘The New Born Free’ album in February and this also sold well, making the R&B album chart Top 40. Bill Brent decided to quit the Drifters and take George’s place in the Hesitations. As the group were now booked for a constant stint of live work, Wardell Taylor was recruited to join the ensemble as their drummer. By early March their 45 was # 4 on the Billboard R&B chart with just James Brown, the Impressions & Temptations outings keeping it from the top spot (it was also on the Top 40 pop chart).

Although many of the cuts on the ‘The New Born Free’ album were quality efforts (these included “Push A Little Harder”, “I’ve Gotta Find Her” & “We Can Do It”) and the LP was on the charts, none of the other tracks were really in the same style as “Born Free”. As this cut had been such a big seller for them, another outing in a similar vein was required by Kapp to form the top side of the follow-up single. So “The Impossible Dream” (a mid 60’s Broadway show tune) was selected and released on 45 in March 1968. This again made the R&B and pop charts and ensured that the group would enjoy an unbroken stint of 18 weeks (January 13th to May 18th) on the national R&B charts (by which time their “Climb Every Mountain” had also been released on 45). Two further 45’s and two albums; ‘Where We’re At’ (drummer Wardell Taylor is pictured on the cover of this) & ‘Solid Gold’ (replacement drummer Gary Jenkins is with the others in the photo featured on this cover) escaped on Kapp. Most of these tracks were recorded at RCA’s Chicago studio under the supervision of Teacho Wiltshire, Larry Banks and Johnny Pate, though “Lady Madonna” (included on the ‘Solid Gold’ LP) was cut in New York. Their final effort to make the Top 40 R&B singles chart proved to be “Who Will Answer” in the summer of 1968. In November that year, the group undertook a two week long tour of US Military Bases in Germany and had big plans for touring in 1969, but GWP’s relationship with Kapp was ending. After the break with Kapp had happened, the Hesitations started having releases on the newly formed GWP label itself and this marked a return to more soulful cuts. Initially, the group was used to help out Debbie Taylor on her recordings but in April 1969 they got their own GWP 45 release; “Yes I’m Ready / Is This The Way To Treat A Girl” (GWP #504). The first time the group worked in the studio with George Kerr things didn’t go so well. George liked to control exactly how the track sounded and how it should be sung, but Art was used to going with his own feeling for a song. The two men just couldn’t gel and the initial recording session broke up in disarray.

Luckily, Gerard Purcell knew what Art and the Hesitations were capable of (on a previous session they had cut 12 finished tracks in one night), so he got the group to return from Cleveland. With Art now given his head, the track was completed in one take. “Is This The Way .. ” is a great cut that has gone on to find favor with record collectors around the world. The group’s last single release was in June 69 when “No Brag Just Fact” was coupled with a duet cut with Debbie Taylor. GWP were losing interest in soul material though and so some of their artist’s recordings were given scant attention. One case of this was the Hesitations cover of Aretha Franklin’s song “Good To Me, As I Am To You”. It doesn’t usually make much sense to attempt a song already recorded by Aretha as it is very difficult to top any version she has made, but the group gave it their very best and succeed in adding a new dimension to the song. Even though the cut deserved a decent outing, all it managed was inclusion on a compilation album (‘Soul Black & Beautiful Volume 2’) that escaped in the early 70’s. That was to be the end of the group’s recording exploits and not long afterwards they broke up. However, they had recorded some tracks that failed to escape from the tape vaults at all. With many of their old Kapp cuts now being massive anthems on the Northern Soul scene, it was only natural that an enterprising soul reissue label would try to liberate these unissued tracks. After a number of years of patient negotiating, UK based Kent Records managed to do a deal with GWP and thus gain access to all the company’s recorded material. Amongst a number of very fine tracks, the Hesitations “Gotta Find A Way” and “Go Away” were unearthed. Over the last couple of years, “Go Away” has become a much in-demand soul club track.
Jump forward to 2006: Art Blakey was asked by the Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to put the group back together to take part in a doo-wop group show at the venue. He initially tried contacting Leonard Veal and Charles Scott (who didn’t want to sing anymore) before taking the decision to hire ex members of his old group, the Sahibs. The Hesitations now consisted of Art Blakey, George Hendricks, William Carter and James Dotson. It had been a long time since the guys had sung together and in that time, Art had become an active church member and had even cut a gospel CD. George Hendricks, after his stint in the Sahib's had become a member of Ann Bogan and The Challengers who were signed to Harvey Fuqua’s Tri Phi label (1962). After serving in Viet Nam, he got back into the music business with Harvey (Hall) & the Phenomenals (Luau recording artists). In the 1970's, he joined Red Topp and the Young Family who recorded for Choker Campbell’s Tri City label. Later in the 70's he teamed up with long time friend Lou Ragland to form the Chosen Few. By the early 90's he was in a gospel group called Rejoyce. Before being contacted by Art Blakey, George had already made a return to singing secular songs, this being something he had embarked on in the mid 90’s. William (Cosmo) Carter gave up singing for a while after the Sahib's disbanded. But with the passage of time, he took up singing gospel. After a period with the Imperial Jubilees, he joined the True Believers and the Gospel Cousins (both included relatives). He remained with these ensembles until he got the call from Art to sing with the Hesitations.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame show went well and so the group decided to continue performing. As time passed, James Dotson became ill and so had to retire from the group. His place has been taken by Art’s wife, Joyce Blakey. She comes from a family of singers and has been around music most of her life. She is the first female to actually be a member of the Hesitations, though in the late 60’s they did sing a lot in conjunction with Debbie Taylor. More recently, they played the prestigious ‘World Festival’ show held in October 2009 at Cleveland’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and are now really looking forward to making their UK debut at Prestatyn. Its many years since they first sang together but they are more than determined to put on a great show in what will be their first ever direct experience of the incomparable world of Northern Soul.

Sidney Barnes

by John Smith: Jan 2010

Sidney Barnes is one of the great unsung heroes of Northern Soul. He never managed to get a solo hit though he was a member of a group that made the US pop charts. He also sang with Marvin Gaye, wrote and recorded for Motown & Chess, had a production company in conjunction with George Clinton and Mike Terry plus worked with the likes of George Kerr, Timothy Wilson, Norma Jenkins, J J Jackson, the Soul Sisters, Billy Prophet, the Gypsies / Flirtations, Sandra Phillips, J J Barnes, Mary Wells, the Dramatics, Darrell Banks, Theresa Lindsey, Edwin Starr, Greg Perry, Terry Callier, Jerry Butler, Gene Chandler and Earth, Wind & Fire’s Maurice White. Not a bad resume for a guy who though he made a big impression on the Northern Soul scene, the many years he has spent in the music business have otherwise gone largely unrecognized.
Born (1941) and raised in Virginnia, music was always playing in the house. His mother organized and ran choirs at their local churches. It was only natural then that Sidney sang gospel from an early age. He would also sing at home and in school, but he was a teenager before he decided he wanted to make a career out of singing and performing. It was around that time that a move to Washington took place and there he was exposed to the work of doo-wop groups. The sweet harmonies that he heard from the likes of the Clovers & Drifters prompted him to want to emulate these groups. Getting together with like minded kids from the neighborhood, he was soon singing with a bunch of kids that included Marvin Gaye, Van McCoy and Herbert Feemster (Peaches & Herbs). Sidney wanted his group to stand out and soon realized that they could if they sang original material. So he started to write songs and found that this skill came easily to him. By the time that he was out of his teens, he was ready to move his prospective career forward. Now based in Newark (New Jersey), Sidney visited Savoy Records where he met Robert Banks and his wife Jean. The Banks taught him more about music and even wrote some songs for him. By this time Sidney had a manager and the guy landed him a deal with a newly formed label; Gemini Records. He went into a local studio and cut two songs; the Jean Banks penned “Wait My Love” and his own composition “I’m Satisfied”. Released in 1961, the 45 did alright and helped secure Sidney some live work.
Around this time, Sidney befriended George Kerr who had been in a recording group; the Serenaders. The group had fallen apart and so the pair decided to recruit some new members and re-establish the outfit. Timothy Wilson was persuaded to leave Tiny Tim & the Hits to join them and Howard Curry became their fourth member. Signed to Riverside, the group had a single released early in 1963, “Two Lovers Make One Fool”, but it was their songwriting abilities that would get them noticed. In Spring 1963, Raynoma Gordy moved to New York and established a Jobete Music office in the Brill Building. When Sidney learnt of this, George and he went straight down there. Realising that the pair weren’t just the creative force behind the Serenaders but that they were also the business brains in the group, she signed them both to deals with Jobete. The group was also part of the deal and so late in 1963, they found themselves in Motown’s Detroit studio cutting songs under Berry Gordy’s direction. Thus, in January 1964, the Serenaders launched the new Motown label; V.I.P. with their 45 “If Your Heart Says Yes / I’ll Cry Tomorrow“ (VIP # 25002). Berry & Raynoma’s relationship was in trouble though and she had to make a success of the New York venture. She decided that Sidney and George would be much more useful undertaking day to day creative and administrative duties, so she steered them in that direction. Told to find and sign more talent, the pair were promised that they would earn more money doing this than performing. When it became known that a couple of New Jersey locals held important positions at Jobete’s New York office, a steady stream of singers started to drop by.
George Clinton, Norma Jenkins and J J Jackson were soon signed up with the likes of Doris Duke, Eddie Holman plus Porgy & the Monarchs also coming by. Raynoma hooked up with Eddie Singleton and they were now making the major decisions about the New York based enterprise, but Berry wasn’t too happy with her new relationship. Sidney went about developing a strong writing partnership with George Clinton and things seemed set to take off when Berry cut off the supply of cash the New York office needed to survive. Raynoma tried to get around this problem by pressing up some copies of Mary Well’s latest hit but Berry had her arrested for bootlegging and sent some guys in to close the office down (in July / August 1964). This predicament resulted in Sidney and George Clinton’s writing partnership breaking up as Sidney decided to stay in New York, whilst George relocated to Detroit. Teaming up with J J Jackson, Sidney was soon back into his stride and the new pairing quickly started turning out great songs. The Soul Sisters recorded “Think About The Good Times” (Sue), the Sparkels “Try Love (One More Time)” (Old Town), Billy Prophet “What Can I Do” (Sue), the Gypsies “Jerk It” (Old Town), Sandra Phillips “You Succeeded” (Broadway) and Mary Wells cut both “My Minds Made Up” and “Me Without You” for 20th Century Records. Leiber and Stoller signed the pair (as songwriters) to their new Red Bird / Blue Cat Company. Here Sidney met Jeff Barry and Phil Spector and further developed his writing and production skills. He also had a couple of 45’s released on Red Bird; “You’ll Always Be In Style” and “I Hurt On The Other Side” both of which would go on to become top Northern Soul plays down the years. Sidney promoted “I Hurt On The Other Side” by doing a few live shows and this wetted his appetite for performing again. Soon, he found himself a member of the Fiestas (who recorded for Old Town) and out on the road doing one nighters on the chitlin circuit with Gladys Knight & the Pips, Little Richard and the Shirelles.
Quickly coming to his senses, Sidney next hooked up with Herb Abramson. Herb cut and released a single on his Blues Tone label on Sidney; “Talkin' Bout A Shindig / New York City” before the man found himself working with the Gypsies once again. Now known as the Flirtations, the girls cut “Stronger Than Your Love” for the Festival label. Timothy Wilson also got back in on the act as he cut one of Sidney’s songs (“Lovingly Yours”) again for Festival (but this wasn’t released at the time). In 1966, Sidney’s old associate George Clinton got in touch. Sidney was persuaded to move out to Detroit where the Geo-Si-Mik Production team was established in partnership with George and Funk Brother Mike Terry. This new team was soon working for Ed Wingate’s Golden World / Ric Tic Records, cutting tracks on Tony Michaels (“I Love The Life I Live”), J J Barnes (“Our Love Is In The Pocket”), the Dramatics, Pat Lewis (“Cant Shake It Loose”), Edwin Starr, Barbara Mercer, the Parliaments (“That Was My Girl” & “Heart Trouble”) and Theresa Lindsey (“I’ll Bet You”). All three members of the team would sit around the piano and write plus arrange the songs. Mike would add the ‘flavor’ and would write everything out ready for the Funk Brothers to play. George and Sidney would teach the background singers their parts, or Sidney would sing backing himself. The team completely ran their sessions together, hiring all the people involved and working with the studio engineer's. Ed WinGate gave them total creative control and just left them to it. They would never really cut demos of any of the songs, they would just write them on the spot and teach them to whoever was going to record them. Although Sidney had strong ties to Golden World, this didn’t stop him hooking up with Don Davis and recording “Payback” (under the name Johnny Goode) for Solid Hit. Sidney had written the song himself under the name Alex Dino and some of the Funk Brothers played on the track. Sidney also worked with Don Davis on another project, this time the artist involved being Darrell Banks.
In September 1966, Berry Gordy again came into Sidney’s life. He bought the Golden World studio on West Davison Avenue from Ed Wingate, along with the contracts of some of Ed’s artists. The Ric Tic label continued and more 45’s were released on the label but the Geo-Si-Mik team’s involvement was over. Sidney hung around Detroit and found other work for a while. Along with Mike Terry, he recorded "I Bet You / Love Hangover" on Jean Carter for the Sunflower label and then helped Andre Williams develop the Dramatics track "All Because of You" (released on Sport). In summer 1967, he was staying at Ernestine Rundless’s (Laura Lee’s mother) house along with Andre Williams when in late July, rioting broke out in Detroit. At night, bullets were flying around everywhere and buildings were being torched. Andre Williams had been offered some work in Chicago with Chess and so the two men set off for the Windy City as fast as they could go. Andre quickly took Chess’ money and ran but Sidney stuck around and wrote a song that the Dells recorded. Psychedelic rock was just starting to make an impact and Marshall Chess decided they needed a group to cut songs in the genre. Initially Minnie Riperton (Andrea Davis) and Greg Perry were teamed up with a white rock group (the Proper Strangers) to form Rotary Connection. But Greg wasn’t too happy with the style of music that they were expected to cut. At the time, Sidney was sharing an apartment with Greg Perry and so he stepped up when Greg wanted out. The group’s first album escaped in 1967 with their fourth being issued in 1969. This album, ‘Songs’, brought together a collection of re-workings of other artist's songs, including a radical duet by Sidney & Minnie on Otis Redding’s “Respect”. “Want You To Know” was the group’s biggest selling single, just making the US Top 100 pop chart. Sidney remained true to his soul roots by recording as a solo artist for Chess; “Old Times / Baloney” being released on 45 in 1969. He also helped Minnie with her solo recording project towards the end of 1969. In conjunction with Charles Stepney, he wrote a song (“Only When I'm Dreaming”) to go on her ‘Come To My Garden’ album and he also helped out at the recording session which took place in late November. By 1970, he was ready to move on but his time with Rotary Connection and Chess did at least inspire the likes of Donny Hathaway and Chaka Chann to seek out Sidney for advice on establishing musical careers for themselves.

His old work wasn’t being ignored either. Numerous of his earlier efforts were registered with Jobete and this resulted in Motown artists such as the Supremes and the Jackson Five recording his songs. Other artists had also cut his songs during the 1960’s. His old writing partner, J J Jackson cut their song “Come See Me (I’m Your Man)” for Calla, "Think About The Good Times" was recorded by Baby Washington for Veep and "Stop & Take A Look At Yourself" by the Shalimars for Verve. Sidney also got into writing jingles and commercials. This work resulted in a 45, “The Ember Song”, being made for the locally based Ember Furniture Company. Whilst at Chess, he got to know Maurice White who started his own group, Salty Pepper. But Maurice really liked the more progressive sounds that Rotary Connection was trying to produce. So he re-vamped and rebuilt his group a number of times and they eventually became Earth, Wind & Fire. Sidney also wrote songs in conjunction with Greg Perry. One of these, "How's Your Love Life Baby" being recorded by Jackie Moore for Columbia later in the 70’s. Sidney also spent time over at Jerry Butler’s Writers Workshop where he met Terry Callier and penned a few songs that Gene Chandler had his artist’s record (one of these being “I Get High On My Baby’s Love” cut by Lee Charles). In fact, he became good friends with Gene Chandler at that time. So much so, that Gene took him to Los Angeles in 1971 to work on a Sisters Love project for A & M Records (“Are You Lonely”, “Ring Once” & “And This Is Love” all being cut). This was Sidney's first trip to LA but he would eventually end up moving out there himself and staying for a 13 year period.
Sidney’s relocation to LA came at the invitation of Maurice White who’s Earth, Wind & Fire were now enjoying big hits. Initially he resisted Maurice’s requests but when Kalimba Productions were set up and Deniece Williams was signed as an artist, Sidney flew out to California to work on her tracks with Maurice.
Another old friend also got in touch. Thus, Sidney found himself working once again with George Clinton on some Parliament tracks for the ‘Mothership Connection’ album (“Tear The Roof Off The Sucker”, etc; 1975). In 1978, George’s manager helped hook Sidney up with an album deal at Parachute Records. The ‘Foot Stompin Music’ LP was released and the track “Your Love Is So Good To Me” lifted from it for single release. A second single “Get On Up And Dance To The Boogie” escaped on 12” later that same year. He renewed another old link in 1978 when he (& Minnie Riperton) sang backing vocals on Terry Callier’s Elektra album ‘Fire On Ice’. In LA, he also sang in Simon Soussan’s group Arpeggio (“Love & Desire”: a song he also co-wrote) and for the disco outfit Charisma & the Fantasy Orchestra. In 1980, he went back to Michigan to work with George Clinton yet again. In Eastpointe, he recorded "Secrets" & “Changes” with the P Funk band and the first of these cuts eventually escaped on the ‘Testing Positive 4 The Funk’ CD (1993). But for the rest of the 1980’s, Sidney had a lot of family related matters to deal with and so he turned his attention away from music related matters. In the 1990’s, he made his first trip to the UK, hooking up with Ian Levine. He recorded a song “Standing On Solid Ground” and this was issued on a 45 back on the Midwest International label. Sidney then moved to Asheville, North Carolina (located in the Blue Ridge Mountains) and went into semi-retirement. He still occasionally visited the UK to perform on NS shows and even licensed some of his old tracks for release on the ‘Then & Now’ CD. Eventually though he put a new band together, Sidney Barnes & his Good Time Band, and started gigging around the local area. In 2005 and 2006 he cut and released some new tracks but this all stopped when he relocated to Las Vegas in 2008. So Sidney has had a long and productive musical career but he’s now decided to call it a day and retire from performing for real. What better way for him to go out than by singing in front of the knowledgeable Prestatyn Weekender crowd. Whatever you do in March, be sure not to miss this historic appearance.

Kenny Hamber

by John Smith: Dec 2009

Baltimore (the city fathers have ironically given it the nickname Charm City) isn’t one of the most glamorous US cities and it certainly doesn’t rate amongst the premier spots in soul music terms. That however hasn’t stopped one of its sons making a long term contribution to the global soul scene. Kenny Hamber quit the city 50 years ago, but the fact that he still secures bookings to perform back there is a mark of the impact he made locally during soul’s golden decade. To overcome the fact that Baltimore had few locally based prime soul record labels, Kenny had to travel to New York and then Philadelphia to progress his recording career. In both cities he was successful in hooking up with some top people. In New York, it was King Curtis, Bert Berns, Dee Dee Warwick and Cissy Houston; whilst in Philly he signed with Jimmy Bishop and worked with Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff. Unfortunately he decided to move 400 miles north just before Gamble and Huff’s commercial heyday kicked in, otherwise today he could easily have been more of a household name.
Kenny Hamber was born in September, 1943 on the east side of Baltimore. His introduction to music came from both his family and his school. His mother ensured that Kenny attended a local church and here he became a featured singer in the choir. With his grandfather, Kenny also got to attend a few shows at Baltimore’s Royal Theatre. After seeing dynamic performances at this venue from Jackie Wilson, Chuck Jackson and Maxine Brown, Kenny was inspired to try and forge a career in the music business. At Dunbar High School, he teamed up with some classmates to sing doo-wop. A group was formed, Kenny combining with brothers Tim, Roy and Gene Harris to become the Harris Brothers. Next Kenny joined the Del-Rios and then the Enchanters. This group performed a lot of Dells’ songs and were known locally as ‘the Little Dells’ (they even cut a version of “Stay In My Corner” but it wasn’t released). The group became quite popular and even undertook a big show with Jackie Wilson at Carr’s Beach, Annapolis around 1959. Kenny’s determination to succeed was greater than that of the other members of the group and before long, he took the decision to go solo.
His live work had gotten him noticed by local radio DJ Bill ‘Sparky’ Evans and Kenny would visit the WSID studio to hang out. In 1960 he was in WSID’s studio when a ‘spur of the moment’ recording session was set up for him. Two tracks were laid down; “Tears In My Eyes” and “Do The Hully Gulley”. Even though these were very rudimentary, ‘Sparky’ Evans still released them on his Spar label that summer. Little happened but Kenny & Sparky still had faith in the songs, so more professional versions of the songs were recorded in New York (1961). With King Curtis playing sax on the session, the new versions were issued on Sparky’s Zennette label (named after his daughter). The second version of “Tears In My Eyes” was well received and the DJ’s influence helped get it airplay on WSID, WEBB and WWIN. As a result of this exposure, Kenny even got to appear on the Milt Grant TV show on WTTG in Washington (an American Bandstand type dance show). Kenny was soon in demand on Baltimore’s vibrant live music scene. He became a fixture at local venues such as the Bamboo Lounge, Club Casino, Avenue Bar, Night Owl, Raleigh Bar and Black Jack Club. At the Black Jack, Kenny became lead singer for the house band, James Gilyard and the Shyndells (also known as the Hitchhikers). The ensemble would open the show for the likes of the Three Degrees, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Manhattans and Billy Stewart. Kenny also got to perform at the Royal Theatre, opening for Little Willie John, Jerry Butler and Tommy Hunt. He also opened for James Brown at the Baltimore Coliseum around 1961 (James Brown’s band backing Kenny up on his number). He also still gigged down on Carr’s Beach on a regular basis (he recalls memorable shows here with the likes of Billy Stewart).
Baltimore had few decent recording studios and so Kenny’s next visit to a studio again involved a trip up to New York. In 1963, with Bern Berns acting as producer and Dee Dee Warwick, Cissy Houston & Judy Clay on backing vocals, he cut “Time” and “Show Me Your Monkey”. These were released on the De Jac label (distributed by Atlantic). Back in Baltimore, Kenny continued to perform with Jimmy Gilyard and the Hitchhikers. But ever the opportunist, he also landed himself a job on Washington TV station WOOK in 1963. On this, he would interview top recording artists who appeared as guests on the show. More live work followed, much of this being in conjunction with acts signed to the local Ru-jac label. The label’s owner, Rufus Mitchell also ran a top booking agency and was the main organiser of event’s held at Carr’s Beach. Kenny got to perform with the likes of Tiny Tim Harris (who Kenny had sung with in the Harris Brothers), Winfield Parker, the Bleu Lights, the Chamonts, Frankie & the Spindles, the Royalettes and Diane & the Ravenettes. At one stage, Kenny’s valet was Arthur Conley. But then Arthur fronted a Ru-jac recording which brought him to the attention of Otis Redding and the rest is history.

Yet another Baltimore radio DJ would be responsible for Kenny’s next big break. DJ Paul ‘Fat Daddy’ Johnson introduced him to Philadephia’s Jimmy Bishop (also a radio DJ). As well being a DJ, Jimmy ran a record label and impressed, Kenny was signed to his Arctic record label. The first songs he cut in Philly for Arctic were written by Kenny Gamble; “Ain’t Gonna Cry (Over One Girl)” and “Anything You Want” (#131). The up tempo “Anything You Want” would eventually make waves, becoming a top Northern Soul track in the 1970’s. For his 2nd Arctic outing, Bobby Womack’s “Looking For A Love” and Otis Redding’s “These Arms Of Mine” were recorded and released on 45 (#139) in 1969. Jimmy Bishop’s prominent position on Philadelphia’s music scene ensured Kenny’s outings received good attention from the likes of WDAS and WHAT. However Kenny was still living in Baltimore and his low profile in Philadelphia somewhat held back the impact his 45’s could otherwise have made. He did undertake some high profile shows though, playing the Uptown Theatre with Tommy Hunt, the Moments and Delphonics. He was also on the bill of ‘the Freedom Show’ with the Temptations, Four Tops and Sly & the Family Stone. His Baltimore base did come in useful at times, for instance it helped him secure a spot on WBAL TV’s ‘Kirby Scott Show’. Next Kenny cut another cover song for Arctic, his take on Freddie Scott’s “Hey Girl”. With Leon Huff playing piano on the session, this was committed to tape at 919 Sound Studio (Philly) on 11th November, 1969. But by then, Arctic Records was struggling financially and so the cut failed to escape from the vaults.
Kenny had signed a three record deal with Jimmy Bishop, so he was loaned out to Jessie James for one last Philly based recording session. “Lets Do The Camel Walk” was produced by Jessie and released on his own Mean Record label. But by then (late 69), Kenny had decided to relocate to Providence, Rhode Island after landing a long booking at the Osborne Club there. The club was run by Jeffrey Osborne’s mother and was a lucrative engagement to secure. So much so that Kenny soon had to put a new group together. Taking the name the Hitchhikers, Kenny recruited the members from Providence and New Bedford and they were soon a top local draw. Lots of work came in, including tours headed up by the likes of Cornell Gunther (Coasters) and Tavares. In 1973, a producer called Paul Leka took the group into his studio in Bridgeport (Connecticut Music Studios) and an album’s worth of tracks were laid down. Initially nothing happened but in 1976, Otis Smith licensed the album for release on ABC. The self titled Hitchhikers LP (ABC #973) featured 10 tracks and 2 of these were lifted from it in 1977 to form a US 45; “You Are Making A Big Mistake” & “Don’t Want To Live Without You”. The group even made it over to Europe where they played shows at US Forces bases. Their trip over the pond triggered the release of two singles here in Europe. The UK coupled “Rolling Dice” (a typical 70’s soul dancer) with “This Songs For You Mama” (ABC #4160). In Italy, “Bad, Bad Girl” and “Love Keeps Knocking At My Door” escaped on 7”(ABC #22027).

None of their singles broke through though and thus the group’s adventure with ABC came to an end. Kenny had other things on his mind though. He remarried in 1977 and moved on again; this time to Hartford. He abandoned his recording career for a period, whilst still undertaking some live work. But by the mid 80’s he was missing being in the studio. Via producer Troy Davis, Kenny got the opportunity to make a return in 1986. At Nickel Recording in Hartford, he cut the old Eddie Floyd song “Never Found A Girl” (ably backed by the studio’s house band). The result was so good that Troy Davis released the track on a 12” single on his own Million Dollar Entertainment label. This could have been the end of matters as there were few small clubs left in which Kenny could promote the new release and the major labels had a lock on radio plays. But Kenny’s single soon found appreciative audiences as far apart as the Carolina beach scene and the UK modern soul scene. His track became so popular that it escaped a second time; on a 7” on the PES label (which listed a Roswell, Georgia address -- its highly likely that this was a bootleg pressed up to meet the demand that had been generated by the late 1980’s / early 90’s). Kenny was really missing performing live on a regular basis and so he applied to the USO and secured a two year long stint entertaining US Forces on bases in Iceland, across Europe and in the Middle East (in 1991, he even played here in the UK). Next he expanded his career CV by becoming a radio DJ (& programme director) at radio station WKND in Hartford.
Kenny wasn’t finished recording though and set-up his own studio in a local church. In 1996, his first solo album escaped. Issued on his own MCK label, ‘This Is R & B’, was Kenny’s tribute to soul stars down the decades. He cut versions of favorites such as “Walk Away From Love” (David Ruffin), “I’m So Proud” (the Johnny Taylor song), “I Believe In You & Me”, “Members Only” and “The Closer I Get To You”. “Without You”, a duet with Linda Darnelle, even linked Kenny back to earlier times as it was cut in Philadelphia. The album was favorably received and this prompted him to put out a 2nd effort; ‘In A Romantic Mood’. Both albums put his name out there once again and helped the Kenny Hamber Revue to secure bookings in both the New England and Baltimore areas. One of the most high profile venues that Kenny got to play was the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard. More recently, Kenny has started cutting gospel songs at a studio in Rocky Hills. His live performances and his gospel album (‘Truly Blessed’) earned Kenny a top award in 2008; New England’s best male vocalist. Tracks such as “Washed By The Blood” certainly have the potential to bring Kenny to a whole new ‘modern soul’ audience. Because of the continued popularity of his earlier recordings, many of his old tracks were licensed for inclusion on a ‘Best Of …’ CD package. Still performing live on a regular basis, Kenny visited the UK last October to investigate the Northern Soul scene here. He still works on a regular basis back in the States and has a big show lined up in Baltimore next February. With the man’s continued vocal excellence and his many years experience, I’m sure his Weekender show will help cement the loyalty of his British fans.

Mary Love

by John Smith: Jan 2010

Mary Ann Allen has sung throughout most of her life. She started out singing gospel songs in church and that’s what she’s doing still. However it’s under the professional name of Mary Love that she’s more generally known. She has sung on numerous recording sessions down the years though her actual releases as a solo artist have been quite sporadic and it seems that she was hardly ever in total control of her recording career. This situation is perfectly mirrored by her professional name, which she didn’t have a hand in choosing herself.
Mary was born in Sacramento, California in the 1940’s. Her family life was far from settled and the church and singing in gospel choirs played a major role in her development. She bounced back & forth between LA and Sacramento through her teenage years and it would be in LA that she got her introduction into the music business. At age 17, she went along to an amateur night at a club with some friends. Unimpressed with the quality of the other people performing, she plucked up the courage to sing herself and so impressed the club owner that he hired her on the spot. So she began working one night a week at the club and this led to another engagement, singing five nights a week at a better club. During this period, she met the Vows and started rehearsing and performing with them. On one booking with the group, she was spotted by J W Alexander. He was so impressed with her voice that he asked her to attend at a recording studio the next morning. Here, she found herself singing on a demo session with Sam Cooke.
Next, she met Hal Davis and started cutting demo tracks for him (Hal, along with the likes of Marc Gordon, Frank Wilson, Ed Cobb, H.B. Barnum and Willie Hutch staffed Motown’s LA office back then). One song she was the first to cut was "A Touch Of Venus" which Marc Gordon produced. Her demo version turned out so well that the song was much in demand with various artists wanting to release it. The winning version turned out to be by one of Marys friends, Sandy Wynns. Her sterling efforts on demos were soon rewarded, as again with Marc Gordon producing, a number of mainly Frank Wilson penned songs were cut with a view to landing Mary her own recording contract. Arthur Wright was the arranger of this work and although Mary was still very young and unschooled in studio techniques with the help and encouragement of the talented team around her the tracks that resulted were of a very high quality.
Marc Gordon secured Mary a deal with Modem Records and her 1st single "You Turned My Bitter Into Sweet / I’m In Your Hands" (Modem 1006) was released in 1965. This was an instant hit, first locally and then nationally and its success led to it being released overseas. However, Mary wasn’t made aware of this or the fact that two of her later 1960s singles were also released here in the UK. She really did enjoy this period of her life, the work at Modern Records being undertaken in a family atmosphere. The studio personnel taught her a lot, taking time to explain various important recording techniques to her. Modern’s artists would help each other out on recording sessions, Mary doing backups for Vernon Garrett (“You Can Lead Your Woman To The Altar”), Lowell Fulsom and the Ikettes (many of them also returning the favour). The Valentinoes (Bobby, Cecil, et al) also assisted on one of her sessions and the likes of Brenda and Patrice Holloway plus the Ikettes soon became Mary’s closest friends.
The Modern artists also swopped club names and addresses. When one artist obtained a booking at a new club, every other outfit from the label would soon be on the phone pestering the booking agent for a spot. Because of this and also due to the high standard of her live performances, she ended up touring extensively in the 60s and made a good living. Her two year period with Modem Records resulted in six solo singles and one duet with Arthur Adams being released ("Is That You"). “You Turned My Bitter Into Sweet" and "Move A Little Closer" (a national R&B Top 50 chart entry in August 1966) were the most commercially successful, but all were very worthy releases and many have been reissued down the years. "Bitter Into Sweet", "Hey Stoney Face", "Let Me Know" and "Lay This Burden Down" have all become popular with U.K. soul fans, however one of Mary’s personal favourites is the Ashford and Simpson written “Dance Children Dance”. Mary’s least favorite track is surprisingly "Hey Stoney Face"; she couldn’t relate to the Iyrics at all and it took her all night to lay the track down in the studio as she kept breaking out into fits of laughter. Until she visited the UK to perform, she had never sung the song live. "Satisfied Feeling" the flip side of her 5th Modern 45 release was the first self penned track she had released, but others soon followed.
In 1968 Mary left Modem and signed to Josie (Jubilee) for a one record deal. This was the single "The Hurt Is Just Beginning / If You Change Your Mind", both songs being self written. Both sides of the record have stories attached to them "If You Change..." was written on tour after a show, its theme being a one night stand and how the couples feelings for each other can already have changed by the next morning. The A side "Hurt Is Beginning" was being played on the radio in California at the same time Huey Newton of the Black Panthers was on trial in San Francisco. The protesters outside the court house took their lines from the song "…Don’t let it Happen…" and built it into a chant. Her next single (in 1971) again featured a self written song; "There’s Someone For Me". Marys grandmother still lived in Sacramento, next door to the Elco Drugstore. The store owner, a Mr Cole heard Mary sing the song and decided to start the Elco label as a hobby. The tracks were recorded at Ray Charles studio in L.A. with Ray engineering the session himself. It proved to be the only record on the label.

By then, Mary was well known as an accomplished singer and song writer around LA. So when Rudy Ray Moore landed a blaxplotation movie project and hired Arthur Wright to arrange the soundtrack, it was only natural that Mary would be asked to participate. She sang two of the best songs on the soundtrack (‘Dolomite’ - 1975); “Power Of Your Love” and “When We Start Making Love”. However her next single release wasn’t until 1977; “Joy” on Magic Disc. This song was also lifted from a Rudy Ray Moore movie soundtrack; ‘Petey Wheatshaw’ being the film this time. A soundtrack album was again released and this included additional tracks on which Mary was the featured vocalist. A single on the T K distributed label Inphasion " Turn Me, Turn Me, Turn Me " followed in 1979 and also around the same time on a visit to Japan Mary cut a record with part Japanese / part English Iyrics, extolling the virtues of the Sweet Taste Bamboo Inn. She also laid down an album full of new material back in the US but none of the tracks escaped at that time. More recently though, “More Love” has been included on George Semper related CD’s put out in both the US & UK. Next came her U-Tone single "Tit For Tat" in the early 80’s. In 1984 another single was released, this being “Save Me" which was recorded for Eddie Garon’s Golden Boy Records in L. A. (though it was actually released on the Mirage label).
Shortly after this Mary began to collaborate with Brad Comer who was soon to be her husband. In 1986 they cut a number of tracks under the name Co-Love and these were shopped around for possible release (these would be the last secular songs recorded by Mary). The couple decided to move into the gospel field and recorded "Come Out Of The Sandbox" which they released on their own Co-Love label in 1987 (the words to the song have significant meaning to Mary). The record proved very popular in the U.K. and led to further gospel releases including an L. P. (‘His Servant Am 1’). In 1988 & 1990 she had 12" releases, the later of these featuring three tracks "Understanding / In My Life / More Than Enough Love" (the last track being a duet with Mary’s son Derrick Versey). Her first live UK show was at the Blackpool weekender towards the end of the 80’s, but she enjoyed her 1993 Cleethorpes Weekender appearance much more as she got the opportunity to perform there with a live backing band. Mary has returned to the UK a number of times since then and I’m sure she will once put on yet another great show for the Prestatyn crowd.