The Volumes
by John Smith: Mar 2009
The term ‘one hit wonder’ is usually considered a put down and therefore isn’t a description that a group welcomes. Although it’s a term that has been assigned to the Volumes, it is far from appropriate. Ask a Northern Soul fan to name the track that was the group’s most popular cut and you will get any of four answers but none of them will be the group’s only US national hit. Their big hit was actually “I Love You” and it shot up the charts way back in 1962, making them just about the top R&B group in Detroit back then. Commercially, they never equaled those dizzy chart heights again, but they had a long recording career and enjoyed many more top releases that have become anthems with soul fans around the world.
Formed in Detroit back in the days of doo wop (1960), members had gotten together on street corners after school (Central High, Chadsey, etc.) to practice their harmony singing. The group consisted of Eddie Union (lead), Elijah Davis (first tenor), Larry Wright (second tenor), Joe Travillion (baritone), and Ernest Newsom (bass). Willie Ewing became their manager in 1961 and he set up Chex Records. The group hit the floor running, as their first 45 release, "I Love You", quickly entered local charts. It soon broke out of Detroit and rose to reach the R&B Top 10 and Pop Top 30 in 1962. The group’s expert harmony work on the cut hide the make shift nature of the instrumental backing (Detroit legend Popcorn" Wylie beating out the rhythm on a suitcase). Chex issued a second 45, “Come Back Into My Heart”, but this failed to repeat the huge success of their first outing (though Lamont Dozier played on this). Chex was only a tiny label with few resources and no means of effectively distributing their releases. When “I Love You” had exploded onto the charts, a deal was done with Jubilee Records for national distribution. Unable to cope with the workload their success brought, Chex handed over the reins to Jubilee almost entirely for the group’s next two releases (in 1963). The group had teamed up with Harry Balk and Duke Browner to work on these sides issued on Jubilee. Recording in New York, the songs they cut were written by Maron McKenzie (Harry’s staff writer) and produced by Duke Browner.
Further label changes were experienced after Balk and Jubilee had a falling out. So the group’s next outing was released on New York based Old Town Records (1964), with a second 45 escaping that same year on the American Arts label. These changes weren’t instigated by the group themselves and certainly didn’t indicate that they were difficult to work with. The production team behind all of these recordings being Harry Balk and Duke Browner (however they worked almost exclusively with Browner). American Arts was owned by Lou Guarino, a friend of Harry's based in Pittsburg. In fact, Balk was reorganising his Detroit area business set-up and so he placed a number of his artists (Bobbie Smith, etc) with American Arts during that period. The Volumes had made a seamless transition to cutting soul tracks as Eddie Union adapted his lead vocal style perfectly to suit the new sound. Their opening release on American Arts, “Gotta Give Her Love” was a superlative example of this and the 45 returned them to local radio station charts. The follow up “I Just Can't Help Myself” escaped in 1965 but that same year, Eddie Union left the group to ensure his family was provided with a more steady income. This resulted in a shake up of the group’s membership and when things settled down again; Gerald Mathis was recruited as their new lead singer because he sounded quite like Eddie. The group now consisted of Gerald (out front), Elijah Davis, Ernest Newsome, Bobby Peterson & William ‘Pete’ Crawford (who had started out in the Distants with Melvin Franklin, Otis Williams and Richard Street).
After his deal with American Arts was up, the Volumes next single (in 1966) was placed on Balk’s own label, Twirl Records. “I Got Love”, the featured song on this, being written by Duke Browner. After rehearsing new songs in Harry Balk's office, they would head for Specialty Studios on East Grand Blvd for the actual recording session (the practice of only cutting their demos in Detroit ended in 1965). The group’s Impact and Inferno releases were recorded in Detroit using musicians such as Dennis Coffey, Bob Babbitt, Marcus Terry, Dave Hamilton, Joe Hunter & Popcorn Wylie (who also handled the arrangements). Next up, the group was moved to the Impact label, this label having been started by Balk in 1965. “The Trouble I've Seen / That Same Old Feeling” featured new guy Gerald Mathis on lead vocals (though his tenure would be short lived). After Eddie Union had gone solo, only two of the five strong group were original members. The other guys had been co-opted in from other groups and because of this they decided to record & play some gigs under the name of the Magnetics.
JUMPING BACK IN TIME; another Detroit group was being formed in 1959 and members of this would eventually team up with guys out of the Volumes to write yet more pages in Detroit’s soul story …. Bobby Peterson had been born in downtown Detroit in May 1939. He grew up there and attended the same schools as other members of the Volumes & Magnetics (Bobby himself being educated at Central High School). During that period, he started singing on street corners with his friends. They soon developed their harmony skills to a level where they were good enough to perform at parties & appear on local variety shows. This was in 1959 and the group took the name, the Marvelous Marveliers. Their line-up was Bobby Peterson, his younger sister, Sharon Peterson, Tony Johnson, Jackie Perkins and Candi (Fagan) Bell. They met some guys who were so impressed with their efforts that they wanted to fund a recording session. The offer accepted, the group cut “Down (On My Knees)” and “When We Dance”, both songs being written by Tony Johnson. Under the guidance of Gil Martin (who was later to work for Motown), Tony handled lead vocal duties on both songs.
These cuts were released (as by the Marveliers) on the Cougar label in 1960 but failed to make much impact. Disappointed at the lack of success for their record, the group soldiered on but they were going nowhere and so decided a change was needed. The members of the group still got on well though, so it was decided that their new start would just involve a change of name. As a result, the Magnetics were launched onto the Detroit music scene. Under their new name, they quickly established a good following and again created enough interest to come to the attention of a local record company. The group went into Continental Recording (at 9022 Twelfth Avenue) with Popcorn Wylie and recorded “The Train” (written by Popcorn & Tony Johnson). This was released in June 1962 on Continental’s in-house label, Allrite. The other side of the single was “Where Are You” (again an R Johnson composition) which had a ‘throwback’ feel, being quite doo wop sounding. This 45 managed to gain quite a bit of radio airplay in Detroit and led to the group securing bookings at venues such as the 20 Grand, Mr Kellys, Phelps & Henrys.
A return to the recording studio was called for and the group laid down some new songs; “Wonderful Moment” and “I Walk Alone (?). Again Tony Johnson wrote the songs and sang lead on them but for some reason they were never released. The Magnetics must have been quite envious of their old friends in the Volumes who were by then touring across the States on the back of their national pop chart hit “I Love You” (by a strange co-incidence Popcorn Wylie had worked with the Volumes on “I Love You”, as he had with the Magnetics on “The Train”). Yet again, the group’s career stalled, they weren’t making any headway and were starting to become stale. So Bobby, the leader, took the decision to wind the group up and its members looked for new challenges. Tony Johnson went on to team with Tyrone Pickens and they cut "Please Operator” for Ted White’s Ram Brock / Ston-Roc set-up (as Tony & Tyrone).
A new group was formed from the ashes of both the Volumes and Magnetics and it utilized both group names. Thus, when the cuts “Lady In Green” and “Heart, You're Made of Stone” escaped on a Bonnie 45, it was under the name of the Magnetics. Once again, Gerald Mathis handled lead vocal duties on these tracks. As they had done on their Volumes recording sessions, the group worked with Duke Browner. The guys appreciated his writing (Duke wrote “Lady In Green”) and arranging skills, so had no problem working with him yet again. In support of their new 45, they played live gigs around the Detroit area under the Magnetics name (at venues such as the 20 Grand and Mr. Kellys) and even ventured as far away as Chicago and Cleveland for other gigs. “Lady In Green” didn’t manage to make much of an impact with the record buying public (probably due to the lack of copies of the 45 in the shops) but undaunted, they returned to the studio to cut some more songs. Yet again Duke Browner was the composer of these songs; “Hard On You” was an up-tempo number with “Some Day, Some Way” being a ballad. Unfortunately for the group these two cuts didn’t even manage to escape from the tape vaults. This set-back, coupled with the general lack of progress they were making and the struggle to maintain regular live bookings led them to throw in the towel (with the earlier group’s members going their separate ways)
For the Volumes next single, their changed line up featured Jimmy Burger on lead vocal duties. “You Got It Baby” in 1967 illustrated how well the group had adapted to the changing sound of soul and in fact has a timeless quality. Next came “My Kind Of Girl” which has also stood the test of time well, but with Duke Browner again writing the song and Dennis Coffey with Mike Theodore arranging, that’s hardly a surprise. Berry Gordy had by now started to eliminate his competition and so in 1968 he bought out the Impact label. So Balk opened Inferno Records but soon after Gordy offered him a job and so Motown took Balk, Duke Browner, their artists and catalogue in house (this ensured that they couldn’t start up yet another new venture in opposition to Gordy). The Volumes were part of the deal and so their next 45 escaped on the Motown distributed Inferno label. The group’s “Ain't That Loving You” hit the shelves in 1968 with Jimmy Burger once again handling lead vocals. Unfortunately for both the Volumes and Duke Browner, Motown had numerous talented groups, writers and producers so both parties quickly got lost in the shuffle. The group went without a new release for around two years before Ollie McLaughlin added them to his roster on Karen Records. A single was issued in 1970, “Ain't Gonna Give You Up” and this proved to be the group’s last release. They broke up with Ernest Newsome joining the Fantastic Four.
The Volumes seemed to be dead and gone for many years, but the US oldies scene wasn’t going to allow that to happen. Eventually the group was persuaded to reform to undertake live shows. Their new line up consisted of Elijah Davis, Eddie Union, Bobby Peterson and James ‘Pete’ Crawford. So the group is back together performing in US doo wop shows and now they’re in the UK to perform at the Weekender. Whether they yet understand how revered they are here, I don’t know. But it’s a sure thing that by the time they finish their performance on Saturday night, the guys will fully appreciate how much their old tracks still mean to UK soul fans.
Lorraine Chandler
by John Smith: Jan 2005
Its a rare occurrence for musicians to receive recognition for their achievements many years after the event. However due to the success of the film ‘Standing In The Shadows of Motown’ that companies 1960’s studio band, the Funk Brothers, have at last been granted full endorsement for their ground breaking work. Members of this small elite group included Jack Ashford, Joe Hunter and Johnny Griffith. In addition to their backing work for Motown, these musicians had aspirations to emulate Berry Gordy’s success themselves. In these endeavors they linked up with another native of Detroit, Lorraine Chandler. Lorraine is a true all-rounder when it comes to expertise in the numerous skills involved with the recording industry. She started out as a singer and songwriter but before long was also overseeing record sessions, producing tracks herself, handling label admin, finance and management duties before she finally got to run her own label.
Lorraine got into singing whilst still at school. She was a good student and after graduating high school, she went onto college. Her family knew Otis Williams' (of the Temptations) family and Funk Brother Eddie ‘Bongo’ Brown lived next door. Lorraine also had friends who worked at Motown and so it was only natural for her to dream of working for Berry Gordy’s empire. So she quit college (she would however return later to obtain a degree in business) and via her connections at Motown she met Jack Ashford, this proving to be an important event. The pair began to work together at just about the same time as Jack was looking to set up his own operation. Lorraine’s initial entry into the professional music business came in 1966 when having written “I’m Gone” in conjunction with Jack, they cut the song on Eddie Parker (later, they would also have Billy Sha rae record the song). Jack was instantly taken with Lorraine’s ability and so convinced her to sign with his & Shelley Haimes fledgling Pied Piper Productions. Another co-composition, “I’ll Never Forget You”, was also selected by local big hitter Don Davis to be cut by the O’Jays at about the same time.
Next she stepped into the spotlight herself. In conjunction with the likes of Mike Terry, Uriel Jones, James Jamerson and Jack Ashford she went into Detroit’s United Sound Studios to cut the Ashford / Terry song “What Can I Do” for Jo Armstead’s Giant Records. This was soon garnering local radio plays in the Detroit and Chicago areas and came to the attention of RCA’s promotion men. RCA had no base in Detroit but were keen to buy into the city’s musical success, so not only was Lorraine signed up but so was the entire Pied Piper Production set-up. RCA reissued her first single for national distribution and soon followed it up with a second 45, “I Cant Hold On / She Don’t Want You”. They required Pied Piper to cut a number of different acts and so in quick succession sessions were organised for the Cavaliers, Metros, Nancy Wilcox, Willie Kendrick, Sharon Scott and Dynamics. By the end of 1966, RCA were getting the team to use their Chicago recording studio to cut tracks and thus Lorraine found herself in there for a session. With the Metros helping out on backing vocals, she laid down another Ashford / Terry song, ”I Cant Change”. Ray Monette (another Funk Brother and half of the duo, Mike & Ray) remembers playing on just about all of the Pied Piper Productions as he was the house guitar player at the time. Thus he played on Lorraine’s recording sessions and also got to write a few songs with her. Ray remembers Lorraine as a very sweet classy lady with lots of talent, drive and boundless energy. Her enthusiasm and dynamism would rub off on those around her and as a result, everyone would deliver their best work.
The pressure of the workload at Pied Piper quickly became very intense. A deal had also been signed with Kapp Records to cut tracks on Freddy Butler and Cleveland based group the Hesitations. Lorraine’s song writing skills were constantly being called upon and she contributed “I Fell In Love” and “There Was A Time” for Freddy’s session plus “Soul Superman (a national Top 50 hit single in January 1967), “She Won’t Come Back”, “You’ll Never Know”, “Wait A Minute” and “Clap Your Hands” for the Hesitations (she would write the lyrics). She then came up with “”Time Changes Things” for the Metros (who also cut a version of her earlier composition “I’ll Never Forget You”) and “She’ll Be Leaving You” for Willie Kendrick. Lorraine continued to compose songs but also had to undertake studio and label backroom duties in addition to producing sessions with Jack Ashford. Together, the pair quickly built up an impressive catalogue. However she didn’t abandon studio singing entirely as she would regularly get to sing backing vocals on other artists sessions.
Pied Piper / Just Productions next took on the 4 Sonics and released a version of “Tell Me Your Mine” on Sepia in 1968, the group’s “Where Are You” following on Triple B in 1970. Billy Sha-rae cut “Do It” (an Ashford / Chandler composition) for Hour Glass in 1969 plus a version of Lorraine’s song “Crying Clown”. Another Triple B single release again featured “Do It”, this time though it was an instrumental take on the song by Johnny Griffith. Sandra Richardson was also signed up to join the production team’s roster and Lorraine wrote “The Ring” which she cut in Detroit’s Pac 3 studio. The track was leased to Buddah who issued it on a 45 in 1971. Another Sandra Richardson effort, “Stay Here With Me” was to follow on Ernest Kelly’s local Inter Soul label. Next up, Lorraine and Jack were recruited to cut some tracks for the Master Five label on Don Gardner and Baby Washington. The whole ensemble (including many of the Funk Brothers) was assembled in Motown’s B studio and tracks such as “Lay A Little Lovin On Me” and “Is It True I Fell In Love Again”. Baby Washington also cut Lorraine’s composition “I’ve Got To Break Away” as a solo effort for release by Master Five. Next the pair worked with the Smith Brothers and the coupling of “Paybacks A Drag” and “There Can Be A Better Way” was released by Soul Dimension in 1974. The Jay Walking label then hired the pair to work with Ray Gant & the Arabians and this collaboration produced the deep soul classic “Don’t Leave Me Baby”.
1975 saw the release on Blaze of Jack’s own version of “Do the Choo Choo” plus releases on Prodigal by Eddie Parker and Soft Touch (“After You Give Your All, What Is There”). But that same year, Jack relocated to Los Angeles and with the loss of her longtime production / writing partner it would be a while before Lorraine returned to the recording studio. However return she did when, in conjunction with Ernest Kelly in 1980, she worked on a session to complete Eddie Parker’s ‘The Old, The New, The Blues’ album. This project also saw a welcome return to lead vocal duties for Lorraine herself as she got to duet with Eddie on a couple of tracks, “Can’t Get Enough” and “Love You Baby”.
The continued popularity of her old RCA cuts with British Northern Soul fans resulted in her making 2 trips to the UK to perform. The first visit in the mid 1980’s was followed by another in the mid 90’s to appear at the Yarmouth weekender. Coincidentally at about the same time that she was here to perform in Yarmouth, Adey Croasdell gained access to the RCA tape vaults in New York. Here he unearthed a number of unissued Pied Piper Production tracks from the likes of the Metros, Sharon Scott, Cavaliers, Willie Kendrick and Dynamics. Amongst these cuts were two gems from Lorraine herself, the James Bond inspired “You Only Live Twice” and “Mend The Torn Pieces of My Heart”. “You Only Live Twice” instantly became an anthem, getting plays on the Northern Soul and mod scenes across the UK and Europe.
So almost 40 years after her recording career kicked off Lorraine (who only enjoyed the release of 6 tracks at the time they were originally recorded) has 5 tracks currently available in the UK on popular compilation CD’s. The ‘staying power’ of these precious few recordings speak volumes for their quality. Like many of the Funk Brothers efforts behind the Motown classics, her work has truly stood the test of time.
Rita Graham (Rita & Tiaras)
by John Smith: Feb 2011
Rita Graham has been singing all of her life but it was pure chance that resulted in her recording the track that made her a star on the Northern Soul scene. Born and brought up in Detroit, Rita was exposed to music from an early age. After graduating from high school, she commenced and completed 3 years of a college course. Whilst at college she began singing in clubs and this practice continued even after she relocated to California in 1965. Soon married and with a daughter, Rita’s new family commitments resulted in her deciding to change proposed careers. She abandoned her desire to become a teacher and instead eventually opted for the much riskier route of trying to make it in the music business.
She soon became a fixture on the LA club scene and got to know lots of musicians who also played the circuit (Billy Preston being one of these). By 1966, she had progressed to cutting demos and undertaking background vocal duties in local studios. In this capacity, she impressed a number of people with her versatility, one such person being the engineer at Hollywood’s Nashville West Studio, Sy Mitchell. Another team that was using Nashville West back at that time was Lou Barreto and the group the Tiaras. Lou used the studio to lay down all the tracks he recorded on the female trio. Lou was a song writer and producer and he cut tracks such as "Love Made A Connection” and "Gone With The Wind Is My Love" with Edna Woods handling lead vocals for the group (who also sang backing vocals on the original version of “Blowing My Mind to Pieces” made by Jimmy McFarland). Lou was successful in getting Seton Records to release a 45 on the Tiaras but no label showed any interest in putting out the group’s version of "Gone With The Wind”. Lou had great faith in the song but was stumped at what to do next. Sy Mitchell suggested he approach Rita, the two met and after a discussion she was given a copy of the tune to learn. In no time at all, Rita found herself in the studio laying down her lead vocals on an unused band of the cut’s original 8 track master tape. Everyone was impressed with the new version and when this was shopped around; Dore Records licensed it for release (the 45 being issued in February 1967). So under the name of Rita and the Tiaras, she had her first record out even though she hadn’t actually met the three girls (Edna, Joyce & Latosha) in the group.
Rita had landed vocal duties fronting the group Chuck Rowan and the Cliques (who at the time had James Gadson as their drummer) and they received an invitation to tour Australia for 6 months. After a few shows on the tour, Rita got to perform on the ‘Tonight with Don Lane’ TV Show. Her appearance was such a success that she was split from the group by the booking agency and sent on solo gigs. Backstage at a show in Sydney, she met up with Ray Charles. Ray spent time chatting with her and got her to duet with him in his dressing room. He was so impressed with her musical knowledge and singing ability, that after she returned to LA, he got back in touch. After signing her to his Tangerine Record label (TRC), Ray took her into his RPM International studio and they began recording tracks for a proposed album. With Ray always touring, it was some time before enough tracks were laid down to complete her ‘Vibrations’ LP. However they were finally completed and the package of (largely) old standards sung in various musical styles was released in 1968. Unfortunately, Rita didn’t get the chance to promote the album as Ray’s current set of Raelettes (Clydie King, Marry Clayton, Alex Brown & Gwendolyn Berry) suddenly quit on him. A big show was looming and so Ray instantly needed to put together a replacement line-up. He teamed Rita with Susaye Greene and Beverly LeShure to form the new group and they were on stage with Ray in LA that night. Rita remained as a Raelette for 6 months and even toured in that capacity but she was troubled that her album was being neglected and was receiving little or no promotion. The situation resulted in her having an argument with Ray and frustrated, she quit the group. The circumstances resulted in her never getting to perform any of her LP tracks live, even her great version of “My Cup Runneth Over”.
Rita moved on with her career. She opened for Oscar Peterson and went on the road with George Kirby, Redd Foxx and the Harry James Band. At the same time, she came to the attention of Mike Post (he had heard some of her demos) and cut some solo tracks with him (“Baby I Can’'t Tell You” being released on Bell in 1970). Further 45’s followed and she started playing live gigs with Fire & Rain (an LA based band). In 1972, she recorded with the group’s Bob Rheir (a sax & conga player) as 'Rye & Rita Jean' (the single again being issued on Bell). By 1974, she had hooked up with producer Joe Harrelson, and with her then husband Charles Blaker handling the arranging, she cut "Rich Man, Poor Man" in LA. This track was eventually to gain release a couple of years later when it was picked up by Motown’s Prodigal label. In 1977 she worked with Johnny Spence and Gordon Mills for the MAM label, laying down yet more tracks. This resulted in her first UK single release when “Lord Help Me Understand” was coupled with “It's A Little Bit Strange” to form a single on MAM. Around the same time, her old Dore recording was becoming a sought after sound on the UK Northern Soul scene and this led to "Gone With The Wind Is My Love" being released on the Destiny label in 1979. In the 1980’s, she teamed with saxophonist Steve Hooks (& others) in Hooks-Graham and the band performed in the LA area for several years. Rita enjoyed a stint during which she performed with jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell. She had spells playing venues in Las Vegas and has also toured abroad on occasions (playing gigs in Canada, the UK, Ireland, Germany and Russia).
She relocated to Atlanta in 1991. Here she landed an extended Sunday engagement at the Sambuca Jazz Café. At the venue, she cut a live (CD) album and opened shows for Chuck Mangione, Phoebe Snow & Ray Charles. It was only in the recent past, when Lou Barreto contacted her to ask if she was ‘the’ Rita Graham that had helped him out all those years ago, that she became aware of the Northern Soul scene. Excited to learn that fans of some of her old recordings would love to see her perform the old numbers, Rita wasted little time and agreed to perform at Prestatyn. So for the first time ever (before a live audience), Rita will get to perform “Gone With The Wind Is My Love”. It promises to be a truly magical event.
Benny Troy
by John Smith: Jan 2011
By a strange coincidence, Benny Troy was signed to a deal with the same record company as Jesse James way back in 1967. When Benny Troy’s first 45 (20th Century Fox #6699) was being readied for release, Jesse James was just enjoying his first national hit single (“Believe In Me Baby”). In fact, Jesse’s follow up release to that hit formed the very next release on the label (20th Century Fox #6700). Jesse had been signed by the labels west coast office, but the 20th Century executives had closed that office down in August 67. So it would have been the same promotions team (based in New York) that were pushing both artist’s new single releases back in December, 1967. Now, after all these years, the two guys will be linked once again as they both jet over the ‘pond’ to perform at the weekender.
Born Benny LaManna in Newark, NJ in the late 1940’s, Benny’s family soon moved to Elizabeth, NJ where he was educated. His was a musical family and his uncles were in a local band. Benny started to sing along to songs he heard on the radio from the age of five and when he was twelve, his uncle started to teach him to play the guitar. He took to the instrument with a passion and couldn’t wait to get home from school so that he could practice. In no time at all, he was singing along while he played and he even began to write songs. Next up he helped form a group and they started to perform locally. In 1965, Benny was spotted performing by Joey Dee who asked him to join his group, the Starliters. Benny accepted the invite and toured as a member of the group for around a year (he became a member of the Starliters not long after Felix Cavaliere, Eddie Brigati & Gene Cornish had left to form the Young Rascals). In passing, its worth mentioning that Jimi Hendrix would become the Starliter’s guitarist in 1966. By the time he left the Starliters, Benny’s preference in music was R & B with the likes of Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett being amongst his favorite singers. He reformed his own group and although they went through a number of name changes, basically it consisted of the same bunch of guy’s right through to the late 60’s. Benny started to cut demo’s of some of his own compositions and tried shopping these around to land a record deal but without much success. In 1967, the outfit now known as Benny Troy & the Maze, were getting plenty of club dates via a local booking agent who was also acting as their manager. Benny was working with the Maze but he cut his own record demo (minus the group) and Benny’s manager sent it to Dave Appell, a New York based producer.
Originally from Philadelphia, Appell had started out as a recording artist himself before joining Cameo Parkway Records where he led their studio band. In this capacity, he worked with the likes of Chubby Checker, Dee Dee Sharpe and the Orlons. As well as arranging and producing some tracks, he was soon helping to pen many of the labels big dance hits (including ”Mashed Potato Time" and "South Street."). Appell quit Cameo in 1964 and moved to New York. In 1967 he was working for 20th Century Records when he was contacted with regard to Benny Troy. Liking what he heard on Benny’s demo, he went down to watch him perform at the Wagon Wheel club in New York. Benny impressed Dave Appell and so he signed Benny to a deal with the label and set about cutting tracks with Benny. As a side note, since Benny was playing with the Maze, he thought it would be nice to add their name to the record but the group wasn’t actually on the recording. Appell had penned a song titled “I Don’t Know You Anymore” and got Benny to cut the song. In December 1967 the 20th Century Fox 45 “I Don’t Know You Anymore / Things Are Looking Better” was released but it failed to make much headway. The group soldiered on for a while but before long, Benny went solo. He next teamed up with producer Neil Goldberg and they started cutting some tracks. Towards the end of the 60’s, Benny recorded the song “The Girl With San Francisco In Her Eyes” and this was released on an Ampex label 45 in 1970. The singer / producer teaming persevered and were successful in landing a deal with Epic Records. Under the slightly different name of Ben E Troy, “I Miss You” escaped on an Epic single around May 1970.
Once again Benny moved on career wise. In the early 1970’s, he was back performing on a regular basis on the New Jersey club circuit. Another guy also playing the same club circuit back then was Billy Terrell. Playing the same club one night, Benny & Billy got talking and instantly hit it off. They stayed in touch, quickly became firm friends and soon started to work together in the studio. Benny cut tracks in numerous different musical styles on many demo sessions for Billy, but (unsurprisingly) it was the more soulful numbers that worked best. Billy soon set about trying to land Benny a new recording contract. The pairing worked together cutting a demo of a Ray Dahrouge song, “Mama’s Side Of The Bed” and this impressed Mercury Records enough for them to sign Benny in 1974. In conjunction with arranger Joe Renzetti, they went into Mercury’s studio to cut “Mama’s Side Of The Bed” which was released on a single by the company in April that year. However, the Mercury deal proved to be very short term but it did lead to Benny getting with De-Lite Records (who were very hot at the time with Kool & the Gang). They took one of the tracks Benny had cut for Mercury “I’ve Always Had You” across with them to De-Lite and immediately started cutting other tracks for the label. Between August 1973 and April 1975, Kool & the Gang enjoyed six consecutive top 10 soul singles and so the company was just about the most successful New York based independent record label during that period.
As K&tG’s current single (“Rhyme Tyme People”) was ending its long spell on the charts in March 1975, Benny’s first release for the label coupled “I've Always Had You” with “The Calm Before The Storm (De-Lite #1566). “I’ve Always Had You” met with lots of commercial success, it sold strongly in various geographic areas over a period of time and managed to stay on the national charts for 9 weeks in all (it peaked at #57 on the Billboard Soul Chart but went higher on other charts). Enough tracks were recorded to fill an album and a talented team contributed their efforts towards the project (including Billy Terrell, Joe Renzetti, John Davis, Teddy Randazzo & Roger Joyce). A song that Billy Terrell had co-written, “I Wanna Give You Tomorrow” was selected to form his next 45 outing in autumn 75, the cut being split into two parts to fill both sides of the resulting single. This outing didn’t enjoy the chart success of his previous 45 but it still went on to become a massive Northern Soul anthem (in no small part due to it gaining exposure as a new release at UK clubs such as Blackpool Mecca). “Stranger In Paradise” formed the top side of his 3rd De-Lite single early in 1976, with his ‘Tearin' Me To Pieces’ LP also escaping around the same time (this included “Two Ships In The Night”). His final De-Lite release was another 45, this one featuring “Ecstasy Passion & Pain” and it hit the shops towards the end of that year.
Benny went back to gigging live around New Jersey, becoming a successful act in Atlantic City for many years. However it would be over 10 years before he got to enjoy another record release. In 1987 he was spotted performing in Atlantic City and signed to a deal with Mirror Records (through Sutra). With the label he went back to first principles and cut a version of Wilson Pickett’s “634-5789” but again the single enjoyed little success. By now Benny had branched out into doing jingles for adverts and in this field he has enjoyed success down the years. Singing jingles kept Benny involved in a branch of the music business right through to the new century and this helped British Northern Soul fans to eventually track him down. Benny was excited to learn of the popularity of his old track here and jumped at the chance to perform at Prestatyn back in March 2009. Now Benny gets to return to the event and once again spend time with his UK fans. This trip also gives him the opportunity to meet his old label mate for the very first time; it seems that nothing is stranger than life itself.
James Bell
by John Smith: Feb 2011
James Bell is a man who’s more than happy with the hand that life has dealt him. For someone who had a spell in the US Army in the 1960’s and followed this with a period of involvement in the recording business, this really shows his great strength of character. When the inevitable rip-offs affected his recording career, he just moved on to take up a building trade and made his way in the world. In fact, he was so successful in the plumbing and property renovation business that he was able to retire early and eventually return to his first love, music. This was a happy coincidence as although his recording career had been a relatively short one and his hometown of Indianapolis was hardly a hub of activity in the business, James & the Highlighters Band had made such an impact that their recordings are still much sought after today.
James was born in Leland, Mississippi in 1938 but raised in Indianapolis, Indiana from the age of 11. The Highlighters started out as a 5 strong self contained jazz group in an Indianapolis high school. Local record store owner Herb Miller soon took them under his wing and had them back-up a female trio, the Tri-Dells. From school, most members were called up to join the services. However they made a promise to each other to reform the group on their return, thereby resurrecting the attempt to forge a musical career. The members started to return home in 1968 but were short of the original drummer and also wanted a new vocalist. Not wanting to loose their impetuous, they hired Dwane Garvin as their new drummer and James Bell became their lead vocalist in August 1968. Garvin had also just returned from a spell in the army and after witnessing a performance by the Highlighters, got in touch to ask if he could join the group. Garvin played keyboards and sax, however the group only needed a drummer. So even though he had never played a full set of drums before in his life, Garvin accepted that position and went straight out to buy a kit. He taught himself to play and this resulted in the unorthodox style that was to become such a trademark sound for the group. James was fronting the Showtime Productions band when he was approached to join the Highlighters. Seeking a new challenge, he accepted the invite to become their lead singer.
The Highlighters started playing dance venues around Indianapolis. To develop an up to date repertoire they would get together to rehearse every Tuesday night. Usually they would learn 2 new songs (tracks being played that week on local radio stations) at each rehearsal and then add them into their live show. The group would then undertake live shows each Thursday, Friday and Saturday. James had a good job, working days for the Ford Motor company, but soon the group was earning almost $1000 for their 3 night’s work. As a result of their new line-up and the changes that had occurred in music whilst they had been away, the band’s sound started to evolve and they quickly developed a hard funk edge. With all the live work, the group started to develop and perform their own songs and by Spring 1969, they felt they were ready to record a couple of these. James collected together the cash required and a session at the tiny makeshift local Midwest studio was booked at a cost of $300. The group set up all their instruments but the studio was so small, organist Richard Ball and his instrument actually outside the studio door. Undaunted the group cut the instrumental “Poppin’ Popcorn” and the soulful “Amazing Love” which featured James on lead vocal.
The group had originally intended to release a 45 on their own label but when approached by local entrepreneur Paul Majors, they assigned the cuts for release on his newly formed Rojam label. 1000 copies of the single were pressed up in Nashville and the members began selling them around Indianapolis themselves. The record made a big impact from the first day Majors played it on radio station WGEE, the station’s switchboard lighting up with requests for repeat plays. The track quickly raced up the station’s chart and was soon vying for the # 1 position, beating out cuts by the likes of James Brown and Wilson Pickett. Further pressings of the single were necessary and the band had to order 3000 copies just to meet local demand. Paul Major was a ruthless businessman though and so the group broke with him and took on their own management.
A second single was required to maintain the impetus that they had been created locally, so the group formed their own Three Diamonds label, based out of 2851 N Lasalle, Indianapolis. Another original song was needed quickly and so whenever James could get a break from his checker’s duties on the Ford production line, he would escape into song composition. In one particular 10 minute break period he found the inspiration to complete “The Funky 16 Corners”, an uptempo funk dance item. The group quickly developed the song into a 2 part extravaganza that would spread over both sides of their proposed 45.
The new single again secured local radio plays, DJ Spider Harrison at WTLC championing it this time. The track was soon climbing the WTLC charts and even went on to spawn a dance of its own. Their efforts and success had raised the group’s profile to such an extent that they were no longer just considered suitable to open for the likes of Jnr Walker at local venues. Plans were made for them to undertake their own headlining tour of the US mid west and east coast. At this point though the Highlighters old promise came back to haunt them. The group’s first drummer, Porkchop, returned from his stint in the Marines and expected to step straight back into the line-up. A stand-off quickly developed as the original members sought to enforce their old decision whilst James favored retaining Dwane as the group’s drummer. Dwane’s distinctive style formed the trademark sound the Highlighters were now known for and so it made no sense to James to force him out of the group. However James and Dwane were outnumbered and Garvin was voted out of the group. James found himself unable to accept the decision and within weeks he had also quit.
However before James left them, the group found time to cut a few additional tracks. Their final release on Three Diamonds in 1969 was to find the Highlighters backing James on a couple of soulful vocal numbers, the ballad “Tryin To Get Chosen” plus the more uptempo “The Love Of My Girl”. The revised Highlighters line-up now headed off on their proposed tour with James and his new band also going along. The tour was so successful that it was soon extended to include gigs in Canada. The turmoil surrounding the line-up changes in conjunction with the pressures of being on the road soon caused the break up of the group. James cut a further track, “The Funky Buzzard”, but then quit the music industry and made his way in the plumbing and property business. By 1978, through his skill and hard work, he had made enough to retire and so once again he had the time to exercise his musical talents. He wrote a number of new songs and would later cut these and eventually release the majority of them on his ‘Message To The World’ CD in 2002 (“Lets Fall In Love Again”, “Good Morning Blues”, “Money”, etc). But at the time James was more interested in traveling and unfortunately for music fans, he was then persuaded to return to the building trade.
It was only in the 1990’s that James really returned to the recording scene. In 1993 he fronted Jimmy Coe’s Big Band (a famed local sax player) in the studio. Continuing this working relationship, he was back in the studio in 2000 to sing on a track for Jimmy Coe & Paul Weedon. By this time though, he had become aware of the worldwide popularity of his old recordings. Not one to miss an opportunity, James got back in touch with Dwane Garvin and put together a new group, the 6 strong Naptown Players. They were soon in the studio themselves, cutting both reworkings of old songs plus some new tunes that James had composed. ‘The Message To The World’ album was issued and featured 13 tracks. James reworked his old soul anthems for this project and thus the CD contained new versions of “Amazing Love” and “The Love Of My Girl”. A 2nd CD album, ‘Lets Get Funky Tonight’, soon followed and the title track of this was lifted from the album to form the 1st new Three Diamonds 45 issued in over 30 years. James hasn’t re-recorded his funk anthems as the original versions of these have been reissued on 45 on both the US Stones Throw and UK Jazzman labels.
James had performed his old funk anthems a number of times for UK and European audiences but he hadn’t been given the chance to perform his Northern Soul classics. However, at Prestatyn in 2005 he finally got the opportunity to sing “Amazing Love” and “The Love Of My Girl”. The assembled masses at the Weekender gave him a great reception and this so impressed him that he has jumped at the chance to make a return visit.
John Smith
The Volumes/Magnetics
Benny Troy
& Lorraine Chandler
Source - Manifesto Magazine: September 2010
John Poole lays out what to expect at our MONSTER 10th ANNIVERSARY Northern & Modern Soul Weekender:
By now you will be familiar with the fantastic line up for the upcoming Legends Weekender in October with; Tavares, The Velvelettes and now the recently added Dean Parrish, it has the makings of an incredible weekend and so now is a good time to look forward to The Midnight Hour Weekender, Prestatyn 2011.
March 2011 signals the arrival of a massive landmark for The Midnight Hour Crew in that it will be the 10th Anniversary of The Midnight Hour Weekenders in Prestatyn.
It is hard to believe that it has been 10 years but it was in 2002 that Ray Pollard and Tony Middleton came over to perform at our first event.
Since then we have been able to welcome many more legendary artists to perform at the event, some making their first UK appearances and others returning to these shores eager to excite British audiences again.
So after many hours of discussion the Midnight Hour Production Team have decided that for the 10th Anniversary it would be fitting to bring back some of the artists that have played their part in making the events so special over these last 10 years and join in the celebrations with us.
At present we are still working on the final line up but we are delighted to confirm that from our 2009 event we will welcome back The Volumes/Magnetics for their second UK appearance.
Also from the same year the fabulous Benny Troy joins us again and this time it won’t just be for one song.
From our 2005 showcase it is an honour to welcome back the legendary Lorraine Chandler who will be belting out her Northern Anthems.
The line up is still very much a work in progress at this moment in time and we are currently working on giving another legend their Prestatyn debut ( we will of course publish the details through the pages of this publication and on our website www.soul-weekenders.co.uk as soon as we get confirmation) also as you all know by now there will be a few surprises as well, and all will be backed by our great Midnight Hour Soul Band and backing singers.
As always our artists are on site all weekend and always welcome the chance to chat and experience the welcome they receive from their UK fans.
The weekend is not just about the incredible shows that we have each year, we have a great team of DJs who provide the backbone of our event in 5 action packed arenas.
Over the years we have come up with a number of original ideas about the format and many of these, such as the Soul Night Showcases, Multi Arena Venues and the pre event Thursday Party have now been adopted by others and variety is now a common thread in present day weekenders. We are so proud to have been part of the development and shaping of today’s vibrant soul scene.
We are pleased to announce that Carl & Maria Willingham will once again be hosting the Rare Session on the Saturday night putting together a fine array of DJs and collectors to bring you the very best of what the rare soul scene has to offer and also with a programme change from our Modern Soul Brothers the House of Soul will now feature the rare 70’s session which will compliment the rare and collectable 60’s that Carl and Maria’ Rare Redemption Suite provides.
The weekend will be kicked off by the now customary Soultown session in the Queen Vic from 12 noon till 23.30 in the evening, with Andy bringing along a top line team of DJs to ease you into the weekend.
The main arena will also be in operation on the Friday afternoon to provide entertainment for those who attend the Thursday night pre event party.
Friday will also see the Redemption Oldies All Nighter in Arena 4 with our team of resident oldies specialists which include a sprinkling of DJs from the legendary Mr Ms.
The main room which hosts The Midnight Hour Dance Competition sponsored by Manifesto Magazine and Be Cool publishing at around 22.30 followed by an All Nighter that will feature classic oldies and current floor fillers.
Saturday Afternoon in Arena 1 will witness “The Wheel” turn again at Prestatyn with the whole afternoon session being given over to the guys from The Twisted Wheel Manchester who were absolutely brilliant at last year’s event.
The R&B boys will be up and at you again with their session in the Queen Vic on Saturday night and their R&B Encore in Redemption on Sunday Night.
The weekend will be brought to an end (all too quickly) with the full All Dayer on Sunday stretching right through to the small hours of Monday.
Not to forget the 24/7 Channel Six Soul Radio which starts broadcasting from 10.00 on Friday through to close at 20.30 Sunday night bringing you shows featuring the full spectrum of Soul music.
So there you have it 5 Arenas packed to the brim with soulful goodies please come and join in our 10th Anniversary celebrations and be part of the history.
Book your place by calling our booking line 0844 5765949.
See you at Prestatyn
John Poole