Category: Soul Sauce

From the MCRFB news archives:

SOUL SAUCE for April 6, 1968

by Paul Kirk

 

 

 

 

James Brown non-stopped from Harlem’s Apollo Theater to West Africa on Thursday (March 28), for two shows in Abidjon. From Africa, Brown detours to Paris for one more show, then returns home for one show via Boston, Friday, April 5. The King and his entourage of 45 will join the service for 17 days in June… they are set to embark for an entertainment tour for the troops in Vietnam.

Charlie Fox of the “Mockingbird” team, Inez and Charlie Fox, is the new executive producer of Musicor and it’s R&B tenant, Dynamo Records. The new post won’t ground the team, the pair are currently cruising on the charts with their “Greatest Hits” LP and current new single, “I Ain’t Going For That.” Charlie and Inez are slated to open at the Howard Theater in Washington on Friday, April 12.

SOUL SLICES: Dionne Warwick has produced her first independent recording for Dionne Warwick Enterprises, with a new group, the Gentlemen Four… Lou Rawls will star in an upcoming Hollywood film, “The Riot,” with Jimmy Brown, and is scheduled to play the role of Louis Armstrong in a film based on Satchmo’s life. Rawls took a Grammy this year as top R&B male singer for 1967… Tommy Hunt will play the Fox’s Den in Miami… Peaches and Herb will kick off a 36 tour beginning Wednesday, April 10 at the Red Rooster in Pittsburgh… Sly and the Family Stone, a group to watch, are riding the crest of the wave with their new single, “Dance To The Music,” to concert dates at Midwest College, and at the New Village club, the Generation, Saturday, April 13 with the Youngbloods… Downeast Records, a new label, is starting to move with Justin (“Right Now”) and Plato Records, another newcomer, is raising dust with the Kicking Mustangs (Kickin'”).

George Hudson’s Gospel U.S.A. moves into the Apollo, Friday, April 12, for 10 days with James Cleveland and the Cleveland Singers, the Mighty Clouds Of Joy, the Pilgrim Jubilees, the Violinaires, the Salem Travelers, and Rev. Claude Jeter. Special appearances by the Institutional Radio Choir of Brooklyn, the Straight Gate Choir of Brooklyn and the Jubilee Choir of White Plains, New York.

The South is claiming the Platters for their own. The Musicor group is racking up bookings all over Southern parts of the country and broke up the booking conference in Charlotte last month. Buck Ram, their manager and writer of many of their greatest hits, is scoring again with Jason, an up-and-coming new artists… Capitol Records’ the Magnificent Men, a blue-eyed soul group, is leaving smoke in R&B spots like the Uptown in Philly, the Apollo in New York, and are scheduled also to perform on campuses from Detroit to Long Island.

Soul Brother Bill Medley, formerly of the Righteous Brothers, is set to make a lot of noise with his MGM release “I Can’t Make It Alone.”… Dionne Warwick releases her first gospel LP, “The Miracle Of Believing,” just in time for Easter… The Foundations, from England (“Baby, Now That I Found You”), will bring their soul sound to the United States for a five-week tour beginning Sunday, May 12… The Intruders, a Gamble Records group, are on the move on the charts with their latest R&B single, “Cowboys To Girls.”

ON THE MOVE: “Tighten Up,” by Archie Bell and the Drells on Atlantic Records, are scoring heavily with their Houston sound all over the Southern states. Records to watch: in Columbus, Georgia… “Just Like A Flower,” by Freddie Scott, “Face It Girl, It’s Over,” by Nancy Wilson… “Lover’s Holiday,” by Peggy Scott and Jo Jo Benson.

ON THE REBOUND: Mary Wells has signed with Jubilee… New singles by Ben E. King with “Don’t Take Your Love,” Joe Simon with “You Keep Me Hanging On,” James and Bobby Purify with “I Can Remember”… Don Gardner’s “You Babe” is moving in Detroit… “All My Love” by Major IV is a sleeper in Virginia.

BUBBLING R&B: Thelma Jones’ “House That Jack Built”; Villinaires’ “I Don’t Know,” on Checker… Jackie Lee, “African Boogaloo,” on Keyman… Jimmy Ruffin, “I’ll Never Say Forever My Love,” on Soul… Ollie and the Knighting Gails, “I’ve Got A Sure Thing,” on Atlantic Records… Dick Hyman, “In The Heat Of The Night,” on Command.

R&B TRENDS: A phenomenon of flip sides with: James Brown went to No. 28 with “I Can’t Stand It” on the Hot 100 chart, flipped two weeks later with “There Was A Time” and went to No. 36; Wilson Pickett started with “Stag-O-Lee” and switched over to “I’m In Love,” and Aretha Franklin, the first lady of soul, turned the trick with “Since You Been Gone” and now “Ain’t No Way.” The Temptations’ “I Wish It Would Rain” is flipping to “I Truly, Truly believe,” currently breaking out. Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terell are flipping from “If I could Build My World Around You,” turning over with “If This World Was Mine.”

The Rascals have just released their new Atlantic single, “A Beautiful Morning,” geared exclusively for the R&B groove, proving that the Rascals are a group that can punch their way through both the Pop and R&B charts. END.

 

Billboard Top Ten R&B Singles — April 6, 1968:

1. “(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You’ve Been Gone,” Aretha Franklin, Atlantic; 2. “La-La Means I Love You,” Delphonics, Philly Groove; 3. “If You Can Want,” Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Tamla; 4. “I Thank You,” Sam and Dave, Stax; 5. “(Sittin’ On) The Dock On The Bay,” Otis Redding, Atlantic; 6. “The End Of Our Road,” Gladys Knight & The Pips, Soul; 7. “I Got The Feelin’,” James Brown, King; 8. “Take Time To Know Her,” Percy Sledge, Atlantic; 9. “Dance To The Music,” Sly & The Family Stone, Epic; 10. “Sweet Inspiration,” Sweet Inspirations, Atlantic Records.

Billboard Top Ten R&B LP Albums — April 6, 1968:

1. ‘Lady Soul,’ Aretha Franklin, Atlantic; 2. ‘Dock Of The Bay,’ Otis Redding, Atlantic; 3. ‘Valley Of The Dolls,’ Dionne Warwick, Scepter; 4. ‘History Of Otis Redding,’ Otis Redding, Volt; 5. ‘Smokey Robinson & The Miracles Greatest Hits, Vol. 2,’ Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Tamla; 6. ‘We’re A Winner,’ Impressions, ABC-Paramount; 7. ‘In A Mellow Mood,’ Temptations, Gordy; 8. ‘(I Can’t Stand Myself) When You Touch Me,’ James Brown, King; 9. ‘I’m In Love,’ Wilson Pickett, Atlantic; 10. ‘Once Upon A Dream,’ Rascals, Atlantic Records.

 

(Information and news source: Billboard; April 6, 1968).

From the MCRFB news archives:

Billboard Magazine: SOUL SAUCE

 

 

 

 

 

Best New Record of the Week: “Baby Scratch My Back”

Artist: Clarence Carter

Label: Atlantic Records

 

By ED OCHS

 

Aretha Franklin’s next studio LP, due in January, offers up “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” “Young, Gifted And Black,” a new version of “Border Song,” and “Rock Steady,” of course. We like Betty Wright’s “Clean Up Woman,” on Alston Records, but knocking hard on the heels of Aretha, Tyrone Davis, Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway are Clarence Carter’s “Scratch My Back,” Dee Dee Warwick’s “Everybody’s Got To Believe In Somebody” (a Hayes-Porter number), Electric Express’ “Where Are You Coming From”  and King Floyd’s “Let Me See You Do That Thing.” And Quiet Fire is Roberta Flack’s forthcoming new LP…. United Artists is alive with War’s All Day Music LP, Ike and Tina Turner’s  Nuff Said and Bobby Womack’s Communication albums. Ike and Tina play the Beacon, 74th Street and Broadway, November 27 and 28, Lonnie Jordan and Howard Scott of War produced the West Coast Revival’s “Stop, Think, Get It Together” for UA, and Jimmy Briggs’ “You Were Almost Mine” single is being heard from…. New Undisputed Truth: “You Make Your Own Heaven And Hell Right Here On Earth,” from their new Gordy LP, Face To Face…. Tired of being alone? Sly Johnson says hello to Hi Records, with “Memphis,” in the smoke of Al Green’s long-lasting million seller. Best Of Willie Mitchell, a double-decker LP, keeps the heat on Hi…. Next James Brown’s new single, “I’m A Greedy Man,” on Polydor…. The MG’s, minus Booker T., are back in action with “Jamaica This Morning” on Stax…. Near gold is the Chi-lite’s “Have You Seen Her.” At least seven covers of the smash took the wraps off the Chi-Lites’ original, said Brunswick’s Pete Garris, who didn’t want to slow the album’s push toward the half-million mark by parting with the big cut. “We had 40, 000 copies of the single sitting on the floor,” said Garris, “but now the album is picking up again and with the singles we could hit over 3.5 million pieces.” In a holding pattern is the group’s “I Want To Pay You Back” single, and that’s the good news….

Album Happenings: B.B. King, In London (ABC); Santana, The New Santana (Columbia); Buddy Miles, Live (Mercury); Jimi Hendrix, Rainbow Bridge (Reprise); Quincy Jones, Smackwater Jack (A&M); Dennis Cofey, Evolution (Sussex); Al Green, Gets Next To You (Hi); Ike & Tina Turner, ‘Nuff Said (United Artists); War,  All Day Music (United Artists)  Bobby Womack, Communications (United Artists); Curtis Mayfield, Roots (Curtom); Dick Gregory, At Kent State (Poppy); Beginning Of The End, Funky Nausau (Alston); Young-Holt Unlimited, Born Again (Cotillion); Ray Charles, All-Time Great Performances (ABC); Lucky Peterson, Our Future (Today); Roland Kirk, Best Of (Atlantic); Eric Mercury, Funk Rock (Enterprise); Yusef Lateef, Best Of (Atlantic); Percy Mayfield, Blues And Then Some (RCA)…. Coming soon: Honey Cone, Soulful Tapestry on Hot Wax…. And due from Blue Note are LP’s from Lou Donaldson, Bobby Hutcherson, Gene Harris & the Three Sounds, Rueben Wilson, Richard (Grooves) Holmes.… Soul Sauce, and as Uptight Productions president  Marvin Figgins might ask, so which of these Soul Sauce albums will you be listening to today? END.

 

(Information and news source: Billboard; November 6, 1971).

From the MCRFB news archives:

Best New Record of the Week: “Always Together” by the Dells; Cadet Records

 

 

By ED OCHS

 

 

NEW YORK — SOUL SLICES: Motown’s magnificent Martha Reeves, apartment hunting in New York,  stopped by to talk with Soul Sauce last week, ending all rumors of a split with Motown. The Vandellas, reshuffled to keep the unit of the group, will soon hit the road and the recording studio to keep the soul sounds rolling. The group’s latest record, “I Can’t Dance To That Music,” was the sore spot between Martha and Motown, when her voice was dubbed over with a Diana Ross sound-alike. With Martha Reeves back in action, Motown only has a few more rumors to deny — like the shaky status of the Temptations. But that’s another story…. Jerry King, club deejay at the Arthur discotheque, is a Martha Reeves fan forever. The tall-beauty from Detroit starred at King’s “Sound Search” show debut at Fort Green in Brooklyn, September 16, with a hand-shaking, baby-hugging tour through the crowds. Motown never had a more gracious ambassador to show that all their soul isn’t in the grooves — but in the streets too…. Reports on Sly & the Family Stone’s long-awaited tour of England indicate that the wait isn’t over yet. Custom woes — a busted bass and a charge of carrying a concealed weapon — delayed the group’s entry. And when the air was cleared, the equipment failed. The last word: no show on account of technical difficulty…. The Atlantic-Atco group swept the 1968 Melody Maker Pop Poll released last week in England. Aretha Franklin was named Girl Singer Of The Year, while Eric Clapton of Cream was named Musician Of The Year…. The Unifics, Kapp’s R&B team, play Howard University on October 24 with Huge Masakela and headline the Apollo Theater October 18 as “Court Of Love” makes the big turn to the pop charts…. Clarence Carter’s “Slip Away” has turned to gold — his first…. The Glories, Date soulers with “No News” have some good news; the girls will be featured on four television shows in October, including Channel 13’s new “Soul!” show, also they are booked to appear on the Jerry Blavat Show in Philly…. Joe Simon’s “Message From Maria” is fighting for a gasp of air play with the flip side, “I Worry ‘Bout You”…. Vanguard blues guitarist Buddy Guy has taped a CBS-TV special on the blues for the fall season. No date was provided when it will air on the network.

FILET OF SOUL: Motown’s Marvelettes are at the end of their two-week tour of U.S. Army bases in Germany which began September 30…. Fred Lewis of Massachusetts Distributing called us to cue us on the flip side of Carl Carlton’s “46 Guitars – 1 Drum” climber, “Why Don’t They Leave Us Alone.” Also Gary (U.S.) Bonds’ “I’m Glad You’re Back,” are both happening in the Northeast…. Philly’s Lord Gas will emcee Queen Booking’s Quakers City Tour package starring the Vibrations, Patti LaBelle & the Bluenotes, Delphonics, Intruders, and Cliff Nobles October 25 – December 7…. King Curtis and the Kingpins will spend a week starting Monday at the Sahara Club in Montreal…. The Impressions Las Vegas date at Caesar’s Palace fell through…. What is your verdict on Dennis Edwards, the Temptation’s replacement for David Ruffin, who is now embroiled in a lawsuit with Motown? Stanley Steinhaus, vice-president of Musitron S.A., in Caracas, Venezuela, writes us that Aretha Franklin’s recent visit sparked a soul avalanche there, and boasts that “Caracas must be the biggest R&B foreign market today in South America.” Steinhaus adds that artists, regardless of labels, should try to include Latin America in their itinerary….  John Sippel of Mercury Records in Chicago reads Soul Sauce. Do you? END.

 

(Information and news source: Billboard; October 5, 1968).