CAMEO PARKWAY

Releasing material from the Philadelphia-based Cameo/Parkway group of labels (which also included the popular collector’s label Fairmount), C/P (as it shall be referred to from hereon) hit the big time in the early 60’s with million sellers from Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell and Dee Dee Sharp. Originally appearing in the UK via the London label, CP soon found a home at Columbia before getting it’s own logo in 1962 via the Pye group. Unfortunately, this move coincided with a downturn in the company’s fortunes, and by the time Beatlemania and the British Invasion had taken over America in late ‘63/early ‘64, Chubby and Bobby’s days were numbered. The UK arm of Cameo Parkway issued singles up until early 1967 but met with little success chart-wise, though it’s credibility is beyond any doubt - you only have to listen to Question Mark & The Mysterians’ 96 Tears to confirm that fact. Although the label ran to a couple of hundred releases, most were poor sellers and this is one of the big labels for collectors.

Issues are very striking; red and black with the cameo ‘brooch’ logo on the left hand side. Certainly one of the most aesthetically pleasing labels you’ll come across. Even the company sleeves are smart (and hard to find). Demos are Pye style, white with black lettering. Very late demos are simply issues with a date stamp added (Chris Bartley - Sweetest Thing This Side Of Heaven being an example of this).

CP also used a strange and rather confusing numbering system; most releases seem to utilise their respective American catalogue numbers, yet there are two number 100’s and two number 101’s - albeit prefixed by a ‘C’ or ‘P’. In this instance, the ‘C’ may possibly stand for ‘Calla’, the label on which the two releases in question appeared on in the States.

Highlights From Cameo Parkway

Candy & The Kisses were a New York trio comprising sisters Candy & Suzanne Nelson, plus schoolmate Jeanette Johnson. ‘The 81’ (336), another in the long, long line of dance craze records, is an exhuberant, effervescent record which, although sounding just a little too close to ‘In My Lonely Room’ for comfort, stands up just as well today as it did back in 1964.

The Tymes, a 5 piece vocal group from Philadelphia, made it all the way to the top of the US pop charts in June 1963 with So Much In Love. Unfortunately, it was all downhill from that moment on, as each subsequent follow-up failed. The sublime Here She Comes (924) was one such flop, even more so in the UK where it sold only a handful of copies. A lovely, crisp harmony record, this single very rarely turns up and is much prized by collectors. The Tymes themselves underwent a reversal of fortune in 1974 with a series of hits on RCA, including the UK number 1, Ms. Grace.

Doris Troy’s I’ll Do Anything (C101) must surely be one of the most enduring records ever played on the soul scene. Despite being issued on four different UK labels (Cameo Parkway, Toast, Mojo and Pye) and numerous CD’s, there’s still a demand for this track and always will be. Doris was born Doris Payne in New York City in 1937 and is a well known composer/vocalist/session singer who also recorded for Atlantic and The Beatles’ Apple label.

Chubby Checker’s history has been well documented in the past; real name Ernest Evans, former chicken-plucker (so the publicity went), inventor of The Twist (he actually covered a Hank Ballard number) and so on. What’s not generally recognized is the fact that Chubby was actually a superb vocalist who cut numerous top quality soul sounds in the mid-60’s. At The Discotheque (949) was once, along with Little Hank’s Mister Bang Bang Man, the in-demand soul record of the late 60’s, whilst Everything’s Wrong (959) couples clever lyrics with a heartfelt vocal. But for the real meat, the classic You Just Don’t Know (965) stands in a league of it’s own. A fantastic Motown-styled uptempo stormer, this one has had them rocking in the aisles for many years now and it’s power is overwhelming. A classic among classics, this is one of the best - and rarest - soul sides ever issued in the UK, and amazingly it’s even rarer on it’s USA release, a very uncommon occurence indeed. Note that all demonstration copies of this track mistitle it as simply ‘You Don’t Know’.

Surprisingly, Jerry Jackson’s incomparable It’s Rough Out There (P100) is still a relative unknown in comparison to the records I’ve mentioned so far in this piece. Surely that can only be attributed to the fact that this is a super-scarce record which simply never turns up. Fitting nicely into the beat ballad scheme of things, this track is in a league of it’s own - good lyrics, expert vocals, big, big production - but wait a minute! Take time to check out the flip side, I’m Gonna Paint A Picture, and lo and behold you’ve got two monster tracks for the price of one, and if anything this side is even better. Sadly, having only ever seen one copy of this record I can’t really see this side ever going big - but it’s an armchair listeners delight.

C 100 LITTLE JERRY WILLIAMS Baby you're my everything / Just what do you plan to do about it 12/22

C 101 DORIS TROY I'll do anything / But I love him 50/90

P 100 JERRYJACKSON It’s rough out there / I’m gonna paint a picture 120/175

P 101 CHRIS BARTLEY Sweetest thing this side of heaven / Love me baby

C 103 SOUL CITY Everybody dance now / Who knows 20/35

P 153 BUNNY SIGLER Let the good times roll / There’s no love left

C 230 DEE DEE SHARP The night / Ride 5/8

C 239 DON COVAY The popeye waddle / One little boy had money 10/15

C 260 DEE DEE SHARP Rock me in the cradle of love / You’ll never be mine 6/8

C 273 ORLONS Crossfire / It’s no big thing 7/10

C 336 CANDY & THE KISSES The 81 / Two happy people 50/90

C 375 DEE DEE SHARP Standing in the need of love / I really love you 35/50

C 382 DEE DEE SHARP It’s a funny situation / There ain’t nothing I wouldn’t do (possibly demo only)75/60

C 413 EVIE SANDS Picture me gone / It makes me laugh 40/50

C 428 ? & the MYSTERIANS 96 tears / Midnight hour 12/20

C 441 ? & the MYSTERIANS I need somebody / 8 teen 10/15

C 467 ? & the MYSTERIANS Can’t get enough of you baby / Smokes (unissued?) 12/15

C 750 DON & DEWEY Soul motion / Stretchin’ out 10/15

P 871 TYMES So much in love / Roscoe James McClain 4/6

P 874 BILLY ABBOTT Come on and dance with me / Groovy baby 10/15

P 924 TYMES Here she comes / Malibu 50/90

P 933 TYMES Here she comes / Twelfth of never (exisitence unconfirmed)

P 935 PATTI LABELLE & the BLUEBELLS Danny boy / I believe 7/12

P 936 CHUBBY CHECKER The weekend's here / Lovely lovely 8/15

P 949 CHUBBY CHECKER (At the) discotheque / Do the Freddy 20/50

P 959 CHUBBY CHECKER Everything's wrong / Cuma La Be Stay 15/30

P 960 EDDIE HOLMAN A free country / This can’t be true 30/30

P 965 CHUBBY CHECKER You just don't know / Two hearts make one love 100/120

P 969 LEN BARRY Hearts are trump / Little white house 8/15

P 989 CHUBBY CHECKER Hey you little boogaloo / Pussy cat 8/15

CBM

Just the one release to mention from this short lived label: Motown Feeling by Maynell Wilson, and with a title like that it’s got to be a goodie - hasn’t it? Alas, no, it’s a scrappy dancer with absolutely no reference to Motown at all, in fact, if I remember correctly the guy actually sings about either Lonely or Lonesome Feeling.

I once had this in my collection and recall that the label was split horizontally, one half blue, the other orange.

A very, very obscure (possibly reggae) label, but of little interest.

CRYSTAL

A mid 70’s label distributed by President Records which released a mixture of musical styles, including a couple of opportunist soul singles. Diane Jenkins’ Towaway Zone was a big Ian Levine rave and was tipped in Black Music magazine - Crystal quickly snapped up the rights and put it out, but found that the rest of the Northern fraternity didn’t share the same advanced taste as Levine and this sold quite poorly. This is one of the forerunners of the modern soul sound and should be regarded as a very important record - even if it took the rest of us many years to ‘get it’.

Crystal also put out Ede Robin’s vocal version to The Sons Of Moses’ Soul Symphony, which in turn was an instrumental to Moses & Joshua’s Get Out Of My Heart. The Ede Robin song is completely different though and is entitled There Must Be A Love Somewhere. To confuse matters further, London issued Soul Symphony as Soul Over Easy by The Hammond Brothers & Maggie!

Finally, mention must be made of Sea Cruise by Sax Of Soul. Issued due to the popualrity of Ace Cannon’s 60’s version, this 1975 cover was actually the more popular version in many places!

CUBE

Hardly worth mentioning this label simply for Jimmy Chambers 1973 release which is not going to set the world on fire nowadays. The label was related to Fly (home of T.Rex’s first four hits) and had a hit with Jimmy Helms’ Gonna Make You An Offer. The label was mustard featuring a logo depicting a Cube. Obviously.

COLUMBIA

Although the name had been knocking around for years, the Columbia label that we know and love was set up in the early 50’s and became one of the first UK labels to issue 7" singles. Although ostensibly a British label, they did gain the rights to release product from certain American labels too, and consequently some of the rarest 45’s ever to be released in the UK appeared on Columbia in the mid-50’s from the likes of The Chords and The Crows.

The late 50’s and early 60’s were barren periods as far as rock history goes, so it comes as no surprise to find that most of Columbia’s output at this time came from m.o.r. artists like Cliff Richard, Russ Conway and Acker Bilk. The occasional r & b disc did slip out, for example Gene Chandler’s Duke Of Earl (4793) but it wasn’t until the advent of the UK r & b/beat scene and the first throes of Beatlemania that things start to get interesting for the Northern Soul collector.

The original Columbia label was mauve with gold lettering. These, and other labels featuring gold lettering are usually known as ‘Gold Columbia’, ‘Gold HMV’, etc, as opposed to the silver lettering versions which followed circa 1957/58. ‘Gold’ issues nearly always have a nominal value, especially those on the London label. Following on from the mauve/silver label came the familiar dark green label with silver lettering which ran from 1958 until 1963 (there are also green and golds from this period). Midway through ‘63 the label changed to black with silver lettering, a design which lasted for nigh on three decades. Early demos, in line with the other EMI labels, were plain white with black lettering on both sides. Demos from ‘62 onwards are EMI style red and white, changing to green and white around Christmas 1966.

Columbia is probably the top ‘non-soul’ label for UK collectors, helped in no small way by the licensing of product from Chicago’s Okeh label.

A Brief Summary Of Columbia Covers

4606 Richard Maltby - The Rat Race - The very first version of The Righteous Brothers Band.

7212 Earl Guest - Last night - Cover of The Mar-Keys.

7340 Helen Shapiro - Shop around - Cover of The Miracles.

7403 Susan Holiday - Any day now - Cover of Chuck Jackson.

7451 Kubas - Magic potion - Cover of Lou Johnson.

7471 Graham Bond Organisation - Wade in the water - Same as Ramsey Lewis (not necessarily a cover).

7519 Cindy Cole - A love like yours - Cover of Ike & Tina Turner.

7540 Dany Chandelle - Lying awake -Same as Benice Swanson (on UK Chess).

7560 Persuasions - La la la la la - Cover of The Blendells.

7563 Martin Raynor - Candy to me - Cover of Eddie Holland.

7651 Jean & The Statesides - Mama didn’t lie - Cover of Jan Bradley.

7697 Zoot Money - Stubborn kind of fellow - Cover of Marvin Gaye.

7715 Brain Auger - Green onions - Cover of Booker T. & The M.G.’s.

7737 Sounds Incorporated - On the brink - Same as Mike Vickers.

7797 Beryl Marsden - Let’s go somewhere - Cover of R.Dean Taylor.

7888 Beryl Marsden - Breakaway - Cover of Irma Thomas.

7980 Three Bells - Cry no more - Cover of Ben E. King.

7988 Koobas - Sweet music - Cover of Chris Cerf.

8001 Karol Keyes - One in a million - Cover of Maxine Brown.

8061 Escorts - From head to toe - Cover of Chris Clark.

8064 C-Jam Blues - Candy - Cover of The Astors.

8065 Twilights - Needle in a haystack - Cover of The Velvelettes.

8099 Sue & Sunny - You can’t bypass love - Cover of Willie Kendrick.

8129 Johnny Hawksworth - Wack wack - Cover of Young-Holt Trio.

8206 Mike Stuart Span - Invitation - Cover of A Band Of Angels.

8212 Salena Jones - Respect - Cover of Otis Redding etc.

8531 Graham Bonney - Get ready - Cover of The Temptations.

8532 Bobby Bennett - You’re ready now - Cover of Frankie Valli.

8648 Graham Bonney - Sign on the dotted line - Cover of Gene Latter.

8710 Romey Carr - Theses things will keep me loving you - Cover of The Velvelettes.

8719 Delltones - Gimme some lovin’ - Cover of Spencer Davis Group.

Okeh Recordings on Columbia

The legendary Chicago soul giant issued their product in the UK via Columbia for around 4 years from 1964 to 1967. The singles will be listed in a moment, but also note that there are four rare albums which if spotted should be snapped up at any price. These are as follows: The Vibrations with New Vibrations (SX 6106, £50), Major Lance with The Rhythm Of Major Lance (SX 1278, £80) (and also a nice EP’s); Little Richard’s The Explosive Little Richard (SX 6136, £20) and a compilation with the misleading title Chartbusters USA which features great artists like Walter Jackson, Major Lance and The Artistics and must surely be worth around £50.

Okeh 45’s on UK Columbia

7099 Major Lance - The monkey time

7168 Major Lance - Hey little girl

7205 Major Lance - Um, um, um, um, um, um

7228 Doctor Feelgood & The Interns - Blang dong

7271 Major Lance - The matador

7365 Major Lance - Rhythm

7460 Screaming Jay Hawkins - The whammy

7463 Major Lance - I’m so lost

7527 Major Lance - Come see

7609 Major Lance - Pride and joy

7620 Walter Jackson - Welcome home

7688 Major Lance - Too hot to hold

7787 Major Lance - Everybody loves a good time

7895 Vibrations - Canadian sunset

7949 Walter Jackson - It’s an uphill climb to the bottom

7967 Major Lance - Investigate

7974 Little Richard - Poor dog

8046 Tommy Tate - A lover’s reward

8054 Walter Jackson - A corner in the sun

8058 Little Richard - I need love

8116 Little Richard - Get down with it

8122 Major Lance - Ain’t no soul

8140 Williams & Watson - A quitter never wins

8154 Walter Jackson - Speak her name

8175 Vibrations - Pick me

8240 Little Richard - A little bit of something

8263 Little Richard - I don’t want to discuss it

8318 Vibrations - One mint julep

Highlights From Columbia

It’s a big list to choose from, but the ideal Columbia compilation albums would probably utilise tracks such as these:

UK RECORDINGS

7340 Helen Shapiro - He knows how to love me. The perfect example of how prices for Northern Soul records fluctuate. In 1992, this was simply the B side of Helen’s competent but rather unexciting version of The Miracles’ Shop Around. Some bright spark flipped it over, discovered that He Knows How To Love Me was perfectly akin to some of the ‘older’ sounding discs currently being spun on the scene, and six months later the track has broken through and become a monster sound. Overnight, the value jumped from a reasonable £8 for a Shop Around issue, to £70 for a He Knows.. demo. Five years on, the demo is still commanding that price and is proving to be even more elusive than Helen’s other biggie, Stop And You Will Become Aware.

As for the record, it’s a real grower, a midtempo number which sounds a lot like Jackie Trent’s cover of The One Who Really Loves You.

7540 Dany Chandelle - Lying Awake. A one off release by a hitherto unknown girl singer. This is a rival version to Benice Swanson’s explosive version on UK Chess, and although it doesn’t have the same impact as that one, it’s still a very good UK girl production and is another hard record to track down.

7563 Martin Raynor & The Secrets - Candy To Me/You’re A Wonderful One. Into UK beat covers of Motown standards? Well you’ll probably enjoy this coupling then, featuring two numbers made popular by Eddie Holland and Marvin Gaye respectively. The line-up included one Clifford T. Ward, who went on to have a couple of nice pop hits in the early 70’s. His fans will pay you a lot of money for this item!

7657 Mike Vickers - On The Brink. A brilliant instrumental originally commissioned as the theme to BBC’s Play Of The Week series, though it’s cover up title - Boogaloo Investiagtor - should give you some idea of what to expect. It actually sounds as if it should be the theme to some gritty American cop show, when in fact Mike was an erstwhile member of chart-topping beat combo Manfred Mann. Originally credited to The Matt Parsons Orchestra, On The Brink is probably the best British Northern Soul instrumental of them all. P.S. Ignore the inferior version by Sounds Incorporated, it doesn’t hold a candle to this.

7868 Barry St. John - Everything I Touch Turns To Tears. By far and away the best treatment of this Udell-Geld number (other versions include efforts by Brian Poole and Cilla Black!), though the heavy handed production by Mickie Most does it’s best to distort the sound. A cracking UK stomper with a catchy chorus from a first rate vocalist who went on to become one of the UK’s top session singers.

7911 Wayne Gibson - Under My Thumb. Love it or hate it, you can’t ignore the fact that this was one of the records which turned a lot of people onto the Northern scene when it charted back in 1974. Originally released in 1966, this is a more or less note for note cover of a great Rolling Stones number. Gibson must have been a bit of a Stones fan as he also covered Jagger-Richards’ Yesterday’s Papers at the same time.

7988 Koobas - Sweet Music. A great version of a Northern hit by Chris Cerf on Amy which begs the question; which is the original and which is the cover? A very collectable band who also recorded for Pye and appeared in the movie Ferry Across The Mersey.

8136 Emma Rede - I Gotta Be With You. A more recent discovery by yours truly, this is a lovely beat ballad which takes a while to get going but is worth sticking with for the high powered chorus and brilliant vocal gymnastics on the fadeout. An American male vocal version by Malcolm Hayes has also turned up recently. Emma Rede is in fact a pseudonym for girl singer Jackie Lee.

8256 Helen Shapiro - Stop And You Will Become Aware. Almost tailor-made for the Northern scene, this fantastic record first came to light in late 1977 when it was covered as Dana Valery. Helen’s vocal is superb and the distinctive flute and frantic string backing really drive this one along. Composed by the eccentric Earl Okin (who also cut the song, at snail’s pace, on CBS), this one still sounds as fresh as it did 20 years ago.

8676 Solomon King - This Beautiful Day. One-hit wonder King cut this swinging soul number in 1970 as another follow-up to his chartbusting She Wears My Ring. It flopped, of course, but by the time it had been reissued as ‘Levi Jackson’ (the name changed to provide some authentic soul credibility) it had built up a cult following and was spun frequently at venues. However, copies of both versions, especially the Solomon King release, are a lot scarcer than they should be. Reactivated in 1978, this one has been in big demand ever since, though it’s pseudo-hot gospel overtones tend to stretch the listeners patience. Overrated, but still a goodie.

US RECORDINGS

7271 Major Lance - The Matador. One of Northern Soul’s all time heroes, the Major never really made a bad record in the 60’s and all of his Columbia releases should be bought without hesitation. The Matador is my personal favourite if only for the mock Spanish horn riffs, but really, with a back catalogue like this guy’s you’re spoilt for choice; Monkey Time, Investigate, Um Um Um Um Um Um, Ain’t No Soul - take your pick.

7879 Poppies - Lullaby Of Love. With a tune built around a 150 year old piece of classical music, this powerhouse pop-stomper is one of several great cuts by a very good girl group and features a Wall Of Sound type production by Billy Sherrill.

7949 Walter Jackson - It’s An Uphill Climb To The Bottom. Mere words cannot do justice to this record. On a par with Darrell Banks’ immortal Open The Door To Your Heart as far as emotion goes, Walter really pours his heart out and pulls out all the stops to make this almost too much for the listener to bear. One of the ten best records in the whole discography without a doubt.

8039 Nancy Ames - I Don’t Want To Talk About It. Another case of a whiter than white middle of the road artist coming up with a fluke Northern smash. A throwaway B side, it was discovered in the early 70’s and has been spun on and off ever since, and while US Epic copies are easy to come by, the UK release is a highly prized item. Brilliantly catchy with a memorable singalong chorus, this is a minor classic.

8263 Little Richard - I Don’t Want To Discuss It. Long after his star had fallen, Little Richard was still active, and after an unsuccessful spell at Mercury he reinvented himself as a soulman and under the guidance of Larry Williams he cut a series of classic dance numbers for Okeh. This one’s the best, a pounding stomper with that catchy "You’re My Girl" chorus, and Richard’s trademark whoops and wails. All of his Columbia singles should be picked up without hesitation, as should the rare UK Columbia LP, "The Explosive Little Richard". The song itself has been covered by numerous artists including The Instigation and Welsh band Amen Corner.

8369 Sly & The Family Stone - Dance To The Music. This must have been like a bolt from the blue when it first appeared in 1968, with it’s bizarre mix of rock, funk and soul stylings complemented by a crashing backbeat and a plethora of instruments fighting for supremecy. The withdrawn Columbia release is rare, and features a slightly different mix to the subsequent issue on CBS’s Direction label.

CHESS

The Chess label finally gained it’s own identity in 1964, after previously releasing it’s product via London and Pye International. The label was part of the Pye group and it’s releases follow the general pattern as far as label details are concerned: white demos with central A and ‘advance promotion copy’ on the left hand side up until late 66, and then yellow demos utilising the same design as the black label issues but with an A in the centre. Issues have black labels with silver writing, though many early numbers use gold lettering instead of silver, often making details hard to read. Most common amongst this type of design must surely be Fontella Bass’s Rescue Me, which broke out of the clubs and into the charts back in 1965. The gold lettering seems to have been phased out around the 8040’s.

The label was dominated by big names like Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry, and whilst no-one can deny their influence upon rock’n’roll/rhythm’n’blues, your UK label collector is far likelier to be interested in discs by artists whose name will register a big nothing when mentioned to aficionados of Chuck and Bo.

For instance, how about Benice Swanson, a 16 year old singer/actress from London who was discovered by none other than Leonard Chess (the labels co-founder) himself on a visit to London. Benice cut a fine single entitled Lying Awake (8008) (also cut by Dany Chandelle on Columbia) which vanished without trace in 1965, and presumably went back to the world of showbiz from whence she came without ever recording again. Shame, because Lying Awake is a fairly authentic soul-sound which most people believed to originate from the USA. Oh, and take no notice of the frequently misspelt christian name of this young lady - it’s definitely Benice, not Bernice. As far as I know, this is the only UK produced number ever to have been released on UK Chess.

For such a renowned label, UK Chess’s output is more than patchy. R & B lovers will be well at home with many of the releases, but for the more Northern orientated collector there’s not a lot to write home about, though the one major rarity on the label does slightly compensate for that. The Tiffanies’ It’s Got To Be A Great Song comes from the US Chess subsidiary KR Records (presumably owned by Artie Kornfield, a producer/arranger in Chicago) and was issued here in 1967 to minimal sales. The record, a beautiful midtempo girl group dancer, found massive success at Wigan in late 75/early 76 and was consequently bootlegged on KR. US originals are now common, but the UK release is very scarce indeed and rarely sells for less than £40.

Other in-demanders include Johnny Nash - Strange Feeling (8005), one of several current raves by this veteran vocalist; the brilliant instrumental Burning Spear by Soulful Strings (8068), a flute-led instrumental which was very popular at the Birmingham Locarno Sunday alldayers back in 1978/79; the fabulous More Love (That’s What We Need) by Gospel Classics (8080), a perceptive comment on the 1968 riots following the death of the Rev. Martin Luther King; and the evergreen The Entertainer by Tony Clarke 8011/8091), which was one of the most popular records ever to be played on the ‘discotheque’ scene. Both The Entertainer and Burning Spear can be found on a 70’s LP entitled The Chess/Janus Mobile Discotheque, one of a series of Polygram soul albums that also included Avco and Philips. Collectors may also like to know that this album also features the heavily in-demand I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself by Cissy Houston.

As for the rest of the UK Chess output, it’s nearly all high quality with some stellar names involved: Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Jackie Ross, Ramsey Lewis (several driving piano instrumentals), The Dells, and many others. However, last word to a soul giant in every meaning of the word. Billy Stewart, who died tragically in 1970, issued a superb run of singles on Chess, from the beautiful I Do Love You, the legendary scat vocals on his epic version of the standard Summertime, the sublime original of Sitting In The Park (a hit for Georgie Fame), to the danceability of his crazy version of Secret Love. Nine singles in all, every one deserving of attention.

CONCORD

This is another of those strange independent labels on which information has been hard to find. Best known for Mel & Tim’s Backfield In Motion, the original label was a distinctive pink with black lettering, very basic (in a reggae label style). It 1970 it underwent the biggest design change ever seen when the plain pink was replaced with a multicoloured design featuring a giant fried egg!

The label probably ran for 3 years and to about 30 releases, but only two are of note; Mel & Tim, which was a very big seller, and an extremely obscure but pretty good version of Jimmy Beaumont’s You Got Too Much Going For You by Mike Harper, which is known to a few collectors but very rarely turns up for sale.

CORAL

Notable for it’s Buddy Holly & The Crickets releases and a couple of rare Johnny Burnette singles, Coral was a long running label which was eventually absorbed by Brunswick in 1967. Both labels were amalgamated into a new label, MCA, in 1968. Indeed, most of the labels pitiful soul output was in fact from the American Brunswick label, even though Brunswick had had it’s own logo since the early 50’s. Jackie Wilson dominated the label and had over 30 singles issued between 1958 and 1967. The very last of these, The Who Who Song, is perhaps Wilson’s most enduring Northern sound, but as his output was usually of the highest quality it’s hard to pick a clear winner. Wilson’s first ever UK release, Reet Petite, topped the charts almost 30 years to the day of it’s release following it’s highly successful use as backing music for a Levi’s commercial.

Both Artistics Coral releases are superb and much sought after, with little to choose between the two. Marvin Smith’s Have More Time is another very rare release and still in-demand after nearly 30 years. Gene Chandler’s The Girl Don’t Care/My Love is a disappointing release from US Brunswick. Finally, avoid Danny Harrison - Speak Of The Devil single like the plague as it’s a second rate Roy Orbison soundalike.

Coral issues are a rather drab looking black label with silver lettering. Demos, on the other hand, are a lovely royal blue in the Decca style, with silver lettering. Whereas London and Decca demos are plentiful, Coral (like other Decca distributed labels RCA and Brunswick) are relatively scarce.

CAMP

A short-lived Polydor subsidiary with quite eclectic releases including a couple of psych monsters and really just the one soul release of note. Willie Amos Hunt’s Would You Believe is a very big beat ballad from the US Streamside label. It’s good without being brilliant, but it’s notable because of the bizarre change in the artists name on the UK release. The US original was credited simply to William Hunt. The label was originally a groovy purple and white design - you don’t see these very often - whilst more common releases (mainly by The Magic Lanterns) are mustard coloured and feature an eagle logo. Demo copies of the original label apparently just feature a small A on the label. Rarest release is the psychedelic double sider Cold Turkey/My Love Is Like A Spaceship by Big Boy Pete, who was Pete Miller formerly of Peter Jay & The Jaywalkers and who also cut the rare single Baby I Got News For You as Miller on Oak/Columbia.

CARNIVAL

Absolutely no information at all on this short lived label that ran circa 1966, apart from the fact that it released material from it’s US counterpart of the same name. The two Manhattans singles are both nice soul cuts, That New Girl being especially nice. The label was red and black with the same logo as US Carnival. Another Carnival label exists but it is unrelated to this one as most of it’s releases seem to be UK produced ska/rocksteady plus a version of Mickey’s Monkey by The Wes Minster Five. Just to keep things neat, though, I’ve added that one release to the first Carnival label.

(Third entry is an unrelated label of the same name)

CBS

Giant label based in Soho Square, London, which ran from 1963 up until the late 80’s. Many items from the US Columbia label were released over here on CBS, while many UK items from UK CBS were issued on US Columbia! And then there’s the UK Columbia label which released product from US Columbia’s subsidiary labels such as Epic, who also leased material to UK CBS. Just to confuse things even more, when the company was taken over by Sony Music in the late 80’s, the labels name was changed to - yes, you’ve guessed - Columbia!

Early releases were on a plain orange label with a logo at the top and a prefix AAG. In 1965, a new prefix and a new label design came along. The prefix was the 20 series, basically a four figure number with the prefix 20 added in front. The new label design featured the logo at the top, title at the bottom, and artists name at the left hand side. The 20 prefix system was dropped at some time during 1966 and converted to a simple 4 digit number. The label utilised the same design for nearly 9 years when it switched to a new logo/coloured design label, but this is of little interest to readers of this book.

Demos were white, with an orange A on the label, and often a datestamp. In many cases, the quantity of demos around outstrips that of issues.

Material was licensed from a variety of sources including Columbia, Rojac, Date and Epic, though most of the soul product ended up going to CBS subsidiary label Direction from 1968 onwards.

CBS has been one of the hardest labels to compile. It seems that no-one has ever attempted a complete discography of the label, and many releases were by obscure or unknown artists whose records were under-promoted, or in some cases, withdrawn or pressed as demo-only copies. The list that you are about to read is certainly the most complete CBS Northern Soul listing ever compiled, but there may be more to come from this label in the future.

Because the quantity of releases is so vast, here are a few brief highlights, split into two sections - US recordings and UK recordings.

US RECORDINGS

The Gypsies - Jerk it. Classic dance number from the Old Town label and an in-demander since the days of the Twisted Wheel. The Gypsies later became resident in the UK where they were known as The Flirtations.

Anita Bryant - My Mind’s Playing Tricks On Me Again. Many Northern Soul records are recorded by the most unlikely of artists. Country singer Anita Bryant is one of the most bizarre people to be mentioned in connection with soul, but this stunning beat ballad is highly sought after. Produced by Arnold Goland, who’s production credentials include Ray Pollard’s immortal The Drifter, this is a haunting tune, bathed in echo towards the end, and this is certainly no ‘Paper Roses’. Anita’s London singles are common, but this, her first for CBS, is proving to be very hard to track down.

Billy Joe Royal - Hearts Desire. Popular Torch spin from a singer/songwriter with strong ties to Joe South and The Tams. It was bootlegged in 1973 on the Out Of The Past label, and also cut by Joe South on Capitol.

Cassius Clay - Stand By Me. Writer Dave Godin once raved about this as being a supremely soulful performance, but the worlds’ greatest boxer could sure throw punches better than he could hold notes. It’s semi-sung in monotone and quite painful to listen to in places, yet there always seems to have been a demand for this record. It was released twice on CBS.

Spellbinders - Help Me. One of the most respected Northern sounds of all time from a group who I would imagine are white. Several of their tunes have packed dancefloors in the past, but none of them come close to this stupendous midtempo dancer. It was reissued in 1968 on Direction backed with Chain Reaction.

Eydie Gorme - Everybody Go Home. Often described as an ‘excellent ender’, this tuneless catawailing is one of the all-time bad records. Blame it on the bossanova, I say. Avoid at all costs. Someone must have liked it though, it was issued twice within 2 years.

Andre Brasseur - The Kid. Not a US recording, a Belgian one actually, from the Palette label. This is probably the ultimate in stomping pop instrumentals, with Andre pulling out all the stops on his ‘multi-sound organ’ to make dance halls country wide vibrate. Originally issued as a B side (to pirate radio tune Holiday), this was reissued due to public demand as an A side in 1970. Issued in the US on Congress and consequently bootlegged on that label in the mid 70’s.

Shirley Ellis - Soul Time. A monster sound from Mr. M’s room at Wigan which leaves a lot to be desired but is emmanently danceable. Repressed in 1976 after strong demand from the Northern crowd (on blue vinyl, no less).

Curtis Lee & The KCP’s - Everybody’s Goin’ Wild. Curtis cut the original version of Under The Moon Of Love in the early 60’s, but this little number bears no resemblence to that pop hit. If ever a record lived up to it’s title it’s this, a 100mph rave-up with the vocals almost screamed out, and a ridiculously catchy ‘Yodelay-ee-oo’ chorus just for good measure. The backing track is almost identical to Big Maybelle’s Quittin’ Time, which comes from the same US source as this one, Rojac Records.

Lynne Randell - Stranger in my arms. A teenage Australian vocalist, Lynne cut this classic in the USA when she was just 17. Lynne was a talented singer who was very big in her own country, and hit the news headlines when she became the girlfriend of Monkees heart-throb Davy Jones. Stranger was cut as the flip side to a cover of The Toy’s Ciao Baby and US copies came with a picture sleeve. The record sold very few copies in the UK and is one of the major Northern rarities. It’s a super record with a kitchen sink type production and an almost indecipherable chorus which seems to be saying "Strange me, strange me" (although it’s obviously meant to be "Stranger, stranger"). It was bootlegged on Out Of The Past in 1973 after gaining heavy airplay at The Torch, and given an official repress on Columbia Special Products in 1977 after becoming even more popular second time around at Wigan Casino via Keith Minshull.

CBS copies from Australia turn up occasionally, as do triangle centre copies on South African CBS, but it’s the UK copy that is the real jewel.

Incidentally, a colour promo for Ciao Baby was shot in New York, featuring Ms. Randell whizzing around the Big Apple in her trendy gear. More footage exists of Lynne in the studio performing a very creditable version of Goin’ Out Of My Head, although it’s not known whether a version of this number was ever released.

Bettye Swann - Make Me Yours. I always felt this lilting midtempo item was somewhat overrated but it’s still a big money record on CBS and very hard to find. Even harder to find is the demonstration copy which comes with a special picture sleeve (CBS did this on very rare occasions; the mega-rare Thane Russell & Thee version of Security also came with a limited edition picture sleeve).

Jim Webb - I Need You. Surprisingly few people are aware that there’s another version of Shane Martin’s classic floating about. This is by the song’s composer, the legendary Jim Webb, and is set at a slower pace than Shane’s version. It’s dominated by an organ sound and features a great ‘call and response’ fade out. As with Shane Martin’s version, this one is also a B side.

Shane Martin - I Need You. A blue-eyed masterpiece. Shane looks like your good old American (or Candian) college boy but he pours his heart out on this downbeat tale of lost love. B side to the suicide-themed You’re So Young, it was released on Epic in the UK and must have sold very few copies on UK CBS. This is a very atmospheric record, with fine orchestral accompaniment and soaring backing vocals, and is a classic in every sense of the word. Again, it became a monster sound as a reactivation in 1976 and was reissued on Columbia Special Products in 1977.

Spiral Starecase - More Today Than Yesterday. Another blue-eyed effort which would surely be classed as ‘pop’ on the other side of the Atlantic, but it’s pounding beat made it a winner with the soul folk in the mid-70’s. A top 10 smash in the USA in 1969, but another poor seller in the UK. The band cut at least three other good Northern dancers including a version of The Drifters’ Baby What I Mean.

UK RECORDINGS

June Harris - Over And Over Again. A breezy pop stomper which sounds a lot like The Uniques - Not Too Long Ago in parts. Very obscure.

Guy Darrell - I’ve Been Hurt. Totally unfashionable today, this was a very big club record in the early 70’s and is actually a better version than Ray Whitley’s original. Reissued in 1973, this went Top 10 in the UK due to discotheque demand. Real name John Swail, Darrell had been recording since 1964.

Chapter Five - You Can’t Mean It. No introduction needed for this fantastic Brit-soul classic. It began to pick up interest in around 1976 and was played frequently at Wigan Casino until the clubs closure in 1981. The price began to skyrocket in the mid-80’s so that now it’s perhaps the most in-demand - and perhaps the best - of all UK produced British label releases.

The top side, a cover of Maxine Brown’s Anything You Do Is Alright, is also very good, though it pales into insignificance next to You Can’t Mean It, a throwaway B side from the pen of keyboardist Dave McGerty. Astonishingly, this track was never bootlegged despite the heavy demand, and was not reissued until a legal repress on Soul Supply/Goldmine came out in 1996. The band were an 8 piece from Barrow In Furness, Cumbria. A totally awesome record, which can only be touched in terms of UK produced soul sounds, by Ray Merrell’s Tears Of Joy.

Liz Christian - Suddenly You Find Love. Nice midtempo item with a breathy vocal by a 21 year old former actress from Kensington. Quite popular circa 1978.

Dennis D’Ell - Better Use Your Head. At one time the only place you could hear this disc was in Mr.M’s at Wigan where one of the resident jocks used to spin it every week. As an issue, this is one of the rarest UK items as it was at first held back, and then completely withdrawn and left unreleased. Several demo’s got out, as did a handful of issues, but my estimation is that fewer than ten issues have ever seen the light of day. As for the actual record, it’s a more uptempo version of the Little Anthony classic with a perfect dance beat, though the vocal leaves a little to be desired. D’Ell - real name Dennis Dalziel - was lead singer with Have I The Right hitmakers The Honeycombs.

Applejacks - You’ve Been Cheating. Brummie band with a female bass player. This was their last single and is a surpisingly powerful version of The Impressions classic with a thunderous drum and keyboards rhythm.

Beatstalkers - Ain’t No Soul. Hailing from Glasgow, this band were known as ‘The Scottish Beatles’. They released three 45’s for Decca and four for CBS, all of which are collectable. Their version of the Major Lance standard is fine if you like your soul sung in a Scottish brogue.

Gene Latter - Funny Face Girl. Surprise Wigan spin from 1978 with appalling lyrics. An unreleased publishers acetate version of this turned up a few years ago credited to The Ambers.

Kenny Bernard - Pity My Feet. This track has had a cult following for many years but as to why is anyone’s guess. Kenny Bernard must be the flattest vocalist ever to record in Britain and all of his records, with the exception of Ain’t No Soul on Pye, are dreadful. Hear before you buy.

Gene Latter - Ways. A much better outing from Cardiff-born Gene, this is a fine dance number with several breaks which would go down well with a bit of exposure. It was the B side of his last CBS single, after which he moved on to Direction and then Parlophone.

James Royal - Hey Little Boy. Royal cut several singles and an LP for CBS but didn’t achieve any major success. This single may be better known via the version by Miss D.D. Phillips on US Evolution (with a title change to Hey Little Girl). Royal also cut the song Something Bad On My Mind, the title track of the Timi Yuro album which features It’ll Never Be Over For Me.

Fourmost - Apples Peaches Pumpkin Pie. A hilarious opportunist cover of the Jay & The Techniques classic with some of the real lyrics going astray in translation. Instead of singing "Ready or not, here I come", The ‘Most instead give us "Baby you’re done, here I come"!

James Royal - I’ve Lost You. A better than average version of a good Jackie Wilson number by Mr. Royal.

COLPIX

A short lived Pye subsidiary (1962-65) which had one big hit and a few interesting releases. The big hit was Big Dee Irwin’s Swinging On A Star (featuring Little Eva) which is a very common boot sale find. Ones to look out for are Little Eva’s The Trouble With Boys, a swinging girlie sound, The Cinderellas’ Baby Baby I Still Love You which is a very fast, Phil Spector soundalike, though not really Northern; two nice, if unexceptional singles from The Jewels; the wonderful original version of I’m Into Something Good by The Cookies’ lead singer Earl-Jean; and the sublime, some would say deep soul classic Hey Girl by Freddie Scott which just oozes class and deserves to find a home in anyone’s collection.

The label was a striking gold colour with black lettering. Demos are in the early white Pye style.

CAPITOL

The first Capitol 45’s issued in the UK appeared in 1954 and were on a green label with triangle centre. This quickly changed to a purple label with silver lettering which continued up until 1965 when it changed to a black label with silver lettering. All of these labels utilised the Capitol ‘ dome’ logo. This in turn was replaced by an unusual design consisting of red, orange and yellow rings with black lettering - fortunately this didn’t last long, and a sedate (in comparison) pink label was introduced in late 73, following a brief revival of the 60’s black label. In 1977, Capitol produced a new design based on the black label, specifically for oldies but later used for everything. This had the logo in a white box at the top of the label. Finally, they returned to the ‘dome’ label in 1978, but this time using a red label with black lettering.

In addition to the confusing data above, there was a series promoted as ‘Discotheque 66’ (later becoming ‘Discotheque 67’). This is of great interest to soul collectors and any item with this additional logo (usually found above the records’ title) should be snapped up.

Demos: plain white EMI style, then EMI red and whites up to 1966. All change to green and whites in late 66/early 77. All demos on the subsequent labels had Demo Copy Not For Sale in the centre with an ‘A’ in the right hand side of the label. Demos were issued up to the end of the 70’s.

Capitol is a fine label for collectors; not only does it possess a good selection of Northern Soul from the 60’s, they were one of the few companies with their fingers on the pulse in the 70’s, and consequently lots of top quality material was reissued due to Northern demand. How many other companies would have taken a chance on Bobby Paris’ I Walked Away in 1979? They also issued a very good compilation in 1978 entitled Capitol Soul Casino, which despite it’s convoluted title is a first class collection which includes the likes of Sam Williams, Sam Ambrose and Alexander Patton.

Highlights from Capitol

There are many quality releases on Capitol so I’ll keep this brief and to the point.

15344 Darlene Paul - Act Like Nothing Happened. Nice beat ballad if a little schmaltzy on the choruses, but very obscure and a hard one to track down.

15389 Frank Polk - Trying To Keep Up With The Joneses. Nice midtempo item which is far better known on US Capitol. This is another very scarce release which could only have sold a handful of copies on release. Frank had an EP released in France but just the one single in the UK.

15391 H.B. Barnum - The Record. Super version of a number better known by Ben E.King. Messy stomper on the flip side.

15407 Ernie Andrews - Where Were You (When I Needed You). Very classy beat ballad which has picked up a lot of interest over the last five years.

15412 Nancy Wilson - Where Does That Leave Me. Nice version of the Romance Watson number.

15427 Ketty Lester - West Coast. Smashing uptempo dancer which has been relegated to an also ran by the popularity of it’s B side, I’ll Be Looking Back, which although a nice beat ballad doesn’t really get going until it begins to fade out!

15429 Gloria Jones - Heartbeat. Frantic uptempo dance workout spread over two sides of a single.

15455 Bobby Sheen - Dr. Love/Sweet Sweet Love. Much sought after disc popular on the scene almost since it’s day of release. The B side is now the most popular of the two sides.

15456 Verdelle Smith - A Piece Of The Sky. A Mick Boland discovery and plugged

like mad by yours truly in the late 80’s/early 90’s. Now apparently taking off. It’s a very good beat ballad, building from nothing to a crescendo within 30 seconds. A good case of a £5 record suddenly becoming an in-demander.

15460 Ruben Wright - Hey Girl/I’m Walking Out On You. Two good, if almost identical, dancers with little commercial viability.

15461 Alexander Patton - A Lil’ Lovin’ Sometimes/No More Dreams. For most, this is the big Capitol sound to have. Another sound popular from day one, a perfect Northern dancer and top notch vocal too. This one has the lot. The flip side is now in-demand also. Strangely, Capitol never gave this track an official reissue on a single despite the constant demand, and it was left to a US Capitol lookalike to clear up. However, these are easily distinguished from originals due to the bootleggers mis-spelling the artists name as Patten.

15462 Magnificent Men - All Your Lovin’s Gone To My Head. Another of my tips for the top from a few years ago, this is another sought after item and is a catchy, singalong type dancer with distinctive brass work.

15469 Thrills - What Can Go Wrong. Thumping girl group sound which is very, very rare on this UK release. Reissued in 1978 on Grapevine as the flip to Show The World Where It’s At.

15484 Patrice Holloway - Love And Desire/Ecstacy. Another nigh-on impossible to find record. Love And Desire is most people’s choice, but personally I’d go for the breathy, soulful Ecstacy on the flip. Only seen one copy of this in the last 10 years!

15529 Human Beinz - Nobody But Me. Quite how a US top 10 garage punk record became established in the UK as a Northern classic is anyone’s guess, but this record is still popular after 25 years worth of spins.

15547 Nancy Wilson - The End Of Our Love. Fantastic dancer from a lady better known for her supper-club jazz stylings. This was a giant Wigan sound in 1976 and was promptly reissued by Capitol to quell the demand.

Capitol released several top quality sides in the 70’s including The World Column - So Is The Sun, Jodi Mathis - Don’t You Care Anymore, Reggie Garner - Hot Line, Ernie Andrews - Fine Young Girl and many more. All of these were good sellers and can easily be picked up for around the £5 mark.

(c) Pete Smith 1998