The Feel It Advent-ure 2025: Door 3

 

Checking 45cat for Zeke Strong and Carl Underwood I counted no less than six distinct releases of this song - Every Woman Has The  Right... . The earliest dates to 1961. The most recent is possibly this one, which, purely by the Kujinga label design and colour, I’m guessing was released maybe in the late 60s or early 70s. (It was certainly released later than 1965 because Operation Bootstrap which is credited on the label was not started until very late in 1965. You can read more about Operation Bootstrap here. Many businesses were started under the Operation Bootstrap umbrella and it is noted that at least one fashion business had a Swahili name. The label name here - Kujinga - is very close in spelling to the Swahili word  kujenga, which means to build (the game name Jenga is derived from this word). Kujinga itself is a word in Kimbundu, a Bantu language spoken in Angola, which means to turn or spin. Either meaning - build or spin - could make sense as the label name).    

Zeke recorded this song (presumably with him providing the male vocal) with female vocals provided by, in turn, Geneva, Wanda Richardson, Dealia Copeland, Juanita Strong, and Patricia Brew. And there was also this release where Carl Underwood is credited on vocals alongside Dealia Copeland. The versions (all slightly different I believe) were released on a bunch of different labels all started by Zeke himself – Swingin’, Prowlin’, Safe!, Progress, Merging, and Kujinga.

All I can say is Zeke Strong really liked this song!

Carl Underwood and Dealia Copeland –Every Woman Has A Right (To Change Her Mind) 1971?

The state of this little nation

The state of this little backwater of the Internet can be summed up by this record. 

I bagged it at a car boot earlier this year and was very happy to do so. It is a great double sider and is in remarkably good condition considering it was sleeveless, and, more to the point, is a year older than me (actually, a few people say I am in remarkably good condition for my age. but I couldn’t possibly comment!). The circumstances of its discovery were satisfying too. I don’t frequent boot sales nearly as much as I used to, but it became obvious that the seller was something of a recent fixture as I became surrounded by a few scavengers that were obviously regulars. I was riffling through a couple of boxes of reggae singles, promising in itself but they were mostly trashed. A couple of people at least had already been through the box and a few singles had been pulled out already. I also pulled out a couple of reggae things, and this one. I knew it wasn’t reggae and in the back of my mind I had heard of the artists and guessed (right) that it was early R&B. The asking price for the reggae singles were typically £4 and north – because it was reggae, no doubt, you don’t come across it often in the wild, and the seller was clearly a fan – but I bagged this single for a couple of quid, maybe because he knew it wasn’t reggae. I got it home, cleaned it up, put it on the turntable, dropped the arm... and punched the air in delight. I then proceeded to play it at least three times in a row. And it was miles better than the two ‘blind’ reggae singles I bought.

There was a time at this here “publication” when you would have been aware of this fact within days, if not hours, of the event. But here’s the thing – this all happened months ago.

I did, however, publicise this event fairly quickly on a, now largely tumbleweed, record forum I still frequent; and I also put the single in a box of random 45s that was taken, at the next opportunity, to a local hostelry that puts on a monthly(ish) BYO vinyl session, and got it played. But I didn’t post it here until now, which is something of a puzzle. For that, I apologise. I know, I must try harder. *

I intend to explore further (i.e. bore you) in a subsequent post why it is I am not posting here more frequently nowadays – because I certainly have no shortage of records to share – but, for now, I will leave you with both sides of this rather excellent 45.

Gene Forrest and Eunice Russ Levy hailed from Texas and between 1954 (before the dawn of the Rock ‘n’ Roll era) and 1960 enjoyed a string of charting single successes, and were very popular in the US and the Caribbean. Popular in the UK too, enough for them to have eight UK releases, of which this was the first in November 1956. The copy of the single I found has long since lost its original tri-centre (possibly removed by someone who wanted to put it in their jukebox, but more likely by a DJ who was trying to intimate it was a US release), nevertheless the grooves still maintain their magic.

Gene And Eunice –I Gotta Go Home 1956

Gene And Eunice –Have You Changed Your Mind? 1956

* I have just discovered I uploaded the mp3s of this 45 back in June! So the intention to share, at least, was there.

The Feel It Advent-ure 2024: Door 20

Look Timmy Brown up on Discogs and you will see he led a full life that initially, in turn, took in professional American football (playing for the Packers, Eagles, and the Baltimore Colts), a short singing career, and acting (including appearances in M*A*S*H - I loved that program but I couldn't recall his character's name, Captain "Spearchucker" Jones, on visiting his IMDB page though I instantly recognised him from the pictures). Later in life he became a parole officer. 

I knew none of this when I bought this record blind in Euclid. This one is a bit scratchy. Discogs lists it as "rhythm & blues" which is maybe a bit of a stretch, especially the A side which has a guitar with a distinctly country feel. Also, as it was recorded in 1962 there is a poppy feel to it anyway; and then there is Timmy's voice, he is unusual I think in that he is a black man who sounds white. 

I'm sharing the B side, it has some sax on it which "blackens" it a bit more I think, and note the fairly early Van McCoy writing credit.      

Timmy Brown - Silly Rumors  1962

The Feel it Advent-ure 2024: Door 13

Here is the only record I found on our tour that didn't come from a record shop. Except I had already found another copy of the same record in a record shop. Before our trip I had downloaded a copy of my collection (as recorded on 45cat) to my phone. It came in handy at Shangri La in Memphis and saved me from buying some doubles. I hadn't, though, updated this list with my purchases along the way. So, when I found a copy of this single in an antique mall in Vicksburg it wasn't already on my list. The memory is not as good as it used to be, so although I knew I had bought some Little Milton 45s already, I couldn't remember which ones, and it turned out I had bought a copy of this one in Shangri La. Still, it was only $2 so no matter. 

As I have two copies of this 45 now it makes sense to share both sides. This will be Little Milton's final appearance on this year's advent-ure.

Little Milton - Somebody's Changin' My Sweet Baby's Mind  1970 

Little Milton - I'm Tired  1970

   

The Feel It Advent-ure 2024: Door 12

This one is reminiscent of Alvin Robinson's Down Home Girl. 

Times have changed, what chance would this have of getting an airing on the radio nowadays? 

The Johnny Otis Show - Country Girl  1969 

Update: Just found this review in the "4 **** Singles Reviews" section in the Feb. 8th 1969 issue of Record World: 

Bouncy R/Ballad entry could go very far. Good party time sound to it.

Bouncy indeed! :)

The Feel It Advent-ure 2024: Door 11

Back to some records that I did find on our Deep South trip. 

Our next stop was French Camp, slap bang in the middle of nowhere. I wasn't expecting any record digging opportunities, but in a roundabout way it turned out I was wrong.

Soon after leaving Muscle Shoals and heading back east we took a left and picked up the Natchez Trace Parkway. I had read about it in a Sunday Times article years ago (and had kept the article) and I guess it was then that my bucket list, such that it is, first came into being and, mentally, "driving the Natchez Trace Parkway" became the first entry. So, all these years later, here we were. Serene and empty sums it up I think. Fantastic scenery, which actually can get a little samey after a while, so we would dive off every now and again and try and find some small towns. The roads immediately off the Parkway we found to be  extremely quiet too, no Interstates (we hardly hit a big Interstate in the entire trip) but some sizeable roads. It was almost surreal driving down a highway the size of a UK motorway, except bigger because of the  enormously wide central reservation, that is almost deserted. 

Anyway we stopped at French Camp for the night, a tiny town that is essentially dry, and we respected the advice to not take any alcohol onto the premises of our B&B. The next morning we happened to have an extremely serendipitous conversation with another couple at the breakfast table. They were interested in our trip and I mentioned that I was keeping an eye out for records along the way (cue Mrs Darce rolling her eyes). The guy said he knew a place in the middle of nowhere further south in Mississippi that was full of records and showed me where on his phone. My heart started beating faster. What were the chances? - it was literally on the way to the next stop on our journey, Vicksburg.

So it was, later that day, we ended up in Raymond MS. Just across the road from the record store we first of all found a lovely little book/nick nack/coffee shop which was perfect for Mrs Darce to while away the time, and I then hot footed it over to The Little Big Store. 

I walked through the door and my heartbeat ticked up a few notches - it was indeed full of records, including plenty of 45s which I had decided to limit myself to on this trip. I thought: serendipity sent me here, it's off the beaten track, it's full of records, I'm going to fill my boots! So I dug, and I dug, and I frantically dug. But unfortunately I only found two 45s worth buying. When paying for them (nothing was priced so I didn't know what to expect, but I needn't have worried) I had a chat with the owner, who was lovely but whose name I now can't remember, and she let me have a free tote bag with the shop's name on it which I was really chuffed with. She admitted that the place was a bit picked over now, but only in the last five years or so. It seems it has become very popular with people travelling the Blues trail. So, I was only a few years late in finding this place. One can only wonder at was once there. Imagine if we had made this trip six years ago instead of doing the New England road trip? Stop it. She did say there were lots more records upstairs still unsorted though....

Fenton Robinson - Leave You In The Arms Of Your Other Man  1970                     

The Feel It Advent-ure 2024: Door 7

Hello, who is this at the door?

Ah, it's you again Mr. Campbell, welcome.

Little Milton was prolific throughout the 60s and most of his singles, especially on Checker, are worth picking up. This one is a stormer.

Little Milton - Grits Ain't Groceries  1968   

The Feel It Advent-ure 2024: Door 4

Here's Little Milton again, and it won't be the last of his this month.

I put this one on my want list a couple of years ago now. I would have had to have paid £20 - £25 for a copy in the UK and there aren't that many about. So, although this has seen some plays, I was happy to find it for $3.

This one hits a groove and doesn't let up. I would have thought it would have been a staple on the Northern Soul and Mod scene but it only seems to be semi-known.     

Checker had a number of label designs down the years. It is generally accepted that the silver on red one here lasted from 1957 to 1965. It was superceded briefly by the "checkerboard" design but by 1966 a more basic blue design had taken over. I have seen copies of this single on all three designs. Any on the red label must have been using up old label stock.      

Little Milton - Sometimey  1966

 

The Feel It Advent-ure 2021: Door 10

You may lose control of your limbs to this one. Be sure to push the kitchen table and chairs well off to one side :)

The Orlons - Not Me  1963

The Feel it Advent-ure 2021: Door 5

It has taken me an awfully long time to catch up with her but I finally bought a couple of Miss LaVell 45s this year. Both looked pretty beat up but play remarkable well.

Here's one of them. A click at the beginning, but this adds to its charm I think. The track's arrangement gives it a really exotic feel and I love the soaring brass, and Miss LaVell's vocals top everything off wonderfully.

Miss LaVell – Run To You 1963

Lillia Lavell “Lavelle” White, to give her her real name, is still alive and is now 92 years young. Her recorded output runs to six singles on Duke between 1958 and 1965, and then three albums released between 1994 and 2003. Quite a gap! She has been writing and performing most of her life, and is still performing on the Texas Blues scene, though she says she's not just a blues singer, encompassing funk and soul too. She has an active Facebook page where I did read a very recent “get well” comment so I hope she is still doing OK.

The Feel It Advent-ure 2021: Door 4

Here's a great bluesy number from Lowell Fulsom (real name actually Fulson I believe, using both names at different times for contractual reasons). Yes, it sounds a bit like Tramp (most well known, at least outside the US, as being recorded by Otis Redding & Carla Thomas) and that's deliberate because it was actually the follow up to Lowell's version Tramp which he is credited as co-writing with Jimmy McCracklin and is the original. It reached the Billboard top 5 and was released a few months before Otis & Carla's rendition.

This 45 had a great picture cover, which unfortunately does not adorn my copy.

Lowell Fulsom – Make A Little Love 1967

What else is there to do on a cold winter's night :)

The Feel It Advent-ure 2020: Door 9

In 1961 Major Lance had briefly been a member of the The Ideals. By August of '63 he was solo and in the charts with The Monkey Time. But watch out Major - in that time of dance crazes there was always another one just around the corner, and this one was definitely going to be bigger than the Monkey!

The Ideals – The Gorilla 1963

The Feel It Advent-ure 2020: Door 7

So, the eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed a sequence to this year's Advent-ure posts. Any of you that have will have predicted today's post would be from an artist or group beginning with the letter G.

Yes there is a sequence, and it's a simple one – I'm running through the letters of the alphabet A to … er .. X (the 24^th is going to be challenging!). I am finding this simple rule concentrates the mind wonderfully and makes it much easier to choose which record to feature, and when the posts come thick and fast you need to make quick decisions.

The Gs in the singles boxes are not that extensive, and I have posted many of them already, so it was quickly narrowed down to one of three artists – Don Gardner, Barbara George, or Roosevelt Grier.

“Rosey” Grier won out when I started reading up on his life. I suggested the artist in yesterday's post - Louise Freeman - maybe a Georgia native, well Roosevelt Grier was definitely born in Georgia, and he is still alive, age 88 years and counting; and it is fair to say his life has been full and varied. His singing career resulted in 23 singles and 2 albums, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. From pro American footballer to prominent bodyguard, to needlepointer and more. Read his Wikipedia entry, it's fascinating. At 6' 5" Rosey may be a larger than life character, but it's difficult to believe he could be larger than his own life! 

This was his first 45, released at the beginning of 1960 on the A label – that label name ensuring it would have been listed first on any new issue distribution lists!

Roosevelt Grier – Why Don't You Do Right 1960

The Feel It Advent-ure 2020: Door 3

 

I have John Peel to thank for having this record in my collection. 

Back in the 70s John played the A side It's A Man Down There on one of his shows and it stuck in my mind, and it is probably still on one of my mixtapes which were made up of tracks he played. I bought my copy around 15 years ago now, I guess.

There is a copy of this single in John Peel's much publicised “special box” that contains 142 singles in total. Did he acquire his copy when he was living in the USA or later , I wonder? I am sure that he certainly first heard it while he was in the USA because it actually made the Hot 100 in 1965, peaking at 67.

For such a “raw” record with little or nothing in the way of production frills that seems remarkable. It's success may have been due in no small part to famed DJ, John R (Richbourg) in Nashville who pushed the record hard.

Very little is known of George L Crockett, and only one known picture of him exists. Some say his middle initial is actually T. We know for sure G stands for George. The accepted wisdom, such that it is, can be found on Wikipedia.

G L Crockett is buried at Burr Oak Cemetery, Alsip, Illinois. He died in 1967 at the tragically young age of 38, apparently from a cerebral hemorrhage brought on by hypertension, a condition he had suffered from for many years. This was possibly exacerbated by alcohol as it is documented that George had a drink problem. (However, a different, more sinister cause of death is suggested by a possible daughter on some youtube comments – although I know one should be careful when reading youtube comments).

G L Crockett left a recorded work of just four singles on the 4 Brothers label and one early outing on Chief (as G “Davy” Crockett”). G.L.'s drink problem made him difficult to work with apparently and he was dropped by the label after his fourth outing. The Daniels in the credits on this track is Jack Daniels who was the prinicpal operator of the 4 Brothers label that was run out of Barney's Record store in Chicago. (This info comes from Robert Pruter's excellent book Chicago Soul, where there is an in depth write up on 4 Brothers and the artists that appeared on the label).

I'm featuring the B side today. It has a real “live” feel to it. Consistent with the fact that it was probably recorded in one take. I particularly love the meandering guitar.

G.L.Crockett – Every Hour, Every Day 1965

The Feel It Advent-ure 2020: Door 1

 

No posts for four months and now I'm embarking on a full on Feel It Advent-ure – yes a post a day right up to Christmas Day!

Foolhardy? Very probably. Certainly a gamble.

Here is Ray Agee making it a hat-trick of Advent-urous appearances hereabouts. He was behind Door 11 last year, where you can read a little more about him.

Ray Agee – The Gamble 1963

Beach ready

We're off to Portugal for a week in less then 24 hours. So I'll have to be brief.

The car boots have been almost completely devoid of vinyl so far this year. Each year the pickings get slimmer. The charity shops proved a bit better earlier in the year but they haven't produced much lately either. Something good to come out of this state of affairs is it has allowed me to concentrate on actually playing more of the records I have accumulated over recent times (instead of times I could easily have said years!). A novel approach eh? Sitting down and listening to records rather than just simply piling them up in a corner. Many albums I buy out of curiosity and in the full expectation of maybe only finding one track of real worth. So it is I have been playing quite a few of my recent acquisitions properly for the first time, picking out the cherries and recording them for further listening on, say, a beach.

One of the albums I played on Sunday was a Timi Yuro compilation (75p from a Sally Army charity shop if memory serves). About six tracks made it into wav/mp3 format. One of those tracks is a storming version of Fever. I had not heard it before but I know I will be hearing it a lot more from now on. 

Timi Yuro – Fever 1962

Check me baby...

... because I am still here! 

Oh dear! Nearly another month has gone by since my last post. But, yes, this blog is still alive, albeit crawling into its second decade. An intermittent service may still continue for a couple of months - I'm feverishly busy at work at the moment and by the time I get home usually all I want to do is sit down and vegetate in front of the TV, or idly browse on my new tablet - not my normal mode I have to say.

I'm not short of music to share, but I am short of time to listen to it and research a few words to say about it.

Here is another 45 from the little stack I was so glad to find at a local record fair a few weeks ago. This one was a bit of an impulse purchase I have to say, and not nearly as cheap as the others. I usually set myself tight limits on what I'm willing to shell out on records, and in truth get a real buzz from finding great sounds for peanuts. In this instance, however, I let curiosity take its course and dug into a box of more expensive 45s to see if what lay in the grooves could honestly justify the price tag. The answer generally was no it couldn't - at least not to me - except for this Peacock 45, the one and only record Willie Tomlin released as far as I can tell. The lyrics are just great fun and had me hooked straightaway. (I didn't spend a fortune on it, just a bit more than I usually would consider).     

I can't tell you anything about Willie Tomlin, except that he's one cat that's clean!

Willie Tomlin - Check Me Baby  1968

... and he was almost certainly inspired by this:
              

For the eagle-eyed amongst us

As promised here is the Gloria Lynne 45 that the eagle-eyed Ravel spotted in the pictures in my last post that featured my most recent little 45 haul.

Gloria Mia Wilson was born in Harlem in 1929. Her NY Times obituary tells us she took a male friend's name, who would become her husband – Alleyne – as a stage name in the Fifties, but soon shortened it to Lynne, after so many presenters had trouble pronouncing Alleyne.

Gloria initially sung in groups including the Dell Tones, The Enchanters, and The Dorsey Sisters. Her solo career started sometime around 1958. At least one single was released under her birth name, on Dawn records, but her career really took off under the name Gloria Lynne when she was signed to Everest Records. Between 1958 and 1970 – her most active period – she then had numerous 45 and album releases, and toured with the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, and Billy Eckstine, Although typically labelled a Jazz vocalist her repertoire extended to Jazz, R&B, Soul and lush Pop arrangements, and her songs were often difficult to categorise. She had a fine voice and didn't really get the full recognition, or lasting recording breaks she deserved. The NY Times obit recounts unscrupulous management, and this coupled with changing musical tastes meant the Seventies would prove a low point for her. Later her career would revive and she moved into more pure Jazz circles and toured and performed with Jazz luminaries such as Quincy Jones.

It seems that Gloria Lynne had at least two 45 releases on the Seeco label, which were in the middle of her run of Everest releases. I'm not sure what the story is behind these Seeco 45s (incidentally Dawn, where Gloria made one of early 45 outings, it seems was a subsidiary label of Seeco), they do seem to be fairly obscure, possibly recorded prior to her Everest hook up and released in an attempt to cash in on her growing reputation.

I'm not sure which is the A side here, all I know is I'm Not Afraid Anymore is a great jump blues / R&B number and the stronger side to my mind. I have seen Is There Someone For Me listed as the A side though, which is quite possible, it is a much more pop slanted ballad and might have had more chart potential at the time, Gloria certainly lifts it above the average.

Gloria Lynne – I'm Not Afraid Anymore 1961

Gloria Lynne – Is There Someone For Me 1961

Pleased to meet you Hank

For the last couple of years I had been thinking of buying a portable turntable but had never quite managed to press the buy button. This was partly because of the price .v. the variable reviews and partly because I wondered how much I would use it – I haven’t been an avid record fair visitor to date and to use a portable at a charity shop or car boot just doesn’t seem right, or practical. But I have been thinking lately that my buying pattern may start moving more towards quality than quantity and so record fairs maybe the way to go as far as physical digging is concerned. So when this one (an ION LP2Go) came up at only £30 including postage (almost half price) I couldn’t resist.    

     

Last weekend it had its first outing at the local small R&R slanted record fair. In truth I wasn’t looking to spend much money as quite a few records have already dropped through the letterbox this last few weeks, but I looked on this outing as an exercise in getting familiar with the ION.  I always dig for soul, but at this fair there is very little I haven’t seen before. I may have seen the records before but I hadn’t heard them. So my new toy allowed me to run through the rest of the vaguely interesting ones – and in most cases discount them for good.  

At one point there were four or five of us all in a line sat down hunched over our portables with a stack of records in front of us. The portables were all shapes and sizes. Design wise the ION is based on the original classic of its type - the Soundburger. I thought it was funny - there I was a somewhat ageing has been with my new piece of kit and next to me was a young gun with his girlfriend, and what looked like an original Soundburger. His girlfriend seemed to be looking at me, and my ION, quite a bit. I guessed she was inwardly scoffing at my uncool, and admittedly in comparison somewhat clunky looking, bit of hardware. I did notice though that after an initial spin the Soundburger wasn’t getting a lot of use. Showing its age and reliability problems creeping in maybe. I know, that’s a comment that can also easily apply to me! But as far as the portables were concerned perhaps I could at least have the last laugh.

With the Soul cheapie bins finally exhausted this portable is now going to allow me to start exploring some of the other records for sale at this fair i.e. R&R, early R&B especially, and even maybe some Hillbilly! I am no expert in these genres so in the past taking a punt was not really an option but now I’m all tooled up!

This bit of technology may turn out to be a costly purchase: on the one hand it will stop me buying average or worn records, but on the other hand it has effectively opened up whole vistas of old records in new (to me) genres. I made a brief start on a box of cheapie early R&B and was happy with this 1961 release from the, at that time, prolific Hank Ballard & The Midnighters. This record I will forever remember as the first one ‘found’ with the help of my portable turntable. For that reason I think I may call it Hank.

Hank Ballard & The Midnighters – Let’sGo Again (Where We Did Last Night)  1961

And to my ears the even better B side….

Hank Ballard & The Midnighters – DeepBlue Sea  1961 

The 2013 Advent-ure #17

Perfection.

No further words necessary.

Alvin Robinson - Down Home Girl  1964

I was beginning to think I would never own a copy of this. Every Red Bird original I had found (all on line) was either that little bit too expensive or in questionable condition. So I was happy to grab this 1975 UK Charly release the other day. (Bought at the same time as the Ujima 45 featured behind an earlier door. Ujima was an auction win, the seller was only a few miles away so I said I would collect. When I got there he pointed out that my petrol cost was probably about equal to what the postage would have been. Which was quite true. But something told me the seller might have other records, and it turned out he did! I spent 20 minutes or so going through 3 boxes of, mostly, UK issue soul and funk and found this Alvin 45 and a couple of other things too. Result!)