Baby Washington & Don Gardner - Lay a Little Lovin' on Me (1973) / Edwin Starr & Blinky - Just We Two (1969) ... plus

Two older '60s soul stars, Baby Washington and Don Gardner, team up in this early '70s album of sweet soul duets titled Lay a Little Lovin' on Me. Don had worked previously with Dee Dee Ford, and he is going for a similar style here with Baby Washington, with both singers trading off vocals, and one usually dominating the song more than the other. The groove is kind of early '70s indie, and the smoother numbers are the best. Arrangements are by Bobby Martin, Burt De Coteaux, and Paul Riser, and cuts include 'We're Gonna Make It Big', 'I Just Want to Be Near to You', 'Baby Let Me Get Close to You', 'Can't Get Over Losing You', and 'Lay a Little Lovin' on Me'. Edwin Starr & Blinky Williams' Just We Two album opens up with a soulful rendition of 'You've Made Me So Very Happy,' a #2 hit for Blood, Sweat and Tears earlier in the year that was itself a cover of a Motown original by Brenda Holloway, and it concludes with the Smokey Robinson classic, 'Ooo Baby Baby.' One particular standout in between is a new version of 'Oh How Happy,' which was written by Starr under his given name of Charles Hatcher for the group Shades of Blue in 1966. The cute duet grazed the lower reaches of the Hot 100 in the summer of 1969. Starr went on to record his signature hit, 'War,' the following year, so it's not a surprise that the pairing was so short-lived. But the reasoning behind the mass of powerhouse, unissued Blinky recordings remains one of Motown's many mysteries. As bonus tracks I added seven of those elusive Blinky's solo tracks, including 'The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game', 'I Wouldn't Change The Man He Is', 'This Time Last Summer' and 'Money', plus an extra duet with Edwin Starr, 'Never Gonna Give You Up', which was unreleased at the time. http://classic.motown.com/, http://www.dustygroove.com/

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Etta James: The Second Time Around (1961)

Etta James was just 22 when she made the recordings for this album in 1960 and '61, but she had already established herself as a youthful belter of spirited R&B numbers. The Second Time Around was originally released by Argo Records as a 45-inch LP, containing five tracks on each side of the LP (with ten tracks overall). Like her previous album, At Last!, producers, Phil and Leonard Chess added orchestral strings arranged and conducted by Riley Hampton to the background music of James's voice, which garnered her with Pop crossover appeal. Like Aretha Franklin in the same period, James felt pressure from recording executives to go in different directions. Chess was unsure whether to market her as an R&B singer or to press her toward mainstream adult pop and jazz. This album presents both sides of the coin, with James doing rousing R&B numbers such as 'Seven Day Fool' and the protosoul of 'Don't Cry Baby,' lounge tunes like 'One for My Baby', the jazz-flavored ballad 'Fool That I Am,' Ellington's 'Don't Get Around Much Anymore' and a cover of the Pop standard 'Dream'. It hardly matters, though, for James's emotional immediacy and potent delivery make all the material her own. The album spawned three singles, which all became major hits on the Hot Rhythm Blues Records and Billboard Pop Chart in 1961. Etta would surely do her best with later albums like Tell Mama, but on The Second Time Around one hears the singer at her peak in a swinging and varied program of blues, R&B, and jazz standards. http://en.wikipedia.org/, http://www.amazon.com/

Della Reese: Black Is Beautiful - The Avco Years (1969-1972)

Della Reese is a renowned gospel singer, working with Mahalia Jackson and Clara Ward before becoming lead singer with the Meditation Singers. Her place was taken by Laura Lee when she left to join the Erskine Hawkins orchestra in 1956. Reese began a solo recording career with Jubilee in 1957, releasing the Top 20 hit 'And That Reminds Me' and a version of Cole Porter’s 'In The Still of the Night'. Now established as a gospel-influenced ballad singer, she signed to RCA Records in 1959 where Hugo And Luigi produced 'Don’t You Know', based on an aria from Puccini’s opera La Bohème. It reached number 2 and was followed by the Top 20 single 'Not One Minute More'. Later RCA singles included revivals of 'Someday (You’ll Want Me to Want You)' (1960) from 1946 and the '20s standard 'Bill Bailey' (1961). During the '60s and '70s, she worked frequently in cabaret, recording for Avco and ABC Records, where she had a minor dance hit with the Northern Soul tune 'If It Feels Good Do It', in 1972. Black Is Beautiful is one of the two fantastic albums Della released on Avco in the late-'60s to early-'70s. Nice stuff from a period when Della was forging a unique mix of country-soul, blues, gospel, funk and pop vocals into a sophisticated blend that transcended all styles. Produced by Hugo & Luigi, the record features some really nice moments, like 'Games People Play', a funky take on Eugene McDaniels' protest song 'Compared to What', a truly tip-top lick of The Impressions' classic 'Choice of Colors', Bobby Goldsboro's 'With Pen In Hand', the beautiful country soul song 'Comment' and 'Cycles'. One curious note is that Black Is Beautiful was the only album of the Avco label to ever reach a chart, peaking at #44 R&B, in 1970. I have added 14 bonus tracks from the same period, including a handful of singles, all but four of the cuts from her other album for the label, Right Now (1971), plus three songs which were not issued at the time. 24 tracks in all! http://www.oldies.com/, http://www.bsnpubs.com/ For obvious reasons this post is dedicated to one of my dearest blog followers, Della! ;-)
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VA: Troubles, Heartaches & Sadness - Hi Records' Deep Soul Sisters (1966-76)

Whenever the classic sound of Memphis is discussed, the holy trinity of Stax, Goldwax and Hi dominate the proceedings. Although the Hi label was a relative latecomer in the soul stakes, it soon equalled, and often surpassed its rivals in both commercial and artistics terms. The company's roster was home to an array of talent, some already established, others fresh-faced and ready to roll, from whose ranks this collection of distaff delights has been assembled. Janet & the Jays' Memphis residence was brief, but the group's legacy, which includes Don Bryant's 'Without a Reason' and 'Love What You're Doing to Me', stands proudly among the finest Hi product of all time. Ann Peebles made her R&B chart debut in 1969 with her very first single, the start of a decade of chartbusters and, finally, the breakthrough into the soul market that had since eluded Hi. Four of Peebles' classic cuts are featured here, including 'Give Me Some Credit', 'Troubles, Heartaches & Sadness' and 'Run Run Run'. Memphis' best secret, Toni Green, was the lead vocalist of Imported Moods, a harmony outfit whose 'What Have You Done to My Heart' was released on the label in 1970. Five years before ex-fashion model Veniece joined Hi, released two singles pdq and promptly disappeared from the recording scene for six years. She returned from that hiatus with the driving downhome saga 'Stepchild', prompting a trip to Europe supporting Wilson Pickett. A revival of Otis Clay's 'Trying to Live My Life Without You' in 1975 proved to be her farewell disc. Signed to Hi Records, Quiet Elegance were produced by Willie Mitchell and Dan Greer, who acting independently, whip up a batch of hot, tough Southern sounds as magnificent as their debut single, 'I'm Afraid of Losing You'. Blue-eyed soul trio Joint Venture worked for several years as in-house back-up singers for Al Green before releasing one of the greatest 45s to find on the label, 'What Have You Done to My Heart', in 1970. One of their members, Donna Rhodes, recorded solo 'Where's Your Love Been' three years later. Erma Coffee's 1973 Hi single coupled her version of 'Any Way the Wind Blows' and 'You Made Me What I Am', both included here. She later recorded as Irma Coffee for Tamtown. Chicagoan soul diva Jean Plum arrived at Hi Records in 1975, where she debuted with the remarkable “soft-deep” double-header 'Look at the Boy' and 'Back to You'. Talking to the British publication Blues & Soul the following year, the singer expressed her excitement at the completion of sessions for her first album. The inclusion of treasures like 'Loneliness' and her supremely soulful interpretations of Aretha Franklin’s 'Today I Sing the Blues' would surely have ensured a top quality se but, sadly, the LP was never released. The 1976 single 'I Love Him' was Plum’s only other release until her final platter two years later. Meanwhile Hi girl group Known Facts delivered their impressive two-sider 'He's Got It' and 'How Can I Believe You', in 1975; same year that the Duncan Sisters issued 'It's You That I Need', their only outing on Hi. The fact that Ann Peebles alone amongst this talented asemblage hit the big time, detracts not one jot from the greats sounds laid down by her equally deserving labelmates, whom posterity has, at last, granted a wider and more appreciative audience than they attracted back in the day. Partially Taken from the original liner notes.

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Deniece Williams: This Is Niecy / Song Bird (1976-1977) ... plus

Deniece Williams spent the first half of the '70s establishing herself as a background vocalist for an impressive line of artists, including Stevie Wonder, Minnie Riperton, Roberta Flack, and Esther Phillips. Though she'd continue to do session work throughout her career, she also became accomplished as a solo artist. Unfortunately, a lot of people think she came out of nowhere for 1984's 'Let's Hear It for the Boy,' a number one pop hit, but she was making excellent albums as early as 1976. The songs that would eventually make up her debut, This Is Niecy, were sent to Earth, Wind & Fire. Williams didn't intend to make her own album and thought these songs would be a good fit for Philip Bailey. Instead, she got to record them with most of EW&F, including Maurice White and Charles Stepney as producers, Verdine White on bass, Freddie White on drums, those glorious horns, and several other associates of the group. Three of the album's seven songs were released as singles, and they're all stunners, each with its own mood and style (fittingly, one peaked on the dance chart, one hit the Top 30 of the pop chart, and one scraped the black singles chart). The best of the lot is 'Free,' a subtle but powerful sparkler that expressed Williams' desire to break from the more traditional lifestyle that had been mapped out for her. Out of everything she recorded, this low-key song demonstrates most how her time with Riperton and Syreeta rubbed off on her, showing how a bedroom whisper can be just as affecting as an in-the-red wail. The album also featured 'Cause You Love Me Baby' (which charted separately on the R&B chart as the flip side of 'Free'), 'That's What Friends Are For' and 'How'd I Know That Love Would Slip Away'. I included here as well her second LP for Columbia. Titled Song Bird, it was released a year later, in 1977, and was also a Maurice White production with great moments, like the number 13 single 'Baby, Baby My Love's All for You' and 'God Is Amazing', but This Is Niecy remains her best effort. As a bonus track I added the single version of 'Free'. http://www.allmusic.com/
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Deniece Williams performing her classic 'Free':

Ruby Winters: Songbird - The Anthology (1966-1979)

Ruby Winters recorded several energetic soul singles for tiny labels throughout the late '60s and early '70s, but never could break out beyond regional status. She was born in Kentucky, but raised in Cinncinnati, and had her first chart hit in 1967, teaming with Johnny Thunder for a duet remake of Jo Stafford's 1954 single 'Make Love to Me,' for Diamond Records. Their version peaked at number 13 on the R&B charts. Ruby was one of the mainstays at Diamond for close to four years, between 1966 and 1969. She had another Top 20 hit with 'I Don't Want to Cry' in 1969 for the label, and one Top 20 single in 1969 with 'Guess Who'. But she would get caught up in the Diamond Records shutdown and shift over to Certron records for one release in 1970 (allegedly Certron bought the Diamond masters), before scoring a surprise hit in the mid-'70s with her cover of the Dick Glasser standard, 'I Will'. She would release an album with the same title in 1978. Later hit singles for her included the songs 'I Won't Mention It Again', 'Come to Me!' and 'Baby Lay Down', all of which made it into the UK Singles Chart in the late '70s. The last two appeared on her last album Songbird, released on K-Tel in 1979. I have gathered here 14 of her '60s sides, including her duet with Johnny Thunder, plus her complete 1978 album I Will, and half a dozen tracks from 1979's Songbird. Highlights include the Northern Soul cuts 'Better' and 'I Want Action', 'I Don't Want to Hurt Nobody', 'Just Like A Yo-Yo', 'The Bells of St. Mary's', 'Always David', Kris Kristofferson's 'For The Good Times', her impressive debut single 'In the Middle of a Heartache', and the wonderful deep soul ballad 'Try Me', 32 songs in all!! http://en.wikipedia.org/
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Ruby Winters performing the classic 'I Will':

Penny Goodwin: Portrait of a Gemini (1974)

A legendary bit of jazzy soul recorded by Penny Goodwin, an obscure female singer from Milwaukee. Penny has a warm style that is pretty darn nice on its own, but it's made even better by the great arranger Richard Evan, who helped out a lot on the session, along with Phil Upchurch (G), and Morris Jennings (Ds). The feel is very much in the Chicago sophisti-soul mode and, at times, the record sounds a lot like Marlena Shaw's best work in the '70s, particularly her sides for Blue Note in the early part of the decade. Originally released on a Milwaukie Label, only 2000 copies were Pressed. Used vinyl copies of the original Portrait of a Gemini album were going for five hundred dollars in the collectors market at one point. It includes the great original 'Too Soon You're Old' - a jazz dance classic for many years - plus a stellar cover of Gil Scott Heron's 'Lady Day & John Coltrane', and the tracks 'He's Come Back', 'Amazing Grace', 'Slow Hot Wind', 'Today Is the First Day' and 'Rain Sometimes'. It also features a has-to-be-heard-to-be-believed version of Marvin Gaye's 'What's Goin' On'. http://www.dustygroove.com/, http://www.amazon.com/

Dusty Springfield: Where Am I Going (1967) ... plus

Where Am I Going is a phenomenal album by Dusty Springfield, and though it doesn't have any American chart hits made famous by the icon, it would have been a blessing had every single performance here conquered the Top 40. The British version contains 12 tracks, while the U.S. counterpart, entitled The Look of Love, has 11, four of which are not on the vinyl version of this: 'Look of Love,' 'Small Town Girl,' 'What's It Gonna Be,' and 'Give Me Time' (I have added all these as bonus tracks). To further complicate things, this '90s reissue contains three extra cuts, including 'Time After Time,' 'I've Got a Good Thing' and the Goffin/King tune 'Don't Forget About Me'. The LP cover is great — a black and white of a smiling Springfield with wide-brimmed hat, mini skirt, and a comic book quotation in psychedelic off-pink and orange stating Where Am I Going. The music inside with strings and orchestration is a relentless delight. The Pat Williams arrangement of Bobby Hebb's 'Sunny' with conductor Peter Knight reveals a touch of the James Bond riff, a definite sign of the times. One can hear the wondrous voices of Madeline Bell and Lesley Duncan, the backing voices blending perfectly with the orchestration in songs like 'I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face' and 'Don't Let Me Lose This Dream.' 'Where Am I Going?' is as perfectly surreal as its title suggests — imagine Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music twirling around in the windmills of Springfield's mind. This is not the driving pop of 'I Only Want to Be With You' or 'Wishin' & Hopin',' this is symphonic adult contemporary. 'They Long to Be Close to You' is the serious and dramatic blues that the Carpenters aspired to develop. 'Welcome Home' is out of this world rhythm & blues told with authority. It and other tracks from Where Am I Going? puts Springfield in that elite class reserved for the best of Janis Joplin, Etta James, and Ella Fitzgerald — female vocalists who found notes in niches of songs that were unavailable to lesser mortals. While Springfield was filling the airwaves in America with 'The Son of a Preacher Man' toward the end of 1968, a band called Vanilla Fudge had 'Take Me for a Little While' on the U.S. charts, but their disc was issued in July of 1967 and their success in the States was a delayed reaction. Dusty Springfield takes that great composition and turns it into snappy pop with an amazing vocal. Add 'If You Go Away' and the musicians on these grooves take the listener on a wild ride running the gamut of genres without disrupting Where Am I Going?'s flow. This is a tremendous and often forgotten masterpiece in the repertoire of Dusty Springfield which deserves more attention. It truly is the record which keeps on giving. http://www.allmusic.com/
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Dusty singing live 'Time After Time' on her TV show in 5 September 1967. Now this, ladies and gentlemen, is a REAL singer:

The great diva performing her 1967 single 'What's It Gonna Be':

Ty Karim: The Complete Ty Karim - Los Angeles' Soul Goddess (1965-1980)

A tall, elegant and emotionally dynamic singer, Ty Karim was a local legend on the L.A. soul circuit, although she never really received her due on a national level despite having released several powerful dance tracks on various small labels from the mid-'60s through the early '80s. Most of her releases, which included the Northern Soul favourite 'Lighten Up Baby,' were produced by her second husband Kent Harris, whose own singing career was all but over when the two met. Harris devoted his creative energy to Karim's career, wisely featuring and giving full reign to her husky voice on their productions, many of which originally appeared on Harris' own Romark imprint. A 12" collaboration with George Griffin, 'Keep on Doin' Whatcha' Doin',' in the early '80s was a hit in the U.K. and brought Karim a good deal of attention in Europe. Karim died in 1983, and aside from serious fans of soul and R&B, her impressive body of work was all but forgotten. Such a shame, as she was a hell of a great talent, starting out in the '60s with upbeat Northern Soul groovers, then moving into the '70s with material that was even deeper, and a bit more sophisticated laidback numbers that really show a maturation in style, and which are filled with wonderful twists and turns. Ty's vocals have a burning quality that's quite surprising, given her kittenish look on the cover, making the whole package a really wonderful journey in soul. And although most of the tracks here were recorded by tiny indie labels, they often have a very full, spacious approach to production - one that's really trying to hit the heights of Detroit or New York at the time. A good number of these cuts weren't issued at the time, and together with the rare singles, they really go a long way towards filling in the gaps in Ty's too-short career on record. Titles include 'I Ain't Lying', 'Natural Do', 'You Really Made It Good To Me', 'Help Me Get That Feeling Back Again', 'All at Once', 'Only a Fool', 'Lightin Up' (the the '70s remake of 'Lighten Up Baby'), 'I Ain't Lying', 'You Just Don't Know', 'I'm Leavin' You', and 'Don't Make Me Do Wrong.' Ty was along with so many other artists such as Sandi Sheldon, Bettye Swann or Dee Dee Warwick, a marvellous artist who never broke through to the mainstream. However the quality of her music is undeniable and this set is essential for fans of '60s and '70s soul music. Thanks to Daniele for this one!! http://www.allmusic.com/, http://www.dustygroove.com/

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Big Maybelle Smith: Chronological (1944-1968)

Mabel Louise Smith (1 May 1924, Jackson, Tennessee, USA, d. 23 January 1972, Cleveland, Ohio, USA) was discovered singing in church by Memphis band leader Dave Clark in 1935. When Clark disbanded his orchestra to concentrate on record promotion, Smith moved to Christine Chatman’s orchestra with whom she first recorded for Decca Records in 1944. Three years later, Smith made solo records for King and in 1952 she recorded as Big Maybelle when producer Fred Mendelsohn signed her to Okeh Records, a subsidiary of CBS Records. Her blues shouting style (a female counterpart to ‘Big’ Joe Turner) brought a R&B hit the next year with 'Gabbin’ Blues' (a cleaned-up version of the ‘dirty dozens’ on which she was partnered by songwriter Rose Marie McCoy). 'Way Back Home' and 'My Country Man' were also bestsellers. In 1955, she made the first recording of 'Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On', which later became a major hit for Jerry Lee Lewis. Big Maybelle was also a star attraction on the chitlin’ circuit of black clubs, with an act that included risqué comedy as well as emotive ballads and brisk boogies. Leaving Okeh for Savoy, her 'Candy' (1956) brought more success and in 1959, she appeared in Jazz on a Summer’s Day, the film of the Newport Jazz Festival. Despite her acknowledged influence on the soul styles of the '60s, later records for Brunswick Records, Scepter and Chess Records made little impact until she signed to the Rojac label in 1966. There she was persuaded to record some recent pop hits by the Beatles and Donovan and had some minor chart success of her own with versions of 'Don’t Pass Me By' and '96 Tears'. She also covered 'Eleanor Rigby', Los Bravos' 'Black Is Black', and recorded the Northern Soul stomper 'Quittin' Time'. Big Maybelle’s career was marred by frequent drug problems, which contributed to her early death from a diabetic coma. I have gathered here a collection of 130 tracks, consisting of a fair amount of the sides the R&B chanteuse recorded for King, Okeh, Savoy, Brunswick, Scepter and Rojac between 1944 and 1968, including the entirety of her albums What More Can a Woman Do? (Brunswick, 1962), The Soul of Big Maybelle (Brunswick, 1965) and The Gospel Soul of Big Maybelle (Scepter, 1968). Enjoy!! http://www.oldies.com/

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Big Maybelle singing 'I Ain't Mad at You', live at the Newport Jazz Festival, 1958: