The Emotions - Untouched ... plus (1969-1974)

The Stax roster was heavily male-oriented with guys like Isaac Hayes, William Bell, Eddie Floyd and Rufus Thomas. Soul sisters had a tough time at Stax, for whatever reason: aside from Carla, there was Mable John, Judy Clay, Shirley Brown and Ruby Johnson. Female groups fared even less well at the Memphis diskerie: while Motown had a truckload of female acts and a few male teams made an impact at Stax, no female groups achieved any kind of resounding success; with the exception of The Emotions. Sisters Sheila, Wanda and Jeanette were signed to Stax Records in 1967 and two years later, the trio released the sweet-yet-soulful ‘So I Can Love You’. This was not only the group’s first major hit with the label, but sister, Sheila Hutchinson, wrote it. After that, The Emotions on a hot streak and teamed up with producers Isaac Hayes and David Porter for their next big hit single at Stax, titled ‘Show Me How’, from the album Untouched, released in 1971. By this time, The Emotions were running up the charts consistently with hit records. Unfortunately, the label was beginning to experience some financial difficulties and a subsequent album was never released. Once the trio left Stax, they hit a new level of success after teaming up with Earth Wind & Fire founder Maurice White. Working with White at Columbia Records, the group scored its biggest hit with ‘Best of My Love’ in 1977, following it with the dance/pop/R&B smash ‘Boogie Wonderland’. However, soul music connoisseurs never forgot their Stax recordings, even though they didn’t create the same kind of response as the ladies’ work with White. You can hear this pioneering female trio offering their own distinctive sibling-fused harmonies on their second album for the label, ‘Untouched’. I added no less than 12 bonus tracks here, which make 23 tracks in all, consisting on many of the singles (and all of the hits) the trio recorded for Stax between 1969 and 1974. Included are ‘So I Can Love You’, ‘The Best Part of a Love Affair’, ‘Stealing Love’, ‘When Tomorrow Comes’ and ‘Heart Association’, among others. http://stax50.com, http://www.corporateartists.com