Clydie King: The Imperial & Minit Years (1964-1968)

Texan born singer Clydie King is better known as a backing singer, having worked for many of the great names, including Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Crosby, Stills & Nash and many others. She was one of the most in demand backing vocalists during her decades of singing; yet she only released three albums of her own between 1971 and 1976. Her career began when she was still a teenage, fronting the band Little Clydie and the Teens. She then recorded a series of singles for various labels, including RPM, Minit, Imperial, Specialty, Phillips and Lizard. In 1966 she became one of the original Raelettes backing Ray Charles and later dueting with him on his album Love Country Style, released in 1970. King sang on The Supremes song Nathan Jones as well as the Dylan project Dylan's Gospel. Around the same time her band the Blackberries signed to Motown where they recorded an album which was never released - King was too busy recording for other labels to find time to promote the release. Her next band was called Brown Sugar and in 1973 King had her first and only chart hit with ‘Loneliness (Will Bring Us Together Again)’. This 22-track compilation features all of her singles released through Imperial and Minit Records between 1964 and 1968 in chronological order. Given the close relation of those labels there's a relatively unified feel, kind of a California approach, that mixes in a bit of deep soul roots to a fuller, more New York style of soul. Clydie has also a nice, somewhat shy voice and understated, subtle delivery that comes as a refreshing contrast to the usual soul belters who try so hard to sing their hearts out. Production on some tracks is by Jimmy Holiday and Jerry Riopelle and arrangements are by Rene Hall, Nick DeCaro, and others. It is really great throughout, with a quite surprising strength, given the spare circulation of these singles at the time. The set features the two duets she recorded with the equally underrated Jimmy Holiday; ‘Ready, Willing and Able’ is an up-tempo funky number reminiscent of the girl group sounds of the time. In addition there are 8 previously-unreleased bonus tracks which show her trying some pretty unexpected tunes by the likes of Mickey Newbury, Bobbie Gentry, and Phil Ochs, as well as some rootsier stuff like the bluesy ‘I'm Glad I'm a Woman.’ Other tracks include 'My Love Grows Deeper', 'He Always Comes Back To Me', 'Soft And Gentle Ways', and 'Shing-A-Ling'. http://www.answers.com/, http://www.dustygroove.com/, http://www.bol.com/
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I am afraid this video has very poor quality, but it seems to be the only way to see a performance of Clydie in the '60s:
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Rozetta Johnson: Personal Woman (1970-75)

Like so many African-American singers who defected from the church for a tantalising taste of secular pastures, cult soul siren Rozetta Johnson became disillusioned with the music business and eventually returned to her gospel roots. It could have been different if the Alabama-born chanteuse had been able to build a career on the back of her 1970 Billboard chart entry, ‘A Woman’s Way’, which grazed the R&B Top 40. Co-helmed by budding R&B tunesmith Sam Dees, the record – a striking, plaintive mid-tempo ballad - was issued on producer Clinton Moon's Clintone label, then distributed by mighty Atlantic Records. Johnson followed up her debut chart entry with an even stronger Dees-penned song, 'Who Are You Gonna Love (Your Woman or Your Wife),' a spouse's heartfelt plea to her cheating husband. One of several outstanding tracks on this new 16-track compilation, 'Who Are Gonna Love…' for all its musical merits failed to crack the R&B Top 40 on its release and sadly, all subsequent 45s that Johnson cut for the label in the next few years sank without trace. Rozetta's vocals are already plenty darn great on their own, sharp-edged, and presented with a level of class that almost reminds us of Chicago or Detroit singers from the time, but in the hands of Sam Dees, she really hits the sublime. Working with incredible lyrics that go far beyond the usual southern soul cliches, and getting some backings that are equally free from the obvious, she definitely goes in the upper-echelon of sophisticated soul. This truly superlative 16-track compilation features all seven of Johnson’s Clintone singles, as well as several previously unissued sides from the archives. The most salient of these is the up-tempo ‘You Better Keep What You Got’, which combines Johnson’s raspy gospel hollers with a propulsive disco beat. There are also two previously unissued cuts, 'For That Man of Mine' and 'Mama Was a Bad Seed.' The material and Johnson's performances are consistently strong, with her original version of '(I Like Making That) Early Morning Love' - later covered by Gwen McCrae – catching the ear along with uptempo workouts like 'I Can Feel My Love Comin'. This compelling cache of '70s Southern soul is undoubtedly one of the best soul compilations released in recent years. Miss it and weep. http://soulandjazzandfunk.com/, http://www.recordcollectormag.com/

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Love Unlimited - From a Girl's Point of View We Give to You... (1972)

From a Girl's Point of View We Give You... is a cohesive album-length meditation on the highs and lows of love, delivered by a satiny girl group trio pillowed in one of the warmest production surroundings yet heard on a pop album, courtesy of one Barry White. The reason that Love Unlimited was founded long before mastermind Barry White's career took off was that by the end of the ‘60s Barry considered himself solely a composer. Initially he had little intention to step into the limelight himself and thus recruited the three females as a means of publishing his songs: Glodean and her sister Linda, plus Diane Taylor. Ironically, both Barry White and Love Unlimited were signed to 20th Century Fox at the same time in 1971. They had spent a year working up their material, and it shows: the nine songs hang together like few soul albums of the time. Opening with a subdued monologue by Glodean James, the album does take awhile to get to the best track and biggest hit; the last one here, ‘Walkin' in the Rain with the One I Love,’ became White's first massive hit, complete with ambient rain noise and a tender telephone call between White and James. ‘I'll Be Yours Forever More’ and ‘If This World Were Mine’ (the latter a beautiful Marvin Gaye cover) are what the Supremes would have sounded like if they'd had the material, the producers, the freedom, and the ambition to record a concept album in the late '60s. Barry White's arrangements are reminiscent of the mid-'60s Holland-Dozier-Holland sound, but with all the icy edges melted off and the driving drumwork coaxed into a mid-tempo crawl. Subsequent to enjoying this first success, White created the idea to put the huge Love Unlimited Orchestra together (1972), which was supposed to back Barry's “three angels”. Soon thereafter White was a constant measure in the soul charts himself, and Love Unlimited usually opened the shows for his concerts. The girl group had no more chart busters by the end of the ‘70s and finally broke apart. Glodean and Barry had married by that time, and later released the duet album Barry & Glodean together (1981). http://www.allmusic.com/, http://rateyourmusic.com/

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The girls performing their big hit 'Walkin' in the Rain with the One I Love' on Soul Train, 1972:

Minnie Riperton: Her Chess Years (1964-1971)

Because of the broad range of material on this comp, it serves not only as a representation of Minnie Riperton's early vocal work, but also as a time capsule of ‘60s popular music; in other words, this is not just for die-hard Minnie Riperton fans. The set starts off with Minnie singing lead as a member of the Gems. It follows with ‘Lonely Girl,’ which Minnie recorded under the pseudonym Andrea Davis. It was her first single as a solo artist and was a local Chicago-area hit featuring Minnie's signature stratospheric operatic vocals. That is followed by another Gems recording. The Gems are in the classic tradition of early ‘60s girl groups such as the Ronettes, the Shirelles, and the Marvelettes. The remaining tracks on the album feature Minnie as a member of Rotary Connection. All of their songs were produced and arranged by Charles Stepney, perhaps best known for his association with Earth, Wind & Fire. Although categorized as a rock band, Rotary Connection dabbled into many musical forms. Their fine covers of ‘Tales of Brave Ulysses’ (Cream) and ‘The Burning of the Midnight Lamp’ (Jimi Hendrix) would certainly be categorized as rock, but they were also quite at home with other forms of music. Minnie and co-lead vocalist Sidney Barnes team up to do a very distinctive version of the R&B classic, ‘Respect.’ Also catch their call-and-response vocals on their rendition of T-Bone Walker's blues classic, ‘They Call It Stormy Monday.’ ‘Christmas Love’ and their version of the Christmas standard ‘Silent Night,’ will put you in the holiday spirit even in the middle of summer. When Minnie calls out, "Don't forget Chicago" toward the end of ‘Christmas Love,’ you can't help but be moved whether or not you're a native of the "Windy City." Also included here is ‘Want You to Know,’ their only song to make the Hot 100, which slowly builds to a rousing climax. ‘If I Sing My Song,’ closes the compilation and is in the vein of Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, which demonstrates yet another side of Rotary Connection. Minnie Riperton fan or not, this set will surely take you on a musical adventure. http://www.amazon.com/

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Betty Wright: Danger High Voltage / This Time for Real (1998)

Singer Betty Wright proved to be a consistently strong presence on the Miami music scene, primarily throughout the '70s and '80s, although she continues to record. She began her singing career early on as a member of her family's own gospel group the Echoes of Joy. By the age of 13, Wright had begun appearing on other artists' recordings as a backup singer and two years later was issuing her own solo singles and albums. It would be several years, however, before Wright would enjoy her next substantial hit, but it would prove to be worth the wait when 1972's ‘Clean Up Woman’ peaked at number two on the R&B and number six on the pop charts. In 1974, Wright received a Grammy Award for the song ‘Where Is the Love?’; she steadily continued to issue albums throughout the decade, including such standout titles as 1975's Danger High Voltage (which spawned three R&B hits, ‘Shoorah! Shoorah!,’ ‘Where Is the Love?,’ and ‘Tonight Is the Night’) and 1978's Betty Wright Live. 1981's hit collaboration with Stevie Wonder, ‘What Are You Gonna Do With It?,’ proved to be Wright's last substantial hit. Wright continued issuing albums throughout the '80s and '90s, in addition to trying her hand as a television talk show hostess and contributing backing vocals to a wide variety of other artists. This out-of-print compilation gathers two of Betty Wright's harder to find albums, Danger High Voltage (1975, originally released on Alston) and This Time It's Real (1977, originally released on Alston), both recorded with the help of Miami soul giants like Willie Clarke, Clarence Reid, and Steve Alaimo. Tracks include ‘Brick Grits’, ‘Room at the Top’, ‘If You Abuse My Love’, ‘Show Your Girl’, ‘Come on Up’, ‘That Man of Mine’, and her classics ‘Shoorah! Shoorah!,’ ‘Where Is the Love?,’ and ‘Tonight Is the Night’, among others. As a bonus I added both sides of her 1976 single 'Slip and Do It' / 'I Think I Better Think About It' (#21 R&B), not included on any of her albums. http://www.allmusic.com, http://www.dustygroove.com/

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Betty Wright performing 'Tonight's the Night', from her album Danger High Voltage:

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Here, on Soul Train, singing 'Everybody Was Rockin':

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And finally, also on Soul Train, 'Slip And Do It' (1976):

Inez Foxx: At Memphis (1973) ... plus

From 1963's ‘Mockingbird’ through the rest of the '60s, Inez Foxx and her brother Charlie scored a nice string of R&B hits for Sue, Symbol and Dynamo, including the ever-popular ‘Come By Here’ and ‘(1-2-3-4-5-6-7) Count the Days.’ By the early '70s Inez was working as a solo act and she eventually made her way to Stax Records, where on the Volt imprint she earned one album release, At Memphis, and a few 45s. She scored minor hits with a cover of Mitty Collier’s ‘I Had a Talk With My Man’ and ‘Circuit's Overloaded,’ a strident funky 45 that has been comped quite a few times. Inez does a great job on Jeanette "Baby" Washington's ‘The Time,’ and Bettye LaVette’s ‘Let Me Down Easy’, injecting new life into these timeless ballads. ‘You Don’t Want My Love (All You Want Is My Loving)’ rolls along at a brisk tempo and displays as much Detroit (it sounds as if it could have been an Invictus/Hotwax release) as Memphis. There’s a great vocal by Foxx as well and a very nice string arrangement (stylish but not overpowering). Inez herself penned ‘The Lady, The Doctor & The Prescription,’ a nice mid-tempo number that builds up steam as she layers on the verses, in which a visit to the doctor results in an interesting diagnosis. By the end of the record the tune is boasting a nice stepper's groove and Foxx's testifying gives it a nice finish. The last track, ‘Mousa Muse,’ is not a song, but a short interview of Inez about recording in Memphis for the first time by an interviewer named Mousa. This 1990 reissue of At Memphis adds 4 non album 45s, consisting on ‘Circuit’s Overloaded’, the 1972 single 'You Hurt Me For The Last Time / Watch the Dog (That Brings the Bone)', 'One Woman's Man' (B-side of 'The Time') and two previously unissued cuts, 'I Just Want To Know (Before You Go)' and 'He Ain't All Good, But He Ain't All Bad'. As a bonus, I added an extra song: her single 'You Shouldn't Have Set My Soul On Fire', released in 1970 on Dynamo. http://funky16corners.wordpress.com/, http://stepfatherofsoul.blogspot.com/, http://www.soulfulkindamusic.net/

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Diana Ross: Touch Me in the Morning (1973)

Although Diana Ross had enjoyed a hit single in 1971 with ‘I'm Still Waiting’ and a few other Top Ten singles during the ‘70s, it wasn't until the album Touch Me in the Morning that she showed her full potential as a solo artist. Historically, the timing for the release of the album was of significant importance. Diana had stunned the world with her Oscar nominated and Golden Globe Award winning performance in Lady Sings the Blues. It was time to return to the studios and the result was a collection of beautiful, timeless classics that have stood the test of time. The title track is a masterpiece itself and is one of Diana's most memorable and timeless classics. The rhythm builds to the exciting chorus which Diana tackles with style and finesse. After a sluggish start on the U.S charts, Touch Me in the Morning eventually catapulted into pole position, whilst gliding into the U.K Top 10. Another timeless ballad, ‘All of My Life’ became a Top 10 success in the U.K deservedly. This soul classic contains a fantastic, stirring vocal performance from its star whilst the mood quickly turns chilly on the yearning, ‘We Need You’. Of equally strong musical merit was the effective ‘Leave a Little Room’, where Diana glides through the verses and is joined by a gospel-influenced choir on the tracks chorus. Diana surprisingly makes The Carpenters’ ‘I Won't Last a Day Without You’ her own, but it is the latter half of the album that displays a lot of true artistic flair. Perhaps holding onto Lady Sings the Blues in some way, Diana delivers two Jazz/Blues numbers that are both startlingly atmospheric. Her performance is almost dreamy on ‘Little Girl Blue’, whereas the mood goes deeper and more sombre on the haunting ‘My Baby (My Own)’. Her striking vocal delivery virtually turns into a subdued howl at the climax of this track. She then delivers a magnificent, stylish and sophisticated reading of John Lennon’s' famous classic, ‘Imagine’, and then finally the album winds down to its peak with the startling medley ‘Brown Baby/Save the Children’. Both numbers are chilly and hauntingly atmospheric and both display Diana’s' versatile vocal expertise. All in all, Touch Me in the Morning is a fantastic, unique affair all round and was one of her most artistic efforts. http://www.amazon.com/

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The diva sings live 'Touch Me (In the Morning)':

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Performing 'Corner of the Sky', from the Broadway musical "Pippin", live in Copenhagen, 1973:

Lea Roberts: Lady Lea (1975)

Lea Robert's second LP for United Artists is mixture of smooth LA soul with some deeper tendencies, very much in the spirit of her previous album ‘Excuse me, I Want to Talk to You,’ released two years before, in 1973. This one was arranged by Reggie Lucas & Mtume, with one track arranged by Hubert Eaves and string arrangements courtesy of Jimmie Haskell or Gene Page. Unfortunately, I was not able to find any info about this gifted soul vocalist, whose unique gospelised vocal stylings are something like a cross between Aretha Franklin, Della Reese and Judy Clay, if such thing was possible! Her R&B recording of Neil Sedaka's 'Laughter in the Rain' went to #20 on the R&B charts.

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1. All Right Now
2. Laughter in the Rain
3. All Over Again
4. Lost in Your Love
5. I'm Going Left
6. Loving You Gets Better with Time
7. Don't Let It Mess Your Mind
8. She Will Break Your Heart
9. You're Gonna Need a Man
10. Chained to This Memory

The Ikettes: Soul the Hits (1965) ... plus

The Ikettes really should stand beside such as the Supremes, the Ronettes and the Shirelles as one of the greatest of girl groups in the ‘60s. That they have been largely overlooked could be due to a number of factors. Because they are best known as the glamorous backing singers and dancers for Ike and Tina Turner, their role as artists in their own right probably had less impact. Also, they lacked the focus of an identifiable lead singer, as their line-ups were in a state of constant flux as Ike Turner hired and fired them, or they chose to leave because of low wages or other reasons, and indeed it is hard to know who sang what on which record. Lead singers over the years included Robbie Montgomery, Jessie Smith, Venetta Fields, Dee Dee Johnson (aka Flora Williams), PP Arnold and Joshie Armstead. As well as the singles, the Ikettes had one album to their name, The Ikettes Soul the Hits, originally released in 1966 on Modern Records, which included a number of popular hits of the day as well as their own hits and some original material mostly written by Ike Turner. At that time The Ikettes were Robbie Montgomery, Jessie Smith and Venetta Fields. It only takes one listen to this album to realize how much better this trio was than many of the other girl groups around, working with a depth and tightness that's way more than simple girl pop. The voices of all three singers are wonderful, and many of the tunes have the same sort of energy as the best grooves of the time from Ike & Tina: upbeat and snapping, and almost with a trace of Northern Soul at times, but a grittier undercurrent at others. Tracks include the super ‘Peaches 'N Cream’, ‘Sally Go Round the Roses’, ‘I'm So Thankful’, ‘Lonely for You’, and ‘Not That I Recall’. This Japanese reissue expands the original 1965 album tremendously, from 12 tracks to 29, with the addition of lots more singles and material issued by some group members as solo artists. Bonus tracks include ‘How Come’, ‘Your Love Is Mine’, ‘Sha La La’, ‘You're Trying to Make Me Lose My Mind’, and ‘Fine Fine Fine’ by The Ikettes, plus ‘I'm Leaving You’, ‘You're Still My Baby’, ‘Give Me a Chance’, and ‘Through with You’ by Venetta Fields; ‘Blue With a Broken Heart’ by Flora Williams; and ‘Easy Living’ by Dee Dee Johnson. http://infoman16.tripod.com/, http://www.dustygroove.com/

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The Ikettes singing live 'Sweet Inspiration' and below, 'Everyday People':

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Linda Jones: Your Precious Love (1965 - 1972) ... plus

Linda Jones was more than just a singer, or even a great singer. She was, purely and simply, an experience; a young lady whom took soul to church and poured into the microphone. This Newark, New Jersey-born soulstress started in her family's gospel group the Jones Singers at the age of six. Her first recording was 'Lonely Teardrops' under the name Linda Lane, on Cub Records in 1963, and she had unsuccessful singles on Atco Records in 1964 and Blue Cat the following year. In 1967, she worked with writer/producer George Kerr and signed to Russ Regan's Loma label in 1967. This resulted in her biggest hit, 'Hypnotized', which narrowly missed the US Top 20. Here she used the vocal idiosyncracies that she displayed in her later recordings with greater subtlety - a warbling exhibition of vocal gymnastics unlike anything that anyone has ever done before or since. In fact, she's generally credited with really bringing the art of melisma (spreading a syllable over several notes) into popular music. The best example was 'Not on the Outside,' recorded for Turbo Records in Newark, NJ, perhaps the most over-the-top vocal performance ever released. Once cited by Gladys Knight as her favourite singer, Linda Jones was aptly described in Black Music magazine as "perhaps the most soulful singer in the history of R&B music". She makes Tina Turner sound like Judy Collins, achieving a level of intensity in the first 10 seconds that is infrequent even within the Deep Soul idiom. If you are not that familiar with Linda's output, I would genuinely recommend that you sample it in small doses - it's rather like getting into a hot bath... Take it a little at a time for comfort until complete immersion can be accomodated! This out-of-print Sequel compilation from 1991 is a fantastic assembly of Linda Jones' early-'70s Turbo recordings, with most of her classic readings: 'I Do' and Jerry Butler & the Impressions' 'For Your Precious Love' with her spoken intro. She also does solid remakes of 'Dancing in the Street,' and 'Doggin' Me Around' and, with her towering fury, transforms a ballad like 'Let It Be Me' in pure gospel. The original material is no joke either, like 'Stay With Me Forever,' which is a pleading love letter that Jones' litters with exclamation points. The set carries a disclaimer attributing the poor sound quality to the fact that compact discs enhance defects in the original analog recordings. It's hard to imagine any recording equipment, though, analog or digital, that would not have been distorted by the extraordinary power of Linda Jones's voice. I augmented the set from 18 to 30 tracks by adding 12 songs from her previous work for Blue Cat and Loma Records, some of which are more Northern Soul-oriented, including the original hit version of 'Hypnotized'. Unfortunately, Linda Jones passed away from a sugar coma in 1972, at the early age of 28. Taken from the liner notes. http://www.billyprice.com/, http://www.oldies.com/, http://www.allmusic.com/

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