LORDTHOMAS: February 2011

Monday, February 28, 2011

James & Bobby Purify wish you didn't have to go

NUMBER 3!!!!!

James & Bobby Purify were an R&B singing duo, whose biggest hit was “I’m Your Puppet” in 1966.

James Purify was born May 12, 1944 in Pensacola, Florida. “Bobby Purify” was actually two different singers; the first was James’s cousin Robert Lee Dickey (born September 2, 1939 in Tallahassee, Florida), who adopted the Purify name for performing, and sang on their early records. The second Bobby was vocalist Ben Moore, who replaced Dickey when he suffered health problems. (“I’m Your Puppet” was written and produced by Dan Penn, who introduced Purify and Moore.)

THE JB'S THE RABBIT GOT THE GUN

NEXT UP!!!!!! NUMBER 2, 45!!! The A side is great also!!!! GIMME SOME MORE!

The Fantastic Johnny C Boogaloo Down Broadway

Here is the 1st of a few 45's a scored this past weekend at STEADYSOUNDS, AND DEEPGROOVE in RVA!!!! Thanks for the music you guy's!!!!!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

JOHN'S CHILDREN

Before Marc Bolan blew minds as T. Rex, even before he gently blew beards as Tyrannosaurus Rex, he was demolishing stages with John’s Children, a pop-art mod band hell bent on one upping the Who in the destruction department. Featuring Andy Ellison on vocals, Geoff McLelland on guitar, John Hewlett on bass, and wild man Chris Townson on drums, Bolan joined the band briefly in 1967 and wrote one of their most beloved songs, the very twisted and far out Desdemona, which can be heard in the above video that features photos of Bolan with the band. Although he doesn’t sing lead, his patented guitar playing is front and center and his one of a kind vibrato voice provides backup. The suggestive lyric ‘Lift up your skirt and fly’ was enough for the BBC to ban the song, and after a brief four month stint, Bolan moved on to develop himself as a solo artist. Sans Bolan, John’s Children would continue to plug away, wrecking stages in their midst and creating a reputation based on their antics rather than their musicianship. They even released an album that would find American distribution on White Whale Records called Orgasm, which was ruined by a record execs brilliant idea of inserting crowd noise between songs to make it more ‘live’. Down below is a rare promotional video the band made for the album, which is apparently part of the Smashed Blocked film that never saw the light of day. Band member Andy Ellison, whose Corn Flake Zoo must be heard to be believed, even commented on an older post of the video that “Smashed was a mod term for drunk, and blocked was a mod term for being pilled up (high on amphetamines)”. This newer version of the video has significantly better sound that others

Saturday, February 26, 2011

BRIGHTON ROCK!!

Nina Simone - Save Me

JAY LEWIS- THAT'S ENOUGH

http://www.sirshambling.com/sounds/jay_lewis/Jay%20Lewis%20-%20That%27s%20Enough.mp3

If you have a SPECIAL LADY OUT THERE LIKE I DO, THIS ONE GOES OUT TO YOU BABY!
THAT'S ENOUGH,onVenture is Lewis second great 45 – not as obviously bluesy as his other 45s but the song is a very strong one and his voice is even more throatily impassioned. Not too sure about the bridge though – can that be a melodica? Surely a tenor sax would have been much more appropriate. The flip “Oh” is a class piece of midtempo music just on the soul side of R & B. Is that Lewis doing the whistling?

The Esquires-GET ON UP!

The Esquires first formed in 1957 around the Moorer family, whose Gilbert (died: 28 August 2008), Alvis, and Betty all became members. They went through many lineup changes over their first decade, which saw them aiming mostly for local recognition. In 1966 they moved to Chicago and auditioned for Curtis Mayfield, who was not interested in signing them. They then attempted to sign with Constellation Records, but the record label went under at the end of 1966; they signed instead with Bunky Records, Constellation's successor. Bunky was distributed by Scepter Records on the national level.

Their debut record for Bunky/Scepter was "Get on Up", which became a major hit in the United States, peaking at #11. Following the release they played Chicago's Regal Theater and the Apollo Theatre in New York City. Further singles were also successes, and the group released one full-length LP. After five singles on Bunky the group signed a deal with Scepter themselves late in 1968. They later returned to Bunky and then, in 1970, signed with Capitol Records for one single ("Reach Out") and Lamarr Records in 1971 for "Girls in the City".

Friday, February 25, 2011

ATTRACTIONS (DESTINATION YOU)

Even though it was released on Bell, a New York label, this is a Los Angeles recording which Anthony Renfro, who was the founder of the Renfro label there, recorded and subsequently leased to Bell records to get more exposure (it did eventually gain a release on Renfro records as well but not until several years later). The membership of The Attractions is somewhat unclear because it was really a one-man show, focusing on lead singer Morris Chestnut. Other members were used on the recordings but often only to provide backing for Chestnut and enhance his performance. This is the groups first (of five) 45, released in 1967 and it is already clear that it is Chestnut´s rather unique vocals that seperates the group from the countless others that were trying to break through in the RnB market of the mid-60s. After Chestnut had fallen out with Renfro producer / songwriter Ronald Saunders the group disbanded and Chestnut went on to record with other groups as well as a solo artist, including the northern biggies "Lonely Lonely" with The Soundmasters and, of course, the pivotal "Too Darn Soulful" as a solo artist. Enjoy! (SOULTREATS)