This 1976 record by Chicago’s own Curtis Mayfield used to be a favorite spin in my College Radio days. It’s been back on my radar in recent days. “Give a little bit, Get a little bit, Take a little bit” picks up on the theme of the classic “Give Me Your Love” with an offer for a more even exchange. Very lean groove, yet it somehow still has a whole bunch going on (check the masterful guitar work). Jive on!
Vocalist Chuck Bernard (left, 1966) was born and bred in St. Louis and was able to lay down a series of cuts with a ton of great songwriting teams that kicked around Chicago during his time here (in addition to the legendary team of Bridges-Knight-Eaton who worked with a handful of Chicago artists though they were Detroit-based).
Chuck is perhaps best known for his cuts “Wasted” and “Indian Giver” (moderate hits of the time), but he released a number of valiant rare soul efforts well into the seventies on labels such as Monk Higgins’ St. Lawrence and Ric Williams’ Zodiac.
Above, “Bessie Girl”, an example of Bridges-Knight-Eaton Dramatic Soul from 1969. Below, “The Other Side of My Mind”, a slice of groove with a psychedelic flavor that just may surprise you. Jive On.
Below is a record of his that I’ve been getting into lately, “Just Because I Really Love You” by Jerry Butler, circa 1969. This cut is super smooth and a great example of Jerry’s work on Chicago’s own Mercury Records with Philly greats like Thom Bell and Gamble & Huff (especially the cheeky background vocal at the top). It’s the flip side of the hit record “Only the Strong Survive”. It’s also the type of swoon-inducing record made for basement blue light parties.
The record was sampled by J Dilla for “U-Love” on 2006′s Donuts (and in 2002 by French hip-hoppers Hocus Pocus for “Conscient”.
The song was also recently covered (very sweetly, I might add) by Miles Bonny X the Ins. Jive on!
you know you love it. Syl Johnson was a staple at local clubs here in Chicago in the 60s and 70s and this record can still get a crowd moving. This song is famous, arguably, because it’s been sampled so many times; but it is actually the follow up to Syl’s Monster-of-a-hit from 1967, “Sock it To Me” (which fared much better on the local charts).
I like the effects and psychedelic touches on this, as well. If you dig this, too, check out Syl Johnson’s complete anthology, “Complete Mythology“ released by local Numero Group (and pictured ).
and for good measure, here’s “Sock it to me”. Jive on!
I love the Dells. Formed in 1952, their career is simply epic. But my favorite period for them was ushered in with Charles Stepney. Unfortunately, as Chess Records (their label from the mid-sixties till the mid-seventies) crumbled, their hits (which include “There Is”, “Stay in my Corner”, “The Love We Had Stays on My Mind”, “Oh What a Night” and more) were harder to come by.
By 1973, The Dells, still at Cadet Records (a Chess Subsidiary), were recording work with a Detroit/Memphis lean. Tony Hester, who came from Detroit to Memphis, wrote and produced The Dramatics’ biggest album (“Whatcha See is Whatcha Get”) and subsequent Dramatics outings. Don Davis is a legend, producing for various Detroit acts (some of which, like Darrell Banks, were released on Memphis’ Volt Records), and ultimately working throughout the world of Soul.
With such a team behind them, The Dells (with lusciously gruff Marvin Junior on Baritone Lead) couldn’t help but come up with this gold. Jive on!
Here’s a follow up to yesterday’s Jerry “The Ice Man” Butler post. Below, 1969′s “Walking Around in Teardrops”.
Before Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes and the O’Jays hit the soul stratosphere, there was the late sixties Philly/Chicago fusion that was Gamble/Huff/Martin/Bell/Butler. Always one to use his starpower to help up-and-comers in the Music Business craft their talents, Jerry Butler proved to be an early Hitmaker for the producing/songwriting team of Gamble & Huff, producer/arranger Thom Bell, and for producer/arranger Bobby Martin (orchestrators of the Philly Sound in the decade that was to come).
A B-Side gem, I love the hypnotic vibe of “Teardrops”, coupled with the electric sitar and trippy female back-up vocals. Co-written by Jerry Butler, this cut was arranged by Thom Bell, then riding high of a string of hits (including “La-La (Means I Love You)” and “Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time)“) that he had written and produced for the Delfonics.
Recently, I found an interesting article in the August 22, 1970 issue of Billboard. Written by Jerry Butler, the piece (entitled “Black Music is Getting Intellectually Involved”) asserts that soul artists were on the road to creating music with greater artistic freedom (i.e. Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Sly Stone, Marvin Gaye). This is something Jerry used his star power to foster here in Chicago with his “Workshop” for up-and-coming artists). He touched on the idea that soul music was evolving past the earthy physicality that bore it, and into a more socially conscious realm (without letting go of its nature). I love his insight. He went on to say,
“I’ve found that sometimes while out on the street and I see a beautiful woman I get butterflies in the stomach and that kind of thing. Well, all of that to me is soulful, that is what soul is. The thing that you can’t see, but that you can feel, the thing that you can’t touch, but you can feel.”
First off, I LOVE this record. A little back story: “Hey, It’s Over” by Windy City is a record that came out in 1974 on local Innovation II records, later issued on Warner Bros. Produced by Willie “Mr. Brunswick”* Henderson and Arranged by James “The Soul Educator” Mack*, it has a great shuffly, brassy, breezy sound that fits the group’s name perfectly. And, the jangly guitar and crisp high-hat make me smile. Not on Windy City’s only album (pictured below [and also recommended]), it’s pretty rare.
I bought the record in an online auction lot with about a hundred other 45s five years ago, spending what wound up to be about a dollar per record. At the time I was a college student, and for me it was a BIG investment. The records were not packed very well, and so my b-side (“If by Chance”) has an annoying click on it.
I went online to see if I could find a replacement and I got quite a shock. Apparently the record got hot recently (probably in Europe), because today “Hey It’s Over” alone is selling for the price I paid for the whole lot. One of the few times in which a very rare record is also very well produced.
Antiques Roadshow, here I come!
*Willie Henderson produced dozens of spectacular sides for Brunswick Records; While James Mack not only arranged beautifully himself, he taught a whole generation of the city’s best arrangers (including Tom Tom Washington).
(photos: Labor Day 1936 at 31st Street Beach, Chicago) found at bvikkivintage
I love “I’ll Never Forget You” by Nolan Chance. Released here in Chicago in 1969, its creation was a collaboration between Curtis Mayfield, Donny Hathaway, and Leroy Hutson (arguably the patron saints of Chicago Soul for the decade that was to come). The song has aural dream sequences: One moment, Nolan is reminiscing the sand-in-shoes good times spent with his lost love. The music is floaty, featuring dreamy keys and a güiro, the same scraping percussion instrument in the Drifters’ “Under the Boardwalk”.
The next moment, Nolan is snapped back into reality and the music features rhythmic, ebbing horns that recede like the tide. It makes me want to go to the beach. Enjoy the pictures and the music….
NOTE: Nolan Chance (born Charles David) was raised in LaGrange, IL, and was at one time a member of the Artistics. Another record of his that I picked up based on my love for “I’ll Never Forget You” is “I’d Like to Make it With You”, the B-side of “Sara Lee” (released in 1972, and NOT the same song as the similarly titled ”Make it With You” by Bread). Great sassy Chicago brass and pulsating rhythm. Jive on.
This is a record that embodies Chicago Grit and Get Down. “Good Lovin” by the legendary Otis Clay is at once a love song and a warning. Take heed. Says he: “And if you walk out my life, I hope you fall and break your neck”. If that ain’t grit, I don’t know what is….
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