I'm a huge fan of the Delfonics, and singing groups in general...I'm heading off to Google some charts, because I can't believe the Delfonics or Stylistics didn't have at least one number one hit (on the R&B list)! Around the time period we're discussing the Delfonics were on the charts with "Walk Right Up To The Sun".
That's why I LOVED James Brown...he made some of the most crazed and way out music in history. Example:
I never cared all that much for James Brown with the exception of a few songs here and there. The music seemed rather repetitive and all that screechine didn't help. For some reason though, I was quite taken with King Heroin. The downbeat moodiness of the track was a departure from what I was used to hearing from the man and the subject matter was certainly not your typical pop chart fare. Probably why it barely grazed the Top 40 and even that's a somewhat remarkable achievement.
I always liked soul songs with a stark warning to the guys, like this one. This record is in a long line of cheatin' songs that became popular in the 70s. Don Covay, Tyrone Davis, Barbara Mason, and Johnnie Taylor are among the artists who did them.
My only memory of this one is that intro-dialogue. A deejay on the oldies station in DC used to play it quite a bit just before station ID (i.e. "One, two, three, make it/Oldies 100!") Naturally they never played the whole song.
Back to "Thin Line...": It did manage to get to #15 on the Hot 100, and was certified Gold. So obviously there was love for this at the time . . .
Next: Trapped By A Thing Called Love" - Denise LaSalle This is a song that I had never heard or even heard of until about 17 years ago. I don't like it, anyway. But, a lot of people do, so, there you go...it's just not part of my life.
The dichotomy of Westbound Records (which put this out) is that though they were based out of Detroit, much of their material was recorded in Memphis! With the same backing band as that for a name we'll be hearing again and again down the road (the arranger's name seen on the label below is one big clue - no peeking now! ). But as usual with me, it's CBS Pitman or nothin' in terms of pressings and label type: I seem to remember it being certified Gold (that was how I first found out about this), and it did manage to make #13 on the pop charts. "A lot of people," indeed. But as to the oddity of a Detroit label recording in Memphis - Mastercraft in that town did much of the lacquer mastering of Westbound product (and sure did for this one). Among that label, Stax/Volt and the said label we'll be hearing from soon, Mastercraft was kept mighty busy in the early part of the '70's. This would be Ms. LaSalle's biggest R&B/soul hit. I seem to remember that she, like another one who only topped the charts once, in '71 (Jean "Mr. Big Stuff" Knight), put out a cover of "My Toot Toot" in the '80's.
P.S. For some crazy reason, as a kid I used to get Westbound confused with a famous indie classical label - Westminster.
I was familiar with Westbound in the early 7os through having an Ohio Players LP on the label and also the Detroit Emeralds' excellent song "Baby Let Me Take You".
Next #1: Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) - Marvin Gaye The final single taken from the "What's Going On" represents more strife, and may even present a first hint of Marvin's personal issues with taxes. It has an infectious groove with a feeling of someone about to snap. The version represented here is the mono single version which seems truncated even if one isn't familiar with the album version.
Another classic. Gaye and Whitfield were both on fire during this period with I thought really effective social commentary cloaked in infectious, cutting edge soul/pop. Although props to Gaye, he got there first, and was held back by Gordy - I wonder if the success Whitfield had with similar material finally persuaded Gordy to relent and release What's Going On? Not sure of the full backstory on that one.
It was also his third pop Top 10 from the WGO album, reaching #9 on the Hot 100. Whatever his mood or mental state, chart-wise and sales-wise Mr. Gaye was definitely on fire (per @sunspot42's terminology) in '71.
Indeed! The surprise national success of this album gave him the motivation to start doing other projects, like a soundtrack from an upcoming film. The changing musical and social climate in the 70s helped many soul artists attain a higher status. Gaye's success would help fellow artists like Curtis Mayfield, and the new Philadelphia International Records achieve worldwide prominence with socially relevant music.
And within the Motown structure itself, inspire Stevie Wonder to "break free" in the direction of his music. But we'll get to that one later . . .
Well, Curtis Mayfield, like Sam Cooke and The Isley Brothers before him, all had their own record labels long before Stevie Wonder ever fought for artistic freedom within the confines of a record label. That isn't to say that Stevie and Marvin weren't pioneers, just that they weren't the first to gain independence. Then, you had artists like The Four Tops and Gladys Knight & The Pips who achieved success after leaving a powerful label. More on all of that, later.
Next up: Have You Seen Her - Chi-Lites This is my favorite Chi-Lites song. I didn't hear it until two years later, though. The spoken parts tell the story beautifully. In a way, this record was a sign of further changes to come in the world of soul music in the 70s. It should be noted that this video has the correct mix that is also on the album. There is another mix that is on various CDs that have the fuzz guitar riff throughout the spoken intro part, and it only appeared in the CD age. I always thought it was a strange coincidence that the leader of the group, writer, and producer's surname was Eugene Record, unless that's not his real name. @W.B. What's up with the awful Brunswick label shown in the video? The typesetting is off-center. That's a real annoyance to me. It looks like it was pressed by Capitol. The one I have has a nicer typeset and was a styrene pressing that my father bought in Illinois.
Could be a Capitol pressing. I know a lot of the Brunswick vinyl in the early 70's resembled the stuff that Capitol was using at the time. It's always been tough to find good, clean pressings of those.
That was a Capitol Scranton pressing, and I agree - the type on that, and the layout, is atrocious. Also, looks like they used process blue instead of process cyan within the CMYK printing process, on the label backdrop. Far better is from Columbia via their Pitman, NJ plant, and used at all their plants including the one that turned out vinyl 45's, Santa Maria, CA. Unless your pressing was from Philips Recording Company, Inc. (later PRC Recording Company) of Richmond, IN. Eugene Record was indeed his real name (and he was married to Barbara Acklin of "Love Makes A Woman" fame, who was co-credited with him in the songwriting of this number which went all the way to #3 on the pop Hot 100). He did, however, on two compositions, originally use a pseudonym, owing to his being signed by BMI while the initial publisher of both was an ASCAP affiliate. When the LP (For God's Sake) Give More Power To The People was first issued in mid-1971, this single's B side "Yes I'm Ready (If I Don't Get To Go)" and a prior Chi-Lites' single, "We Are Neighbors" (the first two tracks on the album) were credited to a "Eugene Acklin." Ironically, none of those songs' co-writers were Ms. Acklin; on "Yes I'm Ready..." Mr. Record's collaborator was Revé Gipson, while he co-wrote "We Are Neighbors" with Quinton Joseph who was co-credited with Willie Henderson as "Directed By" on this song. (The album also featured a version of "You Got Me Walking" which utilized the same instrumental backing track as on Jackie Wilson's version, proving just how much Brunswick was essentially a glorified song-poem label under Carl Davis' run as A&R producer; a wonder neither Sammy Marshall nor Rodd Keith put out any singles on Brunswick in this era.) The mix of this with the fuzz guitar over Mr. Record's spoken intro actually originated from their 1972 Greatest Hits album, which had remixes of their big soul (and some pop) hits. That may be where the mix on the CD's you speak of had come from.
Always liked this song. Their success on the pop charts was surprisingly constrained compared to their performance on the R&B charts.
The Chi-Lites are my favorite male R&B group of the 70s. I love especially this song, their next #1 song, "The Coldest Day Of My Life", and "Homely Girl". I have a cd "20 Greatest Hits" from Brunswick Records which was released in 2001. I don't know if this is the same company as it was back in the 70s.
Mine looks closer to the Pittman, PA Columbia pressing, except it had the song title in one line. I see, so, when Bill Inglot put together the Rhino comps, he likely used that greatest hits album as a reference, not realizing they were remixes.
