THIS BLOG MAY BE OF INTEREST NEW TODAY FROM: groovesvilleusa/blog/ Groovesville USA Blog: British Red Atlantic – Part 1 ________________________________________ British Red Atlantic – Part 1 Posted: 10 Sep 2014 05:00 AM PDT 584 PART ONE To a certain generation of Soul fan the British Red Atlantic label will undoubtedly have been their first foray into Soul record buying and along with Tamla Motown may well still form the backbone of their collection. The pedigree section was undoubtedly the 584 series with some 323 releases and then to a lesser extent the red 209 series with 169 titles issued until R. B. Greaves brought the curtain down in 1971 with ‘Paperback Writer’. The story of Atlantic Records in Britain is well documented elsewhere but in April 1966 its long standing parent company Decca issued their final 45 on the legendary black Atlantic 4000 series label with something of an unforgettable Pop record; Shadows of Night, ‘Gloria’, (4085), one of a dozen Pop releases. Polydor, the new custodians of the famed US logo didn’t waste any time and launched the Red Atlantic label in May ’66 with an awesome disc that would crush the Shadows of Night’s curtain call; Percy Sledge, ‘When a Man Loves a Woman’ (584001) and for the following four years issued near enough two 45s per week, closing the series with Sam and Dave, ‘Baby Baby Don’t Stop Now’ 584324. As far as obtainability was concerned, Polydor made sure that orders could be full filled quickly and easily even by the smallest record shop. Records would stay on catalogue for longer than many of the other UK majors and Polydor would freely re-issue popular releases, even if the disc remained a lower selling title such as Willie Tee’s ‘Walking Up a One Way Street’. As far as acquiring the 584 series today is concerned, the market has polarised with some 45s from the likes of Aretha Franklin or the Sweet Inspirations being virtually worthless turning up at record fairs in the 50p rack while a couple of others from Vala Regan & the Valarons and Art Freeman are virtually impossible to obtain. Ironically the rarest 584 disc comes from Led Zepplin which commands three times the amount of the two top Soul releases. It took some time to select just seven 584 singles and I open with the awesome, stunning `I’m a Lonely Soldier` from Mike Williams (584027). Stuck for information on this obscure artist I was lucky enough to stumble across a great radio show called Stephen T’s Sunday Soul Soup on purple-radio.co.uk who featured the work of Mike, mainly informed by his daughter Patrina Hemmingway. Mike was born Wendell Harold Williams in 1942 in Ellery South Carolina, one of three kids. Marrying when 19 he moved to Harlem, NYC with his wife and three children in 1965 and was taken under the wing of ex Carolinas DJ ‘Chatty Hattie’ Leaper. His first 45 was on the King label, ‘Something You Didn’t Done’ before moving to Atlantic Records, backed by the Tempest Band with ‘Draw With Me’. He then was assigned to Chicago maestro, Gene Barge and in June ’66 recorded ‘I’m a Lonely Soldier’. The side was not as big as Atlantic boss Jerry Wexler predicted, peaking at #85 Pop and #38 R&B but did become a big hit in Jamaica where it was covered by three different artists. Mike made no more recordings and among other things became a DJ aka ‘Mike the Master’. Sadly Mike passed away aged 39 from cancer in 1981. ‘Lonely Soldier’ is regarded as one of the best Viet Nam cult sides but I would rate it as one of the best Soul records of all time. ‘Believe it or Not’ is the flip to Rex Garvin & the Mighty Cravers’ ‘I Gotta Go Now (up on the floor)’ (584097). Rex A. Garvin was a New Yorker and aged 14 he got involved with the Bronx’s Zelma ‘Zell’ Sanders a lady who managed a young girl group, the Hearts. With Garvin adding backing vocals they issued ‘Lonely Nights’ on the Baton label which made #8 R&B in 1955. Buoyed by this success Sanders formed the J&S label the following year and soon hit pay dirt with Johnnie & Joe’s ‘Over the Mountain, Across the Sea’ which, after being picked up by Chess reached #8 Pop. Rex Garvin both wrote the lyrics and provided backing vocals. In the same year he made his solo debut with ‘My Darling Dear’ on J&S and then a couple of years later a duet with Marie Knight as Marie & Rex, ‘I Can’t Sit Down’ on Carlton in ’59. Two years on, he formed Rex Garvin & the Mighty Cravers, the latter being Clayton Dunn and Pete Holman, their debut 45, ‘Go Little Willie’ initially came out on Epic and was later re-issued on Okeh. 1962 saw ‘Oh Yeah!’ released on another Zell Sander’s label, Scatt and then ‘Soul Street’ on Zorro in ’63 which was picked up by the larger Like record label. The same year also saw the band on the Keynote Records with ‘Soul Food’ and then in ’65 an oddity on Saber Records as by the ‘Cravens featuring Rex Garvin’, ‘Look up and Laugh’. Up until this point in his career Rex’s own efforts in the studio were quite modest compared to his prowess as a writer, backing singer and pianist but Like Records must have recognised something and invited the band back to record ‘Sock it to ’em JB’ in 1966 and with the power of Atlantic distribution behind it and then a release by them the 45 became a Pop hit. Hot on its heels came ‘I Gotta Go Now..’ in ’67 which sold quite well but not in the same league as ‘Sock it to ’em JB’. The flip side is something of an oddity however as it is about acid tripping and right from the off, with the crash a gong the backing track is more akin to the Doors than a Soul production. With plenty of social commentary Rex constantly repeats the catch line “LSD” explaining that it is one way to drop out of the troubled mid-60s USA but not the right way. After leaving Like, Rex recorded four more sides including ‘Queen of the Go Go’ on Tower. Pics not copied
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 09:10:42 +0000
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