OMG, there's another one!...

[splanky]

This is a subject that probably belongs in the Clubhouse but since so many
people avoid it for one reason or another I decided to post it here. Sue me..
Anyway, piggy backing off the Nancy Wilson thread I wanted to ask how many
folks were surprised, shocked, confused, irritated or whatever to find that there was another singer or musician with the same name as one of their
favorites...We've mentioned the two Nancy Wilsons [[ who btw I wonder
too if they ever met) and I know there was another Otis Williams besides the
Temptation, another Paul Williams, another George Clinton who had to use
his middle initial S and Bootsy Collins' sister who sings backup for him sometimes, is also named Brenda Holloway. Any others? I'm sure I'm forgetting some....

[Ngroove]

Randy Jackson - Randy Jackson [[of the Jacksons / Jackson Five), and Randy Jackson [[guitarist of Narada Michael Walden, still for all I know, celebrated American Idol judge)

[Jerry Oz]

The first that comes to my mind are Sweet Baby James Taylor and James "J.T." Taylor of Koo & the Gang.

[marv2]

Yes, there is another "Mary Wilson" and always referred to as "
Mary Wilson Soprano".

[robb_k]

James Barnes [[and The Agents)[[Detroiter), James [[J.J.) Barnes[[Detroiter), James [[Jimmy) Barnes [[and The Gibralters) [[New Jerseyite)

J.J. Jackson [[East Coast-producer/writer/singer),Calla/Loma/WB Records,

J.J. Jackson [[and Jackals)[[Producer/writer/singer)[[L.A.)

Billy Butler [[Jerry Butler's brother-Chicago)-guitarist/writer/singer

Billy Butler-New York-[[guitarist)

Sandra Edwards-Monitors

Saundra Edwards-Elgins

Jimmy Mack [[James [[Jimmy) McEachin-producer L.A.-Mack IV Records) -Jimmy Mack [[Jimmy McMillan-producer/arranger-Chicago) Jimmy Mack [[Detroit-singer-Palmer Records)

There were hundreds of group members that had the same name as someone in another group, a solo singer or a musician. I can't remember any, now, offhand, but, I discovered them one by one.

[Soul Sister]

* Little Jimmy Scott [[Legendary Jazz Singer) ~ A stage name given to him by Lionel Hampton when he was the featured singer with the Orchestra in 1948, because he was small in stature and looked young for his age. He recorded with that name on Decca, Roost, Royal Roost, Regal, & Savoy Records. He preferred just Jimmy Scott. Other Artists took the stage name "Little" whomever after him.

* Little Jimmy Scott/Jimmy Scott ~ [[A fairly unkown R&B singer) from Detroit, whom was referred to on this forum as "Detroit Jimmy Scott". He has said he was only about 14 years old when he recorded his first record "Forty Days and Forty Nights" in 1960 or `61, that his handlers gave him that name, he said he didn't know there was already another recording artist named Jimmy Scott. Talk about handlers takng advantage on an Artist whom already toured and recorded under that name for 12 years before and capitalizing on it.

Both black singers who were born with the name James or Jimmy.

* There was a third black singer who died in Denver in 1965 by the name of Jimmy Scott, everyone thought it was thee Jimmy Scott, even Jet Magazine had a picture of Jimmy in it saying he was dead!

* I saw online once there was also a white singer/songwriter named Jimmy Scott.

That makes four and I'm sure there is more!!

So it goes having been born with a common name. But none have the unique talent on my famous Jimmy Scott !!! Just sayng, lol.......

S.S.
***

[smark21]

There are two Roger Taylors in the music industry…ironically both are drummers. One is the drummer for Queen, the other for Duran Duran.

[Kamasu_Jr]

The two Johnny or Johnnie Taylors. They spell their names differently, but it was confusing. In my mind, there's only only one Nancy Wilson. Lol

[Nothing But Soul]

The two Johnny or Johnnie Taylors. They spell their names differently, but it was confusing. In my mind, there's only only one Nancy Wilson. Lol

I remember attending a concert in the early seventies where there were several acts on the bill, including Jean Knight [["Mr. Big Stuff"). Many in the crowd were expecting to see Johnnie Taylor of "Who's Making Love" fame, but they got Little Johnny Taylor [["Part Time Love") instead. Things got a little uncomfortable when those in the crowd realized they had come to see the wrong entertainer.

Also, there are two guitarists named Jimmy Johnson. One was part of the acclaimed rhythm section at Fame Studios [[along with bassist David Hood, drummer Roger Hawkins and keyboard player Barry Beckett) and the other is a Chicago based blues musician. The Chicago Jimmy Johnson, who sings as well as plays guitar, is the brother of soul singer Syl Johnson and has released several albums, including one with Syl.

[glencro]

First African American Miss America who is also a singer and actress Vanessa Williams and actress Vanessa Williams who had a starring role on the television version of "Soul Food". For a while Vanessa Williams the singer was using the name Vanessa L. Williams for her acting roles because the other Vanessa Williams was registered under the name first with the
Screen Actors Guild.

[Soul Sister]

Kamasu,
In my mind too, there's only 'one' Nancy Wilson just like there's only 'one' Jimmy Scott, lol.

,
S.S.
***

[manny]

Somebody here at SDFwhen I started to posting explains that there are two different Freddie Scott. I recall a thread about the one freddie Scott who recorded some Gamble & Huff material for Shout Records and I mentioned a up-tempo "deep" soul tune that I have on a german compilation [["Soulin', Vol. 1" on Moonshine records), called "Pow City" and this person responded to me this Freddie Scott is another one different from the one on Shout Records.

In another level of "curiousities" I remember the sad and untimely death of O'Jays' great falsetto voice William Powell, this was on 1977 and I recall have heard in a spanish cinema T.V. magazine around the same time the William Powell actor was also deceased.

And what about Elizabeth Taylor, the great Philly vocalist from XIX Century, better known as the Black Swan and Elizabeth Taylor, the XX Century actress?

There's also some coincidence in some fiction names on literature and music personalities. I think in Sherlock Holmes and his collaborator, Watson. In some Philly Groove stuff by Mary Holmes, we can read "Watson & Holmes" [[don't well remember the tune the two co-write, Mary and Philly Groove owner Stan Watson).

Cheers

[splanky]

Lot of nice examples here, many I'd forgotten....When I first heard about this lady a few years
back I thought my friend was having a "senior moment". I knew Grace Kelly was an actress
way back in the day but I'd heard of this one...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYThBzRanrg

Unfortunately my library has none of her releases and neither does Best Buy. I keep forgetting to check J&R but I will soon...

[splanky]

Lot of nice examples here, many I'd forgotten....When I first heard about this lady a few years
back I thought my friend was having a "senior moment". I knew Grace Kelly was an actress
way back in the day but I'd heard of this one...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYThBzRanrg

Unfortunately my library has none of her releases and neither does Best Buy. I keep forgetting to check J&R but I will soon...

[soulster]

Now, is Bobby Bland and Bobby "Blue" Bland the same person or two different ones?

[Kamasu_Jr]

Now, is Bobby Bland and Bobby "Blue" Bland the same person or two different ones?

They are the same person. The same singer. He used to use the "blue" tag in his billing.

[Soul Sister]

Jazz Musicians Dr. Lonnie Smith and Lonnie Liston Smith.


S.S.
***

[manny]

Soul-blues singer Little Sony and lead vocal group Little Sony from The Intruders.

Two different Billy Paul: the obvious one, jazz-soul Philly vocalist and another white country singer.

There are almost THREE different acts with the name "SILK": the one who recorded for Prelude; the one who included Charles Mann and Debra Henry that after recording as "Ujima" and "Anglo Saxon Brown" on Atco, changed to "Silk" recording for P.I.R.; and the one who made famous in the late 80's - first 90's in the new "nu-soul / R&B" era.

Two different acts with the name "Sweet Sensation": UK 70's male quartet of teenagers in the mould of Jackson 5 and the 80's US female trio.

Two acts with the name Kaleidoscope: the one is a white pop-rock from the power-flower years and the other is a vocal group in the mould of Stylistics / Philly Devotions who recorded 45's for PIR subsidiary TSOP.
Two Spinners acts: The UK pop-folk group and The [[Detroit) Spinners. In The UK the name of the vocal soul group is every time accompanied [[in the labels and recording cover arts) by the "Detroit" word for do not have confusion.

I wonder if a certain Clint Eastwood who recorded for Cameo Parkway had some thing in common with the actor / film director of the same name...

[JIVE FIVE Mary G.]

There are two "Stings". The first is a 1970's group called "Sting" that consisted of Eugene Pitt & Richard Harris from the Jive Five and two girls. They recorded a "disco" album called "Pleasure". The second is the obvioius British solo artist who came later.

~~Mary~~

[smark21]

Richard Harris is another example. The guy who was in the group Sting and the actor who had a hit with “MacArthur Park” in the late 60s.

This topic reminds me of a workplace conversation from some years ago. I worked in an office with an older woman and a younger woman. The younger woman was talking about going to see the band Kiss and how she enjoyed Gene Simmons in his crazy costumes. The older woman was shocked because Simmons was always so beautiful and classy. The two kept talking by each other for a few minutes until I had to break it up and tell the younger woman that the older woman was talking about Jean Simmons, the actress from 50s movies and I told the older woman that the younger woman was talking about Gene Simmons, member of hard rock band Kiss.

[JIVE FIVE Mary G.]

Smark21,

Right you are!! I didn't even think of the other Richard Harris - the actor/singer. Good one.

~~Mary~~

[Soul Sister]

Smark21 & Mary,
Don't forget Richard Harris of The Jive Five.

S.S.
***

[JIVE FIVE Mary G.]

That's who I mentioned in my first post above, S.S.. I said Richard Harris & Eugene Pitt of the Jive Five were members of "Sting", a 1970's disco group.

~~Mary~~

[Soul Sister]

Oh, okay. I was thinking when he was an original member.
HAAAAAAA! Don't mind me I have a lot on my mind.


S.S.
***

[JIVE FIVE Mary G.]

It's all good, S.S.. Richard is back with the group as an original member.

~~Mary~~

[robb_k]

William Powell of O'Jays[[Cleveland)-William Powell [[early '60s L.A. songwriter/producer-worked with Hal Davis and Marc Gordon for Jobete Music's L.A. office).
Jimmy Rodgers [[1920s/40s Country/Folk Blues singer "Railroad Jimmy"), -'50s/'60s folk/pop singer Jimmy Rodgers [[sang "Honeycomb")-Jimmy Rogers 1940s'50s Chicago Blues singer/guitarist in Muddy Waters' band,

Billy Bland [[male '50s R&B singer-"Let The Little Girl Dance"-Old Town Records)-Billy Bland 1960s Chicago Soul artist -St. Lawrence/Satellite Records-Billie Jean[[e) Bland-'60s/'70s female Chicago Soul singer)

Joe Jones-'50s New Orleans R&B singer [["You Talk Too Much")-1940's-'60s Jazz trombonist/arranger/orchestra leader [[Philley Joe Jones)

Fred Brown [[Freddy "Downtown" Brown-Seattle Sonics guard)-Fred Brown-[['60s Detroit Soul producer/songwriter-partner of Joe Hunter)

Tom Jones [[Welsh Pop singer)-Tom Jones-Black '60s Soul singer [[Sue Records)

"Mighty Joe Young"-giant gorilla [['40s film)-Mighty Joe Young-[['60s Chicago Blues singer)

Jimmy Johnson-[['60s L.A. Blues singer/band leader)-'80s-2000 College/pro football coach

Joe Murphy-lead singer 1950s Five Jets [[Detroit R&B group)-Joe Murphy -[[NHL hockey forward first pick in NHL draft in 1986-Detroit Red Wings).

Louis Jordan-1940s band leader-Louis Jordain [[1950s'-70s French actor)

[Hotspurman]

I put together a big list of acts with the same name who’d hit in the UK some years ago. Here are some of the highlights:

THE SPINNERS
The Spinners are a folk band from Liverpool who have charted with a number of albums. The other, from Detroit, were the Motown Spinners whilst recording with that particular label, and the Detroit Spinners since they joined Atlantic.

ENIGMA
The first Enigma scored in 1981 with cover versions of two Philadelphia records, Ain't No Stopping and I Love Music. They were little more than a studio creation. Then, in 1990, a German and Rumanian duo scored a #1 with Sadness Part 1 and thus begun a hit career.

FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY
The same scenario as Sweet Sensation; the American trio hit in the 1970's with Just One Look, their British counterparts in the 1990's with Battle Of The Sexes.

GUN
Both groups are/were British. The first had one hit in 1968 with Race With The Devil, the other have scored 10 hits so far, the biggest being Word Up in 1994, which reached #8.

HONKY
Once again both acts were British. Join The Party was a hit in 1977, then the name resurfaced in 1993 on The Honky Doodle Day EP.

JETS
The UK based group scored 8 hits in the early 1980's, the American group first hit the charts three years later, in 1987, with Crush On You.

KENNY
An Irish vocalist who recorded as Kenny hit in 1973 with Heart Of Stone and Give It To Me Now, then the following year a British group with the same name scored with The Bump.

KOKOMO
Pianist Jimmy Wisner recorded as Kokomo and scored with Asia Minor. Then a UK soul group with a similar name hit with A Little Bit Further Away.

LAUREL AND HARDY
The first were the famous comedians whose The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine was lifted out of the film Way Out West and into the charts, where it reached #2. Then, in 1983, two kids hit with Clunk Click, a reggae track. Laurel and Hardy were not their real names, although it could also be argued that Laurel wasn't Stan's real name either; he was born Stanley Jefferson!

MEL AND KIM
Both duo's came from the UK; the first to score on the charts were sisters Mel and Kim Appleby, who reached #1 with Respectable. The second Mel and Kim paired Mel Smith [[of 'Alas Smith And Jones' fame) and Kim Wilde, put together for a charity single Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree, which reached #3.

MR BIG
A UK group scored as Mr Big with Romeo in 1977. An American act of the same name hit the charts in 1992 with To Be With You.

NEW YORK SKYY/SKY
Guitarist John Williams put together a supergroup by the name Sky in the late seventies who scored heavily on the album charts and crossed over with one single, Toccata in 1980. Two years later a New York-based soul band, produced by former Brass Construction leader Randy Muller, hit with Let's Celebrate, and altered their name to New York Skyy to avoid confusion.

NIRVANA
A British and Irish conglomerate first took the name of Nirvana into the charts in 1968 with Rainbow Chaser. The name was revived by the US group in 1991 with Smells Like Teen Spirit.

SPACE
A French group with the name Space recorded one of the most distinct dance singles of the 1970's with Magic Fly. For the next two decades groups with names like Space Monkey and Space 2000 followed them into the charts, followed in 1996 with Space, a dance outfit, with Neighbourhood.

STARGAZERS
The first Stargazers scored three #1's during the 1950's including one with Dickie Valentine, before disappearing off the charts in 1956. In 1982 another British group revived both the name and the musical style for their Groove Baby Groove [[EP).

DAVE STEWART
Keyboardist Dave Stewart hit #1 with a remake of It's My Party amongst his four UK hits at much the same time another Dave Stewart was scoring regularly with The Eurythmics. When he launched a solo career, he became David A Stewart for his first release, reverting to his usual Dave Stewart for subsequent releases.

SYLVIA
Another two acts that couldn't be more different. The first Sylvia to chart scored with Pillow Talk and later went on to discover and groom The Sugarhill Gang. The second Sylvia scored huge holiday hit with Y Viva Espana.

TRUTH
A British male duo hit with Girl in 1966. A British group scored with the aptly named Confusion [[Hits Us Every Time) in 1983.

JOHN WILLIAMS
John Williams even suffered when he recorded solo [[see New York Skyy/Sky), for having hit himself with Cavitina from the film The Deer Hunter another John Williams hit the charts, also with themes from films, this time ET and Jurassic Park.

KAREN YOUNG
The British Karen Young scored the bigger hit with Nobody's Child in 1969, the American disco diva hitting twice with Hot Shot in the late 1970's.

[Soul Sister]

JAZZ ~

Papa Joe Jones and Philly Joe Jones.

S.S.
***

[manny]

There's two Archie Bell: the one obvious in a Soul Forum who in company of his Drells made the fantastic collection of optimistic uptempo R&B numbers [[from Tighten Up to Lets Groove) and the other a little town from Murcia [[Spain) called "Archivel", but the pronunciation is totally the same! :-)

[robb_k]

There's two Archie Bell: the one obvious in a Soul Forum who in company of his Drells made the fantastic collection of optimistic uptempo R&B numbers [[from Tighten Up to Lets Groove) and the other a little town from Murcia [[Spain) called "Archivel", but the pronunciation is totally the same! :-)

Ha! Ha! Good one, Manny!!!