LaBrenda Ben Discography

[longtimefan]

"Don't Forget the Motor City" lists the following tracks by LaBrenda Ben. I have annotated where each can be found.

Bad News [[Acetate Only)

Camel Walk [[TCMS Volume 2)

Chaperone, The [[TCMS Volume 2)

Congratulations [[Soon to be on MP3 on Amazon)

Do You Know What I'm Talking About [[Finders Keepers)

Fugitive [[Acetate Only)

I Can't Help It, I Gotta Dance [[Finders Keepers)

In Twenty Words Or Less [[Soon to be on MP3 on Amazon)

It's All Over You [[Acetate Only)

Just Be Yourself [[TCMS Volume 3)


The following tracks are also being released on MP3 on Amazon:

I Don’t Want Your Promises
Even If You Don’t Mean It
Better Unsaid
Let Them

CONCLUSION [[1) Are there any that I have missed? [[2) Upon the release of the Amazon MP3s on December 17, it appears that only three tracks remain on Acetate with no CD or MPs releases ...correct?

[Roger Polhill]

I believe that there is also a track "Go Ahead And Laugh" recorded.

[144man]

What about "I've Got A Right to Cry" which is on "Cellarful of Motown Vol. 4 as "Lead Me And Guide Me" by Holland & Dozier?

[longtimefan]

Good catch, 144man! It is listed under Holland and Dozier on DFTMC with the following annotation:

LEAD ME AND GUIDE ME Holland & Dozier; recorded Hitsville, completed 31-May-63 ; produced by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier ; [vocal by LaBrenda Ben]
[rel date unknown] [acetate]; 45 [[M): National Sound Corporation [artist shown as LaBrenda Ben, title shown as "I've Got A Right To Cry"]
30-Aug-10; CD [[M): Motown 882 4009 A Cellarful Of Motown! Volume 4 [UK]

[radionixon]

Good catch, 144man! It is listed under Holland and Dozier on DFTMC with the following annotation:

LEAD ME AND GUIDE ME Holland & Dozier; recorded Hitsville, completed 31-May-63 ; produced by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier ; [vocal by LaBrenda Ben]
[rel date unknown] [acetate]; 45 [[M): National Sound Corporation [artist shown as LaBrenda Ben, title shown as "I've Got A Right To Cry"]
30-Aug-10; CD [[M): Motown 882 4009 A Cellarful Of Motown! Volume 4 [UK]

If that's LaBrenda Ben actually singing that song, I'm President Eisenhower. I hate it when people say "you can totally tell it is/isn't X" based on nothing but a hunch, but... the vocal on that sounds nothing like LaBrenda's other recorded cuts.

Someone on my site came up with a very plausible audio identification: Gloria Jean Williamson, of the Vells/Vandellas. [[I thought it was 144man, obviously I was wrong!) Listen to Lead Me And Guide Me/I've Got A Right To Cry along with the Vells tracks from TCMS2, the voices sound almost identical.

[144man]

Actually it was me, but it was only a guess. And people don't always sound the same. Saundra Mallet on "Camel Walk" sounds more like LaBrenda Ben than her normal voice on "It's Gonna Be Hard Times".

[radionixon]

I've just checked back, and it was 144man who made the extremely astute observation over on Motown Junkies in the first place:

http://motownjunkies.co.uk/2010/09/29/231/

Did you change your mind?

Edit: sorry, our posts cross there! I think it was a brilliant guess; "Camel Walk" is the closest of the "official" LaBrenda sides, but even then, there are big differences to these ears between the way she handles the high notes and the way the LMAGM singer does. I just can't get my head around the idea of it being her.

Of course, when we get to talking about Tammi and Valerie in a few years, I'll be getting cross with people who insist it's this singer or that singer based on nothing but their own analysis! I'm such a hypocrite...

[144man]

See my post #6 above. I'm just not confident as I've come a cropper before. I was convinced Tommy Good's "Ask the Lonely" was Mickey Stevenson, yet it turned out to be Ivy Hunter.