Larry Hancock R. I. P.

[WaltB]

A music veteran of over 45 years as a lead vocalist for The Intertains, S. O. U. L., and Truth as well as a solo act, Larry Hancock has gone to meet his maker as of I believe January 3rd. Larry a personal friend of mine was also a gifted songwriter for among others the O'Jays as well as the aforementioned groups. I will fill in any details as I receive them.

[WaltB]

"Many thought the Intertains were a Philadelphia group because they recorded on Philly's Uptown Records in the mid-'60s. Actually, they were from Cleveland, led by Larry Hancock, a cousin of the O'Jays' Eddie LeVert. Their first release "Gotta Find Myself a Girl," featured Hancock's young, vibrant falsetto on a melodic beauty that received quite a bit of play locally and in Philly. They followed with "Glad I Found You" in 1966, but Uptown skimped on promotion and few listeners ever heard it.

Hancock found greater success that year co-writing "Working on Your Case" for the O'Jays, with then-member Bobby Massey. Originally from Columbus, OH, Hancock was attending Thomas A. Edison High School at the time. The school was nicknamed "Knucklehead University" because problem boys who didn't toe-the-line at other schools were sent there, hopefully to learn a trade. Getting jumped going and coming to Edison, located on notorious Hough Avenue, was so commonplace that black eyes were viewed as badges of honor. "Working on Your Case," led by William Powell, didn't get national attention, but Ken "Your Friend" Hawkins and others played it to death on Cleveland's WJMO. You haven't heard it at its finest, though, if you didn't catch the Intertains singing it live: they added more stanzas and sung it like it a platinum-selling single.

Uptown kept the Intertains releases going in '66 with "Need Your Love Right Now," using the previous single A-side as the flip. It sank without a trace. Uptown issued the final chapter on the Intertains with "Am I Glad" b/w "Hard to Get," a 1966 release that Hancock probably doesn't even remember. Artists were often unaware when a company released a record on them, particularly if they lived in a different city than the company, and the song never got played much.

After the Intertains dismantled, Hancock sung in a variety of groups including S.O.U.L., a Cleveland-based band who had a deal with Musicor Records. They had already released an acclaimed album which was quite popular in many locales. But they had no real vocalist until Hancock joined them on their second Musicor LP and their Dynamo sides; he stayed with the group until they disbanded. Hancock is featured on "This Time Around," "On Top of the Word" and "To Mend a Broken Heart," among others.

Hancock kept busy singing with various groups before joining Truth, a group produced by Bobby Massey, then an ex-O'Jay. Truth members included, Hancock, Leo Green [[ex-Imperial Wonder), Al Boyd and Russell Watts [[both ex-Rotations), Margaret Foxworth [[ex-background vocalist for Al Green), and later in the studio, they were joined by Dennis Edwards [[from the Temptations). They had one single on S.O.C. Records [[aka "the Sound of Cleveland") prior to releasing the album, and a couple of singles on Devaki Records. After Truth, more projects followed, including acting stints on Broadway for the talented Larry Hancock." ~ Andrew Hamilton, Rovi

[mark speck]

RIP, Larry...fellow Clevelander and fan of S.O.U.L....thank you... :[[

Best,

Mark

[jsmith]

I met Larry [[& the rest of the S.O.U.L. guys) when they came to the UK to play a gig in the mid 90's.
I interviewed them all & spent time chatting with Larry. He was a really nice guy.
I have a couple of his later solo outings [[a side of one 45 being a duet with a woman I seem to recall) as well as other 45's from all his recording groups down the years.
A very sad loss. R.I.P.

[WaltB]

Larry's homegoing celebration will be on Monday January 10th @ 11:00 am at oThe Word Church on South Miles Rd.

[WaltB]

The Word Church
18909 South Miles Rd.
Cleveland, Ohio