Yvonne Fair "The Bitch Is Black"

[Roger Polhill]

Are there any pre 1971 tracks on this cd.

[roger]

Roger ..

"Stay A little Longer" is on the CD, which was released as a U.S. 45 on the Soul label on July 9th 1970 ..

So the answer must be yes.

Roger

[Roger Polhill]

Thanks Roger, I thought it may have been an updated recording are there any others.

[motony]

I never could get the 45 Stay A Little Longer when it was new. Heard jus a couple times on the radio & LOVED IT. I was disappointed in the version on the LP jus wasn't heavy enuff in the mix, something missing.Love Yvonne, though...wonderful person & fabulous singer.

[BayouMotownMan]

That is a good lp, but it was mostly tracks thrown together in a last-ditch effort to get a hit on Yvonne. It Should Have Been Me wound up a big hit in the UK, so Motown released the lp and single here.

I think the packaging of the lp worked against it. There was some women's groups who really objected to the title "The Bitch Is Black." I took it for what it was, a humorous take on Elton John's big hit.

Also, a year earlier Yvonne was on Soul Train saying she was the first female soloist produced by Norman Whitfield. Not true, Kim Weston was.

Yvonne was a showstopper and she stole a scene or two from Diana in Lady Sings. But she was a little ahead of her time in terms of the rawness of her persona, similar to that of Millie Jackson whose success was limited for the same reason. Both women said what most other women think and feel, but too repressed to actually vocalize. It wasn't considered decent in many circles.

But hats off to Yvonne...she did it her way

[motony]

I saw Yvonne perform "Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On" in a cave girl outfit on I think American Bandstand and she came off pretty cool & current but I never heard her be similar to Millie Jackson. I met her through Mary Wells and at the time I met her she was on Motown & married to Sammy Strain of the Imperials. I spent a great evening at their house in Hollywood this was just a few months before he joined the O'Jays.I had seen Yvonne perform with James Brown in Tampa many years before but I never heard about her raw persona on stage, other then the character she played in Lady Sings the Blues which I thought was great.

[BayouMotownMan]

She was hilarious in Lady Sings [[You're PITIFUL)

[roger]

Thanks Roger, I thought it may have been an updated recording are there any others.

Roger ..

The version of "Stay A Little Longer" on the CD is the same as the one on TCMS10 so it wouldn't be a re-recording ..

I've just read through the CD Booklet notes and "Its Bad For Me To See You" and "I Know" [[The BARBARA GEORGE Song) are also from the 1970 sessions. The remainder are the 1974 L.A. recordings produced by NORMAN WHITFIELD.

The CD booklet notes suggest there are a lot of other recordings from 1970 that have never seen the light of day.

Roger

[bankhousedave]

I heard Earl played on that album. Was that just on the 70s tracks, or was it during his brief sojourn out west?

[Roger Polhill]

Many thanks Roger, that`s what I was hoping to read. I`ll order a copy today - can`t have any gaps in the collection.

[randy_russi]

It is interesting that both Yvonne Fair and Tammi Terrell joined Motown after being with James Brown's Revue.
Yet, the recordings they made produced by Brown do not begin to show how great of vocalists they really
were until you hear them with the fantastic Motown producers. It is too bad that Vicki Anderson, a dear
friend who spent many years with James Brown, as well as Marva Whitney, never made it to Motown, as
both were great singers too.

[Roger Polhill]

Dave the single was recorded in Detroit at Golden World. I don`t think that is James on bass.On the B. side you can hear Johnny Bristol prompting like "Someday We`ll Be Together"

[Roger Polhill]

I`m wrong again it is James.