By Soulpuss (24.102.217.36) on Tuesday, April 08, 2003 - 07:37 am:

CHAREN COTTON ... A little bit of love ... Philomega
MARLENE DELANEY ...It's all over now ...T.E.C.

The above two singles were produced and arranged by John Davis. They were released in the early 70's.

Wassup with these singers.

By Eli (205.188.209.38) on Tuesday, April 08, 2003 - 07:51 am:

Never heard of these people.
Philomega/Soundgems were a shady company and did a lot of sessions whereby the artists were unknown or even secondary.

By Eli (205.188.209.38) on Tuesday, April 08, 2003 - 08:09 am:

Be thankful....was the only one of their records(Soundgems) that made it as a fluke.

They were basically a "song shark" operation
whereby they would advertize in the back of a magazine and say something like..'Send us $1500 dollars and we will record your song"

John Davis was their "in-house" arranger.

By JSmith (212.39.231.20) on Tuesday, April 08, 2003 - 08:22 am:

Bobby,
from your answer I guess you mean the William DeVaughn song "Be Thankful For What You Got"..........never realised that was cut in Philly.

By JSmith (212.39.231.20) on Tuesday, April 08, 2003 - 08:24 am:

Thinkin more about William DeVaughns recording....didn't he cut / release this song twice, with about a 7/8 year interval between the 2 versions (might be gettin mixed up with another T.E.C recording).

By 1Wicked (24.126.64.120) on Tuesday, April 08, 2003 - 01:32 pm:

JSmith...William DeVaughn did record an "updated" version some years later.

By Sly Fan (67.115.74.237) on Tuesday, April 08, 2003 - 01:53 pm:

Eli..How is John Davis these days..I still listen to "I Cant Stop" and "Up Jumped The Devil", great arranger.

By Scratcher (65.132.78.126) on Tuesday, April 08, 2003 - 05:14 pm:

Soulpuss, Charen Cotton's Philomega single "A Little Bit of Love" b/w "Take Care of Business at Home" was licensed to Perception Records and came out in 1974; it dropped on Phiomega a year earlier.

Marlene Delaney's 1976 TEC single "It's All Over Now" b/w "Ride a Wild House" was licensed to Polydor the same year as its release on TEC.

William DeVaughn reportedly paid $1500.00 for his recording session. By all accounts he got his money worth in sales and fame. What Omega Sounds was doing was no different than Berry and Ray Gordy's RayBer Music Company, which also charged people to record. Devaughn was actually paying for a demo, something people do every day, just so happen his "demo" became a big hit.

By Sly fan (67.119.52.31) on Tuesday, April 08, 2003 - 05:26 pm:

Yeah I was always curious about those two labels...I found a 45 by a group called Ebb Tide on Sound Gems..

By Soulpuss (24.102.217.36) on Tuesday, April 08, 2003 - 11:22 pm:

Bobby Eli; What was the low down on DeVaughan being ripped off by F.F. The soulvine said William didn't get a cent from his blockbuster hit. Give us the downlow. Capice !!!

Hey Slyfan: That Ebb Tide "Give me your best shot" was a medium hit in the discos in early 1975.

By Eli (141.151.62.200) on Wednesday, April 09, 2003 - 12:24 am:

The company's background was quite "dubious".
yes William never got a dime.Nada..zip...
He, along with two other people sent in their money and got a recording session out of it.
It was not considered a demo session for the act because Sound Gems retained and owned the masters with the promise of stardom.
Be Thankful..was an accidental fluke when Wes Lael heard it and then Wiliam became a Jehovas Witness and that was the end of the road. He tried a comeback but it was to late.

By Eli (141.151.62.200) on Wednesday, April 09, 2003 - 12:26 am:

Also, TEC and Sound Gems were totally different companies, different people, all crooks though.

By Soulpuss (24.102.217.36) on Wednesday, April 09, 2003 - 01:00 am:

Hey Bobby: I'm curious how Devaughan's song blew up. I presume it was pressed up on a small label before Roxbury got a hold of it. Was WDAS instrumental in breaking the song.

I have visions of DeVaughan going around and flogging the record from a car trunk in the hood.
Similar to Master P's dues paying beginning.

I recall Devaughan lip-syncing the song on Bandstand. I recall saying to myself, this guy sounds like Curtis.The song was an instant attention grabber. Who was the lead guitar player?

By JSmith (212.39.231.20) on Wednesday, April 09, 2003 - 07:09 am:

RE: William DeVaughn reportedly paid $1500.00 for his recording session...........
A CD containing the 2 albums William cut for Davis / TEC was released in the UK a while back (by Sequel).
I have a copy of it and the sleeve notes state....William was asked for $1400 but could only raise $900 (he worked for Fed Gov in DC). As the studio guys had already listened to his demo & thought they could 'sell' a finished version of it on, they took the $900 and had him in the studio.

It seems strange to me that if they totally ripped him off over the mid 70's hit and following album, he would return to them for more releases in 1980 ???

ALSO, if William didn't get the money off US sales, who got the international licensing fees and the cash generated by the recent UK CD ??

I like the Cecil Parker tracks cut for TEC in 1980. I guess his recordings came about in a similar fashion.

By Amused Observer (64.12.97.7) on Wednesday, April 09, 2003 - 07:29 am:

Thanks for the laugh Eli: "yes William never got a dime.Nada..zip..." DO MOST RECORDING ARTISTS EVER GET A DIME FROM ANY RECORDING COMPANY, EVEN THE SO CALL LEGITIMATE ONES? Did Roxbury Records pay Omega Sounds or whatever the company name was what it was owed so they could pay Devaughn his royalties? Do you know?

By JSmith (212.39.231.20) on Wednesday, April 09, 2003 - 08:48 am:

RE: DO MOST RECORDING ARTISTS EVER GET A DIME FROM ANY RECORDING COMPANY, EVEN THE SO CALL LEGITIMATE ONES? >>
In most cases surely it is the record company that owns the cuts, after all they paid for the sessions. Royalties are due to the artist but the artist does not own the product.
BUT for "Be Thankful.." William had to pay upfront for the session himself. Surely then, the master tapes, full rights, royalties, etc were all due to go to him.
After all, it wasn't Rick Hall & Fame that got the profits from Reffa, Pickett & Dusty Springboard sales (of their Atlantic releases) was it. Fame were paid to hold the recording sessions but the rights to the output were held by the payee, Atlantic Records (or whoever).

They must have been real con artists at these 2 Philly Studios, if the artists had to 'buy' their sessions in advance BUT still didn't own the output that resulted.

By RD (63.188.32.149) on Wednesday, April 09, 2003 - 09:53 am:

JSmith, if you talk to recording artists, and they are honest with you, you'll discover that most have never receive any royalties. Talk to G. C. Cameron sometimes. The problem, is most fees incurred by the recording company in the artists behalf are never recouped (so say the recording companies) and the artists get nothing but royalty statements (if they're lucky). Why do you think so many lawsuits are being filed by artists.

As for whether William Devaughn's session was a demo or not. What does $900 or $1400 dollars for a recording session sound like to you? Even in the '70s to do a session right cost more than those palry figures. John Davis said in a zine interview that "Be Thankful For What You Got" was nothing but a demo that escaped. And didn't John Davis go on to bigger and better things?

Devaughn could have been more than he was had he not denounced secular music and devoted his life to Jehova at the height of his popularity. Another famous demo that became a hit but not as large is Frederick's "Gentle."

By Eli (141.151.75.76) on Wednesday, April 09, 2003 - 12:10 pm:

Be thankful was never released on a small label and was presented to Wes Farrell as a recommendation from the late Harry Chipetz the dearly loved general manager of Sigma who used to own Chips Distributors and was an exec. at Cameo-Parkway. Harry heard the demo and thought that it could be a hit record. He was also responsible for
the WMOT Atlantic connection as well as the Trammps Buddah and Atlantic connections.
Harry was a "producers friend" and would do everything in his power to help us out in any way that he could.
He was a wonderful man and is surely missed by all.

By Scratcher (65.132.78.50) on Wednesday, April 09, 2003 - 12:30 pm:

It's the artists who really pay for the sessions. Not upfront, but before any royalties are issued, which is usually never. Not only do the pay for the sessions, they pay for everything else related to the recording, including promotion. In almost all of these cases, the artists never end up owning the masters that they have paid for through their royalties.

If Devaughn got ripped by the people he recorded "Be Thankful..." with, why did he sign with them again years later when he was no longer contracted to them?

By Eli (141.151.91.211) on Wednesday, April 09, 2003 - 06:13 pm:

Soulpuss...In Philly, there was no need to" flog records out of car trunks" All the records we did were released in some way, shape or form, usualy by a major or indy label.

Sly.. The guitars were Norman Harris on the mellow Wes Montgomery" type stuff and myself on the lead and wah wah parts.

There was a guy named stan Watson who ran Philly Groove who was the personification of that song complete with diamond in the back!!

By Mark Speck (65.56.60.56) on Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 01:06 am:

Is this the same John Davis who had the disco act the John Davis Orchestra?

There are a couple of in-demand soul 45s on Sound Gems: one by Billy Harner ("I Got It From Heaven") and by Crystal Motion ("You're My Main Squeeze").

Best,

Mark

By Sly fan (67.115.72.242) on Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 01:27 am:

Yes, Mark that is the great John Davis.


Eli: I really loved how you and Mr. Harris collaborated together on those recording especially "Thankful". I was just listening to the Vince Montana "I Love Music" lp, you guys were great on that album!!

I am still in awe that "Thankful" was a song that slipped through the cracks, the really sad thing is that William's whole album was good!! "Thankful" didnt have to be the only hit!!

As a guitarist, who were your influences? I take it Wes Montgomery was one for Mr. Harris...

How is Mr. Harris these days? I would be honored to see him in the forum..

By 1wicked (24.126.64.120) on Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 01:33 am:

Slyfan...Norman Harris passed away several years ago.

By Sly fan (67.115.72.242) on Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 01:40 am:

damn I am extremely sad to hear that...I didnt know that.. I am very sorry to hear that..thank you for the information 1Wicked...

Rest In Peace Mr. Harris...

By Joe Moorehouse (64.12.97.7) on Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 11:07 am:

Anybody know if Philomega is related to Omega Records, also out of Philly? I've got an interesting X-over single on this label by Fred Mark, called Dance with Me. The publishing company is Melomega and the producer is F. Fioravanti. Any connection?

By Sly fan (64.169.106.188) on Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 02:01 pm:

JOE: yes, follow to the beginning of this post...

By Eli (151.197.209.200) on Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 07:39 pm:

Joe,

All the "Megas" are the same and run by Frank Fiorvanti.
When Sigma started everyone got on the "Greek lettercopy cat thing" to make people think that they were connected.
They were all people of "dubious distinction", capice?????
Even Alpha International, which made people think that they were part of Sigma AND PIR!!!!1

Also of DUBIOUUS beginnings.

Paulie 3 shoes would know much better, capice???#$%^&*