Brian Wilson, Beach Boys leader dead at 82

https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stori...in-high-album/


Martha Reeves & the Vandellas – with the lead singer’s surname recently added to the group name – started 1968 with the song that turned out to be their final R&B top tenner. “Honey Chile” also climbed to No.11 on the pop chart and was followed by the funky “I Promise To Wait My Love,” a Top 40 hit on the soul side.
On June 1, 1968, Ridin’ High, the album that contained both of those singles and even the Top 20 soul hit before that, “Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone,” made both the pop and R&B charts. In the month the album was released, the group played at the Copacabana in New York.

Vandellas sing Bacharach & David

Various new writers contributed to Ridin’ High, but the album saw the group looking to two proven copyrights from the recent songbook of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. They put a Motown twist on “[[There’s) Always Something There To Remind Me” and “I Say A Little Prayer.” Reeves and the Vandellas also turned their hands to another recent No.1 US smash for Lulu, Don Black, and Mark London’s “To Sir With Love.”

Yet another single from Ridin’ High would be released by Motown in the spring of 1969, “[[We’ve Got) Honey Love,” which reached the R&B Top 30. In a surprising postscript, the boyfriend-away-at-the-war song “Forget Me Not” – the flipside of “I Promise To Wait My Love” in the US – was released as a UK single fully three years after its LP appearance, and went all the way to No.11.

Do we have any Beach Music lovers on here? If so, this may be the toughest assignment I have given you yet, so don't let me down......

I was listing a CD today on Discogs that was not yet in their database. The title of the CD is All Aboard 3 The Beach Music Train. It was a compilation CD that featured some of our favorites such as Freda Payne, O C Smith, and The Tokens.

But I ran into a snag or two with less familiar artists, especially when there were cases where multiple artists had recorded under that name. Here are the two that stumped me the most.......

1) An artist known as Heart and Soul. The song on this collection is entitled Boogie Woogie Rhythm and Blues. There were over 20 "Heart and Soul" listed in the Discogs database with no clue whatsoever as to which one did this song. So can anyone give me any insight into which artist might be the correct one? Group members, label they recorded on, time frame, anything that might help?

2) Same thing with an artist named Don Wise and a song entitled Hot Cha. There were only about 3 or 4 Don Wises but I still could not narrow it down.

Any help appreciated.

Info from Real Gone Music:

Motown’s L.A.-based Mowest label lasted less than two years, but managed in that short time to release some of the most adventurous music the company ever put out. And probably the most intrepid—and nowadays, adored—Mowest release of them all was the 1972 self-titled release from Odyssey. This one-off brought elite West Coast sessionmen like Wrecking Crew mainstay Don Peake, one-time Chicago member Donnie Dacus, and arranger/orchestrator extraordinaire Gene Page together with a bunch of West Coast hippie rockers [as Peake says, "We were invited to lunch, introduced to some nice people and told we were going to form a band"].

SIDE I
1. Home of the Brave
2. Georgia Song
3. Country Tune
4. Gossamer Wings
5. Our Lives Are Shaped by What We Love


SIDE II
1. Wondrous Castles
2. Battened Ships
3. Sunny California Woman
4. Black Top Island [of the West]
5. Broken Road

Click below for pre-order information.
Odyssey Odyssey Vinyl – Real Gone Music

Dutch reissue abel MusicOnCD/LP will be releasing a 3cd/2LP Rick James compilation in May.
Universal really dropped the ball when they did not release a Rick James box set after his passing so I am glad this is now coming out through them. It contains a few collaborations, several tracks that will making their CD debut as well as some rarer tracks than the ones we are used to seeing on compilations.

Here's the blurb and track list:
James Ambrose Johnson Jr. [[February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004), better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, musician, producer, and songwriter. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in his teenage years. In the late 1960s he moved to California, where he started a variety of rock and funk groups with various success.
After forming the locally popular Stone City Band back in his hometown of Buffalo in 1977, James finally found success as a recording artist after signing with Motown‘s Gordy Records, releasing his first album as Rick James in 1978: “Come Get It!” which produced the hits “You & I” and “Mary Jane“. In 1981, James released his most successful album, Street Songs, which included career-defining hits such as “Give It to Me Baby” and “Super Freak“, his biggest crossover single, mixing elements of funk, disco, rock, and new wave. Rapper MC Hammer sampled James’s “Super Freak” for his 1990 hit, “U Can’t Touch This” which won Best R&B Song at the 1991 Grammy Awards. James received his only Grammy for composing this song. Rick James was also known for his soulful ballads such as “Fire & Desire” and “Ebony Eyes“.
• 3-CD compilation ‘Collected‘ by the Punk-Funk originator, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Rick James.
• Including the Hits “You & I,” “Mary Jane,” “Ebony Eyes,” “Ghetto Life,” “Glow,” “Give It to Me Baby” and “Super Freak.”
• Digipack + 16 page booklet

CD1
1. The Mynah Birds – It’s My Time
2. The Great White Cane – You Make The Magic
3. You And I
4. Mary Jane
5. High On Your Love Suite
6. Bustin’ Out [[On Funk)
7. Fool On The Street
8. Love Gun
9. Come Into My Life – Part 1
10. Big Time
11. Summer Love
12. Stone City Band – Little Runaway
13. Give It To Me Baby
14. Super Freak
15. Ghetto Life
16. Standing On The Top [[feat. The Temptations)
17. Dance Wit’ Me – Pt. 1
18. Hard To Get
19. She Blew My Mind [[69 Times)
20. Slow Dancin’ [[feat. Chaka Khan)

CD2
1. Cold Blooded
2. U Bring The Freak Out
3. Ebony Eyes [[feat. Smokey Robinson)
4. 17
5. You Turn Me On
6. Can’t Stop
7. Glow
8. Spend The Night With Me
9. Eddie Murphy feat. Rick James – Party All The Time
10. Sweet And Sexy Thing
11. Forever And A Day
12. Loosey’s Rap [[feat. Roxanne Shanty)
13. Wonderful
14. Day and Night
15. Black and White
16. This Magic Moment / Dance With Me [[Medley)
17. Busta Rhymes feat. Rick James – In The Ghetto

CD3
1. You And I [[Extended M+M Mix)
2. Bustin’ Out [[12” Extended Mix)
3. Love Gun [[12” Extended Mix)
4. Super Freak [[12” Version)
5. Give It To Me Baby [[12” Version)
6. She Blew My Mind [[69 Times) [[12” Extended Mix)
7. U Bring The Freak Out [[12” Extended Mix)
8. Glow / Glow [[Reprise) [[12” Version)
9. Spend The Night With Me [[12” Extended Version)
10. Sweet And Sexy Thing [[12” Extended)

Anyone ever hear of this group?

JOY - High Life [[1981)

RPM, PVBL9002
Producers: Patric van Blerk, Fransua Roos & Greg Cutler
Engineer: Greg Cutler
Recorded at: RPM Studios

Made up of the late Anneline Malebo, Felicia Marion and Thoka Ndlozi, Joy pre-empted the bubblegum era with their commercially appealing sound and image, crafted by producer Patric van Blerk [[Victory, Margaret Singana), one of the first to forge a multiracial crossover sound influenced by American soul and R&B. As South Africa's answer to the Supremes, Joy supported touring acts like Lamont Dozier, Clarence Carter, Dobie Gray and Leo Sayer. They were undoubtedly best known for the massive crossover hit 'Paradise Road' in 1980, which helped them earn two Saries Awards for Best Vocal Group and Best English LP of the Year in 1980 [[a landmark moment in the ethnically divided industry) and even led to a tour of the UK. High Life followed in 1981, but lacked a hit to take the trio further. They broke up in 1983, the year that Brenda Fassie, who had once filled in for Malebo in the Joy line-up, ushered in the bubblegum era with 'Weekend Special'. Although their sound was less fresh and funky that the bubblegum acts that followed in the footsteps, Joy's contribution to the local industry should never be forgotten.