Raynard Miner - Deceased ?

Hello

I've seen a post elsewhere notifying us of the death of Motown /Chess songwriter Raynard Minor.
Can anybody confirm this please?

In the late 60s and early 70s Motown signed several well established acts but then sort of took their eye off the ball resulting in frustration. True that a lot was happening at once with the move to LA and entering the film industry with "Lady Sings The Blues". Nevertheless there were some fantastic tracks from artists such as Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Bobby Darin and to a lesser extent Sammy Davis Jr and Lesley Gore.

Thankfully, in the case of Bobby Darin, material that had long been vaulted has been made available over the years - mainly thanks to Joe Marchesse & co [[e.g. Andy Skurrow) who've made it possible for these tracks to see release on CD. The Real Gone CDs have wonderful liner notes as well and are well worth looking up. In particular, "Another Song On My Mind" includes a great resume of Darin's Motown career - much of this can still be seen on the Real Gone website -

https://theseconddisc.com/2011/02/16...-motown-years/

You can see the full CD artwork here -

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cookep...57668721459480

And here are the covers for Darin's Motown albums / CDs

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cookep...in/dateposted/

Please advise of any errors

BOBBY DARIN MOTOWN DISCOGRAPHY

Recorded - 6 February 1971 Live at The Desert Inn [[Renamed “Finally” but still unreleased at the time)

M1183 – 17 April 1971
A Melodie
B Someday We'll Be Together

M1193 – November 1971
A Simple Song Of Freedom
B I'll Be Your Baby Tonight

M1203 – 2 June 1972
A Sail Away
B Hard Headed Woman

M753 ALBUM AUGUST 1972 – Bobby Darin

M1212 – Promo 3 November 1972 [[withdrawn)
A Average People [[mono)
B Average People [[stereo)

M1212 – 3 November 1972 [[probably a bootleg)
A Average People
B Something In Her Love

M1217 – 20 November 1972
A Happy [[Love Theme From "Lady Sings The Blues")
B Something In Her Love

Bobby Darin died 20 December 1973

M813 ALBUM February 1974 – Darin 1936-1973

PR4 [[PROMO EP) - 1974
A1 If I Were A Carpenter
A2 Moritat [[Mack The Knife)
B1 Blue Monday
B2 Happy [[Love Theme From "Lady Sings The Blues")

MW3014 – 1974 [[UK & EU)
A Blue Monday
B Moritat [[Mack The Knife)

M5185 ALBUM July 1981 – Darin 1936–1973 re-issued with 5 tracks having different mixes.

MCD09070MD CD 1987 – Live At The Desert Inn [[first ever issue)

MOTD -5185 CD 1989 – Darin 1936–1973 first issue on CD.

3746351852 CD 1991 – Darin 1936-1973 CD re-issue

NTD-6509-2 CD 2005 – Live At The Desert Inn [[re-issue / remaster / 2 extra tracks “Work Song” and “Beyond The Sea”.

RGM-0440 2xCD 6 May 2016 – Another Song On My Mind [[Real Gone Music)

RGM-0714 CD 13 July 2018 – Go Ahead And Back Up [[Real one Music)

I bought this lp in its first release, in fact it was the first GK&TP album I ever bought. I enjoyed it immensely then and it still holds up 52 years later. Their debut Motown album is also excellent but for me this set was their best Motown lp.

Starting with Clay McMurray's glorious Make Me The Woman You Go Home To, the album is off and running. I never understood why this great record didn't do better as I feel it is superior to If I Were Your Woman. Deep bass with chimes and swirling strings just make this song a standout. The guitar work here is outstanding. At one point in the middle Gladys is put in reverb behind some clever guitar licks. This deserved to be a bigger hit.

Johnny Bristol continues the quality with Can You Give Me Love With A Guarantee. Another beautifully orchestrated track with knockout family vocals, this was scheduled to follow Help Me Make It as the third single from the album that had several single possibilities. Apparently Motown waited for Neither One Of Us.

McMurray is back with another winner, Master of My Mind, featuring better backing vocals by the Pips. An interesting medley of He Ain't Heavy and Bridge Over Troubled Water closes Side 1 with a rather maudlin Gladys Knight monologue that maybe doesn't fit the mood, but the idea of combining these two songs worked well.

It Takes A Whole Lotta Man For A Woman Like Me starts off Side 2 with some soulful colorings. Motown chose the outstanding Gladys Knight solo of Kris Kristofferson's Help Me Make It Through The Night as the second single. Gladys was at her emotive best, again with a bit of a corny opening monologue segueing into her soft vocals that crescendo after about 3 minutes into a powerful vocal worthy of a grammy. Johnny Bristol was in his element here backing Gladys with a soft guitar and soaring strings.

If You Gonna Leave [[Just Leave), a track done by other Motown artists is highly listenable but the best track on this album and an overlooked obvious hit record was Johnny Bristol's No One Could Love You More. The Funk Brothers are on fire and backed again by the Detroit Symphony with great interplay between Gladys and her Pips [[you said I do..TOOO) just make this song a real standout. I just assumed it would be a single.

Some covers are here, a nice version of Fire and Rain and a rare vocal by a Pip [[don't know which one) on the Beatles Long and Winding Road.

Although there are two producers here, their sounds were so similar that one would think the whole lp was done by a single producer. It is one of the best early 70s Motown albums, done not long before the company vacated Detroit.

If you don't have this album, get it!

I don't subscribe to Sirius XM, but whenever I travel and rent a car, I do my best to make sure the vehicle has Sirius XM so I can play it. In years past I would sometime listen to Soultown channel on the service and enjoyed the music and the DJs. I just got back from another vacation and this time I noticed that Sirius has rebranded Soultown as "Smokey's Soultown". The music is the same, but the DJs seem to be gone, and replaced with Smokey Robinson's remembrances. It's not the same. Especially when I compared it to the classic country Music channel "Willie's Roadhouse". Sure there are recorded bits from Willie Nelson, but there were DJs with a knowledge and love of the music and it made that channel a more rewarding listening experience than "Smokey's Soultown".

What are your thoughts on the rebranded "Soultown" Sirius XM channel?

I am trying something new. This thread will be used for showcasing new talent. Got a song or band you think deserves recognition? Feel free to post it here and give us a chance to listen. Could be fun.

NYT obit: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/09/a...enry-dead.html

For the paywall-averse, here's The Grio's article: https://thegrio.com/2024/04/09/clare...-no-home-dies/