Aretha in Miami in 1958 .........
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Aretha in Miami in 1958 .........
Attachment 3611
Jumping forward a few years .......
Some New Yorkers down in Miami ....
Attachment 3614
Having moved to Chicago as a young child, Dee Clark heads back to sunnier climes in 64 ....
Attachment 3615
Note the upcoming star attractions !!
Just over three years [[& a few big hits) later --
the local guys have gone up in the world, venue wise ....
Attachment 3618
I believe that the support act advertised as Kim Tarver
was in fact [[Cleveland's) Kim Tolliver !!!
....... Just a few days later .....
the same show is re-advertised with a major change .....
Attachment 3617
Otis Redding had been killed over that weekend [[Dec 10) when his plane had crashed at Madison, Wisconsin on its way from appearances in Cleveland to his next gig.
........A sunny radio stn [[back in the day) .........
Attachment 3619
I'm off for a week in the sun [[south of France) myself today
... so no more posts on here from me for 7 days.
Miami's own Steve Alaimo was on the bill for the big Sam & Dave Show! Great ads!!!!
An ad for a show held at the Jim Jam Club in 1958 ........
Held over for a 2nd week were 5 strong local group, the Chanteers ....
Attachment 3625
MC on the night was Flip Wilson, no doubt he was still touring the chittlin circuit clubs before hitting the big time a few years later.
It states [[in the ad) that the Chanteers were already a 'recording act' back in 1958 though the 1st 45 by the group I know of was titled "Jungle Twist" and so [[I guess) dates from 1960 or 1961.
A photo of the Chanteers.
They were formed at Roosevelt Senior High School in West Palm Peach, Florida and included J.P. Robinson [[lead singer) and Joe Fisher in their line-up.
A [[later?) photo of the group when they were just 4 strong .......
Attachment 3626
An ad for radio stn WRBD ........
... by this time ex-group singer Joe Fisher had become a radio DJ ...
.... needless to say, he helped establish J. P. Robinson's recording career by playing / plugging all JP's 45's on his radio show .........
Attachment 3627
One of JP's outings [[from 1974) that has really stood the 'test of time' well is "Our Day Is Here" [[Alston).
Back to 1958 again now .........
WMBM DJ Butterball pictured in the station's 3rd Avenue studio.
Attachment 3628
At that time he held down the 10am thru 1pm slot everyday.
Frank Williams Rocketeers were just about the hardest working band in Miami from the mid 60's thru to the 70's.
Not only did they back up many artists on recording sessions but they worked live locally week in, week out for many years.
They cut tracks [[such as "The Spanish Flyer" & "You Got To Be A Man") themselves and backed up singers such as Little Beaver & Louis Howard on their recordings [[both guys being featured lead singers for the band on their live shows).
Joey Gilmore [["Someone Done Took My Baby And Gone" & "Do It To Me One More Time") was also a Rocketeer before becoming lead for the spin-off group the Rocketeers No.2.
To help 'introduce' the spin-off outfit, they would play shows together back in 1967 .......
Attachment 3630
I guess when they were undertaking gigs on their own [[without Frank Williams & the main set of guys), Joey's outfit also became the Rocketeers .......
.... I suppose the Rocketeers were such a good draw locally that it made good business sense to bill them both under the same name.
Here's a show Joey & his bunch undertook in Ft Lauderdale [[perhaps Frank & his guys were working down in Miami that night) .....
Attachment 3631
BTW, the Freddy Scott featured as a vocalist on the show was also a local and not the famous guy who had hits on Shout.
Detroit hits Miami again, this time in 63 ........
Anyone know what this Miami Beach venue was called ?
....... [[the ad only gives the venue's address)
Attachment 3644
Here's a map showing the location of the above venue on Miami Beach ...
...... 1610 Alton Road .......
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Attachment 3646
Today its the location of a Mattress Town store ....
Probably Bettye's 1st ever gig in Miami .........
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A strong line-up for a show held at the Mary Elizabeth Hotel ....
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The Mary Elizabeth Hotel [[in Overtown) had been built in 1921.
Here's a picture of it in the early 80's just before it was demolished.
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First time in Miami for Chuck Jackson .....
[[Bettye beat him there by a few weeks)
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Wow, I wish I could have been there .......
.... if only to see the world famous glass eater !!! ....
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I liked "Only Be True To Me" by JP Robinson on Alston.
We used to listen to WRBD when we lived in West Hollywood, FL. In fact their studio was visable from the Florida
Turnpike so the erected a HUGE sign that said "WRBD Rockin' Big Daddy" 1470 on the roof.
I remember hearing Helene Smith "The Pot Can't Talk About The Kettle", the Clarinets "Somethin' In The Milk Ain't Clean",
and Bill Robinson and the Quails, "The Cow", all out of the Miami area.
Speaking of Bill Robinson and the Quails, here's a club gig they undertook in 1963 [[so no doubt they would have included "The Cow" in the show as it was recorded / released around that time).
Bill & the group, being local, must have been on hand to step into the breach when Jerry Butler was hurt in a road accident on his way to play the Night Beat Club.
.... I seem to recall I have some club ads from around the mid 60's that Bill played as a solo artist.
My fave outings of theirs [[on vinyl) are both sides of his & the group's 1967 Date 45 [["Lay My Head On Your Shoulder / Do I Love You"). Both those cuts were produced by Bob Yorey who was much invloved with recording artists such as the Laddins [[Steinways) and Dizzy Jones who played regular gigs down in Miami.
Yorey also recorded another local Miami group, the female outfit, the Mar-vells / Fabulettes, so I guess he had strong ties with Florida.
Attachment 3654
I believe that Bob Yorey was also from Florida originally.
He took Frances "Frankie" Gearing [[born in Daytona Beach, Florida) up to New York to be in the Steinways & then had her lead the Glories [[Bob produced some of their Date sides).
He was also the group's manager, in fact he managed many other outfits as well [[the Laddins / Steinways, the American Beetles, Joe Frazier & the Knockouts, etc).
By the early 70's, he was working with the likes of Sanctuary who recorded for the Vigor label.
A later Miami gig for the Marvels [[who no doubt were the Mar-vells / Fabulettes really) .......
Attachment 3655
I beleive that the group started out four strong, so perhaps by the time this photo was taken, Annette Snell had already quit to go solo.
The Continental Club [[which earlier had been the King O' Hearts) was as the ad says .... across the road from Mr. Walters wig shop.
Mr. Walters used to hire the club to promote nights that featured an act he managed & recorded -- Mr. Percolator -- who cut for the Wax-Wel label.
A lady who would eventually go on to sign for Motown was Barbara McNair .....
.... before that came about, she was down in Miami for some shows .....
Attachment 3657
Just to confirm how popular Bill Robinson & the Quails 45 "The Cow" was back in 63 in Miami .......
....... an extract from a club ad from late that year ...........
Attachment 3661
The Cow was very popular as it had a lot of pop airplay and was distributed to department stores that sold records;
not just record shops. I remember the 45rpm was a red label and the company said American Records.
"you think your doin the monkey but your milkin the cow"LOL
Some big guns hit town [[& the Knight Beat club) over Xmas / New Year 1963 .....
.... once again the Laddins lead up the pack [[after Inez Foxx finished her stint) ......
.... mistakes from the typesetters continue; Inez was known for her hit "MORNING Bird" apparently ..........
.... I bet she was Mocking them for their error !!!!
Attachment 3667
Sam & Dave may have been formed at the club & had gone on to be the top live local attraction [[even having landed themselves a record deal)
... BUT .... when out-of-towners were booked to play the club, they had to take 2nd billing ....
Attachment 3668
A guy who had been big on the local club scene since the late 50's was Frank Duboise.
By 1962 he had landed himself a record deal with United Artists.
........ 2 x 45’s were released simultaneously by the label ........
UA 444 - Frank Duboise - Chicken Scratch / 'Cause We Couldn't Get Along
UA 445 - Frank Duboise - Knight Beat / I Need Someone
The top side of the 1st was named after a dance that was developed in the Miami clubs in 1962, the 2nd after a top club in the city.
Frank's recording career went nowhere, but he did remain an ever-present on the local club scene though the 1960's.
Here he is [[with his band) supporting some big name acts at the Knight Beat club in 1964 ....
Attachment 3669
Another local singer that was a regular live performer in Miami clubs was E. Lois Foreman.
She also landed a recording contract with an out-of-town label, Texas based Duke Records Sure-Shot label.
In fact she had the 1st 45 to be released on Sure-Shot.
Attachment 3673
Another local act, the Bell Brothers [[Alex & Leroy Bell) also landed a deal with Sure-Shot.
Quite a lot of the releases on Sure-Shot were by artists from outside of Texas [[maybe most of them featured none Houston based artists).
Cleveland's Kim Tolliver had tracks released on the label [[she was a regular performer on the Miami club scene). I believe Al Haskins & The Mastertones were from Washington. Ruth McFadden was from around the New Jersey area. Detroit based singers were also signed to the label, as were New York based acts.
Kurtis Scott was better known as Kurt Harris. Rickie Ricks was really Jimmy Ricks from New York [[ex leader of the Ravens).
Jimmy also used to play gigs down in Miami ........
Attachment 3674
1967 & Johnnie Taylor was down in Miami ......
... also on the bill were a sway of local artists ....
The Mar-vells must have been contemplating their future by then as Mattie was out on her own for this show ....
Not sure if the Jerry Jones was a guy [[down from Cleveland) or a local lady but either could have been the singer who cut for PAL [[with Jerry William's assistance).
Also performing were up & coming local funk outfit James Knight & the Butlers [[who would end up recording for CAT with Clarence Reid & Willie Clarke) .....
Attachment 3686
This is what James Knight & the Butlers looked like back then ....
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James Knight & the Butlers enjoyed record releases on a locally based label, but then they didn't really start their recording career till the end of the 60's / early 70's. .......
.... many other local artists [[Della Humphrey, Sam & Dave, the Bell Brothers, Paul Kelly, etc) in the 60's were signed to labels based in cities such as Houston, Philly, New York and the like coz not many Miami based labels were set-up to get decent national distribution till around 1970.
Some artists got lucky as Atlantic would step in & license local product for national distribution [[Betty Wright, J P Robinson, Latimore, etc) but lots of artists had releases that had little chance of making a major impact across the US.
This wasn't always the case though .............
... check out the Nos. 26 & 34 in this 1968 Detroit radio stn chart ..........
...... WJLB - DETROIT
SUPERADIO 1400 . . . FAST 40 SURVEY
..... FEBRUARY 12, 1968
1. Dock Of The Bay - Otis Redding
2. I Wish It Would Rain - The Temptations
3. Show Time - The Detroit Emeralds
4. We're A Winner - The Impressions
5. I Can't Stand Myself - James Brown
6. Count The Days - Charles & Inez Fox
7. Born Free - The Hesitations
8. No Sad Song - Joe Simon
9. Looking For A Fox - Clarence Carter
10. I Thank You - Sam & Dave
11. Pick Up The Pieces - Carla Thomas
12. Soul Power - Derek Martin
13. A Man Needs A Woman - James Carr
14. Down In The Ghetto - The Majors
15. Lost - Jerry Butler
16. La-La Means I Love You - The Delfonics
17. Nobody - Kim Weston
18. My Baby Must Be A Magician - The Marvelettes
19. In The Midnight Hour - The Mirettes
20. The End Of The Road - Gladys Knight & The Pips
21. Men Are Getting Scarce - Joe Tex
22. Great Day - The Magic Tones
23. You - Marvin Gaye
24. Just Another Reason - The Fascinations
25. Check Yourself - Debbie Taylor
26. Got A Thing For You Baby - Mr. Percolator
27. Do Unto Me - James & Bobby Purify
28. Why Do You Have To Lie - The Right Kind
29. Let It All Hang Out - Timmy Norman & The O'Jahs
30. Soul Serenade - Willie Mitchell
31. Love Explosions - Troy Keyes
32. This Love Was Meant To Be - Melvin Davis
33. Sunny - Sam Baker
34. The Goat - Freddy & The Kinfolk
35. When Johnny Comes Marching Home - Richard Barbary
The highest charting Miami act though was Sam & Dave in at No.10 with one of their many big Stax outings.
"The Goat" by Freddy & The Kinfolk probably broke through in cities such as Detroit coz that was another of the Dade label outings that Atlantic picked up for national distribution.
A Miami radio stn chart from 1966 .........
.... it contains the majority of the usual national hits from that time
.... plus a few local releases as well [[Freddy Scott, Blues Busters, Helen Smith)
Jeb Stuart was a popular live draw in the city & that probably explains why this Memphis guy made the chart ...
. . . . WMBM - 1490 MIAMI
. . . . TOP 50 SOUL SOUNDS
. . . . Week August 26, 1966
1. Working In A Coal Mine – Lee Dorsey
2. Blowing In The Wind - Stevie Wonder
3. World Of Fantasy - Five Stairsteps
4. I Wanna Be With You – Dee Dee Warwick
5. How Sweet It Is – Jnr Walker
6. Money Woun’t Change You – James Brown
7. I Believe I Can Make It – Joe Tex
8. Make Me Belong To You - Barbara Lewis
9. I'm Waiting - Joe Hinton
10. Baby I Love You – Jimmy Holiday
11. You Can’t Hurry Love - Supremes
12. Land of 1000 Dances – Wilson Pickett
13. I’ve Got To Love Somebody’s Baby – Johnnie Taylor
14. In The Middle Of A Heartache – Ruby Winters
15. Without A Reason – Janet & the Jays
16. Have Fun – Ann Cole
17. Little Darlin - Marvin Gaye
18. I Worship The Ground You Walk On - Jimmy Hughes
19. Ain’t Too Proud To Beg - Temptations
20. You’ll Never Ever Know – Fontella Bass
21. My Sweet Potato - Booker T
22. Hoochie-Coochie Man – Jimmy Smith
23. Man Loves Two - Little Milton
24. Gotta Draw The Line - Darrow Fletcher
25. BABY – Carla Thomas
26. Just A Little Bit Of Soul – Steve Colt & the 45’s
27. Love Attack – James Carr
28. Pow City – Freddy Scott
29. This Must End - Impressions
30. Dreamers Hall Of Fame – Jeb Stuart
31. The Beat – Major Lance
32. Keep Lookin - Solomon Burke
33. I Swear By Stars Above – Ben E King
34. Day Tripper – Vontastics
35. Knock On Wood – Eddie Floyd
36. Pretty Girls – Blues Busters
37. If You Ask Me – Jerry Williams
38. Beauty Is Only Skin Deep - Temptations
39. Stick, Sticky – Bobby Harris
40. Your Love’s Got The Power – Bobby Moore
41. I Got To Handle It – Capitols
42. The Stars – Ocapello’s
43. Poverty – Bobby Bland
44. I Choose To Sing The Blues - Ray Charles
45. Pleasin Women – Lee Lamont
46. Woman Will Do Wrong – Helen Smith
47. If You’re Wondering – Bobby Frank
48. Philly Dog – Herbie Mann
49. Whispers – Jackie Wilson
50. I Stand Alone – Stacy Johnson
The Blues Busters 45 came out on the BRA label; the same company that released the Jerri Jones / Jerry Jones 45's on PAL.
The #47 entry on the chart was "If You’re Wondering' by Bobby Frank.
This track has seen some Northern Soul action down the years; the 45 was released on the Yung label.
I guess Bobby & Yung Records were based in LA as Arthur Wright was involved on the track
..... the track itself ...... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_zs8o-r9RE
Bobby Frank has 2 other collectable 45's on Yung ......
..... "Today I’ll Say" [[Yung #822) & "I’ve Got To Be Sure" [[Yung #1001) -- the later of these also escaping in 1966 [[probably sometime that spring).
A 1963 show at the King O' Hearts Club by one of Detroit's finest ....
Attachment 3698
Clarence Reed & the Delmiros were also on the bill
.... but Sam & Dave seem to have 'flown the nest'.