George Kerr? Cabin By the Sea

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gZnNb7KacE

Graham Jarvis who posted the acetate notes that the scans are courtesy of Chris Jenner. But what song has been scanned? The names Eddie Holland, Valerie Simpson & Berry Gordy are written on the sleeve and the publisher credit is listed as Where Was I on the acetate. Perhaps "Where Was I" is the song title and preceded the 1968 copyrighted song written by Hank Cosby, Nick Zesses, and Dino Fekeris which included [When Love Came By] in its title.
DFTMC shows "Cabin By the Sea" as a Jobete [NY] copyright

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As far as I know, "Cabin By The Sea" was a Jobete Music Co. New York Office production, written by George Kerr and Sidney Barnes in late 1963, and there were a couple original acetate pressings of it. One was a Jobete Music Co. "proof of ownership" acetate with the standard 7 inch 45RPM cream-coloured label, with only the song title and publisher listed, but no listing of the artist [[which I and Tom DePierro first found in The Motown Vault in the mid 1970s. That acetate was later "lifted" from the Vault and eventually was auctioned off, along with many other Jobete acetates and Motown studio demo acetates in the early 1990s. I've listened to that recording hundreds of times and I'm convinced it is NOT George Kerr's voice. It could be one of the many male single artists, or individual group members who were either regular workers for the producers at New York Jobete Music, or some New York singer who they hired ad hoc, for singing demos and proof of ownership recordings. Unfortunately, I can't place that voice. I have also seen photos of a 7 inch studio demo of that recording, which I believe is the same exact recording. I have not seen this 10-inch Shapiro-Bernstein acetate shown above, before. It is definitely the same vocal as was on the Jobete acetate, but the vocal extends farther at its end, including more of the extended high note carrying out a further 4-5 seconds, and it has a clearer sound overall, and the couple of pops that were in our 7 inch Jobete acetate are missing in this10 inched's recording. The title on the Jobete proof of ownership acetate was definitely "Cabin by The Sea". Now that I think about it, I think I remember also seeing "Cabin byThe Sea" on a 10 inch acetate also containing some other late 1963 recordings of NY Jobete songs by a few other artists, one of which was a female single artist [[Carol Moore?). I am sure this song was originally titled "Cabin by The Sea", and written by George Kerr, but that Kerr was NOT the singer on any the acetates I've heard. IF that Shapiro, Bernstein acetate is a legitimate Motown production from 1963 [[rather than someone in later years cutting a "Carver" on a blank original 1960s Shapiro, Bernstein acetate they found, then, perhaps this was just an extra studio demo that George Kerr had made up to help market the song. But I can't understand why those other Motown names which include Valarie Simpson - who started with Motown in the later 1960s, were written on it, and why the title and music publisher were changed. And the title "Where Was I" bears no relation, whatsoever to "Cabin By The Sea" 's lyrics.

Maybe the Shapiro Bernstein record on the scan is NOT the recording we are hearing on that video. It seems someone paired the wrong label scan with the music file.

Thanks for the info, Robb.

My Fault selected the wrong Acetate photo. The George Kerr 10" acetate with 7" cut.
Thanks Robb the detail above really useful.

I remember we talked about this on Soulful Detroit many years ago. We found it listed in the Jobete Catalogue which pointed us to the Raynoma/Eddie Singleton New York days

The Jobete Catalog 1959 to 31 March 1967 shows the writers as George Kerr and Rudolph Ludaway.

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Originally Posted by theboyfromxtown

The Jobete Catalog 1959 to 31 March 1967 shows the writers as George Kerr and Rudolph Ludaway.

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As I stated above, the singer of "Cabin By The Sea" doesn't sound like George Kerr. As Ludaway wasn't a regular writer for Jobete music, not really associated with Kerr and Barnes, or George Clinton, or Gene Redd, Jr., or Eddie Singleton, I think it is likely that he was the original writer of that song, and brought it to Kerr, to get Jobete Music to publish it, record a demo, and market the song [[e.g. find a record company who would want to have their artist record it, and release the record). Rudy Ludaway was a singer, as well, who often demoed his own songs, and also had records released credited only to his last name "Ludaway". He had releases on Laurie and Rust Records, and on a few local New York tiny indie labels. I don't think he ever charted. But, I think that HE might have been the singer on the Jobete acetates and studio demo records of "Cabin by The Sea. His voice on his recording of the Vietnam War song, "Trying To Make It Home" [[Awake Records) sounds reasonably similar to the voice on "Cabin By The Sea". And because he was the song's writer, it is better than a stab in the dark.

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Originally Posted by robb_k

Attachment 19831
As I stated above, the singer of "Cabin By The Sea" doesn't sound like George Kerr. As Ludaway wasn't a regular writer for Jobete music, not really associated with Kerr and Barnes, or George Clinton, or Gene Redd, Jr., or Eddie Singleton, I think it is likely that he was the original writer of that song, and brought it to Kerr, to get Jobete Music to publish it, record a demo, and market the song [[e.g. find a record company who would want to have their artist record it, and release the record). Rudy Ludaway was a singer, as well, who often demoed his own songs, and also had records released credited only to his last name "Ludaway". He had releases on Laurie and Rust Records, and on a few local New York tiny indie labels. I don't think he ever charted. But, I think that HE might have been the singer on the Jobete acetates and studio demo records.

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Those of us who have had this recording for many years have always labeled it 'artist unidentified'

George Kerr is alive and well; his cousin is an IG friend of mine. Maybe I can get her to pull his coat...

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Originally Posted by sansradio

George Kerr is alive and well; his cousin is an IG friend of mine. Maybe I can get her to pull his coat...

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That would be great!

This article has a bit of information regarding George Kerr's short time with Jobete in New York. Maybe "Cabin By The Sea" is one of the hundred songs added to Jobete at that time. Bit of info on The Serenaders as well.

https://sidneybarnes.net/serenaders.htm

And from Soul Source ...

https://www.soul-source.co.uk/articl...ndy-rix-r4378/