The unique Roshell Anerson

[MIKEW-UK]

Anybody else out there like Roshell Anderson? I find his delivery so engaging. In the current world of cookie cutter music where everybody has to conform to a sound, I miss the idiosynchrisy and creativity of singers like Roshell Anderson and his fellow musicians who made records which were peculiar, original and had that something which wormed it's way into your head... Where did his delivery style come from? Deceptively simple yet very inventive.

[MIKEW-UK]

[MIKEW-UK]

[MIKEW-UK]

[MIKEW-UK]

Peculiar or what? Love it!

[MIKEW-UK]

And the man himself...

[MIKEW-UK]

Here he is on Willie Hutch's Sunshine Lady

[MIKEW-UK]

A Tyrone Davis style backdrop..... Chicago sound but from TK

[TomatoTom123]

How odd!!! What a bizarre way of singing, lol.

Never heard of the guy before though. Do you know much about him Mike?

I have to say I don't really like how he sings [[kinda offputting and hard to get into) but this might be because it's totally new to me and I'm slightly freaked out by it

[MIKEW-UK]

Hi Tom, well Motown it ain't!!!
Quite understand your comments, it is that peculiar delivery that mesmorises me. Roshell Mike Anderson's career is primarily that of a TV news anchor, the recording was secondary. Keep listening to him for the next 20 years and it will grow on you😂

[TomatoTom123]

Hi Tom, well Motown it ain't!!!
Quite understand your comments, it is that peculiar delivery that mesmorises me. Roshell Mike Anderson's career is primarily that of a TV news anchor, the recording was secondary. Keep listening to him for the next 20 years and it will grow on you😂

Hi Mike, yes, he is definitely unique!!! Oh wow, a TV newsreader... maybe he was trying to sing the lyrics like he read the news? Lol

[MIKEW-UK]

Tom, George Leary wrote up a fuller review of Roshell on Amazon....
As recording artist Roshell Anderson [[born on September 16, 1952 in Bogalusa, Louisiana but raised in New Orleans) this R&B vocalist has to rank among the most obscure recording artists of the 1970s, registering just two minor R&B charters for the equally-obscure New York City label Sunburst [[not to be confused with the contemporary Rock label with the same name originating in Australia).

In 1973 he had one disc released by Excello Records titled Snake Out Of Green Grass with Part 1 on the A-side and Part II on the flip of Excello 2330. That made no national charts, but late that year, in conjunction with Jesse Boone & The Astros, he had Know What You're Doing When You Leave top out at # 77 R&B b/w No Particular One on Sunburst SU-523. The following June he then had Grapevine Will Lie Sometimes do only marginally better at # 69 R&B on Sunburst SU-529 b/w Such A Beautiful Thing, followed later in 1974 by his only other Sunburst single, I'm Cracking Up/Moonlight Trip [[Sunburst SU-532) which failed to chart.

In 1976 he had one single released on Jerri 105 - yet another small largely unknown label - titled Come On Back/Let's Steal Away which went nowhere, at which point he changed careers [[and name, becoming Mike Anderson) as he turned to radio journalism/news reporting in Birmingham, Alabama, even as he took courses at Louisiana State University as well as the Career Academy School of Broadcast Journalism. He briefly relocated later to work as a reporter/news anchor at KIRO-TV in Seattle, followed by a move to Milwaukee in 1981 where he assumed the same duties with WISN-TV.

He has gained widespread recognition for such diverse things as covering the follow-up to the devastation Hurricane Katrina wreaked upon New Orleans, his stellar work on the award-winning documentaries Children In The Line Of Fire and Solutions To Violence, and his interviews of Presidents Nixon, Bush [[Sr.), Clinton and George W. Bush. He has also been deeply involved with the annual Black Excellence Awards in Milwaukee, acting as emcee.

He kept his hand in music, however, with the following releases: Deerwood DW01 - 12" disc in 1987 containing A1. Wild Dreams [[Vocal)/A2. Wild Dreams [[Instrumental)/B. Wild Dreams [[long version vocal); Ichiban 91-235 in 1991 containing I'm Still In Love With You/Sunshine Lady; Peoples Potential Unlimited 019 in 2010, a 12" 33' RPM disc with the A side containing Delicate Rose vocal version followed by instrumental version by Hill [[Willie) and the B-side containing Wild Dreams vocal version followed by instrumental version by Roshell Anderson.

In addion he's recorded a few albums of which this is one, containing just these nine tracks: 1. It Must Be Love; 2. Eye For Eye; 3. Grapevine Will Lie Sometimes; 4. Twenty-Four Hour Blues; 5. Running From The Problems; 6. Shadow Of Love; 7. Don't Take My Love For Granted; 8. Sunshine; 9. Handy Man. His second hit single is here but it's not clear if this was the original Sunburst release or a re-recording. His first hit does not seem to be available anywhere in CD format.

He certainly has a nice, husky R&B voice and when you listen to his two charters - if you can find copies - you will be left wondering why he has not enjoyed more commercial success, a result no doubt stemming from the fact he toiled for such small operations with likely very limited funds for proper promotion. This brief album from Soul Potion is a nice, inexpensive way to sample his work

[heikki]

Hi!

Roshell cut five albums for Ichiban: "Nature's Way" [[Ich 1021) / "Sweet 'n' Sour Rhythm 'n' Blues" [[Ich 1035) / "Stepping Out" [[Ich 1053) / "The Outlawwh Casanova" [[Ich 1113) / "Rolling Over" [[Ich 1142 - CD).
They sold less and less and after "Rolling Over" they dropped Roshell. There were some strange tracks on those albums, but on each album there were a couple of keepers.

Best regards
Heikki

[MIKEW-UK]

Hi Heikki, I can understand why those sales kept dropping, having bought most of his output along the way. The first album on Sunburst was terrific, and featured some great guitar and percussion playing to give a really nice backdrop to his peculiar yet intriguing delivery. As time progressed, he attempted to stay current, as so many artists did, by moving over to cheaper computerised synths and drum machines, to the point where 'Rolling Over' was not aimed at the traditional soul community.
Thanks as always for your insights and knowledge.

Regards

Mike

[TomatoTom123]

Thanks for the info Mike and Heikki. I listened to a couple of tracks from Rolling Over and actually quite liked them, more than some of his earlier tracks. This may be because they feature more singing than newsreading [[heehee). Roshell kinda sounds like Lamont Dozier when he sings

[imnokid]

I've had the Introducing album for years. I like it.