Detroit Land Apples

[chalky]

I Need Help on Shotgun.


Anyone know who they were?

Written by George Soul, Produced By Carl Spelbring.

[chalky]

Artie Fields has credits on the I Need Help side as well so another Detroit connection.

More than likely Detroit session musicians, Funk Brothers involved perhaps?

[robb_k]

Artie Fields has credits on the I Need Help side as well so another Detroit connection.

More than likely Detroit session musicians, Funk Brothers involved perhaps?

That's what I would guess. Not likely to be all Funk Bros. But, perhaps a couple, mixed with a few other Motown session players, and the regular Detroit session players for Ed Wingate, Don Davis and Lebaron Taylor's productions.

[mark speck]

It says 'written by George Soul', but I'm wondering if they meant George SOULE!

Best,

Mark

[acooolcat]

Email on SD from Ron Murphy, Feb 3 2006:

“I have the original half inch 4 track master of the Robbie Dee side on Shotgun, Robbie Dee was a DJ on Detroit's WCHB, he came to Detroit from Pittsburgh and became the first white DJ on the station. He used to vist the studio I was working for at that time and this was the spring of 1966, Telma Hopkins and Robbie got married for what I heard lasted about a month, the female voice on the record is Telma and I think it's just her and him. the record was basically used as Robbie's closing theme song every night [[he was on 7 to midnite) the multi track tape it's on has other Golden World unreleased recordings, I do know I got the tape years later from one of 3 studios but not from Artie's studio, but right now I can't recall which one. As pointed out here it's very interesting that the only issue on the label is numbered 203 which is the same number nothing appears on Groove City and I believe the timing of the Shotgun records falls very close to where a Groove City release would have been. My guess is maybe Don Davis pressed the record for Robbie in exchange for Robbie playing Groove City Records using the next number for Groove City, for the other side I'll have to play that side and see if I can match it to any of the dozens of unfinished GW tracks that I have.”

[acooolcat]

Doesn't it use track of The Fantastic Four's 'Girl have Pity'?

[anm0552]

Maybe it’s time to put the misinformation and speculation about this recording to rest. My name is J. Paul Henderson. In my previous life and through most of my radio career, my name was Robbie D. Herein, I’ll address all the previous posts. Shotgun Records was my record label and this was its only release [[#203 was just an arbitrary number). “Precious Memories” was the original “A” side, which while produced for the Detroit market, received airplay in a few other markets, as well. The “B” side, which has become a very sought after collectible, was work for hire. I was the executive producer and Carl Spelbring produced the session. George Soul, the person credited with writing “I Need Help” was a pseudonym used by Mr. Spelbring, who also played the great piano on the recording. Artie Fields was given the publishing rights in exchange for studio time and musicians. Those in Detroit at the time who remember my radio program on WCHB, might also remember that “I Need Help” was originally produced as a vocal and served as the theme song for “The Robbie D Show”. Mr. Spelbring also wrote and performed the vocals. We remixed it for the record. “Precious Memories” was written and performed by me, produced by the great Don Davis and recorded at United Sound Systems in Detroit. It was not uncommon in those days for radio DJs to record “talking” records. The background vocals were sung by Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent, both Motown session singers back then, who later went on to team up with Tony Orlando to form the very successful group, Tony Orland and Dawn. And Telma was also my wife at the time. Telma and I were married for considerably longer than a month, but we did separate [[quite publicly) after a month together. To this day, Telma and I remain good friends and will always have a place in each others hearts. Telma now lives in Los Angeles. The music for “Precious Memories” was a remix of “Girl Have Pity” by the Fantastic Four which was recorded at Ed Wingate’s legendary Golden World studio. We left bits and pieces of the Fantastic Four’s vocals in and with a careful listen, you can hear them. Unfortunately, the vocal version of “I Need Help” used as my theme song is no longer part of my memorabilia. If anyone has a clean recording of it, I’d love to have a copy. My days in Detroit, my wonderful audience and my association with some of the world’s greatest musicians, will always be my life’s most precious memories, and I’m honored to have had a place in it.

[ralpht]

Robbie,
Welcome to the forum and thank you for the clarification. I'm not sure if we crossed paths back then, but I remember you well.

[chalky]

Apart from Carl Spelbring [[George Soul) on piano I still don't know any other of the musicians. Can you remember any of the other musicians Robbie from the session?

[anm0552]

Thank you. I always knew somebody would remember me. You're the one!

[anm0552]

I'm sorry, but too many years have passed and I had no real relationships with the musicians on the session. I knew some of the Funk Brothers but none of them [[to the best of my memory) played on that session. I believe Artie Fields arranged for the musicians. If it means anything, the finger pops on "Precious Memories" were done by Eli Fontaine, who did A&R for Don Davis.

[chalky]

Thanks for that Robbie.

Does anyone know what musicians Artie Fields used on a regular basis?

Am I correct in reading your first post that the Shotgun release was recorded at Golden World Studios? If so then it could have been anyone available at the time from a large band of musicians?

[ralpht]

What I remember, Robbie, was you were a hell of a good DJ. What did you do after Detroit?

[anm0552]

What I remember, Robbie, was you were a hell of a good DJ. What did you do after Detroit?

How kind of you. Thank you. From WCHB, I went to Pittsburgh as a DJ/program director. Afterward, WCHB rehired me as a program consultant for their new station, KWK in St. Louis. It was a six-month assignment. I went from there to WIBG [[Wibbage) in Philadelphia where I worked nine to midnight doing top 40. I was let go when the station was sold and reformatted, and went back to Pittsburgh where I did an air shift on a great jazz station [[WYDD-FM). By then radio was changing. Tight play lists and restrictive formats had made radio a lot less fun. I went on to pursue other interests, but did return to radio for a couple of years in the 1980's and for the first time, used my real name. But my first love will always be WCHB, R&B and Detroit and its people.

[ralpht]

Thanks for the updates, Robbie. It is too bad that today's radio sucks and a new generation will never know what real DJs were all about. But you were there, dude, you were there.

[acooolcat]

This is from 1967...

[Rwf999]

Hey, Robbie D.,
Heard all of this [[you, Telma, WCHB) back in the 70's in Beverly Hills, CA from my buddy Carl Spelbring [["George Soul," the other white guy on WCHB), surprised to find it all here on the Internet. Carl passed away back in 1986, but just wanted to touch base with you, another friend of his....he was a genuine genius, wrote a brilliant book that many world-renowned physicists agreed with.