Hot Sauce [[Volt)

[jsmith]

It seems that Volt group Hot Sauce were another example of the collaboration between Stax & Detroit producers / artists that took place in the late 60's & early 70's.
The labels on the Hot Sauce 45's note that the tracks were 'Irene Productions for Perks Music' and recorded at Pac-Three in Detroit. This was Irene Perkins who was married to Al Perkins.

VOLT VOA-4067 - Hot Sauce - I'Ll Kill A Brick [[About My Man) / I Can'T Win For Losing [1971]
VOLT VOA-4076 - Hot Sauce - Echoes From The Past / Bring It Home [[And Give It To Me) [1972]
VOLT VOA-4089 - Hot Sauce - What Do You See In Her? / Mama's Baby, Daddy's May Be [1973]
VOLT VOA-4103 - Hot Sauce - Good Woman Turning Bad / I'Ll Kill A Brick [[About My Man) [1973]

Attachment 4800

Anyone have any info on Hot Sauce or Irene's work in the early to mid 70's ????

[jsmith]

Al Perkins had a very varied music career before being gunned down in the 80's [[year ?).
He was a radio DJ [[& programme director) in Memphis in the 60's; whilst at WLOK he hired ex Chicago guy Bob Catron Jr as a DJ. He recorded himself [[for the likes of Atco & Memphis based Hi Records) & via his WLOK jobs he must have had close ties to Stax Records. He then moved to Detroit, to work at WJLB. Here he hired a Denby High School student as a teen DJ for the station; Donnie Simpson. He went on to help nurture Donnie's career. But late in 1970, he was sacked by the stn. A public outcry occured & he was reinstated. However, in 1979, he was up before the FCC on payola charges related to his DJing for WJLB.
By then, he had expanded into record production, initially cutting acts at Pac-Three studios. By 1978, he was producing major acts such as the Dells.
Attachment 4801
He was also instrumental in getting his sister, Velma Perkins [[Vee Allen) signed to Twinight Records.

[jsmith]

I believe there was another Al Perkins that was working at US radio stns in the late 60's / early 70's [[at WJMI Jackson Miss & WAVZ New Haven for instance), so no doubt it can be difficult sorting out which one was which. There was also a 'southern' rock guitartist by the same name.

[jsmith]

Some of Al Perkins own recordings ........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W35B2-mgrRA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzqGC-i1kdA .......
.... ^^^ this one is also an Irene Production but was cut in Memphis.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMHpcQfFglg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrW6s1_SGU4

[jsmith]

Denise LaSalle recounted .... Al Perkins, a famous disc jockey that was killed in [Detroit in 1983], was a good friend of mine. He couldn't sing that well, couldn't keep time with the music. Al went down to Willie Mitchell's studio and cut a smash hit. So I said, 'If this man can make Al sound that good that's where I'm going."
By all accounts, Al had gotten mixed up with some 'heavies' who were involved in the record biz [[perhaps the same guys who got him into his payola problems) and it was one of them that got rid of him.

Much earlier [[in the mid 60's), he had recorded the track "You Can Belong to Someone" -- Archie & Al Perkins; this is a straight Impressions rip-off sound but still very nice [[who was Archie ?)

[jsmith]

His duet 45 for USA ..........
Attachment 4802

[roger]

Interesting thread JSmith ..

The only HOT SAUCE track I know is "I'd Kill A Brick For My Man", which is about as "Southern" as you can get [[ a bit similar to "Run and Tell That" by DENISE LASALLE ) and I'd never have thought that it was recorded in Detroit merely by listening to it.

"I'd Kill A Brick" is on the C.D. "Son Of Stax Funk" issued by Ace[[UK) in 1993.

http://www.discogs.com/Various-Son-O...release/650253

The booklet notes, by Chris Savory, read as follows ..

"I must admit to a soft spot for HOT SAUCE; in reality Detroit songstress Rhonda Washington. Discovered by Irene Perkins, wife of soul singer Al Perkins, "I'd Kill A Brick For My Man" is a bonus cut on the CD and what a bonus it is! A beautiful voice on this cut but aficionados should get their hands on her Volt single cover of Na Allen's "Bring It Home Lay it On Me" - you won't ever hear better singing. The track here, produced by Irene, was Rhonda's first ever recording, cut at Pac Three Studios, Detroit in 1971 and released on Volt 4067.
She recorded another seven sides over the next three years and an album "Good Woman turning Bad" was scheduled for release on Volt 9502. However, it is doubtful if this ever saw the light of day as no Stax/Volt collector has ever seen a copy."

Roger

[jsmith]

Most of the Hot Sauce tracks were really [[I believe) Al Perkins' work. But as he was a radio DJ with WJLB in Detroit at the time, I guess he had to keep his involvement 'low-profile' to avoid trouble with his day-job employers.
Around the same time that he produced Hot Sauce, he himself was recording [[in Memphis) for Hi -- he had earlier cut for USA, Atco and Buddah [[in Chicago & Memphis I think).
In the late 70's, Al was working with major acts such as the Dells but the FCC charged him with payola involvement in 1979. He was sacked from his WJLB job and took more to record production -- Al Hudson & One Way, Roundtrip, etc.
It seems it was 'heavies' who had put money into the record biz that were responsible for his shooting dead -- probably why no one seems to be forthcoming on the details surrounding his demise.
It seems that Al helped out quite a few guys along the way.
Donnie Simpson [[a top US DJ / VJ) got his start in radio in the early 70's via Al at WJLB in Detroit. Whilst still in Memphis [[WLOK) in the 60's, he hired ex Chicago guy Bob Catron Jr to be a DJ on the stn. Catron went on to become big record shop owner [[Boss Ugly Bobs).
Oliver Cheatham [[now based in France & on Facebook) knew Al very well in the 70's / 80's [[he was lead singer for Roundtrip & Oliver, both groups Al produced). Oliver was a trained roofer & so was 'kept close' by Al and sent up to do repairs on the studio roof whenever it was leaking. So Oliver was always around the studio & with Al -- he should be able to give you lots of info on him & his record biz activities.
Seems we are to get releases [[from Ace) on the Hot Sauce & Rhonda Washington Volt tracks.
Anyone know anything about Rhonda Washington; guess she was from Detroit.

[jsmith]

INFO from the Groovesville USA website .......
Perkins was born in Brookhaven, Mississippi on 1st August 1930 and during the late fifties and early sixties ran a band, cutting sides for CJ, Salem, Jive and USA, where he duetted with Betty Bibbs on a version of the song he penned with R&B impressario Dave Clark – ‘Homework’. [[Otis Rush’s version was issued on Duke in 1962 and became the definitive version.)
Al had over half a dozen sides released at USA alone, and wrote songs for other acts at the label including Detroit Junior.
Al moved into running a recording studio for Paul Glass, the owner of USA, and whilst there he cut bluesman G.L. Crockett on ‘It’s A Man Down There’ which he took to Four Brothers, a fledgling Chicago label set-up by Willie Barney and Jack Daniels. The song was an early Top 10 R&B hit for the company in the summer of 1965.
Al made contact with other soul luminaries at the time and with Bobby Womack and Jimmy Holiday wrote the song ‘Yes My Goodness Yes’ which became a minor hit on Soul Fox for Willie Hobbs and was later covered by Jerry Butler on his The Soul Goes On album. Al recorded the track himself on Buddah and the song was picked up by Atco reaching #48 on the R&B charts in August 1969. This proved to be Al’s most successful release.
A succession of sides appeared on Atco including ‘Trust Me’, ‘I Don’t Want No [[Second Hand Love); ‘Snap Your Fingers’ and ‘Need To Belong’. The B-side of the last two ‘Nothing Is Impossible’ had a few spins over the years on the Northern soul scene and despite Perkins’ unassured lead, the girl backing singers and the driving arrangement make it one of Al’s best outings.While he continued to put out the odd 45, once again Al changed direction, becoming a radio personality in Memphis. He moved to Detroit radio station WJLB and listeners back in the day will recognise the title of today’s blog from his show.
Perkins developed his interest in production and management and worked with Hot Sauce for Stax/Volt, Na Allen for GRT, Little Miton at Mier, more successfully with Al Hudson & The Soul Partners [[later One Way) and their ex-lead vocalist Alicia Myers when she pursued a solo career.
However, in 1979 Perkins was embroiled in the investigations into payola at both WJLB and rock station WMZK. Al had earlier gone into partnership with Detroit producer and label owner Earnest Kelley, who recalled hairy moments working with Al when disgruntled acts who had paid him to play or promote records fired shots at their office when the discs were not aired!
It seemed that some of Al’s business ventures were a little on the shady side and Al’s life ended when he was shot on 13th February 1983.

[jsmith]

Seems that Al used United Sound but more often recorded his stuff [[Al Hudson & Partners, One Way, Roundtrip) at PAC-3 Recording Studio, Dearborn.
Might he have owned / leased Pac 3 in the early 80's, as Oliver Cheatham always referred to the Detroit area studio where he cut as being Al's studio.

[jsmith]

A bit of background info on Oliver Cheatham [[off the net) ...
Oliver Cheatham was first encouraged to sing by his gospel-trained mother.
He was, originally, with the groups The Young Sirs, Mad Dog And The Pups [[Oliver was never an actual member of MD&P's but he sang lead on their records as none of the lads -- or the dog -- really had a decent singing voice) and Gaslight.
His first single release was 'Hard Times' recorded for his local label Tier.
Following that release he met Al Perkins and became lead singer of the band Sins Of Satan, the band later being re-named Roundtrip and then re-named Oliver.
After two albums for the group Oliver, Cheatham signed for MCA as a solo artist.

[jsmith]

Sins of Satan cut albums released on Buddah [[76) and United Artists [[78)
...... both projects being for Al Perkins ....
Attachment 4805

[jsmith]

None of our Detroit resident's have any recollections of Al Perkins from back in the 60's or 70's then ????

It seems that Rhonda Washington may have been from St Louis, where she had started out with the [[Mighty) Mustangs who cut for Sure-Shot in the mid 60's.
She is rumoured to have returned to St Louis when Hot Sauce / Stax fell apart and there she went back into the gospel world.

[MIKEW-UK]

Al also recorded his sister Velma on "Yes, My Goodness Yes"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg8ddpBa1nA

[stingbeelee]

Hi JSmith; I remember Al very well as a DJ on WJLB. His name for some time was Al Perkins "the Perculator". I can remember that the station did play "yes, my goodness yes" which was more popular here in Detroit than it was nationally. The station also played Hot Sauce "I'll kill a brick" which I thought, as a kid, was one of the craziest records I ever heard [[I was young at the time, so I could not understand how you would kill a brick!) and "Mama's Baby", which was very popular, and I can recall people arguing about how truthful the record was.

[jsmith]

CHEERS for that info.

[jsmith]

Wasn't Al Perkins [[+ Rudy Robinson) involved with the Mier label and he placed some of his Irene Productions cuts on the label in the mid to late 70's [[those that he couldn't lease out to the likes of Stax, Lion, etc.). There was a Little Milton 45 on Mier which no doubt came about via the Stax connection between Al & Milton.
The 1982 Oliver LP released on MCA was credited as a Mier recording.

[imnokid]

I mentioned this thread to Bettye and she said she knew Al pretty well, but not so much the ins and outs of his business.
Any particular questions you need answered?