Bay Sound Records; Bleu Lights & Chaumonts

[jsmith]

Bay Sounds was a Baltimore record label that was probably set up / run by a guy named Milton Dugger Jnr.
Groups signed to the label [[around 1967/68) included the Bleu Lights [[a 4 strong black outfit consisting of Leroy Gordon, Larry Hart, Albert Townes & Phillip Townes) and the Chaumonts [[a mixed race group).
Other artists signed to the label included the Soul Clinic, Crystal & Clay Hunt.
Both of their main groups released good 45's ....
.... the Bleu Lights had 4 singles out on Bay Sound between 1968 and 1970 [[when I guess the label went under).
.... the Chaumonts first release was on the Caravelle label [[under the name Caravelle Ltd -- this company ran the Bay Sounds label) before they also had 4 singles on Bay Sound itself between 1967 and 1969.
George Massenburg was involved in producing tracks by them both [[& other artists on the label).
45's from both groups are much sought after.

Attachment 1194
Attachment 1195

Anyone know anymore about these groups and the label ??

[jsmith]

Another of their 45's .........
Attachment 1196
A cover of a Dyke & the Blazers song

[sunshineonacloudyday]

Ruben Molina's book has a scan of The Bleu Lights' Bay Sound 67007 which indicates the song "A Lonely Man's Prayer" is 'In Album: "Royal Bleu" 680015'. I wonder if the album exists? Molina also lists members as; Leroy Gordon [[lead), Carlton Hart [[tenor), Albert Townes [[baritone), Phillip Townes [[baritone), Charles Williams.

[jsmith]

The Bleu Lights were 4 strong. The members were as above & the original line-up included Carlton 'Larry' Hart [[he acknowledged to the name of Larry). Charles Williams joined the group on their last 2 outings on 45.
Attachment 1199

From the above newspaper piece, it is obvious that the first two Bay Sound 45's [[one by each group) were released before the beginning of May 1968.
Milton 'Milt' Dugger Jnr had himself marked down as the producer of the Chaumonts' cuts.

[jsmith]

I've been chatting with Kenny Hamber this afternoon & as he originally from Baltimore, I asked him about these guys.
He knew [[knows) Milton Dugger & tells me that Milt was an insurance man who loved music but couldn't sing himself.
So he started the Bay Sound label & signed the Bleu Lights & Chaumonts.
Kenny also knew the guys in both groups and told me that a member of the Blue Lights passed away earlier this year.

[davie gordon2]

Almost all of the Bay Sound catalogue is available on a CD called "The Bay Sound Story" available through cdbaby.com as are three or four CD's by later versions of the Bleu Lights
recorded in the nineties.

I've never seen the Bleu Lights album - if it was issued I'd guess it was only distributed locally. Bay Sound did issue an album "OOMPH" by the Fuzzy Kane Trio who look to me like a lounge
act - the album is made up of versions of well known songs like "Monday, Monday", the Mamas and Papas hit - this was also issued as a single [[67009).

Approximate release dates
67001 - 67004 1967
67005 - 67009 1968
67010 - 67013 1969

There were other artists signed to the label - Herb Alonzo,Brenda Key, Tommy Brown [[all three signed in April '69) but as far as I can tell no releases ever materialised.

[davie gordon2]

Here's the cd