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  1. #1
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    Great neglected song Angel In Your Arms

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4xOMW5S0Lk Does anyone know much about the group---Juanita, Gwen??

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    Wikipedia is your friend.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_[[vocal_group)

    From Wikipedia:
    Hot was a vocal trio from Los Angeles, California, United States, formed in 1976. Its original members were Gwen Owens [[born 19 June 1953), Cathy Carson [[born 8 October 1953) and Juanita Curiel [[born 25 February 1953).[1] [2] In 1987, Hot was reborn with former members Owens and Carson and new member Sandra Starks.

    Career


    The lead singer Gwen Owens was a native of Detroit where she had begun singing in church and, after being discovered at a high school talent show, recorded for local record labels from the mid 1960s. In 1969 a track she recorded, "Keep on Living," was picked up by Josie Records and reached #40 on theBillboard Best Selling Soul Singles Chart. Owens also performed in local concerts mostly headlined by Motown artists such as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, the Originals, and Edwin Starr; she also performed with Al Green.
    Relocating to Los Angeles in the early 1970s, Owens began a session singing career backing David Axelrod, Randy Brown, Stanley Clarke, Randy Crawford, Coke Escovedo, Willie Hutch, Billy Preston, and Al Wilson; she provided live support for Ann-Margret, Jose Feliciano, the O'Jays, Lou Rawls, Nancy Sinatra and Raquel Welch.

    In 1972, Owens was signed to a production contract with Muscle Shoals Sound Studio session men Clayton Ivey and Terry Woodford, who recorded Owens at Muscle Shoals as the inaugural artist for a projected southern division of Motown Records. Ultimately Motown decided not to proceed with "Motown South," dropping Owens. Her five completed Muscle Shoals tracks were shopped to other labels, with the newly-formed Casablanca Records picking up the tracks "You Better Watch Out" and "Everybody Needs Love" for release in 1973; the same single was re-issued in 1974 on Warner Bros. Records - then a Casablanca affiliate - without commercial success.[3]


    In 1975, Owens and Cathy Carson, a native of Kansas, began performing in a trio completed by a Mexican singer; this outfit toured with the Wolfman Jack Shock & Rock Review under the name Sweet Talk and, in 1976, appeared on television on The Diahann Carroll Show and Cos,[4] billed on the latter show as Sugar & Spice. Owens was still signed with Ivey and Woodford but, as Motown was not interested in Owens, Ivey and Woodford were unable to record her until after ending their affiliation with the label in 1976. At this point, Ivey and Woodford opened their own Muscle Shoals recording facility, Wishbone Studios, where Owens, Carson, and the newly-recruited Juanita Curiel began work on an album as Hot. The Mexican-born Curiel, who had grown up in Nevada and spent three years as a singer/dancer in Wayne Newton's Vegas show, replaced the original third member of the trio, who had opted out of the group.[5] Ivey was the keyboardist and Mac McAnally played guitar.


    "Angel in Your Arms" - which Ivey and Woodford had written with local songwriter Tommy Brasfield - was given to the group to record after Gwen Owens asked if they could record a C&W song. Picked up by Big Tree Records for release, "Angel in Your Arms" broke in Florida in February 1977, debuting that month on the Billboard Hot 100 at #97, gradually accruing sufficient airplay to enter the Pop Top 40 that April and proceed to number 6 that July. The track also charted R&B [[#29) and Easy Listening [[#9). Certified a RIAA certification gold record for U.S. sales of one million units, "Angel in Your Arms" was also a hit for Hot in Australia [[#27), Canada [[#3), and New Zealand [[#7).


    Although Hot's membership: the African-American Owens, the white Carson and the Hispanic Curiel, had assembled on the assumption that this multiracial personnel would attract attention,[6] the group received little noticeable promotion, beyond their million selling single "Angel in Your Arms". The single's success did briefly boost its parent album Hot on to the charts with a #125 peak, and two other tracks released as singles appeared in the lower half of the Hot 100: "Right Feeling at the Wrong Time" and "You Brought the Woman Out of Me" [[the latter a minor hit for Evie Sands in 1975).


    Hot had two more album releases, both recorded at Wishbone Studios with Ivey and Woodford producing, before Big Tree Records was closed by its parent company Atlantic Records in 1980.[7] Woodford & Ivey also produced a solo single by Owens: "I Don't Want to Dance No More / Hold Me Like You Never Had Me", released on Big Tree in 1979.[8]


    In 1980, Owens, Carson, and Curiel starred in a B-movie about a female vocal group alternately known as 'Makin It', 'Runnin' Hot' and 'Smokey and the Judge'.[9]


    In 1982, Boardwalk Records released the single "Tonight" credited to Hot; of the original lineup, only Curiel's participation can be verified.[10]
    In the late 80's, Owens met Sandra Starks when they toured with legendary vocalist, Lou Rawls. Owens, Curiel and Starks, under new management, entered into separate negotiations with both Maurice White [[Earth, Wind & Fire) and Barry White who were interested in producing the group.
    After returning to session work, Owens retired as a professional musician but remained active singing in her local church in the San Fernando Valley; in 1999 she and three fellow choir members formed the group Melodious who had the CD Ephesian 5:19 released in 2004. In 2008, Owens was reported to be employed in the music industry in a non-performing capacity working for HDH Records.
    So, for some of the rigid types among us, there is a Motown connection.
    Last edited by soulster; 12-29-2012 at 08:59 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by soulster View Post
    Wikipedia is your friend.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_[[vocal_group)

    From Wikipedia:


    So, for some of the rigid types among us, there is a Motown connection.
    Absolutely, and for me, the success of this song proves that Supremes 75 WAS hit material, and the selection of Woodford/Ivey as producers and Michael Lloyd was a good choice.

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    Very interesting reading. I did not know any of this, especially not the attempt to re-form the group in the 80s. You would think they would be candidates for a "Best of" or "Complete" collection, when you consider that other artists who seemed to have no real chart success at all have received CD re-issues. To my knowledge there is nothing at all available on CD by Hot. Believe me, I have looked!

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    Quote Originally Posted by daviddesper View Post
    Very interesting reading. I did not know any of this, especially not the attempt to re-form the group in the 80s. You would think they would be candidates for a "Best of" or "Complete" collection, when you consider that other artists who seemed to have no real chart success at all have received CD re-issues. To my knowledge there is nothing at all available on CD by Hot. Believe me, I have looked!
    "Angel In Your Arms" appears on at least three CDs I have, all long OOP:

    Atlantic Hit Singles 1958-1977 - Atlantic Records [[Mastered by Yves Beauvais)
    Groove On, Volume 2 - DCC [[Mastered by Steve Hoffman)
    Have A Nice Day: Super Hits of the 70s, Volume 20 [[Mastered by Bill Inglot)

    Happy hunting!
    Last edited by soulster; 12-30-2012 at 10:02 PM. Reason: fixed one word

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    And these gals appeared on Star Search in the '80s long after "Angel In Your Arms" was released.

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    Really? A top 10 hit and still on star search?

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    Quote Originally Posted by luke View Post
    Really? A top 10 hit and still on star search?
    Luke, about a year or so ago, Leroy Bell of "Bell & James" who had the hit "Livin It Up on Saturday Night" in 1978 was on one of those talent contest shows!

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    Just because you hit it big once or twice does not mean you've made it. You could have a #1 record one year and be selling cars the next.

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    Quote Originally Posted by soulster View Post
    "Angel In Your Arms" appears on at least three CDs I have, all long OOP:

    Atlantic Hit Singles 1958-1977 - Atlantic Records [[Mastered by Yves Beauvais)
    Groove On, Volume 2 - DCC [[Mastered by Steve Hoffman)
    Have A Nice Day: Super Hits of the 70s, Volume 20 [[Mastered by Bill Inglot)

    Happy hunting!
    True. I've got it on the Atlantic Hit Singles disc. But it is one of those hard to find singles.

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    Quote Originally Posted by soulster View Post
    "Angel In Your Arms" appears on at least three CDs I have, all long OOP:

    Atlantic Hit Singles 1958-1977 - Atlantic Records [[Mastered by Yves Beauvais)
    Groove On, Volume 2 - DCC [[Mastered by Steve Hoffman)
    Have A Nice Day: Super Hits of the 70s, Volume 20 [[Mastered by Bill Inglot)

    Happy hunting!
    The Super hits of the 70's series is what I consider the best compilation series ever done. Most every one [[or two) hit wonder from an entire decade in one series. And the mastering of Bill Inglot is without compare.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kamasu_Jr View Post
    True. I've got it on the Atlantic Hit Singles disc. But it is one of those hard to find singles.
    Consider that these CDs were made during the golden age of CD comps, roughly from 1988-1996. During that time, it seems just about every oldie was issued on a CD somewhere. I was snapping up CD comps like crazy during that whole time.

    If that song was issued on CD, that would have been the best time for it. Today, your best bet of finding such great CDs is used record stores and Amazon.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by luke View Post
    Really? A top 10 hit and still on star search?
    Yep.

    Quote Originally Posted by soulster View Post
    Just because you hit it big once or twice does not mean you've made it. You could have a #1 record one year and be selling cars the next.
    Very true.

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    Actually, that Super Hits of the 70s [[and the Soul Hits of the 70s) sets sound good, but Bill Inglot didn't always use the best or correct tapes, and some songs were needle drops that he made because he was either pressed for a deadline or couldn't use a master tape for legal reasons.

    When I say Mr Inglot could not always use the correct tapes, I mean that he, for whatever reason, did not always use the correct single version. In some cases, he did an approximation of the single, which was almost always wrong.

    But, that can be forgiven, as the series was created and produced in the late 80s and early 90s, before many correct tapes were found. Rhino Records almost single-handedly gave us our musical history back to us. Once Rhino's start started to fade, Varese Vintage stepped up, and now Eric Records.

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    I remember seeing "Hot" perform this song on television a few times in 1977 on "The Mike Douglas Show" and "Dinah". They may have also appeared on AB.

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    Quote Originally Posted by soulster View Post
    Actually, that Super Hits of the 70s [[and the Soul Hits of the 70s) sets sound good, but Bill Inglot didn't always use the best or correct tapes, and some songs were needle drops that he made because he was either pressed for a deadline or couldn't use a master tape for legal reasons.

    When I say Mr Inglot could not always use the correct tapes, I mean that he, for whatever reason, did not always use the correct single version. In some cases, he did an approximation of the single, which was almost always wrong.

    But, that can be forgiven, as the series was created and produced in the late 80s and early 90s, before many correct tapes were found. Rhino Records almost single-handedly gave us our musical history back to us. Once Rhino's start started to fade, Varese Vintage stepped up, and now Eric Records.
    Needle drops? I've not heard any tracks on those complilations that sound like needle drops to me, maybe I'm missing something, an example or two? I LOVE what Varese and Eric records have also done, for the longest time, Eric Records was the only one who put the Pop Tops "Mamy Blue" on CD, one of my top 10 favorite songs... It was on their "Hey Look What I found!" series, which was a great series, putting on CD songs that stalled outside the top 20.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jillfoster View Post
    Needle drops? I've not heard any tracks on those complilations that sound like needle drops to me, maybe I'm missing something, an example or two? I LOVE what Varese and Eric records have also done, for the longest time, Eric Records was the only one who put the Pop Tops "Mamy Blue" on CD, one of my top 10 favorite songs... It was on their "Hey Look What I found!" series, which was a great series, putting on CD songs that stalled outside the top 20.
    Actually, K-tel issued "Mammy Blue" by Stories in the early 90s. I have that CD.

    The songs that are needledrops on Rhino's Have A Nice Day and the didn't it blow your mind series are:

    Nice To be With You - Gallery*
    Up In a Puff Of Smoke - Polly Brown
    Vehicle - The Ides Of March
    Rendezvous - The Hudson Brothers
    Making Our Dreams Come True - Cyndi Grecco*
    Moonlight Feels Right - Starbuck*
    Double Barrel Pt. 1 - Dave and Ansil Collins
    5-10-15-20 [[25 Years Of Love) - The Presidents
    I Love You For All Seasons - The Fuzz
    Right On The Tip Of My Tongue - Brenda And The Tabulations

    *Most tapes from Private Stock and Sussex labels are supposedly made from needledrops, as the tapes are missing. For most others, the tapes do exist, but were not used in these series for whatever reasons.

    There are a few more, but I can't be certain of them, so I didn't mention them.

    Now, the songs that are not the actual single versions are many! One of these days I will list them all.
    Last edited by soulster; 01-01-2013 at 01:41 PM.

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    My point was many of the shows have exclusionary clauses if the singers are considered professional.

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