Back to 1958 again now .........
WMBM DJ Butterball pictured in the station's 3rd Avenue studio.
Attachment 3628
At that time he held down the 10am thru 1pm slot everyday.
Back to 1958 again now .........
WMBM DJ Butterball pictured in the station's 3rd Avenue studio.
Attachment 3628
At that time he held down the 10am thru 1pm slot everyday.
Frank Williams Rocketeers were just about the hardest working band in Miami from the mid 60's thru to the 70's.
Not only did they back up many artists on recording sessions but they worked live locally week in, week out for many years.
They cut tracks [[such as "The Spanish Flyer" & "You Got To Be A Man") themselves and backed up singers such as Little Beaver & Louis Howard on their recordings [[both guys being featured lead singers for the band on their live shows).
Joey Gilmore [["Someone Done Took My Baby And Gone" & "Do It To Me One More Time") was also a Rocketeer before becoming lead for the spin-off group the Rocketeers No.2.
To help 'introduce' the spin-off outfit, they would play shows together back in 1967 .......
Attachment 3630
I guess when they were undertaking gigs on their own [[without Frank Williams & the main set of guys), Joey's outfit also became the Rocketeers .......
.... I suppose the Rocketeers were such a good draw locally that it made good business sense to bill them both under the same name.
Here's a show Joey & his bunch undertook in Ft Lauderdale [[perhaps Frank & his guys were working down in Miami that night) .....
Attachment 3631
BTW, the Freddy Scott featured as a vocalist on the show was also a local and not the famous guy who had hits on Shout.
Detroit hits Miami again, this time in 63 ........
Anyone know what this Miami Beach venue was called ?
....... [[the ad only gives the venue's address)
Attachment 3644
Here's a map showing the location of the above venue on Miami Beach ...
...... 1610 Alton Road .......
Attachment 3645
Attachment 3646
Today its the location of a Mattress Town store ....
Probably Bettye's 1st ever gig in Miami .........
Attachment 3647
A strong line-up for a show held at the Mary Elizabeth Hotel ....
Attachment 3648
The Mary Elizabeth Hotel [[in Overtown) had been built in 1921.
Here's a picture of it in the early 80's just before it was demolished.
Attachment 3649
First time in Miami for Chuck Jackson .....
[[Bettye beat him there by a few weeks)
Attachment 3650
Wow, I wish I could have been there .......
.... if only to see the world famous glass eater !!! ....
Attachment 3652
I liked "Only Be True To Me" by JP Robinson on Alston.
We used to listen to WRBD when we lived in West Hollywood, FL. In fact their studio was visable from the Florida
Turnpike so the erected a HUGE sign that said "WRBD Rockin' Big Daddy" 1470 on the roof.
I remember hearing Helene Smith "The Pot Can't Talk About The Kettle", the Clarinets "Somethin' In The Milk Ain't Clean",
and Bill Robinson and the Quails, "The Cow", all out of the Miami area.
Speaking of Bill Robinson and the Quails, here's a club gig they undertook in 1963 [[so no doubt they would have included "The Cow" in the show as it was recorded / released around that time).
Bill & the group, being local, must have been on hand to step into the breach when Jerry Butler was hurt in a road accident on his way to play the Night Beat Club.
.... I seem to recall I have some club ads from around the mid 60's that Bill played as a solo artist.
My fave outings of theirs [[on vinyl) are both sides of his & the group's 1967 Date 45 [["Lay My Head On Your Shoulder / Do I Love You"). Both those cuts were produced by Bob Yorey who was much invloved with recording artists such as the Laddins [[Steinways) and Dizzy Jones who played regular gigs down in Miami.
Yorey also recorded another local Miami group, the female outfit, the Mar-vells / Fabulettes, so I guess he had strong ties with Florida.
Attachment 3654
I believe that Bob Yorey was also from Florida originally.
He took Frances "Frankie" Gearing [[born in Daytona Beach, Florida) up to New York to be in the Steinways & then had her lead the Glories [[Bob produced some of their Date sides).
He was also the group's manager, in fact he managed many other outfits as well [[the Laddins / Steinways, the American Beetles, Joe Frazier & the Knockouts, etc).
By the early 70's, he was working with the likes of Sanctuary who recorded for the Vigor label.
A later Miami gig for the Marvels [[who no doubt were the Mar-vells / Fabulettes really) .......
Attachment 3655
I beleive that the group started out four strong, so perhaps by the time this photo was taken, Annette Snell had already quit to go solo.
The Continental Club [[which earlier had been the King O' Hearts) was as the ad says .... across the road from Mr. Walters wig shop.
Mr. Walters used to hire the club to promote nights that featured an act he managed & recorded -- Mr. Percolator -- who cut for the Wax-Wel label.
A lady who would eventually go on to sign for Motown was Barbara McNair .....
.... before that came about, she was down in Miami for some shows .....
Attachment 3657
Just to confirm how popular Bill Robinson & the Quails 45 "The Cow" was back in 63 in Miami .......
....... an extract from a club ad from late that year ...........
Attachment 3661
The Cow was very popular as it had a lot of pop airplay and was distributed to department stores that sold records;
not just record shops. I remember the 45rpm was a red label and the company said American Records.
"you think your doin the monkey but your milkin the cow"LOL
Some big guns hit town [[& the Knight Beat club) over Xmas / New Year 1963 .....
.... once again the Laddins lead up the pack [[after Inez Foxx finished her stint) ......
.... mistakes from the typesetters continue; Inez was known for her hit "MORNING Bird" apparently ..........
.... I bet she was Mocking them for their error !!!!
Attachment 3667
Last edited by jsmith; 09-28-2011 at 03:09 AM.
Sam & Dave may have been formed at the club & had gone on to be the top live local attraction [[even having landed themselves a record deal)
... BUT .... when out-of-towners were booked to play the club, they had to take 2nd billing ....
Attachment 3668
A guy who had been big on the local club scene since the late 50's was Frank Duboise.
By 1962 he had landed himself a record deal with United Artists.
........ 2 x 45’s were released simultaneously by the label ........
UA 444 - Frank Duboise - Chicken Scratch / 'Cause We Couldn't Get Along
UA 445 - Frank Duboise - Knight Beat / I Need Someone
The top side of the 1st was named after a dance that was developed in the Miami clubs in 1962, the 2nd after a top club in the city.
Frank's recording career went nowhere, but he did remain an ever-present on the local club scene though the 1960's.
Here he is [[with his band) supporting some big name acts at the Knight Beat club in 1964 ....
Attachment 3669
Another local singer that was a regular live performer in Miami clubs was E. Lois Foreman.
She also landed a recording contract with an out-of-town label, Texas based Duke Records Sure-Shot label.
In fact she had the 1st 45 to be released on Sure-Shot.
Attachment 3673
Another local act, the Bell Brothers [[Alex & Leroy Bell) also landed a deal with Sure-Shot.
Quite a lot of the releases on Sure-Shot were by artists from outside of Texas [[maybe most of them featured none Houston based artists).
Cleveland's Kim Tolliver had tracks released on the label [[she was a regular performer on the Miami club scene). I believe Al Haskins & The Mastertones were from Washington. Ruth McFadden was from around the New Jersey area. Detroit based singers were also signed to the label, as were New York based acts.
Kurtis Scott was better known as Kurt Harris. Rickie Ricks was really Jimmy Ricks from New York [[ex leader of the Ravens).
Jimmy also used to play gigs down in Miami ........
Attachment 3674
1967 & Johnnie Taylor was down in Miami ......
... also on the bill were a sway of local artists ....
The Mar-vells must have been contemplating their future by then as Mattie was out on her own for this show ....
Not sure if the Jerry Jones was a guy [[down from Cleveland) or a local lady but either could have been the singer who cut for PAL [[with Jerry William's assistance).
Also performing were up & coming local funk outfit James Knight & the Butlers [[who would end up recording for CAT with Clarence Reid & Willie Clarke) .....
Attachment 3686
This is what James Knight & the Butlers looked like back then ....
Attachment 3687
James Knight & the Butlers enjoyed record releases on a locally based label, but then they didn't really start their recording career till the end of the 60's / early 70's. .......
.... many other local artists [[Della Humphrey, Sam & Dave, the Bell Brothers, Paul Kelly, etc) in the 60's were signed to labels based in cities such as Houston, Philly, New York and the like coz not many Miami based labels were set-up to get decent national distribution till around 1970.
Some artists got lucky as Atlantic would step in & license local product for national distribution [[Betty Wright, J P Robinson, Latimore, etc) but lots of artists had releases that had little chance of making a major impact across the US.
This wasn't always the case though .............
... check out the Nos. 26 & 34 in this 1968 Detroit radio stn chart ..........
...... WJLB - DETROIT
SUPERADIO 1400 . . . FAST 40 SURVEY
..... FEBRUARY 12, 1968
1. Dock Of The Bay - Otis Redding
2. I Wish It Would Rain - The Temptations
3. Show Time - The Detroit Emeralds
4. We're A Winner - The Impressions
5. I Can't Stand Myself - James Brown
6. Count The Days - Charles & Inez Fox
7. Born Free - The Hesitations
8. No Sad Song - Joe Simon
9. Looking For A Fox - Clarence Carter
10. I Thank You - Sam & Dave
11. Pick Up The Pieces - Carla Thomas
12. Soul Power - Derek Martin
13. A Man Needs A Woman - James Carr
14. Down In The Ghetto - The Majors
15. Lost - Jerry Butler
16. La-La Means I Love You - The Delfonics
17. Nobody - Kim Weston
18. My Baby Must Be A Magician - The Marvelettes
19. In The Midnight Hour - The Mirettes
20. The End Of The Road - Gladys Knight & The Pips
21. Men Are Getting Scarce - Joe Tex
22. Great Day - The Magic Tones
23. You - Marvin Gaye
24. Just Another Reason - The Fascinations
25. Check Yourself - Debbie Taylor
26. Got A Thing For You Baby - Mr. Percolator
27. Do Unto Me - James & Bobby Purify
28. Why Do You Have To Lie - The Right Kind
29. Let It All Hang Out - Timmy Norman & The O'Jahs
30. Soul Serenade - Willie Mitchell
31. Love Explosions - Troy Keyes
32. This Love Was Meant To Be - Melvin Davis
33. Sunny - Sam Baker
34. The Goat - Freddy & The Kinfolk
35. When Johnny Comes Marching Home - Richard Barbary
The highest charting Miami act though was Sam & Dave in at No.10 with one of their many big Stax outings.
Last edited by jsmith; 09-30-2011 at 09:00 AM.
"The Goat" by Freddy & The Kinfolk probably broke through in cities such as Detroit coz that was another of the Dade label outings that Atlantic picked up for national distribution.
A Miami radio stn chart from 1966 .........
.... it contains the majority of the usual national hits from that time
.... plus a few local releases as well [[Freddy Scott, Blues Busters, Helen Smith)
Jeb Stuart was a popular live draw in the city & that probably explains why this Memphis guy made the chart ...
. . . . WMBM - 1490 MIAMI
. . . . TOP 50 SOUL SOUNDS
. . . . Week August 26, 1966
1. Working In A Coal Mine – Lee Dorsey
2. Blowing In The Wind - Stevie Wonder
3. World Of Fantasy - Five Stairsteps
4. I Wanna Be With You – Dee Dee Warwick
5. How Sweet It Is – Jnr Walker
6. Money Woun’t Change You – James Brown
7. I Believe I Can Make It – Joe Tex
8. Make Me Belong To You - Barbara Lewis
9. I'm Waiting - Joe Hinton
10. Baby I Love You – Jimmy Holiday
11. You Can’t Hurry Love - Supremes
12. Land of 1000 Dances – Wilson Pickett
13. I’ve Got To Love Somebody’s Baby – Johnnie Taylor
14. In The Middle Of A Heartache – Ruby Winters
15. Without A Reason – Janet & the Jays
16. Have Fun – Ann Cole
17. Little Darlin - Marvin Gaye
18. I Worship The Ground You Walk On - Jimmy Hughes
19. Ain’t Too Proud To Beg - Temptations
20. You’ll Never Ever Know – Fontella Bass
21. My Sweet Potato - Booker T
22. Hoochie-Coochie Man – Jimmy Smith
23. Man Loves Two - Little Milton
24. Gotta Draw The Line - Darrow Fletcher
25. BABY – Carla Thomas
26. Just A Little Bit Of Soul – Steve Colt & the 45’s
27. Love Attack – James Carr
28. Pow City – Freddy Scott
29. This Must End - Impressions
30. Dreamers Hall Of Fame – Jeb Stuart
31. The Beat – Major Lance
32. Keep Lookin - Solomon Burke
33. I Swear By Stars Above – Ben E King
34. Day Tripper – Vontastics
35. Knock On Wood – Eddie Floyd
36. Pretty Girls – Blues Busters
37. If You Ask Me – Jerry Williams
38. Beauty Is Only Skin Deep - Temptations
39. Stick, Sticky – Bobby Harris
40. Your Love’s Got The Power – Bobby Moore
41. I Got To Handle It – Capitols
42. The Stars – Ocapello’s
43. Poverty – Bobby Bland
44. I Choose To Sing The Blues - Ray Charles
45. Pleasin Women – Lee Lamont
46. Woman Will Do Wrong – Helen Smith
47. If You’re Wondering – Bobby Frank
48. Philly Dog – Herbie Mann
49. Whispers – Jackie Wilson
50. I Stand Alone – Stacy Johnson
The Blues Busters 45 came out on the BRA label; the same company that released the Jerri Jones / Jerry Jones 45's on PAL.
The #47 entry on the chart was "If You’re Wondering' by Bobby Frank.
This track has seen some Northern Soul action down the years; the 45 was released on the Yung label.
I guess Bobby & Yung Records were based in LA as Arthur Wright was involved on the track
..... the track itself ...... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_zs8o-r9RE
Bobby Frank has 2 other collectable 45's on Yung ......
..... "Today I’ll Say" [[Yung #822) & "I’ve Got To Be Sure" [[Yung #1001) -- the later of these also escaping in 1966 [[probably sometime that spring).
Last edited by jsmith; 10-01-2011 at 03:30 AM.
A 1963 show at the King O' Hearts Club by one of Detroit's finest ....
Attachment 3698
Clarence Reed & the Delmiros were also on the bill
.... but Sam & Dave seem to have 'flown the nest'.
When the Miracles made this appearance they performed on Saturday on TV. We had a local show called "Saturday Hop"
and the day the Miracles performed doing "Mickey's Monkey", the Cookies were also in town and performed "Don't Say
Nothin' Bad About My Baby".
The Miracles who performed--Smokey, Claudette, Bobby & Ronnie.
Saturday Hop was like an American Bandstand program. Kids danced and there were musical guests. A popular dj on
top 40 AM radio, Rick Shaw, was the host. Many acts did appear on the program. Whoever happened to be in
town. Dee Dee Sharp, Little Eva, etc. The show was on TV on Saturday afternoons for about two hours.
"Saturday Hop" on a youtube clip ....... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhacQCYTi9U
..... the bit on this show kicks in after 3m 40secs.
One local act + two 'out-of-towners' booked to appear at the Island Club .....
Attachment 3703
"Heartbreak" was released on 45 in the UK [[on the Stateside label).
The UK Stateside label demo 45 of "Heartbreak" .......
Attachment 3706
Dee's last national US Billboard R&B chart hit [["Crossfire Time") had been released on Constellation [[in October 63) but there were no Billboard R&B charts in 1964 so I'm unsure how well "Heartbreak" itself sold.
Dee had no more hits after the end of 1964, so Billboard's policy that year deprived him of his last claim to chart fame.
I enjoyed the newsclip on "Ten's Bandstand" which evolved into "Saturday Hop" on Channel 10, Miami. I remember the
movie "Beach Party" opened and the crowds that flocked to see it and Annette Funicello in person. She also was
featured on Saturday Hop.
A double bill of visiting stars at Clyde Killens' Knight Beat Club ....
Attachment 3711
WMBM has already featured 3 times on this thread
... BUT Hey Ho, here they go yet one more time ....
Attachment 3715
Here’s a picture of Jerry Jones, a ‘person’ who was a regular on the Miami club scene in the 1960's
Attachment 3719
Jerry had the in-demand 45's [[“I'm A Slave”; “You L.i.e.d. Lied”) out on the PAL label as well as the funky “Monkey on your Back” released under the revised name of Jerri Jones. Jerry Williams [[Swamp Dogg) was involved with these recordings, Jerry having relocated to Miami in the mid 60's. He spent some years based there, running his own label [[named 8730 after the address of the house he lived in whilst there) and working with artists for other local labels. The PAL label was a subsidiary of BRA Records of Tamiami Station [[Miami) and that concern was owned by 3 reggae guys [[B > Byron Lee, R > Ronnie Nasralla and A > Altyman East).
The ‘male’ in the picture and the female Jerri / Jerry Jones were one & the same person, who also went on to cut some reggae tracks in Jamaica. Jerry originally hailed from Birmingham, Alabama but moved up to Canton, Ohio where she started to perform at amateur talent shows. From this opening she commenced performing throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York State and even undertook some bookings in Canada. Whilst on the Ohio circuit in the early 60’s, she became a close friend of Kim Tolliver's [[from Cleveland) before moving to Miami in the mid 60’s. Here she became the female star on the Pearl Box Revue [[on which men dressed as women & women – Jerry included -- dressed as men). I guess the Pearl Box Revue was a spin off from the Jewel Box Revue [[also Miami based till the mid 60’s) that toured the chitlin circuit theatres / clubs in the 1950's / 60's. Whist in Miami, she hooked up once again with old Cleveland acquaintances such as Billy Wells & Kim Tolliver who were also regulars on the local club scene from the mid 60’s onwards.
A few years later, Jerry travelled down to Jamaica to perform there at the request of Alty East who staged her initial show at the Regal Theater in Cross Roads [[a northern suburb of Kingston). 'Coxsone' Dodd was in the audience that night and impressed, he invited her to record at his Studio One studio based at 13 Brentford Road, Kingston. A number of 45 releases resulted plus the ‘Jerry Jones at the Hotel Kingston’ album [[also released in the UK on the Bamboo label). Dodd and Alty East produced a series of shows for Jerry that were held at the Hotel Kingston but all the songs included on the LP were actually recorded in the Brentford Road studios. Her reggae releases included takes on "Compared to What" [[1970), “Still Waters" [[1970) and "Honey Come Back" [[1971) and each proved to be popular releases in the islands [[she also cut a version of James Carr’s “Freedom Train”).
Attachment 3720
Anyone got a label scan for Jerry Jones' PAL 45 "You L.i.e.d. Lied" ??
I have scans of her other 2 PAL 45's [[as Jerri / Jerry) and both had input from Jerry Williams.
Attachment 3728
Jerry wrote "Monkey On Your Back" [[her funkiest outing) on which it states she was backed up by the Delviations [[whoever they were).
Jerry only recalls being involved with two of her PAL releases, so I'm interested in seeing who gets the credits for "You L.i.e.d. Lied".
A 1968 show with Kim Tolliver topping the bill ....
Attachment 3732
Billy Wells [[who fronted the Invaders) was another exile down in Miami from Cleveland.
Jackie Corbitt, manager & host, on the above ad for the Fox's Den is the man who discovered and managed 12-year-old
Della Humphrey, who had an R&B hit issued on Arctic Records, "Don't Make The Good Girls Go Bad", written by Corbitt
and Clarence Reid.
I have never seen a photo of Della, however, she had at least two more releases on Arctic.
RE: I have never seen a photo of Della ..........
....... Here's one for you .........
Attachment 3733
Wow, jsmith, you ARE something!!! I had spoken with her by telephone when the record was out and she played the
Quarterback Club in Orlando. My brother Tony also spoke with her.
Are you familiar with Limestone Lounge? I believe the site is www.limestonerecords.com The Limestone Lounge has
info. on Miami artists and they have been searching for a photo of Della Humphrey.
Also, do you have any info. on her whereabouts today?
Thanks so much for posting the photo!
I don't know why Della suddenly stopped making records. Her second single, "[[Girls Have Feelings) Just Like The Boys Do"
b/w "Over The Tracks" charted. It was written in part by Barbara Mason and probably produced by Jimmy Bishop.
Her third single didn't see much action, "Let's Wait Until Dark" b/w "Will You Love Me Tomorrow". I was never sure of
the intended "a" side, but Wait Until Dark had previously been recorded by Helene Smith, and, of course, Will You Love
Me was a slowed-down version of the Shirelles' hit.
With Della's first two singles charting and "Good Girls Go Bad" being a hit, she should have had an album.
As far as I know she didn't make another single for a couple years, this time on a Miami based label. Can't remember
the title, maybe "Dream World".
Wish we could find her!
OK, her late '71 release was on Dream Land label and the title WAS "Dream Land". The "a" side was vocal, "b" side the
instrumental track of the "a" side. Steve Alaimo was involved with this record as was King Sporty. Apparently it
did chart in Dec. '71 on WMBM's survey. I guess no national company picked it up for distribution.
Bumping this
As there is a site limit on the maximum amount of attachments that each individual can post, I have had to delete some of the above to enable me to make later postings on other threads.
Great stuff! Thanks for sharing. I love the old ads, surveys, etc.
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