| Although Ric released a couple
of dozen 45's on his Zodiac label over a six-year period,
approximately 75% of the output was by two artists, Ruby
Andrews and Chuck Bernard.
Prior to Ruby's success with 'Casanova', she had worked
with The Vondells before becoming a dancer in a small
Chicago nightclub using the name Ruby Stackhouse, her
birth name.
Disc Jockey Lucky Cordell spotted that she could sing
too and he recommended her to Ric, who was looking
for new talent.
After the success of 'Casanova', Ruby's follow-up
45, in December 1967, was a nice mid-tempo song written
by BKE. Allegedly produced by Ric, it was called 'Hey
boy take a chance on love' b/w 'Come to me'.
Several months later another excellent double-sider
emerged in 'You can run but you can't hide' b/w the
much covered 'Wonderful night'. The top side was
sprinkled with some great 'in your face' vocals but astonishingly
it didn't do much.
In October of 1968 some faith was restored when 'The
love I need' and it's excellent flip 'Just lovin' you'
hit the Billboard charts at #48.
The choice of follow up was questionable, however,
as it was a version of Brothers of Soul's 'I
guess that don't make me a loser' which had charted
only a few months earlier. It remains Ruby's favourite
recording however.
Another BKE song 'You made a believer
out of me' b/w 'Where have you gone' peaked at #18 R&B #96 Pop, making
it the highlight of the BKE collaboration.
Sandwiched in between Ruby's Zodiac releases was a 45
by a duo called Freddy and Bobby called 'Come on back'.
For a second time Ric had renamed BKE to give
everyone the impression of a bigger artist roster. Freddy was Fred
Bridges and Bobby was Robert Eaton.
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