Booker T & the MG's

Best remembered historically as the studio band for Stax-Volt Records during the 60s, Booker T. and the MGs created the "Memphis Sound behind the hit recordings by Carla and Rufus Thomas, Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, among others. Booker T. Jones began working at Stax Records in Memphis as a saxophonist in 1960. In 1962 Booker T. and the MGs were formed as the house band for Stax-Volt Records. Steve Cropper and Donald Dunn, who had been members of the Mar-Keys, played on the groups' 1961 instrumental hit "Last Night." Dunn remained with the Mar-Keys until 1964 when he replaced the group's original bassist Lee Steinberg. In the early '60s, Booker T. and the MGs provided the instrumental backing for Carla Thomas ("Gee Whiz") and her father Rufus Thomas ("Walkin' the Dog:). The reputation as a band in their own right was established in 1962 with their instrumental hit "Green Onions."

Over the next seven years, the group recorded independently, backed various Stax acts while individuals pursued their own careers. Jones worked with artist-producer William Bell and co-wrote the blues classic "Born Under a Bad Sign." In 1966, Jones received a degree in music from Indiana University. Crooper supervised the recordings of Otis Redding and co-wrote hits by Wilson Pickett ("In the Midnight Hour:), Eddie Floyd ("Knock On Wood"), and Otis Redding ("Dock of the Bay"). Al Jackson produced blues guitarist Albert King. Booker T. and the MGs served as the backing band for Sam and Dave's "Hold On I'm Coming" and "I'm a Soul Man." On their own Booker T. and the MGs had rhythm and blues hits with "Hip Hug-Her," "Groovin'," "Soul Limbo," and "Time Is Tight." "Goovin'," "Time Is Tight," and "Soul Limbo" also became pop hits along with "Hang'em High." In 1967 the group toured Great Britain in support of Otis Redding, Sam and David, Eddie Floyd, Carla Thomas, and others. They backed Otis Redding at The Monterey International Pop Festival in June 1967. In 1969 Cropper recorded With A Little Help from My Friends and, with Albert King and gospel patriarch "Pop" Staples Jammed Together.

In 1970 Booker T. and the MGs quit being the Stax house band, officially disbanding in 1972. Jones moved to California and joined A&M Records as a staff producer. There he supervised the recording sessions for Rita Coolidge, his wife Priscilla (Rita's sister), and Bill Withers. In there early '70s he recorded three albums with his wife, plus the solo album Evergreen. Cropper continued with session work and producing at Stax-Volt until 1975, when the label folded. Cropper then moved to Los Angeles.

The group was planning a reunion when Al Jackson was shot to death in Memphis October 1, 1975. The band did reunite with Willie Hall on the drums for Universal Language, and Jones later recorded three solo albums for A&N. Jones, Cropper, and Dunn recorded with others as the RCO All-Stars. Cropper and Dunn recreated their distinct style behind The Blues Brothers on tours and albums as well as in the movie The Blues Brothers in 1980. Jones produced Willie Nelson's 1978 album Stardust. In 1988 Booker T. and the MGs reunited with drummer Anton Fig to play at Atlantic Records' fortieth anniversary show at Madison Square Garden and subsequently stayed together for several years to perform as Booker T. and the MGs. October 1992 Jones, Cropper, and Dunn joined session drummer Jim Keltner to serve as the house band for the four hour Bob Dylan tribute at Madison Square Garden. In 1994, Jones, Cropper, and Dunn recorded their first album in seventeen years, That's the Way It Should Be, with session drummers. Cropper and Dunn reunited in the Blues Brothers Band for 1998 movie Blues Brothers 2000.

Booker T. and the MGs were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992

Taken from: http://www.history-of-rock.com/soul_music.htm

Heart Full Of Soul - Wilson Picket

You gotta know how to pony,

like Bony Maronie Mashed potato,

do the alligator

Put your hands on your hips,

let your backbone slip

Do the Pogo, or I tell you to Go-go

Na na na na na,

na na na na na na na na na na,

na na na na...

Na na na na na,

na na na na na na na na na na,

na na na na...

Dance with me honey,

like Long Tall Sally Twistin' with Lucy,

doin' the Watusi

Gotta hold of your back,

I like it like that

Do the jerk,

watch me work

Wow! Do it, wow!

Do it,

watch me do it

Ah happy,

ah happy!!!

One of the most popular black singers of the '60s, Wilson Pickett helped introduce the aggressive style of rhythmic style of soul music. Aided immeasurably by the excellent studio bands backing him at the Stax Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, and The Fame Studio in Muscle Shoals Alabama, Pickett scored a series of R&B and pop hits on Atlantic Records between 1963 and 1972 that included "In the Midnight Hour," "Mustang Sally," and "Funky Broadway."

Raised in Prattville, Alabama, Wilson Pickett moved to Detroit, Michigan at the age of sixteen and made his professional debut as the lead singer of The Violinaires in the late '50s. From 1961 to 1963 he was in The Falcons, writing and singing their 1962 hit "I Found Love." Pickett then went solo and signed with Lloyd Price's Double L Records, where he wrote and recorded "If You Love Me" and "It's Too Late."

In 1964, Pickett signed with

Atlantic Records and did his early recordings in the Stax studio in Memphis, Tennessee with Booker T. Jones and Steve Cropper of The MGs. Cropper co-authored three of his early hits, "In the Midnight Hour" and "Don't Fight It from his debut album The Exciting Wilson Pickett that established him as a major soul star. The album also included "Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won't Do)," "She's So Good to Me," and "Land of a 1,000 Dances," all recorded at Fame Studio in Muscle Shoals.

Pickett then had hits with "Mustang Sally," "I Found a Love," and "Funky Broadway," all recorded in Muscle Shoals. Pickett then teamed with Bobby Womack in 1968 for Midnight Mover that yielded a Top 10 R7B and pop hit with Womack's title song. In 1969, Pickett had a major hit with The Beatles "Hey Jude,", followed in 1970 by "Sugar, Sugar." Later in 1970, Pickett worked with producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia. The result was two crossover hits "Engine Number Nine," and "Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You."

After crossover hits "Don't Knock My Love - Part 1" and "Fire and Water" Pickett left Atlantic for RCA, with minimum success. Pickett later recorded for several record companies, including his own Wicked label, but failed to have anymore hits.

Wilson Pickett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.

Taken from: http://www.history-of-rock.com/soul_music.htm

Heart Full Of Soul - Carla & Rufus Thomas

Baby's back, dressd in black,

silver buttons all down her back.

High, low, tipsy toe,

she broke a needle and she can't sew.

Walkin' the dog,

just a-walkin' her dog.

If you don't know how to do it,

I'll show you how the walk the dog.

Asked the fellow for fifteen cents,

see the fellow he jumped the fence.

Jumped so high he touched the sky,

never got back till the fourth of July.

Walkin' the dog,

just a-walkin' her dog.

If you don't know how to do it,

I'll show you how the walk the dog.

In the glorious decade and a half of sound that was Stax in the '60s and early '70s, Carla Thomas was the Queen of Memphis Soul. She was born in Memphis in 1942, and 18 years later she recorded a duet with her father Rufus Thomas, giving the fledgling Satellite label its first taste of success with the regional hit "Cause I Love You." As her 18th birthday drew nigh, she cut her first solo single, the teen ballad "Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes)." Written a few years earlier and rejected by Vee-Jay in Chicago, it gave Satellite its first national hit, breaking the Top Ten mark on both the R&B and pop charts. Shortly thereafter Satellite became Stax, and Carla proceeded to claw her way onto the national charts another 22 times with such immortal slices of soul as her answer song to Sam Cooke, "I'll Bring It on Home to You," as well as "Let Me Be Good to You," "B-A-B-Y," "Tramp" (with Otis Redding), and "I Like What You're Doing to Me." Carla released six solo albums and, with Otis Redding, one duet album on Stax between 1961 and 1971.

taken from: Rob Bowman, All-Music Guide

Few of rock & roll's founding figures are as likable as Rufus Thomas. From the 1940s onward, he has personified Memphis music; his small but witty cameo role in Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train, a film which satirizes and enshrines the city's role in popular culture, was entirely appropriate. As a recording artist, he wasn't a major innovator, but he could always be depended upon for some good, silly, and/or outrageous fun with his soul dance tunes. He was one of the few rock or soul stars to reach his commercial and artistic peak in middle age, and was a crucial mentor to many important Memphis blues, rock, and soul musicians.Thomas was already a professional entertainer in the mid-'30s, when he was a comedian with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. He recorded music as early as 1941, but really made his mark on the Memphis music scene as a deejay on WDIA, one of the few Black-owned stations of the era. He also ran talent shows on Memphis' famous Beale Street that helped showcase the emerging skills of such influential figures as B.B. King, Bobby Bland, Junior Parker, Ike Turner, and Roscoe Gordon.Thomas had his first success as a recording artist in 1953 with "Bear Cat," a funny answer record to Big Mama Thornton's "Hound Dog." It made number three on the R&B charts, giving Sun Records its first national hit, though some of the sweetness went out of the triumph after Sun owner Sam Phillips lost a lawsuit for plagiarizing the original Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller tune. Thomas, strangely, would make only one other record for Sun, and recorded only sporadically throughout the rest of the 1950s. Thomas and his daughter Carla would become the first stars for the Stax label, for whom they recorded a duet in 1959, "'Cause I Love You" (when the company was still known as Satellite).

In the '60s, Carla would become one of Stax's biggest stars. On his own, Rufus wasn't as successful as his daughter, but issued a steady stream of decent dance/novelty singles.These were not deep or emotional statements, or meant to be. Vaguely prefiguring elements of funk, the accent was on the stripped-down groove and Rufus' good-time vocals, which didn't take himself or anything seriously. The biggest by far was "Walking the Dog," which made the Top Ten in 1963, and was covered by the Rolling Stones on their first album.Thomas hit his commercial peak in the early '70s, when "Do the Funky Chicken," "(Do The) Push and Pull," and "The Breakdown" all made the R&B Top Five. As the song titles themselves make clear, funk was now driving his sound rather than blues or soul. Thomas drew upon his vaudeville background to put them over onstage with fancy footwork that displayed remarkable agility for a man well into his 50s. The collapse of the Stax label in the mid-'70s meant the end of his career,basically, as it did for many other artists with the company.

Taken from: Richie Unterberger, All-Music Guide

Heart Full Of Soul - Martha & the Vandellas

Whenever I'm with you

Something inside starts burning

and my heart's filled with fire

Stop this - it's got a hold on me

I said this ain't the way it's supposed to be

It's like a heatwave burning in my heart

I can't keep from crying

Tearing me apart

Whenever he calls my name

Sounds so soft sweet and plain

Right then, right there

I feel this burning pain

This high blood pressure's got a hold on me

I said this ain't the way love's supposed to be

It's like a heatwave burning in my heart

I can't keep from crying

Tearing me apart

Whenever I'm with you

Something inside starts burning

And my hearts filled with fire

Something's got me amazed

Don't know what to doMy head's in a haze

It's like a heatwave burning in my heart

I can't keep from crying

Tearing me apart

One of Motown Records' earliest and most exciting vocal groups, Martha and The Vandellas achieved two Top Ten hits before the ascendancy of The Supremes. Driven by Martha Reeves' soulful, brassy lead vocals, the Vandellas became Motown's earthier, more aggressive "girl group" alternative to the Supremes.

Martha Reeves, one of eleven children, was born in Eufaula Alabama on July 18, 1941. She moved with her parents Ruby and Elijah to Detroit, Michigan before her first birthday. Reeves spent most of her childhood singing and working in her grandfather's church. She attended Russell Elementary on Detroit's eastside and was taught vocals by Emily Wagstaff. Northeastern High School was where she studied voice under the direction of Abraham Silver, who also coached Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson of the Supremes, Bobby Rogers of the Miracles.

After graduating from high school in 1959, Reeves joined the girl group called the Fascinations. They recorded their first record about 1960, backing Mike Hanks on "The Hawk" on Mah's Records. They also backed Leon Peterson on "I Know You Know" on the Bobbin label in 1962. Their first big break was working with local singer J.J. Barnes on "Won't You Let Me Know." The 1962 single on Rich Records credited both Barnes and the Del-Phis and led to the answer record "Ill Let You Know" on Check-Mate. In the late summer of 1960 Reeves met Rosalind Ashford and they were invited to join Annette Sterling and Gloria Williamson in the Del-Phis. After doing some local talent shows and jobs they recorded a single on Chess-Mate Records, a subsidiary of Chess Records in 1961. The Del-Phi"s recording that didn't make the charts was "My Baby Won't Come Back".

Reeves as a solo entered and won a talent contest. The prize was a three day engagement at the Twenty Grand, a local nightclub where she sang as Martha LaVaille. On her last night, William "Mickey" Stevenson, an A&R and Berry Gordy's right-hand man at Motown Records, approached Reeves, after hearing her sing, and gave her his card. In 1961 Reeves was hired as his secretary. One day Motown head Berry Gordy needed background singers in short order for a session; Reeves and her friends, Ashford and Beard, were called in. They sang behind Marvin Gaye on "Stubborn Kind of Fellow," his first hit in 1962 and "Hitch Hike."

A couple months later, Reeves again found her self in the right place at the right time. Stevenson had called over to the studio, where a union rep was checking to make sure the label was following the rule that a singer had to be on a mic when tracks were recorded. In Mary Well's absence, Reeves sang "I'll Have To Let Him Go, impressing Stevenson enough ask the Del-Phis to record "You'll Never Cherish A Love So True ('Til You Lose It)." The session was a success, but Gloria decided she didn't want to leave her job and left the group. The single was issued anyway on Mel-O-Dy as by the Vells. The rest of the group convinced Gordy that they were staying as a trio. Gordy then asked the girls to come up with a new name. They then called themselves Martha and the Vandellas, taking their name from Detroit street Van Dyke and Reeve's favorite singer Della Reese before recording "I'll Have to Let Him Go."

Signed to the newly formed Gordy label in September 1962 as Martha and The Vandellas, the group's first hit was their second release, a beat ballad "Come Get These Memories" (#29 pop, #3 R&B 1963) and was Holland-Dozier-Holland's first collaboration as a songwriting team. "Memories" was followed by two explosive Holland-Dozier-Holland dance records: "Heat Wave" (#4 pop, #1 R&B, 1963) and "Quicksand" (#8 1963). After being turned down by Kim Weston, a Mickey Stevenson and Marvin Gaye composition,"Dancing in the Street" was given to Martha and the Vandellas; who turned it into their biggest hit (#2, 1964). Their other big hits included "Nowhere to Run" (#8, pop, #5 R&B, 1965) and "I'm Ready for Love" (#9 pop, #2 R&B, 1966), "Jimmy Mack" (#10 pop, #1 R&B, 1967) and "Honey Chile"(#11 pop,, #5 R&B, 1967) were the last Holland-Dozier-Holland compositions they recorded, and were their last big hits. By 1967, the group was billed as Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, as she was featured solely as lead for the group. Beard retired in 1963 and was replaced by former Velvelette Betty Kelly; when Kelly left four years later she was replaced by Reeve's younger sister Lois. Ashford quit in 1969 and was replaced by another ex-Velvelette Sandra Tilley. Tilley died during surgery for a brain tumor in 1981. The group disbanded in 1973 after giving a farewell concert on December 21, 1972, at Detroit's Cobo Hall. Lois Reeves went to work for Al Green.

Martha Reeves launched a solo career, but her recordings for MCA, Arista, and Fantasy through 1980 failed to sell well. As recounted in her 1994 autobiography Dancing in the Street, Reeves believes that the groups succession was undermined by Motown and Berry Gordy JR's. obsession with the Supremes. An example being "Jimmy Mack which was held from release for two years because it sounded too much like the Supremes then current singles. A strong personality Reeves clashed with Gordy demanding answers to business questions that most other Motown artist didn't ask until years after they left the label. Struggling to maintain a hectic schedule of recording and performing, Reeves became addicted to prescription drugs, exacerbating emotional problems that led to nervous breakdowns and a period of institutionalization. Reeves has been drug free since 1977. In 1989 she, Ashford and Beard sued Motown for back royalties.

In 1974 Reeves signed with MCA Records, Her debut solo album, Martha Reeves produced by Richard Perry, had a minor hit "Power of Love". Other solo albums were We Meet Again, and Got To Keep Movin on Fantasy Records, and The Rest of My Life for Arista Records. Though her solo records have been critically acclaimed, Reeves has never achieved the success that she had enjoyed with the Vandellas. Reeves currently resides in Downtown Detroit after living twelve years in Los Angeles. She continues to tour and record; sometimes the Vandellas consists of her sisters Lois and Delphine. On special occasions, she performs with Beard and Ashford. Rosalind Ashford has just retired from Ameritech and Annette Sterling has worked at St. John's Hospital as a phlebotomist for the last forty years.

The Vandellas were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995

Taken from: http://www.history-of-rock.com/soul_music.htm

Heart Full Of Soul - Marvin Gaye

I used to go out to
parties
And stand around
'Cause I was too
nervous
To really get down
And my body yearned to
be free
So I got up on the
floor and found
Someone to choose me
No more standin' along
the side walls
Now I've got myself
together, baby
And I'm havin' a ball
Long as you prove it
There's always a chance

Somebody watches
I'm gonna make romance
With your body, ooo
baby, you dance all night
Get down and prove it,
feel all right
. . . .
Keep on dancin'
Got to give it up

With a career that spanned the entire history of rhythm and blues, from '50s doo wop to '80s soul, Marvin Gaye exemplified the maturation of romantic black pop into a sophisticated form spanning social and sexual politics, Marvin Gaye was one of the most consistent and enigmatic of the Motown hitmakers. Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (the e was added later) was born April 2, 1939 in Washington D.C. His father was a preacher with the obscure House of God and the two often clashed. He had a brother Frankie and sisters jeanne and Zeola (Sweetsie). Gaye was three years old when he began singing in his father's church choir and was soon playing the organ and drums, too. Gaye returned to his hometown of Washington, D.C. and started signing in streetcorner doo wop group The Rainbows.. In 1957 he formed his own group the Marquees. Backed by Bo Diddley, they recorded "Wyatt Earp" for the Okeh label. In 1958, Harvey Fuqua hired the Marquees to be the latest version of the Moonglows, his backing group. However the group soon broke up and Fuqua moved to Detroit to form Tri-Phi Records with his girlfriend Gwen Gordy, bringing Marvin with them. It was Gwen that introduced Gaye to her brother Berry at Motown's 1960 Christmas party. Soon Gaye was signed to his new Motown Tamla label in 1961. Gaye started as a session drummer at Motown , playing on all the early hits by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.

Soon thereafter, Gaye married Gordy's sister Anna. "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" Gaye's fourth single, was his first hit in 1962. Over the next ten years working with nearly every producer at Motown, including Holland-Dozier-Holland, Smokey Robinson, and Norman Whitfield, Gaye had over twenty hits. Specializing in mid-tempo ballads, he also had dance hits: "Hitch Hike," (#30, 1963), "Can I Get a Witness" (#22, 1963), and "Baby Don't Do It" (#27, 1964). Gaye favored romantic and sometimes sensual ballads and felt that his desire to move into a more mainstream, sophisticated style was hampered by Motown's demand for hits. For a singer as unenthusiastic as Gaye later claimed to be, he gave almost every song an inspired reading. His Top Ten Hits include "Pride and Joy," (#10, 1963), "I'll Be Doggone" (#8, 1965), "Ain't That Peculiar" (#8, 1965), and "How Sweet It Is to Be Loved By You" (#6, 1965). Among his other thirty nine Top Forty singles of this period were "Try It Baby" (#15, 1964) with background vocals by the Temptations, "You're A Wonderful One" (#15, 1964, with backing vocals by the Supremes).

In 1964, Gaye did duets with Mary Wells "Once Upon a Time (#19, 1964) and "What's the Matter With You" (#17, 1964) and Kim Weston for "It Takes Two" (#17, 1967). However, his greatest duets were with Tammi Terrell: "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (#19, 1967), "Your Precious Love" (#5, 1967), "Nothing Like the Real Thing" (#8, 1968), and "You're All I Need to Get By" (#7, 1968) all written and produced by Ashford and Simpson. In 1967 concert, Terrell collapsed into his arms on stage, the first signs of a brain tumor that would kill her three years later. Gaye had his biggest hit of the Sixties with "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (#1, 1968). The second phase of Gaye's career began in 1971 with "What's Going On". One of Motown's first artist to have complete artistic control over his records. "What's Going On" was a self-composed and produced song cycle that could be called a concept album. The album hit number six and produced three Top Ten Singles: "What's Going On" (2, 1971), "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler" (#9, 1971, and "Mercy Mercy Me (the Ecology)" (#19, 1974), but the project was one of the many things Gaye did with Motown that he felt was forced upon him.

Gaye's rocky marriage to Anna Gordy end after fourteen years as the Seventies came to a close. Reeling from the divorce settlement Gaye filed for bankruptcy. He married his second wife Janice in 1977 and had a #1 hit, "Got to Give It Up, Part 1." They had two children Nona, who became a recording artist and Frankie. I.R.S. pressures forced Gaye to move to Europe to record his 1981 release, In Our Lifetimes, which concentrated on his philosophies of love, art, and death. In 1982 he left Motown for Columbia. His first Columbia album Midnight Love sold two million copies and included Sexual Healing" which won a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male. He sang live at the Grammy broadcast and in 1983, in concert at the Radio City Music Hall. Also in 1983, he appeared in one of the more memorable segments of the Motown 25th anniversary television special.

Despite his success, Gaye was depressed and was abusing cocaine. He moved back to the U.S. and into his parents home. where he often quarreled with is father who he had been at odds with since his teenage years. In early 1984, Gaye reportedly threatened suicide several times before his father shot him following a Sunday morning shouting match April 1, 1984. After his death Columbia and Motown collaborated to produce Dream of a Lifetime and Romantically Yours, both based on unfinished recordings from the Sexual Healing sessions. In 1992, his daughter Nona launched her own recording career on Third Stone Records. Motown issued a tribute album to Marvin Gaye in 1995.

Marvin Gaye was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987

Taken from: http://www.history-of-rock.com/soul_music.htm

heart full of soul - Betty Everet

Does he love me, I wanna
know
How can I tell if he
loves me so

(is it in his eyes) Oh
no, you'll be deceived
(is it in his eyes) Oh
no, he'll make believe
If you wanna know if he
loves you so
It's in his kiss
(that's where it is, oh
yeah)

(or is it in his face)
Oh no, it's just his charm
(in his one embrace) Oh
no, that's just his arm
If you wanna know if he
loves you so
It's in his kiss
(that's where it is)
Oh oh, it's in his kiss
(that's where it is)

Oh oh oh, kiss him and
squeeze him tight
And find out what you
wanna know
If it's love, if it
really is
It's there in his kiss

(how 'bout the way he
acts) Oh no, that's not the
way
And you're not
listenin' to all I say
If you wanna know if he
loves you so
It's in his kiss
(that's where it is)
Oh yeah, it's in his
kiss (that's where it is)

Whoa oh oh, kiss him
and squeeze him tight
And find out what you
wanna know
If it's love, if it
really is
It's there in his kiss

(how 'bout the way he
acts) Oh no, that's not the
way
And you're not
listenin' to all I say
If you wanna know if he
loves you so
It's in his kiss
(that's where it is)
Oh yeah, it's in his
kiss (that's where it is)
Oh oh, it's in his kiss
(that's where it is

Betty is remembered primarily for "The Shoop Shoop Song," a huge Top 10 hit in 1964, but she recorded throughout her life and was recognized as one of the top soul singers of her time. Everett was born in Greenwood, Miss. in 1939. In her late teens she moved to Chicago where she recorded for local labels in the late 1950s and early 1960s. But it was when A&R man Calvin Carter inked Everett to a deal with VeeJay Records in '63 that her career really took off. Carter, who recorded the infectuous "You're No Good" with Everett, recalled in an interview published in Both Sides Now that the Dells were at the recording session, "They were sitting on the wooden platform where the string players would sit. Well, they were sitting there on the playback and just stomping their feet on this wooden platform to the beat of the song as it was playing back. So the mics were open and I heard it. I told the engineer 'Let's do it again, and let's mic those foot sounds, 'cause it really gave it a hell of a beat.' * " Indeed it did.

Even though Everett's "You're No Good," failed to make the Top 50 at the time, it was a treasured favorite among musicians. Over the the years it has become a rock and roll staple, having been covered by the likes of Swinging Blue Jeans, Linda Rondstadt and many others. After the near miss of "You're No Good," Everett recorded "The Shoop Shoop Song" in the spring of 1964, and it soared to Billboard's Top 10. "The Shoop Shoop Song" was later used in the soundtrack for the 1990 movie "Mermaids" as covered by Cher.

Other highlights of Everett's recording career include "I Can't Hear You," "Getting Mighty Crowded" a number of duets with the Impressions' Jerry Butler, including their Top 10 single, "Let It Be Me." There were other Betty Everett/Jerry Butler duets. One was their single "Smile" and their LP Delicious Together. "There'll Come A Time" was her first entry in the soul charts, and it made number two. It was also her last top forty hit. Betty had five more songs to make the soul charts on Uni and Fantasy by 1971. Over the next couple of years she released moderately successful albums like Love Rhythm and Happy Endings. Although her chart success was primarily at VeeJay, she recorded for many labels over the years. She received the BMI Pop Award in 1964 and 1991, and the BMI R&B Award in 1964. Since the 1980s Everett had lived in Beloit where she remained involved in the Fountain of Life and New Covenant churches and the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.

"The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)" singer Betty Everett was found deceased in her Beloit, Wisconsin home on August 19, 2001 by her family. She was 61.

taken from: http://www.spectropop.com/femme/betty_everett.html

Northern Soul - some shortcuts

Callin' out around the world

Are you ready for a brand new beat?

Summer's here and the time is right

For dancin' in the streets

They're dancin' in Chicago

Down in New Orleans

Up in New York City

All we need is music, sweet music

There'll be music everywhere

There'll be swingin', swayin' and records playin'

And dancin' in the streets

Oh, it doesn't matter what you wear

Just as long as you are there

So come on, every guy grab a girl

Everywhere around the world

There'll be dancin'They're dancin' in the street

This is an invitationAcross the nation

A chance for the folks to meet

There'll be laughin' and singin' and music swingin'

And dancin' in the streets

Martha & The Vandellas

What is Northern Soul I hear you ask? Good question!

Trying to define Northern soul is a tricky business. The term "Northern Soul" is attributed to journalist Dave Godin, who in 1970, coined the phrase to describe a specific type of soul music that was popular in the clubs of northern England during that period. This music came from Black musicians in America, but tended to be commercially unsuccessful there. Instead British collectors came across the often forgotten tunes, and such was the demand to hear them, people would flock to clubs to experience these exclusive sounds. That was much of the charm. Not only was the music superb, it had an exclusive status, a kudos brought about by it being unheard by mainstream society. If you liked this music, you stood out. You were different. You had a feeling of belonging to something very special. That's why I feel Northern Soul is more of a movement or scene rather than a particular genre. It is still going strong today through its ability to adapt and take on differing styles.

Despite beginning in the 1960s in the North of England, Northern Soul's appeal has now spread worldwide, and has lasted over thirty years. The roots of Northern Soul can be traced back to the 1960s Mods who listened to not only RnB and Ska, but had a particular affection for Black America Soul music. The starting point was in many cases Berry Gordy's Motown label, whose artists like for example, The Supremes, The Temptations, and Marvin Gaye had brought the music to the fore. It was from this initial spark that an interest for rarer releases grew, and soon lesser known artists on obscure labels were held in the same regard. Often commerical flops in the USA, the uptempo beat and fantastic vocals of these records made them highly popular amongst the British Soul fraternity.

The clubs of the era (the most famous ones being The Twisted Wheel in Manchester, The Golden Torch in Stoke, The Wigan Casino, and The Blackpool Mecca) all had different musical policies which helped the Northern Soul scene develop such a broad range of differing musical styles. Today uptempo soul music of the 1960s can be heard alongside pure RnB, the slower beat ballad and mid-tempo soul sounds, big city soul, and the more mellow and funkier soul which made an appearance in the 1970s. That's why it's such a hard job to give a precise definition of the phenomena that is "Northern Soul". It is what helps to makes the Northern Soul scene so special. It is also a reason for why the appeal is still around today. Music of this quality will always attract new converts, and those who discover it are mighty glad they have!

Play some Northern Soul:

http://www.users.totalise.co.uk/~djandyp/nsoul/nsoul_play.gif

There are some brilliant Northern Soul sites on the Net.
Try them, and introduce yourself to a magical musical experience!

Taken from: http://www.users.totalise.co.uk/~djandyp/nsoul/northern_soul_links.htm

Northern Soul is not a music style in a usual way. So you can't declare a set of musical characteristics, which classify a song unequivocal as belonging to Northern Soul. Hence other authors as well get difficulties giving definitions. The Problem is caused by the fact, that the attachment of a song to the category Northern Soul actually is made by the community of fans (a funny parallel to the Kuhnian theory of the construction of truth by the scientific community). Therefore this classification varies from fan to fan. Additionally Northern Soul shows flowing transitions to almost all popular music styles like Country, R&B, Rn'R, Beat, Rock, Salsa, Reggae etc.. But what is then Northern Soul?

Northern Soul is the music and the name of an english subculture. It's origin lays back in the 6ties. At that time some DJs in the northern England decided not to play the popular Soul music usually played in the London clubs any longer. Instead they played rare Soul records from small independent labels with a stronger more original sound. This "Rare Soul" attracted more and more people so that in 1970 a journalist reported on this subculture and named it "Northern Soul". In the beginning, there was played only 6ties Soul on the allnighters, the dancing venues of this scene. But later a group of fans of rare Modern Soul get apparent. They were forced to arrange their venues seperately, but finally they get integrated.

The classic allnighter starts after midnight and lasts till 8am. The visitors don't dress uniform. Their dressing depends on their belonging to special groups like mods, for instance. There are two dance styles: a more or less fixed step combination, and the combination of these steps with acrobatic figures, generally known from Breakdance. In Continental Europe, especially in Germany, France, Austria, and Italy, Northern Soul got popular in the 8ties. But in contrary to the homeland where the popularity decreased only slightly, Northern Soul survived only in small stalgart communities of fans. Other differences between England and the rest of Europe are: While in England only singles get played, here, due to the bad opportunity to get singles, also LPs are used. The dressing is usually more 6ties style, there is a bigger variety of dance styles and, of course, there are other favourite songs, so it could happen that the reaction on an english "floorpacker" will be yawning.

Taken from: http://www.raresoul.de/infoeng.htm