The Soulful Sounds of the Sixties and Forgotten Gems

The Soulful Sounds of the Sixties and Forgotten Gems

The 1960’s are often seen as a golden period for soul music  and it is easy to fill several albums with classic tracks of that decade. It is, of course, the big names and famous songs that usually turn up on such occasions: the Supremes, Four Tops, Temptations, Aretha Franklin and so on.

There were many artists, however, who passed through virtually unnoticed and left some golden gems of records that deserve  wider listening. So instead of Diana Ross et al, these are 10 of those musical gems by those who could have and should have made it, including a surprising number of young teenage girls with amazing voices who were never heard again. Still,  maybe these records were  hits in some alternative universe, where people eagerly search for a rare copy of the unknown Supremes on eBay.

1    1)  Young Boy by Barbara Green, 1964

Chicago in the mid-sixties produced some of the most memorable recordings  of sweeter, lighter gospel-influenced soul, with this track from 1964 being a good example. It is reminiscent of Barbara Lewis’s Hello Stranger  and in fact shares the same backing group in the Dells. It also has the same kind of subtle, mature and captivating vocals that Barbara Lewis was noted for but what is remarkable about Young Boy is that Barbara Green (the 'e' added on her name on the record label was an error)was only 13 years old when she cut this record.

Unfortunately she only made one other recording, A Lovers Plea ,also from 1964, and that was that. She finished school, trained to be a teacher and had a career teaching in Milwaukee. In her brief time as a singer, however, she left one enchanting, stand-out record, which is one more than most of us.

2   2)      This Love (That I’m Giving You)  by The Joy-Tones, 1965

The Joy-Tones came from New York’s Spanish Harlem district and had been recording since the mid-50’s. In 1965 the group comprised Vikki Burgess, Margaret Moore & Lynn Middleton and released This Love (That I’m Giving You)  with Lynn Middleton singing lead on top of a sea of harmonies and sweeping strings to create a mellow sound best described as a musical kiss. It wasn’t a hit. It was re-issued 3 years later, in the wake of the Summer of Love, under the name of the Love Potion instead of the Joy-Tones with no more success. It remains, nevertheless, a classic.

       

 3) Something About My Baby by The Sweets, 1965

The Sweets  highlighted here were  a  mid-60’s  group from the Los Angeles area,  3 teenage girls  - Jo Lynn Ballard, Reola and Ruthie - who made just one record. But what a record it was. The outfit is sometimes confused with another girl group called The Sweets from the same time, which comprised Felice Taylor and her 2 sisters, prior to Felice Taylor going solo and scoring a hit with I Feel Love Comin’ On in 1967. (They should definitely not be confused with the 70’s glam rock group the Sweet of Blockbuster fame!)  Reola also had a sister, Billie Rae, who went on to join the Undisputed Truth and later wrote Wishing on a Star for Rose Royce.

The ‘A’ side was Satisfy My Baby, an in your face uptempo number with Ruthie singing lead that later became a favourite on the Northern Soul scene. It was Something About My Baby,  co-written by Jo Lynn who takes lead vocals, that really stays in the mind however, with the slinky smooth sounds floating you gently through the song. Another standout track from 1965 that somehow failed to get the success it deserved.

4)   Your Love is Everything by Sandy Golden  1965

Sandy Golden is a bit of a mystery - and I suspect it might not have been her real name too.(|) She recorded one record in 1965. The ‘A’ side was  When We’re Alone Tonight, which used the same backing track as the Sweets’ Something About My Baby. It was also co-written by Phyllis Fortier, then wife of  the record's producer Nate Fortier, and it is possible that Sandy Golden was Phyllis Fortier making full use of an existing backing tape. The other track was Your Love is Everything, which has been described as “one of the most beautiful songs ever produced” and had such a rarity value that  vinyl copies were selling for £10,000 at one point. It is a remarkable vocal, like being washed with warm honey. There only seems to be one other record by Sandy Golden,  Here’s Where It Ends from 1973 and nothing like as memorable. Still, with  Your Love is Everything you don’t really need a follow up.

5) How’s Your New Love Treating You by The Debonaires 1966

The Debonaires had started life in 1964 as a Detroit trio, with members including Joyce Vincent who later came to fame as part of Dawn. A couple of releases did little and in 1966 15 year old Diane Hogans was added as a lead singer in time for How’s Your New Love Treating You and it was her sublime vocal, sadness trying to be strong, that put this song into a different league entirely. When  she sings, “The girl who took my place, does she suit your taste? How’s your new love treating you?”, the hardest heart would surely crumble.  Neither this track or a couple of follow up records were hits and the Debonaires broke up around 1967. Joyce Vincent went on to success as a session singer and with Dawn. Diane Hogans made another stunning record, Love is All Around, for Capitol, worked with Isaac Hayes, Johnnie Taylor, David Ruffin and others, had a spell with a reformed version of the Platters and has remained on the Detroit scene as Diane Marie Mathis. 

6) Only When You’re Lonely by The Royalettes  1966

In the mid-60’s there was a black girl group with a lead singer by the name of Ross who put out a string of classy sweet soul records marked by rich harmonies behind Ross’s distinctive lead vocals, powerful  and smooth but with a hint of vulnerability.

They were, of course, the Royalettes from Baltimore, comprising Anita Ross, Veronica Brown and Terry Jones with Sheila Ross singing lead and they should have been huge. They did have one small hit in 1965, ‘It’s Going To Take A Miracle’, later covered by Laura Nyro, but failed to achieve major success despite a string of well regarded singles and albums. Only When You’re Lonely is a good example , with Sheila Ross’s soothing vocals over tight harmonies and a rich orchestral backing. Like the Supremes backing Dionne Warwick was one description of their   sound. The group split up in the late 60’s, with Ross going on to solo work and a spell as a Playboy Bunny. In the alternative universe , however, the Royalettes became the premier black girl group of the sixties before splitting with Sheila Ross achieving worldwide fame as a solo singer. In 1994 she was invited to take a penalty in the opening ceremonies of the World Cup and managed to get the ball in the net whilst singing It’s Going To take A Miracle.

 7) It’s Just Your Way by Jan Bradley 1967

Alongside the harder-edged soul and funk of 60’s Chicago was a lighter, more delicate soft soul and amongst the softest and sweetest was Jan Bradley, whose lilting soprano voice could melt your brain. She had experienced minor chart success in 1963 with a Curtis Mayfield number, Mama Didn’t Lie but subsequent releases, including self-penned numbers like I’m Over You from 1965, failed to achieve the same success despite some stand-out records. Its just your Way, written by guitarist Kermit Chandler, was one of her last releases on the Chess label and showcases her trademark vocals: a kind of untarnished innocence that never becomes over sweet or cloying  She released a few more records before the end of the decade and then became a social worker and counsellor. Her music stayed in a shaft of sunlight, forever young.

8) Call On Me  by The Dynells  1968

The Dynells were yet another girl group who barely rate a footmote in music history but left one classic record.  They comprised Delores McGregor, Shirley Cook and Sandra McGregor singing lead with a voice rather reminiscent of Barbara Acklin and an overall sound that was  an early example of what became the Gamble-Huff Philly sound in the early 70’s. The group made maybe one more record before disappearing. Brenda McGregor joined the touring version of the Vonettes briefly but died at an early age, leaving the Dynells and this record to be remembered as a Northern Soul favourite.

 9) You’re Acting Kind Of Strange   by The Chappells 1969

The Chappells (sometimes listed as the Chapells)) were another group, from Baltimore, who came together for a brief moment, made a couple of records and then seemingly walked away from the music business. The name was taken over from a previous incarnation of the group who had made a heavily doo-wop influenced record  Are You Ready in 1965 and had subsequently split up when it failed to sell. This line-up comprised Lester Harris and three teenage girls, Evelyn Robinson, Elaine Jenkins, and fourteen-year-old soprano Alice Wilhoit singing lead to produce an up-dated mid -tempo doo-wop sound that was strangely haunting. As before, nothing happened and they had broken up by 1971, leaving a record to be picked up and appreciated by later generations.

 10) Tired of Running Around  by The Young Ladies  1969

As the Sixties turned into the Seventies, a group from Orange, New Jersey called the Young Ladies cut 2 tracks that, like many of the above, became a Northern Soul favourite with its rarity value pushing the price of the disc up. The flipside was Tired of Running Around, written by Kenneth Ruffin and produced by Sylvia Robinson, with a slight hint of reggae in the sound. It vanished without trace, as did the group, becoming, as with the above artists, yet another What If?