Sugar Pie DeSanto - Go Go Power (w. suppliments)

Another repost by request:

Sugar Pie DeSanto (born Umpeliya Marsema Balinton, Oct 16, 1935) was a Fillmore girl back when that tag used to mean something, back when San Francisco still had a soul and it was centered in The Fillmore. Her 2 years junior cousin, Etta James, was a Fillmore girl too; she hung out and sang with 'Peliya's' little sister.

Post war, the Fillmore was probably the most culturally and racially diverse neighborhood in America. That both girls should come from mixed parentage  was not particularly unusual in this neighborhood; Sugar's father was Filipino, Etta's father was unknown (unless you buy her mother's Minnesota Fats story).

The neighborhood was jumping and alive with multi-ethnic businesses, and it was the heart of the Black entertainment district as well. Charles Sullivan was the Mayor of Fillmore Street and his Majestic Ballroom was rechristened The Fillmore Auditorium in 1952. Bird, Sammy, Billie, Redd Fox, Moms Mabley, everyone came to The Fillmore. Music clubs like Bop City, The Blue Mirror, and New Orleans Swing Club were places to make the scene. On the weekends and at smaller venues there were talent contests and these were usually haunted by Johnny Otis, always on the hunt for new talent.

In 1954 Otis first found younger cousin Etta at such an event and later the same year he discovered 19 year old Umpeylia at some other event and he signed her too, giving her the name 'Little Miss Sugar Pie'. At 4 foot 11inches and 90 pounds the name fits the package (DeSanto is a later addition by a disc jockey). Unfortunately, Sugar Pie performs only sporadically with Otis' small groups (not the Revue, Etta sang there), Otis records a few sides on her for Federal without much success.

After a couple of years with Johnny Otis, Sugar Pie moves on as a solo singer. She is too much a class act to say it herself, but I would suggest that during  this period Otis was just too focused on Etta, to Sugar's detriment. Bob Geddins steps in in 1957 and they have a sustained success (eventually Billboard R&B #4 after being leased to Chess) with 'I Want to Know', on which they share songwriter credit. Sugar Pie parlays the tours on her hit and her explosively acrobatic stage act into a slot with the James Brown Revue for 1959-60 and then moves to Chicago, signing with Chess, where.... Etta had signed the year before.

Despite making around 30 credible to fabulous sides in her 5 years at Chess, she is always under used and under promoted, once again in Etta's unintentional shadow. Peylia makes ends meet by exploiting a skill her cousin lacked, songwriting. In her tenure at Chess, songwriting royalties and live performances are what paid the bills. The killer stuff you hear on this set got little notice and less promotion, most of it was outright shelved.

In 1964 the American Folk Blues Festival tour took Sugar Pie to Europe, where she was the only female artist, a distinction given to only one female act per year. Other artists included Willie Dixon, John Henry Barbee, Sleepy John Estes, Clifton James, Sunnyland Slim, Hubert Sumlin, Lightnin Hopkins and Sonny Boy Williamson. DeSanto's legendary live act rocked the house every show.

Near the end of her tenure at Chess, DeSanto and James were finally recorded together on 4 or 5 songs written by Sugar Pie - one hopes it was an attempt to give her some overdue recognition - it didn't work and by the end of the 60's Sugar Pie had left both Chess and Chicago to return to San Francisco.

For the last 30 years she has been a Bay Area fixture, sometimes called the Blues Queen of SF, but she sings all genres and played in many diverse settings - a pro singer and prolific songwriter who seems to have a little wave of popularity every decade or so.

Johnny Heartsman - Still Shinin'

Well everyone seems to like him and this album is yet another keeper from Mr. Heartsman. Harp player James Winnegan is a beast throughout these live recordings done mostly in the Sacramento area. Great stuff!

Johnny Heartsman - The Touch 1991

 "Few electric bluesman have been more versatile than Johnny Heartsman, and that versatility is impossible miss on The Touch. Recorded when Heartsman was 54, this unpredictable CD finds the singer incorporating soul and funk as well as rock and jazz and playing guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, and flute. Heartsman (who shouldn't be confused with the late jazz singer Johnny Hartman) gets into a soul-minded groove on "Got to Find My Baby" and "You're so Fine," while "Attitude," "Walkin' Blues," and "Paint My Mailbox Blue" favor a hard-swinging blues/jazz approach à la Jimmy Witherspoon. Those jazz-influenced selections make it sound like Heartsman is backed by a soul-jazz organ combo, but in fact, there is no organist on this CD--rather, Heartsman uses his keyboards to emulate a Jimmy Smith/Jack McDuff type of Hammond B-3 sound. Meanwhile, instrumentals like the moody "Tongue" and the funk-drenched "Oops" illustrate his mastery of the flute; an unlikely instrument for a bluesman, to be sure. But then, certain jazz improvisers have demonstrated how funky the flute can sound -- most notably, Herbie Mann, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and Hubert Laws -- and similarly, the flute sounds like a very natural, logical blues instrument in Heartsman's risk-taking hands. Superb from start to finish, The Touch makes one wish that the late Californian had done a lot more recording as a leader." Alex Henderson AMG

Johnny Heartsman - Sacramento

"Johnny Heartsman (February 9, 1937 – December 27, 1996) was an American electric blues and soul blues musician and songwriter. Heartsman showed musical diversity, playing a number of musical instruments, including the electric organ and flute. His distinctive guitar playing appeared on a number of 1950s and 1960s San Francisco Bay Area recordings, and he was still playing up to the time of his death.

His best known recording, "Johnny's House Party", was a R&B hit in 1957. His other better known tracks were "Paint My Mailbox Blue" and "Heartburn". He variously worked with Jimmy McCracklin, Sugar Pie DeSanto, Big Mama Thornton, Ray Agee, Jimmy Wilson, Johnny Fuller, Al King, Tiny Powell and Joe Simon.

Heartsman was born in San Fernando, California, United States. Originally influenced by Lafayette Thomas, in his teenage years Heartsman started operating as a session musician, in the studio with local record producer, Bob Geddins. One of his earliest involvements was playing the bass guitar for the 1953 recording of "Tin Pan Alley" by Jimmy Wilson. His own efforts yielded the instrumental track, "Johnny's House Party (Parts 1 & 2)" on the Music City label, which reached number 13 on the US Billboard R&B chart in June 1957. The record billed the act as 'John Heartsman, the Rhythm Rocker and the Gaylarks'.

His session work continued into the early 1960s, and he played on Tiny Powell's "My Time After Awhile", and Al King's cover version of "Reconsider Baby". Heartman's guitar playing technique involved imaginative use of the guitar's volume control, producing "an eerie moan". Heartsman's later work included playing in show bands, appearing in concert in cocktail lounge settings, and as the touring organist for Joe Simon. He spent 1970-1973 in Midland, Texas, as the houseband leader at The Chateau Club. It was here that he hired young blues guitarist and singer/songwriter Jay Boy Adams. Adams credits Heartsman as one of his musical mentors. By the late 1980s, Heartsman had reverted to playing the blues, and he released his debut album, Sacramento, in 1987. It was described by one reviewer as "a great success". He had previously appeared at the San Francisco Blues Festival in 1985. The record producer, Dick Shurman, oversaw Heartsman's The Touch, released by Alligator Records in 1991.

Over the years, Heartsman's songwriting ability saw him pen tracks for Jesse James ("Are You Gonna Leave Me"), Roy Buchanan ("Goose Grease"), John Hammond, Jr. (Got to Find My Baby"), Amos Garrett ("Move On Down The Line"), and several more for Joe Simon.

He continued his varied career before succumbing to the effects of a stroke in Sacramento, California, in December 1996, at the age of 59." wikipedia

L.C. Robinson - House Cleanin' Blues (vinyl flac rip)

b. Louis Charles Robinson, 15 May 1915, Brenham, Texas, USA, d. 26 September 1976. "Good Rockin'" Robinson began playing guitar at the age of nine, and was reputedly taught to play bottleneck style by Blind Willie Johnson. Western swing musician Leon McAuliffe introduced him to the steel guitar; Robinson was also a blues fiddler of note and gave Sugarcane Harris some lessons on the instrument. He moved to the San Francisco area around 1939, where he often played together with his brother A.C. Robinson. They recorded for the Black And White label in 1945 as the Robinson Brothers. L.C. recorded for Rhythm Records in the early 50s, for World Pacific in the 60s, and for Arhoolie and Bluesway in the 70s, and also accompanied Mercy Dee Walton and John Lee Hooker on records. He died of a heart attack in September 1976. AMG

"...... The city of Oakland, California is not the most likely place one would go to find a legend in urban blues, but such is the case of L.C. Robinson. He makes the bay city home and has been a resident for some time. The Texas born Louis Charles Robinson (1915) is one of the last down home blues artists to be found living in the area. L.C. Robinson's career began in rural Texas where he was taught the steel guitar, the favorite of the country musicians of that area. Through the years he has added the regular guitar and a flair for playing the violin to his vast rep. It is hard to believe that before the release of this album he was recorded on his own only once.
...... In June of this year (1973), the producer of this album, took L.C. across the bay to San Francisco and put together a group of the top musicians in the area ... Robert Hooker on piano, Lex Silva on bass, the powerful Luther Tucker on guitar and L.C. plays Hawaiian guitar, violin and regular guitar along with his vocals. Critics will be hard put for words to describe the many bags of L.C., and those who were not fortunate enough to catch him in one of the spots around the bay will waste no time crying for more of the talent of this man who has been denied the exposure deserved by an artist of his stature. Find a quiet place, put this album on, and travel through time with L.C. from yesterday to now on the highway of urban blues." ~ Al Smith

Al Smith died at the beginning of 1974, L.C. Good Rockin' Robinson two years later.

Big Jay McNeely

Big Jay McNeely
Born:  Cecil James McNeely  on Apr 29, 1927 in Watts, CA

Biography by Bill Dahl, All Music
His mighty tenor sax squawking and bleating with wild-eyed abandon, Big Jay McNeely blew up a torrid R&B tornado from every conceivable position -- on his knees, on his back, being wheeled down the street on an auto mechanic's "creeper" like a modern-day pied piper. As one of the titans who made tenor sax the solo instrument of choice during rock's primordial era, McNeely could peel the paper right off the walls with his sheets of squealing, honking horn riffs.

Cecil McNeely and his older brother Bob (who blew baritone sax lines with Jay in unison precision on some of Jay's hottest instrumentals) grew up in Los Angeles, where jazz reigned on Watts' bustling nightlife strip. Inspired by Illinois Jacquet and tutored by Jack McVea, McNeely struck up a friendship with Johnny Otis, co-owner of the popular Barrelhouse nitery. Ralph Bass, a friend of Otis, produced McNeely's debut date for Savoy Records in 1948 (Savoy boss Herman Lubinsky tagged the saxist Big Jay, in his eyes a more commercial name than Cecil). McNeely's raucous one-note honking on "The Deacon's Hop" gave him and Savoy an R&B chart-topper in 1949, and his follow-up, "Wild Wig," also hit big for the young saxist with the acrobatic stage presence.

From Savoy, McNeely moved to Exclusive in 1949, Imperial in 1950-1951, King's Federal subsidiary in 1952-1954 (where he cut some of his wildest waxings, including the mind-boggling "3-D"), and Vee-Jay in 1955. McNeely's live shows were the stuff that legends are made of -- he electrified a sweaty throng of thousands packing L.A.'s Wrigley Field in 1949 by blowing his sax up through the stands and then from home plate to first base on his back! A fluorescently painted sax that glowed in the dark was another of his showstopping gambits.

In 1958, McNeely cut his last hit in a considerably less frantic mode with singer Little Sonny Warner. The bluesy "There Is Something on Your Mind" was committed to tape in Seattle but came out on disc jockey Hunter Hancock's Swingin' imprint the next year. McNeely's original was a huge smash, but it was eclipsed the following year by New Orleans singer Bobby Marchan's dramatic R&B chart-topping version for Fire. Since then, it's been covered countless times, including a fine rendition by Conway Twitty!

Honking saxists had fallen from favor by the dawn of the '60s, so McNeely eventually became a mailman and joined Jehovah's Witnesses (no, that's not the name of a combo). Happily, his horn came back out of the closet during the early '80s. McNeely went on to record for his own little label and tour the country and overseas regularly.

Mighty Joe Hicks / Jimmy Hughes - Something Special

I'm posting this one primarily for the Joe Hicks, since this Jimmy Hughes material has already appeared here last year. Of course if you missed it then you are doubly in luck.

"Joe Hicks is an American R&B and soul blues singer and songwriter. He hailed from San Francisco, California, United States, and found limited success in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Hicks recorded an album for a subsidiary label of Stax Records.

His 1968 recording, "Don't It Make You Feel Funky", was produced by Pat Vegas and released by AGC Records; it later appeared on the 1995 compilation album, A Treasure Chest of Northern Soul. In 1969, he recorded the single, "I'm Goin' Home" b/w "Home Sweet Home - Part II", which was written and produced by Sly Stone, and released on the latter's Stone Flower label.

His joint compositions with Delaney Bramlett, "Sound of the City" and " I Know Something Good About You", were featured on Delaney & Bonnie & Friends' 1972 album, D&B Together. With Bobby Womack, Hicks co-wrote "Simple Man" and "Ruby Dean" (which both appeared on Womack's 1972 Understanding album), plus Womack's hit single, "That's The Way I Feel About Cha".

In 1973, Hicks recorded the album, Mighty Joe Hicks, which was released by Enterprise Records (a subsidiary label of Stax). It included the track, "Ruby Dean".

He is not to be confused with a similarly named, Missisissippi raised, Delta blues drummer and singer, who performed with the Fieldstones." wiki

Etta James - The Complete Modern and Kent Recordings

Time to tackle the other "Fillmore Girl", the great Etta James. Born January 25, 1938 as Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles to a 14 year old mother, Etta was subsequently fostered in often abusive homes for most of her early life; she was moved to The Fillmore with her mother at 12 years old. Like her older cousin Sugar Pie DeSanto, she spent her formative teen years in that cultural hotbed.

In Los Angeles she received some Gospel training from James Earle Hines of St. Paul Baptist Church in South Central. As a precocious young girl in San Francisco, she formed a girl doo wop group called The Creolettes (all the girls were mixed). The group got discovered by Johnny Otis who renamed the group The Peaches, and the then 16 year old lead (not 14 as often cited) became Etta James (a wise choice, Jamesetta Hawkins doesn't exactly roll off the tongue) and signed them to the Bihari's Modern Records.

Otis used the group to record his answer to Hank Ballard's hit 'Work With Me Annie', originally titled 'Roll With Me Henry', it was sanitized to 'Dance With Me Henry' then 'The Wallflower' shortly after release. The young singer apparently had enough input into the final product that she was given a co-writer's credit. The song climbed to #1 on the R&B charts and 'Good Rockin' Daddy' was a solid follow up. White singer Georgia Gibbs, in classic Pat Boone fashion, quickly covered the song and stole the potential crossover hit. Still, Etta was put on Little Richard's tour during the period that he was going nuclear and it was likely there that she first acquired the heroin habit that dogged the rest of her life.

The Biharis were clearly impressed by their singer because they recorded far more sides on her than are normally mentioned in most sources. The release dates actually cross over into the Chess era but they were recorded earlier in L.A. Of the 42 tracks here, 6 or so are dreadful, but the rest are fine West Coast R&B with bands assembled from members of Otis' band or from the Maxwell Davis Orchestra. There are even five songs recorded in New Orleans with Dave Bartholomew and the gang from J & M Studios (Side one, 12, 13, 14 Side two 3, 14). Despite their dogged persistence, the Bihari's never strike gold again with Etta, her next success came in 1960 after signing with Chess and moving to Chicago.

At least one longtime friend claimed that at 16 James was dating label mate B.B. King and that it was for her that King rewrote the lyrics to an earlier song to become the mega-hit 'Sweet Sixteen'. It was also during this time that she first met and sang with Harvey Fuqua, who would later be her steady beau and label mate at Chess.

The Best of The Mighty Clouds of Joy - (Peacock years)

Good Morning my brothers and sisters on this fine Sunday morning! As you hear the organ swell behind me let me tell you that today's two part program will feature music from the Peacock label of Don Robey. Some felt Mr. Robey's introduction of R&B rhythm sections into Gospel was profane but it moved the music into modern times. First up is the the Holy Roar of Mr. Joe Ligon and his Mighty Clouds of Joy.

"Contemporary gospel's preeminent group, the Mighty Clouds of Joy carried the torch for the traditional quartet vocal style throughout an era dominated by solo acts and choirs; pioneering a distinctively funky sound which over time gained grudging acceptance even among purists, they pushed spiritual music in new and unexpected directions, even scoring a major disco hit. the Mighty Clouds of Joy were formed in Los Angeles during the mid-'50s by schoolmates Joe Ligon and Johnny Martin; while still in their teens, the original group -- which also included brothers Ermant and Elmo Franklin, Leon Polk and Richard Wallace -- made their recorded debut in 1960 with "Steal Away to Jesus," cut for the Peacock label. Their debut LP Family Circle arrived a year later. In the years that followed, the Mighty Clouds earned a reputation among gospel's greatest showmen; one of the first groups to incorporate choreographed moves into their act, their nimble footwork and bright, color-coordinated outfits earned them the sobriquet "The Temptations of Gospel." More importantly, they were the first group to add bass, drums and keyboards to the standard quartet accompaniment of solo guitar, resulting in a sound which horrified traditionalists but appealed to younger listeners -- so much so, in fact, that the Mighty Clouds became the first gospel act ever to appear on television's Soul Train, where they performed their disco smash "Mighty High." Their crossover success continued with opening slots for secular pop stars including Marvin Gaye, the Rolling Stones and Paul Simon, whom the group backed during a month-long stint at Madison Square Garden. While lineup changes plagued the Mighty Clouds throughout their career, they remained active through the 1990s; in addition to co-founders Ligon and Wallace, their latter-day incarnation also included Michael McCowin, Wilbert Williams, Johnny Valentine and Ron Staples."

The Bob Geddins Blues Legacy, vols 1-4

"Bob Geddins was a man with a big heart; a true music lover who persevered with his recording and distribution business even though he was repeatedly ripped off by partners and let down by artists who broke their contracts.

He is responsible for developing the Bay Area blues sound of the late 1940s and 1950s in his Oakland studios and some of the best loved vintage recordings from the West Coast were made for his Big Town, Cava-Tone and Rhythm labels.

For all the usual reasons, musicians were leaving their home states and moving to California and Geddins attracted some of the most popular into his recording studio. Lowell Fulson, Roy Hawkins, Johnny Fuller and Jimmy McCracklin are all included in this box set as well as some pretty obscure names like pianist Fats Gaines and Johnny Ingram whose Rhythm Czars featured Jimmy Nelson on vocals and John Patterson on some pretty swingin' sax. Johnny Fuller, whose down-home Mississippi blues with a beat, laid back vocals and versatile guitar wrangling reminds me of early Muddy Waters, has sixteen stellar tracks; his ringing guitar clanging away on ‘How Long?', ‘Too Late To Change' and ‘The Roughest Place In Town' which is a virile version of ‘Tin Pan Alley'.

Fuller appears again later with some superb down-home blues guitar on Willie B Huff's four sides. This girl has one deep bluesy voice and it's perfectly suited to her big song ‘Operator 209' (her version of Lightnin's ‘Hello Central') but then she's just as good when she hits a higher register on ‘I've Been Thinkin'And Thinkin' which has Lafayette Thomas on guitar.

KC Douglas, another Mississippian transplanted to California, is here roaring out his greatest song ‘Mercury Boogie'. This version leaves all others, bar none, doodlin' in the dirt! Juke Boy Bonner's rural style comes direct from Texas and although usually a one-man-band, he adds guitarist Lafayette Thomas on ‘Well Baby' and ‘Rock With Me Baby' with pretty good results. Big Mama Thornton really rocks with the thumping ‘Don't Talk Back', a fabulous gospel singed screamer she made with The Hi-Tones (better known as James Brown's second set of Famous Flames). Roy Hawkins and Jimmy McCracklin supply the early R&B jump while Little Caesar forsakes his usual rockin' R&B groove on ‘Big Eyes' a Coasters-type spoofy tune before sailing into a big blues ballad that Big Joe Turner would be proud of.

There are 107 tracks on this wonderful set and not a dud among ‘em, compiler Neil Slaven supplies his usual informative sleeve notes and the presentation is snazzy with all those vintage colour photos of the Bay area.

Excellent, highly recommended, top class, five stars."

Robert L. "Bob" Geddins (February 6, 1913 – February 16, 1991) was an American San Francisco Bay Area blues and rhythm and blues musician and record producer.

Geddins was born in Highbank, Texas, United States, a town ten miles south of Marlin, who came to Oakland, California during World War II, and worked there until his death in 1991.

From 1948 onwards he founded and owned numerous small independent record labels, such as Art-Tone, Big Town, Cavatone, Down Town, Irma, Plaid, Rhythm, and Veltone. He also leased his recordings to Los Angeles labels such as Swing Time, Aladdin, Modern, Imperial, Fantasy, and also to the Chicago operated Checker label.


"...
Bob Geddins was largely responsible for developing blues in the San Fransisco-Oakland area in the late 1940's into the late 1950's. Largely unknown today except by deep blues record collectors, Geddins struggled to record a number of good local talent. Artists like Lowell Fulson, Jimmy McCracklin, Roy Hawkins, K.C. Douglas, Mercy Dee Walton (a personal favorite), Johnny Fuller, Juke Boy Bonner, Big Mama Thornton, and other singers who were virtually unknown-all recorded for Geddins on his various labels. Geddins himself (along with his brother on vocals) is even heard on the track "Irma Jean Blues", something he would do when the mood struck.


A TV/radio repairman by trade, Geddins would start up a record label when he had the necessary cash, only to see his labels go out of business, usually because he had no real distribution-he was the sole distributor of his artists. Another reason his labels didn't last was someone would cheat him in a shady business deal, but Geddins would persevere and start up another label when he could. Geddins realized that there were few labels catering to the population which had moved there looking for work. He was basically a one man record label-even owning his own pressing plant.

Geddins' artists were a combination of locally or regionally known musicians, and "walk-ins"-people who literally walked in wanting to record a track or two. When Geddins recorded someone, he wanted it to sound as sad as possible. As Geddins said, "I want black folks to feel the troubles of the old times". And all the tracks have a certain sad aura about them, especially the slower tunes. Even the up-tempo jump tunes have a certain amount of sadness- a reminder of hard times. But as with all good blues, there's a small amount of optimism heard in these songs which gives added depth to the music.


The groups range from small two or three man bands, to larger ensembles including a proper rhythm section and a horn or two. But no matter the size of the band, these tracks are a great example of what people in the Bay Area were listening to after WWII, and on into the 50's. In many ways these artists are closer to what large numbers of people in the region preferred to listen to. None of the major record labels would touch this music-especially artists not nationally known. And while a few of the artists heard here went on to larger fame, many remained locally popular/and or faded back into obscurity.

This set is a window into another time and place long since past. But listen to this music and be transported back to a time of local watering holes, with ten cent beer and a jukebox in the corner-probably playing some of this very music. It's exciting, and it's real,and while the people and the era have vanished, this collection takes you right back there again, every time you hear it.

The Music City Story 1950 - 75

This is another great look at a short lived, but interesting label.  Many of the artists had been resting in obscurity, so while not being essential, are incredibly fun to discover.

The variety of styles is what will keep your interest through all 3 discs.  Even the weaker material is quirky enough to deserve a listen.

ACE really are peerless when it comes to this type of release... enjoy!!!

Ray Dobard’s Music City Records of Berkeley, California, across the Bay from San Francisco, is a catalogue of mythic proportions that has been cherished for decades by a small hardcore of R&B, vocal group and, latterly, soul fanatics. Based on the available evidence – 50-odd 45 and 78rpm releases – and a lot of hearsay and rumour, many have spent hours fantasising about the purported riches in the possession of its famously protective, zealous owner.

Ace Records is thus proud to unlock the Music City vault for the edification and entertainment of the world at large with the 3CD set “The Music City Story”, an unprecedented survey of the label’s 25-year operation, and an excellent primer for Ace’s forthcoming genre- and artist-based compilations of Music City material, telling the story with many rare gems from the catalogue and a surfeit of previously unissued goodies.

Although Ray Dobard experimented with recording a variety of genres, the legend of Music City is predicated on its role as a premier exponent of black rhythm and blues styles, with a strong regional flavour. Most significantly, the sound of Music City was street. Much of what appeared on the label and lies in its voluminous cache of unreleased recordings can be said to reflect the evolution of black popular music between the early 50s and the mid-1970s. It reflects reality: this is what was heard in clubs and juke joints, at high school auditoria and rec centres, rent parties or literally out on the sidewalk, with all the dissonance and unoriginality that might imply, but matched equally by huge, invigorating dollops of innocence and exuberance, and a surprising amount of inspiration.

Amongst the set’s 78 tracks are names familiar to doo wop and blues collectors – the Crescendos, Gaylarks, Rovers, 5 Lyrics, Alvin Smith etc – while behind several others lurk famous names (James Brown, Lou Rawls) or others soon to be famous (Sugar Pie DeSanto, members of Sly & the Family Stone). From the raucous jump blues of Del Graham’s ‘Your Money Ain’t Long Enough’ to the hip street soul of Darondo, the breadth of genres represented is extensive, but the overall emphasis in “The Music City Story” is upon the black vocal group, be it 50s, 60s or 70s vintage. It is the rich seam of Bay Area groups mined by Music City that collectors most closely associate with the label. Dobard had only a couple of minor hits – the 4 Deuces’ popular ‘W-P-L-J’, Johnny Heartsman’s raucous ‘Johnny’s House Party’ – but kept the tape machine running pretty much constantly for much of his quarter-century in the business.

It has been many years since as significant a stash as Music City’s has come to light, and accompanying the tantalising musical treats is an extensive, heavily-illustrated sleeve note detailing the label’s history. Given that the late Dobard was notorious evasive, an air of mystery has always surrounded his activities in music, but this is the first time a recounting of the Music City saga has been based upon hard data, rather than supposition. Documents, letters, tape box annotations, discographical notes, session chatter, even recorded phone conversations form a considerable body of evidence, that helps bring into focus what this fiercely independent and pioneering black entrepreneur achieved. Ray was no Dootsie Williams or Jake Porter, but nevertheless, a picture emerges of a fascinatingly complex figure, whose role in the black music scene in the mid-20th century cannot be discounted. As venerable East Bay bandleader Johnny Talbot puts it, “to me, Ray Dobard was the foundation of Bay Area music. There was hardly anyone who did anything later who didn’t bump into Ray, so he had to be a foundation.”

By Alec Palao