George Jackson - The Fame Recordings Vol. 1-3

A repost by request:

George Henry Jackson (March 12, 1945 – April 14, 2013) was an American rhythm & blues, rock and soul songwriter and singer. His prominence was as a prolific and skilled songwriter; he wrote or co-wrote many hit songs for other musicians, including "One Bad Apple", "Old Time Rock and Roll" and "The Only Way Is Up". As a southern soul singer he recorded a mere 15 singles between 1963 and 1985, with some success.

Jackson was born in Indianola, Mississippi, and moved with his family to Greenville at the age of five.  He started writing songs while in his teens, and in 1963 introduced himself to Ike Turner. Turner took him to Cosimo Matassa's studios in New Orleans to record "Nobody Wants to Cha Cha With Me" for his Prann label, but it was not successful. Jackson then traveled to Memphis to promote his songs, but was rejected by Stax before helping to form vocal group The Ovations with Louis Williams at Goldwax Records. Jackson wrote and sang on their 1965 hit "It's Wonderful To Be In Love", which reached no.61 on the Billboard Hot 100 and no.22 on the R&B chart. He also wrote for other artists at Goldwax, including Spencer Wiggins and James Carr, and recorded with Dan Greer as the duo George and Greer. After the Ovations split up in 1968, he recorded briefly for Hi Records, and also for Decca using the pseudonym Bart Jackson. As a singer, he had a versatile tenor that was influenced by Sam Cooke, and released many records over the years, for a host of different labels, but his recordings never made him a star.

At the suggestion of record producer Billy Sherrill, Jackson moved to Rick Hall's FAME Studios at Muscle Shoals in the late 1960s, Alabama, where he wrote for leading singers including Clarence Carter - whose "Too Weak To Fight" reached no.13 on the pop chart and no.3 on the R&B chart in 1968 - Wilson Pickett, and Candi Staton. Some of Jackson's songs for Staton, including her first hit in 1969, "I'd Rather Be An Old Man’s Sweetheart (Than A Young Man’s Fool)", are "widely regarded as examples of some of the finest southern soul ever recorded by a female artist, with lyrics that were full of meaning and innuendo, a hallmark of Jackson’s best work." Jackson also recorded for Fame Records, and had his first chart success as a singer in 1970 with "That's How Much You Mean To Me", which reached no. 48 on the R&B chart. The Osmonds visited the FAME studio in 1970, and heard and liked Jackson's song "One Bad Apple", which he had originally written with The Jackson 5 in mind. The Osmonds recorded the song, and it became the group's first hit, rising to the top of the Hot 100 in February 1971; it also reached no.6 on the R&B chart.

In 1972 he briefly rejoined the Hi label, and had his second and last solo recording success with "Aretha, Sing One For Me", an answer song to Aretha Franklin's "Don't Play That Song"; Jackson's song reached no.38 on the R&B chart. He then released several singles for MGM Records, while continuing to write for other artists. In the early 1970s he began working as a songwriter for the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio and, with Thomas Jones III, wrote "Old Time Rock and Roll" which Bob Seger recorded in 1978; Seger's version reached no.28 on the pop chart. While with Muscle Shoals Sound, he also wrote "Down Home Blues", recorded by Z. Z. Hill, which became a theme tune for Malaco Records in the 1980s; "Unlock Your Mind", recorded by the Staple Singers and a no.16 R&B hit in 1978; and "The Only Way Is Up", originally recorded by Otis Clay in 1980. A version of "The Only Way Is Up" by Yazz & The Plastic Population reached no.1 on the UK singles chart, and no.2 on the Billboard dance chart, in 1988.

In 1983, Jackson formed his own publishing company, Happy Hooker Music, before joining Malaco Records as a staff songwriter. There he wrote hits for Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland, Latimore, Denise LaSalle, and Z.Z. Hill. He recorded an album of his own songs, Heart To Heart Collect, in 1991 for Hep' Me Records. In 2011, a compilation CD of his FAME recordings, Don't Count Me Out, was released.

Jackson died on April 14, 2013, at his home in Ridgeland, Mississippi, from cancer at the age of 68. He left a son and two grandchildren.

Geater Davis - Sadder Shades of Blue

Let's rerun Preslives original post and get another dose of Geater
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Geater Davis is one of those voices from the Chitlin’ Circuit  that is much loved by his peers and hard core Blues/Soul fans, but hardly known to the general music-loving public.  Fortunately, his recorded legacy has been issued on CD on a couple of fine compilations.  His first recordings can be found on a CD from Soundscape Records that I believe is still in print, “I’ll Play the Blues For You: The Legendary House of Orange Sessions.”   This older compilation on West Side, which is now out of print, compiles mostly recordings done in Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals for John Richbourg’s Sound Stage 7 label.    There is only a small overlap between these two compilations.  If you really like this one, be sure and buy the other one!   One song that is on both compilations is the first recording of a number that later became closely associated with Albert King – “I’ll Play the Blues For You. “

 

--> Geater Davis owes an obvious strong debt to Bobby Bland.   But his sound is more rural, with more Southern sanctified grit.   The voice is unique.  Once it grabs you, you’re hooked.    I can still remember the very first time that I heard Geater Davis on “Sadder Shade of Blue,” while listening to a "Lost Soul" compilation LP.   It blew my mind right from the get go.  I've been hunting down everything that I could find by Geater Davis ever since.   

  Geater Davis was born and raised in Texas.  He worked the Circuit for most of the 60s without a recording contract.   Allen Orange heard Davis in the late 60s and was so impressed that he started his own record label to record him: House of Orange.  In the early 70s, Davis moved to the Sound Stage Seven label where he recorded most of the tracks found here. Geater Davis died in 1984 at the young age of 38.

Candi Staton - (1969-1973) Evidence - The Complete Fame Records Masters

The repost request was for an earlier compilation that I've since replaced with this one because it is better and more complete...hope you don't mind.

"Candi Staton (pronounced Stay-ton, born 13 March 1940 Hanceville, Alabama) is probably best known for her disco hits "Young Hearts Run Free" (1976) and "Nights On Broadway" (1977).

But back in the day, between 1969-1973, Candi recorded some of the best examples of what we call Southern Soul with producer Rick Hall at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals.

Candi was singing in a gospel group at a very early age and at boarding school she joined the Jewel Gospel Trio making recordings for Nashboro Records and touring with gospel stars like Mahalia Jackson, The Staple Singers, The Soul Stirrers and others.

Still in her teens Candi became pregnant and married a Pentecostal minister who was a jealous and abusive man and her musical career was temporarily suspended. For the next several years she was busy as a wife and mother of four children.

Later she began to sing R&B in local clubs and one night performed with Clarence Carter, who liked what he heard and offered her a job within his band. Initially, she declined but after leaving her husband, she met up with Carter again and joined the band. She went on to become Mrs Clarence Carter!

With Clarence’s guidance she honed her performing skills and eventually started recording at Rick Hall’s FAME studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The results are evident here in 26 tracks, released on Capitol Records, full of funky southern soulfulness. They include eight singles (A& B sides) including ‘I’d Rather Be An Old Man’s Sweetheart (Than A Young Man’s Fool)’,’ I’m Just A Prisoner (Of Your Good Lovin’)’, ‘Sweet Feeling’ and ‘Stand By Your Man’. She also does a stirring version of ‘That’s How Strong My Love Is’ to compare with Otis and O.V. Wright – Her original distinctive voice once heard is not forgotten.

Candi has continued to have a successful career beyond her disco phase and has scored with several club hits especially in the UK. In the early 80’s she returned to recording Gospel and 2 of her albums received Grammy nominations . In 1991 she sang on The Source’s UK hit ‘You Got The Love’ which continues to be a classic club favorite . She is still active today aged 72 recording and appearing at various live events."

Spencer Wiggins - Feed the Flame The Fame and XL Recordings

And how could I do one without the other...

"Spencer Wiggins was ... indeed, is the consummate Southern soul man. Born and raised in and around Memphis he served his musical apprenticeship in the Church before trying to eke out a living on the Memphis club scene. A residency at the legendary Flamingo Club landed him a recording deal with the equally legendary Goldwax label and a few years back Ace/Kent issued a most excellent CD of Spencer's Goldwax best. At the time the Kent crew knew that a smattering of Wiggins' Goldwax cuts had been sold on to Fame – the label he eventually signed with in 1969. There he recorded a further nine tracks, but lack of success saw him finally move across town to Sounds Of Memphis/XL, where – again – despite some excellent recordings he failed to break though. The lack of commercial success, however, doesn't, of course, mean that the music he crafted was sub-standard in any way. Far from it. This 22 track collection of all the aforementioned Fame and XL recordings proves that vocally Spencer Wiggins was the equal of any of the great southern soul men. At one moment he could sing as sweetly as say William Bell, the next he could come on as fiercely as Wilson Picket. No, Wiggins' problems were the usual lack of promotion and less-than-dynamic management. Still – thanks to Kent we can now enjoy the music and, incredibly a good half of the cuts here are seeing the light of the day for the very first time. Of the previously unreleased cuts – the opener, 'I'm At The Breaking Point' is absolutely superb – big, bright and brassy it typifies the very best of up-tempo southern soul. .Stuff like 'Water', ''Love Me Tonight' and 'Love Works That Way' represent the other end of the spectrum – lugubrious ballads with that odd mix of the Church and country music about them. Add to that superb covers of Bettye Swan's 'Make Me Yours' , Solomon Burke's 'Cry To Me' and Etta James' 'I'd Rather Go Blind' and you have a wonderful Southern soul set, which - taken with the earlier Kent collection on Wiggins will give you all the man's secular recordings. Yes, as you might have guessed a disillusioned Spencer went back to singing in the church (in Florida –where he'd relocated in 1973) but the news is that Kent's Dean Rudland has coaxed him to play at a 6T's weekender – and who knows where that might lead."

Clarence Carter - The Fame Singles, Volume 2 1970-73

 Have you ever seen a self professed 'fat old white guy' with a big grey beard look like a 5 year old on Christmas? That was Cliff when Kent finally came up with volume 2 of the Clarence Carter singles. I had listened to tales of Carter's version of Sixty Minute Man more than once in the previous year and it was guaranteed to be on this set (it is). Not every volume 2 is worthy as we all know, but this one stands up to the high standards established by volume 1. "The second volume of Clarence Carter’s Fame singles opens with his biggest worldwide hit. A cover of a Chairman Of The Board album track, ‘Patches’ is a song that could be considered a corny attempt to capture the heartstrings. In fact Clarence initially refused to record it. He regarded a song about rural poverty as a slight upon his people, while producer Rick Hall thought it could apply equally to black and white Americans. Hall won, and the record climbed into the Top 10 of the pop charts on both sides of the Atlantic.

The first part of this compilation sees the search for another hit of similar magnitude lead Clarence further away from his black southern audience. Over the previous four years he had progressed from a promising newcomer with gritty masterpieces such as ‘Tell Daddy’ and ‘Looking For A Fox’ to a million-selling hit-maker with ‘Slip Away’ and ‘Too Weak To Fight’, all cut for Fame and released on Atlantic Records. A string of Top 10 R&B hits made him one ofAtlantic’s most successful soul artists.

After ‘Patches’, his next couple of singles looked to replicate the story-telling framework. ‘It’s All In Your Mind’ and ‘The Court Room’ were nothing short of excellent, but the public didn’t take to them. With Fame’s relationship with Atlantic not as warm as it had been, Clarence’s singles started to under-perform, to the point where his duet with his wife Candi Staton didn’t even chart. His records were subsequently released on Fame via their new deal with United Artists and began to reappear in the higher reaches of the R&B chart.

This CD features the A and B-sides of the 11 singles scheduled for release by Clarence until the end of 1973, including many tracks that have never been reissued on CD before. It is a fantastic selection of classic southern soul, highlighting one of the greatest talents and biggest stars to have recorded for Rick Hall’s venerated Fame label."

By Dean Rudland

Clarence Carter - The Early Fame Singles 1966-70

Now you may ask yourself 'why is he re-posting this?' - Well for two reasons: A) This one is in FLAC with cover scans (finally got around to it) and B) It is a prelude because my friends Volume 2 has finally been released! Oooo Yeah!

"Born in Montgomery, Alabama on January 14, 1936, Carter attended the Alabama School for the Blind in Talladega, Alabama, and Alabama State College in Montgomery, graduating in August 1960 with a Bachelor of Science degree in music. His professional music career began with friend Calvin Scott, signing to the Fairlane Records label to release "I Wanna Dance But I Don't Know How" the following year. After the 1962 release of "I Don't Know (School Girl)," Carter and Scott left Fairlane Records for Duke Records, renaming themselves the CL Boys for their label debut, Hey. In all, the duo cut four Duke singles, none of them generating more than a shrug at radio.

In 1965, they traveled to Rick Hall's FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals to record "Step by Step" and its flip side, "Rooster Knees and Rice." Atlantic Records took notice and released "Step by Step" on its Atco Records subsidiary, but it flopped. Carter continued as a solo act, signing to the Fame Records label for 1967's Tell Daddy. Several more solid singles followed, until Carter released "Slip Away," which hit number 6 on the Pop Charts. "Too Weak to Fight" hit number 13. Several more soul singles followed, like "Snatching It Back," "Making Love (At the Dark End of the Street)", "The Feeling Is Right," "Doing Our Thing" and "Patches." "Patches" (first recorded by Chairmen of the Board) was a UK number 2 and a U.S. number 4 in 1970, and won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song in 1971. This disc sold over one million copies, and received a gold disc awarded by the R.I.A.A. in September 1970, just two months after its release. Following "Slip Away" and "Too Weak to Fight", it was Carter's third million-seller.

With the advent of disco in the mid 1970s, Carter's career suffered, before he found a new audience with songs such as "Strokin'" and "Dr. C.C." in the 1980s and 1990s, which appealed (and still appeal) to a primarily African-American working-class audience that was also interested in contemporary blues and soul artists such as Denise LaSalle, Bobby Rush, Marvin Sease and Sir Charles Jones. "Strokin'" was given great acclaim when it was used in the Eddie Murphy film The Nutty Professor. Carter's strong soul sound also found an audience within the then-nascent hip-hop community. Most notably, the horn break from Carter's song "Back Door Santa", is sampled in the Run-D.M.C. Christmas song "Christmas in Hollis"

Dan Penn and Eddie Hinton

If you do any reading about the history of Fame studios and Muscle Shoals, you will find numerous references to Dan Penn's legendary demos that often left the stars who were given those demos to learn the songs, shaking their heads in wonder. More than once the comment was heard "Why the hell do you need someone else to sing this? This version is terrific!"; then someone would point out the skinny blond kid over in the corner with his guitar and say "Yeah, but it's him." The idea that maybe they might have a talent who could have been a superstar somehow never seemed to occur to anyone, including apparently Penn himself. 

Now nearly five decades later (the recordings were made between 1964 and 1966) we are finally able to experience what they were all talking about and I for one, find them even better than I could have imagined. No matter weather you may prefer the originally released versions, they were after all sung by some great singers, each of these is a remarkable little gem and a wonderful insight into the songwriter's original vision of the song. I couldn't stop listening to this one for a week after I got it.

 You would think that one unknown white soul genius in a tiny group of musicians would be plenty but when writer/guitarist Dan Penn left the Muscle Shoals Sound he was soon replaced by another jaw dropping talent named Eddie Hinton. These too are primarily unreleased song demos that will have you shaking your head in wonder. So much talent! No wonder that Duane Allman tried to poach him for the Allman Brothers Band (I assume instead of Dickie Betts?); his vocals and guitar would have made them even more epic!

Hinton, much more than Penn, did pursue individual success but bad luck, drugs and mental issues combined to keep him in obscurity. 

"Eddie Hinton (15 June 1944 – 28 July 1995) was an American songwriter and session musician best known for his work with soul music and R&B singers. He played lead guitar for Muscle Shoals Sound Rhythm Section from 1967 to 1971.

As a session guitarist, Hinton played on hit records recorded by Wilson Pickett, Arthur Conley, Aretha Franklin, Joe Tex, Solomon Burke, Percy Sledge, The Staple Singers, The Dells, Paul Kelly, Johnny Taylor, Elvis Presley, The Box Tops, R.B. Greaves, Boz Scaggs, Evie Sands, Looking Glass, Toots Hibbert and Otis Redding.

Hinton was a songwriter in his own right as well. His most well known song is "Breakfast in Bed" which has been recorded many times, most notably by Dusty Springfield and by UB40 with Chrissie Hynde. He also co-wrote "It's All Wrong But It's All Right" sung by Laura Lee." wiki

Jimmy Hugnes - Why Not Tonight?: The Fame Recordings, Vol. 2

 At the beginning of Muscle Shoals, one of the other important guys besides Arthur Alexander was Jimmy Hughes.His song 'Steal Away' was the studio's first hit and set the model for what was to come.

Hughes, a cousin of Percy Sledge, was born and raised in Leighton, Alabama, close to Muscle Shoals. He began singing in a gospel quartet, The Singing Clouds, while at high school. In 1962, he auditioned for record producer Rick Hall at his FAME Studios. Hall was impressed, and recorded Hughes on a song, "I'm Qualified", that Hall had co-written with Quin Ivy. The record was leased to the Guyden label in Philadelphia, but was not a hit. Hughes returned to his day job at a rubber factory, and began singing secular R&B songs in local clubs.

Early in 1964, he returned to Hall with a powerful ballad he had written, "Steal Away", partly based on the gospel song "Steal Away to Jesus", and recorded the song in one take, backed by the studio rhythm section of Terry Thompson, David Briggs, Norbert Putnam and Jerry Carrigan. Hall and his friend Dan Penn then promoted the record around radio stations in the South, and it rose to # 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. The record has been cited as "a prototype not only for subsequent great soul singers such as Johnnie Taylor and Al Green, but also would help define the signature Muscle Shoals sound." On the basis of Hughes' record, Hall signed a national distribution deal with Vee-Jay Records for his FAME label. Hughes' follow-up record, "Try Me", reached # 65 on the Hot 100, and he recorded an album, Steal Away, released on the Vee-Jay label, which included the first songwriting collaborations between Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham. He also toured with Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Bobby Womack and others.

Hughes' next few singles were unsuccessful, as Vee-Jay Records diverted their attention to The Beatles and The Four Seasons, and then folded. However, in 1966, after the success of Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman", Hall negotiated a new deal for his label to be distributed by Atlantic Records. Hughes returned to the charts with "Neighbor, Neighbor" (# 65 pop, # 4 R&B), "I Worship the Ground You Walk On" (# 25 R&B), and "Why Not Tonight" (# 90 pop, # 5 R&B), before moving to the Atlantic label itself with "It Ain't What You Got" (# 43 R&B, 1968).

Early in 1968, Hughes moved to Stax Records, where his recordings were issued on the subsidiary Volt label. His first record for the label, "I Like Everything About You", reached # 21 on the R&B chart, but later records were less successful. At the time, Stax was undergoing a major reorganisation with new management and new artists. Although his records, including a 1969 album Something Special, were produced by label boss Al Bell, Hughes later stated that he felt like the "low man on the totem pole" at the label, and became frustrated by what he saw as a lack of promotion. He also tired of touring and being away from his family, and in 1970 gave up recording and performing. He retrained, and got a government job making parts for nuclear power plants in the Tennessee River Valley, in later years only singing as a member of the congregation of his local church in Leighton.

The FAME Studios Story 1961 - 1973: Home Of The Muscle Schoals Sound

This 3 disc comp is nothing short of excellent.  The story of FAME is told through the music - from the pop side all the way to the gut bucket r&b side.

A wide range of artists worked with this legendary outfit, but one thing ties them all together... success!!

I'm sure you guys already have alot of these tracks but they made a huge effort to include some rarities;  undoubtedly for the collector types.

Enjoy!!!

Certain studios and labels occupy almost mythical stature in American musical history and FAME Studios, home of the Muscle Shoals sound, is among the elite. During the '60s and into the early '70s, the rotating crew at FAME Studios cranked out single after single, building a legacy that rivals such '60s stalwarts as Motown, Stax/Volt, and Chess, yet despite being the point of origin for such timeless 45s as Wilson Pickett's "Land of 1000 Dances," Arthur Alexander's "You Better Move On," Joe Tex's "Hold What You've Got," Etta James' "Tell Mama," Clarence Carter's "Patches," James & Bobby Purify's "I'm Your Puppet," and Aretha Franklin's "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)," the label and studio aren't as well known as their peers. Ace's peerless three-disc box The FAME Studios Story: 1961-1973 should go a long way in firming up the label and studio's reputation in the eyes of the mass public. Anchored on those big hits, the compilation tells the story of FAME in exhaustive yet exciting detail, digging up a wealth of rarities (ranging from an unedited acoustic version of "You Left the Water Running" by Otis Redding and a version of "Another Man's Woman, Another Woman's Man" whose singer is unknown to a bunch of singles that rarely pop up on reissues), but this is hardly something for crate-diggers. This is a big, bold set filled with surprises for even seasoned record collectors and much of that has to do with context. Expertly compiled by Alec Palao, Tony Rounce, and Dean Rudland, The FAME Studios Story doesn't shy away from the moments when the Muscle Shoals sound seeped into the mainstream: very early in the set, teen idol Tommy Roe pops up with "Everybody" and toward the end the Osmonds come in with their Jackson 5 knockoff "One Bad Apple" and the revelation is how the FAME musicians gave these teenybopper stars some real swing and funk. That turns out to be the key to the FAME sound -- while Stax/Volt always had grit on the soles of their shoes, FAME was a little lighter, able to ease into slicker crossover material, something that served them well whenever they cranked out some bubblegum or backed Bobbie Gentry or, especially, when they cut effervescent pop-soul/Northern soul singles by Spooner & the Spoons ("Wish You Didn't Have to Go") and David & the Giants ("Ten Miles High"). Which isn't to say FAME didn't get down and dirty (of course they did -- witness Wicked Wilson Pickett's "Hey Jude," complete with guitar from Duane Allman), but they were versatile, adapting to the needs of either the performer or the song. And that very versatility may be part of the reason why FAME isn't as immediately recognizable a name as Motown or Stax -- the Muscle Shoals crew could cop both of those sounds, after all -- but it's also the reason why this set is such a wildly entertaining listen, in addition to being a historically necessary document housed in a very handsome hardcover book.

- Stephen Thomas Erlewine/AMG

Clarence Carter - I Found What I Wanted Unissued and Rare Fame Masters (2012)

Clarence Carter - I Found What I Wanted Unissued and Rare Fame Masters (2012)

For those of you who think I will be coming back with the second half of Carter's Fame singles any time soon: Ummm...News Flash, they have not been issued yet. I DO, however, have a little lagniappe post of four rare tracks that may or may not be on that set when it is eventually issued but I suspect this modern EP is Kent's way of priming folks for Volume Two.

I don't guess I need to say much here; it's CC and you almost certainly do not have it. I can't say that any of the four is an overlooked hit but none of them suck either. I've come to believe you are supposed to read the title to mean some tracks are unreleased and some are just rare since track 3 was clearly sourced from a 45 and I'd guess that track four was the b side.