The Showmen - Some Folks Don't Understand It {vinyl rip]

A repost by request:

 The Showmen were a New Orleans based American doo-wop and R&B group. formed in 1961. They are best remembered for their track, "It Will Stand", issued on Minit Records. "It Will Stand" (Minit 632) reached #61 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961, and when re-released in 1964 (Imperial 66033) re-charted and reached #80. They had another hit, the Carolina Beach Music standard "39-21-40 Shape;" the label on the single, however, was mistakenly printed "39-21-46," and this soon supplanted the official title.

Unlike the majority of musicians that recorded for New Orleans record labels controlled by Joe Banashak, The Showmen were not from that locality. They all came from Norfolk, Virginia, moving to New Orleans in May 1961 and April 1962, to record fifteen titles under the studio supervision of the then barely known Allen Toussaint.

General Norman Johnson, at the age of twelve, formed the group The Humdingers that would eventually become The Showmen. In the late 1950s, Noah Biggs began managing The Humdingers. He sent a demo to Banashak. The songs on the demo were "The Owl Sees You", "For You My Darling", "Skinny McGinny" and "I Go On Loving You". Banashak arranged for Toussaint to record The Humdinger. In 1968 Johnson amicably left the group, to begin his association with Holland-Dozier-Holland's Invictus Records. He became leader of the group Chairmen of the Board.

The Minit and Instant Story

Allen's first work as a fledgling producer is featured here, particularly on disc 1.- 

 Minit Records was a record label originally based in New Orleans and founded by Joe Banashak. After making a distribution deal with Imperial Records, the label released its biggest hit, the #1 Mother-in Law by Ernie K-Doe. A number of Allen Toussaint productions were issued on Minit, including hits by Irma Thomas. After the hits dried up, the label was sold to Imperial Records. Banashak also owned Instant Records which he kept. Minit was acquired by Liberty Records in 1963 as part of its acquisition of Imperial Records. Later its records were re-issued between 1966 and 1970 by Sunset Records and the label was active during the same time period as a soul music label. The Minit catalog is currently owned by EMI.

"This 52-song collection doesn't entirely overlap EMI's Minit Records Story box set, which has a few rarities and obscure tracks, but it's a good overview of some of the best and most interesting of the label's output, and also the sheer diversity of the company's output, from the hard blues of Jessie Hill to the smooth, near-pop stylings of Allen & Allen. Joe Banashak, who founded Minit and Instant, was truly in love with the sounds he heard from the clubs in New Orleans, and he seldom seems to have heard any artists expressing confidence and inspiration who he didn't want to release. Thus, hard-rocking numbers like Lee Dorsey's "Lottie Mo" share space on this set with harmony numbers like "The Owl Sees You" by the Showmen (aka the Humdingers) and the sultry, seductive soul of Irma Thomas ("It's Too Soon to Know," "Ruler of My Heart," "It's Raining"). British Invasion fans will find a lot to keep them busy as well, given the originals by several Brit-rock favorites, including "Fortune Teller," "Something You Got," and "I Like It Like That" represented here. Throughout both of these discs, Allen Toussaint is represented as producer, arranger, and frequently songwriter as well; if anyone needed convincing that Banashak had a resident genius under contract, the first few tracks do the job. The second disc moves up through later, post-Toussaint Instant and Seven B label tracks that feature Eddie Lang, Skip Easterling, and Eddie Bo, as well as Bo's production work from the mid- and late '60s. The sound is excellent as well, and one only wishes that a bit more material from Minit's early history was present, and that a few more details were available on some of the lesser-known artists.  AMG

Bobby Womack - The Minit LP's

from the bio..."In 1968, he signed with Minit Records and recorded his first solo album, Fly Me to the Moon, where he scored his first major hit with a cover of The Mamas & The Papas' "California Dreamin'". In 1969, Womack forged a partnership with Gábor Szabó and with Szabó, penned the instrumental, "Breezin'", later a hit for George Benson. Womack also worked with rock musicians Sly and the Family Stone and Janis Joplin, contributing vocals and guitar work on The Family Stone's accomplished album, There's a Riot Goin' On, and penning the ballad "Trust Me", for Joplin on her album, Pearl. Womack was one of the last people to speak to Joplin before her death in October 1970."

I think I've posted enough of the story of this man's life that you can  perceive the almost mythological pendulum swings. Tragedy and triumph have regularly taken their turns with Bobby. I have to confess that I nearly succumbed to the temptation to just fling the rest of the classic Womack out whole-hog in a post unworthy of the material and it's importance..... fortunately sanity has won out, I believe the true genius of Bobby Womack has to be experienced in pieces small enough to fully digest. It is certainly true that others, Al Green in particular, occupied the national spotlight during this period and Bobby's magic was only sporadically recognized, but we have the privilege today of fully appreciating what escaped our earlier attention and perhaps amend our perception. Even in those moments where this stuff crosses WAY over into hokey bullshit, Bobby somehow delivers it with a conviction that makes you buy into it.

Irma Thomas - Straight From The Soul

Oh yes! Even more from the classic era of The Queen! Some genius choose to compile the stuff not included on all the other collections and to whoever that person might be, I genuflect in gratitude! A crappy cover no doubt but this stuff is not readily available in any other form that I have seen.

All Killer!

Irma Thomas - Sweet Soul Queen of New Orleans

It is a little difficult to explain to an outsider how we feel about Irma Thomas.  She is The Queen and is as universally beloved as say, Uncle Lionel was. Anyone over 40 has an Irma Thomas story or two, it is just part of New Orleans. I have resisted the temptation to pump this one up beyond the 23 tracks it comes with but I may well have to post a Lagniappe addendum.

    1. Cry On
    2. I Done Got Over It
    3. It's Raining
    4. Hittin' on Nothin'
    5. Ruler of My Heart
    6. Wish Someone Would Care...
    7. Breakaway
    8. I Need Your Love So Bad...
    9. While the City Sleeps
    10. Time Is on My Side
    11. Anyone Who Knows What L...
    12. Moments to Remember

    13. Straight from the Heart...
    14. Take a Look
    15. It's a Man's Woman's Wo...
    16. Long After the Night Is...
    17. Times Have Changed
    18. He's My Guy
    19. What Are You Trying to ...
    20. Nobody Wants to Hear No...
    21. The Hurt's All Gone
    22. I'm Gonna Cry 'Til My T...
    23. It's Starting to Get to...

Irma Thomas (born February 18, 1941, Ponchatoula, Louisiana) is a contemporary of Aretha Franklin and Etta James, but never experienced their level of commercial success; still, she has a large cult following among soul aficionados. In 2007, she won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album for After the Rain, her first Grammy in a career spanning over 50 years.

Born Irma Lee, as a teen she sang with a Baptist church choir, auditioning for Specialty Records as a 13-year old. By the age of 19 she had been married twice and had four children. Keeping her second ex-husband's surname, she worked as a waitress in New Orleans, occasionally singing with bandleader Tommy Ridgley, who helped her land a record deal with the local Ron label. Her first single, "(You Can Have My Husband but) Don't Mess with My Man," was released in spring 1960, and reached number 22 on the Billboard R&B chart.

She then began recording on the Minit label, working with songwriter and producer Allen Toussaint on songs including "It’s Raining" and "Ruler of my Heart", which was later reinterpreted by Otis Redding as "Pain In My Heart". Imperial Records acquired Minit in 1963, and a string of successful releases followed. These included "Wish Someone Would Care” (her biggest national hit), its B-side "Break-a-Way" (later covered by Tracey Ullman among others), "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is" (co-written by the young Randy Newman and future country star Jeannie Seely, among others), and "Time Is on My Side" (a song previously recorded by Kai Winding, and later by the Rolling Stones).

Although her first four Imperial singles all charted on Billboard's pop chart, later releases were less successful, and, unlike her contemporaries Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight and Dionne Warwick, she never managed to cross over into mainstream commercial success. She recorded for Chess Records in 1967/68 with some success, the Otis Redding song "Good To Me" reaching the R&B chart. She then relocated to California, releasing records on various small labels, before returning to Louisiana, and in the early 1980s Thomas and her husband opened the Lion's Den Club over near the old Falstaff Brewery on Broad Street (the club that is), Ernie Ladd's Bar-B-Que Joint was neaby.

After several years’ break from recording, she was signed by Rounder Records, and in 1991 earned her first-ever Grammy Award nomination for Live! Simply the Best, recorded in San Francisco. She subsequently released a number of traditional gospel albums, together with more secular recordings. The album Sing It! was nominated for a Grammy in 1999.

Thomas is still active as a performer, appearing annually at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. She reigned as Queen of the Krewe du Vieux for the 1998 New Orleans Mardi Gras season. She often headlined at her own club, which is now out of business due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Thomas relocated to Gonzales, Louisiana, 60 miles (97 km) from New Orleans, after Hurricane Katrina, but she is now back in her home in New Orleans.

I believe  that I promised a Lagniappe post to this = HERE IT IS. 7 more tracks but I am not finished!