Betty Harris - Soul Perfection Plus - Complete Jubilee - Sansu - 555 International Masters 1963-1969

 I'm not sure how it took me so long to get to this! Sometimes the obvious escapes your attention.Thanks to Cliff for this nice Westside edition which sounds far better than my old Charley version.

"Betty Harris (born 1939, in Orlando, Florida) is an American Soul Singer. Her recording career in the 1960s produced three hit records that made the Billboard R&B and pop charts: "Cry to Me" (1963), "His Kiss" (1964) and "Nearer to You" (1967). However, her reputation among soul music connoisseurs far exceeds her commercial success of the 1960s, and her recordings for the Jubilee and Sansu record labels are highly sought after in the 2000s by fans of Northern Soul and Deep Soul.

In 1963, after being in the music business for a few years, Betty Harris recorded a slowed down version of Solomon Burke's hit of the year before, "Cry to me", produced by the original record's producer, Bert Berns, and released on the Jubilee record label. Taken at a slower pace, Betty's rendition turned the song into a Billboard pop# 23 hit and Deep Soul Classic. A total of 8 songs further singles were released on Jubilee, also produced by Bert Berns, with "His Kiss" released 1/04/64, another Deep Soul ballad, making the lower part of Billboard#89 Pop and R&B charts.

In 1964, Betty Harris switched record labels to Sansu, a New Orleans label, where she was produced by legendary New Orleans producer Allen Toussaint. Her Recording with Sansu produced 20 singles. Of those, only "Nearer to You" Billboard # 85, an atmospheric, dramatic soul ballad, now considered one of the milestones of Deep Soul, achieved U.S. national chart success. However, practically all of her recordings for Sansu, uptempo tunes and ballads alike, featuring Allen Toussaint's raw yet sophisticated Southern Soul arrangements behind with Betty's rich, distinctive vocal, are considered prime specimens of the classic soul era; some notable recordings were "I'm Evil Tonight", a beat ballad favored among Northern Soul circles; "I Don't Want To Hear It", "Show it" and "Twelve Red Roses", stirring uptempo tracks; "Can't Last Much Longer" and "What'd I Do Wrong", emotive Deep Soul ballads.

All of the Sansu recordings were compiled into an album released in the U.K. (but not the U.S.), in 1969, called "Soul Perfection", an album which, in its vinyl format, although not extremely rare, commands relatively high prices of $200 to $300 in 2007.

A comprehensive CD compilation of Betty Harris recordings was released in 1999 by UK rerelease label, West Side.

In 2004, Betty Harris returned to the music business after a long departure.

She has made several public appearances in the U.S. and Europe, including the 2007 Porretta Soul Festival in Italy, and has recorded a new album, Intuition.

Earl King - New Orleans Blues

How about some Earl King with the mighty Meters, Allen Toussaint and that Sansu horn section that usually included Gary Brown and Clyde Kerr and a rotating cast of other guys. This album has been out under the names Street Parade and A Mother's Love as well as New Orleans Blues but never seems to stay around for very long. A damn shame too because this is some of the best of all Earl's work; it was the one he seemed to personally like best, at least that's what he said in a interview I recall hearing a year or so before he died. Most of the songs are Earl's of course but a couple are penned by Toussaint. The Meters give it all a funky under layer but most of these tunes lean more towards blues and r & b than the pure NOLA funk usually associated with the Funky Four. There are 3 or 4 more tracks from these sessions that haven't been included for some reason but ya takes what ya gets.

Earl King - New Orleans Blues
Sansu 1972, Tomato 2005 [uber std mp3]

01 Mother's Love
02 Part of Me
03 Am I Your Dog
04 Fallin'
05 I'm Gonna Keep on Trying
06 Love Look Out for Me
07 Mama & Papa
08 Medieval Days
09 Some People
10 Street Parade
11 Do the Grind
12 Real McCoy
13 Up on the Hill
14 This Is What I Call Living
15 You Make Me Feel Good

Lee Dorsey - Yes We Can and then some

Lee Dorsey..the man with a big smile in his voice...New Orleans' answer to Al Green.

Born Irving Lee Dorsey in New Orleans, Louisiana, Dorsey moved to Portland, Oregon when he was ten years old. He served in the United States Navy and began a career in prizefighting. Boxing as a light heavyweight in Portland in the early 1950s, he fought under the name "Kid Chocolate" and was quite successful.

Dorsey met songwriter/producer Allen Toussaint at a party in the early 1960s, and was signed to the Fury record label. The song that launched his career was inspired by a group of children chanting nursery rhymes - "Ya Ya" went to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. He recorded other songs for Fury before the label folded, and Dorsey went back to his car repair business.

Toussaint later came back on the Amy label and began to work with Dorsey once again. From 1965 to 1969 Dorsey put seven songs in the Hot 100, the most successful of which was "Working in the Coal Mine" in 1966. It was to be his second and last Top Ten song. In 1970 Dorsey and Toussaint collaborated on an album entitled Yes We Can; the title song was Dorsey's last entry in the singles chart. It was later a hit for the Pointer Sisters under the title, "Yes We Can Can".

Dorsey appeared on an album with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, which led to more recordings on his own with ABC Records in the late 1970s. In 1980, Dorsey opened for English punk band The Clash on their U.S. tour.

Dorsey contracted emphysema and died on December 2, 1986, in New Orleans, at the age of 61.

Dorsey's songs have been covered by artists as diverse as Petula Clark ("Ya Ya Twist," a 1962 French version of "Ya Ya") and Devo ("Working in the Coal Mine"). "Ya Ya" was also covered on John Lennon's Rock 'n' Roll album, and The Beatles Let It Be... Naked contained an extended live jam, with Tommy Sheridan on vocals.

  Ask anybody in New Orleans who knew him about Lee Dorsey and you get the same response "Man that was the nicest dude you ever want to meet". This is usually accompanied by glistening eyes as they remember that he's gone.

This album was his master work; Allen Toussaint wrote most of the songs and arranged them all, the music comes from the endless supply of tunes he had the Meters work up in the studio (they were never in the studio with Lee). These tunes all come from the heyday of Sea-Saint / Sansu with Allen, The Meters, Gary Brown, Harold Batiste and AFO... just a boatload of talent. The fact that this record did not break through sent Lee back to auto body shop, convinced that the music scene wasn't for him. Listening to this album today you can understand his frustration because they couldn't have made a better record than this, it stands as my numba one fave from this period (1970). Thankfully this reissue also contains quite a few extra tunes that wouldn't fit on the LP. There are so many highlights amongst the songs it is unfair to single out any - they are in fact 'all killer, no filler'. Enjoy this, it is a treasure!

Lee Dorsey - Yes We Can and then Some
Polydor Records 1970
[uber std mp3(vbr)]

1 Yes We Can part 1
2 Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley
3 Occapella
4 Riverboat
5 O Me-O My-O
6 If I Were a Carpenter
7 When the Bill's Paid
8 A Place Were We Can Be Free
9 Hello Good Lookin'
10 As Quiet as It's Kept
11 Lonely Avenue
12 Games People Play
13 On Your Way Down
14 When Can I Come Home
15 Tears, Tears and More Tears
16 If She Won't, Find Someone Who Will
17 Gator Tail
18 Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further
19 Yes We Can part 2
20 Freedom for the Stallion

Lee Dorsey vocals
with Allen Toussaint, The Meters, Gary Brown
Harold Batiste and AFO, others