His Name Is Alive

Artist: His Name Is Alive

LP: The Dirt Eaters EP

Song: "The Dirt Eaters"

[ listen ]

Have you heard about the new compilation the British-based 4AD label is releasing later this year? It features all the artists that are currently signed to the label doing a cover of a song that was released by 4AD sometime in the past 41 years, after the label first launched in 1980. 

One of my favorite bands on 4AD now (and then) is The Breeders. They've chosen to cover "The Dirt Eaters," from the 1992 His Name Is Alive EP of the same name. His Name Is Alive is another of my favorite 4AD bands (they were booted from the label in the early 2000s after an at-the-time-seemingly-4AD-incompatible foray into R&B) so I have to keep pinching myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. My arm is covered in bruises, but the LP and CD will be available in July!

 

[ His Name Is Alive ]

The Meditation Singers

Artist: The Meditation Singers

LP: Don't You Want To Go?

Song: "Don't You Want To Go?"
[ listen ]

Song: "Shelter Me"
[ listen ]

One of the oldest settlements in the South, Mobile is one of the places I was most excited to visit on my trip. Located on the Gulf Coast of Alabama, the city was founded as the capitol of the French colony of Louisiana in 1702, but was moved a ways downriver (due to regular flooding) to its present location in 1711. (The capitol of Louisiana was relocated to Biloxi in 1720.) I was only in Mobile for a single afternoon and evening, which wasn't nearly enough time. I would love to go back to check out some of its museums, its gay bars, and to take in a movie at The Crescent, Mobile's antique independent movie theater. 

One place I did manage to visit, as you've probably guessed, is the record store—Mobile Records. I only had about an hour or so before they closed, but I still found an armload of neat old LPs, including this 1966 release by The Meditation Singers. Formed in Detroit in 1947, the group initially included Della Reese, who left in 1953 to pursue a solo career, though her sister, Marie Waters, stayed with the group. Reese was replaced by Laura Lee, though she had left the group too to pursue a solo career by the time this "Don't You Want to Go?" LP was released. The front of the album features the 1966 lineup of members, all except co-lead singer Donna Hammons, who evidently had better things to do that day than to stand around posing for pictures. Anyway, I've included an older photo of The Meditation Singers below that does include Donna. She looks like such a nice woman. You can read more about The Meditation Singers on AllMusic here and go here to read all about Mobile, Alabama.

The Meditation Singers on YouTube:

[ "Sanctified Lord" ]

[ The Meditation Singers ]
[ back: Verlene Rodgers, Earnestine Rundless, Marie Waters ]
[ front: Laura Lee, Donna Hammons ]

[ Mobile Records — Mobile, Alabama ]

The Gaylords

Artist: The Gaylords

LP: That's Amore

Song: "That's Amore"

[ listen ]

What better way to start off a New Year where gay people can get married in Utah (of all places...it was nice while it lasted) than with The Gaylords! Formed in Detroit in 1949 as a trio (an amore triangle, perhaps?), the group was whittled down to a duo sometime before this album full of Italian hits came out. You can read about The Gaylords musical group (not to be confused with the Chicago street gang) here and here, but nothing in the information I found indicates whether or not these fellows are actually "friends of Dorothy," if you know what I mean. One has to wonder after seeing the (heart-shaped) photo on the back of the album, where it's pretty clear The Gaylords both conveniently forgot to ask female dates to the prom.

[ The Gaylords, in triangle formation. ]

Michael Quatro

Artist: Michael Quatro

LP: Bottom Line

Song: "Midnite Train"
[ listen ]

Called "The Bach of Rock" by The St. Louis Globe, "A modern-day Beethoven" by The New York Times, and "Chopin with guts" by The Pittsburgh Press, sexy rocker and keyboard virtuoso Michael Quatro can trace his influences back to some of the very best musicians in history. Born of Italian and Hungarian descent, Michael is an avid sportsman (hockey, football, go-kart racing, badminton), he's worked with a host of famous musicians (George Clinton, Bob Seger, Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop), he's Suzi Quatro's brother, and he's an uncle to Sherilyn Fenn! Quatro's "Bottom Line" LP was released in 1981, though I don't actually have the entire record, only a 2-track promo 12" single packed inside the LP sleeve. I'm guessing "Bottom Line" probably refers to the posterior tan lines exhibited by the lovely young lady on the cover, as seen in the photos below—the ones where Michael's got a roll of quarters and a cue ball in his pants). You can read more about Michael Quatro here and here, and the pictures and lyrics from the album are included below.

ADC Band

Artist: ADC Band

LP: Long Stroke

Song: "Long Stroke"

[ listen ]

This debut LP from the Detroit funk group called ADC Band (well, I assume they're from Detroit, since that's where photos and recording for their first album were done) is one of the neat things I found at Grooves in San Francisco last year. The AllMusic website gives this record only two stars, but it seems more like a four-star record to me. I'm probably biased since I like nasty songs ("Long Stroke" was a #8 hit on the R&B singles charts back in 1978), and also because it features one of the sexiest fellows I've ever seen on the front of a record.

C.J. & Co.

Artist: C.J. & Co.

LP: 7" single

Song: "Devil's Gun"

[ listen ]

This 1977 single by Detroit's C.J. & Co. was reportedly the first record ever played at NYC's Studio 54 when the club opened in April of '77. My copy of the single was made in Germany. You can read about C.J. & Co. on Wikipedia here and see alternate covers for "Devil's Gun" here and here. I kinda' like the idea of the devil as a handsome green alien-type fellow who carries a really big gun.

The Temptations

Artist: The Temptations

LP: Sky's the Limit

Song: "Smiling Faces Sometimes"

[ listen ]

Yesterday I parked in a yellow-painted loading zone with my hazard lights flashing just so I could run in and pick up The Temptations' 1973 "Masterpiece" LP at Everyday Music on Capital Hill, but it wasn't in the new arrivals where I'd left it the day before! Undaunted and with hazards still flashing, I dashed upstairs to the used 'T' section and found a copy of that LP along with two other Temptations albums I didn't already have, paid for them and was back in my car before you could say "parking ticket." One of the other two LPs I found was "Sky's the Limit" from 1971, which features the original 12+ minute version of Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong's "Smiling Faces Sometimes," which warns about seemingly friendly folks who really only want to stab you in the back! You can read more about the song here and find lots of information about The Temptations (the group's origins, lineup changes, discography, their legacy, whether or not they've ever used Auto-Tune) on Wikipedia here.

Dave "Baby" Cortez

Artist: Dave "Baby" Cortez

LP: Dave "Baby" Cortez and His Happy Organ

Song: "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie"

[ listen ]

Song: "The Whistling Organ"

[ listen ]

Born in Detroit on August 13, 1938, David Cortez Clowney was the first performer to have a hit in the USA where the organ was featured as lead instrument. Not only that, but in 1959 his popular hit "The Happy Organ" was the first instrumental single ever to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop charts. You can read more about Dave "Baby" Cortez here and here, click here to watch an awful homemade video for "The Happy Organ," and below you'll find the LP liner notes, where Ira Howard hails the music of Dave "Baby" Cortetz as "almost inspiring."

Freddy Butler

Artist: Freddy Butler

LP: With a Dab of Soul

Song: "Deserted"

[ listen ]

Hello! I just got back from a short little road trip/friend's wedding/vacation getaway down in San Francisco over the past five days or so. It was a lovely little jaunt and, naturally, I managed to take in lots of stray records along the way and will be giving them all a good home. This terrific 1967 Freddy Butler LP is something I found at Vinyl Revolutions, a neat little store in Grants Pass, Oregon:

I wasn't really planning to stop in Grants Pass, since I was in a hurry to get beneath the shade of the Redwood trees, but Highway 199 took me right through the middle of town. I saw the words "vinyl" and "records" on the storefront to my left and suddenly my car was parked at the curb before I knew what was happening. There's not much info about Freddy Butler on the web, but I did find a neat photo of Butler performing in Detroit in the early '60s with organ player Rudy Robinson—see here. The "With a Dab of Soul" album notes, track list and photos are included below...but can anyone tell me what's covering Freddy Butler's guitar on the record's front cover? It looks like part of an old push-broom, or maybe something from a drive-thru car wash.

Shotgun

Artist: Shotgun

LP: Shotgun

Song: "Mutha Funk"

[ listen ]

The Detroit-based funk outfit Shotgun released several LPs between this self-titled debut in 1977 and when they finally called it quits in 1982. You can read a bit about the group here... and yeah, they always get the front seat.