Mary Wilson [1944-2021]

Artist: The Supremes

LP: Floy Joy

Song: "A Heart Like Mine"

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Song: "Automatically Sunshine "

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I was sad to awaken today to news of the death of Mary Wilson, the most supreme member of the legendary Motown girl group The Supremes. Wilson was the only founding member of The Supremes to remain with the group from the beginning (as The Primettes in Detroit in 1959) to the end, when the group disbanded in 1977. 

 

The Supremes' lineup for their 1972 "Floy Joy" LP is Jean Terrell (she handled most lead vocals after coming aboard to replace Diana Ross, who had left the group in 1970 for a solo career), Mary Wilson, and Cindy Birdsong. In fact, Birdsong was exiting The Supremes to focus on raising a family at the time "Floy Joy" was released. She was "great with child" at the time of the album photo shoot, so it's her replacement, Lynda Laurence, standing in on the LP cover (far left, holding a drink) despite the fact that she hadn't actually contributed anything to the record. Mary Wilson is pictured seated on the cover, with Jean Terrell standing to her right (well, to her left, but to our right). 

 

With her misty dry-ice-vapors-on-the-dance-floor voice, Wilson takes center stage on the lovely ballad "A Heart Like Mine." Her vocals are featured again, as co-lead with Terrell, on one of the album's singles, "Automatically Sunshine," which peaked at #37 on the Billboard Hot 100, at #21 on the R&B singles chart, and made it all the way to #10 on the singles charts in the U.K. "Floy Joy" was produced by Smokey Robinson. You can find Mary Wilson's obituary in the New York Times here.

 

Mary Wilson

[ March 6, 1944 — February 8, 2021 ]

We will miss you, Mary.

Gibson Brothers

Artist: Gibson Brothers

LP: 7" single

Song: "The Singer Not the Song"

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Just popping in to say Happy Veteran's Day and to post something randomly pulled from my collection. I found this one for just €2 on my trip to Barcelona back in the summer of 2018. My ears have loved everything they've heard by the Gibson Brothers. You can't really go wrong with a formula Wikipedia describes as a "mix of disco beats, Latin percussion, soulful vocals and a catchy tune." I'm very sad to learn that one of the three brothers, Patrick, died this past April from COVID-19.

[ Gibson Brothers ]

Lionel and The Clipper Trio

Artist: Lionel and The Clipper Trio

LP: On a Calypso Cruise

Song: "Wings of a Dove"

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Song: "Clipper Lounge Cha Cha"

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Song: "Mary Ann"

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If magically given one hour to travel to any destination at any point in time, I can never decide if I would go back to 1998 to have another eggs, sausage patty and toast breakfast at The Hurricane Cafe, which has been destroyed, or spend my hour on board a calypso cruise enjoying a Lionel and The Clipper Trio show live and in person. I could even bring this 1973 LP to have it signed by Lionel and his gang! I wonder if I'd be allowed to split my time into two 30-minute segments. In that case, I think I'd first go to The Hurricane, and then zip down to my calypso cruise, since I'd probably end up with sausage grease all over my autographed LP if I attended the cruise performance first, followed by the egg and sausage breakfast. 

I don't know if the magic will allow it, but if it does I'll try to bring you with me, since that may be the only way you'll get to properly hear Lionel and his Clipper Trio. The LP was recorded in some annoying form of stereo that my mp3 producing mechanism is not able to grasp, so it sounds like the vocals are being performed from a separate cruise entirely, one that only occasionally passes by the ship we're lounging on with The Clipper Trio. In any case, that's Lionel Lotmore on vocals for "Wings of the Dove," and, not that you can hear him, but that's William Anderson handling the vocal duties on "Mary Ann." 

Los Carabelas

Artist: Los Carabelas

LP: Los Carabelas

Song: "Asi Se Baila La Cumbia"

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Well, rats. I found all sorts of neat stuff in the Christmas used vinyl bins last month, but with six-day work weeks, the bustle of the holidays, and 11-to-12-hour workdays, my plan to regularly post things throughout the month of December failed to materialize. Guess I'll save them for next year, when I'll hopefully have two days off each week.

Here's something else I found in the bins last month—the dollar bins at Daybreak Records, to be exact. I figured I'd get an early start at my resolution to post here more regularly in 2020, and as a bonus it's nice to have at least one solid idea for my Halloween costume in the bag so early in the year! You can read (in Spanish) about Los Carabelas here.

Luv'

Artist: Luv'

LP: Lots of Luv'
Song: "The Night of Love"

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I took the day off work to relax, but instead I spent my time dealing with a malfunctioning smartphone (so-called), and engaging in auto repair (I replaced the bulbs for my driver's side headlight and the passenger side front turn signal). And now I'm in need of a perfect and perfectly frivolous pop song. This one from Luv's 1979 "Lots of Luv'" LP fits the bill. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

[ Luv' ]

The Moments

Artist: The Moments

LP: Look At Me
Song: "Girls (French version)"

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Song: "Look At Me (French version)"

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Last night I went sifting through my soul and R&B records to find something quiet and romantic to bring my enjoyable evening to a delicate close. This 1975 LP by The Moments that I put on the console was already hitting the spot, and then they started singing in French!

I had not realized until now that The Moments were the same fellows who later turned into Ray, Goodman, and Brown. Stang Records evidently wouldn't let the trio keep the name when The Moments decided to leave the label in 1979. (Update: Oh. I guess I did know this 10 years ago. My memory just ain't what it used to be.) Mais peu importe comment vous les applez, ils sont simplement magnifiques! 

[ Harry Ray: December 15, 1946 — October 1, 1992 ]

[ Al Goodman: March 30, 1943 — July 26, 2010 ]

[ Billy Brown: b. June 30, 1946 ]

Los Mismos

Artist: Los Mismos

LP: Los Mismos

Song: "Pasa El Tren"
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Song: "Esta La Cosa Negra Negra"
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After laying my body on the warm sand of the crowded but beautiful Barcelona beach with my friends Carrie and Charlie and their kids, Ollie and Gabe, on my first Saturday in town, we returned to the apartment to find my suitcase had finally been found and delivered! (Did I mention it got lost en route, after two late flights and two missed connections?) After slipping into fresh clothing, I set out for an area of the city where there was a cluster of record stores, near the intersection of Carrer dels Tallers and Carrer de les Sitges. Two of the stores, which looked on my map to be very close together, had similar names: Discos Revolver and Revolver Records. Sure enough, both stores actually do exist and seem somehow related (the share a similar logo), but I'm not exactly sure what's going on there. Maybe the result of a divorce? Anyhow, both stores closed at 9pm, so I only had time to visit one of them that evening. I picked Discos Revolver. 

The store has a modest entryway, but then additional rooms keep expanding back into the inside of the building, so there were actually quite a lot of records to look through. They even had a section of old Spanish LPs, so I picked up a few of those in addition to the usual stash of singles. One of the long plays is this 1969 album by Los Mismos, a trio consisting of Elena Vázquez Minguela (aka Helena Bianco, evidently), Antonio Pérez Gutiérrez, and Benjamín Santos Calonge. Together they make Spanish pop magic; you can read about them here. Lots of neat-looking Los Mismos singles can be found in the used record bins of Barcelona.

[ Los Mismos, pero son diferentes ahora ]

[ Discos Revolver — Barcelona, Spain ]

Belle Epoque

Artist: Belle Epoque

LP: Miss Broadway

Song: "Miss Broadway"
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"Me and You" 
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♫♪ ♫ "Uh-huh. I like it. Uh-huh. I like it." ♫ ♪ 

Based in Paris, France, Belle Epoque caught the disco wind in their sails in 1977 and rode it all the way to the end of the era, which was more or less 1979. Looking here at the three Belles, I can't help but wonder if anyone ever considered putting them on French television as a Parisian Charlie's Angels. Pierre's Angels, maybe? If I were in charge of casting, Belle Epoque would be Kelly, Jill, and Sabrina, from left to right. 

This trio of lovely ladies enjoyed their biggest success in Europe and Australia, but here in the USA the title track to their 1977 "Miss Broadway" LP hit #92 on the Billboard Hot 100, #26 on the Billboard R&B chart, and #21 on Billboard's "National Disco Action Top 40" (!) in the summer of that year. I finally got my hot little hands (and ears) on it last year at Råkk og Rålls in Oslo, Norway.

[ Belle Epoque ]

Los Tres Caballeros

Artist: Los Tres Caballeros

LP: Los 3 Caballeros

Song: "Volvere a Buscarte"
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Here's another one from my favorite classic Mexican trio—Roberto Cantoral, Benjamin Pérez de León and Leonel Gálvez Polanco. You can read about them as The Three Knights here (I suppose that does sound a bit classier than "The Three Cowboys") and then find Spanish-language liner notes included below.

[ Roberto Cantoral — Benjamin Pérez de León — Leonel Gálvez Polanco ]
[ Los Tres Caballeros ]

Debbie Reynolds [1932-2016]

Artist: Debbie Reynolds w/ Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor

LP: "Singin' In the Rain" [10" EP]

Song: "Good Morning" 
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Okay, now it seems like Death is just chasing celebrities around and mowing them down for fun, trying to get as many as possible by the end of the year. So very sad. 

My friends Chad and Melody and I once sang "Good Morning" from SINGIN' IN THE RAIN as we danced down some bland suburban roadway in Provo, Utah as the sun came up over the hills. That was in the early '90s—we were in college and had stayed up all night for some reason or another. 

You can read all about Debbie's incredible career here (I recommend WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH HELEN?) and go here to find her obituary in the Los Angeles Times.

Debbie Reynolds

[ April 1, 1932 — December 28, 2016 ]

We will miss you, Debbie.