[audio http://boxstr.com/files/3781188_tkio7/Mabel%20John%20-%20Your%20Good%20Thing%201.mp3] Mable John – Your Good Thing (Is About to End) (1966)
Louisiana born Mabel John came from a very large musical family that included her baby brother “Little WIllie John” of “Fever” fame.
Mable was the first woman ever to record for Berry Gordy’s first record label, Tamla, in 1959. Backed by the Primettes (later to become The Supremes), none of her excellent blues recordings for the label broke out to become big hits.
Gordy moved away from the blues and concentrated on what was to become the Pop oriented “Motown Sound” and Mable left the label to persue a deal with Stax.
Her very first single for the label was the Isaac Hayes & David Porter penned “Your Good Thing (Is About To End)”, which climbed to #6 on the Billboard R&B Single charts and #95 on the Billboard Pop Single chart in the summer of 1966.
John also served as musical director and leader of Ray Charles’ world-famous Raeletts and continued to have a successful career at Stax until 1977 when she left secular music to record, produce and manage in the Gospel music world.
Mable John received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1994.
[audio http://boxstr.com/files/3283142_8y5w8/04.%20Sam%20And%20Dave%20-%20Soul%20Man.mp3] Sam & Dave – Soul Man (1967)
The fourth and final R&B Grammy of 1967 went to “Soul Man,” Sam and Dave for Best Rhythm and Blues Group Performance, Vocal or Instrumental (Two or More).
Arrival at Stax and early Stax singles
When Sam & Dave first arrived at Stax, they worked with producer Jim Stewart and several songwriters, including Steve Cropper, who wrote or co-wrote four of their first eight Stax recordings. The duo quickly gravitated to the emerging songwriting team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter for much of their material. Hayes & Porter had a very significant impact on Sam & Dave’s career, writing and producing all of the duo’s biggest hits (although they did not receive formal production credits until the Soul Men LP and singles). According to both Moore and Prater, they even influenced the duo’s singing style.
While their first two Stax singles failed to chart, their third Stax single, the Hayes/Porter composition “You Don’t Know Like I Know” hit #7 R&B in 1966. This started a string of 10 consecutive Top Twenty R&B chart hits for Sam & Dave over the next three years, and 14 R&B chart appearances overall during their career.
In addition to Hayes-Porter, Sam & Dave’s Stax records also benefitted greatly from working with the Stax house band and Rock Hall of Fame members Booker T. & The MG’s, and the Stax horn section, the Mar-Keys. These highly regarded musicians co-wrote (often without credit) and contributed greatly to the recordings, and are the same musicians who additionally recorded with Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Carla Thomas and other top soul artists. Sam & Dave’s Stax recordings through 1967 were engineered by Stax founder and Co-owner Jim Stewart, who created the “Memphis Sound” at Stax records by recording sessions essentially live in a single take. Stewart is also credited for instrumental mixes in songs that allowed for instrumental separation and the distinct contribution of each instrument to the overall feel of the song. The combination of all of these respected talents contributed to the unique sound and commercial success of Sam & Dave’s Stax recordings. ((SOURCE: WIKI SAM & DAVE PAGE)
After “YDKLIK” the hits continued with “Hold On I’m Coming”; “Said I Wasn’t Gonna Tell Nobody”; “You Got Me Hummin”; and “When Something is Wrong with My Baby”. I loved everyone of these gospel tinged soulful songs. But their historical claim to fame came next …
“Soul Man” single and Soul Men LP
Sam and Dave’s next single was “Soul Man” (R&B #1/Pop #2), released in August 1967. It is for many people Sam & Dave’s best remembered song and the song most closely associated with the duo. Sam & Dave won the Grammy Award in 1967 for “Best Performance – Rhythm & Blues Group” for “Soul Man”", and was also Sam & Dave’s first Gold Record. The “Soul Man” Sam & Dave recording was also voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. “Soul Man” has been recognized by many organizations as one of the best or most influential songs of the past 50 years, including the Grammy Hall of Fame, The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Rolling Stone Magazine, and RIAA Songs of the Century. “Soul Man” was also used as the soundtrack and title for both a 1986 film and a 1997–1998 television series.
The accompanying Soul Men LP (October 1967) was Sam & Dave’s third Stax LP, reaching #5 on the R&B charts and #68 Pop.[8] “Soul Men” is considered by Musicologist and Stax Author Rob Bowman to be one of the greatest soul albums of all time. “Don’t Knock It” from the LP was also released as a single in France, but other songs were not released as U.S. singles due to the long run by “Soul Man” on the Pop charts (15 weeks), by which time the single “I Thank You/Wrap it Up” had been recorded and was ready for release. “May I Baby”, the b-side of “Soul Man”, is also regarded as a classic non-hot 100 song on the LP by Whitburn’s “Top Pop Singles” guide. (SOURCE: WIKI SAM & DAVE PAGE)
Please enjoy this 1967 live performance of “Soul Man” by Sam and Dave backed by the tremendous Stax House band of Booker T. & the MG’s and the Mar-kays (Horns).
After recording the first three songs together as a group, the newly formed Soul Children performed seven other Isaac Hayesand David Porter penned tunes and put out an album. I feel it was the combination of these four singers and the Hayes /Porter tunes that made the magic. Once Hayes left the stable to concentrate on his own legendary solo career, I feel the group never recovered. This first CD is a classic and IMHO nothing else the group did came close.
[audio http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/files/1128624_fmabr/03.WhenTomorrowComes.mp3] When Tomorrow Comes – Soul Children (1968)
[audio http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/files/1128625_gkrtx/10.MyBabySpecializes.mp3] My Baby Specializes – Soul Children (1968)
These are a few more of those wonderful Hayes/Porter tunes penned to complete the “Soul Children” debut album. It was so very hard not to share the entire LP because there is not a single bad song included — guaranteed! (Please go out and make this purchase.) But I have included in this post one ballad and one up-tempo funkster so that you can hear how the “Soul Children” were adept at singing both and Hayes/Porter were Masters at composing both types of songs.
Soul Children – The Sweeter He Is Parts 1 & 2 (1968)
A 17 year old Anita Louis sings the first verse as if she was a veteran of love, romance and hurt. Then Shelbra Bennett takes the second verse on this fourth Soul Children release that *finally* charted decently at #7 R&B, but just missed the Pop Top 50. This six minute classic was played over and over again in the high school student lounge when we played bid whist on our “free” period back in the day!
Originally released in August 1968 as a two part single — that is the way it plays out on my beloved “Soul Children” cassette tape. But here you can hear both parts together continuously in all their glory. A classic love song if their ever was one. Even if you have never heard anything else by the Soul Children I am sure that you are bound to have heard this cut. And if you haven’t then I suppose you just don’t get out much, do you? (GRIN)
Hope you enjoy the music and I will see you soon.
Source: “Soul Children/Best of Two Worlds-Two albums on one CD” – Liner notes by Rob Bowman, 1995
I just couldn’t pick one song to start off with for this vocal group so I just decided to go with three! And there will be more. I just hope the music police don’t get me. But I know that you will love the soulful sounds of this group so much that you will rush out and buy the cd — and when you do please tell ‘em I sent you.
This is another purchase I made back when music cassette tapes first came out along with my The Young Holt Unlimited’s “Soulful Strut” LP. I still have this tape today and I still play it on a regular basis in my care on my commute to work. Obviously they don’t make stuff now like they used to. Both the tape and the music have held up almost forty years.
As you may know, this group was the brainchild of Stax songwriters Isaac Hayes and Dave Porter. Hayes and Porter wrote all of those great hits for Sam & Dave. But when the Stax label lost Sam and Dave they needed a new outlet for their songwriting skills. One of the artists they had been working with was John Colbert, who went by the stage name of J. Blackfoot. Since his recordings weren’t exactly what Hayes and Porter wanted, they decided to use their successful Sam & Dave duet format and made Blackfoot part of a group with two male and two female vocalists.
The group made of J.Blackfoot Norman West, Anita Louis and Shelbra Bennett went in the studio and the three songs below were their first recordings and first singles released. What dynamite music these four made for just meeting and recording together. Listen and tell me what you think. Instant genius or what?
[audio http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/files/1129333_wyoh0/06.Give_emLove.mp3] Soul Children – Give ‘Em Love 1968 Peaked at #40 R&B.
[audio http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/files/1128627_elzd5/01.I_llUnderstand.mp3] Soul Children – I’ll Understand 1968 Broke the top 30 R&B
These first two had been tried as solo efforts on Blackfoot, but the group is what made these cuts! The ballad “I’ll Understand” was a favorite at all of the high school parties I attended in that era. And it is one of my personal favorite ballads of all time.
[audio http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/files/1128623_tqnx0/07.Doin_OurThang.mp3] Soul Children – Tighten Up Our Thang 1968 Peaked at #49 R&B.
Modeled after Sam & Dave’s “Hold on I’m Coming”, I just can’t understand why this and the two earlier releases charted so low. “Tighten Up Our Thang” has got to be one of the funkiest songs ever!
Stay tuned for part 2 of 3 on the making of this classic debut LP by The Soul Children.
Sincerely,
Source: “Soul Children/Best of Two Worlds-Two albums on one CD” – Liner notes by Rob Bowman, 1995
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
BookerT. & TheMGs -- GreenOnions
Here is the entire song, as released, in pristine condition for your listening and dancing pleasure. This was one of those records that I used to play and practice my “moves” to as a kid.
Booker T. Jones began working at Stax Records in Memphis as a saxophonist in 1960. In 1962 Booker T. and the MGs were formed as the house band for Stax-Volt Records. Steve Cropper and Donald Dunn, who had been members of the Mar-Keys, played on the groups’ 1961 instrumental hit “Last Night.” Dunn remained with the Mar-Keys until 1964 when he replaced the group’s original bassist Lee Steinberg. In the early ’60s, Booker T. and the MGs provided the instrumental backing for Carla Thomas (“Gee Whiz”) and her father Rufus Thomas (“Walkin’ the Dog:). The reputation as a band in their own right was established in 1962 with their instrumental hit “Green Onions.”
