Release Information
Not much is known about Ann Byers as a person, but the Northern Soul scene is well-acquainted with her recordings on the Virtue and Academy labels. From her sparse biography, we know she was born in Philadelphia and began singing in church at the age of three. By the time she was 16, she had recorded her first 45 in 1963. She later made radio, TV, and personal appearances around Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Delaware.
Her television appearances included performances alongside Roy Hamilton, Billy Paul, Bunny Sigler, and The Young Holt Trio, among others. She was also a firm believer in UFOs and had a deep love for ancient history. One of her dreams was to travel to the U.K. on a jet plane, where she hoped to achieve a hit single.
Byers briefly entered the U.K. market in 1975 with the Power Exchange release of “This Man Is Rated-X” and “Gotta Get You Back,” both initially released on Virtue in the U.S. Her early recordings were on The Lyric Label under the name Anne Buyers, with the tracks “Was It Worth the Price” and “Natural Feeling,” and later on the Cougar label as Ann Byers with “Where Have You Gone” and “Talk of The Town,” believed to be released around 1964.
The tracks Ann Byers recorded for Academy in 1964 and 1965 were written by the composing duo Fred Andrew Smith and Phil Hurtt, with production and arrangement by Leroy Lovett. The two featured tracks in this release, “I’m Not Gonna Cry” and “Your Love Is a Wonderful Thing,” include backing vocals by the group Les Tres Femmes.
“Your Love Is a Wonderful Thing” was co-written by Howard Ravitsky and Phil Hurtt, who also wrote the Academy release “I’m Happy Without You,” a much sought-after 45. These two tracks were meant to be Byers’ fourth release on Academy, but unfortunately, the label went out of business in 1967.
Byers also had three releases on the Virtue label around 1975-1976, and her name appears in the writing credits of two releases on the low-budget Fox Century Plaza label from Philadelphia, which operated between 1977 and 1980. While it’s uncertain whether it’s the same Ann Byers, it is likely.
“I’m Not Gonna Cry” resurfaced in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s from the master tapes and received some airplay from DJ’s in the UK before being released on CD around 2000. It reached the test press stage with another label in the late ‘90s but never saw full production. After conversations with Howard Ravitsky, who wished to see the tracks released as they were meant to be, Soul Direction with the help of Dave Louis helped make this a fitting tribute to Ravitsky’s musical legacy. – Soul Direction