Side One

1.       Satisfied With Your Love Barbara George

2.       The Sweetest I Knew Clemmon Smith

3.       Horse with a Freeze Pt. 1 & 2 Roy Ward

4.       Like I Like It Prince Royals

5.       Do The Sissy Charley Simmons & Royal Imperials

6.       Can't Stay Away Fabuletts

7.       True Love Of A Man Guitar Ray

 

Side Two

1.       Got To Keep Hanging On Vicki Labatt

2.       She Really Did Surprise Me Willie Tee

3.       Suffering Sonny Jones

4.       Action Time Charley Wynn

5.       Funky Soul Train Robert Parker

6.       If I Had To Do It Over Eddie Bo

7.       One Little Word Marilyn Barbarin

 

1968 was the year that the musical wheels in the Crescent City came off. Cosimo Matassa’s Dover group, which provided a one stop recording, pressing, distribution and sales operation to pretty much every independent record label in New Orleans collapsed. And took with it almost all the tiny independent labels that thrived in the city. It would take a good few years until recordings in New Orleans reached the level they had reached in the mid-60s.

It is ironic that the end of Dover was brought about largely through Matassa’s desire to keep hold of the hugely – and totally unexpected – success that the hand to mouth Parlo label had with Aaron Neville’s immortal “Tell It Like It Is”. Every other national chart entry recorded in New Orleans had been leased out to a bigger label better able to cope with the cash flow pressures that came with a really big selling 45. But Matassa wanted to move up a league and his gamble brought disaster. In order to keep up with demand for big selling discs from the distributors, who paid well in arrears, discs had to be produced by pressing plants, who always demanded cash up front. Without the necessary reserves to cope with these industry norms, Dover went under. Overnight the heartbeat of New Orleans was silenced.

But before the collapse early in 1968, there were more than enough songs recorded to fill up this tasty LP. The 14 tracks here range from cult funk items, through dance grooves to the heaviest of deep soul. Something to please every listener and a perfect way to celebrate the year of 1968 in New Orleans.

The biggest name on this collection is Eddie Bo. He was one of the key figures in post war New Orleans music, a man of many talents – writer, pianist, singer, producer and label owner – he did it all, scuffling and hustling his way through the back alleys of Louisiana music without ever scoring a big national hit. As a performer he was as prolific as they come, recording under a variety of names for over 20 different labels during his 50 year career. And he covered all the musical bases from R & B (Apollo, Ace), through rock ‘n’ roll (Ric, Chess, Rip) to soul (Blue Jay, Nola). In the later 60s and into the 70s he made a series of funk records for labels like Seven B, Scram and his own Bo Sound and Eboville for which he is most celebrated these days, thanks to the discovery of his unique sound by younger DJs. The deep soul “If I Had To Do It Over” is a classic of the genre, a typical 60s New Orleans slowie.

Also on the ballad side of things, the next best known artist here is Guitar Ray (Washington). He was a relative of NO stalwart Earl King – cousin is usually given – and as his name shows, he was a singer who also played the guitar. He recorded for Tulane and Vin in the late 50s before moving on to Invicta before cutting four singles for Nola subsidiary Hot Line. “True Love Of A Man” is a simply stunning ballad, plodding along at a dead slow pace giving Ray plenty of room to express himself in a tone that brings Otis Redding to mind. Ray finished his career with a super rare 45 on Shagg.

The best known of the female singers here is Barbara George, who as a teenager had a No 1 smash with “I Know”, her very first record on AFO. It was always going to be difficult to top this, and follow ups on AFO and distributor Sue didn’t get into the top 40. After a short gap Barbara recorded the rather Motown flavoured “Satisfied With Your Love” for Eddie Bo’s Seven B label. She went on to make music for Senator Jones’s Hep Me concern in the 70s before leaving the business. She passed on in 2006. The Northern soul anthem “Got To Keep Hanging On” by Vickie Labat was to be her only disc. With it, Senator Jones debuted a new logo he called Shagg after one of his many nicknames. We close the album with Marilyn Barbarin, no doubt one of the famous Barbarin clan who have been a mainstay of New Orleans jazz and marching bands since the turn of the 20th Century. Marilyn’s first recorded 45 “One Little Word” is a killer deep ballad, full of heartfelt emotion, with a memorable melody and a superb Wardell Quezergue arrangement. She also cut for Bo Sound, Virgil and Olympia, and all of these discs are rare and highly sought after.   

Chris Kenner called New Orleans the “Land Of A 1000 Dances” and in a small tribute to the movers and shakers in the city we present a couple of classic name party discs. The sissy became the Crescent City’s major dance craze in 1968 after Charley Simmons’s initial celebration, which was followed by several more New Orleans devotees including Curley Moore and the Meters. Simmons went on to make several more funk 45s in the 70s for labels as far apart as Hep Me, Broom, Move and FW. Although the Horse was started by Philly’s dancers, it was highly popular in New Orleans. Roy Ward added to the mix another dance fad The Freeze for his cult funk fave “The Horse With A Freeze” for Instant subsidiary Alon.

There are two vocal groups here, the Fabuletts and the Prince Royals. The first of these was a female trio who recorded just the one 45. The chugging beat of “Can’t Stay Away” is a typically upfront Crescent City dancer that has only been kept off Northern soul playlists due to the its extreme rarity. It appeared on the tiny Mode imprint as did the only solo release by lead singer Klicky Robinson. The Prince Royals were organised by that multi-faceted music man Sax Kari who spent a lot of the 60s in New Orleans, often linking with Instant boss Joe Banashak. The Royals first appeared on Kari’s eponymous label, then on Banashak’s Tune-Kel concern. The infectious instrumental funk of “Like I Like It” was very much in the vein that the Meters so expertly tapped.

Wilson Turbington, (Willie Tee) keyboard player and singer, first recorded for AFO as a teenager, before making 45s for several local labels including Cinderella, Bonatemp and Hot Line. “She Really Did Surprise Me” is a tasteful melodic beat ballad which shows off not just Willie’s emotionally compelling vocals but also his fine piano touches. It was the first record on Willie’s own Gatur label. Sonny Jones recorded for Chart and Mala before cutting his uptempo rarity “Suffering” which is chock full of good things, from the excellent drumming to the very full horn section and the gritty vocal from Jones. He subsequently made two 45s for Al Scramuzza’s Scram label including “Sissy Walk” in 1969.

Robert Parker started out in the music business as a tenor sax player, working with Professor Longhair at the end of the 40s, and gigging with top drawer artists through the following decade. He made his first 45 for Ron, followed by sessions for Imperial, and expanded his repertoire by becoming a vocalist as the 60s came round. His international smash “Barefootin’” (Nola) from 1965 still fills the dance floors in England today, and “Funky Soul Train”, an answer song to Curley Moore’s “Soul Train” was probably the best of his follow-ups to the hit. Briefly a member of the Barons, Clemmon Smith recorded for Eight Ball around the same time as his interesting Alon ballad “The Sweetest I Knew” which features some fine vocals as well as a strange horn chart. Smith also recorded for Big Q and Instant.

No collection of this sort would be complete without a terminally obscure song – and “Action Time” by Charley Wynn (his only 45) certainly fits the bill. It was cut for Charlie Julien’s Jim Gem label. Julien was better known as Jimmy Jules or Pistol while he was at AFO from New Orleans who made some fine southern soul himself for Carnival, Abet and Gamble.

 

 

 

 

John Ridley

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