Esther Phillips - Anthology

Esther Phillips (Born Esther Mae Jones, December 23, 1935 in Galveston, Texas; died August 7, 1984 in Carson, California) was an American singer. Phillips was one of the great female R&B vocalists.[1] She also performed in the pop, country, jazz, and soul music.
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Donnie Elbert - Stop In The Name Of Love

More Donnie Elbert
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Donald Byrd / Black Byrd

Donald Byrd / Black Byrd
Label: Blue Note Records
Year: 1973
Track Title
1. Flight Time
2. Black Byrd
3. Love's So Far Away
4. Mr. Thomas
5. Sky High
6. Slop Jar Blues
7. Where Are We Going?

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Donnie Elbert - R&B Maverick

Donnie Elbert (May 25, 1936, New Orleans, Louisiana — January 26, 1989) was an American vocalist, and had a prolific career in the 1950s.

His reputation was secured by "A Little Piece Of Leather", a compulsive performance highlighting Elbert's falsetto voice. The song became a standard at UK soul clubs, when released on the Sue record label.

Elbert moved to the UK in the 1960s where he recorded his version of The Supremes' hit "Where Did Our Love Go". It was released on the All Platinum Records label. He returned to the U.S. in 1969, before the single reached Number 8 in the UK Singles Chart in 1973.

He had a small string of minor successes in 1970s, with mainly northern soul orientated offerings. These included:-

* "Where Did Our Love Go?" / "That's If You Love Me" (1972) U.S. #15[1]
* "I Can't Help Myself" U.S. #22[1]
* "A Little Piece Of Leather"
* "You Don't Have To Be A Star" - (1977)

By the mid 1980s Elbert had retired from performing, and became director of A&R for Polygram's Canadian division. His reign was not long-lived. Elbert suffered a massive stroke and died in 1989, at the age of 52.
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Don Byron - Do The Boomerang

Do The Boomerang
(Blue Note, 2006)

DIn December 2005, Don Byron launched a new group dedicated to the music of soul legend, saxophonist and singer Junior Walker. Featuring Byron on tenor saxophone, Dean Bowman on vocals, guitarist David Gilmore, George Colligan on Hammond B-3 organ, bassist Brad Jones, and Rodney Holmes on drums, the group recently recorded a new album, Don's sixth for Blue Note Records. Singer/guitarist Chris Thomas King appears as special guest on several tracks. Entitled "Do The Boomerang," the new CD contains covers of several of Junior Walker's biggest hits, including "Shotgun," "Roadrunner," and "What does it take to win your Love," as well as a version of James Brown's "There It Is." Don Byron Plays Junior Walker will be touring in the US and Europe following the CD release on October 3, 2006.
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Ginseng Woman & Multiplication

Eric J. Gale (b. September 20, 1938, Brooklyn, New York; d. May 25, 1994, Baja California, Mexico) was a leading American jazz and session guitarist.

He began playing guitar at the age of 12. Although he majored in chemistry at Niagara University, Gale was determined to pursue a musical career, and began contributing to accompaniments for such stars as Maxine Brown, the Drifters, and Jesse Belvin. He soon began to attract the attention of King Curtis and Jimmy Smith, who began recommending him for studio work[1]. He became known first as a session musician in the 1960s, eventually appearing on an estimated 500 albums. Among the many artists he recorded with were Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon, Lena Horne, Quincy Jones, Grover Washington Jr., Herbie Mann, Esther Phillips, Joe Cocker, Carly Simon, Van Morrison, and Billy Joel[2]. He also had a spell in Aretha Franklin's stage band.

The epitome of the guitarist's guitarist, he was also used for many R&B-oriented dates. From the early 1970s he recorded extensively on the CTI label, as a sideman, on his own records, and as part of the group Stuff.

Eric Gale - Ginseng Woman & Multiplication
Label: Columbia Legacy
Year: 1991

1. Ginseng Woman
2. Red Ground
3. Sara Smile
4. De Rabbit
5. She Is My Lady
6. East End, West End
7. Morning Glory
8. Gypsy Jello
9. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child
10. Oh! Mary Don't You Weep
11. Thumper
12. Multiplication

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Dexter Wansel - Life On Mars

Dexter Wansel is an American keyboardist, born in Bryn Mawr Pennsylvania and raised in North- Philadelphia , Pennsylvania. He contributed to the development of the "Philly Sound" and worked with producers Gamble and Huff at Philadelphia International Records. Wansel led the musical group "Yellow Sunshine". He has worked with Phyllis Hyman, The Jacksons, MFSB, Teddy Pendergrass, Patti Labelle, Grover Washington Jr, Junior, JeffMajors and Lou Rawls amongst many others. He also wrote The Jones Girls 1981 soul music classic "Nights over Egypt" and Patti Labelle's 1984 #1 R&B hit "If Only You Knew" with Cynthia Biggs. His "Theme from the Planets" has been heavily sampled and was featured on the breakbeat compilation "Ultimate Breaks and Beats".

Whilst Wansel was relatively unknown outside the USA, many have suggested that his influence on music as both a producer and performer in the mid-1970s lead to the development of the New Age Soul and jazz funk sounds which transformed the US and European music scene. His most successful album was called Life On Mars, released on the Philadelphia International record label in 1976. Wansel played keyboards, Derek Graves provided the bass line whilst a session singer hired by Wansel named Terri Wells was on vocals. The remaining sound was filled in by Dexter's rhythm section called The Planets featuring Darryl Brown, Calvin Harris, Bobby Malach, Al Harrison and the aforementioned Derek Graves.

During the 2nd half of the 1970s, Space travel and sci-fi were important themes in the ambiant US culture and therefore in funk, jazz, and Jazz-funk (see Herbie Hancock's thrust, George Clinton's Mothership, etc.) and were reflected in in Dexter's titles and music. Listening to other tracks on the album, like 'Stargazer', 'Theme from the Planets' and 'Rings of Saturn', it can be seen quite clearly that a space theme runs through his music. His straight-ahead Fatback-funk like 'Funk Attack' on the 1979 album 'Time is Slipping Away' and the now popular 'I'll never forget (my favourite disco)' have stood the test of time. Instrumental, almost classical, arrangements appear on the album 'Voyager' from 1978. In addition to this he presented a strong discotheque theme with 'Disco Lights' from the album 'What The World is Coming To' 1977 and jazzfunk such as 'Latin Love' on the album 'Voyager' 1978 or 'Ode Infinitum' on the 'What The World Is Coming To' album.

He has produced and recorded many soul ballads including the 'Time is Slipping Away' title track, 'New Beginning' on that same album, 'Sweetest Pain' which was sampled by The Solid Doctor for his triphop-track 'Lights On The Vibe' and 'You Can Be What You Wanna Be' from 1976. He also co-wrote and produced the Pieces of a Dream (band) track called 'Warm Weather' - a smooth soul sound often played by Robbie Vincent on his Sunday night radio shows on BBC Radio 1.

He entered the music charts with 'Sweetest Pain' in 1979 and 'Solutions' a year earlier in 1978. He also made a reggae track called 'Going Back To Kingston Town' in 1977.

Dexter Wansel played and produced with and for Teddy Pendergrass, The Jones Girls (who were guest vocalists on his solo albums), MFSB (Mother, Father, Sister, Brother) and singer Patti Labelle

Dexter Wansel
Life On Mars

Label: Philadelphia International Records
Catalog#: PZ 34079
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Released: 1976
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: Funk, Disco

Tracklisting:
A1 A Prophet Named K.G. (4:20)
A2 Life On Mars (5:50)
A3 Together Once Again (4:23)
A4 Stargazer (3:20)
B1 One Million Miles From The Ground (5:00)
B2 You Can Be What You Wanna Be (5:04)
B3 Theme From The Planets (4:53)
B4 Rings Of Saturn (3:43)

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Bunny Sigler - Keep Smilin'

Bunny Sigler (born Walter Sigler, 27 March 1941, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a pop and R&B songwriter and record producer who has done extensive work with the team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and who was instrumental in creating the "Philly Sound" in the early 1970s. He is nicknamed "Mr. Emotion."

Sigler has worked with most of the artists associated with the Philadelphia stable including The O'Jays, The Roots, Jackie Moore, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, Barbara Mason, Billy Paul, Lou Rawls and Stephanie Mills. He also co-wrote "The Ruler's Back", the opening song on the widely respected and critically acclaimed album The Blueprint by Jay-Z.

Originally a performer, Sigler first recorded for the V-Tone Records label in 1959. He has also recorded for the Decca, Parkway, Gamble, Philadelphia International and Gold Mind labels. Gold Mind, headed by Philly guitarist/writer/producer/arranger Norman Harris was a subsidiary of Salsoul Records.

Walter Sigler sang the "23rd Psalm" at the ceremony awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to the Tuskegee Airmen on March 29, 2007, at the United States Capitol.

Bunny Sigler - Keep Smilin'

01 Shake Your Booty.mp3
02 Picture Us.mp3
03 Keep Smilin'.mp3
04 Things Are Gonna Get Better.mp3
05 I Lied.mp3
06 Things Are Gonna Get Better.mp3
07 Sweeter Than The Berry.mp3
08 Your Love Is Good.mp3
09 Somebody Free.mp3
10 Love Train.mp3

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Hamilton Bohannon

Hamilton Bohannon (born Hamilton Frederick Bohannon, 7 March 1942, in Newnan, Georgia) is an American percussionist, band leader and record producer, who was one of the leading figures in 1970s disco music.

After graduating from Clark College, Atlanta, and playing in local bands, he was hired by Stevie Wonder to be the drummer in his touring band. He moved to Detroit in 1965, and was employed by Motown as band leader and arranger for many of the label’s top acts. When Motown moved from Detroit in 1972, he stayed behind to form his own band.

He signed with Dakar/Brunswick Records, and in early 1973 released the album Stop And Go. This was followed by five more albums for the label over the next two years, on which he perfected his formula of heavy, thudding bass accents and aggressive rhythms. Although several of his tracks were club hits he had limited chart success – however, in 1975 "Disco Stomp" made the Top Ten in the UK, and "Foot Stompin’ Music" later that year scraped into the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B Top 40.

In 1976 Bohannon signed to Mercury Records, and two years later had his biggest success with "Let’s Start The Dance". It made the R&B Top Ten and featured the singer Carolyn Crawford, whose subsequent albums Bohannon went on to produce.

Although he continued to release records through the 1980s, using new vocalists Liz Lands and Altrinna Grayson, he met with diminishing success. Nevertheless, more recently his music has been widely sampled.

Keep On Dancin'
1. Rap On Mr. D.J.
2. Keep On Dancin'
3. Truck Stop
4. Dance With Your Parno
5. Have A Good Day
6. The Fat Man
7. Red Bone
8. South African Man

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Creative Source

Formed 1972, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

Based in Los Angeles, early 70's funk / soul group Creative Source consisted of:

Barbara Berryman, Barbara Lewis, Don Wyatt, Steve Flanagan and Celeste Rose.

Their first album of funky soul, and still a major classic from the early 70s! Creative Source were way more than just a regular soul vocal group from the start -- as they had some superior vocal arrangements from Skip Scarborough, who really gave the group a unique approach that mixed jazz, soul, and funk into a sound that worked off of earlier male/female styles laid down by groups like Friends Of Distinction and the 5th Dimension, but make them work more in a straight soul vein. The group does a classic rendition of Scarborough's "Can't Hide Love", which was a hit for Earth Wind & Fire, plus nice covers of two tracks by Sussex labelmate Bill Withers -- "Who Is He & What Is He To You" and "Let Me In Your Life". Also includes their own "Oh Love", which is a nice groover! And if that's not enough, this CD also includes 5 bonus cuts, with some of their best titles, like "Corazon", "Pass The Feeling On", and "I Want Ya (Loving Me)".

Creative Source
1 You Can't Hide Love (3:19)
Written-By - Skip Scarborough
2 Let Me In Your Life (3:03)
Written-By - Bill Withers
3 Lovesville (3:58)
Written-By - Joe Thomas (10), Mike Stokes
4 You're Too Good To Be True (3:29)
Written-By - Joe Thomas (10), Mike Stokes
5 Wild Flower (4:38)
Written-By - David Richardson (2), Douglas Edwards*
6 Magic Carpet Ride (3:10)
Written-By - John Kay, Rushton Moreve
7 Who Is He And What Is He To You (11:40)
Written-By - Bill Withers, Stan McKenney*
8 Oh Love (3:25)
Written-By - Joe Thomas (10), Mike Stokes
9 Corazón (4:39)
Engineer [Remix] - Orson Lewis Written-By - Carole King
10 Pass The Feeling On (4:53)
Written-By - Joe Thomas (10), Mike Stokes
11 I Want Ya (Loving Me) (3:50)
Written-By - June Gatlin, Skip Scarborough
12 I'd Find You Anywhere (3:17)
Arranged By [Strings & Horns] - Brad Shapiro, Mike Lewis (7)
Arranged By [Vocals] - Creative Source, Earl Thomas (2)
Producer - Brad Shapiro
Written-By - Marilyn McLeod, Pam Sawyer
13 Who Is He And What Is He To You (Single Version) (3:25)
Written-By - Bill Withers, Stan McKenney*

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