Just Enough to Hurt Me. The Astors Story

E. Mark Windle 17 April 2023.

This week marks the passing of singer Curtis Johnson, founding member of Memphis soul group The Astors. They may be one of Stax’s less instantly recognisable acts (at least to a mainstream audience), but their work is very familiar to, and respected by, the UK and European rare soul scenes, beach music fans in the south eastern US states, and among southern soul collectors across the globe. All with good reason; The Astors were there pretty much from the beginning. Witnesses to and participants of the birth of Jim Stewart’s and Estelle Axon’s empire, their talents were undeniable. Close harmonies and strong lead vocal deliveries put Curtis and his friends as much at ease with deep soul balladry as uptempo melody, and The Astors would become not only recording artists in their own right but also a regular go-to for backing other artists on the Stax roster. As was the way with many vocal groups of their era, Vietnam eventually got in the way, national success eluded them and lives went in different directions. Perhaps if not for military drafting, the boys’ tenure at Stax could have lasted the duration of the label’s history? We’ll never know.

Curtis Johnson and I first met while I was researching and collecting oral histories for Rhythm Message. He struck me as a quiet, unassuming man, who was surprised but pleased at the transatlantic interest in his own and his friends’ life stories, professional careers and the contribution they made to the soul music industry. Curtis embraced the opportunity to talk about the old days with me over a series of interviews back in 2014, and the article which follows here is the result.

During the years that succeeded Rhythm Message I toyed with the idea of an even deeper exploration of The Astors story as a full book project, and a few months ago we connected again to pursue the idea properly. This time, Curtis’ health issues were apparent, and he feared his now fading memory would not do the project justice. Another sad reminder of the urgent need for documentation and preservation of our music history, before it’s lost forever.

*

“Orange Mound was and still is a community of families, churches, and businesses with a whole lot of civic pride”, says Curtis Johnson. “As children growing up there, we genuinely felt that pride. We enjoyed the love and support of families in a community that was like a miniature self-sufficient Memphis. Parents watched out for other neighbours’ children – including correcting them where necessary!”

Orange Mound, one of the first districts to be purpose-built by and for the black community in Tennessee, was constructed in the 1890s on former plantation-owner property. As a source of affordable housing, African-Americans heading into Memphis from the surrounding rural areas in search of work sought to settle here, and Curtis’ family were among those who arrived post Depression.

“My story in music begins in the mid 1950s, when some friends and I from Melrose High School decided to form a group. I already had a bit of experience in church vocal groups. That was my grandmother’s doing – she played piano, sang in church and directed the choirs. I also took piano lessons from a local music teacher as a child, and played horn in the Melrose High band. Eliehue Stanbeck was musically as active as me. We were classmates, and became close friends. Often we’d get together after school to mess around and harmonize old doo-wop songs, just for fun.

Sometime in 1958 we heard about a guy in our community called Herman “Red” Arnett who was planning to audition students for a teenage vocal group. Red had been a piano player with several bands in various Memphis nightspots and was setting up auditions after school at his home in Orange Mound. What the heck, Eliehue and I thought. Let’s try out.

It was at these auditions where we met Sam Jones, Richard Harris, Richard Griffin, and George Harper, four other black guys who’d been singing with their own doo-wop groups. Red auditioned other kids, but he kept inviting the six of us to come back for months of rehearsals. Christened The Duntinos, we started to put ourselves about: auditioning at clubs, and performing at talent shows and school functions. The Duntinos started to gain a bit of a reputation around town, though Richard Griffin and George Harper eventually left the group for one reason or another. Red managed us for a while, but soon he was back on the circuit playing piano again and so he had to move on.”

The Duntinos’ next mentor came in the form of Rufus Thomas, while still performing weekly gigs at The Plantation Inn, clubs around West Memphis and Arkansas, and at Club Handy on Beale St. in Memphis.

“We knew Rufus by competing on a few talent shows with his daughter Carla and some other local artists. Rufus seemed to take a shine to us. At the time he was a popular radio personality at WDIA, as well as a comedian and singer, and everyone around town knew of him. He had a band that toured around the Memphis area and started taking us on gigs to open his own show. Under the tutelage of Rufus, we were taught stage showmanship (he was master), and he helped us make our rounds to local recording studios, including Sun Records.

None were really interested in signing us at that point, though they were quick to take our material. Without a real manager, we handled most of our business ourselves and didn’t really know what we were doing. Sometimes we’d be strung along by a label for a while. Our lyrics and melodies would be stolen, because we were wet behind the ears as far as the copyrighting process was concerned.”

Next up was a brief spell in New York, as The Duntinos were still hunting for a recording contract:

“My mother, younger sister Dorothy and brother Harold had lived in Buffalo, N.Y. Since we hadn’t been able to get a recording deal in Memphis, Eliehue, Richard Harris, Sam, and I decided to go out to Buffalo for the summer after my school graduation. We had hopes of getting a break there. New York was apparently where good things were happening for young entertainers, and we thought we might have a better chance on the east coast. What we didn’t realize at the time was that Buffalo was nearly 500 miles from New York City! Needless to say, we didn’t have much luck in there. We played the bars and taverns, earning tips and working odd jobs during the day. We stuck it out for a bit, but Richard and Sam had to return to Memphis at the end of the summer break to finish their schooling.

On his return, Carla Thomas contacted Sam about a new recording studio that had opened in an old theatre building in south Memphis. Carla said she and Rufus were getting ready to record there, and advised Sam he might want to check it out. So he did, and felt this could be our big opportunity, here right on our doorstep. Sam urged Eliehue and me to come straight back home – Rufus was keen to use us on backup vocals for a recording session he and Carla had lined up. With options in Buffalo running out fast it was a no brainer. We returned to Memphis, and Rufus introduced us to Jim Stewart and that was that. In no time we were signed up with Satellite Records, and began a stint of regular backup vocal work for Rufus and Carla, Nick Charles and others. After a period of time, Satellite’s session guitarist, songwriter and producer Chips Moman suggested to Jim Stewart that he’d like to produce some of our songs. We recorded two with him.”

Those tracks were “You Make Me Feel So Good”, penned by Curtis who sang lead vocal, and “As You Can See”, written by Eliehue Stanback, with Eliehue on lead. Both songs featured on their first 45 (Satellite S-105) released under the new group name, The Chips – clearly Moman’s idea. The record failed to make any great waves, and later that year, Curtis had to serve in the United States Air Force. They did their best to maintain momentum. On home leave, Curtis would meet up with the others to write and rehearse songs for booked sessions for Satellite, over two or three days at a time. In 1963, and after a final name change to The Astors, “What Can It Be” was released on Satellite’s successor imprint – Stax – backed with “Just Enough to Hurt Me” (Stax S-139), written by Larry Lee, with Curtis on lead.

“Larry Lee lived just a few doors from the Stax studio. He’d introduce his songs to us when I came home on leave. We’d work them up with him then introduce them as an option to Jim Stewart. Other songs of Lee’s we recorded during that period, but not released until the 1990s were “A Woman Who Needs The Love Of A Man” and “Uncle Willie Good Time”, released on “4000 Volts Of Stax” (Stax CDSXD 107) and “Be My Lady” on “Do The Crossover Baby” (Kent CDKEND105). Larry Lee later played guitar with Jimi Hendrix at the Woodstock Festival, and spent over 20 years as Al Green’s on-the-road guitarist and band leader.”

Unlike other acts who recorded for Stax, particularly later in the decade, The Astors’ output was often focussed on group harmonies, with instrumentation complementing but not dominating the vocal performance. “Just Enough to Hurt Me” typified this approach, providing a magnificent mid-tempo track reminiscent of The Impressions, sitting on the cusp of doo-wop and soul. This record is both rare and in-demand, carrying one of the heaviest collector price tags on the Stax imprint. Demand for this 45 has primarily been from US group harmony and early soul collectors, although in recent years has also attracted the interest of UK and European rare soul collectors.

The Astors’ biggest hit for the label was “Candy” (Stax S-170) backed with “I Found Out”, reaching number 12 on the Billboard top 100 charts in 1965. “Candy” was written by Steve Cropper and Isaac Hayes, and its success, particularly in the south eastern states gave the group a promotional boost, performing across the US in Philadelphia, Chicago and at the Apollo in New York. The Astors also took up a number of TV appearances during this period.

“That song was our biggest record, and another one that was recorded while I was home on military leave. It really seemed to take off regionally, then started moving up across the national record charts, but I wasn’t able to tour until I was blessed with an honourable ‘Early-Out’ discharge from USAF, due to the government closing the base where I was stationed. We first performed at the Uptown Theatre in Philadelphia, PA for ten days, doing three shows per day. We shared the line-up with The O’Jays, The Coasters, Esther “Little Esther” Phillips, The Knight Brothers, Bessie Griffin and The Gospel Pearls and Redd Foxx. While we were there, we were sorted with a manager (Herb Nahan, an auto dealer) and a Chrysler Station wagon, and signed with Ruth Bowen of the Queen Booking Agency for more gigs. The Astors toured other venues (mostly in the north-east) with Chuck Berry, Major Lance, Walter Jackson, Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions and several others. We spent several weeks on tour with The James Brown Review too. We also played The Apollo Theater in New York, The Regal Theater in Chicago and The Howard Theater in Washington, DC. All seven to ten day stands. Later we made a return ten day stand at The Uptown Theater with James Brown.

Things were really looking up for us now. During the summer of 1965 we flew from the east coast to Los Angeles to meet up with some of the other Stax artists and spent thirteen days filming “Where The Action Is” (a Dick Clark TV production), and appearing on music variety shows like Shivaree, Shebang and Hollywood-A-Go-Go. In the evenings there would be performances with Billy Preston on Sunset Strip, and at the 5-4 Ballroom with Rufus, Carla Thomas, Booker T & MG’s, William Bell, The Mad-Lads and Wilson Pickett. This was all recorded and ultimately released on “Funky Broadway: Stax Live At The 5/4 Ballroom” (SCD-8567-2).

The story about the Stax artists getting stranded in LA for days when the Watts riots broke out is well documented now, but we were lucky and managed to return home just before everything properly blew up. Before long we were back in the studio, recording our fourth release, the moody “In the Twilight Zone” (Stax S-179), penned by Isaac Hayes, Dave Porter and Sidney Bailey, and with me on lead vocal again. We returned to touring for a while and opened at a large new Memphis nightclub called The Hippodrome, We had a bit of a residency there and performed nightly for several months. We were there with a group of young elementary school musicians, our backup band, that were to become The Bar-Kays. Two more songs were recorded in 1967 at Stax with my brother Harold Johnson, after Richard Harris left the group for a while to spend more time with his family: namely “Daddy Didn’t Tell Me” written by Booker T. Jones, and “More Power to You” (Stax 45-232) written by David Porter and me.

Sam and Eliehue didn’t escape their turn to be drafted into the Army. The rest of us tried performing as a three member group for a while before deciding to go our own separate ways. The time at Stax opened a few doors for me. I took up a song writing position for the local division of Mercury Records, and became producer and director of “A&R R&B products”. I wrote for and produced a number of Mercury artists, including Margie Hendricks and Bobby Hebb. In 1969 Harold and I helped form a group of singers and musicians called Brothers Unlimited. This huge (fourteen member) group toured the Gulf Coast cities and local Memphis nightclubs. We recorded an album, “Who’s For The Young” which Capitol Records released in 1970, and in much later years was reissued by Fallout Records. The group continued to perform until disco came along and we disbanded. I decided to move to Buffalo.

In 1975 Sam Jones, Harold “Quake” Johnson, John “Cousey” Harris, (one of the founders of Brothers Unlimited) and I set up our own production company, Funk Factory Productions Inc., and Funk Factory Publishing Co., operating out of Dayton Ohio, Buffalo, and Memphis. In the late seventies the four of us came together in Buffalo, and produced, recorded and released “Wake Up (You’re Sleeping A Bit Too Late)” backed with “If You Ain’t Got No Money (You Can’t Get No Honey)” (Funk Factory Records FFA1001), under the name The C.Q.C’S. (Curtis-Quake-Cousey-Sam).

The Astors hadn’t performed on stage together since 1968. Around 2013 we were asked by Tim Sampson, Communications Director at the Soulsville Foundation, to perform at the 4th Annual Stax To The Max Festival in the grounds of the Stax Museum, Stax Music Academy, Soulsville Foundation, and Soulsville Charter School. We were very honoured, but hesitated because we hadn’t performed together (other than at birthdays or family get togethers) for over forty-five years. We talked it over and decided it would be fun. We put in the time necessary to get back in shape musically for the show and had fun times in rehearsals, and recalling the old days at Stax with the students at Soulsville. As far as the show April 28, 2013 was concerned, it was a thrill to be back on stage together again. Our children, grandchildren, and even some of our spouses had never seen us perform on stage live before. It was just a truly wonderful and humbling experience which I’m extremely thankful for.”

(Copyright 2023) E. Mark Windle is an independent freelance writer and biographer. He has also worked as a senior writer with Story Terrace (London, UK), and for Sheridan Hill / Real Life Stories LLC (North Carolina, USA). To discuss potential project commissions reach out to Mark via https://windlefreelance.com/contact/

The Yorkshire Soul Connection: an Interview with Garry Cape

E. Mark Windle April 2023.

When I asked reissue / retrospective soul label owner Garry Cape about the motivating factors for his 2020 return to the soul market with the reactivation of his Hit and Run label series, issues of mortality seemed to be at the top of the list:

“I guess it had something to do with my good friend John Anderson becoming ill and passing away recently. It made me think. I’d had some health issues a few years back. What if I was gone? I generally work alone. So I’m sitting on a bunch of unreleased recordings that would potentially never see the light of day, and that would be a real shame.”

ORIGINS

The Garry J. Cape story starts in the early to mid-1960s. His name well known among music fans and record collectors across a number of scenes, both through independent activities and his collaborations with John Anderson. I read a comment somewhere that the soul scene found these two individuals, not the other way around; reflecting their eclectic taste for a wide range of deep sweet and southern soul, some which fitted the northern scene perfectly, even if not by design:

“Where do I start? I have an interest in all things Americana. My first entry into the world of soul in the 1960s was an appreciation of American music through hearing cover versions by UK artists on the radio and TV as a school kid. My longer-term interest was probably initiated by the Stax and Atlantic R&B releases of the time. I was at that age where you wanted to stand out as an individual. While most of my friends were interested in Detroit and Chicago sounds, it felt like I was the only around who was fully immersed in southern soul, and I was doing that by buying imports.

Most kids I knew who were into soul would go straight to the Dave Godin pages when the Blues and Soul magazine came out. For me, it was the John Abbey section. Southern soul was his thing, and his perspectives struck a chord with what I was listening to at the time. Soon buying vinyl from Ernie Young’s Nashville mail-order company, and Stan’s in Shreveport, Louisiana. It took an age to order and receive these records from the States, but I was still generally picking them before any had a chance to be issued on UK labels. And so I turned my hand to buying and selling records to schoolmates.”

ERNIE’S RECORD MART

Eventually Garry left school to work for the civil service in the tax office, while continuing to deal in record sales on an informal, part time basis. The first move toward reissuing music likely originated from his mail order dealings with Ernie Young in Nashville. Young owned the legendary Excello records, home of licensed-in swamp blues as well as locally produced R&B, gospel and soul music.

Ernie’s Record Mart was located on 179 Third Avenue. Young (the uncle of WSOK founder Cal Young) was primarily interested in selling records but used his own shop to set up the gospel orientated Nashboro record label and then Excello a year later. Excello was to become one of the most successful and prolific Nashville early R&B labels. Ted Jarrett, in his biography “You Can Make It If You Try”, commented on the cramped conditions artists had for recording at Ernie’s place; gospel would be recorded on the bottom floor of the shop with a simple microphone set up, and R&B upstairs in a small room. DJ Morgan Babb would broadcast his show from Ernie Young’s record shop window in the early 1950s, and at its peak a decade or so later, around a thousand mail orders were processed on a daily basis, including soul 45s sent to collectors in the UK and Europe.

Garry Cape with southern soul singer Ollie Nightingale (1993).

JOHN RICHBOURG, WLAC AND SOUND STAGE 7 RECORDS

A symbiotic relationship existed between Ernie Young and DJ John Richbourg who worked for Nashville’s WLAC radio station, one of the first in the US to broadcast R&B. Since the 1940s WLAC had a 50,000 wattage broadcasting capability, enabling twenty-eight states to receive a signal; reaching parts of Canada and the tip of Southern Florida.

The primary intention of WLAC from the outset was to serve the relatively untapped black audience across the deep south. As “race music” became labelled R&B, Richbourg would run night-time shows, when the broadcasting signal was strongest. The coverage by WLAC had, in a literal sense, far-reaching effects. The station played a major part in giving teenagers – black and white – access to soul music in the south, and Richbourg would promote Ernie Young’s record mail order business on air.

Richbourg first got a taste for the recording business by using WLAC’s studio facilities to record gospel music, then gradually other facilities at Stax and American Recording Studios in nearby Memphis. His preference moved progressively towards recording R&B and soul acts, both for his own label in the early 1960s, and for lease to third party labels, culminating in a partnership with Monument owner Fred Foster which took the Sound Stage 7 label to great heights.

In terms of soul music releases, Sound Stage 7 was certainly one of the most prolific to come out of Nashville, featuring Joe Simon, Ann Sexton, Roscoe Shelton, Roscoe Robinson, Jackey Beavers, The Avons, The Valentines, Latimore Brown and several others. Richbourg’s production and artist management skills and activities were pooled under the J.R. Enterprises banner. Raw local talent and in-leasing of artists from other parts of Tennessee and the cities of the north ensured longevity for the label.

A departure from WLAC occurred in 1973 after disagreeing with the station’s decision to change musical programming towards a mainstream pop format. Richbourg’s attention turned to creating new labels, Seventy Seven and Sound Plus. He was still utilising some artists from the Sound Stage 7 days, but also finding new singers like Ann Sexton. As he owned the old masters as part of the severance deal with Fred Foster (when Foster decided to close the label to concentrate on his country music interests), he was also in a position to reissue tracks. This is where John Richbourg and Garry Cape connected professionally.

COLLABORATION WITH JOHN RICHBOURG ON SOUND STAGE 7 AND SOUND PLUS IMPRINTS

“I’d already been doing quite a bit of business with John Richbourg by mail starting in the mid-1970s. At that point I was about the only English dealer selling to Japan”, Garry remembers. “He started reissuing a lot of deep soul from Sound Stage 7 on his Sound Plus label. I also developed a market in Holland with the Surinam guys who were into the same stuff and was buying thousands of Sound Plus 45s from him by this time.”

“I met John face to face in Louisiana in 1978. He had a brother in New Orleans, so he drove down from Nashville and we had spent some time together. He was a great guy, always very courteous. He tried to sell me his masters but I declined.  Seems kinda nuts now but at that time he’d just leased them to Japan who had produced a range of related LPs. I also had J.R. repress several things for me which he had not already done. Sometimes they would be on Sound Plus. Sometimes they would end up being on his other label Seventy Seven as he had thousands of untitled labels which he needed to use up! I recall having him press me 5,000 copies of Ann Sexton – I sold half of them in the UK for the Northern side and the others in Holland and Japan for the deep flip.”

BLACK GRAPE AND HIT & RUN

Now in his late twenties, Garry had to make a career decision. “I was at the point where I was ready to take on record dealing full time. I’ve never liked to be idle and found that I was working on the day job all day and spending every evening selling records. I was young enough to take a risk. I knew I had the income tax career to fall back on if things didn’t work out. For the first few years things went well. I was importing records from the US and selling to the UK, Europe and Japan, trading as Black Grape.”

Hit and Run, the first Cape-owned imprint, was also established during this time. Garry was in touch with Stewart Madison of Alarm Records in Shreveport, Louisiana. Madison would eventually move onto Malaco, and Garry does not deny the impact Madison had on opening various doors to artists and unreleased material over subsequent decades.

For Hit and Run 5001 “Married Lady” / “Are You Living With The One You’re Loving With?” by Murco recording artist Eddie Giles was chosen. Both sides did see a 45rpm release in 1973 (Alarm 106), though most subsequent releases would consist of unissued songs from Bobby Sheen, Bobby Patterson, Erma Shaw and others.

“Hit and Run has always been around, I’ve always kind of had it as a label. Pressing runs were usually around 500 each time. A short series of 45rpm releases also appeared on Special Agent. I did these for the Dutch market, who were interested in deep soul and I’d been asked for certain recordings. For that reason I kept the imprint separate from Hit and Run. It was basically more of a straight-forward business arrangement providing a service for a third party, and carried releases from artists like the Ohio Players, Herman Hitson, Johnny Adams and Percy Milem. Eventually I had issues with the people from Holland, and things came to an end when they started sourcing their own artists.”

By the early 1980s, Garry was finding it harder to sell 45s. He returned to his income tax career, and thought it was time to sell his stock:

“In my head at the time I just wanted out of the game. I attempted to sell it all to Soulbowl but even John (Anderson) was finding it hard for while. So, it was another ten years back in the tax office full-time, with little activity in the soul music business for me. Then in the mid-nineties the tax office were scaling things down – they offered a decent redundancy package, and I took that to start importing 45s again in 1996.

JOHN ANDERSON AND THE GRAPEVINE 2000 PROJECTS

“Both John Anderson and I were importing stuff together over thirty years, going back and forward to the US. We kept running into each other because of the nature of the work and we’d turn up at the same music festivals. We both had stuff that we wanted to put out. I’d say the two individuals who have influenced my career directions in the soul label field have been John Abbey and John Anderson. I was never into hardcore northern soul as such and didn’t necessarily follow John Anderson from the angle of digging for hard to find 45s. But he was like an older brother to me who I respected and admired for the business he had established over the decades.”

“A ‘new’ Grapevine label seemed to be a logical vehicle for our collaboration. Initially John wasn’t keen on the idea, thinking Grapevine imprint was done and dusted as a concept. But I felt that adopting the name would be a positive. Eventually we settled on Grapevine 2000. We became formal business partners setting up the Grapevine Music Group and released over sixty 45s and thirty-five CDs over a seven-year period. Grapevine only came to an end, when John had a desire to move into more contemporary recordings. Soul Junction was started to deal with this product. I eventually came out of it and Dave Welding stepped in with John to continue the label.”

Grapevine 2000 would showcase an eclectic mix of recordings including rare 1960s soul such as The Magnetics and The Servicemen, and unissued or hard-to-find 1970s / modern soul recordings such as Guitar Ray, Sandra Wright and Choice of Colour.

SOULSCAPE CD SERIES

The Soulscape CD series was to be the next venture for Garry, aiming towards a southern soul market:

“I had access to the master tapes from Malaco. They had purchased the songs owned by Muscle Shoals Sound song writers. I found all these song writer demos – literally thousands of them. Admittedly certain tracks you only needed to hear for five seconds and – wow – no thanks. But lots of great quality material too. Listening through all the tapes was a hard slog but I am particularly proud of getting two albums out on George Jackson and another two by Philip Mitchell, both presenting recordings from their 1972-74 period. Another achievement for me was finding Mary Gresham. Previously she was unheard of; she did have a couple of singles out but they were by her and her ex-husband. There are some great tracks on her album ‘Voice from the Shadows’ (Soulscape SSCD7008). I released a couple of them on 45: ‘I’ll Never Let You Walk Alone Again’ / ‘You’ve Never Really Loved Until You’ve Loved Someone’ (Hit and Run 1501).”

“I don’t think I have any product which didn’t turn out the way I wished. I’m not going to put something out if I don’t have faith in it. Otherwise it just isn’t worth the effort. Also to be fair I had a lot of quality material at my disposal. As I was in and around the Shoals area generally, other doors opened up for me which gave me access to future projects. I could never break into the FAME thing though as I think Rick Hall was holding out for too high a price for his stuff. Despite that, the Soulscape series was pretty successful, and I ended up doing thirty-one CD titles in the end.”

REACTIVATING HIT & RUN

“I returned to the Hit and Run label in 2009. I was still getting calls about the Soulscape CDs and being asked if had I any plans about doing some 45s from them. So I put out a few which did well. A heart attack around that time though required a change in what I was doing. Health professionals were telling me to cool off a little. I was constantly travelling to the US, maybe four or five times a year and always on the go. I had to make some lifestyle changes. I still kept an ear to the soul scene but slowed right down. People would keep asking for the old Soulscape CDs, vinyl and the possibility of releasing more tracks. But again I was out of it….until now. John Anderson’s passing made me reflect on my position. I’ve nearly always worked alone, and somebody needs to put this stuff out in case it’s lost forever. With that, the Hit and Run label is now reactivated from 2020.”

“The focus has always been southern soul, featuring recordings taken from previously unreleased master tapes and occasionally from ultra-rare 45s. I’m now excited to get this product out. It’s a different selling landscape now compared to the 1970s and 1980s. I like the idea of working through social media and the internet as opposed to the wholesale world I used to operate in. It keeps me in touch directly with the buying market, and nice to build an interested customer base on social media. The idea for me at the end of the day is not to earn a huge income – at my age and situation I’m comfortable enough. But I like to keep busy. I’m not one to sit still and the passion for soul music is still very much there. My goal and dream now is just to get the music out there and heard.”

(Copyright 2020, updated 2023). E. Mark Windle is a freelance writer and biographer, working independently, as a senior writer with Story Terrace (London, UK), and for Sheridan Hill / Real Life Stories LLC (North Carolina, USA). Contact him via https://windlefreelance.com/contact/

Life Stories, the Ghostwriter, and Authenticity: Finding Voice and Personality

E. Mark Windle 29 March 2023.

In the metaphorical sense, writers are obsessed with finding voice. Whether it’s their own for a self-penned memoir, an imaginary character in fiction writing, or for brand representation in commercial copy, the goal is to tell a story that is believable, relatable, representative of the subject and always deserving of the reader’s attention.

In ghostwritten biographies, conveying a voice that authentically represents the client is nothing short of vital. That first person narrative has to go beyond literal displays of inflection, dialect and pronunciation, even though some of that may well reach the page. Ultimately what we are referring to is capturing personality. Nailing a succinct definition is tough: the American Psychological Association describes personality as “the enduring characteristics and behaviour that comprise a person’s unique adjustment to life, including interests, drives, values, self-concept, abilities, and emotional patterns.” In part, it’s derived from values instilled in us as children, through learned behaviour, life events and societal expectations.

Some character traits that make up personality (particularly opinion, beliefs and values), are not as static as one might assume. One of my interviewees, a therapist who has experienced a life full of challenging events, astutely observed that her resilience came about through a continuous semi-conscious activity of reflection on experiences, and internalisation of lessons learned. Examples of this kind of re-evaluation are obvious in more mature years (consider religious curiosity, or mortality-related beliefs—is this it? Is there an afterlife?), although it happens throughout the entire life cycle.

Accepting that character traits can be fluid, how does the ghostwriter capture their client’s personality? Establishing rapport at the beginning of the interview process is clearly a top priority. Without it there is no transparency. The subject should feel safe, and be at ease with exposing thoughts, emotions, or dilemmas that are mentally battled with daily. A sound client-writer match is critical, as is the introductory session, where care can be taken to explain why both parties are a good fit, to answer queries or concerns, and provide reassurances of discretion. A firm relationship of trust and openness is required to find that window to the soul.

Getting a feel for voice and personality in the interview situation itself also demands close attention to verbal and non-verbal cues. As a tangible point of reference, speech is a good starting point. Dialect, accent, habitual phrases, whispering delivery and authoritative vocal projection all provide instant identity, as does the dialogue in respect of expressed social beliefs and values, or political tone. Some nuances can be easily transposed to text but be wary of falling into the trap of over-writing mannerisms and assuming stereotype. The knack is to present the uniqueness of the subject, not to pigeonhole.

Cocktail hour stories (as one of my US editors refers to them) are anecdotes which will be very familiar to immediate family, friends and acquaintances. These are the that yarns get an airing at every social gathering, especially where there’s a new audience to be had. The writer-client interview is no exception. The reason behind their repetition usually lies in some form of mental connect, particularly when the storyteller is a central feature of the tale. These stories are a semi-conscious or conscious way of displaying or amplifying various self-perceived attributes (such as humour, sarcasm, vulnerability or strength) and form part of the subject’s “voice”. At least some of these cocktail hour stories then are worthy of going in the pot.

Remote interviewing is frequently used in biographical ghost-writing scenarios, by reason of logistics (or in our recent pandemic times, due to social distancing necessity). Zoom sessions offer convenience and accessibility but have limitations—theatrical room set-ups or sitting in a broom cupboard for the sake of a decent Wi-Fi connection are the kind of things that mask insight. There’s really no substitute for in-person interviewing. The storyteller’s own physical space can inform character as much as dialogue. Conducting interviews in their environment provides an opportunity to take note of sights, smells and sensations that contribute to the bigger picture. Scenes of peaceful ambience or domestic disarray may reflect personal life status. Even seemingly incidental inanimate objects like furniture, paintings, or that crucifix on the wall can steer the line of inquiry. I discovered this during a series of sessions one freezing winter, holed up in a work yard Portakabin with my family business-owner client. Just being present in that setting imparted a sense of place and person, as did the dozens of treasured photographs, bills, newspaper clippings and accolades that lined the walls of this tiny space. These effects reflected family origin stories, the contribution made by ancestors to get the client to where he is now, and the company’s achievements and challenges.

Biographical writing involves a range of skills: research, interpersonal communication, peripheral observation, and of course creative process. The goal of the ghostwriter’s craft is to articulate a life story that’s not only accurate and immersive, but conveys the storyteller’s spirit, while the ghost disappears into the ether. Find the client’s voice, and you’re halfway there.

(Copyright 2023). E. Mark Windle is a freelance writer and biographer, working independently, as a senior writer with Story Terrace (London, UK), and for Sheridan Hill / Real Life Stories LLC (North Carolina, USA). Contact him via https://windlefreelance.com/contact/

Moral Code, or F**k it? Hancock, the Lockdown Files and the Art of Breaching Non-Disclosure Agreements

E. Mark Windle 4 March 2023

Right, let’s get this straight. The creation and implementation of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is to guard privileged trade or personal information. As such, it is one way of interpreting the UK’s Data Protection Act, which gives individuals and organisations the right to privacy, and control over how divulged information is used. From a ghostwriter’s or biographer’s perspective, NDAs are a necessary part of the day job when working with clients. In some cases, as with mutually agreed (or “two-way”) NDAs used in commercial situations, it can even protect the rights of both parties.

The theme of NDAs and writer responsibilities to uphold their terms has raised its head most recently as a result of the kerfuffle between former Health Secretary Matt Hancock and political journalist / writer Isabel Oakeshott. The leak of over 100,000 WhatsApp messages by Oakeshott and The Telegraph has led to a mountain of potentially far-reaching incriminations, adding to Hancock’s already tainted reputation during and since the Covid pandemic. This week’s main talking point from the leaks has been his rejection of advice presented by Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty to test all residents going into care homes in England. A matter denied by Hancock but as yet to be elucidated.

While there may be a legal and moral obligation for writers to work within the confines of an NDA, there are no shortage of examples where they have been used in malevolent ways; ensuring that the dirty linen of unscrupulous commercial or institutional entities are kept firmly in the wash box, and that mouths of employees or contracted individuals are zipped tightly shut. The fact that in 2019, Matt Hancock pledged to remove NDAs used in the NHS, with the intention of giving whistle-blowers the freedom to speak out about concerns within the organisation, is an irony and at odds with his behaviour now.

As far as Isabel Oakeshott is concerned, I reckon I could easily pick out those individuals from a crowd who would rather exert their knee-jerk attack on her integrity as a journalist than defend her actions for what may turn out to be the greater good. Possibly the same people who feel Matt Hancock was only doing his job to the best of his abilities in unprecedented times. Hmm.

Either way, both parties are equally unwholesome. Only sinners and no saints feature in WhatsAppgate. Along with her professional relationship with Michael Ashcroft and Biteback Publishing, the company that published Hancock’s memoir, Oakeshott’s past trail of scandal-mongery was already strewn, with – yes – more leaking of Tweets, text messages and emails. Then again, that only makes the current situation more odd in that Hancock thought it a wise move to share all with this particular individual for his book.

And hang on a minute. At present we don’t know the actual nature of what the NDA terms were, or the fine detail of how they were breached. Pro-Hancock Oakeshott-haters shouldn’t forget that breaching an NDA can be legally upheld if failure to disclose information would otherwise stash a criminal act out of sight, or if the exposed content could be used as evidence in court. The problem is that these are often retrospective legal findings; telling all is a risk that the potential exposer has to weigh up themselves before taking the leap. Let’s see how Oakeshott’s “in the public interest” argument stands up in court. The Telegraph has reportedly been sifting through the messages for months. How much content is an indictment of Hancock’s own or other colleagues’ past actions will all come out in the wash over time.

The legal ramifications of a data breach, as all journalists, newspapers and publishers are acutely aware, can include a court injunction to stop further bean-spilling as a minimum. Then there are a couple of biggies; a client claim for damages, or a fine imposed by the Information Commissioner’s Office of up to £17.5 million for misprocessing of personal information, including data leaking. No doubt damages will be one hole Hancock is going down, but you can bet Oakeshott and The Telegraph have their backsides covered.

There’s no question that elements of the Data Protection Act and the GDPR relating to the non-sharing of data, and the collection and processing of minimum information required “for purpose only” have been contravened. But there is something to consider about the spirit of the law. Let’s not forget Hancock and the Tories have a lot answer for. Where to even start? The care home scandal, denials about national shortage or distribution issues of PPE (those who know, know – I was working in ICU at the time), NHS staff “rewarded” with a 1% pay rise (actually a cut below the rate of inflation), test and trace contracts worth billions of pounds dished out to Tory pals. Oh, and there’s the matter of an extra marital snog with an aide on CCTV during social distancing restrictions.

Let’s just hope the Scales of Justice prevail, unless of course Lady Justice herself is in on the act.

(Copyright 2023). E. Mark Windle is a freelance writer and biographer, working independently, as a senior writer with Story Terrace (London, UK), and for Sheridan Hill / Real Life Stories LLC (North Carolina, USA). Contact him via https://windlefreelance.com/contact/

North Broad Street Records: Lovemasters “If You See Kate” / “Let’s Stay Together”

E. Mark Windle 2nd September 2022.

As North Broad Street Records goes from strength to strength, September sees the arrival of the seventh vinyl release in their series of quality previously unissued soul recordings. NBS 007 takes us to the Windy City for two fine tracks by the group who previously gave us a northern soul classic on Jacklyn Records.

A key figure in this particular origin story is West Yorkshire record collector and DJ Dave Box. When Dave passed away in 2018, the UK soul community lost a vital connection with some of the finest Chicago soul artists of all time. Boxy’s involvement on the soul scene goes further back than most—Normanton Baths soul nights from 1967, the all-nighters which followed in the early 1970s, and in more recent years, the Wilton and Frobisher events. Dave’s close friendship with a number of recording artists culminated in some UK stage appearances which discerning soul fans had only dreamed of experiencing. His commitment to the scene was unyielding, and the legacy continues with this latest release by North Broad Street.

The Lovemasters are of course best known for their solitary 45 release “Pushin’ and Pullin’ ”. Considering the record has been known to soul fans and collectors for decades, it’s ironic that the group’s history has only come to light in relatively recent years. In 2009 the late, great Chicago collector Bob Abrahamian managed to track down and secure an interview with founder member Edith Andrews for his Sitting in the Park broadcasts, ensuring that The Lovemasters’ story was documented for posterity.

By the time Edith Andrews had formed The Lovemasters, she’d already amassed a lengthy resume of singing and playing music. Born and raised on Chicago’s South Side, Edith’s love for singing started at school, and her musical ability was nurtured through her teenage years at the Chicago Conservatory of Music where she studied piano. Entry into the world of secular music involved singing doowop hits of the day by The Spaniels, The El Dorados, and The Dells with her classmates, before leaving high school and forming The Tonettes with three of her white co-workers from First National Bank in downtown Chicago.

The girl group fell short of signing to Chanson due to parental concerns over contract wording, and inevitably The Tonettes drifted apart. Determined to stay in the business, Edith placed an advert in the Chicago Defender in 1967 in the quest to find vocalists for a new group. Male or female, it didn’t matter: as long as they were as serious as Edith about trying to make it in the music industry.

Four replied, and three got the job:  James Simmons (baritone), Michael Vonse (lead first tenor / falsetto), and Ronald (Ron) Murray (bass / baritone). A name was chosen—The Toronados, in line with the usual custom of adopting automobile makes of the day—and rehearsals commenced. Within weeks they were approached by a local booking agent looking for a support act for a young Tyrone Davis who was still signed with Four Brothers at the time and due to perform at a ballroom venue on 63rd Street. The Toronados fitted the bill perfectly, and performed mainly Motown covers on stage that night to an appreciative crowd.

Regular gigs followed. Over the next couple of years the addition of musicians Rich Sansky on drums, Willie Riser on bass, and Phil Crow on lead guitar completed the group. Now known as The Lovemasters, bookings took them to some pretty interesting venues around Chicago, including Cook County Jail and a detention centre for boys, but also out of state for the first time to St. Louis, Missouri and various clubs in Iowa.

The Lovemasters’ signing to Jacklyn in the early 1970s was the result of an introduction by a mutual friend to local record producer and businessman Johnny Haygood. Operating from a record store at 2200 East Seventy-Fifth Street, the Jacklyn label was one of Haygood’s many enterprises, named after one of his daughters, and essentially a vehicle to promote the singing talent of his stepson, one Darrow Fletcher. Outside of the family circle, a couple of ‘significant others’ were also associated with the label. Singer-songwriter Johnny Moore and his record producing, song-writing partner Jack Daniels had first worked together on Four Brothers and Bright Star material before arriving at Jacklyn. “Pushin’ and Pullin’ “ was the first record on the label to be credited to Johnny Moore, and was based on a popular dance craze of the time.

That was to be the group’s only release for Jacklyn, and with limited airplay the record languished. The Lovemasters’ contract was due to expire, and with no real sign of success with Haygood’s venture, most of the members agreed to split from the label (though Edith did appear on occasional later recordings for Haygood). That meant hitting the road again for a few years before returning to the studio, this time to cut a demo for Curtom. Curtis Mayfield was impressed enough to sign them but the writing was on the wall—Curtom’s halcyon days were on the wane, and there was no immediate call for the group to record. With The Lovemasters locked into the contract with Curtom, they were unable to record for another label. A few more gigs in the city followed, but eventually Edith and the boys called it a day in 1977. Curtom as a non-starter was part of the issue (the label eventually closed in 1980), but all admitted that a rest was overdue from years of hectic weekend performances. Ten years was pretty a reasonable tenure for any group.

Fast-forward twenty years. Over that time, Dave Box and wife Val were visiting Chicago on a frequent basis, record hunting and strengthening relationships with the likes of Chuck Bernard, Jimmy Burns and other industry professionals. A chat one evening over a catfish dinner with producer Jack Daniels led to the exchange of a telephone number for Daniels’ former partner, and a long lasting friendship began between Dave and Johnny Moore. The circle was now complete. By the 2000s, Dave was encouraging various acts to come over to the UK to perform on stage. Among those were Jackie Ross and Syl Johnson, who in 2006 provided an unforgettable appearance at his regular stomping ground, the Frobisher Suite in Stanley Ferry. Sadly, Johnny Moore passed away the previous year or he would have been there too, though Dave did manage to pay homage, working with Garry Cape on the excellent Grapevine CD anthology of Moore’s work.

Regarding the North Broad Street release under the spotlight: these recordings are brought to you via a collaboration with Tim Brown, and an unissued Universal Recording Corp. acetate originally sourced from Dave Box’s collection. We know the acetate was destined for Jacklyn, and by deduction was likely produced sometime around 1972. Without the luxury of any credits displayed on the disc, Johnny Moore’s involvement in production can’t be confirmed, but it certainly is plausible given the circumstances of how Dave acquired it. “If You See Kate”, is a heavy bass driven funk number with a psychedelic edge, aurally in a similar vein to Sam Dees’ dark Atlantic numbers, though the message here is more about the pain of knowing his girl has gone rather than a commentary on inner-city life. The song will actually be known to collectors through the Buddy Lamp version on Duke and French Disques Vogue from 1971—in fact both versions appear to share the same backing track. Duke may be a Texas imprint, but credits on the Lamp version reveal Detroit connections. Johnny Haygood worked with Don Mancha regularly through the recordings of his stepson Darrow Fletcher and others artists, so perhaps it’s no surprise that Jacklyn was also considering the composition. For completion, North Broad Street have also included the acetate flip, “Let’s Stay Together”.

So then, yet another quality recording and a fine exercise in historical preservation from North Broad Street to add to the collection. “If You See Kate” will be available to order from midday 3rd September at https://northbroadst.co.uk

Acknowledgements: Released under licence via Ace Records for Darrow Fletcher. North Broad Street would like to thank Val Box and Tim Brown for making this release possible. Thanks also to Val Box, Garry Cape and Jock O’Connor for article assistance.

(Copyright 2022). E. Mark Windle is a freelance writer and biographer, working independently, as a senior writer with Story Terrace (London, UK), and for Sheridan Hill / Real Life Stories LLC (North Carolina, USA). Contact him via https://windlefreelance.com/contact/

Keeping It Under Wraps. Data Protection for Biographers

E. Mark Windle 17 August 2022

As biographers, we are in a privileged position. Rarely do individuals expose their life story, or at least a significant chunk of it, in such detail to another party outside of their immediate family and social circle, perhaps other than in counselling (or to their confessor). Clients welcome us into their lives over several interview sessions to share recollections of positive or traumatic life events, hopes and fears, achievements and failings, lessons learned through their experience and their advice for the younger generation or for those yet to come. A huge amount of personal information is imparted in this collaboration, and the writer’s moral and legal obligation is to assure the storyteller it will be kept discretely.

Data protection may not be a topic always at the forefront of non-fiction creative minds, but it should be. The legal consequences of leaked personal information can be catastrophic, and the damage to the writer’s professional reputation irreparable. Financial implications can also be long lasting. The Information Commissioner’s Office—the UK’s data processing watchdog and regulator—has the power to deliver penalties of up to £17.5M for failure to maintain personal information safely, or to report and manage data leaks when they have occurred.

Most countries have some form of legal framework surrounding the core philosophy that individuals have an undisputed right to privacy and control over how their personal information is used. In the UK we have the Data Protection Act 2018, which underpins further legislation for data processing provided by the ICO in the form of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR is essentially a subtle adaptation of pre-Brexit EU regulations).

Combined, the Data Protection Act and UK GDPR highlight a number of fundamental responsibilities for anyone holding third party personal information:

  • Information must be used lawfully
  • Its purpose must be limited (only collect the type data required for the reason made clear to the client; data must not be recycled for any undisclosed use)
  • Data collection must be minimised—only collect the quantity of data required for the purpose intended
  • Data kept must be accurate and up to date
  • Storage of data must be limited (kept only for as long as necessary)
  • Integrity and confidentiality must be maintained (ensure data is stored securely)

So what exactly is personal data? The ICO definition is “any information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual”. Immediately, we think of a name, maybe a national insurance or social security number, an email address or bank account details. For any business or sole trader, the ICO demands a demonstration of accountability through the implementation of risk assessment, privacy statements, and contingency plans in the event of data breaches. Self-employed writers who directly process personal information, such as that required to obtain client payment or for communication purposes, will fall under this category and should be registered annually with the ICO to formally declare compliance to UK GDPR. Fully contracted employees of biography service providers (as opposed to freelancers) may be less likely to require registration, but a wise move is for all writers to consult ICO criteria for mandatory registration and risk assessment if they feel unsure about the legal implications of how they handle data.

At the end of the day, whether or not you are a data processor in the eyes of the ICO, everyone is bound by general principles of data protection under the Act, and there are other forms of personal information that require protection, including some unique to our profession. Assuming the biographer has done their job well, a relationship of trust evolves over a series of one-to-one sessions and peripheral research. As the client opens up, the inquiry elicits storytelling riddled with all sorts of nuggets: times, places, dates, names, events and relationships. This information may relate directly to the storyteller, or to friends and family, or other third parties including businesses and institutions. All of this is privileged information. In certain hands, it’s pretty hard to think of more potentially person-identifiable material than a detailed recording, transcription or written draft of a client’s life story.

We also know that it is human nature to relay life events with a twist. Personal perspective given in the course of interview is not always the same as truth. This is another reason why personal information should be held dear—so that conversations further down the line can clarify inaccuracies or what may be potentially defamatory if prematurely put out in the public domain. Not all information collected in interview is destined for the final manuscript: the writer sifts content as the manuscript draft develops. But the fact remains that all content shared must be protected. It goes beyond the written word too—consider photographs, documents and certificates shared by the storyteller to support anecdotes or to illustrate achievements. The subject should be assured from the outset that any information collected during client-writer interactions will be dealt with sensitively, confidentially, will only be kept for as long as necessary, and used only for the purpose intended.

So, what practical steps are involved for the biographer? A logical start would be a review of the actual means of storage. Good practice involves centralisation. Keeping data in as few places as possible doesn’t only mean easier access, but also less likelihood of information less to be forgotten or lost. It goes without saying that storage should be as secure as possible. Some form of locked facility such as a cabinet—in a secure building—is the obvious option for most physical material like writer-client contracts, letters, photographs, certificates, and hand-written manuscripts. Avoid hoarding previous book drafts in physical page form.

As far as digital content is concerned, interview sessions recorded on mobile phones or other devices should be deleted when no longer required, or if needed for later work, transfer them over to a protected digital file. Word processing documents, communications, scanned photos or audio files can be password-protected individually or contained within a password-protected central folder for each project. USB devices are notoriously easy to misplace and in reality are now obsolete—other alternative back-up technologies are available. If out and about, perhaps travelling to a client’s home or other venue to conduct interviews, laptops, recording equipment and paperwork should always be carried with the writer, or at least kept out of sight in a locked car boot if not in use. None of this is rocket science of course. Equally it’s easy to overlook security or momentarily let vigilance slip.

A final word for now: the requirement for keeping data only as long as necessary (then to be destroyed or deleted) differs depending on the nature of the content kept, even for the same client or writing project. In the UK, for self employed individuals and organisations, information held for client payment collection purposes requires retention for at least six years, as Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs office has legal authority to recall records for up to this period for tax audit activities. Other information, such as transcripts or formative and final drafts and annotations should be kept only until the job is done. Some kind of milestone usually marks this point, such as an editor-approval of a final manuscript, or final book production and publication.

Data protection is a legal requirement. But it’s also about maintaining reputation, and a declaration of respect for others. If you can demonstrate the methods you take to keep your subject’s information safe, data protection can even be a marketing tool, instil trust, and enhance the client-writer relationship. Read more about the importance of data protection, the work of the ICO, and requirements to meet UK GDPR at https://ico.org.uk/

Copyright 2022. E. Mark Windle is a freelance writer and biographer, working independently, as a senior writer with Story Terrace (London, UK), and as a writer for Sheridan Hill / Real Life Stories LLC (North Carolina, USA). Contact him via https://windlefreelance.com/contact/

Radio Stations, DJs and the 1960s Nashville R&B Scene

E. Mark Windle 1 August 2022.

Music historians will argue over the exact origins of the music industry in Nashville, although any stance depends on the genre under debate, and how far back one is willing to go. The predominance of country music is undeniable, with its roots planted in Celtic and European folk songs and instruments brought to the US by early immigrants. In the 1920s, Nashville’s first radio station WSM cemented the city’s country music status with Grand Ole Opry broadcasts of mountain songs and hillbilly music. These styles would later contribute to what is now known as the ‘third’ generation of country music in the 1950s and 1960s, showcased by the bluegrass of Roy Acuff and associated artists on the Grand Ole Opry stage. Since then, country music has never really looked back.

But although country music has made Nashville what it is today, the African-American influence on musical growth in the city cannot be ignored. Fisk University was a missionary initiative formed to provide education for emancipated African Americans following the Civil War. In 1871, the Fisk Jubilee Singers took their spiritual songs on a fund raising tour in the name of the university, touring the US and Europe, gaining endorsement from European royalty and helping kick start Nashville’s reputation as a centre for the musical arts. Over the last hundred years Music City has remained an entertainment centre and a rich source of talented musicians and songwriters, recording studios, music publishing houses and shrewd businessmen wanting to get a piece of the action.

Country music and R&B were both heading toward their peak as a national phenomenon around the late 1950s and 1960s, and so should have been in direct competition with each other within Nashville itself. As things turned out, country overshadowed soul music in terms of local commercial success. Demographics and racial suppression were likely contributing factors; the Black community was still in the shackles of Jim Crow laws. African-American business and entertainment communities confined themselves to a couple of specific (though vibrant) areas within the city. Music Row was the white man’s domain. RCA and other major labels saw the opportunity to exploit country music and overnight established offices, staff writers and recording studios in Nashville. Other than a couple of notable exceptions such as Excello and Sound Stage 7, independent soul music label operations were often dwarfed by the activities of the majors.

That said, talent within the Black community was no less abundant, whether for live performances, recorded song, musicianship or industry-related entrepreneurship. Nashville was a central location: an ideal stopping point for R&B and soul artists from the rural areas of the south and the major cities of the north as they worked the chitlin’ circuit. Many of these performers were more than mere passing trade  – national names such James Brown, Etta James, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, major gospel groups and blues guitarists frequently graced the show and dance venues.

The thriving, if segregated, African-American community in Nashville also provided its own home-grown talent. The Bijou Theater along Fourth Avenue North was opened in 1916 by its white owners to showcase blues, jazz and entertainment by black performers. Four decades later R&B took hold along Fourth Avenue North, and on Jefferson Street in the bars, diners and nightclubs where local musicians and visiting artists would earn their keep. These individuals and combos performed at club venues, worked on recording sessions for other artists as well as bands in their own right, and frequently appeared on R&B related music and dance TV shows. As well as local artists, Nashville labels featuring R&B would include artists from other areas of Tennessee, Louisiana, Florida and later the cities of the north. Even blue eyed soul was represented via the activities of singers, songwriters and producers who ventured more than occasionally from their country music roots.

Both radio and TV were primary driving forces for the evolution of and access to soul music in Nashville. WSOK, launched on 14th December 1951, became the first full time radio station to feature an all-Black staff roster who catered for local African-American residents. The station was a short range daytime affair, specifically targeting the Berry Hill area. Morgan ‘Happy Jack’ Babb was the WSOK’s DJ responsible for airing early R&B in among the local news bulletins, commercials and emergency aid calls. Other DJs included Ted Jarrett, who presented the WSOK Talent Show on Saturday mornings, broadcast live from the Bijou Theater, where performers were selected from local auditions to sing in front of a house band. The call-letters changed to WVOL when the station was sold on, but it continued on course with its original service focus.

WLAC (‘W-Life and Casualty’) was without a doubt one of the most influential radio stations in the US to broadcast and popularise R&B. It has a long history, stretching back to 1926 when the studio was based in the office building of Life and Casualty Insurance Company of Tennessee, in downtown Nashville. WLAC’s initial focus on community news expanded to other activities when WSM, a primary competitor, was gaining popularity through broadcasting country music. By the 1940s WLAC had a 50,000 wattage broadcasting capability, enabling twenty-eight states to receive a signal; even reaching parts of Canada and the tip of Southern Florida.

By the 1950s, the intention of WLAC was to serve the relatively untapped market across the major cities of the US and the deep south. Gene Nobles was the first WLAC DJ to cater musically for this market, by programming blues and jazz recordings. The purpose of this was to target a Black audience and attract companies to advertise products such as hair products and even animal stock to this particular community.

As “race music” became re-labelled R&B, WLAC DJs John Richbourg and Bill Allen would run their respective night-time shows, when the broadcasting signal was strongest. Fast talking ‘hip’ voice-overs were employed to promote the advertisers’ products and to introduce the records. The station played a major part in giving white teenagers, particularly in the south, access to R&B. WLAC was to become a key element in the development of the beach music scene in the Carolinas and Virginia. Guitarist Ken Adkins, from North Carolina’s The Tropics who gave the beach music and northern soul scene “Hey You Little Girl”, remembers:

“This is how I got my music education. A great signal, and music accessible nowhere else. From the age of ten until college, WLAC came on at 10pm and stayed on until 3pm. I had a big Zenith floor model radio with a twelve inch speaker in my room, away from other family members. I stayed up and listened …and listened …and listened….”

John Richbourg and Bill Allen were responsible not only for promoting local Nashville R&B talent, but also recording acts from elsewhere in the southern states, as well as Chicago and Detroit. Numerous globally recognised soul artists owe at least part of their initial success to the exposure obtained via the immense broadcasting capabilities of WLAC. (END OF PART ONE)

Copyright E. Mark Windle 2022, 2017. Modified chapter excerpt from the book “House of Broken Hearts: The Soul of 1960s Nashville”. E. Mark Windle is a freelance writer and biographer, working independently, as a senior writer with Story Terrace (London, UK), and as a writer for Sheridan Hill / Real Life Stories LLC (North Carolina, USA). Contact: via this site or emarkwindle@hotmail.com.

Nashville: From Charlie Romans to the Paramount Four

E. Mark Windle 14 December 2021

So, which floats your boat? I’ve been asked a few times now what the rationale was for selecting the particular artists and recordings in House of Broken Hearts: The Soul of 1960s Nashville. The intention of the book was not to be a panacea of Nashville soul music history; more a deep dig into the stories of artists and recordings from my world (basically an underground soul scene on the ‘wrong’ side of the Atlantic). Even at that though, a safe guess is that fans of Charlie Romans’ “Twenty-four Hour Service” are a different breed – and likely a generation apart – from record collectors hunting a copy of the Paramount Four’s “You Don’t Know”. Of course, there are sub-genres within sub-genres of soul music. Nashville record labels give us true diversity; whether pop-soul blue eyed from Hickory, the earthy swamp blues and early R&B of Excello, or even the Motown and big production sound that Ted Jarrett and Bob Holmes sometimes attempted to emulate with their acts.

It’s all about perspective. As an actual or potential purchaser of this book perhaps the reason you are drawn to it is, like me, you have an innate sense of curiosity and desire to make a tangible connection to these artists who are “stuff of legend” (as it says in the blurb) – whichever part of the soul scene you relate to. I wanted to convey the extent of Nashville’s output in influencing our underground scene across the decades and through the scene’s evolution, beyond just the part I associate with. But more broadly, I wanted to capture how the city contributed to the national, even global, popularisation of R&B. In retrospect, I probably should have written House of Broken Hearts before the other projects I undertook which focussed on the Carolinas and Virginia. The power of Nashville’s WLAC radio station with its 50,000 watt broadcasting capability was undeniable in spreading the good word of soul music in the 1960s to every corner of the US. I first learned of the influence WLAC had on young white teenagers from the eastern seaboard when researching beach music origins and soul influenced garage bands. Radio DJ John Richbourg and his pals provided not only easy access R&B for the first time, but also inspired many to start their own bands in high school or college.

I say that one purpose of the book was to make the artists ‘real’, but in truth, the connection between Nashville and fans of our insular northern soul scene was there all the time. Maybe it was just a lack of formal realisation and acknowledgement. Since HOBH was published, a number of readers commented how they remembered buying Monument releases of Sound Stage 7 45s on the European continent in the late 60s, and UK soul fans who bought from Ernie Young and Randy Woods’ Nashville based mail order set-ups as teenagers. The professional collaboration between Yorkshire’s Garry Cape and John Richbourg’s label interests would also satisfy the continued demand for Nashville soul from within the British northern soul scene, Holland, Japan and elsewhere well into the 1970s.

I also tried to convey the convergence of talent from two distinct musical genres. On the one hand, the rich cultural heritage from the black community which originated from the early Fisk University days; and also that of Nashville’s talented white country musicians, song writers and producers. Part open mindedness to experiment with the soul phenomenon, part industry looking for the next opportunity. There are many examples of collaboration. Much of the Sound Stage 7 catalogue was arranged and produced by the cream of Memphis and Nashville based musicians. Music Row’s Pete Drake, later associated more with Bob Dylan and Tammy Wynnette, decided a few years earlier to take a risk with some white boys from Georgia (OK, so fame eluded Athens Rogues but their efforts would be embraced decades later by the northern soul scene). Transferable skills left us with some masterpieces on both ends of the soul spectrum, between the gritty side of R&B and the sophisticated, well-orchestrated beat balladry of Dan Folger’s “Way of the Crowd”.

At the end of the day though, House of Broken Hearts is a celebration of Nashville’s black music history. And there’s still plenty left to be explored and documented. The soul story is be no means finished (a book could be written on the Richbourg / SS7 catalogue alone). But there’s a wider yarn to be spun. Whether referencing spirituals, jazz, gospel or blues, the black community was thriving musically way before the arrival of soul music, and to an extent continues to do so today. Maybe that’s a job for an obsessive fan of those specific genres; one which I and I’m sure others will be eagerly anticipating.

Copyright 2021, 2017. “House of Broken Hearts: The Soul of 1960s Nashville” is available to order exclusively from A Nickel And A Nail. E. Mark Windle is a freelance writer and biographer, working independently, as a senior writer with Story Terrace (London, UK), and as a writer for Sheridan Hill / Real Life Stories LLC (North Carolina, USA). Contact: via this site or emarkwindle@hotmail.com.

What’s in a Name? Musings of a Ghostwriter

E. Mark Windle 9 March 2022

I wear several hats in my line of work. Over the years I’ve written non-fiction books, blogs and commentaries on music and culture, and contributed to medical and nutrition science texts. There’s a chance if you are immersed in one of these niches that you may have even read some of it. Basically, a body of work exists in the public domain which is accessible and visibly identifiable as mine.

Outside of these independent projects, I’m also contracted as a ghostwriter with UK and North American biography publishing services. The briefs for these commissions are diverse too. Sometimes the end-product (usually a book) is for the client’s private consumption only. Other times, the intention is for publication and sale on online platforms or in brick-and-mortar bookstores. In those cases, I’m destined never to be associated with these works. At least publicly.

New writers are often motivated by recognition, especially early in their careers. Few would deny the thrill of seeing their name in print for the first time, particularly if the work comes with praise or positive reviews. As Maslow would have it, love and belongingness are primal needs. For the newbie creative, this means community acceptance and admiration. There is no shame seeking that out—unless of course that sense of achievement crosses the boundary to cheap vanity.

Maybe that’s the reason why some in the industry struggle to comprehend why anyone would choose to be a ghostwriter. Why pour time, effort and skills into a lengthy book project while surrendering your moral right to be identified with it? Of course, if referring to ghost-writing for A-list celebrities, a healthy advance payment and jaw-dropping royalty deal from a major publishing house may help ease the pain. But those commissions are few and far between.

Admittedly, there is a unique and challenging aspect to this clandestine profession. Non-disclosure agreements and ghost-writing contracts clearly stifle professional self-promotion and marketing opportunities. Prospective clients cannot be offered portfolios easily. If lucky, there are some workarounds. An exclusion clause reserving the right of client name-association on a limited basis might be an option, where prospective clients are able to approach previous ones as a reference. At the end of the day though, the ghostwriter is employed not only for their writing skills but also for discretion. Breach the anonymity agreement, and the writer risks unwelcome contractual or legal consequences. And of course, bang goes the community reputation.

In defending the art of ghost-writing biographies, I reckon ten years in the game has matured my outlook. I’m genuinely intrigued by how upbringing, social circumstance and life events motivate individuals and guide choices in life. These things shape and make us who we are. I also write biographies because I inherently love the research-interview-write process, not because it is a route to public recognition or (solely) a money-making exercise. The ghostwriter’s name may not be in bright lights, but a good one will be recognised, both within the industry and among clients. Ironically, that’s partly because anonymity is a key to success.

Trustworthiness is of paramount importance in the relationship between the ghostwriter and the subject. That is true of any effective collaboration, but particularly of relevance in biography writing where the subject has some standing in society: perhaps they have celebrity status, or are a public figure, a local businessperson, a hero, or even a villain. Clients confide in the writer, offering life story nuggets that may not have been shared with anyone previously until the writer’s inquiry led them there. We are in a position of privilege. Not everything on audio transcripts is intended to appear in print. That said, on occasion the challenge for ghostwriters has been the balance between upholding confidentiality against that of the moral good. We’re writers and to an extent confidants, but legally not bound to a priest-like Seal of Confession.

Some clients have lives stuffed full of intriguing, colourful, dramatic, tragic or revealing events, but have difficulty expressing these through a flowing verbal narrative in interview sessions. Others are more eloquent. All have a worthy tale to tell, none less important than another. The ghostwriter’s role as a creative vessel for their subject is to compose an authentic account of a life story, but also one which truly engages the reader.

In giving out advice (albeit to fiction writers), Raymond Chandler once said: “The challenge is to write about real things magically.” In our genre, the client is the storyteller, but the ghostwriter is the alchemist. The hard graft comes first: extracting experiences and personal recollections in an accurate, meaningful and reflective way, conducting robust peripheral research, fact-checking and cross-examination. The magic comes when the potion is mixed to present a tale which draws in the reader, has accuracy and relevance, educates, life-affirms, delivers optimism, demands empathy, or any combination of these things. The ghostwriter’s ultimate responsibility is to present a life story which has purpose. Regardless of whose name appears on the byline.

Copyright 2021. E. Mark Windle is a freelance writer and biographer, working independently, as a senior writer with Story Terrace (London, UK), and as a writer for Sheridan Hill / Real Life Stories LLC (North Carolina, USA). Contact: via this site or emarkwindle@hotmail.com

Reaching Different Shores: A Subculture Rediscovery.

E. Mark Windle 5 November 2021

As important career, family and other life events took over, the musical activities of their youth were becoming distant memories for some former Tempests members. A new generation of musicians were stepping in, taking black music into another era.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, the love of R&B from an earlier era continued. It would be fair to comment that much of mainstream America was oblivious to the enduring popularity of old blues and soul in other parts of the globe. The European popcorn scene was appreciating a mix of lesser known jazz, blues and soul records. Old R&B and swamp blues singers form the US were being plucked from obscurity and transported to the live blues scene of Scandinavia and Holland. A loyal market for deep soul and southern soul music could also be found in Holland and Japan. For The Tempests, little did they know the music they made would gain a new lease of life through re-discovery by a vibrant underground youth subculture in the UK.

Across the Atlantic, the Would You Believe LP remained virtually unnoticed until early 1983 when certain tracks from it were championed by UK collectors and DJs on the rare soul scene. Traditionally, LPs gain less attention from collectors as a vinyl format compared to 45rpm records. Would You Believe broke the mould in many ways, especially as two of the tracks, Someday and I Don’t Want To Lose Her, were not released on 45rpm format. The LP is still feverishly hunted for and fetches high prices to this day. No original pressing run numbers or sales figures are available, although there is general consensus and certain amount of logic that, being released on a major label, the progressively escalating three figure price tag which the LP commands reflects the consistent demand driven by collectors, rather than rarity as such.

The rhythmic, moody delivery of Someday sets the track out from other tracks on the LP, in terms of stylistic approach. Its pace suited the early 1980s northern soul scene perfectly when the previously often blinkered preference for up-tempo ‘100mph soul’ gave way for acceptance by many for beat ballads and mid-tempo dancers. Someday was first played to the UK dance floor at the Stafford Top of the World all-nighters in 1985.

The story of how the LP was brought to the attention of UK soul fans begins with Crewe record collector Martin Meyler:

“I was a regular at the 100 Club around the same time as the demise of the Wigan Casino all-nighters, and had become quite friendly with a bunch of lads I travelled with to soul music events. DJ Keb Darge was among them. I reckon I have a pretty good ear for music but didn’t have the money for the big 45s at the time. Nobody was really interested in LPs then – they were too bulky to carry around venues for one thing. However for me, they were affordable, and I was acutely aware that there might be other great recordings hidden away on an LP that otherwise wouldn’t see the light of day. I knew some of the collectors from Stoke who travelled over to the States for vinyl, and asked them to bring back LPs for me. Some good, some hippie crap. Anyway, I ended up with The Tempests LP, and was astounded by the content and the lead singer’s vocal presence. A few phone calls were made to check things out regarding how well known it was on this side of the Atlantic. Whilst the Smash 45s may have been known among a few collectors, they had never really been played out much at all to my knowledge, and nobody seemed to know the LP, or the Someday track. Maybe it was bypassed as the tempo was just not right for the Casino at the time. All I knew was I was onto a good thing and that Someday really deserved to be played out to a wider audience. As I wasn’t a DJ, I gave the LP to Keb Darge with the intention of giving it some exposure on the northern soul scene.”

Initially, Martin had thought of King Lear and the Shakespeares as a cover-up title, though that didn’t last long. In the case of Someday, Bobby Paris was used as the artist cover-up name, Paris being a blue-eyed soul singer known for a few northern soul classics including the dramatic beat ballad I Walked Away.

Martin Meyler. Photo courtesy of Liz Schmitz.

Legendary DJs Keb Darge and Guy Hennigan are well known for their friendly rivalry on and off the decks. The pair are among the key individuals associated with the phoenix-like rise of the northern soul scene when it was at an ebb, around the time Wigan Casino which was previously the biggest regular soul event in Europe, eventually closed its doors. This period was characterised by the acceptance of more diverse tempos and sub-genres; certainly inclusive of what the scene was previously known for, but also embracing more diverse styles such as latin-soul, contemporary releases and raw early 1960s R&B. Guy recounts how Someday was presented to the wider northern soul scene:

“Martin gave it to Keb to cut an acetate of Someday from it. Keb turned up at my flat in Derby on the Friday night before Stafford all-nighter with the cut. As normal, over the next twenty-four hours we did some swaps and sales. Part of the deal involved me getting another cut of The Tempests. I suggested to Keb to cover up the recording up as Bobby Paris, and to play it that night at the Top of the World. However.…I was on before him that night. We used to switch around on DJ spot timings. Not only did I play Keb’s copy of the disc…I played it twice. It went massive that night, just off those couple of plays. Even though Keb played it later in his spot, I got the credit for breaking it. It was a very competitive period between DJs then, in particular between Keb and I. But I can justify my sharp trick of stealing Dargie’s thunder on that one, with the simple fact it sounded so much better after I’d introduced it! Ha…you know what, he has never really forgiven me to this day!”

Keb Darge and Guy Hennigan. Photo courtesy of Karl White.
Courtesy of Karl White and soulunderground.co.uk

I Don’t Want To Lose Her was also later played on the northern soul scene, covered up as Cecil Washington. The LP remains a popular and in-demand item, fetching ever-increasing prices at auction and on rare soul sales forums. Since its original discovery, white demo copies have also appeared, stereo and mono formats, and a European release.The Dutch manufactured Phillips LP carried the same cover but with a title change to Well-Tempered Soul, and appears to be intended for Dutch, German and possibly a wider European market. The existence of a transatlantic release was unknown to most of the band members. UK based Poker Records would also reissue the LP as a CD format in 2007, tagging on their Smash single releases to the album tracks for completists.

Dutch-manufactured Philips format of the LP, with title change. Courtesy of Jon Downs.
Courtesy of Jon Downs.

In certain rare soul record collecting circles, the existence of a 45-rpm format of Someday is virtually mythological. As the track was never issued as a Smash single, it was hardly surprising the latter-day discovery of an original Mercury acetate by DJ / collector and record dealer Alan Kitchener would create considerable interest within the northern soul community:

“Being an avid follower of the newly discovered 1960s revolution which re-kindled my passion for the soul scene in the early eighties,” says Alan. “The Tempests song Someday summed up the direction of the scene at that time: on hearing Guy and then Keb playing it, and Guy coming clean on the whole story some years later. Guy was correct in that he could really introduce a new record like no one else on the decks.”

Alan Kitchener, DJ, record dealer and label owner. Photo by permission.

“Initially I thought Someday was a strong, pounding tune that was perfect for the dance floor but after a couple of listens you realise it is so much more than that. When the secret was out regarding the true artist and record, I managed to get a copy from a record fair in the USA while on a record hunting trip. I still have the same LP to this day. I did always think to myself ‘If only this came out as a single’ or ‘there must be an acetate somewhere’. Carrying an album around to DJ with was too much of a ball-ache and cutting it to a dub by then seemed a little dirty, so I dreamed on.”

From the collection of Alan Kitchener. Photo by permission.

“Around 2007 or 2008, I bought a few acetates off an individual on eBay. He had purchased an estate from an undisclosed record label owner and producer. I had bought the first of what turned out to be two copies of Dee Dee Warwick’s Worth Every Tear I Cry (DJ Mark ‘Butch’ Dobson grabbing the other one later) on a lovely Mercury 7-inch acetate. A real thing of beauty. I had asked him about any other interesting pieces he may have been listing. A few weeks later after my Dee Dee Warwick acetate had arrived it wasn’t as good condition as he had originally described. After I politely pointed this out, he agreed and said he owed me a favour on anything else I bought. Low and behold a couple of weeks later a lovely Mercury acetate entitled Someday, and on the B side, I Cried For You (also from the LP) appeared in his eBay listings. No artist was credited on the labels but it was pretty obvious who it was on listening. After a quick email conversation it was confirmed. By then the Soul Source online discussion forum curtain twitching had already begun, speculating how much it would go for. I thought it better to seize the chance, so I emailed him reminding him of the favour he owed. He agreed to do a deal on the acetate and remove the eBay listing. It was sold to me for a very fair price and a couple of weeks later it was in my hands. The acetate version has a slightly different intro, and to my ears a much cleaner production. So one happy collector here. I’m not surprised about the longevity of this recording. It had all the qualities of a northern soul classic and has become just that. It’s still filling dance floors to this day, and deservedly so; at the same time a great record in its own right for collectors. Someday is good as any record played on the soul scene in its long history.”