The Tempests (part 3): Finding Hazel

E. Mark Windle. 27 May 2021 The backing of Mike Williams and a record release on a major label, even if not more than a regional success, had given the Branch brothers a taste for what could be, and they were shooting for a recording contract. Within a short few years, the group had progressedContinue reading “The Tempests (part 3): Finding Hazel”

The Carolinas: Of Piedmont Blues, Beach Music and Teenage Radio

E. Mark Windle 29 November 2020 Of course, history books are full of how African American racial and cultural identity was suppressed in the southern states of the US. Even North Carolina, often perceived as one of the more ‘progressive’ states of the South, was not entirely exempt from a reputation of hostility toward blackContinue reading “The Carolinas: Of Piedmont Blues, Beach Music and Teenage Radio”

Moments in Time. The Reflection Sound Studios Story

E. Mark Windle 30 July 2020 “Looking back, I’m really proud of what we achieved in the 1960s” drummer Nelson Lemmond once told me. “As The Tempests, out of Charlotte, North Carolina, we made some great R&B and played with some great talent too. We never got a chance to perform with Otis Redding orContinue reading “Moments in Time. The Reflection Sound Studios Story”