E. Mark Windle Jan. 2021 By its very existence, the soul scene has a responsibility to hold safe the history of the music it reveres. In various ways, much has been done to achieve this end; and not just through the physical support of soul nights, all-nighters, weekenders and Sunday chill-outs. Numerous websites and socialContinue reading “Giving Back: Soul Direction”
Tag Archives: northern soul
It’s Better to Cry: The Appreciations of Charlotte
E. Mark Windle 20 November 2020. The Appreciations’ recordings are well known within rare soul record collecting circles, with tracks such as “I Can’t Hide It” and “It’s Better to Cry” played and loved on the northern soul scene for decades. Despite that, the group’s history was virtually unknown until 2013, other than that theyContinue reading “It’s Better to Cry: The Appreciations of Charlotte”
Bigger and Better: The Hytones and Sandra King Story
E. Mark Windle 30 October 2020 William Everett Justis Jr. (1926-1982) was an example of a key industry player who bridged the gap between rock ‘n’ roll, pop and R&B in the 1950s and 1960s. Justis would play a pivotal part in developments at Sun records in Memphis. Graduating from Tulane University, New Orleans, theContinue reading “Bigger and Better: The Hytones and Sandra King Story”
Southern City Records: Hal and Jean, and the Paramount Four
E. Mark Windle 29 October 2020. Gallatin is a tiny rural town in Sumner County, a mere thirty miles from Nashville. Author Ken Abraham noted in More Than Rivals that Gallatin was a typical segregated main street southern town in the 1960s, with segregated drinking fountains, parks and pools and engagement in sports activities. Working class familiesContinue reading “Southern City Records: Hal and Jean, and the Paramount Four”
Introducing North Broad Street Records
E. Mark Windle 11 October 2020 COVID and lockdown has given the soul music community a lot of time to reflect on the state of the scene; not only on how the pandemic is shaping the social landscape, but also on changing musical directions. Regardless of individual sub-genre preference, the constant for many is theContinue reading “Introducing North Broad Street Records”
Mocha and Cream. The Global Records Story
E. Mark Windle 12 September 2020 The passing of Edwin James Balbier a couple of years ago went virtually unnoticed in UK northern scene circles: indeed few outside of the industry will recall his name. Yet, this individual would be the unwitting driving force behind one of the most popular (if brief) soul re-issue labelContinue reading “Mocha and Cream. The Global Records Story”
“Nashville Could Eat Its Young!” The Athens Rogues Story
E. Mark Windle 22 August 2020 “To us, back in 1968 Nashville was all country. Not a place for our stuff” recalls Gerald Fleming of Georgia’s Athens Rogues. “Especially the soul part. Producer and musician and label owner Pete Drake really took a huge chance on us. We guess we were the first of ourContinue reading ““Nashville Could Eat Its Young!” The Athens Rogues Story”
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”
House of Broken Hearts: The Northern Soul of a Southern City
E. Mark Windle, 27 July 2020 Regarding what has been pretty much an obsession with 1960s southern soul themes since I started writing around ten years ago, House of Broken Hearts was taken on to resolve one nagging omission. A fair chunk of my travels (virtual and otherwise) has been spent researching the Carolinas, Virginia,Continue reading “House of Broken Hearts: The Northern Soul of a Southern City”