E. Mark Windle 19 August 2021 Touring was relentless. In between it all, the Premier Talent Agency pushed The Tempests through a couple of multi-artist events, at The Mariners Festival, a USO show at Fort Eustis, Virginia. Then it was onto another at Trenton, New Jersey where a local promoter took all the money andContinue reading “The Tempests (pt. 8): Touring, Boston’s Sugar Shack, and the LP release”
Tag Archives: soul
The Tempests (pt.7): The Mercury-Smash Sessions Begin
E. Mark Windle. 2 August 2021 Mercury was a prominent player in the recording industry, owing much of its commercial success to astute activities of the founding fathers in the Chicago R&B and jazz recording industry through the 1940s and 1950s. The label had its ear to the ground and anticipated potential in exploiting theContinue reading “The Tempests (pt.7): The Mercury-Smash Sessions Begin”
The Tempests (pt. 6): Ted Bodnar and the Road to Mercury-Smash
E. Mark Windle July 2021. The Tempests were ready to take on the world, no doubt about that. Musicianship, vocal talent and enthusiasm for live performance were all there. What was needed now was a new industry link to point them solidly towards a fresh recording contract. Someone with local knowledge, connections, and production andContinue reading “The Tempests (pt. 6): Ted Bodnar and the Road to Mercury-Smash”
The Tempests (part 5): Hit Attractions
E. Mark Windle 13 June 2021 Whether the decision to extend the horn section in The Tempests was a conscious one or just natural evolution, was unclear. Movement of personnel in and out of the band in the early days had been pretty fluid, though Jim Butt (on trumpet) and Rick White (tenor sax) hadContinue reading “The Tempests (part 5): Hit Attractions”
The Tempests (part 4): Ready for the Soul Explosion
E. Mark Windle, June 2021. Whilst new bass guitarist Van Coble was an only child whose birth father who was killed in service during World War II, his childhood was otherwise reasonably comfortable. His mother Helen, who was a nurse, eventually remarried. The musical talent came from his Helen Coble and her sister: “My motherContinue reading “The Tempests (part 4): Ready for the Soul Explosion”
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 Tempests (part 2): Love Have Mercy! Atlantic Records.
E. Mark Windle. 16 May 2021 You could say music was in the family genes. But it was country, not R&B, that first inspired the Branch children to pick up an instrument. John Roger Branch’s grandmother was a not-too-distant relative of the famous Carter family, and a pretty competent guitar player at that. When notContinue reading “The Tempests (part 2): Love Have Mercy! Atlantic Records.”
Giving Back. Soul Direction Records
E. Mark Windle 5 January 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 andContinue reading “Giving Back. Soul Direction Records”
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”
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”