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With the emergence of The “Motown”
sound in the early sixties, thousands of wanna be soul groups emerged
across the U.S. Not to be left out, Central Pennsylvania also gave birth
to many of these bands and groups who wanted to emulate the new Detroit
sound.
Although many of these bands never made a recording that was released,
many were equally as good as those who had recorded such as the El
Dantes, and the Thundering Centuries!
Not mentioned in this CD are many
outstanding soul bands, The Emperor’s, The Magnificent Men,
The Ambassadors, The Endells, The Exciting Invictas
and The Mastermen, whom all made records in the sixties and
seventies, were all from the area.
Most of these bands flocked to
larger metropolitan areas such as Philadelphia and New York to record
their songs with the likes of the legendary Frank Virtue Studios in
Philly!
Because of our friends the
British, most of these recordings have become collector’s items, falling
into the category of “Northern Soul”. Central Pennsylvania had it’s
own studio also in the Mechanicsburg area, know as Baldwin Studios,
where many local bands have recorded their tunes. Most of the groups
frequented local fire halls, VFW’s, American Legions and high school
dances and Hershey’s Starlight Ballroom to hone their skills and of
course to make a few dollars which many times ended up paying for stage
clothes and equipment. In the mid sixties the “Raven” emerged as
the premier location for this type of entertainment. Located in the
farmland outside of Harrisburg, surrounded by cow pastures, this dance
hall became the foremost place for entertainment as well as showcasing
each group’s talents from the area! The weekly entertainment always
consisted of a headline act such as the Impressions, The O' Jays,
Vibrations or The Temptations with a local group always
opening the shows. Due to the success of the Raven, many copycat clubs
opening in the area and all had brief success – The Sunny Club,
The Barn and many more.
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The CD…23
titles and 12 different artists…
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Rarest of the rare – The
Tranells … “Blessed with a love” on the top of the list for
northern soul collectors.
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The Soul Exotics…….
nearly as rare as the Tranells … “Baby it’s true” and “Darlin”.
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Equally rare … Peter & The
Wolfs “Monkey Time”
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Very collectable
“Del-Chontays” …. “Baby I love you” on the Steeltown
label.
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The Shan-dells …..
Harrisburg rock/soul band with the very collectable “I’ve got to love
her” on the local Bridge Society label.
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Harrisburg’s own Del-Cords…
"A little misunderstanding” (a cover of The Contours on
Gordy) and “Won’t you let me know”.
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York’s Soul Clinic …
“No one loves me anymore” and “So sharp” on Baltimore's
Bay Sound imprint.
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Emperor’s Soul ’69 …. The
very collectable “Sad girl” and “Bring out yourself”.
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Middletown’s Intentions
……. “Don’t forget that I love you” on the Philips label
along with 2 featured un-issued tracks from Virtue
studios, “Honest I do” and “It’s got to be love".
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The Soulsations with
Twila Howard …. “Here comes the pain” on the Ste-Al
label.
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The Soulville All-Stars,
a favorite of the Brits….. “Nobody to blame”, “Won’t you
please be my girl”, "Nothing in this world matters” and
“I’m gonna get to you”.
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And Lancaster’s Georgie
Wilson ….. “Here stands the man who needs you” and
"Everything will be fine” and a special addition, the
unreleased G.L.& Vesters - "If she’s your girl”.
Although my friends
in the Harrisburg area may be asking themselves why didn’t you include
this song or that song into this CD, my intention was to create a group of
recordings that were the favorites of Northern Soul collectors and my
Central Pa. friends. If all goes well, Volume 2 will be forthcoming.
A special note….. This labor of love is dedicated to the late Georgie
Wilson, who has recently passed away.
This CD has been a
lot of work (3 years) but very rewarding. I hope you enjoy it as much as I
have producing it, with the help of many friends and associates along the
way.
My special thanks to Mark Hanson in the U.K., Joey Welz,
Haywood Floyd, Bobby Fulton, “Little Walter” Devenne, George Luckett
and Phil Schwartz! |
