Here are a few of my favorite tracks from the second volume of Lost and Found, Real R'n'B and Soul, a series that highlights lesser known dance tracks from black artists in the 50s and 60s, curated this time around with Paul Weller.
The Creations, “A Dream”
Fred Bridges is a name you will find on many a northern soul record. Either as a writer, producer or arranger. He worked with such hallowed Detroit labels as La Beat, Correctone, and Mutt. The team of Bridges, Knight, and Eaton recorded this for Zodiac records as the Creations. They changed their name to “The Brothers of Soul” after the Detroit Riots in order to get more street cred, and recorded a string of great tunes for their own “Boo” label (track two of the comp). I stuck “Dream” on the comp because I know Paul loves the mid-tempo stuff, and this will probably be his favorite on my side.
Daddy Cleanhead, “Something’s Going On In My Room”
Chuck Higgins recorded many a jump tune in the fifties on labels like Combo, DooTone, and Aladdin. “Something…” was recorded in 1955 as the last of his four outings on “Specialty”. This is my favorite out of the many of his tunes we play at “Lost and Found”. If you like this try “Wet Back Hop”, “Eye Ballin”, “Big Fat Mama” or indeed any of his fifties outings. They're all good.
Emmit Long, “Call Me”
I know very little about this artist. The song came out on the tiny “Dunoyia” label and is rare as rocking horse shit. It is the kind of record that makes middle aged rare soul collectors weep and fork out huge sums of money. I suppose because Paul is in that group he fell in love with it, and a few years back he phoned me to plead with me to find him a copy. Being the mean tight-fisted highlander that I am I agreed to give him a copy as his wages if he DJ'd at the opening night of “Lost and Found”.
Major Lance, “Rhythm”
Okeh was probably the first label that became one of “THE” northern soul labels and Major Lance was the hero from that label. One of the first US artists to be brought across the Atlantic to perform solely for the Northern scene. The label itself started as far back as 1918 and
did not take its name from the expression that things were alright, but rather from the founder Otto K E Heinemann's initials. Epic took over the label in the sixties and employed one Curtis Mayfield as it's main song writer. Major Lance had a string of great tunes on Okeh, “Monkey Time”, “Investigate”, “You Don't Want Me No More”, “Um Um Um Um Um Um”, etc. “Rhythm” was one of the few that gained UK release, and Paul was raving about it when he pulled out his UK issue to play
on our first night.
Big T Tyler, “King Kong”
I lied on the first “Lost and Found” comp when I said this man only had one record ever released. I have recently found out he made two. “Looking For A Baby” came out on Aladdin in 1956, a year before this dance floor monster. I stuck the flip “Sadie Green” on the first comp, and a great tune it is. However this must be my favorite rockin' tune of all time. It just blew me away when Jessie Birdsall first picked it out of his sales box and played it to me full blast in his sound proof record room. If you don't start moving when you play this loud then I am afraid you are dead, or a total wanker who only enjoys music that matches the image you want to create about yourself.
