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ISSUE 10:

When I first heard Barry White singing “All In The Run Of A Day” it was just after he’d hit the big time with his Love Unlimited productions and was dominating the charts in the mid 70s. From Punk street kid to musical maestro, his contribution to soul on the West Coast encompasses the development from the RnB/Doo Wop influences of the late 50s right through to the almost disco like sound of the early 70s. In this issue we scrape back the veneer of his 70s outings and take a look at his formative years of the sixties. A true talent both in front of the mike and behind the mixing desk.

By the time subscribers open the cover of this Issue, the impending arrival in UK of Mr. Bobby Patterson will be occupying many minds as the Prestatyn Weekender approaches. We welcome to the pages of There’s That Beat! John Smith, long time collector and bio writer for the Midnight Hour Events who takes a fascinating look at some of the output of the Texan born soulster. Famed in UK for his Jet Star outings there’s much more to the man than just this labels output as John lets us know.

In the last Issue we investigated the French and Spanish issues of Rare Soul, concentrating on the pic sleeve products of the sixties. Well that feature should have included the Motown company’s contribution too but due to the bereavement of four Detroit superstars we postponed it until now. So here in all its full glossy glory is a tribute to the picture sleeves issued in France by Berry Gordy’s Motown empire.

As is usual in There’s That Beat! we like the unusual and in this issue we bring you the story of Philco Hip Pocket Records. In an effort to gain a place in the phonograph market Ford Motor company entered the fray with the production of a miniature record player! We bring you the soul product that was released as a ploy to get US fans to put their hands in their pockets and embrace the format. They didn’t and the company gave it up a couple of years later. The discs are becoming collectable as novelties and the machines are about as scarce as a Thomas Edison Mk1!

A rather special venue that has attracted the attention of soul fans/record collectors over the past year is also featured in this issue. The guys at “Dig Deeper” in NY have set the US soul scene alight with their fantastic monthly event which features live acts mainly consisting of our long forgotten heroes and heroines. Jason brings us the lowdown on what is rapidly becoming a must attend club for fans on both sides of the Atlantic!

Finally we bring you up to date with the Diary Of A Travelling Soulie… where we take you inside a couple of soul clubs worth a visit, one in the UK and one on the Continent. If you think you have a club we would enjoy visiting….give us a call, we’re on the road most months.

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ISSUE 9:

Unfortunately this issue starts by paying tribute to four of the soul world’s most iconic figures who in the space of a couple of months threw off their mortal coils and passed on. All four of them will need no lengthy introduction to readers of this particular magazine as I’ll guarantee their names are of the household variety as far as readers are concerned. It was felt that their contribution to the music was of such significance that their passing should be recorded within our pages and the legacy of their lives can be found here as we remember, Norman Whitfield, Richard “Popcorn” Wylie, Levi Stubbs and Andrew “Mike” Terry. Gone, but certainly never forgotten.

The Unifics are a group that doesn’t get a lot of dancefloor action, but just put a needle to any one of their records and you’ve got quality soul harmony. Jason takes a look at the entire career of the Unifics past and present, as well as an entire feature about the solo projects of their lead singer, Al Johnson. This is the first time their careers have been documented in great detail.

Lou Johnson is an artist at the top of many soul fans’ list of singers they would love to see perform live. We hope that can happen but until it does, Pete Burns delivers the story of this remarkable vocalist from his early days as a youngster in Brooklyn, NY right through his days working with giants Burt Bacharach and Hal David, his first appearances in Britain on the TV show Ready Steady Go and brings us up to date with Lou’s discography.

The European Soul scene has flourished in the past decade or so producing many events that continue to grow in stature. Lots of soul 45s were released in Continental Europe, many of them in beautifully crafted picture sleeves. We thought it time that we showed this segment of the soul record collecting World in all its glory. There are some great pic sleeves featured and some of the releases beg the questions How? Why? For instance how did Leroy Taylor’s wonderful (but commercially disastrous), Oh Linda end up with a fantastic picture sleeve that could be purchased in Spain for a few pasetas? It’s a fascinating slice of the collectors world that TTB will be returning to, in order to expand the series to include many other countries releases to add to the Spanish and French ones contained in this first look at the subject. This piece was intended to include the Motown releases of the era also but, to make room for the tribute to our four departed heroes it was decided to feature the Motown releases in the next issue.

Our Philadelphia resident Hitsviller Mr. Weldon A McDougall III reports on the latest additions to the city’s Walk of Fame inductees that include a number of “our” favourite people, some of whom have featured within these pages already. Weldon has a habit of getting his camera right at the center of any action and we appreciate him taking the time to contribute.

The 4th Hitsville Soul Weekender took place in Spain in September and we record the frivolities as well as report on some of the music and 45s that saw their spotlight on the club’s Technics this year.

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ISSUE 8:

Strange things happen when you edit a magazine… Bev (Styrene 45) was contacted by a lady in South Carolina with reference to a song/record that had been featured on our sister website www.hitsvillesoulclub.com. It transpires that she worked with one Pat Watson (Nee Cox). We now know the whearabouts and can update you on yet another lost group of soulsters…the rest of the story can be found within the pages of this issue.

In our quest to investigate the catalogue of Berry Gordy’s stable of labels we have reached the point where the title of the label gives you an inkling of the content of it’s A&R roster, I’m referring of course to the Soul imprint. Sometimes overlooked in favour of the BIG three of Gordy’s logos, there are a number of hidden gems, on both 45 and LPs that deserve their time in the spotlight and we oblige accordingly. From the dancefloor clasics of The Gladys Knight and The Velvelettes, right through to the 70s outings of Jr Walker, it’s a journey with many stops along the way to visit the artists and producers that put the “Sound” into The Sound Of Young America.

Jimmy Radcliffe’s “Long After Tonight Is All Over” is an instantly recognized track that will always have a special place in the heats of rare soul fans due to it’s association with Wigan Casino’s Three before Eight. Although a fantastic song sung by a fantastic singer it’s not the only legacy that Mr Radcliffe left us. His repertiore as a songwriter, producer, arranger and vocalist may surprise a few. In this issue, we are pleased to welcome his son Chris to our pages, as he invites us into his father’s musical world and introduces us to the myriad of songs and artists his father influenced, recorded and with whom he created some of the most soulful songs ever committed to wax.

The City of Philadelphia gave birth to many people who would contribute much to world of music, both black and white. The city would spawn icons of music spanning the heydays of DooWop, through the Rock N Roll years and eventually find favour with soulfans across the world. One of these icons is the subject of the latest feature in TTB! in which we endeavour to bring you the stories of the creators of the music we all love and share. Mr Jerry Ross, a native of Philly, tells the story of his meandering journey through the musical cauldron that was the City Of Brotherly Love. From early beginnings on the nationwide smash hit TV show American Bandstand, to the mellow mid tempo tones of Virgil Henry, Jerry tells his own story, in his own words, of his involvement with some of rare soul most treasured recordings.

It would seem that this issue has gone all European! We review a number of European gigs including Prestatyn’s Midnight Hour Weekender, The King’s N Queen’s Weekender in Hamburg and Spain’s Gonna Be A Big Thing Weekender in Valencia. With travel now so much easier around the continent people are looking further afield in their hunt for a good soul event and we hope to let you know the ins and outs of these gigs and what they offer musically.

For many soul fans the city of Detroit was the hub of a network of musicians that created the sounds of soul that spread to UK and beyond back in the day. For one soul fan it became more than that. Carl Dixon tells There’s That Beat! of his journey from soul fan to songwriter/record producer in D-Town. A lifelong ambition that I’m sure will resonate with many a reader . We’ll be keeping an eye on Carl’s fortunes as he makes his way through the quagmire of the business whilst maintaining the production values of the golden age of soul.

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ISSUE 7:

You may remember that in a previous issue I mentioned I’d bumped into Rev Bobby Fulton whilst on a record hunting/allnighter trip to Pittsburgh. Well, it’s taken me a while but inside this issue we finally bring you the whole story of the Soulville and Jaywalking record labels, through the words and pictures of Bobby Fulton himself. The Soulville Allstars, Donald Lee Richardson and others have filled dancefloors for the past three decades but there’s much more to the labels than just these two acts. The rich tapestry of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and the closely knit group of musical enthusiasts who created the labels makes for fascinating reading.

Another story that we bring you is told through the eyes of one of the main players in what many soul buffs regard as the very first soul supergroup, The Vibrations. Within this issue, we take you on the group’s journey from their early days at school in California, through the bustling musical era of NY doowop, stopping off at Philadelphia via the Windy City for a period of soul before returning to the West Coast–all through the eyes of Mr. Carl Fisher, one of the mainstays and creative force behind the group. From dance-craze quirky songs, through slick, soulful ballads on Okeh and raucous stompers with Gamble and Huff, the Vibrations danced and sang their way to soul superstardom through the early sixties. Constantly gracing the stages of such legendary venues as NY’s Apollo and the Uptown Theater in Philadelphia, the group laid the foundations for those who followed.

The name of George Kerr will be familiar to most readers of There’s That Beat! As part of The Serenaders alongside Timothy Wilson and Sidney Barnes, he set out on his musical life in the NY JoBeTe offices and was later responsible for many of the records that went on to become dancefloor classics. We take a quick look at the list of artists he worked with, including The O’Jays, Linda Jones, Troy Keyes, The Mamselles and The Persians to name just a few. His musical track record shows the esteem in which he was and still is held by soul fans worldwide. In this issue, we welcome Daniel Forsthoff, a US collector and fan of Mr Kerr’s, to the pages of the magazine as he takes a look at his work with these and many other artists within his portfolio.

On a sadder note, Jason Thornton marks yet another passing of a legendary soul location. Bobby Robinson, the owner of Fire and Fury record labels amongst others, has finally had to close the famous record store in Harlem known as Bobby’s Happy House. The corporate world that has moved into Harlem has deemed there is no room for what is an important landmark in the city (Bobby’s Record Store was the first black-owned business on 125th Street), and despite protests from local supporters, the store has finally succumbed to “progress”. We pay tribute to Bobby and his lifelong association with music and records and use the pages of There’s That Beat! to salute this 91 year old soul hero who is still determined to forge ahead.

In the ongoing exploration of Berry Gordy’s empire, we take a look at a rather unusual and often overlooked slice of “Motown” as we bring you all the Topps company produced Cardboard Discs that Gordy commissioned in 1967. Now sought after for their vibrant colorful pictures, we show you every single one of them, all in fantastic color, just how it should be.

ISSUE 6:

There are a number of groups whose journey along the decades are peppered with quality classics recorded in different cities and released on a series of different labels. The Dynamics is one such group. From their early beginnings as individuals in the playgrounds of Detroit, the members would eventually gravitate to each other and form one of the truly great soul groups of the era. Mr. Fred "Sonny" Baker guides Jason Thornton through the groups experiences on such legendary labels as Big Top, Top Ten, Wingate and others. A great story about a great set of soulsters whose lives intertwined with many of Detroit's musical luminaries.

With the loss of Willie Tee earlier in the year, the heart of the Crescent City was once again burdened with grief. Often described as the heartbeat of New Orleans, Mr. Wilson Turbinton’s musical legacy will remain revered amongst soul fans worldwide for many years to come. In this issue, Colin Dilnot takes us on a celebratory tour of Willie’s discography, 45 by 45. It’s a fantastic journey with stop-offs at many classic records along the way.

The city of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, has long been a mecca for Rare Soul fans. With legendary studios like Cameo/Parkway, Virtue, Sigma Sound and Philly International Records pumping out classic record after classic record, the city’s musical heritage, soulwise at least, has long been assured. We take you behind the scenes of the more famous locations that were responsible for recording and mastering many of the city’s Rare/Northern Soul classics and meet a few of the people responsible for them.

Live shows in the US with iconic Rare Soul stars are few and far between. But when they happen...they sure happen! With stars like Billy Paul, The Impressions, Gene Chandler and the Iceman himself singing "Moody Woman", attendance is a no brainer! We review the day that Chi Town came to Florida! From both the center seats and backstage.

In the third of four part of the series celebrating Berry Gordy’s empire, the Tamla label is under the microscope. From the early days of Anna Records and Gordy’s collaborative period with Billy Davis, the idea of an independently owned label for his song-writing talents slowly developed until finally the dream came true. TAMLA.