By thom collins (131.118.85.21) on Wednesday, March 31, 2004 - 10:21 pm:

What is the exact nature of their relationship?Were they married? Why was their relationship considered scandalous and legendary?

By regis (131.118.85.21) on Wednesday, March 31, 2004 - 11:16 pm:

from what i understand, they weren't married, however, they were heavily involved with one another. They did a few shows together in the 1970's. I don't really know what either one is up to

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Thursday, April 01, 2004 - 06:24 pm:

Thom:
Melba & Clifton met while starring in separate Broadway shows here in NYC. They did have a relationship but weren't married.

They hosted their own variety program during the summer of 1972 (filling in Carol Burnett's timeslot). It was a highly rated show on CBS-TV and the duo was asked to come back in the summer of '73. Sadly, by then they split up.

IMHO their relationship wasn't so much "scandalous" as much as it just got so much press because they were a couple.

Today, Clifton is in the ministry giving spiritual lectures on college campuses. Melba has made a comeback on stage and clubs recently.

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Berry (152.163.253.70) on Thursday, April 01, 2004 - 06:37 pm:

Both of them were at the National Black Theater Festival in Winston-Salem N.C. over the summer. We often ran into Melba in the elevator at the Adams Mark hotel.

http://www.nbtf.org

By DyvaNaye (152.163.253.70) on Thursday, April 01, 2004 - 11:40 pm:

I saw Melba this past summer in 'The Jackie Wilson Story'...she can still hold those notes and knock down concrete with that voice...LOVE HER! Underrated DIVA.

By Charise (198.81.26.103) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 04:44 am:

I love Melba's voice! There are so many songs that I like by her. One that definitely stands out for me is "Lean On Me", I still go crazy when I play this song, you never hear it on the radio.
I love her phrasing in the song and of course the long note at the end!!!!!! Dream the impossible with all your heart, but if you find that your dreams keep on falling all apart, Come on and lean on me my darlin', I won't ever let you fall, ooooh lean on me I can't help but ta keep ya standin' tall!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry, I was having a moment(smile.)

By jus4me (64.12.117.14) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 10:58 am:

I rememeber growing up, we had a JET magazine with them (Melba & Clifton) on the cover. Wish that I could find that one. I just gor $52 for the JET with Whitney & Bobby's wedding photos on EBAY.

By Grubman Indursky Schindler (216.139.153.109) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 11:20 am:

Ah Melba ! Very nice lady indeed !! I still play here 1982 & 1983 Capitol releases "Other Side Of The Rainbow" & "Never Say Never" respectively. (Anyone here still play there's? ) Both great albums. "Keeping My Lover Satisfied" & "Lovin Touch", "Love's Comin At Ya", "Underlove", "How's Love Been Treatin' You", "It's Really Love" (If you listen real carefully to this track you'll hear Me Lisa Morgan in the background vocals very clearly)

I talked to my good friend the other day John "Skip' Anderson and he told me how much he enjoyed working with her in the studio during that time. He told me she pretty much laid down her main vocal in 1 or 2 takes.

Yes, Melba's very underrated ...... I wish I could've warned her to stay away from Huggins !! I avoid him like the plague !!

By Randy Russi (169.139.180.100) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 01:38 pm:

Their TV show was EXCELLENT! I remember Flip
Wilson guesting, I think, as well as Gladys Knight
& The Pips--performing a "knock-out" version of
"I Don't Want To Do Wrong".

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 02:02 pm:

Randy:
Agreed!!! Melba & Clifton's show was one of the few my parents let me stay up and watch when I was just a youngster! I do remember Gladys & the Pips performance and they were fantastic.

Grubman:
Lillo Thomas, who wrote "Mind Up Tonight" for Melba, is a colleague of mine. He would tell me some "horror stories" about Hush Productions and their way of doing "business".

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Grubman Indursky Schindler (216.139.153.109) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 02:19 pm:

Kev,

Know what really angers me, Huggins had all these great acts and somehow managed to do lose them all in some form shape or fashion. The list is very impressive, Lillo (as you mentioned. I loved his voice !! ), Z'Looke (another great Funk band), Alex Bugnon, Freddie Jackson, Dennis Coffey, Eric Gable, especially Najee, etc. I knew Kevin Harewood at Hush.

Let me ask you something Kev, remember The System's "ESP" album? I noticed it came out on imprint called Orpheus Music via Avex, did Huggins have anything to do with this project? I'm curious because I didn't see his name on the Thank You credits at least.

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 02:22 pm:

Grubman:
You guessed correctly - Huggins is back in business with Orpheus Music, which is distributed by EMI.

The System and a restructured Tony Toni Tone (working under the name the Tonies) have released CDs under the Orpheus Music banner.

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 02:25 pm:

Grubman:
BTW - I agree about Lillo, he is such and underrated singer and songwriter. There is a compilation on Mars Entertainment called "Sound Seduction" that was released over three years ago that contains a then-recent Lillo song "Out There Doing Wrong" and he sounded great.
Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Grubman Indursky Schindler (216.139.153.109) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 02:30 pm:

Cool! Thanx Kev for the 4-1-1 !!

P.S. When & what Tonies album came out on Orpheus ? I totally missed that one !

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 03:05 pm:

Grubman:
It was a live album that was released in 2002.
Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Juicefree20 (68.161.24.39) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 09:47 pm:

Kev, I miss Lillo & his music. Tell him that one of his former Track advesaries from Brooklyn says hello. Ask him about those races in the mid 70s at the Armory on Broadway & 168th Street. Or was it Pratt University? We lost a track star & gained a helluva singer. He is missed. On another note, I hope that The Wiggins-Saadiqs' mend fences & reform. Those brothers were a musical throwback & were a great unit.

Regarding Mr Huggins, he damn near had an empire back then with Melba, Paul Laurence, LaLa, Lillo & Freddie Jackson. How me managed to destroy all of that, is amazing to me. And what he did to Melba, his own wife was shameless. I think that he'll haIt might even be the 1ve a special place in line when St Peter comes a calling. It might just be the express 10 item or less lane. We wouldn't want him to have to wait too long, now would we?

Juice

By Juicefree20 (68.161.24.39) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 10:07 pm:

It's funny, but I had forgotten about this show. Now that it's been mentioned, I remember it & I remember them singing together & their show was family bonding time. It was a show that us kids watched with our parents. I don't know how I forgot about this show, other than the fact that it didn't air for very long. It was a quality show & it would be nice to see it resurface on DVD.

Juice

By Soul Sister (65.43.144.46) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 11:30 pm:

This old album cover is my contribution to the Melba Moore thread. I saw her in the Broadway Play "Hair", she was superb in her vocals.
S.S.

By Juicefree20 (151.205.169.232) on Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 09:56 pm:

Speaking of Clifton Davis TV shows: does anyone know if the show That's My Mama starring Clifton, Theresa Merritt, Lynne Moody, Joan Pringle, Ted Lange & Teddy Wilson has ever been released in Video or DVD? That show revolved around a barbershop & was funny & sadly, seems to have been forgotten. I know that it only lasted for a season and a half, but, we used to watch that show religiously. Junior the Mailman (Ted Lange): "I got it, I got it & I'm gonna tell it". We loved Ted as the hippest mailman in america. Kinda ironic that I ended up working for the Post Office!

Juice

By Juicefree20 (151.205.169.232) on Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 09:58 pm:

Correction, Teddy Wilson was the mailman. Ted Lange was the neighborhood homeboy/hustler. Teddy was still the coolest mailman in america!

Juice

By Rodmann (12.223.170.105) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 07:11 pm:

Is there anyone that can tell me exactly what Melba LP that is Soul Sister's pic? I'm thinking that it's "Living To Give" but I'm not sure. I was also wondering about Melba's first 3 early 70's LP's on the Mercury label (Living To Give, Melba Moore Live, Look What You're Doing To The Man). Has anyone heard these? How are they? The average music fan thinks that Melba's recording career didn't start until the late 70's. You never hear or read anything about those early LP's. Thanks in advance.

By Soul Sister (65.43.144.46) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 07:36 pm:

Rodmann;
It can't be "Living To Give" that was recorded in 1972. I'm sure it was between 1968-1970, that photo was taken in either 1969 or 70 when I had that vynal pants suit. The album could have been 1968 or 69.
S.S.

By Juicefree20 (141.149.53.204) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 07:39 pm:

Rod, you are correct, it is the Living To Give LP. The writing on the top of the LP reads: "Hair's First Black Leading Lady Sings Easy To Be Hard & Let The Snshine In". It aslo has a court seal like graphic, inside of which it tells you that the LP features the title song from her Broadway hit "Purlie". Good eyes there Rod!

Juice

By Soul Sister (65.43.144.46) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 08:18 pm:

Juice;
I am telling you it is IMPOSSIBLE because I purchased this album no later than 1970, I'm possitive about that! You are correct about the writing on top as I only purchased this album for that one song "Easy To Be Hard"! What is the correct release date on the title you mentioned?
If that is the title you & Rod are talking about then someone has got to have the release date all wrong??
S.S.

By Rodmann (12.223.170.105) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 08:26 pm:

Hey Juice and SoulSis. I think that the dates are wrong allmusic.com because they have "Living To Give" as being released in 1972 ( I think that it was really released in '70 or '71). I don't think that Melba even released an album until 1970 though. I don't think that pic is from '68 SoulSis.

By Juicefree20 (141.149.53.204) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 08:49 pm:

Hi Sis, you're correct. According to Goldmine's Standard Catalog Of American Records, Melba's Mercury Albums came out in the following order:

1970 - Living To Give (Mercury SR-61255)
1970 - I Got Love (Mercury SR-61287)
1971 - Look What You're Doing (Mercury SR-61321)
1972 - Live (Mercury SRM-1-622)
Easy To Be Hard was indeed on the Living To Give LP. I'm reading directly from the LP cover. Believe it or not, I got that LP from a flea market, for $1 in 1992.

Her only charting Mercury Lp was Look What You're Doing, which entered the R&B Album chart on Feb 27, 1971. It remained there for only 4 weeks, peaking at # 43.

Rod, to be Frank with you, I wasn't impressed with the Mercury songs that I've heard. It seems as though they hadn't figured out how to market her. It seemed to be a Pop, Broadway, Pseudo Soul style they concocted for her. To give you an idea of her style, she had no charting singles, not R&B nor Pop, until 1975. As far as I can see, she had 7 releases on Mercury between 1969-72, & 1 on Musicor in 1966. Based on this info, I would guess that her Look What Yo're Doing LP charted on the strength of her Purlie fame, as no singles from the LP charted.

Juice

By Soul Sister (65.43.144.46) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 09:07 pm:

Juice;
Thank you...I knew it wasn't possible to be after 1970, I remember the outfit and time the photo was taken! Allright! Good research Juice.
S.S.

By Juicefree20 (141.149.53.204) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 09:21 pm:

I'm glad to be of assistance Sis. Finally, something that I could help with. I knew all of those books weren't bought in vain!

Peace to you & Jimmy, Sis

Juice

By Rodmann (12.223.170.105) on Monday, April 05, 2004 - 03:14 am:

Thanks for setting the record straight Juice. I see what you mean about Melba's early recordings. The few that I've heard ('Easy To Be Hard', 'I Love Making Love To You', 'He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother') are only OK Pop/Soul tunes with a strong Broadway influence to them. I was hoping that maybe she had some hidden chestnuts buried away on those early albums.

One of her early tunes that I am crazy about is 'Black Enough' from the Cotton Comes To Harlem OST. It's an uplifting tune and Melba REALLY belts it out. She hits this really strong note towards the end of the song that sends chills down my spine every time I hear it.

As for Clifton Davis's whereabouts, I know that he had a Christian talk show on TBN a few years back that I liked to watch every now and then. He would interview celebrities and talk to them about religion. I'm not sure if it still comes on though.

Rod

By Charise (198.81.26.103) on Monday, April 05, 2004 - 04:31 am:

JuiceFree, you too! I too work for the Postal service, but I did not equate it with the show "That's My Mama." I too loved that show, especially, Ted Lange. He is from the bay area and his mother Jeri Lange was a trailblazer among black women, because she was if I'm not mistaken either the first or one of the first black newscasters here. The irony for me regarding the postal service, is that I had a U.S. mail lunchbox when I was in the 1st grade and it didn't hit me until I was in a record store that sells old lunchboxes.
I looked up and saw the same lunchbox I had as a kid and just smiled, because I had not seen one since that time. As I was looking at it, it dawned on me, "I'll be darned and who do I work for now!" That smile got bigger as I thought, who would've thunk it? Life is funny like that.
;)

By Juicefree20 (68.161.49.152) on Monday, April 05, 2004 - 09:01 pm:

Hey Rod, glad to help. Unfortunately, I found few nuggets among her early work. It was similar to Aretha's early years on Columbia (1960-66). It was such a hodgepodge of styles & none of them seemed to fit.

Charise, how are you? I didn't equate the show with the P.O. either. It was truly like the neighborhood barbershop. The gossip & the people were true to life. I too never dreamed of working for the P.O. I was a DJ, but after my son was born, I started thinking of stability. I didn't think that DJing was a stable job for a young single parent, raising a son. Some stable job, huh. Where do you work? I'm at the Brooklyn GMF. Life is truly funny that way.

Peace!
Juice

By sly fan (67.115.74.66) on Monday, April 05, 2004 - 09:15 pm:

Kevgo:

U Know Lillo!! Wow!!
When is he coming back out!! He was so far ahead of his time..That first album is brilliant. Me and my buddy from the UK were talking about him a while back and how his music was so ahead its time.



Peace,
SF

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Tuesday, April 06, 2004 - 12:44 pm:

Sly Fan:
Lillo has been working on new material for some time now. He has a more recent song on the Mars Entertainment compilation "Sound Seduction" called "Out There Doing Wrong". He also cut "Am I To Blame" in 1996 for his "Best Of" collection that includes his Capitol masters.

Yes, Lillo was indeed ahead of the game both artistically and from a business POV.

Juice Free & Soul Sister:
I have both the Living To Give and Melba Moore Live albums. It was clear that Mercury was trying to steer Melba into the Pop/Broadway direction with the track selections and choice of producers.

She did a live version of "Never Can Say Goodbye" on her in-concert disc that resulted in a positive reaction from the audience (this was while she and Clifton were an "item" so they must've been "in on the joke".)

BTW - Melba also sang background vocals on recording sessions for Mercury producer Jerry Ross, along with Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson & Joshie Armstead.

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Reese (204.152.13.164) on Tuesday, April 06, 2004 - 12:48 pm:

Melba also contributed background vocals to Aretha's TODAY I SING THE BLUES album. This was an album that Columbia released after Aretha hit it big on Atlantic. They created entirely new "soulful" backing tracks using many of NY's top session talent, inlcuding Melba and Valerie Simpson.

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Tuesday, April 06, 2004 - 12:49 pm:

JuiceFree:
Lillo lives in Westchester County, NY and is happily married to an executive who works for Christian Dior.

It's been some time since I've spoken with Lillo so I'll make it a point to reach out to him and send him your regards.

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By sly fan (67.115.74.173) on Tuesday, April 06, 2004 - 05:18 pm:

Kev: I am glad to know Mr. Thomas is doing well!! I will be looking for the new material...

Thanx a mil!

By What is this (209.179.227.134) on Saturday, April 17, 2004 - 12:44 am:

Hey Grubman, why would you use the name of a powerful law firm as your user name? It is obvious you have no connection to them at all.