SoulfulDetroit.com FORUM

SoulfulDetroit.com FORUM: SoulfulDetroit Forum: RAY MONETTE 3: RAY MONETTE 2: RAY MONETTE

By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Tuesday, April 01, 2003 - 05:01 pm:

Ray,
It appears you're going to be popular here considering your incredible career. I took forum member Caleb's advice and set up your own thread. I'm sure the questions will be coming your way. Once again, thanks for coming here old friend.

By stephanie (64.63.221.13) on Tuesday, April 01, 2003 - 06:41 pm:

Ray
Did you sing on any of the Rare Earth stuff lead and background or did you just play music? Also
I know Mr Rivera was the lead singer but how much input did you have and do you feel that you were promoted properly? What was the reaction when people found out you were white I remember people thinking the band was black before I saw the album..
Stephanie
a fan

By Caleb (64.157.66.224) on Tuesday, April 01, 2003 - 08:25 pm:

Ray,Greetings!I read your posts on the rare earth thread and cannot believe all the work you did in Detroit.Very solid!!I have followed Babbitt's career and saw alot of the same artists you listed as ones he had played on.You must know each other pretty well.Do you have any stories to tell about working with him.Saw where you were in a group with him called Scorpion.That album just recently sold for around $104 on an e-bay auction.Also,do you keep in touch with Mike Champion/Campbell?If so,where is he and what is he up to these days?Heard that Scorpion group was something to hear.Great to see you've found this site.Thank you,Caleb

By Rich (162.33.246.68) on Wednesday, April 02, 2003 - 08:26 am:

Ray,

I sincerely hope you get on here. I'd like to detour from Rare Earth and ask about any recollections, insights from the sessions for the first Funkadelic album, particularly "I Got a Thang, You Got a Thang" which was tremendously popular in Detroit. Don't know know if you'd be able to identify the parts you're playing and who the other guitar players were (Dennis Coffey, Eddie Hazel).

Its pretty much accepted that the Parliaments live band (Funkadelic) developed the music for the first Funkadelic album. However, with George Clinton not being a musician and unable to read or write music, how did it get from the stage to the studio? Basically, how did you learn the songs and were you able to contribute your own ideas?

I hope you have the opportunity to answer and none of this seems too trivial.

Peace, Rich

By Ray Monette (207.191.236.20) on Wednesday, April 02, 2003 - 02:38 pm:

Ralph,Caleb,and Stephanie,thanks for your support and good vibes.The first thing I want to do is clarify one thing.On the Rare Earth thread,Michael had me down as an original R.E. member.The truth is I was a studio musician from 1965-1971.Rare Earth of course started in 1969 with Get Ready. In early 71 they lost their keyboard and guitar players. Most of the studio guys of those days(me included) just wanted to play on the songs,and didn't have much desire to travel.So when Rare Earth's manager called me and asked if I wanted to join up,I turned him down.Besides doing a lot of recording,I was also playing in the Detroit production of the musical Hair.which also included Bob Babbitt and Mark Olson as musicians,and Mike Campbell,Stoney,and Meatloaf as actors.I was called back about two months later(Mark had already joined R.E.)and at that time I accepted.So I guess you could say I'am the new guy with 32 years in.
Stephanie...I came in with the album One World,I Just Want To Celebrate,and I sang backrounds besides playing.We all got along great and spent many a long night writing together and rehearsing.I think Motown promoted as best they could,considering they were entering a new area with us.As to your last ?.It would be better answered by Gil Bridges on the R.E. thread.
Caleb...Bob B. was playing on records before they were invented!!! I met Bob on my first session(Cool Jerk).I was a 19 yr. old kid,and Bob and all the guys helped me to settle down and do my best.We became instant friends,and Bob helped me build my reputation as a session musician.Whenever he was asked who to use on guitar ,he would recommend me.As Ralph said, Babbitt is loud and rough,but he has a heart of gold.We recorded the Scorpion album at Tera Schirma.Ralph was kind enough to give us a key ,and we would come down late at night and work on it.One such night we got carried away and thought the album stunk,so we proceeded to destroy the tape.Thank God ,Ralph had copies of the masters,so all was not lost.It came out on Tower Records,a sub. of Capitol,but wasn't promoted and didn't do much.$104 today,amazing!!
The last time I saw Mike was in L.A. in 1974,but Bob has kept at least loose track of him over the years.From what he has said,Mike has given up acting and music, and is living in Indiana with his wife and three children.I just got his phone # and intend to call him soon.
Rich... When I played on I Got A Thang, I was the only guitar player there.We had bass, drums,keys, and myself.They were running the song, and George asked me to come up with a line and wah-wah part to go with the groove.I'am not sure ,but I think George said Eddie was either sick or in jail(wild times).I got the impression that they had just written the song and George wanted me to come up with the guitar parts.He was not schooled but George could get across what he wanted, even if he had to hum it.Very much like Norman Whitfield.The whole thing came off like a jam session,and I ended up doing the line and wah-wah combo,and also a solo.This was also the first time George asked me to join the band.We ended up doing many shows together with R.E. and P.Funk over the years,including R.F.K. stadium in N.Y.
Ray

By LTLFTC (12.210.76.205) on Wednesday, April 02, 2003 - 05:09 pm:

Ray;
Thanks for all the info !
Not to dwell on just one of the probably hundreds of studio projects you've contributed to, but any , and I mean ANY , additional recollections you have about that 1st Funkadelic album would REALLY be appreciated. I've mentioned it on other threads, but I believe that album may be the archetypal "Detroit 1969-70" release. There are tons of amazing Detroit singles (and single collections), but I truly find that album to be a groundbreaking landmark , a true one-of-a-kind record that is still ahead of it's time. It was never a huge seller and yet it's been reissued over & over (in fact I'm listening to it right now).

I see books in Barnes & Noble on the making of records such as "Kind of Blue" and Cream's "Disraeli Gears" - I tell ya, if someone wrote a blow-by-blow book on that Funkadelic lp, I'd buy it in a second.
So, if you ever get the time to re-examine it closer and shed any more light on it (especially in terms of musicians credits - I believe Babbitt said it was you , he and Andrew Smith and maybe Earl Van Dyke on "I'll Bet You" - the album cover credits are worthless ) at least a couple of us here would be thrilled.
Thanks again

Steve K

By Caleb (65.59.102.164) on Wednesday, April 02, 2003 - 09:25 pm:

Ray,thanks for the information.Great stuff!!So you played on"Give Me Just A Little More Time","Cool Jerk","Band Of Gold","War","Ball Of Confusion".These are some classic records.I saw you mentioned Dennis Coffey and the Flaming Embers.Did you play on "Scorpio" and "Westbound #9"?Saw your involvement on a tune on a Northern Soul compilation CD called "90 Days In The County Jail"-Danny Woods.Good tune/record.When you joined Rare Earth did you continue to do any session work or was all your time devoted to the group? Caleb

By Rich (162.33.246.188) on Thursday, April 03, 2003 - 12:49 pm:

Ray, I greatly appreciate the response, thanks very much. To these ears, it certainly sounds like somebody borrowed some of those grooves you laid down for "I Got a Thang" on Grand Funk's "We're an American Band".

RFK, that's a huge football stadium ... was it anywhere near full? Headliner? Largest live audience you ever performed in front of?

Might as well start it off ... Cool Jerk, I Got a Thang, I Just Wanna Celebrate ... folks here are gonna be curious if there are other well-known studio tracks you play on.

Peace

By Davie Gordon (193.122.21.42) on Thursday, April 03, 2003 - 01:08 pm:

Rich,

Interesting you should mention Grand Funk - I was
playing that Rhino "Grand Funk Collection" a few
weeks ago and thought - "damn, that sounds like
Rare Earth" :-) Nice to know I'm not the only one who sees some Rare Earth influence rubbing off
on the other Funks.

Ray,

I too would be interested in your comments on
"Ninety Days In The County Jail" - a great track.

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.72) on Thursday, April 03, 2003 - 07:34 pm:

HELLO TO ALL:
STEVE...
I BELIEVE THAT BOB WAS RIGHT ABOUT THE MUSICIANS ON I'LL BET YOU. ALSO THE PLAYERS ON I GOT A THANG WERE BERNIE, TIKI, BILLY AND MYSELF. WHAT GEORGE DID AFTER THAT IS ANYBODYS GUESS. POSSIBLY BOB AND I COULD GET TOGETHER AND REHASH AND COME UP WITH SOME ANSWERS. BUT I'VE GOT TO BELIEVE THAT THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS THE REAL STORY IS GEORGE.

CALEB:
WE HAD A GREAT TIME DOING SCORPIO(GRABIT-BABBITT). THE GUITAR PLAYERS WERE DENNIS, JOE PODORSEK, AND MYSELF. I PLAYD ON SEVERAL OF THE EMBERS SONGS BUT I DONT REMEMBER WHICH ONES. BOB BASICALLY DISCOVERED DANNY WOODS. WE WENT TO SEE HIM PERFORM AND HE KNOCKED US OUT - HELL OF A SINGER. WHEN I JOINED R.E. WITH CELEBRATE COMING OUT IT WAS LIKE JUMPING ON A ROCKET. NEEDLESS TO SAY NO TIME FOR MUCH ELSE. WE MOVED TO L.A. WITH MOTOWN AND THAT ENDED MY DETROIT STUDIO MUSICIAN CAREER. THE ONLY THING I DID AFTER THAT BESIDES R.E STUFF WAS A ALBUM FOR SMOKEY ROBINSON IN ABOUT 1975. JEFFREY BOWEN WHO WAS H.D.H'S RIGHT HAND MAN DURING TOWER STUDIO DAYS CALLED ME AND ASKED THAT I PLAY ON SMOKEY'S ALBUM.

RICH AND DAVIE:
MARK FARNER AND GRAND FUNK GREW UP WITH THE SAME INFLUENCES AS WE DID SO THE SIMILAR STYLES WOULD MAKE SENSE. WHEN AMERICAN BAND CAME OUT WE WERE TOURING HEAVILY AND TONS OF PEOPLE THOUGHT IT WAS OUR NEW SINGLE. MANY PEOPLE ASKED US AFTER OUR SHOWS WHY WE DIDN'T PLAY IT.
R.F.K. HAD ABOUT 2/3 OF THE STANDS FILLED. NO ONE WAS ALLOWED ON THE FIELD. I BELIEVE WE CO HEADLINED THE DATE WITH P FUNK. I WAS STANDING
ON THE STAGE DURING SOUND CHECK AND THE PEOPLE DECIDED THEY WANTED A CLOSER LOOK. THE WHOLE CROWD COME RUNNING OUT OF THE STANDS ALL AT ONCE RIGHT TOWARD THE STAGE(IT SOUNDED LIKE A STAMPEDE).I STOOD THERE MESMERIZED THINKING THEY WERE GOING TO CRASH RIGHT THRU. WHEN THEY REACHED THE STAGE THEY ALL CAME TO AN ABRUPT HALT - NO ONE WAS HURT THANK GOD. IT WAS ONE OF THE WILDEST SIGHTS I'VE EVER SEEN.
THE LARGEST CROWD WE EVER PLAYED FOR SINCE I'VE BEEN WITH THE BAND WAS THE CALIFORNIA JAM. 250,000 PLUS. THE BANDS WERE FLOWN IN BY JET HELICOPTER FROM THE HOTEL AND THE STAGES WERE TWO INTER CHANGEABLE RAILROAD CARS. NO WAITING BETWEEN BANDS AT THAT SHOW.
RAY

By Caleb (209.245.118.249) on Thursday, April 03, 2003 - 08:28 pm:

Ray,"Scorpio"-that's another classic.What other records did you play on for Norman Whitfield?Did you play on "Smiling Faces"-Undisputed Truth?Also,is rare earth still putting out new records with new original material and lastly are you still in LA or did you relocate back to Mich?Thank you,Caleb(I am blown away to learn of these records you played on-knew you were in a group with Babbitt but that's about it.Babbitt said you were on another level with your guitar-thanks again).

By Rich (162.33.247.120) on Friday, April 04, 2003 - 09:18 am:

Ray, thanks again, I sincerely hope I don't wear out my welcome with more questions.

BTW, the interchangeable railroad cars seems like a brilliant idea.

You're credited with having played on Ruth Copeland's Invictus album "I Am What I Am" album along with Funkadelic as well as Ron Bykowski. Gimme Shelter & The Medal are two amazing cuts. Do you recall if you were the guitarists on the sessions and who else may have been playing? Any idea whatever happened to Ron B. (musically speaking) after he left Funkadelic in 1975?

I wonder if the Smokey Robinson album you played on was Deep in My Soul (recorded in 1976) with "There Will Come a Day" & "Vitamin U". Bowen produced several tracks which featured Billy Nelson & Donald Baldwin, but probably not Eddie Hazel as its belived he was in Lampoc Prison Farm at the time.

R.E. did a version of one of my favorites, "Hum Along and Dance", did you also play on session that was produced by Norman Whitfield for the Tempts.

Got any good Jeffrey Bowen stories - LOL

Peace

By john c (12.2.233.107) on Friday, April 04, 2003 - 03:14 pm:

Ray,

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences. I'm also interested in what it was like working for Norman Whitfield, particularly on the "MA" LP which included "Hum Along And Dance" which Rich mentioned.

Just last week I was trying to lift some licks from "What I'd Say" so your influence continues.

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.74) on Friday, April 04, 2003 - 07:40 pm:

HELLO TO ALL:
CALEB...
THE ONLY OTHER THINGS I DID WITH NORMAN WERE FOR R.E. (MA AND MIDNIGHT LADY) WE DID A VERSION OF SMILIN FACES WITH NORMAN BUT I DIDNT PLAY ON THE OTHER VERSION.
WE RECORDED 2 CD'S SINCE 1989 - THE FIRST BEING MADE IN SWITZERLAND LIVE WITH 2 ORIGINAL SONGS AND THE SECOND CALLED DIFFERENT WORLD, A STUDIO ALBUM RECORDED IN GERMANY IN 1993 WITH 4 ORIGINAL SONGS ON IT.
IN 1982 I MOVED BACK TO THE DETROIT AREA AND ALL THE PRESENT BAND MEMBERS LIVE IN MICHIGAN.

RICH:
IF YOU DON'T QUIT ASKING ME THESE QUESTIONS I'M GOING TO GO CRAZY - MY MEMORYS NOT THAT GREAT
-------JUST KIDDING------WELCOMES ARE NEVER WORN OUT!! THESE QUESTIONS ARE BRINGING BACK A FLOOD OF FOND MEMORIES TO ME.
I CAME IN AND OVER DUBBED ON THE TWO SONGS IN QUESTION PLAYING THE LEADS AND SOLOS AND THE OTHERS PLAYERS HAD TO BE BERNIE, TIKI, AND BILLIE. UNFORTUNATELY I DON'T HAVE ANY INFO ON RON B. YOU HAD TO HIT THE RIGHT ALBUM FOR SMOKEY BECAUSE JEFFREYS INVOLVEMENT. I PLAYED ON 3 OR 4 OF THE TRACKS DOING SOME ACOUSTIC WORK
AND 2 PART HARMONIES. I REMEBER PLAYING THE BEATLES HERE COMES THE SUN WHILE THEY WERE GETTING THE SOUND TOGETHER AND WHEN I FINISHED THEY ALL SEEMED TO HAVE ENJOYED IT.
I DIDN'T PLAY ON THE TEMPS VERSION FOR NORMAN
BUT THE GUITAR I USED ON OURS HAS AN UNUSUAL STORY - JOHN VELANO MADE A HANDFUL OF GUITARS, OUT OF FLA. THEY WERE PURCHASED BY QUITE A FEW TOP NAMES LIKE CLAPTON. HE CAME TO OUR CONCERT AND SHOWED ME THIS WILD LOOKING THING THAT WAS ALL SILVER METAL WITH A RUBY IN THE HEAD SO I PURCHASED THE 4TH ONE HE MADE.
LET ME THINK ABOUT THE JEFFREY BOWEN THING.

JOHN:
NORMAN IS A MASTER. HE WOULD COME OUT INTO THE STUDIO WITH US, WALK UP TO EACH OF US, INSPIRING AND TELLING US WHAT TO PLAY - HE MADE YOU WANT TO GIVE THE BEST THAT YOU COULD POSSIBLY GIVE.
HE WAS DOING THIS AND SWEATING WITH US DURING
THE ACTUAL RECORDING OF THE TRACKS. ALSO, I'VE NEVER SEEN ANY PRODUCER WORK A VOCALIST HARDER THAN NORMAN - HE'S A PERFECTIONIST. HE AND PETER USED TO FIGHT LIKE CATS AND DOGS.
RAY

By Caleb (64.157.71.13) on Friday, April 04, 2003 - 08:16 pm:

Ray,is there any kind of recording scene happening in Detroit these days?Also,what Honeycomb records did you play on?

By larry (12.141.160.25) on Friday, April 04, 2003 - 09:41 pm:

Dear Ray,

I'm enjoying this thread immensely. Great questions and answers. Your participation online is a gift to us all.

By Scratcher (65.133.219.158) on Friday, April 04, 2003 - 09:45 pm:

Ray, my favorite Rare Earth song is the little known ballad "Keeping Me Out of the Storm." Did the group ever perform it live?

By Ray Monette (207.191.236.18) on Saturday, April 05, 2003 - 03:55 pm:

HELLO TO ALL;
CALEB...
THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A RECORDING SCENE HAPPENING IN DETROIT .UNFORTUNATELY I HAVE NOT REALLY BEEN IN TOUCH WITH IT LATELY.JUST DOING THE RARE EARTH AND FAMILY THING.BOB B. TOLD ME HE JUST DID A SESSION AT PAC 3 A LITTLE WHILE AGO SO THAT OLDIE IS STILL ALIVE AND KICKIN FOR ONE. DURING THE H.D.H. TIMES AT TOWER,WERE SOME OF MY BUSIEST ,BETWEEN THE SESSION WORK AND HAIR 6 NIGHTS A WEEK.I PLAYED ON MANY OF THE TRACKS,BUT THE ONES THAT STICK OUT ARE FREDA PAYNE-BAND OF GOLD,GENERAL JACKSON-GIMME JUST A LITTLE MORE TIME,100 PROOF-SOMEBODYS BEEN SLEEPING IN MY BED,AND HONEYCOMB-WANT ADS.ALSO THE OTHER SONG THAT ISNT LISTED HERE IS THE JACKSON 5 -I WANT YOU BACK.ONE POINT.THE MOTOWN SESSIONS THAT I DID HAD 5 GUITARS ON THEM!! ROBERT WHITE,JOE MESSINA,EDDIE WILLIS,DENNIS COFFEY,AND MYSELF.LOTS OF FUN DIVIDING UP PARTS.
LARRY..THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR KIND WORDS AND SUPPORT. ALL THE BEST TO YOU.
SCRATCHER...THAT WAS WHEN WE ADDED A SECOND GUITAR TO THE BAND;PAUL WARREN.AND WE ALSO HAD JERRY LACROIX(EDGER WINTER),AND FROSTY(LEE MICHAELS)WITH US TOO.I BELIEVE PAUL WROTE THAT SONG,BUT WE NEVER DID PERFORM IT LIVE.I TOO THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD SONG ,BUT IT DIDNT QUITE SEEM TO GEL WITH THE HEAVIER SONGS IN OUR LIVE SHOW.
RAY

By Scratcher (65.132.79.95) on Saturday, April 05, 2003 - 04:07 pm:

Ray that song is an undiscovered gem it could be a hit for somebody right now. The lyrics are so poignant; the storyline about a drifter who finds a woman that takes him in (keeping him out of the storm) is heartwarming. You guys be singing on that sucker too.

Strange the group never performed it live. Motown issued it as the A-Side to "Let Me Be Your Sunshine" in 1975. I never heard though until I purchase a R.E. Greatest Hits collection.

By David Meikle (62.252.128.6) on Saturday, April 05, 2003 - 04:16 pm:

Hi Ray

Where did you record "Man without a woman"?

By Caleb (64.157.71.131) on Saturday, April 05, 2003 - 07:41 pm:

Who were the other musicians on "Want Ads"?

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.94) on Sunday, April 06, 2003 - 12:47 pm:

HEY MO-FU'S;
JUST KIDDING,I TALKED TO BABBITT LAST NIGHT AND IT RUBBED OFF.HE'S DOING FINE,JUST WORKING HARD REHEARSING,AND HE SAID TO SAY HI TO EVERYBODY.
SCRATCHER...UNFORTUNATELY,THAT ALBUM WAS KINDA THROWN OUT BY MOTOWN WITHOUT MUCH PROMO,AND DIDN'T DO MUCH.THINKING BACK AGAIN, I THINK WE DID WORK UP THE SONG AND EVEN PLAY IT A COUPLE OF TIMES LIVE.
DAVID...I'AM NOT SURE,BUT I THINK WE RECORDED ALL FOUR SIDES OF THE MIKE&RAY,MICHAEL&RAYMOND 45'S AT THE SAME TIME.BUT I AM SURE WE DID THEM ALL AT UNITED SOUND.MIKE TERRY WAS THE ARRANGER, AND I CAN PICTURE HIM OVERDUBBING THE CELESTE ON IF ONLY YOU KNEW LIKE IT WAS YESTERDAY.ALSO,I NOTICED THE THREAD ON SPORT LABEL,AND IF YOU ALREADY DIDN'T KNOW,ABSTRACT REALITY WAS MIKE&RAY'S NEXT PROJECT WITH SHELLY HAIMS.
THINKING BACK ON THE PIED PIPER DAYS REMINDED ME OF ONE INCIDENT I THOUGHT I'D MENTION.IT WAS EITHER 1965 OR 66.JACK ASHFORD,HERBIE WILLIAMS,JOE HUNTER,AND MYSELF TOOK A TRIP TO CHICAGO TO RECORD AT RCA,I BELIEVE FOR THE O'JAYS.WE STAYED ON LAKESHORE DRIVE WHICH RUNS ALONG LAKE MICHIGAN,AND THE STUDIO WAS JUST A COUPLE OF BLOCKS DOWN THE STREET.THE STUDIO PART OF THE BUILDING WAS BELOW STREET LEVEL, AND WE WERE THERE SEVERAL HOURS RECORDING.WHEN WE FINISHED WE HAD NO IDEA WE WOULD COME UP TO FIND ONE AND A HALF FEET OF SNOW HAD FALLEN.NEEDLESS TO SAY,THE ENTIRE CITY HAD COME TO A STANDSTILL.IT WAS REALLY STRANGE,NOTHING MOVING,AND A 70 MPH WIND BLOWING.WE HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO WALK BACK TO THE HOTEL.IN THAT WIND WITH THE SNOW,IT WAS TAKE ONE STEP,GO BACK TWO.IT TOOK US ABOUT 25 MINUTES TO WALK THE TWO OR THREE BLOCKS!!WE ENDED UP BEING STRANDED FOR TWO MORE DAYS.THE HOTEL TURNED INTO ONE BIG PARTY AND WE ENDED UP HAVING A GREAT TIME.THE GREAT SNOWSTORM OF 66.
CALEB...THATS A TUFF ONE.IT HAD TO BE BABBITT ON BASS.AT LEAST DENNIS COFFEY AND MYSELF ON GUITS.AND THE REST I CAN'T BE SURE ABOUT.HDH USED MANY PLAYERS INCLUDING SOME OF THE FUNKS.AT THAT TIME,THERE WAS THE ONGOING FEUD AND LAWSUIT BETWEEN MOTOWN AND HDH.IT WAS KINDA FUNNY TO SEE SOMEBODY CRACK THE DOOR,PEEK IN,MAKE SURE THE COAST WAS CLEAR,AND THEN COME IN TO DO THE SESSION.MOST OF US ENDED UP DOING DEPOSITIONS FOR THE LAWSUIT.ALSO,AFTER BAND OF GOLD CAME OUT,WHICH WAS THERE FIRST RELEASE(I THINK),JEFFREY BOWEN TOLD US THAT THEY DIDN'T LIKE THE TRACK WE DID ON IT, SO THEY RECORDED IN NEW YORK!YEAH RIGHT,LIKE WE ALL COULDN'T TELL OUR OWN PLAYING!!I GUESS HE THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA ASK FOR RAISES OR SOMETHING.
RAY

By Caleb (209.245.114.148) on Sunday, April 06, 2003 - 05:08 pm:

Ray,great post-more good stuff,this is a hot thread."Somebody's Been Sleeping In My Bed",that's a smokin' track.Nice collection of tunes you played on in Detroit.Any chart records come out of the recordings you did in Chicago?Also,how much touring does r.e. do out of the year now?

By Rich (162.33.247.130) on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 09:39 am:

Alright Ray, let's put that memory of yours to the test once again - with my typical George Clinton twist. Not that I'm avoiding Rare Earth, Motown or Invictus ... but lets shine a flashlight on another aspect of your recording career. You're contributions to various Clinton produced sessions became a part of the blue-print for what became the institution & phenomenom known simply as P-Funk.

Questions:

Besides "I Got a Thing", did you play on any other cuts from the first Funkadelic album (Mommy Whats a Funkadelic, etc) and I'd love to know if you recall who else played on any of those sessions with you.

Pre-Funkadelic (Revilot / Solid Hit) : Can you lay claim to playing guitar on Clinton produced sessions for any of the following cuts:

The Parliaments: Testify / All Your Goodies are Gone / The Goose (that laid the golden egg) / Look What I Almost Missed / A New Day Begins

Pat Lewis: I'll Wait / Baby I Owe You Something Good /

JJ Barnes: Our Love (is in the pocket) / Day Tripper / So-Called Friends

The Fellows - Let's Make it Last

Debonaires: Headache in My Heart

When GC asked you to join, was he frustrated with Eddie or looking to replace Lucius "Tawl" Ross. In retrospect, Tawl seems more out of the loop than in the loop.

And finally,I'm curious to know if you and Eddie Hazel ever play together on the same session?

Thanks again for the earlier replies. Some folks favorite group was The Temptations, some the Beatles, mine was the original Funkadelic, so I find it fascinating to hear about the early days, which you were certainly a part of.

Peace, Rich

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.22) on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 04:09 pm:

CALEB...
I REMEMBER THE SNOW STORMS - BUT I DON'T REMEMBER THE SONGS OR WHAT HAPPENED WITH THEM.
SORRY ----
R.E. TOURS ABOUT SIX MONTHS OUT OF THE YEAR.
WE DO VARIOUS TYPES OF SHOWS INCLUDING SOME CLUBS, STATE FAIRS, OUTDOOR FESTIVALS AND CASINOS.
WE ARE ALSO DOING SOME PACKAGE SHOWS WITH OTHER ARTISTS SUCH AS MITCH RYDER, SPENCER DAVIS,AND MARK LINDSEY AT THIS TIME.
MITCH IS AN OLD FRIEND AND AT ONE TIME BABBITT,ANDREW SMITH, MIKE CAMPBELL AND I PLAYED ON A FEW SHOWS FOR HIM. ON ONE OF THE SHOWS MITCH GAVE US HIS CAR TO DRIVE TO THE GIG IN THUNDER BAY ONTARIO. IT WAS THE DEAD OF WINTER AND THE MOUNTAIN ROADS WERE ICEY AND NASTY. I WAS DRIVING AND (CRAZY) MIKE HAPPENED TO LOOK IN THE GLOVE BOX AND FOUND A GUN. WE FIGURED OUT THAT IS WAS A BLANK/STARTER PISTOL. MIKE DECIDED TO OPEN THE WINDOW AND EMPTY THE THING.
IT DIDN'T GO OFF AT ALL SO HE CLOSED THE WINDOW AND PULLED THE TRIGGER ONE MORE TIME. THE GUN WENT OFF AND WE INSTANTLY FOUND OUT THAT THEY WERE TEAR GAS SHELLS. I'M TRYING TO KEEP THE CAR UNDER CONTROL AND BOB AND ANDREW ARE ASKING WHATS WRONG - UNTIL IT HIT THEM SECONDS LATER.
JUST ANOTHER ADVENTURE----

RICH...
I'VE LOST A COUPLE OF BATTERYS IN MY FLASHLIGHT BUT I THINK THERE'S STILL ONE WORKING.
AFTER CAREFUL THOUGHT AND RESEARCH I THINK I CAN ANSWER YOUR QUESTION - YES I PLAYED ON TWO OF THE OTHER CUTS - MOMMY AND I BET YOU. THE PERSONNEL ON THE TRACKING FOR MOMMY WERE DENNIS COFFEY, BOB BABBITT, IVY HUNTER, TIKI AND MYSELF.
PERSONNEL ON I BET YOU (YES EDDIE AND I DID PLAY TOGETHER) EDDIE HAZEL, EARL VAN DYKE, BOB BABBITT
AND TIKI. AS I SAID BEFORE - WHAT GEORGE DID WITH THEM AFTER THAT IS ANYONE'S GUESS. THE OTHER GC PRODUCTIONS IN QUESTION: A COUPLE OF THEM SEEM VERY FAMILIAR BUT I WOULD HAVE TO GET TOGETHER WITH BABBITT TO BE SURE.
YOU BASICALLY CALLED IT - RICH. WHEN GC ASKED ME TO JOIN HE WAS FRUSTRATED WITH EDDIE AT THAT TIME. ACTUALLY THIS QUESTION CAME UP A FEW MORE TIMES THRU THE YEARS BUT AT THAT POINT I JUST COULDNT SEE MYSELF IN A DIAPER.
RAY

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.22) on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 04:12 pm:

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.22) on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 04:20 pm:

RALPH ----
HELP ME - I'M SEEING DOUBLE. CAN YOU GET THAT SECOND ONE OUT OF THERE??????? I THINK I PUSHED THE WRONG BUTTON. THANKS
RAY

By Caleb (63.208.118.165) on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 04:27 pm:

Ray,that's quite a story-tear gas courtesy of crazy mike.Mike was quite a singer tho'.Have you seen the Standing in the Shadows of Motown movie?

By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 07:33 pm:

That's OK Ray. It's worth reading twice.

By Larry (216.23.183.2) on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 07:50 pm:

Hear Hear Ralph! Great reading.

By Kim (68.54.32.8) on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 09:36 pm:

Ray,
Do you still have the cherry SG Standard? Have you ever heard from Dennis Watkins?
Best,
Kim

By Rich (162.33.235.160) on Tuesday, April 08, 2003 - 08:29 am:

Ray, you mentioned playing acoustic guitar on sessions Bowen produced for Smokey Robinson. Three of the Bowen produced cuts (all of which feature tremendous acoustic guitar playing) are absolute classics "If You Want My Love", "You Cannot Laugh Alone" & "In My Corner". As great as the band sounds, Smokey's vocals are devastating, particularly on "You Cannot Laugh Alone". Little question: Donald Baldwin had to have been handling the keyboards as I believe the songs are basically his. Billy Nelson on bass. Any recollection who played drums. Was Smokey in the studio at the time the music was recorded? RE: "Here Comes the Sun", Nelson was a Beatles fan for sure.

Broad based question: Just curious, back then when you were called in for a session by someone like Jeffrey Bowen, how much rehearsal time did you have with the rest of the band before tape started rolling, were you expected to develop guitar parts or were you given demos tapes ahead of time to begin to learn the songs and get ideas?

Thanks again Ray for your time and earlier responses ... you know, maybe another definition of shock & awe would be achieved if R.E. just once took the stage wearing nothing but nappys. Don't knock it til you've tried it. Garry Shider still takes the stage wearing his, beer gut & all - LOL

By RD (63.188.32.60) on Tuesday, April 08, 2003 - 09:21 am:

"You Cannot Laugh Alone" is a great but little known Smokey Robinson recording. I love the lyrics..."your love was crackerjacks, a surprise in every pack, a sugar coated love, what dreams are made out of, a myth, a fantasy, a package COD..." and Robinson's heartfelt vocal. I also liked "In My Corner." Would skip over "If You Want My Love" though.

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.18) on Tuesday, April 08, 2003 - 01:23 pm:

HELLO TO ALL: RALPH&LARRY,THANKS FOR THE THUMBS-UP GUYS.IT IS DEFINATELY APPRECIATED!
CALEB...BOB,MIKE,ANDREW,AND I WERE LIKE BROTHERS.BUT THAT WAS MIKE'S NICKNAME ALL THE WAY BACK TO TEEN DAYS. I HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE YET.I'LL HAVE TO WAIT TILL IT'S OUT ON VIDEO,BUT UNLESS SOMETHING COMES UP FOR R.E.I'LL BE AT THE PERFORMANCE IN DETROIT.
KIM...I LOST TOUCH WITH DENNIS (A FELLOW GUITAR TEACHER)BACK IN THE LATE 60'S.AS FOR THAT GIBSON SG,I DO STILL HAVE IT.THAT WAS THE GUITAR THAT I USED ON ALL THE SESSIONS THAT HAVE BEEN TALKED ABOUT HERE.IN 1961,LES PAUL CAME TO TOWN TO DEMONSTRATE HIS NEW LINE OF GUITARS.I COULDN'T WAIT TO MEET HIM.HE INTRODUCED THE SG,AND CUSTOM.I BOUGHT THE SG ON THE SPOT,AND HAVE ENJOYED IT EVER SINCE.AS A MATTER OF FACT,MY SON PLAYED IT FOR A WHILE.
RICH...THOSE ARE DEFINATELY THE SONGS.I WAS CALLED IN TO OVERDUB ON THE TRACKS,SO I CAN'T HELP YOU WITH THE DRUMMER.SMOKEY WAS NOT THERE.I REMEMBER THE ENGINEER,JEFFREY,DONALD,AND BILLY BEING THERE. ON ALL SESSIONS,WE ALL CAME IN COLD,AND THE CHARTS WERE HANDED OUT,AND WE PROCEEDED TO RUN DOWN THE SONGS AND RECORD THEM.A SESSION USUALLY CONSISTED OF 3 TO 4 SONGS,COMPLETED IN 3 HOURS.THE CHARTS VARIED FROM A SIMPLE CHORD CHART,TO EVERY NOTE WRITTEN OUT,DEPENDING ON THE ARRANGER.OVERDUBBING WAS THE EXCEPTION.I GOT TOGETHER WITH JEFFREY,AND HE GAVE ME A TAPE OF THE TRACKS A FEW DAYS IN ADVANCE,BECAUSE HE WANTED SOME FAIRLY COMPLEX HARMONY PARTS FOR ME TO COME UP WITH.
AS FOR THE NAPPYS,I'LL TELL THE GUY'S.THEY'LL GET A KICK OUT OF THAT ONE.
RD...THOSE WORDS BRING IT ALL BACK.SMOKEY'S VOCALS WERE ALREADY ON THE TAPE WHEN JEFFREY GAVE IT TO ME.
RAY

By Caleb (63.208.112.181) on Tuesday, April 08, 2003 - 08:32 pm:

Ray,when did you meet Mike?Did you guys grow up together?Are you both from Michigan originally?

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.79) on Wednesday, April 09, 2003 - 03:15 pm:

HELLO TO ALL:
CALEB...
YES,MIKE AND I ARE BOTH FROM MI.AS A MATTER OF FACT,MIKE'S FROM FARMINGTON,MI,WHERE ROBIN WILLIAMS IS ALSO FROM(TWO PEAS FROM THE SAME POD)
WE MET THROUGH MUTUAL FRIENDS,JUST AFTER HIGH SCHOOL,AND BECAME INSTANT FRIENDS.
MIKE ,WAS SLIGHTLY MORE OUTGOING THAN ME,AND WHEN HE FOUND OUT ABOUT GOLDEN WORLD,HE WENT DOWN AND PROCEEDED TO MEET AND MAKE FRIENDS WITH EVERYONE.SHORTLY AFTER,HE TOLD ME TO GRAB A GUITAR(ACOUSTIC),AND SAID WE WERE GOING DOWN TO A STUDIO.WE WALKED IN AND MIKE INTRODUCED ME TO MIKE TERRY,AMONG OTHERS.HE TOLD ME TO PLAY SOMETHING FOR HIM,AND WHEN I WAS FINISHED, MIKE TERRY SAID,COME BACK TOMORROW .WE'RE DOING A SESSION,BUT BRING AN ELECTRIC GUITAR.THE SESSION WAS COOL JERK!! YOU REALLY COULD SAY THAT MIKE LAUNCHED MY RECORDING CAREER.

ONE OTHER STORY : BILL COSBY CAME THROUGH DETROIT,WHEN HE WAS ON TOUR WITH HIS SINGLE OUT.BABBITT,ANDREW,MIKE AND I ENDED UP BEING HIS BACK-UP BAND(MIKE WAS PLAYING CONGAS).WE DID A SHOW IN DETROIT,AND WE WERE SUPPOSED TO DO A COUPLE MORE CITIES.BILL WOULD TEASE THE MUSICIANS AS PART OF THE SHOW.HE WOULD COME OVER TO ME AND TURN MY MUSIC UPSIDE DOWN,AND SAY,NOW YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO PLAY IT RIGHT.THE SHOW IN DETROIT WENT WELL,SO OFF TO PITTSBURGH.ALSO,RUTH COPELAND WAS ON THE SHOW,AND WE BACKED HER TOO.
BILL WAS MESSING WITH MIKE,BIG TIME ON THE PITTS. SHOW.SO MIKE GRABBED THE MIC. AND PROCEEDED TO NAIL BILL WITH SOME FUNNY STUFF.IT BROUGHT THE HOUSE DOWN...NEEDLESS TO SAY,THAT WAS OUR LAST SHOW WITH BILL COSBY.
RAY

By Caleb (209.245.114.109) on Wednesday, April 09, 2003 - 06:23 pm:

Great stories.Mike sounded like an unbelievable character.So the two of you proceded to work on music together and ended recording a few sides?What came out of those recordings?Were actual records released?

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.23) on Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 11:46 am:

HELLO TO ALL:
CALEB...WELL YOU KNOW THOSE ACTORS,EVEN CRAZIER THAN MUSICIANS! MIKE AND I HOOKED UP WITH JACK ASHFORD AT THE START OF PIED PIPER PRODUCTIONS.I BECAME JACK'S IN HOUSE GUITAR PLAYER,AND DID SOME WRITING WITH VARIOUS PEOPLE IN THE COMPANY.
MIKE AND I RECORDED SEVERAL SONGS THAT WE CO-WROTE.THE FIRST RELEASE WAS "IF ONLY YOU KNEW",ON THE GIANT LABEL.THE SECOND ONE WAS "MAN WITHOUT A WOMAN,ON THE SAME LABEL.AFTER THAT, WE HOOKED UP WITH SHELLY HAIMS,AND RELEASED A RECORD CALLED "LOVE BURNS LIKE A FIRE" ON SPORT RECORDS. THE NEXT PROJECT WAS "SCORPION" WITH BABBITT AND ANDREW SMITH.THAT ALBUM WAS A TOTAL GROUP EFFORT IN ALL ASPECTS. AFTER THAT ,IS WHEN I JOINED R.E. LEAVING THE GUYS ,WAS ONE OF THE TOUGHEST DECISIONS I'VE EVER HAD TO MAKE.
ONE NOTE: MIKE ALSO PLAYED ON A FEW SESSIONS,CONGAS ON A COUPLE(CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT),AND HARMONICA ON "BALL OF CONFUSION".
RAY

By acooolcat (210.200.105.227) on Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 12:12 pm:

Greetings Ray
You mention "Man Without A Woman" being on Giant, but I'm sure your only "Mike and Ray" 45 was Giant #706 - "Private World of My Own" b/w "If I Only Knew."
Your Sport 45 as Abstract Reality was "Love Burns Like Fire," which has the track on the flipside.
Can you remember group called The Sandpipers that recorded for Jack Ashford - and if so; Who were they? They recorded as song called "Lonely Too Long" that was also released on Giant.
Best wishes, Graham

By Rich (162.33.234.189) on Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 12:16 pm:

Ray, back again ... earlier in this thread you mentioned that you and other Michigan guitarists like Mark Farner would have been influenced by a lot of the same things. Does anything in particular stand out like Cream or Jimi Hendrix or were your influences more locally based like Motown or heavier Detroit groups like the MC5. Where'd you get your funk from?

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.107) on Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 04:54 pm:

HELLO TO ALL:
GRAHAM...I ROUNDED UP MY COPIES OF THE GIANT AND SPORT RELEASES,BUT I COULDN'T FIND "MAN WITHOUT A WOMAN".I DO KNOW WE WERE CALLED MICHAEL&RAYMOND ON THAT CUT.I THOUGHT IT WAS ON GIANT,BUT COULD BE WRONG.PERHAPS DAVID COULD CLEAR IT UP.HE ASKED WHERE IT WAS RECORDED,IN AN EARLIER QUESTION. THE SANDPIPERS DEFINATELY RINGS A BELL.I VERY WELL COULD HAVE PLAYED ON THE TRACK,BUT UNFORTUNATELY I DON'T REMEMBER THE DETAILS.
RICH...I DOUBT THERE'S ANY GUITARIST THAT HASN'T BEEN INFLUENCED BY HENDRIX,AND CLAPTON.AND IF YOU GREW UP IN DETROIT,YOU HAD TO BE TOUCHED BY MOTOWN,AND THE ROCK SCENE GOING ON. BUT BEFORE ALL THAT,I WAS LISTENING TO AND LEARNING FROM PLAYERS LIKE ALBERT,AND FREDDIE KING,JAMES BROWN,AND ANY OTHER FUNKY R&B OR BLUES MUSIC GOING ON AT THE TIME.WHEN I WAS 15 I PLAYED IN THE HOUSE BAND AT THE "VILLAGE",ON WOODWARD.THAT'S THE PLACE WHERE THE SONG "VILLAGE OF LOVE" CAME FROM.MY FATHER CAME DOWN ONE NIGHT,AND PULLED ME OUT OF THERE.I GUESS HE DIDN'T LIKE WHAT HE SAW.I NEVER LIMITED MYSELF TO ONE TYPE OF MUSIC,BUT I'VE ALWAYS FAVORED FUNKY STUFF(MUSIC FROM THE HEART).
ONE NOTE: I WAS PLAYING WITH THE MOTOWN REVUE AT THE FOX THEATRE THE DAY THE DETROIT RIOTS BROKE OUT.A SECURITY GUARD WAS KIND ENOUGH TO ESCORT ME TO MY CAR SO I COULD MAKE MY GETAWAY.IT WAS LIKE BEING IN THE MIDDLE OF A WAR ZONE!

LAST OF ALL: I'AM HEADING DOWN TO FLORIDA,WITH R.E.,FOR THE WEEKEND...BEST TO ALL...TALK TO YOU MONDAY.
RAY

By David Meikle (62.252.128.6) on Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 05:07 pm:

Ray

The 45 was released on RCA9244.

I'd be interested to know what Shelly looked like.

Can you help?

David

By Davie Gordon (193.122.21.42) on Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 05:08 pm:

Ray,

"Man Without a Woman" was on RCA

Davie

By Caleb (209.245.115.172) on Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 07:08 pm:

Ralph,I'm thoroughly enjoying the stories and information on this thread.Thanks for setting it up.Caleb(Mike Campbell with the harmonica work on "Ball of Confusion")

By SiclynG (216.11.6.193) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 08:57 am:

Hey There! How's it hangin' Ray? This weather is fun, I hope you're doing well, guess what- I'm learning a Jazz song. It's "All that Jazz", from the strange but fabulous musical- CHICAGO. Well gotta go, but maybe you could hear it sometime, and give some advice.

Love, Marie

By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 09:33 am:

Your welcome Caleb. I'm enjoying the thread also. I'll tell you a little Mike Campbell story. When I had Tera Shirma he was coming in a lot being involved with Scorpion. At the time I didn't know him all that well and just thought he was this young cocky kid. He told me one day he was going to learn to play the harmonica and would be the best harp player in Detroit. I thought to myself " Yeah, right kid just like that ". I suppose I wasn't quite aware at the time of the talent this guy possessed because he did just what he said he was going to do and everyone ( including me ) would use Crazy Mike when they needed a bad ass harp player on a session.

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.27) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 02:43 pm:

HELLO TO ALL:
DAVID AND DAVIE... YOU GUYS ARE GREAT!! YOU KNOW MORE ABOUT ME THAN I KNOW MYSELF.OR AT LEAST MORE THAN I CAN REMEMBER.THANKS FOR THE INFO.THAT SONG WAS ON RCA,BUT IT WAS STILL A PIED PIPER PROD.,WASN'T IT?
DAVID, TO THE BEST OF MY RECCOLECTION,SHELLEY WAS A MAN OF AVERAGE BUILD,ABOUT FIVE-FOOT-FIVE.HE HAD SLICKED BACK ,LIGHT-BROWN HAIR,AND WORE LARGE BLACK-RIMMED GLASSES.HE WAS A KIND,SOFT-SPOKEN MAN,BUT AT THE SAME TIME,ALWAYS UP,AND FULL OF ENERGY.HE REALLY TRIED HARD TO LAUNCH MIKE AND I,BUT THE COMPANY DIDN'T LAST VERY LONG, AS I REMEMBER.
CALEB AND RALPH...THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR KINDNESS,AND SUPPORT.I TOO,AM ENJOYING IT,THINKING BACK ON GOOD TIMES,AND SOME GREAT MEMORIES. I REMEMBER WHEN MIKE BOUGHT HIS FIRST BLUES HARP.I COULDN'T BELIEVE THE LICKS HE WAS PLAYING ON IT ,AFTER JUST A COUPLE OF DAYS!
MARIE...I'AM DOING FINE.JUST BACK FROM FLORIDA.WE HAD AN OUTDOOR SHOW DOWN THERE THAT WAS TERRIFIC.ABOUT 10,000 PEOPLE,ON THEIR FEET,SINGING "I JUST WANT TO CELEBRATE" AT THE END OF THE SHOW. I HAVEN'T SEEN CHICAGO YET(HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT ONE),BUT GOOD LUCK LEARNING IT.

ONE LAST NOTE: ALL THIS P-FUNK TALK GOT ME THINKING OF A SHOW WE DID TOGETHER ON RANDALLS ISLAND,IN NEW YORK CITY.IT WAS OUTDOORS,AND WE WERE SCHEDULED TO GO ON FIRST.THERE WERE ABOUT 15,000 PEOPLE THERE,MOSTLY FROM THE CITY.WHEN WE ARRIVED,WE NOTICED THAT THE STAGE SEEMED,AWFULLY LOW(ABOUT TWO FEET HIGH),AND SECURITY LOOKED EXTREMELY LIGHT. WE STARTED OUR SHOW,AND BY OUR SECOND SONG PEOPLE STARTED TO COME UP ON THE STAGE WITH US.THE SECURITY PEOPLE(ALL TWO OF THEM)DISAPPEARED,AND THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW,PEOPLE ARE HELPING US PLAY OUR INSTRUMENTS,AND TURNING KNOBS ON OUR AMPS.ONE GUY WAS ON THE FLOOR HAND-WORKING MY WAH-WAH PEDAL FOR ME!!EACH ONE OF US WAS COMPLETELY SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE.I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE THAT THE REST OF THE BAND HAD LEFT THE STAGE,UNTIL ONE OF OUR CREW GUYS CAME UP AND GOT ME.THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW,FIGHTS STARTED BREAKING OUT,AND WE DECIDED IT WAS TIME TO GET OUT OF THERE.AS WE WERE LEAVING,LOADS OF POLICE CARS WERE COMING IN.THE LAST THING I REMEMBER SEEING WAS OUR EQUIPMENT TRUCK COVERED WITH PEOPLE.HOW OUR CREW GOT THE GEAR AND THEMSELVES OUT,IS STILL A MYSTERY. NEEDLESS TO SAY, P-FUNK DIDN'T PERFORM THAT DAY.
RAY

By SiclynG (205.188.209.38) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 06:24 pm:

Ray, I'm back. I'd sure like a copy of that Scorpion album.Anyway, I have to eat but I'll catch ya later.By the way, where's your next tour?
What would you say has been the best place you've performed? What would you have been if you were'nt a musician?

By Caleb (65.59.108.148) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 10:04 pm:

Ray,if you talk to Mike Campbell in the near future please tell him about this site,try to get him on.Also,Babbitt had posted where he was going to try and contact Capitol as far as finding the original Scorpion tapes,maybe try and get it re-released.I would buy it in a second.Did that group do any live gigs and if so what was Mike like performing live.Was he kind of wild?How about Andrew Smith,man was serious on those drums.That was quite a line-up there.Caleb

By Rich (162.33.247.113) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 08:08 am:

Glad to hear R.E. & their fans had a good time in FLA. Nappy's ?? I don't know who started all the P-Funk talk Ray, but I'm glad for it. As chaotic as the Randalls Island show must have been, at least you got a great story out of it. Other than Ruth Copeland, do you recall playing on any sessions for HDH/Invictus with Billy, Tiki or Bernie? Jeffrey Bowen kept those three (along with Donald Baldwin) quite busy for HDH but that may have been after you hooked up with R.E. and left Detroit for LA.

If you don't mind posting, what typically goes through your mind when you unexpectantly hear a song like "Cool Jerk" on the radio or while watching a movie (Home Alone)

Peace

By David Meikle (213.122.36.207) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 08:37 am:

Last paragraph - good question Rich!

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.33) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 02:29 pm:

HELLO TO ALL:
MARIE...THEY TELL ME THAT A COPY OF "SCORPION",JUST SOLD ON E-BAY FOR OVER $100.AMAZING. OUR NEXT TOUR WILL BE A RUN THROUGH CAL.,STARTING IN SACRAMENTO,AND ENDING IN SAN DIEGO,IN EARLY MAY.ONE OF THE SHOWS IS WITH OUR OLD BUDDY MITCH RYDER.WHEN I SEE HIM I WILL TELL HIM ABOUT HIS THREAD ,AND MAYBE GET HIM TO COME TO THE FORUM.
THE BEST PLACE WE PERFORMED IS TOUGH: MADISON SQUARE GARDEN,NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC,PHILLY SPECTRUM,L.A. FORUM,CAL JAM.ALL GREAT ,JUST TO NAME A FEW.
IF I WERN'T A MUSICIAN,I WOULD HOPE I WAS IN ONE OF THE OTHER CREATIVE FIELDS,OR POSSIBLY,A DOCTOR.
CALEB...I CERTAINLY WILL TRY TO GET MIKE TO COME TO THE FORUM,AND MAYBE BOB AND I CAN BOTH TRY TO GET THE "SCORPION" THING GOING.
WE DID SOME LOCAL CLUB WORK IN DETROIT,PLAYING A MIX OF SONGS,AND SOME ORIGINALS.OF COURSE MIKE WAS WILD AND CRAZY(CAME NATURAL),BUT HE DID A GOOD JOB FRONTING THE BAND.HE HAD A GREAT SENSE OF HUMOR,AND NOBODY COULD KEEP A STRAIGHT FACE,WHEN HE WAS AROUND.THE MINUTE YOU THOUGHT YOU HAD SEEN IT ALL,MIKE WOULD DO SOMETHING TOTALLY OFF THE WALL,AND COMPLETELY BLOW YOUR MIND.AS I SAID BEFORE,HE AND ROBIN WILLIAMS(FROM THE SAME POD),THREE STEPS AHEAD OF EVERYBODY ELSE.
ANDREW WAS A BROTHER.ONE OF THE FINEST DRUMMERS I EVER HAD THE PLEASURE TO PLAY WITH,AND ALSO ONE OF THE WARMEST ,AND KINDEST PERSONS THAT I'VE EVER KNOWN.HE HAD A LAUGH THAT WAS COMPLETELY INFECTIOUS.I CAN PICTURE HIM BREAKING UP OVER SOME STUNT MIKE PULLED,LIKE IT WAS YESTERDAY.
RICH... NAPPYS?OF COURSE!!THAT'S WHY THE SHOW WENT SO WELL!! IT'LL BE STANDARD PROCEDURE FROM NOW ON.
AS FAR AS HDH AND THE GUYS GO.THAT TOOK PLACE,AS YOU MENTIONED,AFTER R.E. AND THE MOVE TO L.A.THE WORK I DID FOR HDH,WAS ALL WITH OTHER PLAYERS.
WHEN I HEAR ANY SONG THAT I PLAYED ON,A BIG SMILE SHOWS ON MY FACE,AND IT INSTANTLY TAKES ME BACK TO THE SESSION,AND THE GOOD MEMORIES THAT GO WITH IT.IT GIVES ME A WARM FEELING INSIDE,I COUNT MY BLESSINGS,AND I THANK GOD THAT I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO HAVE THESE OPPORTUNITIES IN MY LIFE.
RAY

By Steve Litos (209.100.86.4) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 05:41 pm:

Thanks for the stories Ray (and the great music).
I looked for the Scorpion album on the net & a mint copy sold for $150.00 in Europe. That album has to be as rare as they come!

P.S.- Good story about Les Paul selling you an SG. I'm glad you kept it for 40 years. Do you still have the Veleno Guitar?

By Caleb (209.244.239.39) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 09:23 pm:

That's great.So how did you and Mike cross paths with Babbitt,the"Cool Jerk" session?I heard there's a tune on that Scorpion album called "Great Day" that's just phenomenal.Sounds like the four of you were cut from the same tree,all very soulful.Andrew was pretty young at that time.How did he come into the picture,was Babbitt doing sessions with him before the group came together?Caleb

By David Meikle (213.122.107.90) on Thursday, April 17, 2003 - 04:11 am:

Hi Ray

Please tell Mitch that he has many fans on the Northern Soul scene.

"Break out" and "You get your kicks" played a big part in the early days of the scene.

Thanks for some great input BTW.

David

By StingBeeLee (155.139.68.10) on Thursday, April 17, 2003 - 09:42 am:

Hello Ray; (and Soulful Detroiters please forgive me if I'm seeing incorrect), but on Saturday's thread, did you say you played on "I Want You Back"? and did you infer that Robert White, Joe Messina, Eddie Willis, Dennis Coffey and yourself played on the record also? I believe I remember another thread that implied that LA session musicians played on "I Want You Back"?

By StingBeeLee (155.139.50.14) on Thursday, April 17, 2003 - 09:44 am:

Ray;
When I first saw Paliament/Funkadelic, my friends Mother, who came in to pick us up, saw them up on the stage, grabbed us forcibly by the ears and dragged us out of Cobo Arena!

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.115) on Thursday, April 17, 2003 - 02:19 pm:

HELLO TO ALL:
STEVE...I GUESS THE PRICE OF THAT ALBUM IS GOING UP AS WE SPEAK.I HAVE TO TELL BABBITT ABOUT THAT.
UNFORTUNATELY,I BECAME DISENCHANTED WITH THE VELENO GUITAR A COUPLE OF YEARS AFTER I BOUGHT IT.A FELLOW MUSICIAN ,I MET AT S.I.R. IN L.A.,HAD A VINTAGE MARSHALL ,4 TEN,OPEN-BACK AMP THAT I WANTED.SO WE TRADED ,THE VELANO,FOR THE AMP,A VOX CHROME-TOP WAH-WAH,AND SOME CASH.I'VE HAD A HARD TIME FINDING INFO. ON THE AMP(VERY RARE),BUT THEY TELL ME IT'S IN ABOUT THE SAME PRICE-RANGE AS THE VELENO.THE MAIN THING I NEVER LIKED ABOUT THE GUITAR,WAS THE FACT THAT IT WAS COLD,METAL AS OPPOSED TO WOOD.ALSO, IT'S SOUND WAS QUITE DIFFERENT FROM THE LES PAUL,OR STRAT.,THAT I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED.

CALEB...YOU GOT IT.OUR FIRST MEETING WITH
BOB WAS AT GOLDEN WORLD,AT THE TIME OF "COOL JERK". AS I TOLD YOU BEFORE,THE FOUR OF US WERE LIKE BROTHERS.ALL THE SONGS WERE WRITTEN BY THE BAND."GREAT DAY",WAS A FUNKY,KIND OF GOSPEL SONG,THAT WAS ONE OF OUR FAVORITES.WE PUT ALL OF OUR HEART AND SOUL INTO THAT ONE.
I BELIEVE BOB MET ANDREW FIRST,AND TURNED MIKE AND I ONTO HIM.HE WAS ONLY ABOUT 16 AT THE TIME,BUT PLAYING LIKE TWICE THAT AGE.BOB HELPED GET ANDREW INTO THE SESSION SCENE,MUCH THE SAME AS HE DID FOR ME.BUT I DON'T BELIEVE ANDREW WAS DOING STUDIO WORK BEFORE THAT.

DAVID...I WILL DEFINATELY TELL MITCH ABOUT THIS TERRIFIC SITE(MAY 7).HOPEFULLY HE'LL COME AND VISIT.AND BTW,YOUR VERY WELCOME DAVID.

STINGBEELEE...THANKS FOR CORRECTING THAT ERROR.FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON,I THOUGHT THAT WAS THE TITLE TO THE SONG.NOT! THE SONG IS "ONE MORE CHANCE"-1970.AT THE TIME OF "I WANT YOU BACK",MOTOWN,AND ALL OF US WERE IN L.A.,AS YOU SAID.IT'S NICE TO KNOW,THERE'S SOMEONE OUT THERE THAT CAN HELP TO KEEP THESE MANY FACTS STRAIGHT.
THAT'S A FUNNY STORY ABOUT P-FUNK(NOT AT THE TIME,OF COURSE)I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE DID THAT TO YOU GUYS!THEY WERE JUST GOOD,CLEAN-CUT,ALL-AMERICAN BOYS,RIGHT!
RAY

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.73) on Saturday, April 19, 2003 - 12:16 pm:

HELLO TO ALL:
MY WIFE AND I WENT TO THE FUNKS SHOW LAST NIGHT,AND I JUST WANTED TO SAY A FEW WORDS.
TERRIFIC,WONDERFUL,AND FANTASTIC!!SEEING THOSE GUYS UP THERE,FINALLY GETTING WHAT'S LONG OVERDUE,IS GREAT.I TALKED TO THE GUYS AFTER THE SHOW,AND THE WORDS THAT KEPT COMING UP WERE,"DO YOU BELIEVE THIS".THEY SEEMED TO BE IN SHOCK OVER THIS WHOLE THING.THAT'S HOW HUMBLE THESE GENTLEMAN ARE.BABBITT SAID THAT THEY HAVE BEEN SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS FOR AS LONG AS TWO HOURS,AFTER THE SHOW!
THE HIGHLIGHT FOR ME WAS WHEN THEY PLAYED"COOL JERK"(TOTALLY UNEXPECTED),AND I WATCHED AS ALAN SLUTSKY PLAYED THE PARTS I DID ON THE RECORD.
ANYWAY,FUTURE SHOW GOERS,ENJOY!YOU'RE IN FOR A REAL TREAT.
RAY

By MEL&THEN SOME (195.219.7.39) on Saturday, April 19, 2003 - 02:05 pm:

Mr.Monette,
just like to say what a big fan I am of yours and would also like to thank you for all the in-depth info that you have given.
Regards
mel(andthensome)

By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Saturday, April 19, 2003 - 04:27 pm:

Ray,
I'd like to take a moment and echo Mel's sentiments also. I knew you would be popular when you came on the forum and we all appreciate the time you are taking to answer questions for the family members here. I know you and I have been blessed to take so much of this for granted by virtue of the fact that we were " there " at the time so the generousity of your time does not go unnoticed. Thanks again Ray. It's great having you here.

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.70) on Saturday, April 19, 2003 - 05:48 pm:

HELLO TO ALL:
ALRIGHT YOU GUYS,STOP IT OR I'AM GONNA CRY.AND MEL PLEASE JUST CALL ME RAY.

RALPH...THERE'S A LOT OF TRUTH IN WHAT YOU SAY.TO US IT WAS JUST A WAY OF LIFE,WHAT WAS HAPPENING.BUT OBVIOUSLY,TO OTHERS ,THERE'S MORE TO IT.WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED,INDEED.AND TO PASS IT ON ,IS A GIFT IA'M MORE THAN WILLING TO GIVE.

ON A LIGHTER NOTE:I TALKED TO MIKE CAMPBELL NIGHT BEFORE LAST(FIRST TIME SINCE 1974)HE'S DOING WELL,AND HE HAD ME LAUGHING TIL I CRIED,TELLING THE OLD STORIES.I DID MY BEST TO TALK HIM INTO COMING ON.WE'LL SEE.BUT WE WILL BE STAYING IN TOUCH,AND I'LL KEEP PRODDING.HE TALKED ABOUT GETTING A REUNION GOING.MAYBE THE GET-TOGETHER IN MAY?
THANKS RALPH, RAY

By Caleb (64.157.68.69) on Saturday, April 19, 2003 - 06:23 pm:

Ray this is great news you talking to Mike Campbell and yes it has been great having you here.Thanks again for all the information you have posted.I look forward to one day hearing that Scorpion album.Caleb

By Kim (68.47.158.114) on Friday, April 25, 2003 - 05:56 pm:

Ray,
I know that this question has been ask of Babbitt but I'll ask anyway. Is there any chance that Scorpion will ever be re-released as a CD. I guess there is an issue as to where the masters are. I have the LP but it has seen better days -- played too many times. And since I open up this discussion, it seems that many Rare Earth LPs were never released as CD, any chance that they will be.
Thanks,
Kim

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.98) on Saturday, April 26, 2003 - 04:54 pm:

HELLO TO ALL:
KIM...BOB AND I NEED TO GET TOGETHER ON THE "SCORPION" THING.IT IS HARD TO SAY WHERE THE MASTERS ARE,AND EVEN IF THEY STILL EXIST.BUT IF THEY DO ,WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO GET IT RE-RELEASED.
ON THE RARE EARTH LP'S: MOTOWN WAS SOLD TO MCA,EMI,AND NOW UMG.THEY DID PUT OUT A FEW OF THE LP'S ON CD(NOT SURE HOW MANY STILL AVAILABLE).BUT FOR THE MOST PART,THEY PUT TOGETHER COMPILATION CD'S."THE VERY BEST OF RARE EARTH","EARTHTONES","ANTHOLOGY",AND MILLENIUM,TO NAME SOME.ALL OF THESE RE-RELEASES WERE TOTALLY THE COMPANY'S IDEA,BUT THEY DO HAVE THE MOST POPULAR SONGS,AND EVEN A COUPLE THAT WERE NEVER RELEASED.

ANOTHER R.E.-P.FUNK STORY:
DURING THE TIME REGGIE MCBRIDE WAS OUR BASS PLAYER(STEVIE WONDER,AL JARREAU,ETC),WE HAD A SHOW TO DO IN DENVER.WE FLEW OUT OF L.A.,BUT REGGIE MISSED THE PLANE(SO WE THOUGHT).RON STRASNER WAS OUR MANAGER AT THE TIME(NOW MANAGING THE FOUR TOPS),AND HE TRIED TO TRACK DOWN REGGIE,TO NO AVAIL.ALSO ,CHOLLY BASSOLINE,OUR FORMER ROAD MANAGER,WAS MANAGING P.FUNK,WITH RON.SO THEY CONTACTED BILLY FROM P.FUNK,AND PUT HIM ON A PLANE TO PLAY THE GIG.BILLY WAS RUSHED FROM THE AIRPORT TO THE ARENA,ARRIVING AN HOUR BEFORE THE SHOW STARTED.HE DIDN'T KNOW ANY OF OUR SONGS,AND I FRANTICALLY TRIED TO TEACH THEM TO HIM IN THAT HOUR.YEAH RIGHT,15 AND 20 MINUTE SONGS(90 MINUTES OF MUSIC! NEEDLESS TO SAY,WHEN IT WAS TIME TO GO ON,BILLY WAS PETRIFIED.(WHO WOULDN'T BE).I DON'T KNOW HOW HE DID IT,BUT HE MANAGED TO GET THROUGH THE SHOW,AND THE AUDIENCE DIDN'T SEEM TO NOTICE A THING.
RAY

By Rich (162.33.235.88) on Friday, May 02, 2003 - 09:17 am:

Great Stories Ray!! Keep 'em, comin'. I've emailed the latest one to Billy, which he'll read in a week or so when he gets home (Pittsburgh) from a short run with P-Funk.

Scorpio - You, Dennis & Joe - can you differentiate for the novice who playing which guitar parts on that one?

I've seen several references to Scorpion on threads here, what's the music like?

Peace, Rich

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.87) on Friday, May 02, 2003 - 03:47 pm:

HELLO TO ALL:
RICH...HOPEFULLY,BILLY WILL GET A KICK OUT OF THE STORY.THE PRESSURE WAS REALLY ON HIM,AT THE TIME.
ON "SCORPIO",WE PLAYED THREE-PART HARMONY ON THE MELODY LINE,WHICH GAVE IT A UNIQUE SOUND.(DENNIS'S IDEA).ALSO,ONE OF US DID THE WAH-WAH AT THE SAME TIME.(NOT SURE WHO).MAINLY I REMEMBER AN AIR OF FUN AND EXCITEMENT ON THE SESSION.IT DIDN'T HAVE THE PRESSURE OF,GET IT DONE AS FAST AS POSSIBLE,THAT MANY SESSIONS HAD AT THAT TIME.WE WERE ALL LAUGHING,AND HAVING A GOOD TIME.
ON "SCORPION",YOU CAN GO TO A WEBSITE CALLED,"FUZZ ACID & FLOWERS",AND SEE THE ALBUM COVER,THE LINE-UP,AND A SHORT REVIEW.
THAT COVER WAS A NIGHTMARE.SOMEONE GOT THE BRILLIANT IDEA TO BASICALLY MAKE DEATH-MASKS OF EACH OF US.SO WE PROCEEDED TO PUT STRAWS UP OUR NOSES,WHILE PLASTER WAS POURED OVER OUR FACES,AND WE WAITED 20 MINUTES OR SO,UNTIL IT DRIED.KINDA LIKE BEING BURIED ALIVE!!
THE MUSIC,WHICH WAS WRITTEN,ARRANGED,AND PRODUCED BY THE BAND,WAS A MIX OF ROCK,FUNK,AND R&B,WITH EVEN SOME CLASSICAL FEELINGS THROWN IN ON A COUPLE OF SONGS.IT WAS THE WAY WE WERE WRITING,AT THE TIME,AND WE WANTED TO SHOW SOME VERSATILITY.THERE ARE SOME GREAT PERFORMANCES BY BOB,MIKE,AND ANDREW,ON THE ALBUM.
RUSS TERRANA ENGINEERED IT,AND JOHNNY GRIFFITH CAME IN AND OVERDUBBED SOME BEAUTIFUL GRAND PIANO FOR US.
RAY

By Caleb (64.157.68.162) on Friday, May 02, 2003 - 11:29 pm:

Going to have to land that Scorpion album somehow,various auctions slash sites.The more I read about it the more I want to hear it.Ray,how about the record "Give Me Just A Little More Time",who were the other musicians on that one,do you remember?Yes,keep the stories comin'.Caleb

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.35) on Saturday, May 03, 2003 - 03:29 pm:

HELLO TO ALL:
CALEB...I DID QUITE A BIT OF RECORDING FOR H.D.H.,WHEN THEY LEFT MOTOWN.THE THING THAT MAKES IT THE HARDEST TO REMEMBER THE PLAYERS,IS THE FACT THAT THEY USED MANY DIFFERENT MUSICIANS DURING THE TIME THAT I WAS THERE.THEY USED TWO BASSISTS(BABBITT&TONY CLARK)AT VARIOUS TIMES.BUT IN ALL THE OTHER POSITIONS THEY USED MANY DIFFERENT PLAYERS,INCLUDING SOME OF THE "FUNKS".
THE "FUNKS" WERE THERE,ONLY IN THE EARLY DAYS.WHEN THE LAW-SUIT STARTED,THEY STAYED AWAY.
I AM QUITE SURE THAT BABBITT,DENNIS COFFEY,JOHNNY GRIFFITH,AND EITHER URIEL OR PISTOL PLAYED ON THAT SESSION.OTHER THAN THAT,I COULDN'T BE SURE.

R.E.STORY:
1972,R.E.'S SCHEDULED TO PERFORM IN CARACAS,VENEZUELA(FIRST AMERICAN BAND TO GO THERE).SOUND'S LIKE A GOOD IDEA.SO OFF WE GO TO S.A.THE FIRST THING WE SEE,WHEN WE LAND,IS MILITARY WITH MACHINE-GUNS,EVERYWHERE!!WE ARE KNOWN AS "TIERRA RARA",AND WE'RE ESCORTED TO OUR HOTEL,BY ARMED GUARDS.THEY STATION THE GUARDS OUTSIDE OUR ROOMS,AND THEY ARE WITH US WHEREVER WE GO.
AS WE MOVED AROUND THE CITY,IN OUR BUS,PEOPLE SURROUNDED IT,TRYING TO GET TO US AT EVERY TURN.YOU WOULD HAVE THOUGHT WE WERE THE "BEATLES".THE COMMUNIST ELEMENT PUT OUT PUBLICATIONS,SAYING WE WERE IMPOSTERS(POSSIBLY BECAUSE WE HAD GROWN BEARDS,AND DIDN'T LOOK LIKE OUR PICTURES),BUT ALL MOVED ALONG AS PLANNED.
WE PLAYED TWO SHOWS.ONE OF WHICH WAS IN A BULL-FIGHTING RING,AND BROADCAST ON NATIONAL TV.THE PEOPLE WERE INCREDIBLE(FANTISTIC RESPONSE).AND ALL WAS GOING WELL,UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES.
AT ONE POINT,WE HAD A GENTLEMAN COME TO OUR HOTEL,AND TRY TO SELL US SHOES WITH FALSE HEELS(FOR STORING GOODIES TO TAKE HOME)I DON'T THINK SO! ANYWAY,ALL WENT WELL UNTIL IT WAS TIME TO LEAVE,AND WE FOUND OUT THAT THE PROMOTER HAD BURNED ALL THE RECEIPTS,HADN'T PAYED THE TAXES,AND VANISHED.
THE GOVERNMENT CONFISCATED OUR PASSPORTS,AND I REMEMBER THINKING,WE WERE ALL DOOMED.
WE ENDED UP GOING TO THE AMERICAN EMBASSY TO TRY TO GET HELP.THEY WANTED TO FILM US(FOR WHATEVER REASON),AND THEY GOT OUR PASSPORTS BACK,SO WE COULD LEAVE THE COUNTRY. FREE AT LAST!!
WHEN WE GOT TO THE AIRPORT,THEY BOARDED EVERYONE BUT US FIRST.WHEN WE FINALLY STARTED WALKING TOWARD THE PLANE,OUT OF NOWHERE CAME A DOZEN INTERPOL AGENTS.THEY STOPPED US,AND SEARCHED EVERYBODY RIGHT IN FRONT OF EVERYONE ON THE PLANE(CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT THEY WERE THINKING).I GUESS THEY WERE LOOKING FOR SOME OF THOSE "SHOES",OR WHATEVER.THEY WERE DISAPPOINTED THAT THEY DIDN'T FIND ANYTHING,AND RELUCTENTLY,LET US GO.
WE ALL BREATHED ONE OF THE BIGGEST SIGHS OF RELIEF,OF OUR LIVES,WHEN THAT PLANE TOOK OFF FOR HOME!!
RAY

By Caleb (65.59.100.100) on Sunday, May 04, 2003 - 10:24 pm:

That's some story,man.Ray,I saw where Mike Campbell did a solo album for Motown.Were you involved with it in any way?

By LTLFTC (12.210.76.205) on Sunday, May 04, 2003 - 11:02 pm:

Another great story, Ray. This is my favorite thread in a while. By the way, I see Floyd Stokes is your drummer now - do you happen to know what bands he played with in Lansing ? I've gigged around the Lansing area for many years and I'm not sure if I've crossed paths with him or not - the names familiar - do you know if he played in "14K" ?

Steve K

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.134) on Monday, May 05, 2003 - 07:14 pm:

HELLO TO ALL:
CALEB...THE ALBUM IN QUESTION WAS DONE AFTER I JOINED R.E.,AND MOVED TO L.A.
ALL THIS TALK,AND MEMORIES GOT ME LOOKING AROUND THE HOUSE.I FOUND SEVERAL 45'S,I'D FORGOTTEN I EVEN HAD.ONE WAS ON MOWEST LABEL(1972),MICHAEL CAMPBELL,"ANGEL GOT A BOOK TODAY".IS THAT FROM THE ALBUM IN QUESTION?I ALSO FOUND 2 MORE COPIES OF MIKE&RAY,"IF ONLY YOU KNEW",AND ONE I HAD NO IDEA I HAD,LORRAINE CHANDLER,"TELL ME YOU'RE MINE",AND "WHAT CAN I DO".SEEING THAT ONE BROUGHT BACK THE MEMORIES OF PLAYING ON THE SESSION,FOR LORRAINE.SHE WAS QUITE A LADY.IT ALSO GOT ME THINKING ABOUT TELMA&JOYCE,WHO JACK USED AS BACK-UP SINGERS,AND MIKE AND I BECAME FRIENDS WITH.AS YOU MAY KNOW,THEY WENT ON TO BECOME "DAWN",WITH TONY ORLANDO.AND OF COURSE,TELMA BECAME A SUCCESSFUL ACTRESS.
STEVE K...THANKS FOR THE GOOD THOUGHTS!
FLOYD,AKA JR,PLAYED WITH "TREMOR","7TH WISH",AND "RUDE AGNUS",IN LANSING,BEFORE JOINING R.E.HE'S DOING AN EXCELLENT JOB SINGING,AND PLAYING SOME ROCK-SOLID DRUMS FOR US.IF YOU MET JR,YOU'D REMEMBER HIM.HE'S 6-FOOT-5,ABOUT 250 LBS,AND ALOT OF PEOPLE SAY HE LOOKS LIKE "SINBAD".

JUST A QUICKIE: 1973,MOBILE,ALABAMA.
RE'S GETTING READY TO PLAY.THE LOCAL POLICE WERE IN FRONT OF THE STAGE(SUPPOSEDLY TO GUARD US).INSTEAD OF WATCHING THE CROWD,THEY FACED US THE WHOLE SHOW,WITH BULLETS IN THIER EARS(TO BLOCK THE VOLUME),AND DIRTY LOOKS ON THIER FACES.THEY DIDN'T LIKE US HIPPIE,ROCK MUSICIANS,AT ALL.I REMEMBER THINKING(IF I HIT A HIGH ENOUGH NOTE,I WONDER IF THOSE SHELLS WOULD GO OFF).JUST KIDDING!!! WHEN THE SHOW WAS OVER,WE WENT BACK TO FIND OUR DRESSING-ROOM HAD BEEN TEAR-GASSED,BY THESE JOKERS.LIKE THEY SAY,IT TAKES ALL KINDS.
RAY

By Caleb (63.208.117.154) on Monday, May 05, 2003 - 09:53 pm:

Good story.Hey Ray,as far as Scorpio-Dennis Coffey,did you do any live gigs with him and the detroit guitar band before joining rare earth?

By Rich (162.33.234.145) on Tuesday, May 06, 2003 - 08:31 am:

First up, I've got to say thanks Ray for the feedback on Scorpio & The Scorpion LP as well as the war stories from the road. I'm most grateful that you've been as open and conversational as you have been.

In your studio musician days with HDH & ... I'm curious how steadily or sporadically they worked you, and if they ever put you on the road with with one of the vocalists/groups signed to their label.

What would a right-hand man do as in the case of Jeffrey Bowen as HDH's right-hand man during their Tower Studio days?

R.E's "One World" cover - six band members credited, five faces ... is one yours?

Peace

By David Meikle (62.252.128.6) on Tuesday, May 06, 2003 - 02:52 pm:

Hi Ray

Lorraine is well respected over here.

It's great to hear you played on one of her best 45's.

Was that at United?

David

By LTLFTC (12.210.76.205) on Tuesday, May 06, 2003 - 03:41 pm:

Ray;
Floyd Stokes definately wasn't the drummer I was thinking of !

Ray Monette/ PFunk rumor 1,000 ; I've heard that you and Paul Warren play the guitar solos on Funkadelic's classic "Get Off Your Ass and Jam".
I see that Paul , Reggie McBride and Frosty are given vague credit in the good ol' 'additional musicians' category on that lp.....any info?
thanks

SteveK

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.36) on Tuesday, May 06, 2003 - 06:22 pm:

HELLO TO ALL:
CALEB...BY THE TIME DENNIS HIT THE ROAD WITH "SCORPIO",I WAS ALREADY TOURING WITH R.E.WE DID ,HOWEVER,PLAY AT LEAST ONE SHOW,WITH BOTH GROUPS ON THE SAME BILL.BABBITT WAS WITH HIM,AND I REMEMBER A SHOW IN S. CAROLINA,FOR SURE.WE WERE ALL STAYING IN THE SAME HOTEL,AND AFTER THE GIG,WE PARTIED A LITTLE TOO HEARTY,AND KINDA TRASHED A ROOM.THE HOTEL MANAGER WAS A LITTLE UPSET WITH US,BUT I GUESS THAT WASN'T THAT UNUSUAL IN THOSE DAYS.THE ROAD MANAGER PULLS OUT SOME CASH,AND SMOOTHS THINGS OVER.
RICH...THANK YOU FOR THE KIND WORDS.AS I MENTIONED BEFORE,THAT WAS ONE OF MY BUSIEST TIMES AS A SESSION PLAYER.WE WERE DOING AT LEAST 2 TO 3 SESSIONS A WEEK FOR H.D.H.,PLUS OTHER RECORDING,AND "HAIR",6 NIGHTS A WEEK.THEY NEVER ASKED ME TO GO OUT WITH ANY ACTS,AND EVEN IF THEY HAD,I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO IT.
I'AM NOT SURE OF ALL OF JEFFREY'S DUTIES(HE REALLY MOVED AROUND),BUT HE ORGANIZED ALL OF THE SESSIONS(SETTING EVERYTHING UP,CALLING ALL THE MUSICIANS,ETC.HE WAS QUITE A CHARACTER,AND HAD A WELL-ROUNDED KNOWLEDGE,AND LOVE OF MUSIC.HE WOULD GO TO THE GRAND-D BALLROOM,AND SEE ACTS LIKE "CREAM",WHICH SEEMED A LITTLE OUT OF CHARACTER.I REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME "CREEDENCE" CAME TO TOWN.JEFFREY CAME IN THE NEXT DAY,SAYING,"THAT BOY IS BAD".HE'S AS BAD AS LEVI.
RICH,I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU GOT YOUR"ONE WORLD" COVER FROM,BUT MINE HAS 6 GUYS.THAT'S ME ON THE LEFT,THE ONLY ONE WITH GLASSES.
DAVID...AND WELL SHE SHOULD BE! LORRAINE WAS A GREAT TALENT IN MANY WAYS.HER FIRST RECORD WAS CUT AT THE SAME TIME WE DID "MIKE&RAY",AT UNITED.THE MAIN THING I REMEMBER ABOUT LORRAINE,WAS THAT SHE HAD AN AIR OF GENUINE KINDNESS,AND CLASS,ABOUT HER.A REAL LADY.
I KNOW I PLAYED ON MANY OF THE PIED PIPER SONGS IN THOSE DAYS.I JUST WISH I COULD REMEMBER MORE.
STEVE K...THE ONLY THING I COULD SAY ABOUT THAT SONG IS THAT I'AM NOT ON IT.WHEN I LEFT DETROIT,PAUL KINDA TOOK MY PLACE IN THE SESSION SCENE,SO HE COULD VERY WELL BE ONE OF THE PLAYERS.I WAS IN L.A. AT THE TIME.IT'S REALLY A SHAME CREDITS WERE SO SKETCHY IN THOSE DAYS.

RE'S HITTING THE ROAD IN THE MORNING.TWO OF THE DATES ARE WITH MITCH RYDER(ALL IN CAL).I WILL TELL HIM ABOUT THE FORUM(HOPE HE'S ONLINE).I'LL BE BACK ON SUNDAY.TALK TO YOU THEN,TAKE CARE.
RAY

By Larry (216.23.183.2) on Tuesday, May 06, 2003 - 08:34 pm:

Ray,

Are you guys playing this Friday in LA?

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.60) on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 03:22 pm:

HELLO TO ALL:
LARRY...SORRY THIS IS SLIGHTLY LATE.WE STARTED MAY 7 IN REDDING(A CASINO,WITH MITCH,GRASS ROOTS,AND JOHN FORD COLEY).THEN ON TO FOLSOM(A CLUB DATE),AND NEXT WAS INDEED,L.A.(ALSO A CLUB).THEN WE FINISHED UP AT AN OUTDOOR FESTIVAL IN SAN DIEGO(ALSO WITH MITCH RYDER).
I TOLD MITCH ABOUT THE SITE,AND ALSO GAVE HIM MIKE CAMPBELL'S NUMBER(LOST TOUCH,ALSO).HOPEFULLY,HE'LL DROP IN TO VISIT HERE.
SAN DIEGO WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE RUN.A TON OF PEOPLE HAVING A GREAT TIME,AND MANY YOUNG PEOPLE HEARING THE BAND FOR THE FIRST TIME.ITS REALLY GREAT TO HAVE YOUNG FOLKS COME UP TO YOU,ASK FOR AN AUTOGRAPH,AND TELL YOU THAT YOU'VE GOT A NEW FAN.MAKES IT ALL WORTHWHILE!

PRE-NIXON BREAK-IN: RE'S DOING A SHOW IN D.C.,AT CONSTITUTION HALL.OUR HOTEL IS,OF ALL PLACES,THE WATERGATE.THE SHOW GO'S WELL,AND WE RETURN TO THE HOTEL,FOR THE NIGHT.SOME OF THE GUYS(NO NAMES PLEASE),PARTY A LITTLE TOO MUCH,AND DECIDE TO START THROWING THINGS OUT THE WINDOW(10TH FLOOR).THEY WANTED TO SEE IF THEY COULD HIT THE POOL.FIRST A CHAIR,AND OTHER OBJECTS,AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST,THE T.V.NEEDLESS TO SAY,THE MANAGEMENT WAS A LITTLE UPSET.OUR ROAD MANAGER(CHOLLY BASSOLINE),REALLY HAD HIS HANDS FULL TRYING TO STRAIGHTEN THAT ONE OUT.ALSO,THAT WAS THE LAST TIME A BAND EVER STAYED AT THE WATERGATE.
RAY

By Rich (162.33.234.215) on Wednesday, May 14, 2003 - 08:41 am:

Heard GREAT things about the LA show from fellow P-Funk afficiando who had the opportunity to speak to you at the show.

My 15-year-old is budding bass-player and has met Billy B on a couple of occassions, so I was telling him about the story you wrote about Billy having only a couple hours to learn R.E.'s show. When I mentioned "I Just Want to Celebrate" all I got was a blank-stare. I thought how can this be?!?! That tune was to the 70's what K&TG's "Celebration" was to the 80's, becoming part of the culture. Stay the course Ray ... a lotta folks still need to know.

If you were to make a "best of Ray Monette" CD spanning your entire career, which cuts would you absolutely have to include.

Peace

By David Meikle (62.252.128.6) on Wednesday, May 14, 2003 - 01:01 pm:

Hi Ray

Can you mail me at david@soulfuldetroit.com before Saturday?

Thanks David

By LTLFTC (12.210.76.205) on Wednesday, May 14, 2003 - 04:04 pm:

Ray;
Ditto on Rich's question about a 'best of'.

Also, on the song "Ma" - when you're playing that cool Sly-type lick towards the end, is that a Strat through a CryBaby?

Also, who's the inspiration for the drawing on the "Ma" cover ? Not a groupie, I hope....

SteveK

By Caleb (171.75.81.51) on Thursday, May 15, 2003 - 12:20 am:

Ray,I re-read this entire thread tonight-it's all great!!.Yeah,let's hear that personal best of.

By basso (205.188.209.109) on Thursday, May 15, 2003 - 11:23 am:

Hey Ray,
Give me a call when you're in town again.

Joe Podorsek 313/534-8500

P.S. I have less hair then when we were in Hair.

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.12) on Thursday, May 15, 2003 - 03:36 pm:

HELLO TO ALL:
RICH...I DIDN'T CATCH HIS NAME AT THE L.A. SHOW,BUT HE WAS CERTAINLY GETTIN DOWN WHILE WE WERE PLAYING.THAT KIND OF RESPONSE MAKES THE SHOW ALL THE BETTER FOR US(MUCH APPRECIATED).
ALL THE BEST TO YOUR BUDDING BASSIST! HE'S ABOUT THE SAME AGE AS THE YOUNG MAN AT THE SHOW ,THAT WAS NEW TO R.E. "CELEBRATE" WAS USED IN SEVERAL MOVIES,AND EVEN A FORD COMMERCIAL,OVER THE YEARS,ALSO MANY T.V. SHOWS.BUT WHETHER FOLKS CAUGHT IT,OR EQUATED WITH R.E.,IS UP FOR GRABS.ANYWAY,I'AM NOT GOING ANYWHERE(LORD WILLING),AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL CONTINUE TO MAKE NEW FRIENDS AND FANS.

ALL RIGHT YOU GUYS,THIS WAS TOUGH,AND I'AM PROBABLY FORGETTING SOME,BUT HERE IT IS.
"COOL JERK"-BECAUSE IT WAS FIRST.
"I GOT A THANG"-DOWN AND DIRTY
"WILDFLOWER"-SCORPION ALBUM
"UN BEL DI"-RUTH COPELAND
"KISS ME AGAIN"-STONEY&MEATLOAF
"CELEBRATE","WHAT'D I SAY"-ONE WORLD.
"LOSING YOU"-IN CONCERT
"THOUGHTS"-IN CONCERT,BECAUSE IT WAS TOTALLY ADLIB,AND A MAGICAL MOMENT.
"MA","SMILIN FACES","HUM ALONG"-MA
"HEARD IT THRU THE GRAPEVINE"-GRAND SLAM-R.E.
"MOTA MOLATA"-BAND TOGETHER-R.E.
"LIVE IT UP"-DIFFERENT WORLD-R.E.

STEVE K...GOOD EAR.THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I USED ON "MA".
HOW'D YOU GUESS.SHE WAS OUR FAVORITE GROUPIE.BUT SERIOUSLY,NORMAN W. FOUND THAT PICTURE.IT CAME FROM OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE(VERY STRANGE).NONE OF OUR MOTHERS WERE VERY HAPPY WITH THAT COVER.
CALEB...THANKS AGAIN!I TRIED TO PICK SOME OF THE SONGS WITH THE MOST GUITAR WORK.

1971:R.E.'S SCHEDULED TO PERFORM ON THE FIRST "MIDNIGHT SPECIAL".WE ARRIVE FOR THE TAPING AND ARE TOLD THAT WE HAVE TO PANTOMINE OUR SONG.WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AT OUR BEST LIVE,SO WE TELL THEM THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.THE PRODUCER IS FREAKING OUT,BUT THE CREW IS TURNED ON BY THE IDEA OF PLAYING LIVE.THEY WERE SCRAMBLING TO ROUND UP ENOUGH MIC'S AND GEAR TO PULL IT OFF,AND MANAGED TO PUT IT TOGETHER.IN THE END,IT CAME OFF SURPRISINGLY WELL.AFTER THAT,MOST OF THE ARTISTS THAT WERE ON THE SHOW,PLAYED LIVE,INSTEAD OF FAKING IT.
RAY

By LTLFTC (12.210.76.205) on Thursday, May 15, 2003 - 07:39 pm:

Ray;
Nice list !! Congrats on a life well spent. I'll have to dig out "Un Bel Di" and re-listen to it. I hope to someday run across the Scorpion and Stoney and Meatloaf albums.

Steve K

By Caleb (65.59.97.178) on Thursday, May 15, 2003 - 10:20 pm:

Ray,Stoney and Meatloaf-who was Stoney?Was that his wife at the time or just some chic he sang with?Was the album released,was it on Motown?

By Rich (162.33.235.166) on Friday, May 16, 2003 - 08:11 am:

Steve - here's the Motherpage's descriptiopn of "Un Bel Di" (One Fine Day) The Puccini aria from Madame Butterfly : "one of the most insane things I've ever heard, starting off as a full blown opera with orchestral accompaniment, and then suddenly adding a kick-ass guitar solo from Eddie and solid drumming from Tiki. The solo is one of the best I've ever heard."

But ... we now know that it was Ray Monette, not Eddie Hazel

The track is from Ruth Copeland's first LP - Self Portrait

By stephanie (66.54.1.38) on Friday, May 16, 2003 - 08:30 am:

Ray
I know this is a dumb question but do you feel like a legend because in our eyes at the forum you are!!!
Stephanie

By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Friday, May 16, 2003 - 09:51 am:

Caleb,
Stoney was singing in the play " Hair " as was Meatloaf when my brother and I saw them and thought it would be a good idea to team them up for an album. One album was released on them on Motown's Rare Earth label.

By LTLFTC (12.210.76.205) on Friday, May 16, 2003 - 11:06 am:

Ray (and Rich); I dug out the Ruth Copeland lp and listened - that IS a great hunk o'guitar work. I hadn't listened to that lp in years - a great combination of players , no doubt. From the credits/lyric booklet that came with that record, I'm wondering if Self Portrait and Parliament's "Osmium" weren't recorded simultaneously with the same combination of players. Is there any way you remember the "Osmium" album , Ray - another 'George' session , but I believe the cover says it was recorded at HDH.

Ray, was Johnny Rivers the host of that "Midnight Special" ? I remember he set the record for most times saying 'far out ' in a 90 minute show (2,000 times).

SteveK

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.85) on Friday, May 16, 2003 - 03:35 pm:

HELLO TO ALL:
STEVE K...THANKS ALOT STEVE,AND GOOD LUCK ON THE ALBUMS!

CALEB...RALPH GOT YOU COVERED ON YOUR QUESTIONS.THE ONLY THING I COULD ADD,IS THAT MIKE CAMPBELL AND I WROTE FOUR OF THE SONGS ON THE ALBUM.ALSO,STONEY WENT ON TO SING BACKROUND FOR BOB SEGER.SHE HAD A BEAUTIFUL VOICE.

RICH...HERE WE GO AGAIN WITH THOSE VAGUE,AND SOMETIMES INCORRECT ALBUM CREDITS.WE DID THE TRACKING AT G.M. STUDIO,AND JEFFREY B.GAVE ME A TAPE OF "UN BEL DI".HE ASKED ME TO WORK OUT A SPECIAL SOLO FOR THE SONG.A COUPLE OF NIGHTS LATER,I WENT IN AND OVERDUBBED THE SOLO.RUTH AND JEFFREY BOTH SEEMED PLEASED WITH THE OUTCOME.

STEPHANIE...DUMB??? THAT'S ONE OF THE KINDEST THINGS THAT ANYONE HAS EVER SAID TO ME!!THANK YOU.IT'S VERY HUMBLING,BUT THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT WE ALL DO WHAT WE DO IN OUR LIVES.WE ALL HAVE HOPES AND DREAMS.WE ALL FIGHT THE SAME BATTLES,AND TO THINK OF MYSELF AS ANY DIFFERENT FROM ANYONE ELSE,IS A TOUGH NUT TO SWALLOW.BESIDES,JUST ASK MY WIFE AND SONS.I'AM JUST HUSBAND,AND GOOD OLD DAD.

RALPH...THANKS FOR THE HELP.IT'S REALLY SURPRISING THAT THE ALBUM HASN'T BEEN RE-RELEASED,CONSIDERING MEAT'S SUCCESS.

STEVE K...THANKS AGAIN STEVE.YOU COULD VERY WELL BE RIGHT ABOUT THE TWO ALBUMS,BUT I HONESTLY DON'T REMEMBER ANY DETAILS.
I BELIEVE JOHNNY RIVERS WAS THE HOST,LATER ON.I DON'T REMEMBER WHO HOSTED THAT VERY FIRST SHOW,BUT THE OTHER GUESTS WERE JIM CROCE,AND HELEN REDDY.THAT STAT. ON JOHNNY IS UNBELIEVABLE!

R.E.'S HEADING TO INDIANA TOMORROW,FOR AN OUTDOOR FEST.BY FOR NOW.
RAY

By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Friday, May 16, 2003 - 04:40 pm:

Ray,
Re: Your favorite song list. I must say that I'm somewhat flattered that you included Stoney and Meatloaf's " Kiss Me Again " considering your vast body of work. However I will never forget that night in the studio when I was fighting a bad case of flu and trying to finish the album and needed to put a guitar solo to this song written by you and Mike Campbell. You were sitting alone in the darkened studio and the rest of us were in the control room. You asked over the mic what I wanted for the solo. I was SO sick that I couldn't go into any detailed explanation in what I was looking for so I simply told you to play it sad. What came out of your guitar that night mesmerized all that were listening to you. I was no longer aware that I had this bad case of flu. I haven't a clue what cosmic dimension you pulled that solo from but in later years whenever I would listen to it , it would magically transport me back to that very special moment in a recording studio all those years ago. Thanks again Ray.

By Caleb (171.75.84.59) on Friday, May 16, 2003 - 08:44 pm:

So what happened with that Meatloaf and Stoney album.How did it do,did it sell some copies?I'd like to hear it.Was Babbitt on it?

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.90) on Sunday, May 18, 2003 - 09:16 am:

HELLO TO ALL:
RALPH...THAT WAS A VERY GOOD ALBUM.IT'S TOO BAD IT WAS RELEASED DURING THE TIME MOTOWN WAS BASICALLY THROWING OUT RECORDS ON THIS YOUNG LABEL(WITH LITTLE TO NO PROMO.),AND BLINDLY HOPING ONE WOULD BREAK THROUGH.EVEN "RARE EARTH" WAS LUCKY TO BREAK THAT BARRIER,EXCEPT FOR THE HELP AND SUPPORT OF BARNEY ALES.IF YOU WERN'T FUNKY,AND LEANING TOWARD THE R.&B. SIDE,YOU DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE.
THANK YOU RALPH,FOR YOUR KIND WORDS AND THOUGHTS.THE REASON THAT SONG WAS INCLUDED ON THE LIST ,WAS BECAUSE,AS YOU SAID, THAT WAS A MAGICAL NIGHT.

CALEB...IA'M NOT SURE ON THE SALES STATS OF THE ALBUM,BUT I'AM SURE IT SHOULD BE EASIER TO FIND THAN THE "SCORPION" ALBUM.WHEN "MEATLOAF" HIT IT BIG,MOTOWN RE-RELEASED IT,AND I THINK IT SOLD PRETTY WELL.I REMEMBER MY JOBETE WRITERS ROYALTY STATEMENTS GOING UP AT THE TIME,BECAUSE OF THE FOUR SONGS MIKE AND I WROTE.I'AM NOT SURE ABOUT ALL THE TRACKS,BUT THE FOUR WE WROTE HAVE BABBITT,ANDREW SMITH,AND MYSELF PLAYING.ALSO, MIKE AND I ARE SINGING THE BACKROUNDS ON THEM.

1965: WE'RE SCHEDULED FOR A SESSION AT MOTOWN,STUDIO A.I ARRIVED A LITTLE EARLY,AND I HEARD SOMEBODY WAILING ON THE DRUMS.I LOOKED IN,AND SAW A YOUNG MAN BEATING THOSE DRUMS TO DEATH.SOME OF THE OTHER GUYS STARTED ARRIVING,AND IT WAS GETTING TO BE TIME TO START THE SESSION.I THINK IT WAS CLARENCE PAUL,WHO WENT INTO THE STUDIO,AND WAS TELLING THE YOUNG MAN TO STOP PLAYING,SO WE COULD GET STARTED.BUT HE WASN'T BUYING IT,AND CONTINUED TO BEAT THOSE DRUMS INCESSANTLY.CLARENCE STARTED YELLING AT HIM."GET OFF THOSE DRUMS,AND GET OUT OF HERE,STEVIE!!",AND FINALLY,HE HAD TO PHYSICALLY PULL HIM OFF,AND TAKE HIM OUT OF THE STUDIO.IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY GUESSED,THE LITTLE DRUMMER WAS STEVIE WONDER.HE WOULD BE IN THE STUDIO DURING DOWN TIME,LEARNING TO PLAY THE INSTRUMENTS.AT THAT TIME,OF COURSE,NO ONE COULD HAVE IMAGINED THE MASTER THAT HE WOULD BECOME.
RAY

By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Sunday, May 18, 2003 - 10:43 am:

Caleb,
As Ray mentioned, the members of Scorpion played on approximately half the Stoney And Meatloaf album. What was shaping up to be their road band played on two songs and the remainder was the Funk Brothers. Unfortunately the re-released album was different than the original. It included a couple of tracks that had not even been completed and some pretty poor re-mixes. I'm not sure but I believe Billie Jean Brown ad Iris Gordy were responsible for that mess. Why the original album was not the re-released version has always been a mystery to me. As Ray said though, it sold rather well.

By Caleb (171.75.84.129) on Sunday, May 18, 2003 - 01:45 pm:

So what kind of music was it.More rock-soul oriented?When was it re-released-the late 70's?So they re-released it but it wasn't the original album?That's odd.Would still be great to hear.Ralph,were you involved with the production on it?

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.130) on Sunday, May 18, 2003 - 03:35 pm:

HELLO TO ALL:
CALEB...I WASN'T AWARE THAT THE RE-RELEASE WAS DIFFERENT FROM THE ORIGINAL.I KNEW IT HAD THE FOUR WE WROTE,BY THE ROYALTY STATEMENTS I RECEIVED.THE MUSIC WAS,AS YOU SAID,A ROCK-SOUL COMBO.EVIDENTLY,SOMEONE HAD THE "BRILLIANT" IDEA TO RE-DO THE RE-RELEASE,AS RALPH SAID.THE ORIGINAL ALBUM WAS RELEASED IN 1971.I'AM NOT SURE WHEN THE RE-ISSUE CAME OUT.THE PRODUCERS WERE RALPH,RUSS,AND MIKE VALVANO.THE ARRANGERS WERE DAVE VAN DEPITTE,AND TOM BAIRD.AS YOU MIGHT KNOW,TOM WENT ON TO DO SEVERAL SONGS WITH "RARE EARTH":"THE ROAD","BORN TO WANDER","GOOD TIME SALLY",AND HE HELPED US WITH "I JUST WANT TO CELEBRATE".TOM WAS A MULTI-TALENTED GENTLEMAN.
RAY

By Recordbeest (65.179.49.154) on Sunday, May 18, 2003 - 06:11 pm:

TO RAY MONETTE
RAY. DID YOU EVER PLAY WITH THE SUNLINERS?
I BELEIVE I MET YOU BACK IN THE FALL OF 1966 AT RAINBOW STUDIOS (ERNIE STRATON ENGINERED)WHEN I BROUGHT KING LOUIE AND HIS COURT IN FROM LANSING TO CUT "THE GLUE" (A DANCE CRAZE WE HOPED TO START.)
I BELIEVE WE WERE INTRODUCED TO YOU AND A SAX PLAYER FROM THE SUNLINERS WHO WOUND UP PLAYING ON OUR SESSION.
THIS MAY HAVE BEEN AROUND THE TIME RAINBOW WAS ABOUT TO BECOME TERA SCHIRMA.

SHELLY HAIMES , FROM PIED PIPER PRODUCTIONS, WAS JUST FINISHING A SESSION AND OVERHEARD MY GROUP
REHEARSING AND HE SORT OF TOOK OVER AND WOUND UP PRODUCING THE GLUE. HE HAD HOPED TO PLACE IT WITH KAPP OR RCA.
I WAS THE AFTERNOON ROCK JOCK (KING JIM LYONS) ON WJIM IN LANSING AT THE TIME.
I CREATED A LABEL CALLED "STICKY RECORDS" HOPING TO GET EVERYONE "STUCK" ON THE GLUE WITH KING LOUIE AND HIS COURT.
KING LOUIE WAS THE LATE MICKEY MOTZ, A WELL KNOW LANSING MUSICIAN.
BEYOND DOING THE SEYMOR TV SHOW AT CK AND A NICE GIG AT PINE KNOB, THE GLUE NEVER GOT "STUCK" WITH MUCH AIR PLAY. NUFF SAID!'
SHORTLY AFTER THE SESSION I JOINED PIED PIPER AS A "ROAD MAN" AMONG OTHER TITLES , FOR THE METROS. HESITATIONS, CAVALEIRS, DYNAMICS ETC.
I ALSO USED RAINBOW TO RECORD RENO AND THE CHOSEN 3, FROM GRAND RAPIDS, ON A COVER OF YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE.
THE B SIDE WAS AN AD-LIBED INSTRUMENTAL I TITLED SOUL BAGG.
WE LET RENO RENALDI LOOSE ON HIS B3 FOR ABOUT 3 MINUTES AND JUST SLOW FADED IT OUT.

JOHN RHYS THOUGHT SOUL BAGG WOULD HAVE BEEN A SMASH IF WE HAD NOT FADED AS THE "REAL FUNK" ON THAT HAMMOND JUST GOT STARTED.

BOY, AM I A LONG WAY FROM A SIMPLE QUESTION RE: YOU AND THE SUNLINERS.

AS FOR ME, I FINALLY GOT MY ARTIST IN 1967 WHEN I SIGNED A YOUNG 21 YEAR OLD AL GREENE TO A MANAGEMENT DEAL AND TOLD HIM TO DROP THE 3RD E IN GREENE (GREEN)
HIS FIRST RECORDING "BACK UP TRAIN" GOT US ON THE RIGHT TRACK IN 1967.
HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU AND, PERHAPS, MEET AGAIN?.
I WAS GOOD FRIENDS WITH BERRY G AND SMOKEY B4 THEY MOVED WEST.
SPINcerely, LEE LYONS. (A FORMER DETROITER. I LIVED ON MANSFIELD NEAR OUTER DRIVE...A FEW MILES NORTH OF COFFEY'S PLACE ON MANSFIELD)
THANKS FOR THE TIME READING THIS.

By LTLFTC (12.210.76.205) on Sunday, May 18, 2003 - 06:34 pm:

Hey King Jim;
Do you have any idea if the tapes/films of "Swing Lively" (WJIM TV's version of 'Bandstand' at that time) exist anywhere?
If I remember correctly , WJIM weather guy Dennis Wayne hosted.

Steve K

By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Sunday, May 18, 2003 - 08:31 pm:

Lee,
Thanks for the interesting post and welcome to the Soulful Detroit forum. I'm a former member of The Sunliners so I can tell you that Ray never played with the band at that time. In later years he would join former Sunliner members as a member of Rare Earth. We must have crossed paths very early on at Tera Shirma after I had taken over from Ernie Stratton but I can't say as I remember it.

By Caleb (171.75.67.228) on Sunday, May 18, 2003 - 08:43 pm:

Ray,yes I did hear once that Tom Baird was a real good person.Was he originally from Detroit?He was a fine arranger-correct?

By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Sunday, May 18, 2003 - 11:05 pm:

Tom Baird was a Canadian from Vancouver. He lived in Windsor across the river from Detroit. He was a gifted pianist and a very good arranger and yes he was an exceptionally nice person. He would often talk to me of his love for Vancouver and tried many times to convince me to move there. His untimely death in a boating accident was a shock to those of us who loved him.

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.41) on Monday, May 19, 2003 - 01:33 pm:

HELLO TO ALL:
CALEB...MY FIRST MEETING WITH TOM WAS WHEN I JOINED R.E.WE WERE REHEARSING "CELEBRATE",IN THE STUDIO,TRYING TO GET IT READY TO RECORD.AT THAT TIME,OUR MANAGER,GOT US A DEAL WITH MOTOWN TO PAY A FLAT RATE OF $50 A SONG! SO WE COULD TAKE ALL THE TIME WE NEEDED TO RECORD,WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT THE COSTS.WE WERE HAVING A TOUGH TIME GETTING IT TOGETHER,WHEN TOM CAME IN AND PROCEEDED TO PULL ALL THE LOOSE ENDS TOGETHER.I DON'T THINK HE WORKED WITH US MORE THAN AN HOUR BEFORE IT WAS READY TO CUT.OBVIOUSLY,HE DID A GREAT JOB ON THE ARRANGEMENT.HE WAS ALSO A MASTER AT BACKROUND VOCALS,GETTING GREAT PARTS TOGETHER IN A MATTER OF MINUTES.WHEN R.E. BROKE UP IN 1974,TOM JOINED UP WITH PETE AND MIKE URSO,TO FORM HUB.SHORTLY AFTER THAT,TOM DIED IN A BOATING ACCIDENT,AS RALPH SAID.A LOSS OF A GREAT TALENT.
RAY

By Davie Gordon (193.122.21.42) on Monday, May 19, 2003 - 03:04 pm:

Ralph,

Did Tom Baird come to join Motown through a
connection with Bobby Taylor and The Vancouvers ?
I know he worked on their album but have never been sure if he was at Motown before the group
were signed up.

On the subject of the Vancouvers I see Tommy
Chong's been charged with selling "smoking
paraphernalia" through the internet.

Davie

By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Monday, May 19, 2003 - 03:13 pm:

Davie,
I'm sure Tom had told me his story about coming to Motown but damned if I can remember it. I'm fairly certain it had nothing to do with Bobby Taylor though. He and I along with Russ did do some producing together and I must say what a thrill it was working with such a talented guy. As Ray points out, Tom could put things together in no time flat.

By Caleb (171.75.81.76) on Monday, May 19, 2003 - 06:46 pm:

So he moved out to LA when Motown moved out there?

By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Monday, May 19, 2003 - 08:50 pm:

Yes Caleb.

By Davie Gordon (193.122.21.42) on Tuesday, May 20, 2003 - 12:13 pm:

Thanks Ralph. Tom Baird's a guy who deserves more
recognition.

By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Tuesday, May 20, 2003 - 01:45 pm:

You're right Davie. He does deserve more. Some time back I promised to write about Tom. In all honesty, I don't quite know how to go about it. He was such an intelligent, interesting guy that maybe it is just one of those deals that one would have to had known him to get it. I'll have to give this some more thought.

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.130) on Tuesday, May 20, 2003 - 03:00 pm:

HELLO TO ALL:
CALEB...IT WAS A NATURAL FOR TOM TO MOVE TO L.A. WHEN MOTOWN DID.IT BROUGHT HIM CLOSER TO HIS HOME OF VANCOUVER,AND TO ANOTHER MAJOR MUSIC CENTER.MANY PEOPLE(RIGHT OR WRONG)THOUGHT THAT THE DETROIT SCENE COULD DIE WHEN MOTOWN LEFT.PERSONALLY,I THINK IT WAS A HUGE MISTAKE TO LEAVE DETROIT.
DAVIE...I COULDN'T AGREE WITH YOU MORE.TOM WAS A MULTI-FACETED TALENT,AND A GREAT GUY.

FIRST MOTOWN SESSION:
I'AM THE 19 YEAR OLD KID,COMING IN TO RECORD WITH THESE 12 MONSTERS OF MUSIC.JOE,ROBERT,EDDIE,AND DENNIS ON GUITS.JAMES ON BASS.URIEL AND PISTOL ON DRUMS.EDDIE BONGO AND JACK ASHFORD ON PERCUSSION.EARL VANDYKE AND JOHNNY GRIFFITH ON KEYS.AND JACK BROKENSHA ON VIBES.AM I NERVOUS,PETRIFIED,OF COURSE!I'AM AMAZED TO SEE HOW CASUAL,AND RELAXED ALL THE GUYS ARE.TO ME THIS IS INTENSE.CUTTING A SONG FOR THE BIG M.BUT THE RELAXED ATMOSPHERE STARTS TO SETTLE ME DOWN.I'AM LOOKING OVER THE CHART,STUDYING,TRYING TO MAKE SURE I DON'T MESS UP.THE OTHER GUYS ARE CARRYING ON VARIOUS CONVERSATIONS,PAYING LITTLE ATTENTION TO THE MUSIC THAT WE'RE ABOUT TO RECORD.I GLANCE AT JAME'S CHART,AND SEE THAT THE BASS-LINE IS WRITTEN NOTE FOR NOTE.HE DOESN'T EVEN GLANCE AT IT.HE'S TOO BUSY TALKING AND JOKING AROUND.URIEL AND PISTOL ARE JAMMIN TOGETHER,WARMING UP.I'AM COMPLETLY AMAZED TO SEE TWO DRUMMERS PLAYING TOGETHER,ESPECIALLY WITH THE INTENSITY OF THESE TWO GENTLEMEN.IT'S AT THIS POINT I REALIZE THAT THERE'S MAGIC IN THIS ROOM,AND THESE MEN.SOMETHING THAT I'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE,OR SINCE.I'AM ALSO PLEASANTLY SURPRISED AT HOW WARM AND HELPFUL THE GUYS ARE TOWARD ME.AFTER ALL,I'AM THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK.
HERE COMES THE PRODUCER. ONE,TWO,THREE,FOUR.HERE WE GO.THE SONG IS PLAYED LIKE THEY'VE KNOWN IT FOR YEARS!OF COURSE,TO THESE GUYS ,THIS IS JUST ANOTHER DAY IN THE FUNK FACTORY.....ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!
RAY

By john c (12.2.233.107) on Tuesday, May 20, 2003 - 03:25 pm:

What was the song Ray?

By Rich (162.33.234.234) on Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 09:43 am:

Incredible story! Ditto John C's Q and if you get the chance Ray - same sort of scenerio but with the Funkadelics - care to compare and contrast your initial experieces with each group (Funk Bros, Funkadelics, Rare Earth).

By LTLFTC (12.210.76.205) on Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 10:07 am:

Also, could you write a little about the '75 version of Rare Earth - the band with Frosty etc. That "Back to Earth' albums got some real nice stuff on it. Seger's "Hollywood Nights" seems suspiciously close in feel to "City Life".

Steve K

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.67) on Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 07:04 pm:

HELLO TO ALL:
JOHN C...WITH THE DETAIL IN THAT FIRST ENCOUNTER,YOU'D THINK THAT THE EASY PART WOULD BE REMEMBERING THE TITLE.UNFORTUNATELY,I DON'T.I'AM SURE IT WAS THE TEMPT'S,BUT THAT'S ABOUT IT.NO TITLE ON THE MUSIC,AND TOO MANY SONGS SINCE,MAKE IT TOUGH.

RICH...GREAT QUESTIONS.I'LL BE BACK WITH THE STORY.TOO MUCH GOING ON AT THE MOMENT.

STEVE K...THANKS.DITTO ON YOURS.
RAY

By Flynny (81.135.14.202) on Thursday, May 22, 2003 - 10:10 am:

To Ray and Recordbeest...can you shed any light on a couple of female Pied Piper artists September Jones and Jaibi, please.
TIA.

By RAY MONETTE (207.191.236.17) on Thursday, May 22, 2003 - 04:40 pm:

HELLO TO ALL:
RICH...THIS IS ONE OF THE FIRST,AND THE ONE I REMEMBER THE BEST.

I'AM HEADING DOWN TO TERA SHIRMA TODAY.GOT A SESSION WITH THE " WILD BUNCH ".THIS STUDIO HAS BECOME LIKE A SECOND HOME,A LOT OF WORK HERE,SO I FEEL COMFORTABLE.BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT FROM GEORGE AND THE BOYS.I ARRIVE,AND GEORGE,TIKI,BILLY,AND BERNIE ARE ALREADY THERE JAMMIN ON A SONG.IT'S A SLOW TEMPO,SUPER-FUNKY THING,AND I LIKE IT ALREADY.THE ONLY THING MISSING IS SOME GUITAR LICKS.I SAY HI TO ALL THE GUYS,AND TELL GEORGE,THAT'S A BAD-ASS GROOVE YOU GOT GOING. GEORGE TELLS ME THAT EDDIE COULDN'T MAKE IT TODAY,SO LETS SEE WHAT WE CAN COME UP WITH.HE SAYS HE DEFINATELY WANTS SOME WAH-WAH,AND WE'LL WORK OUT THE REST.TIKI,BERNIE,AND BILLY START PLAYING THE MAIN GROOVE AGAIN,AND I PROCEED TO PLAY THE MAIN LINE,ADDING WAH-WAH RYTHM,AND SOME LEADS IN BETWEEN.IT FEELS LIKE I'AM PLAYING THE PARTS OF TWO,OR THREE GUIT. PLAYERS,AT THE SAME TIME.BUT THE SONG IS SMOKING,AND GEORGE HAS A BIG SMILE ON HIS FACE.SO ALL IS FUNKY!TIKI,BERNIE,AND BILLY ARE SOME BAD MOFO'S,PLAYING THEIR PARTS WITH EXTREME INTENSITY.WE PROCEED THROUGH THE REST OF THE SONG,AND GEORGE SHOWS ME WHERE HE WANTS A SOLO.WE'RE GETTING CLOSE TO DOING A TAKE ON IT.WE GOT A STRONG UNIT HERE,AND THE TRACK IS SOUNDING GREAT!LET'S DO IT.GEORGE COUNTS IT OFF,AND HERE WE GO. MANY TIMES IN THE STUDIO,YOU DO AT LEAST SEVERAL TAKES ON A SONG.BUT NOT THIS TIME.WE GET IT IN ONE PASS.
WE LISTEN BACK,AND EVERYBODY HAS SMILES,THAT SAY IT ALL.THIS IS ONE FUNKY MO-FO,AND WE GRABBED ONTO SOME MAGIC.
FOR BEING A SO-CALLED WILD MAN,GEORGE,AS I KNOW HIM,WAS A SOFT-SPOKEN,HAPPY,GOOD-HEARTED GUY.OK,WITH A WILD SIDE. AND ALSO,THOSE LICKS ON THE SONG,ARE STILL TOUGH TO PLAY,EVEN TODAY.
THE SONG:"I GOT A THANG".

THAT'S IT FOR NOW.WILL FINISH LATER,RICH,AND STEVE K.

FLYNNY...SORRY,I CAN'T HELP YOU WITH THOSE ARTISTS.HOPEFULLY RECORDBEEST,OR SOMEONE ELSE CAN.
RAY

By Caleb (171.75.84.215) on Thursday, May 22, 2003 - 11:02 pm:

Ray,great post!!

By Davie Gordon (193.122.21.42) on Friday, May 23, 2003 - 08:07 am:

This thread's becoming a bit long to scroll through - I'm gonna set up RAY MONETTE 2
for the next load of posts.

You don't have to use it but it will save some time.

Davie

By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Friday, May 23, 2003 - 10:00 am:

test

By recordbeest (63.183.137.10) on Friday, May 30, 2003 - 09:51 pm:

AND THANK YOU, RAY, FOR RESPONDING TO MY ?'s.
OF MAY 18TH.
GREAT TO BE SO NEW TO SOULFUL DETROIT, SO NEW IN FACT, IT TOOK ME UNTIL TODAY, MAY 30TH, TO FIND MY WAY BACK.
THANKS TO SEARCH FORUM I FOUND YOUR GRACIOUS REPLY
REGARDING THE CHANCE MEETING AT RAINBOW STUDIOS AND MY SESSIONS WITH KING LOUIE'S COURT, SHELLY HAIMS PRODUCED FOR PIED PIPER AND ERNIE STRATTON, I BELEVE, DID ENGINEER THE SESSION.
I HAVE THE MASTER REELS SOMEWHERE AND THE SESSION
TAKES AND NOTES ARE ON THE LABEL ATTACHED TO THE 2 BOXES.. WHEN I FIND THEM IT WILL REFRESH MY OL' MEMRY. THEN, JUST NEED TO FIND A 4 TRAK TO PLAY EM ON!
SESSION WAS IN MID SUMMER OF 66'.
DID YOU KNOW SHELLY HAIMES?
AFTER MY JOCK STINT AT WJIM, I JOINED PIED PIPER FOR A SHORT.
IN THE FALL OF 66 I INTRODUCED SHELLY TO MR.ED WINGATE. ED GAVE SHELLY A GIG THAT LASTED "A SHORT"
AS BERRY CAME IN TO GW.
LAST I HEARD, SHELLY WAS IN L.A. IN THE "MOVIE" BIZ.
RAY, IF I MAY USE YOUR FORUM REPLY BOX TO ANSWER STEVE K?
READ A NOTE FROM STEVE K, BUT NO LINK TO HIM, SO HOPE STEVE READS THIS.
STEVE K ADDRESSED ME AS KING JIM AS I WAS KING JIM LYONS ON WJIM IN 66.
STEVE, I WAS THE AFTERNOON TOP 40 DRIVE JOCK ON JIM RADIO. ON OCCASSION I WAS IN THE TV STUDIO
WATCHING SWING LIVELY.
I AM THE WRONG PERSON TO ASK ABOUT ANY EXISTING TAPES OR FILMS OF THAT SHOW.
WHAT I DO POSSESS ARE THE CANDID SHOTS I TOOK OF AL GREEN AFTER I SIGNED HIM TO A MANAGMENT DEAL IN 1967 AND TOOK HIM TO JIM-TV TO DO SWING LIVELY.
AL HIT WITH BACK UP TRAIN, HIS FIRST EFFORT.
AT THE TIME THERE WERE NO "VIDEOS" OR MTV.
I TOOK A CAMERA AND AL AND WENT OUT AND SHOT BW STILLS TO THE STORY LINE OF BACK UP TRAIN.
AT THE JIM STUDIOS WE SHOT AL LIVE AND MIXED THE BW SLIDES WITH A FEW COLOR PHYSIDELIC SLIDES AND PRODUCED, WHAT AL TOLD ME JUST THE OTHER DAY AS WE SPOKE OF OLD TIMES, WAS PERHAPS THE FIRST "VIDEO"
ONE COPY WAS MADE, WE WERE ALL DUMMIES THEN, AND WE SENT IT TO A TEEN DANCE SHOW IN CLEVELAND. THAT WAS LATE 1967 AND WE HAVE NEVER SEEN IT SINCE.
FORTUNATELY....I DO HAVE ALL THE SLIDES AND COULD POSSIBLY RE-PRODUCE THAT VIDEO.
WE WILL BE AT AN "REV" AL GREEN CHURCH SERVICE IN MEMPHIS A WEEK FROM SUNDAY. MAY BRING IT UP TO HIM. WILL JUST GET A LAUGH AND AN OOOHHH LEEEE!
BEFORE GETTING BACK TO RAY'S FORUM, I CHECKED RALPH TERRANA AND SAW MUCH TALK ON SPYDER TURNER AND ARNIE GELLER.
IF YOU READ, YOU MAY SEE SOME COMMENTS ON ARNIE'S
"HANDLING OF THE FUNDS" AND A REFERENCE TO A CADILLAC...A SMASHED CADILLAC.
AFTER ARNIE MADE THE DEAL WITH MGM FOR SPYDER AND STAND BY ME...HE SHOWED UP AT THE JIM-TV STUDIOS IN LANSING, HE PROUDLY TOOK ME OUT TO THE PARKING LOT TO SHOW ME SAID BRAND NEW FOUR DOOR SEDAN DEVILLE. KIND OF LIGHT BROWN COLOR AS I RECALL. ARNIE TOLD ME SPYDER SHOULD RIDE IN STYLE AS THE RECORD WOULD BE A SMASH! I NEVER THOUGHT THE CADDY WOULD BE!
I HAVE NOT SEEN ARNIE SINCE THAT DAY AT THE STUDIO.
I DID HAVE THE SPYDER MGM LP...AND..MORE OR LESS GAVE IT AWAY A FEW YEARS BACK FOR A COUPLE BUX.
THANK YOU RAY, THANK YOU STEVE K FOR REMEMBERING KING JIM. WERE YOU A LISTENER?
STEVE, JUST E ME SO WE CAN CHAT SOME MORE.MAY HELP FIND "SWING" FILMS IF ANY EXIST.
ANY AL GREEN FANS CAN ALSO E ME.
ALL HAIL WILD WILLIE, BILL HENNES, FORMER CK PD!
SPINcerely,
LEE"BABY"LYONS, aka LEE LYONS aka KING JIM LYONS.

Add a Message