| Author | Message | ||
  SisDetroit (sis) 5-Doyen Username: sis Post Number: 207 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.42.211.240 |
What do you know about The Ivies. I was talking to one of my relatives, who happens to be 72 years of age. He said he used to sing with The Ivies, and had recorded a couple 45s. He said Clarence Paul, of whom he used to hang with, was on one of the recordings. "Walking Through The Rain" and "I Need Your Loving." He said the Ivies and Roy Hamilton's recording came out the same day. He said the group recorded songs without Clarence Paul "Sunshine" and i really Want To Know" and "Come On." Anyone know anything about "The Ivies?" (I made him happy today, listening to him.)  | ||
Robb_K (robb_k) 5-Doyen Username: robb_k Post Number: 251 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 66.81.25.49 |
Hi Sis D. I have "I Need Your Lovin'"/"I'll Be By Your Side (Walkin' Thru The Rain)" on Hanover Records 4519, however, it's credited only to Clarence Paul. There's no mention of The Ivies. It's a New York label, but I think it was from Clarence's time in Detroit, as the other writers are Sonny Woods and Kenny Martin. There's a connection to the name "Ivies"-or at least "Ivy", as a sister label, or subsidiary of Hanover. It is called Ivy Records. It had another Detroit group on it: Jimmy Lewis and The Volumes. The writers are famous Detroit writing team Matthews (Johnnie Mae) and Bennett, along with Detroiter, Kenny Martin. The Music publisher is Walnut Music, Hanover's company publisher. B.B. Butler did the arranging. Wasn't he from Detroit? Another group on Hanover was The Unique Teens. Kenny Martin also wrote their songs. Perhaps he was in that group at that time (late 1950s). All these songs were from the late '50s. The Hanover records have RCA pressing plant code numbers (I think NY plant). The Ivy Record looks as if it could be a Detroit pressing. I have a record or two by a group called The Ivies, on small New York labels, but can't remember where they're filed. I think those are by a New York group, which may be different from the Clarence Paul group. They may also date from the earlier period when Clarence Paul (Pauling) was together with his brother Lohman, in the Five Royales. Do you know if the group you describe operated out of New York, - or was it Detroit? The song titles you listed by the group without Paul don't look familiar as the ones I have on the NY labels, with the possible exception of "Come On". I hope I can find them to check. (Message edited by Robb_K on May 22, 2004) | ||
SisDetroit (sis) 5-Doyen Username: sis Post Number: 210 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.42.211.240 |
Robb K - That's what is so exciting about this site. Someone always knows the answer. Here is a link to a 45 by "The Ivies." It appears this song was written by Aaron McCray and Kenny Martin. Aaron is a relative of mine, who lives in the Detroit area. He and I were talking about his group who recorded back in the day 1958-59. He said the Ivies included himself, along with Clarence Paul, Odel Logan, Jimmy Davis, Conley Griffin, and Arnold Johnson. He said he believes Conley is lead on "Come On." http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA PI.dll?ViewItem&category=306&i tem=4013854958&rd=1&ssPageName =WDVW | ||
SisDetroit (sis) 5-Doyen Username: sis Post Number: 211 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.42.211.240 |
On this site, you can hear two of the songs recorded by his group, "The Ivies" : "Come On" and "Sunshine". http://www.thedoowopjukebox.co m/aug03mp3s/mpthree.html | ||
Robb_K (robb_k) 5-Doyen Username: robb_k Post Number: 254 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 66.81.182.209 |
Thanks, Sis, for the links and information. I think I have one of the Ivies on Brunswick, but can't find it here among my Brunswick records. I make my annual 1/2 hear move back to Holland in a matter of days, so I'll check there when I arrive (if I can manage to remember). All this is very interesting. I hope some of the other Detroit label experts will comment on this, too. I'd like to find out the connections between Clarence, The Ivies, Ivy Records, Hanover, Sonny Woods, kenny Martin, Matthews and Bennett, The Volumes,-Detroit/New York, etc. (Who the label owners,producers were, where they recorded, etc.). Unfortunately, my computer internet service here in L.A. has a VERY narrow band,-and I also have a very small audio card on my computer, so I'm unable to listen to music on the internet. I'll have to wait until I return to Holland to hear anything on the SD links. | ||
Davie Gordon (davie_gordon) 4-Laureate Username: davie_gordon Post Number: 74 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 212.219.250.2 |
Hi Sis, here's what I've been able to find out Ivy 110 (12/58) THE IVIES Sunshine (Aaron McCray,Kenny Martin) Come On (Aaron McCray,Kenny Martin) reissued on Brunswick 55112(06/59) Roulette 4183 (08/59) THE IVIES Voodoo ( ) I Really Want You To Know (McCray,Martin) Clarence had a few releases in the late fifties credited to him as a solo artist - the Ivies may have been his backing vocalists on those releases but in the only interview I've seen with him he didn't mention being a member of a group at the time. The two Clarence releases that I could find were Hanover 4519 I Need Your Lovin' (Paul,Martin,Woods) I'll Be By Your Side (Paul,Martin,Sonny Woods) (Roy Hamilton quickly did a cover version of "I Need Your Lovin" for Epic - he got the hit version because Epic was a bigger label and he was much better known than Clarence) Roulette 4196 Falling In Love Again (Paul,Martin) May Heaven Bless You (Paul,Martin) There was a group on Johnnie Matthews' Reel label around 1960 called the Sensation-Ivies who I assume are the same group that had a release the next year on Willow, a subsidiary of the Cincinatti-based King label. Reel 111 (1960?) I'll Have The Last Laugh ? Willow 23003 (1961) Tell Me God Bless The Child Maybe these titles will ring a bell with Aaron and he can tell us if there's any connection between the Ivies and the Sensation-Ivies. Robb, there's a lot of research involved in your queries which I just don't have time to do at this minute. I can tell you that Hanover was a sister label to the mainly jazz Signature label - both were owned by producer Bob Thiele, the man who founded the Impulse and Bluesway labels among many other credits. Sonny Woods was a member of the Hank Ballard's Midnighters - his involvement in that Clarence Paul record is about a year after he was working with Robert West at West's BumbleBee label. Davie | ||
Robb_K (robb_k) 5-Doyen Username: robb_k Post Number: 274 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 204.108.65.10 |
Thanks, Davie. It is logical that the Ivies were the back-up group for Clarence on the Hanover record. The Ivy label must have either been a Detroit label, or a New York label that acted as an outlet for Detroit product. | ||
SisDetroit (sis) 5-Doyen Username: sis Post Number: 214 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.42.211.240 |
Davie Gordon - I really appreciate that information. Aaron is suppose to come down this week end. (He lives up North) I will sit him down, and pick his brain, assisting him in bringing his memory back. :o) Sonny Woods is currently in Sweden playing keys for Laura Lee at the Blues Festival | ||
Davie Gordon (davie_gordon) 4-Laureate Username: davie_gordon Post Number: 79 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 212.219.250.4 |
Sis, You mention that Aaron lives "up north" - he wouldn't happen to live in Saginaw,would he ? The reason I ask is that after I sent that post I was wondering if Aaron was related to blues singer/guitarist Larry McCray who's from that neck of the woods. I've found out a bit more about the Ivy label. It was based in New York and was set up by Stan Feldman and Ed Portnoy. Most of the artists appear to be from that area but I've found a possible link betweeen the Ivy label and the Willow label that issued the Sensation-Ivies. Ivy Records had a very short lived (two singles) subsidiary in 1958 called Willow. It may turn out that there's a stronger link between the Ivies and the Sensation-Ivies than I thought. I'll list what I've been able to find out about the Ivy label in a separate thread so that we can keep this one for The Ivies. In the meantime here's a link to one of Marv Goldberg's articles about the Deltairs, one of the groups who recorded for Ivy. The article has a lot of useful information about Ivy Records http://home.att.net/~uncamarvy/Deltairs/deltairs.html I've also managed to find that Clarence Paul interview I mentioned - I'll try to post in in the next day or so. Thanks for the news on Sonny Woods - I thought he'd retired from the business. Nice to know that some of those early pioneers are still working away. Davie (Message edited by Davie Gordon on May 25, 2004) | ||
Eva (bigswede2002) 3-Pundit Username: bigswede2002 Post Number: 46 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 81.226.54.68 |
Hi Davie and all, While reading this thread, it just popped into my mind that Sonny Woods might have been the same guy who accompanied (sp?) Laura Lee on keyboards at her wonderful performance in M�nster�s, Sweden! Funny how everything seems to connect in some mysterious way, isn't it??? Laura presented Sonny Woods as her Reverend, if I'm not totally mistaken. Do you know, Sis Detroit, if Woods is now a man of the cloth (as I believe they say!)? This is the subject of another thread, of course, but I just want to say that Laura Lee, who did her first "secular" performance in twenty years, has lost none of her singing ability or fire-she put on a terrific show and had the audience in the palm of her hand from the very first song. At the end of the concert she sang four gospel songs, as a way to thank God for her recovery from cancer. She will be at the Utrecht Blues Estafette in November, for all the Europan fans who'd want to catch her 'live'. Eva | ||
SisDetroit (sis) 5-Doyen Username: sis Post Number: 216 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.42.211.240 |
Davie Gordon - I must have really brought back memories for Aaron when I was asking him those questions the other day. He called me last night wanting to know how to find the doo wop link. He said he cannot find his 45's. He believes they may have gotten lost in a fire at his home a few years back. He doesn't have a computer, but his neighbor has one. I tried to explain to Aaron how to write down my email address. (LOL) I want to send his neighbor the link to Soulful Detroit. Aaron was trying to give me more information over the phone, but I suggested that he just have his neighbor email me, and his neighbor can respond in email or on the forum for him. Eva - Yes, Andre' Sonny Woods is of the cloth. He has a gospel group as well. Thank you for that review on Laura's performance. I've been wondering how the Festival faired over there. You should start a thread for Laura. Perhaps someone else will come on and give another review. I was hoping Lars would have gone to the concert, and taken some photos. | ||
Davie Gordon (davie_gordon) 4-Laureate Username: davie_gordon Post Number: 83 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 212.219.250.2 |
Robb, just to clear up one thing Clarence Paul was not a member of the Five Royales. He was in a gospel group with his brothers Lowman and Curtis called the Royal Sons - that group evolved into the Five Royales but Clarence had left the group three or four years beforehand. Davie | ||
Davie Gordon (davie_gordon) 4-Laureate Username: davie_gordon Post Number: 84 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 212.219.250.2 |
Sis - "Funny how everything seems to connect in some mysterious way, isn't it??? " How true - the more I research I do the more I get that feeling. It's like the premise of that film "Six Degrees of Separation" ( not sure of the title) Davie | ||
David Meikle (david_meikle) Moderator Username: david_meikle Post Number: 156 Registered: 3-2004 Posted From: 81.130.211.124 |
Great thread folks. Many thanks. | ||
SisDetroit (sis) 5-Doyen Username: sis Post Number: 226 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.42.211.240 |
Davie Gordon - Aaron doesn't have a brother, he is an only child. I am still waiting for that email from his neighbor. |
