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  Jimmy Mack (luke) 5-Doyen Username: luke Post Number: 195 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.198.48.201 |
A music channel on Opimum on Line said Donny's first duet partner was June Conquest on I Thank U in 1969. Who is June? | ||
Robb_K (robb_k) 5-Doyen Username: robb_k Post Number: 283 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 66.81.192.161 |
June Conquest was a late '60s and early '70s soul singer, who recorded for Curtis Mayfield's Curtom Records. I doubt that that was her real name, so she may have also recorded under another name. She had a couple of solo singles on Curtom in 1968-69, and one or two duet singles with Donny Hathaway, who was an artist and producer with Curtom during that period. I don't know if they put out an album on the duet. June was a typical Chicago soul female artist, with a soulful style. Her most common 45 that I saw, was Curtom 8543, "What's This I See"/"No One Else". The A side was a soulful mid-tempo, and the B was a remake of a well-known Impressions ballad. Both were arranged by Johnny Pate, so that gives you an idea of the high quality. I've also seen a few more records by her on other small Chicago labels. She had one on Curtom's subsidiary, Mayfield, but also one or two on labels not related to Curtis Mayfield. I hope Don, or DVD Mike can tell youmore about her. I never saw her live. | ||
Jimmy Mack (luke) 5-Doyen Username: luke Post Number: 197 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.198.48.201 |
Thanks Robb. | ||
Juicefree20 (juicefree20) 6-Zenith Username: juicefree20 Post Number: 1041 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 24.46.184.162 |
I know that her big hit was a duet with Donny Hathaway named I Thank You. I'll look up the little info I have regarding her. There's not a great wealth of info regarding her. | ||
dvdmike (dvdmike) 4-Laureate Username: dvdmike Post Number: 111 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 65.208.234.61 |
Sorry to say that beyond hearing the record back in the day, I know absolutely nothing about June Conquest. | ||
roger (roger) 4-Laureate Username: roger Post Number: 73 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 217.35.87.17 |
Hello Everyone. I remember seeing a record by her on "Windy C" once, but I have never heard it. Currently 45-rpm.com lists for sale.. Windy C 606 "All I Need"/"Take Care" http://www.45-rpm.com/C.htm Roger | ||
David Meikle (david_meikle) Moderator Username: david_meikle Post Number: 146 Registered: 3-2004 Posted From: 81.130.211.124 |
June also recorded for Fame. | ||
Kdubya (paladin) 2-Debutant Username: paladin Post Number: 28 Registered: 5-2004 Posted From: 206.185.64.23 |
One of her big hits here in Chicago was Take Care. She was a good singer but never got the push like Ruby Andrews, but she was closer in style and presentation to Jo Ann Garrett, another Chicago Soul Sister who never got the props she deserved. Kdub..... | ||
Steve (steve_litos) 2-Debutant Username: steve_litos Post Number: 21 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 209.100.86.4 |
I have a story about "Take Care". There was always a copy of "Take Care" on the Windy C label in my house growing up. To a kid...the label stands out. It's green, yellow, & it has the cool looking Marina City Towers on the label! However a 6 year old doesn't wan't to hear a slow ballad with a long organ intro. I may have played it all the way through, but maybe not. 20 YEARS LATER - My mom & I are looking at her 45s & June Conquest comes up. She says "I love this song!" (I still remembered not being a fan of the song at age 6). We play the song...it blew me away! It totally didn't fit with the baby boomer white suburban middle class thing image of my parents! Me - Where did you get this? Mom - Your dad got it somewhere. Me - (Yelling) Dad! Where did you get this song? Dad - I heard it on the radio about 1971. (The song was from 1967) I had to go to a record store on the West Side (of Chicago) to get a copy. Images of my father being the only white dude at a record store on the West Side in the early 70's and he getting funny looks from the guys at the counter when he asked for a June Conquest record! I looked at the record...it was a 45 cutout with a small hole in the record. It's really a great song. The Curtom Box set (yellow box on Charlie records...not sure if it's legal or not) has both "Take Care" & "I Thank You". On "I Thank You" June takes a backseat to a SOARING Donny Hathaway. The funky drums carry the song & it sounds very "Fame Studios" until the vibes chime in. As I recall from the liner notes "I Thank You" was intended for June & LC Cooke until LC didn't show up. June got out of the business & live with her politician husband in the Washington DC area. | ||
Juicefree20 (juicefree20) 6-Zenith Username: juicefree20 Post Number: 1059 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 24.46.184.162 |
Steve, Thanks for that story. I can imaging the scene as you wrote it, your dad must be a cool guy! Thanks for the info regarding June's possible whereabouts. | ||
Kev-Lo (7273747576) 4-Laureate Username: 7273747576 Post Number: 84 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 4.237.8.114 |
Hi this is Kev-Lo June Conquest also did Curtis Mayfield's version of No One Else which was also a rare soul forgotten song. | ||
Robb_K (robb_k) 5-Doyen Username: robb_k Post Number: 294 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 66.81.18.77 |
The other side of The Windy C (606) record is a Curtis Mayfield penned tune called "All I Need". It's a really nice mid-tempo, typical of his 1964-66 style. Personally, I like it a lot more than the soulful ballad "Take Care". But both songs are pretty good. I would say June Conquest is a little more laid back than Jo Ann Garrett; who has a a lot more energy and a harder edge on most of her cuts. But, I like all the sides from both of them. I haven't heard June's Fame recordings, but I'm sure it would be very interesting to hear her sing some Muscle Shoals songs with their musicians. That should be quite a difference from only hearing her on Curtis Mayfield "Chicago Sound" labels. | ||
Juicefree20 (juicefree20) 6-Zenith Username: juicefree20 Post Number: 1070 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 24.46.184.162 |
Robb, I'm waiting for someone to come up with a definitive collection of both June & Jo Anns' music. I'm also hoping to see someone unearth Diane Cunningham's songs as well. I'd pay decent money for those collections on CD. | ||
Robb_K (robb_k) 5-Doyen Username: robb_k Post Number: 296 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 66.81.20.172 |
Amen, Juice. Those are three great soul singers. I suppose they'll eventually get around to putting just about all the '60s soul on CD. But the problem is having to end up with 25-35% (or even more) duplication in one's CD collection to get all the desired cuts. Jo Ann Garrett has never really gotten the credit she deserves outside Chicago. Diane and June aren't even a blip on the radar screen to the general public. But, as the cost of making recordings continues to plummet, I'm confident almost EVERYTHING will be available to the public, eventually. | ||
Juicefree20 (juicefree20) 6-Zenith Username: juicefree20 Post Number: 1078 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 24.46.184.162 |
Robb, Now you're talking! I would love to hear all those songs I've read about in those books. The means & technology is in place to do so. All that remins to be done is for someone to do it. I've never seen so many people who refuse to make money & would rather sit on music that many people would like to hear. That's just not good business. Robb, I certainly hope that you're right, it would certainly make sense. | ||
roger (roger) 4-Laureate Username: roger Post Number: 76 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 217.35.87.17 |
Steve. You are right, the 1996 released Charly CD "The Curtom Story" does include the JUNE CONQUEST tracks "Take Care" and "Whats This I See", plus her collaberation with DONNY HATHAWAY "I Thank You". So it seems I was wrong in saying I'd never heard her Windy C release. I decided to play my copy of "The Curtom Story" this morning. "Take Care" is a typical CM production, mellow and just below mid-tempo. "Whats This I See" is a bit more raucous. According to the notes in the C.D. booklet by TREVOR SWAINE, she had two releases prior to the one she had on Windy C. "Almost Persuaded" on Fame in 1964 and "The Only Way To Correct A Mistake ( Is To Make One)", recorded in Houston with someone called "THE DEMON" and released on Jet Set in 1966. ( What a title that is, would love to hear it!! ) Also, according to TREVOR SWAINE, her release on Windy C was only one on the label not by THE FIVE STAIRSTEPS, and "Whats This I See"/"Just Another Reason" was the first ever release on the Curtom label ( Curtom 8543 ). There is even a label scan of it in the booklet which shows that it was on a Black coloured label (not the yellow design used later). The booklet notes also state that the DONNY HATHAWAY duets were originally intended to be with L.C. COOKE, and were released originally in 1968, before being re-promoted in 1972 in the wake of DONNY HATHAWAY's successful duets with ROBERTA FLACK. The booklet states that JUNE CONQUEST was last heard of living in Washington D.C. and married to a state senator. I believe that the Charly double C.D. release of "The Curtom Story" was entirely legitimate, as the booklet notes thank CURTIS MAYFIELD for his help. Roger | ||
Juicefree20 (juicefree20) 6-Zenith Username: juicefree20 Post Number: 1122 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 24.46.184.162 |
Roger!! Great post with great info! Thanks pal! | ||
Robb_K (robb_k) 5-Doyen Username: robb_k Post Number: 305 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 66.81.193.100 |
Thanks Roger! Threads like this are great! They bring up records that I forgot I had (often for 40 or 50 years!). I looked through my Fame Records and found June's "Almost Persuaded" on Fame 6406. It was produced by Rick Hall and written by Dan Penn and Donnie Fritts-but it doesn't sound like a typical Fame recording. It sounds more like a southern copy of a VJ Chicago recording. It is interesting that Fame was at that time distributed by VJ subsidiary Tollie Records, and that June was from Chicago. It is sort of a slow shuffle beat, a very slow mid-tempo or extremely fast ballad. The horns are prominent, and sound like the chicago session hornplayers heard on many of the Calvin Carter VJ productions from 1963-65. It's definately worth a listen. The flip side, "Party Talk" also produced by Rick Hall, was written by Buzz Cason and P. Hampton. It also doesn't sound like Muscle Shoals. She sounds very different on this cut from all of her other songs I've heard- more like Tootie and The Bouquets or Shona and The Party Lights-more like a NY or Philly lighthearted, poppish girls group song with a Ronnie Spector sounding lead vocal and an echo chamber. Yes, Roger, "What's This I See" by June on Curtom 8543 was a black label, with a much different design from the later yellow Buddah-distributed Curtom. It was very probably the first Curtom Record, as the master number etched in the trailer is "CT-68-001" (e.g. the first Curtom pressing in 1968 (early 1968)). It was before Curtis Mayfield started having his Curtom and Mayfield records distributed by Buddah (August 1968), and while Windy C was distributed by Cameo-Parkway, and Mayfield was being distributed by Calla (which, in turn, was distributed by Cameo-Parkway). | ||
SDF (handsome) 4-Laureate Username: handsome Post Number: 131 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 170.118.158.14 |
Hi. Thanks to this information, I have ordered my copy of the Curtom Story, just so I can hear June Conquest. To my surprise, this collection also has Leroy Hutson's "So In Love With You", which I had previously been looking for. Thanks again. Handsome | ||
SDF (handsome) 4-Laureate Username: handsome Post Number: 132 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 170.118.158.14 |
Hi All. Per the dicussion on this thread, I have on order, The Curtom Story, just so I can hear June Conquest. To my surprise, the anthology also contains songs I had been previously looking for and gave up on, such as Natural Four-Can This Be Real & Leroy Hutson-So In Love With You (which I only have on 45's). Thanks again guys. Handsome | ||
Lars Nilsson (lg_nilsson) 2-Debutant Username: lg_nilsson Post Number: 13 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 83.226.8.189 |
Here are some scans from records mentioned earlier on this thread.  B-side is �All I Need�  B-side is �No One Else�  First issued on Curtom 1935 by JUNE & DONNIE as �I Thank You Baby�. B-side is �What�s This I See�  � then issued again on Curtom 1971 as by DONNY HATHAWAY & JUNE CONQUEST �I Thank You�. B-side is �Just Another Reason�. So long Lars | ||
Juicefree20 (juicefree20) 6-Zenith Username: juicefree20 Post Number: 1170 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 24.46.184.162 |
Hi Lars, Beautiful scans there, simply beautiful!!! I've never seen a Black Label Curtom before, never knew they existed!! Thanks for the scans!!! Juice | ||
Steve (steve_litos) 2-Debutant Username: steve_litos Post Number: 23 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 209.100.86.4 |
Thanks for the scans Lars. Now I have a question. Is there an "actual" Lenny Brown or is that Curtis Mayfield using another name? | ||
Robb_K (robb_k) 5-Doyen Username: robb_k Post Number: 325 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 204.108.65.10 |
Curtis had a lot of songs written around that time under his own name. Why would he write some songs under a "pen name", if he owned his own labels and publishing companies, and hadn't signed any exclusive contracts with any other record companies. Further: As both he and lenny Brown had written songs for the SAME music publisher, Camad, why would he use a different name on that same publisher? If he had wanted to hide some money from taxes, why would he have used "Lenny Brown" on only a few records? I heard years ago that a writer for Donnie Elbert on Gateway Records "A Little Piece of Leather" and a few other songs (Zippon?) was supposed to be Curtis Mayfield. i think that was just a rumour started because a couple of Elbert's Gateway songs sounded slightly like Mayfield's work. I have seen the name Leonard Brown as a writer on several Chicago small independent labels, and the songs don't sound like Curtis Mayfield's writing. I think there was a real Leonard Brown. I think he worked with One-Der-Ful, and Chess, and several small labels. | ||
Juicefree20 (juicefree20) 6-Zenith Username: juicefree20 Post Number: 1236 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 24.46.184.162 |
Hey Steve & Robb, I've checked my Chicago Soul & DooWop - The Chicago Scene & there's no mention of a Lenny Brown. Hmmmm..... | ||
Robb_K (robb_k) 5-Doyen Username: robb_k Post Number: 329 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 66.81.201.217 |
Was EVERY writer who wrote more than 5 songs in Chicago mentioned in that book, or in Pruters'two books? In addition to Leonard (Lenny)Brown, I'm sure I could find several writers who wrote more than 10 songs that appeared on '60s records, that are not mentioned in those books. I DON'T think that this is a "C. Bell" (Clarabelle) situation, like Mike Hanks used. Have any of you SD Chicagoans that were around in the '60s heard of Leonard Brown? | ||
Soulaholic (soulaholic) 5-Doyen Username: soulaholic Post Number: 179 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.41.40.105 |
Excellent thread everyone: It was a pleasure to read and the wealth of knowledge was amazing. I am now going to dig out my records by June and give them a spin. This type of thread is why I am a member of the SD site!!!!!!! | ||
SDF (handsome) 4-Laureate Username: handsome Post Number: 143 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 170.118.158.14 |
Hi All. I have the Curtom Story. It is a great investment! I enjoyed June Conquest, especially with Donny Hathaway. Thanks SDF! Handsome |
