By R&B (138.238.41.118) on Saturday, May 31, 2003 - 12:23 pm:

THIS IS JUST A GENERAL QUESTION FOR ANYONE WHO CAN ANSWER IT,ARE JOHNNY AND LITTLE JOHNNY ONE AND THE SAME? SOMEONE ASKED ME ABOUT IT AND I'M NOT SURE.

By Davie Gordon (193.122.21.42) on Saturday, May 31, 2003 - 12:48 pm:

Definitely not

Davie

By Ritchie (62.254.0.9) on Saturday, May 31, 2003 - 12:53 pm:

Actually it's JohnnIE Taylor, the ex Soul Stirrer who recorded for Stax, and Little JohnnY Taylor who recorded Southern Soul for Galaxy and Jewel/Paula.

By R&B (138.238.41.118) on Saturday, May 31, 2003 - 01:12 pm:

THANKS GUYS,I DIDN'T THINK THEY WERE.

By Keith Rylatt (217.137.91.55) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 05:51 am:

R&B The story goes that Little Johnny Taylor smashed with `Part Time Love` BUT couldn't deliver the goods live on stage very well. So, several `Little Johnny Taylors` began touring the South especially. Chicago's Johnny Sayles was one. He joined the Du Tones Revue as `Little Johnny'. Johnnie Taylor (Stax) was also supposed to have done the same. Keith
PS Davie Gordon, could you please send me your E mail address? Thanks keith.rylatt@tesco.net

By RD (63.188.33.12) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 07:19 am:

I doubt that account Keith. Little Johnny Taylor was quite popular in the south where he played most of his gigs, and even his regular spots up north where he appeared less often.

The name confusion, however, helped both singers early on as many assumed they were the same person; in part because they both recorded the same song: "Part Time Love."

But you're right about others like Johnny Sayles jumping on the "Little Johnny" confusion bandwagon. LJT had a lot of imposters because he wasn't well known everywhere and some singers, promoters and small record companies would go for the easy buck when this occured. This happened a lot to the group Lost Generation. Nobody outside of Chicago knew what they looked like so many small unsuccessful recording groups capitalized on their hit "Sly, Slick and Wicked," by masquerading as them.

By keith.rylatt@tesco.net (217.137.88.41) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 07:36 am:

RD I got that version from an interview between Robert Pruter & Johnny Sayles. Re. imposters, the UK had plenty of that in the 60s! Who were we to know?? Keith

By RD (63.188.33.12) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 07:49 am:

We didn't know here in the States either Keith. The media in the '60s wasn't what it is now. Fakes often appeared in clubs and on concert bills. four or five legitimate acts on a concert lineup and one imposter was the norm for a minute. I thought I saw Lee Jennings on the Ken Hawkins television show in the sixties and somebody on this forum tells me it really was his uncle and that Lee was in the service at the time.

By Ritchie (62.254.0.9) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 09:04 am:

This reminds me - there was a British promoter in the seventies who would go around buying up the names of groups who had one or two hits in the sixties, but were no longer active. Then he'd find a competent but unknown act and send them out on tour (usually in Europe) under their 'new' name. Sometimes, he didn't even bother to buy the name if he thought he could get away with it.

For example, a friend of mine told me his group were offered a tour of France in 1972, provided they learned to speak with Greek accents. They were to be billed as "Aphrodite's Child", and the (rather large) lead singer was asked to grow a beard and call himself "Demis Roussos". They declined.

By Eli (172.170.48.30) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 11:50 am:

When I had the opportunity of working with JOHNNIE Taylor, he even told me that it was in fact he who recorded the original Part time love, but I knew better and I just left it alone.
The two voices are nothing alike.

By Keith Rylatt (217.137.89.62) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 12:27 pm:

Eli. Bobby Bland is my #1 man, there are only a couple of 45s /78s I don't have, so when he came to England one time I went to the show. Little Milton was billed but dropped out through illness. Denise LaSalle was also on the bill, anyhow, much to my surprise, Johnnie Taylor just blew Bobby away when it came to sheer performance power, he was fantastic. Keith

By Eli (172.170.48.30) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 12:52 pm:

How I came to produce Johnnie Taylor went something like this:
back in the early eighties I received a call from Richard Mack, formerly of CBS and before that Stax, so in both instances he had promoted Johnnie's records.
He asked if I could produce several duets betwen Johnnie and Jackie Moore who had just signed to Richard's Catawba label.
We had decided on the songs, one of them being a duet remake of Jackie's Precious Precious.

We recorded the tracks at Sigma, New York and then Jackie and I had to fly down to Dallas for the vocals because Johnnie was on a "work release program" whereby he had to be incarcerated during the week and let out on the weekend when he was in the studio recording his vocals.

We commenced to record the vocals which were, in everyone's opinion, just fantastic as the interplay was just phenomenal.
Johnnie also wanted to do a "soul" version of "Physical" which would have been interesting but of course, there was no track for it.

Anyway, shortly after my arrival back home, I received a call from Richard Mack asking me if I could reccommend another male soul singer.
I proceeded to ask why and Richard informed me that Johnnie thought that Jackie was "outsinging" him.
So to avoid anymore craziness from Johnnie I gave Wilson Pickett a call, having worked with him and we had become friendly.
So my wife and I drove up to Wilson's home in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey where he was frying up some catfish and greens and while accompanied by his two Doberman Pinschers, I put the tape on and Wilson then exclaimed"Lead me to the mike, lead me to the mike!!!!"
"S**t I'll outsing that mo********er anyday"!!!!
So that is just what we did.
We all went to NYC the following week and that was it!!!

By Keith Rylatt (217.137.88.20) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 01:54 pm:

Eli That is a great story, especially the fish fry! Didn't know Sigma had a studio in NYC or have I got it wrong and you recorded in Philly then NY? Keith

By MEL&THEN SOME (212.159.54.145) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 02:06 pm:

Little Johnny Taylor
Born Memphis Tenn. 1943.
Christened as John Lamar Young.
mel.

By Eli (172.153.10.15) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 10:55 pm:

Sigma had a studio in NYC from 1976 until Joe sold it around 1988 to jingle operation.
It was a great complex with two main studios, a mix room and various copy suites.
I t was located in the Ed Sullivan Theater building where David letterman is televised and they were on the 5th 6th and 7th floor.
Many hits were recorded there such as all of the Village People songs, Madonna, Steely Dan, Talking Heads, Stephinie Mills, Ashford and Simpson, most of Mtume's stuff, Phyllis Hyman, Rod Stewart, and the list goes on and on!!!
The main room, studio 5 resembled the way studio 1 looks now in Philly and studio 7 in NYC resembled the way studio 2 in Philly loks now, sort of.
The vibe though was a bit too "clinical" for us Philly folks, too "New York' ya know what I mean??? although I played on tons of things there and produced some things there as wel.

By Carl Dixon London (195.153.219.170) on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 08:24 pm:

I have a single called 'Fabulous Babe' by Kenny Williams, recorded in Sigma New York! It was written for the perfume commercial, I believe, and was a minor hit around 1977. Still a good song, but as usual, lost forever.

By MEL&THEN SOME (81.174.192.17) on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 08:48 pm:

Hey Carl
was he backed up by the carry on team then(hee hee)
seriously though
are you talking about the same Ken Williams that recorded the gem on Okeh Records(7303)called
"come back"
which had on its flip side
"baby if you were gone"

Must be the same guy?
cheers Carl
mel(ooh missus)

By Carl Dixon London (195.153.219.170) on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 09:06 pm:

I guess it is the same Mel. I have looked on the internet, but cannot find a thing about the singer or commercial. The perfume was called 'Babe' by Faberge. It was a catchy tune and deserves more. I wonder who played on the session! Bobby, would it be New York session guys on a Sigma NY session?

By Eli (141.151.85.235) on Wednesday, June 18, 2003 - 01:16 am:

More than likely Carl.
Kenny was an NYC writer and session singer at one time, babe!!!

By David Meikle (81.130.211.124) on Wednesday, June 18, 2003 - 03:32 am:

Thanks for some really interesting stuff Bobby.

David