By Nick (210.11.48.33 - 210.11.48.33) on Saturday, September 07, 2002 - 08:21 am:

Hi all, Longtime reader of this forum and longtime motown fan, first time posting though..

Sorry this isn't exactly motown but I didn't know where else to ask. I was just wondering if any of you would know who the musicians are on Betty Wright's records from the late sixties/early seventies. They were cut in florida I think and I only know that Little Beaver plays guitar on most of them. Does anyone know who the bass players, drummers, and other guitar players are?

By Ritchie (62.254.0.7 - 62.254.0.7) on Saturday, September 07, 2002 - 08:25 am:

Paging Jeff
Paging Jeff...

By David Meikle (62.252.128.6 - 62.252.128.6) on Saturday, September 07, 2002 - 09:27 am:

Hi Nick

Any form of Soul Music is more than welcome on this forum.

Thanks for taking the time to post that's what will keep the project going.

By recordboyusa (67.34.73.196 - 67.34.73.196) on Saturday, September 07, 2002 - 03:23 pm:

(is that my pager going off?)

Yes, that is Willie "Little Beaver" Hale playing guitar on "Clean Up Woman" and lots of other Betty Wright sessions. Little Beaver came out of Frank Williams & The Rocketeers, so you know he was a funky mutha! After the demise of Williams' Saadia Records, he joined Henry Stone's Cat label, and could be heard on many sessions cut in those Hialeah studios!

Betty was just 14 when she recorded her first album, "My First Time Around", in 1968-69. Here is the personnel from that LP:

Joey Murcia, guitar
Bobby "Birdwatcher" Puccetti, piano & organ
Clarence Reid & Arnold Albury, pianos
David Brown, bass
Eddie Martinez & Butch Trucks, drums

Murcia, Puccetti, and Martinez were members of the Birdwatchers, one of the top "garage" bands in the Miami area. Those guys covered THEMSELVES when Benny Latimore recorded their local hit "Girl I Got News For You"! Murcia left the Birdwatchers on New Years Day 1969 and joined the band MAGIC, which recorded its debut album on the local Armadillo label, before moving to Detroit. This is the same MAGIC that recorded for Rare Earth, so here is your Detroit connection!

David Brown and Butch Trucks were members of the Jacksonville-based 31st of February (AKA the Bitter Ind and Tiffany System). In 1968 they were part of the house band at Henry Stone's Tone Studios (pre-TK). Steve Alaimo & Brad Shapiro produced both the Birdwatchers and 31st of February, so he brought those guys together to be on Betty's album. There were no walls and fences between soul and garage in Miami in the late 60s.

The 31st of February were Duane & Gregg Allman's backing band on the sessions they cut at Tone... and Trucks stuck with them, becoming the drummer of the Allman Brothers Band.

Arnold Albury was the leader of "Arnold Albury & The Casuals", who provided the instrumental backing on lots of early Dade Records sessions.

For lots more on Florida soul music (and garage bands, too) feel free to check out the forum that I moderate, over at:

http://pub64.ezboard.com/blimestonelounge

Jeff

By ErikT.O. (64.228.114.116 - 64.228.114.116) on Saturday, September 07, 2002 - 05:32 pm:

'Gatur Bait'! I have that jam on one of the Sound Of Funk comps... did The Gaturs ever record a whole album? Is it obscenely hard to find?

By Nick (210.11.48.33 - 210.11.48.33) on Sunday, September 08, 2002 - 06:55 am:

Wow Jeff thanks for all the info!! It never ceases to amaze me, all the differences and styles of music, all the regional variations from state to state in America. I'm from Australia and so can't experience the music in geographical context (and I'm 19 so I certainly couldnt experience it first hand). Despite this though I have amassed a fair collection of soul and early funk music (most of which is quite obscure and little known here) and I consider myself fairly knowledgable on the subject. Obviously not to the extent of the folks here however But I am always eager to learn/hear more.

I must admit I have never heard of any of the people mentioned in the post (other than little beaver and the allman brothers, of course). I'm assuming though that Clarence Reid is the same Reid as on the writing credits for some of Betty's hits. those records are credited to Willie Clarke too, I always thought Little Beaver's name was Willie Clarke, not Willie Hale...interesting.

Can you perhaps give me a list of CD's to buy in the Florida soul/Betty Wright vein?? I'd certainly like to hear the Rocketeers, as you mentioned above.

Also, can anyone confirm Jaco Pastorius' comments about sneaking into Criteria Studio and watching Jerry Jemmott play? Did Jemmott play there and if so what did he cut there? Jaco ended up playing there (i think) with Little Beaver on "I Can Dig It Baby" off the Party Down album....Who did Jerry record with?

Nick

By Davie G (213.251.162.249 - 213.251.162.249) on Sunday, September 08, 2002 - 09:31 am:

Nick,

Jerry Jemmott was, I think, New York based.

He played with King Curtis and is on some of
Aretha Franklin's Atlantic albums. When Jerry
Wexler moved to Florida he used Criteria as his
base but for a lot of his projects he tended to fly in musicians from New York or wherever.

By recordboyusa (67.34.73.196 - 67.34.73.196) on Sunday, September 08, 2002 - 02:00 pm:

Crazy Clarence Reid did it all: writing, producing, recording, going to the dog track, singing nasty songs! He was, and still is, quite a character!

Little Beaver is Willie Hale, unfortunately now retired from performing outside of the church. His guitar is on SO MANY Miami soul and funk records, from Helene Smith, to Paul Kelly, to all that great Saadia stuff -- Pearl Dowell, Thunder Lightning & Rain, etc, on up to countless sessions in the 70s for TK.

Willie Clarke was the unsung hero of South Florida soul -- the co-founder of the state's first independent black owned record labels, plus a primo writer and producer (and evaluator of talent, as we found out when he discovered Betty Wright singing in a record store). He doesn't get the props because unlike Clarence, he wasn't a performer. One day Willie will write his book and it will be an eye opener!

I cannot confirm the Jaco story but it wouldn't surprise me. The thing is, nobody noticed Jaco in the early days because he was a drummer! He switched to bass later on. His most famous gig down here was with Wayne Cochran's C.C. Riders, but I can't confirm his appearance on any of their records. So many people came and went from that band, many of whom just did a few road trips. The thing is, when Wayne took the stage, all eyes were on HIM!

Jeff Lemlich
http://pub64.ezboard.com/blimestonelounge

By Vickie (152.163.189.167 - 152.163.189.167) on Monday, September 09, 2002 - 02:31 am:

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Betty Wright!!!!!!


Vickie

By Lynn Bruce (64.233.239.143 - 64.233.239.143) on Monday, September 09, 2002 - 07:18 am:

Does anybody know what Steve Alaimo is doing these days, as I worked with with him at a place called the Peppermint Lounge South on 79th st.back in the sixties in Miami Beach.Just curious.

By Nick (210.11.48.33 - 210.11.48.33) on Monday, September 09, 2002 - 08:20 am:

Yeah Jerry Jemmott was New York based, and i always thought that's where he did all that aretha and king curtis stuff, and BB king's stuff too...thats why i was intrigued by Jaco's comment...but then, Jaco could never be accused of always telling the complete truth...

I would love to hear more stuff of Jaco playing drums, I've always loved his drumming on the few recordings i've heard of him (like on teen town and river people, really good feel)...he was a decent piano player too, and I think he played guitar as well on a few records....

As far as Jaco recording with Wayne, I have never heard that he was on any studio stuff but I have heard a couple of live things with Jaco on them....one word: Incredible! to me Jaco sounded better playing that stuff than what he was playing ten years later (a lot of the stuff he plays ten years later you can hear him play with Wayne too). It's interesting to hear one of the lines he plays with Wayne is exactly the same as the line on "I Can Dig It Baby" by Little Beaver, just on this particular thing with the CC Riders it's faster...all the licks were there though...You can hear why he was upstaging Wayne!!

Jeff thanks once again for the info....

By recordboyusa (67.34.73.196 - 67.34.73.196) on Monday, September 09, 2002 - 08:08 pm:

Hi Lynn,
Steve Alaimo is with Vision Records in North Miami. He performed a year ago at the opening of the Historical Museum of Florida's local music exhibit. All of the participants were allowed to do one song, and he selected "Everyday I Have To Cry". Betty Wright (who sang "Clean Up Woman") danced in the audience during the song! It was fun watching her dance, remembering that Steve was her producer on her debut album, more than 30 years ago!

Jeff Lemlich
http://pub64.ezboard.com/blimestonelounge

By Eli (205.188.208.135 - 205.188.208.135) on Wednesday, September 11, 2002 - 12:28 am:

In early 1975 I had the pleasure of visiting TK records when I was discussing the deal to produce Terry Collins and my Eli's Second Coming project which I would rather forget!!
Harry Casey was still a stock boy at the distributers during the time he was on the charts!! He actualy pulled some product for me. They were just finishing their new studio on the first floor although I love theoriginal small one upstairs where I first met Timmy Thomas, a real nice guy.

By Lynn Bruce (64.233.239.143 - 64.233.239.143) on Wednesday, September 11, 2002 - 09:10 am:

Recordboyusa,thanks for the info on Steve Alaimo.When Steve was at the Peppermint club,we were there for the winter,backing up whoever they booked(usually a week or two)I still have the sheet music for "Everyday I have to cry" that Steve gave me.After we moved on I sang that song in our band,as I liked his version so much.
Lynn

By recordboyusa (67.34.73.196 - 67.34.73.196) on Wednesday, September 11, 2002 - 03:15 pm:

Lynn,
Good story! The only Steve Alaimo sheet music I have is from a little later ("When My Little Girl Is Crying"). There was a live album recorded at the Miami Beach Peppermint Lounge by a group called the Seven Blends, which came out on Roulette.

Bobby,
I like what you cut with Terry Collins. We used to play "Oh So Lonely" at my college radio station.

Casey & Finch used to do anything they could around TK. Willie Clarke used to fight for those guys, when some of the folks around there disrespected them. Willie was the guy who arranged for George McCrae to go in and record the vocals on the track Casey/Finch had done, which became "Rock Your Baby". Up until then, the higher-ups really weren't too interested in hearing their musical work. Willie Clarke took George's demo in to Alaimo & Stone and they flipped for it, and put it out on TK with Casey/Finch as the writers and producers. Without that record you might have never had the chance to hear the Sunshine Band.

Jeff Lemlich
http://www.limestonerecords.com

By recordboyusa (67.34.73.196 - 67.34.73.196) on Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 05:21 pm:

Hi y'all,
I just spoke to Henry Stone, and he has restarted TK Records. Their first artist is a rapper, but at least he's doing an old TK song (Latimore's "Let's Straighten It Out").

Jeff Lemlich
http://www.limestonerecords.com