Funk my Soul

Mike James Kirkland may be a new name to some of you, and to many of you, only through a recent archaeological find in “Hang on in there”, a throwback to Marvin’s “What’s going on”, although made independently (and prior to) that particular milestone. Well here is his follow-up LP from 1973, “Doin’ It Right” the slightly scruffier partner to “Hang On In There”, but just as intensely satisfying.  Socially and romantically inclined mellow jellow from the top drawer.

This is a @320 vinyl rip of the original Bryan LP including covers

Tracks
A1 Got To Be Right 3.55
A2 It’s Too Late 4.10
A3 O Me O My (I’m A Fool For You Baby) 4.20
A4 You Put It On My Mind 3.50
B1 Doin’ It Right 8.15
B2 Love Is All We Need 4.15
B3 Love Insurance 2.57
B4 The Only Change 4.55

Review by Trakbuv

For me, one of the great discoveries of the 1990s was Mike James Kirkland’s “Hang on in there” - and the subsequent awesome CD. It was also significant in making me aware of the possibility of many musical losts being found by Indiana Jones wannabes - rescued from the catacombs of obscurity to finally reach the public spotlight. And sure enough, his follow-up LP from 1973 surfaced a few years later on 12cm of shiny joy. What I hadn’t realised was that Michael James Kirkland packed some pedigree in his punch. He had been lead singer for Mike & the Censations and had existed as Bo Kirkland as part of a duo that some may recall. But more on that later. Born 1949 in Yazoo City, Mississippi, his early gospel roots secured his part in the local gospel act, the Seven Seals, along with his two brothers, Walter and Robert (the latter would prove to be pivotal to his future musical career). They later moved to Los Angeles around ‘56, following an inter-racial incident with one of his brothers. In Mike’s own words, they were lured by the prospect of racial harmony, “a promise that has not been kept”. His early influences were the well-turned out ‘supper club’ jazz singers of the day (Dinah, Nancy, Brook, Nat, etc) before finding inspiration in Sam Cooke. Mike’s soft mellifluous tones are a clear and respectful nod to Sam’s exquisite style.

Mike’s first foray in a recording studio was a result of a wager by his brother Robert. While enduring the praises of Motown by a group of friends, he said he could cut a song every bit as good by Christmas. This was the August, but sure enough, as Santa stepped off his sleigh in the winter of ‘65, Mike & the Censations had recorded “Victim of circumstance” (a telling title) released on Robert’s Bryan label. A sombre, creative, almost doo-wop number, it made the top 50 of the R&B Charts.  The similarly slanted, yet more beautiful “There is nothing I can do about it” scored even higher whereupon they signed a brief deal with MCA records. Other significant cuts I’d urge you seek out are “Gonna try and get you back” and “The straw (that broke the camel’s back)”.

Pricked by the more politically conscious early seventies, Mike started to mix his tender romanticism with social commentary. The result was the adorable “Together” ballad A-side and “The prophet” message B-side single, again released on Bryan in 1971. It’s natural progression, the glorious “Hang on in there” LP followed in 1972.  Then came Bryan Records catalogue no. 9007 - “Doin’ It Right” was released in 1973. The recipe is pretty much the same as, if rawer than, its predecessor, with a similar line-up of musicians, and most tracks written by Mike. Mike has noted that there is a distinction between the way the two albums were produced, mirroring the two approaches to be found back in the day as he saw it. “Hang on” fell into the “refined, jazzy, well-produced” category, whereas “Doin’” adopted a “more earthy , natural sound” with both Mike and Robert wanting a more ‘live’ atmosphere.

Kicking off with the busy, streetfunk of “Got to do it right”, and its countering girl chorus - this opener is pure bliss. Then it’s a couple of covers (both apparently popular with his live act) - “Its too late” is given a slight boost in beat, but still a great revision. “O me O my” is very good as well, exposing the fragility in his voice appropriately, except for the fact that I’m soo smitten by Aretha’s version (and not forgetting Lulu’s original). Then its back to a Mike original, the mellow “You put it on my mind”. The eight minute breakdown on the title track earns and burns every second, the histrionics conveying a desperation in its message - a man trying to save a failing relationship. Stupendous. “Love is all we need” is a nice inclusion with a Southern Soul feel maybe reflecting his roots. “Love Insurance” is pleasant shaker, although lacking enough punch and direction to really qualify as one of the singles to be released off the album.

Mike later changed his name to Bo Kirkland to avoid confusion with Michael Jackson who had just turned solo. And the first single release under his new moniker, “Grandfather Clock”, was met with critical praise (great lyrics by the way) and reached #80 R&B in 1975. This was the prelude to him joining forces with ex-Ikette Ruth Davis and the release of “You’re gonna get next to me” in 1976 - and the rest, as they say, is history. Wow ! Please take the opportunity to check out some of his illustrious musical career, but in the meantime, savour some of this adaptable gents slick style right here.

There is an excellent biography available here

Buy it from Dusty Groove or Ebay or Groove Collector.

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Bonus

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Kellee Patterson - 1977 - Turn On The Lights - Be Happy

Kellee Patterson’s rise into the public eye came in 1971 when she was the first black girl to become Miss Indiana when she entered the Miss America pageant with merits for her singing talents. Her singing started professionally when she was just 16 and following the sucess in the Miss America pageant she toured the world where she both sung and gave speeches. Kellee broke into TV to host Harambee in Chicago and continued on with her singing career later when she moved to the West Coast.

Her musical recording total only four albums, that have remained fairly underground gems that sported afew minor singles.

Maiden Voyage was Kellee’s debut album on the Black Jazz label which is a jazzy and melow album.

Kellee’s second album, Kellee was a collection of cover versions on Hubub Records in 1976. It showed the first signs of her transgression to the disco movement and contains an amazing cover version of the Barry White classic, I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More, Baby

This is the  third album with more disco vibes in 1977.

Tracks
A1   Overture (2:46)
A2   Heaven (4:14)
A3   If It Don’t Fit, Don’t Force It (5:17)
A4   Yesterday Was Love (4:51)
A5   Be Happy (3:23)
B1   Turn On The Lights (7:45)
B2   Movin’ In The Right Direction (3:54)
B3   Let’s Hold On To Love (3:57)
B4   I’m Coming Home (4:52)

In case you’re wondering, this is the album Kellee recorded after the classic self-titled set with “I’m Gonna Love You a Little More Baby”. This album’s not as jazzy funky as that one, but it’s still a pretty sweet set overall  sung by Kellee in her nice vocal style, with kind of a lightly grooving, boogie-inflected soul style. The best cuts include “If It Don’t Fit, Don’t Force It” and “Turn On The Lights”  both of which are pretty great  and other tracks include “Moving In The Right Direction”, “Heaven”, and “Be Happy”. Kellee’s definitely getting a bit more pop oriented here  but she’s still got some good soulful moments.

Download link

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Kellee Patterson - 1979 - All The Things You Are

Kellee’s final album is a true disco, funky mix of classic ballads. All The Things You Are was released in 1979 on Shadybrook.

Tracks
A1   Let Go, Let Go (5:32)
A2   Fancy Dancer (4:30)
A3   So In Tune With You (6:22)
B1   All The Things You Are (6:34)
B2   Feelings Old Feelings (4:24)
B3   Nice Girl (3:50)
B4   How I Love Your Smile (3:24)

Groovy Emmanuel about Kellee

This is just the moment when the neon-lit atmosphere of Kellee’s debut album (way back in 1973) goes sexy! And here we have a gentle attack of some excellent mellow disco grooves to the aforementioned early singing career of the former but eternally beautiful Miss Indiana!

And yes, her voice is still embracing the sensual moods, no matter if she’s caressing the nasal side or not, and Gene Russell, the founder of Black Jazz Records, is still running the executive production (with the exception of side one of “All The Things You Are”) with some big help from the great musicians who participate in both records.

Special note on Larry Farrow who has done a tremendous job in composing-producing-arranging and conducting the whole set of “Be Happy”, and to Victor Hall & Harry Bowen in side one of “All The Things You Are”. It seems that they are all moving in the right direction.

Now it’s time for the rest of us to turn on the lights.

You can buy original vinyl albums on Ebay and Groove Collector .

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Jean Knight was a one hit wonder, but what a hit she had. Originally from New Orleans, Knight made her musical mark in Mississippi where Mr. Big Stuff was recorded at the Malaco Studios. Everyone should know the song with its catchy rhythm, horn line and sing along chorus. It’s one of my female Soul tunes. Ms. Knight wasn’t finished though. She also comes through with some slow numbers like “A Little Bit of Something (Is Better Than All of Nothing)” that has a little Blues tint to it, as well as more upbeat numbers like “Don’t Talk About Jody” and “Call Me Your Fool (If You Want To)”, and mid-tempo ones like “Take Him (You Can Have My Man)” with its nice groove.

This is a nice @320 vinyl rip of the original Stax Records LP including covers. You can buy the CD with bonus tracks here.

Tracks:
A1 Mr. Big Stuff 2.44
A2 A Little Bit Of Something (Is Better Than All Of Nothing) 3.19
A3 Don’t Talk About Jody 2.43
A4 Think It Over 4.47
A5 Take Him (You Can Have My Man) 2.30
B1 You City Slicker 2.52
B2 Why I Keep Living These Memories 2.52
B3 Call Me Your Fool (If You Want To) 3.04
B4 One-Way Ticket To Nowhere (It’s The End Of The Ride) 4.19
B5 Your Six-Bit Change 2.36

The Album Review

Jean Knight could do no wrong in 1971, when the strutting “Mr. Big Stuff” was climbing the pop and R&B charts, well on its way to becoming one of the most familiar chart hits of all time. Her debut album, with its no-brainer title, featured a lot of good material on it, not all of it in the same vein as her hit. Producer/arranger Wardell Quezergue (he also appeared on keyboards) handled the record well, with a band consisting of Malaco hands like guitarist Jerry Puckett and drummer James Stroud. Knight shows an admirable range on these songs, stretching out on the heartbroken ballads “A Little Bit of Something (Is Better Than All of Nothing)” and “Why I Keep Living These Memories” (each with a heavy church feel). “You City Slicker” was much too much of a “Mr. Big Stuff” sound-alike, but “Take Him (You Can Have My Man)” would’ve been a worthy follow-up to her only Top Ten hit. The CD reissue by Fantasy added a few of her later singles, including the charting “You Think You’re Hot Stuff” and the fine “Carry On.”

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Here’s a list of hip-hop songs that have sampled Mr. Big Stuff :

Beastie Boys: Johnny Ryall
CEO: Hit Me with the Beat
Del the Funky Homosapien: Pissin’ on Your Steps
Eazy-E: Boyz-N-the-Hood
Grandmaster Melle Mel ft Scorpio: Mr. Big Stuff
Heavy D: Mr. Big Stuff
Schoolly D: Mr. Big Dick
TLC: Switch
Deep Freeze Productions: Sleeper

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Biography

Soul singer Jean Knight’s only big hit was a monster — the sassy funk classic “Mr. Big Stuff,” one of the largest-selling singles ever released by the legendary Stax label. A native of New Orleans, Knight was born in 1943 and made her first recordings for producer Huey P. Meaux’s Jet Stream and Tribe labels during the mid- to late ’60s (many of her sides were later collected on West Side’s Blue Soul Belles, Vol. 2). Her success largely confined to the immediate area, Knight was working as a baker when she went to Malaco Studios in Jackson, MS, for a session with veteran producer Wardell Quezerque in 1970. The key track, a spirited putdown of male arrogance called “Mr. Big Stuff,” was shopped to Stax Records, who passed on it at first. However, after King Floyd’s “Groove Me” (another Malaco recording) went gold, Stax reconsidered and released “Mr. Big Stuff” in 1971. It was an enormous hit, spending five weeks at number one on the R&B charts and falling one slot short of the same position on the pop side. Despite a strong accompanying album of the same name and some similarly gritty follow-up singles (which included “You Think You’re Hot Stuff” and “Carry On”), Knight couldn’t manage to duplicate the success of “Mr. Big Stuff,” and quickly faded from the soul scene.
In 1981, Knight scored a minor hit with a version of “You Got the Papers (But I Got the Man),” and charted with one of the more successful covers of the Rockin’ Sidney zydeco smash “My Toot Toot” in 1985; “My Toot Toot” also served as the title track for a full-length LP on Mirage. Knight returned once again in the late ’90s, cutting an album for Ichiban in 1997 called Shaki De Boo-Tee. She followed it two years later with the Formaldehyde release Queen.

Listen Up “Mr.Big Stuff”

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Here’s an album sooooooo rare!!!!. A collector’s item. But also a real gem.

Nashville-born/Cleveland-raised singer/songwriter Dorothy Kimberley Tolliver is an unsung Southern Soul heroine to many collectors of rare and antique R&B records. Blessed with a powerful and tremendously expressive set of pipes.

This is her first and rarest of her two albums.
I feel very proud and honoured that Mr. Moo share it with us through this blog.

I think that the regular visitors will know Mr. Moo through his past uploads in the cbox, and a lot of you are already members of his wonderful blog.
We were introduced to each other by Lafayette of 4BB and found out that we share a similar love for old school soul and funk music. Furthermore he is running a small private blog (What Da Funk) for about a year now, which focuses on seventies and eighties funk, soul, rap & disco. An exceptional blog full of great music, I suggest you should visit daily.

Mr. Moo explains : “ I found this one in a box with other (mostly scratchy) albums years ago, (almost literally) in a haystack near a home of an aunt of an old late friend. The album didn’t come with a sleeve, so I include a front and back cover I found on the internet. The quality of the vinyl is only average, but I did my best to make it soundable.”

And he did. Be sure you can find it only here cause the artist and record is so rare. Neither label promoted the pleasing LPs and both were deleted before most knew they existed.

‘Come & Get Me I’m Ready’ her 2nd album, now released on CD for the first time – thanks to the new US reissue label Reel Music, proves to be a genuine soul masterpiece.

This is a @256 vinyl rip of the original Fantasy Records album.

Tracks
A1. My Whole World Ended 5.11
A2. Give A Man An Inch 2.23
A3. What In This World’s Happening To Love 8.37
A4. He’s Still On My Mind 3.32
B1. Girl Talk With Parents 3.29
B2. The Letter 6.41
B3. Leaving On A Jet Plane 5.51
B4. If I Could Work A Miracle 3.35

Despite the fact that she never had a hit single in her lengthy career, those who know Kim Tolliver’s recordings will testify that her brand of emotional passion and power made her a premiere league singer. Her voice could project a sense of world-weariness and resignation like no other, making her ballads deep soul of the highest quality. And unlike many of her contemporaries she wrote some very fine songs, not just for herself but also for others, notably Margie Joseph in the early 70s.
Kim’s recordings started with the 1967 release of “In Return For Your Love”. Although released on Don Robey’s Houston based Sure Shot label the songs certainly weren’t cut in Texas, but most likely taped in Memphis or Nashville. The excellent deep ballad top side showed that Kim had matured into a powerful vocalist with a fine sense of dynamics
In 1968 she signed with Jack Taylor in New York, who issued four Kim Tolliver 45s on his Rojac label. With his superb series of recordings by Big Maybelle, Taylor had already demonstrated that he could bring out the best in a female artist, and the tracks he cut with Kim were further proof.
Kim was by now married to Freddy Briggs, a songwriter of no mean ability and the couple based themselves in Memphis and Cleveland, the first fruits of this Memphis connection being Kim’s releases on Superheavy and General American Records. The self-penned “How Long Can I Keep Hanging On” (Superheavy 301) was issued under the pseudonym “Big Ella”, possibly for contractual reasons. It was another of those emotionally wracked songs at which so excelled, as was the flip of the GAR release “Get Myself Together” which had a fine melody and the benefit of a tortured vocal performance.
Over the next couple of years Kim issued her two LPs. Briggs pressed up copies of the first set on their own Kimbrig label and titled it teasingly “Who’s Kimberley?” Fantasy picked it up the following year and issued it as “Passing Clouds” by Kimberley Briggs. Sadly the rather overproduced set vanished without trace. As did her second album, “Come And Get Me I’m Ready” which was issued in 1973 on Chess. This set was in a different league to the first effort, full of finely honed songs; although the production was again heavily orchestrated there were less of the soul/rock overtones that rather marred “Passing Clouds”. I think it was very significant that neither Fantasy nor Chess issued a 45 from the albums – were they both aimed at the rock market rather than a black audience?
After a dance orientated 45on Castro, Kim had a very fine 45 which was leased to Pathfinder. This was a truly excellent version of a country hit “Standing Room Only” on which Kim gave one of her very best vocal performances. It’s one of the very best country soul records cut in 70s – up there with the Candi Staton discs on Fame and Marion Love singles on Mercury. These singles are just the tip of the iceberg of Kim’s mid-70s recordings as enough material for another LP was cut but sadly never released. She issued – if that’s the word for pressing a couple of hundred copies – a piece of a live performance singing “If Loving You Is Wrong” at a venue in LA on her own “Revillot” label (try “Tolliver” backwards). This lengthy two-part version has a rap related to the one with which Millie Jackson scored so heavily.

It wasn’t until 1980 that Kim had one last shot at making a hit record. She reunited with Jack Taylor who had re-activated his Tay-Ster label and released two 12” singles with no success.

“Passing Clouds” - From John Ridley’s liner notes…

Tolliver and Briggs adopted a similar production approach to Kim’s own first album, which was cut in a variety of southern studios during 1971. Briggs couldn’t get Stax interested in it so he pressed up copies on their own Kimbrig label and titled it teasingly “Who’s Kimberley?” Fantasy picked it up the following year and issued it as “Passing Clouds” by Kimberley Briggs. On the set Kim tried a lengthy rap to the Box Tops hit “The Letter” and also did a big orchestra number on David Ruffin’s “My Whole World Ended”. She even essayed John Denver’s “Leaving On A Jet Plane” but the tracks that have stood the test of time best are the originals. “He’s Still On My Mind” is Kim at her desperate best and the tuneful “If I Could Work A Miracle” is first class as well. Marketing the album was a big problem. Fantasy was not known as a soul label and failed to issue a “taster” 45 from the set. Furthermore, the name on the front was an unfamiliar one and the anodyne skyscape on the cover did little to help sales. The LP disappeared without trace.

Wiki for: Kimberley Briggs, Freddy Briggs, Jack Taylor

Listen up Kim from her 2nd album

Get it here - original Mr.Moo link

http://rapidshare.com/files/122905284/Kimberley_Briggs__Passing_Clouds__1972__.rar.html

I would like to thank the amazing Mr. Moo for this contribution. Enjoy and show him some love and respect.

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Surely one of the most impressive albums to come out of Motown during early 70’s was “People – Hold On”, only the second album from Mr. Eddie Kendricks since his split from The Temptations some three years ago.
He is noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style and was one of the lead singers of the Motown singing group The Temptations during the 1960s and early 1970s.

Simply amazing album.

This is a @320 vinyl rip of my original Motown record with covers.

Tracks

A1 If You Let Me (3:10)
A2 Let Me Run Into Your Lonely Heart (2:59)
A3 Day By Day (3:07)
A4 Girl You Need A Change Of Mind (7:30)
A5 Someday We’ll Have A Better World (3:35)
B1 My People… Hold On (5:40)
B2 Date With The Rain (2:42)
B3 Eddie’s Love (3:20)
B4 I’m On The Sideline (2:56)
B5 Just Memories (5:50)

1

If you were ever to buy an Eddie Kendricks album, THIS would be the one to get. It’s by far his greatest work. There’s some easy going Soul numbers like If You Let Me, Day By Day, Eddie’s Love, I’m On The Sideline with their catchy, sing along lyrics. Those compare with the more upbeat Let Me Run Into Your Lonely Heart with its funky guitar line that has a strong Sly Stone influence to it. Of course, the most well known track might be the expansive Girl You Need A Change Of Mind that has lyrics for the first half, and then just turns into a jam session. I always thought the lyrics were really interesting as well because it seems to be a reply to the Feminist movement that they shouldn’t overlook racism and civil rights and not discriminate against all men. He even gets a little experimental with the heavy percussion and group chorus of My People … Hold On that’s tempered by Kendricks’ sweet singing. He finishes off with Just Memories with its dramatic horn intro before going into a ballad. In the fact the remaining tunes, Someday We’ll Have A Better World and Date With The Rain are also good making this an excellent record from beginning to end.

2
For his second outing People … Hold On (1972), former Temptations leader Eddie Kendricks expanded his horizons, dabbling with communally conscious soul and making initial forays into dance music that would predate disco. As he had done for Kendricks solo debut All By Myself (1971), producer Frank Wilson contributes several tunes. Among them is “If You Let Me” that kicks off the disc with a bright groove, custom made for the vocalists’ sanguine lead. Things get downright funky on the sanctified “Let Me Run Into Your Lonely Heart”. The mercurial beat is bathed in distortion and wah-wah guitar that trades back and forth with a syncopated clavinet. All the while, Kendricks shows off his range-free tenor as he effortlessly vacillates in and out of his trademark overdrive falsetto. The sacred influence of “Day By Day” is underscored by some stellar keyboard with organ and piano runs that could just as easily have been heard in a Sunday morning prayer meeting.

The nearly eight-minute “Girl You Need A Change Of Mind” is nothing short of an epic precursor to the extended four-on-the-floor numbers that would soon be christened as ‘disco’. In addition to providing an above average R&B groove, Kendricks’ new band — the Washington D.C.-based Young Senators — are joined by the unmistakable touch of Eddie “Bongo” Brown’s rhythmically limber congas. The record buying and radio listening public obviously agreed as the song was edited and issued on a 45 rpm that made it to the Top 15 R&B Singles survey.
Returning to the project’s thematic motif “Someday We’ll Have A Better World” is a mid-tempo optimistic number with a plea for a more peaceful co-existence. The project’s title composition “My People … Hold On” is stunning on a completely different level as the artist reconnects with his musical heritage with a languid and methodical bed over which Kendricks raps, practically begging for sanity within the socially troubled African American community.

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Southern soul rarely if ever sounded so, so good. Simultaneously smooth and raw, “Lonely” has an immediacy that hits you where you live and then sticks around for a little while, taking up space on your sofa.

Frederick Knight’s catchy “I’ve Been Lonely for So Long” was a sizable RB hit on Stax in 1972, and he wrote and produced Anita Ward’s across-the-board smash “Ring My Bell” in 1979. Knight cut his own “I’ve Been Lonely for So Long” in Birmingham, Alabama with a seasoned southern soul crew behind him, and hit again in 1975 with “I Betcha Didn’t Know That.”

This is a @320 vinyl rip of my original record with covers.

Tracks
A1. I’ve Been Lonely for So Long 3:20
A2 This Is My Song of Love to You 3:14
A3 Take Me on Home Witcha 3:20
A4 Friend 3:28
A5 I Let My Chance Go By 3:54
A6 Your Love’s All over Me 2:46
B1 Pick’um up Put’um Down 3:31
B2 Now That I’ve Found You 3:02
B3 Lean on Me 3:05
B4 Trouble 3:09
B5 Someday We’ll Be Together 4:40

Mr. Knight uses his fine falsetto to best effect on the title song, which made it to #8 in the R&B charts in 1972. He also plays piano, organ, drums and percussion all over this self-produced 1973 Stax reissue. The album has plenty of fine songs. “ I Let A Chance Go By” is a wonderful mid-tempo look at regret and misery. Could it be a woman making Frederick so unhappy? Possibly. The vaguely doo-wopish ‘Now That I’ve Found You” is also worth a play or ten. Knight can manage funky, too, as he does on “Your Love’s All Over Me/ Take Me On Home Witcha/ Pick ‘Um Up, Put ‘Um Down”. His cover of ‘Someday We’ll Be Together” is great.

Frederick Knight was one of the many crooning Soul singers that signed to Stax. The title cut is a perfect example of his style with its light and catchy air led by Knight’s singing and the guitar. Trouble is in a similar vein. On the other hand, Friend and Lean On Me show a down home southern Soul feel to them, while ‘Take Me On Home Witcha” and “I Let My Change Go By” are more upbeat numbers. There’s also “Your Love’s All Over Me” and “Pick Um Up, Put Um Down” that get a little funky, especially the former track that has a little James Brown in it. Knight is even able to add his how style to the Motown song “Someday We’ll Be Together” that ends the album. The funky numbers are an added bonus, but it’s really the Soul of the record that holds its value.

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I know a lot of people who seek for this rare album. Her first on MGM.

Well known for her duets with Marvin Gaye, Kim Weston should have been a big star. But Berry Gordy was more interested in promoting some of his other artists and Kim remained under appreciated (and under exposed).she is one of the most talented artist to come out of Detroit.

This is a @320 vinyl rip of my original MGM record with covers.

Tracks

A1 - Where Am I going 2.55
A2 - Free Again 4.50
A3 - Everything In The World I love 3.09
A4 - When The Sun Comes Out 2.49
A5 - Walking Happy 2.50
B1- The Beat Goes On 3.13
B2 - In The Dark 3.25
B3 - If You Go Away 3.43
B4 - Come Rain Or Come Shine 2.20
B5 - Come Back To Me 3.01
B6 - That’s Life 3.22

Best known as a duet partner of Marvin Gaye, Kim Weston also charted with some of her own solo sides during the ’60s, although she never had the breakout success of a Martha Reeves or Diana Ross. Born Agatha Natalie Weston in Detroit in 1939, she started singing in her church choir at age three, and by her teenage years had joined a touring gospel group called the Wright Specials. She signed with Motown during the company’s early days, scoring a minor RB hit in 1963 with “Love Me All the Way.” The following year, she recorded her first duet with Gaye, “What Good Am I Without You,” but made the tactical error of turning down a chance to record “Dancing in the Street,” which subsequently became a smash hit for Martha the Vandellas. She enjoyed her biggest solo hit in 1965 with “Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)” and followed it up in 1966 with the equally soulful “Helpless,” both of which helped make her reputation among soul collectors. Also in 1966, she cut an entire album of duets with Gaye, Take Two, which produced the Top Five RB classic “It Takes Two.” By the time it was peaking on the charts in early 1967, however, Weston had already left Motown; she and her husband, producer William “Mickey” Stevenson, moved to MGM, but a pair of albums there (For the First Time and This Is America) proved to be commercial failures. Weston subsequently recorded for Volt (Kim Kim Kim), People (Big Brass Four Poster, an album of jazz standards with the Hastings Street Jazz Experience), and Johnny Nash’s Banyan Tree, all without much success. She did, however, chart with her version of the anthem “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” in 1970. Weston largely disappeared from the music industry during the ’70s; in 1987, Weston became the first of many Motown artists to work with British producer Ian Levine on the Motorcity label, re-recording many of her old hits for the Northern soul market; her two albums for Motorcity, 1990’s Investigate and 1992’s Talking Loud, also featured some new material.

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