The Fabulettes - Have Yourself A Ball With (1969)

The Mar-vells formed as a soul vocal quartet in the early 60's, consisting of Annette Snell, Mattie Lovett, Addie Williams, and Loretta Ludlow, and they performed live concerts and did session work for other Florida musicians, as well as recording their own music. They released the 'How Do I Keep The Girls Away' single on the Butane label in 1963, and followed that with 'This Can't Go On' the following year. In 1965, after slimming down to a trio, they signed a recording contact with Monument Records, and following a change of name to The Fabulettes, a move likely made by the record company to avoid confusion with other similarly named groups, they released their first single, 'Mister Policeman', in October 1965. With the Monument single doing little chart-wise the group moved to Sound Stage 7 Records for their next release, 'Try The Worryin' Way', in April 1966, which was followed by 'Screamin' And Shoutin'' at the end of that year. When Snell left the group to pursue a solo career, The Fabulettes attempted to find a replacement, and then carried on for a couple more years, cutting the  'Because Of Love' single for Kangi Records in 1969, and then releasing 'Muddy Waters' on Access Records in 1971. When neither of these brought the group any success they split up. Annette Snell did release a couple of single in the early 70's, but The Fabulettes were consigned to that vault of little-known girl groups of the 60's, until their records were re-appraised in the ongoing search for music that wasn't appreciated when it was first released. This album pulls together all of their singles, both as The Mar-vells and The Fabulettes, so that we can now hear what the public missed back in the 60's.   

Track listing

01 How Do I Keep The Girls Away (single as The Mar-vells 1964)
02 Go On And Have Yourself A Ball (b-side of 'How Do I Keep The Girls Away') 
03 The Can't Go On (single as The Mar-vells 1964)
04 Dizzy Jones Birdland (b-side of 'This Can't Go On')
05 Mister Policeman (single 1965) 
06 The Bigger They Are (The Harder They Fall) (b-side of 'Mister Policeman')
07 Screamin' And Shoutin' (single 1966) 
08 I'm In The Mood For Love (b-side of 'Screamin' And Shoutin'')
09 Try The Worryin' Way (single 1966) 
10 Money (b-side of 'Try The Worryin' Way')
11 Because Of Love (single 1969)
12 If The Morning Ever Comes (b-side of 'Because Of Love')
13 Muddy Waters (single 1971) 
14 Stickin' Kind Of Man (b-side of 'Muddy Waters')

Rhetta Hughes - One In A Million (1969)

 Rhetta Hughes was born in Dallas, Texas on 15 June 1939, and although she sang from a young age into adulthood in the choir of a Baptist church in her hometown of Dallas, she had no aspirations to be a professional singer, and had been employed for five years as a nurse at Parkland Memorial Hospital. In 1963 an impromptu vocal performance at the local club where her close friend Tennyson Stephens played piano caused the club's managers to hire her, and Hughes and Stephens became established as a top local lounge act. They were eventually spotted in a Dallas club by Al Williams - leader of the Four Step Brothers dance troupe - who signed as the duo's manager, successfully transferring them to the Chicago nightclub circuit. In 1965 Hughes made her recording debut with an album focused on standards, which was billed as Rheta (sic) Hughes With Tennyson Stephens 'Introducing An Electrifying New Star', and which was produced by Ralph Bass for Columbia Records. After a gap of a couple of years the label started releasing singles by Hughes, starting with 'One In A Million' in April 1967, followed by 'A Little Bit Of Sunshine' in the December, and 'The Best Thing You Ever Had' in January 1968. She continued to play nightclubs, and was discovered by Bill Cosby who caught her act at the Redd Foxx Club in Los Angeles, with Hughes resultantly being signed to Tetragrammaton Records, the label Cosby had recently co-founded. After her label debut with 'You're Doing It With Her (When It Should Be Me)', almost reached the R&B Top 40 in the autumn of 1968, Hughes scored her biggest hit with a mid-tempo R&B rendition of the Doors hit 'Light My Fire', which reached #36 on the Billboard R&B chart in February 1969. The song was featured on her second album 'Re-Light My Fire', which came out on the Tetragammraton label in 1969, and from which two more singles were released without charting. There were no further releases on Tetragammraton before the label folded in 1971, but she was featured on the track 'Mother's Prayer' on the 1971 album 'As Serious As A Heart-Attack' by Melvin Van Peebles, which kick-started a successful career as a session singer, featuring on the 1974 Roberta Flack hit 'Feel Like Makin' Love', and appearing on albums by Van Dyke Parks, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Brenda Patterson, Bette Midler and Bobby Rydell. In the early 1970's Hughes branched out into acting, her first evident credit being the 1971 blaxploitation film 'Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song', which was created by Melvin Van Peebles, who next cast her as Earnestine in his 1972 musical 'Don't Play Us Cheap', which was her debut on Broadway. She continued to act and sing during the 1970's and 1980's, including recording two disco tracks in 1983, with 'Angel Man' and 'Crisis'. This collection concentrates on her R&B work in the 1960's, and includes all her singles up to and including her 'Re-Light My Fire' album, and whereas I'd normally only include non-album tracks, that would make for a very short album, so all the singles are included here.  

Track listing

01 One In A Million (single 1967)
02 Just Love Me (b-side of 'One In A Million')
03 A Little Bit Of Sunshine (single 1967)
04 Come Live With Me (b-side of 'A Little Bit Of Sunshine')
05 The Best Thing You Ever Had (single 1968)
06 How Can I Leave You (b-side of 'The Best Thing You Ever Had')
07 Hip Old Lady On A Honda (single 1968)
08 His Happiness (b-side of 'Hip Old Lady On A Honda')
09 Gimme Some Of Yours - I'll Give You Some Of Mine (single 1968)
10 You're Doing With Her (When It Should Be Me) (b-side of 'Gimme Some Of Yours')
11 Light My Fire (single 1969) 
12 Sooky (b-side of 'Light My Fire')
13 I Can't Stand Under This Pressure (single 1969)
14 Cry Myself To Sleep (single 1969)
15 Giving Up My Heartaches (b-side of 'Cry Myself To Sleep')

Honey And The Bees - Together Forever (1972)

Honey & The Bees started their career as The Yum Yums, a trio consisting of Gwendolyn (Oliver) Wesley, Cassandra Ann Wooten and Jean Davis Sanders, and as such they released 'Gonna Be  Big Thing'/'Looky Looky (What I Got)' on ABC Paramount in 1965. Jimmy Bishop was the founder of Arctic records, and also managed the group, and he added Nadine Felder White as lead singer and renamed the group Sugar & Spice, and then shortly after Honey & The Bees. With the new line up of Davis, Felder, Oliver and Wooten, they began their association with Arctic Records in 1966 and recorded a Kenny Gamble song, 'One Time is Forever'. It was two years before the follow-up appeared, with '(You Better) Go Now' being released in 1968, and this was followed by their busiest year yet, with 'Love Addict', 'Together Forever' and 'Baby, Do That Thing' all coming out in 1969. In 1970 their manager Jimmy Bishop moved them over to the Josie label, who issued their sole album 'Love', and the label also issued a few singles from it, closing the year with their Christmas single 'Jing Jing A Ling'/'Auld Lang Syne' on the Chess label. In 1971 they had a hit with 'It's Gonna Take A Miracle', but that was the last single for Josie, moving to Bell Records, where they recorded two more singles which were released on label, but they failed to make an impression, and the group disbanded. Wesley and Wooten later met Cheryl Mason Jacks and producer Richie Rome, who introduced them to Jacques Morali (creator of The Village People), and they formed The Ritchie Family.  However, their first album 'Brazil' in 1975 did not included the trio, as the tracks had already been recorded before a group was formed, using session singers The Sweethearts and various musicians, but when the title track of the record album produced a hit single, Oliver, Wooten and Mason-Jacks were recruited to go on the road and promote it. This post collects together all their non-album singles for the Arctic, Josie and Bell labels, leading up to their later success as The Ritchie Family. 

Track listing

01 Looky, Looky (What I Got) (single as The Yum Yums 1965) 
02 Gonna Be A Big Thing (b-side of 'Looky Looky (What I Got)')
03 I'm Confessin' (single 1966)
04 One Time Is Forever (b-side of 'I'm Confessin')
05 (You Better) Go Now (single 1968)
06 Why Do You Hurt The One Who Loves You (b-side of '(You Better) Go Now')
07 Together Forever (single 1969)
08 Dynamite Exploded (b-side of 'Together Forever')
09 Love Addict (single 1969)
10 I'll Be There (b-side of 'Love Addict')
11 Sunday Kind Of Love (single 1969)
12 Baby, Do That Thing (b-side of 'Sunday Kind Of Love')
13 Music (Makes You Wanna Dance) (previously unreleased 1969)
14 People Need Each Other (single 1970)
15 Love Can Turn To Hate (single 1970)
16 Come Get It (b-side of 'Love Can Turn To Hate')
17 Jing Jing A Ling (single 1970)
18 Auld Lang Syne (b-side of 'Jing Jing A Ling')
19 That's What Boys Are Made For (single 1972)
20 Has Somebody Taken My Place (b-side of 'That's What Boys Are Made For')
21 Song For Jim (single 1972)
22 Leave Me Alone (b-side of 'Song For Jim')

Tami Lynn - World Of Dreams (1972)

Gloria Brown was born in Gert Town, New Orleans, Louisiana, and attended school with Allen Toussaint and Ellis Marsalis Jr. She sang in church choirs, and with visiting groups such as the Clara Ward Singers, as well as in a school production of Show Boat. She also sang gospel music on WMRY radio shows, and after substituting for an absent performer and being discovered by local musician Alvin "Red" Tyler, began performing rhythm and blues songs in local clubs. Taking the stage name Tami (or sometimes Tammy) Lynn, she was heard by Allen Toussaint and Harold Battiste, and signed for AFO Records, cutting her first single 'Baby' that same year. She became lead vocalist for the AFO Executives, making a strong contribution to their 1963 album 'A Compendium', but when AFO ran into difficulties and the team moved to Los Angeles. Lynn tagged along, although things didn't work out and she moved on. In 1964, she was working in New York, when Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records offered her a contract with the company, and her first recording there was a song written and produced by Bert Berns, who was responsible for a string of pop hits. 'I'm Gonna Run Away From You' was released in 1965 on the ATCO label, but the record made little impression, which was a shame, as the b-side was written by Lynn under her real name, and is worth a listen. A few years later she moved back to the West Coast and teamed up again with Harold Battiste, where she found work as a backing singer, supporting performers that Battiste was producing, including Sonny and Cher, and King Floyd. She sang backing vocals on Dr. John’s 'The Sun, Moon & Herbs' album, which was recorded at Atlantic’s Criteria Studios in Miami in 1971, and she crossed paths with Jerry Wexler again, when he asked her to record a new version of the song 'Mojo Hanna' that he liked, from the AFO Executives 1963 album. 

The resulting Cotillion Records single was strong and funky, but it failed to sell, and by then Lynn had been working for over ten years and still the big break hadn’t come. Then, out of the blue, her luck changed, when UK record producer John Abbey listened to 'I'm Gonna Run Away From You' and thought that it might appeal to the Northern Soul scene in England. He suggested to Atlantic that he would like to release the single on Mojo Records (a subsidiary of Polydor Records) in the UK,and Atlantic went along with the idea, and the single climbed to number four, spending over a year on the UK Pop chart. The success of the single may well have opened the door to another opportunity that came along in 1971, when Lynn was hired to sing backing vocals on the Rolling Stones album 'Exile On Main Street'. With the exposure of the single and the Stines connection, Abbey wanted to build on her UK break-through and decided to go to the USA to organise the recording of an album. He chose Malaco Studios in Jackson, Mississippi, and enlisted the help of producer Wardell Quezergue, with the songs on 'Love Is Here And Now You’re Gone' ranging from soul to pure pop, and it included the UK hit single, plus the Wexler-inspired 'Mojo Hannah'. The album was released in 1972 on the Cotillion label, but it failed to make an impact, and so Lynn went back to the session work and performing live, although she did release another album, titled 'Tamiya Lynn', in 1992. She died in Florida on 26 June 2020. This collection includes those early singles, the original 1965 recording of 'I'm Gonna Run Away From You', a 1965 promo single, two tracks from a rare French EP, and some singles and b-sides from her 1972 album.   

Track listing

01 Baby (single 1963)
02 Where Can I Go? (b-side of 'Baby')
03 World Of Dreams (unknown year - possibly 1967)
04 I'm Gonna Run Away From You (single 1965)
05 The Boy Next Door (b-side of 'I'm Gonna Run Away From You')
06 Nobody Wants You When You're Down And Out (promo single 1965)
07 Trouble Child (b-side of 'Nobody Wants You When You're Down And Out')
08 At The Party (from the French 'I'm Gonna Run Away From You' EP 1966)
09 Run Away (aka 'You My Love') (from the French 'I'm Gonna Run Away From You' EP 1966)
10 Light My Fire (unknown year - possibly 1971)
11 Mojo Hannah (single 1971)
12 How Many Tears (b-side of 'Mojo Hannah')
13 That's Understanding (single 1971)
14 One Night Of Sin (b-side of re-issue of 'Mojo Hannah' 1971)

Sylvia McNeill - Be My Friend (1974)

Sylvia McNeill was born on 5 August 1947 in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, and began her career singing and playing bass guitar with various groups and bands. As well as being a bass player for Leapy Lee, she recorded as a solo vocalist from 1969 to 1975, on the RCA, Bell, and United Artists labels, with her first single, 'The Recipe', appearing on the RCA Victor label in 1969. That was followed by the Richard Kerr composition 'That's Alright By Me' later that year, and Jim Ford's 'Ugly Man' in 1970, backed with a nice version of Joni Mitchell's 'Chelsea Morning'.  A cover of Free's 'Be My Friend' was her last single on RCA Victor, moving to Bell Records in June 1971 for 'A Step In The Right Direction' and 'My Love Won't Fade Away With Time'. In 1972 she recorded 'I Don't Know How To Love Him' from the 'Jesus Christ Superstar' musical, which was released as by Sylvie McNeill on the United Artist label, and which she performed on The Benny Hill Show on 23 February 1972. As well as her recording career, she was a sought-after act to appear on TV variety shows, and in one 18-month period, she made over 30 appearances on television, including The Benny Hill Show, The Dave Allen Show, The Morecambe & Wise Show, The Simon Dee Show, The Dick Emery Show, Roger Whittaker's World Of Music, The Golden Shot, Anglia Television's Glamour '70 series, and her own eight-week series for Grampian Television. In addition to her own recordings, she sang on the track 'Anne Boleyn'/'The Day Thou Gavest Lord Hath Ended' for Rick Wakeman's 1973 album, 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII', and was session backing singer for Rod Stewart on his 1972 recording of 'What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me)'. In 1971, she acted in Emil Dean Zoghby and Ray Pohlman's musical, 'Catch My Soul', at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London, and has also appeared as a soloist in cabaret throughout the UK, and as a band with husband/guitarist Mike McNeill and son, drummer Mark McNeill. This post collects together the best of her recordings from the early 70's, and shows why she was so in demand for TV appearance during that period of her career. 

Track listing

01 The Recipe (single 1969)
02 Save Me, Save Me (b-side of 'The Recipe')
03 That's Alright By Me (single 1969)
04 Catch A Robber By The Toe (b-side of 'That's Alright By Me')
05 Ugly Man (single 1970)
06 Chelsea Morning (b-side of 'Ugly Man')
07 It's Too Good, Good (single 1970)
08 It's Gettin' Harder (b-side of 'It's Too Good, Good')
09 Be My Friend (single 1971)
10 Step In The Right Direction (single 1971)
11 Running Out Of Bridges To Cross (b-side of 'Step In The Right Direction')
12 My Love Won't Fade Away With Time (single 1971)
13 I've Still Got My Heart Joe (b-side of 'My Love Won't Fade Away With Time')
14 If I Try For Sure (single 1973)
15 Good Thing (b-side of 'If I Try For Sure')
16 Brown Eyes (single 1974)
17 Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues (b-side of 'Brown Eyes')

Carol Connors - Big, Big Love (1967)

Carol Connors was born Annette Kleinbard on 13 November 1941 in New Brunswick, and after leaving Fairfax High School, Los Angeles in 1958 she formed a pop vocal trio with her friend Phil Spector, who wrote a song specifically to showcase Kleinbard's singing voice. 'To Know Him Is To Love Him' became The Teddy Bears' best-known and most successful recording, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1958, and granting Kleinbard the honour of being the first woman to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. After their initial hit, the trio disbanded because of the failure of their follow-up singles 'Don't Go Away' and Oh Why', a car accident that injured Kleinbard, and the fact that Spector preferred working behind the scenes to performing. In January 1960 she released the 'Alibi' single on Imperial Records, before legally changed her name to Carol Connors, apparently because she did not want her first name to be associated with Mousketeer Annette Funicello, and she signed to Columbia Records. 'My Diary' was released in March 1961, followed by 'Listen To The Beat' in September, but after one more single she left the label and signed to Era Records. 1962 saw two singles released on the label, with 'Big, Big Love' appearing in July and 'Tommy Go Away' following in November, before another label change to Capitol. Around this time she began writing songs, and in 1964 she wrote 'Hey Little Cobra' about the Shelby Cobra car, which was recorded by The Rip Chords, who were made up of Terry Melcher and Bruce Johnston. 

Buoyed by the success of a car song, in 1964 she released a single promoting the Yamaha motorcycle, with 'Yum Yum Yamaha' being credited to Carol Connors And The Cycles, before returning to her solo career with her only Capitol single 'Angel, My Angel'. In February 1965 she was picked up by Colpix Records for the 'Go Go G.T.O.' single with her sister Cheryl, before releasing her final 7" in 1966, with 'My Baby Looks, But He Don't Touch' appearing on Mira Records. Connors wrote many of her later singles, and so when she stopped recording as a solo artist she wrote and performed songs for several films, including the 1967 beach-party film 'Catalina Caper', performing her 'The Book Of Love' in the movie backed by the Cascades. Later song-writing successes include her co-write with Ayn Robbins and Bill Conti on 'Gonna Fly Now', the theme song from the film 'Rocky', which earned her an Academy Award nomination. She also sang the theme to the film 'Orca', 'We Are One', and co-composed three songs with Ayn Robbins for the soundtrack of the 1977 Disney film, 'The Rescuers'. In 1983 she was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for the 'Worst Original Song' for 'It's Wrong For Me To Love You', from 'Butterfly', which she co-composed with Ennio Morricone, but for this post let's concentrate on her best work, which is this great collection of 60's pop. 

Track listing

01 Alibi (single as Annette Bard 1960)
02 My Diary (single 1961)
03 You Are My Answer (b-side of 'My Diary')
04 Listen To The Beat (single 1961)
05 My Special Boy (b-side of 'Listen To The Beat')
06 What Do You See In Him (single with Hank Levine & His Orchestra 1962)
07 That's All It Takes (b-side of 'What Do You See In Him')
08 Big, Big Love (single 1962)
09 Two Rivers (b-side of 'Big, Big Love')
10 Tommy Go Away (single 1962)
11 I Wanna Know (b-side of 'Tommy Go Away')
12 Yum Yum Yamaha (single as Carol Connors And The Cycles 1964)
13 Angel, My Angel (single 1964)
14 Never (b-side of 'Angel, My Angel')
15 Go Go G. T. O. (single as Carol And Cheryl 1965)
16 Sunny Winter (b-side of 'Go Go G.T.O.')
17 My Baby Looks, But He Don't Touch (single 1966)
18 Lonely Little Beach Girl (b-side of 'My Baby Looks, But He Don't Touch')

19 The Book Of Love (from the film 'The Catalina Caper' 1967)

Cherry Roland - Just For Fun (1976)

Cherry Roland was born in Dartford, Kent, and is best known as an actress, starring in the 1963 UK comedy film 'Just For Fun', but she was also a recording artist signed to Decca Records, who released her first single, 'Handy Sandy', in February 1963, the same month as the film came out. With the success of the film making her name well known in the UK, and following a couple of appearance on the UK TV show 'Thank Your Lucky Stars', her second single, released in May 1963, was 'What A Guy', and it featured the title track from the film on the flip. Her third single, 'Nobody But Me', was released on Fontana Records in October under the name Cherry Rowland, possibly because she was still under contract to Decca at the time, but she soon reverted back to the original spelling for future records. Several of her singles were released in Europe, and she was particularly popular in Holland and Germany, where she had a good fan base, and so her next single was released on German Decca, with 'Another Night Alone' coming out in September 1965. Two of her performances with the Belinda Beats, which were recorded live at the Liverpool Hoop Club in Berlin, were included on a various artists album released in Germany in 1965, and by 1966 she was recording completely in the German language, with the 'Was Ist Gold, Was Ist Geld' single appearing in June of that year. After that she took some time away from the music industry, before returning some five years later with the 'Hey, Herr Kapitan' single in 1971, once again aimed at the German market. In 1974 she attempted a comeback, and released the single 'Here Is Where The Love Is' in the UK, and by the middle of the 1970's she'd joined a cabaret show which toured South Africa, where she recorded a number of singles as a solo artist whilst in that country. 'Second Time Around' did particularly well, apparently selling in excess of 200,000 copies, and it was also released in Holland and Jamaica. The success of the single led to the recording of an album of the same name, which was issued on the South African EMI label in 1976, and singles were released from it in a number of countries. While putting together this album, the only copies of the 'Another Night Alone'/'Cry Baby Cry' single that I could find were cut short after just under two minutes, so I've extended them slightly to a more reasonable length, so that they fit in better with the rest of this collection of the work of Cherry Roland.   

Track listing

01 Handy Sandy (single 1963)
02 Stay As I Am (b-side of 'Handy Sandy')
03 What A Guy (single 1963)
04 Just For Fun (b-side of 'What A Guy')
05 Nobody But Me (single 1963)
06 Boys (b-side of 'Nobody But Me')
07 Another Night Alone (single 1965)
08 Cry Baby Cry (b-side of 'Another Night Alone')
09 Wishin' And Hopin' (from 'Live At The Liverpool, No 1' 1965)
10 Can I Get A Witness (from 'Live At The Liverpool, No 1' 1965)
11 Was Ist Gold, Was Ist Geld (German single 1966)
12 Schade Fur Dich (b-side of 'Was Ist Gold, Was Is Geld')
13 Hey, Herr Kapitan (single 1971)
14 Pretty Old Lady (b-side of 'Hey, Herr Kapitan')
15 Here Is Where The Love Is (single 1974)
16 Second Time Around (single 1976)
17 I'd Rather Go Blind' (b-side of 'Second Time Around')

Marilyn Powell - All My Loving (1970)

Marilyn Powell was born in the Kennington borough of London, and started singing professionally in the sixties, taking to the stage at the age of three singing at concerts given by her local dancing school. In 1964 she signed to the Fontana Records label, and her first single was a cover of The Beatles' 'All My Loving', making her the first female singer to cover one of their songs for a single. Her next single of 1964 was a one-off recording for the Musicor Records label, with 'Please Go Away', and then she was back on Fontana for 1965's 'As Long As You Come Back To Me'. 1965 was her most productive year, with two more singles being released, and she followed those with 'Showdown' in 1966. That was her last record to appear on the Fontana label, as in 1968 she signed to CBS Records, and her first record for them was 'Kiss Me Again'. Things then slowed down a bit, with 'Have Another Dream On Me' appearing in 1969, followed by her final single 'Dear Madame' in 1970. During the 60's she also appeared on many TV shows, including 'Thank Your Lucky Stars' and 'The Simon Dee Show', and after a few years away from the record business she returned in 1978 with the 'For You' album on United Artists, which included songs written by some of the world's best songwriters, as well as some of her own. After some moderate success with that she followed it with 'Out Of Reach' in 1979 on the Manhattan label, and her most recent recordings are to be found on 1993's 'Seeds' album, but for many who remember her it was those 60's sides which evoke the best memories. So here is everything that she recorded in the 60's, topped off with an unreleased acetate of the song 'Brother Joe', year of recording unknown.

Track listing

01 All My Loving (single 1964)
02 After The Party (b-side of 'All My Loving')
03 Please Go Away (single 1964) 
04 Moon Of Yesterday (b-side of 'Please Go Away')
05 As Long As You Come Back To Me (single 1965)
06 Go Away (b-side of 'As Long As You Come Back To Me')
07 Where Did I Go Wrong? (b-side of Fontana re-issue of 'Please Go Away' 1965) 
08 Showdown (single 1966)
09 Came The Day (b-side of 'Showdown')
10 Kiss Me Again (Adios Amore) (single 1968)
11 Something To Hold On To (b-side of 'Kiss Me Again (Adios Amore)')
12 Have Another Dream On Me (single 1969)
13 Afraid To Love You (b-side of 'Have Another Dream On Me')
14 Dear Madame (single 1970)
15 Home (b-side of 'Dear Madame')
16 Brother Joe (unreleased acetate)

Suzi Jane Hokom - Goode Tyme Music (1970)

Suzi Jane Hokom was one of the driving forces behind LHI Records, alongside founder Lee Hazelwood, and was possibly the first female producer, working on 'Safe At Home' by The International Submarine Band, among other records in the 60's. She also had a parallel career as a pop, folk and country singer, signing with Rally records under the name of Hillary Hokom, and releasing the single 'Can't Let You Go' in 1965. Following a switch to MGM Records, and a name change to Suzi Jane Hokom, she released 'Need All The Help I Can Get' in 1966, after which she met Lee Hazelwood, and appeared on his 1966 single 'Sand'. They soon embarked on a romantic relationship, and after they formed the Lee Hazelwood Industries label she signed to it and all her subsequent singles appeared on the label. In 1968 she recorded the single 'The House Song' with Virgil Warner, and this led to an album, with 'Virgil Warner & Suzi Jane Hokom' being released in 1969. While working with Hazelwood, she often recorded demos of Hazelwood's songs, and in 1966 she recorded 'Summer Wine', which was a hit for Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood in 1967, while one of her most well-known songs is the anti-war folk song 'For A Day Like Today', which was released as a single, and was also featured on Hazlewood's 1970 album 'Cowboy in Sweden'. She often appeared with Hazelwood on his albums, and in return he featured on some of her singles, and here is a selection of her best recordings, including that first single as Hillary Hokom, some duets with Hazelwood, and a couple of previously unreleased rarities. 

Track listing

01 Can't Let You Go (single 1965)
02 Tears Of Joy (b-side of 'Can't Let You Go')
03 Need All The Help I Can Get (single 1966)
04 Home (I'm Home) (b-side of 'Need All The Help I Can Get')
05 Sand (single with Lee Hazelwood 1966)
06 Goode Tyme Music (single 1967)
07 Little War (b-side of 'Goode Tyme Music')
08 Summer Wine (single with Lee Hazelwood 1967)
09 Come On Sunshine (previously unreleased 1967)
10 Same Old Songs (single 1969)
11 Alone (b-side of 'Same Old Songs', with Lee Hazelwood)
12 Reason To Believe (single 1969)
13 I'll Never Fall In Love Again (b-side of 'Reason To Believe', with Lee Hazelwood)
14 Califia (Stone Rider) (single with Lee Hazelwood 1970)
15 First Street Blues (previously unreleased 1970)
16 For A Day Like Today (promo single 1970)

Nola York - I Can Hear You Calling (1985)

Nola York was born in Liverpool, and in the 1960's she attended Webber Douglas Drama school in London. While there she was invited to a party by a friend whose father was high up in the American Embassy, and she ended up singing and playing guitar. Bee Gees manager Robert Stigwood heard a song that she written called 'I Don't Understand', and wanted her to record it, and so she secured a recording and publishing contract with Johnny Franz, Dusty Springfield's producer at Philips Records, where she met actor and lyricist Michael Richmond, who shared a similar passion for writing a musical. 'I Don't Understand' was released as a single in 1964 on the His Master's Voice label, and a couple of years later she released 'Whole Lotta Lovin'', backed with 'You Just Didn't Wanna Know', on Philips Records, both of which she co-wrote with Glen Stuart. 1967 saw the release of three more singles, the first of which comprised two songs co-written by her, on the 'I Can Hear You Calling'/'Clown Face' single, which was followed by 'Photograph'/'He's Looking At Her', once again co-written by York, and she closed the year with 'There's So Much Love All Around Me', backed with her co-write 'Sleeping Boutique'. In 1967 she worked all over Europe. singing in the Concert Hall in Belgrade, and performing at the Montreux Festival in Switzerland, as well as appearing on TV and radio shows in Holland and Norway. 

Once back in the UK she recorded 'Ciao Baby', which was released in 1968, and in 1969 she collaborated with Michael Richmond and wrote lyrics and music for the musical 'The Knight Of The Burning Pestle', which ran at the Swan Theatre, Worcester, and then later at the Greenwich Theatre, directed by Sam Walters. In 1970 she joined The Chantelles all-girl singing group, replacing Jay Adams, and touring all over Europe and working American Air force bases, although she never recorded with them. When her tour with The Chantelles ended she joined up with Richmond again and they wrote the musical 'The Lady Or The Tiger' in 1975, which Sam Walters put on at the Orange Tree Pub in an upstairs room, before it transferred to The Fortune Theatre, making York the first woman to write a full-length score for a West End musical. Over the next few years she carried on writing musicals, including 'People' and 'Wild, Wild Women', and then in 1985 she unexpectedly returned to pop music when she wrote and recorded the song 'Hi Fantasy', which was released in Holland on a Dutch label, and which made the Dance charts in the UK. Most of her best songs were released in the late 60's, although she did cut a couple of records in the early 70's, before 'Hi Fantasy' took her into the charts, and so this collection brings together the best of her 60's and 70's output, including an unreleased acetate from 1975 that I've edited to give it the intro that was missing from the only available version, and with her 1985 single closing the album. 

Track listing

01 I Don't Understand (single 1964)
02 Here I Stand (b-side of 'I Don't Understand')
03 Whole Lotta Lovin' (single 1966)
04 There's So Much Love All Around Me (single 1967)
05 Sleeping Boutique (b-side of 'There's So Much Love All Around Me')
06 I Can Hear You Calling (single 1967)
07 Photographs (single 1967)
08 He's Looking At Her (b-side of 'Photographs')
09 Ciao Baby (single 1968)
10 Cowboy (single 1973)
11 Purple Flowers (b-side of 'Cowboy')
12 Noises (unreleased acetate 1975)
13 City Of London (unreleased acetate, incorrectly credited to The Chantelles 1975)
14 Hi Fantasy (12" single 1985)

Linda Scott - Patch It Up (1967)

Linda Joy Sampson was born on 1 June 1945 in Queens, New York, moving with her family to Teaneck, New Jersey when she was 11 years old. In 1959 she auditioned to appear on Arthur Godfrey's popular CBS Radio show while she was still attending junior high school, and after having won a place on the show, Sampson and other young performers became regular guests. During the show's run, she came to the attention of Epic Records, and she made her recording debut as Linda Sampson with the single 'In-Between Teen'. Though still attending Teaneck High School, in 1961 she signed with Canadian-American Records, which had struck gold with Santo & Johnny's 'Sleep Walk', and label changed her performing name to Linda Scott and released the hit 'I've Told Every Little Star' in 1961, a standard written by Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern for their 1932 production 'Music In The Air'. The track sold over one million copies, earning a gold disc, and it was the first of three of her biggest hits, which all came in that first year. 'I've Told Every Little Star' was followed by 'I Don't Know Why', which reached number 12 in the US chart, and then 'Don't Bet Money Honey' topped that by getting to number 9, with this last song being an original composition by Scott. 

She also charted with 'Starlight, Starbright' in August 1961, which peaked at number 44 on the Billboard charts, and when her first album was released that year, it played on those early singles with every track mentioning 'star' in the title. When Canadian-American started a subsidiary label, Congress Records, in 1962, Scott was the showcase artist, with both labels releasing new material of hers simultaneously, and her self-composed 'Yessirree' was featured in the Chubby Checker film 'Don't Knock The Twist' that year. Her final US chart appearance was 'Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed?', which was released in January 1964, the same month that The Beatles made their first chart appearance. In 1965 she became a cast member of the variety show 'Where the Action Is', which she co-hosted with singer Steve Alaimo, and her last recording, 'They Don't Know You', was released in 1967 on RCA Records. She continued to record as a backing vocalist, most notably on Lou Christie's 1969 hit 'I'm Gonna Make You Mine', before finally quitting show business in the early 1970's. In 2022 her hit 'I've Told Every Little Star' was featured in an advert for the H&M store, alerting a whole new generation of fans to her music, and so for anyone who wants to hear more from her, here are all her non-album tracks from 1963 to that final single in 1967.  

Track listing

01 Let's Fall In Love (single 1963)
02 I Know It, You Know It (b-side of 'Let's Fall In Love')
03 Ain't That Fun (single 1963)
04 Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed? (single 1964)
05 My Heart (b-side of 'Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed?')
06 Everybody Stopped Laughing At Janie (single 1964) 
07 I Envy You (b-side of 'Everybody Stopped Laughing At Janie')
08 Patch It Up (single 1965) 
09 You Baby (single 1965)
10 Don't Lose Your Head (single 1965) 
11 I'll See You In My Dreams (b-side of 'Don't Lose Your Head')
12 Toys (single 1966)
13 Take A Walk, Bobby (b-side of 'Toys')
14 They Don't Know You (single 1967)
15 Three Miles High (b-side of 'They Don't Know You')

Two Of Each - Every Single Day (1971)

Two Of Each were a UK vocal quartet who formed in 1966 with a line-up of Mandy More on vocals, John Conran on bass and vocals, Michael Castro on lead guitar and vocals and Tina Ambrose on drums. In 1967 More left the group and was replaced by Mally Page, and around this time they secured a record deal with Decca Records. Their first single for the label was 'Every Single Day', which was released in 1967, but that was a short-lived union, and in 1968 they signed to Pye Records, where they would stay for the rest of their recording career. Their first single for Pye was the Tony Hatch/Jackie Trent-composed 'The Summer Of Our Love', backed with the excellent 'Saturday Morning', but with no chart action, they had to wait a year for their next record on the label. In 1969 they released a fine version of Paul William's 'Trust', and this had another Hatch/Trent composition on the flip, with their 'Trinity Street' sounding like it should have been released a couple of years earlier. Their final single for Pye comprised two covers, with 'Here Comes The Sun' on the A-side, backed with a psyche-tinged take on 'Colour My World', and after this 1970 release the band went through some line-up changes, and re-emerged as a new group called Sweetcorn. Under this name they released three singles on Pye Records, sticking with Hatch/Trent songs for a couple of them, and backing singer Jamie on 'I'm Gonna Love You', which was released as Jamie And The Sweetcorn. For the b-side of their final single in 1971, John Conran wrote 'Carpet Ride', and it is one of their best recordings, so I wonder if they might have had more success if they'd been allowed to write more of their own material. Putting that to one side, here is the almost complete musical output of Two Of Each and Sweetcorn from 1967 to 1971, and they are an example of yet another pop group who tried for five years to get a hit single, and are now just a forgotten footnote in the history of UK pop music.   

Track listing

01 Every Single Day (single 1967)
02 I'm Glad I Got You (b-side of 'Every Single Day')
03 The Summer Of Our Love (single 1968)
04 Saturday Morning (b-side of 'The Summer Of Our Love')
05 Trust (single 1969)
06 Trinity Street (b-side of 'Trust')
07 Here Comes The Sun (single 1970)
08 Colour My World (b-side of 'Here Comes The Sun')
09 Catch Me, Catch Me (single as Sweetcorn 1970)
10 Sunshine Follows The Rain (b-side of 'Catch Me, Catch Me')
11 I'm Gonna Love You (single as Jamie & The Sweetcorn 1970)
12 No, No, You Don't Know (b-side of 'I'm Gonna Love You')
13 Carpet Ride (b-side of '(We Can) Work Together' as Sweetcorn 1971)

The Avengers - Sing (1972)

I've been wanting to post a collection of music by Linda Thorson for quite some time, but as she only recorded seven songs then it would have been a somewhat short album, from the star of The Avengers TV series from 1968-1969. However, this week I had a brainwave, and I looked around to see if any other members of the cast of the series had released singles during it's timeframe, and the obvious answer was yes, they have, as Patrick MacNee and Honor Blackman actually had a hit with their 'Kinky Boots' record in 1964. That same year Blackman released an album under her own name, with 'Everything I've Got', and she followed that four years later with a stand-alone single 'Before Today'. Diana Rigg went into the recording studio in 1972 and released her own single, 'Forget Yesterday', and so with Thorson's seven songs, I suddenly had more than enough music for an album. Massive thanks are due to Gaz Williams for composing the picture of MacNee with all his sidekicks in one place for the cover, and so here we have just what it says on that cover - the stars of The Avengers sing. As a special treat, this is the only place that you will be able to hear Honor Blackman's 'Before Today', as after a fruitless search on Soulseek, Youtube, and the internet in general, I actually bought a copy of the original 7" single so that I could complete this post.  

Track listing

01 Theme From The Avengers (Laurie Johnson 1961)
02 Kinky Boots (single by Patrick MacNee & Honor Blackman 1964)
03 Let's Keep It Friendly (b-side of 'Kinky Boots by Patrick MacNee & Honor Blackman)
04 Men Will Deceive You (from 'Everything I've Got' by Honor Blackman 1964)
05 Before Today (single by Honor Blackman 1968)
06 I'll Always Be Loving You (b-side of 'Before Today' by Honor Blackman)
07 Here I Am (single by Linda Thorson 1968)
08 Better Than Losing You (b-side of 'Here I Am' by Linda Thorson)
09 Bad Time To Stop Loving Me (single by Linda Thorson 1968)
10 I'll Just Pick Up My Heart (b-side of 'Bad Time To Stop Loving Me' by Linda Thorson)
11 Wishful Thinking (single by Linda Thorson 1970)
12 You Will Want Me (single by Linda Thorson 1971)
13 Open Up Your Heart (b-side of 'You Will Want Me' EP by Linda Thorson 1971)
14 Forget Yesterday (single by Diana Rigg 1972)
15 Sentimental Journey (b-side of 'Forget Yesterday' by Diana Rigg')

Betty Jayne And The Teenettes - Time Will Tell (1962)

Betty Jayne (BJ) Shawd was born on 12  ovemner 1946 in Kingston, New York, moving to Florida with her parents in 1948, where she grew up. She learned to sight-read music at the age of five, and graduated from Mainland High School in 1963, after which she chose a career in music. Her first recording was under the name Betty Jane, and was a split single with Charles Vickers And Trio, with her 'Dial "L" For Love' appearing on the flip of his 'Now More Than Ever' on the Crusader label in 1960. She was joined by The Teenettes for this record, and they would appear with her on many of her subsequent recordings. Later in 1960 she signed to Carellen Records, who released her debut single, 'The Sun Will Rise', under the name of Betty Jayne And The Teenettes in January 1961, and this was followed in April that year by 'Tag Along'. Later in 1961 she got a deal with Mona-Lee Records, who released 'Lonely Teenager' by Betty Jayne And The Teenettes in 1961, while the following year she released 'Loneliness In My Heart' as a solo single on the same label, although she was back with Carellen later in 1062 with another solo single in 'What's She Got (That I Ain't Got)'. 'Dreamy' was her next solo single, this time backed by 'Dudley', which was a duet as Betty Jayne And Dudley, while 'My Billie Boy' was her last single for Carellen Records in 1962, before she moved to Tropical Records to re-acquaint herself with Charles Vickers for another split single. This time she got the A-side with her 'In The Darkness', while his 'Come On, Baby' graced the b-side. For her final single of 1962 she was back with Mona-Lee for 'Now There's You', and that would be the last that we'd hear from her for a decade, when she suddenly re-appered with 'I'm Remembering Love' on West Spec Music in 1973. In her later years she devoted much of her life towards helping others and speaking out against injustices of all kinds, and was a Political Rights Activist, a Human Rights Activist, and an Animal Rights Activist, and she passed away in July 2020. For the first few years of the 60's Betty Jayne produced some great pop music, and this post collects some of the best of those songs together, along with an early single by The Teenettes from 1958, who were a group in their own right before they teamed up with her in 1961.

Track listing

01 Dial "L" For Love (single 1961, as Betty Jane)
02 The Sun Will Rise (single as Betty Jayne And The Teenettes 1961)
03 Show Your Love (b-side of 'The Sun Will Rise')
04 Tag Along (single as Betty Jayne And The Teenettes 1961)
05 I'm No Longer Jimmy's Girl (b-side of 'Tag Along')
06 No One To Love (unreleased single 1961, as Betty Jayne)
07 Putting On A Show (b-side of 'No One To Love')
08 Lonely Teenager (single as Betty Jayne And The Teenettes 1962)
09 Time Will Tell (b-side of 'Lonely Teenager')
10 What's She Got (That I Ain't Got) (single 1962) 
11 Cry Baby Heart (b-side of 'What's She Got (That I Ain't Got)')
12 Dreamy (single 1962)
13 Dudley (b-side of 'Dreamy', with Dudley)
14 In The Darkness (split single with Charles Vickers 1962) 
15 Too Young To Fall In Love (single by The Teenettes 1958)
16 My Lucky Star (b-side of 'Too Young To Fall In Love')

Wild Honey - Sow The Seed Of Love (1974)

After her 1971 Bulgarian single 'Love Me Like A Lover' went the same way as her previous releases, Tina Charles teamed up with Kim Keene and Mally Page and formed the female trio Wild Honey. As Charles was already signed to MAM Records as a solo artist, they took on Wild Honey, and their first attempt at a single was to pair Charles' last single for them, 'Baby Don't You Know Anymore', with a new Wild Honey track, 'He's My Sugar', just so that any fans out there would know that the two were connected. The first real Wild Honey single was 1972's Motown-esque 'There's No Stopping Us Now', and this was followed the next year by a re-release of 'He's My Sugar', but this time as an actual Wild Honey record, with 'People Of The Universe' on the flip. However, for the b-side of their 1974 single, 'Everybody Knows', and also for 1976's 'Baby I'm Your Man', the girls were relegated to backing vocalists on their own records, with an uncredited male singer taking the lead on both songs. The music was fairly typical of the period, being a sort of cross between early-'70s contemporaries Pickettywitch and Charles' own future within 5000 Volts, but the group's need for acceptance saw them try out a variety of musical styles as they searched for one that might break them out of obscurity. None did, of course, but they did produce some enjoyable music, with some pursuing a sub-glam rock direction, while others could be seen to hint at the disco-danceable sound that was starting to break through in the nid-70's. They only produced five singles in their very short career, and so to round off this album I've added Charles' collaboration with Martin Jay as Airbus, with their 1974 single 'Fly Away'.

Track listing

01 There's No Stopping Us Now (single 1972)
02 Sow The Seed Of Love (b-side of 'There's No Stopping Us Now')
03 He's My Sugar (single 1973)
04 People Of The Universe (b-side of 'He's My Sugar')
05 Gotta Find A Way (single 1974)
06 Everybody Knows (b-side of 'Gotta Find A Way')
07 A Mother For My Children (single 1975)
08 Have A Little Mercy (b-side of 'A Mother For My Children')
09 Why Didn't I Think Of That (single 1976)
10 Baby I'm Your Man (b-side of' Why Didn't I Think Of That')
11 Fly Away (single as Airbus 1974)
12 Susanna In The Summer (b-side of 'Fly Away')

Toni Wine - A Girl Is Not A Girl (1975)

Toni Wine was born on 4 June 1947 in Washington Heights, New York, and attended the Juilliard School of Music, where she studied piano. While she was still at high school she met school-teacher Carole Bayer Sager, and the two started writing songs together. Before long they were working as songwriters for Screen Gems Publishing, and Wine even had a hit single herself, when the holiday tune 'My Boyfriend’s Coming Home For Christmas' entered the Billboard special holiday charts at number 23 in 1963. In 1964 she co-composed a girl-group hit with Art Kornfield,  with The Shirelles taking 'Tonight You're Gonna Fall In Love With Me' to number 57 in the US charts. Also in 1964 she provided back-up vocal support for Gene Pitney on his hit 'It Hurts To Be In Love', but it was to 1966 before she got her biggest hit, when Wine and Sager wrote the song 'A Groovy Kind Of Love', which was recorded by The Mindbenders, and which reached the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 1968 she entered the recording studio to take on back-up vocal duties, alongside Andy Kim, Bobby Bloom and lead voice Ron Dante, on The Archies' first hit 'Bang-Shang-A-Lang', which resulted in a number 22 chart position. The follow-up, 'Feelin' So Good (S.K.O.O.B.Y.-D.O.O.)' charted at number 53, and on the third single Wine stepped up to the microphone to share lead vocal duties with Ron Dante on yet another Jeff Barry/Andy Kim composition 'Sugar, Sugar', which became a massive hit, and the number one song of 1969. Going into 1970, a new group on the scene featuring a lead singer with a long-time recording career already under his belt, was Tony Orlando And Dawn, and they released a Toni Wine/Irwin Levine composition 'Candida', which resulted in a number 3 smash hit. Despite the song being credited to Tony Orlando And Dawn, there was no 'Dawn', and so Wine and Linda November were the singers on the track. She also recorded and released many singles on her own for various labels, right up to the mid-1980's, but other than her one holiday hit in 1963 she hasn't managed to reach the charts again. In the early 1970's she married famed producer Chips Moman and relocated to Memphis, where she released material for Atco and Monument, in addition to a busy career as a writer and session vocalist, performing on many commercials, and touring with Tony Orlando. Despite not being hits, some of her singles were really good, and so here is a selection of them, starting with her only hit from 1963, and ending in the mid-70's.

Track listing

01 My Boyfriend's Coming Home For Christmas (single 1963)
02 What A Pity (b-side of 'My Boyfriend's Coming Home For Christmas')
03 A Boy Like You (single 1964) 
04 Funny Little Heart (b-side of 'A Boy Like You')
05 A Girl Is Not A Girl (single 1964)
06 Only Fools (b-side of 'A Girl Is Not A Girl')

07 A Toy Is Only Made For Play (unknown year)
08 River Deep Mountain High (single 1967)
09 Toni's Tune (b-side of ''River Deep Mountain High')
10 Take A Little Time Out For Love (single 1970)
11 Sisters in Sorrow (b-side of 'Take A Little Time Out For Love')
12 Let's Make Love Tonight (single 1970)
13 Groovy Kind Of Love (single 1971)
14 I Want To See The Morning With Him (b-side of 'Groovy Kind Of Love')
15 Sugar Is Sweeter (single 1974) 
16 Forever's Only Been A Day (b-side of 'Sugar Is Sweeter')
17 Maybe My Baby Will (promo single 1975)

Tina Charles - Hot Hits (1973)

As I mentioned in the last post from Tina Charles, in the early 70's she got a job recording vocals on the 'Top Of The Pops' and 'Hot Hits' series of albums, where anonymous artists covered contemporary hits. In his early days Elton John had also earned extra money by doing this (see his own post here), and Charles found herself not only covering songs by female vocalists, but she was the go-to singer to tackle the teenyboppers of the period, such as Donny Osmond and Michael Jackson, who were only around 13 or 14 at the time, and whose voices had not yet broken. Over a few years she covered scores of songs, which were spread over a variety of the these records, such as 'Parade Of Pops', 'Best Of '72', 'Smash Hits', 'Pick Of The Hits', and the two most popular of these cash-in records, Hallmark's 'Top Of The Pops' and mfp's 'Hot Hits'. As an example of her work in this field, here are fourteen of her covers of hits from the early 70's, all housed in a suitably retro cover

Track listing 

01 Song Of My Life (Petula Clark) 
02 Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep (Middle Of The Road)  
03 Let Me Be There (Olivia Newton John)
04 The Witch (The Rattles)
05 Paper Roses (Marie Osmond)
06 Lookin' Through The Windows (The Jackson 5)
07 Banner Man (Blue Mink)
08 Puppy Love (Donny Osmond)
09 Won't Somebody Dance With Me (Lynsey De Paul) 
10 Doctor My Eyes (The Jackson 5)
11 Come Back And Shake Me (Clodagh Rodgers)
12 Ben (Michael Jackson)
13 Why (Donnie Osmond)
14 You Can Do Magic (Limmie And Family Cooking)

Peanut - I'm Not Sad (1971)

Katherine Farthing was born on 11 March 1951 in Port Of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, and her family emigrated to the UK in 1962. She began recording in 1965, signing to Pye Records, and released her first single 'Thank Goodness For The Rain' in July 1965. She followed this with 'Home Of The Brave' in October, before moving to Columbia Records in 1966 for 'I'm Waiting For The Day'. Her final single under the name Peanut was 'I Didn't Love Him Anyway' in January 1967, after which she joined The Rag Dolls, who had a couple of singles released in 1967 and 1968. In 1971 she teamed up with her brother Mac, and recorded a version of the Middle Of The Road chart-topper 'Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep' as Mac & Katy Kissoon, and although it wasn't a hit in the UK, it did reach number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. Their next single together, 'Freedom', failed to chart in either country, although it was a hit in Europe, and they finally achieved major success with their 1975 smash hit 'Sugar Candy Kisses', after which they went on to have a successful career as a duo, releasing many more hit singles and albums. This collection tracks her rise to stardom, from those early singles as Peanut, through to her work with The Rag Dolls, a 1969 single under her new name of Kathy Kissoon, and finally some early attempts at fame with her brother Mac.  

Track listing 

01 Thank Goodness For The Rain (single 1965) 
02 I'm Not Sad (b-side of 'Thank Goodness For The Rain')
03 Home Of The Brave (single 1965)
04 I Wanna Hear It Again (b-side of 'Home Of The Range')
05 I'm Waiting For The Day (single 1966)
06 Someone's Gonna Be Sorry (b-side of 'I'm Waiting For The Day')
07 Two Four Six Eight (unreleased 1966)
08 I Didn't Love Him Anyway (single 1967)
09 Come Tomorrow (b-side of 'I Didn't Love Him Anyway')
10 Never Had So Much Loving (single by The Rag Dolls 1967)
11 Don't Let It Rain (single as Kathy Kissoon 1969)
12 Will I Never See The Sun (b-side of 'Don't Let It Rain')
13 Keep On Laughing Baby (single as Mac & Katie Kissoon 1970)
14 Acts Of Violence (b-side of 'Keep On Laughing')
15 Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep (single as Mac & Katie Kissoon 1971)

16 Walking Around (b-side of 'Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep')
17 I've Found My Freedom (single as Mac & Katie Kissoon 1971 

18 Love Came Today (b-side of 'I've Found My Freedom')

Tina Charles - Nothing In The World (1974)

Tina Charles was born Tina Hoskins on 10 March 1954, in Whitechapel, London, England, and got her start is show business at the age of 15 singing on TV commercials, after which she wound up signing a deal with CBS Records. Her first single, the Northern soul-leaning 'Nothing In The World', was produced by Alan Hawkshaw and featured Elton John on piano, although further singles like 1969's 'In The Middle Of The Day' and 'Good To Be Alive', along with 1970's 'Bo-Bo's Party', didn't trouble the charts. They did, however, get her noticed by the BBC, and she began appearing on The Two Ronnies TV show, and then scored slots on tours by Tom Jones, Mud, and Engelbert Humperdinck. She shifted over to Gordon Mills' MAM label in 1971, who issued the single 'Baby Don't You Know Anymore', and as a sideline she got a job recording vocals on the 'Top Of The Pops' and 'Hot Hits' series of albums, where anonymous artists covered contemporary hits. She released the 1974 single 'One Broken Heart For Sale' on Bell Records, and put in more studio time as a session vocalist, memorably joining Linda Lewis to sing backing on Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel's 1975 hit single 'Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)'. She had previously sung in an unrecorded band called Northern Lights with Martin Jay, and the pair reteamed in 1975 under the name Airbus and issued a single, 'Bye Love', which caught on once DJs flipped it over to find the disco-fied 'I'm On Fire' on the other side. The song was reissued as a single in it's own right, with that band rebranded as 5000 Volts, and the song headed toward the top of the charts around the globe, reaching the Top Five in the U.K. and the Top 30 in the U.S. 

Charles quickly left the group for a solo career and teamed up with producer Biddu, who was red hot following the chart success of Carl Douglas' massive hit 'Kung Fu Fighting', and he decided to cast her as a powerful disco diva, which was a role that she filled perfectly. Her first single in this new guise was 1975's 'You Set My Heart On Fire', and while that song was moderately successful, it was her next release, the monumental disco anthem 'I Love To Love (But My Baby Just Loves To Dance)', which reached number one on the U.K. singles charts in February 1976, and scored in the upper reaches of many other countries. It even won a Juno Award for best-selling international single of the year, and an album of the same name was released in March 1976, going on to achieve similar success to the single. A second album, 'Dance Little Lady', which was made up of the same mix of up-tempo disco tracks and ballads, followed before the end of 1976, and it spawned two hit singles, the title track and 'Dr. Love'. To see how she eventually reached the top of the charts, here are those early, unsuccessful singles from the late 60's and early 70's, which show that she had the talent, but just needed someone to take her under their wing and spur her on to greater success. 

Track listing

01 Nothing In The World (single 1969)
02 Millions Of Hearts (With A Single Player) (b-side of 'Nothing In The World')
03 In The Middle Of The Day (single 1969)
04 Rich Girl (b-side of 'In The Middle Of The Day')
05 Good To Be Alive (single 1969)
06 Same Old Story (b-side of 'Good To Be Alive')
07 Bo-Bo's Party (single 1970)
08 Madame, Madame (b-side of 'Bo-Bo's Party')
09 Baby Don't You Know Anymore (single 1971)
10 Joe (b-side of 'Baby Don't You Know Anymore')
11 Love Me Like A Lover (single 1971)
12 Smarty Pants (single 1973)
13 One Broken Heart For Sale (single 1974)
14 Great Male Robbery (b-side of 'One Broken Heart For Sale')

Antoinette - Little Things Mean A Lot (1966)

Marie Antoinette Daly was born in 1951 in Southend, Essex, and she landed her first recording contract with the Decca label in 1964, at the age of just 13. Her debut single, 'Jenny Let Him Go', included a young Jimmy Page on guitar, and was produced by Charles Blackwell, who worked on a number of gems for girl singers of the period, including French yé-yé singer Françoise Hardy and Britain’s Samantha Jones. It sounded like a cover of an American song, albeit with a distinctly British twang, and it suited Antoinette’s bratty vocals perfectly. She switched to the Piccadilly label for her next single, the Britgirl classic 'There He Goes (The Boy I Love)', which was released in September 1964, and this Shangri-Las-esque song was arguably one of Blackwell's best compositions. When it also flopped, Piccadilly turned to the US for inspiration, and she covered the Sapphires' 'Thank You For Loving Me' for her next single, which was released in 1965, as was the follow-up record 'Our House'. In 1966 she recorded her version of another US soul hit, and this time it was Tami Lynn's 'I'm Gonna Run Away From You', retitled 'Why Don't I Run Away From You', but despite suiting her effervescent style, she still couldn't get the hit that she wanted. She gave it one last try later in 1966, with her take on US girl group the Poppies' 'Lullaby Of Love' being her final 45 for Piccadilly, after which she switched labels again, this time to Columbia. Her one record for that label was a cover of Italian singer Caterina Caselli's 'L'uomo D'oro', retitled as 'Like The Big Man Said', and this time it was released under her real name of Toni Daly. When this record went the same way as the rest of her singles she was let go by Columbia, and her short career as a recording artist was over. It's a shame, as most of the songs on her records were fine examples of 60's girl pop, as you can hear on this collection of all of her mid-60's singles. 

Track listing

01 Jenny Let Him Go (single 1964)  
02 Please Don't Hurt Me Anymore (b-side of 'Jenny Let Him Go')
03 There He Goes (The Boy I Love) (single 1964)
04 Little Things Mean A Lot (b-side of 'There He Goes (The Boy I Love)')
05 Our House (single 1965)
06 What's-A Happening To Me (b-side of 'Our House')
07 Thank You For Loving Me (single 1965)
08 If You Really Love Me (b-side of 'Thank You For Loving Me')
09 Why Don't I Run Away (single 1966)
10 There's No One In The Whole Wide World (b-side of 'Why Don't I Run Away')
11 Lullaby Of Love (single 1966)
12 I'm For You (b-side of 'Lullaby Of Love')
13 Like The Big Man Said (L'uomo D'oro) (single as Toni Daly 1966)