Sharisma

“Trouble, Trouble” / “Something Wonderful” / “Love Is the Way” 

Label: Soul Direction Records
Catalogue Number: SD021  
Release Date: Tuesday7th 2024 Available to Order – Monday 29th May 2024 
Format: 7’ Vinyl

Available for the first time on vinyl courtesy of Emandolynn Music & Manny Campbell. 

Emandolynn Music did release the tracks, but in digital format only. This prompted Soul Direction to strike a deal to license the tracks for a 7” vinyl release and believed that showcasing all 3 tracks together was the perfect package. This being the way it was meant to be released. 

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Lawrence Beamen

“Thinking Of You” / “Been A Long Time”

Label: Izipho Soul Records
Catalogue Number: ZP100 
Release Date: 8th March 2024  
Format:  7’ Vinyl

Izipho Soul Records are incredibly proud to announce our 100th 7” vinyl single!

The unsurpassable bass-baritone voice of Lawrence Beamen originally recorded Think Of You in 2008. After years of pleas for a vinyl release; it’s finally here and sounding fresher than ever. The 7 remix has added a magic touch and beefed up this classic even further!

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Lady Lois Snead

“I Found Out” / “Until We Learn”

Label: Divine Chords Recordings
Catalogue Number: DCR001
Release Date: Expected 1st March 2024
Format: 7′ Vinyl

Divine Who are thrilled to announce an exciting collaborative release with the legendary gospel artist, Lady Lois Snead for the brand new year!
We’re launching 2024 with this back-to-back double sided slice of audio dynamite, available on collectable, limited edition 7” single. It’s primed and packed tight with goodness to spiritualize your club session for the more discerning dance floors around the globe.

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THE STAPLES

“Take This Love Of Mine” / “Precious, Precious”

Label: Soul4Real Records
Catalogue Number: S4R34
Release Date: 1st March 2024  
Format: 7’ Vinyl

With the collapse of Stax Records, The Staple Singers signed with Warner Bros in 1975, leading to a brief and fruitful collaboration with Curtis Mayfield. Their first work, the OST ‘Let´s Do It Again’, became the Staples’ all-time best seller. Such was the success that the major decided that Mayfield would also produce their next work, ‘Pass It On’, in 1976.

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TOMMY TATE

“I Can’t Do Enough For You Baby” / “Hold On (To What We’ve Got)”

Label: Soul4Real Records
Catalogue Number: S4R33
Release Date: 1st March 2024  
Format: 7’ Vinyl

Tommy was born in 1945 in Homestead, Florida, and after his first foray into music in a church choir, he launched his secular recording career in Jackson, Mississippi, working mostly with Tim Whitsett and his Imperial Showband in the latter half of the 1960s. After a short stint with the Nightingales, he signed with KoKo in 1971 and had six impressive singles released, followed by records on Sundance, Juana and Urgent Records.

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Sharon Shares 

Updated 10-01-24

Sharon was born in Sevierville, Tennessee but raised and musically disciplined in Detroit, Michigan.

Sharon began her career, as a teen in Detroit, Michigan. She wrote her first songs at the age of 12. After auditioning her, Ollie McLaughlin launched her writing career by publishing and producing and releasing several of her songs on his own record lables, KAREN, CARLA, MOIRA & RUTH Records. McLaughlin recorded Sharons songs on major artists, Barbara Lewis, Deon Jackson, Gracie Darnell and Johnnie Mae Matthews. He also secured a UK release for Sharon’s song, Someday We’re Gonna Love Again, recorded by the London based group, The Searchers. It charted to #11 in Billboard, in several countries and to #23 here in the United States, in 1964/65. Thus, Sharon has a tremendous fan base in the UK and Western Europe.

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Atlanta – Hotbed Of 70s Soul

Label: Kent Records
Catalogue Number: CDKEND 518
Release Date: 29rd March 2024  
Format: CD

The GRC Records set-up in Atlanta produced a wealth of great soul music. Because of the sudden curtailment of the company, due to owner Michael Thevis’ incarceration, so much of it never saw a release.

The tapes were preserved though and with many tracks being issued. This latest batch of tape discoveries is of shockingly high quality. Sam Dees’ presence is a major cause of this.

Standouts include Miss Louistine’s original version of ‘Con Me’ – surely a contender to be a Deep Soul Treasure, had Dave Godin heard it. Her take on Dees’ ‘Extra Extra’ is possibly the opposite emotion – sheer joy at finding her lover; equally well expressed. ‘Paperman’ is a classic mid 70s Dees’ composition, well sung by Wes Lewis with his group Alpaca Phase III. Dees collaborated with another major GRC talent, Joe Hinton, for the funkier ‘Shouldn’t I Be Given The Right To Be Wrong’. Hinton co-penned two songs with backing singer Louvain Demps who left her job with Motown’s backing girls the Andantes to move to Atlanta with Hinton. Their ‘Grant Me One More Day’ is a beautiful track and ‘Depend On Me’ is another worthy find.

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Ariel

Label: Jazzroom    
Catalogue Number: LP JAZZR 031
Release Date: February 2024 
Format: LP Vinyl

A Jazz Dance Favourite that Jazz Room Records Head Honcho Paul Murphy was hepped to by Brownswood and 6Music Jazz Supremo Gilles Peterson at the 20th Birthday Bash of London’s most Underground of Clubs: Shiftless Shuffle.

Murphy: “I’d quite forgotten all about it, but when I saw the reaction on the dancefloor it was “Mental Note Time, get on the case for a full investigation and let’s see some Vinyl re-issue action!”

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Wee

“Trying To Tell You How I Feel” / “We Could Get It Together” 

Label: Soul Direction Records
Catalogue Number: SD22  
Release Date: 26 January 2024  
Format: 7’ Vinyl

Both tracks “We Could Get It Together” & “Trying to Tell You How I Feel” featured in this latest Soul Direction outing were part of a master tape of unreleased tracks that never saw an addition to the album but came to light on a 2008 Numero LP. They were slightly re- mixed for the album, “We Could Get It Together” More so, but we are releasing the original tracks which came from the master tape which have never been released in this way before. 

The group from Columbus Ohio were active from around 1974 to 1978 and consisted of the following members: Benji Harris, Bimbo Brown, Norman Whiteside, Spanky Jones, Vick Martin. Wee mastermind Norman Whiteside was born and lived in an entirely different Columbus than Capsoul’s Bill Moss or Prix’s Clem Price. 

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Bella Brown & the Jealous Lovers 

Label: LRK Records     
Catalogue Number: LP: LRK-LP07 / CD: LRK-CD07 / DIGITAL:LRKLP07DD
Release Date: 2nd February 2024 
Format: LP Vinyl / CD / Digital Album

A Fusion of Retro Soul/Funk and Modern Grooves Los Angeles-based retro soul/funk sensation Bella Brown & the Jealous Lovers are set to ignite the music scene with their highly anticipated LP, “Soul Clap.” Born from the creative genius of Grammy Award-winning vocalist/songwriter Carol Hatchett, Bella Brown emerges as a diva with a fiery stage presence, drawing inspiration from the likes of Tina Turner and Sharon Jones, and channeling the empowered female leads of 70s Blaxploitation films.

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The New Lost Generation

“Thinkin’ Bout Cha” (Bringing Forth) / “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine”

Label:  Izipho Soul Records 
Catalogue Number: ZP95 
Release Date: 26th January 2024 
Format: 7’

Legendary Chicago group The Lost Generation rebranded at the turn of the new millennium as The New Lost Generation, the lead track from their self titled album yielded “Thinkin’ Bout Cha”- an anthem on the Chicago Stepper scene and much admired by those in the know on the Modern Soul scene. The album version was over 12 minutes long – Now 7-inch friendly, we present The “Bringing Forth” Edit by Philip Ward who has weaved his magic, reconstructing the song and bringing forward Fred Simon’s spoken part to the intro, whilst including extra vocal acrobatic segments from lead vocalist Charles Jackson.

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Jesse James / Yvonne Baker

“Don’t Forget That I Love You”  / “I Need Love” 

Label: North Broad St Records
Catalogue Number: NBS009BL
Release Date: January 2024
Format: 7’

I suspect a number of people have been thinking that it has been all quiet on the East of Scotland front with NBS lately, but most won’t be surprised to hear that the guys gave been beavering away in the background on various deals and the processes needed to set these in flight. And now the guys are delighted to reveal the next track, a release of what looks like the songwriter’s demo of the Intentions – Don’t Forget That I Love You by none other than famed Philly producer and songwriter Jesse James. This was sourced via legendary record collector and member of the Intentions Dennis Brennan, who was very keen to see what is likely the original cut made available. Colin already had a long and fruitful relationship with Dennis over the years of buying records resulting in a strong friendship, so Dennis was keen to do business with the guys.  Unfortunately during the negotiations Dennis became ill and the guys at NBS pushed through the negotiations and contracts as quick as possible to aid Dennis in his treatment, an immense expense in the USA. Sadly, Dennis did not survive to see the release, but he would have been very happy to see the realisation of his wish to see it out there. 

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