Tag Archives: Ace Records
DAN PENN-CLOSE TO ME-MORE FAME RECORDINGS.
DAN PENN-CLOSE TO ME-MORE FAME RECORDINGS. Wallace Daniel Pennington was born in Vernon, Alabama on the 19th of May 1941. The Pennington family were respectable church going people. They were regarded as pillars of the local community. Each week the Pennington family attended church en masse. However, by the time Wallace Daniel Pennington was a …
ALICE CLARK THE COMPLETE STUDIO RECORDINGS 1968-1972.
ALICE CLARK THE COMPLETE STUDIO RECORDINGS 1968-1972. The cream always rises to the top. This may be the case in some industries, but sadly, not in the music. Far too often, hype and image triumph over talent. Meanwhile, commercial success and critical acclaim eludes truly talented artists. Chastened by the experience, many of these artists …
HANK BALLARD AND THE MIDNIGHTERS-UNWIND YOURSELF-THE KING RECORDINGS 1964-1967.
HANK BALLARD AND THE MIDNIGHTERS-UNWIND YOURSELF-THE KING RECORDINGS 1964-1967. Hank Ballard played an important part in musical history. He was a successful singer and songwriter, whose career spanned fifty-two years. The most successful period of Hank Ballard’s career, was between 1953 and 1969, when he was the lead singer of Hank Ballard and The Midnighters. …
THE AROCK, SEROCK, SYLVIA SOUL STORY CONTINUED.
THE AROCK, SEROCK, SYLVIA SOUL STORY CONTINUED. Al Sears’ career began in the 1928, when he replaced Johnny Hodges in Chic Webbs’ band. This was the start of a long and successful career. In 1931, Al Sears joined Elmer Snowden’s band. He was the tenor saxophonist right through until 1932. Then in 1933, Al Sears …
SOME KINDA MAGIC-THE SONGS OF JERRY ROSS.
SOME KINDA MAGIC-THE SONGS OF JERRY ROSS. Growing up in Philadelphia, Jerry Ross dreamt of becoming a trumpeter and singer. While this dreams never came quite true, Jerry went on to live the dream musically. Jerry Ross became a hugely successful songwriter and producer. He also worked in A&R and owned his own record companies. Jerry …
LESLEY GORE-BOYS, BOYS, BOYS.
LESLEY GORE-BOYS, BOYS, BOYS. In 1963, Lesley Gore was the all-American girl, who was being heralded as the future of music. That wasn’t surprising. When Lesley Gore released her debut single It’s My Party in 1963, it reached number one in the US Billboard 100 and US R&B charts. This resulted in It’s My Party being certified …
JODY REYNOLDS-THE COMPLETE DEMON AND TITAN MASTERS.
JODY REYNOLDS-THE COMPLETE DEMON AND TITAN MASTERS. Jody Reynolds life was changed forevermore in 1958, when Demon Records released Endless Sleep as a single. This was a song that Jody Reynolds had written in 1956, after hearing Elvis Presley’s Heartbreak Hotel. Not long after this, Jody Reynolds performed Endless Sleep for the first time. The …
LONNIE MACK-THE WHAM OF THAT MEMPHIS MAN!
LONNIE MACK-THE WHAM OF THAT MEMPHIS MAN! By 1963, twenty-two year old Lonnie Mack was already an experienced musician. He had been making a living as a musician since he was thirteen. That was when Lonnie Mack quit school, after getting involved in an argument with a teacher. For most thirteen year olds, this would’ve …
MODERNISM.
MODERNISM. Ever since the birth of rock ’n’ roll, youth cults have come and gone. Some have been nothing more than passing fads. Others have lasted longer. None of the youth cults of the past sixty years have enjoyed the same longevity as the modernists. Their longevity is unrivalled, and is celebrated on Modernism, a new compilation …
PHIL’S SPECTRE-A WALL OF SOUNDALIKES.
PHIL’S SPECTRE-A WALL OF SOUNDALIKES. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So it must have seemed to Phil Spector, as producers on both side of the Atlantic tried to replicate his famous Wall Of Sound. These producers looked enviously at Phil Spector, and wanted to enjoy the same commercial success and critical acclaim that …
THE INDEPENDENTS-JUST AS LONG-THE COMPLETE WAND RECORDINGS 1972-74.
THE INDEPENDENTS-JUST AS LONG-THE COMPLETE WAND RECORDINGS 1972-74. When Charles Jackson first met Marvin Yancy at Chicago’s Black Writer’s Workshop in 1971, he was already twenty-six, and had been working as an art director for Playboy magazine. That was why Charles Jackson had moved to the Windy City in the late sixties. However, Charles had …
SCRATCH MY BACK! PYE BEAT GIRLS 1963-1968.
SCRATCH MY BACK! PYE BEAT GIRLS 1963-1968. During the swinging sixties, Pye Records and its sister label Piccadilly Records were housed in London’s West End. Both labels had an enviable roster of artists. This included some of the top British female pop singers. Two of the biggest names were Petula Clark and Sandie Shaw. They …
MAINSTREAM MODERN SOUL 1969-1976.
MAINSTREAM MODERN SOUL 1969-1976. By 1970, Bob Shad was a veteran of the New York music scene. His career began in the forties, when he was a session musician. Bob made it his business to know everyone within the New York music scene. He knew everyone that mattered. Whether it was Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker or …
HERE TODAY!-THE SONGS OF BRIAN WILSON VINYL EDITION.
HERE TODAY!-THE SONGS OF BRIAN WILSON VINYL EDITION. One of Ace Records’ longest running and most successful compilation series is their Songwriters’ series. It looks back at the careers of some of the most successful songwriters in the history of modern music. This includes Bacharach and David, Goffin and King, Serge Gainsbourg, Dan Penn, Laura …
ONE TRACK MIND- MORE MOTOWN GUYS.
ONE TRACK MIND- MORE MOTOWN GUYS. For some time, Berry Gordy Jr. had ben thinking of heading out on his own. He was fed up working for other people, and decided the time had come to form his own record company. So using the royalties he received from writing songs for Jackie Wilson, and an …
JACK ASHFORD-JUST PRODUCTIONS.
JACK ASHFORD-JUST PRODUCTIONS. By 1966, Jack Ashford was a familiar face in Detroit’s music jazz scene. The Philly born musician had been a member of Marvin Gaye’s touring band before he became a Funk Brother. Through meeting the Motown musicians, Jack decided to base himself in Detroit. Soon, he became part of Motown’s legendary studio band …
LOVE HIT ME!-DECCA BEAT GIRLS 1962-1970.
LOVE HIT ME!-DECCA BEAT GIRLS 1962-1970. The post-Beatles’ pop boom of the early sixties seemed to catch some record labels unaware. They came to the party late. Some label executives thought that pop music was a passing fad, and were reluctant to commit scarce resources to it. This had disastrous consequences. By the time, these …
KINKED! KINKS SONGS AND SESSIONS 1964-1971.
KINKED! KINKS SONGS AND SESSIONS 1964-1971. Between 1964 and 1971, The Kinks were musical trailblazers who took Britain and America by storm. Critical acclaim accompanied many of The Kinks’ albums. Partly, this was because The Kinks never stood still musically. Instead, they were musical chameleons. They realised that to stay relevant, that their music had …
THE PRISONERS-THE WISEMISERDEMELZA.
THE PRISONERS-THE WISEMISERDEMELZA. Musical history is littered with groups whose report card said could have done better. This includes The Prisoners, who were formed in Rochester, Kent in 1980, and released four albums, before splitting up in 1986. However, things could’ve been very different for The Prisoners. That’s if The Prisoners hadn’t been determined to …
THE CHARLATANS-THE LIMIT OF THE MARVELLOUS-VINYL EDITION.
THE CHARLATANS-THE LIMIT OF THE MARVELLOUS-VINYL EDITION. Between 1964 and 1969, The Charlatans’ star shawn bright. However, The Charlatans were larger than life mavericks. They dressed like 19th Century outlaws, and embraced the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle. L.S.D. and pot were part of The Charlatans’ diet. It fuelled The Charlatans as they took San Francisco …
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