Eddie And Ernie comprised of: Edgar William Campbell (d. 1990's) and Ernie L. Johnson Jnr (b. 22nd October 1943, Lubbock, Texas Eddie & Ernie were the Phoenix-based soul duo of Eddie Campbell and Ernie Johnson, issuing about 15 singles between 1963 and 1971. To make matters a little confusing, some of the singles were credited to Ernie & Eddie, the New Bloods, or Ernie & Ed. There were also 1967 solo releases by Campbell and Johnson. Running through about a dozen labels, they never got any significant chart action, though some of the singles appeared on relatively big imprints like Columbia, Chess, and Buddah. They were good soul singers, though, often recording their own material, sometimes sounding a little like Memphis or Alabama deep soul singers with a slightly less avowedly church overlay, sometimes going into more minor melodies and downbeat subject matter than most such soul performers did. Eddie & Ernie, like so many soul singers, did some time in gospel groups as youngsters before hooking up as a duo. They first worked in the studio as background vocalists on a 1961 single by Little Worley & the Drops, and sang background on other singles before making their first recordings as a pair (initially as Ernie & Eddie) in 1963. That set off a trail of singles that took them through many labels, including Nightingale, Checker, Tomorrow, Eastern, 20th Century-Fox, Chess, Shazam, Columbia, Artco, Revue, and Buddah. Though some of their singles sounded as if they could have been done in Memphis or Muscle Shoals, they also did poppier sad ballads and dance tunes with a more Northern production feel, and in fact these are more distinctive than their churchier deep soul-ish recordings.

In the early 1970s, the two served as singers in a Phoenix band called Phoenix Express, though just one song has surfaced, and then decades later on a CD compilation. Eddie Campbell died shortly after Phoenix Express made their early-1970s recordings. In 2002, the Kent CD Lost Friends assembled two dozen tracks spanning Eddie & Ernie's career, including solo endeavors, previously unreleased material, and recordings on which they sang that were billed to Phoenix Express, the New Bloods, and Little Worley & the Drops.

_______US 45s_________ 
Charay 60 - What Would I Do / What Does It Take 
Charay 60 - What Would I Do / Patsy 
Charay 60 - Together Till The End Of Time / Patsy 
Charay 67 - All I Want Is You / It's Not You 
Charay 73 - This Is It / Nobody But My Baby - 1967 
Charay 74~ - FIERY SPARTANS: Talk About Love / Cool - 1967 
Charay 99 - Talk About Love / A Man Without A Woman - 1967 
Smash 2109 - Yesterday / Don't Put Me Down - 1967 
Smash 2132 - Just A Tear / Sad World Without You - 1967 
Soft 1030^ - WILLIE HOBBS: Action / A Woman Like Her - 1968 
Mercury 72839^ - WILLIE HOBBS: Action / A Woman Like Her - 1968 
Smash 2177 - Moments Like These / Love Is A Many Splendored Thing - 1968 
Blue Rock 4073 - The Soul Of A Man / Gonna Give It To You - 1969 
Charay 60* - How Many Times / Patsy 
Charay 60* - How Many Times / Funny How Time Slips Away 
Charay 60 - I Love You, Baby / How Many Times 
Charay 60 - Over The Mountain / Patsy 
Charay 99 - For The Good Times / Talk About Love 
LeCam 655 - Just A Tear / All I Want Is You 
LeCam 656 - Something's Wrong With My Baby / It's Not You 
Zuma 676 - All I Want Is You / Spirit Of '76 (instrumental) - 1976 
Bandit 10 - Hang On In There Baby / Wait A Minute (I Don't Wanna Lose You) - 1987 
Bandit 1991 - All I Want Is You / Let's Get Real - 1991
 ___US LPs_________ 
Le Cam 303 - 30 Minutes Of Soul [LP] 12 O'Clock ??? - 30 Minutes Of Soul [LP] - 197? 
Bandit ??? - Taking Up The Slack - 1987 (A: Wonder Boy / You Can Never Go Back / I Got Your Number / Wait A Minute / Bad Luck Sam, B: All I Want Is You / Hang On In There Baby / Don't Take It Away / The Best Part of Me / Let's Get Real) 
~ = labeled "Vocal by: PIC & BILL" in tiny lettering. 
^ = backing vocals on "Action" by Pic & Bill * 
= "How Many Times" is Pic solo. 
"Patsy" and "Cool" are the same tune. 
It's an instrumental track which Major Bill Smith used throughout his career as a flipside when he didn't want to shell out more money for further studio time to cut a "proper" b-side... 

NB: Also released as a CD in Japan on Vivid Sound" Ref VSCD - 012 in 1990 
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___UK 45s_________ 
Page One 24 - It's Not You / All I Want Is You Page 
One 37 - This Is It / Nobody But My Baby Page 
One 52 - Just A Tear / Sad World Without You 
___UK LP__________ 
Charly CRB 1172 - Givin' It To You [LP] - 1988 (A: Don't Leave Me / Moments Like These / Soul Of A Man / You Walk So Fine / Just A Tear / How Many Times / Talk About Love / Yesterday, B: Nobody But My Baby / When Something Is Wrong With My Baby / It's Not You / This Is My Story / Sad World Without You / Gonna Give It To You / All I Want Is You / Love Is A Many Splendoured Thing) ---------------------------------------------------------------- 

___French 45s_________ 
Soul Record 1 - The Soul Of A Man / ??? 
Soul Record 2 - It's Not You / All I Want Is You 
Soul Record 4 - This Is My Story / Nobody But My Baby
Soul Record 5 Funny How Time Slips Away / Gonna Give It To You 
Soul Record 7 - Something's Wrong With My Baby / Talk About Love 
Decca ??? - Sad World Without You / Just A Tear 
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___Spanish 45_________ 
Belter 719 - The Soul Of A Man / Talk About Love 
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_____Italian 45_________ 
Bentler 5026 - It's Not You / All I Want Is You ___
____Italian LP_________ 
Joker 3002 - - Thirty Minutes Of Soul [LP] (A: All I Want Is You / Something's Wrong With My Baby / How Many Times / You Walk So Fine / Don't Leave Me / Talk About Love, B: The Soul Of A Man / A Woman Has A Way With A Man / It's Not You / This Is It / Baby Come Back / Nobody But My Baby) 
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___German 45_________ 
Metronome 25019 - Just A Tear / Sad World Without You ___
_____German LP_________ 
Vibraton 4009 - Thirty Minutes Of Soul [LP] (A: All I Want Is You / Something's Wrong With My Baby / How Many Times / You Walk So Fine / Don't Leave Me / Talk About Love, B: The Soul Of A Man / A Woman Has A Way With A Man / It's Not You / This Is It / Baby Come Back / Nobody But My Baby)

Formed in 1962, Sam and Bill comprised of: Sam Gary (b. Columbus, South Carolina, U.S.A.) and Bill Johnson (b. 16th October 1932, Augusta, Georgia, U.S.A.). Sam and Bill were an R & B vocal duo formed in Newark, New Jersey, U.S.A. They were typical of a new 'gospel style' of soul duo typified by the likes of Sam And Dave, the Righteous Brothers and the Knight Brothers. Bill Johnson first recorded for Sun Records. He was a member of a group called the Steps Of Rhythm. Sam Gary was originally the guitarist for a group called the Soul Brothers. Coming together in 1962 the pair had hits with remakes of two pop ballads, 'For Your Love' (number 14 R & B, 1965), which was a remake of Ed Townsend's 1958 hit, and 'Fly Me To The Moon' (number 38 R & B, 1966). Their record company JoDa then folded and the duo broke up. JoDa was owned by Johnny Nash. Johnson recruited Sam Davis Jnr (b. 10th December 1940, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S.A.) to be the new replacement.The new Sam was Sam Davis Jnr, from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The 'new' Sam and Bill recorded for Brunswick Records in 1967 and Decca in the U.S. A single I Feel Like Cryin' (Brunswick 05973) was in the Big L 'Soul Set' playlist. 'I Feel Like Cryin' (penned by Jesse Wilson) was re-released on the Ace Records compilation 'Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures Volume 1' in 2001.

Maurice & Mac emerged when Maurice McAlister and McLauren Green splintered from the Radiants in 1966. McAlister was a founding member, lead singer, and songwriter for the group; Green replaced first tenor Charles Washington before the Radiants started recording for Chess Records. the Radiants, composed of members from the Greater Harvest Baptist Church Youth Choir (located in Chicago, IL), formed in 1960 to record some stellar but poorly promoted singles for Chess Records. On their biggest record, "Voice Was Choice" (1964), the members were McAlister, Wallace Sampson, and Leonard Caston. The Army snatched Green, and Caston, an organist at Greater Harvest, had recently returned from the service. "Voice Your Choice" went to number 51 pop and number 16 R&B, but deserved better; its successor, "Ain't No Big Thing," scraped into Billboard's pop 100 at number 91, but did better on the R&B chart (number 14). Later editions of the Radiants consisted of different members and a different sound. The group was initially a quintet, then a quartet, a trio, then back to a quartet before disappearing. The first Maurice & Mac single surfaced around 1967 or 1968 on Checker Records, a subsidiary of Chess. But "Try Me" b/w "So Much Love" went unnoticed by everyone except the parties involved with the recording.

Their second release brought some acclaim, but no fame, and no fortune. "You Left the Water Running," released in 1968, and written by Dan Penn and Sponner Oldham, is one of the best Southern soul recordings, period. Yet, it never made Billboards' pop or R&B charts; Cashbox's survey listed it for three weeks, but it never rose from the bottom rungs. Recorded at the Fame Studios in Muscles Shoals, AL, the production is so tight that the vocals and the instrumentation literally explode from the compelling, shuffling track that reaches its zenith with a gut-wrenching "Lord Have Mercy" near the end. Chess did an awful job promoting the single and the guys were fuming. But they forged on with a third single, "Lay It On Me" b/w "What Am I Gonna Do," which few people knew about, much less purchased. The fourth and last Checker single, "Baby You're the One" b/w "Oh What a Time," duplicated the dismal showings of the first and third singles. The last-known release by Maurice & Mac surfaced on Chess Records. But the move from Checker to the parent label didn't help, as "You Can't Say I Didn't Try" b/w "Lay It On Me" failed miserably and became the final straw.

They gigged sporadically but received no support from Chess Records so there were no tours. Chess is lauded for their recordings, and should be, they waxed some remarkable sides, but none of their artists enjoyed long careers, and few had album releases. Neither the Radiants nor Maurice & Mac ever had an LP release on Chess. When Maurice & Mac disbanded, McAlister washed his hands of the music business. After a promising start with the Radiants, and writing songs for others, such as Sugar Pie Desanto's "Soulful Dress," McAlister's songwriting efforts ended at 36 titles licensed by BMI. McAlister and Green still call Chicago home. Leonard Caston went on to write and produce Eddie Kendricks' two monsters, "Keep on Trucking" and "Boogie Down." Little do the rights owners of the Radiants' recordings know, but to many, the Radiants, and Maurice & Mac were all that, and a compilation CD chronicling their respective careers is long overdue.

The only Maurice & Mac I know of on CD is 'You Left the Water Running' on 'Chess Club Rhythm & Soul' and 'So Much Love' on 'Chess Uptown Soul'. Both are Kent CDs. 'Rack O Ribs CD 4544 has 16 Radiants tracks, 2 by Maurice and 9 Maurice & Mac tracks'

Bob & Earl had already recorded under a myriad of pseudonyms during their careers before they were a duo; both "Bob"s (the first was Bobby Byrd, aka Bobby Day, and his replacement was Bobby Relf) and "Earl" (Earl Nelson) were key players in L.A.'s doo wop and R&B vocal scene in the mid-to-late '50s. Today, Bob & Earl are best remembered for their minor-key rumbler "Harlem Shuffle," which provided the listener with instructional R&B dance moves for an accompanying dance also called the Harlem Shuffle. Their vocal interplay presaged Stax Records' Sam & Dave. When "Harlem Shuffle" was originally released, it climbed into the lower rungs of the American Top Forty (number 36 Cashbox/number 44 Billboard), but the song achieved its biggest chart success when it was re-released in 1969, becoming a Top Ten U.K. hit.

Bobby Byrd (b. July 1, 1932, in Fort Worth, TX) was the first "Bob," although he is better known today for writing three early rock & roll classics between 1957 and 1958. He had been one of the founders of the Hollywood Flames in 1950, a prolific group -- along with the Robins, they were one of the grandfather doo wop groups in L.A. -- who waxed singles for Recorded in Hollywood, Specialty, Lucky, Swingtime, Money, and other labels before the group finally had their first major hit, "Buzz, Buzz, Buzz," a number 18 pop hit for Ebb Records in 1958. By 1957, however, Byrd (under his new name, Bobby Day) had cut the original version of his self-penned "Little Bitty Pretty One" for Class Records. When a nearly identical cover version by Thurston Harris (featuring the Sharps) beat Byrd's original to the punch and turned out to be a huge hit -- it was Harris' one and only Top Ten R&B and pop hit for Aladdin -- Byrd switched gears and started a solo career, using the name Bobby Day. One theory about where the new last name came from is that Class Records' "Googie" Rene (owner Leon Rene's son, and the label's A&R director and producer) suggested it. Regardless of how he got the new moniker, Day bounced back with a hit of his own, "Rockin' Robin," which topped the R&B charts in 1958. Day waxed a few more hits for Class, including "That's All I Want" and "The Bluebird, the Buzzard and the Oriole" in 1959.

It was during this time that Earl Nelson formed the first incarnation of Bob & Earl. Nelson (b. September 8, 1928, in Lake Charles, LA) had also been an original member of the Hollywood Flames; that's him singing lead on "Buzz, Buzz, Buzz." By 1960, however, after a stint on Atco, the Flames eventually ended up on Edsel, at which point Nelson and Day ventured off to form Bob & Earl on their own. Day left Bob & Earl before they produced any hits, however, and Nelson soon re-configured the group with a second "Bob," Bobby Relf. Relf had already led several L.A.-based acts in his career, including the Laurels and the Upfronts (featuring Barry White), and was also a replacement member of the Hollywood Flamesafter Byrd had left to join up with Nelson. Relf had also called himself "Valentino" for his short-lived group Valentino & the Lovers, an early-'60s group formed with the vocalists who had auditioned but had not been chosen to be in the lineup of Little Caesar and the Romans. Incidentally, White had also been a member of Valentino & the Lovers, singing bass and doubling on piano. The duo recorded several singles for various L.A.-based labels, but their lone hit was "Harlem Shuffle," a dance number punctuated by trumpet blasts and echo-laden percussion. It was arranged by a young Barry White, who played piano. Produced by Fred Smith (a talented R&B songwriter who had previously written hits with partner Cliff Goldsmith and produced the Olympics among others), "Harlem Shuffle" was originally released in the U.S. on the Marc label in 1963. It climbed into the low end of the American Top Forty in 1964 before slipping off the charts.

However, the duo failed to follow up with any additional hits and soon were splitting for solo careers. Helson began recording solo tracks under a bunch of aliases, including Jay Dee, Earl Cosby, and Chip Nelson, but his biggest success was as Jackie Lee (Jackie was Earl's wife's name and Lee his own middle name), for another popular R&B dance cut in 1965, "The Duck," for the Mirwood label. A year after "Harlem Shuffle" slid off the charts, Nelson was touring the U.S. (with Barry White on drums). Relf waxed singles under the names Bobby Garrett and Booby Valentino. "Harlem Shuffle" was re-released in 1969, and became a Top Ten U.K. hit (number seven pop). Since its 1963 debut, the song has seen numerous cover versions. Original "Bob" Bobby Byrd passed away on July 15, 1990.

A curious album that has the feel of a thrown-together exploitation LP -- there's no indication of when the tracks were recorded, although an educated guess would put the era in the mid-'60s. It's serviceable period soul with a slight uptown production feel, but not outstanding. The version of "Harlem Shuffle" here is not the original, but an instrumental rendition with a faster tempo and fuzz guitars

Born in Magee, Mississippi. Twin Estus is older than Lester by 15 minutes. They were in a gospel group called the Southern Sons. Broke away from the group and started a duo and were known as the Soul Twins. First recording was the lengthy titles in Big Beat - 'Something You Got And It's Worthwhile Having, Hold On To It / Come On Everybody Get With Beat, Let Me Take You To Soul City USA.' PHEW!! For their next contract they changed the name to the Patterson Twins and joined Star Fox Enterprises with 2 singles being released on King. Firts was a George Jackson track titled 'If I Ever get You Back'. Later they did a one-off at Malaco cut at Muscle Shoals.

In the early eighties they started their own company Kon-Kord with the first release being distributed by Montage. Estus eventually took complete control of the company and released product on artists like Queen Isabella, Sterling Harrison, Bishop Hudson & Rusty Jackson.

Every town in the US had its own cut-price Sam & Dave in the 60s - and Baltimore's were Gene & Eddie. They cut a very strong series of 45s for local label Ru-Jac, ranging in styles from doo-wop to funk. "Its So Hard" and "Darling I Love you" are very good, "Let Me Go Easy" is superb, and "I Would Cry" is a fine example of their church based approach. The guys sing some great harmonies over a big, well arranged horn section and a plodding rhythm, with some nice guitar and organ lines. Passion, power and commitment are all here - with some super ad-libbing at the run out groove. Gene & Eddie had a final 45 on Mon'ca that the modern crowd go for.

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Cousins Mel Hardin and Tim McPherson were born and raised in Holly Springs, Mississippi, USA, and later moved to St. Louis, Missouri. They were signed to Gene Chandler's Bamboo label and reached the US Top 10 with "Backfield In Motion" (1969). A vibrant single, it was followed by "Good Guys Only Win In The Movies", after which Mel And Tim switched to Stax. The sumptuous "Starting All Over Again",written originally by Phillip Mitchell and with Sam & Dave in mind, was another major R&B hit, but further singles, including "I May Not Be What You Want" (from the film Wattstax), had less success.