Ace/Kent digs into Dave Hamilton's Detroit gospel archive

Sacred Sounds: Dave Hamilton's Raw Detroit Gospel 1969-1974 is due July 26th. 

Detroit guitarist, producer and label-owner Dave Hamilton worked in the city from the mid-40s until the end of the century. He was involved in most fields of black music and gospel was no exception. Although not a particularly religious person himself, his home was directly opposite Reverend CL Franklin’s New Bethel Baptist Church where his daughters Erma, Aretha and Carolyn would attend and sing. It was a major centre for the Civil Rights movement and Dave would have made many contacts through that church.

Having an affordable recording studio in the centre of the city and a reputation as an accomplished guitarist, producer and approachable character, meant his studios and label were in the right place at the right time.

Dave dabbled with gospel recordings throughout his career and in 1969 registered his Sacred Sounds label and entered the gospel field seriously. The label had around 20 single releases and at least one album. The records were presumably sold in the churches where the groups performed and pressed in relatively small numbers, judging by the scarcity of the discs today. There are likely to be more Sacred Sounds discoveries in the future. There were a few releases issued on one-off labels like New Creation, Silver Harp and Motor City, while the Reynolds Singers featuring Little Stevie was issued on his Demoristic imprint. Dave kept the master tapes so the sound on most tracks is very good. There were many unissued gospel recordings including an LP’s worth on the Scott Singers, two of which we have included, along with numbers from the Reverend Simon Barbee, blues singer Mr Bo and Dave’s main male soul singer OC Tolbert, whose family group was a major gospel act.

With Dave’s heavy involvement in soul music the tracks are a superb blend of gospel and soul and will appeal to lovers of both genres. Although recorded mainly between 1969 and 1974, the timeless nature of black church music makes their appeal relevant to fans of black music from any decade.

Local music historian Adam Stanfel provides excellent notes, including interviews with some of the participants, while a tremendous selection of photos, label scans and some trivia complements the package. Pre-order a copy from Ace/Kent right here. Listen to the Scott Singers' "I'm Not Ready To Die" below.



Sacred Sounds: Dave Hamilton's Raw Detroit Gospel 1969-1974
01  Jesus Is With Me Pt 1 - Little Stevie & The Reynolds Singers
02  I'm Not Ready To Die - The Scott Singers
03  Pressing On - The Silver Harps
04  (This Is) My Plea - Rev Simon Barbee
05  Little Boy - The Johnson Spiritual Singers
06  Savior On The Throne - Mr Bo
07  Wrapped, Tied Tangled Up In Jesus - Mary Ellen George
08  When The Saints Go Marching In - The Scott Singers
09  Someday We'll Be Together - The National Independence Singers lead by John King
10  Life's Pathway - Rev Evans
11  Moving On - Little Stevie & The Sensational Reynolds Singers
12  I Still Remember - Umble Faith lead by C Stuart
13  I Got A Home - The Detroit Motor City Singers
14  If I Had My Way - OC Tolbert & Clara White Houston
15  I Heard A Voice - Pt 1 - Sensational Angelettes
16  Grown Old And Feeble - The Soul Inspirers
17  I Thank You Jesus For One More Day - The Scott Singers
18  He's All I Need - The Sensational Sunset Paraders
19  Try Jesus - The Reynolds Singers
20  The Little Light - The Fantastic Voices Of Joy
21  Leaning And Depending On Jesus - The Jr Echoes
22  I Need Your Power - Pure In Heart Travellers
23  Down Here Praying - The Detroit Silvertones
24  My God Is Calling Me - The Scott Singers

B-Side wins again: Dave Hamilton

Dave Hamilton's dope instro Marriage Is A State Of Vibes is out now on Colemine's Remined subsidiary. 

Beams launch new single @ The Horseshoe, January 29

Beams enlisted John McEntire to record the two songs for The Gutters & The Glass single. Here's the video.

Straight outta Finland: Little Ann, Willie West and Elder William Smith

Talk to any of Ann Bridgeforth's fellow workers at the Marysville Parts and Distribution Center in the gigantic industrial park that is Marysville, Michigan and they'll recall she was a pleasant and reliable packer/checker but that's about it.
Few of them had any idea that the woman working next to them every day on the line for more than 20 years was once a hugely promising soul singer in Detroit who could've been the next Diana Ross or Mary Wells had she been given a shot with Motown.
Unfortunately, Chicago-born "Little Ann" Bridgeforth (she was the youngest of seven brothers and sisters), who began her singing career as a teenager doing Sunday matinees at Michelle's Playroom, only got as far as TCB Studios on Highland Avenue. It was there that Bridgeforth recorded her initial sessions under the direction of session guitarist and freelance producer Dave Hamilton resulting in a single for Ed Wingate's Ric-Tic label, Going Down A One-Way Street. Like many artist's first releases, it went nowhere and Bridgeforth wasn't given a second chance. Before leaving Detroit in 1969 to join her homeboys George Clinton and Funkadelic in the more happening (and less fiery) city of Toronto, Little Ann recorded at least eight more songs with Hamilton who safely packed the tapes into boxes and left them to gather dust.
Soon after settling into her new Toronto home, Bridgeforth hooked up with the members of the jazz trio Fat Chance but after a few years of shuttling back and forth between Toronto and Montreal lounges without advancing her music career, she'd had enough. Bridgeforth returned to Michigan where she found gainful employment with Chrysler packing auto parts and her singing was confined to church services and weddings.
That would've been the last anyone ever heard of Little Ann, only, sometime in the early 80s so the story goes, UK Northern Soul dealer John Anderson acquired a mysterious acetate of an unreleased Little Ann track What Should I Do? and offered the then completely unknown seven-inch to  influential Wigan Casino selector Richard Searling who new a smash hit when he heard it and promptly turned the song into a Northern anthem as a cover-up. Dubbed "When He's Not Around" and credited to Rose Valentine and the Sisters 3, the tune would continue to fill floors for the next 15 years without anyone ever knowing the true identity of the artist responsible. It stands as one of the longest running cover-up mysteries and may have remained unsolved to this day if Northern punters Gilly and Tats hadn't saved up their money for a trip to Detroit in 1990 to meet their heroes Melvin Davis and Dave Hamilton. When Gilly and Tats played their cassette recording of "When He's Not Around," Hamilton immediately recognized his own recording of Little Ann singing "What Should I Do?" Case closed. It wasn't long before Ace/Kent reissue producer Ady Croasdell was trawling through Hamilton's tape archives for more amazing unknown artifacts and Bridgeforth was summoned from her 9-to-5 job to perform in England before adoring crowds of tear-eyed Northern Soul fanatics. Some 35 years after her ill-fated career began, Little Ann was finally getting her due.
Sadly, Bridgeforth's unlikely return to the stage wasn't to last. Suffering from kidney disease, she would spend the final two years of her life on dialysis, finally succumbing in January 2003 at the age of 57.
A few of Little Ann's "lost" recordings have appeared on various volumes of Ace/Kent's Dave Hamilton's Detroit Dancers series although the Helsinki-based Timmion label's new 9-track Deep Shadows LP is the first complete collection of the sweetly swinging and engagingly atmospheric songs she cut at TCB Studios back in the day. Better late than never.

Also from Timmion comes the unexpected return of New Orleans soul survivor Willie West. Perhaps best known to Big Easy R&B lovers for his Allen Toussaint produced numbers on Deesu, West's one-off Warner single B-side Said To Myself backed by the Meters (with Herman Ernest subbing on drums for Ziggy Modeliste) is a favourite amongst the funk elite. Although, instead of simply reissuing one of West's classic burners or perhaps some unreleased jam from the Black Sampson soundtrack sessions, Timmion has released a magnificently moody new tune The Devil Gives Me Everything Except What I Need backed with understated elegance by the High Society Brothers grooving in a low-key El Michels Affair mode. You can listen to the track here.

And while the just-issued Elder William Smith gospel funk single His Voice b/w He Spoke by the All Nations Quartet is on the Psalms label, the insanely limited seven actually has a not-so-obvious Finnish connection. This clever studio concoction neatly pieced together by DJ/collector Kris Holmes with sampled sermonizing dropped over head-nodding beats and organ fills was mastered at Timmion in Helsinki by Jukka Sarapaa of Soul Investigators infamy. Since I got one off Kris, there's only 199 hand-numbered copies left so stop reading this and grab one quick. Check it out here.