Cutting a rug with Lennie LaCour's Magic Touch Records

Numero Group digs deep into the tape vault of Milwaukee-via-Chicago indie soul label Magic Touch for their latest Eccentric Soul series compilation.

Here's the scoop from Numero Group...

Ever hear of cutting a rug? How about how a midwest carpet company used a little Magic Touch to transform itself into one of the region’s longest running indie soul records labels.

The Eccentric Soul Flagship collection continues to expand with the edition of the Magic Touch Label - a stone soul winner partially representing our home-turf of Chicago and nearby favorite Milwaukee. This one has been over 20 years in the making dating back to our earliest encounters and projects with local-ish legend Harvey Scales. Magic Touch Records was named after serial entrepreneur Lennie Lacour’s Magic Touch Carpets business though it would ultimately be the other form of “Cutting A Rug” that would leave the more lasting legacy of its founder.

Magic Touch Records went on to play a vital role in documenting and promoting independent Midwest soul music and dance records for more than 2 decades starting in the mid-60s and lasting through the mid-80s. Founded in Milwaukee-via-Chicago in 1964 by producer, songwriter, singer, and businessman Lennie LaCour, Magic Touch and its affiliated label imprints helped bring the regions emerging R&B and soul scene to a wider audience with a roster of acts including Harvey Scales & The Seven Sounds, Junior & The Classics, Sean Taylor, Marvelle & The Blue Match, and The Comic Books.

Featuring 26 essential cuts from 1964–1980, this collection spans sockin’ R&B, basement beehive soul, hard funk, and group harmony across LaCour’s many imprints, complete with extensive notes, photos, and ephemera. Highlights include Harvey Scales classics “Get Down,” “Broadway Freeze,” and “Love-Itis,” alongside favorites from Junior & The Classics and Marvelle & The Blue Match. The Numero Group exclusive edition also includes a bundled 7” grail: James Monroe’s "Frontiersman Of The Galaxy" b/w "Funky Lady." Listen to both sides along with a few more Magic Touch label classics below. 

While you're waiting for the Magic Touch comp to magically appear, check out Numero's Magic Touch 7" bundle featuring rare tracks by LaJohn & Sheela, Light Touch Band and Andy Crown in snazzy custom Magic Touch "Double Disco" sleeves right here. 

Numero Group returns to the soul side of Wisconsin's Cuca label

Numero Group's 26-track double vinyl compilation Eccentric Soul: The Cuca Label is out July 12th. 

Here's the scoop...

Late night '60s R&B caught on tape at Jim Kirchstein's jack-of-all genres Cuca studio. Released on minuscule pressings into the Wisconsin wilderness, these 26 sasquatch-rare tracks – many of which previously appeared on Numero Group's digital comp Eccentric R&B: The Cuca Label back in 2020 and still available here – uncover the soulful paths between the Chicago, Milwaukee and Rockford scenes. Featuring Harvey Scales, Step By Step, Betty Moorer, Seven Sounds, Twilighters, Birdlegs & Pauline, Esquires, Artie & The Pharaohs, and Fantastic Six, this 2xLP tells an alternate history of soul music that could only happen in the Hinterlands on Highway 12. 

You can pre-order a copy of Eccentric Soul: The Cuca Label right here. Check the preview clip, Betty Moorer's "The Long Hot Summer" (originally released under the name "Betty Moore" on Cuca's Badger A Go Go comp), Birdlegs & Pauline's "Too Much At Stake," Harvey Scales' "Independency" and Rex Swanigan & the Fabulous Troubadores' cover of "Hey Joe" issued as "Tribute To Jimi Hendrix" followed by the track listing below. 

Eccentric Soul: The Cuca Label

1. Twiliters - Restless Love / 2. Harvey Scales - Glamour Girl / 3. The Devilettes - I'll Say "Yes" / 4. Little Artie & The Pharaohs - It Puzzles Me / 5. Birdlegs & Pauline - Too Much At Stake / 6. Betty Moorer - The Long Hot Summer / 7. The Esquires - You Don't Care / 8. Supreme Four - I Lost My Job (And I've Got To Find Another) / 9. Harvey Scales - Ten Thousand Years / 10. Betty Moorer - One More Time / 11. The Devilettes - I'm Leaving You / 12. Supreme Four - I Love You, Patricia / 13. Twiliters - We Three / 14. The Devils & The Devilettes - Tell Me / 15. Step By Step - Time After Time / 16. Harvey Scales - Independency / 17. Betty Moorer - My Man Lives / 18. Twiliters - Can't You Stay A Little Longer / 19. The Devils & The Devilettes - Love And Understanding / 20. Step By Step - She's Gone / 21. Harvey Scales - Every Step Of The Way / 22. Twiliters - Girl Of My Dreams / 23. Fantastic Six - I Never Knew Love / 24. Artie & The Pharaohs - I'll Take Care Of You /  25. Birdlegs & Pauline - Mist Of A Dream / 26. The Fabulous Troubadores - Tribute To Jimi Hendrix