SOUTH SHORE COMMISSION - S/T - LP ANN PEEBLES - THE HANDWRITING IS ON THE WALL - LP BAD BASCOMB - BLACK GRASS MUSIC - LP BARBARA ACKLIN - SOMEONE ELSE TOM BROCK - I LOVE YOU MORE & MORE - LP BARBARA MASON - LADY LOVE - LP BARRABAS - HEART OF THE CITY - LP DENISE LASALLE - SECOND BREATH - LP BARRY WHITE - ANT BARRY WHITE - JUST ANOTHER WAY TO SAY I LOVE YOU ( ORIGINAL US ) - LP BETTY WRIGHT - DANGER HIGH VOLTAGE - LP BLOODSTONE - DO YOU WANNA DO A THING - LP BOHANNON - INSIDE OUT - LP BT EXPRESS - NON STOP - LP CAROLINE PEYTON - INTUITION - LP CHUCK JACKSON - NEEDING YOU WANTING YOU - LP CITY STREETS - LIVIN CLEA BRADFORD - HER POINT OF VIEW - LP COMMODORES - NATURAL HIGH - LP COPELAND DAVIS GROUP - SMOULDERING SECRETS - LP DEXTER WANSEL - VOYAGER - LP DONNY GERRARD - SAME - LP DONNY HATHAWAY - EVERYTHING IS EVERYTHING - CD DORIS DUKE - I DOROTHY MOORE - SAME ( 1977 ) - LP ESTHER PHILLIPS - ANTHOLOGY - CD FABULOUS COUNTS - JAN JAN - LP FAITH HOPE & CHARITY - SAME - LP FATBACK BAND - PEOPLE MUSIC - LP GALLIANO - IN PURSUIT OF THE 13TH NOTE - CD GALLIANO - THE PLOT THICKENS - CD GAP BAND - MAGICIANS HOLIDAY - LP GEORGE SEMPER - MAKIN GIL SCOTT HERON - FREE WILL - CD GRADY TATE - SHE IS MY LADY - LP GWEN MC CRAE - SOMETHING SO RIGHT - LP HAMILTON BOHANNON - GITTIN IMPRESSIONS - PREACHER MAN - LP ISAAC REDD HOLT UNLIMITED - ISAAC ISAAC ISAAC - LP JAMES BROWN - GET ON THE GOOD FOOT - 2 LP JAMES BROWN - REALITY - LP JAMES COTTON BAND - HIGH ENERGY - LP JB JERRY BUTLER - POWER OF LOVE - LP JESS RODEN - SAME - LP JON LUCIEN - MIND JUNIE - WHEN WE DO - LP KAIN - THE BLUE GUERRILLA - LP KING ERRISSON - L.A. BOUND - LP KOOL & THE GANG - SPIRIT OF THE BOOGIE - LP KOOL AND THE GANG - GOOD TIMES - LP LATIMORE - SAME - LP

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Comment by Edie Antoinette on January 17, 2008 at 9:34pm
I like that!!! In fact, this is a nice atmosphere--cause YOU'RE here! ♥
Comment by Shelley "SoleMann" King on January 17, 2008 at 6:52pm

Introspection

Entr'acte

  1. play Norman Brown — Night Drive
  2. play Norman Brown — Feeling
  3. play Norman Brown — Still
  4. play Miles Davis — miles 1
  5. play miles 2
  6. play miles 3
  7. play miles 4
  8. play miles 5
  9. play Marvin Gaye — I Met A Little Girl
  10. play Santana — 01 Singing Winds, Crying Beasts
  11. play Santana — 02 Black Magic Woman-Gypsy Queen
  12. play Mongo — 02. Afro Blue



The history of the Butlers/Raw Soul is dense, but for all of us music nerds, that's normal. It is not totally clear what year the Butlers actually formed but they released their first single in 1963 on Liberty Records. That single was "She Tried To Kiss Me" and another single followed on Guyden entitled "Lovable Girl." After the Guyden single the Butlers took a break not recording another record until the single "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh" was released on the Phila label in 1966. The group also backed Charles Earland and Jean Wells on one Phila single ("I Know She Loves Me"). 


As you might be noticing, the Butlers were doing a fair amount of recording but not achieving much success. The group's recordings sold regionally but never had the promotion to make an impact on the national scene. After the single with Phila, the Butlers moved to the Fairmount label (part of the Cameo-Parkway family) and released a handful of singles, some being reissued singles of the past. The Butlers were with Fairmount for 1966-67 and then moved to Sassy Records. Sassy released the group's greatest single (in my opinion) "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" b/w "If That's What You Wanted." A copy of that 45 sold for just under $500 last summer on eBay. Even though that isn't that much in the world of record collecting--it's still a hefty sum. The Butlers released another single on Sassy ("She's Gone" b/w "Love Is Good") that appears to be even 
harder to come by then the "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" single.

 

The true history become a bit blurred here as the AMG biography states that the Butlers last record was released on C.R.S. in 1974 (". However, between 1971 and that single, Frankie Beverly formed a group called Raw Soul and released a number of singles. Some of the songs recorded by Beverly during this period are "While I'm Alone," "Open Up Your Heart," (both on the Gregor label) and "Color Blind." "Color Blind" was released by the Eldorado label and rerecorded by Maze. Beverly's big break came when Marvin Gaye asked Raw Soul to back him on a tour. Gaye helped Beverly/Raw Soul get a contract at Capitol. Beverly decided to take the group in a different direction, a name change occurred, and Maze was created. 

The above isn't the most complete history of Beverly but hopefully someone will know a way to get in touch with the man or his management because a comprehensive pre-Maze history needs to be done on Frankie Beverly (his real name is Howard, by the way). Below you'll find every Frankie Beverly (pre-Maze) song available to me right now ("Color Blind" will be up soon). 

If you have a song that is not included below, shoot it over to funkinsoulman (at) yahoo.com and it will go up in the next Frankie Beverly post (later this week--highlighting Maze). Also, if you have any more information please share your knowledge. The Butlers material has been comp-ed sporadically (usually imports) but the entire Maze catalog has been reissued and is available. 

Enjoy.  "She Kissed Me" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967) 
 
 "I Want To Feel I'm Wanted" (not sure which label or year) "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh" (Phila, 1966) "Because Of My Heart" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967)
   
 "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" (Sassy, 1967)
   
 "If That's What You Wanted" (Sassy, 1967)
 



Frankie Beverly is one of those cats that has lasting power. He started in the music business doing a tour with doo wop group the Silhouettes and then formed his own group called the Blenders. The Blenders never recorded a single, Beverly wouldn't appear on wax until forming the Butlers a few years later. Along with Beverly, the Butlers included Jack "Sonny" Nicholson, Joe Collins, John Fitch, and Talmadge Conway.

Beverly would later enjoy great success fronting Maze and Conway would become a
well-known penning Double Exposure's
"Ten Percent" and the Intruders' "Memories Are Here To Stay." 
 While Maze is a phenomenal group, Beverly's work before that group will always stand out as his best (imo).

The Butlers produced tunes that most Northern Soul fans would kill for and Raw Soul gave the funksters something to pursue. If, by chance, you know of a way to get in touch with Frankie Beverly or his management, please drop me an e-mail. It would be absolutely great to do an interview with him about his pre-Maze work. He's still playing out, most recently doing a New Year's Eve show in Atlanta.
:: Funkinsoulman ::

Power...Through Simplicity ♪♫♪

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