Anita Ward
Biography by Greg Prato
Perhaps more so than any other genre in the history of popular music, the '70s disco scene was littered with countless one-hit wonders, including Anita Ward. Born during 1957 in Memphis, TN, Ward developed an interest in music at an early age, although it was gospel and not the up-tempo dance style she'd become synonymous with years later. Ward went on to sing with the Rust College A Cappella Choir (which included recording alongside renowned Metropolitan Opera vocalist Leontyne Price), as well as issuing an obscure album recorded by her own gospel quartet. But after graduation, Ward didn't automatically set out to pursue a career in music and instead became a substitute teacher in the Memphis elementary school system. It wasn't long before Ward realized music was too much a part of her life to ignore and her manager put her in contact with singer/songwriter Frederick Knight (who had scored a substantial hit on his own in the summer of 1972 with "I've Been Lonely for So Long"). Knight signed on to help produce a three-song demo session with Ward, but once the tape was rolling, Knight became so taken by Ward's singing ability that the sessions soon produced an album's worth of material.
Upon listening back to their work, both agreed that they were still one song short, which resulted in Knight digging up an old track titled "Ring My Bell" that he had originally penned for a young teenybopper singer, Stacy Lattisaw (who would later score several hits in the early '80s). The song's original lyrics dealt with teens chatting away on the phone and even though Knight gave the track a quick lyrical overhaul, Ward was less than enthusiastic about the song. Still, she agreed to record it (with Knight providing most of the musical accompaniment himself, including one of the first uses of synth drums on a record), which only took a total of two days to record. "Ring My Bell" turned out to be the best track of the bunch, resulting in a recording contract with the TK label, and the release of Ward's debut album, Songs of Love, in 1979. It didn't take long for "Ring My Bell" to scale the charts and it peaked at number one during the summer (out-gunning such other future disco-classics as Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff" and "Bad Girls," plus Sister Sledge's "We Are Family," all of which were in the Top Five) and remained on the charts for five months solid.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Edie Antoinette on
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Excellent post...thanks!
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Permalink Reply by Shelley "SoleMann" King on
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Why i start dancing in my chair.....LOL
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Permalink Reply by Tonya Anderson on
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This song brings back old memories.
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Permalink Reply by KnightD12 on
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This is one of those song that would have been a hit....no matter who sang it. I acknowledge it was made for a woman to sing, or somebody like Sylvester. lol Its just a Fun song.
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My ex brought Sylvester home one day back in the 70's* and thought he had lost his ever-luvin mind! All that screamin in high pitch. I was thoroughly appalled!!! LOL
*husband was a DJ at a local radio station and would always be bringing home somethin I had never heard before...case in point: the group Ripple. -
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You music roots go deep. No wonder you know so much stuff. lol I don`t think I`m familiar with Ripple.
What did they sing? And speaking of Ripple, I have been intending for years to search online to see if they still made Ripple wine. I know peeps talk bad about it, but I used to love it! Gonna look now. Maybe I can find some mail order firm. :) -
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Wow that was quick. Not a drop of Ripple to be had, no where on earth. And I got insulted on top of that.
Question #66228. zbeckabee asks:
Can you still buy Ripple Wine?
Answer: Apparently this wine vanished many years ago.
Ripple was an inexpensive fortified wine popular among certain subclasses in the United States, particularly in the 1970s. Due to its high alcohol content and low price, it had a reputation as a drink for alcoholics and the destitute.
He called me a "subclass" and he don`t even know me! ( Holding my sides from laughing so hard ) -
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Ha ha ha ha ha!!! I saw that!!!! I fell on the floor laughing at the guy that said if he drank some Ripple ..now...it would kill him!!!! LOL!!!!!! We called it rot-gut wine back then...LOL
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Gone head ....on Bert!!!! This is classic!!!!
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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. The Butlers recorded their first single in 1960 titled "Loveable Girl". Left to right John Fitch, T Conway, Frankie Beverly, Sonny Nicholson and Joe Collins.
Frankie Beverly12/6/46 - 9/10/24
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