Where oh where, is this road I seek
That leads a lonely heart,
to happiness peak?

Did the last one who passed that way
Remove the markers along the way?

Then I hard a voice from within me say
Was there a friendly smile,
you could have gave today

Was there a kindly word,
you could have spoke today

Was there a good deed,
you could have done today

Or a silent prayer,
you could have prayed today

Those were the markers you fail to see
And the ray of hope,
you had a chance to be

To the bowed down head of
broken lives

And there plea for love,
in tear dimmed eyes

When a word of cheer could have
made their day

And sent you happily on your way

True happiness, can not be
bought or sold

And its not something,
you can grab and hold

Its a Gift from God,
for the good you do

The peace and joy,
his love brings to you

If you share that love,
with those you meet

You'll find the happiness
that you seek.

Mack Elhannon

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Comment by gmack on June 29, 2008 at 8:56am
Soleman!! you thought that one out, and Brother you need to write a lot more of your thoughts . And I thank you for sharing it with me.
Comment by Shelley "SoleMann" King on June 29, 2008 at 5:12am
Brother Gmack, this is awesome...You are a great writer and surely have a way with words...Here is one i did last year in my 360 blog, matter of fact it is the last one i did, can't believe it's been nearly a year since i have written anything...

GOD IS...(SOLEMANN'S VERSION)

God is my Savior in my ultimate times of need...God is my friend when others have forsaken me...God is my comforter who covers me with his everlasting warmth...God is my all and all weather i'm feeling small or standing tall.

God is my chef who feeds me daily with his words that nourish me and continues to let me grow...God is my drink of choice whom i can turn to, to quench my thirst with his many proverbs and scriptures.

As you can see God is many things to me...The list could go on and on, but God is a powerful God, a merciful God and the best part of all is that he is my God and my Heavenly Father.

God is there for me although i am a Sinner...You see we are all Sinners, but isn't it amazing that all we have to do is believe in our hearts that we can be forgiven for our sins and put our trust and faith in God.

As i step outside, Gods presence is being felted in the form of a gentle rainfall...As i look up the rain hits my face and it was in that instance that i see heavenly tears falling down...You see the gentle rain is actually Gods way of cleansing my soul...God is with me every step of the way and this i truly believe.

Let God guide your life, your hopes, your dreams for the rewards will be awesome indeed...As i close this Poetic Testimonial...I leave with these 3 profounding words.
GOD IS GOOD


Written By Solemannking 7/29/2007

Remembering Q

E.FM Radio Spotlight

Quincy Jones is thoroughly entwined in the musical background of my young adulthood. A genius of unique quality. I have been posting blogs and music throughout the years and decided to embark on the arduous but satisfying task of gathering some of it to remember the excellent legacy that he left.
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E.FM Radio Spotlight





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

Power...Through Simplicity ♪♫♪

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