RarePhillySax

I decided to present this article which fits with Christmas. I think  Randy Brown  deserved more recognition. I don't say that he was an unknown singer but he could have more success in his career. Randy Brown released five albums from 1976 to 1981. The album entitled " Intimately " which was released in 1979, reached #46 on the Billboard R&B chart. In my opinion his best album was " Welcome To My Room " which was released in 1978.  Many people ignore this Christmas song. It was released on Sound Town Records. The label was formed by Homer Banks , Reginald Jenkins & Chuck Brooks in 1983. This Christmas song was penned by Homer Banks & Chuck Brooks. For many years Randy Brown had collaborated with them. Produced by Homer Banks and Chuck Brooks. Enjoy it. Merry Christmas!!! Note: The above posted single is not played in full.

After my article concerning the japanese band ChickenShack , I decided to present an article for a great show band from Philippines. The band named New Minstrels  is a popular show band of the 70s in Asia. The New Minstrels (Second generation) started in the late 70s. The group won 2nd place at the 3rd Metro Pop Music Festival for their song “ Ikaw , Ako , Tayo , Magkakapatid ”. Later they released a single with english lyrics entitled " Smile / I Don't Love You Anymore ". It was released on OctoArts International in Philippines. Both songs were written by Butch Monserret . Arranged by Eddie Munji . Enjoy the beautiful song " Smile ". Later as they wanted to change their format, they also decided to change their name to Something Special . Under that name, they enlivened the entertainment night scene in the most popular bars during that era. Note: The above posted single is not played in full

ChickenShack is a japanese band that was formed in the mid 80s. The members of the group were Hidefumi Toki (Sax), June Yamagishi (Guitar), Darek Jackson (Bass), Toru Tsuzuki (Keyboards) and Koji Miura (Drums). Τhe band released some albums from 1986 to 1990 . One of them is the debut self-titled album in 1986. The album was recorded at Smoky Studio, Ginza. It was released on Meldac Records. The additional musicians were Teruo Matsusoto  & Marty Bracy on drums, Yoshikazu Kishi on trumpet and Shizue Hirano on trombone. Backing vocals by Paula Desmond , Michael Wilson , Valerie W.Walker , Dempsey Leonard and  Lonnie Hirsch. Produced by ChickenShack . I like two tracks entitled " China Blue " and " Verano ". The lyrics of " China Blue " were written by Darek Jackson and Nancy Krasn, and the music by Darek Jackson. The lyrics of " Verano " were written by Darek Jackson and the music by Hidefumi Toki. Note: The above p...

I decided to present an album which I recently discovered in Athens. I immediately understood that many people ignore this album and they have not given the appropriate attention. It seems that fans of soul and jazz music don't know about it, because this album was recorded for the Manischewitz Wine . It was released on Ron Records in 1982. Almost all the songs are related to the wine. Manischewitz Wine invited Roberta Flack so as to record an album. The album was recorded in two studios, at Rosebud Recording Studios and JAC Recording, both in New York..  Two songs, which were recorded at Rosebud Recording Studios, were produced by Roberta Flack, Bill Eaton and Ralph McDonald and arranged by Bill Eaton and Roberta Flack. All the other songs, which were recorded at JAC Recording, were produced by Joel Herron and arranged by Leon Pendarvis , David Spinnoza and Joel Herron. On the first studio, at Rosebud Recording Studios, participated some great musicians such as P...

I discovered this album in this summer. It is not soul music but includes very nice music. I saw it for the first time on ebay. Later, I was fortunate to find it in a record shop in USA. Rick Bowen  was a business man and president of a manufacturer's rep firm. In order to save his company, he tried to write and sing radio commercials. One of those commercials had such a big success that the audience kept requesting the commercial thinking it was an actual song. After being informed by the radio producers, he went to the Ronnie Millsap label Ronjoy Music and collaborated with Rob Galbraith in order to turn the spot's tune into a possible hit song. The result was that Rick Bowen recorded an album entitled " Want My Love " in 1979. It was released in 1980 on Gemini Records. Produced by  Bruce Dees . The self-titled song is a disco tune which was written by himself. Rick Bowen along with the talent singer Sue Robinson  sang the self-titled song. ...

Hi everybody. I'm sorry for the delay. I'm very busy with my job. I want to inform you that  I will be back on Thursday...  Best Wishes

--> Laura Theodore is a jazz singer from Cleveland of Ohio and an actress. She grew up in the theatre and developed a passion for films and musical theatre as a young girl. After she moved to New York, and started her acting career, she appeared in over sixty plays and musicals. She also partcipated as a guest artist on many records and soundtracks. It is thought that she has one of the most striking voices in jazz music. She recorded and released six albums in her career. Her debut album was released in 1995. However in 1983 she released a single entitled " If I Could Touch The Stars / Wake Up " on Pachay Records. Both songs were recorded under the direction of Thom Gambino .  Thom is a saxophonist from New Jersey who played alto, soprano saxophone and flute for The Lionel Hampton Orchestra in the early 70s. In 1978 Thom and Larry Gambino founded The Umano Orchestra , a 26-piece jazz-rock ensemble. The Umano Orchestra in 1981 In 1983 Thom Gambino an...

Her entire name is Damaris Carbaugh . She was born on November 4, 1955, in New York City. Her father was a singer. As a teenager, Damaris and her two sisters sang as a trio. At the age of 15 , she managed to sing at a recording studio. After this moment she was in demand by producers and advertising agencies in New York. She has performed vocals on countless advertising jingles and commercials, often in Spanish, which she speaks fluently. In 1982 she won the American Song Festival Talent Search and received a recording contract with CBS Records. The album was released in January 1984 under the name " Damaris ". It was recorded at A&R Recording, New York.    In this album participated some known artists like Leon Pendarvis on piano and synthesizer, David Spinoza on guitar, Yogi Horton on drums, Jimmy Maelen on percussion, Luther Vandross , Phillip Ballou and Fonzie Thornton on background vocals. The album produced by Deborah McDuffie . Executive produc...

One more discovery in this summer. Nice dance songs on both sides. Cergon  was an unknown group from Florida. The members were Venancio Cervera and Frank Gonzalez . In 1977 they created a company called Cergon Songs Publishing Company . Two years later, they released a single entitled " Play It Funky / Do What You Feel " on CSC Records.  Both songs were written by Venancio Cervera. Produced by Budd Snyder . I chose the song " Play It Funky ". Note: The above posted single is not played in full

Hello my friends, after several days of holidays, I'm here to present a very nice discovery which I found in July. I am  really impressed because this record 45" is very nice, but at the same time so unknown.  This record 45"   was released on GCS Records, label of Reginald Eskridge in 1984. Several copies were  also released in 1985. In fact Cheryl Fox is an unknown singer who signed on Reginald Eskridge's label. She released a single entitled " Early Morning Man / Spending My Time ". Both songs were recorded at Galaxy Studios, Memphis,Tn. Although both songs are nice, I chose to present the song " Early Morning Man ". It was written by Moses Medlock , Marsha K.Weinfeld and Sammy Easley . Produced by Reginald Eskridge and arranged by the known guitarist  Michael Toles and Andrew Jackson . In 1986 Reginald Eskridge along with Cheryl Fox and Eddie Mayberry  and others toured in Europe and Japan so as to promote the label. Note...

I will be on holidays. I will leave for Zakynthos .  Next post in late August.

Yes, there have been six years since I opened my blog. Although I'm often tired to present articles, I love it and I will never stop doing it. As I remember at some time 5 years ago, I said that when I will find the vinyl of Grady Tate and Gwynne Michaels ,  I will stop presenting articles on my blog. I found the vinyl and now I say that I will continue doing it. In many occasions, the articles I have presented appeared for the first time in the world. I always try to present articles concerning special and rare vinyls. First of all, I want to thank all my visitors. Especially I want to thank some musicians who gave me the opportunity to come in contact with them last year. Special thanks to Lee Mays who is a real gentleman and helped me on my article Lee Mays - Real Love (Upcoming CD) .  For the past 15-17 years Lee Mays has written several songs which were " stashed away ". The songs are available for the world to hear. For Nick Fradiani what ...

--> Grady Tate Starting my article, it is worthy to mention that the legendary Grady Tate is one of my favorite singers, although he became known as a drummer of jazz music. It was a night of October 2008. I was in Kavala in Greece. I tried to buy a 12" record by Grady Tate & Gwynne Michaels on ebay. I lost it in the last second. It was sold for $ 100.99. I was very disappointed. I remember this night like now. However I believed that I would find it some day. Gwynne Michaels I started to search in web concerning this record. I found only a mention on  Jet Magazine of June 1984. Later I was looking concerning Gwynne Michaels. I found some information about some live performances she did in New York during the 90s and later. In one of those performances, Gwynne Michaels appeared in June 1990 at New York Women's Jazz Festival  along with the bassist Carline Ray , the pianist Bertha Hope , the trumpeter Jean Davis and the saxophonist Carol Sudh...

I decided to present another obscure record 45". It is a special song which reminds me of jazz standard songs. However it is an original song which was written by Gael Smith in the late 70s. He performed under the name Gayle Smith . His real name is Gael Gorman Smith and was born in 1946. He released a single " Hey Little Girl " on Tama Records in 1979. It was recorded at T.J.Productions, San Antonio, Texas. Arranged by Mike Feliciano . Note: The above posted single is not played in full

I saw it for the first time on ebay several years ago. However I had the opportunity to buy this record in Athens. In fact this album is not soul. It was influenced from AOR and pop music. Bama was a studio group from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The members of the group were Terry Skinner , Ken Bell and Jerry Lee Wallace . All of theses guys were songwriters on Welk Music Group. They released one and only album in 1979 on RCA/Free Flight Records. It was recorded at East Avalon Recorders, Inc, Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The self titled song " Touch Me When We're Dancing " was released as a single on the same label. The same song was also recorded by Carpenters in 1981. The album was produced by Jim Vienneau and Bama. I have chosen two songs. The first song was named " Summer Nights (Are Made For Making Love) " and the other " Touch Me When We're Dancing ". Both songs were penned by themselves. I want to mention that the member...

I have the pleasure to present an extremerly rare record 45". It was released on Starborn Records in 1981. Three years ago, I had the opportunity to present another rare record 45" on the same label by Robert Jason . DiDi Anthony  is an unknown singer.  I tried to find information for DiDi Anthony but it was very difficult.   As it seems, she collaborated with Robert Jason and Brian Ross.   Robert Jason was co-writer and arranger. Brian Ross who was also the producer of the Robert Jason record on the same period did the production. The vinyl includes two songs entitled " Makin Love / Cry Like A Baby ". I have chosen a great mellow song entitled " Makin Love ". The lyrics were penned by Lorri Marlow and the music by Robert Jason. Note: The above posted single is not played in full

--> This record is an ultra rare vinyl which was released probably in 1974 on MS Records. The label was formed by Marjorie Schuck . Marjorie Schuck was owner and operated  Valkyrie Press and she is editor and publisher of the poetry magazine Poetry Velture . Manager of the label was Tony Lawrence . Sherill and Dee are Sherill Tomes and Dee Dibble . They along with Tony Lawrence rehearsed and recorded twice in recording sessions at Titan Sound Studio in Largo. The tapes were sent to California where they were pressed. It was released as a single entitled " Ain't That A Laugh / Things Have Changed " on MS Records. I chose the song " Things Have Changed ". It was penned by Sherill Tomes & Tony Lawrence. Note: The above posted single is not played in full

The last five years, this record has been sold only two times on ebay. I was fortunate to buy one of them. Roadway Band  was probably formed by the drummer and producer Bobby Cohen from North Carolina. He was owner of the label Cohen Records. The singer of the group is Kathy Hawkins who wrote the song " One To Many ". The other song " Break Music " was written by Ray Jackson . Both songs were recorded at Sandcastle Recording Studio in Greenville South Carolina.     In 2009 Kathy Hawkins collaborated with legendary Clarence Carter . Both appeared at Harrah's Tunica Event Center. Next year she released an album CD under the name " Kathy Sings " on Cee Gee Entertainment. Note: The above posted single is not played in full.

I saw this album for the first time in 2006. The vinyl is an ultra rare. However the fans of music can find the songs for the digital downloading easily. In fact this album is tejano music. Tejano music was born in Texas. Although it has influences from Mexico and other Latin American countries, the main influences are American. This music genre has various categories of music and bands. Three major categories are Conjunto, Orchestra and Modern. ShowBand USA is a representative of Tejano music. The band was formed in the 70s. They have released many albums until nowadays. This album was released in 1982 on Hacienda Records. It was recorded at Hacienda Recording Studios, Corpus Christi Texas. At that time, the members of the group were Robert Garcia  on keyboards and vocals, Paul Garcia  on vocals, Joseph De La Cerda  on sax, percussion, synthesizer, Faustino Saenz on sax, Omar Ruiz and  Roel De la Paz  on trumpet, Israel Cantu on guitar, Rene Munoz...