Okay. I'm finally writing up the amazing soul mix tape I bought when I was in Portland two weeks ago. 

"I Learned It All The Hard Way"

Such an appropriate title for me. 


A1. O.V. Wright - "That's How Strong My Love Is"



"That's How Strong My Love Is" was written by Roosevelt Jamison and first recorded by Wright in 1964. In 1965, The Rolling Stones, The In Crowd, The Hollies, and, most notably, Otis Redding, made their own covers. 

O.V. Wright, born in Tennessee in 1939, is regarded as one of the most influential Southern soul and blues artists of his generation. His songs have been sampled by Ghostface Killah ("Motherless Child"), Wu Tang ("Let's Straighten It Out") and Slim Thug ("Recognize A Playa"). Wright got himself into a drug situation and was arrested for narcotics possession in the mid '70s, which negatively affected his popularity. He died of a heart attack in 1980, only 41 years old. 

A2. Wendy Rene - "After Laughter (Comes Tears)"

(Speaking of Wu Tang...check the sample in "Tearz")

Rene and her brother co-wrote "After Laughter" in 1964. The song was her first single, featuring Booker T. Jones on organ, and was a local hit. It was released with the B side "What Will Tomorrow Bring." 

Wendy Rene was born Mary Frierson in 1945 in Memphis, Tennessee. As a teenager, she formed the singing quarter The Drapels and got a recording contract by Stax co-founder Jim Stewart in 1963. Otis Redding gave her the name Wendy Rene (she originally considered Wendy Storm, equally cool).

A3. Eddie & Ernie - "Bullets Don't Have Eyes"

Edgar William Campbell and Ernest Johnson Jr. recorded bullets in 1972. Ten years later, Ever-Soul, a subsidiary of Daptone Records, put it out on 45 with the B side, "In These Very Tender Moments."

A4. Don Covay - "Come See About Me"

(Not to be confused with the Supremes song "Come See About Me")

"Come See About Me" was released on the album Mercy!, out on Atlantic, in 1964. 

Don Covay was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina, in 1938. He was part of his family's gospel quartet and later crossed over to more secular music with The Rainbows, a singing group with Marvin Gaye and Billy Stewart. Covay began his solo career as part of the Little Richard Revue. 

Covay was definitely part of the scene, having connections with Little Richard, Marvin Gaye, Chubby Checker, Solomon Burke, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and even a young Jimi Hendrix, who played guitar on his debut single "Mercy Mercy" (off the same record as "Come See About Me." 

A5. Edd Henry - "Your Replacement Is Here" 

"Your Replacement Is Here" was recorded in Detroit's United Sound studio and released as the B side to "Crooked Woman" on the upstart label, The Big Mack. The record is truly rare, and such a gem. There's basically no information about Edd Henry on the Internet, but his music is somehow accessible. Check it out here.

A6. Howard Tate - "I Learned It All The Hard Way" 

(My favorite off the tape)

"I Learned It All The Hard Way" was released in 1967 on Verve Records with the B side, "Part-Time Love." 

Howard Tate, born in 1939 in New Jersey of all places, was an American soul singer and songwriter most famous for the hit "Get It While You Can," which became super popular when Janis Joplin covered it on Pearl. Tate, like many soul singers, began his musical career in a gospel group in Philadelphia before meeting Jerry Ragovoy, who got him recording for Verve Records. 

The most interesting thing about Tate is that he covered a couple white musicians in a time when that was rare, specifically for a black soul musician. He covered Dylan's "Girl From North Country" and Robbie Robertson's and Levon Helm's "Jemima Surrender." 

A7. The Primives - "Tears Will Pull" 

There's absolutely no information about this band or the song on the Internet. So yeah. Sorry about that. 

A8. Mickey Murray - "East of Nowhere" 

Another obscure one. Can't find anything on Mickey Murray, except that he was an Otis Redding type soul man and started making music in 1967. 

You can check out some of his other songs here.

A9. Gino Washington - "Singing in the Rain" 

I can't post the YouTube video for some reason, so the link is here.
 
George "Gino" Washington was born sometime around 1964 in Detroit, Michigan. He was the first artist to be signed to Ric-Tic Records, a Detroit record label started by Joanne Bratton and Ed Wingate as a quasi competition to Berry Gordy's Motown label. 

Gino recorded "Singing in the Rain" while on leave from Vietnam in 1964. After he was released, his music career pretty much stalled. 

A10. Bobby Bland - "Don't Cry No More"

"Don't Cry No More" was released in 1961 as the A side to his cover of "Saint James Infirmary." 

Bobby "Blue" Bland, born in 1930 in Tennessee, died this year. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. 

When Bland was only 17, he and his mother moved to Memphis, a fortuitous decision that hooked him up with B.B. King, Rosco Gordon, Junior Parker, and Johnny Ace, other wise known as the Memphis Beale Streeters. Although Bland never achieved mainstream success (his songs topped the R&B charts mainly), Bland became known as one of the greatest storytellers of blues of soul music of all time. 

A11. Wallace Brothers - "Line Between Love & Hate"

"Line Between Love & Hate" was released in 1967 as the B side to "Thanks A Lot" on Sims Records. 

The Wallace Brothers were actually cousins Ervin Wallace and Johnny Simon from Atlanta, Georgia. Check out their other songs here. 

Next up - the B side to the tape.