23 december, 2016

Syl Johnson - Ms. Fine Brown Frame b/w You Don't Have To Go (1982)

Born Sylvester Thompson in Holly Springs, Mississippi, he moved with his family to Chicago in 1950, where blues guitarist Magic Sam was his next-door neighbor. Johnson sang and played with blues artists Magic Sam, Billy Boy Arnold, Junior Wells and Howlin' Wolf in the 1950s. He recorded with Jimmy Reed for Vee-Jay in 1959. He made his solo debut that same year with Federal, a subsidiary of King Records of Cincinnati, backed by Freddie King on guitar.
Johnson began recording for Twinight Records of Chicago in the mid-1960s. Beginning with his first hit, "Come On Sock It to Me", in 1967, he dominated the label as both a hit-maker and a producer. His song "Different Strokes", also from 1967, is included on the breakbeat compilation album Ultimate Breaks and Beats.
Like other black songwriters of the period, he wrote songs at this time exploring themes of African-American identity and social problems, such as "Is It Because I'm Black", which reached number 11 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1969.
In 1971, the producer Willie Mitchell brought Johnson to Hi Records, for which the two recorded three albums, which generated a number of singles. Produced in Memphis with the Hi house band, these albums contained the hits "We Did It", "Back for a Taste of Your Love" and "Take Me to the River", his biggest success, reaching number 7 on the R&B chart in 1975. However, at Hi Records, Johnson was always to some extent in the shadow of Al Green, commercially if not artistically. Mitchell also chose to use mainly in-house compositions rather than Johnson's original songs.
After his years with Hi ended, Johnson produced two LPs for his own Shama label, the second of which (Ms. Fine Brown Frame, 1982) was picked up for distribution by Boardwalk Records. The title track of that album was Johnson's last hit record.

Tracklist

A - Ms. Fine Brown Frame  (3:46)
      Written-By – G. Crook, S. Johnson

B - You Don't Have To Go  (3:30)
      Written-By – J. Reed 

Credits 
Producer – General Crook

Notes
Released: 1982
Genre: Funk / Soul, Blues
Style: Chicago Blues, Soul

Label - The Boardwalk Entertainment Co 

Eddie & The Hot Rods - Do Anything You Wanna Do # Schoolgirl (1977)

Eddie and the Hot Rods are a pub rock band from Essex founded in 1975. They are best known for their 1977 UK top ten hit "Do Anything You Wanna Do", released under the name The Rods.
The group broke up in 1981, but have reformed reformed several times since, with singer Barrie Masters the only constant member.
The band was formed in Canvey Island during 1975 by guitarist Dave Higgs (who had previously played in the Fix with Lee Brilleaux), with drummer Steve Nicol, bassist Rob Steel, and singer Barrie Masters.
Before rising to semi-stardom in 1977, the Hot Rods underwent several changes in personnel: One of the first members to leave the band was Eddie himself, a dummy that featured prominently in the Hot Rods' early gigs and was discarded as the joke had worn thin. Otherwise, the band consisted of Barrie Masters on vocals, Pete Wall and Dave Higgs on guitar, Rob Steel on bass and Steve Nicol on drums. Ed Hollis (brother of Talk Talk's Mark Hollis) became their manager.
In May 1975, after building a live reputation, they secured a Saturday-night residency at The Kensington in London. This was followed in October by a joint residency with The 101ers at The Nashville, playing alternate headline sets. In November, after positive press reviews of their live shows, they were signed by Island Records.
With the addition of Douglas, the band was moved in a more radio-friendly direction. Their biggest hit came with the Douglas/Hollis collaboration "Do Anything You Wanna Do" in the summer of 1977, under their shorter, snappier name, The Rods. The song was featured on their 1977 album, Life on the Line.

Tracklist 

A - Do Anything You Wanna Do  (4:00)
      Written-By – Hollis, Douglas 

B - Schoolgirl Love  (3:23)
      Written-By – Masters, Douglas

Companies, etc. 
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Island Records Ltd.
Published By – Island Music
Published By – Anglo-Rock Inc.

Credits 
Arranged By – Masters, Higgs, Hollis, Douglas, Gray, Nicol
Producer – Ed Hollis

Notes
Released: 1977
Genre: Rock
Style: Pop Rock, Punk

Label - Island Records