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Have You Heard? Sept 2016

KHP Records has released the compilation, Where It All Began...And Continues, in time for the Fall Migration. Of the fifteen songs on the album, seven of them already grace national Beach Music charts, with others sure to follow. Oh Honey by Jackie Gore and Rhonda McDaniel is hot, and so is Sonja Grier's Run For Cover. Sonja's song, written and recorded by Bill Bradford of Spirit Records, was first released in 2008. Lomax is back with us with his charted hit, Why You Wanna Do That. The Carolina Breakers, with Jerry Shooter on the lead, participate with an original, I'm Gonna Love You Darling. Doug Manning penned this charted song. Debby Dobbins' hot number, Be My Baby Tonight, also recently jumped into the chartland. Debby's song was also written by Bill Bradford. By the way, you probably remember that Bill Bradford was one half of Bradford & Bell that gave us the hit Johnny Dollar. Where It All Began also carries a Sam West remix of Barrence Whitfield's classic, Pony Time. Barrence Whitfield's real name is Barry White and performs and records under this name to avoid confusion from the one who had many hits like such as You're The First, The Last, My Everything. There are. others on the album that are anticipated to become hits. Paul Craver's Forever My Love is sure to move into the charts in short order. The song comes from Ronnie McNeir who had the Beach Music hit (You're My) Lucky Number. Andre' Lee is back with us, this time with the Right Kind Of Woman. Andre' was born in Chicago, but moved to Mississippi at an early age where he resides today. Andy Swindell plays keyboard and sings with the Embers. Not too long ago, he released a solo album by the Andy Swindell Project. From this album, Make Up My Mind is a part of Where It All Began. Phil "Doc" Wilson teamed with the Castaways' lead singer,Karen Clayton, for a Shag remake of Sonny & Cher's Baby Don't Go. Other songs on the album are Nicolle Andrews take on Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean, Carolina Soul Slide by the Carolina Soul Band and Money by the Splash band. Also, included in this release are Carolina For The Weekend by the Asheboro, North Carolina band, Bantam Rooster and Back To You by Simon Russell. The title of the album, Where It All Began comes from the slogan used by the OD Pavilion in the Ocean Drive section of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Ms. Jody is back with us, this time teaming with Till Palmer, releasing the new album, I Got The Feeling. The title track, I Got The Feeling, is truly upbeat and makes for a Line Dance number. As usual for Ms. Jody's releases, the album contains several good Shag songs. Check out You Got To Leave Me Baby. It's got the right beat for the dancers to make the right moves. You'll also find that There's A Party Goin' On will work well. It make be a little fast, but we can handle that. Come On also has the potential to make the charts. It is not unusual for us to acquire albums that only carry one song for us to play. We can always count on Ms. Jody's albums to differ. Ms. Jody has been churning out hits in the Beach and Southern Soul markets since 2006. Having been raised in Bay Springs, Mississippi, where she continues to live, 2008 saw her nominated for several awards, including the Jackson Music Awards' International Female Vocalist of the Year and Jus Blues Music Blues Awards' Best New Soul Artist. Till Palmer is the Chief Engineer at Ecko Studios. He, along with Ecko President John Ward, co-engineered and mixed the release. I Got The Feeling is Ms. Jody's eleventh release and comes from Ecko Records.

Delta Groove Music released House Party At Big Jon's by Big Jon Atkinson and Bob Corritore with guests Willie Buck, Alabama Mike, Dave Riley and Tomcat Courtney. Many powerful sessions between the youthful Blues master Jon Atkinson and seasoned harmonica ace Bob Corritore took place at Big Jon's home based Big Tone Studios. As a member of the West Coast Blues scene, Big Jon hails from San Diego, California. Bob Corritore is a Chicago Blues man, relocated to Phoenix, Arizona. Over the past years, Bob has teamed with a number of Blues masters to release a series of critically-acclaimed and award-winning albums. House Party's strongest can be heard in the duo's She's My Crazy Little Baby. Don't stop here. You will also want to check out Here Comes My Baby. It is somewhat smoother with some hard harmonica blows. Other songs of note are the classic Blues numbers Mojo Hand and I'm A King Bee. House Party At Big Jon's should be relatively easy to find at your favorite outlet.

Malaco Records has recently released Grady Champion's latest, One Of A Kind. Grady not only carries the lead vocals on the album, but gives us some great harmonica work. He is backed on the album by some heavy hitters in the music industry. Of those participating with the release of this album, you will hear Ken "Beedy Eyes" Smith on bass, Theodis Ealey on guitar, Elvin Bishop on slide guitar, The Jackson Horns and Blues great Eddie Cotton on lead and rhythm guitars. Eddie also co-wrote some of the songs with Grady. This album is one-of-a-kind with five, yes five, strong tunes from which to choose. First, there is Heels And Hips that reminds me a lot of Johnny Rawls' hit song, Red Cadillac. Also, the Bluesy Stone In My Path sounds like something that Koko Taylor would sing. You might see a lot of play with House Party and Move Something. These two are mighty strong. And don't leave here running without listening to Leave Here Running. One Of A Kind from Malaco Records is truly a one of a kind release. Mississippi-based Grammy Award winning songwriter and musician was born and raised on a farm in Canton, Mississippi, only a stone's throw from Jackson. When he was fifteen, his family moved to Miami. However, Grady only spent a year there before to returning to Mississippi to graduate. Following graduation, he returned to Florida to begin his musical career, eventually signing with Malaco Records. One Of A Kind is Grady Champion's ninth album release. Don't break your neck running to the store for this one. It will not be released until September 16.

You might remember the Mighty Mojo Prophets from their Blues infused numbers, Lucky Men and Sweetness. Well, the boys are back with their strong release of Record Store on their own Mojo King Music label. The Mighty Mojo Prophets were formed in 2007 in Long Beach, California by band members Mitch "Da Switch" Dow and "Big Son"Tommy Elliff. In 2011. the group was nominated for the Best New Artist Debut for the Blues Music Awards, formerly the W.C Handy Awards. All thirteen tracks of Record Store are originals written and arranged by the two founders. Record Store is mighty strong with six numbers that can easily fit into the Beach Music genre. You won't go wrong with either Devil At Your Door, Cherry Red or Bring It On Home. If your crowd is in a Bluesy mood, any of these three could fill the floor for you. Also, check out Things Don't Change, Workin' Men and Spider And The Fly. These also will have strong appeal. The album title Record Store and the title track is in memory of Lamar's Record Store in Long Beach and in honor of Blues enthusiast and Lamar's owner, Gil "Lamar"Duarte, who operated the business for two decades before its closing in 1997. A booklet about the record store is included with the release. The Mighty Mojo Prophets' Record Store is another that should not be difficult to acquire.

Kwik Kuts

Here are some cuts from various artists' new or relatively new albums that should work well in the Beach and Shag markets. Check em' out.

Dig A Little Deeper by Sonny Mack. The song comes from Sonny Mack's latest release Get On Up from Ecko Records. Another song on the album that I suggest you listen to is Clean Up Man, which is the answer to Betty Wright's Clean Up Woman. William “Sonny Mack” Norris was born in Jackson, Mississippi and, as a toddler, moved to Chicago with his parents. At 12, he went to live with his aunt and uncle. It was that he began playing guitar after his uncle purchased it for him from his good friend who was lead guitarist for Koko Taylor's band. He went on to establish his professional career, playing for Bobby Rush and a number of others, including Little Milton Campbell. He eventually moved to Memphis, later signing with Ecko Records.

She's In A Midnight Mood (In The Middle Of The Night (Re-Mastered) by Ollie Nightingale. This version of the all-time classic Beach Music song is part of the re-mastered deluxe edition of the late Ollie Nightingale's album I'll Drink Your Bathwater, Baby from Ecko Records. The release also contains I'm Ready To Party, which later became a huge hit for Billy Scott & The Prophets. Ollie Nightingale began his singing career in the late fifties as lead singer of the Gospel group, The Dixie Nightingales In the late sixties, the group went secular changing the name of the group to The Nightingales. The Tennessee native died in 1997 in Memphis.

Sarah Ann by Aaron Neville. Aaron Neville is well known as a part of the sound of The Neville Brothers, but equally known as a solo artist beginning with his 1967 number one hit Tell It Like It Is. Over the years he has given us great music on his own, such as Save The Last Dance For Me, In The Still Of The Night and Don't Take Away My Heart. In July, he released Apache on his own label, Tell It Records. Sarah Ann will remind everyone of the old school sound and should be well accepted. This is not just a one-hit release. The smooth steppers will lean heavily toward Orchid In The Storm.