BLACK 45’S

TEARS BIG AS CANTALOUPES/TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE -RICHARD “DIMPLES” FIELDS -JOJO RECORDS 2202 THE YOUNG HEARTS GET LONELY TOO/WHY DO YOU HAVE TO GO -THE NEW YOUNG HEARTS - ZEA RECORDS - ZEA-50001

These two West Coast singles bring back the sound of the teenage fifties. Both were written by Richard “Dimples” Fields, a young independent Oakland producer, and have gimmicky titles and unique subject matter. Throughout the sixties they have popped up on various small labels and in 1970 have finally emerged due to their pubescent appeal and overwhelming dramatic intensity.

“Tears Big As Cantaloupes” was originally released in 1962 and was an r&b chart-topper on Vance records in Los Angeles and San Francisco. It subsequently appeared on Red Fire and Dore in the mid-sixties. According to Fields, the song’s inspiration came from Hank Ballard & the Midnighters’ “Teardrops On My Letter” (flip of “The Twist”); stylistically, however, it derives from Smoky Robinson’s “Who’s Lovin’ You” (the flip of “Shop Around”) — Field’s high, little boy voice is similar to Smokey’s, but instead of evoking crying in his singing, Fields actually sobs between phrases. This heightens the over-all effect of “Cantaloupes,” while the imaginative use of flute and celeste in the accompaniment adds to the tune’s innocent intimacy, that is perhaps the key to its success and longevity.

Fields wrote the New Young Hearts tune in 1964 for Bobby Freeman, of “Do You Wanna Dance” fame, but it was never recorded. The Young Hearts first released it on Minit in 1969 but it was pulled off the market due to legal hassles. The concept behind “TYHGLT” is akin to the old standard “I Can’t Get Started” but is more complex because it is divisively two-fold: the “star” exposes his private emotional state while at the same time strives to bring the audience to a devotional frenzy. Clarence Avery’s falsetto lead is propulsively pleading and is offset by a definitive fifties doo-wop vocal backdrop. Listening to the record you can imagine the front-row fervor that the group must generate in person.

Two discs that evoke the past and yet are remarkably effective today. Their appeal*is primarily to the feminine teen-age sentiments and they are classic's of this genre. This type of record has always been popular and will continue to be because the “little girls” that Fields literally addresses these sides to haven’t changed that much.

“FRANK, THIS IS IT” B/W “BLUES WALK” CLIFF JACKSON & JELLEAN DELK WITH THE NATURALS -MIDNIGHT SUN NO.

“NINE BELOW ZERO” CLIFF JACKSON & THE NATURALS -MIDNIGHT SUN NO. 2

These two singles represent the entire output thus far from the Shelby Singleton-owned Midnight Sun label. All three selections (only promo copies of No. 2 were available) feature the talents of one Cliff Jackson who, judging from the varied sounds and multi-colored blues textures displayed here, is a talent on the rise. “Frank, This Is It” has to be the penultimate “cry” blues ever recorded — throughout the tune Jackson does nothing but moan and sob while Jellean Delk chastises and emasculates his role in their “five long years” relationship. In the middle of the T-Bone Walker-styled guitar solo she even urges him on to “cry, baby, cry” and he obliges — tongue-in-cheek or not his slow, end-of-the-road blues with effective use of tinkley piano and sliding bar chords on the guitar is one of the most unjustly overlooked r&b discs of the year. A peculiar item about the “Frank” tune is that one of the names on the composers credits is Oris Mays, the famous Memphis preacher and gospel singer. What part did the Reverend play in this work of the devil? The flip, entitled “Blues Walk” is just that — it employs the same rhythm as “Frank” with more extensive guitar and piano solos that blend into an incisive

blues instrumental.

On “Nine Below Zero” we finally get to hear Cliff Jackson sing. The tune is one of Sonny Boy Williamson’s finest and, while Jackson fails to capture the deep sense of tragedy in the original, it is, nevertheless, nice to hear this back-in-the-alley sound in the seventies. The forlorn, down-and-out lyrics are offset with simple yet echoic harp-work, adequate piano as a filler and some ■forthright urban guitar stylings, with the result being an anachronistically sounding disc, but one that dramatically shows that people are still returning to the older electric blues tradition for inspiration.

We have no idea who Cliff Jackson is but he definitely is a true bluesman who easily captures the primitive mood Sun records started out with in the early fifties in Memphis. Future releases on this label, the out-and-out blues subsidiary of the now burgeoning Sun network, should prove interesting.

I CAN’T BE ALL BAD/IN A MOMENT OF WEAKNESS - JOHNNY ADAMS -SSS INTERNATIONAL - SSS-780 FUNKY SITUATION/I’M GLAD YOUR (sic) HOME - TED TAYLOR -RONN 46

LOVE CAN’T BE UNDERSTOOD/MY BABY CAME BACK - FREDDIE HUGHES - WEE 1011

The r&b world is full of distinctive blues-ballad singers who go on cutting records for obscure labels, maybe having a regional hit every couple years or even every ten years. Yet their artistry is such that they persist. Realizing self-satisfaction from their own uniqueness, they feel that if they keep at it someday the public will pay attention. Among the best are Johnny Adams, Ted Taylor, and Freddie Hughes. Each has a voice that is immediately recognizable and their careers have followed similar patterns — started in the Holy Ghost church, graduated into r&b vocal groups, finally embarking on careers as soloists. Recently they have released singles that are perhaps their best efforts to date.

Adams began singing with his family’s religious group in New Orleans. They then got into r&b and he developed such a reputation for his lead vocals that Mac Rebbenack (now known as Dr. John) recorded him for Ric records. Adams’ first hit was “I Won’t Cry,” released about 1959. Adams has a

rich baritone voice and phrases like Little Richard on ballads. What really makes him noteworthy is the way he punctuates his songs with perfectly controlled falsetto screams, a device also used by the late Joe Hinton of “Funny (How Time Slips Away)” fame. Prodded by an old-time New Orleans rhythm section and an incredible slide guitarist, who sounds like Ry Cooder, Adams uses this technique on “I Can’t Be All Bad” to achieve a shattering emotional impact.

Taylor was born in Oaklahoma, a fact that would be easy to guess from his distinctive Negro-Indian countenance. He was brought to Los Angeles in the mid-fifties by the late legendary record man, John Fulbright, to cut gospel but soon found himself involved in r&b groups — the most prominent being the Jacks/Cadets (“Stranded In The Jungle”). His first national hit as a soloist was “Be Ever Wonderful” on Duke in 1959. He scored again in the mid-sixties with “Stay Away From My Baby” on Okeh. Taylor sings in a whiney falsetto, using every trick in the gospel book to put his song across - octave jumps, stuttering, decending runs, stumbling over words, talking, screams, and quavering cries. The “Plug” side of his current disc is a mess but on the flip, a minor blues, his greatness is fully exposed.

Hughes was raised in Berkeley, where his parents were very involved in church work. He was in a variety of groups, beginning in 1958 with the Markeets and later with the Music City Soul Brothers and the Cassanova Two. His first solo record, “Send My Baby Back,” was a national r&b hit a few years ago. His crying falsetto voice has a bell-like clarity. “Love Can’t Be Understood” is a very churchy ballad on which Hughes sings with deep emotional joy. Producer-arranger Lonnie Hewitt provides a perfect background consisting of full bodied piano, chimes, mellow horns, and a girl chorus that on the bridge is allowed to gospel-shout and clap. A strong record that would be an instant hit if it was to get air play.

It’s a shame that these three artists have seen so little recognition. With the abundance of over-arranged and pseudo-psychedelic soul discs on the market, artists with such pure styles are being ignored. Johnny Adams, Ted Taylor, and Freddie Hughes don’t need any gimmicky productions to lean on -they just stand there and sing.