I think Eddie Bo is too "under the radar" of Rhino/Sundazed's target audience, especially in terms of soul/funk music - Sundazed will try to sell "unknown" pop/psych stuff, because that's their audience, what the people who subscribe to their catalog look for. Soul, I would say when they do it, they go the mainstream route.
I'm surprised noboby has suggested NYC's Norton Records , who have been all over R&B/Blues/Soul re-issues, done right and done well, and sold cheaper than most, too. King Hannibal, Nathaniel Mayer, Gino Washington...Eddie Bo & even the Seven B stuff would fit right in, just the right balance of obscurity/accessibility for their line.
Very true, and I had been in contact with one of the guys at Norton on some other reissues. Very friendly, and a good love for the music.
But you know, "under the radar" is great, and I guess the fact that he is being discussed on this board is at least proof that people love his music. Most of us wer too young or not born when they first were releases so... either way, I'd like to see it happen. If I can assist in anyway, let me know.
I guess my point in my initial reply was not to get into a debate with you over overlooked and obscure
Hmmm, I didn't know we were debating, I was just saying. No "sonning" (whatever that means) on my part at all. Didn't think it was gonna go down like that. Still in agreeance that Eddie Bo could use a comprehensive best-of, though. That's the point right there.
also, a question on the discography above - was Little Buck's "Walking In the Mist" a Seven B 45, does anyone have it, etc? I have it on one of those fantastic Bandy comp LP's (headz know), and googling found it credited to Seven B, but I didn't see it in the discog...that song is some powerful shit, by the way...
a few corrections, possibly:
7036 is definitely Little Buck: Everybody's Love / Walking In The Mist. (Little Buck's Hurt In My Heart / True Love So Rare must be another cat. number)
and the correct a/b for 7041 (Denny Taylor) is Say Goodbye Today / Make It.
There are reportedly a few un-numbered tracks, including a single from Bobby Williams and one from Willie West, called Did You Have Fun / Keep Your Mind.
just curious if folks could comment on exactly what level of shadiness are we talking out with Aaron Fuchs? I really dont understand how a person who gets into the music to that level turns out to be(this just a guess from the implied statement) a greedy hoarding miser. I mean i can see it to a degree in a twisted sense, but is he the type that since he has whatever rights would not let something like this happen unless he has a healthy cut of the profit since it might impinge on his reissues? just wondering really since it would be a shame that economic politics would again halt an amazing project.
The Fuchs saga (tuff city records, soul collector, buying rights to impeach the president and eddie bo stuff etc) would be a great story for Wax Po. That's something I would love to read!
Somebody do it. I wonder if he would give an interview though.
Theres a good Eddie Bo Cd out....got a nice little collection of essential Bo tunes.
As far as Aaron Fuchs ... He's a cheap annoying bastard. He bought a 45 off me on ebay for $3 and bitched that the shipping was $3.50 (as stated in the decription) and after sending me tons of emails i finall just said fine ill send it for $1.50. Ive heard other horror stories from him about being difficult to deal with on ebay and as far as licensing goes.
our friend geoff who lives out here has made his own little eddie bo (and related) cds that hes handed out to folks around town. he recorded a bunch of stuff for eddie due to him losing everything in a house fire nearly a decade ago. he also helped out a little on that eddie article in waxpo a few issues back.
i dont know what his seven b catalog is like but hes pretty much got a lot of the other stuff that eddie has produced or recorded.
i know this doesnt help much but fuck it... bootleg that shit and throw eddie some money on the strength... sometimes you gotta go around dudes to get shit done.
i wont say anything negative (though i know a lot) about aaron but unlike jon in CT theyve bought records off of me for years and pay quickly... i dont have any issues with dude.
Theres a good Eddie Bo Cd out....got a nice little collection of essential Bo tunes.
As far as Aaron Fuchs ... He's a cheap annoying bastard. He bought a 45 off me on ebay for $3 and bitched that the shipping was $3.50 (as stated in the decription) and after sending me tons of emails i finall just said fine ill send it for $1.50. Ive heard other horror stories from him about being difficult to deal with on ebay and as far as licensing goes.
Not in defense of Fuchs (who in addition to any shiesty behavior runs one of the sloppiest reissue programs around), but going by the credits on the Tuff City CDs, it looks like Al Scramuzza ripped Eddie off first and sold the rights to Fuchs. Scramuzza is credited as songwriter on several songs that are clearly Eddie's, which suggests to me that he took hold of the copyrights back in the day. I know that Eddie and Veronica have expressed interest in securing legal assistance, so maybe those copyrights are in dispute.
is Anti-Fuchs sentiment mostly based on not paying artists( like Eddie Bo - who may not own the rights to their own material anymore - whatever that's worth...)?
quibbling about ebay postage isn't exactly a capital crime.
the Tuff City reissues are pretty ugly-looking, that's for certain.
is Anti-Fuchs sentiment mostly based on not paying artists( like Eddie Bo - who may not own the rights to their own material anymore - whatever that's worth...)?
It's certainly that, but it's also his general shadiness. Like realizing everybody was sampling "Impeach the President," buying the rights to it, then suing people over it. Or stealing people's master reels. Stuff like that.
That said, I agree that a Fuchs Wax Poetics article--excuse, me, Q&A--would be an interesting read.
Just an aside here: Eddie Bo is and always has been worshipped in NOLA, but the funk stuff is kind of a footnote and not well known... an older friend of mine who lived there, would see Bo live often, and was a HUGE fan, had no idea the funk stuff existed until I loaned him my reissues...
And yeah, Bo was ripped off by label-owners/producers/partners back in the day and is ripped off by Fuchs now...
I would buy a boxed set in a second, but I'm not even sure 5000 copies could be sold...
I know that Eddie and Veronica have expressed interest in securing legal assistance, so maybe those copyrights are in dispute.
I spoke with Veronica briefly years ago, she was the one I had talked to concerning a healthy box set. As you stated, she was very interested but hinted at "legal matters" being an issue which prevented them from coming out with anything.
Last year I read Ruth Brown's autobiography and in it she talks about a guy who helped her out in her legal matters with Atlantic Records, and he did it for the sake of the love of the music. I'm sure he got paid too, but that was not the issue. He eventually got involved with other Atlantic artists who wanted their cut of the pie.
Now, Eddie Bo unfortunately doesn't have the claim to fame of a Ruth Brown, but I hope someone will be able to do it for him in his lifetime.
From personal experience, my uncle, Raymond Kane, sold all of the rights to his music for dirt cheap. The recordings in question are concerned to be highly influential for slack key guitarists, and he is one of the last "legends" of the old style of ki ho'alu. Due to health problems, he sold all of his rights, not only the publishing but for the recordings. He has made a number of new albums in the last ten years, but it is those early albums that people still love.
Last year I read Ruth Brown's autobiography and in it she talks about a guy who helped her out in her legal matters with Atlantic Records, and he did it for the sake of the love of the music. I'm sure he got paid too, but that was not the issue. He eventually got involved with other Atlantic artists who wanted their cut of the pie.
Now, Eddie Bo unfortunately doesn't have the claim to fame of a Ruth Brown, but I hope someone will be able to do it for him in his lifetime.
Comments
Very true, and I had been in contact with one of the guys at Norton on some other reissues. Very friendly, and a good love for the music.
But you know, "under the radar" is great, and I guess the fact that he is being discussed on this board is at least proof that people love his music. Most of us wer too young or not born when they first were releases so... either way, I'd like to see it happen. If I can assist in anyway, let me know.
Hmmm, I didn't know we were debating, I was just saying. No "sonning" (whatever that means) on my part at all. Didn't think it was gonna go down like that. Still in agreeance that Eddie Bo could use a comprehensive best-of, though. That's the point right there.
a few corrections, possibly:
7036 is definitely Little Buck: Everybody's Love / Walking In The Mist. (Little Buck's Hurt In My Heart / True Love So Rare must be another cat. number)
and the correct a/b for 7041 (Denny Taylor) is Say Goodbye Today / Make It.
There are reportedly a few un-numbered tracks, including a single from Bobby Williams and one from Willie West, called Did You Have Fun / Keep Your Mind.
shadiness are we talking out with Aaron Fuchs? I really dont understand
how a person who gets into the music to that level turns out to be(this just a guess from the implied statement) a greedy
hoarding miser. I mean i can see it to a degree in a twisted sense, but is he the type that since he has whatever rights would not let something like this happen unless he has a healthy cut of the profit since it might impinge on his reissues? just wondering really since it would be a shame that economic politics would again halt an amazing project.
Somebody do it. I wonder if he would give an interview though.
Dress
As far as Aaron Fuchs ... He's a cheap annoying bastard. He bought a 45 off me on ebay for $3 and bitched that the shipping was $3.50 (as stated in the decription) and after sending me tons of emails i finall just said fine ill send it for $1.50. Ive heard other horror stories from him about being difficult to deal with on ebay and as far as licensing goes.
i dont know what his seven b catalog is like but hes pretty much got a lot of the other stuff that eddie has produced or recorded.
i know this doesnt help much but fuck it... bootleg that shit and throw eddie some money on the strength... sometimes you gotta go around dudes to get shit done.
i wont say anything negative (though i know a lot) about aaron but unlike jon in CT theyve bought records off of me for years and pay quickly... i dont have any issues with dude.
He did the exact same thing to me, John.
K.
quibbling about ebay postage isn't exactly a capital crime.
the Tuff City reissues are pretty ugly-looking, that's for certain.
---
It's certainly that, but it's also his general shadiness. Like realizing everybody was sampling "Impeach the President," buying the rights to it, then suing people over it. Or stealing people's master reels. Stuff like that.
That said, I agree that a Fuchs Wax Poetics article--excuse, me, Q&A--would be an interesting read.
And yeah, Bo was ripped off by label-owners/producers/partners back in the day and is ripped off by Fuchs now...
I would buy a boxed set in a second, but I'm not even sure 5000 copies could be sold...
I spoke with Veronica briefly years ago, she was the one I had talked to concerning a healthy box set. As you stated, she was very interested but hinted at "legal matters" being an issue which prevented them from coming out with anything.
Last year I read Ruth Brown's autobiography and in it she talks about a guy who helped her out in her legal matters with Atlantic Records, and he did it for the sake of the love of the music. I'm sure he got paid too, but that was not the issue. He eventually got involved with other Atlantic artists who wanted their cut of the pie.
Now, Eddie Bo unfortunately doesn't have the claim to fame of a Ruth Brown, but I hope someone will be able to do it for him in his lifetime.
From personal experience, my uncle, Raymond Kane, sold all of the rights to his music for dirt cheap. The recordings in question are concerned to be highly influential for slack key guitarists, and he is one of the last "legends" of the old style of ki ho'alu. Due to health problems, he sold all of his rights, not only the publishing but for the recordings. He has made a number of new albums in the last ten years, but it is those early albums that people still love.
The Rhythm & Blues Foundation, maybe?