Whispers pre '75 recordings
jazzman21
287 Posts
Can someone help me with my list of all their Dore, Soul Clock & Janus recordings?So far this is what I got:*The Whispers (Soul Clock 1971)*The Whispers' Love Story (Janus 1972)*Life And Breath (Janus 1972)*Planet Of Life (Soul Clock 1973)*Whispers Getting Louder (Janus 1973)*Bingo (Janus 1974)*Shhhh (Dore 1988)
Comments
I don't have a discography handy, but there were several non-LP singles. With vocal groups like the Whispers, albums only tell half the story.
I really want that Dore record.
I have read that this record was originally released on Soul Clock and then picked up by Janus, but have never actually seen a Soul Clock copy--mine's on Janus, and I don't think the Soul Clock logo appears anywhere on it.
I guess we've been sonned...
PASS THE HABERDASHER
ummm...sorry for the info?
or is it the typo that's got you down..
No, it's the former.
I've already said this several times, but I'll say it again: I feel like I've achieved the optimal level of knowledge in the record game. Anybody that knows more than me is obviously some sort of nerd and really just needs to keep it to theyself.
DORE / PLP-361 (1988)
Shhhh
THE WHISPERS
A-1:THE DIP
A-2:NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK
A-3:STORY BOOK OF LOVE
A-4:DR. LOVE
A-5:SHAKE IT, SHAKE IT
B-1:YOU GOT A MAN ON YOUR HANDS
B-2:NEVER AGAIN
B-3:YOU CAN'T FIGHT WHAT'S RIGHT
B-4:I WAS BORN WHEN YOU KISSED ME
B-5:IT ONLY HURTS FOR A LITTLE WHILE
- http://www.ne.jp/asahi/ko-1/crossroads/label/pvine/no4.htm
LP-338 - Shhh - Whispers [1980] The Dip/Needle In A Haystack/Story Book Of Love/Dr. Love/As I Sit Here //You Got A Man On Your Hands/Never Again/You Can't Fight What's Right/I Was Born When You Kissed Me/It Only Hurts For A Little While
- http://www.bsnpubs.com/la/dore.html
According to the two sites, it originally came out in '80, but was reissued by P-Vine in '88.
This is a reissue of their 1980 Dore LP, L.A.'s Whispers, featuring twin brothers Wallace and Walter Scott, started on the local Dore label, cutting nine singles of excellent sweet soul from 1964 to 1967. By 1980, the group was riding the top of the R&B charts. Soul Train/Solar & Dore issued this hits package of the best of those early singles. Other than the fact that there are only ten tunes here, this is a highly recommended LP with eight of their nine A-sides, a few B-sides, and a vocal version of the instrumental "The Dip" that sounds a lot of "Um Um Um Um Um Um," plus "Needle in a Haystack" (not The Velvettes' hit), "Dr. Love," "It Only Hurts for a Little While," and "You Got a Man on Your Hands."
Shhh (Secret Squirrel?)
SG
Dore 729 - Never Again/Slow Jerk
Dore 740 - As I Sit Here/Never Again
Soul Clock 1004 - Needle In a Haystack / Seems Like I Gotta Do Wrong
Soul Clock 1005 - I'm The One/You Must Be Doing Alright
Soul Clock " " - Remember Me/?
Soul Clock " " - I Can't See Myself Leaving You/Great Day 104
JANUS 140 IT SURE AIN'T PRETTY/THERE'S A LOVE FOR EVERYONE
JANUS 150 YOUR LOVE IS SO DOGGONE GOOD/CRACKER JACK
JANUS 184 I ONLY MENT TO WET MY FEET/YOU FILL MY LIFE WITH MUSIC
JANUS 200 CAN WE LOVE FOREVER/SOMEBODY LOVES YOU
JANUS 222 I LOVE THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL/FEEL LIKE COMING HOME
JANUS " " A MOTHER FOR MY CHILDREN/WHAT MORE CAN A GIRL
The Whispers Formed 1964 in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Nicholas Caldwell (b.5th April 1944, Loma Linda, California U.S.A.)
Walter Scott (b.23rd September 1943, Fort Worth, Texas U.S.A.)
Wallace Scott (b.23rd September 1943, Fort Worth, Texas U.S.A.)
Marcus Hutson (b. 8th January 1943, St. Louis, Missouri U.S.A.)
and Gordy Harmon (later replaced by Leaveil Degree)
http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/The%20Whispers.html
jus flip that over
Not to take away from the Whispers, but Ray Charles straight-up SONGJACKED "Seems Like I Gotta Do Wrong"...
And made a better, or worse version?
yeah i know all that too... but, ummm, thanks? i guess... doesnt really tell me much.
you see thats the weirdest thing. i have them doing shows at Mission HS here in SF in the early to mid 60s. over the years theyve had so many bay area musicians playing with them and their roadies and security were also from oakland. i know they went to HS in LA but did all of them? see there is so much info on the band that is confusing to me that im not really sure of their history in the 60s. have you ever seen either of the brothers talk much about the past? yeah LA is mentioned here and there as is their band before "the Whispers", etc but i cant find much more than that. and the bay shit is NEVER mentioned YET why are their names on so many posters and show flyers? it also doesnt make a lot of sense because the group was in their 20s in the early 60s so were they travelling that much back then?
and why does the bay area folks think/say/believe that the whispers lived here? and folks as in musicians not everyday folk like you and me...
Pickwick33, after you recommended it I grabbed the next copy of the Ray Charles album... and while I like Ray's voice... the production and arrangements are pretty pedestrian next to the Whispers version.
IMO of course...
aka
DOUBLE SIDER
Better, and I'm about to tell you why...
The reason I prefer Ray Charles' version of "Seems Like I Gotta Do Wrong" over the Whispers' is because of the intensity level.
It's a song about a guy who just can't seem to get the right breaks. The guy from the Whispers just sounded mildly disappointed. Ray, on the other hand, sounded pissed off.
I hear what you're saying about the arrangements on Ray's record being pedestrian - he's backed by the shrillest horn section since the world began - but Ray and his overdubbed background vocals save the day. Don't get me wrong, the Whispers version isn't bad, but Ray, with his angry self, kinda stepped the game up.
BTW, what was the deal with all those songs in the early 70's that both the Whispers AND Ray recorded? ("Your Love Is So Doggone Good" is another example of a tune both performers did versions of.)