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TSU Toronadoes & The twisted history of Tighten Up

pointmanpointman 1,042 Posts
edited December 2007 in Strut Central
The TSU Toronadoes & The twisted history of "Tighten Up"Well for those who were/are interested in the TSU Toronadoes, the story I wrote with Chris Gray finally came out today in the Houston Press. Here's the linkhttp://www.houstonpress.com/2007-12-13/news/the-tsu-toronadoes/

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  • bass_feverbass_fever 974 Posts
    Dude check this...So Billy Ball and the Upsetters had a version of this on King right. I had a chance to talk with Billy Ball one day and I was talking about that particular record and he said that they originally wrote that song and that they were playing a show and the A/R that signed them to King was in attendence and he happened to be the uncle and manager of Archie Bell or something, anyway he said that dude stole the song and sure enough the single came out on Atlantic. Supposedly the Upsetters had already recorded the song with Rossevelt Mattews when the Archie Bell and the Drells version came out!!!

    Billy said that they hired a lawyer, sued and won, but only got like $10k out of the deal. With all the lawyer fees and split up between all the members and whatnot, each member got like $200 out of the deal.

    I don't know how true this is, but it came out of the mouth of Billy Ball himself. No joke, true story.
  • bass_feverbass_fever 974 Posts
  • holmesholmes 3,532 Posts
    Interesting article, well done.
  • hcrinkhcrink 8,729 Posts
    Really enjoyed the article. Thanks!
  • pointmanpointman 1,042 Posts
    Dude check this...So Billy Ball and the Upsetters had a version of this on King right. I had a chance to talk with Billy Ball one day and I was talking about that particular record and he said that they originally wrote that song and that they were playing a show and the A/R that signed them to King was in attendence and he happened to be the uncle and manager of Archie Bell or something, anyway he said that dude stole the song and sure enough the single came out on Atlantic. Supposedly the Upsetters had already recorded the song with Rossevelt Mattews when the Archie Bell and the Drells version came out!!!

    Billy said that they hired a lawyer, sued and won, but only got like $10k out of the deal. With all the lawyer fees and split up between all the members and whatnot, each member got like $200 out of the deal.

    I don't know how true this is, but it came out of the mouth of Billy Ball himself. No joke, true story.


    That would make for a far more interesting story but it can't be true. Billy Ball's version wasn't recorded until 1968 and has Archie Bell and Billy Butler as the song writers in the credits as well as Orelia, which was Skipper Lee Frazier's publishing company, which of course published Tighten Up. Skipper Lee was also Archie's manager and he was in Houston, never worked with King.
  • bass_feverbass_fever 974 Posts
    That's just what Billy said, so who knows the real story...I thought it was pretty interesting though.
  • BreakSelfBreakSelf 2,925 Posts

    Flip it over!
  • pointmanpointman 1,042 Posts

    Flip it over!

    Man I'd love to flip that record over if only I could get my hands on a copy to do such a thing!
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    For the longest time I thought that Archie Bell & the Drells were a self-contained funk band, since Bell is the only person who seems to be singing on "Tighten Up." Same thing with Alvin Cash & the Crawlers; how could they be a vocal group when the vocals on most of their records are minimal? Got to be a band, right? Turns out it wasn't necessarily so.
  • pointmanpointman 1,042 Posts
    For the longest time I thought that Archie Bell & the Drells were a self-contained funk band, since Bell is the only person who seems to be singing on "Tighten Up." Same thing with Alvin Cash & the Crawlers; how could they be a vocal group when the vocals on most of their records are minimal? Got to be a band, right? Turns out it wasn't necessarily so.

    Archie Bell & the Drells was basically a business move. Archie started out just as Archie Bell but as Skipper Lee told me, if he added "the Drells" and owned the name, he could make anyone a Drell and that's exactly what he's done. There has been a number of Drells but there were a couple who were around for a while like Billy Butler.

    As far as singing on Tighten Up, well the Drells so sing on there it's just about all the sing is the word Tighten Up in the chorus. Dancing was also a big part of their act too.
  • The_Hook_UpThe_Hook_Up 8,182 Posts
    Archie at the Ponderosa Stomp during the beginning of "tighten Up": "Hi, Im Archie Bell, if you see any Drells, youre drunk as hell"
  • troublemantroubleman 1,928 Posts
    Dancing was also a big part of their act too.

  • lepoohpoohlepoohpooh 296 Posts
    great article man!

    especially love the part about Frazier calling out the pimp in his volkswagon on the air, haha
  • pointmanpointman 1,042 Posts
    Dancing was also a big part of their act too.


    Anyone notice how much the drummer looks like Boogaloo Joe Jones?
  • aleitaleit 1,915 Posts
    THE CAJEW IS MAKING REAL WORLD MOVES.

    great article brett. really interesting stuff, well documented, well informed, and well written.

    PEACE!
  • hiptonehiptone 112 Posts
    really interesting thread
  • ElectrodeElectrode Los Angeles 3,127 Posts
    Nice article. I was listening to the LP the other night. The entire album is so solid.
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    For the longest time I thought that Archie Bell & the Drells were a self-contained funk band, since Bell is the only person who seems to be singing on "Tighten Up." Same thing with Alvin Cash & the Crawlers; how could they be a vocal group when the vocals on most of their records are minimal? Got to be a band, right? Turns out it wasn't necessarily so.

    Archie Bell & the Drells was basically a business move. Archie started out just as Archie Bell but as Skipper Lee told me, if he added "the Drells" and owned the name, he could make anyone a Drell and that's exactly what he's done. There has been a number of Drells but there were a couple who were around for a while like Billy Butler.

    I don't see how adding "& the Drells" to his name helped or hurt, though...he could make anyone a Drell, but how did that benefit?

    Ever read Skipper Lee Frazier's book? Pretty amateurish - every time he tells a story about someone he worked with, he always adds: "...he will promote." "Doesn't like to promote, wants to leave that to the promoters." "This act only drew half of what they did last time, but they did promote." Whatever goes down, he HAS to mention whether that act "will promote" the show or not. Who, besides other promoters, would want to know?

    As far as singing on Tighten Up, well the Drells so sing on there it's just about all the sing is the word Tighten Up in the chorus. Dancing was also a big part of their act too.

    No, Archie had "Tighten Up" to himself that time. He is the only person heard singing on that. And you can't see the Drells dance on a record!

    On the other hand, you can hear the Drells singing on "Tighten Up - Part 2," but definitely not on the hit we know. Unless that's them whistling and hollering during one of the drumbreaks.
  • pointmanpointman 1,042 Posts
    For the longest time I thought that Archie Bell & the Drells were a self-contained funk band, since Bell is the only person who seems to be singing on "Tighten Up." Same thing with Alvin Cash & the Crawlers; how could they be a vocal group when the vocals on most of their records are minimal? Got to be a band, right? Turns out it wasn't necessarily so.

    Archie Bell & the Drells was basically a business move. Archie started out just as Archie Bell but as Skipper Lee told me, if he added "the Drells" and owned the name, he could make anyone a Drell and that's exactly what he's done. There has been a number of Drells but there were a couple who were around for a while like Billy Butler.

    I don't see how adding "& the Drells" to his name helped or hurt, though...he could make anyone a Drell, but how did that benefit?

    Ever read Skipper Lee Frazier's book? Pretty amateurish - every time he tells a story about someone he worked with, he always adds: "...he will promote." "Doesn't like to promote, wants to leave that to the promoters." "This act only drew half of what they did last time, but they did promote." Whatever goes down, he HAS to mention whether that act "will promote" the show or not. Who, besides other promoters, would want to know?

    As far as singing on Tighten Up, well the Drells so sing on there it's just about all the sing is the word Tighten Up in the chorus. Dancing was also a big part of their act too.

    No, Archie had "Tighten Up" to himself that time. He is the only person heard singing on that. And you can't see the Drells dance on a record!

    On the other hand, you can hear the Drells singing on "Tighten Up - Part 2," but definitely not on the hit we know. Unless that's them whistling and hollering during one of the drumbreaks.


    Skipper tried to explain it to me and honestly his take on it was a little hazy. Something about how Archie can go anywhere for a show and basically deputize people as Drells so he has backup singers that evening. I think the idea was that since anyone could be a Drell, he didn't ever have to change names or something of the sorts. Basically, I gather it's just a way Archie gets paid. I guess Archie planned on having backup singers for a really long time regardless of who they were.

    Skip's book, oh man, yeah I have a copy. My favorite part is when he writes about getting a colostomy bag. So much stuff in that thing is incorrect, from events to names. Still interesting if you're a big fan and it only takes about an hour to read.

    Yeah, you're right. I don't know why but this morning I was thinking about part 2 instead of part 1 and didn't clarify. I know Billy Butler (one of the OG Drells) was in the studio the night of the recording, who knows if he is doing some of that hollering. If you look really close you can see the Drells dance every time you play the 45!
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts

    Skip's book, oh man, yeah I have a copy. My favorite part is when he writes about getting a colostomy bag. So much stuff in that thing is incorrect, from events to names. Still interesting if you're a big fan and it only takes about an hour to read.

    Yeah, and I thought Pervis Spann's book was weird! (Pervis is more or less the Skipper Lee Frazier of Chicago.) What I like is that the spine says "TIGHTEN UP BY ARCHIE BELL & THE DRELLS," in a clumsy tribute to the hit that Skip helped, ah, "promote."
  • funky16cornersfunky16corners 7,175 Posts
    Anyone want to start a list of 'Tighten Up' "tributes", like say 'Four Corners' by Lee Dorsey???
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    Anyone want to start a list of 'Tighten Up' "tributes", like say 'Four Corners' by Lee Dorsey???

    Or "Loosen Up" by the Nazz?
  • SPlDEYSPlDEY Vegas 3,375 Posts


    This has to be my favorite cover of Tighten up for the introduction alone.

    - spidey
  • On_the_Red_ClayOn_the_Red_Clay 1,728 Posts
    Anyone want to start a list of 'Tighten Up' "tributes", like say 'Four Corners' by Lee Dorsey???

    Or "Loosen Up" by the Nazz?

    here's a mini-mix i did earlier this year: tightened up tighter

    01. al escobar & his orchestra - tighten up (tico)
    02. lee dorsey - four corners part 1 (amy)
    03. orchestra harlow - horsin???up (fania)
    04. the james brown orchestra - tighten up (king/polydor)
    05. the harvey averne dozen - never learned to dance (fania)
    06. big t & the peace makers - tighten up (nasco)

  • hiptonehiptone 112 Posts
    Anyone want to start a list of 'Tighten Up' "tributes", like say 'Four Corners' by Lee Dorsey???

    Or "Loosen Up" by the Nazz?

    E.T. White and the Great Potential Band - Loosen Up (Great Potential)
  • picoandsepulvedapicoandsepulveda 1,026 Posts
    i thought this was going to be a tight jeans thread.. guess not.
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