Yesterday, we looked at Ace Records’ recent anthology dedicated to West Coast producer Gary Usher. Today, we’re heading east… Stanley Robert Crewe of Newark, New Jersey studied architecture and tried his luck as a fashion model before turning full-time to music. Though the handsome young man was a teen idol-in-the-making, he found his truest calling behind-the-scenes. With writing partner Frank Slay, Crewe gifted “Silhouettes” to The Rays and “Tallahassee Lassie” to Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon. He formed his first record company, XYZ, in 1957, and by 1962 had launched arguably his most…
Let’s Twist Again: The Legendary Cameo-Parkway Catalogue Is Celebrated With New Digital Collections
You just can’t sit down when one of those Cameo-Parkway classics comes on the stereo. Cameo Records – launched by Kal Mann and Bernie Lowe, the team that penned the Elvis hip-shaker “Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear” – and its sister label Parkway dominated the pop charts from 1958 to 1967 with dance crazes like “The Twist” and “The Wah-Watusi” as well as hits by the likes of Bobby Rydell, The Orlons, The Dovells, Dee Dee Sharp, Don Covay, Evie Sands, and of course, Twist king Chubby Checker. Now, ABKCO will…
He’s No Ordinary Guy: Ace Celebrates Songs of Jerry Ross on “Some Kinda Magic”
Before Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff and Thom Bell created The Sound of Philadelphia, Jerry Ross created the sound of Philadelphia. The Philly-born producer-songwriter-entrepreneur penned hits for Diana Ross and the Supremes and The Temptations and produced chart-toppers by Bobby Hebb and Shocking Blue, but only now has his remarkable legacy in pop, rock-and-roll and soul been celebrated on disc. Ace has recently issued Some Kinda Magic: The Songs of Jerry Ross, a 24-track compendium of Ross’ finest compositions as issued on various labels including his homes of Swan, Cameo-Parkway and Mercury as…
New “Rare Soul” Collection Features Otis Redding, Percy Sledge, Solomon Burke, Mary Wells and More
If Rare Soul is what you’re looking for, PopMarket has an exclusive release just for you. The online shop has recently released A Crate Digger’s Collection of Rare Soul, a 3-LP set pressed on heavyweight180-gram vinyl presenting 35 tracks culled from the Warner Music Group family of labels including Atlantic, Cotillion, Loma, Atco and Warner Bros. itself. This handsome package, a limited edition of 1,000 units, features 35 tracks from some of the labels’ heaviest hitters as well as names that only soul connoisseurs would recognize. But once you hear these artists,…
