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Rare grooves and modern soul flavours

presented by Paul Collins

3 Comments

1. Myron D. Stokes Said,

   January 3, 2009 @ 2:41 pm

   Colleagues: As a former member of the management team of Ariola Capitol EMI recording artists Beverly & Duane, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate stumbling upon your site and playlist which included “Living In A World”. I’ve never felt so instantly connected to the period between 1977-1980.

   I thought you might appreciate this brief history of Beverly & Duane.

   Thank you ever so much for the memories…

   Initially, FEE RECORDS of Detroit on Grand River managed this husband and wife duo along with Chapter 8, the vocal group that featured Anita Baker as lead, and The ADC Band. Fee was named after the daughter of the founder Woody Wilson, with the corporate team including Detroit radio legend “Butterball” Junior of WCHB. Secretary was Leslie Goines, sister of urban writer Donald Goines, with promotional expertise provided in part by veteran promo rep Jon Louis Barrow, nephew of boxing great Joe Louis.

   Jon Barrow was the Atlantic Records rep responsible for the first hits of Aretha Franklin, Cream, Archie Bell and The Drells, among others, and was noted for editing down Iron Butterfly’s hit “Inna Gadda Da Vida” from 23 minutes to a more radio friendly 4:44.

   In 1977, the group was signed by Ariola Capitol EMI Records, with their first album due out in 1978. First hit with producer Will Hatcher was “Glad I Gotcha, Baby” and was released with an extended length disco version, followed by the beautiful love song “Living In A World (All By Myself) and the upbeat “Take A Ride” depending on the part of the country you lived in. The duality of the release was owing to a professional dispute at Fee Records and Beverly and Duane’s newly appointed management team BARSTO, consisting of Barrow and Myron D. Stokes (Later an automotive industry correspondent for Newsweek Magazine and now Publisher of the Automotive/Aerospace Industries analysis site eMOTION! REPORTS.com). As part of his entree into the music game, Barrow introduced Stokes to the legendary Ahmet Ertegun, Warner Bros A&R VP Don Draper as well as radio personalities Rosalee Trombly of CKLW, WJR’s J.P. McCarthy, “Frantic Ernie” Durham, WGPR GM George White, and Chicago jock Tom Joyner.

   It is of note that Stokes’ father, Dr. Rufus Stokes, an inventor listed as an “Energy Pioneer” with the U.S Department of Energy, sang with Sam Cook in his gospel group, was a friend of Nat “King” Cole and whose wife Bessie babysat Natalie Cole.

   Through Will Hatcher, the management team was introduced to renowned Detroit Tigers Baseball announcer Ernie Harwell, who sent a congratulatory telegram to the first live performance by Beverly and Duane in Detroit subsequent to the release of the album. In an unfortunate oversight that affects Stokes to this day, Hatcher was not mentioned as producer during the club presentation.

   Beverly, incidentally, was pregnant at the time with their first child, and toured for the duration of the pregnancy.

   “Glad I Gotcha, Baby” was receiving airplay at the same time as Peaches and Herb’s “Shake Your Groove Thing”, while “Living In A World” competed with that group’s “Reunited”.

   In 1980, Jon Barrow founded the “Brown Bomber” record label in Detroit with partners that included Beverly and Duane Co-Manager Myron D. Stokes.

   The company’s first product was the 45-rpm single “Love”; a moving melody that again exploited the marvelous vocal talents of Beverly & Duane (Beverly’s upper range voice could shatter glass, putting her in the company of Sarah Vaughn and Ella Fitzgerald) was released that year.

   Factoids

   – Beverly toured subsequent to album release in expectation of the duo’s first child. She was an administrative assistant at Ford Motor Company.

   – Beverly & Duane’s first release “Glad I Gotcha Baby” took off in earnest after Detroit pop station WNIC FM 100.3’s Alan Almond, the host of the immensely popular and long running “Pillow Talk” program, introduced and placed in top rotation.

   – Responding to an entertainment coordinator from Jackson Prison in Michigan, the duo agreed to perform for the prison population. Co-Manager Myron D. Stokes was invited to sit with the population during the performance, which he did over the objections of his colleagues. The performance went off without a hitch…

   – Eddie “Bongo” Brown of Motown’s Funk Brothers lent his rhythmic expertise to this album.

2. flojo9112002 Said,

   January 18, 2009 @ 12:14 pm

   thanks for sharing your music

3. kexymilm Said,

   March 17, 2009 @ 5:02 pm

   Сенкс за инфу, почитал с интересом