Fantasy Love Funk | Soul 11 Items

The Stars, where Milwaukee meets San Francisco. Cedrick Rupert was the guitarist for the band 'Impulse', a group who formed in the early 70's of Milwaukee and backed local soul outfit, The Quadraphonics, whom recorded the hit “Betcha If You Check It Out/Prove My Love To You”, which was released internationally on the Warner Brothers imprint.

In the mid-70s, Impulse relocated to Oakland, CA to work alongside another Milwaukee icon, Harvey Scales to record their self-titled album, Impulse, which was recorded at the Wally Heider’s Studio in San Francisco. Alongside these sessions, Scales & Rupert would work on various recording projects for different clients, including a group called 'The Stars', commissioned by the label, André.

Two tracks, '(We Are The) Stars', & 'Best Friend', provide the energetic flavour of the disco driven scene of what was happening at that time in the Bay Area.

Originally released on Greenback Records, a label from New Jersey consisting of George Greene & Gary D. Jackson, two producers who scouted local talent to record at George's home studio and independently distribute. The duo had a string of releases before Jackson relocated to Goldsboro, NC in the late 70s to establish a string of non-musical related business', when he met recent high school graduate, Karen Scott. Jackson enabled the potential of Scott's talent by searching for a group to write & record with. Satin Finish started out as a trio of Goldsboro musicians, Donald Oliver (keys), Joe Exum (drums) & Dennis Kornegay (bass) who came together for the recording project. Scott didn't write music so the group were tasked with coming up with an albums worth of material to take to the studio. Jackson had hired additional musicians for the session, three horn players & a guitarist, which would take place at Greene's home studio in Durham, NC. Three tracks were laid down for the purpose of a 7" single, the A side being Scott's calling card 'I Don't Want To Lose Your Love', written by Oliver, arranged by Kornegay & sang by Scott. Penned for the flip was 'I Didn't Know Funk Felt So Good', a song dropped due to being beyond 6 minutes in length, which made way for 'Took A Chance On Love', a song written & sang by Kornegay. The single had local success, however shortly after the release of the single Scott went to college to pursue her education whilst the group engaged new members and continued for another couple of years before disbanding. Another slice in time that we're proud to present to you. Shout out Kool Hersh for introducing us to Dennis & making this happen.

Introducing the limited 7" re-release of the single by the legendary Bay Area group, Liason. Led by Morris 'Skid' Clay, Liason made their mark on the music scene with their distinctive sound and unforgettable performances. Recorded at Freeway Studios in Oakland back in 1977, this single captures the essence of the era and the spirit of the band.
Originally released on their independent imprint, 'A.L.C.' - named after three of the group's members astrological signs: Aquarius, Libra, and Capricorn - this single quickly became a cherished gem among fans and collectors alike. Now, decades later, it's being brought back to life for a whole new generation to enjoy.

In the Spring of 1978, Aaron McCarthy Jr, a.k.a. ‘Jelly’ was invited to Miami by local producer, Thomas Fundora to assist Herman Kelly with his forthcoming album, ‘Percussion Explosion!’. Herman, who was studying at the University of Miami at the time, had met Jelly whilst studying Music Theory together at Henry Ford Community College in Detroit. Both Detroit natives, Jelly had founded the group the Soulful Sonics, later to be known as Pure Pleasure whilst Herman transferred to Miami. The group Life consisted of Jelly on Vocals, Percussion & arrangement, Oliver Wells on Keys, John DeMonica on Bass, Michal Cordoza on, Guitar, Travis Biggs on Horn Arrangements and Keys. ‘Percussion Explosion!’, which included the infamous ‘Dance To The Drummer Beat’, was recorded at ‘Miami Sound Studios’, as a forthcoming release on Fundora’s Electric Cat label, distributed by RCA. On reviewing which tracks made the album, there was a track recorded during those sessions that Herman decided to leave out, a song Oliver Wells had been working on and completed once Jelly arrived called ‘Everybody Needs Lovin, Now’s The Time’. Originally known as ‘Now’s The Time’, Jelly finalised the lyrics and arrangement and cut a deal with Fundora to transfer the master for an independent release on a joint label ‘fu-ja’, made up of FU (Fundora) & JA (Jelly). Jelly had started performing professionally after joining the Navy in 1970. Stationed at Naval Air Station Glynco in Brunswick Georgia, he was part of the Navy band as well as working the clubs with local groups. ‘Hey Look At Me’ was written whilst in boot camp, a song that when he performed & won with at a Whcb talent show upon returning to Detroit. The song was recorded using a 4 track in 1976 at Richard Wells Studio, Detroit. During the late 70s, Jelly was pursuing a successful career in music locally in Detroit by hiring spaces and hosting cabarets. A graduate of local teacher & Motown Orchestra player Ernie Rodgers, Jelly would hire musicians from his class to perform with him at these events. The majority of players who would become Jelly’s group, ‘Skybirst’. Both ‘Hey Look At Me’ & ‘Everybody Needs Lovin, Now’s The Time’ were mastered by Greg Reilly at Super Disc in Detroit and sent to Nashville to get pressed as a quantity of 200. Jelly released his single in July of 1978 as part of a show he had lined up at ‘Mr Kelley’s Lounge’, an exclusive venue in downtown Detroit. Fast forward 30+ years, Jelly was reminded about this single after Brad Hales of Peoples Records played this track at a European Soul Weekender that, needlessly to say, saw a regained interest in this elusive single. Jelly’s currently working on his biography so be sure to look out for that, it’s a pleasure to be able to present to you these two timeless tracks.

This obscure 80s left field disco joint was brought to the table by David Haffner, the tapes were transferred by John Morales & forwarded to friends of the label, Tom Noble & Fredfades, to re-envision the works of 'Cosmo with Chuy', as showcased on this limited 12" release

A few words from Tommy aka 'Cosmo'..

"Cosmo was my nickname. I used to play John Coltrane style on slow ballads etc. Chuy was the singers nickname. Jesus Gomez was his real name I think. I was playing Las Vegas at the time, early 80's, with an Elvis impersonator, Morris Bates, for nearly 4 years. Since Elvis passed in the late 70's the impersonation show was a big success. I played Sax, Flute and sang back up harmonies. We played the Silver Slipper casino, then the Landmark Hotel and casino, 14 shows a week. We toured South Africa and played Morris' home town in Vancouver Canada a lot. The late nite band of Chuy's played at a smaller venue on the strip in Vegas from 12pm to 5am. I sat in and jammed one night, and said I'd like to record a couple tunes with his band. So I coughed up some money and we recorded a few songs"

Junei, the guitarist behind The Space Army Band, who would team up with his brother, General Lee, to form The Lost Weekend remains a pivotal character amongst the music scene of his hometown, Gary, Indiana.

Working closely with local indie groups & producers, such as Gordon Keith of Steeltown (Jackson 5's first manager), Junei would spend the 70s writing & recording whilst touring with artists such as The Emotions, Curtis Mayfield & Albert King.

Junei's calling card came to be in 1987, when he released his single 'Let's Ride' & 'You Must Go On' on local imprint, Pharoah's Records. The following year, he teamed up with Bernard Walker to produce a signature of that late-80s bedroom indie sound, cemented by the ideology & instruments used.

As Junei recalls..

"Bernard Walker approached me based on my reputation around town. He told me about this song that he wrote called "My Lover." Initially, he wanted to record a demo but I convinced him that I could do an actual finished production of his song, right from my small project "tape based, 8-track" basement studio. The sessions took place in Gary, Indiana in the basement of my parents home inside my... more