This Is Fame 1964-1968 Various Artists (This Is)

£12.56

Genre:
Southern Soul
Label:
Kent
Format:
CD
Catalogue Id:
CDKEND 494

This product is also available in these versions:
This Is Fame 1964-1968 (MP3), MP3 (£7.99)
This Is Fame 1964-1968, LP (£23.23)

Between 1964 and 1968, Rick Hall’s Fame label became a southern soul powerhouse, as demonstrated on this compilation, which combines the very best of the released material with recordings that remained unissued at the time.

Rural northern Alabama was an unlikely place for a musical revolution, but by the mid-70s the tri-city area of Sheffield, Florence and Muscle Shoals had many recording studios and was its own self-contained music industry. It thrived in the hands of a group of creative and talented musicians, but that it developed at all was almost entirely down to one man, Rick Hall. A decade and a half earlier Hall had started up Fame Studios with the hit ‘You Better Move On’ by Arthur Alexander and was almost entirely responsible for creating the atmosphere that saw everyone from Paul Simon, the Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding to Paul Anka and the Osmonds record in the Shoals area.

‘You Better Move On’ was the culmination of a dream Hall had entertained since starting Florence Alabama Musical Enterprises with Billy Sherrill and Tom Stafford above a drugstore in Florence a couple of years earlier. When Hall found himself kicked out of the partnership with only the name of the company to call his own, he set up a studio in a former tobacco warehouse on the Wilson Dam Road. It was there he recorded Arthur Alexander, backed by the great rhythm section of Norbert “Curly” Putnam on bass, Jerry Carrigan on drums, David Briggs on piano and guitarists Terry Thompson and Earl “Peanut” Montgomery.

In late 1962, Hall moved the studio to East Avalon Avenue, where it remains to this day, and his A-team of musicians went with him. But as outside producers began to make use of the facility, unrest grew amongst the band, who found out how much more they could be earning in Nashville. By the end of 1964, most of the players had left. Rick then put together his second rhythm section, initially built around guitarist Jimmy Johnson and drummer Roger Hawkins of the Del-Rays, Albert “Junior” Lowe on bass, Linden “Spooner” Oldham on keyboards and guitarist Terry Thompson. Lowe, Oldham and Thompson would be augmented or replaced by bassist David Hood and Barry Beckett on keys to create the definitive line-up.

By this point Fame had become a local hub, with aspiring musicians, songwriters and singers converging on the studio to see if the magic would rub off on them. After a number of false starts, Hall had the Fame Records label up and running with a bona fide hit, Jimmy Hughes’ self-penned ‘Steal Away’. Between 1964 and 1968 the label became a southern soul powerhouse, as demonstrated on this compilation, which combines the very best of the released material with recordings that remained unissued at the time. Still available as a 2LP set (KENT2 504).

DEAN RUDLAND

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Track listing

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Side 1

  • 01 Preview Steal Away - Jimmy Hughes

  • 02 Preview It Tears Me Up - James Barnett

  • 03 Preview She Ain't Gonna Do Right - Clarence Carter

  • 04 Preview I Can't Stop (No, No, No) - Arthur Conley

  • 05 Preview That Kind Of Lovin' - Otis Clay

  • 06 Preview Fortune Teller - The Del-Rays

  • 07 Preview Slippin' Around With You - Art Freeman

  • 08 Preview Keep On Talking - James Barnett

  • 09 Preview Hi Heel Sneakers - Jimmy Hughes

  • 10 Preview Long Ago - Ben & Spence

  • 11 Preview Don't Make Me Hate Loving You - Jeanie Greene

  • 12 Preview (Take Me) Just As I Am - Dan Penn

  • 13 Preview Back In Your Arms - George Jackson

  • 14 Preview Feed The Flame - Billy Young

  • 15 Preview You Really Know How To Hurt A Guy - Ralph "Soul" Jackson

  • 16 Preview Thread The Needle - Clarence Carter

  • 17 Preview A Piece Of My Heart - Art Freeman

  • 18 Preview Wish You Didn't Have To Go - Spooner & The Spoons

  • 19 Preview Almost Persuaded - June Conquest

  • 20 Preview I'm Gonna Forget About You - Arthur Conley

  • 21 Preview Take A Good Look - James Barnett

  • 22 Preview Come On Home - Herman Moore

  • 23 Preview Blind Can't See - Richard Earl & The Corvettes

  • 24 Preview I Worship The Ground You Walk On - Jimmy Hughes

Delivery & Returns

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We offer free P&P to UK addresses. For all other territories packaging is free and postage is charged on a weight basis.

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You have the right to cancel your order within seven days of purchase, or seven days of receipt of the goods (whichever is the longer). If you choose to cancel your order, full payment will be returned to you. Returned items should be sent to: “Returns” c/o Ace Records, Such Close, Letchworth Garden City SG6 1JF, United Kingdom. Music downloads should be returned to us via the email address: orders@acerecords.com including a copy of your notice of cancellation and order number.

Press quotes

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"Inspiring" MOJO ★★★★★ 

A Shindig Various Artists Compilation of the Year 2020

Everything is great here, from Jimmy Hughes’ self-penned Steal Away and Hall’s studio house band, The Del-Rays’ cover of Benny Spellman’s Fortune Teller to June Conquest’s sole issue on the label; the ace Almost Persuaded, co-written by Dan Penn ★★★★

Record Collector

24 southern soul scorchers ★★★★

Shindig

Well packaged and thoroughly annotated, this is a splendid tribute to Rick Hall and his musician's creativity ★★★★1/2

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