sketchy late 70s early 80s SAVOY GOSPEL lps

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

omg, what is up with these. 1st of all they are very cheap and thrown together looking, the covers look like there even manufactured and printed cheap, the music is always gospel on the ones ive seen from this time period, some of the songs really lay down a groove, more or less, the records are awesome. i just didnt know savoy existed the long....are these the "REAL" savoy....the address on the back deinftely said Elizabeth, NJ....(where HANK lived!).....that brings up another very good point, why didnt they pay hank to do a session, omfg

[Big Beat Steve]

OMFG indeed ...

You and your "Hank" obsession ...

Did it ever occur to you that maybe at that time he had become a "has-been" from the point of view of producers and record company execs? Personal problems that make handling such a man rather difficult in a music-producing "business" environment must clearly have spoken against the person concerned if there were so many competent and thoroughly professional session musicians around (and no doubt there were...).

Sorry to say this, but isn't it time to shed those rose-colored glasses?

As for those gospel records, I am not too familiar with them either but if you take a look at Michel Ruppli's SAVOY records discography you will see that gospel records constitute the bulk of the latter-day new-recordings output of the label.

Nuff said for an explanation of why these are around?

[jeffcrom]

I looked through my gospel LPs - I've got four Savoys from the 1980's, by Dr. Vernard Johnson, Rev. Ernest Franklin, The Florida Mass Choir, and James Cleveland with the Houston Mass Choir. The covers aren't fancy, for the most part, but they don't look that cheap to me, and the Florida Mass Choir album is a nice full-color gatefold double album. The music is happening, especially Dr. Johnson's saxophone. As BBS indicated, I think that Savoy was pretty much exclusively a gospel label by this time.

[Dan Gould]

I recommend the Houston Person release.

[Dan Gould]

OMFG indeed ...

You and your "Hank" obsession ...

Did it ever occur to you that maybe at that time he had become a "has-been" from the point of view of producers and record company execs? Personal problems that make handling such a man rather difficult in a music-producing "business" environment must clearly have spoken against the person concerned if there were so many competent and thoroughly professional session musicians around (and no doubt there were...).

Sorry to say this, but isn't it time to shed those rose-colored glasses?

I think you added an "F" in there Steve but otherwise I'd have to agree with you. In fact, it could also be pointed out that at the time Savoy was making these records, I'm not sure Hank was even a has-been, considering that the critical re-evaluation hadn't started yet, and he was still tagged with the "solid, but not essential" tag.

[jeffcrom]

I recommend the Houston Person release.

I had no idea what you were talking about, but a quick spin around the www turned up a mint copy of The Gospel Soul of Houston Person for eight bucks, so I grabbed it. Thanks for the tip.

[Dan Gould]

Damn. Now I can't use it on my upcoming BFT.

[Big Beat Steve]

I think you added an "F" in there Steve but otherwise I'd have to agree with you. ...

I did not, Dan ...

Read on here ...

that brings up another very good point, why didnt they pay hank to do a session, omfg

This is quere I "quoted" from. But in fact that's a minor point anyway. I just wanted to point out that collectors' points of view (especially when blessed with the benefit of hindsight or wishful thinking of what "might have been") sometimes don't line up with the realities of the "business" side of the music as it was (for better or worse).

[clifford_thornton]

Even though it is a 60s release, I really wish I'd bought that Doug Carn Trio on Savoy for $25 when I saw it, well over a decade ago. Never seen it offered as a vinyl since that time (though I think it was on CD).

[JSngry]

Nothing at all "sketchy" about Savoy gospel LPs. They were a major player in the field throughout the 60s & 70s. If my memory serves(?), when Arista bought/leased/whatever the Savoy jazz holdings, the jazz holdings was all they bought, and Savoy continued to function as an active gospel label for some years afterward.

[clifford_thornton]

I don't have any of the Savoy gospel releases, but I've seen some of them and they do look neat.

[John L]

Now that Acrobat has done justice to the Peacock label, Savoy remains the only major gospel label for which the majority of the music never made it to CD.

[paul secor]

I believe that Malaco Records bought the rights to the Savoy gospel recordings. Don't know if that's the current situation.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

right jsngy it does say distrubuted by arista....

[John L]

I believe that Malaco Records bought the rights to the Savoy gospel recordings. Don't know if that's the current situation.

Yes, Malaco has the rights to some or even all of the catalog. But they do not have anything close to a comprehensive reissue policy for it.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

so this company actually owns all the mastertapes? hmm...

[JSngry]

I believe that Malaco Records bought the rights to the Savoy gospel recordings. Don't know if that's the current situation.

Yes, Malaco has the rights to some or even all of the catalog. But they do not have anything close to a comprehensive reissue policy for it.

Malaco knows its audience, though, and their audience is not necessarily the "comprehensive reissue" type.

Now that Acrobat has done justice to the Peacock label...

Guess I missed this...details, please!

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

i dont think we'll ever see a 'comprehensive reissue' program ever again!

[John L]

Now that Acrobat has done justice to the Peacock label...

Guess I missed this...details, please!

It was easy to miss, and I am not sure about the current availability of the CDs. The motherload was on seven Acrobat CDs entitled "Texas Gospel," Volumes 1-7. I guess that they called it Texas Gospel because Peacock was based in Houston, but it was a strange choice of title as the majority of artists were not Texas based. The title also disguised the fact that it was a comprehensive Peacock label reissue.

These CDs contain all of the Peacock gospel singles that were not released on other Acrobat CDs (Early Blind Boys of Mississippi and the Bells of Joy). The first two volumes came out on single CDs and appear to still be available at Acrobat. Volumes 3,4, & 5 came out on a 3-disc set, and volumes 6 & 7 are on a 2-disc set. If you have trouble finding the CDs, downloads can probably still be located.

My calling this doing "justice to the Peacock label" is a bit of an exaggeration, as there are still a lot of album-only tracks that remain to be reissued. But Acrobat still did a great service in giving us the singles. I had all but given up hope of a CD reissue of this music.

Edited April 27, 2011 by John L

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

im happy u guys like my thread i started, lets hear it for late 70s/early 80s savoy gospel lps. come to think if it, i got a real nice one from the 50s too!!!! name alludes me but its the same bag-- gospel headfirst, tons of B3 organ. its fantastic. only freddie roach did a gospel-hardbop fusion, right? *all thats good........... or are there other examples im missing?

[sonnymax]

This thread concerns a rare vinyl record. Please move this discussion to the Vinyl forum. Thank you.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

http://cgi.ebay.com/MILDRED-CLARK-MELODY-AIRES-LP-Savoy-Gospel-soul-1979-/230579450518?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item35af9b3296

look heres one w/ an arista promo sticker, lolz