SIXTIES

By 1971 Darrell found he was kicking his heels in Canada and drifted back to Detroit. He teamed up with some old friends from his Da Da days: Chico Jones, Billy Smith, Clarence Coulter, Larry Talbert and A C Combs, who became the Steppers. Darrell’s surname was Bell at this stage of his career. He also went under the alias Captain Purple, which related to his attempts to unite black and white music into the colour purple (A C was white). He had started to work with Guido Marasco who ran Bumpshop Records and in 1972 they recorded and released the Steppers’ ‘Come And Get It’ / ‘What The Problem Is’. The record sold well, and the following year was picked up by Aware Records in Atlanta, who were keen to cut more material, but a monetary dispute over the first release put paid to that. The single had been cut at Dave’s old studios and at Bumpshop’s G M studios where Darrell worked on other records for the label. He also worked for Johnny Powers’ Powerhouse label and recorded with artists like Innervision, Third Chapter, Ronnie Frey, Round Trip Ticket and Al Jones. The lack of commercial success persuaded Darrell to give up on the Detroit music scene and he eventually moved out to Sacramento in California, where he now lives and continues to write and perform his music. He still has some tapes from the old days, and has offered them to Ace for future use; the mere thought of which has me drooling at the mouth.

The other members of the Steppers deserve a mention. ‘Fat’ Larry Talbert was a mainstay of Dave’s sessions, invariably playing the drums and helping out in any capacity he could. He went on to play with the hit group Raydio in the 70s and 80s. Billy Smith performed a similarly helpful service for Dave on the guitar and bass; while Clarence Coulter co-produced with Dave and performed on the Prophet And The Disciples’ ‘The Pusher’ on Presco Records.

In the meantime Dave had fallen back on his own talents and came up with a new label TCB; also re-naming the recording studios after it. There he cut a great grooving instrumental called ‘The Deacons’, very reminiscent of Young Holt’s best singles. He also recorded a lot with Chico (a Stepper) and Buddy, (real names Thelmer Jones and William Farrow). They had been in the Tokays, a group who frequented the studios in the very early days, where they learnt the trade and had a one-off release on Brute Records around the same time. Chico also became a very accomplished engineer while he was with Dave and features on most of the tape boxes in one capacity or another. The duo mainly cut late 60s funky party-style records, an exception being ‘You Don’t Miss The Water’ whose music was released with different lyrics by Sue Ann Jones on TCB in 1968. An acetate of Chico and Buddy’s version exists with ‘Itchin’ And Scratching’ on the flip, but we are uncertain as to whether a vinyl single was ever issued. Nonetheless it is an extremely catchy tune with a great ‘feel’ that ensures you’ll be singing along without realising it .

O.C. Tolbert

Arthur O C Tolbert came on to the scene just as Darrell was leaving. He recorded ‘You Gotta Hold On Me’ / ‘Hard Times’ as Rev O C Tolbert on Rolyak Records for Dave, and Rojac’s Jack Taylor, an owner/producer who frequently used Dave’s studios. (Chico and Buddy also had ‘A Thing Called The Jones’/ ‘Can You Dig It’ out on Taylor’s Tayster label.) The Reverend tag was for stage purposes only, though he was part of the religiously-inspired Tolbert Family Singers who started out in Selma, Alabama in 1958. Mother Tolbert ran the group when her husband the Rev S J Tolbert Sr died and various of the ten children were members, including featured brother O C Tolbert and Velma Tolbert, a good songwriter who could have been the mother, or possibly a sister.

O C also recorded, as King Diamond on Powerhouse Records, a Dave Hamilton co-written song ‘That’s All She Wrote’. (A different version of the song is featured here – recorded by Gil Billingsley for Dave’s Landy Bug label.) On this CD O C gives us two late 60s gems. His version of ‘I’m Shooting High’, was also recorded by the Pearls on Lamp Records but not as soulfully as O C’s superb interpretation. This recording gained a following on the Northern Soul scene in the 1980s under the name of Cleveland Wilson that was given to an acetate played by DJs Jim Wensiora and Rob Marriot.

In fact O C is the male equivalent of Little Ann when it comes to unreleased material. We also have O C’s version of the J T Rhythm Palmer released song ‘All I Want Is You’. This was the A-side of the Da Da production leased to Palmer (which incidentally co-writer Darrell could remember nothing of, he thought it was a Da Da label release). J T Rhythm himself was one of Darrell’s old school friends called James Thorpe (not J J Barnes as has been suggested); the two had been part of a group called the Nightcaps who never recorded. O C gives the song a deep, almost menacing presence, his voice owing much to his Southern roots. Sadly, Joe Hunter told me O C died of a heart attack in the summer of 1997.

Continued