SIXTIES

In 1990, I first spotted the name Brothers Of Soul in an English fanzine. It was a hip name for a group, and the writer suggested that they had never made a bad recording. Praise indeed.

I searched for more information and eventually found a cd which displayed the beautiful harmonies and melodies that were the hallmark of this trio.

However, there was more, much more to be learned about the Brothers Of Soul, and in particular one of it's members, Fred Bridges, whose story weaves through the classic studios of Sixties Detroit and beyond.

Fred Bridges parents, Thomas Jones and Clara Law, came north to Detroit from Alabama in the search for work like so many of their contemporaries.

While many of the migrants set up home near the river in Black Bottom, Fred's family settled in a house on Chandler Street in the North End, before moving to Josephine Street where Fred and his family live to this day.

Fred became Thomas and Clara's only sibling in 1938, and his earliest memory of his Father is as a doorman at one of Downtown Detroit's premier hotels, The Statler in Grand Circus.

"It was a grand job because he was dressed to kill. You know, the long black coat with gold buttons and a captain's hat."

Fred's Mother, Clara, was a housewife who had became a Born-Again Christian in the mid-forties, and much of her spare time was spent helping out at her church, The Greater Bethlehem Temple at 2900 West Chicago Boulevard.

The move to the city took it's toll on Thomas and Clara's marriage however, and they divorced in 1950.

By then Thomas was self-employed, and had taken a foothold in the local Jukebox market. Avoiding overheads by operating from home, he first set up base on Oakland Street, then Elmhurst in Highland Park. Before finally settling at # 204 Tennyson.

Business was booming in the Motor City and Jones Automatic Music had become one of it's success stories.

By the time Fred had joined Hutchins Middle School at 8820 Woodrow Wilson, he was discovering how music was taking a hold of his life. "Like most folks, we would buy our records from White's in Ferry Park. I liked most music styles but recall being particularly fond of the Imperials, The Midnighters, The Dominos and The Platters.

I was singing along to all those songs and to be honest felt that I had something special going."

Fred's new found talent was soon put to the test at Hutchins when the Melody Skylarks were born. With Fred on Lead, the rest of the group were Clarence McCain (False Tenor), Charles Chandler (Tenor), Alfred Burrell (Baritone) and Henry McDonald (Bass).

"We were practicing at home, singing in school, singing on street corners, or anywhere that we knew that the girls would hear us. We were singing the hit songs of the day, like the Chords "Sha-boom", or some Clovers, Dominos, Platters, anything that was going down well in the record stores."

I was singing along to all those songs and to be honest felt that I had something special going."

No. 2218 Ferry Park, the place to buy your 45's in Detroit. Hitsville is within walking distance.

When the Skylarks broke up, Fred formed another group called the Dreamers whose line up was Obie Neeley (Tenor), Raymond Duncan (Super Bass), ?? Williams (Lead and Tenor) and James Ingram (Baritone; who would later work at the Chronicle and in Black Radio), and Fred who was now singing Baritone, Tenor and Lead.

They were now entering singing contests at Northern High School, pitting themselves against other newcomers like the Matadors, whom they beat into second place in a contest in 1955.

Only a few years later, The Matadors would become the Miracles of Motown, so Fred and his group were showing a lot of potential.

In 1956 Fred got married to a girl called Clementine. They had 2 children called Gerald and Fred Jr.

A year later, he joined the Air Force and spent four years in special forces with another group called the Crystals. Their line-up was James Woods, James Gadson, Fred Bridges and one other.

"We toured all the Air Force bases across the States and won every contest we entered.

Our choice of material was simple; good songs, old and new, and some original tunes written by myself."

Fred left the Air Force in 1960 and got a job as a machine operator with the Premier Steel Company in Dearborn. The job lasted four years, and he spent as much of his spare time as possible trying to gain a foothold in the expanding music industry.

"By 1961 I was writing songs in our house on Josephine which had a piano in the backroom. Everyone and anyone came through that house, there was always music going down.

Fred still tinkers with melodies in the backroom of 218 Josephine

At night I had a second job managing an apartment building which had a piano in the basement.

My close friend Marv Johnson used to come over. Marv was hitting the charts regularly with United Artists at the time and I guess I was hoping that some of his magic would rub off on me.

He did provide me with an important contact however when he introduced me to Robert Bateman who was working between Correc-tone, Continental and Motown studios with Brian Holland.

Two of those studios were only yards apart on 12th Street, which was a happening place back then, and from the Boulevard all the way up to Clairmount you could find just about anything that you needed, legitimate or otherwise.

12th and Clairmount is infamous for being the starting point for the 1967 riots. but only a few metres south of the junction stood the studios of Continental (left of picture) and Correc-tone (right). Both buildings were razed to the ground in 1967. A housing complex now stands in their place

Continued