A soul singer crying out for rediscovery

[Neil Foxlee]

Roy C, best known for Shotgun Wedding, but try the brilliant Sex and Soul album for starters.

http://bluescritic.com/RoyC.html

some guy is making a documentary about him - see extracts on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... arch_type=

www.roycforever.blogspot.com

Ace should license Sex & Soul and More Sex & Soul - perhaps Charlie should have a word in their shell-like, as I know he's a fan.

[Hugh Weldon]

Agree Neil, was reminded of this in the oddest of ways when there was a shot of a chart listing from an old TOTP programme on that recent Paul Morley BBC 4 thing, about what makes a hit. 'Shotgun Wedding' was there, a song I hadn't thought about for years. Instantly had to download it and surprised by how good it still sounded. It set me off after some other relatively obscure soul of the same period eg Donnie Elbert's 'Little Piece of Leather'. Well I say 'obscure', but of course these were pretty big chart hits at the time...

[Neil Foxlee]

In case anybody is put off by the Sex and Soul title, by the way, some of the song titles should also be mentioned:

I Wasn't There (But I Can Feel the Pain) - about the assassination of Martin Luther King
Open Letter to the President
I'm Busting my Rocks (Working on the Chain Gang).

One of the great soul albums.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to determine Roy's birthday beyond the year (and even that's uncertain).

[Alan Balfour]

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to determine Roy's birthday beyond the year (and even that's uncertain).

I've just look up the Tony Cummings feature in Black Music (May 1974) where his birth is just stated as New York 1943. The feature quotes a Let It Rock interview but my set of that have major gaps. Bill Millar wrote about Roy C for Soul Music Monthly (January 1967 p9) and was far from impressed with his UK debut at Tiles Club!
LATER EDIT: I do have the LIR in question (March 1973) and it's a feature by none other than...Bill Millar! Again no exact date of birth just 1943.

[Charlie]

no exact date of birth just 1943.

Roy
Wikipedia suggests that he was born Roy Charles Hammond in 1939 in Newington, Georgia, but offers no month or day.

His records were particularly popular with Jamaican listeners/buyers here, not quite sure why. Did he perform in Jamaica?

[tulsehill charlie]

Red Kelly wrote a piece on Roy C in his "B Side" blog in 2006
http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2006/09/roy-c-ill-never-leave-you-lonely-alaga.html

You can hear Roy's plaint to the divorce court judge here
http://127.0.0.1:2927/template.html?nuyhtgmz475fqhpih8cp4cchz6z94ehgmxDemtpdsehC7n5gtguBreAzgEEghwzsz6avgyee5dvc0he8cfng

Please judge accept my apologies for not learning the Tiny method of entering url's.

[Neil Foxlee]

You just copy and paste the long address into the box at http://tinyurl.com/ , click "Make Tiny URL!", and then follow the instructions (basically right-click on the blue link "Open in new window", then select "Copy shortcut" and paste that where you want it).


http://tinyurl.com/2gbnta

[tulsehill charlie]

thanks Neil - the address for Roy C's "Divorce" was wrong anyway. Here it is
http://tinyurl.com/2ljb9t

[Neil Foxlee]

Just listened to an Amazon sample of Roy's / The Honeydrippers much-sampled* Impeach the President (1973), and damn me if he don't do funk too! Two sites I've come across describe it as the greatest breakbeat ever!!

http://tinyurl.com/2oso85

Give this man some EXPOSURE...

*Sampled on:

Top Billin' by Audio Two (1988)
Gangsta Gangsta by N.W.A. (1988)
Total Kaos by EPMD (1989)
Smooth Operator by Big Daddy Kane (September 15, 1989)
Give the People by EPMD (1990)
Ya Wish Ya Could by Special Ed (1990)
Pass It On by Everlast (March 27, 1990)
Who's the Mack by Ice Cube (May 16, 1990)
Put Your Weight on It by Big Daddy Kane (October 30, 1990)
Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey) by De La Soul (May 13, 1991)
Givin' Up the Nappy Dug Out by Ice Cube (October 31, 1991)
Dolly and the Rat Trap by Ultramagnetic MC's (1992)
Funk Radio by Ultramagnetic MC's (1992)
Headbanger by EPMD (July 28, 1992)
A Gangsta's Fairy Tale 2 by Ice Cube (November 17, 1992)

[Neil Foxlee]

Impeach the President can be found on Soul Party Sessions (Sessions 2CD)
http://www.unionsquaremusic.co.uk/title ... LABEL_ID=6

A twelve-inch vinyl reissue with three other tracks is/was also available on Funky Delicacies.