During the 1950s and ‘60s many teens in small towns from Saginaw to Benton Harbor, Mich., idolized the smooth moves, glittery wardrobes and contagious sounds of the Do-Wop artists who crooned from the radios. Some formed vocal groups of guys, girls or a combination. They took advantage of the acoustics of a school locker room or harmonized in local talent shows wanting to be the next big stars.
However, even more infatuated with this music were kids across the Atlantic. Keith Rylatt was one of them.
“The kids that dug Soul and Motown in the mid ‘60s were mainly part of a youth culture called, Mods something that The Who, (rock group) capitalised upon,” said Rylatt. “The Mods were unashamedly heavily influenced by US Black culture and style. We would look at album covers by the Impressions or Temptations, and copy their image.”
Rylatt recently released his new book, Groovesville USA:The Detroit Soul & R&B Index . The author and music columnist for a UK based Soul magazine, Manifesto, features musicians of Michigan who have left a groove on the music scene forever. Many of those highlighted are not popular Motown label artists and may have signed to small label and produced few hits, it any.
His first book, CENtral 1179 was released in 2001. In 2003 he began researching for Groovesville USA which was recently released. Packed with rare photos of musicians who were icons in the music industry and many who were one-hit wonders, Groovesville USA is a gem for music history buffs and those who have lived through the age of Do Wop in Michigan and want to reminisce. Its slick rarely seen photos take readers back into a time where music became a part of listeners’ soul.
Rylatt was born in 1950 in an industrial area of northern England called, Rotherham. The son of a policeman went on to earn an art degree and later teach art in high school for 35 years. It was his love for Soul music however, that continued to play in his own soul throughout his life.
He remembers the music exchange arrangement between the US and UK. When musicians of “The British Invasion,” such as The (Rolling) Stones, Beatles, Kinks and Who toured the United States, artists from overseas would tour Britain. Music with the Detroit soul was a hit. Those who brought in the crowds included Edwin Starr, Deon Jackson, Al Kent, Darrell Banks, Detroit Emeralds, as well as Battle Creek based musicians Jackey Beavers and Johnny Bristol and Jr. Walker and the All Stars.
“White US acts were obviously popular over here such as the Beach Boys, Walker Brothers, Turtles. But they were totally ignored and disliked by the UK Soul fans, with one major exception – Mitch Ryder,” Rylatt said.
Grooveville USA aims to recognize those musicians of south and mid-Michigan, or those who came from out of state into metro Detroit to record. But because there were literally thousands of acts making often small time, one-off recordings, pressing only 50 copies of their record, many will sadly remain undocumented according to Rylatt. One of those acts, The Brigadiers from Saginaw is featured on his book cover.
“That (cover) photo was taken around ’64 –’65 by Fred Reif. But despite my efforts to contact any of them for over a year around Saginaw, on their city website and a plea to the local newspaper, I still don’t know anything about them. This is a shame as here they are on the cover of a book and they don’t know it,” Rylatt said.
While there are plenty of US Soul fans that particularly dig Detroit Soul, the non-Motown black music scene in mid and south Michigan has always been over shadowed by Motown according to Rylatt. One Motown artist, Jr. Walker, was featured in Rylatt’s book because of his humble beginnings in the music industry.
“Because Jr. Walker was initially independent of the Motown Corporation on Harvey Records, he never really got too caught up in the Motown family thing,” Rylatt said. “He would tour the UK on his own and because his R&B sound was essentially him and the All-Stars, rather than lots of Motown strings and cooing girly backing singers, his sound stands out and doesn’t cross over into the pop field as much. He was also proud of his Battle Creek R&B days, with tracks such as “Satan’s Blues,” “Brainwasher” and “Cleo’s Mood.” Jr.’s sound was more soulful than much of Motown’s,” according to Rylatt.
Artists who may have a few hits in the ‘60s often return to Europe for Do-Wop tours today Rylatt said. He said those artists may be unpopular today in the US and in their own communities, but they draw crowds of up to 3,000 in the UK. Even their records are rarities. One by Frank Wilson, “Do I Love You,” has only two known copies and Rylatt said it recently sold for $37,000.
“I would therefore like American readers to get two things from my book. First, remind them of the fabulous Soul scene that the state had. Secondly, acknowledge the awesome talent of hundreds of Michigan Soul acts and to remind them that in the UK, (these artists) are regarded as giants of American culture and they will never be forgotten,” Rylatt said.
Groovesville USA: The Detroit Soul & R&B Index is available at www.groovesvilleusa.com.
Sonya Bernard-Hollins contributed to Rylatt’s book. Her book, “Here I Stand,” is available on Amazon.com. Hollins is editor of Community Voices and author of this article.
