Last year a friend was describing a new band to me and someone else, and halfway through his description I looked at him and said, “Do they have horns?”. He replied, “No but…”, at that point I cut him off and said “not interested.” I was just fucking with him, the band actually turned out to be kind of cool, but rarely am I dissapointed with the use of some trumpets and trombones in a little funk, soul or even rock and roll. It works, more than it should in some cases. Unfortunately the days are long gone since when it was common. The closest you can routinely hope for is a hiphop sample. But pop music usually eschews the full rich sound that a brass section brings.
What I want to do with this post is focus on a few songs that popped into my consciousness by putting my music on random and some of the delisciousness I didn’t even know I loved so much.
Willie Hutch: Vampin
From: The Mack [Motown, 1973]
Pop this on and go for a drive through any downtown you like. It’s best if you wear shades, and preferably a hat with a brim so wide half of it sticks out a window or preferably a drop top caddy. It’s hard not to feel completely in charge of your surroundings while listening to a song like this. It’s the kind of thing that makes you want to do battle, albeit in the nicest suit you can find, while wearing shoes made out of a reptile. (I don’t endorse reptile skin shoes…but they do look cool as hell…fakes!) I’m surprised Tarantino hasn’t used this in one of his films and I just checked Jackie Brown to make sure he hasn’t. But it’s the horn section that makes this song. They’re firmly in step and ride above the dirty funk guitar and bongo drums that move so slippery at the base.
Curtis Mayfield: Billy Jack
From: There’s No Place Like America Today [Curtom, 1975]
Billy Jack is a slow burner. Just a little guitar, a bass rhythm and some drums this song is bleak. It’s the sound of the problem chasing you faster than you can run away. It takes 3 minutes before the horns hit. And only for 20-30 seconds before dissapearing until the end of the song. But they bring a brand new soul into the song. It’s a brief respite, and when they dissapear the song delves back in darkness. They rise back up as the song begins to close. Are they the sound of revenge or the positive hope to come out of the dark. I don’t know but they are absolutely perfect.
100 Proof Aged in Soul: Too Many Cooks (Spoil the Soup)
From: Somebody’s Been Sleeping in My Bed [Hot Wax, 1971]
This is a song that’s been attributed to both 8th Day and 100 Proof Aged in Soul. The band is basically the the same but released albums and songs as different groups in order to capitilize on different singles so that one song didn’t knock off the other, or at least that was the supposed logic. It’s hard not to be reminded of Sly and the Family Stone on this track but being from Detroit they have a less rock oriented rhythm. This is rock solid and the while the horn is prominent from the beginning it’s around a minute or so in when it starts to take off and the vocals ride right over the top and soar at the same time. It absolutely takes this song from pretty good to great in my mind.
Outkast: Spottieottiedopaliscious (Instrumental)
From: Aquemini [La Face, 1998]
If Atliens was Outkast at Ice Cold and Stankonia was Outkast on fire, Aquemini was like a houseboat on fire in arctic ocean. That makes sense to everyone else right? This is such as solid jam. It was one of those songs I remember having on my Ipod and walking around campus way way back. I can still remember the building I was walking through (Biology/hospital), the time of day (mid-late afternoon) and the weather (no rain, but grey skies). It’s not that I hadn’t heard the song before, but that was the day it got stuck in my mind. It was waiting til the part with the horns that come in and ride over the very Curtis Mayfield like slow jam underneath it all. I put up the instrumental since sometimes it seems as though Andre 3K and Big Boi can make almost anything sound good, I thought I’d add it minus the great ones.
The Dude, I will find out who played the horns on the 100 Proof.
I will tell you Clyde Wilson (aka Steve Mancha) was the lead singer for 100 Proof. What people don't know about Steve Mancha, is that he used his original given name, and brought the Parliament 'Rhenium' album some killer lead vocals on tunes like "Breakdown", "Come Out of the Rain", and "Little Old Country Boy". They don't mention it in this All Music Guide post, but Mancha's / Wilson's bio is impressive. He gave 100 Proof a unique sound, and added to P-Funk as well.
Artist: Clyde N. Wilson
Sponsored Links
Chevy's Limited Time Sale
Visit us for Details on Chevy's New Car Payment & Trade-in Protections!
http://www.wilsonsalesco.net
Clyde N Wilson at Amazon
Millions of titles, new & used. Qualified orders over $25 ship free
Amazon.com/books
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists
Similar Artists:
Nathaniel Mayer
Performed Songs By:
Clyde Wilson
* Born: December 25, 1945, Walhall, SC
* Active: '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s
* Genres: Rhythm & Blues
* Instrument: Vocals Representative Album: "Detroit Soulman: The Best of Steve Mancha"
Biography
Soul singing Steve Mancha was born Clyde Darnell Wilson on Christmas, 1945 in Walhall, SC. He only lived in God's country five years before the Wilsons moved to Detroit, MI to take advantage of the high paying jobs opening in the city for African-Americans. By 1960, Wilson was singing around town, and befriended Melvin Davis who already was recording on Fortune Records. Clyde's first studio check came as one half of Two Friends, with Wilburt Jackson who released one single "Just Too Much To Hope For," on Harvey Fuqua's short-lived HPC label. HPC had little clout and the record flopped miserably; Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell redid it years later.
After HPC, Fuqua ran Tri Phi and Harvey Records with Gwen Gordy. But when Harvey, formerly of the Moonglows, found Johnny Bristol & Jackey Beavers (Johnny & Jackey), Two Friends got placed on the back burner. With Motown emerging and Tri Phi and Harvey suffering from diminishing returns, Harvey and Gwen merged with Motown, who got Wilson and Jackson in the deal. If Motown recorded them, either as a group or as solo artists, the tracks were never released. They wrote a few songs that never did much like "Number One In Your Heart" (the Monitors); all were either buried on albums, served as B-sides, or remain unreleased. Wilson did no better without Jackson, his best effort was "Give A Little Love," the B-side of Marvin and Tammi's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough."
Neglected, Wilson left Motown in 1965 to work with Don Davis. Davis suggested a name change, Clyde Wilson just wasn't cutting it, and for the rest of his secular recording career he was Steve Mancha. The first Davis' production "Did My Baby Call" b/w "Whirlpool," dropped on Wheelsville Records in 1965. It did O.K. in some markets but wasn't a breakout; ye
Part 2 on Mancha / Wilson
Neglected, Wilson left Motown in 1965 to work with Don Davis. Davis suggested a name change, Clyde Wilson just wasn't cutting it, and for the rest of his secular recording career he was Steve Mancha. The first Davis' production "Did My Baby Call" b/w "Whirlpool," dropped on Wheelsville Records in 1965. It did O.K. in some markets but wasn't a breakout; years later the Mad Lads did a remake on Volt Records. It was followed by three releases on Groovesville "You're Still In My Heart" b/w "She's So Good" (10/65) was the first. Mancha's solo string was interrupted by a Holidays single "I'll Love You Forever," on Golden World Records; these Holidays were actually Edwin Starr (lead), Mancha, and J. J. Barnes. It became an R&B hit, but the trio never toured as the Holidays; Davis assembled some more guys for road duty and future recordings. Mancha's next Groovesville single "I Don't Want To Lose You," was a beautiful, soulful floater that charted at #34 R&B in 1966; the third Groovesville single "Don't Make Me A Story Teller," matched its predecessor by charting #34 R&B in 1967, it was later recorded by the Dells. Davis switched Mancha to his Groove City label for "Hate Yourself In The Morning," released March 1968, it wasn't as successful but is just as good as the others. Another solo shot "Sweet Baby" issued on Groove Records did nothing.
A golden opportunity came via Eddie Holland, Brian Holland, and Lamont Dozier who left Motown around 1967 to start the Invictus/Hot Wax/Music Merchant labels. The Hall-of-Fame songwriters chose Mancha, Joe Stubbs, and Eddie Holiday to front 100 Hundred Proof (Aged In Soul). The hot group imploded on Hotwax with "Too Many Cooks (Spoil The Soup)" (#28 R&B) in 1969, but the next release "Somebody's Been Sleeping," not only set the R&B chart on fire, it went to #8 Pop. As the record simmered on the charts, Mancha hit again, this time as 8th Day with "She's Not Just Another Woman," a song he wrote that was the same track on 100 Proof's debut album. As the song exploded, HDH put a group together called 8th Day that featured Steve's friend, Melvin Davis.
100 Proof recorded many memorable recordings including "One Man's Leftovers (Is Another Man's Feast)," "Driveway," "90 Day Freeze," "I Rather Fight Than Switch," "Everything Good Is Bad," and "Don't Scratch Where It Don't Itch." By 1973, however, 100 Proof''s recordings stopped, but was resurrected with new members for a couple of releases in 1977. While 100 Proof was scoring at Hotwax, Don Davis leased Steve Mancha's old tracks to Stax Records which resulted in the Rare Stamps, album on Volt Records which also included recordings by J. J. Barnes; it was later released on CD with an entire Darrell Banks' album added. When HDH moved to California, and Mancha, didn't, his career ended. Stax had gone under, stoned by bankruptcy and payola charges, and Don Davis was steadfastly leavi