Tag: Dean Farrell

By Dean Farrell

As host of “The Soul Express,” I play the biggest names in 1960s and ‘70s-era soul music. I also mix in the many great soul artists who did not necessarily become household names but were no less talented. This month’s column is about Otis Clay, a Blues Hall of Fame inductee who became popular in Japan.

He was born in Waxhaw, Mississippi, on February 11, 1942. In 1953, the Clays moved to Muncie, Indiana, where Otis joined a local gospel group, the Voices of Hope. He later returned to Mississippi to sing with the Christian Travelers before settling in Chicago in 1957. There, he performed with a series of gospel acts, including the Golden Jubilaires, the Famous Blue Jay Singers, the Holy Wonders, and the Pilgrim Harmonizers. Clay made his first solo recordings for Columbia in 1962, but they were never issued. He later joined the Gospel Songbirds, who recorded in Nashville. Though the group released many singles, Clay appeared on just one.

By 1965, Otis Clay had decided to try secular music and signed with One-derful Records in Chicago. His first outing for the label, “Tired of Falling In and Out of Love,” became a local hit that fall. Clay’s first performance in a big auditorium was in Herb Kent’s Christmas Benefit Show at Chicago’s Capitol Theater in December 1965. His next single, “I’m Satisfied,” made Billboard’s “Bubbling Under the Hot 100” chart in early 1966.

In the summer of 1967, Clay recorded his biggest hit to date. A gospel-drenched heartbreak ballad, “That’s How It Is (When You’re In Love)” climbed to #34 on the Billboard Rhythm & Blues chart. It was written by Cash McCall, an old friend of Clay’s from the Gospel Songbirds. 

One-derful went out of business in mid-1968 and sold Clay’s contract to the Atlantic subsidiary, Cotillion. His initial release was a remake of the Sir Douglas Quintet’s three-year-old hit, “She’s About a Mover.” It made the bottom rungs of the R&B chart and became the only Clay single to make the Billboard Hot 100. When subsequent releases on Cotillion—including the excellent “Hard-Working Woman” and “Is It Over?”–failed to make much noise, Clay moved on to Hi Records in Memphis. There, he worked with producer Willie Mitchell.

Otis Clay made many of his best-known recordings at Hi, including the 1972 original of “Trying to Live My Life Without You.” A live performance by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band would hit #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1981. Seger even introduced it as “an old Memphis song.” 

Clay remained with Hi until 1977, during which time he put out his first two albums: Trying to Live My Life Without You (1972) and Can’t Take It (1977). He next turned up on the Kayvette label, where Clay had his final charted single, “All Because of Your Love.” He later recorded for the Elka and Rounder labels, and on his own Echo Records, where he did the 1980 original of “The Only Way Is Up.” (A 1988 remake by Yazz & The Plastic Population was a #1 UK hit.)

Clay was a very popular live act—not only in the US, but also in Europe and Japan. He recorded four concert LPs: Live! (1978), Live Again! (1984), Soul Man—Live in Japan (1985), and Respect Yourself (2005). The latter captured his 2003 performance at the Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland. In the ‘90s, Clay recorded two albums for Bullseye Blues: I’ll Treat You Right and the Willie Mitchell-produced This Time Around. His 2007 gospel release, Walk a Mile in My Shoes, was Grammy-nominated.

In 2010, Otis Clay received a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in his hometown of Waxhaw. In 2015, his album with Johnny Rawls, Soul Brothers,won the Blues Blast Award for Soul Album of the Year. It also was nominated for the Blues Music Awards Soul Album of the Year and Living Blues Magazine Blues Album of the Year.And it was chosen as the #6 Blues Album of the Year in the Downbeat Magazine Critics’ Poll.

Rock critic Dave Marsh included “Trying to Live My Life Without You” in his 1989 book, The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. 

Otis Clay, 73, died in Chicago of a heart attack on January 8, 2016.

Charted singles:

“I’m Satisfied” (1966) Pop #105

“That’s How It Is (When You’re In Love)” (1967) R&B #34, Pop #131

“A Lasting Love” (1967) R&B #48

“She’s About a Mover” (1968) R&B #47, Pop #97

“It Is Over” (1971) Pop #128

“Trying to Live My Life Without You” (1972) R&B #24, Pop #102

“I Didn’t Know the Meaning of Pain” (1973) Pop #144

“If I Could Reach Out” (1973) R&B #73

“All Because of Your Love” (1977) R&B #44

Please check out the Unsung Heroes of Soul blog at

Dean Farrell hosts “The Soul Express” Fridays from 7:00-10:00 p.m. on WECS, 90.1-FM (www.wecsfm.com) and alternating Saturdays from 2:30 – 5:30 p.m. on WRTC, 89.3-FM (www.wrtcfm.com). He plays vintage soul music of the 1960s and ‘70s, everything from #1 hits to long-lost obscurities. Dean’s e-mail address is soulexpress@gmail.com.

by Dean Farrell

As host of “The Soul Express,” I play the biggest names in 1960s and ‘70s-era soul music. I also mix in the many great soul artists who did not necessarily become household names but were no less talented. This month’s column features two acts about whom I found relatively scant information.

ERMA FRANKLIN

Erma Franklin was the older sister of Aretha and the originator of “Piece of My Heart.”

She was born in Shelby, Mississippi, on March 13, 1938, and grew up in Detroit. Her father was the Reverend C.L. Franklin of the New Bethel Baptist Church. When Erma was ten years old, her parents separated. Her mother, Barbara, took Erma’s half-brother Vaughn with her to Buffalo, New York, while Rev. Franklin kept their daughters: Erma, Aretha, and Carolyn. Barbara died in 1952.

During her childhood, Erma and her sisters sang at their father’s church. While attending Northern High School, she formed a Rhythm & Blues vocal group called the Cleopatrettes. She spent two years after high school touring with her father’s gospel group and later studied Business at Clark College (now known as Clark Atlanta University). On the weekends, she performed in an Atlanta nightclub. Erma later married one Thomas Garrett and had two children with him.

Her recording career began in 1961, when she signed with Epic Records. She had several singles out on the label, as well as an album, Her Name Is Erma (1962). When Aretha Franklin became a recording artist, Erma frequently sang back-up vocals on her songs—most notably “Respect.”

By 1967, Erma was on the New York-based Shout label, where she worked with songwriter-producer Bert Berns. Her 1967 recording of “Piece of My Heart” hit #10 on the Billboard Rhythm & Blues Singles chart and crossed over to the pop market at #62. In 1992, it was used in an ad for Levi’s jeans in England. This led to the song’s reissue in that country, where it got to #9. Still, the best-known “Piece of My Heart” is the 1968 version by Big Brother & The Holding Company, with lead vocals by Janis Joplin.

While none of Franklin’s subsequent Shout releases duplicated her initial success, the label did release an LP on her, 1969’s Soul Sister. It grazed Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart at #199.

By the middle 1970s, Erma Franklin had left the music business. She spent twenty-five years working at the Boysville Holy Cross Community Center in Detroit, helping homeless and disadvantaged minority children. She died of lung cancer on September 7, 2002, at age 64.

In 2015, the RockBeat reissue label put out the CD, The Electric Flag Featuring Erma Franklin—Live 1968.

Charted singles:

“Piece of My Heart” (1967) R&B #10, Pop #62

“Gotta Find Me a Lover (24 Hours a Day)” (1969) R&B #40

Other notable Erma Franklin recordings include “What Kind of Girl,” “I Don’t Want No Momma’s Boy,” “Abracadabra,” “It’s Over,” “Big Boss Man,” “Open Up Your Soul,” “I’m Just Not Ready For Love,” “The Right to Cry,” “Saving My Love For You,” and “Whispers (Gettin’ Louder).”

MABLE JOHN

Mable John was Motown’s first female recording act.

She was born in Barstrop, Louisiana, on November 3, 1930, the eldest of nine children. Her siblings included the 1950s Rhythm & Blues star, Little Willie John (“All Around the World,” “Fever,” “Talk To Me”). When Mable was quite young, the family moved to Cullendale, Arkansas, where her father worked in a paper mill.

When the man found a better job, the Johns moved to Detroit in 1941. After high school, Mable worked for the Friendship Mutual Insurance Company. It was run by Bertha Gordy, mother of Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr. John would end up leaving the company and spending two years at Lewis Business College. She later bumped into Mrs. Gordy, who told John that her son Berry was writing songs and looking for singers to record them. Gordy became John’s coach and accompanied her on piano at local gigs.

In 1959, John performed at Detroit’s Flame Show Bar in what would prove to be Billie Holiday’s last show. Also that year, John began recording for Gordy’s fledgling Motown operation. Her singles came out on the Tamla subsidiary, but none of them sold. As a result, Gordy started using John mainly as a background singer before he ended her contract in 1962.

After Motown, John spent several years with Ray Charles in his back-up group, the Raelettes. In 1966, she signed with the Memphis-based powerhouse, Stax. Her first release on the label proved her biggest. “Your Good Thing (Is About to End)” went top ten on Billboard magazine’s R&B chart but was her only hit. She left Stax in 1968 and went back to being a Raelette. John ended up leaving secular music in 1973, managing gospel acts and making the occasional recording.

By 1986, John was living in Los Angeles, where she founded Joy Community Outreach, a charity that feeds the homeless. In 1991, the UK-based Motorcity label issued a single on her, “Time Stops.” In 1993, John earned a Doctor of Divnity degree from the Crenshaw Christian Center. In 1994, she received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation. In 2007, she played a blues singer in the John Sayles film, Honeydripper. And in 2014, she appeared in the Oscar-winning documentary, 20 Feet from Stardom.

Mable John, 91, died in Los Angeles on August 25, 2022.

Charted single:

“Your Good Thing Is About to End” (1966) R&B #6, Pop #95

Other notable Mable John recordings include “You Are My Only Love” (1960), “Actions Speak Louder Than Words” (1961), “You’re Taking Up Another Man’s Place” (1966), “Same Time, Same Place” (1966), “I’m a Big Girl Now” (1967), “Don’t Hit Me No More” (1967), “Able Mable” (1968), and “Running Out” (1968).

Please check out the Unsung Heroes of Soul blog at

Dean Farrell hosts “The Soul Express” Fridays from 7:00-10:00 p.m. on WECS, 90.1-FM (www.wecsfm.com) and alternating Saturdays from 2:30 – 5:30 p.m. on WRTC, 89.3-FM (www.wrtcfm.com). He plays vintage soul music of the 1960s and ‘70s, everything from #1 hits to long-lost obscurities. Dean’s e-mail address is soulexpress@gmail.com.