Ready Steady Soul

08/16/2026

The Showstoppers (alternatively the Show Stoppers) were a four-piece American vocal soul group formed in Philadelphia in about 1967. They are best remembered for their 1967 hit, "Ain't Nothin' But a Houseparty", which was the debut release on three record labels: Showtime Records, Heritage Records, and Beacon Records.

The Showstoppers was formed about 1967 by brothers, Elec Edward "Alex" Burke and Vladimir H. "Laddie" Burke who were the two oldest of the five younger brothers of Atlantic Record's star Solomon Burke, who joined with fellow Germantown High School students, brothers Earl and Timmy Smith. The Burke brothers had been in show business since at least 1957 as part of a four-member group with two of their two younger brothers.

"Ain't Nothin' But a House Party" (1967)
After rehearsing under the guidance of Solomon Burke, they modeled themselves initially on the Vibrations. After signing to local Philadelphia label Showtime Records, the Showstoppers had a couple of local hit singles in Philadelphia. Their 1967 hit "Ain't Nothin' But a Houseparty" b/w "What Can a Man Do?" (STR 101), sold well in Pittsburgh, and New York City, and sold about 40,000 copies in Philadelphia, and reached No. 118 on the Billboard chart on May 27, 1967. The session musicians on the song included Carl Chambers, who was later drummer with Gladys Knight & the Pips, Joe Thomas, who went on to become the guitarist with the Impressions, and Motown's Mike Terry on baritone sax.

By early 1968, the Antiguan-born American businessman Milton Samuel, the head of Beacon Records, a small independent record label started in January 1968 in the London suburb of Willesden, who was later Antigua and Barbuda's Ambassador to the UK and the founder of the Bank of Antigua, purchased the UK leasing rights for "Ain't Nothing But a House Party" for only £30. On February 16, 1968, "Ain't Nothing But a House Party" became the first release on Beacon Records, In March 1968 Samuel and Mike Berry of Apple Records had negotiated a deal for "Ain't Nothing But a House Party" to be released through a newly created Milton Apple Music, but the inability to locate one of the Beatles to approve the deal forced Samuel to make alternate arrangements. Initially distributed through the British Independent Record Distributors Network, "Ain't Nothing But a House Party" caught on with DJs in the UK, and spent 16 weeks in the chart, debuting at No. 57 on March 2, 1968, before entering the Top 40 at No. 38 on March 23, 1968. By the end of March, Samuel organized a British visit for the Showstoppers. The Showstoppers made the first of their three appearances on the British television program Top of the Pops on April 18, 1968. According to one British source, "Ain't Nothing But a House Party" "was played to death and back to life at the Twisted Wheel and Blue Note Club in Manchester", and peaked at No. 11 on May 4, 1968, in the UK Singles Chart. Later in May 1968 "Ain't Nothin' But a House Party" was released in Germany on Ariola Records and France on Barclay Records, and later released by Beacon in Scandinavia, the Benelux countries, Austria, Italy, Japan and New Zealand.

Jerry J. Ross, the head of newly created Heritage Records, heard about "Ain't Nothin' But a House Party" and decided to buy the master recording in 1968, and he also signed the Showstoppers to his label, became their manager, and organized MGM to distribute its re-release in the US. Despite rights being acquired for national release by MGM, it failed to become a national hit, spending 5 weeks in the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 87 on June 22, 1968. It was ranked No. 20 on the Soul Brothers Top 20 on August 15, 1968.

"Ain't Nothin' But a House Party" was a disco hit ( #33) in 1971.

Regarded as a Northern soul classic, the song has been covered by the Tremeloes (1968); the Paper Dolls; Cliff Richard on his album Cliff: Live at the Talk of the Town (1970); the J. Geils Band, who had a No. 2 AOR US hit with it in 1973; Noel McCalla in 1979; and Phil Fearon, who recorded a house music version produced by Stock Aitken Waterman in 1986 that reached No. 60 in the UK chart. "Ain't Nothing But a House Party" was covered in 1988 by British "supergroup" the Corporation.

"Eeny Meeny" (1968)
All of the Showstoppers subsequent singles were produced by Indian-British producer Biddu and recorded by Beacon Records in England. The Showstoppers' follow-up single, "Eeny Meeny" b/w "How Easy the Heart Forgets" (Heritage HE 802), was released in September 1968 in the US, but it failed to chart there. On November 7, 1968, the Showstoppers appeared on Beat! Beat! Beat!, a West German television show, where they lip synched "Ain't Nothin' But a House Party" and their new release, "Eeny Meeny". After Milton Samuel negotiated a deal in October 1968 to distribute Beacon Records recordings through EMI, on November 13, 1968 "Eeny Meeny", (MGM 1436), entered the UK chart, where it spent the next seven weeks, peaking at No. 33.

Later releases (1968–1972)
The Showstoppers released several more singles, including "Shake Your Mini" (1968); and 1969's "Just A Little Bit Of Lovin'" b/w "School Prom" (Beacon BEA 130), however none achieved chart success.

Chart success in the UK and Europe "created demand not only for the record but for live appearances as well". As the Showstoppers had disbanded, Jerry Ross sent a different group on an entire tour of the UK and Europe as the Show Stoppers, which was a group later known as the Persuaders, who would later score with "Thin Line Between Love and Hate". Eventually the authentic Showstoppers traveled to Europe and were well received.[better source needed]

On January 17, 1971, the Showstoppers performed at the Twisted Wheel Club in Manchester, England. The Showstoppers made their third and final appearance on Top of the Pops on February 28, 1971, singing the disco version of "Aint' Nothing But a House Party".

After their own tour of Europe, and in the absence of any other hit records, the Showstoppers disbanded finally about 1972.

08/16/2026

The Showstoppers (alternatively the Show Stoppers) was a four-piece...

08/13/2026

08/04/2026

Carl Graves and Soul Unlimited, Vancouver BC (1968)

Also includes The Poppy Family (Happy Together)

07/27/2026

The Garden City Soul Club is back with a dance on Saturday, Sept 12th at Downbeat, 1325 Government St, Victoria, BC. Stax-Volt, Motown, Funk and Northern Soul.

05/13/2026

Happening tonight!

Set in 1974, an authentic and uplifting tale of two friends whose horizons are opened up by the discovery of black American soul music.

05/01/2026

https://www.cinecenta.com/calendar/northern-soul/2026-05-13/

04/13/2026

Fontella Marie Bass (/bæs/; July 3, 1940 – December 26, 2012) was an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter best known for her number-one R&B hit "Rescue Me" in 1965. She also collaborated with artists like the Art Ensemble of Chicago, The Cinematic Orchestra, and her husband, jazz trumpeter Lester Bowie. Bass received two Grammy nominations and was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

Fontella Bass was born in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. She was the daughter of gospel singer Martha Bass, who was a member of the Clara Ward Singers, and the older sister of R&B singer David Peaston. At an early age, Fontella showed great musical talent. At the age of five, she provided the piano accompaniment for her grandmother's singing at funeral services, she sang in her church's choir at six, and by the time she was nine, she had accompanied her mother on tours throughout the South and Southwest United States.

Bass continued touring with her mother until the age of sixteen. As a teenager, Bass was attracted by more secular music. She began singing R&B songs at local contests and fairs while attending Soldan High School from which she graduated in 1958. At 17, she started her professional career working at the Showboat Club near Chain of Rocks, Missouri. In 1961, she auditioned on a dare for the Leon Claxton carnival show and was hired to play piano and sing in the chorus for two weeks, making $175 per week for the two weeks it was in town. She wanted to go on tour with Claxton but her mother refused; according to Bass, "she literally dragged me off the train". It was during this brief stint with Claxton that Bass was heard by vocalist Little Milton and his bandleader Oliver Sain, who hired her to back Little Milton on piano for concerts and recording.

Bass originally only played piano with the band, but one night Milton failed to arrive on time, so Sain asked her to sing and she was soon given her own featured vocal spot in the show. Milton and Sain eventually split up and Bass went with Sain; he also recruited male singer Bobby McClure and the group became known as "The Oliver Sain Soul R***e featuring Fontella and Bobby McClure".

With the support of Bob Lyons, the manager of St. Louis station KATZ, Bass recorded several songs released through Bobbin Records. She was produced by Ike Turner when she recorded on his labels Prann and Sonja. Her single "Poor Little Fool", released from Sonja in 1964, features Tina Turner. Bass saw no particular success with these singles. It was also during this period she met and subsequently married the jazz trumpeter, Lester Bowie.

Two years later, she quit the Milton band and moved to Chicago after a dispute with Oliver Sain. She auditioned for Chess Records, who immediately signed her as a recording artist to the subsidiary label Checker Records. Her first works with the label were several duets with Bobby McClure, who had also been signed to the label. Released early in 1965, their recording "Don't Mess Up a Good Thing" (credited to Oliver Sain) found immediate success, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard R&B chart and peaking at No. 33 on the Hot 100. The song was later recorded by Ry Cooder and Chaka Khan on Cooder's album Bop 'Til You Drop (1979).

Bass and McClure followed their early success with "You're Gonna Miss Me" that summer, a song that had mild success, reaching the Top 30 on the R&B chart, although it made no significant impression on the pop chart. After a brief tour, Bass returned to the studio. The culmination of one particular session was an original composition with an aggressive rhythm section; backing musicians on the track included drummer Maurice White (later the leader of Earth, Wind, & Fire), bassist Louis Satterfield (fellow future Earth, Wind, & Fire member) and tenor saxophonist Gene Barge, with the young Minnie Riperton among the backing singers. The resulting song, "Rescue Me" shot up the charts in late 1965. After a month-long run at the top of the R&B chart, the song reached No. 4 on the US pop chart and No. 11 in the UK singles chart, and gave Chess its first million-selling single since Chuck Berry a decade earlier. It sold more than one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

Bass followed with "Recovery", which did moderately well, peaking at number 13 (R&B) and number 37 (pop) in early 1966. The same year brought two more R&B hits: "I Can't Rest" (backed with "I Surrender)" and "You'll Never Know". Her only album with Chess Records, The New Look, sold reasonably well, but Bass soon became disillusioned with Chess and decided to leave the label after only two years, in 1967. Bass claimed that although the credited co-writers, Carl Smith and Raynard Miner, and record producer Billy Davis had assured her that her contribution to co-writing the lyrics of "Rescue Me" would be acknowledged, this was never done.

I had the first million seller for Chess since Chuck Berry about 10 years before. Things were riding high for them, but when it came time to collect my first royalty check, I looked at it, saw how little it was, tore it up and threw it back across the desk.

Bass demanded a better royalty rate and artistic control; she approached her then manager Billy Davis about securing her writing credit on the song but was told not to worry about it. When the record came out and her name was still not on it, she was told it would be on the legal documents, but this never happened. She continued to agitate about the matter for a couple of years but later recalled: "It actually side-stepped me in the business because I got a reputation of being a trouble maker".

Tiring of the mainstream music scene, she and husband Lester Bowie left America and moved to Paris in 1969, where she recorded two albums with the Art Ensemble of Chicago – Art Ensemble of Chicago with Fontella Bass and Les Stances a Sophie (both 1970). The latter was the soundtrack from the French movie of the same title, documented by the Library of Congress Jazz on the Screen database, which credits her as vocalist alongside Lester Bowie (trumpet), Joseph Jarman and Roscoe Mitchell (reeds), Malachi Favors (bass), and Don Moye (drums). She also appeared on Bowie's The Great Pretender (1981) and All the Magic (1982).

Even with the success of "Rescue Me", it was many years and much litigation before Bass would be credited with her share of the songwriting and the royalties. In 1993, Bass sued American Express for unauthorized use of the song in a commercial, and was awarded a significant settlement.

04/08/2026

Ray Charles - What'd I Say.................................................Ray Charles records What'd I Say on February 18, 1959. The single entered the US c...

04/08/2026

"What'd I Say" (or "What I Say") is an American rhythm and blues song by Ray Charles, released in June 1959. As a single divided into two parts, it was one of the first soul songs. The composition was improvised one evening late in 1958 when Charles, his orchestra, and backup singers had played their entire set list at a show and still had time left; the response from many audiences was so enthusiastic that Charles announced to his producer that he was going to record it.

After his run of R&B hits, this song finally broke Charles into mainstream pop music and itself sparked a new sub-genre of R&B titled soul, finally putting together all the elements that Charles had been creating since he recorded "I Got a Woman" in 1954. The gospel and rhumba influences combined with the sexual innuendo in the song made it not only widely popular but very controversial to both white and black audiences. It earned Ray Charles his first gold record and has been one of the most influential songs in R&B and rock and roll history. For the rest of his career, Charles closed every concert with the song. It was added to the National Recording Registry in 2002 and appeared in the 2003 and 2021 versions of Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list: at number 10 in 2003 and at number 80 in 2021.

Ray Charles was 28 years old in 1958, with ten years of experience recording primarily rhythm and blues music in a style similar to that of Nat King Cole and Charles Brown. He signed with Atlantic Records in 1952 where producers Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler encouraged him to broaden his repertoire. Wexler would later remember that Atlantic Records' success came not from the artists' experience, but the enthusiasm for the music: "We didn't know s**t about making records, but we were having fun". Ertegun and Wexler found that a hands-off approach was the best way of encouraging Charles. Wexler later said, "I realized the best thing I could do with Ray was leave him alone".

During Charles' heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, he toured for 300 days a year with a seven-piece orchestra. He employed another Atlantic singing trio named the Cookies and renamed them the Raelettes when they backed him up on the road. In 1954, Charles began merging gospel sounds and instruments with lyrics that addressed more secular issues. His first attempt was in the song "I Got a Woman", based either on the melodies from the gospel songs, The Southern Tones "It Must Be Jesus" or an uptempo, "I Got a Savior (Way Across Jordan)". It was Charles' first record that received attention from white audiences, but made some black audiences uncomfortable with its black gospel derivatives; Charles later stated that the joining of gospel and R&B was not a conscious decision.

In December 1958, he had a hit on the R&B charts with "Night Time Is the Right Time", an ode to carnality that was sung between Charles and one of the Raelettes, Margie Hendricks, with whom Charles was having an affair. Since 1956, Charles had also included a Wurlitzer electric piano on tour because he did not trust the tuning and quality of the pianos provided to him at every venue. On the occasions he would play it, he was derided by other musicians.

According to Charles' autobiography, "What'd I Say" was accidental when he improvised it to fill time at the end of a concert in December 1958. He asserted that he never tested songs on audiences before recording them, but "What'd I Say" was an exception. Charles himself did not recall where the concert took place, but Mike Evans in Ray Charles: The Birth of Soul placed the show in Brownsville, Pennsylvania. Shows were played at "meal dances" which typically ran four hours with a half-hour break, and would end around 1 or 2 in the morning. Charles and his orchestra had exhausted their set list after midnight, but had 12 minutes left to fill. He told the Raelettes, "Listen, I'm going to fool around and y'all just follow me".

Starting on the electric piano, Charles played what felt right: a series of riffs, switching then to a regular piano for four choruses backed up by a unique Latin conga tumbao rhythm on drums. The song changed when Charles began singing simple, improvised unconnected verses ("Hey Mama don't you treat me wrong / Come and love your daddy all night long / All right now / Hey hey / All right"). Charles used gospel elements in a twelve-bar blues structure. Some of the first lines ("See the gal with the red dress on / She can do the Birdland all night long") are influenced by a boogie-woogie style that Ahmet Ertegun attributes to Clarence "Pinetop" Smith, who used to call out to dancers on the dance floor, telling them what to do through his lyrics. In the middle of the song, however, Charles indicated that the Raelettes should repeat what he was doing, and the song transformed into a call and response between Charles, the Raelettes, and the horn section in the orchestra as they called out to each other in ecstatic shouts and moans and blasts from the horns.

The audience reacted immediately; Charles could feel the room shaking and bouncing as the crowd was dancing. Many audience members approached Charles at the end of the show to ask where they could purchase the record. Charles and the orchestra performed it again several nights in a row with the same reaction at each show. He called Jerry Wexler to say he had something new to record, later writing, "I don't believe in giving myself advance notices, but I figured this song merited it".

The Atlantic Records studio had just purchased an 8-track recorder, and recording engineer Tom Dowd was familiarizing himself with how it worked. On February 18, 1959, Charles and his orchestra finally recorded "What'd I Say" at Atlantic's small studio. Dowd recalled that it did not seem special at the time of recording. It was second of two songs during the session and Charles, the producers, and the band were more impressed with the first one at the session, "Tell the Truth": "We made it like we made all the others. Ray, the gals, and the band live in the small studio, no overdubs. Three or four takes, and it was done. Next!" In retrospect, Ahmet Ertegun's brother Nesuhi credits the extraordinary sound of the song to the restricted size of the studio and the technologically advanced recording equipment used; the sound quality is clear enough to hear Charles slapping his leg in time with the song when the music stops during the calls and responses. The song was recorded in only a few takes because Charles and the orchestra had perfected it while touring.

Dowd, however, had two problems during the recording. "What'd I Say" lasted over seven and a half minutes when the normal length of radio-played songs was around two and a half minutes. Furthermore, although the lyrics were not obscene, the sounds Charles and the Raelettes made in their calls and responses during the song worried Dowd and the producers. A previous recording called "Money Honey" by Clyde McPhatter had been banned in Georgia and Ahmet Ertegun and Wexler released McPhatter's song despite the ban, risking arrest. Ray Charles was aware of the controversy in "What'd I Say": "I'm not one to interpret my own songs, but if you can't figure out 'What I Say', then something's wrong. Either that, or you're not accustomed to the sweet sounds of love."

Dowd solved the recording issues by mixing three versions of the song. Some call-outs of "Shake that thing!" were removed, and the song was split into two three-and-a-half minute sides of a single record, titling the song "What'd I Say Part I" and "What'd I Say Part II". The recorded version divides the parts with a false ending where the orchestra stops and the Raelettes and orchestra members beg Charles to continue, then goes on to a frenzied finale. Dowd later stated after hearing the final recording that not releasing the record was never an option: "we knew it was going to be a hit record, no question." It was held for the summer and released in June 1959