Backing tracks
In addition to the solo recordings released under Lonnie Youngblood´s name Jimi & Lonnie also recorded a number of tracks that I'll (for lack of a better term) call here "backing tracks". Some of these recordings remained unreleased until Johnny Brantley issued them on his "Jimi Hendrix" -LPs, others were officially released in 1966-1971 by the following artists:
see The Icemen discography & artists -entries
see the Billy LaMont discography & artist -entries
see the Jimmy Norman discography & artists -entries
see the Lenny Howard discography & artists -entries
see the George Scott discography & artists -entries
Herman Hitson said in an interview that when he recorded for Brantley the backing tracks (by the Ohio Players) for his songs were already done when he himself arrived at the studio. It seems to have been a quite common practice for many a 60s soul record producer to recycle a backing track for use by different vocalists (like the re-use of the "Help Me (Get The Feeling)" -backing track for three different artists by King Curtis, see the Ray Sharpe -entry).
All of the 45s released from these "backing track" sessions credit Johnny Brantley as the producer and Lonnie Youngblood either as an arranger or a co-producer so it's quite likely that Lonnie was acting as a sort of musical director for Brantley, very similar to what King Curtis was doing for Atlantic. He and Hendrix cut backing tracks with or without the featured artists present in the studio, and Youngblood possibly then also helped arrange & record the vocals during the same session or at a later date.
The following is speculation on what kind of session blocks the backing tracks originally might have been recorded in:
Session 1
(My Girl) She's A Fox - The Icemen
(I Wonder) What It Takes - The Icemen
That Little Old Groovemaker - Jimmy Norman
You're Only Hurting Yourself - Jimmy Norman
Under The Table
The tracks with the Icemen & Jimmy Norman on vocals were all released as two 45s on Samar. It sounds like one of the Jimmy Norman tracks might have the Icemen on backing vocals and three of the four tracks with vocals have the featured artist(s) also credited as composers so they were probably in the studio with the band instead of just overdubbing vocals to a pre-recorded track. Additionally none of these tracks have ever surfaced with different vocals by other artists (unlike "Sweet Thang" and "It's Gonna Take A Lot (To Bring Me Back Baby)") which might indicate that these songs were originally cut solely for release by The Icemen & Jimmy Norman.
All of these tracks however ended up being reused with the vocals wiped and new overdubs added or as different takes, first on the LP Two Great Experiences Together! and later on various other releases. Most likely Johnny Brantley had a legal problem using the original vocal versions as they had originally been released by Samar. So to get around this problem he later either wiped the vocals and re-named the tracks or used different vocal takes when available. So these tracks are included here in the Lonnie Youngblood Backing Tracks -section as Brantley treated them as such and clearly was able to remove the vocals when necessary.
"Under The Table" is very similar in mix and instrumentation to the Icemen recordings so could very well be unused material from these sessions. The track may have been an attempt by Jimi & Lonnie to record a King Curtis -style instrumental, the lack of vocals was later in 1970 compensated for with additional sax & (non-Hendrix) guitar overdubs to fill the gaps where the band was just playing rhythm before it's release on the LP Two Great Experiences Together!.
Session 2
Wipe The Sweat - Lonnie Youngblood
Sweet Thang - Billy Lamont
Keep The Faith, Baby - Lenny Howard
Sweet Thang - George Scott
It's Gonna Take A Lot (To Bring Me Back Baby) - Peanuts
I'm a Fool For You - George Scott
Despite the six song listing above were are actually just talking about two different songs here:
"Sweet Thang" / "Wipe The Sweat" / "Keep The Faith, Baby" all use the same backing track and music with different lyrics. The backing track was very likely originally cut as an instrumental without a vocalist. There are three takes of the backing track available, takes 1 and 2 were originally instrumental with no vocals, some incidental vocals by Lonnie Youngblood were overdubbed on these two in 1970. Take three in turn is available in multiple vocal versions: with Jimi & Lonnie as a duo, Billy Lamont, Lenny Howard and George Scott - that's a total of four different vocal versions with three different sets of lyrics so far discovered.
"It's Gonna Take A Lot (To Bring Me Back Baby) / I'm a Fool For You" is another case of the same backing track being used for two different sets of lyrics and two different vocalists - one sung by Peanuts and the other by George Scott.
My theory is that these tracks were originally recorded as backing tracks, just as ready to use band tracks for someone to record their vocals on as chosen by Johnny Brantley. "Wipe The Sweat" is the only recorded occasion pre-"Hey Joe" of Jimi singing lead vocals during a studio session and can hardly be called a great debut - the vocals were probably done by Lonnie & Jimi just as a bit of fun or to act as a guide for other artists and never meant for release?
PUBLISHING
Another point of interest is the publishing credits on the various 45 labels. They are as follows:
The Icemen on Samar: BOZART & ZIRA MUSIC INC. - BMI
Jimmy Norman on Samar: BOZART MUSIC, INC. BMI
Billy LaMont on 20th Century Fox: Cudda Pane Music, Inc. - BMI
Lenny Howard on Real George: Bozart Music, Inc.
A search for "Bozart" in the BMI catalog gives two results:
BOZART CUDDA-PANE
BOZART MUSIC INC
Both have the same registration number thus they are one and the same company.
For all the Lonnie Youngblood 45s on Fairmount the publishing company was Cameo-Parkway Pub. - Nujot Music Pub. Co. - BMI
The difference in publishing credits would also seem to point to different circumstances under which the tracks were recorded with the Lonnie Youngblood produced Lonnie Youngblood solo material published by Nujot Music and all the Johnny Brantley produced "backing track" -material published by Bozart Cudda-Pane.
THE SONGS
What follows here is a listing of all know different takes and mixes regardless of the vocalists (or lack of vocals):
It's Gonna Take A Lot (To Bring Me Back Baby)
Composers: Richard Poindexter, Daisy Holland
Recorded at: unknown studio, New York City, New York, USA
Producer: Johnny Brantley?
Date: early 1966
Drums: ?
Bass: ?
Piano: ?
Organ: ?
Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Horns: Lonnie Youngblood
Backing vocals: unknown
This track was first released as “Gonna Take a Lot” in 1973 on the LP The Genius of Jimi Hendrix (Trip TLP-9523), for a long time listed as a fake but I've decided to move it here in the backing tracks section under genuine Hendrix recordings instead as more information has surfaced.
The best guess for the vocalist has been Gloria Barnes who recorded the extremely rare LP Uptown for Johnny Brantley on the Maple label (reissued on CD along with the Maple LP by The Chosen Few (Castle CMQCD1546, 2007)). Barnes’s vocals sound quite similar to the vocals on this song, and she was also an artist in the Brantley stable.
However, in 2012 I exchanged emails with Robert Poindexter and after sending him an mp3 of the track got the following surprise reply: "The version of "It's Gonna Take a Lot" that you sent me is not a girl, but a male falsetto singer who's nick name was Peanuts (I don't remember his real name)". The only possible candidate for the singer with a nickname anywhere close to "Peanut" that I found was Little Joe Cook who had a song called "Peanut" but unfortunately according to Robert Poindexter this was not a match so the true identity of "Peanuts" remains a mystery.
A different mix of this recording was used for a version by George Scott, re-titled “I'm a Fool for You” with new lyrics (but with the same backing track and with the backing vocalists still singing “to bring me back baby”).
The song was also recorded by The Manhattans, "It's Gonna Take A Lot To Bring Me Back / Give Him Up" (Deluxe #115) was released around December 1969 / January 1970 and the Icemen also released their version on "It's Gonna Take A Lot (To Bring Me Back Baby) / It's Time You Knew" (OLE-9 1007/8).
I'm a Fool For You (aka It's Gonna Take A Lot (To Bring Me Back Baby))
Composers:
music - Richard Poindexter (and Daisy Holland?)
lyrics - James Lewis, Edward Lewis, Marion Farmer?
Recorded at: unknown studio, New York City, New York, USA
Producer: Johnny Brantley?
Date: early 1966
Drums: ?
Bass: ?
Piano: ?
Organ: ?
Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Horns: Lonnie Youngblood
Strings: unknown (later overdub)
Vocals: George Scott
Backing vocals: unknown
This track uses the "It's Gonna Take A Lot (To Bring Me Back Baby)" -backing track but has completely different lyrics and is now titled "I'm a Fool For You" with new vocals by George Scott (but with the backing vocalists still singing "to bring me back baby"). This was released on the LP Find Someone To Love (Maple 6008). The LP credits J. Lewis - E. Lewis - M. Farmer with the composing, this may be correct for the lyrics but it's incorrect for the music.
(I Wonder) What It Takes
Composers: Gino Armstrong, James Stokes,Robert Poindexter
Arranged by: Lonnie Youngblood
Recorded at: unknown studio, New York City, New York, USA
Producer: Johnny Brantley
Date: early 1966
Drums: ?
Bass: ?
Piano: Richard Poindexter?
Guitar on take 3: ? (overdubbed later)
Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Horns: Lonnie Youngblood (some overdubbed later)
Take 1 (0.35)
Stereo version only. Short aborted take.
Take 2 (0.05)
Stereo version only. False start.
Take 3 - Mix 1 (2.34)
Mono and stereo versions. Instrumental backing track with guitar & sax overdubs in stereo (added when the Two Great Experiences Together! LP was being prepared in 1970), commonly titled as "Psycho".
Available on:
Mono version - LP For Real! (DJLMD 8011)
Stereo version - CD The Magic Collection (ARC Records MEC 949009)
Take 3 - Mix 2 (2.34)
Vocals: Gino Armstrong, James Stokes (The Icemen)
Mono version only.
Available on: 7" The Icemen: (My Girl) She's A Fox / (I Wonder) What It Takes (Samar S-111)
Also available on: CD Experiences (Pulsar PULS 004)
Keep The Faith, Baby (aka Sweet Thang)
Composers: Lonnie Youngblood, O.Jones
Arranged by: T.Staff and Lonnie Youngblood ?
Recorded at: unknown studio, New York City, New York, USA
Engineer: ?
Producer: Johnny Brantley
Date: early 1966
Drums: ?
Bass: ?
Piano: ?
Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Horns: Lonnie Youngblood
Vocals: Lenny Howard
In mono. Horns come in at c. 0.08.The backing track is basically the same as Take 3 of "Wipe The Sweat" but with a vocal overdub by Lenny Howard. The mix is very different but contains all the same instruments, the horns come in right at the start (unlike the Billy LaMont version where they come in much later) and both versions fade out at the same point.
Available on: 7" Lenny Howard: Keep The Faith, Baby / Darlin' (Real George 501)
(My Girl) She's A Fox
Composers: Richard Poindexter, Robert Poindexter
Arranged by: Lonnie Youngblood
Recorded at: unknown studio, New York City, New York, USA
Producer: Johnny Brantley
Date: early 1966
Drums: ?
Bass: ?
Piano: Richard Poindexter 1
Organ: ?
Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Take 1
Vocals: Gino Armstrong, James Stokes (The Icemen)
Mono version only
Available on: 7" The Icemen: (My Girl) She's A Fox / (I Wonder) What It Takes (Samar S-111)
Also available on: CD Before The Experience (Classic Popular CDCD 1172).
Take 2
Vocals: Gino Armstrong, James Stokes (The Icemen)
Different backing track. Stereo version only.
Available on: LP Free Spirit (Thunderbird Records TDR-300)
Sweet Thang
Composers: Lonnie Youngblood, Johnny Brantley, Billy LaMont
Arranged by: T.Staff and Lonnie Youngblood
Recorded at: unknown studio, New York City, New York, USA
Engineer: ?
Producer: Johnny Brantley
Date: early 1966
Drums: ?
Bass: ?
Piano: ?
Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Horns: Lonnie Youngblood
This track uses Take 3 of "Wipe The Sweat" as the backing track over which Billy LaMont's & George C. Scott's vocals were overdubbed.
Mix 1 (2.22)
Vocals: Billy LaMont
In mono, uses the same backing tracks as Take 3 of "Wipe The Sweat". Horns come in at c. 0.48. Fades 1-2 seconds earlier than mix 2, the big difference in time is probably down to the mastering speed.
Available on: 7" Billy LaMont: Sweet Thang (20th Century-Fox Records 45-6707).
Mix 2 (2.32)
Vocals: Billy LaMont
In mono and stereo, uses the same backing tracks as Take 3 of "Wipe The Sweat". Horns come in at c. 0.08 and instrument balance is different.
Available on:
Stereo version - CD Before The Experience (Classic Popular CDCD 1172)
Mono version - LP For Real! (DJLMD 8011)
Mix 3 (2.32)
Vocals: George Scott
Backing vocals: unknown 1
Backing vocals: unknown 2
In stereo. Horns come in at c. 0.08.The backing track is the same as Take 3 of "Wipe The Sweat". The mix is very different but contains all the same instruments, the horns come in right at the start (unlike the Billy LaMont version where they come in much later) and both versions fade out at the same point. This one has the best quality of all the currently available versions, it's a very clear genuine stereo mix of the complete track. In addition to George C. Scott there are also two backing vocalists on this track.
Available on:
Stereo version - LP Find Someone To Love (Maple 6008)
That Little Old Groovemaker
Composer: Jimmy Norman
Recorded at: unknown studio, New York City, New York, USA
Producer: Johnny Brantley
Date: early 1966
Drums: ?
Bass: ?
Piano: ?
Organ on Take 2 - Mix 2: ?
Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Horns: Lonnie Youngblood
Take 1 [aka Groovemaker]
Vocals: Jimmy Norman
Mono and stereo versions. This is the most commonly available vocal version.
Available on:
Stereo version - CD Before The Experience (Classic Popular CDCD 1172)
Mono version - LP For Real! (DJLMD 8011)
Take 2 - Mix 1
Vocals: Jimmy Norman
Mono version only. Different backing track & vocals compared to Take 1, this version has only been released on the Samar 7".
Available on: 7" You're Only Hurting Yourself / That Little Old Groovemaker (Samar 112)
Take 2 - Mix 2 [aka Groove]
Mono version only. Instrumental mix of Take 2 with the vocals removed and an organ added. This mix has an extra 3 seconds at start that was cut from the vocal Mix 1, but fades out about 13 seconds earlier than Mix 1. This version has been mastered at a different speed than Mix 1 so timings are approximate...
Available on: LP Before London (ACCORD SN-7101) USA 1980
The song was also released by Daniel E. Skidmore III (Brother Soul) on the 7" "Little Old Groovemaker / Listen To The Wind" (Cameo Parkway P-131). Recording director Neil Bogart. Bogart was working for Cameo-Parkway at the time, he later founded Casablanca records and signed Kiss as the first act on the label.
Under The Table
Composer: Jimi Hendrix
Recorded at: unknown studio, New York City, New York, USA
Producer: Johnny Brantley?
Date: early 1966
Drums: ?
Bass: ?
Organ: Richard Poindexter?
Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Guitar (overdub on Take 2): ?
Horns: Lonnie Youngblood
Tambourine: ?
The mix of the basic track instrumentation on the stereo mixes of the two takes of "Under The Table" is the same as on the stereo mixes of "(I Wonder) What It Takes" with chorus sax on the right and the rest of the band in the middle. The sound of the recordings and the song structures are quite similar as well so "Under The Table" may have been recorded during the Icemen single sessions, or around the same time.
The writing credits for this track are interesting. The Maple LP labels credit it to "Youngblood, Hendrix" but the 1971 copyright registrations 2 for the lp as follows:
UNDER THE TABLE; m Jimi Hendrix. 1p.
© Bella Godiva Music, Inc.; 8Apr71;
EU246060.
TABLE II; m Jimi Hendrix. 2p.
© Bella Godiva Music, Inc.; 8Apr71;
EU246061.
TABLE III; m Jimi Hendrix. 1p.
© Bella Godiva Music, Inc.; 8Apr71;
EU246059.
I`m inclined to believe that the copyright registrations are more reliable than the vinyl labels. After all the official registration is where the authorship (and hence the sharing of profits) was determined and Jimi was registered as the sole composer of the music even though he had passed a few months earlier.
Jimi may have been considering a solo career playing guitar instrumentals as his next move in 1966. There were several registered / recorded in the first half of 1966: "Hornet`s Nest", "No Such Animal", "Knock Yourself Out", "Station Break" and the semi-instrumental live "Driving South" with Curtis Knight. "Under The Table" with Lonnie Youngblood seems to be another one. These instrumentals by far overshadow the known attempts by Jimi to try compose lyrics or sing vocals in 1965-1966.
"Jest Smoochin`" by King Curtis from 1958 is a close relative of "Under The Table", an instrumental with guitar, sax & organ with very similar structure. Of course there are hundreds of other tracks like this one but since King Curtis has been a clear influence on Lonnie Youngblood I think it`s possible that Jimi & Lonnie were trying to record something along the same lines. The beginning of "Jest Smoochin`" is very similar to the second part of "Under The Table" (after the break in the middle):
Confusing the matters are the overdubs on the two versions of "Under The Table" on the Maple LP. Take 2 has a guitar overdub added that clearly isn`t Jimi and on Take 1 there are sax overdubs (which may or may not be from 1966) filling the same part of the track. So it seems that the master had not been finished or something was mixed out and replaced in 1970 with guitar and possibly sax overdubs. Which makes it hard to say exactly what the original track was like or what it was going to be like.
The "Under The Table" -segment on the Maple LP seems to have been constructed to illustrate "progress" on the recording. The track gets longer and more overdubs are added with each version. This is basically a tape of a mixing session, either an authentic work tape or just put together to sound like a work in progress for inclusion on the LP. And very likely done to stretch out the available material, the playing time of the Two Great Experiences Together! LP is just under 30 minutes even with the repetition.
Take 1 - Mix 1
Mono mix. This is an incomplete 0.38 segment of Take 1. Chorus sax comes in at 0.34, this is mixed in mono/central here. On the following mix the chorus sax is mixed right. Unfortunately it is impossible to tell whether the chorus sax was on the original 1966 multitrack or a if it´s a new 1970 overdub. My guess is that it`s an original 1966 part but there is no way to be sure by just listening to the LP.
Take 1 - Mix 2
Stereo mix. Longer 1.35 part of the song, now with a tambourine overdub on left. The chorus sax part starts much earlier, at 0.10, than on Mix 1 and is now mixed right. So the first chorus sax part segment on this mix at 0.10-0.34 is either a different overdub or was mixed out on Mix 1. A solo sax part overdub starts at 0.56, mixed to the right. At 1.23 the solo part fades out and the backing track rolls on for a while before being cut at 1.35.
This mix either fades or cuts out depending on the release.
Take 1 - Mix 3
There are stereo and mono mixes of the complete take. The engineer says "this is two" followed by some bits of guitar (the master tape is playing played and rewound). The talking is edited out on some releases. What this short bit makes clear is that the heavy reverb on Jimi`s guitar was added in the mixing stage as it rings on after the music is cut. This would not happen if the reverb had been a "live" effect on Jimi´s guitar, and if you listen to Mix 1 the rest of the band seems to have been mixed "dry", the reverb is only on Jimi`s guitar. Hence whenever this batch of edits and mixes was made it was probably made from a multitrack tape.
The mix stays the same as on Mix 2 up to 1.23. The solo sax part on the right which started at 0.56 and faded out at 1.23 on the previous mix also starts at 0.56 on this mix but runs a split second longer here and does not fade out. Then either the same take or another sax overdub starts in the left channel and runs to the end of the track.
Take 2
There are stereo and mono mixes of the complete take. This is a different take with the band playing basically the same parts with one big difference. At 0.59 the solo sax part ends or is mixed out and an overdubbed guitar part which runs till the end of the track begins. This is clearly not Jimi so it`s most likely a 1970 overdub.
Wipe The Sweat (aka Sweet Thang)
Composers: Lonnie Youngblood, Johnny Brantley, Billy LaMont?
Arranged by: T.Staff and Lonnie Youngblood?
Recorded at: unknown studio, New York City, New York, USA
Engineer: ?
Producer: Johnny Brantley
Date: early 1966
Drums: ?
Bass: ?
Piano: ?
Lead guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Rhythm guitar on take 1: unknown (1970 overdub)
Horns: Lonnie Youngblood
Three takes of "Wipe The Sweat" exist. The third one was used as the backing track for "Sweet Thang" and "Keep The Faith, Baby". Takes 1 and 2 have Lonnie on vocals, take 3 features both Lonnie & Jimi. Very likely the first two takes originally had no vocals but were instead unused out-takes with Lonnie's vocals added along with other overdubs when the Two Great Experiences Together! LP was being prepared in 1970. This theory is also supported by the odd mix of take 3 that sounds like it was meant to hide something with the heavy effects added.
Take 1 (2.47)
Vocals: Lonnie Youngblood
There is a mono and a stereo mix available of take 1, unfortunately both have the same added 1970 overdubs.
Original instrumentation:
Jimi's guitar part (mixed central)
Bass (mixed central)
Drums (mixed right)
Horns (mixed right)
1970 overdubs:
Lonnie's vocals (mixed left)
Rhythm guitar (mixed right)
Lonnie's solo sax (mixed left)
On the stereo mix the new overdubs are mixed left: sax, rhythm guitar and some vocals by Lonnie Youngblood. The background horns have been mixed low.
Available on:
Stereo mix - CD The Early Years (Classic Rock CDCD 1189)
Mono mix - LP For Real! (DJLMD 8011)
Take 2 (3.29)
Vocals: Lonnie Youngblood
This take has 1970 sax & vocal overdubs, background horns have been wiped (some leakage is still audible). Stereo version only.
Original instrumentation:
Jimi's guitar part (mixed central)
Bass (mixed central)
Drums (mixed central)
Horns (central but wiped with leakage left over / mixed very low)
1970 overdubs:
Lonnie's vocals (mixed left and right)
Lonnie's solo sax (mixed left and right)
Available on: CD The Early Years (Classic Rock CDCD 1189)
Take 3 (2.44)
Vocals: Lonnie Youngblood & Jimi Hendrix
This is the same basic track used for "Sweet Thang" and "Keep The Faith, Baby". The mix is very different to those versions, drums are more up, and together with lead guitar have heavy echo. Background horns are up in the mix. Jimi on lead vocals on the second verse. Mono version only.
This track doesn't seem to have any 1970 overdubs, all of the instrumentation seems to be original.
Original instrumentation:
Jimi's guitar part
Bass
Drums
Horns
Lonnie's vocals
Jimi's vocals
Available on: CD Jimi Hendrix & The Lonnie Youngblood Band - Rare Hendrix (Play Collection 10027-2)
You're Only Hurting Yourself
Composer: Jimmy Norman
Recorded at: unknown studio, New York City, New York, USA
Producer: Johnny Brantley
Date: early 1966
Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Mix 1 [aka Two In One Goes]
Mono and stereo mixes. Instrumental mix of the track with two sax overdubs (added when the Two Great Experiences Together! LP was being prepared in 1970), probably the inspiration behind the re-naming of the track.
Available on: LP Two Great Experiences Together! (Maple LPM-6004)
Mix 2
Vocals: Jimmy Norman
Backing vocals: The Icemen (Gino Armstrong & James Stokes) ?
Mono mix only.
Available on: 7" You're Only Hurting Yourself / That Little Old Groovemaker (Samar 112)
SOURCES
1 emails from Robert Poindexter (via Jacqueiline Poindexter) 7 February 2012 & 4 June 2012
2 Catalog of Copyright Entries 1971 Music Jan-June 3D Series Vol 25 Pt 5 Secs 1-2