Sharpees – I’ve Got a Secret
The Sharpees
Greetings all.
One of the great truisms of soul music, is that even though not all roads lead to Chicago, many of the best ones do.
Though over the years I set out to collect regional sounds, especially New Orleans and Philadelphia, later in the game I discovered that when I wasn’t looking, my Chitown crate had swollen considerably.
The groovy thing is, that even taking into consideration the volume of high-quality Chicago soul sides I already know/own, there are tons more, and new stuff I’m discovering all the time.
One of the Chicago groups I came to fairly late in the game is the Sharpees.
Formed in the early 60s as part of Benny Sharp’s revue, the Sharpees, which included (at various times) Stacy Johnson, Herbert Reeves, Benny Sharp, Horise O’Toole and Guy Vernon, laid down a great string of 45s for One-Derful in 1965 and 1966.
Cuts like ‘Do the 45’ , ‘Tired of Being Lonely’ and today’s selection, ‘I’ve Got a Secret’.
The Sharpees had the good fortune to benefit from the songwriting talents of the great Eddie Silvers (of Eddie and the Dehavelons) who wrote or co-wrote several of their best sides.
The group had the benefit of alternating leads, with a raspy baritone competing with a high, stylish tenor, and lots of that classy Chicago soul feel.
‘I’ve Got a Secret’ is a great dancer, which opens with a heavy drum hit, followed by a propulsive bass which is countered by xylophone accents. The lead and the group harmonies are top notch.
The Sharpees 45s are consistently excellent, and since none of them are that expensive (with the Northern fave ‘Tired of Being Lonely’, their biggest hit topping out at around 40 bucks) you have no excuse not to file your own copies.
I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll see you on Friday.
Keep the faith
Larry
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).
Themocracy