{"id":1100,"date":"2010-12-02T12:33:13","date_gmt":"2010-12-02T17:33:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/funky16corners.lunarpages.net\/?p=1100"},"modified":"2012-12-23T10:21:41","modified_gmt":"2012-12-23T15:21:41","slug":"sweet-delightsdelights-orchestra-baby-be-mine-bw-pauls-midnight-ride","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/?p=1100","title":{"rendered":"Sweet Delights\/Delights Orchestra – Baby Be Mine b\/w Paul’s Midnight Ride"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Example\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Sweet Delights <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Example\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download – The Sweet Delights – Baby Be Mine <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>
\nListen\/Download – Delights Orchestra – Paul’s Midnight Ride <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Greetings all. <\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

The end of the week is upon us, and despite a couple of stumbling blocks (like my weak back<\/em>), it went pretty fast.<\/p>\n

Chanukah celebrations are underway (the Funky16Corners<\/strong> Compound is a multi-cultural thang where we light both the menorah and the Christmas tree) and everybody is tired but happy.<\/p>\n

Before we get started I should mention that tomorrow night the Funky16Corners Radio Show<\/strong> on Viva<\/strong> internet radio<\/a> arrives on the interwebs at 9PM and will be filled, as usual, with the best in funk, soul, jazz, rare groove and disco for your eager ears.<\/p>\n

\"Example\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

I should also remind you that the new Funky16Corners stickers<\/strong> are now available to one and all if you send a self-addressed, stamped envelope (unstamped if you are outside of the USA) to Funky16Corners, c\/o Grogan, 80 New Brunswick Ave, Brick, NJ 08724.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The tunes I bring you today come from both sides of a single 45 that has had a place in my Philly crates for what might be described as a long-ass time.<\/em><\/p>\n

I always dug it, and was intrigued by it (more on that in a minute) but it is also safe to say that I as mystified by it as well.<\/p>\n

The artists listed on the disc are the Sweet Delights <\/strong>(vocal side) and the Delights Orchestra <\/strong>(instrumental).
\nWhen I found this one, I already had another 45 by the Delights Orchestra (also on Atco), \u2018King of the Horse\u2019 b\/w \u2018Do Your Thing\u2019, both sides of which have appeared in Funky16Corners Radio podcasts.<\/a><\/p>\n

I grabbed that disc initially because it was quite obviously an attempt to cash in on the \u2018Horse\u2019 craze started by Cliff Nobles and Company<\/strong> in 1968. Check out Funky16Corners Radio v.22 \u2013 Horse Power <\/strong><\/a>for a look at a bunch of discs on the same tip.<\/p>\n

That said, it was probably a year or so later that I found today\u2019s 45s during a search in the wilds of the intertubes. When the disc fell through the mail slot and I gave it a spin I was pleasantly surprised to discover the vocal side of the 45.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately I was unable to turn up any information on the group, assuming \u2013 due both to the similar sound, and the familiar names of Frank Virtue<\/strong> and Johnny Stiles<\/strong> (post-Harthon) on the label \u2013 that what I was hearing was yet another iteration of the stalwart Philly rhythm section that played on so many amazing records over the years.<\/p>\n

I had no inkling whatsoever that the Sweet Delights were anything but an anonymous group of singers assembled for the session.<\/p>\n

However, sometimes \u2013 like a frozen mammoth exposed by a receding glacier \u2013 if you wait long enough, all will be revealed.<\/p>\n

During a perusal of an old back issue of Billboard magazine, I happened upon an ad for new releases on the Atco label that included the image of the Sweet Delights you see at the top of this post.<\/p>\n

That was a nice surprise, and it spurred me on to dig a little deeper.<\/p>\n

When I did \u2013 thanks to an article at the Classic Urban Harmony <\/strong><\/a>web site (which includes a much nicer picture of the group) \u2013 I discovered that one of the co-writers of \u2018Baby Be Mine\u2019, Eddie Edgehill<\/strong> had a long history in Philadelphia doowop groups like the Valentines<\/strong> and the Del Knights,<\/strong> eventually going on to form and record the Sweet Delights (which included his wife Geri Edgehill, Betty Allen, Valerie Brown, Grace Montgomery Allison<\/strong> and the group\u2019s sole male member, and the other co-writer of the song, Albert Byrd<\/strong>).*<\/p>\n

The Sweet Delights 45 was released in 1968, with the Delights Orchestra two-sider coming in 1969. ‘Baby Be Mine’ is a fast moving soul\/funk tune that bears a passing resemblance to Jackie Wilson’s<\/strong> ‘Higher and Higher’.<\/p>\n

Oddly, it was the instrumental side of the 45 that gained some traction on the radio, which is probably why the Sweet Delights are pictured in the ad, but the text is promoting the Delight\u2019s Orchestra.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also an interesting footnote in regard to \u2018Paul\u2019s Midnight Ride\u2019. I found a post on the Numero Group<\/strong> (issuers of many amazing compilations) blog about the track (\u2018Paul\u2019s Midnight Ride\u2019) being lifted and re-used on two other 45s,<\/a> one by DJ Tim Jacob<\/strong> in Wichita, Kansas, and the other by Sonorose \u2018Gay Poppa\u2019 Rutledge<\/strong> in Shreveport, Louisiana (though if you listen to the sound samples provided at the blog, both records sound exactly the same, with the same vocal laid over the \u2018Paul\u2019s Midnight Ride\u2019 track). How this track made it\u2019s way onto these records is anyone\u2019s guess, but I\u2019m willing to bet that the \u2018borrowing\u2019 was not officially sanctioned by the track\u2019s creators (none of whom are seem to be credited on the labels).<\/p>\n

Interesting, and a long way to travel for an obscure soul track.<\/p>\n

I hope you dig it, and I\u2019ll be back on Monday.<\/p>\n

Peace<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Larry<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n


\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Example\"<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

*For some reason \u2018Paul\u2019s Midnight Ride\u2019, basically the instrumental bed of \u2018Baby Be Mine\u2019 is credited on the 45 to Frank Virtue, Johnny Stiles and arranger Bobby Martin<\/strong><\/p>\n

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

PS Head over to Iron Leg
\n<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Sweet Delights Listen\/Download – The Sweet Delights – Baby Be Mine Listen\/Download – Delights Orchestra – Paul’s Midnight Ride   Greetings all. The end of the week is upon us, and despite a couple of stumbling blocks (like my weak back), it went pretty fast. Chanukah celebrations are underway (the Funky16Corners Compound is a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[46,11,17,14,15,55,66,69,74,12,18],"tags":[166,167,25,164],"class_list":["post-1100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-digging","category-funk","category-funk-45","category-funky16corners","category-funky16corners-radio","category-funky16cornersviva-internet-radio","category-instrumental","category-original-versions","category-philly-soul","category-soul","category-soul-45","tag-funky16corners","tag-funky16corners-radio","tag-philly-funk","tag-soul"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pMKgo-hK","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1100"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3473,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1100\/revisions\/3473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}