The Skippy White Story: Boston Soul 1961-1969

by Skippy White Story: Boston Soul 1961-1969 / Var

Overview

A local legend in Boston, Skippy White was at the center of the city's R&B and soul scene, spinning his successful record stores into a radio show and, for a time, a series of labels that captured hometown talent. Curated and produced by Eli Paperboy Reed -- he provides liner notes co-written with co-producer Noah Schaffer, and Peter Wolf and Peter Guralnick both contribute essays as well -- The Skippy White Story: Boston Soul 1961-1969 chronicles the period when White was at the apex of his role as scene-maker, the time when he was the guy who helped create a thriving R&B, gospel, and blues scene in Boston. The liners tell the story of how White brought soul to the city through his radio show and stores, an interconnected enterprise that led him to harbor ambitions to be like his idol Bobby Robinson, the record man behind the Fire and Fury imprints. The Skippy White Story pulls from the 45s issued on the Stop, Ditto, Bluestown, and Silver Cross imprints, labels that allowed him to target soul, blues, and gospel artists. Here, the soul accounts for the first half of the compilation, with the blues and gospel the second. The uptown grooves and harmony of the Precisions and the Earl Lett Quartet are the highlights, capturing the sophisticated strut and shuffles that fueled soul in the first two thirds of the 1960s. They're so cheerful that the acoustic blues of Guitar Nubbit provides a bit of a shock initially, but he, along with the gospel singers, do help illustrate the broad reach of Skippy White. What connects the 15 singles on The Skippy White Story is how the exuberant energy of the artist is captured with thin, compressed sound. These were records done on the cheap, so it's not a surprise they sound a little flimsy, but that's part of the appeal of the set: it's not so much a collection of lost gems as a snapshot of a scene that was in danger of fading away. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	10/28/2022
Label:	Yep Roc
UPC:	0634457071827
Rank:	8171

Tracks

1. The Skippy White Theme, Pt. 1  - Herschell Dwellingham  -  Precisions  - Junior Washington
2. Sleepwalk  - David Adams  -  Sammy & the Del-Lards
3. What Would You Do  - Herschell Dwellingham  -  Precisions  - James Washington
4. Do the Thing  - Earl Lett
5. The Love I Found in You  - Herschell Dwellingham  -  Precisions  - James Washington
6. Treason  -  Precisions
7. Now Is the Time  - Earl Lett
8. Me and My Gal  -  Precisions
9. The Skippy White Theme, Pt. 2  -  Precisions  - James Washington  - Junior Washington
10. Georgia Chain Gang  - Alvin Hankerson  - Guitar Nubbit
11. Evil Woman Blues  - Alvin Hankerson  - Guitar Nubbit
12. Master on High  -  Crayton Singers  - , Huston Jr. Crayton
13. Holy Ghost and Fire  -  Lords Messengers
14. I've Been Lifted Out of Sin  - Ernest Frazier  -  Sons of David
15. I Was Standing  -  Lynn Harmonizers  - Isaiah Suggs

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Sammy & the Del-Lards   Primary Artist
Junior Washington   Primary Artist
The Precisions   Primary Artist,Vocals
Sons of David   Primary Artist
The Lynn Harmonizers   Primary Artist
The Crayton Singers   Primary Artist
Earl Lett   Primary Artist
The Lords Messengers   Primary Artist
Guitar Nubbit   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Isaiah Suggs   Composer
Huston Crayton, Jr.   Composer
Ellen Nations   Photography
David Adams   Composer
Skippy White   Producer
Kevin Blackler   Mastering
Ernest Frazier   Composer
Eli "Paperboy" Reed   Compilation Producer,Liner Notes
Herschell Dwellingham   Composer,Arranger
John Sellards   Design
Noah Schaefer   Liner Notes,Producer
Alvin Hankerson   Composer
Joe McEwen   Executive Producer
Peter Guralnick   Liner Notes
Earl Lett   Composer
Peter Wolf   Liner Notes
James Washington   Composer