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Artists associated
with Goldwax Records
more...
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The Goldwax
Record Label
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Doc Russell and Quinton Claunch,
with Stan Kesler seated
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Any cursory appreciation of the world that is southern soul usually points
primarily in the direction of Stax, Fame,
and Muscle
Shoals. There are good reasons for this of course, with those labels and
studios pushing out some of the greatest popular music of the 20th century.
Much less likely to receive general nods of recognition, but much beloved by
country soul lovers everywhere, is the output from the Goldwax label.
Known, if known at all, as the recording home of the great but ill-fated James
Carr, the gold/yellow label produced more than its fair share of southern soul
classics throughout the 60s; now that the Goldwax imprint has received the
repackaging it deserves, perhaps the Goldwax roster will receive the acclaim
that its due.
The Goldwax label was formed on 11th August, 1964 by
Quinton Claunch and Doc Russell (the latter a pharmacist by profession and the man who put
up most of the initial money required). Claunch had spent much of his time on
the road as a travelling salesman although he'd combined the job with a series
of ventures that kept him on the periphery of the music business - including a
stint in a Muscle Shoals country band in the 1940s. Claunch had also appeared
on and co-written a number of early sides for the Sun label and it was through
his co-writer there, Bill Cantrell, that he got involved in the early
development of the Hi label. Not for the first time, his concern about the
insecurities of the music business led him to sell up his interests in the
business and leave Hi (to his eternal regret).
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The Ovations
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It was when Claunch and Russell saw the success of both Stax and Rick Hall's
Fame enterprise that they decided to have a shot at their own label. From 1964
to 1970, the Goldwax label released around 60 or so singles, the first of them
being 'Darling' by black vocal group The
Lyrics. It didn't set the world on
fire, but it was a sizeable regional hit and it did prove that Claunch had a
feel for the R&B market. Early on Goldwax was distributed by a Vee-Jay
subsidiary but from 1966 onwards they were distributed by Bell.
One of the key turning points for the label was the arrival of two gospel
singers, along with the writer Roosevelt Jamison - allegedly, and
perhaps anecdotally (although Claunch has confirmed the story), turning up at
Claunch's home with demo tapes at midnight. One of the demos eventually became
the wonderful single release by O.V Wright, 'That's How Strong My Love
Is'. The other singer to turn up that night was the great vocalist James
Carr, a stunning performer but, as it turned out, singularly ill-equipped
for success. He was the only Goldwax artist to enjoy consistent success on the
R&B charts, although the Ovations scored a couple of minor hits.
Spencer
Wiggins, a truly fine and emotive singer, never even charted. 'Dark End Of The
Street' is the classic for which Carr is particularly remembered, a desperate
and forlorn tale of furtive and illicit love. It's been recorded by many
artists (a brilliant version from Aretha, an understated version from
Percy Sledge, a
Ry Cooder instrumental and a great country take
from the Flying Burrito Brothers among them) but Carr's is the most intense and
probably still the best.
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Spencer Wiggins
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The Goldwax partnership never owned its own studio, preferring to utilise
the resources available at Hi, American, Lynn-Lou and, occasionally, the Fame
studios in Alabama. Even so, a Goldwax style began to develop - downhome, very
obviously out of the church, usually featuring a horn section but with limited
orchestration. At its best with trademark country soul ballads and possibly
even more downhome than its Stax neighbour, it nonetheless produced more than
its fair share of up tempo numbers. The label had access to a number of fine
writers, including the aforementioned Roosevelt Jamison, George Jackson (Bob
Seger's 'Old Time Rock and Roll' anyone...) and O.B
McClinton, as well as
Claunch himself and they were all at their best on deep ballads with a strong
country influence.
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O.V Wright
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The end of the initial Goldwax label came around 1969. Tensions had begun to
appear in the relationship between the partners, and the personal relationships
weren't helped by James Carr's increasing isolation and instability - it's
difficult to overestimate Carr's importance to the label and they never really
found a replacement or someone else of comparable stature. It might have been
very different had they managed to hold on to O.V Wright after the success of
'That's How Strong My Love Is'; but a label dispute with Duke /
Peacock (O.V
was contracted to Duke as a member of the Sunset Travelers and although O.V
didn't believe it included his work as a solo artist, Don Robey disagreed).
Since you didn't mess around with Robey at the time, Goldwax cut its losses,
took the rights to the song but gave up on the artist.
The Ovations and Spencer Wiggins continued to work in Memphis with the
Sounds
for Memphis and XL labels, while Claunch took Carr's contract to
Atlantic. Doc
Russell never really got involved in the music business again and died in 1989.
Claunch continued to work in the business (even though he also went back on the
road as a travelling salesman) and he finally resurrected the label in the mid
80s, recording artists such as Gwen McCrae and
Margie
Alexander. And of course
he also produced James Carr's 'comeback' albums "Soul Survivor" and
"Take Me To The Limit", both fine if limited sets.
With Claunch still active, and the reissue programme underway (you can
already get an updated James Carr compilation and "The Goldwax Story -
Volume 1" on the Kent reissue label) the Goldwax story isn't over yet.
Copyright Peter Dean ©
1998 - 2003 Courtesy of R&B Music Primer - www.rhythmandtheblues.org.uk
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