THE PYRAMIDS, "DEEP IN MY HEART FOR YOU" C/W "AND I NEED YOU," FEDERAL 45-12233 (REL.8/1955)

 

It fascinates me how I attract certain records to my orbit. Two Saturdays ago, I wrote about a 1957 release by The Tempo-Mentals, who had first recorded as The Pyramids:

https://franksjookbox.blogspot.com/2025/03/tempo-mentals-burning-desire-cw-dearest.html

Little did I know that their earlier single—one I said “…now commands a value 10 times what (this record) can ask, in top shape…” would soon be in my possession for peanuts. (Except they’d have to be almonds, because I have a peanut allergy.) It seemed that, by those words, I convinced a copy to show itself, and got my corpus vivum into the little hipster record shoppe where its owner filed it away as a generic “old record” and slapped a low price on it.

While this 1955 effort lacks the eerie majesty of The Tempo-Mentals’ 1957 Ebb effort, it is a magnificent example of the Black vocal group sound of its day. Since that earlier post spills the beans about these performers, I’m freed of a canned biography. Let’s go right to the vinyl and what’s etched into its circular surface…

But before we go there, I must acknowledge a minor flub on my part. I skipped over post 1779. I just blooped past that number. Thus, there is no post #1779. It is a ghost post—a cosmic entity that will never materialize.

Ahem.

“Deep in My Heart for You” was the template for “Burning Desire.” In its first state, it was composed by Johnny Otis, the LA-based Black music influencer and band-leader who wasn’t himself Black but lived, breathed and felt the passion and joy of that culture’s music and was its appealing and authentic ambassador.

This earlier recording shares some of the mad majesty of “Burning Desire.” It’s the same song with a few alterations. Sung in the same key and tempo, they make a fascinating mystery. This first version has a more compelling lead vocalist and a terrific group performance, supported by what I presume is Johnny Otis’ orchestra, who serve as a foundation; no musician takes a solo. A pianist tinkles with polite grace in the background, as on hundreds of vocal group sides of the era. The devotion to the group’s voices is striking, and they deliver an elegant, slightly askew performance uninterrupted by soloists or instrumental riffs.

Billboard—the only known source of a review—was tepid about this single. No other mentions of it exist in the music press. There may be a write-up in one of the Black newspapers, but they tended to eschew rhythm and blues in favor of jazz and more serious-type music. Thus, this epic, over-the-top explosion of almost surreal passion went unnoticed and few copies exist.

>>> Hear it HERE! <<<

“And I Need You” has a proto-soul format, with two vocalists who complement each other and trade off lines. This slow-drag lowrider ballad otherwise couldn’t be further from Black music of a decade later. (That said, there’s an element to the sound of The Miracles, Motown’s star act, that retained a little of this 1950s passion.) The falsetto voice that counter-sings with the more mellow baritone lead is of a piece with the Tempo-Mentals’ two sides; this group was in a different league from 90% of their colleagues. Their churning, layered sound is achieved with elegance and atmosphere. They were fortunate to receive Johnny Otis’ patronage, though it didn’t result in success. The two records they left behind are high watermarks in the story of Black vocal group music of the 1950s and beyond.

>>> Hear it HERE! <<<

Tomorrow: low-down deep soul with Jimmy Armstrong, via a soul-snob-approved 1963 Enjoy Records 45.