BRUCE CHANNEL, "SATISFIED MIND" C/W "THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENIN'," MEL-O-DY 112 (REL. 6/1964)

Bruce Channel was a fine singer and songwriter from Texas who, after a few years of false starts, topped global charts with his 1962 hit “Hey! Baby.” With its unforgettable harmonica riffs, played by Delbert McClinton, this rollicking update of the “Hey Good Lookin’”/“Ain’t She Sweet”-kinda song struck a positive chord all over the place. It’s said that it inspired John Lennon to include harmonica as an asset to the Beatles’ early recordings. Their first three UK singles feature harmonica, as do album tracks into late 1964. Fearful of repeating themselves, the group shelved the instrument save for a few brief appearances later in their discography.

That sound also inspired an international hit in Frank Ifield’s 1962 release “I Remember You” (which The Beatles worked into their live set and can be heard singing in surviving tapes of their Hamburg club sets).

As the belated US single of “Love Me Do” sat on the national pop charts in the summer of ’64, Bruce Channel’s career had run its course, so it seemed. His producer-manager “Major” Bill Smith glutted the market with singles in 1962 and ’63. Smith leased Channel’s recordings to Mercury Records, who released them on their Smash imprint. The sheer overkill doomed Channel’s career. No one could keep track of the torrent of singles and they canceled one another out.

Channel had an unexpected haven provided by Berry Gordy. In 1964, Gordy experimented with a cultivation of white musical artists—including straight country performers. These singles horrify UK soul snobs, who have a blind spot to Motown releases that don’t stick to a narrow set of rules. The Motown imprint Mel-o-dy, which does contain a few choice Black artists like Lamont Dozier, The Pirates (Temptations in disguise) and girl group The Vells, was given over to white performers and novelty records. Gordy wanted to expand his market, and as his Black performers began their ascent into the mainstream, he felt he could increase his reach into other genres.

Thus, ex-hitmakers like Channel and Dorsey Burnette became Motown artistes by default. County singer Howard Crockett has a raft of Mel-o-dy releases, and became that label’s equivalent of Orville Couch, the incongruous presence on Vee-Jay singles of the early 1960s.

Unlike many of the Mel-o-dy country/pop artists, Channel recorded the topside of today’s single in Gordy’s studio, with the house band in tow. It’s an inspired retooling of “A Satisfied Mind,” a stern country waltz in its first life as a 1955 country hit for Porter Wagoner (a version replicated with twee irony by The Byrds on their second Columbia album).

With The Funk Brothers doin’ their thing and a soulful backing chorus, Channel delivers an inspired, rocked-up gospel-infused take on this instructional hard-luck song. The melody on this Mel-o-dy is all new, and the lyrics rethought. It’s almost a new song, as it removes the self-righteous vibe of the original. This works well to my ears, and Channel seems delighted to be in the Detroit studio and to work with these talented musicians. Mickey Stevenson produced this side, and it had a chance to get at least halfway up the pop charts, had Beatlemania not so conflicted the scene. It was a concept a year or two ahead of its time; by 1966, this rendition might have caught the public’s ears and succeeded. It’s a true fusion of disparate musical styles that comes together with joy.

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Assigned a B+ by our pals at Cash Box.

“That’s What’s Happenin’” appears to be a Dallas, TX recording. Its sound is much brighter and brassier than “Satisfied Mind.” Though the critic on the Motown Junkies website dismisses this as a failure and has many unkind things to say about Channel’s performance and voice, I beg to disagree. This song, co-written by Channel and Howard Crockett (who use their real-life surnames McMeans and Hausey), exudes vibrance and happiness. It just plain feels good. That UK critic nit-picks that the song is repetitious; what Holland-Dozier-Holland song isn’t as well? Repetition is a part of popular music. A talented performer can elevate rote material and disguise its shortcomings.

I see no faults here, but this gospel-formatted song has a lot of call-backs that work. The brass section and vocal chorus fortify Channel’s jubilant stand. He sings at the top of his range with emotion and personality. This, too, had hit potential in any year but 1964.

Cash Box sidelined the release on their third page of weekly reviews. Their first two review pages tell the reader where their values lay. Page three and four become ever more curt and dismissive; some great records on the fourth of this week’s review pages are denied any description. I have discovered some fab records via those last review slots.

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Channel had one more release on Mel-o-dy, which the Motown Junkies reviewer loathes with a cold fury. He had one more major hit in the UK with the soulful “Keep On” in 1968. It didn’t draw flies here; it occasioned an album in England. Channel appears to still be with us but has apparently retired. No legit record label ever did a compilation of Channel’s many recordings; it will never happen at this late date, I fear.

Tomorrow: Hank Ballard and The Midnighters deliver a soulful powerhouse, coupled with an answer record to an earlier hit, via a 1963 King Records platter.