PHIL & DEL w/THE MIXTURES, "DON'T PLAY WITH LOVE" C/W "MY GIRL," LINDA 105 (REL. 8/1962)

Racial harmony existed in music before society at large was comfortable with it as part of daily life. (A certain percent of modern America still is not; witness the daily racist bloviations by the expired slice of cheese toast who attempts to govern, and of his cruel, ignorant and childlike followers, all whom I pity for their cowardice and stupidity.) In 1962, a band with Black, white and Latino members was still a rarity, but it existed in The Mixtures, a Southern California group named after their diversity and equality incentive.

Formed in 1957 at Oxnard High School, the group went through personnel changes. One constant was vocalist/sax man Delbert Franklin. By 1960, the group began to record—as backup for other singers. Among them was Phil Tucker (not the infamous B-movie director), who did two duets with Harvey Willis, with The Mixtures in tow, for Rampart Records.

Willis left music, and Delbert Franklin was drafted to sing duets with Tucker. Today we’ll hear their first collaboration, via a 1962 release on the Linda label. These, like many small-label California singles of the day, anticipate the sound of soul music, which came into its own in 1966. The roots took years to grow and represent Black music’s metamorphosis from the sounds of the 1950s—which, in turn, mutated away from the 1940s style rooted in jazz music.

“Don’t Play with Love” weds the lowrider r&b sound to a “Bolero” chord pattern and earthy duet harmonies that have the feeling of soul music, rather than the tighter r&b sound that still prevailed. The Mixtures provide subtle, effective backing to this vocal performance; each musician shows great instinct for how and when to add “fills”—those little instrumental touches that enhance a performance rather than distract from the vocalists.

A more languid, relaxed tempo suits this song well and Phil and Del harmonize like champs.

“My Girl” was the A side. Tempo picks up on a Sam and Dave-esque item with a bit of that deep piney-woods soul sound. A flute twittles in the background—an odd choice but proof of The Mixtures’ diverse musical palate.

A more of-its-day kinda song, it reminds of the early Motown material—the stuff hated by the UK soul snobs—and has a delightful lilt. I’d lose that flute, were I the producer: it’s out of tune with the vocalists (a common problem with woodwind instruments) and mars the finale. Since Del was the group’s sax man, he couldn’t add this ostinato; too bad the guitarist didn’t try it. Ah, well…

Phil and Del made a second single for Rampart Records in 1966, then became The Souljers, with smart military berets to match, for two spot-on soul singles, also for this label. The Mixtures were a popular live band in SoCal, and appeared in nightclubs, public events, and as the house band on local TV music shows. They were well-loved local heroes.

For an excellent article about the history of this group, I refer you here:

https://www.markguerrero.com/31.php

Tomorrow: easy-going regional teen rockabilly from The Chamberlain Brothers, via a 1958 Columbia Records single I thought about buying for the last five years. It just sat there, waiting for me to say yes…