THE VALENTINOS, "I'LL MAKE IT ALRIGHT" C/W "DARLING, COME BACK HOME," SAR 137 (REL. 1/1963)

Today’s post was scheduled for 10 days ago. I blipped past it, and now we’re at a good spot where it fits in. It’s another fine release by The Valentinos, who first recorded as The Womack Brothers. They were signed by Sam Cooke as The Womack Brothers for his SAR imprint in 1961. Their first releases were gospel records. Their second SAR is one of the holy grails of 1960s Black music; it’s guesstimated that five copies exist.

They turned to secular music as The Valentinos in 1962. Today we’ll hear their second single in that identity, featuring Bobby, Cecil and Harry Womack at their harmonizing, testifyin’ best. “I’ll Make It Alright” opens with a bright burst of sound and a “woo!” from lead Bobby Womack. It turns into a churning minor-key song with a positive message of hope and assurance.

This side sounds at least two years ahead of its time. There is zero doo-wop in The Valentinos’ sound. This is where Black vocal group music was headed, and it took some time for the more established groups to get the message. The Impressions still clung to some of the doo-wop style in ’63, though Curtis Mayfield would push their recordings into the new sound within a year. As harbingers go, this one’s a wow!

“Darling, Come Back Home” does touch on the doo-wop vibe—on another minor-key mover with a more relaxed pace. This ballad gives the Womacks much drama to build, and they achieve it with grit and grace. It’s a riveting side; both tracks are so good I can’t choose a favorite. This is the group’s most sought-after of their five SAR records—for good reason!

Apologies for the brief post today. Sometimes the music is so good I haven’t much to add. And now we’re back on track. Which reminds me: I need to program another week’s worth of posts. Decisions, decisions…

In the meantime, we visit Nashville tomorrow for a hard-to-find 1964 platter by self-harmonizer Skeeter Davis. One side’s a seldom heard Goffin-King song; the other is a solid try at one of Gerry Goffin’s best songs without Carole King’s music. After years’ fruitless search, this showed up in a dollar box, to my delight.