Ted Taylor, "Him Instead of Me" c/w "You Give Me Nothing to Go On," OKeh 4-7176 (rel. 7/1963)
Ted Taylor had a long career in gospel, rhythm and blues and soul. He never became a big name, but he made great records. He moved from his native Oklahoma to California in the early 1950s. There, he sang with The Mighty Clouds of Joy before forming The Santa Monica Soul Seekers. That group had a secret identity as an r&b outfit called The Cadets (who, in turn, had a secret identity as ‘rival’ group The Jacks). He wasn’t on The Cadets’ big hit “Stranded in the Jungle” but is all over their other records.
He split to become a solo singer and the next few years comprise a pile of records, under three names, for several labels. He had his first chart hit (at #90—cue the confetti) as Austin Taylor with 1960’s aggressive “Push Push,” produced and penned by Bert Berns. Taylor found his place with Okeh Records’ soul division, which worked out of Chicago and took advantage of that city’s wealth of talent. Chicago soul was nearing its peak in 1962, and Taylor was a natural fit for the Okeh roster.
Today’s 45, his second Okeh release of 1963, also involves Robert S. Riley, a Jukebox favorite. Once a member of Sun Records’ early hitmakers The Prisonaires, he returned to regular life with determination to succeed as a songwriter. Based in Nashville, Riley wrote on his own and with others and got many songs recorded by a variety of acts.
The events of his life gave Riley a pensive outlook, and he approached his lyrics with this world-weary philosophical attitude. Some of Nashville's country and pop output rubbed off on him, and though both sides of this release were recorded in Chicago, "Him Instead of Me" is pure country. The opening bars suggest a Nashville Sound hit by Jim Reeves or Skeeter Davis. Taylor's unearthly falsetto wail puts paid to that. Arranger Cliff Parham does a fascinating replica of the Nashville Sound, with a wall of eerie strings and a vocal chorus shrouded in studio reverb.
The easy lope of this country-soul ballad is ideal for Taylor's intense emotional performance. Songwriter Riley so well assimilated the country style that his songs go beyond genre. It took a few spins for me to realize what a fine recording this is. It was the A-side for a reason. But brace yourself for the hard-hitting soul vibe of the B!
Sometimes one wonders what the Cash Box reviewers heard when they assayed the week's new release. Ain't no "hard-driving guitars" on the stately country-soul of the A-side.
Taylor penned "You Give Me Nothing to Go On," which is arranged by producer Carl Davis. Here are those hard-driving guitars spoken of in the above review. Here's a picture-perfect piece of early Windy City soul. Deep roots in traditional r&b and electric blues drive this song of scorn and confusion.
Taylor was never in finer form as a vocalist; his presence is commanding throughout and this earthy, tough setting is ideal for the song. More fine blues sounds, indeed!
Because Ted Taylor made so many records, soul fans tend to overlook him. One of his OKeh singles is a big Northern Soul favorite and the only record in his discography that fetches big bucks. I've said this before; it amuses me that certain sects are able to ignore every record in a performer's discography save the one of two that aligns with their dogma. I'm the the B-side of this single would go down well in a soul DJ's set-list. There but for fortune go so many worthy records.
Tomorrow: early Temptations, pre-hitsville, on a 1962 Gordy Records platter. B-side is a haunting piece penned by Smokey Robinson.
These two sides couldn't be more different. "Love the rockin' rollin' "You Give Me..."—reminds me of Larry Williams' rockin' song "Dizzy, Miss Lizzie" from 1958.
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