The Dream Girls, "Crying In The Night" c/w "I'm In Love With You," Metro K20029 (rel. 10/1959)
NEW PODCAST TODAY! Certain records have an underground allure. Someone somewhere proclaimed record X was a standout. Said someone has enough cache that collectors, fans and DJs heed their word and what is, on the surface, just another circle of plastic with a paper label becomes an item of value and desire.
Someone somewhere is right enough of the time that their opinions drive this piece of petro-chemical, wood pulp and pigment far above the median price for its ilk. In many cases, said record might be scarce: perhaps 300 copies were pressed before its makers gave up on it and moved onto another project.
The Dream Girls, a pioneering Black girl group from Detroit, made 10 singles in a six-year period. Today's record is their most sought-after platter; its follow-up can be had for under 10 dollars. This one fetches between 50 and 100 bucks over and over. Thus, it has been a thorn in my craw for several years.
I've lost count of the times I've been obliterated in eBay auctions for this dang single. Someone else always had deeper pockets than I, or a stronger fanaticism. I've seen rabidders (my term; eBay users who get so fixated on an item they overpay) push this single close to 150 dollars. Every so often, I give it another try. At last, a month ago, I won an eBay auction for far below the regular price. The other bidders gave up (or perhaps their screen failed to refresh at a crucial moment).
I have learned to place my bid and then put the auction out of my thoughts. Que sera bloody sera. So: I am now able to share these two fab sides with you this morning.
Someone somewhere is right enough of the time that their opinions drive this piece of petro-chemical, wood pulp and pigment far above the median price for its ilk. In many cases, said record might be scarce: perhaps 300 copies were pressed before its makers gave up on it and moved onto another project.
The Dream Girls, a pioneering Black girl group from Detroit, made 10 singles in a six-year period. Today's record is their most sought-after platter; its follow-up can be had for under 10 dollars. This one fetches between 50 and 100 bucks over and over. Thus, it has been a thorn in my craw for several years.
I've lost count of the times I've been obliterated in eBay auctions for this dang single. Someone else always had deeper pockets than I, or a stronger fanaticism. I've seen rabidders (my term; eBay users who get so fixated on an item they overpay) push this single close to 150 dollars. Every so often, I give it another try. At last, a month ago, I won an eBay auction for far below the regular price. The other bidders gave up (or perhaps their screen failed to refresh at a crucial moment).
I have learned to place my bid and then put the auction out of my thoughts. Que sera bloody sera. So: I am now able to share these two fab sides with you this morning.
Years before the Motown girl groups rose to the pop mainstream, Detroit had several combos who lurked in the twilight; they made records for small labels which went nowhere. This group had proactive management in Harry Balk and Irving Michalik. They ran Artists Inc. in the Motor City and among their stable of performers were King Records r&b star Little Willie John. They discovered The Dream Girls sometime in 1959 and got them into a local studio. A new label, Twirl Records, was created for the release of their debut disc. It did well enough that Cameo Records in Philadelphia reissued it. That release got reviewed in the trade mags and sold well enough that Artists Inc. could parlay the group to a bigger playing-field.
Getting onto an MGM-owned label meant access to a well-oiled publicity department. The label got behind today's single, although they failed to get it reviewed by a jury of their peers. Aside from a catchy trade ad in Cash Box, and the above column, Metro K20029 got no representation and flopped.
Jimmy Jones' "Handy Man" became a major pop hit; none of the other singles on that stippled clipboard went anywhere. MGM gave The Dream Girls a second chance, and that release, "Love Him," did better but didn't make the national charts.
"Crying in the Night" was perhaps too wild for the pop mainstream. From its oo-la-la opening hook to the hard-rocking chonk of sound that backs the girls' intense vocal stand, it's a record seemingly made to be a future cult item. The fire of church singing meets torrid low-down rhythm and blues in a massive stew of sound that exemplifies the raw, rugged sound of Detroit Black music in the days before Motown. It's as distinctive a sound as that of Memphis and New Orleans.
The backing band were another of Artists, Inc's charges: instrumental rockers Johnny and The Hurricanes, who could be mistaken for Black session cats as they blaze through this high-speed bopper with a ballad's name. Lead vocalist Bobbie Smith is one of the Motor City's great voices and her commanding presence makes "Crying in the Night" a milestone in Detroit r&b music.
"Crying in the Night" was perhaps too wild for the pop mainstream. From its oo-la-la opening hook to the hard-rocking chonk of sound that backs the girls' intense vocal stand, it's a record seemingly made to be a future cult item. The fire of church singing meets torrid low-down rhythm and blues in a massive stew of sound that exemplifies the raw, rugged sound of Detroit Black music in the days before Motown. It's as distinctive a sound as that of Memphis and New Orleans.
The backing band were another of Artists, Inc's charges: instrumental rockers Johnny and The Hurricanes, who could be mistaken for Black session cats as they blaze through this high-speed bopper with a ballad's name. Lead vocalist Bobbie Smith is one of the Motor City's great voices and her commanding presence makes "Crying in the Night" a milestone in Detroit r&b music.
"I'm In Love With You" was the intended A-side; the string section attests to that. It has a for-real arrangement, with clearer sound. Smith and the other Dream Girls (Sheena Carson, Kay Green and Tina LaGora) do a classic call-and-response routine that says "girl group" as its flipside doesn't. Johnny and The Hurricanes' role is dialed way down; their sax man gets a mellow solo moment but they're otherwise in the background, laying low.
While "Crying" was too far out for the pop charts, this side perhaps plays it too safe. It's a fine record, but it could have been made anywhere. It doesn't have that grimy Detroit feeling. Both songs were co-written by Balk and Michalik, with Willie Jones of Detroit r&b group The Royal Jokers a collaborator on this side. It would've been an act of courage to make "Crying in the Night" the topside of this platter; it wouldn't have mattered, given the lack of attention paid this second single.
While "Crying" was too far out for the pop charts, this side perhaps plays it too safe. It's a fine record, but it could have been made anywhere. It doesn't have that grimy Detroit feeling. Both songs were co-written by Balk and Michalik, with Willie Jones of Detroit r&b group The Royal Jokers a collaborator on this side. It would've been an act of courage to make "Crying in the Night" the topside of this platter; it wouldn't have mattered, given the lack of attention paid this second single.
The Dream Girls moved to Big Top Records after their second Metro single, alongside Del Shannon, Artists Inc's biggest white pop artist. They became Bobbie Smith and The Dream Girls and got attention for an answer song to Gene Chandler's hit "The Duke of Earl" as they continued on their path of earthy, intense girl-group items that sold well enough on their home turf for them to make five 45s for Big Top. At the end of 1962, the group broke up. All members were now in their early 20s and had adult life to consider. Bobbie Smith continued as a solo artist into the 1960s. The Dream Girls are recognized as a milestone group in Detroit's storied musical history and all their recordings are worth hearing.
Tomorrow: The Jive Five are back with a 1963 single that combines a moody atmospheric ballad with an uptempo attempt at a pop hit.
Lord! "Crying In The Night? is one fast-paced almost punk rock n' roll ditty—not anything like a girl-group sound. "I'm In Love With You" does play it safe but Smith definitely can carry this emotional tune.
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