I'll take you there vs. Liquidator FIGHT!

[vdub]

Think that song theft is new to the sampler revolution? Well, it happened in the 70s too!

This track came up today on my Pandora station "I'll take you there" the Staple Sisters 1973 US #1 chart topper:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXvKRZRofDE

And I instantly recognized the bassline and the opening riff from "Liquidator" from Harry J UK #9 1969.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hkYJ7ADyKU

Anyone know the history of this? Let me take a wild guess about whether or not the original artist was fairly compensated: no.

Of course, I suppose the argument could also be made that:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvzthjJI9Xg

God I love all these 45" youtube videos that people post.

[johnnyreggae]

yeah read somewhere actually the Staples 1972 ripped off Harry J 1969 which initially I didn't know, once I incorrectly wrote "stealing Stax; he'll take you there"... but

song's also a Tony Scott tune "What Am I to Do" on the Escort 45 pama subsid





general public did it on the soundtrack to Threesome later in 80s

[The Tatman]

song's also a Tony Scott tune "What Am I to Do" on the Escort 45 pama subsid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlbfagW1SmQ

[johnnyreggae]

thanks tatman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ-um-DrUoQ


Vin Gordon's also got a cool one
http://new.music.yahoo.com/vin-gordon/t ... s--8746663

[manu]

And it all started with "Girl I've Got a Date" by Alton Ellis. Funny story, when he played that song with ASPO in 2002, he asked the band to use the bass line created by Family Man (Liquidator), he also suggested an allusion to "I'll take you there" for the backing vocalists and he finally asked the horn section to duplicate the organ laid for U Roy's "Wake The Town". I guess he was aware of the legacy of his song

Original "girl i've got a date" : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvzthjJI9Xg

[bobbybobson]

My favorite version is Bongo Herman "Chairman of the Board."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGDb85_fjaw

Also Tommy McCook's version is pretty killer too.

[SkaBlahBlah]

Mr. Big Stuff also uses the bass line, right?

[manu]

Mr Big Stuff by Jean Knight? Really... I need to listen to that song again.

[The Tatman]

Mr. Big Stuff also uses the bass line, right?

"Mr. Big Stuff" is significantly different. I'm not sure which came first, but it has the same bassline (riddim, if you'll allow that in American music) as "Express Yourself" by Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd St Rhythm Band, who If I remember what I've read correctly, was Eazy-E's uncle. Hence, the NWA version.

Charles Wright: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHdBnSkNsAg
Jean Knight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S46OE902tM

& for that matter, I think that "Girl I've Got a Date" is different enough. Only the 1st 5 notes (1st measure, if I'm counting beats correctly) are the same.

[Thankyousir]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaeRlWs_OFQ

[Grover]

I recently started a thread over on Pama Forum about "versioning" in the soul world. It started with a discovery I just made:

This mid 60s Northern track

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhu7Z1eVj5I

Has the same backing track as this late 60s funk number

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8ifktXe60A

Then I named some other "Northern" tunes with re-cycled studio tapes:



Spaceland-Tony Hestor/Going to a Happening-Tommy Neal

Sweet and Easy-Van McCoy/A Love You Can Depend On-Brenda and the Tabulations

Cool Off-Detroit Executives/Mighty Lover-Ideals

[Matt Wixson]

Just for completion's sake:

Lee Perry - I'll Take You There:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b6upmetCRU

That Alton Ellis/ASPO set is terrific. He acknowledges all the branches of the song in question, of course. He also sings a bit of "Uptown Top Ranking" during "I'm Still In Love". Here's documentation of such from a different show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpUtddsNHS8

[The Tatman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaeRlWs_OFQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIZ5Ku9y ... re=related

[johnnyreggae]

CDTRD 412 liners by Chris Prete, © 1991

Of all the sides issued during the late sixties by Trojan that could be classed as ‘Skinhead Reggae’, “LIQUIDATOR” must surely stand as the most definitive of them all. Originally released in 1969 it’s simple but compelling beat immediately found favour with the Skinheads of the day and, before long, was riding high in the UK charts at No.9 in October of that year. The success story didn’t end there either as, so hot was the rhythm, that it came to the attention of American Soul group the Staple Singers who adopted it and had a massive hit on both sides of the Atlantic with ”I’ll Take You There” in June 1972. Needless to say, the song was subsequently ‘covered’ in Reggae providing a hit for the Deltones!

This current Producer Series collection takes as its subject the man responsible for originating “LIQUIDATOR” which, even now (twenty two years later!), is still capable of filling the dance floor on the ‘revive’ Reggae circuit and, of getting the ‘bovver’ boots stomping on the football terraces where it is still to be heard as part of the pre-match entertainment on occasion.

Harold Johnson, or Harry J as he is more accustomed to being called, first entered the music business back in 1963 as a member of a band. Instruments were bought on an installment plan with Harry J’s name on the agreement but, unfortunately for him, the band split up shortly after forming leaving him to pick up the tab! In an attempt to ward off financial disaster Harry took up employment as an insurance salesman and soon became very successful in his new career but vowed that, should he ever become involved with music again, it would be when he had sufficient funds behind him.

That day did come and in 1968 he went to see Clement ‘Coxone’ Dodd at Studio One to hire some studio time from him. Harry J’s first production was on the Beltones who had previously recorded for Dodd himself as Bop and the Beltones scoring hits for the studio with : “SMILE LIKE AN ANGEL”, “DANCING TIME” and “LOVE” in 1967 as well as “NOT FOR A MOMENT” earlier that year. By this time Bop had left the group so it was the remaining members who went into the studio to record a song that Harry wrote called “NO MORE HEARTACHES”. The session went well, but on listening to the play back Harry wasn’t fully satisfied with the overall sound. It didn’t take him too long to figure out what the problem was – the organ sounded too far in the background so he sent out for a Hammond organ to be hired. The recording equipment at Studio One in those days was two track so he had the rhythm and vocals put on one track and the Hammond overdubbed on the other. This time he was happy with the play back and the record was now pressed. Being an unknown producer, the next obstacle to be overcome was distribution, shops were reluctant to stock the disc but Harry – the accomplished salesman, soon persuaded them otherwise. Next step was getting the record played on the radio which he also managed and to publicise the song even further he used a number of ‘ploys’. One of these was to park his car outside the Half Way Tree bus stop (which was usually crowded with people) on the pretence of being broken down, wait until “NO MORE HEARTACHES” came on the radio and then turn the volume up full blast! These and other tricks of the trade, combined with the ‘new’ sound he had come up with, soon provided hhim with a Jamaican No. 1 hit and so popular was it that it also saw release in the UK the same year on the Trojan label. Further best sellers for 1968 included Harry’s productions of Herbie Carter with “HAPPY TIME” as well as Lloyd Robinson’s “CUSS CUSS” (released in the UK on Trojan’s DUKE subsidiary label).

By 1969 his own HARRY J label was in full production with the more popular titles being issued in the UK by Trojan on a green-coloured label with the words HARRY J in silver letters around the top half bearing the Trojan catalogue numbers. The slower pace of “NO MORE HEARTACHES” was now superceded with a new fast Reggae beat which became the Harry J hallmark for the best part of 1969 and although other producers like Harry Robinson and Rupie Edwards produced a similar sound, it was Harry J who excelled at it. He compounded his success of the previous year with hits from the Jamaicans withy “MR LONELY”, ex-Beltone Trevor Shield’s “PLEASE” and “MOON IS PLAYING A TRICK”, as well as sides from Dave Barker & Glen Brown, Winston Hines and Eric Fratter, to name but a few. Trojan collected the best of his 1968/ early 1969 productions together on an album entitled “NO MORE HEARTACHES” which included the Beltones follow up to the title track “HOME WITHOUT YOU”, Richard Ace’s cover of the Booker T number “HANG ‘EM HIGH” (to be found on the Trojan album “THE MAGNIFICENT 14” TRLS 283), a solo track from Glen Adams – “RICH IN LOVE” also known as “LA LA ALWAYS STAY” plus the first use by Harry J of a ‘blanket name’ to credit the use of session musicians – the Boys. The use of such names is a common practice amongst Jamaican producers as many of the musicians would record for several producers simultaneously and it was a convenient way of being able to credit the recording to someone! As stated Harry J first utilized the name the Boys but this was later superceded by the Jay Boys (for obvious reasons) and, finally, Harry J. All Stars.

Towards the middle of 1969 Harry worked out a rhythm that was to bring him international exposure but precious little recognition, contrary to popular belief, the first recording to use the “LIQUIDATOR” rhythm was a vocal by Tony Scott entitled “WHAT AM I TO DO” which was a big hit in Jamaica and on the club scene here in the UK. Following this Harry J cut an instrumental in collaboration with Lee Perry and the resulting release ”LIQUIDATOR”, as described in the opening paragraph to these notes, provided him with a massive hit! The group of musicians credited as the Harry J. All Stars who played on “LIQUIDATOR” were drawn from the basic quintet who started out as a band called the Hippy Boys.

The Hippy Boys, comprising of: Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett (bass), Alva ‘Ranchie’ Lewis (Rhythm Guitar), Ranny ‘Bop’ Williams (Guitar), Glen Adams (Keyboards), and Carlton ‘Carly’ Barrett (Drums) were active circa 1969 and worked, initially for Bunny Lee before recording for the likes of Mrs. Sonia Pottinger, Lloyd ‘Matador’ Daley, Lee Perry and Harry J. It was the unbeatable combination of the Barrett Brothers, widely acclaimed as more or less defining the Reggae Rhythm for this period, that were responsible for not only “LIQUIDATOR” but “RETURN OF DJANGO” (Upsetters), “DR. NO GO” (Hippy Boys) and many many more hits of the time.

When “LIQUIDATOR” broke in Jamaica, Harry J. travelled to the UK to promote the record and managed to talk BBC DJ Tony Blackburn into including it into the play list for his morning radio show. In this writer’s opinion Mr. Blackburn is due every respect for his unbiased view of Reggae music during the late sixties / early seventies and for consistently including it on the radio shows he hosted. Whilst here, not only did Harry see “LIQUIDATOR” peak in the charts at No. 9 but he also had talks with Trojan Records that resulted in the setting up of the UK Harry J record label as subsidiary outlet through Trojan. The first release was made in 1970 and a string of very good recordings were soon added to it. Three albums were also issued on the Harry J label by Trojan and these were “WHAT AM I TO DO” (TTL 34), “REGGAE MOVEMENT” (TBL 144), and “LIQUIDATOR” (TBL 104). The UK Harry J label eventually wound up in 1974 and only the first 50 out of the 106 releases made were the production work of Harry J. In 1970 Harry J. scored his second big UK chart hit with the Simon & Irving composition “YOUNG GIFTED AND BLACK” voiced by Bob Andy and Marcia Griffiths. Bob Andy recalled (during an interview with DJ Dave Rodigan) that he was hanging around at Dynamic studios one day, when he was approached by Harry J and asked if he would like to come and record a song for him. “Well, it wouldn’t hurt” and, in turn asked Marcia Griffiths if she and a couple other girls to come along to the session as well. Harry J. already had the rhythm worked out and Bob and Marcia laid down the vocals. As far as Bob Andy was concerned, that was the end of the story until a few months later, when someone asked him if his passport was in order. “For What” was his reaction, “Because you’re booked to appear on Top of The Pops, “YOUNG GIFTED AND BLACK” has hit No. 5 in England” was the bemused reply!

This collection of Harry J. productions which covers the years 1968-1970 re-issues, on Record One, the classic LIQUIDATOR” album in its entirety. The album is a mixture of covers and Harry J originated rhythm tracks all of which feature the faultless organ work of Winston Wright. To be found here are covers of the Stevie Wonder number “MY CHERIE AMOUR”, the Beatles’ “DON’T LET ME DOWN” (the vocal version was done by Marcia Griffiths) and the Becauld/ Dalin composition “JE T’AIME”. Apart from the title track, four others are also included in their vocal version on Record Two and these are; “THE BIG THREE” (“PUT A LITTLE LOVE IN YOUR HEART” – Marcia Griffiths) “REACH FOR THE SKY” (“PEACE OF MIND” – Bob Andy), JAY MOON WALK” (“FESTIVE SPIRIT” - Dave Barker & Glen Brown”) and “ELCONG” (“WEEP” – Bob Andy).

Record Two, in addition to the above mentioned, also features the third cut to “LIQUIDATOR” – a Sax workout from Val Bennett originally titled “TUNS OF GOLD” [sic] but re-titled “RETURN OF THE LIQUIDATOR” for the British market on release in 1970.

The real identity of the artist credited to as The Blake Boy on “CAMBODIA” is not known but could possibly be Winston Blake, the “CAMBODIA” rhythm is also used for “EQUAL RIGHTS” by the Cables who, like the Beltones, recorded earlier for Studio One as did Bob Andy and Marcia Griffiths.

The bulk of the tracks on this collection were originally released on the Harry J label as 45’s and as such this release constituted the very best of Harry J’s production work over the three years covered here. Following this period, in 1971 he had his own studio built which was specially designed for him by a friend. So good was the ‘sound’ there that many of Jamaica’s top artists chose to record at Harry J’s and this list includes people like Bob Marley who laid down some of his post Perry period albums and singles there. Later hits for Harry J have included “BREAKFAST IN BED” by Lorna Bennett followed by several other cuts of the rhythm including “UFO”, “AFRICAN BREAKFAST” and “JUCKY JUCKY” together with excellent albums by the Heptones (“COOL RASTA” – Trojan –1976), “ZAP POW” (“REVOLUTION” – Trojan 1976) and the instrumental collection “JA GAN” which features the talents of Joe White (melodica) and Leslie Butler (Trojan – 1975).

On a personal level Harry J. is a quiet, modest man who shuns publicity and has rarely been photographed. His dealings with the various artists who have recorded for him have been fair and he is held in the highest esteem by many. In the case of Lorna Bennett, she was able to pay her way through a University Law course as a result of Harry J’s integrity. Hopefully this current release will place the spotlight on one of Jamaica’s most successful yet largely un-acclaimed producers of note; to some of you his production technique and output will be new but to those of you already familiar with his work I’m sure this collection will be received as a most welcome… “RETURN OF THE LIQUIDATOR”!

Compiled and Annotated by Chris Prete
Editor, The Official Trojan Appreciation Society Fanzine

[SkaBlahBlah]

This thread inspired Sat night's episode of Ska's The Limit:

http://stlska.org/2009/07/playlist-for- ... y-19-2009/

Thanks everyone for providing so much info- and thanks to anyone who gives my little show a listenin'