THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
This Northern soul fave was written by Philly soul master Leon Huff and performed by his compatriot Bunny Sigler and the UK’s Timebox.
1,749) Bunny Sigler — “Girl, Don’t Make Me Wait”
Bunny Sigler’s original ’66 A-side “received both R&B and pop airplay and was a huge tune on the UKs Northern Soul scene”. (Soul Strutter, https://soulstrutter.blogspot.com/2011/01/ns540-bunny-sigler-follow-your-heart.html) The “beautifully bombastic” (Ed Hogan, https://www.allmusic.com/album/let-the-good-times-roll-mw0000846206#trackListing) number is an “[a]bsolute stormer”. (Stives1979, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_20ImUe1to) It’s “perfect for the dance floor” (Daniel Andersson, https://hymn.se/2017/10/08/20-bunnnyy-sigler-favoriter/), as thebouncinghearts can attest: “Just that intro alone sends shivers down my spine. Once it’s in your veins it’s there for the rest of your life. The floor wins every time alright! Yeeeaaahh!!!” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_20ImUe1to) — as can smilecal: “[T]his was one of my all time dancers, wherever i was, no choice, where’s the floor … i’d get totally lost inside it and let my feet do the talking”. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_20ImUe1to)
Ed Hogan tells us of Bunny Sigler:
A veteran singer and composer during the classic period of Philly soul, Bunny Sigler was always capable of making striking, memorable soul/R&B material. Debuting in the ’50s with his own group and as a solo performer, he reached the higher end of the R&B charts several times, including in 1967 with “Let the Good Times Roll and Feel So Good,” in 1973 with “Tossin’ and Turnin’,” in 1978 with “Let Me Party with You (Party, Party, Party),” and later that year with a Loleatta Holloway duet, “Only You.” Sigler actually earned much more acclaim for his work as a staff writer and producer. One of the major creative forces behind Philadelphia International’s dominance of ’70s soul, Sigler produced and wrote for dozens of major acts, including Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, Lou Rawls, Patti LaBelle, the Whispers, Stephanie Mills, Billy Paul, Curtis Mayfield [see #118, 285, 1,347, 1,544], and Carl Carlton . . . . [A]s a child, little Walter Sigler would walk around singing and making up lyrics and choruses to songs. [H]e became Bunny Sigler when as an infant his mother discovered that he had a fully grown front tooth. She commented that he looked just like a bunny rabbit . . . . His formative years were spent singing . . . at Helping Hand Rescue Mission and at various churches. In his teens, he sang at the Roman Emanuel Baptist Church and joined various doo wop groups like the Opals. Despite all of this involvement, Sigler’s real aspiration was to be a professional basketball player. But that ambition was squelched when he injured his leg. . . . Sigler threw himself into music with a passion, recording for various local labels and singing and playing guitar and piano in area nightclubs. One summer after performing at Atlantic City’s Ambassador Hotel, Sigler began singing and noodling around the piano, searching for ideas. Sigler was brought to the attention of independent producers John Medara and Dave White . . . by Leon Huff who suggested they check out Sigler’s performance . . . . Impressed, they signed him to a deal that lead to the release of Sigler’s first album, Let the Good Times Roll and Feel So Good on Cameo Parkway. The first single, “Girl Don’t Make Me Wait,” received both R&B and pop airplay. The title track (originally a hit for Shirley & Lee) was the second single and was making a respectable showing on the R&B/pop charts (number 20 R&B and number 22 pop) when Cameo Parkway suddenly folded. While waiting for his Cameo Parkway contract to lapse, Sigler began hanging around the hallways of Gamble & Huff Productions, singing, strumming guitar, and practicing his newly acquired martial arts skills with wall punches and kicks. The latter proved unsettling to visiting clients leading Kenny Gamble to suggest that Sigler go into a room with Ugene Dozier and try to write some songs. Up to that point, Sigler hadn’t even though about becoming a songwriter. . . . Around 1970, Gamble & Huff Productions became Philadelphia International Records. . . . Sigler’s songwriting break came when a tune he co-wrote with Phil Hurtt, “Sunshine,” was released as a follow-up single to O’Jays’ million-selling “Back Stabbers.” . . . The O’Jays’ follow-up album, Ship Ahoy, had Sigler’s first solo-written song, “You Got Your Hooks in Me,” and the Sigler/Gamble tune “Don’t You Call Me Brother.” Sigler’s songs, productions, piano, and background vocals are sprinkled throughout the Philadelphia International Records catalog.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bunny-sigler-mn0000941716#biography
1,750) Timebox — “Girl, Don’t Make Me Wait”
Timebox’s (see #1,285, 1,355) cover is “a perfect approximation of Philly Soul”. (Jon “Mojo” Mills, https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-deram-anthology-mw0000968588) I really don’t know which version I like better.
As to Timebox, Jon “Mojo” Mills tells us:
[The band] turned professional and headed towards London. . . . [T]hey were soon working on package tours . . . as well as striking up a residency at the legendary the Whiskey a Go Go. With two singers leaving . . . U.S. singer John Henry was drafted in and the band changed their name to Timebox — an American term for a prison cell. Signed to Piccadilly in February 1967, their debut single, “I’ll Always Love You” . . . was released and displayed an early jazz-tinged, soulful talent. . . . [E]x-G.I. Henry [was] whipped back off to the U.S.A by officials . . . . Mike Patto . . . after a few illustrious jams and took on a prominent role as vocalist and songwriter. . . . Timebox soon became a hot live act. . . . claimed Timebox to be one of the first rock bands in London to really explore jazz in a rock context. A wonderful performance at the Windsor Jazz Festival on August 12, 1967, caught the eye of Decca producer Gus Dudgeon, who immediately signed them to the label’s subsidiary Deram. The first 45, a fantastic version of Tim Hardin’s “Don’t Make Promises,” was backed by the even better Ollie original “Walking Through the Streets of My Mind,” which combined sharp blue-eyed soul harmonies with a psychedelic arrangement. The follow-up — again a classic example of British soul — was a cover of the Four Seasons’ “Beggin” and reached number 38 in the charts . . . . Deram viewed Timebox as a pop band, and so the more experimental songs were left in the can while the silly sing-a-long tune “Baked Jam Roll in Your Eye,” written for fun when the band members were drunk, was the next release in March 1969. It’s styling was a little too late for the era of novelty psychedelia, and of no interest to the more rock-oriented record buyer . . . . By the summer of 1969, things were turning sour. The final release, “Yellow Van,” was a great record . . . but was banned due to the nature of the lyrics. This really was the end of the road . . . . The nucleus of the band merged into Patto, who released three albums in the 1970s.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/timebox-mn0000602690#biography
Barry Monks adds:
They worked solidly on package tours with The Kinks, The Small Faces, Tommy Quickly, Lou Christie etc. and landed a Wednesday night residency at London’s Whisky a Go Go, a trendy and prestigious venue . . . . [Vocalist Frank] Dixon contracted tuberculosis . . . . In November 1966, a replacement vocalist was found in US singer John Henry . . . . who, as a GI deserter, was shortly to be unceremoniously carted off by two large military policemen! . . . [Mike] Patto . . . had begun to carve a promising solo career with a single . . . on Columbia in December 1966. After fronting the final version of the Bo Street Runners . . . Mike formed Patto’s People (later The Chicago Blues Line) . . . . After a late-night jam at The Playboy Club, Mike agreed to join Timebox . . . . A prestigious gig at The Windsor Jazz Festival on 12 August 1967 caught the eye and ear of ace Decca Records producer Gus Dudgeon who immediately signed them to their new subsidiary Deram. In October 1967, they released a splendidly raga-esque cover of Tim Hardin’s ‘Don’t Make Promises’ . . . . [The next A-side was] a finely crafted cover of The Four Seasons ‘Beggin’ . . . . The B-side, ‘A Woman That’s Waiting’, was penned by Mike Patto and guitarist Ivan Zagni from the Chicago Blues Line days. . . . The February/March 1968 sessions which produced the ‘hit’ also spawned . . . Patto/Halsall collaborations for a projected album provisionally titled Moose on the Loose . . . . Ollie’s ‘psychedelic’ masterpiece “Gone is the Sad Man” [see #1,285] remains an icon of it’s time [with “Girl, Don’t Make Me Wait” its A-side]. . . . [A] cult following developed around their Marquee Club residency . . . . The self-penned A-side was finally achieved in March 1969 with the rather silly but, nevertheless, endearing “Baked Jam Roll in Your Eye” . . . . Having finally begun to establish their own material, it seemed that Timebox had, effectively, run its course.
https://www.pattofan.com/Timebox/tb_deramcd.htm (liner notes to the CD comp Timebox: The Deram Anthology)
Oh, and here are Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods (’74):
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