Two Sides Of Joe White / David Scott

It's hardly surprising that a lot of singers can play an instrument, or deejay. After all, if you can tell when your guitar's in tune, you should be able to tell when your voice is too. We've already met Joe White in a previous post; not just a very good singer, but also a pretty decent organ, piano and melodica player. He recorded instrumentals for a number of producers including Glen Brown, Rupie Edwards & Derrick Harriott.

Joe White - David Scott

This first record shows off some of his vocal talents. 'Ain't Misbehaving' is a straight cover of Fats Waller's signature tune, produced by Rupie Edwards. The singer's on good form here, sweet-voiced and riding a nice upbeat rhythm. Rupie Edwards' productions often feature really lovely guitar (like 'It's Time To Be Free', 'High Society' or 'Another Pleasure') and this is no exception. The b-side is straight soul and is also very nice.

Next up we got the UK issue of 'Call Me Trinity' by Joe White & the Crystalites. This was one of a whole series of western-themed instrumentals that Derrick Harriott put out at the start of the seventies. It's a tribute to Bud Spencer and Terence Hill's finest film (apart from 'They Call Me Nobody') - would you believe that Bud Spencer was once an olympic swimmer! (or that he later became a lawyer and politician)

On the b-side, we have 'Monkey Drop' by Scotty, aka David Scott, a talented singer and pioneering deejay who recorded all too little during his early-seventies heyday. As far as I know, all of his deejay tunes are collected on a compilation called 'Unbelievable Sounds' that came out on Trojan a while back - highlights are the title track, 'Draw Your Brakes' ('Stop That Train') and 'Skank In Bed' ('Breakfast In Bed' - that, Lorna Bennett's, and Dusty Springfield's vocal versions are all dynamite).

Let's finish with a taste of David Scott the singer - a really fine self-produced rocksteady tune that he recorded with the Federals, called 'You Better Call On Me' (aka 'Shocking Love'). The Federals were only around for a couple of years in the late sixties, and after they split up two of them (Scott and Franklyn Spence) joined the Chosen Few.

The other side, 'In This World', is only so-so; but honestly, who cares?

I hope you enjoy these - we've been on a roots tip for a while now and I need to take a break from the heavy stuff. Anyway, here's the intro to 'They Call Me Trinity' - it's a seventies thing, we used to love all this.

 

BTW, thanks Lala for the Mawal, that clip of Asala is a gem - what a moment to have a brain freeze!