A PHILADELPHIA RECORD LABEL
WITH THE THE "B-TOWN" SOUND
This is a story of perseverence. This is a story of how a bandleader and aspiring singer from Philadelphia discovered a young group from Camden NJ, wrote and produced their first single, and then watched the group’s career take off in someone else's stable. There were many lessons learned the hard way; the most poignant was finding out the record business in Philly during the 1960’s and 70's was a hard nut to crack, especially when you're an unknown in the R&B world.
Post Barbara Mason (Yes I'm Ready, 1965) and just before The Ebonys (You're The Reason Why, 1971) there was a little known Philadelphia singer, songwriter, and producer named Raymond Waterhouse. Ray was never given his due for discovering one of the biggest groups to come out of the Philadelphia International Records (PIR) roster. We will be discussing his group, The Soul Set - Gary Volpe (drums), Jerry Marlo (bass & vocals), Tommy Davidge (guitar & vocals), and Denny Collett (Hammond B-3 organ) as well as the group whose career he launched - The Ebonys, (Clarence Vaughan, David Beasley, James "Bootie" Tuten, Jennifer Holmes)
Hailing from Bristol Township, outside of Philly, PA, Ray (known as Ray Sharp while performing) and The Soul Set played every small club from Philadelphia, PA to Somers Point, NJ and up and down the coast from Washington DC to New York. Week in and week out, they played mostly covers of the day, some James Brown and local groups like Chubby Checker, and the mighty Delfonics.
The Soul Set was a rough and tumble crew, clean-cut looking, but vicious instrumentalists. After three singles on B.B Records (a subsidiary of Swan) and years of playing around Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, some industry folk started to take notice. In 1968, Ray Sharp and The Soul Set signed a singles deal on the small label Sock & Soul Record Corp. run by Nat Segall & Howard Michaels (respectively producer & manager of the Soul Survivors).
Earthquake B/W She Needs Love (H-104) was released in late 1968 and soon gained traction locally. The Soul Set had a hit on their hands. Ray knew he needed a follow-up, and quick. He formed his own label with co-songwriter Paul Prospero and financier Avis S. Joy (Avis Records) and immediately signed The Ebonys.
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Avis would see two releases in total, a Ray Sharp solo record (AVIS-1002) but more relative to our story, The Ebonys - Back In My Arms B/W I Can't Help But Love You (AVIS-1001). Recorded in 1968 and released in 1969 the record failed to chart, or maybe get radio play at all. This was the very first release for Clarence, David, James, and Jennifer as The Ebonys. Written and produced by Ray and arranged by the late, great Roland Chambers, the single seems to have long been forgotten. Perhaps it was overlooked, or overshadowed by the very successful career The Ebonys would go on to have at PIR, under Gamble & Huff. In 1971 The Ebonys single You're The Reason Why was in the ten on the U.S. R&B Charts, a first for PIR.
Fifty-five years later, after a seemingly endless effort by Raymond Waterhouse to relive some of that late 1960’s glory with later bands like Waterhouse, Live A Little, Profit, The Four Accents, The Ebonys original reel to reel master tapes from the Avis label sessions have been found and remastered and sound as good today as they did back in 1969. In that original session for Ray at Sigma Sound Studios with Joe Tarsia doing the mix, there were three songs done in total, all of which will finally see a proper release on a 7" / 45rpm for the first time in half a decade.
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THE DELIGHTS
THE NU-RONS
MANNY CAMPBELL
Latin-tinged Southern California funk band Magnum has seen its reputation blossom since the original 1974 release of their LP, “Fully Loaded.” An exuberant band of individually talented musicians working in an expansive and comfortable environment, they give a loose funky overlay to a grounded R&B and Jazz sound that included a variety of instruments, including whistles, that lift the music to an exciting, hypnotic groove.
 Michael |  Thurron |
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 Lamont |  Harold |
 David |  Kevin |
 George |  Wormley |
Based in San Pedro Bay, California, Magnum originally consisted of brothers Michael Greene (muilti-instrumentalist and youngest in the group) playing piano, organ, percussion and vocals and Harold Greene on bass; with Kevin “Cornbread” Thornton on lead and rhythm guitars and doing the arrangements, Vance Wormley on trombone, organ, piano and percussion and with George Chaney on congas and bongos; Thurron Mallory, playing tenor, alto sax and electrified percussion, joined six months later and brought with him the rest of the Magnum Horn ensemble with Lamont Payne on trumpet as well as percussion.
As the house band for radio station KGFJ-AM’s Soul Search competition as well as the Soul Caravan, a series of weekly performances on a flatbed truck playing in and around urban Southern California. They also drew large crowds practicing in the Greene’s garage. Once they practiced at Thurron's childhood home in Compton, LA that drew such big crowds that the police had to shut the block down to disperse the crowd. The band stuck together performing in Southern California for a couple years after the release of “Fully Loaded,” once the opportunity came to perform with other artists, Magnum disbanded and the members moved on to other projects.
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