The Lovelites

Love So Strong/(c/w mono) 7' demo TC-2068



Yes It's my first 7' single up-load, I've done it! what a track it is indeed. Produced by Star-Vue Productions for 'our hero' the independent producer Clarence Johnson in 1973 who we have talked about in previous Blogs. I do believe it also came out on Lovelite Records. The song Love So Strong was written by the lead singer here Patti Hamilton and Byron Gregory.

Patti had been the main vocalist for some years for the group, but on some tracks on a recently released CD, a 17-year-old Denise Williams (aka Denise Chandler) can clearly be heard. If you listen to Love Is Pretty this is classic Denise Williams' later style. Johnson said that he had a whole album on her at the time but nobody else liked her. Did she learn her vocal techniques from Patti Hamilton? they are very similar if you listen carefully.

Johnson had used her (Niecy) on the Lock label founded in 1968 by himself and Johnny Cameron, Eddie Sullivan and Eddie O'Kelly in Chicago, the first single being Love Is Tears (shown). Lock collapsed in 1970 but just before the company had a national hit with How Can I Tell Mom & Dad by the Lovelites in 1969, a song that delt with teen-age pregnancy, similar to the Diana Ross & the Supremes' Love Child that had delt with this in 1968. During the 70's Eddie Sullivan would join his two sisters in the Classic Sullivan's, with the hit Put Yourself In A Corner on the Kwanza label.

The Lovelites were from the Altgeld Gardens projects on Chicago's South Side, actually the first public housing built in the United States in the 1940's for returning WWII soldiers & families. The original group consisted of Patti Hamilton, Patti's sister Rozena Petty & Barbara Peterman and were formed when the girls were at Carvers High. They first recorded for a local label, Bandera, two sides. After this Pearman left and was replaced by Ardell McDaniel and that's when they joined the Lock label in 1969. After the Mom & Dad single Petty left to be replaced by Joni Berlmon. Bill Watkiss part owner of the Love Lite label played bass on all their records. [info: Chicago Soul - R. Pruter]

Lovelites Discography:

Bandera 2515 - I Found A Lover/You Better Stop It - 1967
Lock 723 - How Can I Tell My Mom & Dad/Hey! Stars Of Tomorrow (Inst.) 1969
Uni 55181 - How Can I Tell My Mom & Dad (Part 1) / (Part 2) 1969
Uni 55222 - Oh My Love/Who You Gonna Hurt Now 1970
Uni 55242 - Oh My Love/This Love Is Real 1970
Uni 73081 - (LP) 'With Love From The Lovelites' 1970
Nitia 100 - How Can I Tell My Mom & Dad/I'm Still Here *Flip By The Notations
Love Lite 01 - My Conscience/Man In My Life - 1970
Love Lite 02 - Bumpy Road Ahead/Love Is Pretty 1971
Love Lite 03 - The Way That You Treat Me Baby/My Baby Loves Me 1972
Cotillion 44145 - I'm The One That You Need/Love Bandit 1972
Cotillion 44161 - Is That Lovin' In Your Heart/We've Got The Real Thing 1972
Velvet 300 - Give It Up/It's The Right Thing To Do 1972
Love Lite 1008 - Oh My Love/Love So Strong 1973
20th Century Fox 2068 - Oh My Love/Love Is So Strong 1973
Lovelite 1508 - (Get It Off) My Conscience/Oh, What A Day - 1975
Lovelite 28 - Bumpy Road Ahead/Love Is Pretty - ?

Heaven & Earth

I Can't Seem To Forget You


This is an example of what a synth-bass can sound like when done properly. I Can't Seem To Forget makes you want to rock from side-to-side, o.k. it does lose the groove a little after the intro., but that doesn't matter 'cus it keep returning for the chorus - wonderful. Electronic bass was also used by Roy Ayers to good effect about this same time with Sylvia Striplin and Eighties Ladies and hopefully I'll come to that later.

Heaven & Earth came out of the middle-class South Shore community on the south side of Chicago in 1974. Brothers Dwight & James Dukes, Keith Steward and Michael Brown. The group were discovered by the manager Lil Schneider who brought them to Clarence Johnson. Johnson & his partner Lucky Cordel (former station manager at WVON) were impressed enough to sign them to the newly formed G.E.C. Label.

The first single I Can't Forget About You was a top ten hit in Chicago in March 1976. Johnson reported that they had sold about 50,000 copies local but 20th. Century didn't promote it elsewhere so after they asked for a release from that contract.

In 1978 Johnson got a better deal with Mercury Records for two albums with the Group with a much changed and not for the better line-up. He had withdrawn from G.E.C. and formed his own production group Starvue. Mercury gave the group two chart singles but were not impressed with the sales and dropped them.

Heaven & Earth Discography (Albums)

I Can't Seem To Forget You - GEC 1000 (1975)
Heaven And Earth - Mercury (1978)
Fantasy - Mercury (1979)
That's Love - TEC (1980)

Photo: Old Chess building with WVON add on billboard

Starvue

Body Fusion

Body fusion has been a big underground track for 15 years or more, Starvue were Keith Blake, Judy Davis, Andre Morgan, Anthony Hicks, Burton Fowler, Lester Falconer III, Victor Hughes and Larry Horner a total of eight members! Released in 1980 on MIR Chicago Sound.

This I think was a private pressing and subsequently only few copies of the album are about fetching £50-£100, although the 7' of Body Fusion was quite common, the 12" is shit-rare and sometimes sells for more than the album. The Modern track on this set is Put The bs aside although not seeing as much action as Body fusion.

The album was produced by Clarence Johnson who has operated a number of production companies and labels in Chicago; Lovelite, G.E.C. Records and Starvue, although he was not always the sole owner. In the mid-70's he operated out of the old Chess building. He was part of Chaunteurs from 1958-64 a group that evolved through The Presidents and The Hi-Lites into The Chi-lites.

He biggest success came from the Lovelites whose lead singer was Patti Hamilton, he say's of all the bands he worked with they were the best to work with. Though early work with The Classic Sullivans Shame Shame Shame on Master Key showed his early potential as a producer. At the end of the 70's he also released on MIR Coffee's I Wanna Be With You aimed at the Disco era although Coffee then went on with better success at Delite Records taking Johnson's recordings with them for audition demo's. Johnson also did work for Heaven and Earth and Brighter Side Of Darkness.