Groovin' with the Soulful Strings
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Groovin' with the Soulful Strings is the second album by the American soul-jazz instrumental group the Soulful Strings. It was released in October 1967 on the Cadet record label,[1] a subsidiary of Chess Records.[2] The album includes the hit single "Burning Spear", written by the group's leader, musical arranger Richard Green,[3] and interpretations of popular songs by the Beatles, the Temptations, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and others.[4][5]
Groovin' was the most commercially successful of the Soulful Strings' releases. In the United States, it peaked at number 59 on the Billboard Top LP's chart, and number 6 and number 2, respectively, on Billboard's best-selling R&B and Jazz LP listings.[6] Although the album was nominally produced by Cadet Records senior executive Esmond Edwards, its success led to Green's promotion to head up the creative direction of the label.[7] In addition to the string orchestration, the recording features contributions from jazz musicians such as Phil Upchurch, Charles Stepney, Lenny Druss, Cleveland Eaton and Morris Jennings.[8]
Track listing
Side one
- "Burning Spear" (Richard Evans) – 4:17
- "All Blues" (Miles Davis) – 2:53
- "What Now My Love" (Carl Sigman, Gilbert Bécaud, Pierre Delanoë) – 3:00
- "Within You Without You" (George Harrison) – 4:20
- "Our Day Will Come" (Bob Hilliard, Mort Garson) – 3:19
Side two
- "Soul Prelude" (J.S. Bach) – 2:45
- "Groovin'" (Felix Cavaliere, Eddie Brigati) – 3:08
- "Alfie" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) – 4:05
- "Comin' Home Baby" (Ben Tucker, Bob Dorough) – 3:38
- "(I Know) I'm Losing You" (Norman Whitfield, Eddie Holland, Cornelius Grant) – 3:19
Personnel
- Richard Green – musical arrangements, direction
- Sol Bobrov – viola
- David Chausow – viola
- Arthur Ahlman – violin
- Harold Kupper – violin
- Karl B. Fruh – cello
- Emil Mittermann – cello
- Theodore Ratzer – cello
- Charles Stepney – organ, vibraphone
- Lenny Druss – saxophone, flute
- Vernice Green – saxophone, flute
- Ronald Steele – guitar, sitar
- Phil Upchurch – guitar
- Cleveland Eaton – bass
- Louis Satterfield – bass
- Philip R. Thomas – bongos, congas
- Morris Jennings – drums
References
- ^ Billboard Review Panel (October 14, 1967). "Album Reviews" > "Special Merit Picks". Billboard. p. 76. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- ^ "Cadet Album Discography (1965–1971)". Both Sides Now Publications. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- ^ Grogan, Larry. "Richard Evans: The Cadet Concept – 10 of His Greatest [cont.]". F16zine. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- ^ Goble, Ryan Randall. "Soulful Strings Groovin' with the Soulful Strings". AllMusic. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- ^ Grogan, Larry (October 8, 2014). "Richard Evans 1932–2014". Funky16Corners. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- ^ "Soulful Strings: Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- ^ Ubick, Dan; Ma, David (October 8, 2014). "Bassist-turned-arranger Richard Evans put the soul in Cadet Records". Wax Poetics. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- ^ Groovin' with the Soulful Strings (LP sleeve credits). The Soulful Strings. Cadet Records. 1967.
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