Blue-Eyed Soul in Pennsylvania
I exchanged some email this week with Justin Hopper of the Pittsburgh City Paper. Justin is working on a story right now about Chuck Corby, a Pittsburgh soul singer now working the lounge circuit, and he asked my opinion about why it is that so many highly regarded blue-eyed soul and r&b singers have come out of Pennsylvania (e.g., me, Jimmy Beaumont, Johnny Daye*, the Del Vikings, the Magnificent Men).
I am a relocated Jersey guy who moved to Pittsburgh largely because it was easy to get gigs playing the kind of music I liked when I got here. The fact that I am still in Pittsburgh suggests that the musical environment for blue-eyed soul was fertile when I got here. I think it would have worked just as well if I had gone east from State College instead of west, though.
Philly always had a strong white R&B tradition. I remember referring to soul fans from Philadelphia as "finger-snappin' Philly boys" when I was in college in the 60s and 70s. And there were a lot of them. The Soul Survivors from Philly were an outstanding band in the Young Rascals mode. The Ingui brothers, who were the main guys in the Soul Survivors, made a completely overlooked album for Gamble & Huff on TSOP with some studio musicians (under the name "Soul Survivors") that was terrific. And were the Vanilla Fudge from Philly too? I'd call that blue-eyed soul on acid. Or something...
The Magnificent Men were certainly a huge influence on me, and I played a concert with them at Penn State in 1968. They were everything I aspired to be, and the fact that they recorded a live album at the Uptown Theater in Philly gave them the imprimatur of authenticity (see Blue Chicago: The Search for Authenticity in Urban Blues Clubs by David Grazian on the subject of authenticity). My first band in college opened for them at Rec Hall at Penn State in 1968. We rented tuxedos for the gig, which cost us more than we were paid; but we didn't want to be outdressed.
But to get to the heart of Justin's question, the best answer I was able to give was, "Damned if I know." Is really objectively true that more highly regarded blue-eyed soul and r&b singers come out of our area than out of other areas? Before the Beatles, playing r&B and soul was about the only interesting thing there was to do, and my guess is that that interest and engagement went on in lots of places other than Pittsburgh, Philly, and Harrisburg. But I could be wrong.
* who makes a cameo on Robert Peckman's incredible new CD on Bonedog, Stirrin' Up Bees.
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I am a relocated Jersey guy who moved to Pittsburgh largely because it was easy to get gigs playing the kind of music I liked when I got here. The fact that I am still in Pittsburgh suggests that the musical environment for blue-eyed soul was fertile when I got here. I think it would have worked just as well if I had gone east from State College instead of west, though.
Philly always had a strong white R&B tradition. I remember referring to soul fans from Philadelphia as "finger-snappin' Philly boys" when I was in college in the 60s and 70s. And there were a lot of them. The Soul Survivors from Philly were an outstanding band in the Young Rascals mode. The Ingui brothers, who were the main guys in the Soul Survivors, made a completely overlooked album for Gamble & Huff on TSOP with some studio musicians (under the name "Soul Survivors") that was terrific. And were the Vanilla Fudge from Philly too? I'd call that blue-eyed soul on acid. Or something...
The Magnificent Men were certainly a huge influence on me, and I played a concert with them at Penn State in 1968. They were everything I aspired to be, and the fact that they recorded a live album at the Uptown Theater in Philly gave them the imprimatur of authenticity (see Blue Chicago: The Search for Authenticity in Urban Blues Clubs by David Grazian on the subject of authenticity). My first band in college opened for them at Rec Hall at Penn State in 1968. We rented tuxedos for the gig, which cost us more than we were paid; but we didn't want to be outdressed.
But to get to the heart of Justin's question, the best answer I was able to give was, "Damned if I know." Is really objectively true that more highly regarded blue-eyed soul and r&b singers come out of our area than out of other areas? Before the Beatles, playing r&B and soul was about the only interesting thing there was to do, and my guess is that that interest and engagement went on in lots of places other than Pittsburgh, Philly, and Harrisburg. But I could be wrong.
* who makes a cameo on Robert Peckman's incredible new CD on Bonedog, Stirrin' Up Bees.
To add a comment, click the "Comments" link below.
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