In a mail crate on my dining room floor is a stash of compilations I've discovered in the clearance racks of every store that sells CDs from Kansas City to Topeka. There are punk comps, ska comps, rockabilly comps, and everything in between. Every so often, I dig through to figure out what I've got, and usually come up with a gem to keep me company while I'm sitting on the couch, reading through whatever I've recently snagged from the library. I'd forgotten about the Doowopin' with the King, Federal, and DeLuxe Vocal Groups Volume 1 - "Dynamite Darlings" compilation on West Side until it came up last week, and was surprised to discover that it featured three tracks by a group from Kansas City, MO, called the Carpets.
The Carpets recorded one session for the Federal label, and had the misfortune to have their debut single, "Why Do I," see release at the same time the label put out James Brown's "Please Please Please." The second single, "Lonely Me," saw release a few months later, and went nowhere. The Carpets were let go from Federal, and that was the end of them while several of the members joined the armed forces. The Carpets reunited in 1961, and renamed themselves the Derbys.
However, the lead singer of the group was a tenor by the name of James Gadson. When the group stopped in Florida, Gadson quit the Derbys and joined the Midnighters (Hank Ballard's group, famous for their hits "Work With Me, Annie" and "The Twist"). From there, he went on to be part of the original line-up of the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, as well as drumming on Bill Withers' Still Bill. There's a stellar interview with Gadson in the September 2007 issue of Modern Drummer that's well worth reading for the full story of his career, which is nicely supplemented by Marv Goldberg's R&B notebook on the Carpets.
However, it was as a young man in Kansas City that Gadson started on his career in music, and his voice is stellar in this unreleased alternate take of the Carpets' second single. It's amazing to think that Gadson was just 16 when he recorded this track.
MP3: the Carpets, "Lonely Me" (alternate take)
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Check out the Wikipedia entry for james Gadson to see a list of some of the recordings on which he has played. It is an incredible list. That's why he's on the ballot this year for possible induction into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame. Voting ends at the end of this month and results will be announced in early November. If he doesn't make it this year, I'm sure he'll be voted in next year.
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