Wednesday 27 March 2024

FOR YOUR PRECIOUS LOVE by THE FLAMES

For today’s TOTD we go way back in the depths of time to the land of total obscurity, where we hit on The Flames.



The Flames were a 60s / 70s band out of Durban RSA (like yesterday we are back in South Africa!). 


The Flames

Because they were popular at the height of apartheid and would have been classed as “coloured” at home, they spent much of their later career here in the UK working with the likes of the Rolling Stones and the Faces and mixing with Keith Moon (the Who), Keith Richards (Stones) and Carl Wilson (Beach Boys) amongst others.


Considered as one of the most unique bands of 60s SA, they were made up from the Fataar brothers (Steve, Edries and Ricky) along with guitarist / vocalist Blondie Chaplin. They stood out with a blend of soul/rock music tinged with an Indian blend. 

Blondie Chaplin


In 1970, after Carl Wilson and fellow BB Alan Jardine saw them perform live at a club in London’s Kensington, they travelled to Los Angeles to record an album for the Beach Boys’ Brother Record label.


After that album two of the band actually joined the Beach Boys for a couple of years with Ricky on drums (as Dennis Wilson was unable to drum at that time due to a hand injury) and Blondie on vocals / guitar (Brian Wilson was having one of his many “absent periods.” from the band). Blondie is remembered during this period as singing lead vocal on the BB’s big hit “Sail on Sailor” to which he still refers as his signature track! 

Ricky Fataar

“Sail on Sailor" was initially recorded with Dennis on lead vocal, who didn't like the song and refused to finish it. Then they recorded it with Carl Wilson on lead, but he found it too low for his range of voice, so it was offered to Blondie and became the massive hit that it was.



Ricky went on to be featured in the Rutles spoof on the Beatles and has been the drummer in Bonnie Raitt’s band for 35+ years. Blondie still performs, often with Brian Wilson and Alan Jardine, and occasionally with the Rolling Stones. Both are now in their early 70s.



Tuesday 26 March 2024

TEARDROPS / LOVE WARS by WOMACK AND WOMACK

Barbara and Sam Cooke’s eldest child Linda was born in 1953 and was 11 years old when her father was killed and her mother went on to marry Bobby Womack. However at age 17 she embarked on a relationship with Bobby herself, resulting in her mother shooting Bobby.

Linda collaborated with Bobby writing his 1972 hit “Woman’s Gotta Have It” and she gained renown as a writer of soul songs in the 70s and 80s writing for such previous TOTD artists Patti Labelle and George Benson to name but two.


Linda and Bobby separated and she then married Bobby’s brother Cecil Womack forging a successful career as Womack and Womack (Cecil was previously married to none other than Mary Wells - best remembered for “My Guy”). Womack and Womack had international success with “Teardrops” and the iconic “Love Wars.” amongst others.


After travelling to Nigeria in the early 1990s, they discovered ancestral ties to the Zekkariyas tribe, and Cecil adopted the name Zekkariyas. In 1993 they released their final album with a major label, Transformation To The House Of Zekkariyas and they finally settled in South Africa and Thailand, spending the following years travelling the world.


Cecil passed away in 2013, but Linda (Cooke, Womack) Zekkariyas remains, along with their 7 children, living and still recording in Johannesburg.


Monday 25 March 2024

SECRETS by BOBBY WOMACK

 Bobby Womack started his career as Sam Cooke’s backing guitarist.



77 days after the death of Cooke,  20-year-old Womack and Cooke's widow Barbara Cooke, who was 10 years his senior, attempted to marry at the Los Angeles county courthouse. Their application was rejected as Womack was under 21 without his parents permission to marry. They finally tied the knot a day after his 21st birthday, ostracising the music world, audiences, disc jockeys and Womack’s brothers.


They split in 1970 when Barbara found out Womack was having an affair with her’s (and Sam’s) 17 year old daughter Linda. This resulted in Barbara trying to shoot Bobby (can't imagine where she got that idea from), but the bullet only grazed his head. It is said, Linda never spoke to her mother again.






Bobby was a prolific recording artist and songwriter, writing for the Rolling Stones amongst others and in 1981 recorded possibly the best R&B (soul) album of all time “The Poet” from which this track comes from (Secrets is my favourite cut from the album - any song with Kentucky Fried Chicken in the lyric does it for me).


He died in 2014 aged 70, after having survived colon cancer, but had been diagnosed with early stages of Alzheimer’s.


Tomorrow, whatever happened to Linda? You may be surprised…….


Sunday 24 March 2024

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD by SAM COOKE

Today we start a story of Sam Cooke and his extended family.  


Considered one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distinctive vocals. In an 8 year career he released 29 singles which reached the top 40.



He had a very limited career however as he met his end at age 33, when he was shot by a motel manager in LA, who claimed she shot him in self-defense. After an inquest and investigation, the courts ruled Cooke's death to be justifiable homicide.

Tomorrow we delve into the story of Sam's widow.......


Thursday 21 March 2024

YOU ARE MY LOVE by LIVERPOOL EXPRESS

 Liverpool Express are best known for charting hit songs such as "You Are My Love" (which Paul McCartney once declared one of his favourite songs) and "Every Man Must Have a Dream.”



Set up by Billy Kinsley (ex Merseybeats), Northern Irish musician Roger Scott Craig, Tony Coates and Derek Cashin, they had three top 40 hits in 1976 and continued releasing music until the early 90s.


The band along with Billy Kinsley (now into his late 70s) still play the odd gig to this day in the Liverpool area.


Wednesday 20 March 2024

You're the One for Me / AM / Daybreak by Paul Hardcastle

Synth-pop composer and musician Paul Hardcastle is mainly remembered for his Vietnam war hit 19, but he did have other, albeit minor hits.


One of which being “You're the one for me / AM / Dayreak which reached the heady heights of no.41 in the UK.


A strange beginning (and ending it has to be said), it will certainly get your feet tapping and I actually really like it.


Monday 18 March 2024

JUDY TEEN by COCKNEY REBEL

The passing of Steve Harley, lead singer of Cockney Rebel was announced yesterday. He was 73 and had been suffering with cancer. Today's TOTD is in tribute to him.