THE LAURA LEE STORY, PART 3: Back Home (1970-1975)

Laura Lee. Photo courtesy of Ducky Lucas.

 Eddie Holland: “Laura Lee is a very creative-minded person. She has her own way of looking at things. I loved her singing, and I loved working with her, because she is really good. She is a very, very good singer, and I like her voice. She has a gravel kind of a voice. I love that voice. It is different. I always got along with her pretty well.”

 Angelo Bond: “Laura was outstanding to work with. My opinion is that Laura was one of the most underrated vocalists of her time.”

 H.B. Barnum: “Few people realize that she was a pretty good jazz singer also."

 Laura Lee had released superb soul records in the late 1960s, and they were cut mostly at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals and Criteria Studios in Miami. The next decade, however, meant homecoming for Laura. The most popular singles and albums in her career were all cut in the first half of the 70s in Detroit, where she had generated interest already in the 1950s as one of the leads in the Meditation Singers and where she delighted us with a secular dance single called To Win Your Heart on the Ric Tic label in 1966.

Eddie and Brian Holland. Photo courtesy of Shirley Washington.

 With numerous number one hits under their belt – mostly by the Supremes and the Four Tops – Motown’s leading writing and production team of Edward Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland had launched its own labels called Hot Wax and Invictus in 1968. Eddie Holland: When I was establishing Invictus and Hot Wax, I was doing it all at the same time. At that time of my life, I didn’t want to be tied up with any ONE particular company, so I signed with Buddah first in New York. Then I went to California and signed Invictus with Capitol Records.” Buddah distributed Hot Wax Records.

 Two years after the operations had started, Brian Holland approached his long-standing friend Laura Lee and asked her to join their newly formed label and Laura was glad to sign the contract. Right from the start, the unique Holland-Dozier-Holland triumvirate – in short, HDH - scored big hits on Hot Wax with the Honey Cone (Girls It Ain’t Easy), 100 Proof Aged in Soul (Somebody’s Been Sleeping) and on Invictus even bigger smashes with the Glass House (Crumbs off the Table), Chairmen of the Board (Give Me Just a Little More Time) and Freda Payne (Band of Gold, Deeper and Deeper) - and all this had occurred before Laura’s first Hot Wax single was even released in November 1970.

Laura Lee and Freda Payne. Photo courtesy of Ducky Lucas.

 Besides Laura and Freda, other noteworthy recording ladies on those labels included Scherrie Payne, Freda’s younger sister, in the Glass House, Carolyn Willis and Edna Wright, the younger sister of Darlene Love, in the Honey Cone, and Ruth Copeland and Eloise Laws. Also on their third label, Music Merchant, in 1972-73 HDH had Jones Girls and Brenda Holloway in their roster.  Offices of HDH’s record companies were located in the Cadillac Tower and the recording studios on Grand River in Northwest Detroit in a former movie theatre.

WEDLOCK IS A PADLOCK

 Unleashing a soul belter herself, Laura delivered a hooky dancer called Wedlock Is a Padlock as her Hot Wax debut. The single climbed up to # 37 on Billboard’s “Best Selling Soul Singles” charts in early ’71. Produced by Greg Perry, the song was co-written by him together with General Johnson and Angelo Bond.

  General Norman Johnson was the leader of the Showmen in the 1960s – remember It Will Stand? – as well as the frontman of the Chairmen of the Board. Later he still released perky, melodic and quite successful beach music albums on Surfside Records in the 1980s and ‘90s. He passed away in 2010 at the age of 69.

 Although Greg Perry (1948-2023) was best known as a producer and writer for Freda Payne, Honey Cone, 100 Proof Aged in Soul, Chairmen of the Board, Laura Lee - and later Mary Wells and Bonnie Pointer -, he was a recording artist in his own right, too, with releases on Chess, Casablanca, RCA and Alfa. He was married to Edna Wright of the Honey Cone.

Pictured from left to right: Angelo Bond, Laura Lee, David Washington. Photo courtesy of Ducky Lucas.

ANGELO BOND

 Let’s have a closer look at Angelo Bond, because his contribution to our music simply hasn’t received enough attention. He’s not only a remarkable writer of song lyrics, but a noteworthy recording artist in his own right, too. He co-wrote his biggest hit songs for Eddie Holland’s publishing company called Gold Forever Music and they were released on Invictus and Hot Wax between 1969 and ’72, while his best-known solo effort, an album called Bondage, was released on ABC in 1975.

 Angelo: “I was born in Detroit, Michigan, and I got into music from singing in a high school variety show. I was a member of the Majestees, who performed In Highland Park High School variety show. In 1965 Miss Summers became our manager. She introduced us to local shows and also to Nate Dore, who was the owner of Mutt Records in Inkster, Michigan. Fred Bridges and Robert Eaton were assigned to produce our record.”

 Fred Bridges (1938-2018) is a multi-talented person in Detroit’s music scene. In the 1950s he sang in numerous doowop groups, in the early 1960s cut solo records and next became a notable songwriter and producer, first on Golden World, then on La Beat, Boo, Zodiac and other labels. Alongside Bobby Eaton and Richard Knight, he sang in Brothers of Soul – remember I Guess That Don’t Make Me a Loser on Boo in 1968 – and later he worked as the road manager for the Four Tops.

 The 5-piece Majestees cut one single at Nate Dore’s studio, which was located in the back room of his bail bonds office on Michigan Avenue in Inkster. The session took place in the summer of 1966, and two songs from that session were released on Nate’s Mutt Records. Take Back All Those Things (Mutt 18381) is a fast dancer and a later Northern favourite, while the B-side, Let Her Go (18382), is a soft, post-doowop ballad, led by Angelo. The A-side was credited to Nate Dore and Earl Smiley, whereas the flip was credited to Fred Bridges. “It was released locally. I wrote the lyrics to the B-side. That was my first adventure into soul writing. I also wrote the song Take Back All Those Things, however, I didn’t get credit for the writing. At that time, I was only 18 years old. Besides singing, at that time I also went to college and worked at night at Chrysler corporation.”

 “At that time, I met Major Reynolds, who owned a local recording studio Tri-Sound Recording, and while working there I met McKinley Jackson and Jeffrey Bowen, who was looking for a place for Holland-Dozier-Holland to rehearse. They had just left Motown. Jeffrey was impressed by my lyric writing, and he offered me a contract to work with Gold Forever Music, owned by Eddie Holland. As a lyric writer I wrote with Greg Perry, and when William Weatherspoon came from Motown over to Gold Forever, I wrote with Weatherspoon.”

 “With Greg Perry, I wrote Somebody’s Been Sleeping, which was nominated for a Grammy in 1970. When that song was presented to the company, they said it was not suitable for the A-side. They had another record, so they put Somebody on the B-side, but the deejays turned it over. In those days deejays could make a record.” Somebody was certified Gold by RIAA. “With Greg we also wrote Bring the Boys Home for Freda Payne.” Co-written by General Johnson, Bring the Boys Home was also certified Gold in 1971. According to Freda, the song was originally written for Laura Lee. “I was told by the producer that they put the song on Freda Payne, because she had just come off the hit record, Band of Gold. She was a priority artist. We also wrote Chairmen of the Board’s Pay to the Piper.” Ronnie Dunbar and General Johnson are credited as co-writers on Pay to the Piper.

 “The first song that I wrote for Gold Forever Music at Hot Wax Records in 1969 was Too Many Cooks (Spoil the Soup), and it was originally done on 100 Proof Aged in Soul. Mick Jagger had the perception. He could see a great song, and he covered it.” Produced by John Lennon and recorded in 1973, Mick’s version was finally released in 2007 on The Very Best of Mick Jagger.  Alongside Angelo, Ronald Dunbar and Edith Wayne are credited as co-writers on Too Many Cooks.

Angelo Bond on the cover of his album Bondage.

BONDAGE

 Starting from Wedlock Is a Padlock, at Hot Wax/Invictus Angelo Bond co-wrote altogether nine ear catching songs for Laura Lee and they are all dealt with later in the article. “I was under a one-year contract with a five-year option, and - after the options were up in 1973 - I went to California and worked with Otis Smith at ABC Records.”

 In 1975 they released Angelo’s splendid solo album called Bondage (ABC 889) and three fine singles from it – Reach for the Moon (Poor People), Eve and He Gained the World (But Lost His Soul). “Bondage was a classic album, but it was never marketed.” Produced by Angelo and McKinley Jackson and arranged by McKinley and Paul Riser, Reach for the Moon made # 32 on Billboard’s soul charts. “It was number one wherever they played it – Detroit, Houston, Memphis… I was never marketed as an artist, probably because I’m so low-key.”

 “I did do another album called Free Spirit, but ABC was sold to MCA Records.” Free Spirit was assigned as ABC 944 in 1976, but was deleted. “Then I went to Clive Davis in New York, because one of my writing partners, General Johnson, was at that time at Arista. Clive wanted to sign me as an artist.” Clive Davis had founded Arista in 1974, and in the latter part of the 1970s General Johnson enjoyed a few medium-size hit records over there: All in the Family, We the People, Don’t Walk Away… “General introduced me, and Clive Davis told me that he was going to make me a star, but he didn’t believe in paying a lot of money in front. That was a red flag.”

 “After that I called Jeffrey Bowen and told him that my contract was up and he told me not to go anywhere, because I was the missing link and he wanted me to come to Motown. When I came to Motown, he said that we need you as a writer, help me get Bonnie Pointer hot. So, I worked for Motown for ten years as a staff writer.” Jeffrey’s wish to make Bonnie hot is understandable, as he and Bonnie got married in 1978, and that marriage lasted for 38 years.

 Besides Bonnie Pointer (Free Me from My Freedom/Tie Me to a Tree, Handcuff Me), during his tenure at Motown, Angelo not only co-wrote songs but also produced a number of tracks on such artists as the Temptations (Power, Miss Busy Body, Sail Away, Struck by Lightning Twice), Syreeta (Move It, Do It), David Ruffin (Don’t Hold It), High Inergy (Don’t Park Your Loving, Wrong Man, Right Touch), Mary Wilson (the beautiful and poignant Why Can’t We All Get Along, in 1979) and Junior Walker & the All Stars (Just Can’t Get Enough). His songs found their way onto other labels, too, including Eloise Laws (I Believe in You Baby on Demon), Edna Wright (the LP Oops! Here I Go Again on RCA) and Mary Wells (Spend the Nights with Me on Epic).

 “After ten years at Motown, I did a record, because I wanted to get back in the music scene. It was very expedient for me to do a deal for a record with Music Merchant, a record company owned by Eddie Holland. It was called Who Put the X in Sex. That record was put out in 1986.” Produced by Brian Holland, this hard-hitting, chunky disco track was credited to Brim Rock starring Angelo Bond (MM7-108-85A). “Brim Rock was a fictional group formed in order to not sign an exclusive contract with Music Merchant.”

 “After that I dedicated time to my family. I was really concentrating on my 6-year-old son and my marriage… up till today. But I’m working on a new project now, a new album.”

Laura Lee. Photo courtesy of Ducky Lucas.

HER PICTURE MATCHES MINE

 Wedlock Is a Padlock wasn’t one of Laura’s favourite tunes – “a junk song” – and although many consider this recording to be the first in the chain of Laura’s women’s lib songs, Laura disagrees with that notion. In an interview with John Abbey for the Blues & Soul magazine in 1972 she made it clear that “I’m not into women’s lib. I’m into women’s love. I don’t believe in any supremacy of any kind. I’m a religious being. I love all men and all women.”

 A beautiful and melodic story-telling ballad called Her Picture Matches Mine was hidden on the flip, and this song was written and produced by William Weatherspoon, an important figure for Laura during her Hot Wax/Invictus stint. William Henry Weatherspoon was born on February 11, 1936 in Blytheville, Arkansas as the firstborn of nine sons and two daughters. He graduated in the city of Detroit in 1954 and the very same year he met Doris Lucille Brown, and they married three years later. From 1955 William sang tenor in the Tornados for five years, and the group had singles released on Chess and Robert West’s Bumble Bee. After a brief writing and producing spell on the Correc-tone label, he switched to Motown and in the capacity of a co-producer and co-writer left an unforgettable mark with his work, especially with Jimmy Ruffin – What Becomes of the Brokenhearted, I’ve Passed This Way Before, Farewell Is a Lonely Sound etc. – and all these songs mostly in co-operation with James Dean. Other artists he used to work with at that time included Marv Johnson, Edwin Starr and the Marvelettes, and still in the 1980s William returned to Motown for his second stint. Afterwards he produced gospel music and worked with Marvin Winans, among others. Altogether William is credited with having produced 168 songs. In the 1950s he actually went to the same Northeastern High School in Detroit as the two years his junior Laura Lee. William died of a myocardial infarction on July 17, 2005.

 Eddie Holland: “I had a lot of artists. I had Chairmen of the Board, I had Freda Payne… so I couldn’t do them all, and Laura Lee seemed to get along with William Weatherspoon a lot, so I decided to put William and Laura together.”

WOMEN’S LOVE RIGHTS

 Angelo Bond stuck to the women’s lib theme and took it a few steps further, when he wrote the lyrics for Laura’s follow-up single, Women’s Love Rights. Produced and co-composed by William Weatherspoon, this catchy up-tempo dancer with a lively beat was the song that gave Laura the reputation of an advocate for the feminist movement. She received a lot of feedback – “that song liberated women.” On Billboard’s charts the single hit # 11-soul and # 36-pop, which means that on the pop side it became the biggest hit in her career.

 Carrying a similar message, the third single called Love and Liberty (# 23-soul, # 94-pop) was another up-tempo song created by Angelo and William, and one thing that really stands out on this track is Laura’s strong and determined vocalizing. I Don’t Want Nothing Old (But Money) on the flip is a more standard funky stomper.

 Angelo Bond: “During that era, women were beginning to stand up for their rights. As a songwriter I wrote for the current events of the time. For example, I wrote Bring the Boys Home during the Vietnam war. Two of my brothers had been drafted and it resonated with a lot of people. This particular song was banned by the US army in Vietnam, because it gave aid and comfort to the enemy. When Johnnie Taylor sang “Who’s Making Love to your old lady while you are out making love”, I came up with the idea to write Somebody’s Been Sleeping in My Bed and Everything Good Is Bad for the singing group 100 Proof with Greg Perry and General Johnson. I was also inspired with the era and times when I co-wrote 90 Day Freeze (on Her Love) with Ronald Dunbar during the Nixon presidency, when a 90-day freeze was placed on wages.” Again, the song was recorded by 100 Proof Aged in Soul.

 Eddie Holland: “William Weatherspoon was really good at those female songs, and Laura Lee took to those songs. William Weatherspoon picked the musicians that he wanted to play on his sessions. Those songs that William Weatherspoon did, all of them were always hits. I would let William work with Laura Lee, and if there was something that I liked I would just release that tune and put them on charts. Or it might have been something that Laura Lee wanted to release, because a lot of times Laura Lee would say ‘I want this one out’, and William wanted it out and if the DJs said it was a good record, I went along with that.”

 According to Laura, her debut Hot Wax album titled Women’s Love Rights was completed in about six weeks. Released in early 1972, among Laura’s albums it’s the only one to hit Billboard’s charts - # 12-soul and # 117-pop. Produced for the most part by William, with new songs mainly written by William and Angelo, Honey Cone sing on the background and Ronald Dunbar is credited as the executive producer. Ronald Dunbar (1939 - 2018) worked closely with HDH on Motown in the sixties and continued to work with them at Invictus/Hot Wax in the A&R department. He’s also listed as a co-writer of some of those early 70s hits, including General Johnson’s Patches, which was covered and turned into gold by Clarence Carter. Later Ronald hooked up with George Clinton.

 Of the ten tracks on Laura’s album, there are only three that were not put out as single sides. The up-tempo A-side of the album contains all three “liberation” singles above plus one B-side (I Don’t Want Nothing Old), and there’s still an easy-going, mid-paced toe-tapper called (Don’t Be Sorry) Be Careful If You Can’t Be Good, written by William, Angelo and Robert McFarlin. The Jones Girls covered the song with HDH, but it was shelved and released only in 2014 on the Rare and Unreleased 7 Inch Collection. The sixth track on the “stomper side” is Brian Holland’s and Lamont Dozier’s slightly psychedelic, funky number with a message called It’s Not What You Fall for, It’s What You Stand for.

SINCE I FELL FOR YOU

 For deep soul fans Side 2 of the album is almost like a dream come true. The opening track and also Laura’s fourth Hot Wax single was her groundbreaking, eight-minute version of a Buddy Johnson song from 1945 titled Since I Fell for You. Lenny Welch scored a # 4 hit with this ballad in 1963. Laura herself wrote a long, over 2-minute opening monologue for the song and it became so popular for her that she had to include the song in each of her stage shows those days. Produced by William Weatherspoon, the popularity of the single was quite modest (# 24-soul, # 76-pop) at the time of its release, but over the years the appreciation for this soulful gem has grown.

 Not only is there a two-minute monologue, there’s also a two-minute instrumental ending on the album track. Laura implies that one of the sources of inspiration for that monologue was her close relationship to Al Green at that time. In Al’s and David Seay’s book, Take Me to the River (in 2000), Al tells that the two met in Atlanta in late 1971. Laura went to one of Al’s shows, which resulted in dating and soon also living together. Al was Laura’s fan, and Dirty Man was one of his favourite records. He has admitted that he wrote Tired of Being Alone in 1971 with Laura in mind, although at first Laura hated the song. Both helped each other in music and at one point Laura even booked Al around. Those days she was travelling back and forth between Memphis and Detroit.

 On the impressive soul ballad side of the album Laura delivers also a great deep version of Roosevelt Jamison’s That’s How Strong My Love Is, which was first immortalized by O.V. Wright in 1964, and later covered by Otis Redding, Percy Sledge, the Sweet Inspirations and many, many others. Laura’s reading is a richly orchestrated and vocally a highly emotional gospel-soul masterpiece.

 The rest two tracks are the beautiful Her Picture Matches Mine, which was first placed on the flip of Laura’s first two Hot Wax singles, and Two Lovely Pillows, which was picked up for the next, fifth single. All in all, Women’s Love Rights is a wonderful soul album with a nice balance between hooky up-tempo songs and truly impressive soul ballads. /p>

RIP OFF

 William’s and Angelo’s irresistible up-tempo dancer Rip Off turned into the biggest soul hit in Laura’s career: # 3-soul and # 68-pop. The story of a woman taking revenge on her cheating man certainly hit a nerve among female audiences, and purely from the musical point of view, Laura’s powerful rendition and catchy melody seemed to appeal to men too.

 What makes this single a great double-sider is an extremely beautiful and melodic ballad on the flip. Released in May 1972, the poignant Two Lovely Pillows is one of Laura’s best recordings. This gorgeous song was once again written by William and Angelo, and produced by William, and surprisingly – besides samples – nobody seems to have revived this song. Angelo Bond: “It could have been a hit, but it wasn’t marketed.”

 In August, Hot Wax released a hard-hitting and funky jam called If You Can Beat Me Rockin’ (You Can Have My Chair). This time written by Holland, Dozier and Dunbar, and produced by Ronald Dunbar, this rough and rocky number features a big-voiced Laura, who expresses her confidence in keeping her man satisfied. Vivid interaction on stage with the audience guaranteed that this was one of Laura’s showstoppers in her shows, and on Billboard’s lists the single crept up to # 31-soul and # 65-pop. Elkie Brooks covered the song on her 1979 album. On the flip there was a smoother toe-tapper named If I’m Good Enough to Love (I’m Good Enough to Marry), written by Holland-Dozier-Bond. By the early 1972 the four-year legal battle between HDH and Berry Gordy Jr. was finally settled, so HDH could now give up using pseudonyms and put their own names on their records.

 The Glass House with Scherrie Payne on lead scored a top-ten soul hit with Crumbs off the Table on Invictus in 1969, and now Laura on her last single in 1972 covered the song. Written by Scherrie, Ron Dunbar and Edith Wayne and produced by Holland-Dozier, Laura’s interpretation is funkier, more pounding and high-powered (# 40-soul / # 107-pop). Edith Wayne, who is credited as one of the co-writers, is actually Eddie Holland’s wife-to-be, Edythe Vernelle Craighead, and now on BMI, Broadcast Music Corporation, her name is removed from the list of the writers of Crumbs. Eddie Holland: “I always liked that song.”

 Crumbs was backed with an inspirational mover called You’ve Got to Save Me, written by William and his wife, Doris Weatherspoon, under her maiden name of Doris Brown. Eddie Holland: “William was in charge and that was his wife. Maybe she came up with an idea to help him. I just allowed it. I didn’t know her that well. William had met her a long time ago.” Angelo Bond: “Those days they did that, when they wanted to get their uncles or whoever a piece of the song.” One distinctive element on this track is the powerful, almost overwhelming background choir. Eddie Holland: “The Meditation Singers didn’t back up Laura in those sessions. Ernestine Rundless would sometimes sing on the background with Laura Lee.”

TWO SIDES OF LAURA LEE

 Laura has said that she came up with the title for her sophomore Hot Wax album, Two Sides of Laura Lee. It is also her second LP in 1972, and basically it follows the same pattern that they used on Women’s Love Rights – on one side up-tempo and on the flip side down-tempo songs, only this time there are two deviations. Produced by William Weatherspoon, among the arrangers there are such maestros as McKinley Jackson, Tony Camillo and Paul Riser. According to Laura, some of those basic tracks had been in the can only waiting to be finished, waiting for her vocals and whatever other music elements that were needed.

 Again, Two Sides of Laura Lee is an excellent and extremely soulful album. It contains five non-single sides, and one of them is the opener on the slow A-side, a deep rendition of At Last (My Love Has Come Along). This Harry Warren and Mack Gordon song derives from the musical “Sun Valley Serenade” in 1941 and was first recorded by Glenn Miller. Later in 1960 Etta James and more recently in 2008 Beyoncé are among those who have revived the song. In Laura’s version a short monologue is placed in the middle of the song.

 Brenda Holloway was the first to record Edward Cobb’s song Every Little Bit Hurts in 1963, and Laura’s over 6-minute, stirring version of the song was even more emotive than the preceding At Last. She has later revealed that both interpretations were inspired by Al Green.

 As if those two soulful gems were not enough to put you in a soulful - if not ecstatic - mood, the third gem in a row was Laura’s touching version of Guess Who I Saw Today. Murray Grand and Elisse Boyd wrote this song for a musical called “New Faces of 1952”, and the best-known cover by Nancy Wilson was released eight years later. Interestingly, the song has regained popularity in recent years, and one of the revivers in 2022 was the current jazz favourite, Samara Joy. On Laura’s album the first deviation from the “only slow/only fast” order was the fourth, closing track on the “standards” side, which was the funky Crumbs off the Table.

 Besides Crumbs, the up-tempo side on the flip includes three more former single sides – If You Can Beat Me Rockin’, Rip Off and You’ve Got to Save Me – and as a new dancer there’s the hooky Workin’ and Lovin’ Together. This song, written by William Weatherspoon, Angelo Bond and Doris Weatherspoon, bears a remote resemblance to Rip Off.

 The breathing space between stompers – and the second deviation from the tempo order – is Laura’s over five-minute impressive reading of When a Man Loves a Woman. With an obvious opening monologue and with a rich orchestration supporting her, Laura adds drama and vigour to this Percy Sledge classic number one hit from 1966 and turns it into an inspirational and big-voiced declaration of love.

 Still in late 1972 Hot Wax released The Best of Laura Lee, which was her third album during that one year and… again, the same procedure: fast songs on Side 1 and slow songs on Side 2. Laura’s first single in 1973 was an easy and melodic dancer called (If You Want to Try Love Again) Remember Me, which was produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier and written by HDH together with Richard “Popcorn” Wylie, a former recording artist, musician (piano) and musical director at Motown. An all-round music virtuoso, after Motown “Popcorn” worked as a composer and producer at Golden World, formed his own labels (Pameline, Soulhawk) and worked also in the capacity of a promoter. Other labels that he was involved with included Northern, Epic, ABC and Motorcity. He passed in 2008 at the age of 69.

I’LL CATCH YOU WHEN YOU FALL

 Laura’s ninth and last Hot Wax single was titled I’ll Catch You When You Fall, and - unlike its predecessor - this record hit Billboard’s “Hot Soul Singles” charts and peaked at # 49. Ronald Dunbar produced and co-wrote the song with Michael Smith of the Smith Connection fame. The three Smith brothers – Mike L., Danny and Lewis – had earlier had single releases on Gold Future and T-Neck labels, and under the revised name of the Smith Connection they signed with HDH’s Music Merchant label in 1972, where one album – Under My Wings - and three singles were released. In the 1980s, Mike – now under the name of Michael Lovesmith – had a further couple of small hits on Motown. Released in August 1973, Laura’s take on I’ll Catch You When You Fall is an intense, big-voiced soul ballad with powerful backing vocals.

 On the flip they put another Dunbar-Smith composition called I Can’t Hold on Much Longer. Actually, those two wrote a lot together for other artists as well. On the Music Merchant label the Smith Connection had released I Can’t Hold on Much Longer as a single seven months earlier, and now on Laura’s record they used the same backing track, but Laura’s vocals were much more deep-rooted in soul compared to the sweet sound of the original, although the Smiths’ version was pleasant enough in its own way. Incidentally, Laura’s single was also the last Hot Wax record distributed by Buddha.

 As well as numerous TV performances back in those days, Laura Lee appeared in one movie. In the first half of the 1970s they shot a lot of so-called blaxploitation films, and one of them was called Detroit 9000. Released in 1973 and directed by Arthur Marks - the cast included Alex Rocco and Hari Rhodes – with Laura in the role of a gospel singer, who sings Look for the Answer, Touch Me Jesus and Sunday Morning People. Of these songs, Touch Me Jesus - written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Angelo Bond - was first released by Glass House on Invictus in 1970, and Ronald Dunbar’s and Edyth Wayne’s Sunday Morning People derives from Honey Cone’s 1970 album, Take Me with You.

 In 1974 Detroit’s mayor Coleman Young proclaimed July 20^th “Laura Lee Day”, and she received a key to the city. For Laura at that point the occasion must have been like a dream come true. Her other long-term dreams had been to open a nursery school and to establish a female-only barber shop in Detroit. Another dream which did come true was the establishment of the “Laura Lee Revue”, which also featured other artists including the Meditation Singers.

 In April 1974 Hot Wax ceased to exist, so Laura’s future records were released on Invictus. The first one was a light dancer called I Need It Just as Bad as You. This bouncing toe-tapper was written by the Holland Brothers and “Popcorn” Wylie, produced by Brian Holland and arranged by the outstanding H.B. Barnum. Eddie Holland: “As a matter of fact, when I was working with Motown, I would use H.B. Barnum. H.B. was one of the top arrangers in California.”

 Released in June 1974, the record ended up at # 55 on Billboard’s “Hot Soul Singles” chart. The American-Australian Marcia Hines covered the song on her debut solo album on Wizard in late 1975.

H.B. Barnum.

H.B. BARNUM

 Hidle Brown was born in Houston, Texas, in 1936. In his youth he was known as The Barnum Wonder Boy, as he not only sang and acted but also played nine different instruments. His first solo singles were released on Imperial in 1950 under the name of Pee Wee Barnum. In 1955 he recorded as a member of the Dootones and right after that as a member of the Robins he sang on seven singles on the Whippet label and two on Knight. His second solo career was launched in 1958 and records were released at least on 10 different labels, including Eldo, RCA and Capitol.

 Although H.B. had record labels of his own and produced many acts, however, he is best known as an arranger extraordinaire. He has worked with hundreds of artists. H.B.: “I was very fortunate that I only worked with people that I liked and got along with.” Here he lists such names as Little Richard, Lou Rawls, the O’Jays, Nancy Wilson, O.C. Smith and, of course, Aretha Franklin, because he worked as a musical director for Aretha prior to her passing.

 “I worked with Holland-Dozier-Holland already at Motown for years. I started with them in the early 1960s, because I did a lot of the Supremes stuff. When Motown started, they never put the arrangers on their label. In the beginning, they didn’t even put the producers on there. That was part of the problem, because they didn’t list everybody. I started with them in 1961. First it might have been with Brian, Eddie, Lamont and Hank Cosby” (1928-2002).”

 “I worked with HDH at Hot Wax and Invictus, and I did Freda Payne, Honey Cone, General Johnson… We did meet with Laura on several occasions. I remember that she was a very humble, and nice person – a little overwhelmed with the success. She was a very hard worker, but easy to work with.  Laura like a lot of black female vocalists was raised in church. So, her gospel roots were always dominate in everything she did. Few people realize that she was a pretty good jazz singer also. During that time most of our girls studied Ella, Sarah, and Dinah. So that element guided her.”

 The 88-year-old H.B. doesn’t rest on his laurels, far from it. “I’m still working with Brian and Eddie. I’m doing a musical with them. It’s called I’ll Be There. It’s the history of the Four Tops. Then I’ll be releasing a lot of Spanky Wilson’s stuff. I have a lot of old masters that I’ve recorded in my studio by Billy Preston, Sly Stone and J.J. Jackson, so I’m putting a compilation album together right now with all these people on it.”

 The follow-up to I Need It Just as Bad as You and actually Laura’s last Invictus single was a cover of a memorable HDH tune titled Don’t Leave Me Starving for Your Love. This haunting mid-tempo song was first released by “Holland-Dozier featuring Brian Holland” in late 1972 (# 13-soul / # 52-pop), and on Laura’s record they used the same backing track. Although Laura loved the song, her beautiful rendition got lost in the shuffle, as the Invictus/Hot Wax story was coming to an end and the promotion was almost non-existent.

 In an interview for Colin Dilnot in David Cole’s In the Basement magazine (# 31), Laura tells that during the time of her transition from Hot Wax to Invictus, Eddie Holland “came to my home and he asked me to save his company, because my contract was up and he asked me to stay with them.” Eddie Holland: “I remember that Clarence Tucker and I went to her house. Her contract was running out and I needed Laura Lee and the sort of songs she was singing on Hot Wax, because they were always hits… and she did save us. She decided to stay with the company.” Clarence Tucker was the Vice-President and general financial manager at Invictus.

MIRROR OF YOUR SOUL

 Laura’s fourth and final album for the HDH corporation in 1974 was titled I Can’t Make It Alone. It was produced by HDH and arranged by H.B. Barnum and Eugene Moore, a former Motown saxophonist. The praising but empty and fact-free liner notes were written by William Weatherspoon’s brother, Bryant A. Weatherspoon. On this album on some of the tracks, the Meditation Singers provide backing vocals for Laura.

 This 8-track LP has only three non-single songs on it, but all three were exceptionally impressive. The title track is HDH’s easily flowing soul ballad, dramatic and richly orchestrated, and Laura really excels on her emotional delivery.

 We’ve Come too Far to Walk Away is a pleading beat-ballad, but the third song – written by Doris Brown, Angelo Bond and William Weatherspoon (on BMI, William is later removed) – is musically the peak moment in Laura’s career - at least in this corner. Titled Mirror of Your Soul, this poignant and truly touching ballad is soul music at its finest and at its most beautiful. It had “HIT” written all over it, but unfortunately it came too late to be released as a single or, for that matter, to be promoted properly. Eddie Holland: “I remember the song as one of my favourite songs.” Laura’s gorgeous vocal interpretation on this song is only equalled by Eugene Moore’s beautiful and warm saxophone sounds.  

 The road, which was paved with huge hits in the beginning, became too rocky towards the mid-70s and the Holland Brothers called it a day in 1977. At the start of 1973, the distributor for Invictus changed from Capitol to Columbia, where HDH’s trustee Clive Davis was soon fired. Also, Lamont Dozier left and launched his solo career at ABC in 1973, plus there were cash flow and royalty issues and payola accusations… Eddie Holland: “There were a lot of reasons that people don’t really know. At that time Capitol Records was in trouble, and then Buddah tried to distribute us.” You can read the whole story in two books: Come and Get These Memories by Eddie & Brian Holland with Dave Thompson and How Sweet It Is by Lamont Dozier with Scott B. Bomar, both published in 2019. After the Invictus operations ceased, the Holland Brothers returned to Motown for their second stint and in 1984 formed another label, HDH Records. The threesome were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, and together they composed the score for a musical titled First Wives Club, which premiered in 2009.

Brian Holland, Clay McMurray and Eddie Holland with Ducky Lucas. Photo courtesy of Ducky Lucas.

COMPILATIONS

 To cover Laura’s Hot Wax/Invictus music era, the HDH label released in 1990 a worthwhile, 13-track Greatest Hits CD, which should still be available, and in 1997 in the UK Deepbeats Records put out a definitive 2-CD and 29-track compilation titled Love’s Rights and Wrongs – The Best of Laura Lee. A 10-track The Best of Laura Lee was released in the US on EMI-Capitol in 2002 and in 2010 on Edsel they released Women’s Love Rights + I Can’t Make it Alone + Two Sides of Laura Lee… Plus, which actually combines her complete output between 1970 and ’75.

 After two more secular singles in the late 1970s, Laura returned to gospel music in the 80s, but she delighted us with live performances, tours and more secular recordings on into the 2000s. Read more about it in the fourth part of the story.

DISCOGRAPHY

SINGLES

Hot Wax 7007) Wedlock Is A Padlock (# 37 / - ) / Her Picture Matches Mine (1970)

Hot Wax 7105) Women’s Love Rights (# 11 / # 36) / Her Picture Matches Mine (1971)

Hot Wax 7111) Love And Liberty (# 23 / # 94) / I Don’t Want Nothing Old (But Money)

Hot Wax 7201) Since I Fell For You (# 24 / # 76) / I Don’t Want Nothing Old (But Money) (1972)

Hot Wax 7204) Rip Off (# 3 / # 68) / Two Lovely Pillows

Hot Wax 7207) If You Can Beat Me Rockin’ (You Can Have My Chair) (# 31 / # 65) / If I’m Good Enough To Love (I’m Good Enough To Marry)

Hot Wax 7210) Crumbs Off The Table (# 40 / # 107) / You’ve Got To Save Me

Hot Wax 7302) (If You Want To Try Love Again) Remember Me / If I’m Good Enough To Love (I’m Good Enough To Marry) (1973)

Hot Wax 7305) I’ll Catch You When You Fall (# 49 / - ) / I Can’t Hold On Much Longer

Invictus 1264) I Need It Just As Bad As You ((# 55 / -) / If I’m Good Enough To Love (I’m Good Enough To Marry) (1974)

Invictus 1273) Don’t Leave Me Starving For Your Love / (If You Want To Try Love Again) Remember Me

ALBUMS

WOMEN’S LOVE RIGHTS (Hot Wax, HA-708; # 12-soul / # 117-pop) – 1972

Women’s Love Rights / Wedlock Is A Padlock / I Don’t Want Nothin’ Old (But Money) / (Don’t Be Sorry) Be Careful If You Can’t Be Good) / Love And Liberty / If It’s Not What You Fall For, It’s What You Stand For // Since I Fell For You / The Lovely Pillows / That’s How Strong My Love Is / Her Picture Matches Mine

TWO SIDES OF LAURA LEE (Hot Wax, HA-714) – 1972

At Last (My Love Has Come Along) / Every Little Bit Hurts / Guess Who I Saw Today / Crumbs Off The Table // If You Can Beat Me Rockin’ (You Can Have My Chair) / Workin’ And Lovin’ Together / Rip Off / When A Man Loves A Woman / You’ve Got To Save Me

THE BEST OF LAURA LEE (Hot Wax, HA-715) - 1972

Crumbs Off The Table / Love And Liberty / Women’s Love Rights / If You Can Beat Me Rockin’ (You Can Have My Chair) / Rip Off // Since I Fell For You / At Last (My Love Has Come Along) / Guess Who I Saw Today

I CAN’T MAKE IT ALONE (Invictus, LP 33133) – 1974

I Can’t Make It Alone / Don’t Leave Me Starving For Your Love / We’ve Come Too Far To Walk Away / Every Little Bit Hurts // Crumbs Off The Table / I Need It Just As Bad As You / (If You Want To Try Love Again) Remember Me / Mirror Of Your Soul

(Additional acknowledgements to Eddie Holland, Shirley Washington, Billy Wilson; Angelo and Jonathan Bond; H.B. Barnum; Ducky Lucas, Peter Nickols, Aarno Alén)

© Heikki Suosalo