Friday 25 September 2020

Wade Flemons born 25 September 1940


Wade Herbert Flemons (September 25, 1940 – October 13, 1993) was a splendid but underrated American R&B/soul singer and pianist, who made a brief impact on record charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In spite of several 7” records for different labels, he made only one album throughout his career.

He was born in Coffeyville, Kansas to Samuel and Kathyrine Flemons. His father was a minister, who introduced him to gospel music. Raised to the west in Wichita, Flemons took to singing, first in his local church choir and later in various gospel groups. His parents' marriage ended in divorce, so Flemons moved with his parents to Battle Creek, Michigan in 1955. While attending Battle Creek Central High, he formed a vocal group called The Shifters, for whom he composed material during a series of lessons he undertook on the piano.

By June 1958, The Shifters were rehearsed and competent enough to travel west to Kalamazoo and cut a demonstration record. The tune The Shifters had elected to record was "Here I stand," a song Flemons had authored himself. A copy was sent to James and Vivian Carter-Bracken at Vee Jay Records. Vee Jay liked "Here I stand." Having the group change names to the less furtive Newcomers, they signed them up in July. "Here I Stand" was a regional hit and  reached #80 on the Hot-100 which earned him an appearance on American Bandstand in 1958, as well as an appearance on the Alan Freed Show.


                             

The Newcomers were no more by the time of the follow-up, 1959's "Hold Me Close"; two more singles appeared that year -- "Slow Motion" and "Goodnight, It's Time to Go" -- neither of them hits. However, in 1960 Flemons returned to the charts with his biggest hit, "Easy Lovin'," which reached the R&B Top Ten; its B-side, "Woops Now," was also a significant hit in scattered regions of the country. A self-titled LP preceded his next single, "Ain't That Lovin' You, Baby," and in 1961 Flemons returned to the charts one final time with a reading of the Percy Mayfield hit "Please Send Me Someone to Love," which squeaked into the R&B Top 20.  Influenced by singers like Nat Cole and Roy Hamilton, Flemons chose to sing in a smooth, infectious way, drifting into a more dramatic style when the song demanded it.

Flemons resurfaced two years later on the tiny Ramsel label with "Jeanette," quickly followed by "Two of a Kind." He gained a reputation as a prolific songwriter: during his career, he wrote as many as 200 songs for himself and for other musicians. He went on to co-write the Dells' 1968 hit "Stay in My Corner," around that same time joining Vee-Jay session vocalist Maurice White in the Salty Peppers for their debut single, "La, La, La"; in 1969 the group signed to Capitol for "La La Time," and after one subsequent effort, "Your Love Is Life," evolved into Earth, Wind & Fire.

                 L-R  Wade Flemons, Sherry Scott and Maurice White

Flemons contributed vocals, vibes, and electric piano to the group. After releasing two albums on Warner Bros, the leader of the group, Maurice White, fired most of the group in 1972, including Flemons due to a lack of commercial success.

Flemons married in 1980; he and his wife Brenda had a daughter and three sons. His subsequent musical pursuits, if any, remain unknown. He died from cancer October 13, 1993 in Battle Creek, Michigan, at age 53. A United States Army veteran who served in the Vietnam War, he was buried at the Fort Custer National Cemetery in Augusta, Michigan. One of his sons, Brian Wade Flemons, followed in his father's footsteps and also became a musician.

(Edited from Wikipedia. AllMusic, Doo-Wop blog & blackcat.nl)

 

9 comments:

boppinbob said...

For “Wade Flemons – Here I Stand” go here:

https://www.upload.ee/files/12313791/Wade_Flemons.rar.html

01. WOOPS NOW
02. EASY LOVIN’
03. TOO LONG WILL BE TOO LATE
04. IT’S SO MUCH FUN
05. SLOW MOTION
06. GOOD NITE, IT’S TIME TO GO
07. HERE I STAND
08. DON’T BE CARELESS
09. WHAT’S HAPPENING
10. PURPOSELY
11. THE ANGELS WILL TELL YOU
12. MY BABY LIKES TO ROCK
BONUS TRACKS
13. AT THE PARTY
14. HALF A LOVE
15. PLEASE, SEND ME SOMEONE TO LOVE
16. WELCOME STRANGER
17. KEEP ON LOVING ME
18. AIN’T THESE TEARS?
19. DEVIL IN YOUR SOUL
20. I HOPE, I THINK, I WISH
21. I CAME RUNNING (BACK FROM THE PARTY)
22. WHEN IT RAINS IT POURS
23. WALKING BY THE RIVER
24. HOLD ME CLOSE
25. AIN’T THAT LOVIN’ YOU BABY
26. YOU’LL REMAIN FOREVER
27. WATCH OVER HER
28. I’LL COME RUNNIN’

This essential release presents his complete LP, Wade Flemons, which was originally issued by Vee Jay Records in 1960 (when he was at the peak of his success). The 12 songs contained on the long-unavailable album mark the best introduction into this soul man’s mastery and overlooked legacy. Among them, the self-penned “My Baby Likes to Rock,” and the soulful, neo- Latin/calypso beat “Here I Stand,” remain timeless, irresistible staples. In addition to the original LP, this remastered collector’s CD contains 16 bonus tracks – including forgotten hits and hard-to-find sides from the same period.

PERSONNEL:
WADE FLEMONS, lead vocals and occasional piano, plus:
THE NEWCOMERS: Lou Wilson, James Kelley, Ed Horsley, Lewis Grave (backing vocals on tracks 5-10, 12 & 23). Also featuring Curtis Mayfield (guitar on tracks 13 & 19), Floyd Cramer (piano on track 20), Boots Randolph (saxophone on track 18), The Dells (backing vocals on track 21), The Four Seasons (backing vocals on tracks 22 & 27).

rntcj said...

Hi!

Thanx for this one. May have some of his songs on R&B/Soul comps. but otherwise a "new" artist here = "new" hears here too.

Cheers!
Ciao! For now.
rntcj

Bob Mac said...

Many thanks, looks like there are a few rare tracks on this collection.

Guitarradeplastico,scraping oddities said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Aussie said...

thank you from Aussie

Unknown said...

Wade is my Father I'm Brian Wade Flemons thank you very much!

blessup said...

Any chance of re-uploading the fantastic compilation on Wade?

boppinbob said...

Hello blessup here's Wade

https://workupload.com/file/wmYmguE292j

blessup said...

Thank You so much. I love your Blog!