Just A Little Bit Of Lovin'~Buddy Lamp~1966 Local

Buddy Lamp, (real name Willie Lee Lampkin) was born in Starkville, Mississippi, July 13, 1929, and like so many of his contemporaries moved to Detroit while he was growing up. He is a familiar name to fans of the music of that city, but not so well appreciated elsewhere. He was a highly gifted singer with fire in his belly and grit in his soul. He was also a good songwriter to boot. His first recordings were gospel ones made in Detroit, under his own name, with the Lampkin Singers, and as the “Son Of Thunder” with the Violinaires – a most appropriate name for a guy blessed with his earthshaking baritone. His first secular sessions were held in New York, however, for Harold Logan and Lloyd Price. They leased a couple of tunes to George Goldner, one of which was the fine blues ballad What More Can I Do on which Lamp shows off his chops with more than a nod of recognition to Bobby Bland. The similarly styled “I’m Coming Home”, his first version of this tune, is equally memorable. His second Peanut release coupled the easy paced R&B of “Insanity” with an excellent Too Late – fine churchy piano/organ combination. These Peanut releases were also the work of Logan and Lloyd. What more can I do, His one off for ABC wasn’t in this league sadly despite Lamp’s valiant attempts to get into Chuck Jackson’s skin, but his Logan/Lloyd 45 for their Double L label, possibly from Buddy's earlier sessions with them, was right back to his best. “My Tears” was really tough R&B with Lamp at his gruff best over a cooking band (excellent horns) and some female assistance. This form continued on the rare Top Hat 45, both sides of which were straight out of the Bland songbook. This was his first Detroit recording. The bluesy ballad “Sad Music” featured some fine guitar, while the upbeat "Can You Stand It" had perhaps a more expressive Buddy vocal. Buddy's next 45s moved him into more obvious soul territory, and form the basis of his reputation as a Motor City vocalist. He worked for the famous Mike Hanks who released Lamp’s tracks on D-Town and Wheelsville, and who thankfully recognised that there wouldn’t be any point in smothering Lamp in sub-Motown style arrangements. “Next Best Thing” was a catchy mid paced tune that the dancers like, but despite his Bland like squalls at the end of it, his vocals were more assured on the brilliant "Just A Little Bit Of Lovin’". His initial Wheelsville single was more of the same, roaring vocals over some hard hitting Motor City rhythms. It’s possible that Lamp’s vocals on the fine “You’ve Got That Lovin’ Touch” were cut at Willie Mitchell’s, but it’s a certainty that the funky “Confusion” was cut there. The Memphis Horns behind him on the up-tempo pounding “Save Your Love” – wonderful Otis R “gotta gotta” phrases he howls out. Lamp moved to Duke in 1968, in the company of his backing group the Lamp Sisters, no doubt courtesy of Willie Mitchell at whose studios he continued to record in combination with GM in Detroit. He sadly passed away in November 2007. (The Lamp Sisters were related to Buddy Lamp, they were his backing singers on tour, and followed him when Buddy joined Don Robey’s Duke label.) If you enjoy this video please hit the like button and please share. If you want to see more of my content hit the subscribe button and the notification bell. For all your music collector needs, go to Circular Sound Norwich. https://www.discogs.com/seller/circul... Also check out Mod One in Norwich, for all your Mod needs. https://modone.co.uk