Dee Clark

Philip Upchurch, born on July 19, 1941, in Chicago, Illinois, developed an early connection to music through his father's piano. His musical journey took a significant turn when he started playing the guitar during his teenage years. In 1956, while still in high school, Phil immersed himself in the local music scene, contributing to R&B backing bands such as The Kool Gents. In 1957, right after graduating, he joined The Spaniels and collaborated with Jerry Butler and Dee Clark's band. The latter's theme song, "You Can't Sit Down," recorded in 1960 on the Boyd label, gained unexpected success when released under Phil's name a year later, reaching No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, marking a pivotal moment in his early career.

Cicero Blake was the original lead singer of the Golden Tones, who evolved into the Kool Gents, the group that sprung Dee Clark. After leaving the Golden Tones which consisted of Blake, James Harper, Teddy Long, Howard McClain, and John Carter Blake made many solo recordings for small Chicago labels (Brainstorm, Renee, Success, etc.). John McCall, Doug Brown, and Dee Clark replaced Harper, McClain, & Blake (Uncle Sam called). When he got the chance to record for a major label Brunswick Records in 1967 the two tracks he cut, "You Got Me Walking," and "A Woman Needs to Be Loved," were shelved for 20 years. They didn't emerged until Kent Records released The Soul Of A Man. Blake's version of "Walking" also appears on Sweet Soulful Chicago released in 1987; Jackie Wilson, and the Chi-lites also recorded "Walking."

The label Play Digital introduced a wonderful collection called RnB Greats: 90 Original Recordings. In this collection you can uslashat large number of tracks of legendary performers and enjoy the wonderful music.

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Bill Haney's Atlanta Soul Brotherhood is a 1998 compilation released by the Kent Soul label. It focuses on records produced by Bill Haney, who covered a lot of ground and was able to release a number of singles on both indie (some owned by Haney himself) and major labels throughout the 1960's and 1970's. A few songs were unreleased at the time this CD was put forth.

Bill Haney's Atlanta Soul Brotherhood is a 1998 compilation released by the Kent Soul label. It focuses on records produced by Bill Haney, who covered a lot of ground and was able to release a number of singles on both indie (some owned by Haney himself) and major labels throughout the 1960's and 1970's. A few songs were unreleased at the time this CD was put forth.

Music from Etta James, Sugar Pie DeSanto, Betty Everett, Little Milton, Bo Diddley, Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy, Dr. Feelgood & The Interns, Dave "Baby" Cortez, Billy Stewart, and more – 60 tracks in all.