I was recently asked by the kind folks over at Peaceuvmine.com to contribute a mix of a handful of some of my favorite Houston-related soul 45s. It was supposed to be just a short little thing to be used as a compendium of sorts for the engagement I did with Flash Gordon Parks over at 4400 Almeda. After three canceled sessions (sorry guys!) I finally spent a couple hours rummaging through my Houston 45s and an afternoon at Peaceuvmine Studios later, this recording is what you get. What you hear is nothing more than thirty seven minutes of exactly what I wanted to listen to that day. From gritty r&b to sweet soul records that should of been huge hits but never quite made it past the Harris County line.
Give it a gander and please let me know what you think.
Bayou City Soul Tracklist:
1. The Fantastics – High Note (Copa)
2. Bobby Williams – Baby I Need Your Love (Sure-Shot)
3. The Insights – Turn Me On Sweet Rosie (Peacock)
4. Ambassadors of Soul – Cool Sticks Beat (Pt. 1) (Ovide)
5. The Cold Four – Love And Care (Drells)
6. Leon Mitchinson and the Eastex Frwy Band – I’ll Take You There (Mitchtone)
7. The 4 Avalons – {I Don’t Wanna Be A} Playboy (Ovide)
8. TSU Tornados – Please Heart Don’t Break (Rampart Street)
9. Joe Hughes -May The Best Man Win (Boogaloo)
10. Johnny Adams – {Sometimes} A Man Will Shed A Few Tears Too (Pacemaker)
11. The Soul Brothers f/ Harold Bennett – Blues For A Belly Dancer (Copa)
12. Johnny Williams – Honey Child (Cinema)
13. Miss LaVell – Stop These Teardrops (Duke)
14. The Americans of 72 – Crackerjack (Part 1) (Libra)
15. Archie Bell & The Dells – Houston TX (Atlantic)
Of course, Johnny Adams is in fact local to Louisiana, but like many good things, Adams found his way to Huey Meaux’s Pacemaker imprint. I don’t consider that cheating, do you?
You can download or stream the mix over at Peaceuvmine here.
Bayou City Soul 
Looks good. I always wondered if someone could post these type of songs from the Big Bayou city. The same one that has produced many of the huge sounds played in years past