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Here we have two sides of a stone cold classic Northern Soul crossover. A Eugene Record/Barbara Acklin penned tune "Suddenly" and on the flip a Van McCoy number "It Hurts Me More" both performed by the mighty Tony Drake with the Chi-Lites providing back-up. After great reviews but no chart success at the Musicor label Drake found himself in Chicago making a fresh start. He signed to a new contract with Brunswick where he acquired a mentor and best friend in the legendary Jackie Wilson. With such expert assistance and the presence and moral support of Wilson, the recording session ended far ahead of schedule. A generous Drake gave the nod to Brunswick promotion man Gus Redman when asked if the extra time could be used to play around with a newly-signed, young group called The Lost Generation. Their resulting single, "The Sly, the Slick and the Wicked" (as featured on SOUL7.029) became an instant hit, lingering for thirteen weeks on Billboard‘s soul chart. With the record company narrowly focusing on its newfound priority, Brunswick's other artists, including Drake and The Chi-Lites, suffered from a total lack of support and promotion. Despite some airplay of both sides, Tony Drake's second single went away almost as suddenly as The Lost Generation appeared. Here to put things right as usual we present both sides direct from the master tapes for the first time since it was pressed and forgotten about. |
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