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SALSOUL STORY
Following the launch of the Mericana label in 1972, Joe, Ken and Stan
Cayre felt that had a good grip on the spe-cialized ethnic area via releases from artists like
Manny Oquendo, Roberto Torres, Joe Bataan, Saoco, Chocolate and Machito amongst
others. It was at this point when Joe Bataan – ‘The King Of Latin R’n’B’ as he was dubbed,
released his legendary album ‘Salsoul’ on the Mericana label and inadvertently spawned a
whole new musical movement which would be financed
and directed by the Cayre brothers
– Salsoul Records.
The name was the right brand at the right time. Salsoul – the
combination of South America’s glorious salsa rhythms and blistering percussion aligned with
North America’s fierce drums and soul sensibility would prove
to be a deadly combination
with the emergence of the early to mid 1970’s Disco music boom.
Formed in 1974, Salsoul
Records was the product of an optimistic time in U.S. social and economic history.
Richard
Nixon was about to be impeached from the White House following Watergate and the previous
year’s O.P.E.C. oil embargo was about to be lifted.
There was an air of opportunity and
optimism in the air and Disco music was the soundtrack to these efferves-cent times. In the
ghettos new forms of music were emerging following the success of artists like
Stevie
Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Sly Stone and, as a result, a new consciousness was in
the air which percolated through to musicians everywhere.
Perhaps the living embodiment
of this new optimism was felt most keenly at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia. The place
was already a hotbed of activ-ity via Gamble and Huff’s slew of hits for their Philly International
label with The O’Jays, Billy Paul, The Three Degrees, Harold Melvin & The Blue
Notes,
Archie Bell & The Drells, Jean Carn, The Intruders and M.F.S.B. among others.
Following this unparalleled period of creative activity, the Sigma Sound musicians rapidly
established themselves as one of the most solid
and reliable band of studio session players
in the world. Perhaps the most celebrated musicians of the Sigma Sound players were
arrangers Tom Bell, Jack Faith, Bobby Martin, and Dexter Wansel, bassist Ronnie Baker,
drummer Earl Young, guitarists Roland Chambers, Bobby Eli, Norman Harris, and T.J. Tindall,
keyboardists, Tom Bell, Leon Huff, and Leonard
Pakula, percussionists Larry Washington
and vibes & timpani player, Vincent Montana Jnr. Similarly the string & horn sections were
generally under the direction of veteran Philly musician Don Renaldo with background vocals
provided by Tom Bell, Carla Benson, Yvette Benton, Linda Creed, Carl Helm, Phil Hurtt,
Barbara Ingram and Bunny Sigler amongst others. The key engineers throughout the 1970’s
were Dirk Devlin, Jim Gallagher, Peter Humphreys, Michael Hutchinson,
Kenny Present,
Carl Parulo, Jay Mark, Don Murray, Jeffery Stewart, Art Shoppe and Joe and Mike
Tarsia.
Salsoul came into the equation when owner Ken Cayre spoke to musician Joe
Bataan and explained that he wanted to track down some of the Philly
International
musicians for his new record label. Joe eventually tracked down Vince Montana Jnr and fixed
a meeting following which Cayre handed Montana a cheque for $10,000 and told him to
produce a track by
the newly christened Salsoul Orchestra which needed to be “what Philly
International were doing but with a twist of disco”. The result was two tracks, “Salsoul Hustle”
and “Nice Vibes” which were promptly issued
as a single and even debuted on Frankie
Crocker’s New York radio show as a ‘world premiere’ play. The localized success of the single
lead to Cayre forking over more money for a proposed Salsoul Orchestra
album with the
proviso that Montana also used veter-an Philly sessioneers, namely drummer Earl Young,
bassist Ronnie Baker and guitarist Norman Harris. The result was “Tangerine” which turned into
Salsoul’s first major hit and led to the Salsoul Orchestra’s debut
album selling over half a
million albums truly establish-ing the label as a new force in the U.S. market.
Following on
from the virtually instant success of the Salsoul Orchestra project, Norman Harris introduced
Cayre to one of his own new discoveries, the four man vocal group Double Exposure. Cayre
promptly signed the act and prepared the group’s first single, the Norman Harris produced “Ten
Percent”.

very informative. thanks for that info. i remember that label way back. salsoul and west end were the top disco indepenent labels during that time.

very informative. thanks for that info. i remember that label way back. salsoul and west end were the top disco indepenent labels during that time. thanks for posting that info. :D

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