Syl Johnson - Goodie-Goodie-Good Times (Shama 1235?)

Goodie-Goodie-Good Times

Here's an A side you don't see everyday, folks. I found it down at good old Shangri-La Records in Memphis this spring.

As you may know, I was down there for the Ponderosa Stomp in May. One of the highlights of the whole trip for me was seeing Syl Johnson backed by the original Hi Rhythm. It just COOKED, man!

Anyway, while Syl's Twinight and Hi sides are available on CD, the stuff he did for his own SHAMA label seems to have fallen through the cracks.

Today's A side managed to crack the R&B Hot 100 in the Summer of 1977 but, if you read the label, you'll notice that it says it was "recorded 1974 July". This, of course, was when Syl was signed to Hi, so I guess he waited to release it until things went south down South. It's listed in the discography at Soulful Kinda Music as being released in 1977 on Shama 1235, but I can't find any catalogue number on this 45 at all.

The exact same record (with the same B side, "Love Baby") was also released on E.P.I. 12340, although I don't know a thing about the label, or which was released first...

The "J. Dickerson" listed on the label as a co-writer is actually Gerald Dickerson, a Chicago songwriter who worked for Twinight, and penned some of The Notations big hits. The arranger, Richard Evans, had worked in the jazz division at Chess for years with artists like Ramsey Lewis. I just love the harmonica there at the end! It's a real Chicago record from a period when Syl was in Memphis... how cool is that?