One&Done @ A&M: the Checkmates, ltd. / Love is all we have to Give -- SP 4183
- Thread starter JOv2
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I've had this album since it was released. I never really warmed to it. I think, typically of Spector, it was over the top. I always really liked the group, they opened for Herb & TJB on tour in 1968 - we saw them at the Yale Bowl in New Haven. There was even an incident on that tour where Herb pulled out because Brigham Young University apparently was being discriminatory about The Checkmates and as I recall, didn't want them as opening act.
They are a really tight band and their A&M debut seemed to be somewhat of a new direction, although a Japanese CD was later issued, maybe even twice. They had a previous album, LIVE AT CAESARS PALACE on Capitol. And I think that post A&M, they had one or two albums on lesser labels. At a certain point, the band came apart. It seemed to be a leadership/control struggle between Sonny Charles and Bobby Stevens. Somewhere I have a clipping from Goldmine or Discoveries about the band and its history. Sonny Charles had some solo A&M singles - I don't know if they were working toward a solo album for him or not. An afterthought: They were apparently favorites of Hugh Hefner and appeared many times on his syndicated TV show, PLAYBOY AFTER DARK,
Enough of my rAMblings.
They are a really tight band and their A&M debut seemed to be somewhat of a new direction, although a Japanese CD was later issued, maybe even twice. They had a previous album, LIVE AT CAESARS PALACE on Capitol. And I think that post A&M, they had one or two albums on lesser labels. At a certain point, the band came apart. It seemed to be a leadership/control struggle between Sonny Charles and Bobby Stevens. Somewhere I have a clipping from Goldmine or Discoveries about the band and its history. Sonny Charles had some solo A&M singles - I don't know if they were working toward a solo album for him or not. An afterthought: They were apparently favorites of Hugh Hefner and appeared many times on his syndicated TV show, PLAYBOY AFTER DARK,
Enough of my rAMblings.
I might have seen them open for Herb on tour, but I couldn't say - I was too excited to see Herb & The Brass to even care who opened. And other than that, I had no contact or conception of Sonny Charles & The Checkmates, Ltd.. As I've been more active collecting A&M "stuff", I've acquired a few instances of "Black Pearl" and I know I've never heard that song on the radio.
The song appears on these comps that I own:
A&M Forget Me Nots LP set
A&M Prime Cuts Volume 1 CD (Japan)
A&M History 100 Disc 2 CD (Japan)
A&M 50" The Anniversary Collection CD (Disc 3)
Also on that History 100 set is another single, #1127, Proud Mary billed as being by The Checkmates, Ltd. featuring Sonny Charles
The song appears on these comps that I own:
A&M Forget Me Nots LP set
A&M Prime Cuts Volume 1 CD (Japan)
A&M History 100 Disc 2 CD (Japan)
A&M 50" The Anniversary Collection CD (Disc 3)
Also on that History 100 set is another single, #1127, Proud Mary billed as being by The Checkmates, Ltd. featuring Sonny Charles
I had seen but never heard this album, so I flipped through it on Qobuz last night. Not bad, but also not all that engaging either--it's nothing I'd want to return to. Last week's Ike & Tina album, at least the Ike-produced tracks, has more meat on the bones and sounds more contemporary for its time, similar to what others were doing.
From Billboard:
JOv2
Well-Known Member
Thanks, Steve, for this unique historical account -- and the Billboard advert. I'm guessing this was 1968.
Top page was 7/20/68 and lower 10/4/69.
JOv2
Well-Known Member
The JUL68 date make sense -- I almost wonder if this was the overall TjB touring peak given the recent #1 vocal hit and the 2nd TV special along side the comprehensive momentum from the red-hot '66-'67 period. However, I'm sure by summer '69 the TjB was beginning to wind down. We're all familiar with the European dates from autumn 1969 (featuring Tonni's and Nic's newly long hair); but I'm guessing the group may not have toured all that much in 1969 overall.
The album never grabbed me. "Black Pearl", though---chills every time for 52 years. Phil's heavy-handedness actually works there---at least for me. Especially in the final chorus and fade.
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