Jean
Wells’ story is not an extraordinary one in the world of soul, although her
voice certainly was. Her biggest hit ‘Have A Little Mercy’ from 1967 was a
glorious slice of deep soul, a plea to a lover, whom she is addicted to, but
who doesn’t seem to notice. Her gospel-trained voice perfectly encapsulating
those feelings, whilst a stark arrangement dominated by an ethereal organ and
dramatic horn stabs heightens the unbearable effect this man is having on
Jean’s life. Yet at the time this record only reached number 25 in the R&B
charts, just another bit of genius amongst many, thrown out by the black
American music industry at one of its most creative and profligate periods.
Born in
West Palm Beach Florida in 1942, Jean Wells was brought up in Belle Glade near
the state’s Lake Okeechobee. As a youngster she sang in gospel choirs, and
taught herself piano. Unlike some her family didn’t object to secular music and
in her teens she formed a girl group with friends whilst she was at High
School. With the musical desire firmly in her bones at the age of 17 she left
home and headed for Philadelphia, a city that would become her musical base
throughout her career.
Philly
at the time was at the centre of the American music industry due to it being
the place where Dick Clark’s American Bandstand was filmed. This pop TV
programme was nationally syndicated and could break records to the important
post rock and roll teen audience. As such a slew of local record labels led by
Cameo had grown up around the town. Jean went looking for a record deal and
soon found herself recording for the tiny Quaker Town label. Her first single –
‘Song Of The Bells’ – was successful enough locally that the label released two
further releases ‘If He’s A Good Man’ and ‘I Know He Loves Me’, neither of
which managed to build on the success, and they remained unknown outside of the
local area.
Jean
went back home to Florida, but the desire to be part of the music industry
remained and she returned to Philly to record a single record, ‘Don’t Come
Running Back To Me’ b/w ‘Little Boots’ for ABC-Paramount, before heading back
south once more. Yet she was back again in 1966 and it was at this point that
she managed to get traction in the industry. Meeting up with producer and
A&R man Clyde Otis, who decided to sign her to his production company
Argon. Otis had had great success at Mercury Records where he had produced
Brook Benton, Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughan in the late 50s and Clyde
McPhatter who he signed to the label in 1960. Since striking out on his own he
had produced some of Aretha Franklin’s finest pre-Atlantic recordings for
Columbia including the wonderful ‘One Step At A Time’ which has recently been
revived by soul DJs and producers of re-edits alike.
With
Jean he saw a singer who could be every bit as good as Aretha or Dinah
Washington, similar big sounding singers. His first single with Jean is perhaps
the most obscure. The glorious deep soul ballad ‘If You Ever Loved Somebody’
was coupled with ‘Hello Baby- Goodbye Too’ and released on Juggy Murray’s Sue
Records subsidiary Eastern. It failed to trouble any charts, but it did put
down a calling card for Jean. It was quite clear that this was a singer who
could cut high quality material that could match the best of what was coming
out at the time.
As Jean
worked on new material with Clyde, her producer was sorting out a new label for
her to appear on, following the demise of Juggy Murray’s labels late in 1966.
He signed a deal with Nate McCalla’s Calla Records. McCalla was a well known
face around 1960s New York, and was closely associated with the notorious
Morris Levy of Roulette Records, and it fact had his office in Roulette’s
building. Stories abound about this colourful figure, who was a decorated hero
of the Korean War, but he was a tough guy and his life was prematurely ended
when he was murdered in Florida in 1980. His label is a gem, with brilliant
records by the likes of Bettye Lavette, Little Jerry Williams (later known as
Swamp Dogg) and many others through to its close in 1977. The label always had
close ties to Philadelphia, and it is perhaps this link that brought him to
Jean.
Her first
single on the label was the self-written ‘After Loving You’ a storming club
soul cut with a relentless beat. It was coupled with ‘Puttin’ The Best On The
Outside’ which sounded as if it could have been written several years earlier.
It was a successful start to her time at the label charting at number 31 in
Billboard’s R&B chart. The follow up ‘I Feel Good’ was another dancer that
peaked at number 33. It was the next release that was the big one and ‘Have A
Little Mercy’ burst out of the speakers over the Christmas period of 1967
heading to a peak of number 25. On the flip was a glorious northern soul style
dancer ‘With My Love And What You Got’, complete with a vibes filled rhythm
section.
Otis
took the logical step of following ‘Mercy’ with another deep soul ballad his
own ‘Sit Down and Cry’. Once more Jean reaches far inside herself and drags
every ounce of emotion from the song in a jaw-dropping performance. It was
perhaps a little too intense to be popular, and the single became her first on
Calla not to make the R&B charts. She returned to the charts with her very
next single, though it would be for the last time. This time the lead number
‘Try Me & See’ was firmly uptempo and is firmly written to sound like
Aretha Franklin’s then current hits such as ‘Respect’ or ‘See Saw’. It reached
number 45 backed with ‘Best Thing For You Baby’.
At this
time Calla also tried to capitalise on her success by releasing the album
‘World, Here Come Jean Wells’ in 1968, it sank without a trace and is now a
sought after collectors item. Jean released three more singles on Calla, each
one either trying to replicate the success of her previous work or the then
current sounds in the pop charts. The best of these was her December 1968 ‘What
Have We Got To Lose’ a swaying soul dancer written by Jean, and which in recent
years has seen action in the rare soul clubs. Despite Calla losing interest
after the 1969 single ‘Our Sweet Love Turned Bitter’ b/w Keep Your Mouth Shut
(and Your Eyes Open)’ Clyde Otis kept the faith, and Jean’s next single
appeared on the Philadelphia independent Volare recycling ‘Keep Your Mouth
Shut’ with the slow funk of ‘I Couldn’t Love You More Than I Do Now’.
Jerry
‘Swamp Dogg’ Williams Canyon label was where her next single turned up. This
was the stridently funky ‘He Ain’t Doing Bad’ and the wah wah laden ‘Somebody’s
Been Loving You’. These two tracks were recorded in Philadelphia by Earl Young,
Norman Harris and Ron Baker. The trio would become the basis of the 1970s
Philadelphia Sound and were on hundreds of classic disco and soul recording as
well as being the men behind the legendary disco group the Tramps. Clyde Otis
employed them for what was supposedly lined up to be an album project on Jean,
but only 5 tracks were recorded. As well as the two that appeared on the
single, there is the atmospheric ‘Roll Up Your Sleeves, Come Out Lovin’ which
features a very advanced - for the time - synthesiser led backing track, and
‘Take Time To Make Time’ which to my mind features one of Jean’s finest vocal
parts. The final number ‘Keep On Doing It’ takes us back to the world of funk,
but with a very Philly swing to the rhythm section. It appeared briefly as a
single on Law-Ton in 1972
These
were to be the final recordings that Jean made in this part of her career. She
left the industry and according to Clyde Otis she went into the gospel field.
She made two slight returns to secular music. In 1979 she made the disco/
boogie single ‘I Just Can’t Stop Dancing’ for the Philadelphia based TEC label.
Two years later she was back again, still in the city that she had so often
called home, this time recording the disco-fied album ‘Number One’ for Sunshine
Recordings.
After
this Jean disappeared from sight. Probably back into the world of gospel, she
left us with a fantastic recorded legacy, of which her recordings for Clyde
Otis, which are gathered here, are the choicest cuts. Vinyl track listing:
1 A:
What Have I Got To Lose B: Have A Little Mercy / 2 A:
With My Love And What You've Got (We Could Turn This World Around) B: Take Time
To Make Time For Me / 3 A:
Somebody's Been Loving You (But It AIn't Been Me) B: He Ain't Doing Bad
