Genre: pop
Rating: ** (2 stars)
Title: C.C. Rides Again
Company: Weed
Catalog: 801
Year: 1969
Country/State: US
Grade (cover/record): VG/VG
Comments: gatefold sleeve; promotional white label copy
Available: SOLD
GEMM catalog ID: SOLD
Price: SOLD
Okay, hot looking blond sitting on a donkey with a gun in her hand ... With a cover like that, the album can't be all bad (plus it's on a label called Weed). Right ???
This one's actually pretty odd. CC was singer Chris Clark and Weed (love the logo "all your favorite artists are on Weed") was a one-shot Motown subsidiary. Clark's ties to Motown stretch back to the the company's beginnings. She started working for the company as a receptionist. At the same time she was an aspiring singer, performing at
nite clubs during evenings and weekends. Like several other employees, her talents eventually attracted the attention of Motown management, which signed her to a contract in 1967. Unlike most of the Motown lineup, Clark was white.
Clark's released a series of obscure singles, before finally scoring a minor R&B hit with 1966's "Love Gone Bad" b/w "Put Yourself In My Place" (VIP catalog number 35038). Her minor success was enough for Motown to finance an album. Released by
Tamla, 1967's
"Soul Sounds" simply vanished without a trace. That's unfortunate since she had a big, bluesy voice that bore more than a passing resemblance to Dusty Springfield
(albeit without the English lilt). Inexplicably she managed to cultivate a small English cult following (along with the horrible nickname 'the White
Negress').
By 1969 Clark's attention had shifted to the business side of music. Even though she had no experience in the field, she was selected to serve as the Vice President of Motown's newly formed film division. Clearly her new corporate clout had no impact on the company's sudden decison to release a new Clark album. Produced by Deke Richards,
"CC Rides Again" featured a mixture of popular hits, with a couple of Richards originals thrown in. To be fair, Clark had a great voice (again occasionally reminding one of Dusty Springfield). Unfortunately, her talents were all but wasted on unimaginative covers such as "Spinning Wheel", "Get Back" and "In the Ghetto". Was there anything worth hearing here? Richard's "Can I See You In the Morning" was a decent pop song and her cover of "Good Morning
Starshine" was hysterical, if only for the fact you had to wonder how any produced could get an adult to actually sing such gibberish ... Needless to say,
this LP also vanished without a trace. in fact very few copies appear to have been
pressed. (The set was originally released with a gatefold sleeve.)
"CC Rides Again" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) CC Rider (traditional) -
2.) Spinning Wheel (David Clayton Thomas) -
3.) How About You (Deke Richards - S. Saunders - D Van De Pitte) -
4.) Good Morning Starshine (J. ado - G. Ragni - G. Macdermot) -
5.) With a Little Help from My Friends (John Lennon - Paul McCartney) -
(side 2)
1.) One (Harry Nilsson) -
2.) In the Ghetto (David Gates) -
3.) Can I See You In the Morning (Deke Richards) -
4.) You've Made Me So Very Happy (Berry Gordy - Frank Wilson - Brenda Holloway - P. Holloway) -
5.) Get Back (John Lennon - Paul McCartney) -
In 1971 Clark won a Oscar nomination for co-writing the "Lady Sing the Blues" screenplay. She continued to work for Motown until 1989 at which time she made a ill-advised attempt to revive her performance career with a remake of "From Head To Toe" b/w
"The Beginning of the End" (Motor City Records catalog number 1114).