Genre: soul
Rating: 2 stars **
Title: Stand By Me
Company: MGM
Catalog: E
4450
Year: 1967
Country/State: Beckley, West Virginia
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: mono pressing; still in shrink wrap
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 5644
Price: $25.00
Spyder Turner's a journeyman level soulster who's been working since the mid-1960s. He's come close to breakout success a couple of times, but never scored that major breakthrough that would have propelled him to widespread and lasting recognition.
Let me come right and tell you the best place to get biographical information of Turner is the man's own website (link posted below). Given that resource I'm just skimming the surface here. Born in Beckley, West Virginia as a child Turner's large family (seven brothers and sisters) moved to Detroit, Michigan. Gifted with an extremely versatile voice as a teenager he performed with a number of local doo wop groups including The Taragons, The Nonchalants, and The El Domingos. His early discography is kind of murky but seems to include at least a couple of local Detroit releases:
Credited to Spider Turner with a non-Turner flip side by The Fortune Bravos
- 1964's 'Ride In My 225' b/w 'One Stop' (Instrumental) (Fortune catalog number 225)
Credited
to DeWight Turner & The Ster-Phonics & Bellhop's Band:
- 1965's 'You're Alone' b/w 'Happy Story' (Chatok Records catalog number 1001)
In the wake of Turner's commercial breakthrough the single was apparently reissued in 1966/1967 under fortune catalog number 570.
Credited to Spider Turner
-
1965's 'Calling Girls (Part 1)' b/w
'Calling Girls (Part 2)' (Master Records
catalog number 65-1)
- 196?'s 'I've Got To Get Myself Together (Before I Lose My Mind)' b/w 'When
I See My Baby (My Troubles Are Over)' (Good Time catalog number 1019)
By 1966 Turner was beginning to make inroads on the Detroit club scene when his manager Clay McMurray started marketing demos to various labels. The demo captured Turner singing Sam Cook's 'Stand By Me' in a number of different styles, including snippets of James Brown, David Ruffin, Jackie Wilson, and others. Invited to see Turner perform at a local club Arnold Geller (then producing the local "Swing Lively" television program and MGM executive Cliff Gorov were impressed and promptly signed him to a contract (interesting for a label that was known for it's soul acts). Turner debuted with the single 1967 'Stand By Me' as a single b/w 'You're Good Enough For Me' (MGM catalog number K-13617). The irony is that Turner apparently didn't really like the song very much and wasn't thrilled that it had been tapped as a single. Irregardless of Turner's feelings, with the single going top 20 pop and R&B, MGM quickly rushed out a supporting album.
Produced by Geller, 1967's "Stand By Me" was clearly recorded and released in a rush. Showcasing a mixture of soul and pop covers, outside of the title track none of the remaining ten tracks differed that much from the originals, kind of making you wonder why they'd bothered in the first place. While Turner was a capable mimic, his natural voice wasn't anything special - kind of a nondescript tenor that had a tendency to turn harsh (check out 'I Can't Make It Anymore') or go flat ('I Can't Wait To See My Baby's Face'). His cover of Sam and Dave's 'Hold On, I'm Coming' was a perfect example of what to expect. The performance was professional, but couldn't come close to the original and didn't sound any better or worse than what thousands of bar bands were doing. Adding to the problem, perhaps in a lame attempt to attract white buyers, MGM executives insisted Turner include at least a couple of hideous MOR tunes on the collection - 'Moon River' was simply unlistenable, though to his credit Turner managed to salvage 'Dream Lover' with a hyper-speed, Motown-ish delivery. To be honest the set wasn't a complete washout. Kind of jazzy' Don't Hold Back' and the up tempo 'I Don't Want To Cry' were okay, if nothing particularly dynamic. Probably due to the fact Turner didn't sound like he was trying as hard, the ballads 'Morning, Morning' and 'For Your Precious Love' were probably the standout efforts. That tracks underscored Turner had considerable talent and left you to wonder what kind of album this could have been with a little more time, care, and investment. Add to that the man was a capable songwriter, though he wasn't given a chance to display that talent. MGM also tapped the album for a pair follow-up singles:
- 1967's 'I Can't Make It Anymore' b/w 'Don't Hold Back' (MGM catalog number K-13692) # 95 pop
- 1967's 'For Your Precious Love' b/w 'Can't Wait 'Til I See My Baby's Face' (MGM catalog number K-13739)
The album proved a respectable seller, hitting # 158 on the pop charts and going # 14 R&B.
"Stand
By Me" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Stand By Me (Ben E. King) - 5:36
2.) Hold On, I'm Coming (Isaac Hayes - David Porter) - 2:17
3.) I Can't Make It Anymore (Lightfoot) - 2:14
4.) Moon River (Henry Mancini - Mercer) - 3:05
5.) I'm Alive with a Lovin' Feelin' (Drapkin- Rott) - 2:25
(side
2)
1.) I Can't Wait To See My Baby's Face (Taylor - Ragovay) - 2:35
2.) Dream Lover (Darin) - 2:10
3.) Morning, Morning (Kupferberg) - 2:24
4.) Don't Hold Back (McMurray) - 2:26
5.) I Don't Want To Cry (Dixon - Jackson) - 2:14
6.) (For Your) Precious Love (A. Brooks - R. Brooks - Jerry Butler) - 3:00
A
couple of years later MGM reissued Turner's second single with a different
flip side:
1971's 'I Can't Make It Anymore' b/w 'I'm Alive With A Lovin' Feeling' (MGM
K-14263).
Turner has a nice website that It includes a biography far more detailed than my brief comments, at: