Music Reissues Weekly: Atlanta - Hotbed of 70s Soul

Michael Thevis made his money from pornography. In the Seventies, his Atlanta warehouses were stuffed with most of America’s porn. Nationally, Thevis was the main distributor. Looking for something less edgy to fund with his profits, he turned to the music business and bankrolled the GRC label and its sister imprints Aware and Hotlanta. In time, they became three of America's most lauded soul labels. In parallel, Thevis sealed his reputation as a notorious criminal.

Over 1973 to 1975, GRC issued just-over 100 singles – the total seems to be 104. Around 12 albums also appeared in the same period. Additionally, there were 25 singles and two albums on Aware (over 1972–1975), and 15 singles and one album on Hotlanta (1973–1975). An extraordinary amount for so limited a period. Making it even more byzantine, what was out on record has been supplemented by around 200 unissued GRC and related tracks – since the mid 1990s, the whole the whole kit and caboodle has been dug into by archive collections, mainly issued by the UK’s Ace Records. By any standard measure, it all ought to be tapped out. Nonetheless, here is the 24-track collection Atlanta - Hotbed of 70s Soul. Sixteen of its tracks have never been issued before. Can there be anything left which is worth hearing?

The question is answered by the collection’s impressive opening track. “Con me,” by Miss Louistine, was recorded in 1974 – versions of the song were issued by Ben E. King and The Paragons. But this rendering was, until now, never released. It’s a top-notch yearner, along the Gladys Knight lines and sounds like an A-side which could easily have attracted attention. Yet it remained on tape, in storage. Clearly, the GRC story has legs.

Then there’s Joe Hinton’s “Grant me One More Day,” recorded in 1973 or 1974. Hinton first appeared on record over 1961 to 1964, and resurfaced in 1967 after which he worked in Detroit during 1969 to 1971 for Motown as a writer and singer. His writing credits include songs recorded by Gladys Knight & the Pips and Wilson Pickett. He signed with Hotlanta in 1973. “Grant me One More Day” is co-written by him. It has a slight proto-Philly soul vibe and a sinuous verse melody which, at this remove, sounds as if it would have been very radio friendly. The other two previously unheard Joe Hinton tracks on Atlanta - Hotbed of 70s Soul are as great.

Add in Kenneth Wright, about whom nothing is known. His two previously unheard tracks are along the Terry Callier lines – jazzy, floating and atmospheric, with a slight Bill Withers touch. Wright may have been from Michigan and moved to Atlanta on signing with GRC.

The volume of what was released and the similar volume of what remained unreleased was due to Thevis' need to keep the money working, and for turnover to be as high as possible. He had money. Lots. And it had to be used. In 1960, he began raking it in after publishing America’s first guide to nudist colonies. By the late Sixties, he was the kingpin of peepshow machines: money went into a slot, eyes looked into a binocular-like viewer to watch porn films. When he became the main distributor of porn in the US, 90 per cent of it passed through his warehouses. As well as the labels and related music publishers, he funded the high-end recording studio The Sound Pit. He also he had a mansion built in Atlanta in 1972; Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston later owned it. (pictured left, Miss Louistine)

It was all analogous to the organised crime-backed Morris Levy and his network of music biz concerns. But this was more extreme. And more about one individual and their actions too. In 1970, Thevis murdered a fellow pornographer who trampled on his turf. The law was after him. He committed another murder in late 1973, just as his record labels were getting off the ground. Before his first incarceration in 1978 – after which he escaped jail – he had been arrested over 100 times. In 1979, he got life. There is much, much more but it’s probably an understatement to tag Thevis, as he was in 2017, “The Scarface of Sex.”

Amongst all this awfulness, GRC and its related labels. Confoundingly – considering how much this catalogue has been gone into and that much of what’s heard is previously unreleased – the consistently terrific Atlanta - Hotbed of 70s Soul is a fine entry point into a notable aspect of America's early Seventies, pre-disco soul music.

• Next week: Musical drama personified. The Barry Ryan box set The Albums 69-79
• More reissue reviews on theartsdesk
• Kieron Tyler’s website

@MrKieronTyler