Sign In
Register
Help
So I thought I'd post my bio on the group up here ......
... all the info in it has been vetted (& approved) by the group members themselves.
.. .. .. THE HESITATIONS
Cleveland was a hot bed of action in the 1950’s for doo-wop groups. Of course it helped that top DJ Alan Freed had launched his "Moondog Rock Roll House Party" on WJW-AM radio there in 1951, but the interest remained even though Freed himself relocated to New York in 1954. Harvey Fuqua moved to Cleveland in 1950 and formed a group there. By 1953, Alan Freed had started the Champagne label and he signed & recorded Harvey’s group; the Crazy Sounds. He renamed them the Moonglows and by 1954 they were signed to Chess Records with whom they had seven national R&B chart hits over a four year period. The Hornets were another local outfit whose members included Johnny Moore and Bill Brent (Johnny Moore would go on to lead the Drifters for many years). Sonny Turner (later to be lead singer with the Platters) led the Metrotones and this group also included Leonard Veal, Robert Sheppard and Kim Tolliver (the later for just a short period). The Metrotones were a big influence on Edwin Starr whose group went by the similar name of the FutureTones. Other locally based groups included the Mascots (who became the O’Jays), LaSalles, Carousels, Annuals, Cashmeres, the El Pollos (George Scott being a member of this outfit), Fabulous Flames (whose members included Arthur Blakey and Harvey Hall), the Crown Imperials, Crescent’s / Wigs (which all featured Arthur Blakey) and the Sahibs. The Sahibs had been formed at Rawlings Junior High School. At the time their original members included George Hendricks and William Carter. Other members (at various times) included Art Blakey, James Dotson and Lou Ragland. Edwin Starr always acknowledged the Sahib’s as being the group that his FutureTones would have to strive to top on local live shows. Unfortunately record collectors will never know just how good the Sahibs were as the group had no interest in landing a record deal, being happy to just be one of the top live group draws in Cleveland.
As the 1960’s progressed just about all of these doo-wop groups split up, but many of their members remained in the music business and joined new groups. Thus in 1965, the Hesitations were formed when Arthur Blakey (lead singer), Leonard Veal (lead singer), George ‘King’ Scott (the group’s leader), Charles Scott & Robert Sheppard came together. Soon afterwards Phillip ‘Frenchie’ Dorroh (guitar) & Jimmy ‘Frog’ Voughn (base guitar) were recruited to join them. With just about everyone in the group being experienced in both performing and recording, they hit the ground running. In no time, they had landed a recording deal with New York based Kapp Records (via Jack Ashford and Gerard Purcell’s GWP Associates) and were off to work in Detroit with the Pied Piper Productions team. The backing track sessions for their 'Soul Superman' album tracks were been laid down first, the group then adding their vocals to these. The likes of Ray Monette not only played guitar on the tracks (as did other Funk Brothers) but he also co-wrote two of the songs involved; "I'll Be Right There" (which he composed with Fred Baker) and "Soul Superman 2" (written in conjunction with Jack Ashford & Lorraine Chandler). In the studio, after being given the lyrics, the group listened to the backing tracks and then mapped out how to handle the vocal structure before singing each song in their own style. The first Kapp 45 to be released was “Soul Superman / I’m Not Built That Way” (Kapp #790) and this hit the shops in December 1966. The single entered the national R&B chart in mid January 1967, making the Top 50. In all, 8 tracks were lifted from the ‘Soul Superman’ album for single release with “She Won’t Come Back / I’ll Be Right There” (April 1967) being the 2nd best combination after the group’s initial 45.
Kapp decided to team the group up with other producers for their next recording session, which was undertaken in the fall of 1967. So, in Chicago, with the likes of Larry Banks and Teacho Wiltshire the group started cutting the 12 tracks that would comprise their follow-up album. During this period though, tragedy struck the group. During a car journey back from a friend’s wedding, the guys were handing a gun forward when it went off and George Scott suffered a gunshot wound to his temple that caused his death (George only got to sing on some of the cuts intended for the new album). Out of respect for George, the group decided to soldier on. In December, their new 45 was released; “Born Free / Love Is Everywhere” (Kapp 878). At the same time, they undertook tribute shows to honor George at local venues such as Gus’ Show Bar on Superior Avenue. The group’s distinctive take on the title song from the film “Born Free“ took off straight away and after strong regional radio plays, the single entered the national R&B charts in January 1968. They were booked for a prestigious show at Harlem’s Apollo Theatre, but were short of a replacement for George. Luckily an old friend, Bill Brent was in New York (in 1966 Bill had joined Johnny Moore in the Drifters and had participated on the group’s “Baby What I Mean” recording session) and so he teamed up with them for the gig at the Apollo. Kapp had released the groups ‘The New Born Free’ album in February and this also sold well, making the R&B album chart Top 40. Bill Brent decided to quit the Drifters and take George’s place in the Hesitations. As the group were now booked for a constant stint of live work, Wardell Taylor was recruited to join the ensemble as their drummer. By early March their 45 was # 4 on the Billboard R&B chart with just James Brown, the Impressions & Temptations outings keeping it from the top spot (it was also on the Top 40 pop chart).
Although many of the cuts on the ‘The New Born Free’ album were quality efforts (these included “Push A Little Harder”, “I’ve Gotta Find Her” & “We Can Do It”) and the LP was on the charts, none of the other tracks were really in the same style as “Born Free”. As this cut had been such a big seller for them, another outing in a similar vein was required by Kapp to form the top side of the follow-up single. So “The Impossible Dream” (a mid 60’s Broadway show tune) was selected and released on 45 in March 1968. This again made the R&B and pop charts and ensured that the group would enjoy an unbroken stint of 18 weeks (January 13th to May 18th) on the national R&B charts (by which time their “Climb Every Mountain” had also been released on 45). Two further 45’s and two albums; ‘Where We’re At’ (drummer Wardell Taylor is pictured on the cover of this) & ‘Solid Gold’ (replacement drummer Gary Jenkins is with the others in the photo featured on this cover) escaped on Kapp. Most of these tracks were recorded at RCA’s Chicago studio under the supervision of Teacho Wiltshire, Larry Banks and Johnny Pate, though “Lady Madonna” (included on the ‘Solid Gold’ LP) was cut in New York. Their final effort to make the Top 40 R&B singles chart proved to be “Who Will Answer” in the summer of 1968. In November that year, the group undertook a two week long tour of US Military Bases in Germany and had big plans for touring in 1969, but GWP’s relationship with Kapp was ending. After the break with Kapp had happened, the Hesitations started having releases on the newly formed GWP label itself and this marked a return to more soulful cuts. Initially, the group was used to help out Debbie Taylor on her recordings but in April 1969 they got their own GWP 45 release; “Yes I’m Ready / Is This The Way To Treat A Girl” (GWP #504). The first time the group worked in the studio with George Kerr things didn’t go so well. George liked to control exactly how the track sounded and how it should be sung, but Art was used to going with his own feeling for a song. The two men just couldn’t gel and the initial recording session broke up in disarray.
Luckily, Gerard Purcell knew what Art and the Hesitations were capable of (on a previous session they had cut 12 finished tracks in one night), so he got the group to return from Cleveland. With Art now given his head, the track was completed in one take. “Is This The Way .. ” is a great cut that has gone on to find favor with record collectors around the world. The group’s last single release was in June 69 when “No Brag Just Fact” was coupled with a duet cut with Debbie Taylor. GWP were losing interest in soul material though and so some of their artist’s recordings were given scant attention. One case of this was the Hesitations cover of Aretha Franklin’s song “Good To Me, As I Am To You”. It doesn’t usually make much sense to attempt a song already recorded by Aretha as it is very difficult to top any version she has made, but the group gave it their very best and succeed in adding a new dimension to the song. Even though the cut deserved a decent outing, all it managed was inclusion on a compilation album (‘Soul Black & Beautiful Volume 2’) that escaped in the early 70’s. That was to be the end of the group’s recording exploits and not long afterwards they broke up. However, they had recorded some tracks that failed to escape from the tape vaults at all. With many of their old Kapp cuts now being massive anthems on the Northern Soul scene, it was only natural that an enterprising soul reissue label would try to liberate these unissued tracks. After a number of years of patient negotiating, UK based Kent Records managed to do a deal with GWP and thus gain access to all the company’s recorded material. Amongst a number of very fine tracks, the Hesitations “Gotta Find A Way” and “Go Away” were unearthed. Over the last couple of years, “Go Away” has become a much in-demand soul club track.
Jump forward to 2006: Art Blakey was asked by the Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to put the group back together to take part in a doo-wop group show at the venue. He initially tried contacting Leonard Veal and Charles Scott (who didn’t want to sing anymore) before taking the decision to hire ex members of his old group, the Sahibs. The Hesitations now consisted of Art Blakey, George Hendricks, William Carter and James Dotson. It had been a long time since the guys had sung together and in that time, Art had become an active church member and had even cut a gospel CD. George Hendricks, after his stint in the Sahib's had become a member of Ann Bogan and The Challengers who were signed to Harvey Fuqua’s Tri Phi label (1962). After serving in Viet Nam, he got back into the music business with Harvey (Hall) & the Phenomenals (Luau recording artists). In the 1970's, he joined Red Topp and the Young Family who recorded for Choker Campbell’s Tri City label. Later in the 70's he teamed up with long time friend Lou Ragland to form the Chosen Few. By the early 90's he was in a gospel group called Rejoyce. Before being contacted by Art Blakey, George had already made a return to singing secular songs, this being something he had embarked on in the mid 90’s. William (Cosmo) Carter gave up singing for a while after the Sahib's disbanded. But with the passage of time, he took up singing gospel. After a period with the Imperial Jubilees, he joined the True Believers and the Gospel Cousins (both included relatives). He remained with these ensembles until he got the call from Art to sing with the Hesitations.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame show went well and so the group decided to continue performing. As time passed, James Dotson became ill and so had to retire from the group. His place has been taken by Art’s wife, Joyce Blakey. She comes from a family of singers and has been around music most of her life. She is the first female to actually be a member of the Hesitations, though in the late 60’s they did sing a lot in conjunction with Debbie Taylor. More recently, they played the prestigious ‘World Festival’ show held in October 2009 at Cleveland’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and are now really looking forward to making their UK debut at Prestatyn. Its many years since they first sang together but they are more than determined to put on a great show in what will be their first ever direct experience of the incomparable world of Northern Soul.
.......... CHEERS ........
Attached File(s)
-
Hesitats1a.jpg (176.3K)
Number of downloads: 8
Back to top
MultiQuote