The Sinceres – Girl I Love You

Pzazz was a small label out of Hollywood that released a real variety of stuff in the few years it was in business. It was the baby of Paul Gayten who was a music industry veteran having been a force in the 1950s New Orleans R&B scene as a musician, bandleader & talent scout. Gayten moved to California in the early sixties to spearhead Chess’ west-coast A&R before leaving Chess & starting Pzazz in the late sixties. The label really is visually catching with the bright green background & there are a few reasonably sought after funk & soul 45s within it’s fifty odd releases.

The Sinceres started life as an acapella doo-wop group while it’s members were still at high school in Kansas City. By 1968 they were doing the rounds in Vegas picking up lounge gigs as they came. At around this time they moved to LA & cut this 45 for Pzazz, they also decided to change their sound & image. The Sinceres started playing instruments as well as singing, they based their new look & sound on artists such as Hendrix & the Isleys, started upon an ever revolving succession of drummers & changed their name to Bloodstone.

Bloodstone evolved into a pretty handy soul/funk/rock group & in 1971 they relocated to London & started working with producer Mike Vernon (Blue Horizon, Fleetwood Mac etc.). In 1973 the group released the single “Natural High” & the rest is history.

“Girl I Love You” was originally recorded as the flip side to group member (& soon to be Hendrix-styled guitarist) Willis Draffen’s mid-tempo groover “Don’t Waste My Time”. “Girl” was written by the team of Ellene Levenson & Renee Lee Tener. Levenson had won the BMI Student Composer award in 1963 (may also have co-written “Life Beat” for the Supremes?) & Tener would go on to write with Galt MacDermot in the eighties.

Apparently this 45 is highly regarded by some people in the Northern Soul scene, but for me it’s essentially a great slice of late sixties west coast soul with an interesting background story, enjoy.

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