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It's amazing how an afternoon barbeque with some old friends could lead to a musical rebirth. Vocalists Kenny Martin, Stanley Mitchell, and Joe Weaver all had
hit records in the 1950's, but on this sunny afternoon, they were just old friends hanging out talking about old times. Joe remarked that he was so glad to be performing again. Stanley was telling some wide eyed music fans about
his hit "Four O' Clock In The Morning" when suddenly Kenny broke into one of his old tunes, "I'm Sorry." It was about this time the light bulb went off in drummer RJ Spangler's head. His idea… a vintage R&B revue featuring
Stanley, Kenny & Joe… The Motor City Rhythm & Blues Pioneers. KENNY MARTIN Kenny was just a teenager when he was bit by the music bug. "I found out about a talent show at the old Gold Coast Theater
and decided to try my hand at singing. My mother wouldn't let me, so I called my grandmother and she talked my mother into letting me go. I ended up winning the talent contest and have been singing ever since." Soon after the
talent contest he was signed by Federal Records and within a month his first record "I'm The Jivin' Mr. Lee" was released. Kenny went on to record seven more singles for the Federal label (including the smash "I'm Sorry,"
which hit #19 on the Billboard R&B charts in 1958). Rejecting an offer from Motown, Kenny ended up signing with Big Town Records, who released his next two singles. After a lengthy tour with Sam Cooke, he decided to leave Detroit for New York. Unfortunately in New York, Kenny succumbed to the rigors of the rock & roll lifestyle. After a 30-year haze, Kenny moved back to Detroit and has his life back on track. "I'm very happy now with my wife and family. I'm back performing again with two of the greatest performers around Stanley Mitchell and Joe Weaver. This time around I'm going to enjoy every minute of it."
STANLEY MITCHELL Stanley Mitchell's singing career could be the book about the history of R&B vocal groups. Blessed with a silky smooth voice, Stanley, like many of the R&B performers of the time, got his start
singing in the church. "My whole family sang, it was just the standard thing, we all sang in gospel choirs." As a teenager he formed his first R&B group, the Cherokons, with his neighborhood buddies. His first big break came at
an amateur contest headlined by Billy Ward & The Dominoes. Impressed by his singing, Ward asked him to join the group. He did, but only stayed for a few months, just long enough to do the Ed Sullivan Show. Stanley didn't
stay unemployed very long. Lionel Hampton, impressed with the Cherokons, hired the band to be the new Hamp-Tones. He spent a year on the road with the Hamp-Tones, then quit the band and returned to Detroit. Back in the Motor
City, he formed the Tornadoes with some former Midnighters. Chess Records signed the band, and their debut single "Four O'Clock in the Morning" became a top ten R&B hit. The Tornadoes moved to the Bumble Bee label
before calling it quits in the early 60's. Stanley went on to record a solo record for the Gone label before going to Motown as backing vocalist. In the mid-60's he joined the Royal Jokers, and ended up staying with them for the
next few years. In 1968 he went solo again and recorded a single on Dynamo Records (The single "Quit Twisting My Arm" is highly sought after by Northern Soul collectors). Although he hadn't recorded since 1969, Stanley has
continued to perform in clubs. When asked about performing with Kenny and Joe, Stanley replied; "I love playing and recording with those guys. I think the experience we bring to the table can't be beat. I think we have all the
tools to succeed." JOE WEAVER Following his retirement from the Ford Motor Company, Joe returned to his first love… music. Joe started playing piano when he nine years old. "The family that
I worked for had a piano. One day when they left to spend the day in the city, I sat down and started to play. I must have played it for over three hours, when I finally stopped, I heard the sound of clapping behind me. They had
returned, and they were so impressed with my playing that they gave me a piano. So from that point on, every day after school, I would rush home and play the piano." When Joe was a teenager his family moved to Detroit. He
quickly established himself as one of the better musicians around town, playing all of the amateur contests around the city (according to Joe usually finishing second to Little Willie John). In high school Joe hooked up with a
budding guitarist Johnnie Bassett, the duo in turn hooked up with Jesse Ulmer Jr. and drummer Calvin Andrews and formed the Blue Note Orchestra, which ended up practicing at Joe Von Battle's record shop on Hastings Street.
Von Battle recorded the band and leased to tapes to the Deluxe label, who released the band's first single the "1540 Special."
The band did one more release for Deluxe before switching to the local Jaguar label. In 1955 Joe and the band set up shop at the legendary Fortune Records. They released a handful of singles for Fortune over the next six years. The Blue Note Orchestra became the house band at Fortune, backing such acts as Andre Williams & the Don Juans, The Five Dollars, Nolan Strong & The Diablos, and Nathaniel Mayer. Joe also established a residency at one of the hippest clubs in the city, Club Basin Street. " We backed up all the hottest acts in town", said Joe. "John Lee Hooker, Dinah Washington, and Little Willie John, we backed them all." After leaving Fortune, Joe recorded some unissued sides for Chess Records. He eventually ended up as a session player for the fledgling Motown label. Around this time family responsibilities caught up with Joe. He put his music career on hold and went to work at Ford in order to take care of his family. 30 years later, a newly retired Joe Weaver returned to his first love…music. Spurred on by his friends Johnnie Bassett and RJ Spangler, Joe kicked off his comeback with a CD called "
Baby I Love You So," that contained reworked versions of his early material. As for reuniting with his old friends Kenny and Stanley, Joe enthused; "Getting together with them is great, it's just like the old days. They are
my brothers, we're like a family, you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. We were there before Motown and we are still here now. We are the Motor City Pioneers" |
