10
11
5. CHECKMATES, LTD.:
ALL ALONE BY THE TELEPHONE
(H. B. Barnum-Joyce Ann Clay)
The Checkmates Ltd., led by singer Sonny Charles,
originally formed in Fort Wayne, IN and were
discovered by Nancy Wilson. Wilson brought
the group to Capitol Records and produced four
singles on them which failed gain any success. A
couple years later in 1969, the group signed to
A&M Records. On A&M the Checkmates Ltd. had
their biggest hit,
Black Pearl
, produced by Phil
Spector – the song went up to #8 on the Billboard
R&B charts and #13 on the Billboard pop charts.
After just one more single, the group broke up and
Sonny Charles left to pursue a solo career.
In 1974, Charles formed an entirely new Checkmates
Ltd. as a self contained band (rather than just
a vocal group). Charles produced the group,
performed, and sang backup, but was no longer
the lead vocalist; lead vocals were taken over by
earlier member Bobby Stevens and the group
also included original singer ’Sweet Louie’ Smith.
A female singer, Regina Warfield, was added and
other band members also provided background
vocals. Although the band was still mixed-race,
they took on a much more militant approach,
releasing three singles and two LPs for their own
Rustic label, and even starring in their own blax-
ploitation film ’The Black Connection’ (aka ’Run
N*gger Run’). Although the group was able to get
decent distribution on their Rustic material, they
failed to score a hit.
I’m not sure of the exact circumstances behind
their next single, but in 1976, a ’Checkmates Ltd.’
record was produced by HB Barnum in Los Ange-
les for Polydor Records. The single released was
Polydor 14313 -
All Alone By The Telephone / Body
Language
. The song actually did well in some
regional markets and charted low on the Billboard
R&B charts in May of 1976. It’s not clear exactly
what entity the ’Checkmates Ltd.’ is on the 45, as
the song is clearly a studio production – there is
an orchestrated backing track, a male lead singer,
and female backing vocalists who were probably
just doing session work. Comparing songs, it’s not
clear whether the singer on the record is Sonny
Charles or Bobby Stevens; however, it’s more likely
Charles just because he controlled the name /
entity of ’Checkmates Ltd.’ Either way, the track
had an extremely soulful lead over a very well
produced midtempo backing track.
After the limited success of the single, Barnum
only a few months later produced another version
of the song by LA singer JB Bingham for the
United Artists label but it failed to receive any
play. The Checkmates reunited as a vocal group,
recording one single for Greedy Records and two
more for Fantasy Records. Although these were
the group’s last recordings, different permutations
of the group performed on different oldies circuits,
cruise ships, etc. In 1982, Sonny Charles released a
solo single titled
Put It In A Magazine
for Highrise
Records; although the song had a throwback deep
soul sound, it surprisingly was a massive hit that
went all the way up to #2 on the R&B Billboard
Although not well known to record collectors,
Doug King had a long career producing records
in Philadelphia. In the late ‘70s to early ‘80s, King
produced several female acts, including Vaneese
and Carolyn on Polydor and Direct Current on
TEC. Direct Current was probably not related to
Crystal Clear as the group had an overlapping
career and consisted of the three Clement sisters;
one of the sides of the Crystal Clear singles credits
a Pearl Scott, who was probably a member.
Stay With Me
is one of the most collectible soul
singles on the Polydor label. The track features an
excellent rare groove / disco backing with a strong
female lead and female backing at the chorus.
The two Crystal Clear singles are unusual Polydor
singles in that the collectible sides are actually the
A-sides. The promotional versions of both singles
are double A-sided, and are rare enough that they
are valuable even without having alternate songs
on the flip. This Crystal Clear group is not related
to the male band who released a single on A Major
Label (probably from Louisiana); they are also pro-
bably unrelated to the New York area band (with
mostly male vocals) that had a 12” on Pretty Pearl.
Confusingly, there was also a Euro-disco act called
Crystal Grass recording on Polydor in the mid-’70s.
4. VANEESE & CAROLYN:
GOODBYE SONG
(Vaneese Thomas-Carolyn Mitchell)
Vaneese & Carolyn were Vaneese Ysault Thomas and
Carolyn Mitchell. Vaneese Thomas is from Memphis
and is the daughter of the late Rufus Thomas. The
duo released two singles on Polydor: Polydor 14395 -
Let Me In / I’m Losing You
(1977) and Polydor 14469 -
Just A Little Smile From You / Goodbye Song
(1978).
Both records were produced by Doug King, who
later produced the Crystal Clear singles.
Vaneese and Carolyn were extremely unusual as
an act because, although billed as a duo, all 4 sides
have Vaneese Thomas singing lead (sometimes
with herself on overdub) with a backing group
made up entirely of Carolyn Mitchell on overdubs.
The group’s first single,
Let Me In
, was a typical ‘70s
funk track backed by
I’m Losing You
, a nice ballad.
The group’s second single,
Just A Little Smile From
You
and
Goodbye Song
(only available on the stock
copy) are both excellent midtempo groovers.
Neither record managed to do anything commerci-
ally and Vaneese and Carolyn (essentially a studio
group, as their vocals were separate overdubs) bro-
ke up. Both singers continued to work in the music
industry. Mitchell continued to write and do backup
vocals on disco and dance material, frequently
working with Tony Valor; she even wrote songs for a
2003 album released by Thomas. Thomas re-entered
the music industry as a solo singer in 1987, releasing
an album on Geffen Records and then releasing
albums for smaller labels in 2001 and 2003.
