9
Brothers Abrim, Jr. (born January 12,
1945) and Ivory Tilmon (born
September 14, 1941) and James
Mitchell, Jr. were so proud of their
homebase that they incorporated it into
their group’s name. The Detroit
Emeralds didn’t always record there,
however. The rhythm tracks for some
of their biggest hits on Armen Boladian’s
Westbound label were cut in Memphis
under Willie Mitchell’s direction.
When the group first coalesced in Little
Rock, Arkansas, it was strictly a family
affair, and they strictly sang gospel.
The Tilmon Brothers consisted of Abrim
(two years old at the beginning), Ivory,
Cleofas, and Raymond, along with uncle
Anderson Tilmon, Jr. and Cleofas’
brother-in-law Sam Smith. Eventually
relocating to Detroit, Abrim and Ivory
unsuccessfully tried to get Cleofas to
go secular, so they brought in Mitchell
at the start of 1968. Signing with Ric-
3. Detroit Emeralds
Do Me Right
(Abrim Tilmon, Jr.-James Mitchell, Jr.)
Westbound 172
Tic Records after the Tilmons’
cousin, Sweet James Epps of The
Fantastic Four, asked the label to
give the trio a listen. Their
Show
Time
made a #22 R&B chart
impression that spring.
The trio inked a pact with
Westbound the next year. Abrim
and Mitchell penned
If I Lose Your
Love,
the group’s first Westbound
charter in early ’70. Both sides of
their next outing,
I Can’t See Myself
Doing Without You
and
Just Now
