BILLY STEWART "SUGAR AND SPICE" '66 1ST ISSUE-CHESS#1868 (CHESS TO THE LEFT)HEAR

$

25

LABELS CONDITIONS: ALMOST NM!

REMARKS: BILLY STEWART!!!! 1st pressing!

During the weekend, I ran across an artist on a CD that had a style like no other artist had during the soul artistry hay day of the 60's. This talented soul singer hailed from the Washington D.C. area.
My man, Billy Stewart.

Billy Stewart was born March 24, 1937, basically grew up singing in a musical family. He joined his mother's group, the Stewart Gospel Singers, as a teenager, and won a local talent show singing George Gershwin's song "Summertime." While appearing in a concert in Washington, singer Bo Diddley discovered Billy while he was playing his piano backstage at the Capital Arena Theater, and asked him to join his band. While on this venture, Billy developed his talents by teaching himself to play the organ, bass, and drums. He got an opportunity to cut some sides during his stay with the band and recorded a song entitled "Billy's Blues" in 1956. He signed with the label Okeh in 1957 and recorded "Billy's "Heartache" and "Baby, You Are My Only Love" with local group called the Marquees, which featured a very young Marvin Gaye.

Billy wouldn't record anything for the next 5 years.

Billy was on the Chess label when he was with Bo Diddley's group in 1956, left to sign with the Okeh label in 1957, but would return to the Chess label in the early part of the '60s. He struck up a friendship with Chess' new A&R man, Billy Davis, and a songwriting-producer partnership evolved.

Billy Stewart's nickname was "Fat Boy," and Billy Davis asked him to write a song based on his nickname. The result was a song recorded in January of 1962 called "Fat Boy." That particular session produced two other tunes including, "Reap What You Sow" and "Sugar and Spice." "Reap What You Sow" became Billy's first hit in 1962, going to #18 on the R&B charts. Then in September 1963 he hit with another classic, "Strange Feeling." This would start a trend of Billy's by recording songs about a lonely guy trying to find the right girl. The next hit came in March of 1964 with "Count Me Out." The song did pretty good locally on the Chicago scene, but failed to generate a huge seller.

It wasn't until late 1964 that Billy would record two songs that would make him an international star.

In December 1964, Billy recorded and released his masterpiece hit entitled, "I Do Love You." The song hit both the R&B and Pop charts and stayed on the charts for as long as 21 weeks!!! The next masterpiece release was "Sitting In The Park." It hit Top Ten R&B and Top Twenty pop. Billy was in popular demand by both songs being so successful.

His extensive touring became impossible for him to get back in the studio to record, because as Billy put it, touring paid more of the bills than receiving record royalties. Finally, in the summer of 1966, with two other hits such as, "How Nice It Is" and "Because I Love You," Billy wanted to try something new and different. Trying to reach more into the pop stream, Billy Davis suggests that he try recording an album of standards, which would broaden his audience.

Billy went back to a song that won him a local talent show as teenager with "Summertime." The recording took place on October 6, 1965 and featured the regular Chess session musicians including Pete Cosey on guitar, Louis Satterfield on the electric bass, Sonny Thompson on piano and a young drummer, (who would go on to have a major influence in the 70's later with his group Earth, Wind & Fire) Maurice White. Maurice White played session drums for all of the hit records at Chess. With Billy's trademark of doubling words and his new nickname being "Motormouth," this was Billy at his best.

It paid off, making "Summertime" his first crossover top ten hit on the Pop charts and hitting #7 on the R&B charts. He recorded the LP "Billy Stewart Teaches Old Standards New Tricks," with nothing but standards, and released a Doris Day song entitled "Secret Love," which hit #11 R&B, and landed in the top 30 position on the Pop charts.

Billy then went back to writing his own material because he realized that more money came from writing his own material. Billy came up with another masterpiece entitled "Cross My Heart" in October of 1967. He continued to write and record songs, and tour throughout the late part of the '60s, but wouldn't score another hit. In 1969, Billy was involved in a motorcycle accident, plus prior to this setback, his diabetes had worsened. Then on January 17, 1970, Billy and three of his band members were killed when his car ran off the road and plunged into a river. The soul community mourned the loss of a talented singer who had a distinctive style, and certain way of captivating an audience with beautiful haunting heartbreaking songs. Billy's music was once again appreciated with new generation of record buyers, when, in the late 1979, the group GQ did great remakes of "I Do Love You" and "Sitting In The Park." Both songs once again hit top ten on the R&B charts. Singer Bobby Thurston would also record "Sitting In The Park" on his debut LP.

WEB REMARKS: BILLY...THE FAT GUY....MUSIC LOST FOREVER!

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Record Grading: Standard guidelines for grading records comes down to a subjective judgment that may vary from person to person. We grade records and LP covers visually AND (when possible) play-tested. We make every effort to give full disclosure (remember that the LP has at least 12 tracks and the grading may vary between each other)  and your satisfaction is guaranteed. Don't assume that our vinyl determination of "Very Good+" is the same as yours!

RECORD OR COVER GRADED VG or LESS WILL BE "SOLD AS IS"

MINT: Unplayed, still sealed.
 

NM RECORDS: are shiny, with no visible defects, they might have one or 2 minor superficial scuff and they should play without any noise. Writing, stickers or other markings cannot appear on the label, nor can any “spindle marks” from someone trying to blindly put the record on the turntable. Major factory defects also must not be present; a record and label obviously pressed off center is not Near Mint. If played, it will do so with no surface noise. (NM records don’t have to be “never played”; a record used on an excellent turntable can remain NM after many plays if the disc is properly cared for.)

NM COVERS: have no creases, ring wear or seam splits of any kind.

picture sleeves should look as if they never housed a record. This is a great reason to remove your 45s from their picture sleeves and keep them separate. Just keeping the 45 inside the sleeve will cause damage than can reduce the grade of the sleeve. 

VG++ (Excellent) RECORDS: Barely noticeable play wear and background noise. May have surface scuffs and/or superficial marks, which will be inaudible or indiscernible from the background, no scratches. Very nice, flaws noted.

VG++ COVERS: Artwork is still as close to perfect as can be. Some impression to the cover (minor outer ring wear) but no ink wear! Some slight creases to the corners, but not wrinkled and obtrusive to the eye. The corners can show white (where the artwork pasted slick was) meaning, slight wear. No seam splits or writing on the cover or taped repairs can make this grade.  

VG+ RECORDS: may show some slight signs of wear, including light scuffs or very light scratches that do not affect the listening experience. Slight warps that do not affect the sound are OK. Minor signs of handling are OK, too, such as telltale marks around the center hole, but repeated playing has not misshapen the hole. There may be some very light ring wear or discoloration,

but it should be barely noticeable.

VG+ COVERS: should have only minor wear. A VG+ cover might have some very minor seam wear or a split (less than one inch long) at the bottom, the most vulnerable location. Also, a VG+ cover may have some defacing, such as a cut-out marking. Covers with cut-out markings can never be considered Near Mint.

VG+ PICTURE SLEEVES: might show some very light creasing where it is obvious that a record once resided (or still does reside). A VG+ picture sleeve might have some very minor seam wear or a split (less than one inch long) at the bottom, the sleeve’s most vulnerable location. 

VG RECORDS:  have more obvious flaws than their counterparts in better shape. They lack most of the original gloss found on factory-fresh records. Groove wear is evident on sight, as are light scratches deep enough to feel with a fingernail. When played, a VG record has surface noise, and some scratches  may be audible, especially in soft passages and during a song’s intro and ending. But the noise will not overpower the music otherwise. Minor writing, tape, or a sticker can detract from the label. Many collectors who have jukeboxes   will use VG records in them and not think twice. They remain a fine listening experience, just not the same as if it were in better shape.

VG COVERS and PICTURE SLEEVES: will have many signs of human handling. Ring wear  in the middle or along the edges of the cover where the edge of a record would  reside, is obvious, though not overwhelming. Some more creases might be  visible. Seam splitting will be more obvious; it may appear on all three sides,  though it won’t be obvious upon looking. Someone might have written or stamped  a price tag on it, too.

RECORDS GRADED VG OR BELOW WILL BE "SOLD AS IS"

Items are to be paid within 5 days (if not paid by that time it will be subject for relisting) of auction close and will be shipped within 48 hours of receipt of payment. Paypal is the preferred method of payment.  
Carlos A. Flores 25830 Crippen Dr. Land O' Lakes, FL  34639

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