Revilot and Solid Hit were labels set up by record producer Don Davis and LeBaron Taylor in Detroit in 1966. Earlier, in 1962, Davis had set up Groovesville Records, with only one single released before the label was re-activated in 1965. Several of the acts that had been signed to Golden World switched to these three labels to pursue their careers, including the Debonaires, the Holidays, J.J. Barnes, and the Parliaments.
J.J. Barnes moved from Golden World in 1966, joining Don Davis’ local Groovesville label, where he recorded two singles in 1967. Barnes was an excellent Soul singer, and many of his songs have become collectors’ items. However, only one made a significant impact, 1967’s “Baby Please Come Back Home”, which reached number nine on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart. It is an excellent song, co-written and produced by Barnes and Don Davis, with an accomplished arrangement by Mike Terry. The drums, tambourine and backing vocals are very reminiscent of Motown Studio A recordings. The song would have suited Marvin Gaye.
Steve Mancha (real name Clyde Wilson) was born in Walhal, South Carolina, in 1945 and moved to Detroit around ten years later. His first venture into the world of music came in the early sixties, when he teamed up with school friend Wilbert Jackson to write and record “”Family Reunion” for Harvey Fuqua’s little-known H.C.P. label. The duo called themselves The Two Friends. Soon after that, still using his original name, Wilson cut a single for H.C.P. The A-side was “Just Too Much To Hope For”, which was later recorded by Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston and then Tammi Terrell.
When Berry Gordy took over Fuqua’s labels, Wilson continued writing songs, hoping for a call from Motown’s management team to record in Studio A. When nothing materialised, he moved to a new label Wheelsville U.S.A. to record his composition “Did My Baby Call”, with a Don Davis song “Whirl Pool” on the B-side. The single is credited to Steve Mancha.
Mancha then cut five singles at Groovesville, starting in October 1965 with “You’re Still In My Heart”, which he wrote with Don Davis. It is a classic slow ballad that Mancha sings in a style reminiscent of Otis Redding. The follow-up “I Don’t Want To Lose You”, a Melvin Davis song, took Mancha to number thirty-four on the Billboard R&B Chart in 1966. That chart success was exactly matched by Mancha’s 1967 release “Don’t Make Me A Story Teller”. These were not big hits, maybe, but they were an indication of his talent.
Sadly, by the middle of 1967, a dispute had arisen between Don Davis and LeBaron Taylor which soon caused a split in their partnership. Davis set up Groove City Records, while Tayor continued releasing material on the Revilot and Solid Hit labels. Soon after the split, Davis moved to Stax Records to start a new chapter in his career. He actually stayed in Detroit, cutting tracks for the Stax label at United Sounds Systems. Mancha made one single for Groove City, before heading off to Holland, Dozier, Holland’s new Hot Wax label and signing as lead singer for the strangely-named group 100 Proof Aged In Soul in 1969.
There are several compilation albums that feature Steve Mancha. “Detroit Soulman: The Best of Steve Mancha”, featuring twenty tracks, was released on the Connoisseur Collection label in the UK in 2000. In 1969, Don Davis put out a ten-song compilation on the Volt label in the USA and on Stax in the UK, including five songs from Steve Mancha and five from J.J. Barnes, with the title “Rare Stamps Vol. 1”.
In 1993, Don Davis put together a collection of songs from Steve Mancha, J.J. Barnes and Darrell Banks, which he called “Don Davis Presents the Sound Of Detroit”, released on the Stax label. Both Don Davis albums credit “Easy Living” to Barnes instead of Mancha!
The Solid Hit label was used from 1966 to 1967, with thirteen singles issued. Five of them were sung by Pat Lewis, who had been been signed to Golden World Records as part of the Adorables, alongside her sister Diane Lewis and Betty and Jackie Winston (also sisters!). When Berry Gordy bought Golden World, Pat Lewis moved to Solid Hit. In 1967, she went on the road singing backing vocals for Aretha Franklin, and in 1969, she sang backing vocals for Isaac Hayes during the recording sessions for “Hot Buttered Soul”, together with her sister and Rose Williams. When the sessions finished, the girls were asked to tour with Isaac Hayes. They stayed with him from 1969 to 1982!
