Mercury Record Corporation was formed in Chicago in 1945. It released music covering a range of genres but covered mainly Jazz and Pop. When Vee-Jay and Chess ceased trading, some already successful Chicago acts moved to Mercury from other local companies. The three biggest names on that list were Jerry Butler, Gene Chandler and the Dells. Hamilton Bohannon also switched from Dakar to Mercury in 1977, staying for three years, until the company relocated its headquarters to New York in 1980. Surprisingly the company kept the “Chicago” record label that it had been using since 1974, which showed three iconic Chicago buildings: Marina City, the John Hancock Centre and One IBM Plaza, Mercury’s old headquarters. A new label was finally created in 1983.
Mercury used a number of different recording studios to record the Chicago Soul artists, including Sigma Sound in Philadelphia and Master Sound and Studio One in Atlanta, as well as PS Studios in Chicago.
None of the Bohannon albums released by Mercury were recorded in Chicago. The Dells’ first Mercury album, “No Way Back” was released in 1976. It was recorded at the Chess Ter Mar Studio in Chicago and at All Platinum Studios in Englewood, New Jersey, which was used by Chess’ new owners. It reflects the Chess sound, obviously. The two other albums that the Dells recorded for Mercury were recorded in Philadelphia at the Sigma Sound studio.
Jerry Butler
Mercury Records Trade Ad. (Wikimedia Commons)
Mercury Records released sixteen Jerry Butler albums between 1967 and 1974, including a live album recorded at Morgan State College in Baltimore and a soundtrack album from the film “Joe”, on which Butler sings three songs. Two of the albums are duets. On “Gene & Jerry – One & One” from 1970, Butler is joined by Gene Chandler. In 1973 Butler was paired with Brenda Lee Eager for the recording of “The Love We Have, The Love We Had”. Having felt the disappointment of Vee-Jay’s collapse in the early seventies, Butler was able to develop his career over these seven successful years.
The first six solo albums were heavily influenced by musicians later associated with Philadelphia. Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff produced the albums, often with arrangements by Tom Bell and Donny Hathaway. For example, the 1968 album “The Iceman Cometh” was recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, engineered by Joe Tarsia.
Then, in 1970, Butler switched the focus back to Chicago, as Gamble and Huff concentrated on setting up their company Philadelphia International Records. “Gene & Jerry – One & One” was recorded at Universal Recording Studios in Chicago over three days, September 30th to October 2nd 1970, and was produced by the two singers themselves. Arrangements were the work of Tom Washington and Richard Evans.
The songs chosen for the album were written in the main by local songwriters well-known to Butler and Chandler, with four compositions co-written by Ronald Simmons, Walter “Simtec” Simmons and Wylie Dixon. The two last-named were signed to Chandler’s Mr. Chand label as Simtec & Wylie in 1970, where they released eight singles and an album. Two more songs were co-written by Gene Chandler himself (credited as Eugene Dixon) with Mel Harden and Tim McPherson, otherwise known as Mel &Tim, who were signed to Chandler’s other label Bamboo Records.
The session band also featured some well-known local musicians, including Richard Evans (bass), Billy Butler and Gerald Sims (guitars), Tom Washington and Floyd Morris (pianos), and Robert Crowder (drums). The strong horn section was made up of Cliff Davis (alto sax), Johnny Board (baritone sax), Gene Barge (tenor sax), John Avant (trombone) and Burgess Gardner and Murray Watson (trumpets). The eight-piece string section was led by Sol Bobrov.
The four subsequent solo albums were recorded at a variety of studios, with three out of the four retaining a strong Chicago link. 1971’s “The Sagittarius Movement” was recorded at Universal Studios in Chicago and Memphis. 1972’s “The Spice Of Life” was shared between Universal in Memphis and RCA Mid-America Recording Studio in Chicago, where the final mix was put together. “Power Of Love” from 1973 was cut in Hollywood at Devonshire Studios, using a session band that included some Motown musicians. 1974 saw Butler back in Chicago for the recording of “Sweet Sixteen” at Paul Serrano’s PS Sound Studios.
“The Sagittarius Movement” was produced by Butler and Gerald Sims, with arrangements shared between Sims, Donny Hathaway and James Mack. The session band was as strong as ever, featuring Willie Henderson, Morris Jennings and Donny Hathaway amongst many more Chicago regulars.
“The Spice Of Life” has a very different set of musicians, ten backing vocalists and a large string section. The aim was clearly to create a much bigger sound, with a powerful orchestral impact.
“Sweet Sixteen” maintains the orchestral feel, with Richard Evans providing the arrangements and Calvin Carter producing with Butler as executive producer.
Nine single releases were drawn from the four albums, and all of them made chart entries. By now Jerry Butler was an accomplished performer with a loyal following. His voice is warm and smooth, set against rich backing harmonies and soaring strings. The stand-out song from the nine is “Ain’t Understanding Mellow”, written by Homer Talbert and Herscholt Polk, which Butler sings with Brenda Lee Eager, one of the backing vocalists used on this group of albums. The song reached number twenty-one on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart and number three on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart. The million-selling single was arranged by the legendary James Mack, with former Chess recording artist Cleveland Eaton on bass, creating a mellow groove with drummer Jennings. Floyd Morris gives an extraordinary performance on piano at the beginning of the track working in union with the bass. The song has a remarkable narrative, telling the story of a romantic relationship, ending with a rich, dynamic crescendo of strings flowing like a stream coming out of rock. The sound clearly demonstrates the mastery and brilliant skills of arranger James Mack. It is one of best soulful performances by Jerry Butler since his Philadelphia million-selling classic “Only The Strong Survive”.
In 1973 Butler and Eager made an album together called “The Love We Have, The Love We Had”, which produced two more hit singles.
After 1974, Butler switched to Motown Records, where he enjoyed further success.
Gene Chandler
Image: Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com (Wikimedia Commons)
Gene Chandler moved from Brunswick Records to Mercury in 1969/70. In 1970, he cut one solo album and one set of duets with Jerry Butler (mentioned above) at the new label, before switching to Chi Sound, to re-join Carl Davis.
The solo album “The Gene Chandler Situation” is a collection of ten songs, five of which Chandler wrote with James Thompson. Chandler also produced the album, which was recorded at Universal Recording Studios in Chicago. The stand-out track is the first, written by Herman Davis and Russ Lewis, entitled “Groovy Situation”. The song has a bouncy sing-along beat arranged by Tom Washington that took the single into the charts. It reached number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart and number eight on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart, selling over a million copies and earning Chandler another gold disc.
In 1972, Chandler moved on to Curtom Records.
