the Soul of the Net's

Arthur Conley Discography

Arthur and the Corvets

I'm going to cry / You're blue - Moon 100 * 1959

added by John Ridley, reference: Yutaka Sakurai, "Encyclopedia of Soul".

Poor girl / Darling I love you - Na-R-Co 203

Aritha / Flossie Mae - NRC - 34

Miracles / I believe - NRC 232

Arthur and the Corvets info supplied by John Ridley. This was Arthur Conley's group. He sang lead on the first two for Na-R-Co/NRC, but not on the third.

Arthur Conley

I'm a lonely stranger / Where you lead me - Jotis 470 * 1965 Recorded at Stax

Who's fooling who / There's a place for us - Jotis 472 * 1966 Stax

In the same old way / I can't stop (no, no, no) - Fame 1007 * 1966 Fame

I'm gonna forget about you baby / Take me (Just as I am) - Fame 1009 * 1966 Fame

Sweet soul music / Let's go steady - Atco 6463 * 1967 Fame

Shake rattle & roll / You don't have to see me - Atco 6494 * 1967 Fame

Whole lotta woman / Love comes and goes - Atco 6529 * 1967 Fame

Funky street / Put our love together - Atco 6563 * 1968 American

People sure act funny / Burning fire - Atco 6588 * 1968 American

Aunt Dora's love soul shack / Is that you love - Atco 6622 * 1969 American

Ob-la-di ob-la-da Fame / Otis sleep on American 1968 - Atco 6640 * 1969

Speak her name Fame / Run on[American 1968 - Atco 6661 * 1969

Star review / Love sure is a powerful thing - Atco 6706 * 1969 Muscle Shoals Sound

They call the wind Maria / Hurt - Atco 6733 * 1969 Capricorn

God bless / (Your love has brought me) A mighty long way - Atco 6747 * 1970 Capricorn

Da - o Electric Lady NY / Nobody's fault but mine Criteria Miami - Atco 6790 * 1970

I'm living good / I'm glad you're here - Capricorn 8017 * 1971 Capricorn

Walking on eggs / More sweet soul music - Capricorn 0001 * 1972 Capricorn

Rita / More sweet soul music - Capricorn 0006 * 1972 Capricorn

It's so nice (when it's somebody else's wife) / Bless you Capricorn 0047 * 1974 Capricorn

Another time / I got you babe CBS (UK) 4801 * 1976

main source: Daguerre /Mohr discography, Sweet Soul Music fanzine, 1985

LP's

Sweet Soul Music - Atco 33-215 Sweet soul music / Take me (just as I am) / Who's foolin' who / There's a place for us / I can's top (no, no, no) / Wholesale love / I'm a lonely stranger / I'm gonna forget about you / Let nothing separate us / Where you lead me

Shake Rattle & Roll - Atco 33-220 Shake rattle and roll / I've been loving you too long (to stop now) / Love got me / A change is gonna come / Hand and glove / Ha! ha! ha! / You don't have to see me / Baby what you want me to do / I'll take the blame / Keep on talking

Soul Directions - Atco 33-243 You really know how to hurt a guy / Funky street / Burning fire / Get yourself another fool / Otis sleep on / Hear say / This love of mine / Love comes and goes / Put our love together / People sure act funny

More Sweet Soul - Atco 33-276 Ob-la-di ob-la-da / Shing-a-ling / One night is all I need / I got a feeling / Aunt Dora's love soul shack / Stuff you gotta watch / Something you got / Is that you love / Speak her name / Run on / That can't be my baby / Take a step

Italian single release with tracks not released in the US:

Il fuoco bruccia / La ragazza piu belissima - Atlantic (Italy) * 1968 Atlantic NY

Both original tracks, not versions with Italian lyrics.

UK single releases with tracks not released in the US:

God Bless / All day singing - Atlantic 2091 025 * 1970

? / If he walked away - Atlantic ??? * 1970

(Thanks to Harry Young for UK single info)

Yoni's Remarks

Another LP, One More Sweet Soul Music was issued on P-Vine (Japan) in 1988. It contains 8 tracks from the Capricorn era, said to be produced by Jerry Williams (aka Swamp Dogg), i.e. dating from 1972-1974, but including God Bless, which was recorded in 1970 and released on Atco. The other titles include both sides of Capricorn 0047: Bless you, Somebody else's wife (that's the title on this LP), plus 5 songs not mentioned in the Daguerre/Mohr discog.: Do we need a change, Complication #4, Do it shake your booty, I want your love, stop knocking.

John Ridley adds: ... AC cut a live LP as Lee Roberts and the Sweaters in Amsterdam in 1980. This came out as "Soulin'" on Blue Shadow BS 4703. Its all covers of Sam Cooke and Stax/Atlantic material but its great to hear him in good voice.

Arthur Conley is a severely underrated giant of soul music. Perhaps the paradoxical stumbling block of his career was the huge success of Sweet soul music, which overshadowed his real strength, which was interpreting - and often writing - the most beautiful and sensitive soul ballads and mid-tempo gems. A glance at the above discography reveals that following SSM, he was expected to recapture that cheerful, lightweight rock and rolish atmosphere - not to much avail, both musically and commercially. Shake rattle and roll, Funky street, People sure act funny were all reasonably good, but not outstanding tracks. Then came the dreadful ob-la-di ob-la-da, and a couple of straight throwbacks at SSM - Star review and More sweet soul music. For lack of direction, producers started to add overdubbed duplication on the lead vocals, (quite evident in the second Fame period, 1969, and on the LP More Sweet Soul Music) perhaps thinking that Conley's voice was "too weak". What crap.

Listen to I'm a lonely stranger, There's a place for us, I'm gonna forget about you, Let nothing separate us, Let's go steady, Love got me, Hand and glove, Otis sleep on (the most sincere, heart breaking Otis Redding lament), Put our love together, Love comes and goes, Is that you love, They call the wind Maria, God bless, I'm living good, Walking on eggs - all exquisite soul performances - but with almost no public recognition. What a shame.

There's an excellent new Arthur Conley CD compilation on the Ichiban Soul Classics series - see reviews page , which includes most of the good non-LP tracks. The LPs Sweet soul music and Soul Directions have been recently issued in CD format. Buy these CD's, and maybe some late justice will be done to Arthur Conley.

Oh - and one more thing. The Daguerre/Mohr discography lists an enormous number of unissued tracks, here they are, listed by recording studio and date:

Fame, 1967:

Give me a little time

Come on over

Little piece of leather

I'm standing by

I'm a fool for you

Hip huggin pants wearin' baby

Country boy

Rome wasn't built in a day

A year, a month, a day

Shout bama lama Come on

Let the good times roll

Love is here

I'm falling in love with you

I'm gonna love you

What do you say if the answer is no

American, 1968

Summer's gone

You misuse me

[studio unknown] 1969

Have mercy

Keep the music playin

He's got it bad

She's got it bad

That's 21 unreleased tracks - some of them produced by Otis at Fame studios at the height of the soul era - let's hear them!!!!!!!!!!!