***The Great Gaylord is absolutely correct: Darrell Banks' "Open the Door to Your Heart" is exemplary, significant soul music. "It is," says the WFMU deejay, "two-and-a-half minutes of flawlessness [that] cuts directly to the essence of soul." It's got the beat, it's got the sound, but what's more, it's got the expressive, pleading voice of Darrell Banks. He doesn't overdo it - he does it just enough, and wham! hits the listener with a wallop of rhythm & blues at its finest. The song debuted on the Cashbox Black Contemporary Chart at Number 45 on July 2, 1966. Six weeks later it was Number One for two weeks, knocked off by a Stevie Wonder record for a week before returning to the top spot again. This time The Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love" brought it down for good. Late in 1967, Atco originally issued Darrell Banks Is Here! LP, consisting of Banks' four singles, their B-sides, and two new tracks. The album is one of soul music's best, though it never achieved the cult status of Howard Tate's Get It While You Can or Edwin Starr's Soul Master, but collectors of Detroit soul music have long treasured this obscure gem. The album starts with a fine ballad, "Here Come the Tears," written by Chicago songwriter Gerald Simms, who worked at such labels as Chess, Brunswick and OKeh as an arranger and producer. The second song, "I've Got That Feelin'," another tough Detroit production with punchy horns and a...
CD $12.00
04/02/2002