The Winstons "Color Him Father" ’69

The Washington, D.C.-based funk and soul septet, The Winstons, were almost as short-lived as the label for which they registered their only two hit singles, Metromedia. The group (lead vocalist/tenor saxophonist Richard Lewis, vocalist/alto saxophonist Ray Maritano, vocalist/lead guitarist Quincey Mattison, organist Phil Tolotta, vocalist/bass guitarist Sonny Pekerol, and vocalist/drummer Gregory C. Coleman) were noticed at a local club by members of The Impressions, including Curtis Mayfeld, who invited them to tour as their back-up band.

In 1968 they cut their first record for Curtom Records, a label launched by Mayfield and The Impression's manager, Eddie Thomas, using a combination of Mayfield's first name and the short form for Thomas. The bouncy Need A Replacement b/w Ain't Nothing Like A Little Lovin' on Curtom 8546 unfortunately made no impact on a national scale, but it would have been nice had they been able to extend this release by Fuel 2000 to 17 tracks with their inclusion.

As it is, what they give you here, with excellent sound and a fold-out informative insert, are the 11 tracks of the only album ever released by the group, which included both sides of their one big hit, along with 4 bonus tracks, including both sides of their only other hit single. It came out originally as Metromedia MD 1010 in 1969.

That one huge hit, Color Him Father, was composed by Lewis, who at an earlier time had worked in the Otis Redding band, and in the early summer of 1969 it rose to # 2 R&B (kept from the top spot by Joe Simon's The Chokin' Kind and Marvin Gaye's Too Busy Thinking About My baby which, combined, spent 9 weeks at # 1 in that period), as well as a very significant # 7 on the Pop Hot 100 on Metromedia 117. But as good as that hit was, ironically the most enduring side is the flip, Amen, Brother. The drum solo by Coleman (who had also worked with Redding as well as a number of Motown acts, primarily The Marvelettes) in that cut is, without a doubt, one of the most sampled segments of any record of any era. So much so that, in the business, it now has its own name - "The Amen Break."

Early that fall, on Metromedia 142, they had their second and final hit when Love Of The Common People finished at a modest # 54 Hot 100 (but made no dent on the R&B charts) b/w Wheel Of Fortune.

For the record, Quincey Mattison also worked with Redding, and can be heard in a backup roll on Arthur Conley's monster 1967 hit, Sweet Soul Music. As for Metromedia, their main claim to fame was Bobby Sherman who, from 1969 to 1972, registered 10 Hot 100 hits for the label, four of them Top 10 and seven in the Top 40.

Finally, if the official blurb shown below the album cover is referring to the song, Color Him Father, rather than the original album, in saying that it's the first time it's been offered on CD, I have volume 1 of the Rhino/Wea series Soul Hits Of The '70s - Didn't It Blow Your Mind - and it contains the original version of The Winstons' hit. (George O'Leary, The Soul Detective)

trax:

01 Color Him Father 02 I've Gotta Be Me 03 The Chokin' Kind 04 The Greatest Love 05 A Handful Of Friends 06 Everyday People 07 The Days Of Sand And Shovels 08 Birds Of A Feather 09 Only The Strong Survive 10 Traces 11 Amen, Brother 12 Love Of The Common People (Bonus Track) 13 Wheel Of Fortune (Bonus Track) 14 Say Goodbye To Daddy (Bonus Track) 15 Mama's Song (Bonus Track)

...Many Thanks to clash for the Winstons share! served by Gyro1966...