Archive for the ‘Groovesville’ Category

JJ Barnes

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

Listen: Sweet Sherry / JJ Barnes
Sweet

There’s a fantastic double cd anthology, THE IN CROWD – THE STORY OF NORTHERN SOUL that instantly moved my interest and knowledge in the genre forward exponentially. I became insatiable and was somewhat content to find that many of the classics I already had in my collection. But it didn’t stop my quest for all the others. The cd was issued with an accompanying book, equally great. It’s pretty funny to read the quotes by various DJ’s and journalists centric to Northern, all militant about having the final say, or getting the ultimate credit, on a record. Still, it’s great music and loads of fun to collect.

JJ Barnes had a few moderately successful singles in the 60′s.

But it’s ‘Sweet Sherry’, originally an LP track from RARE STAMPS that, without being released as a single, became a big deal in the Northern Soul clubs of England and subsequently, bootlegged. Or maybe kind-of-officially released after the fact, it’s findable as a 7″, I think.