BLACK OR WHITE - It Doesn't Matter As Long As It's Good (1967-1968)

 

Growing up in the 60's was a cool time, but it was also very confusing at times. In a time when they would play Johnny Cash and James Brown on the same radio station, we never had time to think about the races of the artists, and as kids we couldn't care less. All we knew was that, as Arthur Conley once sang, “if you like good music,” we were fairly unaware of what the singers of our fave songs looked like unless they appeared on American Bandstand.

But just as dozens of young bands were trying to be the next Beatles, it’s a sign of just how popular Soul and R&B were in the mid-Sixties that lots of bands were adopting the sounds emanating out of Motown and Stax.

Here are a couple of examples of what I'm talking about. In 1967 “Expressway to Your Heart” became the first of the catchy soul records that would come to epitomize Philly Soul. But brothers Charlie and Richie Ingui, the leaders of the Soul Survivors, weren’t black at all, like we probably all assumed.

SOUL SURVIVORS - "Expressway To Your Heart"

 

And then there was “Girl Watcher” in 1968, a hooky recording that neatly channeled a middle ground between the polished pop of Motown and the rough-around-the-edges Stax sound. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who always assumed The O’Kaysions were a black band,

not this group of nerdy white guys.

Which just goes to show: You just never know, and you should never judge musicians by the way they sound!

THE O'KAYSIONS - "Girl Watcher" 

 Thanks to Rich Arithmetic for all his input on this post. I would have screwed the whole thing up without his help!