Garland Green - Ain't That Good Enough

And yet another legendary Northern Soul smash, that we filmed for "The Strange World Of Northern Soul". Garland Green has an amazing deep rich soul voice, and "Ain't That Good Enough" used to be one of my late friend Les Cokell's all time favourite records. Garland Green (born Garfield Green, June 14, 1942 in Dunleith, Mississippi) was the tenth child of eleven born in his family, and lived in Mississippi until 1958 when he moved to Chicago. While working and attending school there, he sang on weekends, and one day when singing in a pool room, he was overheard by Argia Collins, a local restaurateur. Collins agreed to bankroll Green's attendance at the Chicago Conservatory of Music, where Green studied voice and piano, and played in local bars and clubs. While performing in a talent show, Green met Mel Collins, whose wife, Josephine Armstead, was a songwriter who had written tunes for Nicholas Ashford and Valerie Simpson. She arranged for Green to do a recording session in Detroit and released the result as a single on her label, Gamma Records. It sold well locally and was picked up by MCA Records subsidiary Revue Records for national distribution. Revue released three further singles from Green and then moved to another MCA subsidiary, Uni Records. In 1969 he released "Jealous Kind of Fella", which was a major national success; Uni released a full-length LP from Green, but the follow-up single did not sell well, and Green left MCA to sign with Atlantic Records subsidiary Cotillion Records. Cotillion released five singles from Garland, including "Plain and Simple Girl", but Cotillion never released a full album of Green's. Moving on to Spring Records, Green recorded a few more sides, which charted modestly, and then signed to RCA Records, who released three further singles produced by Leon Haywood and a full LP. Following this, Green quit recording for almost seven years, signing with Ocean Front Records for an album produced by Lamont Dozier and Arlene Schesel, Ocean Front's A&R rep (whom Green would then marry). Green continued to record and self-release thereafter. This record first broke in 1973 at the legendary Highland Room in Blackpool Mecca. It was a piece of Motownesque joyful exhuberance on the Revue label from 1969, that golden year, and as fine a piece of Northern Soul as you could ever wish to hear. We recut it in 1998 when we were filming our marathon six disc, twenty four hour massive documentary about the entire history of the Northern Soul scene, which contained 131 specially recorded performances of all the classics, and is still available on a six disc box set from Wienerworld. So, in 1998, after much searching, and the most massive amount of detective work imaginable, we tracked Garland down and filmed him in his house in Los Angeles, to make this one and only one-time performance especially for us, for our ground breaking Encyclopedia Britannica of Northern Soul, and I am so glad that we did.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Northern-Soul
• Male-Soul-Singers
• Sixties
• Classic
• Soul
• Blackpool-Mecca
• Motorcity

[northernsoul1962]

Probably the greatest soul singer ever what a voice should have been bigger...but then again he was our secret Garland RIP

[scootafran]

LEGEND x

[WILLIAMS16567]

Can someone please post another big hit by Garland Green: 'Plain and Simple Girl " !!!

[donmagnificent]

That's my homie Garfield's father! LOL!

[allwayssoul]

smooth track, lovin it x

[TooDarnSoulful]

Ian, really special sound ...brilliant tks :) ktf

[deamster10]

Absolutely agree, gifted by God.

[ridsterzxz]

this guy has something god only hands out once eveery trillion born ,ov that im convinced..pieroangelo1 ,is another i think will agree.pure class ian ,thanks for all ur sharing mate.were all still here listening.

[tahira1]

Feeling this track. So moody!

[Margandy]

Yet another fantastic memory - I guess I will now go and buy the full set .... cheers Ian