Ever dependable SOUL DIRECTION RECORDS open their 2024 account with a new 45 on a band called WEE. The group hailed from Columbus Ohio and were active from around 1974 to 1978 and consisted of Benji Harris, Bimbo Brown, Spanky Jones, Vick Martin and Norman Whiteside, the band’s main man!
Whiteside led a colourful life to say the least and his music career was curtailed by a lengthy prison stretch. He was only released in 2016. A diligent web search will give you the sordid details!
Wee would probably be classed as a soul and funk band but the sounds on the new Soul Direction and more soulful than funky. The A side is a sweet ‘Trying To Tell You How I Feel’ while the B side is a meandering ‘We Could Get It Together’ – both betray the influence of Stevie Wonder on the 70s soul scene. Both track were recorded at the Owl Studio in Coumbus and some commentators suggest that the two recording were part of a vanity project, Neither tracks appeared on the band’s only album, ‘You Can Fly On My Aeroplane’ but they eventually appeared on a 2008 Numero LP for which they were remixed. The new SD single delivers both cuts in the original formats.
Wee – “Trying To Tell You How I Feel” / “We Could Get It Together” SD022 Pre-Order from Friday 26th January for release date 5th February 2024.
