Sunday, August 29, 2010

Jango Song Of The Day-The Show Stoppers

Artist:The Show Stoppers
Song:Ain't Nothin' But A House Party
Album:Beg Scream & Shout!: The Big Ol' Box of '60s Soul





Here's a song that you may have heard but you may not have heard the original 1968 recording by The Show Stoppers. It was not a hit in the US but it was a hit in England. And the best way to get it is on this 6CD Rhino box set. The Show Stoppers were two sets of brothers from Philadelphia. They were Timmy and Earl Smith and Alec and Laddie Burke. The Burkes were younger brothers of soul great Solomon Burke. They were still teens when they signed with a local record company Showtime Records. The song was produced by Del Sharah and he wrote it with guitarist Joe Thomas who would later work with The Impressions. The song sold well locally but Sharah didn't have the money to go national. So he sold the master to producer Jerry Ross and he released it on MGM Records. It's a great party song but it didn't catch on and stalled at the lower end of the Billboard Hot 100. But it did well in England and reached #11 on the British Singles Chart in 1968. Subsequent singles flopped but there was demand for the group in England. The original Show Stoppers had disbanded. So Ross sent a different group on tour as The Show Stoppers. They were actually The Persuaders. The real Show Stoppers reformed and toured Europe but they never recorded again. Where you may have heard Ain't Nothin' But A House Party was when J. Geils Band had a hit with it in 1973. Here's a video for Ain't Nothin' But A House Party by The Show Stoppers.

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