Song:Brother Louie
Album:Stories Untold: The Very Best Of Stories
For a band that only recorded three albums, Stories had a complicated history highlighted by the 1973 number one hit Brother Louie. Michael Brown was the keyboard player for The Left Banke and he co-wrote their 1967 top five hit Walk Away Renee. The most notable thing about Brown was the meddling of his concert violinist father Harry Lookofsky who was also Brown's manager. Lookofsky's meddling is why The Left Banke split up. Peter Buonconsiglio was also a concert violinist and an old pal of Lookofsky. His son is singer Ian Lloyd. The fathers convinced the sons to form Stories. Other band members were guitarist Steve Love and drummer Brian Madey. Stories signed with Kama Sutra Records and well known producer Eddie Kramer. Brown and Lloyd wrote all of the songs on their 1972 debut album. It did OK but not great. Stories went out on tour. Brother Louie was recorded for the album but not included. Kramer thought Brother Louie would be a big hit. But Brown and Lloyd didn't write it and didn't think it was representative of their music. Brother Louie was written by Errol Brown and Tony Wilson of the legendary British soul group Hot Chocolate and their version was a hit in England. The song was about an interracial romance so it would have been controversial at the time. Kama Sutra released Brother Louie as a single without the band's knowledge. It topped the charts so Kama Sutra had to recall all of the albums and re-release it with the single Brother Louie inserted with the album. Lloyd and Brown were both upset. Brown left but Lloyd stayed. Ken Bichel replaced Brown and bassist Kenny Aaronson was brought in. After one more album, Stories split up for good. This comp from Real Gone is definitive. Lloyd recorded solo and has also been a session singer for years. He currently leads the band Social Hero. Brown led The Beckies. He died in 2015. Here is Stories performing Brother Louie on The Midnight Special 1973.
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