Candy and the Kisses - The Scepter Sessions [BUTTERSCOTCH VINYL] - New LP

Candy and the Kisses!!! While the name of the band might suggest the more sugary side of girl group, from what I know of these sides, these songs rock and roll, pop no doubt, but smokin' pop soul, girl group with punch!!!  If these were from now, we could easily put them on bus tour with a punk 'n soul revue to help spread the word, put them on a jet plane and take the world by storm, tour the world, and the world would be a better place.  Not only did Black people play garage rock in the 1960s, they invented garage rock in the 1940s and earlier--long before white bands were playing so-called rock and roll.  (And they pioneered the indie-label movement--decades before punk did the same thing in the 1970s.)  While we stretch the idea of what power pop and garage rock mean to include so many different bands and styles, it seems to me if they are Black artists, we disclude them.  I'm sure some of the artists might be happy about that because they want to be recognized and remembered as blues, R&B, doo-wop, jump blues, boogie, barrelhouse, funk...but they deserve the proper respect for inventing most everything.  On the bright side, girl group busted down the racial barriers to include most everybody.  And for me, it's great that some punk bands cover and copy the songs and styles of the 1960s, but let's not forget the Black people who create so much and made so much possible. -- winch (green noise) 

• All of their Scepter sides and more, together on LP for the first time!

• Cut by Kevin Gray, pressed on colored vinyl, and housed in a stunning jacket with a delectable hand painted cover and notes by girl group guru Glynis Ward!

• Includes originally unissued confections of girl group perfection!

Sugar-dusted girl group confections concocted on impulse of three Staten Island girls. This poly-vinyl pastry collects all the Candy And The Kisses soulful Scepter sides and some originally unissued bon-bons! The Scepter Sessions collects them all on LP for the first time, pressed on butterscotch yellow vinyl and housed in a jacket with a mouthwatering hand painted cover!

Beryl “Candy” Nelson, her sister Suzanne, and their seventeen year-old cousin Jeanette Johnson formed this group responsible for the delicious ‘64 dance hit “The 81.” The following year the girls signed to Scepter, where they fell under the tutelage of Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson, and Joshie “Jo” Armstead. The move to Scepter may not have resulted in more hits, but it certainly yielded their finest music.

From the very first few catchy piano notes of Candy And The Kisses’ first Scepter side “Keep On Searchin’,” the sweet and soulful, joyous up-tempo mover that is a girl group lover’s dream, you can hear their promise. The girls released a handful of singles and recorded a host of other underappreciated songs that didn’t originally see release, all assembled on The Scepter Sessions!

Tonight’s The Night • One Sweet Kiss • Smokey Joe’s • You Did The Best You Could • Keep On Searchin’ • Looky, Looky (What I Got) • Are You Trying To Get Rid Of Me • Together • All You Gotta Do • I’ll Settle For You • Let Love Win • I Wish You Were My Baby • Out In The Streets Again • The Last Time • Sweet And Lovey