James Bell was the lead vocalist with legendary Indianapolis soulsters The Highlighters Band as well as being the songwriter and arranger of most of their classic recordings highly valued on both the funk and soul scene. I interviewed James about one of his 45's that strangely seems to be swept aside in interviews about the Highlighters Band yet remains one of the most desired and highly prized of his releases. Interview conducted: Martin Lawrie July 2004

James I’d like to ask you about a 45 you recorded with the Highlighters Band that is at the very top of mine and many others ultimate wants list, the 45 is "The Love Of My Girl". In interviews this 45 always get noted but is rarely discussed in any detail. Let’s get the geek question out of the way first, I have recently been talking to a fellow soul collector who owns the love of my girl 45 and we were debating the name of the label you established with the highlighters. Now throughout the funk and hip hop community it is widely regarded as being called 'Three Diamonds' but it appears that some soul collectors think the label name is 'PRP' due to that appearing beside the issue number and the Three Diamonds appearing only in image form. Can you clarify the label name once and for all? The name of the label is "Three Diamonds" - the image is the name The PRP 15001 means Precision Record Pressing, which is the name of the company that pressed the records and the 15001 is their catalog number for this particular record. I understand that this was the second release on the label, following the funky sixteen corners and the last up until you revived the label in recent years. Yes that is true - the Funky 16 Corners was the first and Trying to Get Chosen/Love of My Girl was Second. Can you tell me the year Trying to Get Chosen / The Love Of My Girl Was released? Early 1970 You wrote and arranged this track? I wrote and arranged "Amazing Love, The Funky 16 Corners 1& 2, The Love of My Girl and Trying to Get Chosen." It's a beautiful song, was it inspired by any girl in particular? No, the songs just come to me. Can you recall the process of writing the track, did it come to you in one go or did you work on it time? The songs I write usually come to me in a melodic form. Usually with the main theme and the rough draft of the first verse - then I work on the rest from there. Everyone has their own way of writing songs, I write words, melody and arrangement all in the same sequence. At the time do you recall if you were consciously trying to write songs that fitted in with a certain style or current sound or were you looking to create your own sound. Perhaps it was a bit of both? Neither, I get an idea and go with it, wherever it leads me. Having never been able to get the opportunity to hear Trying To Get Chosen what can you recall about that track, I have heard rumours that it is a fantastic song? I loved the song, a very good track that should have gone national. It was a huge local hit. What is the song about? Life situations changing. A young man trying to be noticed by a very popular girl. But, she never gives him the time of day. Then they grow up and he is the one in demand and she wants his attention, but he is no longer interested. Did you base any of your songs around real life events or where they always ideas that popped into your head? Always ideas that came into my head. How did you meet up with the Highlighters, I read that you met them when you performed at hotel, do you remember why you were at the hotel, and anything about this meeting? (were you performing with another act?) I was the male vocalist for a company called Showtime Productions. After my performance I was approached by Mr. James Brantley (Highlighter's Guitarist), who had just returned from a tour of duty in the United States Army. Were you aware of the Highlighters before this meeting? Did they have any kind of reputation by this stage? No, I was not aware of the Highlighters Band. I think they did have a reputation by that point, however, I was not aware of them because I was overseas in the United States Army while they were a high school band. I am about 10 years older than the original Highlighter's band members. Was there much of a local scene in Indiana? Yes, Soul, Funk and R & B was hot. There were many good local bands performing it. The Highlighters must have been one of the foremost acts, were you aware of, and interact with other bands such as the vanguards, fabulous souls etc. Or were you in pretty much your own bubble? We were pretty much in our own world. We played every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at the 20 Grand Nightclub in Indianapolis. This prevented us from visiting other clubs and seeing other acts. However, at one time the club owner of the 20 Grand booked the VanGuards at the 20 Grand to perform with us. Listening to the Funky Sixteen Corners it is easy to assume that you were very much into that late sixties James Brown funk sound but tracks like amazing love and the love of my girl show a very different and unique side. What soul singers were influencing your singing style on those soul sides? I have to say no one, my songs come from inside me, without consideration for what is popular at the time. Compared to today’s acts that seem to concentrate on a particular sound you seemed to have had broad tastes, was this a conscious band decision in order to try and open up your market ? The Highlighters were a very unique band. We covered all the hits. If a song was popular on the radio, it was being performed by the Highlighters Band. Several patrons remarked "listening to the Highlighters Band was like listening to WTLC radio." Our band consisted of six members James "JB" Brantley, (guitar), Richard "Bulla" Ball (Organ), James Boone (Bass), Dwane "Funky Buzzard" Garvin (Drums), Clifford "Junie" Palmer (Saxaphone) and myself. Every member had a song or two that they sang, plus they all sang background harmony on songs requiring it. Songs like "Stay in my Corner", by the Dells. With my versatile style in music genres and the band playing and singing background vocals we had the total package. Can you recall what a typical live set would consist of? You used to cover the big hits of the time? A normal set would consist of songs like "I'm Black and Proud" (James Brown), "Funky Broadway" (Dyke and the Blazers) "Soulful Strut", (The Meters) "Grazin in the Grass" (Hugh Masaqulea (sp) "Your good thing is about to come to an end" (Lou Rawls) "Poppin Popcorn" (The Highlighters Band) "Stay in my Corner" (The Dells) "Poppa's got a Brand New Bag (James Brown) "Trying to Get Chosen" (James Bell and the Highlighters Band) "My Girl" (Temptations) "Can I Change my Mind" (Tyrone Davis) etc. The audience loved it because we took pride in the fact that we could make each song sound just like the record. At that time I could emmulate anyone's voice and delivery. Thanks in large part to Jason Yoder’s site, Indiana soul music from the sixties and seventies is now getting its rightful props and documentation, and at the moment you are starting to get just recognition as one of the standout performers of that time, how does that feel after so many years of being criminally overlooked? The greatest reward any artist, be it a painter, a sculpturer, song writer or performer can receive is having their work appreciated and recognized. Having my music recognized and appreciated then or now or even later for that matter is a reward in itself. One thing that confuses me is why the love of my girl 45 is so damn tough to find, I believe you had 2000 of them pressed so surely there must still be plenty of copies in circulation? What kind of distribution did the 45 get? Local distribution the same as the other songs, however, The Love of My Girl was recorded just two weeks before I quit the Highlighters Band. Therefore, I do not know what became of the copies they had. Also, when cassette players hit the market, a lot of people discarded their 45s. Do you recall how many copies were sold? I sold about 900 copies myself. Again, I am not sure about the copies the rest of the Highlighters had in their posession. What kind of reception did the record get with fans and disc jockeys (I understand maintaining strong bonds with local radio dj’s was the key to breaking records in those days and they knew how to manipulate their position)? The Love of My Girl got no reception whatsoever. It was not played because, as I said before, it was the B side. Trying to Get Chosen was the A side and received a huge reception from fans and DJ's alike. Did it surprise you after those years in obscurity that every single one of your records would become such highly coveted pieces of music after all those years? Yes, especially being that Amazing Love and The Love of My Girl were written as B sides only. You must have felt pretty let down by the music industry to not have acheived more than you did with such exceptional recordings behind you, the highlighters and yourself had so much talent and skill, yet the seriously big breaks never came while so many undeserving artists were getting national distribution or signed by the majors all the time. It is hard to understand why this kind of injustice exists. Yet even today the mainstream industry is as polluted as ever with second rate pantomime performers occupying the limelight, what hope do you have for the next generations of music lovers. No, I did not feel let down. It is far more important to believe in onself rather than to rely on corporate opinion. When we completed a show, the band, the audience and the club owners were all very satisfied - we had put on one of the best performances around for that era. That is what is important to me. As far as my hopes for the next generation of music lovers, the invention of the computer has created a whole new world for music lovers, they are able to accesss good music that may or may not have been approved by the corporate music giants. Anyone can put a song out there, but if it is good, people will find it and listen to it. I recall you telling me in an email a while back that Amazing love was the first song you ever wrote, is that correct? Yes, it was my first song. That’s a pretty damned good first effort! How did that song come about? We needed a B side for Poppin Popcorn, so I sat down alone one Sunday afternoon, opened my mind and God sent me the idea for Amazing Love. It was written, arranged and scored in about two hours. It was the only two songs we had and we needed two sides for the record. Did you ever cut any more demos of tracks in the same style as Amazing Love and The Love Of My Girl? If so let’s get them out there for us all to hear! No, I stopped writing and recording after leaving The Highlighters band and concentrated solely on performing. In recent years I started writing and recording again. I have two new CD releases "Message to the World" and "Let's get Funky Tonight". I am currently working on a couple of songs similar to Amazing Love and The Love of My Girl. Will Trying to Get Chosen / The Love Of My Girl ever be re-issued? Has anyone approached you yet? I have been approached many times, however, at this point I have not decided whether or not to do it. Finally (I am not sure if this is documented elsewhere already) what was the reason for leaving the Highlighters Band? It is documented. I was unhappy with the bands decision to replace the drummer, Dwane "Funky Buzzard" Garvin with their original drummer (Jimmy Edwards) from their high school days. How long did they carry on without you? Were the Chess recordings the band made before you joined or after you left the band? The Chess recordings were done after I left the band. It was not my concern what the Highlighters did or how long they stayed together after I left. I was busy with my own band, The Naptown Players. You mentioned that you stopped recording / writing after you left however you went onto cut a track called The Funky Buzzard (named after the Highlighters drummer Dwane Garvin) with Dewayne and The Turner Brothers, another fantastic Indiana act, how did this happen, it is said in the liner notes for the Stones Throw compilation 'Funky 16 Corners' that he track went nreleased as you were unhappy with the sax part. Was this the only piece of music you released after leaving the Highlighters? After Dwane "Funky Buzzard" Garvin was let go from the Highlighters Band, he started playing the drums with the Turner Brothers Band. After I quit the Highlighters Band, I was invited to join the Turner Brothers Band. We played together approximately one (1) year. During that time I wrote The Funky Buzzard and we recorded it. Take Note: Contrary to what has been said, I NEVER said I was unhappy with the track. I loved the track and I never said I did not like the saxaphone part. I do not know how this rumor got started. I have always thought Mr. Teddy Patterson was an exceptional saxaphone player. This track was recorded in 1970, the first time I ever heard anything about the sax part being out of tune was during the year 2001, so that could not have had anything whatsoever to do with not releasing the track. That is the kind of shit that can mess up life long friendships (when people print something you did not say). To this day the sax part sounds damn good to me. Do you remember how this session came about, and how you all hooked up to get into the studio together? As I said before, we were playing together at the time. So when will you be back over here James? I will be performing at the PRESTATYN Festival in Wales, March, 2005. I had a really good time performing with Speedometer at the Jazz Cafe last March. Speedometer is an awesome band. They played my songs like they were the ones who recorded them. I am really looking forward to performing with Speedometer in the future.