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RELEASE DETAILS
Label: Coral – 62549
Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1968
Genre: Funk / Soul
NOTE: Coral (US). The Original has a Stamped Matrix. The Counterfeit Has A Scratched Matrix and Labels Reversed
BIOGRAPHY
Moses Dillard had a dual career in music for more than 20 years, leading his own bands, and as a guitarist working out of Muscle Shoals. Born in Greenville, SC, he put together a touring band of his own, the Dynamic Showmen, before he was 20 and saw some local success. Dillard later teamed up with James Moore in a duo called Moses & Joshua, recording for Don Schroeder's Papa Don Productions out of Pensacola, FL; scoring hits with "My Elusive Dreams" and "Get Out of My Heart" on the Mala label in 1966-1967, and "Soul Symphony" for Coral in 1968. While working for Schroeder, Dillard's guitar virtuosity came to the fore, and he played sessions with most of the company's acts, including James and Bobby Purify during the tail end of their history, and Oscar Toney, Jr. and Mighty Sam. His playing can be heard throughout their respective late-'60s outputs, and recording and touring with these and other acts kept Dillard busy until the close of the decade.
Dillard returned to Greenville in 1970 to resume his own career and put together the group Tex-Town Display, with a lineup that included Peabo Bryson. Their 1970 recording of "I've Got to Find a Way" got serious local airplay, enough to get it (and their contract) picked up by Curtom Records for national distribution, selling 250,000 copies. Tex-Town Display earned a follow-up shot with "Our Love Is True," which didn't sell nearly as well, and by 1971 the group was recording for the much smaller Shout label of Atlanta, before it broke up after Bryson exited.
Dillard continued to be based in Atlanta with his next group, the Lovejoy Orchestra, who had an instrumental hit with a self-titled theme in 1975. The 1970s saw Dillard get an increasing number of opportunities with major labels; he kept busy recording under a multitude of names, including Moses, and Dillard & Johnson in partnership with Lorraine Johnson, the latter act signed to Epic Records. Dillard had success during the disco era with the Constellation Orchestra, and he later reunited with his one-time Dynamic Showmen bassist/singer Jesse Boyce as Dillard & Boyce, on the Mercury label in the early '80s. (Artist Biography by Bruce Eder - AllMusic)
In Groups: Dillard & Boyce, , Moses Dillard & Tex-Town Display, Moses Dillard & The Dynamic Showmen
PRODUCER
The release was produced by Major Bill Smith (William Arthur Smith), who was a label owner and songwriter from Fort Worth, Texas. Born January 21, 1922, died September 12, 1994. Owner of Le Cam Records and Charay Records. Major Smith was a relentless self-promoter who seemed disinclined to let the facts get in the way of a good story, making the accounts of his life he told to various interviewers of somewhat dubious veracity. An interesting brief biography by Martin Donell Kohout can be found here: -
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/smith-william-arthur-major-bill
Extract from the 'Handbook of Texas', produced by the Texas State Historical Association
OBITUARY
Moses Dillard died in 1993. A short obituary noting some of his early life and career posted in the Greenville News can be seen here: -
https://eu.greenvilleonline.com/story/life/2015/02/01/moses-dillard-music-soul-gospel/22665511/
OTHER VARIANTS and ARRANGEMENTS OF THIS RECORDING
'Soul Symphony' was also released (with a different arrangement) as 'Soul Over Easy' by: -
In the UK - Hammond Bros. & Maggie - 'Soul Over Easy - London HLU 10464 (UK release) (licensed from Le Cam)
In the US - Hammond Bros. & Maggie - 'Soul Over Easy' - QCA LC-863-RE/LC360B
In the US - Berry Street Station - 'Soul Over Easy' - Le Cam LC863/LC-306AA
Unofficial release - The Sons of Moses - 'Soul Symphony' - Sagittarius - SC-17 A (Simon Soussan?)
Unofficial release (?) - The Sons of Moses - 'Soul Symphony' - Soft Records S-1021-A (Noted as a Mark V production rather than Major Bill Smith)
Plus other labels...
The vocal to "Soul Symphony" was recorded by Ede Robin as: -
In the UK - Ede Robin - 'There Must Be A Love Somewhere' - Crystal CR7023
In the US - Ede Robin with 96.8 - 'There Must Be A Love Somewhere' - Le Cam LC-004/LC-310 A
CONTENT - CREDITS AND SOURCE REFERENCES
Phil Lynskey - https://www.youtube.com/user/Lynsk256
Discogs - https://www.discogs.com/The-Sons-Of-Moses-Soul-Symphony-Fatback/release/1879322
AllMusic (Artist Bio) - https://www.allmusic.com/artist/moses-dillard-mn0000593044
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