Shirley Vaughn’s wonderful “Stop and Listen”

• Listen to this songs on youtube: Stop and Listen!
• Listen to these 45s in a Spotify playlist here with other 45s from the blog (though note, spotify doesn’t have all / many of the songs featured on the site so some playlists may be incomplete or feature slightly different versions than the original 45s I’m referring to here.
• Download the songs by clicking the titles above

Here’s a prime example of the ups and downs of loving the 45 format. 

Now, I never pretend to be an expert, I’m just a fan of the music, but why on earth is Shirley Vaughn relegated to a few scarce singles all of which are phenomenal?  How did she work on a respectable (though sometimes disparaged) label with national distribution and impressive in-house talent only to release a couple singles, no album and from all I can tell vanish?  It makes sense why there’s only a release or two of the house band from some bar in South East Ohio or a couple singles by an unnamed singer passing through a song mill but Vaughn’s output really shines.  Yet, the reality remains we’re only left with a few singles in her discography.

Granted, I’m probably missing lots of info but what books I do have on Philadelphia soul mention very little biographical information and the internet has not been particularly helpful. Even though we can assume there’s more to the story, it’s hidden even to those who are looking which is a shame. That’s the “down side.”

Of course, the “up side” is that we have the music.  These few singles were made and for that unfortunately brief time Shirley Vaughn did have a studio and label behind her.  Today’s side is actually a cover of the wonderful Patti Drew song released the same year.  Shirley’s version is a little more upbeat and adds some depth to the arrangement.  While I’m partial to the Vaughn version I could see on any given day depending on my mood choose Patti Drew’s original.  This side was produced and arranged by Richie Adams, a fixture in Philadelphia, previously doing time as a member of the doo wop group The Fireflies.

If you see any of Vaughn’s records in the wild grab em, they’re all good!  Hope you enjoyed today’s record and manage to find some love and happiness in our difficult world.

-George / Snack Attack

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