Genre: soul
Rating: **** (4 stars)
Title: Baby Dynamite!
Company: RCA Victor
Catalog: LSP-4160
Year: 1969
Country/State: Memphis, Tennessee
Grade (cover/record): VG / VG
Comments: --
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 5430
Price: $30.00
It's tough enough having to cope with gifted siblings, but can you imagine having been the late Carolyn Franklin? Here you are, a gifted artist, but no matter what you do, you're bound to remain in your older sister's shadow. How in the world would you ever begin to compete with Aretha Franklin (to say nothing of sister Erma Franklin)?
Like her sisters, Carolyn was raised in the church, performing as a member of her father C.L. Franklin's Detroit New Bethel Baptist Church. Following a stint at the University of Southern California where she obtained a degree in music theory, Carolyn's professional career saw her start working as a backup singer for sister Aretha. Working under the stage name Candy Carroll, in 1963 she was signed by Lloyd Price's small Detroit-based Double L label, recording a pair of instantly obscure supper-club jazz styled 45s:
-1963's 'Your Cheatin' Heart' b/w 'You've Come A Long Way From St. Louis' (Double L catalog number 725A / B)
- 1964's 'Easy Living' b/w 'When I Fall In Love' (Double L catalog number 731A / B)
Dropped by Double L, over the next four years Franklin remained active in music writing ('Baby, Baby, Baby', 'Save Me', etc.), touring and recording with Aretha. Perhaps based in part on sisters Aretha and Erma's commercial successes, 1969 saw Franklin finally get her big break via a contract with RCA Victor (not a label known for soul). Produced by Buzz Willis, "Baby Dynamite!" served as a wonderful introduction to Franklin's multiple skills. Comparisons to Aretha and Erma were only natural, and at least to my ears Carolyn came out well in the competition. Gifted with a voice that was somewhat higher and perhaps a little less versatile than her sisters (check out her performance on 'It’s True I’m Gonna Miss You'), Carolyn was still a gifted singer, with a knack for zeroing in on a song's hook. Carolyn's talents as a songwriter (something her sisters were notoriously reluctant to display) were showcased on the killer mid-tempo pieces 'I Don’t Want To Lose You' and 'Boxer'. A pleasure through and through, virtually every one of the ten songs was worth hearing, the only real misstep being a supper club rendition of 'There I Go (Se per te c’e’ soltanta quell ‘uomo)'. Personnel favorites - 'Alone' and 'More Than Ever Before'. (In case anyone was interested, the liner notes were penned by her father, the Reverend C.L. Franklin. Always wondered how he felt about secular material like 'On A Back Street' ...) RCA also tapped the album for a pair of singles:
-
1969's ' Boxer ' b/w 'I Don't Want To Lose You' (RCA
Victor catalog number 47-9734)
- 1969's 'Reality' b/w 'It's True I'm Gonna Miss You' (RCA Victor catalog
number 74-0188)
"Baby Dynamite!" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Reality (Lloyd Price - Logan) - 2:38
2.) It’s True I’m Gonna Miss You (Williams - Simpkins) - 4:10
3,) What Cha’ Gonna Do (Mosley - Armstead) - 2:35
4.) I Don’t Want To Lose You (Carolyn Franklin) - 2:20
5.) Boxer (Carolyn Franklin - Hicks) - 2:35
(side
2)
1.) I
Can’t Live Without You (Van McCoy) - 2:27
2.) What Now My Love (Becaud 0 Sigman - Delanoe) - 4:05
3.) Alone (Reeder) - 2:23
4.) There I Go (Se per te c’e’ soltanta quell ‘uomo) (Stellman - Livaraghia - Specchia) - 2:31
5.) On A Back Street (Singleton - Rogers) - 2:34
6.) More Than Ever Before (Scott - Jim Radcliffe) - 2:08
It's not particularly rare, but Franklin also released a non-LP 45 later in the year:
- 1969's 'All I Want Is To Be Your Woman' b/w 'Ain't That Groovy' RCA Victor catalog number 74-0289)
