Genre: Christian rock
Rating: 3 stars ***
Title: U.S. Apple Corps
Company: SSS International
Catalog: SSS-12
Year: 1970
Country/State: US
Grade (cover/record): NM / NM
Comments: still in shrink wrap with band sticker on cover; opened and played once
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 5289
Price: $30.00
While his business dealings may have left lots to be desired (nobody ever said music was a pretty business), Shelby Singleton's an interesting guy. His musical interests were quite diverse and I'm not sure if anyone's every cataloged his eclectic musical 'catalog'. Someday I may have to do a little research into the man.
Like most Singleton projects, U.S. Apple Corps provided little in the way of performing credits, though the back cover photo showed a motley looking six piece outfit, including a black female vocalist. A couple of internet queries quickly uncovered the band was originally fronted by then 15-year old singer Bryant Sterling (aka Denis Bryant). Bryant and his band had apparently begun to attract some late-1960s interest on the club circuit, when they attracted the attention of Shelby SIngleton who then signed them to a contract with his Nashville-based SSS International label. Unimpressed with the rest of the band, prior to recording the band's debut Singleton dumped everyone but Bryant, subsequently teaming him with a group of Nashville studio musicians including drummer Jeff Pocoro, lead guitarist Tommy Shaw and bass player Jacob Stokes. As an aside, in a brief exchange of emails Bryant mentioned the female singer was recruited from a church next door to the recording studio.
Produced by Steve Singleton (whom I'm guessing was Shelby's son), 1970's "U.S. Apple Corps" offered up an interesting hybrid of Jesus rock, Southern soul and conventional rock. Recorded in three days, Bryant reportedly came up with the idea to re-record a series of classic gospel and religious tracks with contemporary rock and soul arrangements. While the idea may not have sounded all that promising, powered by Bryant's strong voice (which to my ears bore a resemblance to Spooky Tooth's Gary Wright) and some tasty fuzz lead guitar (recalling Delaney and Bonnie era Bobby Whitlock), the performances were all quite impressive. The emphasis was clearly on the music and with a couple of exceptions ('Ride On King Jesus') the material's religious quotient wasn't overwhelming. If you heard most of these tracks on the radio you'd have been hard pressed to identify them as being Christian rock. Highlights included the blazing cover of Edwin Hawkin's 'Peace In the Valley' and the hard rock remake of 'Will the Circle Be Unbroken'. The results were even more impressive when you recognized Bryant was only 15 when he recorded the LP. Like the Box Tops' Alex Chilton you had to wonder where a kid got vocal chops like that! (Promo copies were pressed on blue vinyl and apparently included a large insert. This copy is on black vinyl without the insert.)
"U.S.
Apple Corps" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Ain't It Like Him (Edwin Hawkins) - 3:35
2.) Peace In the Valley (Steve S. Singleton) - 5:10
3.) Will the Circle Be Unbroken (Steve S. Singleton) - 3:44
(side
2)
1.) Down By the Riverside (Steve S. Singleton) - 4:33
2.) Ride On King Jesus (D. Norwood) - 4:42
3.) Swing Low Sweet Chariot (Steve S. Singleton) - 5:42
There are two non-LP singles:
- 1969's 'Prayer for Peace' b/w 'Peace-Live' (SSS International catalog number SSS-840)
- 1970's 'Elijah Stone' b/w 'Closer To the Man' (SSS International catalog number SSS-851).
I've never heard it, but there's a sophomore LP by Sterling/Bryant - "Let the Music Take Your Mind" on Plantation Records (Plantation catalog number 504). There's also a single off of the sophomore set:
- 1970's 'HIgh On King Jesus' b/w 'Swing Low Sweet Chariot' (SSS International catalog number SSS-829)
Poking around on the web I discovered that Denis Bryant remains active in the music business as a Christian singer with several solo albums to his credit. His website includes a small write-up on his U.S. Apple Corps experiences including an offer to make US Apple Corps MP3 files available to anyone without charge:
http://www.bsterlingcd.net/
Anyhow, even though it was clear that Bryant had moved on with his life, in a brief exchange of emails he was kind enough to answer a couple of questions for me.
I was curious if you remember the names of the rest of the band? There isn't a single online reference that provides band names (nor do the album liner notes). Who was the black female singer? She's quite impressive (as were you - hard to image you were only 15 at the time. Like Alex Chilton you had one of those old R&B guy voices.
SSS International took all the credit, money, and everything but my soul. That is why I put up some MP3 files so people would know who really was responsible for the US Apple Corps material. I wrote the music and melody lines.
The woman was a member of the church next door to the studio and I forgot her name. The musicians featured on the US Apple Corps on the LP constituted what were then Memphis' BEST studio musicians.
Did you participate in the second LP, or were you done with Singleton by that point?
No I was the singer on it as well. I left him [Singleton] and Nashville and went to Warner Brothers in L.A.
Denis Bryant
October 2007