Masters of Soul – I Hate You (In the Daytime and Love You at Night) from the Duke 45

What started out as a great weekend of digging and the New York metro area debut of David Beckham captaining the LA Galaxy versus the NY Red Bulls ( I actually had great seats!), finished up wet and soggy. With no end in sight supposedly for about 9 days (that’s 9 days of rain people), I dare not to think on how I will get by next weekend without digging. I’ll figure that out during the week….road trip? Perhaps. After reading Vincent over at FuFu Stew’s post regarding my anger over digging etiquette, it feels good to know there are a few of us that are civil while digging. When I picked up this record I was with the one and only Devil Dick, and we were up to our ears in 45 boxes, someone forgot their wallet (Doh!), and there were R.Crumb looking collectors hounding me for Gospel records on Savoy specifically. After really only seeing Bobby Bland records most of the time I’m digging, it was a relief to dig up a copy of the Master of Soul’s 1972 side “I Hate You (In the Daytime and Love You at Night)” on Duke Records. I swear if I dig up another copy DD it’s all yours. I know you’re in love with the fuzzy guitar!

Formed in 1952 by Bill Fitzgerald and David Mattis, Duke Records was based in Memphis, Tennessee. However, sometime during that year the label combined with Don Robey’s Peacock Records (Wille Mae, Floyd Dixon, Big Mama Thornton, etc.). In 1953 Robey took complete control and moved the label to Houston, Texas. Duke’s roster included artists such as Bobby “Blue” Bland, Junior Parker, Johnny Ace, and this group mentioned here, Masters of Soul. Robey would go on to sell Duke/Peacock to ABC-Dunhill in 1973, but stay on as a consultant until his death in 1975. The Backbeat Record label was a subsidiary of Duke, and featured artists like Carl Carlton, Joe Hinton, O.V. Wright and would even garnish some hits for Bobby Bland and Junior Parker as well. This particular side was the third label color of the Duke Records, the orange label. I always see a ton of Bland records on the orange Duke label, and have recently picked up a few of the Carl (“Little Carl”) Carlton on Back Beat, definitely some really good Soul.

I do not know too much about this record, other than it smokes. The fuzzed out guitar and piano drops had me hooked from the first needle drop (as do a lot of my digs). This song is a really great example of some Soulful harmonies. It could teeter on the edge of Funky Soul, but as a whole, the band was known for Soulful sides. Whether they were drawing some influence from guys like Sly Stone, or any of the myriad of Houston, Texas Funk and Soul bands they originally shared a home with on Ovide Records; bands like Archie Bell and the Drells, TSU Tornadoes, Soul Meditaions and the like, is still to be determined. Wherever they drew their influences from, the Masters of Soul were a band that will light your speakers on fire. This record is not a rare side, and if you can get a copy of it, I’d say don’t sleep on it. See you midweek. Keep Diggin’!