I've duly noted that only an entry or two of mine up to now has featured the ladies, so here's one that I bought last year which has become a favorite, Rose Valentine's "I've Gotta Know Right Now". I found this digging at a local junk shop. I'd already been through their wares a couple of times but noticed they had a few promo copies on RCA scattered about by female solo artists. The rest of the stuff wound up being either pop or country but this one is excellent, (gulp) northern soul, for lack of a better term.
I don't often use northern soul as a descriptive. I don't have a problem with most of what falls into the "genre" as I understand it. But the term still seems a little vague to me and certainly has become a favorite catch-all for folks hawking all sorts of stuff over on eBay. It seems to fit here though. "I've Gotta Know Right Now" is an upbeat, soul dancer with a Motown sound. I'm certainly no expert but I'd cite Martha & the Vandellas' "Heat Wave" as something that sounds similar.
The song starts off with Valentine's somewhat sweet vocal. I don't know a thing about her but wouldn't be surprised if she was a teenager when this record was cut. Her voice sounds young and she hits the high notes with ease. She's backed by horns, drums that are high in the mix and I might even detect a bit of fuzz guitar between verses. It's the vocal and big beat that really drive the tune though.
I'm not sure how many people heard this back in the 60's, as the record seems pretty scarce. Every copy I've seen online has been a promo, so I think it sold zilch. In fact, "I've Gotta Know Right Now" wasn't even the a-side of the record. That honor was given to "When The Heartaches End", a slow one that isn't bad but no match for its flipside. Maybe "I've Gotta Know Right Now" is getting a few spins in clubs these days. It sure sounds like it could fill a few dance floors. I think it's even turned up on a compilation or two.
As close as I can tell, this record was a 1967 release. I can't find much of anything on Rose Valentine and this might have been her only record. If anyone has additional information, I'd love to hear it.
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RCA released some great singles back in the mid 60's but nothing seemed to click. I guess they were still concentrating on MOR and Elvis to give anyone else on thier large roster a huge push. Azie Mortimer's "Little Miss Everything" and Beverly Ann's "You've Got Your Mind On Other Things" are some of the RCA gems I have fished out of the thrift stores.
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