The Stax roster, as noted in a previous post on Carla Thomas, was heavily male-oriented with guys like Isaac Hayes, William Bell, Eddie Floyd, Rufus Thomas, Johnnie Taylor and of course, Sam & Dave. Soul sisters had a tough time at Stax, for whatever reason: aside from Carla, there was Mable John, Judy Clay, Shirley Brown, Kim Weston (briefly!) and Ruby Johnson among others. Female groups fared even less well at the Memphis diskerie: while Motown had a truckload of female trios and quartets (The Supremes, Martha & The Vandellas, The Marvelettes, The Velvelettes, etc.) and a few male teams made an impact at Stax (The Dramatics, Ollie & The Nightingales, The Astors, The Temprees), no female groups achieved any kind of resounding success - with the exception of The Emotions.

Sisters Sheila, Wanda and Jeanette started their musical journey in Chicago as members of the family group, The Hutchinson Sunbeams making their first steps into secular music with a local label, Twin Stacks. An introduction by Pervis Staples (of the Staple Singers) led the trio to Stax Records and in 1969, the sweet-yet-soulful “So I Can Love You” became the group’s first major hit with the label. As the then-teenagers became young women, their recordings reflected that transition, songs like “Stealin’ Love” and “Runnin’ Back (And Forth)” given the Emotions a more adult stance than the teen angst of “Show Me How” (much in the mould of Barbara Mason’s “Yes I’m Ready”) and “From Toys To Boys.”

Once the trio left Stax, they hit a new level of success after teaming up with Earth Wind & Fire founder Maurice White who had been familiar with The Emotions from his own days in Chicago during the ‘60s. Working with White at Columbia Records, the group scored its biggest hit with the now-classic “Best Of My Love” in 1977 following it with the dance/pop/R&B smash “Boogie Wonderland” with EW&F. Soul music connoisseurs never forgot the Stax recordings even though they didn’t create the same kind of response the ladies’ work with White would do; through three reissues – the combo of “So I Can Love You” and “Untouched” on one CD, “Sunshine” (with five bonus tracks including the super-soulful “Peace Be Still” recorded in 1972 when The Emotions were in Los Angeles for the Wattstax shows) and “Chronicle: Greatest Hits” – you can hear this pioneering female trio offering their own distinctive sibling-fused harmonies. Worth checking: “Somebody Wants What I Got,” “Blind Alley” (sampled by among others, Mariah Carey), “The Best Part Of A Love Affair,” “I’ve Fallen In Love” and “When Tomorrow Comes” (two songs also recorded by Carla Thomas).

David Nathan
a/k/a “The British Ambassador Of Soul”
Owner, www.soulmusic.com, www.soulmusicstore.com, www.soulmusicglobal.com
Secretary, The Rhythm & Blues Foundation (www.rhythm-n-blues.org)

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