Description
A1. Love Vibrations
B1. Starlight
The Jokers Y-ilde were a nine-piece soul funk outfit from Oklahoma, USA. The members were Gerald Johnson, Candy Williams, Rodney Johnson, Charles Thompson, Steve Gunn, Ray Shaw, Walter F. Taylor III, Willie Threatt and Sam Hankins.
They recorded one single for the local Gold Spill label entitled “Nothing But A Party”/“Very Special Love”. Which gained them success across the OK and surrounding states. The group is a part of Oklahoma's funk hall of fame, with many members being associated with other funk and soul groups across the city. The two main producers of the group were Gerald Johnson and Walter Taylor lll. Who we have been working with over the last few months.
Most of the group's material got lost along the musical journey and life's personal changes, as so often happens. But on a visit back home from overseas Oklahoma native and engineer supreme Bob Fischer aka Fish stumbled across a tv recording of the group that got aired on local tv. He managed to digitise these recordings and use his vast experience to salvage them. “Love Vibrations” and “Starlight” were taken from these tape transfers. So, getting the audio up to scratch was very very challenging to say the least.
Love Vibrations and Starlight both hark to that wonderful feel-good disco boogie sound that large multi-instrumental groups were recording at the time. The Lead singer, the wonderful Candy Williams vocal range and tiny nuances really are a joy too not only to watch but listen too. Up there with Cheryl Lynn, Jean Carne, and other divas of the singing world. Even though the audio of the record may not be right up there where we want as a label, we still think it's a part of Oklahoma musical history that needed to be preserved.
We hope you dig it!
