For over 100 years now Detroit has been a hotbed of musical talent with over 1500 labels operating alongside each other, issuing music from the Motor City alone Having shown an interest in the art of recording at a very young age, by the time he was 12 years old Gary Rubin had built a recording facility in his family’s basement which grew to become Pioneer Recordings, a studio at the cutting edge of technology in the heart of Detroit. Here Gary gives a candid account of life in the industry including sharing a studio with Lou Rawls, being raided by the FBI in search of gangsters, moonlighting ..read more

Born into a musical family, Judy Street began singing in clubs while at college, until a member of the audience approached her and said “come with me to LA and i’ll make you a star” That was an offer too good to refuse and shortly after Judy was in the studio with the legendary HB Barnum and the iconic northern soul song What was born Here Judy tells us her story from those days and also brings us right up-to-date. https://www.shinyl.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/judy-street-shinyl.mp3   You can keep up-to-speed with Judy’s latest news here and why not follow Judy on Facebook too! &nbs ..read more

Elsie began singing professionally as part of Detroit group the Sterophonics in her early teens, a group which, as well as releasing their own material also provided backing vocals for artists such as Spyder Turner,  Timmy Shaw and Spencer Stirling.  When the Sterophonics disbanded her schoolmates Dot Garland and Joyce Vincent invited Elsie to join their group, The Debonaires. They were signed by Ed Wingate to his Golden World Records and the rest, as they say, is history. Here Elsie recounts her exciting life as part of Detroit’s musical history:   https://www.shinyl.co.uk/wp-c ..read more

Singing in local groups from her early teens, Retta Young was discovered by legendary producer Paul Kyser.  He soon recruited Retta to form part of his female vocal ensemble The Devotions and there began her recording career. While on tour with The Devotions, Retta met her future husband Al Goodman of The Moments.  It was he that took Retta to the dynamic New Jersey label All-Platinum where she went on to release her LP Young and Restless which remains so popular that it was re-issued in the UK in 2017 Now singing with her sisters as a Gospel trio, Retta recollects how music has alwa ..read more

Colour Him Father’ sold a million copies for Washington DC band The Winstons’ at the peak of their career in 1969.  Today they’re still performing and recording having just released the lead single ‘There Are More Good Men Than Bad’ and there’s more good news! It’s the first song from their forthcoming album so watch this space. Here The Winstons’ bandleader, guitarist, singer, and songwriter Joe Phillips speaks about his life in the industry and the exciting times ahead as the legacy continues You can hear our conversation here: https://www.shinyl.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/joe-phi ..read more

Liverpool is world famous for its musical talent and in the 1970s the city gave us four young men from Toxteth who are still today the UKs biggest ever black British group. The Real Thing were catapulted into our living rooms having won the TV talent show Opportunity Knocks.  They appeared on Top Of The Pops and brought us smash hits like You To Me Are Everything, Can’t Get By Without You and Can You Feel The Force to name but a few. Here singer / songwriter / producer and founder member Chris Amoo recounts their life in music, a journey that continues to this day: https://www.shinyl.co.u ..read more

You know how they say everything happens for a reason? In 1974 Sandi Everett met Ron Foster of Ecstasy Passion & Pain and encouraged him to see her group, Whirlwind, perform. He did, he was impressed, introduced them to Roulette Records and the rest, as they say, is history. Whirlwind released two 45s on Roulette, one of which has been re-worked by Ron Foster and released on UK label Izipho Soul Here Ady chats with Sandi, now a successful business consultant, about those heady days in 1970s New York City, and her joy at re-releasing one of Whirlwind’s favourite songs.   https://www.sh ..read more

Home Is Where The Hatred Is’ is the new single from Billy Valentine & The Universal Truth, available as a high quality download from Bandcamp. Having premiered on New Years Day, it has already been A-listed by JazzFM. It follows previous single ‘We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue’, which marked the introduction to this project: the first new music on Flying Dutchman since the ’70s, in a joint-release with Acid Jazz Records. A collaboration between Billy Valentine and producer Bob Thiele Jr., it was recorded at the historic EastWest Studios (formally United Western Recorders in LA), mix ..read more

Sometimes the best things begin with a dare, like Millie Jackson’s singing career for example.. Out with the girls at an open-mic night in NYC, Millie was challenged by her workmates to get up on stage and when she did, she impressed a member of the audience so much that he hired her to perform regularly at his club.  The rest as they say is history and here Millie takes us through that journey in her own inimitable style https://www.shinyl.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/millie-jackson-shinyl-192.mp3 You can keep up-to-date with Millie’s news here   The post Millie Jackson appeared ..read more

Carol Williams is probably best known for her Salsoul period which gave the world disco classics like Love Is You and More, but her life as a recording artist began much earlier as lead singer with The Pennies, The Geminis and Back East. Continuing to evolve with the music industry Carol is an acclaimed singer and songwriter and also gets heavily involved in all other aspects of her business and demonstrates her artistic and business prowess while her son Deverne follows in her footsteps with his band Vintagesoul. Here Carol recounts her life in music here and tells us about her imminent relea ..read more