Soul Singers Joke Backfires.
In June 1968 Peaches and Herbs singer Herb Fame was shot by his road manager Walter Booth. Herb was critically wounded in a motel in Columbia, Southern California after playing a gag that went horrifically wrong.
The accidental shooting happened after Herb knocked on Booths motel door and jokingly said, “Your money or your life”. Booth recognized Herb’s voice and going along with the gag went to open the door with a .38 calibre pistol in his hand. As he unlocked the door the gun accidentally went off, firing a shot through the door and striking the singer in the abdominal area. The bullet penetrated four layers of intestines causing a life threatening wound. Police arrested Booth who didn’t have a license for the weapon and he was held on a $5000 bail.
After regaining consciousness Herb told police from a hospital bed the story and Booth was released and charges dropped. The soul duo were on a national tour at the time and had to cancel bookings for July that cost the tour $50 000 in ticket sales. Thankfully Herb made a full recovery and the duo went on to have another five U.S Billboard top 100 hits between 1968 and 1970 to add to their seven other chart hits before spitting in 1971. The duo reformed in 1977 with Linda Greene replacing Francine Barker as Peaches. In 1978 the duo had their only U.S number 1 and UK top ten hit (reaching number 4) with the 70s soul smash Reunited.
above; Picture cover from Peaches & Herbs first release Close Your Eyes from 1967.
the loss of her pet dogs in May of 1969 she cancelled performances at The Latin Casino in New Jersey. The death of the dogs, Tiffany and L’il Bit, led to the closing of the venue in Cherry Hill N.J after the dogs had eaten rat poison in The Supremes lead singers dressing room. Distraught over the accidental deaths of the dogs, Ross flew to her home in Los Angeles in the middle of the week long engagement, leaving the club without an act.
The Latin Casino was also the venue where Jackie Wilson suffered a heart attack on September 25th 1975 that resulted in him spending the rest of his life in a coma until his death on January 21st 1984 aged 49. Brenda Lee broke her neck onstage during a performance at the club on June 12, 1962, aged 17. A host of R&B and pop stars performed during the clubs lifetime before it closed in 1978 and reopened as The Emerald City Disco club. Fire stuck the building in 1983 and it was pulled down 2 years later.
myself staring at a brushed cotton jacket in a shop window. I think it was the notching that caught my eye first, even before the colour, a racing green. My eye ran down the lapel and followed the notching til they were distracted by the green on green marble buttons. Soft shouldered, free and easy, very tailored and very elegant. The last button on the cuff undone, slack, non-caring. I was in awe. Looking back this was my Cunard Yank moment. Like those young modernists of the 50’s, I’d entered a new world of modernism, but this wasn’t a fast moving new world’s New York. This was the tradition of Italian tailoring, the finest fabrics, hand sewn by skilled hands. This jacket was attention to detail, but not in a “covered button on the hem of your trouser” way. This jacket was like nothing I’d ever seen. This jacket was Kiton.
in my tracks. Luxury fabrics and hand labour doesn’t come cheap. This factor will always limit the amount of hand made garments I’ll own. I mean, I want it bad, but so far its just a couple of pairs of Valentini trousers, three Sartoria Partenopea jackets, and two Bespoke Sabino suits. There’s a bit of Anglo as well but that’s another story. It has also led to a realization of what is worth buying and what isn’t. Not everything has to be big bucks or hand made. RL Polo’s garments made in Italy offer value, for shirting Pasqui, Riccoverro and David Saddler shirts I really like. DNA Groove offer a good range of clothes and shoes that look good. I can go on and on but this is all price point of course. Nobody in their right mind would say a DNA shirt is as good as a Van Laack, (above right) like you wouldn’t say a Van Laack is as good as a Kiton shirt. And of course you can go the other way, paying far too much for clothes that just can’t merit their price. Then there’s the illusion that some have about made to measure over ready to wear. I’ve seen a lot of really nasty made to measure suits that would never be allowed to grace the rails of any half right clothes shop. Johnny Backstreet will make you a suit to your measurements altered from a standard size pattern, but that doesn’t mean it will be better made or fit better than a Mark Powell RTW that’ll be altered to fit you better.
some Donnanna trousers. Donnanna is a newish venture that was launched on May 10th 2010 by La Vera Sartoria Napoletana of Naples. The name comes from Anna Carafa. The daughter of a wealthy prince who married in the mid 1600’s and commissioned Italian architect Cosimo Fawzango to build a Palace in Naples. The Palace was known as La Sirena and later reffered to as Donn Anna’s.
made by hand, the curtains look machined to me, so the inseams maybe also, or maybe not. For sure the button holes, notching and pockets are done by hand and look fabulous. Horn is used for the buttons and fit is beyond doubt the best of any pair of trousers I’ve ever owned. The slim fit model is called Lazio and has a 11” front rise, the pair I purchased are made from a fantastic light weight wool in a twill weave and are lined to the knee with an 8.5 width at the knee and 8.25 at the cuff, an un-hemmed length of 37”. Retailing at 4000 NOK, STF are selling a limited number of these great trousers at 1300 NOK but only while stocks last, which I don’t think will be very long. I’ve a second pair on the way.
