UPDATE: just to let you all know, I did sell this quite a while back on ebay, it went for an astonishing 780.00 in vg-/g+ condition. The Aside is a VG- and the bside a G+, and after further listening, I have decided I like the Bside 'I got what you been looking for' even more than the A side, I love you So, and its a shame that the bside was in such poor shape. Also I found a guy selling a related record from the TSU toronadoes on Skipper's Ovide label, which is also an excellent outing, I dont know who the vocalist for them is but hes very good, the record is in the same price range, it was a strong VG and went for 1400, its more known and sought after but perhaps not quite as rare, its a killer track though, most everything skipper was involved with, perhaps because of the tsu toronadoes, is golden! I wish I could find some more of this stuff, and STILL no info out there on the release other than what I have posted, and Sugar Bear remains as ellusive as ever, If I could find the guy and get him to release all of his material for a new comp thatd be friggin awesome. For some reason my ebay sale never showed up on popsike or collectorsfrenzy, which is a shame because that means there is still zero searchable sales for this record. How did they miss that sheesh.
It is truly amazing what you can find at even the most well versed record stores around. I mean, they can't catch everything, and when you get a huge box of dirty old 7inches it is sometimes too much to deal with, and thus they just hedge their bets that the contents are either too old and rough to be worth looking at or that after a quick glance there isnt anything in the box worth a shit to begin with. Enter: Me. Add a couple hours. Voila. Such is the scenario in which I found this wonderful gem.
Another Skipper Lee Frazier related item, weird eh? This is the Long Forgotten Texas Soul Group:
Sugar Bear. They were in Houston in the late sixties to early seventies, manged by Skipper Lee Frzier, Sugar Bear sometimes opened up concerts for Archie Bell and the Drells, (notice the label its on, 'drells') whom Lee also managed, and Sugar Bear used the TSU Tornados as their backing band and arranger for both tracks. (Lee Also managed the TSU Tornados). Apparently Sugar Bear has one more 45 but I cant find any info on it. And info on Sugar Bear at all is extremely sparse. As far as the internet is concerned, there is no mention of this release. I havent had a chance to scour the soul books yet but regardless its a great track and seems to be very overlooked. A nice cross between Sweet Soul, Northern Soul, Southern Soul and Funk, this track appeals to many and goes hard on a dance floor. The only down side is that it is not in the best shape, but it sounds better than it looks, and the Aside, the track I prefer, is in much better condition, the Bside is way more worn out. "I Love You So" is the Aside. I wonder how many of these were pressed? Obviously not many. I don't see any sales on Ebay in the last year and none on popsike, as well as none for sale on the internet. *** I will be putting this up on ebay soon so keep your eyes peeled!!
Sugar Bear .RAR of both sides.
Menique - Menique Presenta La Orquesta Tropical - 1979 - Tropical Magic Ent. (500 pressing)
