Words by Justin Turford

There’s a fascinating tale behind this delicious double-sided 7 inch of soul that’s about to drop on the German label Sonar Kollektiv. Let’s go back to nearly sixty years ago, to Philadelphia’s Virtue Records, a hotbed of underground soul and garage releases that despite a number of breakthrough national hits would remain relatively obscure except to the crate-digging community who prized the label’s lo fi soul nuggets. Many a future musician from the later world-beating Philadelphia Soul scene would make their musical starts in Frank Virtue’s studio, the musician, record producer and record label owner represented ‘Philly Soul’ as much as anyone in the early days.

One of the many cuts that took its sweet time to be heard was Shirley Turner’s 1965 recording of ‘I Wish You A World Of Happiness’, which began its life as the Weldon A. McDougal III and Johnny Stiles penned instrumental ‘Bird Walkin’ before lyricist Eddie Holman added some words. Looking for a vocalist, they cut a raw demo with an unnamed singer before discovering seventeen year old gospel singer Shirley Turner who recorded her version of the song on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, with three dubplates being cut and Shirley taking one home.

From there, the incubation of the record slowed to nearly a standstill. It would take many years later and the interest of her now music-mad son Hollis P. Monroe (Sonar Kollektiv producer, DJ and creator of this late 90s bomb) who discovered the dubplate and began to learn to scratch with it. Thank the Lord he was careful!

Fast forward two more decades and having discovered that it was a sought after piece of soul music but incorrectly credited to Ann Robinson instead of Shirley, Sonar Kollektiv were able to get hold of her dubplate, restoring and remastering its sonic qualities to the version you can hear now.

There’s the abbreviated story but how good is it and why is there is a new version attached?

Shirley’s version is a stone cold midtempo Northern Soul stomper with the bittersweet lyrics confidently and beautifully delivered, her strident gospel-honed vocals, the pounding rhythm and the swirling strings clouding the heartbreak of the song. There have been other versions to hit the streets via the other two dubplates but never this rare take, and never as powerfully remastered.

The Hamburg four-piece instrumental outfit The KBCS have form as a sinuous and flexible band capable of playing with a variety of artists, their members adding vintage feel to Colemine Records projects and Bacao Rhythm And Steel Band amongst many collaborations and since signing for Sonar Kollektiv have watched their stock rise as well as releasing their album ‘Color Box’. The label asked the band to produce their own interpretation of ‘I Wish You A World Of Happiness’ and they have completely changed the original’s direction, taking the song into Bobby Caldwell territory, with the intro more than suggesting his modern soul classic ‘What You Won’t Do For Love’. German singer Nora Becker gives a sweetly entrancing vocal turn as the band lay down a heart-melting instrumental (available as an instrumental digitally), with gorgeously sensitive interplay between keyboardist Nicolas Börger and guitarist Lars Coelln, the jazzy bass wanderings of Daniel Stritzke and Lucas Kochbeck’s drums completing an outstanding example of making a song your own.

An absolute gem of a record which despite the near six decades between the versions, proves that a great song never dies. 9/10.

Released on 24 November 2023 on Sonar Kollektiv.

BUY HERE! https://thekbcssk.bandcamp.com/album/i-wish-you-a-world-of-happiness

Bobby Caldwell territory