Marion Black

Marion Black’s career began in 1969 when the singer approached local music maven Bill Moss with a song he had written called “Who Knows.” A sophisticated slice of mod-blues, Moss felt that he could turn “Who Knows” into a hit. Black’s distinctive deep voice was the perfect vehicle for the haunted lyrics and the single would launch Moss’ flagship Capsoul label. As is the want of the disc jockey, the flip “Go On Fool” became the minor hit, prompting Avco to pick it up nationally where it eventually peaked at #39 on the 1971 Billboard R&B chart. Despite the single’s strong showing, Black’s career slowed down when it should have sped up, and he didn’t enter a studio again until a call came from Clem Price. Beter immediately negotiated a buy out of his Capsoul contract and put Black back behind the microphone. “Listen Black Brother” picks right up where “Go On Fool” left off, taking Black’s grim outlook into the terrain of social commentary. His two other singles on the label, “I’m Gonna Get Loaded” and “(More Love) Is All We Need,” couldn’t touch the smoky haze of the debut, though none of the trio charted. Marion Black would record a dash of additional material with Price, as evidenced by the unreleased deep funk sound of “Come On And Gettit.” Later in the decade, Black would produce himself at Jack Casey’s Rome Studio on East Broad Street, which yielded another nationally distributed single, “Off The Critical List” on Shakat.