Shelbra Deane - Smile Me A Song

Shelbra Deane was formerly known as Shelbra Bennett and had been a member of The Soul Children, with whom she recorded some of the very best soul music ever made. When Stax went bust at the tail end of 1975 Shelbra went solo, while the rest of the group stayed together and signed to Epic. She released a few 45s on Casino, Muscle Shoals Sound and TK (although the TK release was a 12" reisssue of the MSS 45) in the last half of the 70s, and would later record some stuff for Sound Town in Memphis in the early 80s. A couple of the Sound Town tracks appeared on a 5-LP promotional box set called "East Memphis Music" in about 1982 - a solo version of The Soul Children's "I'll Be The Other Woman" and a duet with J. Blackfoot on William Bell's "Loving On Borrowed Time." These have recently appeared on downloadable albums from LocoBop Music, along with Shelbra's version of Shack's "Too Many Lovers" and are available from the iTunes store (end of advert...) This particular track is the pretty ballad flip of a funky, disco-y track called "A Man's Got Too Much Dog In Him" which isn't bad, but it's not her finest moment. Shelbra is fairly restrained on this one, but there are still moments when that incredible voice shines through. (I always thought she had the better voice of the two female Soul Children)