Geraldine Hunt (February 10, 1945 – October 27, 2022) – Cry Cry Cry (1972)
Geraldine Hunt (February 10, 1945 – October 27, 2022) – Cry Cry Cry (1972)
This soul funk masterpiece was an overlooked B-side on one of Hunt's early singles, a tale of heartbreak and woe wrapped up in a super funky dancefloor filler.
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Geraldine Hunt is best remembered for her huge dancefloor hit “Can't Fake The Feeling,” which topped U.S. dance charts for seven weeks in the fall of 1980.
Born in St. Louis but raised on the South Side of Chicago, Hunt was best friends with Minnie Riperton at Hyde Park High School. She released her first single at age 17 in 1962. Her first minor hit came in 1970, when the duet “You And I” she sang with Charlie Hodges hit #45 R&B.
It was released on Calla Records, the Roulette subsidiary run by the notorious Big Nat McCalla, who was the vice president of Roulette and label owner Morris Levy’s right hand man. Calla’s publishing arm was named JAMF Publishing which stood for Jive Ass Mother F*cker. In June 1975, McCalla and Levy were indicted for assaulting an off-duty police officer who lost an eye. All records were sealed in the case, which was eventually dismissed. McCalla was murdered in 1980 in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Levy’s shady business practices were legendary, and allegedly involved mob ties. He was known to add his name to those of the songwriters on his label in order to receive writing credit and cheat his artists out of royalties, particularly Black R&B performers. In 1996, his estate was successfully sued for $4 million by Herman Santiago and Jimmy Merchant, former members of The Teenagers who co-wrote their biggest hit “Why Do Fools Fall In Love” (1956).
They testified they had only been paid $1000 for the song, which sold over three million copies. According to Santiago, when he approached Levy about their unpaid royalties, Levy told him, “Don't come down here anymore or I’ll have to kill you or hurt you.” Late in his career, Levy was arrested, charged with extortion, and convicted. He died in 1990 before he could report to prison for a 10-year sentence.
Following the success of “You and I,” Hunt released a series of records on Roulette in the early seventies that became Northern Soul classics. They included “Now That There’s You” (1971), a cover of an Ashford & Simpson-penned song written for Diana Ross in 1970, with the great “Shades Of Blue” on the B-side; “Baby I Need Your Loving” (1972), a cover of the Holland-Dozier-Holland classic; the heartfelt “Cold Blood” (1972) b/w “Just Believe In Me,” co-written by Leroy Hutson; and her final release for Roulette, the beautiful love song “You Brought Joy” (1973), which was co-written, arranged and produced by Hutson.
The masterpiece out of all these Roulette singles was “Cry Cry Cry” (1972). the overlooked B-side to “Baby I Need Your Loving” and a tale of heartbreak and woe wrapped up in a super funky dancefloor filler. DJ and rare soul collector Willie Dutch (whose VNTG x VYNL where he waxes poetic about his latest finds and drops rare playlists is a must-follow on Instagram) confirms that in Chicago, this record was a must-have for serious crate diggers, and played it on this very night (February 10, 2023) at an old school party in Dallas.
Co-written by Grady Blair and Tom Dorsey (the latter also wrote songs for the Trends, the Soulsations, and Betty Everett), its production was credited to Zorn Production Co., an entity that was similarly listed as producing “Cold Blood” for Hunt.
In the mid-70s, Hunt moved to Montreal, Quebec. There she worked with Tony Green who produced her disco album Sweet Honesty in 1978, arranged by Lime’s Denis Lepage who also played keyboards on the record. She brought her son Freddie James with her to the studio, who was 13 at the time, encouraged him to sing, and the next day Green wrote “Get Up And Boogie” for him. It became a huge hit when released by Warner Brothers in the U.S. the following year in 1979.
One of Hunt’s backup singers on Sweet Honesty was the unsung Montreal disco legend Alma Faye Brooks, who is amidst a present day comeback.
Brooks has had several new tracks and remixes released since 2021, produced by disco remix pioneer John Luongo, another unsung legend.
In 1980, Hunt recorded her second album No Way for the New York label Prism Records. She co-wrote its first single, “Can’t Fake The Feeling,” with Kathleen Dyson, formerly of Denis LePage's Kat Mandu. The Sweethearts of Sigma did the background vocals. The track became a massive club hit, topping the U.S. dance charts for seven weeks. It was a personal favorite of David Mancuso who played it at his Loft parties for years.
With the racist, homophobic anti-disco backlash in full swing when the record came out, its radio airplay was limited and only went to #58 R&B, but was a top-ten hit for her in France and reached #44 on pop charts in the UK.
#soul #funk #disco #GeraldineHunt