Godoy Colbert (March 18, 1940 – July 17, 2002) – I Wanna Thank You (1969)

This stellar love jam was arranged by Gene Page and co-written by the unsung singer/songwriter who backed the original version of "Louie Louie."

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Godoy Colbert was an unsung singer/songwriter and original member of the Pharaohs. He later performed with several other R&B and soul groups during the 1960s.

Born in Arkansas, Colbert’s family moved to Los Angeles where he attended Jefferson High. In 1954, he and his two classmates Robert Harris and Noel Collins formed the Pharaohs, who later backed singer Richard Berry on the original 1957 recording of “Louie Louie.”

Colbert went on to join acts including the Exits, the Afro Blues, the Visitors, the Kuf-Linx, and Free Movement. He co-wrote the Exits’ stellar 1967 single “Under The Street Lamp,” which paid tribute to the recently departed baseball legend Willie Mays. It was released on the L.A. label Gemini Records.

He also co-wrote its B-side, the phenomenal jam “You Got To Have Money.” Both sides were co-written with fellow Exits member Jimmy Conwell and co-producers Hank (aka “Sir”) Graham and Leonard Jewell Smith.

In 1969, the Exits put out another single on Gemini. The upbeat anthem “I Don’t Want To Hear It” (b/w an instrumental version) was produced by Graham, who co-wrote it with Colbert, Conwell, and William Daron Pulliam, aka the great Bay Area singer/songwriter Darondo. It was the first song Darondo ever wrote that was released.

Later that same year Colbert recorded the only single he would ever release under his own name. The stellar love jam “I Wanna Thank You” (1969) was arranged by Gene Page, and co-written by Colbert, Conwell, and Leonard Jewell Smith.

Rest in Power, Godoy Colbert.

#soul #funk #Darondo #GodoyColbert