Nathaniel Mayer (February 10, 1944 – November 1, 2008) – I Had A Dream (1963)
The unsung Detroit singer/songwriter wrote this raw, funky masterpiece as one of the follow-up singles to his top-20 R&B hit "Village of Love."
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Fifteen years ago, our world lost the great Detroit soul singer/songwriter Nathaniel Mayer. He began his career on Fortune Records in the early 1960s, virtually disappeared from the music industry for more than three decades, then staged an international comeback in the last years of his life.
Born and raised in Detroit, Mayer began singing gospel in church and was influenced by Sam Cooke’s early gospel group the Soul Stirrers. When he was 12 years old, he visited the headquarters of Fortune Records, an independent Detroit label started in the late 40s and owned by Jack and Devora Brown. He wanted to record some of his song ideas, and the leader of Fortune’s house band Joe Weaver mentored him, teaching Mayer how to structure songs.
In 1961, when he was 17, Mayer released his debut single on Fortune. The doo-wop ballad “My Last Dance With You” was written by Devora Brown, b/w “My Little Darling,” which Mayer wrote himself. It was credited to Nathaniel Mayer And His Fabulous Twilights.
One year later, Mayer and Devora Brown wrote a song together, the superb, raw R&B track “Village of Love.” Mayer’s dynamite, wailing vocals gave it an irresistible sound, and it was picked up by United Artists for national distribution. With the stellar ballad “I Want A Woman” on the flip, written by Mayer, “Village of Love” peaked at #16 R&B and #22 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Fortune’s biggest-ever record. Some sources say it went gold, selling at least half a million copies, but United Artists stiffed Fortune for three years and then paid them a fraction of what the single’s sales likely had been.
Otis Redding was influenced by “I Want A Woman” enough to borrow its riff for his first hit single “These Arms Of Mine,” which he recorded in late 1962 at Stax’s studio in Memphis.
Mayer’s follow-up to “Village of Love” was “Hurting Love,” another ballad written together with Devora Brown, b/w the funky jam “Leave Me Alone,” written by Mayer.
The success of “Village of Love” allowed Mayer to tour, and his wild, energetic stage presence was legendary. Next came another two singles, and then in 1963 he recorded the raw, funky masterpiece “I Had A Dream,” all released on Fortune.
Its B-side was the tearjerker slow jam “I’m Not Gonna Cry,” with both sides written solely by Mayer.
Neither "I Had A Dream” nor the other singles Mayer released in the wake of “Village of Love” matched his previous hit’s success. He tried writing songs for other Fortune artists. In 1964, he co-wrote the funky anthem “Ride in My 225,” recorded by the great unsung singer/songwriter Spyder Turner, which paid homage to General Motors’ Buick Electra 225.
In 1966, he released his final single on Fortune, the funky James Brown-esque “I Want Love And Affection (Not The House Of Correction),” which he wrote, b/w the even funkier jam “From Now On,” penned by Devora Brown.
Between 1966 and 2002, Mayer was absent from the music business except for one single he released in 1980 on Love Dog Records. This label was either his own creation or a one-off imprint of Fortune, since it used the more established label’s address at 3942 Third in Detroit for its contact info. For this single he produced and co-wrote the rare, ultra-funky boogie disco jam “Super Boogie,” credited to Nay Dog Mayer And the Filthy McNasty Group plus Free Style. Original copies today sell for nearly $200 on average on Discogs.
Mayer resurfaced in 2002 when Norton Records put out one of his unreleased tracks dating from 1968, “I Don't Want No Bald-Headed Woman Telling Me What To Do.” He began recording and performing again, and over the next few years staged an impressive comeback.
He released three new albums during this period. I Just Want to Be Held (2004) was issued by Fat Possum Records, and besides brand new material featured two new recordings of stellar tracks he wrote decades earlier, “You Are The One” and “I’m In Love.” Why Don't You Give It To Me? came out in 2007 on Alive-Naturalsound Records, on which he was backed by a Detroit garage-rock supergroup, including guitarist Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. Why Won't You Let Me Be Black? (2009) was released posthumously by Alive-Naturalsound and mostly consisted of the outtakes from his previous LP.
In 2007 he embarked on his first European tour and was warmly received. The title of his final album came from something he yelled one night while in Europe, fed up with the plates of cheese and French bread that awaited the band backstage at every show. Sadly, in 2008 Mayer suffered multiple strokes and passed several months later.
Further info:
“Nathaniel Mayer Anthology: (I Want) Love And Affection (Not The House of Correction),” by Michael Hurtt & S.R. Boland, Munster Records, April 2007.
“Soul man Nathaniel Mayer dies after stroke,” obituary, Reuters, November 4, 2008.
“Michigan Rock'n'Roll Legends Hall of Fame: Nathaniel Mayer,” by Gary Johnson, MichiganRockAndRollLegends.com, June 1, 2014.
#soul #funk #disco #boogie #NathanielMayer