Some superb deep soul from Darrell Banks, one of the better late-'60s stylists, especially on ballads. This was one of two tremendous albums issued featuring Banks' dramatic, gospel-tinged wailing.

This is @320 rip from my original volt lp. Extremely rare, never issued on cd.

Just seven singles and two LP's made Darrell Banks a revered figure among Northern and deep soul fans alike. "Open the door to your heart" of course was his claim to fame on the mainstream of soul music - a #2 R&B hit. But his first four Revilot and Atco singles, contained in his Atco LP, were all (A or B sides) - Northern Soul timeless gems: "Our love is in the pocket", "Somebody somewhere needs you", "I've got that feelin' and Angel baby (don't you ever leave me)". The Volt stuff on the other hand contains some of the deepest soul ever recorded, a winning combination of Detroit and Memphis styles, supervised by Don Davis. "Forgive me", "Just because your love is gone", "Don't know what to do", "Beautiful feeling" , "I could never hate her" - what an album.

Here To Stay - Volt 6002 * 1969

Tracks

A1. Just because your love is gone
A2. Forgive me
A3. Only the strong survive
A4. Don't know what to do
A5. When a man loves a woman
A6. We'll get over
B1. Beautiful feeling
B2. I could never hate her
B3. Never alone
B4. No one blinder (than a man who won't see)
B5. My love is reserved

Don Davis had been working with Memphis based Stax records for eighteen months when he met up again with Darrell. Don produced the "Here to stay" album in United Sound. It was arranged by Rudy Robinson and Bert Keyes and engineered by Ed Wolfrum, Ron Capone and Don himself. Amongst the songwriters on display were the famous "We Three" from Memphis; Raymond Jackson, Bettye Crutcher and Homer Banks. Detroiters also featured and several songs were included from both Steve Mancha and Brothers of Soul members Fred Bridges and Richard Knight. So the stage was set for a great album and it certainly was, gaining release on Stax subsidiary Volt. Sadly, despite the quality of the material, chart action was non-existent. Tragically Darrell Banks was shot to death in 1970. As with Sam Cooke and Otis, there's that big question of what would he have done had he lived, and what wonderful music we were robbed of.

According to Peter Guralnick’s definitive volume, Sweet Soul Music, Davis had been hired by Memphis’ legendary Stax label to produce Detroit-sounding records. Davis produced the Banks album Here to Stay.
Released in 1969, the record blended Stax horns and Detroit groove beautifully, topped with Banks’ C.L. Franklin-meets-Don Covay vocals.
The LP was done at United Sound Studios and the musicians were largely Detroiters. The songs "I Could Never Hate Her,” "Don’t Know What to Do” and "Just Because Your Love Is Gone” evoke the precarious hazy-eyed beauty of a Sunday morning. Despite no radio hits, the disc was masterful, a stunning window into the genre-defining work that Banks was beginning to produce. Sadly, the man’s upward trajectory ended in a flash.

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