SDC OmniMedia Group Magazine

THE MAGIC OF DETROIT – VARIOUS ARTISTS –

A COLLECTION OF MEGA-RARE SIXTIES SOUL - CD

On November 8, 1980, against all odds and all the bad advice, Platinum Sound Productions announced to the world that it was re-activating D-Town Records and Billboard Magazine did let everyone know what was going on.  The only reason that Rogers and Smith decided to re-activate D-Town, was Rogers’ recordings were being ‘bootlegged’ with brand new copies of  his records from a company that had closed it’s doors in 1969.  After several attorneys and state-to-state inquiries, it was decided to bring D-Town back to the national music scene.

Michael Anthony Hanks’ legacy as one of Detroit’s most productive songwriters and music publishers that rivaled that of Motown’s Jobete Music Publishing arm.  The Board of Directors decided to vote Hanks out of D-Town Records and he left with the Fabulous Peps and his Soul Records label to Motown.  Technically Hanks left all of the mechanicals to his songs as property of D-Town Records.   He was still entitled to all of his royalties for mechanical  imprints and manufacturing. 

As Lee Rogers Craton was the first artist and a vice president of D-Town Records, it was obvious to us, that by reactivating the label and re-signing Rogers back to D-Town, we never broke the change of ownership.

Rogers did arrange with Ms. Stephanie Hanks-Smith, the executive of The Michael Anthony Hanks- MAH’s Music Publishing Trust, did insist that The Hanks family could retain all of the rights to the D-Town Records Catalog, as long as they did not include any of Lee Rogers’ recordings, likeness or imprints with his name; that this property belonged to his son, Anthony (Tony) Craton of Jantony Productions in Detroit.

The MAH’s Music Publishing Trust granted rights to two (2) with possibly six (6) released CD’s worldwide; including “The Magic Of Detroit” and “Dancin’ In D-Town” that contained several performances of Lee Rogers on each CD, and going against the agreement made by the Hanks organization in 1979.  Because of the breach of contract, SDC OmniMedia Group, the parent company of Platinum Sound Productions and D-Town Records and the remaining partner, Kenneth Howard Smith, announces the release of three CD’s entitled:  “The Magic Of Detroit Volume One”, “The Magic Of Detroit Volume Two” and “Boss Love: The United Kingdom Collection” by Lee Rogers for D-Town Records 26 years re-activation party.

The long awaited lost tracks from the Russell George Ingersoll Sessions, includes a couple of songs from “The Hollywood Motown Sessions” CD.  Ingersoll a native of Detroit was also an active songwriter with Motown Records in the 1970’s and 1980’s, and Gwendolyn Gordy would let Ingersoll come to the Platinum Sound Studios to help them out.

Kenneth Howard Smith has penned a filming manuscript for his “Vinyl Knights: The Other Side of The Motor City Tracks”, the stories of two different music kingdoms that came from the same seed of one Carmen C. Murphy.  However, the gateway to the hits was between four musicians that played on every recording in the city.  With the right amount of money, you could get that “magic sound” and Jamie Jameson was one of the main leaders for the Sound of Young America.

The CD contains performances by Roosevelt Grier, Connie Van Dyke, Melvin Davis, Lee Rogers, Fabulous Peps (Undisputed Truth), Precisions and many more.  As the white hot smoking Motown Record machine smashed its way across the radio charts, these precious gems with the same musicians, fell still born from the presses with the exceptions of a few artists that managed to hit the trade papers top 100 list.

Digital downloads are available from cdbaby.com.