A piece of Detroit magic that hails from Hollywood, LA. At least that’s my take on Sonny Daye’s beautiful tune “Long Long Road To Happiness” on Power 008.
Sonny Daye - Long Long Road To Happiness - Power 008
Just listen to that introduction; it sounds just like Mike terry on saxaphone and the whole record has a Detroit “feel” to it.
Click here to listen
The probable reason for this is that Sonny Daye is really none other than Frank Wilson of “Dee-Da-Doo” fame. Frank had teamed up with Sherlie Matthews and they wrote some songs together. This one they released on the Power Records label with Frank also credited as the producer. Presumably he recorded under a pseudoynm so as not to harm his reputation as a writer and producer. Frank went to work at Motown, introducing Sherlie who later moved to Mirwood to write and also perform with her group The Belles.
I heard this on the Goldmine CD On Top Of The World – The Stafford Story
Eventually one came along on ebay and I shelled out for it, a lot of moola but much less than the book price of £250. This is one of those records that isn’t mega-rare but is really hard to turn up as people don’t let go of them when they find one. Mine’s safely in my play box!
