Biography
The Aristocrats earned legendary status among deep funk enthusiasts thanks to their exceedingly scarce 1974 single “Don’t Go,” of which just a single surviving copy has ever surfaced. Also billed at times as the Aristocrats Organization, the quartet first assembled in Louisville, Kentucky, toward the close of the 1960s, modeling their vocal style after the Drifters and the Coasters; the original lineup featured Albert Workman, Robert Ford, William Bradley, and Gary Rogers. Local appearances took place at such spots as the Club Louisvillian, the Elk’s Lodge, and the Infirmary—a venue belonging to automobile dealer and would-be producer Mel Yarmuth, who soon signed on as the group’s manager. Instrumental support frequently came from the Mind Liberators, whose members included guitarist Ollie Kirby, bassist Wayne Stewart, saxophonist Rick DeBow, trumpeter Ted Plunkett, and drummer Charles Curry. The Aristocrats further shared bills with singer Linda Blakely, a recent high-school graduate who had earlier claimed the Louisville Defenders’ Exposition Beauty Contest title.
Their only recording session for Yarmuth’s Rondo imprint occurred in early 1974, shortly after the release of their debut single “Be My Lady.” Cut during that same date, “Don’t Go” appeared as the B-side of the foursome’s treatment of Billy Paul’s Philly-soul staple “Me and Mrs. Jones,” yet functioned chiefly as a showcase for Blakely; she was backed by an explosive funk ensemble comprising saxophonists Jonas Jarrett and William “Mitch” Mitchell, guitarist Ray Hickman, bassist Donnie Bridges, trombonist Gary Tifford, trumpeter George Grimes, drummer Maurice Tyler, and percussionist Bobby Davis. Industry observers believe Yarmuth limited the pressing to roughly one thousand copies and confined distribution to the Louisville region. The Aristocrats never entered a studio again and soon disbanded.
Bradley and Blakely later married; she passed away in the early 1990s. Workman succumbed to congestive heart failure in the late 1970s, while Ford was killed in a car accident several years afterward. Interest revived in 2000 when “Don’t Go” appeared on the BBE anthology Sister Funk, sparking widespread enthusiasm among funk and rare-groove collectors; New York City-based collector Jeff Silverman had acquired the lone known copy a few years earlier, and it is presently owned by Ian Wright. The Now Again label subsequently reissued the track on vinyl, coupling it with the Mind Liberators’ “Comin’ Through, Pt. 2.”
Their only recording session for Yarmuth’s Rondo imprint occurred in early 1974, shortly after the release of their debut single “Be My Lady.” Cut during that same date, “Don’t Go” appeared as the B-side of the foursome’s treatment of Billy Paul’s Philly-soul staple “Me and Mrs. Jones,” yet functioned chiefly as a showcase for Blakely; she was backed by an explosive funk ensemble comprising saxophonists Jonas Jarrett and William “Mitch” Mitchell, guitarist Ray Hickman, bassist Donnie Bridges, trombonist Gary Tifford, trumpeter George Grimes, drummer Maurice Tyler, and percussionist Bobby Davis. Industry observers believe Yarmuth limited the pressing to roughly one thousand copies and confined distribution to the Louisville region. The Aristocrats never entered a studio again and soon disbanded.
Bradley and Blakely later married; she passed away in the early 1990s. Workman succumbed to congestive heart failure in the late 1970s, while Ford was killed in a car accident several years afterward. Interest revived in 2000 when “Don’t Go” appeared on the BBE anthology Sister Funk, sparking widespread enthusiasm among funk and rare-groove collectors; New York City-based collector Jeff Silverman had acquired the lone known copy a few years earlier, and it is presently owned by Ian Wright. The Now Again label subsequently reissued the track on vinyl, coupling it with the Mind Liberators’ “Comin’ Through, Pt. 2.”
Singles
