In 1968 the Fabulous Counts assembled in Detroit as a funk ensemble, bringing together keyboardist Mose Davis, guitarist Leroy Emanuel, alto saxophonist Demo Cates, tenor saxophonist Jim White, and drummer Raoul Keith Mangrum. The band quickly built a local following by working both as headliners and as an adaptable backing unit for touring national artists, eventually linking with producer Richard "Popcorn" Wylie to record the cult favorite “Jan, Jan” for the Motor City label Moira in late 1968. Marked by Davis’s banshee-wail Hammond organ and the dueling saxophones of White and Cates, the instrumental approached but never reached the national R&B Top 40 in early 1969. Their next release, “Dirty Red,” drew notice for White’s fiery solo and further defined the group’s sharp urban funk approach, though it failed to generate meaningful sales. The third single, “Get Down People,” became their strongest commercial performer, adding vocals, conga drums, and a deeply soulful Emanuel guitar solo; it logged nine weeks on the R&B charts in 1970 and anchored the Fabulous Counts’ only album, Jan, Jan, produced by Detroit legend Ollie McLaughlin and issued on Cotillion. The following year the group exited that label for the local Westbound imprint, exchanging a handful of members and shortening the name to the Counts.
