Biography
Odds & Ends operated as a family-based vocal trio made up of Wanda Butler, born December 29, 1952, her brother Larry Butler, born January 31, 1951, and Jim Grant, born August 26, 1955, who shared their mother, Regina Grant, though his father differed. The three began life in Dorchester, Georgia, where they performed regularly in school and church choirs until the family relocated to Philadelphia once Wanda, nicknamed Doll, turned 13.
Philadelphia radio personalities Sonny “the Mighty Burner” Hobson and Jerry “the Geater with the Heater” Blavatt immediately captivated the transplanted Southern adolescents. Relying on their innate abilities, the siblings and Jim created secular material under the name Doll and the Odds & Ends, using their mother’s basement as a practice space. Doll and Larry initially patterned themselves after Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, yet Regina insisted Jim participate; although he disliked singing intensely and accepted payment from Larry simply to attend rehearsals, he gladly supplied energetic dance routines during their sets. Throughout the group’s run, Jim’s sole lead vocals appeared on Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” and Edwin Starr’s “Twenty Five Miles.” Regina urged the three to harmonize because she herself had sung gospel with relatives in Georgia without achieving wider recognition.
They practiced steadily with instrumental support from Kenneth Jackson on guitar, Tyrone Braxton on piano, Kenny Stone on xylophone, and an unnamed drummer, though these musicians did not participate once recording began. Robert Hawes took on management after witnessing family performances at cookouts and weddings.
Hawes arranged an audition with Bobby Martin and Thom Bell that led to a contract with Today Records under the name Odds & Ends. Their debut single, “Let Me Try,” issued in August 1970 and produced by Bobby Martin, became a regional favorite in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and New York without achieving national chart placement; Doll delivered the lead in a style that belied her youth. Because Larry and Jim sang in unusually high registers, many listeners assumed the act was all-female. The B-side, “Foot Track,” offered a high-energy contrast.
Doll was pregnant with her first child, Keith, during the initial session, a circumstance that displeased the producers and label. By age 18 she was already married and a mother. Bell and Martin, both arrangers, soon clashed over production choices. Their January 1971 follow-up, “Love Makes the World Go ’Round,” a Thom Bell production, matched the quality of Deon Jackson’s earlier version yet failed to generate additional bookings despite becoming their most successful release. The third single, “Who Could Doubt My Love,” a modest adaptation of Holland-Dozier-Holland’s “Who Could Ever Doubt My Love,” appeared backed with “Foot Track”; Linda Creed contributed backing vocals. This proved Bell’s final involvement. Increased live work followed the modest chart impact of “Love Makes the World Go ’Round.” Terry Philips handled the December 1971 release “Give Me Something” b/w “Who Could Doubt My Love.” After Bell and then Martin departed, plans for an album collapsed. The final single, “Talk That Talk” backed with a cover of Jay & the Techniques’ “Apple Peaches Pumpkin Pie,” both written by Maurice Irby and produced by Patrick Adams, received strong performances from Doll yet remained commercially overlooked.
Following five singles, Odds & Ends disbanded. Jim never performed again. Doll later recalled that BMI forwarded a substantial royalty check to Jim that bypassed her and Larry; the payment had actually been intended for Philadelphia songwriter James Grant, composer of “Stop to Start” for Blue Magic and “La La at the End” for Little Anthony & the Imperials.
Doll described their songwriting process by noting that Larry would sketch initial lyrics, she would refine them and add a verse on ballads, Larry would complete the melody, and Jim would supply the background parts. A younger brother, Michael, was also encouraged by Regina but struggled with severe stage fright.
Near the close of the 1970s the same three performers formed Unity with Mark King and recorded for United Artists Records after Perception/Today retained the Odds & Ends name. They later appeared as Three Million on Cotillion Records when that label asserted rights to the Unity moniker. Larry withdrew from music around 1991 after unsuccessful efforts to launch a gospel group called the Butlers that included himself, Doll, and Regina and that had already cut nearly an album’s worth of material. Jim subsequently operated a hauling business. Doll, now known by her married name Wanda Maultasby, ceased performing after 1994 when her third manager, Reggie Wilder, passed away; Wilder had been promoting her as a solo artist, an opportunity she later regretted declining earlier.
Philadelphia radio personalities Sonny “the Mighty Burner” Hobson and Jerry “the Geater with the Heater” Blavatt immediately captivated the transplanted Southern adolescents. Relying on their innate abilities, the siblings and Jim created secular material under the name Doll and the Odds & Ends, using their mother’s basement as a practice space. Doll and Larry initially patterned themselves after Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, yet Regina insisted Jim participate; although he disliked singing intensely and accepted payment from Larry simply to attend rehearsals, he gladly supplied energetic dance routines during their sets. Throughout the group’s run, Jim’s sole lead vocals appeared on Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” and Edwin Starr’s “Twenty Five Miles.” Regina urged the three to harmonize because she herself had sung gospel with relatives in Georgia without achieving wider recognition.
They practiced steadily with instrumental support from Kenneth Jackson on guitar, Tyrone Braxton on piano, Kenny Stone on xylophone, and an unnamed drummer, though these musicians did not participate once recording began. Robert Hawes took on management after witnessing family performances at cookouts and weddings.
Hawes arranged an audition with Bobby Martin and Thom Bell that led to a contract with Today Records under the name Odds & Ends. Their debut single, “Let Me Try,” issued in August 1970 and produced by Bobby Martin, became a regional favorite in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and New York without achieving national chart placement; Doll delivered the lead in a style that belied her youth. Because Larry and Jim sang in unusually high registers, many listeners assumed the act was all-female. The B-side, “Foot Track,” offered a high-energy contrast.
Doll was pregnant with her first child, Keith, during the initial session, a circumstance that displeased the producers and label. By age 18 she was already married and a mother. Bell and Martin, both arrangers, soon clashed over production choices. Their January 1971 follow-up, “Love Makes the World Go ’Round,” a Thom Bell production, matched the quality of Deon Jackson’s earlier version yet failed to generate additional bookings despite becoming their most successful release. The third single, “Who Could Doubt My Love,” a modest adaptation of Holland-Dozier-Holland’s “Who Could Ever Doubt My Love,” appeared backed with “Foot Track”; Linda Creed contributed backing vocals. This proved Bell’s final involvement. Increased live work followed the modest chart impact of “Love Makes the World Go ’Round.” Terry Philips handled the December 1971 release “Give Me Something” b/w “Who Could Doubt My Love.” After Bell and then Martin departed, plans for an album collapsed. The final single, “Talk That Talk” backed with a cover of Jay & the Techniques’ “Apple Peaches Pumpkin Pie,” both written by Maurice Irby and produced by Patrick Adams, received strong performances from Doll yet remained commercially overlooked.
Following five singles, Odds & Ends disbanded. Jim never performed again. Doll later recalled that BMI forwarded a substantial royalty check to Jim that bypassed her and Larry; the payment had actually been intended for Philadelphia songwriter James Grant, composer of “Stop to Start” for Blue Magic and “La La at the End” for Little Anthony & the Imperials.
Doll described their songwriting process by noting that Larry would sketch initial lyrics, she would refine them and add a verse on ballads, Larry would complete the melody, and Jim would supply the background parts. A younger brother, Michael, was also encouraged by Regina but struggled with severe stage fright.
Near the close of the 1970s the same three performers formed Unity with Mark King and recorded for United Artists Records after Perception/Today retained the Odds & Ends name. They later appeared as Three Million on Cotillion Records when that label asserted rights to the Unity moniker. Larry withdrew from music around 1991 after unsuccessful efforts to launch a gospel group called the Butlers that included himself, Doll, and Regina and that had already cut nearly an album’s worth of material. Jim subsequently operated a hauling business. Doll, now known by her married name Wanda Maultasby, ceased performing after 1994 when her third manager, Reggie Wilder, passed away; Wilder had been promoting her as a solo artist, an opportunity she later regretted declining earlier.
Albums