Go To Him - RAY BROWN & THE WHISPERS (1965) - Pop Archives - Sources of Australian Pop Records from the 50s, 60s and 70s

RAY BROWN & THE WHISPERS
Go To Him
(Artie Wayne - Bess Coleman)
Australia 1965

Single on Leedon, July 1965, B-side of the hit Fool Fool Fool.

Co-writer Artie Wayne also co-wrote Judy Stone’s Australian hit 4,003,221 Tears From Now and he wrote (and later recorded) Marcia Hines's From The Inside.

The Whispers were a chart-topping Sydney band that originated in the surf music scene as The Nocturnes. After acquiring Ray Brown as their lead singer, they went on to become one of the most popular Australian bands of the British Invasion era. See full history at Milesago.

This B-side has become something of a cult classic in its own right. See, for example, the Milesago website: ...2'15" of pure sonic adventure, one of those rare and extraordinary B-sides that almost eclipses the main event... Go To Him is one of the tracks on Ace Records' Hot Generation: 1960s Punk from Down Under. [Amazon link]

The history of Go To Him took some sorting, but this appears to be the chronology (updated November 2009):
1. The Foursights, unreleased demo recording for EMI (UK, 1964).
2. The London Knights, single release on Mike (USA, May 1965: Billboard review)
3. Ray Brown & The Whispers, single release on Leedon (Australia, July 1965).
5. Tymes Children, single release on Panorama (USA, 1966).

Further reading: Ray Brown history at Milesago.

Disambiguation: 1. This is not Ray Brown, the American jazz bassist (1926-2002). 2. These Whispers are not the American R&B vocal group formed in 1964.

THE LONDON KNIGHTS
Go To Him
(Artie Wayne - Bess Coleman)
USA 1965
Original version

Many discographies date this as a 1966 release, but the single was reviewed in Billboard on 1 May 1965 (a 4-star "Spotlight Winner of the Week").

Artie Wayne recalls that in 1965, using the band name The London Knights, he and his British writing partner Bess Coleman recorded Go To Him in the States with Bess's brother Bill. Bill Coleman had been in Leicester band The Foursights who had recorded a demo of the song (see below).

Artie Wayne sold the masters to Gene Schwartz at Laurie Records but it was licensed to New York independent label Mike, and released on #MK4200. The other side of the single, from the same sessions, was Dum Diddlee Dee, written by Artie Wayne and Bess Coleman, with E. Rose.

Later, Bill Coleman also recorded as The Willy Cole (Right On [wr. Bill Coleman]/Pretty Good B Side, 1970 single on the Phil-LA of Soul label).

Label shot by Doug Richard.

References: 1. Artie Wayne on meeting and writing with Bess Coleman, 2006 blog. 2. Posts to Spectropop Group by Artie Wayne (#37638 30 January 2007, #33036 23 January 2006, #10155 5 March 2003) and by Doug Richard (#37621 29 January 2007).
Further reading: Foursights bio and photo at Telegoons.org.

THE FOURSIGHTS
Go To Him
(Artie Wayne - Bess Coleman)
UK 1964

Unreleased demo recording

The Foursights (also, The Four Sights) were a band from Leicester that included Bill Coleman, brother of Bess Coleman who co-wrote Go To Him. The band released one single on Columbia in 1964, But I Can Tell backed with And I Cry, both written by Bess Coleman.

Bess Coleman was a journalist who worked for Beatles manager Brian Epstein: her name is sometimes mentioned in Beatles contexts.

When Bess was working as a Beatles press officer in New York in 1964 she teamed up with US singer, songwriter and producer Artie Wayne, and they wrote a number of songs together at that time. One of their co-writes was Go To Him.

Back in the UK, Foursights member Tim Airey recalled, the band travelled to London to record some demos, including Go To Him, after winning a talent competition.

The record company planned to release two of The Foursights' songs in the US using the name 'The London Knights', presumably to take advantage of the British Invasion craze.

Nobody got back to the Foursights on that one, and for many years Tim assumed that that was the end of that... Until I contacted him through his website in 2004.

When I sent Tim Airey an mp3 of the London Knights’ Go To Him, he was convinced that he was listening to the Foursights’ original demo. He posted it to his Foursights webpage beside mp3s of the two sides of their singles, as another example of their work.

Sources: Correspondence with Tim Airey (now deceased) and with Artie Wayne.

DON ARGO
Go To Him
(Jimmy Jay - Jerry Strickland - Don Griffin)
USA 1966
Red herring

Same title but not the same song as 'Go To Him' by Ray Brown & the Whispers.

Single on Hickory label, B-side of She's Not A Bad Girl.

Thanks to Bruce Moore.

Unreleased demo recording

Later versions: