Travis Ricks

South Carolina music man Charles Derrick is most closely associated with the great Kip Anderson whom he produced on some of the best ever southern soul. But Anderson wasn’t the only vocalist he worked with and Travis Ricks may just be the “best of the rest”. Ricks and his band the Pearls were a good draw in South Carolina in the early 60s but he only seems to have made a couple of 45s. The rare one on Pride has a rocking “No Need To Cry” and a goodish ballad in “Lost Pride” on it – but this does sound more like a demo than a fully realised production as the only accompaniment is an out of tune honky tonk piano, guitar, bass and drums. And in fact it may well have been just that as the New York based Ordell release entitled ListenLittle Girl Don’t You Cry has a very similar structure, chord changes and lyrics, as well as the same sobbing female voice. But I like this song a lot – a really good early soul cut.



Discography

No need to cry / Lost pride ~ PRIDE 501 (1961/2?)
ListenLittle girl don’t you cry / No need to cry ~ ORDELL 502 (1963)

 

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