The 1968 riots were a near fatal blow to the District’s inner city. Residents lost their jobs, property insurance rates soared, and real estate developers fled. These were all the circumstances that could’ve been documented in, say, a Marvin Gaye album. There’s no doubt that the Adams Morgan-based band Father’s Children got Gaye’s spiritual guidance for Who’s Gonna Save the World.
King was killed, and there was anger, fear, and uncertainty among Americans. The morale of Chocolate City was melting. And Who’s Gonna Save the World is one righteous album that speaks of DC’s woes, soulfully.
Father’s Children had become a class act by the late 1970s after they released a self-titled “debut” album on Mercury in 1979. But the sextet had already been around to tell it like it was, in the studio.
Courtesy of the prestigious Chicago archival record label Numero Group, an afterlife for World now exists in record stores as of today. From Father’s Children’s “first” debut album from 1973 comes a tradition of new wave soul-to-funk bands that emerged in the early ’70s. While Earth, Wind and Fire and Stevie Wonder were in Los Angeles ushering soul music into funk motifs, Ted “Hakim,” Billy “Qaadir,” Nick “Nizam,” Michael “Malik,” Steve “Wali,” and Zack “Sadik” found their own voices of consciousness on the East Coast.
Co-DC Record Fair sponsor, founder of DC Soul Recordings, and friend of TVD Kevin Coombe gave us a little insider insight on this rare resurrected ’70s soul release. In 2006, Coombe was going through legendary local producer Robert Hosea “Jose” Williams’ (DB Sound) old “tapes” (master reels), shelves and shelves of which had been stored in his garage:
“Some covers referred to sessions I knew about. Some covers mentioned groups I’d never heard of. And some tape covers made me stop cold and wonder… One such tape referenced Father’s Children. The tracks it listed barely rang a bell with me. ‘Barely’ in that I did know of a DC-area group called Father’s Children that had released a 45 on DC’s Arrest Records label during the mid ’70s, and one of the tracks listed on the tape was the same as that on the 45.
The other songs, however, were a complete mystery to me. They also didn’t match the tracks recorded by a Mercury Records recording label group who also went by ‘Father’s Children.’ That group had released an LP during 1979/80. Plus, this tape was from long before that… So I marked the tape and filed it away again, but this time I made a mental note that it was important and, if given the chance, it should get out.
During early 2007, I tracked down one of the members of Father’s Children. Over time, I documented history, photo scans, and connected to the dots that had been floating around since 2006. The DC-area Father’s Children was indeed the same group who recorded on Mercury. When I discussed the findings of the tapes with the group, they were all for my idea of getting them released somehow.
Fast forward to 2009. Rob Sevier and Ken Shipley of Numero Group were in town for a traveling concert/soul revue series. While in town, we linked up and visited Jose, and they spoke with Jose about transferring all of his tape material. Over time, they were able to move those tapes to Chicago to begin transfers… and lo and behold, the Father’s Children tape was finally heard after thirty-five years of resting in the shadows. I’m really thankful for their efforts with this project as Numero always does a fantastic job. Their releases are as a consistently well-written as they are visually (and of course sonically) appealing.”
As a result of all of these efforts, Who’s Gonna Save The World “gets the full Numero treatment, with extensive notes and scores of unpublished photos. Deluxe LP edition includes the bonus 45, ‘Linda Movement’ b/w ‘Intellect’ (the latter side not on the the CD).”
Father’s Children | Dirt and Grime
In World, the story begins with “Everybody’s Got a Problem,” a jazz-funk prologue of the mindset of DC’s residents. As the song suggests, these problems were colorblind; everyone was afflicted. “Dirt and Grime,” the album’s most honest piece, is a requiem of the increased crime that came with increased unemployment. In some ways, the assailant is a victim like the assailed.
But what’s a world without a little romance? “Linda” is the Children’s weary ballad for the girl of their dreams. They serenade her in spite of all the madness that has wrought DC. Other songs like “In Shallah” and “Kahoutek” reflect the urban theology of despondent blacks that found solace in other religions after they felt Christianity had abandoned them. But there’s, ultimately, hope in tracks like the O-Jay’s inspired “Universal Train” and the eponymous track “Father’s Children,” a Go-Go session with funky riffs and popping percussion.
Father’s Children | Father’s Children
Originally, Father’s Children was part of a doowop group called The Dreams. The band then emerged with a new sound. With voice types that matched their instrumentals (high-pitched flutes to low-flung bass), the group’s patented sound soon brought them to Los Angeles to tour with the likes of Teddy Pendergrass and Frankie Beverley and Maze.
A release party honoring this nearly forgotten album will be held starting at 8pm TONIGHT at Marvin, 2007 14th St NW (14th and U). Members of Father’s Children will be there to sign copies of Who’s Gonna Save the World, which will be available for purchase on LP and CD. DJ Sets include Fatback DJs, Neville C, Deep Sang, Soul Call Paul, and Nitekrawler.
