Heavy Light Records

“Sick sick sick gospel funk…u need it”
- Gilles Peterson, Worldwide, BBC Radio 1

Call it Gospel Funk! In truth, the sound of The Relatives is so much more. Brought together by veteran Gospel singer Gean West in 1971, their sound bridges the gap between traditional Gospel, Soul and Psychedelia. Over a span of four years, The Relatives recorded three obscure 45’s and a session with legendary North Texas engineer Phil York. These powerful, genre-busting recordings stand up alongside the best Group Soul and Funk recordings of the 1970’s—and give praise to the Lord like you’ve never heard before! Heavy Light Records is proud to bring together all of The Relatives’ singles and five previously unreleased tracks for their first-ever full length release, “Don’t Let Me Fall.”

Featuring:

• Deluxe limited edition silk screened packaging
• Extensive liner notes with unpublished photos
• 5 previously unreleased tracks remastered from the original reels

Artist Profile

Evil World*

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Rap On

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Walking On

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Speak to Me

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Leave Something Worthwhile*

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Heaven Help Us All*

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Don’t Let Me Fall

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This World is Moving Too Fast

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True Love is Hard to Find*

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Free at Last

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Goodbye World*

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*previously unreleased

In 1981, Leroy Franklin went into the San Antonio studio of Manny Guerra with a group of session musicians to record his 2-sided masterpiece, “Star Bird.”  The A-side, a spiritual, funky slice of Modern Soul, is reason enough for DJs and collectors to put this 45 in their box.  The flip, a spontaneous anti-drug rap over “Star Bird’s” instrumental track is a dancefloor filler.  Recorded just over a year after “Rapper’s Delight,” “Star Bird II” is quite possibly, the first Rap record ever recorded in Texas.

Featuring:

• Deluxe limited edition silk screened packaging
• The story behind the making of “Star Bird”
• Beautifully remastered tracks from the original reels

Artist Profile