Song:Wack Wack
Album:The Definitive Young-Holt Unlimited
Most music fans should remember the 1968 top five hit Soulful Strut by Young-Holt Unlimited. But you may not know that they had a top 40 hit in 1966 with the single Wack Wack. Maybe you heard it and thought it was a lost Ramsey Lewis record. Bassist Eldee Young and drummer Isaac "Red" Holt met at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. They met Ramsey Lewis in 1958 and were part of his trio when he had mainstream success with hits like The In Crowd in 1964. Young and Holt left and formed The Young-Holt Trio with pianist Hysear Don Walker. They signed with Brunswick Records. The single Wack Wack reached #40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #12 on the R&B Singles chart. You'll notice that it sounds a lot like a Ramsey Lewis record. Obviously this was Brunswick and veteran producer Carl Davis' attempt to knock off Lewis using the guys who played on those records. The three guys wrote Wack Wack but most of their album was piano trio covers of standards. Walker was replaced by Ken Cheney in 1968. So he wasn't part of Young-Holt Unlimited when Soulful Strut was a big hit. And the story is that Soulful Strut was a backing track of a Barbara Acklin record and Young and Holt didn't appear on the record. Both songs are on this comp. Hysear Don Walker recorded two albums for Brunswick in the early 70s. He may have also played on some sessions but it looks like he may have quit the music business after that. Here's The Young-Holt Trio performing Wack Wack on The Fred Astaire Show 1966. And check out Fred tapping his feet in the video.
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