THE VALDONS - Bringing The Funk To The Twin Cities And Beyond
The following was excerpted from the liner notes of our Twin Cities Funk & Soul compilation. Writers: Will Gilbert, Eric Foss, Danny Sigelman.
The Valdons have an incredible backstory, involving some of the most prominent R&B musicians from the Twin Cities. The recordings featured on this compilation come from the second incarnation of the Valdons, featuring Monroe Wright, William Clark, Clifton Curtis, and Napoleon Crayton. The original “Val-Dons” go back to the early 1960s, and have only a small connection to the latter.
Around 1962, there was a group called the Val-Dons, which at various points included vocalists Joe Dibiaso, Timothy Eason, John Booker Arradondo, Jimmy Crittenden, Jerry Owens, and Willie Walker, guitarist Willie Murphy, piano player Walter Smith, and drummer Bill Lordan. One fantastic similarity between the early Val-Dons and the latter Valdons is that the foundation for both groups began years apart in the military. Timothy Eason was born in Minnesota and served in the Navy, returning in the early 1960s.
He met Joe Dibiaso, a native New Yorker, in the service and together they moved to Minnesota to start the group. At the same time, Willie Murphy was graduating from high school and playing with Bill Lordan and John Booker Arradondo semi-regularly at Mattie’s Barbecue as the Versatiles. Soon they connected with Joe and Timothy in the Val-Dons. Later, Timothy Eason and Jimmy Crittenden saw Willie Walker in a laundromat and asked him to join. The group played R&B in the popular Doo-Wop and Soul styles and were pretty popular around town, but Joe Dibiaso left the group and returned to New York to be with his family and soon they broke up. Though they only stayed together for a handful of years, the Val-Dons’ name didn’t die!
When the Val-Dons would rehearse at the Waite House, a young Clifton Curtis could be seen watching and listening intently. Clifton wanted to sing with The Val-Dons, but was too young to be a member. At the beginning of the next decade, Clifton Curtis would ask Booker Arradondo to use this name for a vocal group he had in the works. Clifton was born in Iowa and moved to Minneapolis when he was eight, eventually graduating from South High School. He sang in a few local groups before joining the Air Force in 1966. At a military talent show, Clifton, Monroe Wright, and Maurice Young came together for the first time to sing. The thing about military bands is that unexpected transfers happen frequently. By 1970, Clifton was singing with Monroe, Maurice, William H.
Clark, and Charles Brown. At that point they had an eight piece backing group called the Total Sounds. The four piece backing group called the Total Sounds. The four piece rhythm section was made up of military personnel, and the four piece horn section consisted of music majors from the University of Southern Alabama. Clifton was discharged before the other singers and returned to Minnesota. Meanwhile, Monroe and William were in Mobile, Alabama performing locally and continued living there when their military service ended.
The Valdons was the name of the singing group, but an equally important part of the sound was the backing group, Navajo Train. During the 1960s there was a strong connection between musical groups in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the Twin Cities. Harvey Scales & The Seven Sounds and The Esquires from Milwaukee were big draws in the Twin Cities, and The Amazers from Minneapolis were a big draw in Milwaukee. The proximity of these cities made collaborations relatively easy. Navajo Train was formed in Milwaukee by horn players Charles and Perry Moorer as a backing band for The Esquires. By 1970, Donald Breedlove and Ricky Washington, each former Blazers, and Toby Zeno, previously from the Amazers, had played gigs as Navajo Train in support of the Esquires.
Total Sounds, former Val-Dons Booker Arradondo and Jerry Owens were putting together a group called “Funk & Soul.” Clifton, organist Ronnie Scott, drummer Maurice Kemp, guitarist Beaver Shelby, and bassist Toby Zeno all started rehearsing under this new name. The band kept expanding. Toby Zeno had become good friends with the Moorer brothers and they brought the horn section up from Milwaukee. The group became too big to support via local gigs and Ronnie Scott recalls, “The band ‘Funk & Soul’ stayed together for about six months before it separated. Maurice Kemp went to San Francisco, and Ricky Washington became the new drummer. Beaver and Toby moved on (though Toby later returned) and Donald Breedlove and Edward Brown took their places, and Leonard Stratford returned to Mobile.” This core group joined with the horns from Milwaukee, calling themselves Navajo Train. Around the same time, the Amazers busted up and Napoleon Crayton started rehearsing with the new group. Still, they weren’t booking many gigs.
Ronnie Scott, the organ player, remembers how Navajo Train and The Valdons first came together. Leonard Stratford called him from Mobile, Alabama and said, “Why don’t you come down. I’m trying to put a band together to play behind these singers.” Ronnie quickly points out, “You don’t carry a B3 cross-country to find out there’s nothing going on,” so Ronnie talked with the rhythm section from Navajo Train about the offer. Donald Breedlove, Ricky Washington, Ed Brown, and him recruited Napoleon Crayton to come, too. They got in a van and went down to Mobile, Alabama confident knowing, in Ronnie’s words, “We had a rhythm section and a monster singer (Napoleon). If things didn’t work out down there...we’d find different places to play and get back home.”
A short time later, Clifton came down and rejoined the group. Show bands in the south at that time had stiff competition and it was hard to stand out. They were not getting as much work as they wanted, so Navajo Train and The Valdons relocated to Minnesota. Maurice was still in the service, so when the Valdons first came to Minneapolis on January 24, 1971 the singers were Clifton, Napoleon, William, and Monroe. Their first gigs back in Minneapolis were at the Cozy Bar, and then they moved to the New City Opera House, formally known as Mr. Lucky’s, and their popularity took off because people in Minnesota were not used to seeing those types of choreographed moves and outfits, with big powerful rhythm and horn sections.
Navajo Train had a lot of personnel changes in the horn section. Between 1970 and 1971, Leonard Stratford (trumpet), Morris Wilson (sax), and native Milwaukeeans George Dickerson (trumpet), Charles Moorer (trumpet), and Perry Moorer (Sax) played with the group. After Leonard Stratford, the Moorer brothers, and George Dickerson left, Navajo Train needed a new horn section. They found it one day at a music store while looking for a new PA system.
They came across trombone player Bob Hagglund, trumpet player Doug “Dag” Dupree, and their friend from school, John Dolan, and asked them to play alongside Morris Wilson. By this point, they had also added percussionist Frankie McMillan.
In 1971, Bill Sanders became their manager. He spent a lot of money to keep the band looking sharp with matching suits, and he also funded the recording of their only 45. It was recorded at Sound 80 in 1971 with Monroe Wright, William Clark, Clifton Curtis, and Napoleon Crayton on vocals, the newly recruited horn section, and a rhythm section of Donald Breedlove, Ronnie Scott, Ricky Washington, Toby Zeno, and Frankie McMilan. The A-side, “All Day Long,” was written by Napoleon, with him singing lead. “Love Me, Leave Me” was written by Donald and William Clark, with William singing lead. Both songs were arranged by Morris Wilson. Another song from the same session, “I Who Have Nothing,” was a Ben E. King cover that was never released.
Maurice Young rejoined the Valdons in 1973, and replaced Napoleon Crayton. The vocal group separated from Navajo Train and went to New York to look for other opportunities. There, they got set up with a new manager and recorded at Sigma Sound in Philadelphia, taking the name Philadelphia Story during the sessions. They released “You Are The Song” b/w “If You Lived Here” on the Scepter/Wand label and the record had enough success for them to tour nationally. Peter Dwyer, editor of a 1977 Insider article on the group, adds that shortly thereafter they “teamed up with a back-up band called the Sweet Taste of Sin.
The result was a nightclub act that they billed as Sweet Story... Between 1973 and 1976 Sweet Story did a lot of nightclub work, criss crossing the country... [and later] expanded their interests by promoting shows... [In 1976] they invested money in Central Park, a club in the basement of the downtown dinner theater” on 4th Ave between 10th and 11th streets in Minneapolis. During the time they were the Philadelphia Story, they were a mainstay at the Flame. It was with the help of the Percanskys, owners of the Flame, that they became involved with the Central Park club mentioned above. In 1976, they released “People Users” b/w “Gotta Get Back” on H&L records, and they moved to LA in 1977 doing background vocals for Edwin Starr, O.C. Smith, and others. By 1986, all but Clifton Curtis had returned to Minnesota.
By the time the Valdons and Navajo Train separated, Ronnie Scott and Toby Zeno were in Our Father’s Children, Ricky Washington was in Michael’s Mystics, and Napoleon Crayton and Donald Breedlove carried on with Navajo Train, adding Wilbur Cole on organ, and James “Creeper” Vasquez on drums. This new formation of Navajo Train eventually shortened their name to Train, and then became Band of Thieves.
........
The following was written by Secret Stash founder, Eric Foss:
This is where the story ended... until we dropped the *Twin Cities Funk & Soul* compilation in 2012. The TCFS release party was a revue-style concert featuring about two dozen musicians from the compilation. The show sent shockwaves through the local scene, and for many, The Valdons were the epicenter. Overnight, we started fielding offers for reprise performances from local festivals and venues.
The Valdons on stage with the Twin Cities Funk & Soul All-Stars at the TCFS release party. The Cedar Cultural Center, Set 22, 2012
People in this town loved the revue, but it became immediately apparent to me that its appeal would wear thin quickly because we had already scraped the bottom of the barrel for material. We kind of had two choices: retire the show and move on, or spin it off into something new that could develop its own artistic identity.
The Valdons were a standout act in the show, and an obvious choice for a spin-off. But we knew right out of the gate that building something new with them would be harder than working with a solo act. Four singers meant splitting the pie into smaller pieces, and further complicating things, one of the members lived in California. Any gigs or sessions would include his travel expenses, which is a problem for a developing act struggling to be profitable. There were also four opinions, personalities, and dare I say egos. It’s not a dig... we all have an ego.
On the other hand, one of the singers from the revue, Sonny Knight, was hanging around Secret Stash a lot... like a lot-a lot. He lived nearby and would pop in on his way to or from the gym. Which, to be honest, was not lost on me. Putting on a proper stage show and doing it night after night is a young man’s game. Knight’s time in the gym would eventually prove to be a secret weapon of sorts. Working on something new with Sonny was a total no-brainer. It didn’t have the wow factor of a four-part group, but he was absurdly talented, down for anything, and a good hang.
Around this time, I had already put together Dérobé Dance Band, an instrumental group inspired by our reissues from Africa that was playing around town once a month, give or take. It was pretty loose. On a good night it was maybe a dozen guys. But once it got going, the core of the group was consistent: me on drums, Casey O’Brien on bass, my brother Jason Foss on guitar, Secret Stash’s chief engineer John Miller on guitar, Sam Harvey-Carlson on keys, Tony Schreiner on congas, and Cole Pulice on tenor and bari. Eventually, Cole brought along trumpeter Bryan Highhill. Once Sonny and I agreed to start something up, that’s what pretty much became Sonny’s band, The Lakers.
Sonny Knight on stage with Dérobé Dance Band at Icehouse, Minneapolis 2013
Miller would never play in the Lakers, but he cut all our records and tour managed a couple runs. Tony wasn’t an official member, but is all over the first album and played live with us whenever we were off the road and time and money allowed for it. Jason bowed out before our first show to focus on school. That probably turned out to be the right call, as he is a very successful medical writer now. Mitch Sigurdson of Black Market Brass stood in for Jason at one show, but the spot was ultimately filled by Casey’s friend Blair Krivanek. Cole and Bryan brought in their friend Tony Beaderstadt on trombone, and that was the band.
We knew it was Sonny’s band, but I also wanted the Lakers to be a sort of house band for the label. We held our first rehearsal with Sonny in early or mid-March of 2013, and our first gig as Sonny Knight and The Lakers was April 3 at Icehouse. A few weeks later, we cut backing tracks for four Valdons sides at John Miller’s studio in NE Mpls: “Stop, Wait a Minute Girl,” “Whatcha Gonna Do,” “Just How Much Can One Man Stand,” and “Sugar Man.” The first three of those were songs The Valdons had written around 1971 but never completed. That’s probably why they’re so damn good. “Sugar Man” was a Rodriguez tune we had worked up for Sonny’s Icehouse show. In fact, The Valdons didn’t quite jive with it, so it wound up on Sonny’s first record, and frankly became a highlight of his catalog. I’m sure in our tape room there’s a version no one has ever heard of The Valdons doing it.
Maurice (far), Monroe (near), and John Miller (sitting) in Miller's control room.
The first pic I have of The Lakers. This was snapped after the April Valdons session right outside Miller's studio. L to R: Blair, Sonny, Bryan, Tony, Cole, Sam, Me. Unfortunately, Casey is not in the pic because he took it.
The iteration of The Valdons that did the revue shows and recorded with us included Monroe Wright III, Clifton Curtis, Maurice Young, and Sonny Knight. Though Knight was not a member of any earlier incarnation of the group, he had a deep history with the members. He performed in the ’90s with Wright and Young as The Bachelors. And Knight’s debut 7" from 1965 featured Clifton Curtis as a background vocalist.
We pressed up 1,000 copies of *Stop Wait A Minute Girl* b/w *Whatcha Gonna Do* and blew through them almost immediately in late 2013. It might be the fastest we ever moved 1,000 7" records. In fact, we had to reorder 500 more before street date even hit. The initial pressing had yellow labels and the repress had gold. I still remember that in the very short gap between the two pressings being in stock, used copies started going for big bucks. A used copy of the yellow pressing sold for like $200 or $250 before the gold ones hit the market.
In November of the following year, we dropped the *Just How Much Can One Man Stand* 7". The flip side was a cassette demo of the same tune circa 1971. The bummer is, it’s not the version we worked from for our arrangement, it's even better! As much as I love the A-side of that record, the B-side smokes it, warts and all. We pressed 1,000 copies of that one and, for whatever reason, it took a little longer to sell through. We never repressed it.
Attempts at collaborating on new material weren’t very successful. My vision was to stay in the same lane they started in, but some of the guys really wanted to push their sound in a much more modern direction. Clifton and Maurice broke off and partnered with Los Angeles based producer Larry Dobson to form AKA, along with vocalist Darryl Williams. They released a single in 2015 called “Thirsty.” Knight went on to tour internationally, releasing a 7", two studio LPs, and a live double LP with The Lakers before his untimely passing in 2017. Monroe Wright eventually developed a solo show doing jazz standards. I saw him perform at The Hopkins Center For The Arts with a massive big band last month. It was seriously impressive stuff. In fact, I literally just got off the phone with him, and he was telling me about a big local show he’ll be announcing soon for this summer! We’ll be sure to post about it.
AKA, L to R: Darryl, Cliff, Maurice
That’s where the story ended... until “Whatcha Gonna Do” found a whole new audience on Spotify. In late 2022, it started racking up millions of spins on the streaming platform, reaching over 36 million as of today. The unique hits that form the intro of the song have also made it popular for use in Instagram reels, with over 60,000 reels totaling hundreds of millions of views.
Last week, we released the first-ever 7" reissue of their 1971 debut 7", *All Day Long* b/w *Love Me, Leave Me*. It was limited to 500 hand-numbered units. We sold out of our pre-order stock in a week, but a small number of copies are floating around at retailers around the world right now.
Honestly, I’m not really sure how to end this blog post, because it sort of feels as though the story of The Valdons is still being written. Who knows what’s next?! But I promise you, their legacy will continue to grow and their music will reach new audiences.