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Welcome To The Soul-Patrol Newsletter
A Truly Sad Day For Me - Al Goodman Passes (of the Moments/Ray, Goodman & Brown)
 I'm still in shock.
I was in my car driving to a concert at the Dell East earlier this afternoon. I got a phone call from Daisy Brown, telling me about Al Goodman's passing. I started calling people...
I met ELP at the show and told him the news. He was in shock. The phone calls of total & utter disbelief kept coming in.
Later ELP asked me if I was ok.
I told him that I was, but I really wasn't.
I guess he could see it in my face.
A few moments later, I told him that I was leaving.
Got back here and my email box is flooded with messages announcing the passing of Al Goodman. (along with the pictures that you see here from our friend Kirby Carmichael.
I really don't know what else to say. I've got 1,001 stories that I could tell you about Al Goodman, but I don't feel like writing any of them down right now, perhaps I never will?
Here is something that I wrote about Al a few years ago on his birthday that I will share with you below. Scroll down further and read the piece by Blanche Valentine of some of Soul-Patrol's early times with Al & Billy. Along the way listen to our broadcast of the album "A MOMENT WITH FRIENDS" By Ray, Goodman & Brown.
And then finally at the end of this newsletter, we would like you to watch the video interview conducted by our friend Ken Webb, with Al Goodman & Billy Brown last year and you will get a clue as to the kind of people that both Al & Billy are.
I can't write anything else right now. I'll let cha know when I get any details...
Happy Birthday - Al Goodman
(Listen To Ray, Goodman and Brown - A Moment With Friends)
http://www.soul-patrol.net/rgb_friends.ram
Most of you don't know Al Goodman like I do. Oh sure you know his music. because Al Goodman is the leader of the MOMENTS. The Moments - one of my all-time favorite slow jam groups, only had one major pop hit with "Love on a Two Way Street", but they had many years of successful singles on the R&B charts and at one point were actually something like James Brown in that you could always hear a Moments song being played on Black radio.
However despite all of that, Al Goodman is hardly a "household name". But that's ok, what is important is that Al Goodman is one of the best friends that Soul-Patrol has and has been for a very long time. And the secret to that is that Al Goodman is a "regular brotha". See when you deal with Al Goodman it is a very simple thing. There are no shades of grey and there is no confusion on where he stands. And when he believes in something, he stands committed. And so has been his relationship to Soul-Patrol, when back in 2003 he entrusted in me the internet launch of Ray, Goodman & Brown's indy album "A Moment with Friends".
http://www.soul-patrol.net/rgb_friends.ram
30 years ago Al Goodman was my friend, when he (along with Billy Brown and the late Harry Ray) helped me to lure many an unsuspecting female into God knows what.
And today Al Goodman is even more of a friend as he helps Soul-Patrol to navigate the uncharted waters of just how we are going to help save Black music & Black culture from destroying itself. So that not only makes Al Goodman my friend, it makes him your friend as well.
http://www.soul-patrol.net/rgb_friends.ram
--Bob Davis
609-351-0154
earthjuice@prodigy.net
Co-Founder www.soul-patrol.com
Blues, Hip Hop and Soul Music Director www.radioio.com
Ray, Goodman and Brown (aka the MOMENTS): A MOMENT WITH FRIENDS: La la Means I Love You, Break Your Promise, Didn't I Blow Your Mind, Side Show, 3 Ring Circus, Spinning Around, I'm So Proud, Ooo Baby Baby
Moments In Time With Our Beloved Brother Al Goodman
 Today is so surreal because I had recently spoke with Al. Even as I sit here to type, wanting to share my brain is spinning because Soul-Patrol has such deep history with Al Goodman, with Ray, Goodman and Brown. I met Al in 1996 when he emailed me, he was a "lurker" on Soul-Patrol and wasn't quite sure what to make of what was about to grow into the Soul-Patrol we all know and love. He was so open and friendly I didn't believe it was actually him until I actually met him at a show soon after we begun emailing. I kept telling Bob how cool Al Goodman was but for various reason (one being the push to get the DELLS into the R&R Hall of Fame) it would be almost 2 years later before Bob and Al would meet face to face but what a great friendship would grow from that meeting. Bob and I drove up to Jersey City to met Al at Cliff Perkins studio and to our surprise Gerald Alston decided to come and meet us also.
It was an instant connection and we had such a great time talking about the changes in the music industry since the days of vinyl. We talked about how Black music i.e. Classic Soul was distributed back in the day which is why I now understand the reason for "Regional Stars". We listened to unreleased music, a blend of the artist from Soul Generation, Manhattans and Ray, Goodman & Brown .... WOW!!! We spent hours with those guys laughed at the "Sugarhill" horror stories and other "tales from the road". We looked at photos of various line ups of "The Moments" after Joe Robinson took the name from them and I sat in awe of the genuine friendship/kinship between Al, Cliff and Gerald. Little did either Bob or myself know what a deeply rooted friendship would evolve with Al as well as the other guys. We spent lots of times together at their shows, Zee Love and I went to a fantastic New Years Eve show and spent forever just sitting and talking for hours. Al talked about the gospel plays he did and the differences in doing plays vs. a regular stage show. Al was a wealth of information as well as his wanting to know how Soul-Patrol could assist the artist in protecting their rights especially the artist from the 60's who had "sucker" deals with scandalous labels.
I remember when they were releasing "A Moment With Our Friend's" and we went to Billy Brown's house to listen to the finished CD and Bob met Billy for the first time and had us crying with laughter telling Billy how much their songs helped him "mack" on girls back in the day. Al was never too important for us, always making time for us, and always making sure if we were at a show that we were taken care of. Al was a fantastic artist but he was a hell of a family man and loved being with his family and showing photos of his family. I have so much more to share but getting this little bit out was so very emotional and I am rambling.
--Blanche Valentine
Moments and thoughts of life and love and soul
As I was waiting to see a show at the Dell Entertainment Center last night with our fearless leader Bob Davis he softly said to me: "guess what"? With Bob that could mean anything. He said to me that Al Goodman is dead....all flat and whatnot. I looked at him looking at me, trying to see how much if at all this registered and I the same.
When I came aboard the Soul Patrol at about the beginning of this new millennium, one of the individuals spoken of most (along with at that time Rio Soul, Sonny Boy, Carlton J Smith, The Dells and Cliff Perkins and The Soul Generation) was Al Goodman of Ray, Goodman and Brown.
I've seen him at our conventions and even had the opportunity to actually meet him. Over the years I've become fairly close to Bob and have come to better understand the methods to his madness. It's never the artist per se but who that artist is and for what he stands. Most importantly it's about said artist's understanding of his place in our history through our culture.
You can't hang around Soul Patrol and not know who you are or why you're here.
It's for this reason that Al Goodman's significance is so special. He's not only been around like forever but he supported this the best internet outlet for black music of all kinds. Al's support along with the unerring support of folk like Mickey McGill, Chuck Barksdale, Billy Brown and Marshall Thompson and many, many more that came before me helped make Soul Patrol what it is today.
Al Goodman told me when I met him that if you're with Bob Davis then you're with us (meaning any and everybody within the sound of his voice backstage at the Liacouras Center.)
A joker, shit talker and entertainer of the highest order, Al Goodman would MAKE you laugh as soon as you met him.
He's one of those cats that make you laugh just buy laughing himself. Y'all know this kind of brother. He says something and begins smiling and laughing even before he's through saying it.
It's part of the rhythms of the street. Right up there with the dap or slapping five. For Al Goodman to take the time and share a little part of his soul with me in an everyman sort of way always impressed me. No star aspirations for this cat. Of course he WAS a star but he was waaaay past that. One of the icons of some of the best slow drag music ever, Mr. Goodman was just that: a good man and I'm so glad to have made his acquaintance. During the show that we were attending (of which I will review later today) I noticed a certain detachment etched into my man Bob's face. It was a full moon and things seemed weird from the time he told me of the news.
When heavy death comes it seems like you're seeing things through a haze or like a dream. There are no coincidences in life. We were at a gospel concert featuring Martha Munizzi, Warren Sapp and CeCe Winans.
Bob Davis,who's particularly squeamish with such became noticeably uncomfortable. So much so that he just wasn't THERE with me anymore. You see God has His way no matter what. He calls to Him whomever He chooses whenever He chooses. And He leaves the rest of us here to consider His awesomeness.
In this case I was in the best place I could be at that time if for no reason but to let the music do what it was supposed to do.
It was at this time that Bob told me he was leaving and like everyone else present, whether they wanted to or not, we prayed and praised God for life, love and for the souls of all of those present and past. I prayed that Bob made it home safe and I prayed for the family of Al Goodman.
I praised God from Whom all blessings flow.
R.I.P - Al Goodman.
Hire A Band
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Ray, Goodman and Brown (aka the MOMENTS) THEIR NEW CD: A MOMENT WITH FRIENDS: La la Means I Love You, Break Your Promise, Didn't I Blow Your Mind, Side Show, 3 Ring Circus, Spinning Around, I'm So Proud, Ooo Baby Baby
Watch The Interview with Ken Webb, Al Goodman & Billy Brown from 2009
http://66.29.59.120/wirgeneral/raygoodmanbrown-1.wmv
If you have a news item, update, review, commentary, etc that you would like to submit to the Soul-Patrol Newsletter, please send them via email for consideration to:
Hopefully you enjoyed this edition of the Soul-Patrol Newsletter.
We will be back soon with the next edition, with email alerts for local events, Soul-Patrol website updates/chat sessions or breaking news in between, as required.
If you have any comments, questions, etc feel free to drop me an email and let me know what's on your mind.
Bob Davis
earthjuice@prodigy.net
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798 Woodlane Rd
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Mount Holly, NJ 08060
609-351-0154
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