Marcell Strong

Saxophonist/writer/vocalist Marcel Strong came from East St Louis, MO and in his early days sang in his local church and picked up on secular music from the flourishing R & B scene in the town. His first record was for the tiny Emerge label in the mid 60s. In 1970 Marcel wrote the tune that he will be forever associated with - the raunchy and quite overtly sexual ListenMumble In My Ear. He thought it would be one for Clarence Carter and the great man did indeed cut it in 1971 (Atlantic 2842) taking it to no 33 in the R & B charts. But this was after Strong himself recorded it with the Fame Gang. The success of this number led to a songwriting contract with Rick Hall but they fell out and Strong saw out his time without cutting another disc or - seemingly - writing anything else. Back in St Louis he didn't record again until 1978. Then local singer/record man Sid Wallace took him into the studios for a session which came out only in the UK as one half of an album entitled "Two Soul Chiefs". The tracks all came from Strong's pen, including a recut of Emerge's "Trying To Make Up".