Today’s classic song of the day is “I’m Not My Brother’s Keeper” by a group called The Flaming Ember. This track was released in October of 1970 and rose to #34 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #12 on Billboard’s R&B chart.
“I’m Not My Brother’s Keeper” was written by the team of William Witherspoon, Raynard Miner, and Ron Dunbar. Witherspoon was a songwriter who co-wrote Jimmy Ruffin’s “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted;” Miner co-wrote “Rescue Me” for Fontella Bass and “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” for Jackie Wilson; and Dunbar co-wrote “Band of Gold” for Freda Payne and “Give Me Just a Little More Time” for Chairmen of the Board.
The song was released on the Hot Wax label, one of two record labels (the other was Invictus) formed by hitmakers Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland (AKA H-D-H) after they left Motown records over a financial dispute. The group was one of several major artists on the label, including Honey Cone, Laura Lee, and 100 Proof (Aged in Soul).
The Flaming Ember (originally The Flaming Embers, plural) was that rare white group on a soul label. They were five white guys from Detroit with a sound that leaned heavily into the “soul” aspect of the “blue eyed soul” genre. They first got together back in 1964, had a minor hit (“Hey Mama Whatcha Got Good for Daddy”) on the Ric-Tic label in 1967, then signed with Hot Wax in 1969. They had a handful of hits with Invictus, including “Mind, Body and Soul” (#26, 1969) and “Westbound #9” (#24, 1970). After that, things cooled off for the group and they spent the rest of the ’70s playing the bar circuit in Detroit.
