Your long-forgotten classic soul song of the day is “Tell Me, Baby,” by Karmello Brooks. It’s a terrific tune that is just about as obscure you can get—and I love it.
“Tell Me, Baby” was released in 1966 on Milestone Records. It was the B-side of an equally obscure tune titled “You’re Breaking My Heart.” Neither the A or the B side made any impact at all, which is a shame because they’re both pretty good tracks. But there were a lot of songs released in the ’60s that went nowhere fast and quickly slid into obscurity. This is one of them.
Milestone Records was a primarily jazz-oriented record label founded by jazz writer and record producer Orrin Keepnews. In addition to releasing albums by jazz greats such as Thad Jones, Joe Henderson, and Nat Adderley, Milestone released a handful of pop and soul singles, including this one by Karmello Brooks.
“Tell Me, Baby” was written by Ms. Brooks and produced by jazz pianist Phil Moore. It runs just 1 minute and 55 seconds, which is way too short for a tune this catchy. The only way to get your fill is to put your player on repeat. I can listen to this one all day long.
Possibly due to the fact that Milestone was a jazz label and didn’t have any grease in the pop or soul markets, “Tell Me, Baby” didn’t receive much if any airplay and thus didn’t sell many copies. Until, that is, it was resurrected by DJs on the UK’s Northern Soul circuit. Northern Soul is all about long-lost American soul singles from the 1960s, and this one fits the bill. If you happen to have a copy of the original single it’s worth over $2,500 to collectors. Yeah, that’s right, two and a half grand for an obscure 45 from 1966.
I discovered this track on Kent’s 2001 compilation CD, Northern Soul’s Classiest Rarities. There’s some really good and really rare stuff on this album; I’m sure I’ll be featuring more songs from this and other Kent compilations in the future.
Here’s what (little) the CD’s otherwise well-researched booklet had to say about this track:
… this Karmello Brooks one is almost certainly a one-off. It was aimed primarily at the supper club jazz market, judging by the A-side ballad “You’re Breaking My Heart,” but perhaps producer Phil Moore III made a deal with the young girl singer, in that if she cut his ballad, the she would get to put one of her own compositions on the flip.
That turned out to be the fabulous “Tell Me Baby,” which is very removed from the world of jazz, save for one moment of scat singing slipped into the middle. It’s basically one of those well-orchestrated pop songs that were recorded by the likes of Laura Nyro, Samantha Jones, or Azie Mortimer in the late ’60s and this one has the best tune of them all.
That’s not much to go on. As to Karmello Brooks herself, I can find virtually nothing about her other than that she was apparently a backup singer for Aretha Franklin at some point. As far as I can tell she only released this one single. She, or someone with her name, is listed as an actress in two movies via IMDb. And a comment I found on one Northern Soul forum claims she later got married to a man with the last name of Coleman. That’s about it.
UPDATE 4/22/2024: I recently heard from Horace Coleman, Karmello Brooks’ husband. The two of them were married in Los Angeles when Karmello was a background singer for Aretha Franklin. They moved to Kansas City where she received a Masters in Arts Administration from University of Missouri-Kansas City. According to Horace, she did little singing once they moved from L.A. to Kansas city; Karmello put most of her energy into being a wife and mother. She later became a community organizer and activist, working as an advocate for voter registration in Kansas City, where her husband Horace worked for many years in the Kansas City Missouri School District. Regrettably, Karmello Brooks-Coleman passed away on August 27, 2023; she was 77 years old. My sympathies to Horace and her other family and friends.
In any case, this single is a true rarity, which is a shame—I can’t get the melody out of my head. It’s just one of those great tunes that slipped between the fingers of history. Take a listen.
