Jay Proctor Interview

Interview by Rob Jones in 2009

Once in a great while an artist with a history and story so compelling, returns with a product so unique and masterful that it demands serious attention! Such is Jay Proctor.

Jay Proctor is one of the great American soul voices, who during his '60s hit period was a contemporary favourite of the legendary Temptations. As leader of Jay & the Techniques, Jay scored two consecutive Gold records with 'Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie' and 'Keep the Ball Rollin''. Jay received his first Gold record live on the Ed Sullivan Show on December 31, 1967 and even recorded with Motown Records for a brief time. In 1966, Philadelphia songwriter and producer Jerry Ross signed a production deal with the Mercury family of labels. The deal was basic: find new talent and groom them for stardom. Among his discoveries were Keith ('98.6'), Spanky & Our Gang ('Sunday Will Never Be the Same') and Bobby Hebb, whose 'Sunny' was one of the biggest hits of the year. Seeking a surefire follow up for Bobby, Ross came across a demo of a song by Maurice Irby called 'Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie'. When Hebb passed, Ross matched the song with another new discovery: Jay & the Techniques.

Jay & the Techniques hailed from Allentown, Pennsylvania. The group was born when lead vocalist Jay Proctor and second vocalist George "Lucky" Lloyd teamed with an all-white band, one of the first integrated groups in pop music. The Techniques included Chuck Crowl (bass), Karl Landis (drums), Ronnie Goosley (sax), Jon Walsh (trumpet) and Dante Dancho (lead guitar). Paul Coles Jr and Danny Altieri soon replaced Landis and Walsh respectively, while Jack Truett was added on organ. As Jerry Ross often did on his sessions, Nick Ashford, Valerie Simpson and Melba Moore were used as back-up singers.

With 'Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie', the group found the right mix of rhythm & blues and bubble gum appeal and vaulted into the Top Ten. Denny Randell and Sandy Lizner, out of producer Bob Crewe's stable of writers, supplied 'Keep the Ball Rollin'', the group's successful follow-up. Singles like 'Strawberry Shortcake' and 'Baby Make Your Own Sweet Music' continued the group's pop fortune while their albums showed versatility with a more pronounced sound - a combination of a Motown beat with Philly production. That blend became one of Jay & the Techniques' strong points and this new compilation CD shows off some overlooked classic tracks.

When the '70s rolled around and disco became fashionable, Jay & the Techniques were ready with their already danceable sound. Barry White's 'I Feel Love Coming On' kicked off this resurgence on the Silver Blue label. The record was picked up by Event Records, which also issued the group's 'Number Onederful'.

Jay’s career took a tragic turn when a nightclub arson fire claimed the lives of nine friends and left Jay hospitalised for months. Following several years of despair and recovery, Jay put a new group together and began to perform regularly on the oldies circuit. In 1996, the group performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in the same period, Mercury Records released The Best of Jay & the Techniques, which even contained the first new recording in over a decade with 'Love’s Just Not For Sale'.

In 1998, Jay recorded a brand new project entitled The Main Course on Forevermore Records. Produced by label president Christopher Biehler, the album garnered three songs on the Rhythm 'n' Beach charts throughout the Carolinas and was nominated for solo CD of the year at the 1999 Carolina Beach Music Awards. The album continues to garner play throughout the world on blues radio and on soul radio in the UK. Jay’s release on Forevermore, Still Got Flow is a unique combination of southern soul and urban AC that contains essential classic R&B and 'new old school soul'. This project boasted nine original songs written by Jay and is destined to impact the southern soul market with 'Make this Promise to You' and the urban AC markets with songs such as 'Touched By an Angel' and 'Got You on My Mind'. Even prior to this release, the CD has celebrated the success of 'When Love Slips Away' and 'I Wanna Make Love to You' in the urban AC & Carolina beach music radio markets; both songs reaching the top of the Rhythm 'n' Beach chart. Still Got Flow continues the musical journey of one of the most distinctive and recognised voices in all of popular music.

Who have been your main musical influences over the years?

The Temptations was the group that influenced me the most as well as Marvin Gaye, Al Green and of course Otis Redding.

When did you first decide to become a singer and where did the band's name 'The Techniques' come from?

It was very early in life (I was about six years old) that I knew I wanted to be a singer, mostly because my mother used to sing around the house when she thought nobody was listening - my mother was an excellent singer. The name 'the Techniques' came about one day when we were looking for a name and the girl who was in the group saw it in the dictionary and laughing said, "How about the Techniques?" We said, "Yeah that sounds good" and after we met Jerry Ross, he added 'Jay' at the front, and you know the rest.

You were discovered in Allentown, Pennsylvania back in the '60s where I believe you were offered a demo recording contract by Jerry Ross following a Battle of the Bands contest - what are your recollections of that first meeting?

We were discovered by a DJ named Gene Kaye, in Allentown, who sent us to meet Jerry Ross to cut a demo. When we met Jerry I didn't know who he really was, I didn't know that he was such big whip until I started to record with him and people started telling me about him, that's when I knew I was in the middle of something really good.

I read somewhere that you were reluctant to record 'Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie' at first - was this due to the title of the song?

I didn't like 'Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie' at all until I heard it at the session with all the horns and stuff. I just didn't want to be singing a song about fruit - to me that wasn't what I would call soulful, but I did it and I'm glad I did.

Did it come as a surprise when the record went on to become such a big hit?

I don't know if I was surprised that it became a hit, I thought it might be.

Everything seemed to happen quite quickly for the band - did this make fame difficult to handle?

Fame was never hard for me to handle because I dreamed about it for so long that when it happened I was ready for it.

One of my favourite Jay & the Techniques recordings which some of our readers may not be too familiar with, is 'Victory', and I always thought it should have been released as a single - do you think 'Victory' could have had hit potential?

The song 'Victory' was a good song but not one of my favourites. As far as it being a hit, it's hard to say.

Many people still seem unaware that Jay & the Techniques recorded for Motown. Could you tell us about this period in your career?

Recording for Motown was a one-record deal - we went in and we did a song called 'Robot Man'. I didn't like it so I wouldn't sing it. I was really tired of songs that didn't mean anything so I let one of the other guys sing it.

Rick Levy mentioned to me recently that 'I'm Gonna Make You Love Me' was held back from release - can you tell us the story of why this happened?

'I'm Gonna Make You Love Me' was one of my favourite songs and we were going to release it as our fourth single, but the way I understand it, Motown had called Jerry Ross who wrote the song with Kenny Gamble and asked him if they could record the song for an album filler with the Temps and the Supremes, but instead they released it as a single. The record company wouldn't release our version after that.

In 2005, you released an amazing solo album called Still Got Flow and I believe nine songs on the album are original Jay Proctor compositions. Could you tell us about the album and where your inspirations for so many great songs came from?

The album Still Got Flow is a really good CD. I don't know what made me start writing - I just thought I'll bet I can write a song and I sat down and got started. I had some ideas in my head and I just put them down on paper, and out came the songs. I'm now in the process of writing some new material and I must say I think it's my best work yet.

Will we be seeing Jay & the Techniques on tour in the UK in the future?

Touring in the UK would be a wonderful thing for me. I know it would be fun. I hope one day it'll happen.

Thanks for taking the time to talk to us Jay, and best of luck with all future projects.

Thank you so much.

© Rob Jones 2009