Here Comes The Heartache is a tribute to legendary Chicago singer Cicero Blake. Concentrating on his soul years, compiler Dave Box has selected 24 tracks originally issued on Success, Renee, Brainstorm, Tower, Capitol and Sound Plus etc.
Included are all the favourites such as “How Can I Go On Without You”, “Sad Feeling”, “Here Comes The Heartache” and “You Got Me Walking”. Although major success has always eluded him, Cicero Blake is much-admired by soul and blues fans worldwide.
Much of his earlier work is typical of the ‘hard soul’ style often associated with Chicago, but Cicero is quite a versatile singer and many of his 1970s tracks were quite polished and sophisticated. Sadly, he wasn’t a very prolific recording artist during the golden period of soul music; in fact, he only had ten singles issued in a sixteen-year period. By the late 1970s, the soul boom was over and his style became much more downhome and bluesy.
Like so many soul singers did, Cicero reinvented himself as a ‘modern blues’ artist, building up a strong following, particularly on Chicago’s north side where he regularly performs to capacity crowds. Ironically, in this later period he has been far more prolific, recording a handful of albums aimed primarily at the modern blues market. Cicero’s early history has similarities to that of many other Chicago soul singers, and these roots perhaps explain why that down-to-earth southern feeling was so often evident in Chicago soul music. It isn’t surprising that many ‘southern soul’ fans rate some of Chicago’s soul labels almost as highly as they rate Stax, Goldwax, Fame and Hi. Cicero Blake’s 45s on Success, Renee, Brainstorm, Tower and Capitol are cherished by soul fans and record collectors all over the world.
Born on February 20th, 1938, in Jackson, Mississippi, Cicero moved to Chicago with his family in the early 1950s and settled on the west side. At that time, Chicago was the ‘promised land’ for many southern blacks, mostly former sharecroppers who made the pilgrimage north in search of a better life. In Chicago, he attended Marshall High school where he joined the football team and formed a vocal group called The Goldentones with school friends in 1952. Cicero left school to join the Air Force in 1954 and was replaced in The Goldentones by Dee Clark. The group hooked up with WGES DJ Herb Kent, changed their name to The Kool Gents and signed with Vee-Jay Records in 1955. Dee Clark of course went on to enjoy a successful solo career and is best known for his 1961 hit, ‘Raindrops’. Blake, meanwhile, gained valuable experience touring with Sonny Thompson’s band which also featured Thompson’s wife, Lulu Reed. Blake came to the attention of entrepreneur Leo Austell who operated the Renee label, named after his daughter.
Also signed to Renee were Eddie Sullivan, The Cascades, Wales Wallace, James Bryant and Betty Everett whose records were issued on Vee-Jay. At one point, Austell ran Renee from the Vee-Jay offices at 1448 South Michigan Avenue. Blake’s initial Renee 45 was issued in 1962, coupling ‘Should I Go’ with the self-penned ‘Could This Be Love’ (Renee 506)… >>>>>>>>>>> Read the full story in the sleeve booklet GVCD 3020, this page was adapted from the liner notes
