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| Dec.08 Cover - The Tragar/Note Story |
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| Written by Gretchen LaBudde | |
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Page 1 of 4  Too Beautiful To Be GoneNew Compilation Uncovers Atlanta’s Lost Soul From the perspective of an ATL that rules the 21st century R&B and hip hop charts, it seems odd that no ’60s era soul label thrived in a civil rights center like the City Too Busy To Hate. Just don’t blame Jesse Jones for not laying it all on the line. The helmsman for the Tragar and Note labels pumped out at least 40 sides between 1968 and 1978. At best, they made regional ripples and eventually landed in dusty obscurity. That is, until Atlanta DJ Brian Poust – creator of georgiasoul.com – discovered the labels and, with help from Chicago's Numero Group, compiled them into a double-CD set, the most recent release in Numero’s Eccentric Soul series. This first stab at exploring Atlanta’s most prolific soul label exposes not only the songs – the 32 pages of mice-type liner notes detail a neglected history about struggling to score a hit record in a recording scene that required the infrastructure be built from the ground up. The comp also raises questions about why a homegrown soul scene didn’t take hold in a city known for its viable black business community as well as for its tolerance toward civil rights. “I’m very gratified that this compilation is out because it tells the truth about Jesse Jones and what I did in the record industry in Atlanta,” offers Jones from his home in Los Angeles. In 1948 the Tragar founder started out in the business touring with Jimmy Witherspoon. During the ’50s he was the sax man in the Royal Peacock’s house band. Hot stuff in a small pond, the native Atlantan trekked out to L.A. where he enjoyed only mixed success but gleaned an education in the record biz after working with both Specialty and Ebb Records. Upon his return to Atlanta in 1967, he saw a gap in the music scene and started a record company that he named after his wife Tracey and oldest son Gary. Already the city was a choice stop for name acts as well as for chitlin circuit regulars. Over on Sweet Auburn the Ponciana Club and the Royal Peacock were packing ’em in. Later the Magnolia Room and then the Palladium joined the fray, all featuring headliners like Ray Charles, Hank Ballard, Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson and Bettye LaVette. During Atlanta’s remarkably peaceful civil rights movement, the black community not only supported its own nightclubs but also hotels, insurance companies, newspapers, banks, and radio stations. The community was separate and self-sufficient. Despite no traditional black music scene, Jones saw no reason why Atlanta couldn’t support a soul label. His optimism wasn’t enough to steer Tragar and later Note into scoring more than a regional hit during their ten years of operation. |
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