Jimmy Dobbins was christened James Brown so in seeking a career in the music business he was pretty much forced to adopt a new stage name. Although he was born in Mississippi he took the classic migration route North to Chicago where he started recording for DJ Al Benson under producer Bob Lee. His Crash 45 What Is Love got good airplay (surprisingly enough) and was a big local seller.

It is a superb example of the sort of chugging ballad soul that came out of the Windy City in the 60s with some high voltage singing from Dobbins and a well crafted arrangement. But the labyrinthine complexity of the politics surrounding the music industry in Chicago at the time prevented a follow up and Dobbins next turned up in Jackson, MS in 1973.

His Malaco sessions that summer were initiated by drummer/producer James Stroud and between them they made some fine southern soul, all of which was written or co-written by Dobbins himself. The initial 45 coupled the bouncy Sweet Love whose rhythm track that harked back to Mr Big Stuff and Groove Me with the funky mid pace of Try It Again, a version of which featured as the B Side of Billy Cee's Chimneyville release. Rather better was the next 45. This featured the superb deep soul of A Quitter Never Wins which revealed Dobbins to be a really fine vocalist with some exhilarating falsetto touches. The flip was another nice jumping number called Understanding.

Dobbins final 45 featured the lively Sugar Bear with its very catchy rhythm and hookline. The flip was a lovely gently swaying Wrong Road. But neither it nor any of the other releases caught the market but there were several other strong songs left in the can from the sessions. Among them was the splendid complex rhythms of "Finally", which show Stroud's technical expertise as a drummer at their impressive height, making the track a real toe tapper.