Memphis native Percy Milem had a fairly lengthy stint as a singer in the 60s. As Percy Milan Jr (his real name) he was lead singer with the Lyrics for a number of years. The full line up was

Percy Milan (lead) La Vern Edwards (2^nd tenor) Fonnie Harley (1^st tenor) William Glenn (baritone) Cornethers “Kirk” Kirkwood (bass)

Although the other members have faded into obscurity Harley carried on in the music business into the 70s and beyond as you can read here.

They first cut for Slim Wallace’s gallant Fernwood label at the start of the 60s, with a double sided slice of doo wops. Let’s Bee (sic) Sweethearts Again was the top side and this fine ballad easily justified it’s billing. You’ve got to love the fine chord changes on Kirkwood’s song and Milan’s soulful throttled back lead vocal. The faster flip You And Your Fellow is pretty good too.

The Lyrics second 45 was released on Fernwood subsidiary Mid-South and again was right in the doo wop bag. The Milan / Kirkwood ballad Crying Over You was even better than their first record thanks to the gospel overtones in the harmonies and Milan’s very churchly approach. The flip was a version of the Clovers biggie Down In The Alley.

The Lyrics had the honour of ushering in the fabled Goldwax label with their next 45 – it was originally released even before the company as we know it was legally formed, and it sold rather well regionally, before distribution problems ended its run. The second issue, under new distribution arrangements, kicked off the label proper. The excellent Darling has almost a bluesy doo-wop feel to it despite its Muscle Shoals recording location, and features a splendid “crying” intro from the re-christened Percy Milem. The rarely heard flip How A Woman Does Her Man co-written by Milem is another splendid effort with a really heartfelt lead.

The group’s second Goldwax 45 coupled the lively So Hard To Get Along with The Side Wind a splendid example of the 60s dance disc – file with all those others that should have led to a craze – and more than merited its lease to ABC.

The Lyrics folded shortly after. Milem’s doo-wop heritage stood him in good stead when he recorded more orthodox southern soul as a solo artist with Goldwax, as his gentle, flexible tones were much more suited to ballad material. His initial solo 45, the superb deep soul of Crying Baby Baby Baby is the pick of the bunch. Simply one of the best songs ever put out by the company and a perfect example of mid 60s Memphis country soul thanks to Milem’s gritty and compelling performance.

His I Don’t Know What You’ve Got is the Little Richard / Don Covay deep soul classic performed Memphis style, and while Richard Penniman’s original cut is without doubt one of the greatest deep recordings ever put on wax Milem’s cover certainly isn’t completely out classed.

Goldwax recorded a few more Milem sides that remained in the can until they were found by Ace UK as it went through it’s superb examination of the label. The Northern soul styled Call On Me has more than a few fans it is the classically styled 12/8 ballad I’m Crying Over You that really is the pick of the bunch.

After a break from the music scene Milem re-joined Quentin Claunch in the 80s for a fine CD The Many Moods Of Percy Milem. This was a set of country soul songs to savour. They included a re-make of an old unissued Goldwax from the 60s I Slipped A Little and several other really enjoyable cuts like the George Jackson penned All Because Of Your Love. Perhaps the best of the tracks was an impassioned version of the James Carr / Wilson Pickett excellent Search Your Heart which rivals the original in its intensity. Ollie Nightingale’s Walk Away is really good as well as is another Carr classic You Got My Mind Messed Up.

Sadly for all of us this CD set has been Milem’s last recordings to date.