ne of Holland-Dozier-Holland’s first post-Motown signings to their Invictus label, Freda Payne had been trainspotted throughout the late ‘50s and early ‘60s by such noted talent hounds as Duke Ellington, Berry Gordy, Jr, and Quincy Jones. ‘Band of Gold,’ an early pop-soul single, became her biggest hit (#3 nationally) and for me was a balm to survive the early ‘70s AM onslaught of that monster 1971 #1 single, Hoyt Axton’s ‘Joy to the World’ as performed by Three Dog Night. Lest this seems a jeremiad against Jeremiah, that well-worn bullfrog, I’ll focus on why Payne is the natural bridge between the classic ‘60s soul of Motown and the sophisticated mid ‘70s sounds best exemplified by the Philly efforts of Gamble and Huff (think TSOP, The O’Jays, Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes, The Three Degrees) and the gritty funk of the Parliament/Funkadelic nexus.

When H-D-H left Motown, they were still signed to exclusive writing contracts. So for their Gold Forever Music company, they decided to groom new talent rather than giving Berry half of all the profits. One such team was Ron Dunbar and Edith Wayne, who wrote ‘Band of Gold,’ although it was Brian Holland who cut the record to its current length ensuring it airplay. Dunbar went on to even greater fame as a producer, specifically for George Clinton’s Uncle Jam Productions where his handiwork predominates on Parliament and Funkadelic records. The bass lines in ‘Band of Gold’ borrow both from James Jamerson and Bootsy Collins in equal parts. The Gamble and Huff connections become clearer on listening to the record itself.

A seemingly simple single about good love gone band and the detritus of a failed marriage (‘All that’s left of the dreams I hold / is a band of gold’), this song packs a world of emotion in its scant 2:53 even with admittedly overly repetitive lyrics. The song opens with the classic drum flourish on the one followed by a simple walking base line, the entry of some funky guitars mimicking the bass line, Freda’s first vocals backed by a female doo wop chorus, and the subtle underlay of backing strings. Like any good ‘Motown’ record, the simple but propulsive rhythm work effortlessly drives the song forward, but the prominent opening bass line hearkens forward to the classic grooves of such Gamble Huff tracks as The O’Jays ‘For the Love of Money.’

And then there’s that voice- crisp, clear, plaintive. There is no vocal warbling of the American Idol vein, the bland aftertaste of one too many Mariah Carey records or one too many viewings of The Bodyguard! Still the bluesy connotations of the abortive honeymoon evening (‘that night on our honeymoon/ we stayed in separate rooms’) come through explicitly. The longing’s all there in the line ‘the dream of what love could be/ if you were still here with me’ and especially in the extended non-verbal ‘Aah’ which opens the second verse. It doesn’t take a bag of cheap vocal tricks to make a superior soul ballad.

I admit it, I’ve always had a melancholy temper, which must explain teaching renaissance drama for a living the last decade. The long, slow, usually sad ones get me, whether it’s AC/DC’s ‘Love Hungry Man,’ the Pogue’s epic take on Eric Bogle’s ‘And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda,’ Marvin Gaye’s ‘When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You,’ or Built to Spill’s ‘You Were Right.’ How many other 4 year olds after seeing Yellow Submarine on the big screen still professed that ‘She’s Leaving Home’ was their favorite song’ That and the ability to deny the ‘Joy’ explain why ‘Band of Gold’ almost always tops my favorite songs lists (usually followed in second by The Clash’s ‘White Man in the Hammersmith Palais’- Nick Hornby is such a copy cat!). For those without that personal history, just enjoy the song because it both swings hard and burns slow.