Song of the Day 9/5: Lee Moses, “Bad Girl”

There are so many awful women in Trump’s inner circle it’s impossible to decide which one to dedicate this song to. We don’t know who Lee Moses was singing about, but then we don’t know much of anything about Lee Moses.

Moses hailed from Atlanta, where he developed his bluesy, deep soul sound with a group called the Showstoppers. He moved to New York in the mid-’60s and worked mainly as a session guitarist for Johnny Brantley, best known as the guy who found and produced the Ohio Players. Brantley helped get Moses a recording contract, and he released three singles in 1967, none commercially successful.

“Bad Girl” bursts out of the speakers, but the single was hampered by the 45 rpm format – at 4:44 it was too long for the A-side, so producers split it in half (part one faded out at the 2:20 mark) and placed the rest on the B-side. This complete version allows its momentum to build properly.

Moses released an LP in 1971, “Time and Place,” but it, too, failed to sell. After a final single in 1973 he went back to Atlanta, where he played occasionally, but never recorded again. Troubled by substance abuse, he died at age 56 in 1997. A decade later Northern soul aficionados rediscovered the LP, leading to its reissue. Here’s the title track.