In Parts One and Two, we looked at the history of the Latin soul imprint, Speed, started/run by Stan Lewis, Bobby Marin and Morty Craft. For this last part, we dig deeper into their catalog, including highlighting some of their single-only releases and the never-released.

Milton Zapata’s was the last Latin LP released by a single artist/band on Speed; it was not their last album however. The label’s last two albums are both quite obscure - it’s likely they came out during a time where Lewis was experiencing financial problems, or even past his bankruptcy, when Roulette’s Morris Levy took over the label. For example, Symphony Sid, a close friend to Stan Lewis and a legendary radio DJ in New York’s Latin community, curated El Gran Sid: Symphony Sid Presents the Best in Latin America. Despite being on Speed, it contains no songs from the label; instead it features songs from all of Speed’s competitors, including Fania (Joe Bataan’s “Gypsy Woman”), Cotique (Johnny Colon’s “Boogaloo Blues”) and Tico (Eddie Palmieri’s “Azucar.”)

By far the strangest Speed album was presumably the last one to appear - a self-titled release by R&B artist Phil Flowers and the Flower Shop. The album had no Latin content and one would have to assume this was some attempt on Levy’s part to broaden Speed’s catalog but he never managed to get the LP beyond the promo/test-pressing phase. The LP is so outside of Speed’s normal releases that it doesn’t even have a catalog number. 

There is also the matter of an album completely recorded and mastered...but never released: The Bobby Matos Orchestra’s “Return to Spanish Harlem”. Matos had been trying to get signed to Cotique when Lewis picked him out for Speed. Unlike most of the other, young, bandleaders on Speed, Matos was in his mid 20s and had already gotten one big recording under his belt - his classic My Latin Soul on Phillips. R&B/doo-wop vocalist Tony Middleton had already worked with Speed’s Chuito and the Latin Uniques and he seemed a good fit for Matos’ band as well and together, they cut “Return to Spanish Harlem” a 7”-only release that is one of the label’s big connoisseur hits. 

Along with Spanish vocalist Manny Roman, Matos cut another 7”, a cover of Ray Rivera’s “Cuchi Frito Man - “Sangre Del Barrio.” Despite being mastered and test-pressed (alas, Matos lost the one copy he had), “Return to Spanish Harlem” was slated to come out just as Lewis’ financial problems made that impossible. The masters may still be out there but like all the studio tapes for Speed, their whereabouts are unknown. 

There are at least nine “known” Speed 7”s, four of which appeared on an LP originally, including The Moon People’s “Land of Love” and Chuito’s “Spanish Maiden” (feat. Tony Middleton). The back half of the single catalog are all 7” only though some of them may have been like Matos’ - recorded for a full-length album but left orphaned as 7”s once things fell apart at Speed. For example, Marin recorded his own single for the label; the much-sought after, double-sided Latin soul single “A Groovy Thing Going On” - “You’re Moving Much Too Fast.”

Likewise, Frankie Nieves seemed to be on the road to a second album with Speed as indicated by his excellent single, “True Love” - “Amor Sincero.” “True Love” was enough of a hit that it was eventually re-licensed onto disco 12”. (Nieves says “True Love” was the last thing he recorded for Speed so there’s no “lost” album for him, unlike in Matos’ case). Rounding out the Speed 7”s was “Happy Soul With a Hook” by Dave Cortez and The Moon People, an instrumental version of the Latin Blues Band’s funky cooker, “(I’ll Be a) Happy Man.” 

Gaps in the label’s catalog numbering suggest there were other singles and LPs planned but never came to fruition (either that or Latin collectors have missed finding a few key releases!). Unfortunately, the one man who could likely confirm any rumors - Stan Lewis - passed away in 2008 and as thoroughly involved as Bobby Marin was in many of the label’s business, he doesn’t recall what might be missing.

All in all, the sum total of Speed releases only adds up to 9 singles and 9 albums, hardly in the same league as competitors like Cotique, Fania, Fonseca, Alegre, etc. Yet there is something enduring about Speed’s appeal - perhaps it’s the compact size of that catalog but it’s also tied into the excellent quality of the releases. For its short life span, Speed was working with some of the best producers, arrangers and songwriters in NY’s el barrio and tapping into an emergent generation of new talents. Whatever slim volume Speed may have eventually left behind is a gift of quality, if not quantity.  

 http://www.soul-sides.com

Return To Spanish Harlem