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Based in St. Matthews, South Carolina, Mixed Feelings’ band leader and keyboard player Glenn Walling never expected that “Sha-La-La” would become an international sensation three decades after its original release. Drafting it on the fly in under 20 minutes in 1976, he intended it for the flip side of the group’s self-proclaimed masterpiece, a country-inflected soul ballad entitled “Love Will Find A Way,” but the Nashville-based distributor inadvertently switched up the sides on the promotional copies and “Sha-La-La” found its way to the top. The Mixed Feelings grew out of the all-white Royals, an R&B/beach combo that Walling formed with friends from St. Matthews as well as nearby Orangeburg, South Carolina. The Royals met vocalist Arthur Donaldson in 1969, and even though no other groups in the area were then integrated, they successfully auditioned him for lead vocalist. Adding him as a permanent member the next year, they changed their name to “Mixed Feelings.” The new handle reflected the group’s unheard-of integration as well as a “mixed” repertoire expanded to include doo-wop and Top 40. Soul-Cal Records, in coordination with Keb Darge and Kenny Dope at Kay-Dee Records, is pleased to breathe fresh air into the music of the Mixed Feelings, bringing it to the masses as a single sided 12” release. Yeah, it’s good enough that we’ll release it without a B-side. With original copies of the record exchanging hands for $4,000 or more, it’s a steal. |
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