BLOODSTONE
They formed in 1962 during a talent show at Central High School in Kansas City, Missouri. Harry Williams and Roger Durham belonged to one vocal group, Charles McCormick and Charles Love to another, while guitarist Willis Draffen, Jr., and drummer Melvin Webb made up one-half of a four-piece band. They were all having trouble with their respective groups, and so they merged. A seventh member, Kenneth Smith, rounded out the original line-up. They called themselves the Sinceres.
Their first gigs were at the Gates Bar-B-Q on 31st Street, followed by after-hours work at a place called the 19th hole. In 1968, the group’s four vocalists traveled to Los Angeles and spent a lean three months sharing a single room at the Sunset Inn, washing their clothes in a face bowl, having puffed wheat and water for breakfast, and splitting a hamburger four ways.
Charles McCormick’s brother, Larry, was an L.A. anchorman for Eyewitness News. He introduced the Sinceres to Paul Gayton, a record man who had worked with Leonard Chess in Chicago. They cut a single, “Don’t Waste My Time,” on Pizzazz Records, which gave them enough cash to fly home to Kansas City to regroup. There, McCormick learned bass and Love learned rhythm guitar, and they played enough gigs to buy a blue 1968 Dodge van, gutted to just seats. They stenciled The Sinceres on the side in yellow and drove it to California.
Back in Los Angeles, the Sinceres developed a fierce reputation and made up to $2,000 a week. During a gig at Peyton Place on 38th and Western, they met the two men who would manage them: George Braunstein and Ron Hamady. It was the managers’ idea to change the band’s name from the Sinceres to something hipper-sounding. Hamady’s brother suggested “Bloodstone,” which Merriam Webster’s defines as “a green quartz sprinkled with red spots.”
The managers shopped some demo recordings around L.A., but had no luck. They suggested the group go to London, where it was easier for a U.S. act to secure a record deal. However, drummer Melvin Webb refused to leave the country as he wanted to stay close to his ailing mother. His replacement was L.A. native Eddie Summers.
In London, Al Green was touring Europe. Braunstein and Hamady talked the promoter into letting Bloodstone do the show free of charge. The group went over like gangbusters, which led to a contract with Decca. (Their records came out in the U.S. on the London imprint.)
Their first LP, 1972’s Bloodstone, produced no hits. The year 1973, however, gave the group their signature song. Per Charles McCormick, “We were sittin’ around, and the guys were smokin’ a little weed. I said, ‘I’m on a natural high, I don’t need none of that.’ I went back to the room I slept in, closed the door, and got to thinkin’ about my wife: ‘Why do I keep my mind / On you all the time?’ I sang the opening guitar melody to Willis [Draffen]. It had a Spanish feel. Then I had him put the wah-wah on it. Willis ran with it, and it turned out beautiful.”
“Natural High” became a #4 Soul and #10 pop hit. It was also certified gold. Though far and away their biggest record on the pop chart, 1974’s “Outside Woman” was an even bigger Soul hit than “Natural High,” peaking at #2 on that survey.
In 1976, Bloodstone starred in, and wrote the music for, the movie Train Ride to Hollywood. It featured the band performing in a number of different musical styles, which they been doing from day one. When their Decca contract expired, Bloodstone moved on to CBS/Columbia. They recorded one album there, but it was never released. They next moved on to Motown, but their 1979 album, Don’t Stop, yielded no hits.
Bloodstone entered the ‘80s rudderless until they met manager Kitty Sears. She believed in “We Go a Long Way Back,” a Charles Love song that Motown had rejected, and got them a contract with the Isley Brothers’ T-Neck label. The song hit #5 on the Soul chart in the spring of 1982.
Of the original group, Roger Durham died in 1973, Melvin Webb in 1982, Willis Draffen in 2002, and Charles Love in 2014. Bloodstone eventually became a trio comprising Harry Williams, Charles McCormick, and Donald Brown.
Rock critic Dave Marsh included “Natural High” in his 1989 book, The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made.
Charted singles:
“Natural High” (1973) R&B #4, Pop #10
“Never Let You Go” (1973) R&B #7, Pop #43
“Outside Woman” (1974) R&B #2, Pop #34
“That’s Not How It Goes” (1974) R&B #22, Pop #82
“My Little Lady” (1975) R&B #4, Pop #57
“Give Me Your Heart” (1975) R&B #18
“Do You Wanna Do a Thing” (1976) R&B #19, Pop #101
“Just Like in the Movies” (1976) R&B #58
“We Go a Long Way Back” (1982) R&B #5
“Go On and Cry” (1982) R&B #18
“My Love Grows Stronger (Part 1)” (1982) R&B #44
“Instant Love” (1984) R&B #42
“Bloodstone’s Party” (1984) R&B #69
