On the second Saturday of every month since April 2014, the Motor City Soul Club has filled the Marble Bar with rare jams from the 1960s and 鈥70s. Dan Austin, along with pals Erica Aytes and Peoples Records store owner Brad Hales, revels in turning on listeners with lost dance-floor classics, which means Austin is constantly on the lookout for rare soul vinyl.
One of Austin鈥檚 current favorite finds is 鈥淭he Key to My Happiness鈥 by The Charades, which he says is 鈥渁 45 I鈥檝e been after for, like, five or six years.鈥 But his all-timer is an 鈥渙bscure Betty Wright 45 that she put out on a small label out of Florida when she was 14 years old. 鈥 It鈥檚 called 鈥楳r. Lucky,鈥 and it鈥檚 sort of a trademark of my sets at Motor City Soul Club events.鈥
But even a guy with 2,000-plus LPs and countless 45s still has a holy grail record.
鈥淭his one changes every couple of years, but right now it鈥檚 a 45 by Martha Starr called 鈥楲ove Is the Only Solution鈥 on Thelma [Records],鈥 Austin says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just the epitome of Detroit soul for me. Massive sound. Great hook. Undeniably danceable. Sadly, the Brits absconded with pretty much every copy known to man back in the 鈥70s and 鈥80s, so I haven鈥檛 been able to find one in the wild 鈥 and I can鈥檛 afford the price to repatriate one from online, even if one turned up for sale. There have been only two originals to sell on eBay in the last seven years.鈥
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