Our exploration of Lou Ragland's storied recording history via Numero Group began with Los Nombres, a rag tag Puerto Rican soul band from Lorain, OH. We continue with Love Apple, a trio of soul sisters from Cleveland,OH who recorded with Ragland, but disbanded before the rehearsal tapes saw release.
Love Apple is comprised of Lilly Pearson, Annette Warren and Avetta Henry. In a time when girl groups were platforms for future divas, Love Apple were democratic in their recordings, sharing the lead duties. With Lou Ragland on guitar and Tony Roberson on drums, the rehearsal tapes are sparse in sound. None of the salvaged tracks have bass guitar. It hints of the brief relationship between Love Apple and Ragland, which was stressed after a publicity stunt by Ragland prior to a concert appearance by girl group.
On “Man On The Side” Love Apple sing of the basic requirement of a dependable man, even if it means having two gents on the bench. The bare instrumentation creates a soothing atmosphere, which lends to Love Apple's essential demands. It's unintentional, since these are merely rehearsal tapes, but fitting that the demos were left untouched by Ragland's mighty hand. Love Apple are left alone as three do-right girls from Cleveland with pipes and opinions on how a man should conduct himself.
Love Apple's self-titled LP is out today on Numero Group.
