J J Barnes - King of Northern Soul RIP

Very sorry to hear that yet another soul great has passed on - this time J J Barnes who only a few weeks ago was one of the stars of this year's Detroit A Go Go. He was 79. James Jay 'JJ' Barnes was born in Detroit and recorded for the Mickay's Label and then for Ric Tic, where oustanding tracks included 'Please Let Me In', 'Real Humdinger', 'Say It' and 'Day Tripper'. His most successful 45 was 'Baby Please Come Back Home' for Groovesville and he also recorded for the Stax subsidiary Volt which led to a joint album 'Rare Stamps' with Steve Mancha. J J's records were picked up by Northern Soul fans and he moved to England in the seventies where he signed to Contempo, which led to an LP - 'Sara Smile' - and several singles. Some of his early Ric Tic singles were re-released on Tamla Motown and he later recorded a version of Frank Wilson's 'Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)' and in the nineties recorded with producer Ian Levine. I saw J J at the Detroit A Go Go in 2019 (pictured above) where he appeared in a pink suit but still managed to look like a respectable bank manager. His singing was excellent and it's hard to argue with organiser Phil Dick's description of him as 'The King of Northern Soul'. RIP JJ.