Come On Train - by Don Thomas

Possibly my personal favourite Northern Soul track, “Come on Train,” by Don Thomas was released in 1973. 

Don Thomas, originally named Charlie Thomas, was a member of the Drifters from 1969 to 1971. His birthplace was Richmond, Virginia, and he changed his name when he joined The Drifters to avoid being mistaken for Charles Thomas, who was already a long-standing member.
 

In 1971, he left the group and subsequently wrote and released "Come on Train," a song that achieved considerable popularity in the UK Northern club scene. 

I love the gospel-esque backing chant that backs the song and the bass line throughout is just superb.

Based in the Bronx, New York, Don is still active in the music industry.

Let’s Wade In the Water - Marlena Shaw

With its jazz and R&B leanings, this energetic, soulful song, initially a B-side, was a favourite in Northern Soul clubs throughout the 1970s.

Marlena Shaw was born Marlina Burgess in New York in September 1939. She was brought on stage at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem by her jazz trumpet-playing uncle at the young age of 13 to sing with his band. Marlena’s mother, however, would not permit her to tour with the band at such a young age, halting her developing career.

She started singing in jazz clubs from the early 1960s and became known for songs such as “Woman of the Ghetto” and Ashford and Simpson’s “California Soul.” With a voice that sits between jazz sophistication and raw soul energy, DJs grew to love her records.

Despite its B-side release and being overshadowed by her more famous songs, "Let's Wade in the Water" became a Northern club hit, with dancers performing acrobatically to Marlena's powerful vocals and the song's strong rhythm.

Marlena passed away in January 2024, at the age of 84.

I Just Can’t Live My Life (Without You Babe) - Linda Jones

The next Northern Soul hit we're featuring is by American R&B singer Linda Jones.

Her tragic tale, sadly, led to a substantially abbreviated career, one that showed immense promise at its peak.

Celebrated for her emotionally charged performances and powerful vocal delivery, Linda Jones was born in New Jersey in 1944. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s with chart-topping hits that made her one of soul music’s most distinctive voices.

Her 1967 single “Hypnotized” reached the U.S. R&B Top 10, establishing her as a formidable presence in the soul scene.

I Just Can’t Live My Life (Without You Babe) became a long-time dance-floor favourite among Northern Soul aficionados. Originally released in 1968 as the flip-side to her single “My Heart (Will Understand),” producer George Kerr wanted a track that he believed would push her voice to emotional extremes.

Her life was cut short tragically in 1972 at the age of 27, stemming from diabetes complications after performing at the Apollo Theatre in New York City. 

Despite her brief career, her work has influenced generations of soul and gospel singers.

Posthumous releases and compilations have sustained her reputation as one of soul music’s great “lost voices,” admired for her vocal power and heartfelt sincerity.

The Snake - Al Wilson

Another club favourite from back in the Northern Soul era was “The Snake,” by Al Wilson.

Originally written and first recorded in 1963 by civil-rights activist Oscar Brown, it became a hit for US singer Al Wilson 5 years later. It relates a story very similar to Aesop’s fable “The Farmer and the Viper.”

The song tells the tale of a kind-hearted woman who rescues a freezing snake and nurses it back to health. When she was later bitten by the snake, she protests, only to be told: “You knew darn well I was a snake before you took me in.”

The song is a parable about betrayal — a warning about trusting someone who shows clear signs of being harmful.

Its success on the Northern Soul scene led to its appearance on over 30 pop and Northern Soul compilation albums and to its use in a Lambrini TV advertisement in the UK. Donald Trump also featured the song at a political rally in Pennysylvania.

Al Wilson, who was also remembered for his later million-seller hit “Show and Tell,” was born in Meridian, Mississippi in 1939. He passed away from Kkidney failure in 2008.