Pioneering Philly soul from the girl who challenged the might of Motown and almost beat it.
The recordings of Nella Dodds have charmed collectors of Northern Soul and girl groups for more than 35 years. Although Nella was scheduled to have a vinyl album in the mid 60s, it was never released. "This Is A Girl's Life" collects up all 15 of the tracks that she cut for Philadelphia's Dyno-Dynamic Productions (leased by New York's Wand label) between 1964 and 1966. Three of them have never been heard in public since the day they were recorded, more than 41 years ago.
Besides Nella, others who participated in these sessions include musicians who went on to form the core of MFSB, legendary Philly DJ/songwriter Jimmy Bishop - discoverer of and mentor to a host of other Philadelphia soul greats, most notably Barbara Mason - and Philadelphia International co-founder Kenneth Gamble, who wrote many of the songs.
These were the only recordings that Nella Dodds made during soul's golden era. Happily she's still around, singing, acting (she's in the Bruce Almighty follow-up film Evan Almighty) and totally thrilled that her early recordings are at last being enshrined on compact disc for soul lovers of all ages."
