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Artist profile
The Beltones
The Beltones were a Detroit group active in the 1960s, led by vocalist James "Son" Thomas and guitarist Jimmy Reed. Their sound drew from R&B, soul, and...
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Curated by Ethan Walker
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Lock And Load
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Set 'Em Up Stevie
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Shoot The Shit
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Weak
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Ain't No Life
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Better Than A Kick In The Head
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16 lyric pages live
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Lock And Load
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Set 'Em Up Stevie
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Shoot The Shit
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Weak
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Ain't No Life
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Better Than A Kick In The Head
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Casualty
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Cheap Trinkets
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Fuck You Anyway
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Hellfire
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Insipid Sedentary Girl
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Let The Bombs Fall
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Lullabye
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Mix It Up
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Shitty In Pink
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The Thief
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Background notes
Archive material and source history
The Beltones were a Detroit group active in the 1960s, led by vocalist James "Son" Thomas and guitarist Jimmy Reed. Their sound drew from R&B, soul, and gospel, and they had a local hit with "Ain't No Life" in 1964. The band's lineup also included Walter J. Washington on bass, Bill Willis on saxophone, and James King on drums.
They released several albums in the mid-1960s, including "The Beltones Sing" and a self-titled record for "Ain't No Life." Other songs in their catalog include "Better Than A Kick In The Head," "Casualty," and "Fuck You Anyway." The group worked in a segregated music industry that presented significant obstacles for Black artists at the time.
While their commercial reach was limited, the Beltones were respected by peers and recorded with other notable artists of the era. Their original lineup did not continue performing together indefinitely, but their recordings from that period have been collected on compilations like "The Best of the Beltones."
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LyroVerse currently has 16 visible lyric pages for The Beltones.
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