Stoney Ground was a single for UK soul group

The Foundations The Foundations were a British soul band who were primarily active between 1967 and 1970. The group's background was West Indian, White British and Sri Lankan. Their 1967 debut single " Baby Now That I've Found You" reached number one in the ...

. It made it on to the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' chart in 1972. It also represented the group's last charting first release of a single.

Background

"Stoney Ground" was composed by Conan Byrne and Warren Davis. It was backed with I'll Give You Love", a

Colin Young Colin Young (born 12 September 1944, Barbados) is an English singer who led Joe E. Young & The Toniks in the 1960s. He is mainly known for being a member of the British soul band the Foundations. He also led a progressive rock band and was part ...

composition. It's more than likely that Conan Byrne is Con Byrne and Warren Davis is the Warren Davis, both of The Warren Davis Monday Band. Interestingly, Davis had tried out to take the place of

Clem Curtis Clem Curtis (born Curtis Clements; 28 November 1940 – 27 March 2017) was a Trinidadian British singer, who was the original lead vocalist of sixties soul group the Foundations. Background Early life Born in Trinidad as Curtis Clements, he a ...

who had decided to leave The Foundations in 1968. Byrne and Davis had also composed "Honey (I Need Your Love)" for Mighty Dodos which was produced by Barry Kingston and released on the

Spark Spark commonly refers to: * Spark (fire), a small glowing particle or ember * Electric spark, a form of electrical discharge Spark may also refer to: People * Spark (surname) * Jessica Morgan (born 1992; formerly known as Spark), female singe ...

label in 1971. "Stoney Ground" was released in the UK on MCA MKS 5075. It was also released in the United States on Uni 55315. Following the break up of The Foundations in 1970, this was their last single issued in the early 1970s. When

Trend Records Trend Records was a post-World War II United States jazz record label. Trend's back catalogue was purchased by Albert Marx, an authority on jazz music and entrepreneur who founded Discovery Records in 1948, and much of its material was reissu ...

started out in early 1968, they had taken on

Eric Allandale Eric Allandale (born Eric Allandale Dubuisson 4 March 1936 – 23 August 2001) was a trombonist, songwriter, and bandleader. During the 1960s, he was in number of bands in various genres which included jazz pop and soul. Background Early life ...

, trombonist for The Foundations as a producer. The strategy back then was not to have him produce recordings by The Foundations. Colin Young left The Foundations around October 1970. It was reported by ''New Musical Express'' in the week ending October 10 that lead singer Young had left the group to pursue a solo career. He had already signed a contract with

Barry Class Barry Class is an entrepreneur, former music store chain owner, band manager, record label founder, musical director, producer and recording studio owner. His greatest success as a manager was with the soul group The Foundations. He also managed t ...

and was putting together his new group which was called

Development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting * Development hell, when a proje ...

. The Foundations split up in late 1970, but the name would later be revived.

Release

It was noted by ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' in the November 13, 1971 issue that "Stoney Ground" was due for a release. The magazine referred to it is as a comeback record for The Foundations.

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

MD Derek Everett had entered into a deal with Barry Class of Trend Records which he had described as unique. This was the first record issued by the group since they had finished their contract with

Pye Records PYE or Pye Records is an independent British record label. It was first established in 1955 and played a major role in shaping rock 'n' roll and pop music history. The Pye name was dropped in 1980 due to trademark issues, after which it produced ...

. It was released in the UK on MCA MKS 5075 in 1971. In Holland and Australia, it was released on

Trend A fad, trend, or craze is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation, or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short time period. Fads are objects or behaviors th ...

6099 0106. It also saw a release in New Zealand on MCA MC/S 5525, and in Trinidad & Tobago, it was released on MCA 55315. Along with "Our World" by

Blue Mink Blue Mink were a British six-piece pop group that existed from 1969 to 1977. Over that period they had six top 20 hit singles on the UK Singles Chart, and released five studio based albums. According to AllMusic: "they have been immortalised o ...

, "Annabella Umberella" by

Consortium A consortium () is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations, or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a ...

and "Beautiful People" by

The New Seekers The New Seekers were a British pop group, formed in London, in 1969, by Keith Potger, after the break-up of his group, the Seekers. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music wou ...

, the song was included on the 1970s

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

compilation, ''Top Talent Groups''.

Reviews

The single was reviewed by ''

'' in the January 22, 1972 issue. Noting the group's return to the disc scene and calling the song a potent swinger, ''Billboard'' said it had the potential of "

Baby, Now that I've Found You "Baby, Now That I've Found You" is a song written by Tony Macaulay and John Macleod, and performed by the Foundations. Part of the song was written in the same bar of a Soho tavern where Karl Marx is supposed to have written ''Das Kapital''. The ...

". Also that week, ''Record World'' reviewer, Kal Rudman in his Money Music column predicted it would put The Foundations back into the hit scene. A week later it was in the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' Picks of the Week. The reviewer said it carried itself along like a Grassroots breeze, and was their most commercial effort since "Baby, Now That I've Found You". It was also reviewed by ''Record World'' that week with the reviewer saying that they were back with more of the pop rock sounds that took them to the top of the Top 40.

Airplay

USA

For the week of February 5, 1972, ''Cash Box'' reported that it was a Primary Market addition, and along with "

Precious and Few "Precious and Few" is a song recorded by American group Climax which became a major North American hit in early 1972. The song was written by the band's guitarist, Walter D. Nims. Background Lead vocals on the demo were provided by Johnny McCur ...

" by

Climax Climax may refer to: Language arts * Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work * Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance Biology * Climax community, a biological community th ...

, added to the playlist of WTIX in New Orleans. It was also reported by ''Cash Box'' that it was a Secondary Market addition and now on the playlist of WLOF in Orlando.

Canada

For the week of March 4, 1972, it was in the Secondary Market category, on the playlist of CHOO in

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

. Still in the secondary market category, it was on the playlist of

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

station, CKRD for the week of March 18.

Charts

For the week of January 29, along with Santana, Rod Stewart, The Hillside Singers and BJ Thomas etc., they were on the pop section of the ''Cash Box'' Juke Box Programming Guide. For the week ending February 26, the single made its debut on the ''Billboard''

Bubbling Under the Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart. Spending a week in the chart it peaked at no. 113.

Later years

In later years, the song has achieved a level of popularity on the

Northern Soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...

scene. The track was included on ''The Very Best of the Foundations'' compilation, released on the Taragon label in 1995, and ''The Very Best of The Foundations'' compilation released on the

Varese Sarabande Varese ( , ; or ; ; ; archaic ) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 was 80,559. It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or exurban part ...

label in 2017. In In a review of the compilation, ''

Goldmine Goldmine may refer to: * A location where gold mining takes place * ''Goldmine'' (magazine), a music collectibles magazine * ''Goldmine'' (album), by Gabby Barrett, 2020 * "Goldmine" (George Fox song), 1989 * "Goldmine" (Kimbra song), 2015 * ...

'' said that the songs "Solomon Grundy" and the "last gasp" single "Stoney Ground" were enough to make one forget about the handful of songs on the single sounding similar to "

Build Me Up Buttercup "Build Me Up Buttercup" is a song written by Mike d'Abo and Tony Macaulay, and released by The Foundations in 1968 with Colin Young singing lead vocals. Young had replaced Clem Curtis during 1968, and this was the first Foundations hit on which ...

" or "Baby, Now That I've Found You."''Goldmine'', Apr 17, 2018
Music Reviews: March 2018 issue, THE FOUNDATIONSTHE BEST OF THE FOUNDATIONS, Varese Sarabande (CD)
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References

{{reflist 1971 singles The Foundations songs Uni Records singles MCA Records singles Trend Records (UK label) singles