WENDY RENE - AFTER LAUGHTER COMES TEARS: COMPLETE STAX AND VOLT SINGLES + RARITIES 1964-1965 (2LP)

Wendy Rene After Laughter Comes Tears: Complete Stax And Volt Singles + Rarities 1964-1965 on 2LP

It’s been a long time coming, but After Laughter Comes Tears is the first ever anthology of Southern soul legend Wendy Rene, whose classic, organ-driven “After Laughter (Comes Tears)” has been covered or sampled by everyone from the Wu Tang Clan (“Tearz”) to Alicia Keys (“Where Do We Go From Here”) to Lykke Li and El Perro Del Mar.

Born Mary Frierson in Memphis, TN, home of Stax Records, Wendy Rene was christened by Otis Redding on signing to Stax as a teenager in 1963. Back then, she and brother Johnny Frierson, both singers at the Church of God In Christ, were determined to make it in music. Forming singing quartet The Drapels with two friends, they took the bus to 926 E. McLemore Avenue, auditioned for Stax co-founder Jim Stewart, and won a deal on the spot. “As soon as we finished with the Drapels’ songs and (the rest of the band) were going to the bus stop, I showed Mr. Stewart my songs,” recalls Rene. The result? Stewart found two acts in one, and Mary had two contracts with Stax.

Both Drapels and Wendy began recording with the greats, that’s The MGs on the group’s “Young Man,” Booker T. Jones playing organ on “After Laughter” and Steve Cropper playing guitar on the dance craze-inspired “Bar-B-Q.” Though her career was brief, Wendy Rene left behind a thrilling catalog of classic soul.

Here, Light In The Attic gives it the archive treatment it richly deserves. First ever anthology of Southern soul legend Wendy Rene including 11 singles, 9 rarities and 2 unreleased songs. This 2LP set features glorious mono sound restored and remastered from the original tapes, notes by Andria Lisle interviewing Rene and unseen photos and original label art.

Wendy Rene After Laughter Comes Tears: Complete Stax And Volt Singles + Rarities 1964-1965 Track Listing:

1.  Bar B Q - Wendy Rene
2.  Gone For Good - Wendy Rene
3.  Your Love Is All I Need - The Drapels
4.  After Laughter (Comes Tears) - Wendy Rene
5.  I Wish I Were That Girl - Wendy Rene
6.  What Will Tomorrow Bring - Wendy Rene
7.  Wondering (When My Love Is Coming Home) - The Drapels
8.  Deep In My Heart - Wendy Rene
9.  Give You What I Got - Wendy Rene
10. Crying All By Myself - Wendy Rene
11. Crowded Park - Wendy Rene
12. Last Love - Wendy Rene
13. Love At First Sight - Wendy Rene
14. She's Moving Away - Wendy Rene
15. He Hasn't Failed Me Yet - Wendy Rene
16. Please Don't Leave Me - The Drapels
17. The Same Guy - Wendy Rene
18. Young Man - The Drapels
19. Can't Stay Away - Wendy Rene
20. First Kiss - Wendy Rene
21. Reap What You Sow - Wendy Rene
22. Young And Foolish - Wendy Rene