24-Carat Black -

24-Carat Black was an American soul-funk band from Cincinnati, Ohio, that released the album Ghetto: Misfortune’s Wealth on Stax-subsidiary Enterprise in 1973. The following year, the band recorded a second album that was ultimately released in 2009 by archivists Numero.

Members: Dale Warren, Ernest Latimore, Billy Talbert, Larry Austin, Tyrone Steels, Leslie Carter, Richard Sebastian, Greg Ingram

Background

24-Carat Black formed in 1971 in Cincinnati, Ohio, out of a teenage soul group called the Ditalians. The original lineup featured bassist Larry Austin (b. April 19, 1953), percussionist Tyrone Steels (b. July 17, 1954), tenor saxophonist Jerome Derrickson (b. June 22, 1953), trumpeter Ricky Foster (b. October 16, 1952), keyboardist James Talbert (electric piano), organist William Talbert, and singers Princess Hearn (b. May 30, 1954), Kathleen Dent, and Valerie Malone.

Austin, Steels, and Derrickson met in high school stage band, where they learned brass and rhythm section arrangement through their music program. Foster played trumpet in marching and jazz ensembles, while the Talbert brothers studied keyboards and church organ. Hearn and Dent sang in church choirs and neighborhood talent shows. By the late 1960s, the members united as the Ditalians, performing at teen hops, local clubs, and talent showcases.

The Ditalians issued two regional singles on Saxony, “Philly Dog New Breed” (b/w “Egypt Land”) in 1966 and “I Gotta Go” (b/w “Egypt Land”) in 1967. Mercury picked them up for “Times Getting Hard (Josephine)” (b/w “Baby That Takes the Cake”) in May 1969, credited to Billy Best and the Ditalians.

In 1971, the group met classically trained Detroit arranger Dale Warren (b. 1943), a Motown and Stax veteran who’d arranged string charts for Isaac Hayes, Eddie Floyd, and the Staple Singers. Warren, then on Stax staff, took them under his direction, renamed the band 24-Carat Black, and began developing a concept album. The band relocated to Memphis in 1972, where Warren staged them at Stax functions and Wattstax-related showcases, introducing them as a young R&B orchestra.

Ghetto: Misfortune’s Wealth

24-Carat Black released their debut album, Ghetto: Misfortune’s Wealth, on May 25, 1973, on Enterprise, a Stax subsidiary.

The album is a conceptual soul-funk suite centered on urban poverty and inner-city struggle. Warren composed and arranged the work as eight connected “synopses” with long-form orchestral passages, extended vocal sections, and thematic reprises. The music blends jazz-inflected brass writing with steady rhythm-section pacing, layered vocal arrangements, and Warren’s symphonic string scoring.

Warren composed and arranged the entire album. He co-wrote “Synopsis One: In the Ghetto / God Save the World” with Bonnie J. Warren. The band performs original material throughout.

The centerpiece tracks “Synopsis One: In the Ghetto / God Save the World” and “Poverty’s Paradise” span more than twenty minutes combined, alternating sung narratives and orchestral motifs. “Brown-Baggin’” moves in shorter bursts with clipped horn phrases, while “Foodstamps” and “Ghetto: Misfortune’s Wealth” layer spoken passages and sustained vocal lines over descending harmonic figures. Closer “24-Carat Black (Theme)” reprises earlier motifs with full ensemble.

A1. “Synopsis One: In the Ghetto / God Save the World” (8:34) — conceived as a two-part opening movement, co-written with Bonnie J. Warren.
A2. “Poverty’s Paradise” (12:40)
A3. “Brown-Baggin’” (6:45)

B1. “Synopsis Two: Mother’s Day” (2:04)
B2. “Mother’s Day” (9:46)
B3. “Foodstamps” (6:26)
B4. “Ghetto: Misfortune’s Wealth” (3:41)
B5. “24-Carat Black (Theme)” (7:17)

Sessions occurred at Morgan Sound Theatre in Memphis with producer and arranger Dale Warren and engineer Glenn Quackenbush. Brian Dumbroski and Pete Bishop assisted on remix.

Warren directed a 24-piece string section, including violinists Albert Edelman, Joan Gilbert, Noel Gilbert, and Robert Snyder; violists Dale Warren, David Becker, and John Wehlan; and cellists Barbara Thompson and Vincent De Frank.

The core R&B ensemble consisted of bassist Larry Austin, guitarist Ernest Latimore, percussionist Tyrone Steels, tenor saxophonist Jerome Derrickson, trumpeters Ricky Foster and William Gentry, flutists Edwin Hubbard and James Terry, and keyboardists James Talbert (electric piano) and William Talbert (organ). Dale Warren performed piano and vibraphone. Lead and backing vocals were handled by Ernest Latimore, Kathleen Dent, Princess Hearn, Tyrone Steels, and Valerie Malone.

Ghetto: Misfortune’s Wealth features cover art by David Hogan and Ron Gorden with photography by Frederick Toma.

Enterprise promoted the album with the single “Poverty’s Paradise” (b/w “Brown-Baggin’”), issued in mid-1973.

The album gained retrospective recognition in the 1990s and 2000s through widespread sampling in hip-hop. Eric B. & Rakim sampled “In the Ghetto” in 1990.

Gone: The Promises of Yesterday

24-Carat Black’s second album, Gone: The Promises of Yesterday, appeared in 2009 on Numero Group, sourced from mid-1970s demos intended for Stax and later Audio Dimension.

The material stems from sessions Warren produced between 1974 and 1975 in Cincinnati and Detroit with a second-wave lineup. It expands the group’s sound with smoother vocal blends, extended midtempo grooves, and heavier electric piano presence. The songs retain Warren’s symphonic soul framework but lean toward romantic themes and personal narratives over the urban poverty concept of their debut.

The new lineup featured holdovers Tyrone Steels (percussion, vocals) and Princess Hearn (vocals), joined by bassist Clevie Givens, guitarist Gregory Ingram, keyboardist and singer Niambi Steele, and trumpeter Jerome Derrickson. Warren handled string arrangements, piano, and production. This configuration toured regionally as 24-Carat Black through the mid-1970s, performing material from both the first album and new compositions.

Warren wrote and arranged all seven songs. The title track, “Gone: The Promises of Yesterday,” opens with layered electric piano figures and sustained vocal phrasing. “I Began to Weep” features Steele and Hearn in close harmony over rolling Fender Rhodes lines. “I Want to Make Up” and “I Don’t Love You” employ clipped guitar and understated string backing. “I’ll Never Let You Go” follows classic soul ballad form, while “I Start Counting” combines a slow vamp with repeated vocal refrains.

1. “The Best of Good Love Gone” (4:34)
2. “I Began to Weep” (5:04)
3. “I Want to Make Up” (5:41)
4. “I Don’t Love You” (5:11)
5. “Gone: The Promises of Yesterday” (7:32)
6. “I’ll Never Let You Go” (6:39)
7. “I Start Counting” (4:48)

Sessions occurred at Warren’s home studio in Detroit and a rehearsal hall in Cincinnati with basic tracking by the second-wave touring band. Warren overdubbed string parts using a small orchestral ensemble.

Numero Group issued the album with restored audio from original reel tapes and a booklet detailing the group’s post-Stax period. Cover design is by Rob Sevier and Ken Shipley, adapted from a 1970s publicity image.

Discography: