Alfreda Brockington’s first Phil-LA of Soul release, “Your Love Has Got Me Chained and Bound” b/w “I’ll Wait for You” (Phil-LA of Soul 334) was written and recorded in the fall of 1969 by John Ellison, the leader and songwriter for the Soul Brothers Six. A former church gospel singer, Alfreda Brockington was discovered by Walter Rayfield, who also originally brought the Soul Brothers Six to Philadelphia from their base in Rochester. Alfreda Brockington and the Soul Brothers Six became Phil-LA of Soul label mates in the late 1960s. Rayfield was a record-business entrepreneur who also worked for the post office and made regular trips between Philadelphia and Rochester. With an office on Broad Street across from the Uptown Theater, Rayfield had an eye for talent, and put Brockington together with Ellison in the studio for her recording, which was the first from a number of sessions for Phil-LA of Soul. Her next release on the label was “You Made Me A Woman” b/w “Crushing Me” (Phil-LA of Soul 338) which came out in May 1970. Ellison reprised his role in the control booth and wrote the A side, while Alfreda Brockington herself wrote the B side, “Crushing Me.” Brockington was married to a member of the Brockington Chorale Ensemble and resided in and near Philadelphia in the period of her productions and for at least some time thereafter. Other songs recorded for Phil-LA of Soul that await release include, “Share Your Lovin’,” “I’ll Never Leave You Alone,” “Softly I Lay My Head,” and “God Knows I Need a Friend.”
