Odds & Ends

Odds & Ends were a family affair, consisting of siblings Wanda (December 29, 1952) and Larry Butler (January 31, 1951), and Jim Grant (August 26, 1955); Grant had a different father but the same mother. Originally from Dorchester, GA, the youngsters sang in school and church before moving to Philadelphia when Wanda, aka Doll, was 13. Philly's fast-talking disc jockeys Sonny "the Mighty Burner" Hobson and Jerry "the Geater with the Heater" Blavatt fascinated the Southern teens. Naturally talented, they formed Doll and the Odds & Ends and worked up some secular songs. Mom's (Regina Grant) basement doubled as a rehearsal room for her kids. Doll and Larry did a Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell takeoff, but Mom wanted Jim involved and they acquiesced. Jim didn't like singing -- he hated it. Larry had to pay his younger brother to rehearse, but he did enjoy dancing and busting moves while Doll and Larry performed. Jim's only solos through Odds & Ends' existence were Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" and Edwin Starr's "Twenty Five Miles." Mrs. Grant encouraged them to sing together because she sang gospel with her siblings and cousins in Georgia but never got anywhere. They rehearsed diligently and were accompanied in Mom's basement by Kenneth Jackson (guitar), Tyrone Braxton (piano), Kenny Stone (xylophone), and a drummer. These musicians were history, however, when the trio started recording. Robert Hawes assumed the managerial duties after observing them perform at family gigs, such as cookouts and weddings. Hawes got the ears of Bobby Martin and Thom Bell; an audition followed, and soon the group signed with Today Records as Odds & Ends. The first release, "Let Me Try" (August 1970) -- produced by Bobby Martin -- was an irresistible beat ballad that sold well in Philly,...