Odds And Ends

Odds And Ends consisted of 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. Robert Hawes assumed the managerial duties after observing them perform at family gigs. 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 group recorded with Bell & Martin and later with Patrick Adams and Maurice Irby in New York between 1970 - 72. A total of 8 tracks were released on the Today label. Their first single "Let Me Try" reached number 30 in the charts in 1970 The B-side "Foot Track" found some popularity on the '90s UK rare groove scene. "Love Makes The World Go Round" (Today 1003) made the top 30 in '71 but after a couple of hits they fell into obscurity and Today records folded after running into financial difficulty. In the late '70's Mark King replaced James Grant and they recorded with United Artists as Unity, and after that as Three Million on Cotillion. Larry left music around 1991 after failing to get the Butlers, a gospel group consisting of him, Doll, and their Mom, Regina, off the ground after recording nearly an album's worth of material; Jim owns a hauling business; Doll, whose married name is Wanda Maultasby, has been inactive since 1994 when her third manager, Reggie Wilder, died -- Wilder was pushing her as a solo act, something she regretted not doing years before.