Just the other week, I was home scanning old show flyers from the ’70s, and I happened upon a flyer by a Richmond VA group called Poison. The flyer has a very detailed image of a band full of skeletons rocking out on stage, and the first thing that popped into my head actually had nothing to do with Poison….rather the skeletons.

If you’re a hip-hop head and really into samples, then you are most certainly familiar with a group called Skull Snaps. Just as the group name features a portion of the human skeleton, the cover features skulls… with the interior featuring full skeletons. This is what I immediately thought of when I saw this Poison flyer. Fast forward a few days, and I just happen to find a nice clean original copy of the Skull Snaps LP here in DC. What are the chances of that?! So anyways, you may be reading this and wondering how the Diplomats fit in. The Diplomats, in fact, are the Skull Snaps. Prior to moving to NY, and recording the Skull Snaps LP and singles, the group was living in their hometown of Salisbury, MD, playing around DC, and backing a soul artist named “Tiny” Tim (see Ru-Jac singles for some of Tim’s work). They broke away from that group prior to 1960, changed their name to The Diplomats, and relocated (in the early ’60s) to NYC where they recorded a number of singles. “I’ve Got the Kind of Love” is a fantastic soul ballad; moody, heartfelt, and with a beat straight made for RZA. Check it out!