Doug Shorts’ story isn’t just about one rare 45. It’s a lifetime lived in harmony with Chicago’s soul scene—from the barbershop harmonies of his uncles to battles of the bands in Cabrini-Green, talent shows at Cooley High, and stints with groups like The Mannequins, Crystal Image, and the funk-laced Master Plan Incorporated. In this remarkable interview with Bob Abrahamian, Shorts recounts a rich, layered career shaped by both heartbreak and hustle, revealing a vibrant, overlooked thread in the city’s musical tapestry.
Doug Shorts and the Making of Master Plan Incorporated
In the dusty corners of soul music history, it’s often the names not etched into Billboard charts that tell the richest stories. Doug Shorts is one of those names. His path—from singing harmony in the shadow of Cabrini-Green’s towers to forming one of Chicago’s most tenacious soul-funk outfits, Master Plan Incorporated—reminds us that soul music isn’t just about hit records. It’s about resilience, community, and the relentless pursuit of sound.
This interview with Bob Abrahamian, originally aired on WHPK’s Sitting in the Park, is more than a career retrospective. It’s a personal, lived archive of a musical era defined by backroom talent shows, dusty rehearsal spaces, and handshake record deals that never quite made it to the pressing plant.
Roots in Cabrini-Green
Doug Shorts’ musical life started in one of Chicago’s most culturally complex environments: the Near North Side, between the Gold Coast and Cabrini-Green. He was born into a family rich with vocal harmony—his uncles sang barbershop quartet-style, igniting his fascination with harmony and performance. Growing up amid North Side legends like Curtis Mayfield, Major Lance, and Jerry Butler, Shorts internalized not just their music but their hustle.
He formed his first serious group, The Mannequins, in the late ’60s while attending Wells High School. The lineup, a mix of neighborhood friends and classmates—including Polish keyboardist Racine Bailey and dancer Lucius Dobbs—mirrored the diverse, working-class communities of the North Side. Modeled after The Temptations, The Mannequins quickly became known for tight harmonies and sharp choreography, eventually battling groups like The Admirations and The Cascades at local talent shows.
Navigating the Industry's Labyrinth
The Mannequins’ first studio experience came at International Records on Milwaukee Avenue. They recorded four sides, but after a lawyer flagged a suspect contract, the group wisely walked away. Shorts then approached Brunswick Records, where Major Lance loved the material but shelved it after securing publishing rights. Even Jerry Butler’s Writers Workshop—where Shorts studied songwriting under legends like Calvin Carter—couldn’t salvage the deal once rights were entangled.
This was a recurring theme: brilliant tracks stuck in legal limbo. Doug was cautious, outspoken, and business-savvy—traits that often branded him “the bad guy” in an industry hungry for submission over negotiation.
The Birth of Master Plan
After stints with The Visitors and Crystal Image (a Marvin & Tammi-style act with Carolyn Love), Shorts formed Master Plan Incorporated in 1974. Initially a raw, horn-driven ensemble rehearsing in a rented North Side hall, they evolved into a potent live unit—reminiscent of Kool & The Gang and Earth, Wind & Fire—capable of tearing up venues from Detroit to Toronto.
Their early track Try It, You’ll Like It, recorded in Minnesota with David Z (later an engineer for Prince), captures this energy. It's raw, funky, and unmistakably Midwestern.
As the band grew, tensions with other North Side groups like The Fugitives flared—especially after Master Plan poached singer/guitarist Archie Brooks and bassist Eddie Manning. Internal drama aside, their musicianship was undeniable.
They returned to Brunswick in 1980 to record Something to Be Done, only to walk out again after shady business dealings. The track—written by Brooks and re-recorded with the help of Greg Arguetty and Ed Cody—finally surfaced on a private-press 45 under the name Master Plan Incorporated. Few copies exist today, making it one of the rarest and most sought-after Chicago soul records of its time.
Reinvention and Legacy
Doug’s journey didn’t end there. A funk band stint, gospel recordings, a corporate day job, and a move to Los Angeles in the mid-’80s all followed. He released a gospel cassette, Where Is Your Faith, and later returned to Chicago, where he built a home studio and kept recording.
Even now, Shorts remains prolific, with two unreleased albums—Chicago Basement Steppin’ and Welcome to Funk Land—sitting on standby. Collaborating to this day with longtime partner Archie Brooks, he continues to create music rooted in the grooves of his past but looking toward the future.
Doug Shorts may never have had a national hit, but that’s not the story here. His is the tale of a working-class soul survivor, shaped by Cabrini-Green’s echoes, the raw power of harmony, and the tireless pursuit of creative control. Through every near-miss and shelved demo, he’s stayed true to the spirit of soul—not just as a genre, but as a life lived with feeling.
Bob Abrahamian 00:00
You are now listening to the Sitting in the Park show. Today, we’re doing something that we haven’t done in a while. It’s going to be a really special show, because I’m doing an interview with a singer named Doug Shorts. Can you say hi?
Doug Shorts 00:12
Hey, what’s going on?
Bob Abrahamian 00:14
So Doug was in a group called the Master Plan that played around Chicago in the ’70s and cut one obscure record—oh, you cut a couple records?
Doug Shorts 00:22
Yeah, I cut two. One with the band, and one—it was also with the band—but yeah, on cassette.
Bob Abrahamian 00:27
Oh yeah. I’m so focused on vinyl. But it’s going to be a really interesting interview, because Doug has a lot of history in Chicago, a lot of connections. And we have some excellent unreleased material, as well as some new material. So you should definitely keep listening. And the records you did release were very good—they just didn’t get distributed very well.
So first of all, I always like to ask people: are you originally from Chicago?
Doug Shorts 01:00
Born and raised—Cook County Hospital.
Bob Abrahamian 01:03
And what part of Chicago are you from?
Doug Shorts 01:06
The Near North Side. Adjacent to Cabrini-Green—between the Gold Coast and Cabrini-Green.
Bob Abrahamian 01:12
So Cabrini-Green is kind of legendary for all the North Side groups coming out of there—like Curtis Mayfield, Major…
Doug Shorts 01:18
…Lance, Jerry Butler, Billy Butler.
Bob Abrahamian 01:21
So when did you first live there?
Doug Shorts 01:23
I was born at Cook County Hospital. My first address was on Larrabee Street, about 1013 or something like that. From birth—all the way. When they first built Cabrini—I think they built it maybe in ’53 or ’54—I lived there in ’57. It was still practically new.
Bob Abrahamian 01:39
So did you know Curtis or Major?
Doug Shorts 01:41
No, I knew Major. I didn’t know Curtis. Curtis went to school with my uncle, as did Jerry Butler. Major went to school with one of my uncles. But I eventually met Major. Though he was more “minor” than he was Major…
Bob Abrahamian 01:53
What school was that?
Doug Shorts 01:55
Wells High.
Bob Abrahamian 01:56
Okay, so how did you first get involved with music?
Doug Shorts 01:59
My uncles had, like, a barbershop quartet. They used to sing all the time at home, and I always wanted to get involved. But they wouldn’t let me. That kind of stoked the fire in me to want to sing.
Bob Abrahamian 02:09
So they were always singing harmony?
Doug Shorts 02:11
Yeah—beautiful harmony, man.
Bob Abrahamian 02:13
So when did you first start singing?
Doug Shorts 02:15
Probably in high school—about my second year. I started a group with some friends, some high school friends. That was in the ’60s—probably around ’67, my third year of high school.
Bob Abrahamian 02:24
What was your group called?
Doug Shorts 02:25
The Mannequins.
Bob Abrahamian 02:27
Was that the first time you were really singing in harmony with other people?
Doug Shorts 02:30
Yeah, actually. Well, the guys in the neighborhood and I sang together, but they weren’t really up to speed to be in a group. So when I got to high school, I found a couple of Polish guys—like Racine Bailey. He was a member of the same church I went to. He played keyboard and had great harmony. So we were pretty much the nucleus of the group.
Then we met Lawrence Calvin while at school. He was from the West Side and hooked up with us.
Bob Abrahamian 02:55
How did you meet him?
Doug Shorts 02:56
Just in the cafeteria or something. He was a lively guy. We liked him. He went to Wells too.
Bob Abrahamian 03:01
And he wanted to sing?
Doug Shorts 03:02
Yeah. He was a ladies' man—a chick magnet. So we brought him into the group to help draw attention.
Bob Abrahamian 03:07
So that was three members you just named?
Doug Shorts 03:09
Yeah. Then we added Lucius Dobbs. He was a real solid dancer. He taught us dance steps and helped us get tighter as a group. And Lucius had a friend, Otha Alexander, who we brought in. So we had a five-piece group—we were imitating The Temptations.
Bob Abrahamian 03:24
So you did a lot of Motown-type stuff?
Doug Shorts 03:26
Yeah, a lot of Motown stuff.
Bob Abrahamian 03:28
I know on the North Side at that time—like in Cabrini—one of the bigger groups was The Admirations.
Doug Shorts 03:33
Yeah, they were our competition.
Bob Abrahamian 03:35
People on my show always want to hear “Wait Till I Get to Know You.”
Doug Shorts 03:38
Yeah, that was a good song.
Bob Abrahamian 03:39
So you knew them and did shows with them?
Doug Shorts 03:41
Yeah, we did a lot of talent shows together—even before they ever got the record. And even after they released the record, we still did shows together.
Bob Abrahamian 04:13
And did you know—I know The Players were there too. Heard Butler and The Players?
Doug Shorts 04:17
Yeah, we knew them too. They were my uncle’s age—they were older.
Bob Abrahamian 04:21
And what about Joe Brackenridge and The Cascades?
Doug Shorts 04:25
Yeah, we did some shows with them. We did a battle of the bands with them when they were still called The Cascades.
Bob Abrahamian 04:30
What record—was it "Pain in My Heart"?
Doug Shorts 04:32
Yeah, that was their biggest record. We played with them.
Bob Abrahamian 04:35
What are some of the other groups you remember from back in the day that you battled against?
Doug Shorts 04:41
There was a girls’ group—I don’t remember the name—but it was Bertha, Bernice, and Janet. They were from Cooley High. I don’t know their group name, but they were the hottest girl group on the North Side. They were our biggest competition—even more than The Admirations and The Ambitions.
Bob Abrahamian 05:00
The Ambitions?
Doug Shorts 05:01
Yeah, they were another tough group. They patterned themselves after Jerry Butler and Curtis Mayfield. That was in the ’60s too. We all did talent shows, but The Ambitions never recorded anything, as far as I know.
Bob Abrahamian 05:13
But you were telling me that one of the members of that group…
Doug Shorts 05:15
Yeah—Keith Samuels. He was one of the singers. He eventually moved to Atlanta. I helped him get a hook-up, and he started a group called Ripple. They had a couple of hit records.
Bob Abrahamian 05:27
Ripple, the funk group?
Doug Shorts 05:29
Yeah, very funky. A wine distributor backed them up—Ripple, like the wine. He came back and brought some wine for us!
Bob Abrahamian 05:35
So it was the late ’60s, and you were singing. Can you talk a little bit about the shows? Where did you perform? You talk about battling other groups—were they all competitions? Did you ever open for anyone? What was going on?
Doug Shorts 05:47
Yeah, we actually did get into opening acts. But at first, it was like amateur hour. We would do shows at places like St. Joseph’s basement—there was a school on Orleans Street called St. Joseph’s. We did talent shows there, and at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church too. A lot of competition, just trying to see who was the best.
Then my group got lucky—we found a place called Poor Richard’s. It used to be a folk club. They closed, and a lady from Washington, D.C. came in and turned it into a non-profit corporation. She made it our place—our home base. We rehearsed and did shows there.
Bob Abrahamian 06:26
So you did shows against different groups there too?
Doug Shorts 06:28
Yeah. One group was The Soul Invaders—they were our main competition. They had a guy who did James Brown.
Bob Abrahamian 06:35
Was it Frankie Newsome in The Soul Invaders?
Doug Shorts 06:37
No, it was Greg White, Sammy Finder’s brother. Chuck Taylor and James Willie Townsend were also in the group. James did the James Brown routine—he was the best James Brown impersonator.
Bob Abrahamian 06:48
Okay, and that was how they kept up with you?
Doug Shorts 06:50
That was the only way they could hang with us. They couldn’t touch us otherwise, but that James Brown act kept them competitive with us.
Bob Abrahamian 06:56
I think they cut a record too?
Doug Shorts 06:58
Yeah, I think they did. I never heard it though.
Bob Abrahamian 07:01
So how long were The Mannequins together?
Doug Shorts 07:03
I’d say from about 1967 to around 1971—about four years.
Bob Abrahamian 07:10
So pretty much throughout high school?
Doug Shorts 07:12
Yeah, we stayed together all through that.
Bob Abrahamian 07:14
Did you ever become a bigger group—like touring or opening for other acts?
Doug Shorts 07:17
Well, after The Mannequins went by the wayside, I kept the band and became a solo artist. I picked up a girl singer from Cooley High—Carolyn Love—and we did a duet like Marvin and Tammi. We did a lot of openings—High Chaparral for Lou Rawls, Detroit Emeralds, Denise LaSalle… just to name a few.
Bob Abrahamian 07:43
But I think we’re skipping part of your career at that point. So, The Mannequins—did you ever record?
Doug Shorts 07:48
We recorded four sides at this place called International Records over off of Milwaukee Avenue. But we never signed a contract, so they were never released.
Bob Abrahamian 07:58
Why didn’t you sign the contract?
Doug Shorts 07:59
The contract was bogus. My mother’s boyfriend at the time was a lawyer. He looked at the contract and had a fit—laughed at it. There was no way we could sign that. So we dropped the idea and left the songs behind.
Bob Abrahamian 08:10
Okay.
Doug Shorts 08:11
But I took those same four songs and went to Brunswick Records and auditioned them there. Major Lance fell in love with the songs and acted like he wanted to use them. So I signed the songs over to Brunswick’s publishing.
Bob Abrahamian 08:23
And they never used them?
Doug Shorts 08:25
Nope. They shelved them.
Bob Abrahamian 08:26
That’s too bad.
Doug Shorts 08:27
Yeah, probably would’ve made some money.
Bob Abrahamian 08:29
Yeah, probably would’ve worked.
Doug Shorts 08:31
Because then I took them across the street to Jerry Butler—he had opened up a workshop. He liked the songs too, but once he found out that Brunswick owned the publishing rights, he wouldn’t touch them.
Bob Abrahamian 08:41
So you’re talking about the Writers Workshop he had?
Doug Shorts 08:43
Yeah, I was a member of the Writers Workshop.
Bob Abrahamian 08:45
So did you actually record at Brunswick, or were you just auditioning?
Doug Shorts 08:48
We just auditioned at that time. But later on—when the Master Plan came together—we did actually record at Brunswick.
Bob Abrahamian 08:55
Okay.
Doug Shorts 08:56
But then we had a problem with the contract again. We went in on a verbal agreement—a handshake deal. But by the time we started recording, we had already cut four sides, and they started slipping producers in on us and finding other ways to take money. Once I saw what was going on, I put a wrench in the machinery and broke up the session.
Bob Abrahamian 09:13
It’s good that when you were younger—though the records didn’t come out—you had someone protecting you with that contract, because a lot of people got ripped off.
Doug Shorts 09:20
Yeah, my mom wasn’t having it. She saw we were serious and wanted to make sure we got paid if we played.
Bob Abrahamian 09:26
That’s smart.
Doug Shorts 09:27
So I kind of played devil’s advocate all the time. When the business didn’t look right, I spoke up. So I was the bad guy.
Bob Abrahamian 09:34
Okay, so how did—when… how long… well, how did The Mannequins break up?
Doug Shorts 09:40
When The Visitors came on the scene… When we auditioned at Brunswick, I met The Visitors. They were a new group from Kansas City recording at Brunswick—they recorded “Until You Came Along.”
Bob Abrahamian 09:51
Right.
Doug Shorts 09:52
I was at that session. As soon as they finished, the lead singer quit. Since I did high tenor, they figured I could step in. So they hired me to take his place, and I went on the road with them.
Bob Abrahamian 10:02
Who was that guy? Was it Eugene Smiley?
Doug Shorts 10:05
Yeah, that was his name. He owned a construction company or something—he wasn’t broke. The rest of the guys were at the company’s mercy, but he had money. So he went back home and lived comfortably.
Bob Abrahamian 10:11
And you took his place?
Doug Shorts 10:12
Yeah, I took his place.
Bob Abrahamian 10:13
And you didn’t record with them, but you toured?
Doug Shorts 10:15
Yeah, I toured with them for a couple of months.
Bob Abrahamian 10:18
Where did you go?
Doug Shorts 10:19
Just Kansas City—Missouri and Kansas. It was the shortest tour ever.
Bob Abrahamian 10:23
What happened on the tour?
Doug Shorts 10:25
Well, we played with the group that eventually became Bloodstone.
Bob Abrahamian 10:29
The Sinceres?
Doug Shorts 10:30
Yeah—the Sinceres. They were part of the Derby Revue. But when that ended, we were just sitting around Kansas City, broke and starving. Carl Davis from Brunswick sent money, but only for the cats who were under contract—just Ray and Daryl. So I had to get back on my own. Ray’s girlfriend paid my way back to Chicago.
Bob Abrahamian 10:51
You got lucky.
Doug Shorts 10:52
Yeah, I got lucky. But by the time I got back, I didn’t want anything more to do with The Visitors.
Bob Abrahamian 10:56
So you dropped out?
Doug Shorts 10:57
Yeah, I quit and started my own group. Actually, I took the band—because my original group had gone by the wayside by then. I picked up the band we had—Crystal Image—and became a solo artist.
Bob Abrahamian 11:08
And we never talked about that. You weren’t just a vocal group—you also had a band as The Mannequins, right?
Doug Shorts 11:12
Yeah, we were self-contained.
Bob Abrahamian 11:14
Who were the members of your band?
Doug Shorts 11:16
Okay, the original band was: Tony Gaines and his brother Butch Gaines—Butch was the drummer, Tony was on rhythm guitar. The lead guitar player was Joe Stevenson. The bass player was Timothy Jackson. And the drummer was Kenny Walker.
Bob Abrahamian 11:30
Did you know them all from high school too?
Doug Shorts 11:32
No, they were from the neighborhood, but not the same school.
Bob Abrahamian 11:35
What was the other school over there—Waller?
Doug Shorts 11:37
Yeah, Waller. That was the hotbed of musical activity—most of the music was happening at Waller.
Bob Abrahamian 11:41
So you went to Wells, but a lot of the other groups went to Waller?
Doug Shorts 11:44
Yeah, everybody else in the neighborhood went to Waller.
Bob Abrahamian 11:47
Okay. You did the talent shows at Waller too?
Doug Shorts 11:49
Yeah, we did shows there.
Bob Abrahamian 11:51
But didn’t Curtis go to Wells? You were telling me…
Doug Shorts 11:54
Yeah, we had the same counselor, in fact. When I got ready to quit school, my counselor said, “Well, yeah—go ahead. Curtis did it. He turned out all right.”
Bob Abrahamian 12:02
The counselor encouraged you to quit?
Doug Shorts 12:04
[Laughs] Yeah. I wasn’t doing that great anyway.
Bob Abrahamian 12:06
But you actually—you were telling me earlier—you quit to be with The Visitors, right?
Doug Shorts 12:10
Yeah, I quit to go on the road with them.
Bob Abrahamian 12:12
Did you think you were going to be big?
Doug Shorts 12:14
Yeah, they filled my head with a lot of nonsense. “We’re gonna be bigger than The Temptations,” “Girls are gonna be all over you,” “We’re gonna make a lot of money.” So it seemed like a no-brainer—I just quit school and hit the road.
Bob Abrahamian 12:26
And then you came back…
Doug Shorts 12:28
Yeah, I came back and joined Cooley. I went to Cooley High after that. Basically, I was just going there to pick up girls. But they had talent shows too, so that’s when Lucius got back into the picture. We did shows there—we were probably the top dog on the North Side.
Bob Abrahamian 12:45
What was your group then?
Doug Shorts 12:47
It was still The Mannequins. We reformed.
Bob Abrahamian 12:49
Oh, so you came back and reformed The Mannequins?
Doug Shorts 12:51
Yeah, but eventually we let the group go by the wayside. It just became me and the band. We became Crystal Image—Doug Shorts and the Crystal Image. Then we picked up Carolyn Love, so it was Doug Shorts and Carolyn Love with the Crystal Image.
Bob Abrahamian 13:04
And I forgot to ask—how did The Mannequins get their name?
Doug Shorts 13:07
I picked that. I was trying to find a name. "Mannequin" came up, but a mannequin is a dummy. I wanted something more elegant—like a live model instead of just a dummy. That’s why we picked the name.
Bob Abrahamian 13:13
And how did you get the name Crystal Image?
Doug Shorts 13:15
The drummer, Kenny Walker, was into rock groups, and he’d heard something like that. He liked the name, and I liked it too—it sounded like a rock band.
Bob Abrahamian 13:22
Yeah, it does. Like Cream or something.
Doug Shorts 13:24
Exactly. He was into Cream and that kind of stuff.
Bob Abrahamian 13:26
So the Crystal Image formed around ’72?
Doug Shorts 13:28
Let me see—I’ve got it on my computer. Actually, about ’68 or ’69. I think we picked up the Crystal Image name around that time.
Bob Abrahamian 13:35
Okay. So you were doing shows at Cooley as Crystal Image?
Doug Shorts 13:38
Yeah.
Bob Abrahamian 13:39
How long did Crystal Image stay together?
Doug Shorts 13:41
Let’s see—until about ’71.
Bob Abrahamian 13:43
Okay. And you said you were the lead, and you incorporated a female singer?
Doug Shorts 13:46
Yes—Carolyn Love. We were doing duets like Marvin and Tammi.
Bob Abrahamian 13:51
So were you known as Doug Shorts and Carolyn Love?
Doug Shorts 13:54
Yeah. Nobody probably even knew the name of the band. They just knew it was Doug’s band.
Bob Abrahamian 13:58
So you didn’t have like a full review or anything?
Doug Shorts 14:00
Nope, just the two of us out front of the band.
Bob Abrahamian 14:03
Were you still doing talent shows?
Doug Shorts 14:04
No, we were professional at that point. We were like the house band at the High Chaparral. We backed up people that came to town like the Detroit Emeralds, Denise LaSalle—just to name a couple. Our biggest gig was for Lou Rawls. He had his own band, but we opened for him.
Bob Abrahamian 14:22
So you were opening for a lot of big acts?
Doug Shorts 14:24
Yeah. Pretty much anyone who came to town—we’d open for them.
Bob Abrahamian 14:27
Were you doing music full-time at that point?
Doug Shorts 14:29
Yeah.
Bob Abrahamian 14:30
Were you working almost every night?
Doug Shorts 14:32
No, not every night. Maybe two or three weeks out of the month. Generally, two weeks a month. If we got lucky, three.
Bob Abrahamian 14:38
Did you play anywhere else besides the High Chaparral?
Doug Shorts 14:40
Oh yeah—we played all the clubs. Burning Spear, and even some North Side spots. There was a club on Sheridan—I can’t remember the name. But we played all over. Anywhere you could play.
Bob Abrahamian 14:50
Were you doing all Peaches & Herb, Marvin & Tammi-type stuff?
Doug Shorts 14:54
No, we did other stuff too—originals, Temptations, anything popular at the time.
Bob Abrahamian 14:59
Were you very Motown-oriented?
Doug Shorts 15:01
Yeah, very much. Motown was the thing.
Bob Abrahamian 15:03
Did you do funkier tracks too?
Doug Shorts 15:04
Absolutely. We did Kool & The Gang, all that funky stuff.
Bob Abrahamian 15:07
So how long did Crystal Image stay together?
Doug Shorts 15:10
Until about ’71. Then Joe—the guitar player—got with a group called Shades of Brown. They were with Chess Records. He got me a gig with them as their driver when they went on the road. And after a couple weeks, he finagled it so I could open the show for them. I toured with them for about a year.
Bob Abrahamian 15:27
Were you a member?
Doug Shorts 15:28
No, not officially—just the opening act. But when we came off the road in about ’72, their manager Bobby Miller—same guy who had The Dells—set up a studio. He had big dreams for them. He said, “I don’t want you guys on the road. I want you in here writing songs. This will be your life.” And the lead singer quit.
Bobby told them, “Why not let Doug be the lead singer and keep going?” But the group didn’t want me. They were fine with me opening, but they didn’t want me in the group. So they didn’t come back to the studio.
Bob Abrahamian 16:03
And that studio became…
Doug Shorts 16:05
Paul Serrano’s studio—on 23rd. Bobby gave Paul the money to build it out. It became legendary—everyone recorded there. It was making over a million bucks within a year.
Bob Abrahamian 16:15
So what did you do after that?
Doug Shorts 16:17
After that, I went on the road again with a funk group called The United Cleaning Company, which became The James Clark Band. I was the only singer—the frontman. We did Al Green, Otis Redding, that kind of stuff—on the Chitlin Circuit.
Bob Abrahamian 16:35
How long did you tour with them?
Doug Shorts 16:36
About a year.
Bob Abrahamian 16:38
Was that your first real tour?
Doug Shorts 16:40
No—I toured with Shades of Brown too. We hit all of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota. Clubs, mostly.
Bob Abrahamian 16:48
So what happened after James Clark?
Doug Shorts 16:50
Well, I got tired of not getting paid. Every time it was payday, something would come up. I finally confronted James and said, “I want to see the contracts if I’m gonna stay.” He refused. So I quit.
I told the sax player, Dean Knox, and the trumpet player, Charles—“Hey, I had a group before this. Come back to Chicago with me.” They were tired of being broke too, so they came. That’s when we started Master Plan together.
Bob Abrahamian 17:14
Okay, we’ve been talking a while—I’d like to play a song. So the Master Plan didn’t end up recording until later, right?
Doug Shorts 17:20
Much later—yeah. This version is a different lineup too.
Bob Abrahamian 17:22
But let me play one of those early songs. It’s a really nice unreleased track called Try It, You’ll Like It. Then we can talk some more.
Doug Shorts 17:29
Oh—that was the original group. We did that in Minnesota.
Bob Abrahamian 17:31
Oh really? Then it fits perfectly into the story. This is the original Master Plan with Try It, You’ll Like It.
[music playing — “Try It, You’ll Like It” by The Master Plan]
Bob Abrahamian 23:41
Okay, you’re tuned to WHPK 88.5 FM in Chicago. If you’re just tuning in, you’re listening to an interview with singer Doug Shorts, who sang in a number of Chicago groups, including the Master Plan. That was just an early, kind of unfinished recording by the Master Plan called Try It, You’ll Like It. I really like that record.
Before we get to the recording in detail—who were the original members of the Master Plan?
Doug Shorts 25:33
Okay, the original members were Dean Knox on sax, and Charles—can’t remember his last name—on trumpet. Those were the two guys I brought back from the James Clark Band. Then I had my original rhythm section: Joe Stevenson on guitar, Eddie Manning on bass, and Kenny Walker on drums.
Bob Abrahamian 25:50
Were a lot of them from the James Clark Band?
Doug Shorts 25:54
No, just Joe Stevenson and the two horn players. The rest were from the original Crystal Image.
Bob Abrahamian 26:00
So you just incorporated more players?
Doug Shorts 26:03
Yeah, brought in the horn section when I came back from the road.
Bob Abrahamian 26:06
So what year would you say the Master Plan formed?
Doug Shorts 26:09
Around 1974.
Bob Abrahamian 26:11
And how did you get the name “Master Plan”?
Doug Shorts 26:13
Dean Knox had the name—he had been in a previous project called that. I liked the idea and we used it.
Bob Abrahamian 27:00
So the Master Plan—when you originally formed—were you similar to Crystal Image, just with more members? Were you doing Motown stuff? Were you still playing the High Chaparral a lot?
Doug Shorts 27:13
Actually, we weren’t playing anywhere yet. When we first formed Master Plan, we rented a hall on Larrabee Street and turned it into our rehearsal space. We actually started doing shows right out of there.
Bob Abrahamian 27:24
Okay.
Doug Shorts 27:25
One of the members of The Visitors—Darryl—came by one day, saw us rehearsing, and said, “Man, you guys are ready for the road.” So we took his advice and hit the road—we went to Detroit, then into Canada. We ended up in Toronto doing shows.
Bob Abrahamian 27:40
Was that at the Colonial on Yonge Street in Toronto?
Doug Shorts 27:42
That was our last gig.
Bob Abrahamian 27:44
When was that?
Doug Shorts 27:45
Sometime around ’75 or ’76.
Bob Abrahamian 27:48
So you initially took the show on the road. What kind of material were you doing?
Doug Shorts 27:53
We were doing self-contained funk and soul—stuff like Kool & The Gang and Earth, Wind & Fire. That was our vibe.
Bob Abrahamian 28:01
Were you the only singer?
Doug Shorts 28:02
No, we all sang. Before we went on the road, we brought in Archie Brooks from The Fugitives. He was a singer with them.
Bob Abrahamian 28:09
The Fugitives recorded, right?
Doug Shorts 28:10
Right. Eddie Manning, who was in our group, was one of the original Fugitives. When he left them and joined us, there was a big fuss.
Bob Abrahamian 28:16
So it caused tension?
Doug Shorts 28:18
Oh yeah—almost got physical. The Fugitives didn’t want to let him go. Archie was still with them at the time, but Eddie talked him into coming over to our group. It created real bad blood, because we kind of decimated their lineup.
Bob Abrahamian 28:30
Were The Fugitives from the North Side?
Doug Shorts 28:32
Yeah, right around the corner from us. We all rehearsed near each other. We used to do shows together too.
Bob Abrahamian 28:36
So at that time, you had two lead singers?
Doug Shorts 28:38
Yes—Archie and me. We would trade off leads.
Bob Abrahamian 28:41
And Archie Brooks—he played guitar too?
Doug Shorts 28:43
Yeah, eventually. He took Joe Stevenson’s place on guitar when Joe dropped out. Archie took over guitar and vocals.
Bob Abrahamian 28:48
And you said you were doing Kool & The Gang, Earth, Wind & Fire… did you have horns?
Doug Shorts 28:52
Yes, we had horns. We added Russell—Sadiq Rasul—on trumpet. So at one point, we had two horn players.
Bob Abrahamian 28:59
Did the band members sing background too?
Doug Shorts 29:01
A couple of them did. We changed bass players and brought in Greg Poindexter. He was from a group called Speed Limit 25, and he sang background with us.
Bob Abrahamian 29:10
There was a group called Speed Limit that recorded in Chicago.
Doug Shorts 29:13
Yeah—these guys were from Chicago too, but I don’t know if it was the same Speed Limit. Ours was Speed Limit 25.
Bob Abrahamian 29:19
So the three of you did the main vocals?
Doug Shorts 29:21
Yeah—me, Archie, and Greg handled most of the vocal work.
Bob Abrahamian 29:25
Is Greg still around?
Doug Shorts 29:26
Last I heard, he was up in Iowa somewhere.
Bob Abrahamian 29:29
Okay. So the track I played earlier—Try It, You’ll Like It—when was it recorded?
Doug Shorts 29:33
That would’ve been around 1974. That was when I was living in Minnesota, and we went into the studio to cut that track.
Bob Abrahamian 29:39
That was during your time on the road with the Master Plan?
Doug Shorts 29:41
Right around that time, yes.
Bob Abrahamian 29:43
So Try It, You’ll Like It was the original lineup?
Doug Shorts 29:45
Yes—the original Master Plan lineup. We didn’t have any horns on that track except for Dean Knox.
Bob Abrahamian 29:49
And you said you recorded it in Minnesota. Was it live or studio?
Doug Shorts 29:52
It was recorded in a studio. David Z was the engineer—he later worked with Prince.
Bob Abrahamian 29:57
Really?
Doug Shorts 29:58
Yeah—cool guy. We booked time in his studio and tracked the song. But we didn’t even have the money to pay for the session, so we had to leave the master there. I went back months later to pick it up.
Bob Abrahamian 30:09
Are you singing lead on that track?
Doug Shorts 30:10
Yes, that’s me. I also wrote the song.
Bob Abrahamian 30:12
There’s another voice that comes in—was that Archie?
Doug Shorts 30:14
Nope, that was me too—probably an overdub.
Bob Abrahamian 30:17
Okay. So the group came back—how long did that version of the group last?
Doug Shorts 30:22
We lasted a couple of years. Let me think… then we added a few more people. Archie, Greg, Rasul. That would’ve been around ’75.
Bob Abrahamian 30:31
So you continued as Master Plan?
Doug Shorts 30:33
Yeah, we kept the name. That was still Master Plan.
Bob Abrahamian 30:36
And who were the people you added at that point?
Doug Shorts 30:39
Archie Brooks, Greg Poindexter, and Rasul Sadiq—he played trumpet. Archie also played guitar and sang vocals, replacing Joe.
Bob Abrahamian 30:49
Were you working clubs in Chicago? Or still touring?
Doug Shorts 30:51
At that time, we had our own rehearsal hall on Larrabee. We put on our own shows there—produced everything ourselves.
Bob Abrahamian 30:58
How often did you do shows?
Doug Shorts 31:00
Every weekend. We played right out of our rehearsal space.
Bob Abrahamian 31:03
Did a lot of people come?
Doug Shorts 31:04
Yeah, we built a strong following. Word got around.
Bob Abrahamian 31:07
And you were still doing Earth, Wind & Fire-type material?
Doug Shorts 31:10
Yeah—that was our wheelhouse then. But eventually the landlord saw we were doing good business and didn’t renew our lease. He put us out.
Bob Abrahamian 31:17
So then you went back on the road?
Doug Shorts 31:19
Yep. We went to Detroit, and from there, up into Canada again.
Bob Abrahamian 31:22
That was around ’75 or ’76?
Doug Shorts 31:24
Yeah, around there.
Bob Abrahamian 31:26
Did the group stay together through the rest of the ’70s?
Doug Shorts 31:29
We actually stayed in Canada for about a year. But by ’77 or ’78, we were done. We got tired of each other after being together so long.
Bob Abrahamian 31:38
What did you do in Canada?
Doug Shorts 31:39
We performed. Did a bunch of shows.
Bob Abrahamian 31:41
And that was pretty much the end of that version of the group?
Doug Shorts 31:44
Yeah, we were inactive from then on.
Bob Abrahamian 32:01
But I know that your record that actually got released came out in 1980.
Doug Shorts 32:05
Yeah, I was just about to get to that. We were inactive from around ’77 to ’79. During that time, I worked a regular job—me, Archie, and Greg all worked at Lane Bryant, the big women’s clothing store. Then in 1980, we released a couple of tracks.
Bob Abrahamian 32:21
You had a deal with Brunswick?
Doug Shorts 32:23
Yeah, but that deal fell through. At the same time, I was working on something with Motown. See, the guys who played on one of our records were working for Motown, so I went out to visit them, and they got me a contract with Motown. But just when I was about to sign, our group was also about to sign with Brunswick. So I was stuck between the two.
Bob Abrahamian 32:42
That was around 1980?
Doug Shorts 32:44
Yeah, early ’80s. That’s when we released Something to Be Done and You.
Bob Abrahamian 32:48
And the group was called “Master Plan Incorporated.” When did you add the “Incorporated”?
Doug Shorts 32:53
Hmm… I’d have to check my notes. But I’d say if we started the group in ’74, then we probably added “Incorporated” around ’76. That’s when we got serious and turned it into a business. We had the club, rehearsals, the whole setup.
Bob Abrahamian 33:07
And you were telling me you formally registered the name?
Doug Shorts 33:09
Yeah, first we filed it as an assumed name—“Master Plan Incorporated.” And they didn’t catch that you weren’t supposed to use “Incorporated” unless you were an actual corporation. But we got the certificate! I still have it.
Bob Abrahamian 33:20
[Laughs] That’s funny.
Doug Shorts 33:21
Yeah, a few months later, we went ahead and made it official—we registered as a real Illinois corporation.
Bob Abrahamian 33:28
So you broke up for a couple of years around ’76–’77, then got back together?
Doug Shorts 33:32
Exactly. And then I moved to L.A. in ’86, but before that, we reformed and recorded those tracks.
Bob Abrahamian 33:37
And that’s when you brought in the Arguetty brothers?
Doug Shorts 33:39
Yeah—Greg and Rudy Arguetty. We had a bad experience in Michigan. We were an all-Black group and got fired from a great job just for that. The club wanted racial integration. So I decided we needed to “colorize” the group and make it more marketable. That’s when we added the Arguetty brothers—Latino horn players.
Bob Abrahamian 33:59
Were they already in a band?
Doug Shorts 34:01
They played salsa mostly—lots of Latin music. Greg was an arranger and really brought something new to the table.
Bob Abrahamian 34:06
Okay, I want to play the record you actually released. But first, I want to play the earlier version of Something to Be Done—the one recorded at Brunswick.
Doug Shorts 34:13
That’s the one I like better anyway—it shows off our harmonies more.
Bob Abrahamian 34:16
So here’s the unreleased early version of Something to Be Done, recorded around 1979 or 1980.
[music playing — “Something to Be Done” (unreleased version)]
Bob Abrahamian 39:42
Okay, you’re tuned to WHPK 88.5 FM in Chicago. You’re listening to the Sitting in the Park show. That was the early, unreleased version of Something to Be Done by Master Plan Incorporated. So what’s the story behind that recording?
Doug Shorts 40:50
That was recorded at Brunswick’s actual studio on Michigan Avenue—around 18th Street. We went in without a contract, just a handshake. But once we started recording, the business side started shifting. I didn’t like what I was seeing.
Bob Abrahamian 41:03
What changed?
Doug Shorts 41:05
They started slipping other producers in, trying to find ways to siphon money. When I asked for clarity, they wouldn’t give me straight answers. So we walked out on the session.
Bob Abrahamian 41:15
And how many songs did you record there?
Doug Shorts 41:17
We recorded about four songs.
Bob Abrahamian 41:19
Who wrote Something to Be Done?
Doug Shorts 41:21
Archie Brooks wrote that one.
Bob Abrahamian 41:23
Who were the singers and players on it?
Doug Shorts 41:25
It was Archie, myself, and Greg Arguetty. Archie didn’t play on it. We had Keith Samuels from one of our earlier groups, and a guy from New York named Dado who played congas. Al Brown was our drummer, and Greg Poindexter was on bass.
Bob Abrahamian 41:43
Did Archie write all four of those songs?
Doug Shorts 41:45
No, we wrote them together. Archie’s my writing partner. I helped him write that one, actually.
Bob Abrahamian 41:51
So Brunswick never put them out?
Doug Shorts 41:52
Nope. They just had the tapes. We walked away.
Bob Abrahamian 41:55
But you did put out a record in 1980. I have it on a label called Mundo. One side is Something to Be Done, and the other is You. What’s the story with that?
Doug Shorts 42:05
Well, after Brunswick fell through, we went to Ed Cody’s studio and re-recorded the same songs using other musicians. Greg Arguetty’s father—Rudy—wanted to start a record label and had a couple of songs already recorded at Chess. His brother-in-law had written You and another song called Valerie.
So we teamed up—combined their two songs with ours, pooled our resources, hired musicians, and did everything at Ed Cody’s place. That’s how the Mundo label and release came about. We did it all ourselves.
Bob Abrahamian 43:00
And which side did you prefer?
Doug Shorts 43:02
I liked Something to Be Done. That was the one we pushed.
Bob Abrahamian 43:04
I’ll play that one later in the show. What happened with the record? Did it get any airplay?
Doug Shorts 43:10
Actually, I did the legwork myself—went to the radio stations and tried to get it played. But I found out we were up against a brick wall. We had no promotion budget, and you needed cash to get anything done. So it went nowhere.
Bob Abrahamian 43:26
Were you initially excited, though?
Doug Shorts 43:28
Oh yeah—very excited. I actually walked into WJPC—Johnson Publishing’s radio station—talked to the program director. They gave me the rundown of what it takes to get a record played. That experience blew me away. But I quickly realized we couldn’t afford it.
Bob Abrahamian 43:44
So it just got shelved?
Doug Shorts 43:46
Yeah. We hand-distributed a few copies—maybe dropped it off at a couple record stores—but that’s it.
Bob Abrahamian 43:52
So very few copies got out. I actually found mine through Herb Butler from The Players.
Doug Shorts 43:58
That makes sense. He was interested in managing our group at one point. Since his group had some success, he wanted to help us. I probably gave him a handful of copies—maybe a small box.
Bob Abrahamian 44:10
So the record didn’t really go anywhere, and then what happened with the group?
Doug Shorts 44:13
The Brunswick thing kind of tore us apart. At the same time, Motown was courting me, and I was preoccupied with that. When I shut down the Brunswick deal, the group blamed me for killing our chances. I was the villain again, and that was the end.
Bob Abrahamian 44:26
Even though Brunswick wasn’t doing much by then.
Doug Shorts 44:29
Exactly. Years later, one of the guys from that deal told me, “You were the smartest guy in the room.” He said they were out to get us.
Bob Abrahamian 44:36
Yeah, I think their biggest release around that time was Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll.
Doug Shorts 44:39
Right—and even that wasn’t huge. Nothing was really happening there anymore.
Bob Abrahamian 44:45
Did you keep doing music after that?
Doug Shorts 44:47
Very little. I went to work full-time doing security work for different companies. But I still wrote music at home and recorded on my own equipment.
Later, I moved to Los Angeles and released a gospel cassette and CD.
Bob Abrahamian 45:01
Right, and you brought that cassette with you. It’s from 1986?
Doug Shorts 45:04
Yeah, around ’86.
Bob Abrahamian 45:06
And how long were you in L.A.?
Doug Shorts 45:08
From 1986 to 2003.
Bob Abrahamian 45:10
Did you have a band there?
Doug Shorts 45:12
No, I was just a working stiff. I might have done one show the whole time I was there. Mostly, I just recorded at home.
Bob Abrahamian 45:18
And you came back to Chicago in 2003?
Doug Shorts 45:20
Yeah, to be with my mom. I built a studio in her basement and just kept recording on my own.
Bob Abrahamian 45:26
So you're still making music?
Doug Shorts 45:28
Oh yeah. I’ve got two albums ready to go—Chicago Basement Steppin’ and Welcome to Funk Land. One’s full of steppin’ music, the other is all funk.
Bob Abrahamian 45:39
And we couldn’t get your CD to play here, but you have material on YouTube?
Doug Shorts 45:42
Yes—just search “Doug Shorts” and some tracks or videos should pop up.
Bob Abrahamian 45:46
We also played a gospel track earlier called Where Is Your Faith. Who played on that?
Doug Shorts 45:51
That featured Roosevelt Purify, Melvin Robinson, Calvin Brunson, Jeremiah Africa, and Archie Brooks—my long-time writing partner.
Bob Abrahamian 46:02
So you and Archie stayed close through all of this?
Doug Shorts 46:04
Always. Still writing together.
Bob Abrahamian 46:06
And you released that gospel CD while living in L.A.?
Doug Shorts 46:08
Yes, and I came back to Chicago and finished some tracks with Archie here.
Bob Abrahamian 46:12
What are you doing now?
Doug Shorts 46:13
Working. But I’m always writing and recording.
Bob Abrahamian 46:16
One thing I forgot to ask—can you tell me about your time at Jerry Butler’s Writers Workshop?
Doug Shorts 46:20
That was a great time. I learned a lot working with Jerry. He teamed me with Calvin Carter—the legendary producer. But I was too young to appreciate it.
Bob Abrahamian 46:30
Why didn’t you like working with him?
Doug Shorts 46:32
Because Calvin was a blues guy, and I hated the blues at the time. I was into Hendrix and new progressive stuff. He wanted me to sound like Little Milton, and I wasn’t feeling it. We just didn’t mesh.
Bob Abrahamian 46:44
What year was that?
Doug Shorts 46:45
Late ’60s—maybe ’68 or ’69.
Bob Abrahamian 46:48
What was the Writers Workshop?
Doug Shorts 46:50
It was a great setup. Jerry got a contract from Stax to develop young writers. We were paid a stipend to come in, collaborate, and write songs.
Bob Abrahamian 46:58
Who else was involved?
Doug Shorts 47:00
Chuck Jackson—Jesse Jackson’s younger brother—was there. He had the group The Independents. That hit Leaving Me came from the Workshop. Johnny Jones from my neighborhood, Billy Butler, James Mack, and Oscar Brown Jr. too. I was even supposed to do a project with Oscar, but again—I was too young and didn’t understand who he was. I passed on it.
Bob Abrahamian 47:20
But you must’ve learned a lot?
Doug Shorts 47:22
Tons. Incredible musicians came through there. I was learning to play bass at the time and ended up playing on a lot of demos. It was a golden opportunity—I didn’t take full advantage, but I still gained so much.
Bob Abrahamian 47:34
Well, I just want to thank you so much for coming down and sharing your story.
Doug Shorts 47:38
Man, I loved it. Thank you for having me.
Bob Abrahamian 47:40
Even though only one piece of vinyl came out, you recorded a lot of great material and were involved in a ton of Chicago music history. Do you have any final words for the listeners?
Doug Shorts 47:51
Just to say—I love Chicago. We were once at the top of the music game. Hopefully, we’ll get back there someday. I believe we can.
Bob Abrahamian 47:59
Chi Town! Thank you again. We’re going to end the interview by playing the one officially released record from 1980. This is Master Plan Incorporated doing Something to Be Done.
