“What is wrong with the men?” is a question that so many would retort “how long have you got?” as an answer to. As incredible as it is disappointing, fifty years after Lynn Varado posed the question in 1972 by way of her sophomore single, released on Gator Records, it still has to be asked.
The original 7″ single is a rarity now and well regarded in the Northern Soul scene with it’s driving funky bassline and perfect brass stabs which compliment Varnado’s bristling plaintiff vocal, she absolutely belts a confessional “I had an affair with a guy named Bill / I didn’t know he was married / And he almost got me killed” before she recalls witnessing domestic abuse against another woman in “apartment 5”. Lynn was unafraid to sing the truths she would have witnessed in Long Beach California – an ethos continued later from her womb.
Like her debut, this single was produced by Miles Grayson, who in the same year had been re-recruited by Canned Heat to write and arrange the horns for their “Historical Figures And Ancient Heads” LP having previously doing so on their 1968 “Living The Blues” album.
In 1973, a year after this single, Lynn would become a mother to Delmar Drew Arnaud. He’d grow up as the younger cousin of one Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr – who would be affectionately nicknamed “Snoopy” as a child due to his love and likeness of the Peanuts character, and would adopt the moniker further as Snoop Doggy Dogg when he began recording with Dr Dre in 1992.
Also in 1992 Lynn’s son, Delmar would also be working with Dre – he had grown up to become Daz Dillinger aka Diggity Daz aka Daz Dilly aka Dilly Tha Dogg who was one half of Tha Dogg Pound with Ricardo Brown (better known as Karupt) who he met while working on “The Chronic” with Dre. Tha Dogg Pound appeared on Snoop’s debut album and cultural landmark “Doggystyle”, Delmar, in particular was more involved in the production – officially credited as co-producer on “Serial Killa” and “For All My Niggaz & Bitches”. He’d go one to produce five tracks on 2Pac’s “All Eyez on Me” and also work on Snoop’s sophomore album as well as a successful solo career and reunion and reconciliation with Karupt in 2005 reclaiming the rights to Tha Dogg Pound moniker.
In 1978 Lynn would record two uptempo disco singles with ex Motown staffer Clay McMurray, “Ain’t That Something” and “What Is This Life” before dropping her stage name to later become Rev Allean Varnado, an evangelist and author. She released a gospel album on cassette on Heaven’s Song Records in 2000.
Allean passed away on 20 February 2021 at the age of 73.
Yeah Bagel 