Sunday, July 1, 2012

Singles Going Steady 4

In my ever continuing conquest to give the 7 inch black circle its due, we continue to mine the vast collections out there for the music that the the triple C radio stations tend to ignore.  It's a lost cause we know but somebody has to do it.

1.  Monorail Part 2-Tangerine Dream  Virgin ZS8-9516  1977  Tangerine Dream isn't considered a singles band, they made albums with side long suites and even longer (Logos) but somebody at CBS thought it would be a good idea to release this as a promo copy and see where it led.  Mostly to the cheap bins although singles of this song goes for big bucks at EBAY.  Never seen a copy of this myself.  Album cut is 19 and half minutes.  Surprised that they didn't go for a disco version of this song.

2.  Who Drank My Beer (when i was in the rear) Chuck Murphy Coral 9-61785 DJ  I bet there's nobody out there in internet land has talked more about Murphy than your's truly but upon researching him for other music, I come to find that Murphy was more in line with Moon Mullican with a love of Louis Jordan (B side was Jordan's Lay Something On The Bar (besides your elbow).  The latter song was done in 51, Who Drank My Beer came out in 52 and Coral added both songs in 57 as a classic all time greatest hits although Murphy was a regional artist at best.  After a 55 stint at MGM Murphy became a preacher.

3.  In The Ghetto-Solomon Burke 1970  Bell B-891  After a legendary career at Atlantic, Burke moved over to various labels and eventually recorded a couple of sides that was written by Mac Davis (later of Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me and It's Hard To Be Humble fame) and arranged by Gene Page for a single that Elvis Presley had a bigger hit but Burke's version hits harder since it comes from a black man.  Never heard this on the radio but the record came in a pack of 10 that used to be the rage back in the 70s.

4.  Big Bopper's Wedding-JP Richardson or The Big Bopper  Mercury  71375  1958  Like Richie and Buddy, JP was on his way to the top of the charts before that infamous plane crash in the Alberta Clipper of 59 in Iowa.  Richardson was more into the novelty side of things, White Lightning was covered by George Jones.  This did some airplay although it wasn't as well charted as Chantilly Lace was.

5.  Just Holding On-Pete Klint Quintet 1968 Atlantic 2533  Dunwich Records had some hits on their own but most of the time they got distribution via Atlantic in the late 60s and although none of the others charted as high as the Shadows Of Knight, they have a few others recorded for Dunwich.  I think this owes more to a Steve Barri production of what The Grassroots were doing at that time. Or perhaps Blood Sweat and Tears. Or Hamilton Joe Frank and Reynoolds although this recording predates that band by about two years at least.  One of those singles that I found at the Salvation Army store that I know nothing about but upon further research that Pete Klint came from Mason City Iowa and had a  regional single for Mercury  with a cover of Sam Cooke's Shake b/w Walkin' Proud  (Mercury 72709-charted at #98 1967). Just Holdin On B/W Hey Diddle Diddle didn't chart.  Later releases for IGL and PKQ suffered the same fate.  However Pete Klint Quintet was well known enough to be inducted into the Iowa Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1999.

6.  Carol-Tommy Roe  ABC Paramount 10543  1964  And this year one of the new Iowa Rock n Roll Hall Of Famer gets his due this fall when Tommy Roe gets inducted.  I have always been a big Tommy Roe fan although in the early years he was a bit more rockabilly in the style of Buddy Holly before Steve Barri retooled him for the bubblegum field and all them late 60's hits for ABC but he takes this Chuck Berry chestnut and turns it into his very own.  One of the very first singles that I ever bought, basically of name association with my mom's name.  Took me forever to find a replacement copy.

7.  Blind Eye-Wishbone Ash  Decca 32826  1970  This band never had a top forty hit at anytime it seems but they have their fans and of course I'm one of theirs.  Found a few singles from them in cheap stores in the early 70s and this was one of the jukebox singles from the old Ole's Ham And Egger restaurant two doors down from Town's Square Bookstore which sold the 45s after they outlived their usefulness.

8.  Can't Find Love-The Easybeats  Rare Earth  R-5009 1969 Motown has done wonders in the early years of the CD of putting out Motown artists but when it comes to those on the Rare Earth label, they have been very lax.  It took them forever to reissue anything from Rare Earth and keep them in print.  In the early years Motown put out albums from Love Scripture (with Dave Edmunds), Toe Fat (which includes future members of Uriah Heep) and the very first UFO album.  The Easybeats were winding down after years on being on United Artists they recorded this bass driven song for Rare Earth although I think the other side St. Louis was the hit single, which really wasn't but that song would pave the way for a sound that AC/DC would adopt years later.

9.  Do My Thing-Sid Linard  Ovation OV-1020  1976 (they said although I think it's more 1975 or 74)  A honky tonk singer that made a few albums for Ovation back in the 1970s and I guess he's not exactly well known on the internet.  I simply can't find much about Sid but what I can tell you is that this was a very good honky tonk track although the A side was Honky Tonk Angel, a Dave Dudley soundalike  which charted somewhere in the lower of the top country 100's. To All Music Guide, he simply doesn't exist.

10.  Cubano Chant-El Chicano Kapp K-2129  1970  Long time ago Ray Bryant wrote it and you can find it on the Columbia album Drum Suite by Art Blakey.  El Chicano is one of the earliest East LA bands that made music in the way Santana used to do.  This did get some airplay on KLWW on the old Powerline show that aired Sunday Mornings way back in the early 70s here.  Powerline was a half hour inspirational program that would play some secular songs as well.  You're on the power line and then it's full speed ahead. The single is an 3:17 edit of the five and half minute song from the 20th Century Masters album to which I may have to get sometime soon.  Sounds somewhat like Soul Sacrifice in a way.

No comments: