When you have nothing better to do like me, you go up to Dubuque to look for records. This time, somebody dropped a lot of 45s from the past at the Goodwill Store. Mostly off the wall goofy stuff but I think we managed to find some nuggets among the turds.
1) Mama Don't Allow-The Rooftop Singers (Vanguard 35020) #55 1963
The first week of 1963, they had the number 1 record with Walk Right In but six months later this would be their final top 55 single. Kinda lively uptempo folk. B side is a folk cover of Duke Ellington's It Don't Mean A Thing If It Don't Got That Swing. It came with the actual picture sleeve. Which is worth about what I paid for it. Fifty cents.
2) Daydream-Louis Armstrong (Brunswick 55318) 1967
Louis might have been the greatest artists back in the heyday of jazz of the 1920s and 30s but by the 1960s Armstrong was trying to find a way to blend in with the new rhythm and blues. I actually got a kick of hearing Satchmo attempting to do The Lovin Spoonful in a soul mood and it works better for me than his version of Mame which placed number 81 in 1966 and of course Hello Holly. Carl Davis, notable Chicago soul producer helps a lot as well as Gerald Sims, the arranger. B Side Northern Boulevard Blues is more to Armstrong's style and liking; New Orleans jazz done as an instrumental. He seems to be more comfortable on this song.
3) Grover Henson Feels Forgotten-Bill Cosby (UNI 55223) #70 1970
Never heard this one before. Usually Cosby is better telling funny stories about school and kids and was once of the best loved actors on TV till accusations came from woman that tarnished Bill's reputation. This song is pretty serious, about a ignored person that never gets any mail except from the IRS and him owning them money. Alas, serious songs like Grover Henson Feels Forgotten are not fun to listen to. Not fun at all. B side the instrumental version.
4) Sugar And Spice-The Cryin Shames (Destination 624) #49 1966
Sometimes being at the right place at the right time pays off in terms of finding the Nuggets classic. Originally known as The Travelers, their label pushed them for a change in the name of the band to which Cryin Shames was named out of frustration. This song was done quickly, pressed and sent to WLS in Chicago to which the song got played and made their top 30. Columbia then signed them up but later singles didn't pan out. B Side Ben Franklin's Almanac is just that, a throwaway rave up that's over and done in less than two minutes.
5) Skip A Rope-Henson Cargill (Monument 1041) #25 1967
A one hit wonder on the pop charts although Cargill had a few others on the country charts in 67-68 but by the 70s he was a footnote in history. One of the more catchier songs back then, a lot of other country stars, and for that matter the vegas pop stars took a shot at it but nobody was better than Henson. Produced by the legendary Don Law. B Side A Well Traveled Man owes a lot to Marty Robbins and the Nashville Sound. A minor rewrite of Traveling Man or I've Been Everywhere.
6) Please Don't Blame Me-Marty Robbins (Columbia 4-40969) 1957
His previous hit A White Sport Coat made number 2 but this song geared for the pop charts didn't chart at all. Basically A White Sport Coat rewritten. Which may have confused people of thinking this was A White Sport Coat., B side Teen Age Dream, more of the same. More Ray Conniff and his gang, probably a step up from Mitch Miller but still pap all the same.
7) Somewhere In The Night-Batdorf And Rodney (Arista AS-0159) #69 1975
They recorded for Atlantic and Asylum but they only had two 45s that charted and both were on Arista of all labels. John Batdorf was more of a folk singer rather a pop singer, Mark Rodney was the other guy and harmony singer. Amazingly this managed to made the charts although everybody is more familiar with Barry Manilow's version which did made number 9 in 1978. To which by then Batdorf and Rodney were long gone from the Arista roster, Batdorf moving on to Silver and making more pap music, He never cared for Wham Bam which hit number 16 in 1976. He might have been right of that song being total crap. But then again he was stuck with the sugary production of Tom Sellers, who managed to make music from Eric Andersen unlistenable too. Go figure.
8) Your Other Love-Connie Francis (MGM K-13176) #28 1963
I never quite understood the fascination with Miss Connie and finding some of her 45s of the past are an exercise of trying to listen to the whole song without hitting the reject button. Somewhat was Lesley Gore was doing, but Lesley did it much better. Way much better. B Side What Happened To Rosemarie is a Gore a ripoff. Slightly better than the A side. But she never could top Lipstick On Your Collar
9) Sugar Town-Nancy Sinatra (Reprise 0527) #5 1966
Summer Wine #49
I wouldn't say Sugar Town is one of Nancy's better songs but compared to Miss Francis it's much better and too bad Connie did have Lee Hazelwood nor Billy Strange helping her own. She did snag Leslie Gore's arranger Claus Ogers. Lee joins in on Summer Wine. Anything he did with Nancy during the Reprise years remains classic mystery good.
10 Solitary Man-Neil Diamond (Bang B-578) #21 1970 (Bang B-519) #55 1966
Neil's first release of this song only made number 55 but once his UNI singles took off, his former label decided to reissue some of Neil's early singles and they did chart, in 1970 this made #21 (it made top ten here) and next single Do It popped in at number 36. Sandwiched between these Bang singles was Cracklin Rosie, which topped at number 1. B side The Time Is Now is Neil as his most bluesiest. The B Side to Bang 519.....Do It (the 1:50 version).
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