(Ragged Records Flood of 2019)
Let's face it. Us record crate diggers who take pride in their record finds will continue to search the area over for more music, and more 45s. I have noticed that this year I have found three copies of disgraced comedian Bill Cosby's Hikky Burr (Part 1 and 2) at Goodwill and did pick one up. He knows how to get funky, he has a great ear for jazz, but it's hard to listen to Bill and keep an open mind. I also did find Garland Green You Played On A Player.twice. The original copy I found last year had a nasty scratch on the B side. It's weird to find two singles from 50 plus years ago in decent shape from Bill Cosby an Garland Green. But then again, I have a knack of locating better copies of 45s and Cds for that matter. Just a force of habit, anybody can do it. But in this day and age the young generation don't give a shit about 45s. They're too busy gazing into their smart phone as the world passes them by.
I have written about 40 blogs about the 45s that I found and for a reference to myself, I tend to marvel or gasp at what I did find for music. If the song is memorable and part of my childhood years then that's another piece of the puzzle that is my life. I've been lucky in past years of finding past tunes and reconnecting with a lost part of my youth. But this year it has been slow going. Half Price Books haven't had much, neither has Goodwill. Analog Vault does managed to get something in from time to time and last Sunday, I had a chance to actually find some cool stuff. While Davenport failed to yield anything of note, Goodwill Moline had three pop singles, one from Dean Martin and two from Bobby Darin, who is enjoying a comeback of sorts here on Record World. He would have a third record but it was too chewed up to be played. The big surprise was finding The Beatles/From Me To You as a Vee Jay Promo, which cost me 8 dollars when I found it at Analog Vault. And it was in VG plus condition. After that, we're back to country singles and off the wall stuff that only myself would be interested to hear.
(bob herrington photo credit-Ragged Records May 9, 2019)
As of this writing, Ragged Records in Davenport still has Mississippi mud sludge in their building and any trip will have to wait but their second location in Rock Island is dry and perhaps that might be worth going to next time I'm in town. Until I go to Madison, there's not going to be much to report about 45s. But I do keep my eyes and ears open for the next estate sale that does sell 45s.
1) Hello Dolly-Bobby Darin (Capitol 5359) #79 1965
2) Mane-Bobby Darin (Atlantic 2329) #53 1966
Two songs written by Jerry Herman, both did get covered by Louie Armstrong, those ones I remember quite well. Richard Weiss who arranged most of Bobby's earlier Vegas stuff does the Hello Dolly song, Perry Botkin Jr arranged Mane and I think Mane is fun stuff. Even more fun is the B side Goodbye Charlie (Hello Dolly) which is the most jazz that Bobby Darin ever attempted. Walking In the Shadow Of Love, the Atlantic flip side is country sounding but not one of the better songs that Bobby ever did. But at this point, Darin was slowly moving into a more folk style that would come into play later with If I Were A Carpenter. But at this point, Bobby was still doing more of a swinging pop style.
3) Not Enough Indians-Dean Martin (Reprise 780) #43 1968
Written by Baker Knight, Dean is using Jimmy Bowen as producer, and Ernie Freeman on dated arrangements, just like Everybody Loves Somebody but the results and chart placements were getting lower and lower. Deano made it easy, he usually did one take and went on his merry way. B side Rainbows Are Back In Style was covered by Slim Whitman.
4) Thank God And Greyhound-Roy Clark (Dot DOA 17355) #90 1970
My favorite Roy Clark song of all time. Great guitar player but he made some of the most blandest country songs of the 60s and 70s but this one has the Hee Haw wit and since of humor. On the country charts he did well, on the pop side of things, not so much.
5) Lonely Women Make Good Lovers-Bob Luman (Epic 5-10905) #4 Country 1972
Like most rockabilly artists, Luman enjoyed a decent country music career before pneumonia cut his life short at age 41 in 1978. Out of all the country singles he did, this is probably my favorite song of his. Took me forever to find a decent 45 and even my copy must have spent some time in somebody's jukebox.
6) Honky Tonk Wine-Wayne Kemp (MCA 40031) #17 Country 1973
Another journeyman country singer, Kemp had his highest charting single with this Mack Vackery written number, complete with a fuzz tone guitar, quite uncountry like for the times. He's best known for writing One Piece At A Time, a number 1 country hit for Johnny Cash in 1976. Back when country was still fun to listen to.
7) Let Me Know-Dick Todd (Decca 9-28583) 1953
Known as Canada's answer to Bing Crosby, Todd recorded for Bluebird, Rainbow and Decca. Of course I wouldn't be that interested but till I heard this song. B side was Bumming Around to which Johnny Horton had a minor hit but I know this song from Jan Howard, who recorded a country version of this. Backed by the Ray Charles Singers to which is not related to the Genius of modern country and blues.
8) Ain't It Amazing Gracie-Buck Owens (Capitol 3563) #14 1973
The last great period of Buck's recording years with Capitol. Times were changing and tho' his singles continued to chart, the newer country stars were pushing Buck to the back of the bus. But I still grant Buck had a ear for crafting 2 minute songs that were straight and to the point. Omnivore is slated to release the third and final volume of Buck's Capitol years, if they haven't already. Hard to find a record store that would stock it.
9) Moody Woman-Jerry Butler (Mercury 72939) #24 1969
Butler's best songs were with the Gamble/Huff production team and the Philadelphia sound went very well with Butler's smooth Chicago R and B vocals. The template for the Philadelphia International sound later with the O Jays, Harold Melvin and The Blues Notes and others, but it actually started with Jerry. B side Go Away Find Yourself is a very moody slow r and b cooker.
10) Wake Up Wake Up-The Grassroots (Dunhill D-4105) #68 1967
I was listening to the now deleted Complete ABC/Dunhill singles that Real Gone issued a few years ago (not complete since No Smoke Without Fire was omitted for the censored Let's Live For Today version) and was taken by how samely the songs would be beginning with Midnight Confessions and so on and so forth. You can tell the difference between the more inspired I'd Wait A Million Years, or Heaven knows and watching the Grassroots recycled the same arrangements for later songs (the awful Two Divided By Love or Sooner Or Later) and the songs became a cliche formula. But on Wake Up Wake Up, PF Sloan still had some say in having the guys branch out a bit. Somewhat of a cross between Paul Revere and the Raiders and even Del Shannon comes to mind. Slightly psychedelic and bubble gum, Wake Up Wake Up could be the answer to My World Fell Down or Susan by the Buckinghams. The fun of trying to figure out the influences and sounds of a band that Steve Barri would hijack and rewrite the same songs over and over, but as long as they charted in the top 30, things would be fine. B side No Exit is a band comp without Sloan nor Barri's help. Sound kinda dull too.
(Photo Courtesy: The Bargain Hunters Network: Found at Analog Vault, CR, IA)
Finally. If you read this far. The find of the day.
From Me To You-The Beatles (Vee Jay 522) #46 1964 (released in 1963)
Back around 1963, there was a certain band from Liverpool who was tolling in the underground music scene at Hamburg but was causing up such a rawkus that the american Capitol label, didn't promote much of their music before I Wanna Hold Your Hand, to which that song made number 1 and the world was never the same but at that time, Capitol was rather license the songs out to minor labels and not give a shit. Things changed big time once I Wanna Hold Your Hand blew up the charts. Vee Jay, was the second biggest R and B label next to Chess but they managed to grab hold on a few singles and managed to manipulate things and released the same songs on various albums before EMI/Capitol said enough. The version that charted was Vee Jay 581 but my copy is a DJ promo VJ 522. And I paid 8 dollars for a DJ promo, which is cool. You do not see many Vee Jay Beatles pressings out in decent shape anywhere, unless you take out a second mortgage should you find a unmarked copy at a deceiving record store and they have to look it up on EBAY and apply the screws on you. I don't mind paying 8 dollars for a VG VJ copy. It's one of those rare singles which Paul McCartney/John Lennon are co writes, later editions would fall under Lennon/McCartney.
B side is Thank You Girl, to which Vee Jay would issue a stand alone promo copy that's is quite hard to find if they haven't been broken up in little pieces after the license to Vee Jay ran out and Vee Jay was forced to destroy the records. In the process by losing the battle, Vee Jay would go out of business. But in the CD era, the Vee Jay Partnership has returned, putting out compilations of the blues hits of John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Reed and a few others. However, the Beatles (and Four Seasons) songs were hands off. But there is something special of owning a Vee Jay Beatles records (or a Swan or Tollie) and fifty years on, they remain a good investment for the 45 collector. And of a special time before the major labels, realizing what they have, would issue product to the independent labels. You won't see that anymore.
