I can tell when I'm going to have a good find of 45s. It usually starts at the St Vincent De Paul store and then Goodwill has some interesting ones, and then if I feel up to the challenge, dive into Moondog Music's boxes of 45s. And wouldn't you know it, the guy mentioned that there was four new boxes of just acquired 45s and I was free to take a look at them for as long as I wanted or closing time.
For a record hoarder like me, I tend to be open minded on what's out there and check them out. There was a treasure box full of Del Shannon stuff, The solo Beatles, Gary Lewis And The Playboys and other oddities. I did eventually went home with 16 blasts from the pasts and a couple of oddball things worth a listen. Tho' I didn't find anything at St Vincent De Paul, I took note of a Ray Price cover of Scotch And Soda on Viva/WB, but the rest of the 45s they had were beyond buying. Scratchy, broken and so forth. So I went to Goodwill and found these 45's
1) Your Love Has Lifted Me Higher And Higher-Rita Coolidge (A&M 1922) #2 1977
I've seen this 45 used time and time again, but never seen the need to pick up a copy. Rita was a sex symbol, married to Kris Kristofferson for a while (they made a couple listenable albums) and after the divorce, Rita returned back to making music. Mostly MOR pop, but this song is driven by Booker T Jones arrangements. Rita has never stood out for me as a singer but this song brings back high school memories. Mostly of being stood up by a couple of ladies that promised to dance with me but never did. B side is Who's The Bless And Who's To Blame, The record was in pretty good shape.
2) (Little Darling) I Need You-Marvin Gaye (Tamla T-54138) #47 1966
A disappointing seller for sure, this single may have been a part of my record collection years ago (The early 60s Tamla label was a strange looking logo, but time and history has clouded my mind if it was Marvin or the Marvelettes). The Doobie Brothers did cover this in 1977 from the forgettable Living On The Fault Line album. Marvin's version of this song isn't found on too many best ofs, in fact I looked up Super Hits and it wasn't on it. In fact, later on, I picked up another Marvin Gaye best of, that had Trouble Man, a great 1972 song that you never hear anymore. This 45 looked worse for the wear but actually plays decent despite no record sleeve and being exposed to the elements. B side is the toss off Hey Diddle Diddle. A major difference between producers. Holland, Dozier and Holland produced Little Darling, Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol took care of Hey Diddle Diddle.
3) Condemned Without Trial-Eddy Arnold (RCA Victor 47-5108) 1952
Hillbilly country from Eddy. Written by Don Robertson and Hal Blair, this moody weeper came out in December of 1952. B side Eddy's Song got some airplay as well. I usually don't think Eddy as a uptempo singer but in this era, Eddy did know how to play hillbilly country with the best of them. This record I have is a bit warped on the edge and plenty of pops and ticks. It's been played a few times and left on something hot to warp it.
4) Eat Drink And Be Merry-Porter Wagoner (RCA Victor 47-6289) 1955
I'm guessing the same owner that owned Eddy's 45 had this one too, due to it also being warped a bit and plenty of surface scratches, but it is Porter Wagoner and if it's in fair shape and can be played, I'll take a copy. Even in the hillbilly days, Porter would find some of the more darker love songs and cover them. He would also cover silly songs as B side Let's Squiggle is a silly hillbilly number. He could do better.
5) Sure Didn't Take Him Too Long-Homer Joy (Capitol 4068) 1975
The guy that wrote Streets Of Bakersfield for Buck Owens recorded five singles, most of them didn't chart and were simply promo copies. He covers a Waylon Jennings song for his final Capitol single.
6) Goodtime Baby-LaWanda Lindsey (Capitol 4094) 1975
Another late comer to the Bakersfield/Buck Owens sound was Lindsey, who had a couple of top 30 hits with Hello Out There and a duet with Kenny Vernon, Picking Wild Mountain Berries which were on Chart Records. Buck Owens produced Hello Out There after LaWanda moved to Capitol from Chart in 1973. She was a singles artist from the get go. But around 1975 Jim Shaw took over production and came up with this so so country number. She later would have a modest hit for Mercury with Walk Right Back before retiring from music in 1979.
And now, the Moondog 45s. Rated faves to nay.
1) She's The One-The Chartbusters (Mutual 502) #33 1964
A while ago, I did a discography on Bobby Poe, who as Bobby Brant stuck up a piano boogie rocker called Piano Nellie with Big Al Downing pounding on the 88s, This time out, Bobby co produced this Beatles influenced number which basically has the same riff as I Saw Her Standing There. I've been on the lookout for this record and Moondog had two copies, both has seen better days but thankfully this one plays decent. Poe would later invent the pop rock survey and later passed on in 2011.
2) Ain't That Loving You Baby-Elvis Presley (RCA 47-8440) #16 1964
B Side: Ask Me #12
3) Burning Love-Elvis Presley (RCA 74-0769) #2 1972
It's hard to find decent Elvis 45s, tho' more recently I am having better luck in coming across them. Ain't That Loving You Baby is not related to Jimmy Reed but rather written by Ivory Jo Hunter and Clyde Otis, and is one of the more harder rocking songs that Hunter came up with. By 1964, Elvis was more of a movie star and rocker but whatever the case, Ain't That Loving You Baby is one of my fave Elvis rockers of all time. That's saying something. B side Ask Me, is throwaway ballad and not one of my favorite Elvis songs of all time. Burning Love is latter day Elvis taking a Dennis Linde song and turning into a concert staple. By then Elvis was losing interest in real rockers and turning into a over the top balladeer that bored me. B side A Matter Of Time, is a underrated country song.
4) Just My Imagination-The Temptations (Gordy G-7105) #1 1971
Perhaps the sweetest and sadness of all the Temptation songs ever recorded and the last that featured Paul Williams according to the mini series that VH1 would pull out every other month. You can feel the sadness in Eddie Kendricks' voice. At that time, the Temps were working with Norman Whitfield and like Gamble-Huff with Jerry Butler, he bought the best out of the Temps, tho' not every song would be a hit, It's Summer stumbled to number 51, Superstar would make it to number 18 and two more songs would not cause much of a ripple but then Whitfield struck gold with Papa Was A Rolling Stone. B side You Make Your Heaven And Hell Here Right On Earth brings the funk but that song was also covered by The Undisputed Truth.
5) Silver Moon-Michael Nesmith/First National Band (RCA 74-0399) #42 1970
Probably the best songwriter from The Monkees, he went country rock with the First National Band. While Joanne sold due to name association, Silver Moon sold less as with each singles but for my money and ears, the best song that Nesmith wrote that the Monkees didn't record. The yodel is a wink and nod to Slim Whitman, B side Lady Of The Lake is passable listening.
6) Fool Like You-Tim Moore (Dunhill/ABC D-4337) #93 1973
I could have swore this single had a higher charting rating than what Billboard gave this, I'm certain KCRG had this in their Super 30 at around that time too. Moore was a songwriter that sounded a bit like Gilbert O'Sullivan without the sarcastic wit. Jessie Frederick also comes to mind, since Jessie had I Belong To You as a single earlier in 73. Moore would later pen Second Avenue for Asylum and had a number 58 chart with that song. Art Garfunkel covered that one.
7) Born A Woman-Sandy Posey (MGM Golden Circle KGC-167) #12 1966
Posey recorded a bunch of MGM sides with Chips Moman producing and using some of the finest Memphis players out there. Nick Lowe covered this during his Stiff years. B Side Single Woman also made it to number 12. She didn't have much chart loving in her years but she did spend a few years at Columbia and Warner Brothers and making the country charts, more than pop. For the most part, Chips Moman and Tommy Cogbill seemed to get the best songs out of her.
8) Freight Train-Duane Eddy (Congress C-6010) 1969
I grew up listening to Duane's guitar songs of the 60s, his version of Peter Gunn is the most driving of all songs but Duane has teetered on more pop than rock. Lee Hazelwood got the best out of him, even on the Reprise album The Roaring Twangies. By 1969, Jimmy Bowen was producing his songs and on a whole they didn't stand out much. Freight Train is the usual Eddy Twang complete with honking sax, tho we are missing the hoots and hollers from overzealous musicians. I'm thinking B side Put A Little Love In Your Heart was the plug side, it least it seems that way to these ears. Needless to say, nobody cared enough to buy the record. Eddy would move over to UNI for one more single and weave in and out of record labels to make a single here and there.
9) Put Your Mind At Ease-Every Mother's Son (MGM K 13788) #46 1967
The followup to the smash single Come On Down To My Boat shows E.M.S. going for a more psychedelic sound, something like Revolution era Paul Revere And The Raiders or Headquarters era Monkees . With Wes Farrell producing, he was trying to steer them into bubblegum pop but you wouldn't know it on this track. It does rock The B Side The Proper Four Leaf Clover takes psychedelia a bit too seriously for its own good.
10) Changin' Winds-The Robbs (Atlantic 2578) 1968
One of two singles The Robbs recorded for Atlantic after leaving Mercury. This was the final one, with Johnny Pate (B B King) producing, a very strange pairing and not exactly a memorable ballad. B side A Good Time Song was better.
11) Rumors-Timex Social Club (Jay 7001) #8 1986
This got plenty of airplay on top forty radio and at the dance club. TSC is considered to be the forefathers of New Jack Swing, a hybrid of hip hop and rap but with a more smooth groove. Rumors had a showing in the top 10, and then they broke up, their producer formed Club Nouveau which you all know that they had a number 1 hit with Bill Withers' Lean On Me.
12) I'm Gonna Change-The Montanas (Independence IND-87) 1968
Best known as a band produced by Tony Hatch (Petula Clark) The Montanas recorded for UK Pye to which Warner Brothers and later Independence Records released their music out in the states. Only You Got To Be Loved made the charts at number 58, and the followup stayed over the top 100. B side A Step In The Right Direction was a better song.
13) Sleepy-Walter Perkins MIT +3 (Vee Jay VJ 340) 1960
Anything from Vee Jay Records is worth a listen, even the jazz sides are worth hearing. I knew nothing of this 45, when I saw it in the box of records at Moondog Music. So I figured it would be either R and B or jazz. Funny thing about jazz records is when you get the album the songs are about 6 to 7 minutes long but a 45 and they about 2 and half minutes at best. Sleepy seems to be inspired by Max Roach and a bit of Monk in there. It's over and done a little over 2 minutes. The other side The Whiffenpoof Song is 2:19. While stock copies have the catalog number VJ 340, my 45 is a special DJ release. Which might have been a big deal back then but I doubt if anybody got too excited over short jazz compositions.
14) Lila-Doyle Holly (Barnaby B-5027) 1973
Holly was once part of Buck Owens' Buckaroos and released a couple Capitol singles featuring them before venturing out on his own, moving to Andy Williams' Barnaby Records. The best known song from him might be Queen Of The Silver Dollar, but Lila is a memorable song if you hear it. B side is a cover of Willie Nelson's Darling Are You Ever Coming Home. Side note; in 1988 Holly recorded The Fireman, written by Mack Vickery and Wayne Kemp for New Dixie Records. George Strait would cover this song to the top of the country charts in the 1990s.
15) I Love You More Today Than Yesterday-Marquis (Eagle 212416-001) 1972
One of two mystery records found. A search through google and the internet didn't turn up anything. So the guess is that this version of Marquis was based around Dubuque Iowa and had a decent following to make a single, which was a so so remake of the Spiral Staircase song. B side is a take on Solitary Man by Neil Diamond and it sounds like that the band may have paid for an hour recording session and needed to get something on vinyl. A product of the times I suppose.
16) That's All Right (Sun-1129) 1972
Artist unknown, but it turned to be Jimmy Ellis, aka Orion
The second mystery 45. When I found this record, I thought it was Sun's reissuing of Elvis Presley's song that started the rock and roll era.but instead it was the cover version done by Jimmy Ellis, better known to the world as Orion, a dude that hid behind a mask while playing and singing Elvis hits. While it's easy to slang Ellis and the man behind the mask, Jimmy really wanted to ditch the mask and be known under his regular name instead of Orion. When the late Shelby Singleton said no to that, Ellis walked away from it all. However he still continue to do shows here and there but not enough to sustain the money that he did make as Orion. In 1998 Ellis was gunned down at his pawn shop by a robber.
Back to the single, That's All Right is a sloppy remake, probably done in one take. The bass player would use the same bass runs on b side Blue Moon Of Kentucky. Blue Moon is a bit more polished although the lack of originality from the bass player makes this song and the single like listening to a bar band in a dive bar.
Even 21 years after his death, Jimmy Ellis still gets lambasted, the most recent from Jimmy Fallon. Nowadays nobody pays much attention, if they do, it's from You Tube and the selected singles. For a Elvis imitator there's much worse out there. But it's a dated scene should you come across old Orion videos and the cheap mask that hid his eyes. Ellis wanted a name for himself which is why he walked away from the steady income that Shelby Singleton provided. I guess you can say Ellis did it his way to quote the Paul Anka song of My Way. For that we'll give him credit.
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