Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Madison Singles 2021 Part 2

As we left the last blog it was 1963 and The Springfields' Silver Threads And Golden Needles was the last single to be documented.  Over the weekend, Bob Dorr and his Backtracks played Turn On Your Love Light from The Human Beinz which prompted me to stop the car on 151 just about and went home later and donated 125 dollars to the IPR fund drive for this year.  I hoped to win one of the 45 record storage case with 35 of Bob's choice records but alas, that didn't happen.  The hope was that when Bob played Waubeek in the future, he'd personally would drop one of them off for me.

The Madison record stores have a better turnover ratio than Moondog Music, which had nothing for me and spared my girlfriend about an hour and half of her being bored.  But if a woman loves you for who you are and your hobby of record hoarding, then she's a keeper correct?  She won't get off that easy if and when Madison comes back on the horizon.  Didn't I say this was the final bargain hunt in Madison?  Does anybody really believe that?   It may be a while if the road goes that way again.   

I did find a couple of Goodwill 45s on Tuesday and they will be included into this collection.  But I will not reveal those to you, you'll have to figure them out. LOL

1)   Shake And Fingerpop-Jr Walker And The All Stars (Collectibles COL-407)  #29 1965
       Roadrunner  #20  1966

Collectibles and their back to back Motown Hit Series, I thought this had Shot Gun but it was Road Runner instead, which is better, tho the A side was Shake And Fingerpop, which rocked a bit harder than Shot Gun.  I should contact Oldies dot com if they still have the Port A Case that holds 50 45's for 9.50 plus 4.50 shipping and handling.  I may have to buy in bulk.

2)   Glad All Over-Dave Clark Five (Epic 5-9656)  #6  1964
3)   Anyway You Want It-Dave Clark Five (Epic 5-9739)  #14 1964

For a record collector, it's impossible to find a decent copy of Dave Clark Five's 45's;  all that I have seen have been scratched up to the point that the grooves were gone.  For the first time ever in the Singles Going Steady series that I managed to find not one, but two decent sounding DC5 singles with original sleeves, basically Glad All Over had the original sleeve.  Two of the most harder rocking singles ever, I bypassed Bits And Pieces, don't ask why.  It looked a bit more played, tho it wasn't too scratched up.  You know the story of Dave Clark, boss of the DC5 and hoarder of the masters of the DC5 and total dick. In 1964, Dave Clark rivaled The Beatles in US popularity.  And they could rock with The Beatles on some of the recordings, Anyway You Want It could be the start of punk rock or perhaps hard rock, tho we can't consider Dave Clark Five a punk band.  Adrian Kerridge recorded the DC5 hits, and shared production with head huncho Clark, thus Adrian Clark as producers.  Did Clark record his own drum work on these songs, or was that handed over to super session drummer Bobby Graham.  I wouldn't doubt that Graham played on all of the DC5 hits but also for the Kinks, Animals and about 100 other UK bands.  Glad All Over is the best of the call and response of DC5.  Bonus points for the B side I Know You, which never made any of the best of Dave Clark Five albums but it is one of my favorite songs.  Anyway You Want It, is driven by Graham's drumming and Kerriage's echo mix.  Kerriage was perfect for the DC5 sound.  B side Crying Over You, is one of those sappy ballads that I could care less about, but Shawn, the original owner of this 45, liked it better, it's too scratchy for me to play but Anyway You Want It plays like mint.  Which is surprising coming from a 57 year old recording.

4)    Dottie I Like It-Tommy Roe (ABC  11039)  #114 1968

It's interesting to hear Tommy going from a Buddy Holly beat and laced it with bubblegum pop, shades of Sheila, but pointing to the direction that Roe who get a hit with Dizzy when Steve Barri took over production from Butch Parker.  B side Soft Words is power pop before the term was invented and I thought that was the hit single.  I don't recall hearing Dottie I Like It on the radio.  I think the folks at Real Gone Music should consider doing a collection of Tommy's ABC Paramount singles.  But I doubt they'll listen to me.

5)   Shame Shame-The Magic Lanterns (Atlantic 45-2560)  #29 1968

Trivia:  The Magic Lanterns Shame Shame album came after the first Led Zeppelin album, the LZ album was Atlantic SD 8216, Shame Shame SD 8217.  When Collectibles reissued the album on CD, somebody put down that Ozzy Osbourne was in the band.  Buyer Beware, it was Mike "Oz" Osbourne and not John Michael Osbourne of Black Sabbath.  Turns out the the Collectible's album was a truncated version of the Shame Shame album.  However, John Paul Jones (yes of Led Zeppelin) arranged Shame Shame.  And some of the Magic Lanterns guys partake in another band called The Family Dogg, that had John Bonham played drums on a couple tracks rumor has it.  All from the mind of Steve Rowland, who later produced Jerry Lee Lewis 1973 The Session album with plenty of guest stars.  Later Albert Hammond, joined the band to record One Night Stand, a minor hit for Big Tree.  Later on, their final minor hit, Country Woman was the first record issued via The Famous Charisma label, home of Genesis and Monty Python so to speak.  B side Baby I Gotta Go Now, was left off the Collectibles compilation.  I remember seeing the Atlantic album in the dollar bin at Kresge years ago and never thought about buying it.  In terms of theory, the Collectibles is the overview of most of their singles and better known stuff.   Despite what they tell you.  The Oz in this band is not the Ozzy that we all know and love.  Mark Marymount got that wrong.

6)   I Got The Fever-Bill Anderson (Decca 31999)  1966  #1 Country  

Bill Anderson wrote great songs for everybody but he also had hits of his own as well.  Such as this top tempo country rocker, courtesy of Owen Bradley and the Bradley's Barn group.  Bill could also write some of the more creepier dark side of life songs such as B side The First Mrs. Jones to which the subject at hand is a stalker that offs his first wife and promises his second wife she will be next if she don't treat him right.  Porter Wagoner would cover it to a even more creepy effect.  Both are highly recommended for the demented.

7)   What Ain't To Be, Just Might Happen-Porter Wagoner (RCA 74-0648)  1972  #8 Country

Speaking of Porter, the last top ten single of Porter's Career.  While the 60s moved on, Porter's music became more and more stripped down. Bob Ferguson produced most of Porter's music at this time. More of a straight forward number than the darker stuff Porter is better known for.  This was his second single off What Ain't Used To Be, the first was The Rubber Room, the most insane number ever committed to record from Porter.  Here's hoping I can score a copy of that single soon.   B side is the Dolly Parton written Little Bird. 

8)   Louisiana-Mike Kennedy (Michael Kogel)  (ABC 11309)  #62 1972

The lead singer from Los Bravos (Black Is Black) made this one off hit for ABC, which did make the KLWW top 30 in 1972 (but not KCRG, which is why KLWW was more cool back then).  One of three singles issued by ABC, this was the one that charted.  Steve Barri tried his hand on the next two but failed to generate any chart action. Later redid Black Is Black for BMG RCA Germany in 1989.  Import only.

9)   Woodstock-Matthews Southern Comfort (Decca 32774)  #23 1971

Ian Matthews of Fairport Convention fame, decided to go country/southern rock with Southern Comfort that made two albums for Decca and perhaps the most mellow version of Woodstock ever.  Richard Thompson was part of the first Southern Comfort album (issued on UNI to which I have never seen) but I think the band that did Woodstock was much different.  Matthews loved the US singer songwriters, especially Joni Mitchell, when Fairport got too British for him, he left. Sounds very close to Rick Nelson's Stone Canyon Band 

10)  Convention  72-The Delegates (Mainstream MRL-5525)  #8 1972

Cut in singles were the novelty records of the times.  Back when you can get away with it and before lawyers closed down the copyrights (normally the big acts) you have silly questions responded by a song snippet.  Dicky Goodman made a living off this, The Delagates had a big hit with a spoof on the 1972 elections but I could never find a decent copy.  One side plays good, the other not so much, but it's a one sided single anyway.  Cut in records, they don't make them no more, nobody can't afford the license fees.

11)   Always Thinkin' Of You Darling-The Siegel-Schwall Band (Wooden Nickel  73-104)  1972

A FM classic back in the days of 1972, Siegel-Schwall was more blues than rock, but this has a bit of boogie in this song.  A lot of folk consider their Wooden Nickel albums to be their best but from what I have heard, I kinda got bored by them.  This song does rock.  A keeper, B side Sleepy Hollow was another deep cut classic that nobody plays anymore.

12)   I Tip My Hat-Bulldog (MCA  40050)  1973

Dino Danelli and Gene Cornish move on from the Rascals to this short lived band with Billy Hoctor being the lead vocalist, Eric Thorngren would later become producer to Talking Heads and Peter Wolf and others.  Hoctor's vocals are like Roger Chapman of Family, not for everybody and Bulldog never took off after having a minor hit with No.   Dino and Gene would form Fotomaker, which might be the most overrated power pop band ever, making three albums for Atlantic that you're free to listen on your own.

13)   Holding On To Yesterday-Ambrosia (20th Century TC-2207)  #17 1975

Later became soft rock when they moved to Warner Music in 1978, Ambrosia's first album was on the prog side of Pink Floyd and Alan Parsons, tho in 1975 fashion, 20th Century gave us a edited version of this single.  Followup single Nice Nice Very Nice is a Beaker Street fave, tho it limped to number 63. Eventually, Warner Music did reissue the first two Ambrosia albums on CD in the 1990s.  I liked this song since it sounded like the Guess Who, David Pack sounded a bit like Burton Cummings.  Ambrosia later reinvented themselves as light rock in the late 70s before returning to the sound of the first album with Road Island, a record that made a bee line to the cutouts.  Worth seeking out.

14)   Daddy Rollin' In Your Arms-Dion (Laurie LR-3464)  1968

B Side to the number 4 Abraham Martin and John, It's the best blues song that Dion ever did.  This is where Dion reinvents himself to the blues, before going folk and then gospel and then back to the blues again, where he continues to play off and on.  Next to Jerry lee Lewis, the last man standing.

15)  California Dreaming-America (American International  AI-700)  #56 1979

An America song that charted that I never heard before.  American International was famous for Vincent Price movies and Motorcycle Gang pictures, their records history was very spotty. The Buddy Holly Story was farmed out to Epic Records in 1978 and California Dreaming was on a Casablanca spin off label and then AIP disappeared, Orion (later MGM) reissued the movies but I've never seen this as a single.  Of course The Beach Boys did their own version of Cal Dreaming for the Made In The USA best of.  Rhino did tack on California Dreamin on a America best of overview.

16)  Fadin' In Fadin' Out-Tommy Overstreet (ABC AB-12408)  1978  #11 Country

Tommy's last top twenty single, it also ends the Best Of Tommy Overstreet that Varese Sandabunde issued back in the late 1990s and I think we sent Cary Mansfield a note about the best singles that T.O. had for ABC Dot.  By then ABC eliminated Dot Records and most of the artists went to ABC.  Tommy's album Better Me was pretty good and Fadin' In was my favorite song off that album.  Only took me 42 years to find the single and it was a jukebox copy, tho not played to death.  Tommy would later move over to Elektra for a few more top 50 charting singles.

17)  Mister DJ-T G Sheppard  (Curb/Warner WBS-8490)  1977 #13 Country

To me, Sheppard made his best music for Hitsville, Motown's country label and after his number 20 chart placing Lovin' On, T G moved over to Warner Music via Mike Curb.  The first release was this mushy song complete with an over singing woman in the background.  B Side Easy To Love would be more soft porn country crapola that begs for donating back to Goodwill.   Never mind.

18)  Baby, I'll Give It To You-Seals and Croft (Warner Music WBS 8277)  #58 1976

After the surprise hit Get Closer, they decided to try their luck again with Carolyn Willis for this Bee Gees sounding knockoff that wasn't that impressive and fared poorly on the charts.  I don't think Q 103 played it much.  B side was a live version of Advance Guards, which put them back into a folk rock mood.   Hell of a lot better than the so called failed hit single.

19)   The Circle Is Small-Gordon Lightfoot (Warner Music WBS-8518)  #33 1978

A remake from his United Artists years, I never heard this one on the radio.  But I did hear Daylight Katy, tho that one didn't chart.  Sweet Genevieve the B side could have been a hit too. I always love Gordon Lightfoot's music later in life.  Wounded Bird did issue all of Gordon's Warner/Reprise albums but most have now fallen out of print.  Probably available through Rhino's Streaming outlets. My copy has a drill hole in it, a rare cut out 45 so to speak.

20)   Expect No Mercy-Nazareth (A&M 2130)  1979

The last album with Manny Charleton, Nazareth had the classic Hair Of The Dog and the number 8 Love Hurts.  Never a critics band (RNRHOF jackass Jann Wenner hated them) they carved out a nice career on A&M.  Loved Loud N Proud and Hair Of The Dog, and could tolerate Close Enough For Rock and Roll and the Hot Tracks best of, but  I never paid attention to their No mean City and Expect No Mercy albums. B side Whatever You Want Babe is a nice Stones knockoff. Charlton would leave and Zal Cleminson (Sensational Alex Harvey Band) replaced him, which made me buy the next album Malice In Wonderland.  Had the number 88 hit Holiday but with Jeff Baxter producing, he turned them into yacht rock.  It would be two years before John Punter and Cleminson's replacement Billy Rankin returned them back into a harder rock sound.

21)  Everything From Jesus To Jack Daniels-Tom T Hall (Mercury 812 835-7)  1983 #42 Country

After being on RCA from 1977 to 1982, Tom returned back to Mercury and returned to a bluegrass sound, with Chet Atkins producing this off the wall single. Tom can write and sing a song when he wanted to, but he also can get mushy (I Love, I Care and PS I Love You, his last top ten single in 1984). This song was Tom trying to figure out why anybody wanted to vote for Ronald Reagan.  Which is why I still love Tom T Hall. 

22)  Strangers-Stephen Stills (Atlantic 7-89633) #61 1984

Not one of Stills better songs, in fact it was very subpar.  Stephen managed to coax Jimmy Page to play on a couple songs and he might be on this track. Very dated 80s production and the album Right By You was terrible.  The B side No Hiding Place, has Chris Hillman helping out and returning Stills to the sound of Manassas, the country rock band Hillman formed with Stills in 1972. Alas, there's a nasty scratch through the record that makes it unplayable it seems.

23)   Burn Me Down-Marty Stuart (MCA  S7-64253)  1991  #7 Country

Marty Stuart is keeping country alive by keeping it country.  His MCA years, showed a bit of rockabilly to go with his country, in fact I think he's more rockabilly than country anyway. A fun song and perhaps I will be on the lookout for Marty's MCA album to familiar myself with his music.

24)  Hitchin' A Ride-Vanity Fare (Page One 21029)  #5 1970

I'm sure I posted this song on a different Singles Going Steady blog but couldn't find it and so I decided to end this at a even dozen times two.  Vanity Fare was up and coming in 1970 and after this song, disappeared.  When I got the record the first time, it sounded scratchy, so I donated it back to St Vinnies in Madison.  And then Mad City Music X had this version which wasn't too scratchy sounding.  I have no idea why they decided to edit this to two and half minutes rather than the full 3 10.  It's not like Atlantic trying to pare Roundabout down to 3 27 from 8 minutes.  With the right edit, you can turn a jam into a 3 minute song as I Know I'm Losing You from Rare Earth did.  At the same time you can butcher a song like Epic did with Redbone's Maggie. Sweet Mary from Wadworth Mansion also got chopped down by 20 seconds if you bought the single, which pissed me off till I found the full version of that song.  That said, Hitchin' A Ride still remains one of those sunshine pop songs that when you hear it on the radio, it makes you smile and sing along, even on KDAT. or Satellite Radio.

I don't think I'm the only person out there that will go into a record store and come out with about 50 45s from the past at Mad City Music X or St. Vinnies.  There will always be pickers out there looking for that lost Beatles classic or those simply looking for scratchy ones to make pop art from.  In my case, these are the connection back to the past, back to the days of innocence and going to Grandma's to play those old box of records that kept me occupied.  It's rare to find not one but two Dave Clark Five 45s that still got the grooves in place.   It's interesting to find country 45s that dad used to have and sing along with at parties with friends that had too much to drink and did a bit of hanky panky on the side. 

It's nice to find the 45s that I originally had that got played to death, or ended up being thrown across the room for amusement.  It was great to find Mike Kennedy's Louisiana or Car Trouble by the Eligbles.  And replace worn out copies of It's Late or Hello Mary Lou. 

Madison didn't disappoint when it came to picking 45s from the past.  Going through so many boxes of the quarter records was like stepping back in time and going to Woolworth's to see what they had for 3 for a dollar finds.  Probably, the only highlife of growing up in this old world. 

PS) other singles

The Ballad Of Wyatt Earp-Ralph Young (Decca 9-29693)  1955

B side Bring Me A Bluebird.  With the Ray Charles Singers (no relation to you know who) and Jack Pleis doing the Mitch Miller happy pop arrangement.  

The Story Of Bobby Lee Trent-Burl Ives (Decca 31811)  1965

Ives's country period with Owen Bradley producing.

And you can never have enuff copies of Topsy Part 2 from Cozy Cole. 

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