Friday, January 25, 2019

Tennessee Ernie Ford Meets Tennessee Ernie Ford (Camay 3007)





The real title of this weird LP is Steve Lawrence Meets Tennessee Ernie Ford, as you can see on the label, but since I'm including only the five Ford tracks, I thought I'd so some fun photoshopping, using Paint and ArcSoft MediaImpression.  Pretty easy--all I had to do was cut and paste and compress and shorten the lettering.  Now, for years I've been wondering where the heck the Tennessee Ernie Ford material on this disc came from--Ford discographies have him starting at Capitol.  No pre-Capitol recordings.  Are these demos?  Practice runs?  Are they unauthorized issues?  The answer to that last one is likely yes.  That great label-history resource, Both Sides Now, is in the process of putting together a Camay Records page.  It does tell us that Camay appeared in 1961 and had vanished "prior to 1964."  Quote:  "In 1963, the label focused on issuing budget albums. I believe the entire LP output was issued that year, most if not all of the material was leased from other labels and not recorded directly by Camay."  Not sure who the "I" is, but it's a page in progress--and very helpful.

Then, a May 30, 1964 Billboard article to the further rescue:

"At press time the trade was buzzing with reports anent the debut of a new budget line, Camay Records, whose initial releases would include albums with sides by Capitol artists Nat King Cole and Peggy Lee and other sides by by Lawrence Welk, and Frankie Carle.  There was considerable speculation as to where the reported masters came from.  Camay's office stated it would provide more details, but none was forthcoming.

Meanwhile, it was learned that Capitol's legal department was looking into the matter--in the event that the Camay product appeared on the market.

It was also learned that Capitol of Canada was studying the situation.

Tradesters were of the opinion that the Camay masters of Cole and Peggty Lee probably were derived from soundtracks used years ago when Louis Snader produced a series of TV film shorts.

An interesting aspect of the speculation was the matter of licensing.  The Snader licenses were synchronizations rather than mechanical; and it was questioned whether performances cleared under a synchronization license could be transferred to disc without authorization."

Louis Snader produced 754 of the film shorts between 1950 and 1952, apparently as television time-fillers.

And... what do you ya know?  This page possibly gives us the answer.  Camay was indeed using the Snader films, or audio from same.  Quote: "One of Camay's specialties was the release--on LP--of audio taken from Snader and Studio telescriptions."  Telescriptions!  Only one of this LP's tracks are cited--Woman is a Five Letter Word--but I'm guessing--just guessing--that all six Ford selections are "telescriptions."  They all feature the same pitifully bad fidelity.  As for the bad splices that occur, your guess is as good as mine.  There's the jump into the barroom piano solo on Stack-o-Lee, and a couple other obvious cuts.

Bottom line is, the material is highly entertaining, and with a looser feel than the Capitol studio versions--much looser.  Sorry for the quote-heavy essay, but I'm thrilled to have most likely answered the mystery of these things.  And don't miss the amazing guitar solo on Kissin' Bug Boogie, even though the band has lost the beat by that point.  Country musicians were prone to adding and dropping beats, as were many famous blues artists.  I have a theory about that.  Many of the musicians in those genres, no matter how accomplished they became in the formal sense, were from a more or less folk background, and they were playing riff-based forms.  A mistimed riff will throw off the meter, but typically country and blues bands went with the flow.  Dropped beat?  Rushed measure?  (Think Howlin' Wolf.)  Adjust as necessary.  It's a tribute to their talent that they were able to take those things in stride.

Horrible sound, awesome music.  I've listened to patches of the Steve Lawrence side, and there's nothing I want from it.  However, if anyone's dying to hear the Lawrence side, I can rip it....





CLICK HERE TO HEARTennessee Ernie Ford (Camay 3007)





Shotgun Boogie (Ford)
She's My Baby (Ford)
You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry (Bob Merrill)
Woman Is a Five Letter Word
Stack-O-Lee
Kissin' Bug Boogie

Steve Lawrence Meets Tennessee Ernie Ford (Camay 3007; 1963)



Lee

6 comments:

DonHo57 said...

How could you leave us hanging and dwelling on those Steve Lawrence cuts?!?!?!

I for one thank you for the history and background on this. And the reminder about Both Sides, I have it book marked and always forget to look at it for information.

Scott1669 said...

It is kind of a mess......but I am certainly in for Side 1 if you are offering. Of course, that could be the completest in me.....but I'm still curious.
Scott1669

Diane said...

What a wild story! You should start a new career as a researcher.

Ernie said...

Huh, I always wondered about these things. I figured they ripped off the tracks from somewhere, but now we know where. :) Good work!

Both Sides Now is a true labor of love and a fantastic resource. It used to be just singles, but they've really expanded it over time. It's rare to find something that isn't listed there, as long as there's a page for the label you're after.

Buster said...

I've always wondered about the Camay issues. I have the Peggy Lee LP and this one, too, I think. Thanks for the info!

The Capitol version of "You Don't Have to Be a Bay-ay-ay-bee to Cry" was on the flip side of Ernie's version of "Sixteen Tons," as I vividly remember from my very early record collecting days - like age 6.

rene hofmann said...

would be great to hear the other side

greetings rene