Music You (Possibly) Won't Hear Anyplace Else

Pentecost concert: Your blogger at the keyboard

2013-05-19T02:21:00.004-04:00

Click here to hear: Pentecost Concert--Lee H.

Pentecostal Fire Is Falling (Bennard) (Patch: Church 1)

According to Thy Kindness, God (Bach) (Patch: Chapel Organ)

Hail Thee, Festival Day (Vaughan Williams) (Patch: Chapel Organ)

In the Shadow of His Wings (Excell) (Patch: Stereo Grand Piano)

In Thee Is Gladness (Gastoldi) (Patch: Church 1)

Oppressed with Care (MacCaulay) (Patch: Chapel Organ)

Lee, at the Casio WK-3800

Lee

Three from "Country and Western Hits" (Ultraphonic 1664)

2013-05-17T15:54:00.003-04:00

I previously posted Blue Suede Shoes and Heartbreak Hotel from an uncredited 78 (Value Hit Parade Tunes 119). Here they are, this time, in their LP form (Ultraphonic 1664), also uncredited. They've been mastered with echo and at a slightly faster speed, but they're the same tracks.

Also included is I Forgot to Remember to Forget, which I haven't yet compared to the Gateway version, though I'm pretty sure they're not the same. (This stuff gets impossible to explain after a while!)

To the three Ultraphonic tracks, ripped from the above LP: Country & Western Hits

Blue Suede Shoes
Heartbreak Hotel
I Forgot to Remember to Forget

(No artist credited: Ultraphonic 1664)

Lee

Sarge Presents.... Fake rock and roll and country hits on 78!

2013-05-16T02:22:00.005-04:00

"Only the fakest," promises Sarge. (Actually, she said, "Mergow, merp, mergow.") Mostly repeats in this list, but all are new rips. Re-rips, I guess you could call them.

Two fake versions of That's All Right (both of which copy the Marty Robbins, vice Elvis, recording), two fakes of Hound Dog, and a copy of Hambone which sort of combines the Red Saunders version with the Frankie Laine and Jo Stafford pop version. And does so very cheaply. At the Hop, courtesy of Waldorf, is a poster child for audio wow. And I've always wanted to type that.

All were ripped from 78s. So if any of them sound like 78s, now you know why. I still can't believe I got my battered copy of Tops R-255 (That's All Right, by Pat Patterson) to sound as good as it does. I guess what few grooves are left on the disc must be quality grooves. That's my best, blogging-in-the-early-a.m. guess.

Sarge orders you to download the fake shellac: Razzle Dazzle

PLAYLIST

Razzle Dazzle--Jack Daniels w. the Four Jacks and Herbie Layne's O. (Gateway 1134; 1955)
Hound Dog--Terry Wall (Hep 297)
I Forgot to Remember to Forget--Jack Daniels w. the Country All-Stars (Gateway 1146; 1955)
That's All Right--Pat Patterson w. the Texas Wranglers (Tops R-255-49)
Hambone (R. Saunders)--Bud Roman and Mimi Martel (Tops 323)
At the Hop--Hal Willis and the Woodchuckers (Top Hit Tunes TH-16-2)
Hound Dog--No artist credited (Royale 788)
Blue Suede Shoes--No artist credited (Value Hit Parade Tunes 119)
Heartbreak Hotel--Same
Sh-Boom--The Four Deals (Tops R-240)
That's All Right--No artist credited (Western Extended Play Records HB-8)
Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee--Western Playboys, v: Les Guthrie (Western Magic 1203; 1949)

Lee

New camera

2013-05-15T22:49:00.001-04:00

For my 56th Birthday (coming up shortly), a Canon Powershot A2400 IS. A "beginner's" camera, the reviews say. Funny, I seem to recall having taken photos for the past three decades or longer. But my memory's getting fuzzy, so maybe I am just starting out.

I love the way consumer products are marketed that way--"starter" synthesizers and the like. So, gee, if I spend several thousand on a synthesizer, I'll be able to play Chopin's Op. 10 and 25 Etudes at concert tempo? Overnight?

My self-photos look way more like me than the rigid, show-every-pore images taken by my Kodak. The cats look more like cats. And so on. Only major drawback with this tiny camera is the need for lots of light for zooms, else grainy shots. Oh, well. I'm just starting out, so who cares?

Cats (in order of appearance): James; James; Sarge; Alphonse; Whitey; Sarge. Sarge, a.k.a. Sergeant Stripes, is a tiny, bossy female who adores Daddy nearly as much as he adores her.

Blogging is serious business

2013-05-04T04:06:00.001-04:00

According to Bev, this is more like my usual expression than the dopey smile(s) I sport in most of my self-photos. Here I seem to be saying, "Blogging is serious business." And it is. Sometimes, if not often.

I've been taking a lot of self-photos lately because I don't expect my beard to last the summer, and I want to document it as thoroughly as possible. Then again, it may surprise me and weather the weather. It's been holding up quite well in the hot weather of late (lower 80s), so who knows?

Should I have to shave it off come higher temps and humidity, then so be it. I'll take it with mature and quiet dignity. Well, that's the plan, anyway.

Lee

Putt Putt Golf Courses of America Presents Gee Gee Shinn and His Band (1967)

2013-04-29T00:26:00.004-04:00

Awesome LP I found on my latest Goodwill trip--99 cents, and it was mine. VG/VG+, minimal jacket wear, and... just a cool find. Here's some Putt Putt Golf Courses of America history, on a page called, appropriately, Putt Putt Golf Courses of America, Inc. History.

Louisiana-born blue-eyed soul singer (and trumpeter) Gee Gee Shinn sang for the Boogie Kings prior to forming his own band, the Roller Coasters (featured here as "Gee Gee Shinn and His Band"). Later, he replaced vocalist Terry Richards in the band Chase, appearing on the group's second LP. If that sounds like the resume of a first-rate musician, you couldn't be more correct--one listen to this album, and I'd place Shinn at the top of his class. In fact, not only would I, I am. Easily the standard bearer for the blue-eyed soul genre, and I type this as a die-hard fan of Tom Jones and Eric Burdon.

Any LP sporting this cover demands to be ripped and blogged--that it happens to contain superb sixties pop and soul covers (1967-style) makes this post a no-brainer. Having said that, I cyber-searched for any reissue(s) of this and found none. Nor any full-LP posts. Odd, since this LP works so beautifully as a whole, with not a dud in the playlist. Not to mention that it's such a cool historical document. Glad I thrifted Saturday.

Highlights include Groovin', Summer Time (yes, the Gershwin number, a "garage" standard of the time), Sweet Soul Music, and Soul Finger (which I remember like it was still 1967). A needed change from all the by-the-numbers budget sixties covers I've been presenting lately, no? This LP should correct whatever damage I've dealt to the covers concept as a result. (I have no idea what I just typed.)

To Gee Gee Shinn and the Roller Coasters: Putt Putt Golf Courses of America Presents

Jose Outside
Show Me
Out Left Field
Groovin'
Lonely Bull
Don't You Care
Summer Time
Shadow of Your Smile
Sweet Soul Music
Mercy Mercy Mercy
Crying Man
Soul Finger

Recorded at Columbia's "Nashville Sound" Studios, Nashville TN
Album manufactured by Columbia Record Productions
Arr. by Gee Gee Shinn
Produced by Jerry Crutchfield

Lee

This album has "Cheap Rip-off" written all over it

2013-04-28T21:20:00.002-04:00

Lee

Fake Sixties (and Seventies), Peter Pan style.

2013-04-26T04:27:00.004-04:00

Kiddie label Peter Pan was owned by Synthetic Plastics Company of Newark NJ, which issued any number of fake hits (my term for sound-alikes) in the Fifties, and--to my surprise and delight--kept on doing so throughout the Sixties and at least some of the Seventies. I remain unclear on where the fake-hit sessions themselves were actually made, since a number of SPC tracks simultaneously appeared on Tops, Parade, and so on (I'm still trying to memorize the different cheapie-label groups, which is almost a fool's errand, given the way so much of the material hopped label groups). I've always wanted to type, "hopped label groups."

A sixties example: South Street, on 45 rpm Big C-28 (SPC, credited to the Song Spinners) and Bravo PEP-211-2 (Pickwick, not credited to anyone)--same recording. Fifties examples are legion.

At this point in my detective work, it appears that, after the very early sixties, all or most of SPC's fake-sixties (and -seventies) stuff came out on its Peter Pan label. And, sure enough, all of today's fake hits were ripped from Peter Pan kiddie LPs. (Not conclusive proof for my theory, but....) The artist credits (Puff 'N Toot Singers, et al.) are bogus--all tracks (except, perhaps, the iffy Winchester Cathedral) are clearly cash-ins made at the time of the original hits. As sound-alikes go, these range from not all that bad (American Pie) to very good (Mrs. Brown, Mashed Potatoes, Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head).

One mystery track in the bunch: The Twist , which is clearly a cash-in, but not, as far as I know, an actual fake hit (it's not the Hank Ballard/Chubby Checker tune, anyway). SPC's stereo mix is a joke, but the number itself is surprisingly effective. There's a Freddy Cannon/early Beach Boys sound.

LINK: Peter Pan fake hits

Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport--Peter Pan Pop Band & Singers
Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor?--Same
Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter--Same
Indian Giver--Puff 'N Toot Singers
1-2-3 Red Light--Same
Who Put the Bomp--Same
Winchester Cathedral--Same
Pony Time--Peter Pan 8159
Mashed Potatoes--Same
The Twist--Same
Alley Cat--Same
Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head--Puff 'N Toot Singers
Everything Is Beautiful--Same
American Pie--Same

Lee

Fake hits of the fake sixties, Part 10!!

2013-04-21T14:02:00.002-04:00

Yeah, well, on this world, such fakeness (fakeness?) is tolerated, my Martian friend. Otherwise, this series wouldn't be happening, would it? We'll do things our way on our planet, and you do things your way on yours. Deal?

Sorry. I didn't mean to respond so defensively to Zoptor's criticism. That's his name, by the way--Zoptor. Or, rather, that's the Earth version of it. On Mars, he's known as something like Zrzrppzhhhebzite. "Zoptor" sounds a lot better.

Every single one of today's fake hits were recorded on Earth by Earth musicians in Earth studios, whether they sound that way or not. Actually, most of these--save for Yellow Submarine--are highly competent covers, which might almost seem to defeat the purpose of this series. Or violate the tone, anyway. Maybe I should have tossed in a few duds. Hm. Anyway, brace yourself for a series of acceptable fake-hit performances.

I'd write more, but allergies have me in Half-There Land, so let's simply move on to the playlist before I lose consciousness completely. Or, before I lose complete consciousness. Whichever happens first.

LINK: Fake Hits of the Fake Sixties, Part 10

Groovin'--The Electric Scoundrals (Premier 1005)
Satisfaction--The Electric Scoundrals (Premier 1005)
Yellow Submarine--Modern Sound 568
Will You Love Me Tomorrow--Prom Orch. and Cho. (Synthetic Plastics Co. 119)
Clementine--Prom Orch. and Cho. (Prom 113)
Chains--The Grenadiers (Discount Disc PH-150)
Please Mr. Postman----The Electric Scoundrals (Premier 1005)
Madison Time--Promenade Orch. and Cho. (Prom 113)
Candy Man--Hits of Today, Vol. 2 (Mini, the Little LP 603)
Let the Little Girl Dance--Hits of Today, Vol. 2 (Mini, the Little LP 603)
Good Golly Miss Molly--Hits of Today, Vol. 2 (Mini, the Little LP 603)
World Without Love--Hits of Today, Vol. 2 (Mini, the Little LP 603)

Lee

"Batman," "Barbara Ann," "Little Egypt," and other fake-sixties classics!

2013-04-15T02:21:00.000-04:00

Thanks again to Bob, who solved the Crying in the Chapel mystery (previous post). Seems that the 1963 Yes label recording is a note-for-note knock-off of Little Richard's Atlantic disc. That the same backing track was used for the 1965 Elvis-version knock-off is, in my cheap-label-loving opinion, just classic. That last sentence is something I've always wanted to type.

And so we move on to Part 9 of our fake-sixties series, featuring budget knock-offs which, in their day, attempted to pass for the real items. These come from a variety of chintzy vinyl sources--for instance, a fairly battered Hurrah! label LP called (like many another fake-hit LP) Top Hits, from which I was able to save Barbara Ann, Little Devil, Little Egypt, and Rama-Lama-Ding-Dong (all in stereo!). Also, a British EP on a label called (I swear) Mini, The Little LP, from which I extracted the excellent I Wanna Be Your Man cover. (My only issue is some over-enunciation by the singer. Otherwise....) Keep in mind this is a copy of the Rolling Stones' hit 1963 recording of this Lennon-McCartney tune.

Then there's 12 Top Hits on a series of 45-rpm Bravo label EPs, from which we'll be hearing two of the twelve: On Broadway and Pipeline. Bravo and Hurrah! were owned by Pickwick.

Sherry, South Street, and Hey Jude--the latter possibly the least successful cover of a Beatles tune I've ever heard--come from a Premier label LP which is credited to "The Electric Scoundrals," though the tracks are clearly by a variety of artists and from a variety of recording dates. The Premier group of labels included such thrift store regulars as Coronet and (by 1961) Spin-o-Rama. As noted, this version of Hey Jude is extremely lacking in every quality one could think to enumerate (especially during the screaming, repeat-chorus fade out), but there's something I really dig about it. Don't ask me what. They blow it with such gusto. Maybe that's it.

Batman is from--who else?--the Hit label. I frankly think their copy beats out the original, but maybe I've been listening to this stuff for too many years.

LINK: Fake Hits of the Fake Sixties, Part 9

PLAYLIST

I Wanna Be Your Man (Hits of To-Day, Volume 2--Mini, The Little LP, 603)
Barbara Ann (Hurrah! Top Hits 33-PHLP-70)
Little Egypt--Same
Rama-Lama-Ding-Dong--Same
Little Devil--Same
On Broadway (12 Tops in Pops--Bravo PEP-211-2)
Pipeline--Same
Sherry--The Electric Scoundrals ((Premier 1005)
South Street--Same
Hey Jude--Same
If You Wanna Be Happy (12 Tops in Pops--Bravo PEP-211-2)
Batman (Modern Sound 568)

Lee

I searched and I searched, but I couldn't find...

2013-04-13T17:19:00.004-04:00

...no definite clue as to the original artist being imitated on this recording of Crying in the Chapel, a 1963 sound-alike on the Yes (Synthetic Plastics Co.) label, pictured here (sound file at end of post):

Clearly, the recording being copied is an R&B version, but whose? We know the disc is from 1963, since the flip side is Mr. Bass Man. My guess best, therefore: Little Richard's Atlantic label recording. But I can't find an mp3 (free or pay) of Richard's version, so I can't be for sure. I mean, I can't find no mp3 thereof.

Two years later, Elvis had his own--and much bigger--hit with Chapel, whereupon the Hit Parader label copied it, using the same backing track as the 1963 Yes label single. Only difference being the vocal, though I could swear it's the same singer, albeit in Elvis mode. Label shot of Hit Parader version (sound file at end of post):

Moral: why pay for a new backing track when you've got one sitting around? (Never mind that, near as I can find to my peace of mind, no female vocalists appear nowhere on the Elvis hit.) Quite a deft Elvis impression, I might add.

Anyone else get the impression that we're hearing the same vocalist on both? More important, who is being covered in/by the 1963 recording? Input invited. Help this blogger find some way on earth to find peace of mind.

Oh, yes.... The files:

LINK: Crying in the Chapel, X2

UPDATE: Bob the Scared Data Miner, at Dead Wax, has kindly posted the Little Richard record, and it is indeed the version being copied on the 1963 recording. Which creates a new mystery--namely, why would Yes/S.P.C. cover a minor hit? The cheapo labels, for maximum tie-in value, normally copied titles high in the charts (which explains the general absence of Beach Boys titles on cheapie EPs). Was S.P.C. working with Atlantic, or vice versa?

Is the question worth losing sleep over? Maybe not, but I'll be doing some waking-hour obsessing....

Lee

Fake Hits of the Fake Sixties, Part Eight: Allied Record Co.

2013-04-09T03:24:00.004-04:00

I have two of these sets, from which we'll be enjoying twelve tracks today. I'd have scanned the other box, too, but it's badly mildewed, so I've spared you the sight. (The discs are all fine, though.) Allied Record Co. is the label, but the sounds themselves come from Pickwick. I know, because a number of these tracks also appeared on Hit Parader, Song Hits, Hurrah! and/or Bravo.

Help Me Rhonda is a repeat (we heard it on Hit Parader), and it's as awful as ever. But nothing quite matches today's House of the Rising Sun knock-off for its sheer, shocking "How could they have?" quality. (They could, and they did.) Thanks to Sun, and moments of She's Not There, the other numbers sound reasonable, even catchy.

Sound quality is okay, but only because I filtered out the groove-wear distortion. While these discs all look clean, closer inspection reveals groove wear of the type commonly inflicted by automatic record changers. You don't suppose....? (See bottom of record box, above.)

If you're one of those folks who wonder why anyone in either his right or wrong mind would even consider collecting stuff like this, today's set may just have you wondering even harder. Great fun, and the kind of weird package I live to find.

To the (ahem) hits: ARC Hits (Fake Hits of the Fake Sixties, Part 8)

Bread and Butter
You Turn Me On
Girl Don't Come
House of the Rising Sun
She's Not There
Tobacco Road
My Girl
Sounds of Silence
Flowers on the Wall
It's Gonna Be Alright
Catch Us If You Can
Help Me Rhonda

Lee

The Dog Kids Love to Bite--Armour Hot Dogs 1970 radio ads

2013-04-07T01:05:00.003-04:00

Found this for five bucks yesterday at a local flea market. These 1970 Armour Hot Dogs radio commercials bring back mucho, munchy memories. They're divided into six headings, with two versions per heading--one 30 seconds long, the other 1 minute. The headings: Country & Western, Our Gang (??), Baroque, Carousel, and Pied Piper (???). You might expect the "Our Gang" tracks to feature a Jazz Age sound, per the famous series, but, like me, you'd be wrong. More pop-funk than Jazz Age. The "Pied Piper" category is beyond me, so let me know if you have any ideas. (Piccolo reference?)

All twelve files=approximately ten minutes. I got decent sound out of this by using the left channel alone, thus bypassing most of the surface noise. Like a lot of radio station discs, this one looks like it was tracked heavy. I thought 1970s-era radio stations had super-light tonearms? No?

Enjoy: The Dog Kids Love to Bite--1970

Lee

The PC bugs come out

2013-04-06T16:47:00.003-04:00

With the (finally!) warmer weather hereabouts, the bugs in my PC have migrated to my keyboard, attracted by the more pleasant room temperatures. They're polite bugs, too--they were perfectly willing to scoot aside to let me type this. After several minutes of negotiating, that is. (I'm to bring an assortment of foodstuffs in return for their cooperation--salt, bread crumbs, etc.).

Best of all, they don't bite. (Ouch!!!!) Well, most of them don't.

Somewhere, I've written down the Bug Bite Crisis Center number....

Lee

Fake hits of the fake sixties, part 7I!

2013-04-03T01:35:00.003-04:00

The guilty labels, this time around, are Hit, Discount Disc, and Gilmar. Some restoration challenges in this batch, including the warped and groove-worn House of the Rising Sun and Bread and Butter, the even more groove-worn Matchbox, and Penny Lane, whose surface sports a thick cross-cut most of its way. I got these sounding perfectly fine. (I think, anyway.) Lane only required a click-filter boost and a little bit of per-click adjusting. I've always wanted to type "a little bit of." I mean, "per-click adjusting."

Matchbox is a cover of the Fab Four's version, of course, which makes it a cover of the Beatles covering Carl Perkins covering whoever's (whomever's?) version he heard. Twist and Shout, however, is pre-Beatles, so you just know it's mimicking the Isley Brothers. And you're correct in your knowage (knowage?), even if the track credit goes to "The England Brothers"!! Was Discount Disc/Pickwick unknowingly predicting the British Invasion?

Similarly, Please Mr. Postman, also pre-Beatles, covers the original version (The Marvelettes). And I had to Google their name--for shame. I call myself a pop historian. (I knew it was an "-ettes" group, at least.) It should be noted that the Beatles, when they covered it, deviated little if at all from the original, except in collective gender. And I've always wanted to type, "when they covered it." Er.... Never mind.

I don't know if Big Bad John simply sounds off-center or if the disc was indeed pressed that way. Looking at the record, I can't tell. It's a long-playing, six-track EP with very close grooves, so the pitch instability may stem from that. Jimmy Dean lost no sleep over this copy, I'm sure. Tower of Strength is a pretty decent cover, with a singer who sounds a lot like Gene McDaniels, though I seriously doubt Gene was moonlighting at Gilmar, copying himself. Even though Tower is a Bacharach tune, I've yet to work up to liking it. Or that trombone line.

I Can't Stay Mad at You is by Carole King in mega-Neil Sedaka mode. And I've always wanted to type "King in." Oddly enough, I often love King's bridges even more than the A sections. I'll bet if I brought that up in a 60s pop discussion group, I'd be greeted with silence. (Or even a sixties pop discussion group.)

In 1964, my brother and I thought Bread and Butter was hilarious--the lead voice, especially. But what did we know? A great record, and this impersonation isn't bad, either.

On the fake-sixties research front, I've found some listings of Synthetic Plastics Company fake-hit 45s from 1962 and 1963. I can feel your excitement as you take in the news.

Click here to reach zip file download: Fake Hits of the Fake Sixties, Part 7!

House of the Rising Son--The Spartas (Hit 137)
Bread and Butter--Danny and Deanie (Same)
I Can't Stay Mad at You (Goffin-King)--Kathy Taylor (Hit 86)
Matchbox--The Jalopy Five (Hit 147)
Penny Lane--The Jalopy Five (Hit 287)
Twist and Shout--The England Brothers (Discount Disc ((Pickwick)) PH-130)
The Wah-Watusi--The DisCounts (Same)
Sealed with a Kiss--Jerry Casaubon (Same)
Please Mr. Postman--Gilmar D-G-259
Big Bad John--Same
Bristol Stomp--Same
Tower of Strength (Bacharach-Hilliard)--Same

Lee

Your blogger, on the (digital) piano for Easter

2013-03-31T14:11:00.000-04:00

Easter hymn tunes for Easter. And I love the standard cyber-atheist gripe about days devoted to religion (read: Christianity)--namely, that "we Christians" get every other day of the year, so why can't we keep our stinkin' hands off the holidays, and blah, blah. Well, speaking as one of the "we Christians" set, wahh. Double-wahh.

Speaking of wahh, I've never been at ease with Easter; no wordplay intended (ease/Easter). My problem is that, traditionally, the Resurrection is either promoted as Christ dying for us (a notion I despise) or as a metaphor for change. The latter is the modern, corporate-style cliche of our day, and it's wrong on too many levels to list.

I, myself, opt for the Sydney Carter (Lord of the Dance) take on the Resurrection, wherein Christ never died/dies. Wherein Christ is that eternal, indestructible, celebrate-through-the-agony force called human nature. As Carter made clear, Christ isn't the only Lord of the Dance; just the one Sydney knew best. Luckily, people respond to the beauty of the Shaker tune and the beauty of Carter's language, missing the fairly radical content of the lyrics (that is, to Lord of the Dance, a version of which I was going to post today but didn't get to doing).

So... three hymn tunes, and I somehow strayed from the meter on the first. It's 1,2,3/1,2,3, but I either added or dropped a beat in one spot. On the other hand, if you notice no missing beat(s), then... cool.

Stereo grand piano, on my Casio WK-3800. You hear "Casio" and (understandably) laugh, but the patch actually sounds great, esp. with MAGIX-added room echo.

Click here to hear: Three Easter hymn tunes

That Easter Day with Joy Was Bright (Nikolaus Herman)
Welcome, Happy Morning (Gustav Holst)
This Joyful Eastertide (Tune: Dutch, 17th cent.)

Lee Hartsfeld, grand piano (Casio WK-3800)

Lee

This Easter's snub to Christianity is (drum roll)....

2013-03-31T11:26:00.001-04:00

...Google honoring Caesar Chavez' birthday. Which is a totally cool way of snubbing Easter, if you're a hipster and you have to snub Christianity or else, you know, your friends will treat you like they treat those pesky believers. And you don't want that to happen. Individualist, think-for-themselves sorts never dream of rocking the boat. (Ironic? How?)

Not being new to cyberspace, I knew Google would snub Easter, but the question was, how? I was thinking, maybe, an unadorned logo of the type reserved for that other non-day, Christmas? But this is way better. A Google froogle, or whatever it's called, to one of our greatest Americans. In their jerkiness, hipsters sometimes do the right thing. This has been one of those moments. Happy Birthday, Caesar!

Lee

The Fake Sixties, Part 6--England Swings

2013-03-28T02:05:00.000-04:00

Click here to hear: Fake Hits of the Fake Sixties, Part 6

Green Onions (Top 30 Tunes 6)
Sherry (Same)
Do You Love Me (Top 30 Tunes 7)
It Might As Well Rain Until September (Same)
Ballad of Pallidan (sic) (Same)
I Know a Place (Song Hits SH-34)
I'm Telling You Now (Same)
Do You Wanna Dance (Same)
Long Lonely Nights (Same)
Stranger in Town (Same)
England Swings--Renfro Valley Pioneers (Spinorama S-167)
Flowers on the Wall (Same)
PT 109 (Pop Hits Country Flavored, Vol. 2; Modern Sound MS-513)
Walk Right In (Same)

Lee

Fake sixties, Part 5!!

2013-03-23T03:47:00.000-04:00

More sam shixties hits--I mean, more sham sixties hits.

Today's guilty labels: Columbia Record Club, Arc, Top Tunes, and Song Hits.

Click here to hear: Fake sixties, Part 5!

Help!--Russ Loader and the Corsaires (Top Song Hits, Vol. 2, Columbia D 127)
Cherish--360 Today (Columbia Record Club P2S 5104; 1966)
96 Tears (Same)
Yellow Submarine (Same)
Satisfaction--The Corsaires (Top Song Hits, Vol. 2, Columbia D 127)
Day Tripper (Yellow Submarine, Arc AS-796)
Yellow Submarine (Same)
Revolution--The Candy-Rock Generation
Hello, Goodbye (Same)
Touch Me (Same)
Palisades Park (Top Tunes 2-33)
Those Oldies But Goodies (Song Hits SH-16)

Lee

The fake sixties live on!

2013-03-20T23:29:00.000-04:00

Today's fakes come from two Columbia Record Club LPs, dated 1964 and 1966, respectively--20 Top Pop Song Hits! and Top Pop Song Hits, Vol. 2 (see above). The former is a U.S. edition of a British LP called Group 64 (World Record Club), except the U.S. version contains no artists' credits. As often happens in the world of cheap comps.
Six fake-Fab Four sides, fake Animals, and so much more. None of it authentic, of course. You have our word on it.

Click here to hear: Fake Hits of the Fake Sixties, Pt. 4 !

The House of the Rising Sun (20 Top Pop Song Hits, Columbia D 63; 1964)
A Hard Day's Night (Same)
All Over Now (Same)
She Loves You (Same)
Glad All Over (Same)
I'll Cry Instead (Same)
I Want to Hold Your Hand (Same)
Do-Wah-Diddy-Diddy (Same)
Can't Buy Me Love (Same)
Ticket to Ride (Same)
I't's Not Unusual--The Soho Singers (Top Song Hits, Vol. 2, Columbia D127)
I'm Henry the VIII, I Am --The Corsaires (Same)

Lee

Fake hits of the fake sixties, part 3!

2013-03-16T21:46:00.001-04:00

More gems from Capital Distributing Co. (Charlton), plus four Modern Sound tracks, taken from two title-less Modern Sound LPs. (Titles cost extra, so why bother?) Moden Sound, of course, is the LP equivalent of the Hit label. All four MS tracks are in stereo, but-- in the case of Up Tight and Rainy Day Women--very bad stereo... so I made those into mono. Day Tripper and My Bonnie sound way better, so I kept them as is. The only other filtering/audio trickery in this set consisted of de-clicking, EQing--the usual measures. Ve haf vays off making zeese tracks quieter.

Click hear to here. I mean, here to hear: Fake Hits of the Fake Sixties, Part 3!

Under the Boardwalk (Song Hits SH-30)
Summer in the City (Song Hits SH-42)
Get off of My Cloud (Hit Parader HP-38)
Turn, Turn, Turn (Same)
I Hear a Symphony (Same)
We Gotta Get Out of This Place (Hit Parader HP-37)
The In Crowd (Same)
Up Tight--Richie Brown (Modern Sound MS 1031)
Rainy Day Women 12 & 35--Bobby Brooks (Same)
Day Tripper (Modern Sound MS 1020)
My Bonnie (Same)

Lee

The fake Sixties keep on rockin' at MY(P)WHAE!

2013-03-16T03:58:00.003-04:00

Your blogger (left), circa 1964. I was only seven, but I've always been bald and bearded....

Early cheap-label cover versions (1948-1953), a repost.

2013-03-13T19:27:00.004-04:00

Editor's note: And now, a timely repost of a September, 2010 post from this very blog. The "link" is still active, to use blogger jargon. (Bloggerese?)

At this blog, when I talk about "cover versions," I usually mean knock-offs of current hits--cheapie versions designed to exploit the sales of a hit while it's still current. In fact, even away from this blog, that's how I use the phrase. Anyway, this trend is associated with the 1950s and early 1960s, and labels like Prom, Royale, Tops, Hi-Tone, Parade, and Bell. The practice had its roots in radio broadcasts and live performances, and, with the shifts in those areas following WWII, discs became a (the?) primary medium for the hit knock-off tradition . Such is my theory, at least. And I've always wanted to type, "the hit knock-off tradition."

Helping the cheap labels considerably was the recording-speed confusion of the time, with singles vs. "long-playing" discs and 78s vs. 45s. By selling their 10- and 12-inch LPs at very low prices, the cheapo labels were exploiting the budgets of customers who couldn't figure out why, for instance, they should pay more for a 10-inch LP than a 10-inch 78 single. They couldn't quite grasp the new science of smaller grooves and greater amounts of music in the same width. In case you find this hard to believe, check out your local thrift stores, where you will observe that, even to this day, the size of a record STILL determines the price. Often, the distinction is between "big" (long-playing) and "little" (45 rpm) discs. (78s need not apply.) This is not a post-vinyl thing--it's always been so. I remember, as a kid, trying in vain to explain to thrift clerks why a 12" 78 logically shouldn't cost as much as a vinyl LP. Never once did I win the debate. The "little" records were one price, the "big" discs another. If, by the way, you find this not to be the case, then you have one progressive thrift store in your neighborhood.

Anyway, I've discovered (in the process of buying way too many 78s) that the cheap-label cover trend of the Fifties started about 1948. One of the original culprits was the justly infamous Varsity label, which we'll be hearing five examples from. Varsity's covers were cheap but fun--their pressings were even cheaper, and not so fun to restore. We'll be hearing covers of Pee Wee Hunt (Twelfth Street Rag) and Merv Griffin (I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Cocoanuts ((sic))). Other labels in our list: Your Hits, about which I know zilch, and Music Masters, which basically seems to have been the Ace-Hi label under another name. For some reason, the label info for the latter failed to "take" when I downloaded the tracks, so both come up as "Unknown album" in that regard.

Our token Tops selection consists of Bud Roman singing Rags to Riches in a performance that, budget limitations considered, does an excellent job mimicking the original. By contrast, the Honeydreamers' Oh Happy Day (from a 1952 Your Hits 78) departs from the sound and feel of the original, which cheap-label covers often did. Which is why the term "copy-cat" doesn't always work in describing these things.

To the fake hits: Early cheap-label cover versions Important tip: when downloading, ignore all diversions and click blue "Download" button on left, then wait for gray "Free Download" button on the right. Everything else is an attempt to get you to d/l stuff you don't need. That pretty much describes the Internet, doesn't it?

12TH STREET RAG--Varsity Ragtime Band (Varsity 106; 1948)
CONFESS--Barbara Brown and Jimmie Valentine (Varsity 106; 1948)
I'VE GOT A LOVELY BUNCH OF COCOANUTS--Jimmy Livingston Orch. (Varsity 233; 1949)
RAGS TO RICHES--Bud Roman w. Lew Raymond O. (Tops 380)
OH HAPPY DAY--The Honeydreamers (Your Hits 7015)
TRYING--Snooky Lanson (Your Hits 7014)
"A"--YOU'RE ADORABLE--Barbara Brown and Johnny Frank (Varsity 137 ; 1948)
FOREVER AND EVER--Barbara Brown (Varsity 135; 1948, vice 1949)
THEME FROM MOULIN ROUGE--Kathryne Steele (Music Masters 2007)
SAY YOU'RE MINE AGAIN--Kathryne Steel and Larry Roberts (Same)

Lee

Fake hits of the fake sixties, continued!

2013-03-13T16:49:00.002-04:00

More from the Song Hits and Hit Parader labels, named after the magazines and put out by the same folks (Charlton). Today, three Beatles covers, a Beatle-related novelty, a Burtsong (Anyone Who Had a Heart) and one King-Goffin (One Fine Day). Oh, and a big hit co-written by Brian Wilson but recorded by Jan and Dean (Surf City). All fake, of course.

Surfin' Bird might be my all-time favorite Song Hits/Hit Parader knock-off, though I think the singer gets some of the lyrics wrong. Given that the original Surfin' Bird is a rip-off to begin with, "wrong" is relative.

What different days those were. Take a couple of recent hits, record them under a new title, and no sweat. Contrast that environment to today's, when using "The" in a song title can get you in court.

Note on the track numbers: I'm continuing the series from the last post, hence the first track is 11. And up. Actually, I was too lazy to change them.

***And... just in! My eBay copy of the Oct., 1964 Charlton comic Outlaws of the West features an ad which includes six of today's titles. See: scans. I've also posted the ad scan above, in place of the original post image. Are I efficient, or what?

Click here to hear: Fake hits of the fake sixties, cont.

Surf City (Song Hits SH-24)
One Fine Day (Same)
So Much in Love (Same)
I Want to Hold Your Hand (Hit Parader HP-27)
Surfin' Bird (Same)
Anyone Who Had a Heart (Same)
Leader of the Pack (Hit Parader HP-31)
You Really Got Me (Same)
She Loves You (Song Hits SH-28)
We Love You Beatles (Same)
Please Please Me (Same)

No artists credited; all ripped from 6-selection 45 rpm EPs.

Lee

Fake hits of the fake sixties!

2013-03-12T21:24:00.003-04:00

Above: Giant copies of Hit Parader and Song Hits 45s, with your blogger looking on and wondering how they got so big. Song Hits and Hit Parader records, by the way, were distributed by Capital Distributing Co. of Derby CT, which also distributed:

QUIZ

A) Charlton Comics

B) Song Hits and Hit Parader magazines.

C) Hustler

D) All of the above

Did you answer, D) All of the above? Congratulations. You are correct.

Here's an ad for Song Hits and Hit Parader records on the back of an early-sixties Charlton comic:

As you can see, the listing is pre-British Invasion, though only by a little. Wow--sixty of the "latest Hootenanny hits" for $2.98. At six hits per disc, that would have been ten 45s. Try to get one of these for 29.8 cents today. "Hootenanny," of course, was a common early-sixties term for teen pop. I don't pretend to know why.

I suspect Pickwick was behind the 1963-66 tracks we'll be hearing today, because at least one of them--Help Me Rhonda--also showed up on the Hurrah! Pops label, which was owned by Pickwick. See handy scan. Because the Hit Parader version fades out much earlier than the Hurrah! Pops version, I've included rips of both. Because I'm, well, just that kind of guy.

Click here to hear: Fake Hits of the Fake Sixties

Good Vibrations (Hit Parader HP-43)
Winchester Cathedral (Same)
Help Me, Rhonda (Hit Parader HP-35)
You Were Made for Me (Same)
I Feel Fine (Song Hits SH-32)
The Name Game (Hit Parader HP-33)
Tell Her No (Same)
All Day and All of the Night (Same)
This Diamond Ring (Same)
Help Me Rhonda (Hurrah! Pops 200)

(No artists credited. All ripped from six-selection 45 rpm EPs.)

Lee