I figured I could toss this post together in no time, but such was not to be. First off, the ten-inch hard-vinyl EP, while in much better condition than my previous copy, is still about a VG- (with many pressing defects), and I still lack an original sleeve for this release. However, I do have a "blank" sleeve from the same series--"blank," because someone forgot to include the track listings. So, the sleeve for this "Bobby Powers" EP would look like this, only with the titles on display (and with a label number in the upper r.h. corner):
All six tracks on the EP--Ko Ko Mo, How Important Can It Be, Earth Angel, Tweedle Dee, Darlin (sic), and Unsuspecting Heart--were also issued individually as Prom (SPC) label singles, both in 45 and 78 rpm form. The relationship between Parade and Prom is mysterious, because even though I've always assumed Parade was a Synthetic Plastics Co. sublabel, there was, in fact, a Parade Record Company, located first in New York NY, then in New Jersey, and it seems to have been a completely separate operation. Maybe the two entities were simply trading tapes, as different budget label groups so often did. At any rate, it doesn't pay to ponder these budget-label mysteries too deeply.
Since there are only six EP selections, I augmented the playlist with four more Prom singles from the same year (1955). Getting the fidelity to an acceptable level was the main challenge (as was finding a surrogate sleeve image for the LP-style EP), since Parade/SPC used hyper-cheap vinyl that was fraught with surface glitches. By now, though, I'm an old hand at restoring "rack-jobber" vinyl and shellac. Too bad it's not a marketable skill...
Today's selections have to be understood in terms of what was happening in the pop charts around 1953-1955 regarding R&B and rock and roll hits; I refer, of course, to the pop cover versions which typically outsold the original versions, partly because the pop covers enjoyed better, wider distribution, and possibly because many listeners weren't quite ready for the "full" sound of the new music. Hence, we're hearing "The Rockets" imitating the white quartet, The Crew-Cuts instead of Gene and Eunice, and Wanda Storm imitating Georgia Gibbs instead of Lavern Baker. Of course, this situation pretty quickly changed as rock and roll originals began to dominate the pop charts; in short order, SPC, Tops, Broadway, and other budgets were giving the sound-alike treatment to the real deal. Namely, come 1956 and 1957.
Not to suggest that these performances are lacking; in fact, I find the Prom/Parade Ko Ko Mo quite effective, with a kind of rough quality not present in the ultra-smooth Crew-Cuts cover (a decent enough version in its own right). And Wanda Storm does a fine Gibbs impression, performing with a level of enthusiasm and energy often missing from these generic knockoffs. Meanwhile, Rudy Weldon expertly imitates Pat Boone's hit version of Otis Williams and the Charms' Two Hearts, Two Kisses. And, listening right now to Pat's version, I must break ranks with the "Pat Boone sucked" record-collecting consensus and pronounce Pat's version more than adequate. And Rudy made it even more of a rocker, so, really, we're talking about a Grade-A early Parade/Prom r&r sound-alike.
Oop Shoop (originally Shirley Gunter and the Queens) is a cover of the Crew-Cuts' hit, and in this instance, the Prom single is quite entertaining in the sheer Whiteness of its sound (well, to my ears, anyway). It's amusingly wrong in tone. Today's ten selections document that "moment" in the pop charts when rock and roll had nearly come into its own. Just not quite yet. Meanwhile, the straight pop numbers in the list--How Important Can It Be (orig. Joni James) and Unsuspecting Heart (orig. Terri Stevens?) are nice and very expertly done. However, I can find nothing online regarding Darlin, even when I plug in the composers (and/or add the missing apostrophe)--I'm simply taken right back to today's offering. Maybe Parade misspelled a name or two. Anyway, some fun and interesting early sound-alikes, rescued from less than the best vinyl. (Odd that Sythetic Plastics Co. was so bad at, well, plastic.)
Hopefully, the track numbering came out correctly--I renumbered the mp3 files after exporting them into my PC's Music folder. But my Media Players are quirky, to say the least, so I hope everything came out in the proper order.
DOWNLOAD: Bobby Powers and His "Hits-A-Poppin" Orchestra
Parade of Hits A' Poppin'--6 Tops Hits (Parade 7808; 78 rpm EP, 1955)
Ko Ko Mo
How Important Can It Be
Earth Angel
Tweedle Dee
Darlin (sic)
Unsuspecting Heart
--Bobby Powers and His "Hits-A-Poppin" Orchestra
Bonus tracks
Two Hearts, Two Kisses--Rudy Weldon, Vocal, PROM Orch. and Argyles
Rock Love--Halley Sisters, The Prom Orchestra, 1955
Hearts of Stone--The Mullen Sisters and The Rockets, Prom Orchestra, 1955
Oop-Shoop--The Rockets, The Prom Orchestra, 1954 or 1955
Lee
12 comments:
Does the "A-Poppin" part refer to the vigor of the interpretation or the noise of the pressing?
I think the hit version of "Unsuspecting Heart" was by Sunny Gale. I have no idea about "Darlin" with or without the apostrophe.
Nice job on the transfers!
Buster,
Ha! And thanks for the nice words. I figured if anyone would know about "Darlin," you'd be the one. Maybe it was only briefly a hit?
I appreciate the vote of confidence, but the only "Darlins" I know are by the Beach Boys and Robin Luke ("Susie Darlin'").
I looked in Billboard, and it seems to have been a hit by the Hilltoppers on Dot, who spelled it "D-A-R-L-I-N'." It's on their "Tops in Pops" LP, which I probably have.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZs5fmIYWy4
That's it! I checked the Hilltoppers label, and the composer credits are the same. Thanks!
Oh, and I figured Sunny Gale had the main hit with "Heart," but Terri Stevens get constant mention in cyberspace, for some reason.
Gets constant mention, I mean.
Surprising that you posted this post with a mention on Pat Boone the day after his 88th birthday! He did cut some good records in the early-'70's with the First Nashville Jesus Band both with and without his family on his own Lamb and Lion Imprint that would be a good future rip for your Sunday Gospel posts: I bought his "the Family That Prays" LP last week at Goodwill and it has got some good Country-tinged-with-just-a-touch of Pop numbers on it.
The "D-A-R-L-I-N" song from the Hilltoppers reminds me of the classic children's song "M-O-T-H-E-R" and could be a more romantic take off of it.
And it was not until I started doing research on some of the forgotten songs of World War II that I heard of Terri Stevens for the first time. She does a great version of "Say A Prayer For the Boys Over There" which Deanna Durbin made famous during the war, encompassed in a Leroy Holmes arrangement (Leroy, in addition to his many United Artists soundtrack recordings in the late-'60's, is also best known for his orchestral accompaniment on Tommy Edwards' "It's All in the Game" and other notable records in Tommy's peak Top 40 success in the late-'50's and early-'60's.) in the style of several of the great traditional Pop hits over on Decca in the mid-'50's,like Kitty Kallen's "Little Things Mean A Lot" and Al Hibbler's original version of "Unchained Melody." Thanks for sharing with us.
Sure thing! And sorry I missed Pat's 88th birthday. I agree he did some fine gospel, especially with his family band. I know I have at least one of the Boone family LPs, and I recall it has a very nice version of "He Will Set Your Fields on Fire." I was hoping I'd included it in a "Fields on Fire"-athon, but I can't find same in the search box. I'll need to find that LP and post it. Not too long ago, I put up Boone's very nice recording of Burt Bacharach's "Say Goodbye." In fact, it's part of this post: https://musicyouwont.blogspot.com/2019/03/less-common-burt-part-4-love-bank-wendy.html
I will have to check that post. Also, are you aware of Tops spin-off label Golden Tone's Fake hits series America's Top Tunes? It had the same generic cover and there were at least 18 releases in the series. It was "12 Top Hits Minus 2" for the early releases and "10 Top Hits Minus 8" for the 18th Volume in the series, which has the Baby Oh Baby that you posted on an SPC Hits A Poppin from 1961 a while back. The label's band was credited as "The Hi-Tones."
Yes, I have a number of the Golden Tone ten-hit LPs, though I never knew they eventually went down to eight! And I think there was a second cover design, though maybe I'm thinking of the regular Tops series. The girl on the phone, right? I marvel at the mushy audio and tape hiss on those things. However, there was an excellent Twist LP on Golden Tone, and I need to finish the editing on it (track markers, ID3 tags, etc.).
Thanks for the tracks, Lee! If Pat Boone hadn't done a good job on his covers, I don't think they would have sold as they did. I don't think it's his fault that he covered the music he did and people bought it. No such thing as writing your own music at the time, he just chose different stuff than the other artists.
Yes, it was the girl on the phone holding up a Mercury Records 45 with the Mercury logo scratched out in magic marker!! Volume 18 lists "Baby Oh Baby" the same one that was on an SPC Hits A Poppin you posted, as by "Hank Francis And the Hi-Tones", whereas on the Tops label (posted on YouTube) it was labeled as by "Charles Wilson and the Toppers." "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" by "Sandy Block & the Toppers" is "Mary Bravo and the Hi-Tones" on Golden Tone, and "Jimmy's Girl" "Lloyd Walls & the Toppers" (Tops) "Johnny Williams & the Hi-Tones" (Golden Tone), a name-drop to the REAL John Williams who conducted Tops' Johnny Desmond Swings LP that Gilmarvinyl posted in May of 2021 on his blog, recordcollectingblog.blogspot.com. !
The Boone Family record that I mentioned in the previous post, The Family Who Prays, does have "He Will Set Your Fields on Fire"on it as the closing selection on Side 2.
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