Why would Parade stick the back cover of Gounod's Faust on a Hits A' Poppin' LP? Why would it rehyphenate the title as "Hits-A-Poppin" on the label? At what point did Synthetic Plastics Co. start making Parade Record Co. LPs? (There's an SPC credit on the back jacket.) Why does this version of Dim, Dim the Lights show also show up on the Music Masters and Gateway labels? How can we look up a word in the dictionary if we don't know how to spell it? Why can't central Ohio weather decide what season we're in??
The answers to these, and many more questions, at 11.
So, I had a "Déja Vu All Over Again" feeling about this LP--and, sure enough, I previously posted the six-selection 78 rpm version. Whose cover art is less cool. And we know that Yogi Berra never said "It's like déjà vu all over again," because the quip is meant for humor--it's deliberately redundant. And it was apparently in regular use during the 1960s, presumably minus the Berra attribution. So... But it seemed properly Berra-esque, and so the association continues.
Glad we cleared that up. So, here's my previous, 78-rpm-version post: Bobby Powers and His "Hits-a-Poppin" Orchestra. This time, we also get Dim, Dim the Lights and No More, both very well done.
All the titles came out as Prom singles, and I've given the original credits (and label info) for each. If my memory is working correctly, Enoch Light had just left Prom at this point, having started the Waldorf Record Corp., which included Waldorf Music Hall and 18 Top Hits. And somehow I'm only now noticing that Enoch was born in Canton OH.
As for the early rock and roll numbers in this list, Tweedle Dee, Earth Angel, and Ko Ko Mo are copies of cover versions--Georgia Gibbs (covering LaVern Baker), the Crew-Cuts (covering the Penguins), and The Crew-Cuts, again (covering Gene and Eunice). Perry Como also had a big hit with his cover of Ko Ko Mo, which sounds like a hilarious prospect but which actually came off fairly well. Dim, Dim the Lights, meanwhile, copies the Bill Haley and His Comets hit. It's a direct fake, so to speak.
And this is another fine thrift gift from Diane. (Thanks, Diane!)
DOWNLOAD: Eight Full Length Hits A' Poppin' (Parade Records 5010)
Dim, Dim the Lights--Tommy Scott and the Rockets (Prom 1103; 1955?)
Earth Angel--Rockets, The Prom Orchestra (Prom 1104; 1955)
Tweedle Dee--Wanda Storm and the Argyles (Prom 1106; 1955)
Unsuspecting Heart--Mona Grey, The Prom Orchestra (Prom 1105; 1955)
Ko Ko Mo--The Rockets, The Prom Orchestra (Prom 1104; 1955)
How Important Can It Be--Midge Manners, The Prom Orchestra (Prom 1105; 1955)
No More--The Mullen Sisters, The Prom Orchestra (Prom 1103; 1955?)
Darlin--The Argyles, The Prom Orchestra (Prom 1106; 1955)
Lee
13 comments:
Enoch is from Canton? They should put him in the Football Hall of Fame! Thanks for the tunes, Lee. I'm guessing this is a case where they reused some sleeves and just pasted on some new cover slicks, or in this case, meant to paste on some new cover slicks. :)
So, if I understand this correctly, you went to the trouble of digging up the fake attributions for fake hits that are covers of cover records? There's something admirable about all this - and what's more I am sure I will enjoy the results!
Ernie,
That's very possible, since the front over is pasted on, whereas the back cover isn't.
Buster,
Yes. I was establishing the authentic fake credits for the covered covers!
Wow! Those covers and label looked nothing like that when I sent this record! You're an amazing clean-up artist, both aurally AND visually. Thanks, Lee.
Diane,
Thanks! And, yes, the cover took some touch-up--the lower l.h. corner, especially, which luckily was all-black. And I changed the back jacket from color to grayscale, which disguised many of the marks.
Good version of 'Unsuspecting Heart." The female vocalist does a good job aping the vocal style of Joni James.
Really Great Crew-Cuts fake of "Ko Ko Mo". complete with a real swinging clarinet solo that is similar to the playing of Benny Goodman on his '60's records. This vocal group did an excellent job! The original 78 RPM version you remastered in June of 2022 would be a great addition to the Shellac City YouTube channel in my opinion.
This has got to be the fastest cover of "Tweedle Dee" I have ever heard! At times, the female vocalist seems to alternate between the styles of Georgia Gibbs and LaVern Baker. I think the horn section and mambo beat is unique to this recording--Again, the 78 RPM version would be a great addition to Shellac City. Like the abrupt cold ending! Most covers of this tune end with a board fade.
While the Rockets excel in their cover of "Ko Ko Mo" their cover of the Crew-Cuts cover of the Penguins' "Earth Angel" just doesn't quite have the edge and the Schmaltz of the Crew-Cuts original and misses the mark. I actually prefer the original by the Penguins over the "Whitiified" Crew-Cuts cover for some reason.
The female vocalist singing "How Important Can It Be" sure sounds like a much younger version of Joni James and does not quite have the intimacy and close connection of Joni. It's a really good version, yet I don't know if it's a favorite of mine yet. My favorite cover is the slightly different version from Sarah Vaughan over at Mercury.
The female singers covering the DeJohn Sisters' biggest hit, "No More", sound more like the McGuire Sisters than the DeJohn Sisters. Aside from cutesy 1920's elements, this is a good version, complete with a brief trumpet solo. Actually it could be better than the DeJohn Sisters' original version. The Dixieland sound brings to mind Matty Matlock's arrangement's for some of Bing Crosby's biggest hits in the late-1940's.
Good version of "Dim Dim the Lights" More Poppy and less Rocky than the BIll Haley recording. The Big BaBarnes, does a great job aping the style of the Haley guitarist. nd is a nice touch, plus the guitar player, who could very well be George Barnes, does a great job aping the style of the original Haley guitarist and is another good winning cut on this disc.
Finally, "D-A-R-L-I-N'" is a decent cover of the Hilltoppers' hit. However, the singer is more of a tenor and less of a baritone and does not even sound like Jimmy Sacca, while the background vocal group sounds more like the Four Aces than the Hilltoppers
Hopefully, the remastering of this version was a little easier than the 78 version. Kind of half and half; some are really good, while others are just decent. Good enough to get four stars out of five from me.
musicman1979,
Four stars sounds reasonable! And I've become so used to this particular "fake" of "Dim, Dim the Lights" that I've forgotten what Haley's original sounds like! Agreed on the guitar--it's excellent, and true to Franny Beecher's sound. I agree that "No More" sounds more like the McGuire Sisters--and, yes, this version is terrific. And "Earth Angel" does sound kind of forced--I, too, go with the Penguins' version. And I have a budget label (Pickwick?) alternate Penguins take, which is a more spare arrangement. I agree--I should post those sides at Shellac City. Just now getting an older group of 78s ready to go, though. Thanks for the review!
I have a 10" from this series buried in a closet upstairs. The only song that stuck with me was called Dance With Me Henry. Funny, the only version I know of is the 'fake.' Never heard the original. A hit huh?..... By who?
Etta James, 1955, as "The Wallflower." The original lyrics were pretty, um, blatant: "Roll with me, Henry. You better roll it (?) while the rollin' is on."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSunvLzOtz4
Rev....
The original was entitled "The Wallflower"; by Etta James and The Peaches; which was really Etta and Richard Berry on the vocal. The same Richard Berry later did Louie Louie.
It was clearly inspired by Hank Ballard's salacious "Work With Me Annie" from early 1954.
Etta and Richard sang it as "Roll With Me Henry", which was a tad risque for time, so the later cover versions (notably Georgia Gibbs and Tommy Scott), were entitled "Dance With Me Henry" and used that phrase.
Not to be outdone, Hank then came back with "Henry's Got Flat Feet (Can't Dance No More)".
Over the next year or two, R and B artists released a dozen or more take-offs on the song....Annie Met Henry, Annie Can't Work No More, Hey Henry (by Etta James and Richard Berry), Annie Had A Baby, Annie's Aunt Fannie, Annie Don't Work, Eat Your Heart Out Annie, Annie Pulled A Humbug, Annie's Answer, Annie Don't Love Me No More, My Name Ain't Annie, etc.
Lafong,
Yeah, I forgot it was an answer song to "Annie." Thanks for the history!
Also, don't forget about Georgia Gibbs' "Pop" cover of the tune, which did got to #1 and is probably the version that SPC was copying on rev. B's EP that he was talking about in his comment.
musicman1979,
Thanks--I should have mentioned Gibbs' cover, which is definitely what's being "faked" here. I had misread rev. b's post and thought he knew about the Gibbs cut. Never pays to rush-read!
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