In Dan's Garage...#155

Hey everybody! I got to work "fast-fast" on this latest offering knowing that I didn't want to lollygag with all this spare time on my hands. I have a bunch of 45's in my collection that fall somewhat outside of what I usually offer up, ya know, garage, psychedelic, etc. These were to have been set aside for "Dan's Leftovers", a blog that never really got off the ground which is unfortunate because this stuff is actually quite good given it's context. I could post a bunch of Perry Como records and still call them leftovers, but that stuff is actually what I consider the "flotsam and jetsam" of my collection. These 45's are all worthy of a spin even if it makes a lot of hardcore garage/psyche collectors cringe, but hey, who knows??? You may find something you like here. I did one of these way back which was a two part post (IDG #66) and I dispensed with descriptions. This time I'll add my impeccable commentary, but I'll try to keep it brief. These pretty much fall into the "Sunshine Pop, Pop Vocal" category with some bubblegum and teener stuff thrown in. I hope you like it.

April Fools - Things Go Better With You / You Won't Be There (1968)

If you're older, like myself, you may recall Coca Cola's pitch back in the 60's was "things go better with Coke", a line that's stuck in my head since then. It looks like this song was a play on that phrase. I'm not sure who the April Fools were. They seem to be a studio concoction of Wayne Carson Thompson, a prolific songwriter out of Nashville who's biggest achievement was writing "The Letter" for The Box Tops, a mega international hit that was covered by Joe Cocker, The Arbors, Leon Russell , and several others including my present band who mixes into our set lists on occasion. This is definitely a pop tune with some twinges of bubblegum, perhaps it should just be classified as a "bubblegum" song. Nice tune, but the flip, which I sorely neglected until I played it, is actually better and sounds like a different group. Apparently, this was a big hit in Anchorage, Alaska in '68. Go figure.

Centuries - Don't Let It Fade Away / Just Today (1966)

I remember picking this 45 up in a huge $1 bin of 45's back in 1986 at a record show in Albany and having high hopes. Cool label, cool band name, but alas, it turned out to be somewhat disappointing. The Centuries were a big deal in Oklahoma City back in the mid-sixties. They played all over the place, appeared on TV, and released two 45's. If you want some real detail on their story check it out HERE at Garage Hangover, perhaps the best website dedicated to lost bands from the 60's.

Rick and Al - All I Do Is Dream Of You / The Story (1963)

Here's a nice "teener" 45 from 1963 by Rick, who is Rickie Page, wife of producer George Matola and Al who is Al DeLory. Both were session musicians and this looks to be a one-off effort.

Arbors - I Can't Quit Her / Lovin' Tonight (Maybe Tonight) (1969)

The Arbors were a very nice soft pop vocal group from Ann Arbor, MI. They remind me of The Critters of "Mr. Dieingly Sad" fame. The had some fame covering "The Letter" (as I mentioned previously) and released a whopping 13 45's, not including double sided promos. This one here is pretty much more of the same.

Tom & Ellen - Too Many Things / My Up Is My Down (1966)

Another one-off effort this time from a duo consisting of Tom Everett, a musician and actor who I must admit have never seen or heard of, and Ellen who was his collaborator at the time. Aside from having top tier producers like Joe Wissert and the famous Koppelman & Rubin team behind it, this is a pretty good folk/pop two sider with some great 12 string guitar work and great production, naturally.

Free Design - You Be You And I'll Be Me / Never Tell The World (1968)

The Free Design are considered to be something of an influential pop group in that they incorporated some jazz and progressive touches to their music. They originated in Delevan, NY, a small town just southwest of Rochester but ended up in Greenwich Village like so many other vocal artists did at the time. They released all their music on Project 3 records which used cutting edge recording technology at the time.

Society's Children - Live For Today (1968)

I had to do a little bit of digging around for info on this 45 and what I came up with is that Society's Children's songs were mostly written by Wayne Wadhams and Don Askew and produced by Steve & Bill Jerome who were all involved with The Fifth Estate of "Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead" fame, which leads me to believe that this was a side project of that group. If I'm totally wrong about this, please correct me in the comments section.

Life Cycle - My Karma / I Wanna Live (1970)

Almost certainly a studio project by Hickory records out of Nashville. Nice background music for that groovy summer cocktail party you're having in your backyard this summer.

Peppermint Rainbow - Don't Wake Me Up In The Morning Michael / Rosemary (1969)

The Peppermint Rainbow were a pop vocal group not unlike The Mama's And The Papas and The 5th Dimension, Spanky And Our Gang, etc. They were good but perhaps missed out on real fame and fortune due to the glut of groups like this that were floating around in the mid sixties.

San Francisco Earthquake - Hold The Night / Sophia (1969)

More from Bill & Steve Jerome here, this time with The San Francisco Earthquake most likely another studio project. The songs were written by Kenny Young most famous for writing the hit "Under The Boardwalk". I barely played this 45 but time has a habit of erasing bad memories so when i plopped this on the turntable, I was pleasantly surprised. This 45 is actually a very good sunshine pop record. They had four other 45's all on Smash.

Bazooka - Boo On You (1968)

A bubblegum 45 written, and presumably sung, by a guy named Austin Roberts who I know nothing about. Apparently he had a sizable hit in 1975 with a song called "Rocky", one of those sad life tales that bands and artists were constantly singing about on AM radio back in the early 70's.

Utopia Parkway - Come With Me / I Don't Understand You (1970)

From what I could gather, The Utopia Parkway evolved from "The Sintrifical Fours" who had two 45's on Mr. G Records in 1968. 

Jamestown Massacre - Summer Sun (1972)

The Jamestown Massacre were from Chicago and had this particular 45 released twice, The other issue got national distribution and is on Warner Brothers Records. Unfortunately, hits eluded this group, but their lead singer Dave Bickler ended up in "Survivor" and had a huge hit in 1983 with "Eye Of The Tiger".

Harmony Dawg - Schoolboy Promises / Full Moon Child (1976)

This 45 here is perhaps the most obscure and certainly the rockin'-est 45 in this posting. I pulled this one out on the outside chance I could get my turntable to play this thing as it had some warp damage on the edge that kept it from playing properly on my other machines. Luckily with a few adjustments, I got it to play rather well considering its condition. I can't say for sure where these guys are from, the person I bought it from is in the Dayton, OH area so it's possible they're from that area. It's a Rite Records pressing, so Cincinnati or the northern Kentucky area may be another possibility. Anyway, it's not a bad 45 and the six plus minute 'B' side is pretty epic.

Before I send you to the link, I'd like to show my gratitude to Garage Hangover, a truly great website dedicated to lost bands from the 60's, for providing me (and you) with much needed info on many of these records. My intention is not to poach or claim that I did any original research here. I just want to acknowledge and thank them for their hard work and keeping this stuff alive.

HERE