Greetings, music lovers! I wanted to get this out by the end of July, but a lot of personal stuff got in the way. As usual, I have a wad of 45s here that range from straight-up garage to pop/bubblegum/psyche and just general weirdness. I hope you like...
Dyanatones - Steel Guitar Rag / The Girl I'm Searching For (1959)
I played in a blues band called "Shake Down" back in the early 80's, and we had a harp player named Joe Manuel. He was a Paul Butterfield devotee if you know what I mean, and we went to see Charlie who was backed by The Dynatones back then. Joe kept harping (no pun intended) on how Charlie claimed he could hit three octaves on the last note of a harmonica. Joe couldn't do it so he thought it was BS. So here we are yukking it up with the guitarist after the show, I think his name was Rick Welker, anyway, he invites us backstage and everybody's hanging out and Charlie's sitting there still wearing his shades drinking a glass of wine (I remember this like it was yesterday) and we shook hands exchanged niceties and Joe blurts out, "is it true you can hit three octaves on the top note of your harp?", so Charlie demonstrates that he actually could. Now, mind you, having to hit that note in a performance is totally unnecessary, and it doesn't really sound great, but HE DID HIT IT. Joe was not impressed. He was expecting some kind of God-like wail, so he said something to the effect of, "I thought you could hit that note?" and Charlie calmly responded with a "Well..I hit it, didn't I?" Joe shut up after that.
The Dynatones on this 45 were apparently from Philadelphia, PA, and had a few 45s that were mostly instrumental, although this one has a decent vocal teen ballad on the flip.
Accents - You Don't Love Me / Searchin' (1964)
The Accents from Minneapolis, MN were one of that town's most popular acts along with The Trashmen and Gregory Dee & The Avanties. A great frat rock two sider here.
Fantastic Dee Jays - Love Is Tuff / Just A Boy (1966)
I was first introduced to The Fantastic Dee-Jays way back in 1984. My pals Mike Murray & Mick Alber played "Fight Fire" on their Sunday radio show, "Psychedelic Sunday"(naturally). The Chesterfield Kings would later include it on their "Stop!" album.
I was one of those guys back in the early 80's who bought everything I could get my hands on in the area of garage band comps and re-issues, so the Fantastic Dee-Jays were on my radar at the time. Unfortunately, I was somewhat disappointed with that L.P. Lots of lightweight garage band stuff, not exactly what I was looking for at the time, but I was lucky enough to score this 45, a great two sider that is totally representative of what these guys were doing at the time.
The Fantastic Dee-Jays are always thought to be from Pittsburgh, PA, but they were from McKeesport, just the other side of the Monongahela River.
3's A Crowd - Making Do / I Don't Mind At All (1966)
Truly, a loser's anthem. These three guys from Springfield, IL, left us with two pretty cool 45s before packing it in. This was probably recorded at The Golden Voice recording studio up in S. Pekin, IL, a place where some extremely cool 45's were recorded. I can't confirm that, but their second was recorded there. "Making Do" is perhaps one of the best songs for "losery" guys as it explains how a high school nerd can score chicks just by concentrating on "the plain" ones instead of the leader of the cheerleader squad. All those lonely jocks, sitting at home with no dates because of the hot competition, but our singer here has no issues because he "treats them wonderfully," and hey...they're all "clamoring" for him! Sounds like a great set-up to me! I have firsthand experience with this tactic. I was too out of shape to make the football or wrestling team, forget basketball; I just didn't have the height, and to this day, I can't swing a baseball bat right (not to mention a golf club). But I did get hooked up with the P.A.C. at ol' A.Q. (that would be Aquinas Institute). The Performing Arts Club put on plays and musicals, and all the best-looking chicks who weren't cheerleaders joined up. It was the perfect arrangement. ;) B.T.W., I love how the label calls this a "Bossa Nova".
Aardvarks - Let's Move Together / Cherie Can't You Tell (1967)
The Aardvarks were from Muskegon, MI, just outside of Grand Rapids, and had four 45's all of which are killer. This was their second last, or last if you want to count the fact that this was re-released on a different label a year later.
Robbs - Race With The Wind / In A Funny Sort Of Way (1966)
The Robbs from Oconomowoc, WI, have the dubious reputation of having the most records "bubbling under" the Billboard Hot 100 without ever making it into the actual top 100 chart. This is unfortunate because they were a pretty good band worthy of at least one hit. This probably could've been it, but who knows? They recorded five 45s for Mercury, two for Atlantic, and three for Dunhill without any real success. They were also featured as the house band on Dick Clark's "Where The Action Is". You'd think that all that exposure would get them somewhere, right? Meh, not so much. This 45 is very good and stands up to the best that came out in that era.
Bob Morrison - The Work Song / Go Away (1967)
My first encounter with Bob Morrison was finding "Hey Puppet Man" at Fat Chuck's warehouse way back in 1985. That 45 was a decent find with lots of fuzz guitar and some snotty vocals. He had five other 45s on Columbia, and they are all quite different from each other. He even released a Christmas 45! Morrison would later move to Nashville and record a few records for Monument, an album on Capitol that went nowhere, and then became a prolific writer of Country songs his most famous being "Looking For Love", the theme song of "Urban Cowboy". Quite a career if I do say so myself! This 45 is a version of "The Work Song", a song co-written by Jazz artist Nat Adderley and covered by a plethora of singers, including Bob Morrison.
Kathy & Larry - Magic Island / Time (1967)
Trying to get info on this duo is kinda tough. I didn't realize that I have two 45s by this act, and I don't think I've posted the other, which, to my recollection, is way better. This one isn't bad, though a bit more on the pop side. Kathy and Larry were definitely trying to ride the wave of girl/guy duos in the mid-sixties like Sonny & Cher, Friend & Lover, etc. What I do know is that Challenge records stalwarts Keith Colley and Knox Henderson both had their hands on this 45 and may have been part of the band that recorded this.
Cinema - Looking Into A Dream / Tomorrow (1969)
I acquired this 45 in a lot that was mostly oddball girl groups or bands that had female lead singers. It was a pretty interesting bunch of 45s, and this is perhaps the most interesting because I got a message from the trombone player's brother stating that there were only SIX "test pressings" of this 45, and everyone in his family owned them. Well, either one of his family members coughed up a copy to sell on eBay, or there's more floating around than he thinks. This is horn-driven, shall I say, "progressive" rock with a heavy jazz influence, and the A side gets into some wild improvisations in the middle of the song.
Congregation - Sitting In A Rocking Chair / Sun Shines On My Street (1969)
Better than average Sunshine Pop.
Fever Tree - I Am (1970)
Solid 45 by Fever Tree from 1970.
Flash Cadillac & The Continental Kids - Muleskinner Blues / Teenage Eyes (1972)
I remember the fall of 1973. I was 13 years old, and everyone in my family was saying how I was now a "teenybopper." I remember Thanksgiving of that year in particular because my cousin Elvet, who was about four years older than me, was talking about how she saw "American Graffiti" and what a great film it was. So on Thanksgiving night of 1973, my cousins and I, after a nice Thanksgiving feast in the afternoon, trekked over to one of the local movie theatres to see "American Graffiti". I distinctly remember the first time I saw the scene at the sock hop where there was a band playing, and one of the guys had a Stratocaster, and they looked so 50's cool.
That was Flash Cadillac & The Continental Kids.
I also remember them having an LP on Private Stock records called "Sons Of The Beaches", but I was unaware of this 45 on Epic before they actually became a thing.
Both sides of this fall firmly into the "50's Revival" camp that was huge in the early 70's. Most of that was fueled by American Graffitti, the Broadway musical Grease, which was getting big before the film came out, and an episode of "Love American Style" that was basically the pilot for "Happy Days" and let's not forget Chuck Berry's biggest hit "My Ding A Ling" although as a Chuck Berry aficionado, I'd like to forget it, not to mention Elton John's "Crocodile Rock" which was a HUGE hit in that era.
There was lots more, but my memory gets a wee bit foggy. But this 45 is really good and it doesn't get bogged down with 50's cliches. Oh, by the way...Kim Fowley produced this, so you know it's going to be O.K.!
Redeye - Games / Collections Of Yesterday And Tomorrow (1970)
While we're on the subject of early 70's hits, this one was never huge, but I distinctly remember hearing it on AM radio at the time. You remember??? AM radio??? That was the soundtrack of my youth. It was always blasting from some radio somewhere, and you got to hear all of the "big hits". Those were good memories. Redeye was a band from California, and a lot of people compared them to CSNY, although I think they're somewhat poppier. Leader Dave Hodgkins was formerly in The Sunshine Company, which would explain all the great vocal harmonies.
?? San-Jo ?? - The Virgin (1971)
I'm not exactly sure what drew me to this particular 45. Who the hell is this mystery singer "?? San-Jo ??"? For starters, this is the 'B' side of a 45 by The Tokyo Happy Coats, a quintet of sisters from Japan that supposedly played 100 different instruments. They were featured on the Ed Sullivan Show, and recorded a bunch of stuff for King Records and its affiliates. I didn't put their side of the record on here as it falls waaaay out of the boundaries of this blog, but click on the link above and you'll get a taste of this fine act.
But who was San-Jo? I don't think we'll ever know. I did a bit of research on this, and perhaps she was related to producer Bob Marsano? I can't say for certain, but this tune is kinda out there, real "outsider" stuff if you know what I mean. Eerie folks sounds with some cheesy organ and distant fuzz guitar thrown in. Very cool.
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