Greetings, music lovers! Here we are back with some more 45 RPM goodies that have been stashed away for a while. I have a lot of stuff in my collection that still hasn't been covered here, and at the rate I'm going these days, I'll have enough for the next 20 years. But seriously, I don't haul in as much as I used to, and even record shows around here are really disappointing in the 45 RPM dept., so I rely on getting good deals off eBay, and I've had some decent luck lately. I hope things keep trending that way.
On a personal note, I just got back from a wonderful week in Key West, FL. What a great place! As Kiss would say it was "Hot, Hot, Hotter Than Hell!!!". When the weather report says "86° feels like 102°, you'd better have the sunscreen and a lot of water handy. My lovely wife and I had a great time and outside of wiping out on a scooter, everything went swimmingly.
That's pretty much it for now. As usual, we have a veritable cornucopia of fine 45s listed here, so please enjoy.
Tex & The Chex - Beach Party / (Love Me) Now (1963)
Tex & The Chex were basically a do-wop vocal group that had a few 45s that didn't really shake the world up, but they did record this cool surf number in 1963 written by Kenny Dino, the genius behind "You're Ma Said You Cried In Your Sleep". This was notably produced by Feldman, Goldstein, & Gottehrer, the geniuses behind the Strangeloves.
Dolphins - Surfing East Coast / I Should Have Stayed (1966)
OK, from the minimal research I did on this band, it looks like they were from Larchmont, NY, which is somewhere around Yonkers. Folks from NYC call that "upstate", but I beg to differ. In any case, this is a vey cool 45 that has a definitive surf sound on the 'A' side, and a way cool moody garage number on the 'B' side. A winner.
Hitch Hikers - Beaver Shot / Fool (1964)
Good ol' frat rock from Portage, IN. with a little "double entendre" thrown in to keep the old folks on their toes.
Miki Dallon - I'll Give You Love / I Care About You (1965)
Super cool freakbeat 45 from the genius behind The Sorrows "Take A Heart". On this solo effort he really shows his talents. One of two 45s he released on RCA Victor Records here in the U.S.
Green Giants - You're Going To Lose That Girl / Pity Me (1966)
An obscure group from Shenandoah, Iowa, that recorded for a Colorado Springs label in 1966. Pretty good two sider.
Soul Tenders - Somebody Help Me / Glitter And Gold (1967)
Wicked two-sider from a Florida group that I don't have much info on. All I know is that both sides of this record are great!
Majority - Pretty Little Girl / I Don't Wanna Be Hurt Anymore (1965)
A group from Hull, England, that released a whopping ten 45s from '65 to '68, including the great "One Third". They released only one here in the US on London, which handled lots of different British groups in the sixties. This isn't a bad 45, but it's definitely on the pop side of things.
Bluesmen Revue - Spin The Bottle (Of Love) / Dorian's Dance (1968)
These guys were from London, Ontario, CA, and produced this sole 45 in 1968, a nice up-tempo slice of bubblegum pop with hints of a garage band in their DNA.
British Casuals - Fool's Paradise / Toy (1969)
Here's a two-fer, and I say that because these 45s were sitting next to each other in a box of stuff, and they are both double-sided promos, you know, the kind with the same song on both sides? Why did they do that? Were they afraid the "b" side would end up more popular than the planned "hit" side, or was it just for lazy DJs that didn't particularly give a shit which side to play? Inquiring minds want to know!!! In any case, both of the 45s are great examples of well-produced British pop with all the trimmings. The British Casuals, or quite simply "The Casuals" as they were known as in their homeland, had a plethora of 45s on Decca, Fontana, and Parlophone records in the U.K. Here in the U.S., they ended up on Mainstream, where their name was changed to "The British Casuals", so as not to be mixed up with the "American" Casuals, of which I believe there were a dozen or so in the sixties.
Dynasty Fyve - A Faithful Man / Poetry In Motion (1968)
I always get excited when a local band shows up in my stack 'o stuff. The Dynasty Fyve were from Buffalo, NY, but sad to say, I can't come up with much more info at this time. The interesting thing about this particular 45 is that the 'A' side, "A Faithful Man," was co-written by Mike Anthony with legend Barry Mann. Anthony also co-wrote the flip, "Poetry In Motion", which was a huge hit for Johnny Tillotson in 1960. Was Mike Anthony a Buffalo native, or am I totally missing something here???
Outsiders - Tinker Tailor / You're Not So Pretty (1970)
More crazy soap opera band shit on this 45. The Outsiders, who were Cleveland, Ohio legends, strung out their career into the seventies, and there was a definite rift between Tom King, the guy that started the band, and Sonny Geraci, the "voice" of it. By the time this 45 came out, Geraci had moved on, and Tom King was still trying to persevere with the act. I don't know about you, but I think this is a really good 45, not to mention the fact that they chose a Terry Reid song to cover. The Outsiders pretty much folded after this 45. I don't really know where Tom King ended up, but Sonny Geraci had a hit with "Precious And Few" by Climax, a putrid piece of early 70s AM pop.
Uncle Willard - All It Takes / As Long As It's Not You (1971)
Uncle Willard was a "country rock" band formed by former lead vocalist for The American Breed, Gary Liozzo. They had an L.P. too, which I'd gather was more of the same. This is not a bad 45 for this era. Not garage, obviously, not psychedelic, and not exactly what I would characterize as typical "country rock" either. When I think of "country rock", I'm thinking Bernie Leadon era Eagles, or Poco. Gary Liozzo had a very nice career as a recording engineer working with the likes of Styx, REO Speedwagon, and Bad Company.
Unit Gloria - Back In The Sun / See That Fool (1970)
A Dutch group that started out simply as "Gloria" and added "Unit" to their moniker. Starting in 1968, they released 21 45s in their native Netherlands, as well as eight here in the U.S.A. I have to be quite honest and tell you, outside of the anecdotes I've laid out here, and what everyone can gather from the internet, I'm not familiar with much of their catalogue. I can't remember when or where I got this 45, but it was probably on an eBay bender, and I probably scored it for a pittance. I really like this record. "Back In The Sun" has a definitive "Whiter Shade Of Pale" vibe, and the flip is pretty decent too.
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