In Dan's Garage..#162

Greetings music lovers!!!! It's good to be back once again with a batch of cool, if not interesting, 45s. We've got everything from Rockabilly to Psychedelic this time around, so there's something that will pique everyone's interest. 

I wanted to get this out in late spring, but here we are in mid-July, and I feel like a lazy ass. Procrastination ought to be my middle name, but that's only because I have so much on my plate. I'll stop complaining (don't worry, there's more ahead...) and get on with the rest of this little diatribe... 

Life's been pretty good these days. We got through a crappy winter up here in Western N.Y., and springtime hasn't been any great shakes either, but I did manage to get away with my lovely wife, Red, down to Myrtle Beach in mid-May and enjoyed a week there with near-perfect weather. Bonus. I made a feeble attempt at looking for records, but fell far short. I did see a place after I'd left that supposedly had 100,000 L.P.'s, but I guess I missed out on that adventure. I did go to a "flea market", but there wasn't much to be found there. Speaking of flea markets, what the hell is wrong with these people trying to sell records???? I really don't mean to disparage the average flea market vendor; they're mostly decent people trying to make an extra buck, and in some cases, it's their only income. That being said, if you're trying to sell a copy of Three Dog Night's "Captured Live At The Forum" for $39, you're probably gonna be hanging on to that one for a while, even if it is in mint condition. There's this thing called eBay, and there are even record shows that'll sell that record for less than half that. I got a decent copy not that long ago for $2, so if any of you vendors are reading this, you may see a record like that on Ebay for that price, but that doesn't mean anyone is going to buy it. That's my rant for today.

I hope you like this post; it's always good fun to spin records and share them with all of you.

Van Brothers - Servant Of Love / Sweet Marie (1959)

In my last post, I told all of you about how I got a wad of 45's that were in a small laundry basket for $25. Well, I finally decided to go through some of them and happened upon this little gem. The 'A' side, "Sweet Marie", is really good hillbilly honky tonk country. The 'B' side, on the other hand, is a straight-up rockabilly bopper "ala" Sun Records era Elvis with not one, but three killer guitar breaks. I did some digging, and this record sold for $650 back in 2021. The last copy sold on Discogs for @ $100. Pretty cool for a $25 investment. I hope there are some other "gems" floating around in this basket as well!!!!

Positively Thirteen O'Clock - Psychotic Reaction / 13 O'clock Theme For Psychotics (1966)

This was actually "Mouse And The Traps" under a pseudonym, and was produced by local Dallas D.J., Jimmy Rabbitt. I always thought that this was Ronny Weiss a/k/a "Mouse" that sang this, but I've read somewhere that it was Jimmy Rabbitt that handled the lead vocals. I dunno, sounds a lot like Mouse to me, so I'm sticking with that. By the way, this is an excellent version of this GarageBand classic. Sorry for the messed-up label. Sometimes we gotta take what we can afford.

Bees - Leave Me Be / She's An Artist (She Belongs To Me) (1965)

One of two "Bees" that I'm aware of. These guys were from L.A., and the other group (that released the INSANE "Voices Green And Purple") was possibly from the East Coast. Great jangly 12-string folk rock sounds on this two-sider. The flip is a great sped-up garagey attempt at Dylan's classic "She Belongs To Me".

Equals - I Won't Be There / Fire (1966)

The first 45 by this great band. I really can't think of much that these guys did that I don't like, and this one does not disappoint. They were a prolific group that was active well into the 70's with 30+ 45s released in the U.K. to their credit and over 200 worldwide. In the U.S., they managed to get about a dozen released, and had a hit in 1968 with "Baby Come Back". I'm not sure this particular copy is an original pressing. When I got it, it just looked too nice and didn't pass the "smell test". At least not to this cork sniffer. ;)

Reasons Why - Same Old Worries / I Don't Care If You Don't Care (1967)

I just realized I posted this one in IDG #144, so instead of writing something up, just hit the link. Sorry.

Prophecy - Take A Look At Mary / Goddess Of Love (1968)

I love these 45s where some DJ has done a quick one-word review of it, such as this one. I would not characterize the 'A' side of this as "bad"; in fact, it's pretty good psych/pop. Perhaps the not-so-vague reference to smoking reefers was the reason why, but it's better than the 'B' side, which isn't really "bad", at least not in my opinion.

Bhagavad-Gita - Long Hair Soulful / Long Hair Soulful (Instrumental) (1967)

Weird yet interesting story on this one. Bhagavad-Gita was essentially a studio project worked up by Cleveland, OH producer Roger Karshner and none other than local Rochester, NY jazz legend Chuck Mangione. What makes it more interesting is that the actual band was a pre-Joe Walsh James Gang. Karshner and Mangione would later release an L.P. titled " The National Gallery - Musical Interpretations Of The Paintings Of Paul Klee". I'm really not familiar with Klee's work, but the album and the 45 bombed. This is actually a cool psychedelic 45 with some time signature changes in the bridge and some decent guitar noodling throughout. You can get more info from Buckeye Beat and this blog here.

Blizzard - Keep A Knockin', Get Back, Etc. / Health (1969)

Most likely a studio group from N.Y.C., Blizzard released this one-off 45 at the height of bubblegum mania. Although the 'A' side is ok, the 'B' side gets a solid thumbs up in the "fuzzed out guitar instrumental" department. Arranger Joe Renzetti was house guitarist for Cameo/Parkway records back in the 60's and played on and arranged a bunch of hit songs well into the 70's and beyond.

Thousand Faces - A Thousand Faces / Sweet Little Cup (Of Lovin') (1968)

Nice sunshine pop 45 from L.A. These guys also released  another 45 on the same label as "The Lollipop Fantasy".

Brothers Pride - Let The Music Play / Love Is All I Have To Give (1970)

Two sides of decent pop-rock from a Louisville, KY band that released four 45's, this, being their last. "Let The Music Play" is an up-tempo cover of a Drifters song which was the 'B' side to "On Broadway".  "Love Is All I Have To Give" is a Bacharach / David tune that was done by Checkmates LTD. in '69. Guitarist Jim Muench went on to form a band with his brothers called "The Muench Brothers", and they simply evolved into "Muench" and released an L.P. in 1977.

Howard Boggess - Hollywood / 20th Century Sad (1971)

Howard Boggess' name is pretty much unknown, but for an obscure kinda guy, his name pops up all over the place.

Unfortunately, his name shows up on mostly obscure 45's, but it seems like he was a busy guy writing and producing for acts like "Marsh", Billy Harner", "The Tams", and a few other Philadelphia-based acts. This was his only release credited to him, and I gotta say, it's kinda cool. "Hollywood" is weird and a bit on the funky side? The flip is pretty strange as well.

Sugar Shoppe - Save The Country / Easy To Be Hard (1969)

The Sugar Shoppe was a fine Sunshine Pop Quartet from Toronto that had about a half dozen 45s released in Canada, and three here in the U.S. This was the last one, and it's their best IMHO. You can't go wrong with any Laura Nyro covers. I have found myself really fascinated with her songwriting style, and "Eli And The Thirteenth Confession" is a work of art and musical genius. Literally. So "Save The Country" comes off very well in the hands of this group, and "Easy To Be Hard", a song that was made really famous by Three Dog Night, gets the "Sunshine Pop" treatment here. You can't go wrong with this one either, but I think the movie "Hair" is a total piece of garbage.

Marsh - I Can Love You So Much Better / Trip, Tumble, And Fall (1970)

An extremely short-lived band from Philadelphia, or somewhere around there...I thought I had a story on these guys locked down, but it must've been another late 60's, early 70's group that had a record out on Decca or Uni. I sorta lost track. Anyway...Remember Howard Boggess? Just scroll up a bit...yeah, he produced this band, and it's typical horn-driven rock from the early seventies. Not bad though....

Pickettywitch - Baby We've Been Loving Too Long (1970)

Pickettywitch were a band from Birmingham and had a very successful career, especially their lead vocalist, Polly Brown. I'm not a big fan of their music, just a wee bit too "poppy" for my tastes, but this one, the flip side to their big hit, "That Same Old Feeling", hits the nail right on the head.

HERE

 

 

In Dan's Garage...#161

 

Howdy there, all you music lovers! It's been a while since I posted here, and I'm sure many of you thought I was going to fade away. In fact, this thing has been ready to post for over a month, but I wanted to do some proofreading and some personal issues got in the way. Not so fast. After recovering from my shoulder surgery, I eventually returned to work, and it was a blessing. Six months off is not what it's cracked up to be. You get really soft, and just doing menial things is painful. All over. I got super fat and got into some bad eating and drinking habits, so if I had to do it again, I'd definitely mix in a long walk every day and stay away from snacks and booze. They're both killers. Since I got back into the swing of things, I've dropped 30 lbs. and feel better than ever. 

I've also bought a substantial amount of records as well, many of which don't exactly merit entry into this blog, but they were just offers "I couldn't pass up". One was at a record show in nearby Batavia, NY  where a vendor that I frequent quite often had one of those plastic dish racks that you put your clean dishes in, or something very similar, full of 45's. Probably at least 200, I'd say, and a lot of it was common stuff, but records I did not have in my collection. Great filler 45's. He was asking $50, and I passed as I was on a tight budget and running out of cash (I had just purchased what I felt was an overpriced copy of "Nazz Nazz" from a vendor who would not haggle), so as I was getting ready to leave, I offered him $25 for the whole lot. Not a bad deal. I've also picked up some cool 45's on eBay as well, but getting anything from there is really tough these days because I'm competing with collectors that have very deep pockets, and I just can't spend $75 and up on these things. So while I'm very frugal about what I buy, they still trickle in on a regular basis. I've also done a bit of organizing, so I know what's been posted and what hasn't, and I have it at my fingertips.

This particular post is from the first box I attacked; I literally plucked random 45's out of it, ripped them, scanned the labels, and here we are. It's definitely a mixed bag that varies wildly from garage to pop, and even some glam rock and "folk psyche" for your pleasure.

Once again, it's good to be back, and I hope I can scrape up enough time to do this more often.

Enjoy.

Arthur Alexander - You Better Move On / A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues (1961)

A real classic that I actually never heard until several years ago, while watching "Muscle Shoals," a superb film documentary about the legendary Fame Recording Studios where this was recorded. "You Better Move On" is a stirring ballad that's backed by another classic, "A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues," which was covered by the Beatles in their early days.

Birdwatchers - Turn Around Girl / You Got It (1967)

The Birdwatchers were a prolific (by 1960's standards) Garage/pop act from Miami, FL that had about 16 45's on 8 different labels, mostly on the local Marlin label, and a bunch on Mala, which was distributed by Bell Records. Their output was pretty consistent, nothing too wild, and this 45 is a great example.

Chandells - We Are The Ones / Little Girl, Pretty Girl (1966)

The Chandells were from Pueblo, CO, and released this one-off 45 in 1966. I'm pretty sure this was recorded at Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, NM. Both sides are pretty lightweight, but I prefer "We Are The Ones" out of the two songs here.

Law Firm - Love Is Bad / Girl From Liverpool (1965)

There's not a lot of info on these guys, but I'll bet they were a studio group because it's got a lot of L.A. names plastered all over the label. I'm featuring the B side here, because the A side (which I have included) is a ridiculous novelty song with banjos and a guy singing in a real fake British accent. "Love Is Bad," on the other hand, is not bad.

Destinations - Hello Girl / With You (1967)

Although The Destinations from Milwaukee, WI  released this one 45, they have a very cool and interesting history. Reed Kailing, their guitarist and band leader, wrote both sides of this nice garage/pop 45, and you can read his story in great detail here. It's also worth mentioning that Dee Donaldson of The Robbs (another act from Milwaukee) produced this 45 at Chess Studios in Chicago.

Gary & The Hornets - Kind Of Hush (1967)

I gotta apologize for this one. In future posts, I feel like I'm going to be doing a lot of it because I have gobs of junk like this, that's definitely "60's", but rather embarrassing, such as the 45 we have here. I'm not sure if Gary (14 yrs. old) and his 12 and 7-year-old brothers actually played any instruments on this record, but if they did, I'll give them a lot of credit. Of course, these three brothers were somewhat of a novelty act, and they actually can be seen HERE playing on The Tonight Show, so maybe they did play on this record. 

Blue Marble Faun - The Battle Is Over / Going Home (1968) 

This group was from Albuquerque, NM and released two 45's on the Look label out of Nashville, TN. Both 45's were typical late sixties harmony pop, kinda like The Mamas & Papas.

Cyntriks - Something's Got A Hold Of My Soul / Shannon (1968)

Blue Eyed Soul from North Carolina with lots of Hammond B3 organ and horns. Moody 'B' side.

Hi Noon's - It's Our World / Want It To Last (1970)

It's fascinating to hear stuff like this from 1970. These guys sound like a garage band straight out of 1966. The Hi Noon's, according to their label, were billed as "Louisiana's Teenage Sensation". Both sides are really moody garage. Just the kind that I like.

Ice Cream - The Chewin' Gum Kid / Epitaph To Marie (1968)

Milan Radenkovich a/k/a "The Leather Boy", released a bunch of records in the '60's as Milan, The World Of Milan, and The Leather Boy. I'm not sure this is him vocalizing on this 45, which strangely resembles Tommy James & The Shondells' "I Think We're Alone Now", or at least the intro does anyway, but his name is plastered all over the credits. "The Chewin' Gum Kid" is obvious up-tempo Bubblegum Rock, although the flip takes a darker turn.

Street - Apollo...Amen / Why Concern Yourself (1969)

A somewhat bizarre novelty 45, I guess, at least that's my opinion, although some out there may find it cool, "Apollo...Amen" was released a few months after the Apollo 8 spaceflight in December 1968, the first lunar orbit by humans. On Christmas Eve 1968, we were all glued to the television watching this; it was really wild stuff for an 8-year-old, and during the broadcast, the three astronauts recited passages from Genesis. So I guess producer and arranger Rick Shorter thought it would be a great idea to cash in on "Apollomania" by having Street (also known as "Anya's Street") play this here song and have the actual sound clips dubbed over the band singing the gospel song "Amen". I don't know about you, but this seems real corny in my humble opinion. The 'B' side fares much better, featuring Anya Cohen singing quite well. As mentioned before, Street was also known as Anya's Street, who released a 45 on Verve Forecast records. I have a copy of that, and I'll feature it in the future. I should also mention that Anya Cohen was supposedly discovered right here in Rochester, NY, working at the Wee Spot Coffee House on South Ave. She also spent three years at the Eastman School of Music, where I would assume she took voice lessons. I don't know that for sure, just guessing.

Weird Herald - Just Yesterday / Saratoga James (1968)

An obscure folk/psyche group from the Bay Area in California, who released their lone 45 in 1968. This particular 45 gets a lot of attention from collectors and is fetching a decent buck on eBay and Discogs, if you can find it. I bought this 45 way back in 1986 at a record show in Albany, NY, where a guy had a huge box of 45's for a buck apiece, so I took a stab at it. This isn't a bad 45, but it's not exactly my cup of tea. I just scratch my head as to why it's so desirable. They eventually released an entire LP, which I guess was in the can for 50+ years. You can read more about them, including an interview with some of the members here.

Streak - Gonna Have A Good Time (1972)

Oh geez, I was working on the current post and like a numbskull realized I hadn't done a write up on the last two 45's in this collection, so here goes...

While Streak's history is somewhat cloudy, I can say they were a band based out of the U.K. that eventually evolved into The Arrows, the band that performed the original version of Joan Jett's mega-hit "I Love Rock And Roll". This is really great glam-rock typical of this era, and it's unfortunate that neither group got close to hitting it big.

Russell Morris - The Real Thing (part 1) / The Real Thing (part 2) (1969)

I first heard this when I got a copy of the box set of 45's "Psychedelic Days". It was a set of six 45 RPM reissues that was re-released by Acme Records, all great stuff if you're into late 60's psychedelic pop. I was surprised that this was actually released in the U.S. and on an independent label no less (it was released on Decca in the U.K., two volumes). The song starts out really moody, but then the recording engineer turns on the flanger, and it gets pretty wild from there. The original Decca release keeps the whole tune on one side of the record, but I guess they had to split it up for us Americans, seeing as how we were so used to the radio-friendly 2:30 song.

HERE

Dan's Garage...#160

Greetings, Music Lovers!!! So glad to be back again with another wad of "interesting" 45s, to say the least. During my moratorium on buying new things, I've been able to root around in boxes of records that I haven't yet posted, and this one I'm working on is quite good, but that's subject to interpretation. This bunch ranges from early 60s British Beat to some good ol' hard rockin' sounds from the early 70s, so please dig in!

Dowlands - All My Loving / Hey Sally (1964)

The Dowlands were brothers Gordon and David, who did an Everly Brothers thing, and they were rather good at it. In 1963, they went into Joe Meek's studio. They recorded this two-sider, a decent version of The Beatles' "All My Loving" and "Hey Sally" as the 'B' side, a great original that highlights their Everly Brothers influence. 

Jackasses - Sugaree / Shake It Up (1964)

Out of Vancouver, WA comes this cool frat-rock two sider by a band that called themselves "The Jackasses". That's right up there with The Boogers and The Electric Toilet amongst others. They give the ol' Marty Robins nugget a great make over and the flip's pretty cool too.

U.S. Male - You Make Me Feel Good / What's Happened To You (1966)

I couldn't find a lot of information on this group, but indications suggest they're from Detroit or somewhere in Michigan. That'd make sense given the graphics on the label. These guys really liked the Zombies a lot because they covered one of their songs on each of their two 45s. On this one, they do a good job with "You Make Me Feel Good", although it has some annoying horns in it.

Troys - Gotta Fit You Into My Life / Take Care (1968)

Typical horn-driven Chicago R&B/Pop. A Dunwich production.

Chessmen - All By Myself / Sometimes I Wonder (1966)

I must admit quite a bit of ignorance on this particular 45. Although it comes from a Nashville address, you never really know because groups came from all around to record there. There were two other 45s on this label, but neither of those leaves any clues. In any case, we have a hot mash-up of Garage and R&B  on this 45, pretty typical of what came out from this area in the mid-sixties.

Hard Times - Come To Your Window / That's All I'll Do (1966)

Perhaps The Hard Times weren't the greatest "garage band" in the '60s; in fact, they were what I would call a "middle of the road" '60s group. But I can't think of ONE bad side they ever recorded or released. They would evolve into The New Phoenix, another band that released an excellent 45 on World Pacific. They would even later on splinter into T.I.M.E. and Ratchell, and guitarist Larry Byrom would eventually join Steppenwolf.

Hobbits - Daffodil Days / Sunny Day Girl (1967)

Decent late '60s flower pop produced by Terry Phillips, who founded budget label Pickwick. Most likely a studio group with arrangements by Jimmy Curtiss and Jerry Vance, all guys who worked together to produce "hit" records created in the studio.

Standells - Animal Girl / Soul Drippin' (1968)

Sorry for breaking my rules, but here's another 45 on Tower Records...

I recall back in what I think was the summer of 1983, going to The House Of Guitars and buying a bunch of "garage band" LPs. One of them was "The Best Of The Standells" a terrific compilation on Rhino Records. Of course, you had all the great songs, Dirty Water, Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White, but as the album progressed, I could see they were shifting from the "Dirty Water" garage punkers to a more, dare I say, progressive sound???  "Animal Girl" was the last song on that album and sounded completely out of place. Fast forward 30-some odd years later, and I was able to obtain a copy of what would be their last 45 on Tower Records. This is really not that bad if you take it on face value. By this time, The Wrecking Crew were probably doing all the studio performing, and let's face it, this ain't The Standells as we knew them. But it is a great song.

Junior Markham & The Tulsa Review - Black Cherry / Gonna Send You Back To Georgia (1969)

From Tulsa, OK, Junior Markham epitomizes the swampy R&B/Rock And Roll vibe that guys like J.J. Cale and Leon Russel perfected in the '70s through the '80s. Excellent two-sider, sorry for the sound quality, but I can only get what I get.  

Trakstod - Carolina Train / Say Hello (1969)

A bit of Bubblegum from a band out of California. They weren't from Carolina, but they did tour with a local band from there called "Initial Shock".

Rhinoceros - Apricot Brandy / When You Say You're Sorry (1969)

One of many bands that Paul A. Rothschild brought over to Elektra Records, like The Stooges, Clear Light, Paul Butterfield, and, of course, The Doors. Rhinoceros was something of a "super group" in that it had members from The Iron Butterfly, The Daily Flash, The Electric Flag, and The Mothers of Invention. Their LP was actually pretty good, mixing R&B with a bit of Psychedelia. They would release three albums before calling it quits in 1971.

Sterling Silver - What Ya Tryin' To Do / You Got Me Goin' (????)

Here's a real headscratcher. This is obviously a '70s, possibly early '80s 45, but I have no solid info on this band. Both sides are good. They're not really progressive, punk, or garage, but middle-of-the-road mainstream Rock & Roll from what I believe to be somewhere in the Midwest, most likely Ohio, but I certainly can't confirm that. It looks like it might be a Rite Records Co. pressing, but none of the matrix numbers line up with my research. Of course, I may be totally wrong here, but this is a cool 45 worth a spin.

Bad Boy - Disco / I've Had Enough (1977)

I whipped this one out of a box hiding in a corner somewhere in the deep dark crevasses of Dan's Garage Central, because I don't usually post Hard Rock here, especially mainstream-sounding stuff like this, but I couldn't help myself. This is the kind of shit my high school act "Razz" would've come up with when I was 17 years old. 

As I write this, I'm coming to the end of an extended leave from work due to shoulder surgery I had back at the end of March. I've never in my entire life as a working stiff, taken this much time off for anything. I really enjoyed this reprieve from the day-to-day grind, and it certainly got me back to this blog, which I love so much, mainly, as you all know, because it gives me a reason to play my records!

I go back to the daily grind next week, so things will probably slow down to a crawl, but please keep looking for posts. I'm going to try to get at least one in every month. Thanks again for all the kind comments. I really appreciate them. See you sometime next month and hopefully the upcoming holidays won't slow me down. Too much....

HERE

 

 

 

Dan's Garage #159

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)

There were several "Dynatones" from the 50's through the '80s (at least). There were The Dynatones from Peterborough, UK, The Dynatones from W. Virginia that had a minor hit "The Fife Piper" on HBR, a couple of polka bands that called themselves The Dynatones, & The Dynatones from San Francisco, who backed up Charlie Musselwhite for a bit, and I was rather fortunate enough to see them perform at The Casablanca a night club here in Rochester back in the early eighties. That was a hell of a show, and those guys couldn't have been nicer bunch of guys, including Charlie Musselwhite himself. I'm going to off on a tangent here...

 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.

HERE