Brian's Music Musings

Fred had a good comment on last week's post about the Orchid label. There is the (G-601) at the bottom of the label, and it does have a Gone label feel, at least for the first few issues on the label. Here is my response to Fred, though I am still looking for more information:

There were at least 4 Orchid labels that were different. Cities included Hollywood, Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit, and apparently New York. The label that is shown, is actually distributed by Gone, though no mention of that is on the label. There are at least 5 issues on the short lived label, 5001-5005. That includes the Rockin Ronald and the Rebels that was also pressed on end. The dead wax on Orchid label is the same as Gone, which makes me first believe that Gone could very easily be the first issue, but I can't come up with a good reason why.

Could Gone have used Orchid as a label to test records and then issue them on Gone or an associated label if they showed promise? I was unable to find "Inga" or Anne DeMarco who each had an Orchid release, on the Gone label. Jimmy Pemberton's Orchid release was also on Mark X, which was also associated with Gone. Jimmy Pemberton? He was associated with the Orchid label that Vince Castro was on. The logo and numbering system changed, but I now believe they could very well be the same label. Here is why. The Castro record number is 660, which then fits in with the dead wax numbers Gone was using at that point in time. And that number is skipped on the Gone discography/master numbers.

What I can't understand is why Gone would have the Orchid label to reissue records that for the most part never sold much. So I am leaning towards Orchid being first.

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I added the Story Tellers page, as promised on last weeks entry. You can view it HERE.

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I do collect Christmas records, and for that matter, Halloween related novelties. Though certainly not "rare", I found a 78 of the Nic Nacs on a RPM 78 called Gonna Have A Merry Xmas - 313. I knew about the record, but just finally got around to buying it. The group is mostly the Robins, with Mickey Champion as the voice that is similar to Little Esther. What I didn't realize is that it was issued twice, and the second time was the following Christmas season (1951), and on a different RPM record number of 342. I suppose I need to find that one now. Just for reference, The flip, Found Me A Sugar Daddy, was also issued without the Xmas flip, at the beginning of 1951 as RPM 316. They paired it with You Didn't Want My Love.

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My next project involves another group that released just one record, though actually recorded more than that. They are from New York and called the Impaks. I am working on an interview and web page at the moment, and should have that one on-line in October.

Hopefully, today I will have a web page on-line for the Los Angeles group called the Story Tellers. They made just one vintage record with the original group, and I have two of the three they cut for the Classic Artists label in the late 80's early 90's. The page may be short, but the history will be there along with an interview with leader Al Sanchez. Their record You Played Me A Fool, got some airplay in the Los Angeles area, but was not a major hit.
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One of the very few remaining records that are not in my personal collection, has dropped by one, and I think totals three now. Joey Norman's release of Heart Of Mine backed with The King Of Fools, was added to my stacks. For my website, I actually borrowed the label shots from Joey Norman himself. It is all part of my Altones/Beverly Hills Painters page. It is an interesting story of music from the Los Angeles area.
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I have a new first and second pressings record to add to my page. It is Richard Barrett singing the Fleetwoods record Come Softly To Me on the Orchid label. It was soon taken over by Gone records, but still only got to the charts in limited markets. This is not the same Orchid label that Vince Castro recorded on, in the Bronx. Barrett's record came out in late 1958, and the Castro record showed up in 1960. This should be added to my page this week.
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From the Homer Simpson "Duh" department, I finally realized that the Poni Tails that sang Born Too Late, were actually called the PONY tails, when their record first came out. I have the stock ABC copy that is spelled that way, and have seen the promo showing it too. It happens to be their second release, the first being It's Just My Luck To Be 15. My copy of their first record uses Poni, so it appears to be an error just on Born Too Late, that was quickly corrected. I suppose if I was a young kid singing in a group, I would not want to have my group name associated and shown as near the rear of a horse!

So, how many Arwin 78's are there? I think most people know that Jan and Arnie's, Jennie Lee from 1959, came out on a Arwin 78, number 108. Pictured to the left is Allan Copeland and the Hot Rodders with a song called Crack The Whip. I get the feeling the song may not be completely appropriate today, it is an interesting mix of sounds. There is an orchestra along with a somewhat pop sounding lead, and a group that is trying to sound like a rock and roll group. There is also a nice saxophone in the break, along with some great "whip" effects. It actually sounds pretty good. It must have sold a few copies to have been issued as a 78. Anyway, now I wonder how many different 78' record numbers the Arwin label pressed? I will post the flip side on next week's blog. You can hear more of the big band influence.
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Back in July I mentioned some of the variations of the Debra release of Chapel Bells. Related, the Debra release of "Sweet Dreams/Stop Leading Me On also has a promo copy, and is posted on the Debra records page. I don't automatically make the assumption that any record label sent out clearly marked promotional copies, until I see them or have good evidence they were pressed. In this case, the label was white, it was clearly marked "Promotional Copy", and had a sticker on the label.
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Last night I ran the interview with Al Sanchez of the Story Tellers group from Los Angeles. I played the record they had originally - You Played Me A Fool -, and then played most of his Classic Artists label sides. What a great sound that group has, and continues to enjoy. I hope to have a small page on my site this month of the Story Tellers, and the interview.
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Janis Martin passed on last Monday. You have probably heard the news. She was billed as the next Female Elvis. Maybe she didn't quite get to that status, but she did issue a ton of great records. I still think my favorite is "Barefoot Baby". I need to see about getting a CD of all her work. Here is a site run by her granddaughter, and is informative.

A small update to my Tonettes page this week. The record label shot you see to the left is Vince Castro's Bong Bong. Not a hard record to get, at least on the black and rainbow APT label. After All, those were the original colors. The Elegants Little Star was the same way. What makes this a bit more unique is that it is the all black label, which does make it a second press. The Elegants record was also pressed on an all black label. Anyway, I added this to my Tonettes page as another variation. Not super rare as values go, but harder to find then the first press. The ultimate first press is on the Doe label.

I ended up with a copy of Clyde Stacy's So Young. It was issued on the Candlelight label in 1957. You can also find it on the Argyle label which was released in 1959. I have the Robert Wagner version as well. Talk about a difference in presentation! Wagner's is just a basic pop record that doesn't get much play on my turntable. The Stacy record borders on audio porn, especially when you consider the subject matter. Whew! And his record actually charted, though quite briefly. It was also banned from many radio stations playlists. Stacy found himself on several smaller labels including Bullseye, G&H, Len, and the previously mentioned Argyle and Candlelight. I have the tendency to play Baby Shame on my radio show.

Speaking of my radio program, next week I will run my interview with Al Sanchez of the Los Angeles group, The Storytellers. They had one record, but as always with groups that had limited releases, Al is a very interesting person with a varied background. Everybody has a story, and Al with the Storytellers, is no exception.
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I'm not a huge country fan, but in a pile of country records was Alvadean Coker and the "Cokers" with a country bopper "We're Gonna Bop". Decent record to my ears, it was issued on the Abbott label. She had another record with Jim Reeves on the same label. She was likely on records listed by the Coker Family and Sandy Coker, as well as having another single issue on the Decca label.
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I seem to be interested in a record label called Stepheny records. It was located in Evanston, Chicago, and issued mostly pop, some novelty, and even a few rock and roll records. They pressed just over 40 different 45's, and the label owner, Norman Fogue, was also involved with the Spinning label. No real R+B or doo wop classics, but an interesting assortment of artists. They were apparently searching for the next big hit, just as all records labels did. I will never run the label, but hope to have a good selection of 45's that were issued.