Brian's Music Musings

I discovered a record on Ebay, that I just couldn't resist. Is it rare? The word rare is so overused I don't know what it means anymore. Is it difficult to find? Maybe, but probably not so much. But is it odd or a little different? Yes. I tend to think so. The record is by the School Belles. My first indication that I really needed to buy the record, was what I thought could be the actual flip side. It has three tracks and each one listed a different dance type. I thought maybe it was an EP of sorts. I am correct, sort of. It did have three songs on that side. The flip side listed the same bold title that the EP side had, but then I started reading a little closer. It said, "Which Dance Will Play? What? When I got the record, I was able to figure it all out.

First, it was a promotional copy, which makes a difference in the story. A stock copy has one different side to it (Swing Swang). I listened to and examined the side with the three tracks. Each one was the same song, but they had a different beat to it. The dances all signified the tempo and style of the track. So why put three versions of the same song on your record? It's because the flip side had all three versions on the same track. So, how does that work? Simple. When you play the cut, you never know which actual version of the song will play. At a certain point in the grooves, the needle goes to one of the three tracks. You never know which one you will get. Therefore, the DJ copies had the three tracks listed on the flip so that less adventurous platter spinners could confirm exactly which version they were going to play. The record was issued around June of 1959 and this could be the same School Belles that recorded "Waiting For My Date" on Dot in 1958. If so, according to Billboard, they were from Dallas, and included Diana and Leta Moore. See a picture of them here!