Wednesday, April 6, 2011

It ain't right....


As I'm sure I made abundantly clear in a previous post, Chuck Johnson is a mystery to me. At this point I only know of something around 7 singles by the man, all of which were no doubt recorded in New Orleans. While I think I've read something about the C&E label in the past, I can't seem to find that info at the moment. So, please forgive me if I'm wrong but I think the initials stand for Chuck and Earl [possibly Earl Johnson, aka Earl King?].

Initially, Johnson recorded for the obscure Booker/Invicta label and in fact there's a 45 by him on Booker which includes both songs on this 45. I've only seen that Booker 45 once, and never got to hear it, so I'm unsure whether this is a second pressing or a re-working of both sides. However I do suspect it's a re-working because Johnson re-recorded his "Elephant Fair", previously issued on Invicta, for C&E.

But there's a problem with that thought. Ya see, this record as a whole really doesn't sound like it was recorded in 1975 [the date on the label]. So, maybe it is a reissue? But if it is, then why does this 45 usually sell for as much as it does [$40 to $60 for a nice copy]?

My confusion is compounded by the enormous lack of info about Booker/Invicta. While the release numbers for the records appear to be consecutive, I think they probably aren't in terms of release date. Which leaves open the possibility that both the Booker and C&E 45s were released at the same time, that is if they're actually the same recordings. It's also worth mentioning that I've never seen a discography for C&E. Has anyone ever even tried to put one together?

Sorry about all of this dithering, but ya gotta understand that there really isn't much known about some of these records/artists. Sometimes there are only questions.

In fact, here's another: has this song ever been comped?

Hope ya'll enjoy....

6 comments:

  1. Cool record!

    Sadly, I don't know much about Chuck J. and hadn't heard of C&E until now. Well, I guess 50 years ago the phrase "nearly ungoogleable" was not a thought in anyone's mind when naming their labels!

    I did see a few listed in the 'outta stock' section @ recordsbymail when I looked for Chuck Johnson there...

    400 - Way You Treat Me / Your Little World
    401 - Elephant Fair / Tryin Hard to Forget
    403 - In Flight / The Best of Chuck Johnson (?!)
    530 - Tell Me / Instrumental

    But searching for just 'C&E' was failing on there, so who knows if there are any non-Chuck ones?

    And...tag! Somebody else is It!

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  2. thank you so much

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  3. Isosceles...C&E 530 is of early 80s vintage. I imagine the label was started up again using the higher numbers. There are non-Johnson C&Es. I don't own either of them but a couple of very fine brass band records come to mind. I've never heard the record but yeah "The Best Of Chuck Johnson" is indeed the title of the song.

    Anon...You're most welcome.

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  4. Great side. Thank you! I'm enjoying it quite a bit.
    The only thing I know about Chuck Johnson is what I've read on your blog. I've only heard three songs by him and I got them all here.

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  5. It's a while since this was posted, so maybe you already found out, but the versions (of both sides of the 45) are the same on Booker and C&E (to my ears at least). The next number in the Booker discography (302) dates from 1965/66, so the C&E 45 seems to be a reissue of 10 year old recordings.

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    1. Thanks the info. No I haven't heard the Booker issue yet, so that's news to me.

      Good to know the date on 302 as well. Until now I hadn't seen anything to suggest that any secular recordings were issued on Booker after 1964.

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