Just a note....

Oops, I missed the blog's anniversary for the second year in a row. At least I'm consistent.

Once again, I'd like to thank those you who've bothered to leave such kind and encouraging comments. Without your feedback the blog wouldn't have lasted three months.

Unfortunately, there's a relatively new side to the feedback [mostly via email]. Seems there are a few folks who have nothing better to do than mock me for my grammatical and factual lapses. Thanks ya'll for making me feel like I shouldn't bother to write anything at all. If that was your initial plan, it worked.

And there are several other new problems as well....fellow bloggers who post my vinyl rips as their own "discoveries" [totally lame], the stalker who keeps changing his online identity but always gets around to wanting a "date" [creepy]....and perhaps a special mention should go out to the idiot who for some unknown reason faults me because some of the records I've posted are worth a good bit of cash [how I spend my money is none of your business].

Oh yeah, there's also the person who implied that I'm ungenerous [after posting thousands of dollars worth of rare-ish 45s] because I made a joke about sending in $5 for instructions on how to fix skips. You can fuck off.

In short, a small number of people have succeeded in making my "blogging experience" much less fun this year. In fact, I'm at an impasse. How do I continue? Basically I've just been going through the motions for the last couple of months.

And that's the most serious problem of all, 'cause this whole house of cards is built solely on my enthusiasm. Once that's gone, there's absolutely no point in continuing. All that's left to do is hit delete.

There ya have it. I'm unhappy with the way things are going. In particular I dislike the idea that I simply provide rare vinyl rips for other, more "fabulous", blogs.

ana...

If I could be with you....

I own two copies of this record. The first was a cheapie I picked up without really knowing what it was. I bought the second a couple of years ago thinking I'd use it in trade. Problem was, it turned out to be virtually mint. Thus I kept it.

Sometimes, having a nice clean copy is a beautiful thing. Ya know, in this case, I'm not sure it's possible to get the full effect otherwise.

Bless those horns.

Hope ya'll enjoy....

I love you...

Al Johnson's first record for Joe Ruffino's Ric label...and a particular favorite of mine. Truth is, I've never thought much of Johnson's voice, but the band is kicking it so hard on this one that I can't help but be won over. In particular, the piano work is spectacular. If I had to guess, I'd say that's James Booker doing his best 'Huey Smith plays Professor Longhair' imitation [I just made that up, but it sounds about right].

Hope ya'll enjoy....

Rock and roll is her favorite sound...

One of those records you'd think someone must know something about and yet there's nothing, nada, no info at all. Funny, 'cause I was under the impression it was hit. But then, what do I know?

Odd thing about this record is that it sometimes sells for big bucks when it's really not that scarce. I see them fairly regularly. Popsike lists a copy sold at auction for close to $80. I can't imagine I paid more than $10 for mine [I tend to remember the records I've paid more than $10 for].

The run-out code makes me think Winner was a [one off?] label started by Joe Ruffino, owner of Ric/Ron. Probably pre-Ric/Ron. I could easily be wrong, but that's what it looks like to me. If I'm right, that dates the record to the late fifties, which is a totally obvious conclusion 'cause if that isn't some version of Cos Matassa's late 50's house band playing on the 45 then I'm a purple polka dot giraffe.

My guess is 1957, but possibly as late as 1959. Hope ya'll enjoy....

Tell me baby, what wrong have I done?

I grew up listening to the Maytals and own an awful lot of their records. Something like five or six Jamaican and English albums never released in the U.S. [at least initially], every album issued in the U.S. from "Reggae Got Soul" up to "Toots in Memphis", several comps on CD.....

And then there are the Jamaican pressed singles, some of which are different versions than what appeared on albums. Even well known songs often show up with a different mix on 45 [sometimes with an instrumental version as well].

Anyway, even after all that exposure to the Maytals I still occasionally find stuff on 45 that I've never heard before. But not in this case. Actually, I thought it was a "personal unknown" when I picked it out of a box of unsleeved 45s, but jeeze was I ever surprised when I gave it a listen. The record is mislabeled, it's actually a copy of "Treating Me Bad", one of the groups early great ones. Not a bad score for less than a buck.

Just so happens there's even footage from 1962 of the Maytals singing this song, which makes the post even sweeter. Check the clip below.

In case ya'll are wondering about the scratchy records I've been posting lately, I'm not really doing it on purpose. I'm just having fun digging through a pile of interesting 45s that don't normally get spins....often because they're too beat up for polite company.

I'll get back to the cleaner 45s soon enough. Truth is, this rip doesn't sound all that much worse than the copy I have from a legitimately issued comp.

Hope ya'll enjoy.....

Dance...

Just case ya'll don't know, compared to what I usually do, the easiest thing in the world is post a bunch of you tube clips....

Trashed is as trashed does...

Mark this one as "for reference only". It's possibly the most trashed record I've ever posted.

There are some boring Big Bo and The Arrows records out there. This isn't one of them.

My hope is that ya'll will appreciate what you're hearing despite the obvious flaws.

Please God, wontcha send me a better copy real soon...

Let me drive.....

The flip-side of yet another 45 I've already posted. It's not quite as good as the other cut but I figure ya'll might like to hear it just 'cause it's obscure. As far as I know it's never been comped, in fact I can't see that it's ever been offered anywhere else before.

One of three records issued on the Invicta label....

Hope ya'll enjoy....

Or go back home and be shamed shamed shamed...

Either I'm very unlucky or this 45 is a tough find. This is the only original copy I've ever run into.

Just so happens both sides were recently re-released on a comp called "Face The Music". Can't say I like the cover [absolutely as cheesy as they come] but it's an interesting release, partially because some of the songs are re-cut. Now, normally I'd say that's a bad thing, but in this case it undoubtedly means Willie West is getting a few bucks out of the deal....and that's a good thing.

Anyway, there are def better copies of these songs around....my 45 is rough.

Hope ya'll enjoy....in my opinion, these are two of the more interesting arrangements Allen Toussaint ever created.

Face The Music

Baby Baby I Love You

Everybody's doin' it.....

I don't know about ya'll, but I'm def enjoying the long weekend. I've hardly had a moment to myself for more than a month.

I posted the flip-side of this record a long while back and always wanted to post this side as well, but the stupid record skipped. After some minor surgery, the patient has recovered nicely and now plays all the way through. I'm amazed at how well a little trick of mine works. Send in $5 and I'll cough up the secret.

Anyway, I think this record must have been a regional hit as R.L. Griffin is occasionally referred to as "Mr. Ting-A-Ling". I believe he's still active today, possibly still owns the Blues Palace in Dallas? He's originally from East Texas where he played with a band called the Corvettes until Big Bo Thomas tempted him into heading to the big city.

Now, Bo Thomas was a major regional player. He had the hottest band in Dallas, owned several very profitable clubs, and booked big name acts throughout the region. All of which brought in buckets of money. Thomas once estimated that he made $250,000 to $400,000 a year during the early 60's. Even if those figures represent a bad case of the brags, it's clear he made plenty.......enough that Big Bo and the Arrows were rarely tempted out of Dallas....enough that Thomas was able to retire in the early 70s.

The Gay-Shel label was started in 1960 and is named after Thomas' two children, Gayle and Sheldon. As far as I know there were only something like 10 releases on the label, all of them Big Bo and The Arrows related.

Hope ya'll enjoy....

This clip is super low quality, but ya'll get the idea, right? I seriously need the stripey dress on the second girl to be featured.

[Addendum: I'm shocked to see that someone actually took my joke about sending in $5 seriously. I realize that my sense of humor is very dry, but jeeze.....

Anyway, If anyone really wants to know how I get skips out of records, check the comments of this post on Derek's Daily 45.]

Drop out...

As far as I know, this is Mildred Scott's only 45. Just in case you're tempted to poke around for info, this is not the same woman as Mildred Vaney, aka Mildred Scott, out of Detroit. It's someone else.

I've nothing factual on Scott [don't know that anyone does], but I will say this: to my ears she sounds a good bit like the Marilyn Scott who recorded with Johnny Otis in the early 50's. I'd be as surprised as anyone if there's a connection, but I do wonder.

Big Bee was apparently associated with the elusive Booker/Invicta labels. If there's another release on the imprint, I'm not aware of it. [Correction: Bob of the blogs Dead Wax and That's All Rite Mama has pointed out two other releases on Big Bee.]

Hope ya'll enjoy....