Frankie Crocker

Don’t let Cancel Culture get to you. The music of George Lemons was made long before the subsequent tragedy. The whole of Black Music history in the USA stems from events hundreds of years ago, and is in itself a fascinating subject to study up on.

Tongue well and truly in cheek... Mind you, Gary and Co were poppy tuneful back in the day, definitely a Marmite sound nowadays.

Well put Ted. Not everyone can sound like Ray Pollard, Chuck Jackson, Roy Hamilton, Jack Montgomery, Gary Lewis and the Playboys etc..

My thoughts entirely. It passes the acid test - instant dancefloor reaction to those in the know. Yes, the vocal is flawed and George warbles a bit, but who really cares? The vocal imperfection barely detracts from the overall song. Perhaps his voice is cracking up with emotion as he thinks about some fascinating girl...

Thanks. I thought someone mentioned it afterwards so it must have been added later.

Thanks for this Chalky. There are several reasons for looking closely at this copy. Prices recently, despite the global crisis, have been doubling and trebling at the higher end of the scale: for some of us, the concept of a 3K or 5K record is a useful yardstick. George Lemons, despite its status, was left out of Manship’s ‘Million Dollars of Rare Soul’ book, and more recently, overlooked by Butch in his ‘Sought After Soul Records’ list; so why is this record not given the acclaim it deserves?

Soaring nicely now with bids at £1,787. I suspect several dedicated collectors with supreme taste would love to have this beauty in their flightcase. I suppose should declare no financial interest in this particular copy least anyone thinks I’ve asked John to sell it for commission.

So what do you think it could sell for? Or put another way, if you found a copy in the wild in the USA, what would you want someone to pay for it, just to take the record off your hands?

You’re right there, it’s a bit of a Marmite record. But then again, I really like Marmite. There are probably countless records out there having some flawed quality but that doesn’t necessarily make them worthless rubbish. This record is very unlike most of Detroit’s offerings, and that gives it certain appeal. Part of the enjoyment of soul music is recognising any imperfections, learning to live with them and not allowing them to detract from the overall experience.

I agree. I think it’s going to be nearer 4K than 3K. Some auctions seem to be achieving higher than ever prices right now.

Any bets on what price this will sell for? Within 24 hours of it being put up for auction, bids were above £700. The condition is pretty near perfect - when the record occasionally pops up for sale it’s in a neglected state. The sales blurb penned by John makes a fascinating read in itself. What do the connoisseurs out there think?

Who knows, they might be the ‘must have collectables’ in 40-50 years. For teenagers on a limited budget, they might be the stepping stones to collecting original vinyl. Who would have thought 70’s Grapevine or 100 Club Anniversary 45’s would one day become in-demand? Providing the issues are licensed and not designed to deceive, there’s no harm done. Once upon a time, these tracks would have been compiled on CD’s but these are no longer available so the music lover has to make do with a vinyl substitute. With reference to the web-site alluded to, it makes no sense go mix high-end USA originals up with low-end UK re-issues as this ruins the browsing experience on what is one of the best sales windows out there. Please, please change this!

A very enjoyable read. Thanks for posting. I’ve done a similar trip for the last few years and generally found something. Your comments about Will at the Alamo ring true so I’ve not bothered going there recently. There are records in Beaumont and Tyler if you’re passing through in the future.

It’s still there at £800... Thought there was one on Soul Source a week or two ago for £600?

Thanks for posting Mark. Must have taken hours to compile it and type it up. I wouldn’t dispute any of records included - I would like to own them all but so far have only 60. I also enjoyed the write-up...are you thinking of doing a book on the subject? Tim Brown’s Record Collector article over 20 years ago and John Manship’s ‘Rarest Of The Rare’ book have addressed the the theme of rarity/value but your list is more comprehensive. I would add a few more names on the basis of being sought after such as Little Joe Roman, Bill Bush, Johnny Maestro, James Fountain, Tommy Bush, Sherrys, Devotions, Gwen and Ray, Senator Jones etc possibly a few more on Okeh and Shrine.

It’s on the list already, and rightly so selling for big bucks last month.

Am I on the right forum? If this is a Soul Music appreciation forum can I just point out that William Powell is a highly coveted rarity held in high regard by some of the top collectors on the planet, Paul Anka has delivered a handful of Northern classics popular with punters for 45 years and Bobby Paris is one of the few artists who has three records that would grace any book listing a Top 500.

About a week ago... The copy Manship auctioned has obviously prompted the panic buyers to spend now they have enough bog-roll and pasta to last them for months.

Sounds very likely. Easing records from tight envelopes can be fiendish. Taping the stiffeners together helps avoid extricating problems. Putting the record in a paper sleeve then in a card sleeve adds extra protection. Recycling USA mailers is better than using new cardboard envelopes as they can be cut open easily. A razor blade is better than a scissors for cutting through tape - it’s usually best to avoid hacking into cardboard with any sharp metal blade eg box-cutter, scissors. Styrene records can be so much trouble as they are brittle and can have a weaknesses from the pressing process long before they are put into mailers for posting.

Bottom line is we should be encouraging indestructible packaging at all times. The very mention of Jiffy bags makes me cringe. High end items should go in a box then in another box - that way, you avoid the Manship Don Gardner scenario... USA sellers generally use special 7 inch mailers of varying thicknesses, which when combined with multiple cardboard stiffeners, offer ideal protection, especially when taped together so the disc(s) can not move in transit. UK sellers prefer thin cardboard envelopes with thin card stiffeners which do the job satisfactorily more often than not, but this method seems to be popular because the lighter weight keeps postal costs lower. Ultimately, the seller has a moral (and financial) obligation to ensure that goods posted come to no harm, so if a record breaks in the post, the seller should assume responsibility. USA dealers sometimes hide behind the ‘not responsible for postal mishandling clause’ then use inferior packaging - the trick is to spot this in advance, then request adequate packaging. The thinner the packet, the more likely it is to snap. If selling, we should always use thick packaging as this is what we would expect if we were buying.

Bizarre. This is a record that turns up regularly. The white DJ copy is more common than the grey issue. Big at Wigan, but that’s no justification.

It is a scarce record. Probably not even a semi-known as it has been under the radar for most of it’s life. For a major UA label release to be so unknown, that tells you it is a scarce one. I’ve only seen white demo copies in the last 15 years, so an issue may not exist. I’ve seen it advertised for sale once or twice at about £100. And the punchline is, this is a really good record. Quite likely blue-eyed soul, it is very catchy. There is one awkward drum-roll half-way through that would make dancers think, did the record jump? This could be the reason the record was pulled as the music does not flow as it should. My advice to anyone would be to grab a copy at any price before the masses stumble across it.

Megabucks!!! Usually goes for about a third of this price. Seems like a small quantity were discovered a couple of years ago and had trickled out to the point that few people were interested.

Actually a fairly scarce record these days, but surely not one that warrants this sort of price tag. John's sales pitch must have made a big difference. Just amazed that two bidders would go head-to-head for this release - watch out for Superlove featuring in a future auction...

Timothy Wilson available on rarenorthernsoul.com