Frankie Crocker

Thanks for this - it brings the total to 13 versions. 'I Want To Live' only came out of the woodwork recently and the artist is simply Mark - it is on the Mel Omega label which I suspect is the precursor to the Omega label. Really need some Philly experts to shine a light on this one.

Never was anything there. I picked up a few Motowns and Sunny and the Sunliners on RPR from a collection when Jelly's was by the Ala Moana Centre back in the 80's. When Jelly's moved to King Street, I grabbed a few dozen common records in the 90's. I got Roy Hamilton's Earthquake from Jelly's in Pearl Harbour again in the 90's but there was nothing in the warehouse-type store when last there about ten years ago. Jelly's has a store downtown but there was very little there the first time I went in 2015 and even less in 2016. I didn't bother to go this summer. To dispel the myth, there were never any collections of rare records left in the islands by servicemen. When the troops shipped to Oahu, they could only take a kit-bag. Some officers would have had a record player but it would have played Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, teen idols etc back in the 60's. There was a local music industry producing indie sounds but nothing soulful. The music industy still thrives today and produces island-style reggae which is excellent in some cases. Have a good trip. Best place on the planet for a summer holiday or a winter trip.

He joins Richie in Vegas, Les in Scottsdale etc as a Sunbelt transplant...may as well count records and/or dollars in warmer climes. Palm Springs is too hot for me - I hope he keeps his records nice and cool.

No, not really, it's just the dollar signs on their eyeballs going round and round. Sure, there's a savvy few who really appreciate the music, Matt in New York, Greg in New Jersey, Chris in San Antonio, Brad in Detroit and someone in just about every big city. But in reality, most music fans are unaware of what's happened and continue to ignore soul records of all descriptions...until they have a valuable one in their hands and they want to sell it.

The carolinasoul auction uses stockpiles of locally sourced cast-offs, unsold warehouse stock, label hoards, consignments from UK collector-dealers, estate/yard sale bits and pieces, whole collections etc. Their monthly auctions of 1,000 plus records depend on a steady flow of records from all types of sources. The US is no longer a great place to plan a road-trip to find rare records at low prices - you can stay at home and they will surface on eBay, Discogs, dealer web-sites etc. Chicago was picked bare years ago, Detroit has mainly stacks of unsleeved common 45's with few uncommon sounds and so it goes. New Orleans has given up it's treasures, Houston barely worth stoping off at, San Francisco stripped bare apart from the commonest sounds. I was in Seattle this summer and could not be bothered to hit the record stores as I took everything I could 10-20 years ago and many others had beaten me to the best stuff there...thanks Nancy. Some folk think the market is peaking and are selling high-end records to cash in before the predicted glut in years to come. I think there are a lot more sellers at present so the numbers for sale reflect this more than anything.

Yes. A double A side of the highest order. I think 'You Left Me' is usually regarded as the top-side.

Petersons is a very good version, and certainly one to chase down. Trouble is though, it's very rare and pretty expensive. I'm resigned to not owning all versions now, and wasn't too upset when I didn't win 'I Got A Feeling For You' given the condition it was in.

Me neither but it had to be done... Once in a lifetime opportunity. Even the Mrs was humming along to it when I first played it.

Heaven Is In Your Arms...comes between the first two. I Want To Be Free comes after the last one. A love story in five song titles. I've just picked up the Peaches record with the help of a HSBC loan...crazy but necessary.

Thanks for confirming - I did suspect it was a dealer with such a large number of bids and a considerable outlay. I think his website is impressive and if you want to see prices rising before your very eyes, this is the place. It's one thing when collectors go head to head for a long term want, but when a dealer has to have something for the 'shop window' at any price, it distorts the market. Next thing, some US dealers are using SJ's winning bids to price up their records. Wasn't the Combinations cracked?

Another to add to the list sold at auction last night. Fred Mark-'IGot A Feeling For You'-Omega832. Sold for $262 in G condition with several flaws. Sound bite was good and comparable to 'I'm Coming Home' - certainly better than 'Dance With Me' which is currently up for grabs in two auctions. This makes it 12 different vocal versions for the same backing track.

Not madness but grabbing the best of what remains. The carolinasoul auction offered heaps of rare records but mainly graded at G, well below the usual standard but still playable as conservatively graded. The spoils of victory were shared amongst a number of bidders, mainly battle hardened with high eBay feedback scores. One bidder netted Combinations on Kimtone, Billy Prophet on Sue, Insights on Palmetto and Fred Mark on Omega plus at least one other big tune, blowing well over $2,000; this is shrewd buying where money is no object. There are fewer and fewer rare records turning up for auction, yet more and more chasing them. Rising prices are therefore inevitable.

Compared to what?

Joseph Webster sold for $9,390 so was closer to 8K. At the time, I got the impression this sale was unconnected to the upsurge of Angela Davis coming onto the market. Perhaps one find led to another - there are plenty of Detroit crate diggers and record trackers at work following up the slightest of leads.

Yep, the new press is easily identifiable and has seemingly been released to cash in on the popularity of the expensive original. I have a mint original and it looks 'very new' so it crosses the mind slightly, what year was this actually pressed? In Brad's store in Detroit a fortnight ago, I saw a mint Nancy Butts record on Flaming Arrow and a mint Exquisites on Crow (not the rare one) so I thought, where are all these coming from? I think some of the Detroit cache have been sold on to other dealers making it harder to figure out the numbers involved.

Fair question. Over the last year, they seem to have popped up frequently. You mention re-presses, so are the copies surfacing old stock or freshly pressed up? Like Nancy Butts on the same label, once there were few copies and then there were lots. Prices recently have fluctuated as collectors have become cagey about numbers. It looks like a label connection ie artist/producer has been tracked down in Detroit and the remaining copies liberated as releases on Crow, the sister label have also appeared in small numbers. As Joseph Webster on Crow is proving impossible to buy, punters are settling for Angela Davis' version as it's a pretty decent alternative.

I'd just buy the one on eBay on the off chance it will be the last you see for sale, the condition may be as good as you will get, the record will hold it's value and probably appreciate in years to come, you can tick it off the wants list to focus on the next elusive record, err that's plenty of reasons... Musically, it's a great track and a floorpacker to boot.

Mouth watering stuff. Good to see plenty of Northern still being turned up. You missed out Freddie Chavez on Look which would have been in sixth place. Thanks for collating and posting - I really like this feature.

I like the record lots and lots. Great dancer. Finally managed to replace the sky-blue boot with an original a couple of years ago. In 1979, I copied all the lyrics onto a Valentine's Day card - mind you, she wasn't impressed either.

Looks very recent. Maybe one of those 'if it meets your needs' thingies done in a garage to make a bit of spare cash...

They still look very similar side by side. No major differences apparent at first sight. Presumably one's vinyl and the other styrene but with different markings in the run-out?

The original bootleg is sky blue label stuck on styrene. The fake dark-blue replica is possibly a photocopied label stuck on a styrene disc - there are two of these on Popsike for comparison. The original record is on vinyl with a moulded label if my memory is correct. Best way to tell is compare the original and suspected fake. Do us all a favour and snap the fake in two to keep it out of circulation.

I stand corrected. Probably best the copies are in the States where they may be more appreciated by the woppy-doo squad.

The two scans are different looking at the converging lines at the top. John has over-hyped the track in his blurb - obviously rare and well worth having but not a track to set the dancefloor on fire.

Tony and Tyrone 'Please Operator' on Atlantic. If I ever get round to owning a smart-phone, this'll be the ringtone.