Frankie Crocker

Hi Kev. You can’t be serious... Did they play ‘Ain’t No Sole Left In Those Old Shoes’?

Although the 45 was a giveaway in September 1998, I suspect Ady would have been spinning it in 1997 and 1996 etc, probably as a cut taken from a master tape. In any case, the song would have existed in some format prior to 9/98 and the LV pirates could have stumbled across it having been in the industry since the Woppy Doo days. Although the 45 was pressed for the anniversary, perhaps even in August, copies could have easily gone walkabout from the pressing plant months prior to release. My copy of Towanda Barnes came from John Manship and it sounds better than Sam Williams. Maybe the LV pirates booted copies from a first-issue? The comments re Rosen’s emporium are spot on. I visited the store on many trips and had to bite my tongue too often for comfort. I managed to snag a few bargains but generally paid through the nose for bulk of what I left with. It would be good to know the real story behind Frederick Hymes - was this ever issued by a bona fide label to be bought in stores, or a LV tailor-made for the rare soul scene? I first saw it in Rosen’s shop but it looked dodgy - given these guys have access to a pressing plant, they could have easily manufactured it from scratch QED...

Ding ding. Round one. The 100 Club record was an unreleased cut. Oddly enough it credits Golden State on the label. I don’t know anything about Golden State but maybe Ady C could enlighten us. The record must have been dubbed from the 100 Club 45 or a CD that followed it. The Las Vegas merchants are old-timers who had both rare records and bootleg supplies. I think the name that came up earlier is actually Joe Giattino - I bought something from him via the mail and he didn’t send the change. I also bought the Johnny Watson on Valise from him before it was exposed as a massive scam. His eBay sales are usually dominated by bootlegs although I would add the Towanda Barnes Love Slipped is of a decent quality. Richie Rosen had the Frederick Hymes quantity but I regretfully didn’t buy as the label looked weird being typed - my oversight unfortunately. He had the unissued Ringleaders at $200 but I passed on this. He had George Morton in quantity and we all paid through the nose for this one. There’s an old thread on Richie Rosen on Soul-Source that makes for interesting reading. I would strongly advise any readers of this to steer well clear of these New Yorkers if heading to Las Vegas...

Really useful - thanks for posting. Some staggering results here!

The shocker for me was Edie Walker at £420. Deadbeats and Cliff Nobles did well but Major Lance dipped a bit below the expected price.

Johnny Hampton 3K at least. Natural Four £400.

Government continues to insert itself into everyones’ lives but HMRC won’t get far on this wheeze. eBay users could just open and close multiple accounts or use family members incognito. Cash sales from person to person will increase - some would welcome the revival of sales boxes at soul nights. Trading records for records may help some collectors. Trading records for valuable goods might help somebody - swap Don Gardner for a second-hand car anyone? Long term collectors could start selling off their wares earlier than planned, gradually rather than all at once. There’s plenty of ways of avoiding scrutiny so I wouldn’t worry too much at present.

A hugely enjoyable read Dave. Thanks for posting and allowing us to enjoy the thrill of crate digging vicariously.

Not sure...could’ve been Ian LaFiend...

The record has been given the ‘reissue’ treatment in recent years, presumably for the UK market. However, the original was pressed in 1968, most copies playing off-centre. My recollections based on John Manship’s sales blurb and a British collector’s experience of tracking Bill down, are the record was a poor seller, the B side was ‘I’m Waiting’, a small quantity of unplayed copies were liberated and the track has been filling dance floors for c20 years. Odd copies turn up annually but demand for the track remains as high as ever judging from the auction result.

£2,118 seemed to be the final outcome...

Beware of snake oil sellers with loads of letters after their name. The small number of video clips on YouTube portray Sharon as a vaguely competent Northern Dancer, but she is no expert. Wendy should get her money back or treat Sharon to a night at The 100 Club.

John Manship brokered the transaction quoted to be 100K. How much money actually changed hands is open to speculation! If he took a 10%, fee, arguably the record is worth no more than £90,000 although inflation over three years may well up this amount a bit. Yes, plenty of people are interested in the history and destiny of this record, notably those who could afford to buy it or part with some big trades to secure it.

He evidently wants to make a 50% profit. Not sure whether the sale would be taxed or not, but if so, this would reduce the return on the investment. There will be other millionaires who could afford this item so let’s sit back and see what happens. I thought there was another copy but somewhat damaged...can anyone confirm this?

Invite him onto Desert Island Discs for a fuller disclosure...

Here’s the off-centre item with a DIY centre enabling the record to play perfectly.

Looking at £1,500 minimum but closer to £1,750 for a mint copy. Pink label variety is dead rare - grey label very rare! A word of caution if you’re buying - my grey copy was pressed badly off-centre...could be the reason the supply was disposed of QED?

Wow...how do you follow that? First of all, big thanks to Tim for his essay, especially when he should be wrapping presents, busy in the kitchen etc. Yes, all enjoyment of music is subjective and very personal, but me, like many others, the Mello Souls features very prominently amongst the very best of Northern records, kick-started by a rousing introduction that John Manship terms a ‘clarion call to the dance floor’. This is a dancers’ record. One best heard in a venue packed with like-minded souls. The tempo is perfect, fast, but not too fast. The duration of 3 minutes 12 seconds is magical - a full 50 seconds more than a typical Northern track - the song could have finished after the sax-break but goes on and goes on, just what you want the best songs to do before they fade out. As Tim says, Butch made this record the grail that it is. For those who danced to his sets at the 100 Club and other venues in the nineties and noughties, you witnessed something special. Mark would play better and better sounds, mixing things up a bit with his latest acquisition, a mid-pace gem, a frenetic crossover, umpteen one-offs and cover-ups then drop this into his set to trump everything beforehand...the supreme DJ as always. Tim puts the Mello Souls nicely into context. The Northern journey started for many with Al Wilson and Dobie Gray. Good songs back in the day. Then came other eras of good songs, Leon Haywood, Seven Souls, Major Lance etc. By now, the essential ingredients of a decent sound were established - beat, melody and harmony. The many great tracks of the Casino era had these qualities and sometimes an unusual twist eg Jewels, Cecil Washington, Deadbeats etc. The Stafford era conditioned the connoisseurs to accept a wider range of sounds and to tolerate their flaws, muffled vocals, low-fidelity, minimal solos etc. And then the Mello Souls came along... hear this played out and you know you’re at a royal banquet, dining at the top table. It is a rare treat indeed and made all the more enjoyable by not playing it on YouTube too often! Anyway, it’s at the very top of my Christmas List if anyone has a spare copy?

The answer is no but it depends on the venue. OK for youngsters starting out at the back of a pub on a Friday night. Definitely not at a regional venue when collectors have travelled from afar. Shrewd DJ’s will minimise styrene use on unknown decks and stick to vinyl. If the 45’s are suffering from wear and tear, surely it’s time to introduce a few new records into the set. There are enough records out there to make up a decent Oldies set without having to resort to the clapped out Top 500. Any DJ with a big gig coming up should be able to conjure up a box of quality sounds making sure the knackered records are left at home with the second issues, emi discs, carvers, bootlegs etc.

Younger generations will benefit in 10-20 years time as older collectors fall off their perches and masses of unwanted records are put up for sale by canny offspring. Theoretically, prices should fall but demand for the choicest pieces will remain high. Already, the market is seeing early signs of cashing out - there must have been half a dozen copies of the Cautions on Shrine for sale recently. In the meantime, there are plenty of cheap US imports to be had from abroad and British dealers. Research will throw up plenty of obscure titles in plentiful supply. A holiday in the US can still reward the committed crate digger. The very best music will always be available in one format or another, but the rarest of the rare with high price-tags will remain in the hands of those with access to funds.

Seller listed as in Spain but business address quoted as Germany, uses a daft email address, uses two styles of photographic backgrounds and as Benji says, provides matrix scan for a less expensive record but not fir the item under discussion. Draw your own conclusions...

Four Voices - Your Love Is Getting Stronger & With A Lonely Heart. Lots of really good suggestions above too such as the Admirations, Jack Montgomery, Billy Hambric, Dena Barnes etc - very tricky to pick the best of the best, so just fortunate you can listen to two for the price of one... now where have I heard that one if it’s not too late to mention it, or picture it in a sleeve...

Magnetics - Lady In Green & Heart Of Stone.

We live in hope - there could be a box somewhere or a handful sitting on a shelf. In the last year or so, I’ve corresponded with members of the Ambassadors and Bristols to be told no other members of the groups have spare copies for sale although some of the musicians are hanging on to the one copy. So, the chances of quantity turning up after over 50 years are very slim. Perhaps someone at the pressing plant kept a box or the sales rep dumped them with a family member instead of the record store...dream on...

Returning to the original three questions, Andy Rix, super-sleuth, answered two of the them in a previous Soul-Source article, well worth reading again...The introduction was indeed borrowed from a Supremes song and the introduction was played by Keith the guitarist.