Robbk

Sorry to say that I haven't seen Chris since 1985. 1984 was the last year I spent an appreciable amount of time in L.A. working with Airwave Records. Although still an owning partner, I spent only a couple months each year there, having started working full-time for Dutch Disney Publications in late 1984 (and spending much of the time in Holland). I did see Chris in 1985, as he was very friendly with Tom DePierro. But, I never saw him after that. I did hear that Chris helped take care of Tom when he was dying of cancer, and that he ended up with Tom's record collection. I first met Chris in the later mid '60s, when he was a big Rock-A-Billy fan. He had just moved south from Central California, and lived in the back room of Poohbah Records, in Downtown Pasadena. He had hundreds of thousands of Rock & Roll and Rock-A-Billy records mostly by Caucasian artists. In the late 60s, he switched his taste (and allegiance to '50s R&B. Then,at the beginning of the '70s he switched to Soul. Then, in the mid '70s he switched to hard rock and Punk. He'd continuously change what he liked and turn over his whole collection and sales stock (hundreds of thousands of records) to something different. How very strange! Sort of like John Hillyard (another bizarre character). Of course, most serious collectors are plenty weird. I wonder what people are saying about me? (eh, Rod?)

I know Chris Peake very well.

Ha! Ha! With my accelerating senility, I have virtually NO short-term memory! I can't remember ANYTHING that's happened in the last 30 years. So, naturally my stories are all from the '50s and '60s. I haven't paid attention to anything that's happened since the end of the 1960s, in any case! I like to hear stories about the "old days", and I hope others here do, as well.

I don't remember the company (some bakery). That was almost 50 years ago. I doubt that even Steve would remember now. But they were the standard American dessert pies (no meat-we don't eat those here in North America!). You know the American style-apple, cherry, peach, lemon merangue, blueberry, raspberry, lemon custard, banana cream, blackberry, boysenberry, chocolate cream, pumpkin, etc. We call 'em tarts in Holland. I guess you'd call them tarts as well (?).

Most of you familiar with The US collectors and L.A. know of Steve Propes. He was an R&B/early Soul collector living in Long Beach in the 60s-'70s (probably still there). He built his collection thrift and junk shopping. He wrote books about record collecting, thrift shopping and cleaning and care of thrift shop finds. He has been a DJ with an "oldies" radio show on Calif. State Long Beach's PBS radio station for over 30 years. When I relocated from Chicago to L.A. to attend university in 1966, I started making a thrift/junk shop/record shop tour each Saturday. The first time I went through Long Beach and its environs, I met Steve at a thrift store. He told me I'd never find anything in that area, as "he had it all locked up." He pointed to his pie company truck, telling me that all the thrift stores saved their records for him to get first look. I know that's partly true, as I saw him take pies into the back of the stores a few times. But I also know that some of the shift employees put out good records he didn't see now and again. Whenever I'd find anything good, and he would walk in after me, he'd storm to the back room and chastise the workers for not giving him first look. He was serious about amassing records for his collection and swapping.

many of you Very nice. But it's really just a slight improve on "Summertime". Had this sold a lot, they'd have been sued. I probably passed this one up in a 10 cent or 3 for a $ pile at Wenzel's Music Town in Downey, or in an East L.A. record shop. There wasn't ever time to listen to all the cuts. I had to screen a lot by just looking at the label credits, and title and artist name. I missed a lot of great records, but also found thousands of good ones.

Ha! Ha! I've bought THOUSANDS of '60s Soul records for 10¢ (US) each or 5¢ each, at record shop bargain bins, Woolworths' 10¢ sales and in thrift and junk shops, all within 1-3 years of their release. I would be dead before finishing the list on this thread (I'm 66 years old, and I'm a slow typist). And, yes, many (if not most) would now be considered "Northern Soul" (at least one side). My best find was NOT NS, however. In 1966, i was in a usually heavily picked through "Goodwill Store" in Los Angeles, and for some reason (instinct), I moved a bookshelf (which had only a few old children's records on it) , just for a quick peak behind, as I was frustrated in finding NO records to look through. Lo and behold! There were 3 45 RPM records that had fallen behind the shelf. One was "Dreams of You" by The Royals on Okeh Records. A Black R&B vocal group harmony record from 1952 (worth over $1,000 US at that time, as well as a 45 by The Aladdins on Aladdin Records from 1953 (worth about $300 then), and a 45 by The Five Keys on Aladdin from 1952 worth about $500 then. The Royals was in M- and the Aladdins were in VG++ condition. That was the highlight of my thrift-shopping career. When I told Steve Propes about that find, his face turned all sorts of red and purple. That made me feel better about all the records that were held for him to look at AFTER I had visited many thrift shops, because propes had bribed those workers with gifts of pies from his pie delivery route (he drove a truck delivering pies to groceries and restaurants).

I hate far too many to pare a list down to 3. (1) I guess "Deutschland Ãœber Alles" would be my first hated, as half my family was murdered by The Nazis. (Ironically one of my high school alma mater songs used that very tune! Should have been against a law! (2) "Talk, Talk"-The Music Machine (3) "Inna Godda Da Vida"- Iron Butterfly (?) I don't hate ANY Soul song enough to even approach the hate I have for noisy, a-tonal, non melodious, screaming "Rock Music", hard Rock, Acid Rock and commercial so-called C&W music (Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and the like), and some of the milk-soppy MOR/Pop music of the '50s.

The football origin is the "correct" origin story. The 3 footballers, Rosie Grier plus 2 other players who had been stars on The New York Giants for many years, and recently had been traded to The Los Angeles Rams, had ventured into the record business and managing a singing group, within a few years of moving to L.A., only after Grier had already started to, himself, become a successful singer. So, the ex-footballers moving from New York directly to San Diego is inaccurate.

Several people say the partner moving to San Diego was Ben Gresham, NOT Johnson. Rosie Grier (MGM, D-Town, etc. was a US Football Hall of Fame 16 year veteran of The New York Giants and L.A. Rams. He and his 2 other New York Giant/ L.A. Rams partners had been living in L.A. for several years before they started Tac-Ful Records. So, no one moved from New York to San Diego. Ben Gresham had been an L.A. record producer and arranger since the 1950s. Apparently, HE moved to San Diego, and took the Tac-Ful master tapes with him.

I doubt that it was even "Thought of", as it was Ed Wingate's policy to not use #13. Golden World #12 and #14 came up long before Ric Tic 112 and Ric Tic 114. Golden World never had a #13. Why, all of a sudden, would they plan a Ric Tic 113? Later, Wingate skipped # 013. In 1972, Ron Murphy purchased all the back stock of Ed Wingate's labels, complete with catalogue lists. There was no listing for Ric Tic 113.

I got the white/blue promo with "I Don't Know" on both sides when the song was first released. It's a legit promo from the period.

Ha! Ha! You blew your chance, Rod! When they asked if you were undercover coppers, you should have said YES! Then you'd have gotten free food, and the royal treatment to watch the show! At least that's the way things went down during the '50s and '60s, as I remember. Cops were always copping freebies.

Yes, "Mad Mike's Moldies"!

I doubt there's ANY Detroit connection. It doesn't look like a Detroit pressing. No Detroit names involved. Wasn't Rufus Lumley from Minnesota? He was a legend there. Even Garrison Keillor revered him.

The termed them "moldies" in Pittsburgh. (as in moldie oldies).

Herb Abramson worked on projects in D.C. and Baltimore. He was early involved in D.C.'s music because he was friendly with Ahmet and Neshui Ertegun, whom he had first met in Washington. That, eventually got him involved with Jubilee Records. It may be that M.B.S./Mir-A-Don's recordings were made in D.C., or New York, or New Jersey, or, even Philadelphia. But, as they brought the group to NY to make the demo recording, it's most likely that they recorded the final mix and pressed in New York, as well. But not absolutely certain.

I don't remember Roscoe Bowie involved in a Chicago production. As far as I remember, he worked strictly on The East Coast.

I saw US LPs and 45s for sale at HMV as early as 1965. But they cost a pretty penny.

I thought it all started at 1719 Gladstone St.

I've always thought the person was female, based on the voice and mannerisms in the voice. I had also thought I had remembered her being part of the San Francisco Bay music scene in the mid-late '60s (e.g. seen a photograph-proving she was a woman). Sometimes people name their children with a name that might be thought of as belonging only to one sex. Men have been named Shirley and Beverly. One would guess that the female name would be "Othella", but some people like to be different. If THAT singer IS a male, he had serious hormone problems. That is not a "falsetto" performance.

After listening to both his 20th Century Fox record and watching the clip, I can say, without a doubt that both are the same person. One can hear his "trained voice" in both, with similar tone quality. I've always thought that the Fox artist must have also been a "Broadway" wannabee. I don't remember hearing his Coral cuts. Are they good?

Earl Connelly was likely to be Louisiana Blues singer, Earl King. Some of his early '50s King records list him as "Earl Connelly King".

I have a white background (with gold "stars" and constellation lines) with black print, having the Boola Boola etched, and X-3382 on "This Must Be Love", and with 1234-8 etched in the wax on "You're Still On My Mind".

I like The Steve Mancha best. The Funk Brothers' instrumental is the tightest and cleaner than that on The Professionals' version.