Smoke Records Discography (New Jersey)

[Jasonofa]

I've got a handful of records on this label and love them all, just trying to fill in the holes and see what I'm missing. Thanks for any help!

#100 George Blackwell ---Mister Loser/Tell Her For Me

#200 George Blackwell---Can't Lose My Head/Don't Want To Let You Go

#600 Exsaveyons---Somewhere/I Don't Love You

#601 Keith Curtiss---I Got To Keep You Baby/My Love I Can't Hide

#602 The Herbs---Never, Never Will I Fall In Love/Question

#609 Ex Saveyons---Running Wild/Where Do I Go From Here

#612 The Herbs---Put A Hurtin On My Heart/There Must Be An Answer

I don't have the George Blackwell ones, but the rest are all killers! To my ears it sounds like the same band on most of these records, at least the same bass & guitar players. Anyone know anything about the Smoke houseband? What other 45's are out there?

[Guest gordon russell]

310 chadwick avenue...........some pals of mine went there in 1979 and it was a gocers store

[Jasonofa]

Can't anyone help fill in the holes? Is 612 the last release they made?

[Mal C]

some chap has this for sale from2 / 3 days ago

GINO MORESE~LIVED A GOOD LIFE (but died in a miserable way)~SMOKE DEMO~G+/VG £13 (Visually poor but plays much better than it looks) Smoke KB 300 (A)

[Jasonofa]

Thanks for the tip!

[Guest cenco]

#605-eddy lyon-i want you to love me boy/please hear me now

[Citizen P]

some chap has this for sale from2 / 3 days ago

GINO MORESE~LIVED A GOOD LIFE (but died in a miserable way)~SMOKE DEMO~G+/VG £13 (Visually poor but plays much better than it looks) Smoke KB 300 (A)

Don't know that, but what a great Title

Only have the Running Wild on this label BTW

Tony

[Godzilla]

Anyone know anything about the Smoke houseband? What other 45's are out there?

Not sure about a house band but think I remember Smoke being described on another forum as a record run by George Blackwell and his wife as a kind of "pay to get your record released' outfit. There's also a Sammy Campbell connection - maybe he worked for them but nothing got released. Might be thinking about Greg Tormo's site when it sort of ruled the web, rare soul wise. - he's on here now.

Did he say that Blackwell stifled Job Opening?

[Mal C]

There seems to be two label designs, with 3 different cat numbers, or series numbers if you like... in regard to label design there is an exception in George Blackwell - Mister Loser which I've got and have only ever seen as an orange issue, anybody seen with the 'Cant Lose my Head' smoke design / Logo, same as the GINO MORESE label above?

Deffo on Greg Tormo's site for the full story, maybe it appeared in Shades also... but also some nice relevant info on

https://soul-sides.co...alter-egos.html

https://www.hollygroverecords.com

Hollygrove also put some never heard before releases on Sammy on their Holly Grove label, there is a great bio on Sammy in there also.

Mal.C.

Edited February 4, 2011 by Mal.C.

[Jasonofa]

Thanks for the info everybody. I've never heard that Eddy Lyon 45, any good? It seems that Gino Morese was probably recorded around the same time as the 2 George Blackwell 45's, while the whole 600 series sounds like they were recorded a few years later, I would guess.

I'd read that Del-Larks story before, but didn't remember that it was Blackwell that killed the record.

Also interesting that one of those Hollygrove records has a song called "There Must Be An Answer", even though it sounds like a completely different song.

If Smoke was one of those pay to get your record released labels, then maybe some of the other 600 series records never came out?

[mecca74]

I have recently bought a copy of Mister Loser which has the same DJ stamp .Encouraging.