Tell Laura I Love Her

[Guest]

E verytime I hear or see The Unifics mentioned, like today in a mag, a little niggle starts in my distant memory and I was wondering if anyone out there can put it to rest for me?

Way back in the 1960's I seem to remember hearing a track by The Unifics where the guy has an arguement with his girl, she storms off and is killed in a car wreck, shades of "Tell Laura I Love Her" I know, but my memory is telling me it was a good group slowie that moved me at the time, only heard it the one time.

So if anyone can help I'd be really grateful, just hope it's not a Tell Laura clone, that'd be a blow!!

Thanks

[Guest]

E verytime I hear or see The Unifics mentioned, like today in a mag, a little niggle starts in my distant memory and I was wondering if anyone out there can put it to rest for me?

Way back in the 1960's I seem to remember hearing a track by The Unifics where the guy has an arguement with his girl, she storms off and is killed in a car wreck, shades of "Tell Laura I Love Her" I know, but my memory is telling me it was a good group slowie that moved me at the time, only heard it the one time.

So if anyone can help I'd be really grateful, just hope it's not a Tell Laura clone, that'd be a blow!!

Thanks

Could be Laura Lee,on Triumph a sought after UK label,the answer record to "tell Laura i love her",thats from about 1960,and i have got one somewhere,in its propper company sleeve,.................offers

Edited April 28, 2006 by ken

[Guest TONY ROUNCE]

E verytime I hear or see The Unifics mentioned, like today in a mag, a little niggle starts in my distant memory and I was wondering if anyone out there can put it to rest for me?

Way back in the 1960's I seem to remember hearing a track by The Unifics where the guy has an arguement with his girl, she storms off and is killed in a car wreck, shades of "Tell Laura I Love Her" I know, but my memory is telling me it was a good group slowie that moved me at the time, only heard it the one time.

So if anyone can help I'd be really grateful, just hope it's not a Tell Laura clone, that'd be a blow!!

Thanks

..."The Beginning Of My End", on Kapp. It was also done by First Class, on a label I can't currently recall, in 1974.

The Unifics version is currently available on "Kent's Cellar Of Soul Vol. 2". It is indeed a good group slowie, but the B-side "Sentimantal Man" is even better! This crops up on eBay all the time, you shouldn't have to pay more than about $15.00 for it top whack...

TONE

[Guest Rich]

E verytime I hear or see The Unifics mentioned, like today in a mag, a little niggle starts in my distant memory and I was wondering if anyone out there can put it to rest for me?

Way back in the 1960's I seem to remember hearing a track by The Unifics where the guy has an arguement with his girl, she storms off and is killed in a car wreck, shades of "Tell Laura I Love Her" I know, but my memory is telling me it was a good group slowie that moved me at the time, only heard it the one time.

So if anyone can help I'd be really grateful, just hope it's not a Tell Laura clone, that'd be a blow!!

Thanks

don't know if it was done by The Unifics, but it was a chart record for a few singers way back - Rick Valance is one I can think of.

It always reminds me of my days in training back at North Luffenham in the 70s. We always used to go on the pull in Stamford, and the Danish Invader always used to be the first stop. A lad from Boro always made a bee line for the jukey and always put Ricky Valance's 'Tell Laura I love her' on. Some great Stamford memories from several times at Luffenham.

[Guest]

..."The Beginning Of My End", on Kapp. It was also done by First Class, on a label I can't currently recall, in 1974.

The Unifics version is currently available on "Kent's Cellar Of Soul Vol. 2". It is indeed a good group slowie, but the B-side "Sentimantal Man" is even better! This crops up on eBay all the time, you shouldn't have to pay more than about $15.00 for it top whack...

TONE

THANKS Tony, thats one niggle thats been firmly put to bed Cheers.

[Steve G]

"Tell Laura i love her" must be the worst record ever made. I absolutely hate it.

[Guest WPaulVanDyk]

How can you say that, it's so sad and according to someone i work with it's my song cause i love a girl in work called Laura and he says Tell Laura I Love her, think i can do a spoof with my own lyrics so i wouldn't die at end. sorry to get all soppy lol. But that's what happens when your in love

[Geoff]

I've not heard the Unifics track referred to so can't comment on it. However I must admit to remembering Tell Laura I Love Her when I was at school. Original, and best version, is by Ray Peterson, covered in the UK by Ricky Valance (number 1 hit) and John Leyton.

Death discs were rather popular at that time, especially in the USA, e.g. Teen Angel by Mark Dinning and Ebony Eyes by the Everly Brothers. Ray Peterson later did Give Us Your Blessing, another death song, later covered by the Shangri-Las. Twinkle did Terry, about a guy on a motorcycle in this country, about 63 or 64, seem to remember her on Ready Steady Go, thought it rather bizarre singing about motorbikes on a tv show ostensibly for Mods. Later hits in the USA in this style included Patches by Dickie Lee and I Want My Baby Back, can't remember who did it at the moment. I think that was the nail in the coffin (no joke intended) of the genre, if I recall correctly a slight hint of necrophilia.

Terribly embarrassed to admit that I loved the song by Ray Peterson, as my wife used to say, what a wimp!!!

If I can do it I will try to post a file of it over the weekend. I would reckon 99.9 per cent of Soul Sourcers will loathe it.

The follow up was called Tell Tommy I Miss Him, but I can't remember who sang it.

I apologise for another trip down memory lane.

[Gene-r]

The follow up was called Tell Tommy I Miss Him, but I can't remember who sang it.

Marilyn Michaels on RCA (1960). Also covered, as Ken quite rightly says, by Laura Lee on Joe Meek's Triumph label in 1960. Laura Lee's version has no involvement from Meek.

[Guest TONY ROUNCE]

I've not heard the Unifics track referred to so can't comment on it. However I must admit to remembering Tell Laura I Love Her when I was at school. Original, and best version, is by Ray Peterson, covered in the UK by Ricky Valance (number 1 hit) and John Leyton.

Death discs were rather popular at that time, especially in the USA, e.g. Teen Angel by Mark Dinning and Ebony Eyes by the Everly Brothers. Ray Peterson later did Give Us Your Blessing, another death song, later covered by the Shangri-Las. Twinkle did Terry, about a guy on a motorcycle in this country, about 63 or 64, seem to remember her on Ready Steady Go, thought it rather bizarre singing about motorbikes on a tv show ostensibly for Mods. Later hits in the USA in this style included Patches by Dickie Lee and I Want My Baby Back, can't remember who did it at the moment. I think that was the nail in the coffin (no joke intended) of the genre, if I recall correctly a slight hint of necrophilia.

Terribly embarrassed to admit that I loved the song by Ray Peterson, as my wife used to say, what a wimp!!!

If I can do it I will try to post a file of it over the weekend. I would reckon 99.9 per cent of Soul Sourcers will loathe it.

The follow up was called Tell Tommy I Miss Him, but I can't remember who sang it.

I apologise for another trip down memory lane.

"Tell Tommy I Miss Him" was by Marilyn Michaels. It was on RCA, just like Ray Peterson.

Can I just point out that the Unifics never recorded "Tell Laura I Love Her", there seem to be a few people on this thread who are labouring under this misapprehension!

If people are into this sort of thing, I'd like to point them in the direction of a recent Ace CD called "Dead - The Grim Reaper's Greatest Hits", which has every kind of 'death disc' from "Tell Laura" to "Terry" to Carolyn Sullivan's eponymous title track. Sadly it doesn't have one of my favourites, Bobby Thurston's rare Avco single "This Can't Be Happening To Me", but there's always a possibility of a Vol. 2 so fingers crossed...

TONE

[Steve G]

Sadly it doesn't have one of my favourites, Bobby Thurston's rare Avco single "This Can't Be Happening To Me", but there's always a possibility of a Vol. 2 so fingers crossed...

TONE

Now that is a good record.