Guest Classic45s Posted December 3, 2015 Posted December 3, 2015 This week, we added some new 45s to our Louise Neal 45 Soul Auctions page, which features eye-popping, previously unplayed promo treasures from the Louise Neal Soul 45 collection. See the Auctions page for photos. If you are interested in bidding, please visit the Louise Neal 45 Soul Auctions page for images and an explanation of the auction process. Fred Bridges, Versatile 111 (promo), 1962. "Baby Don't You Weep / It Must Be Love" Condition: M (M|M-|M) Although this 45's label "matrix numbers" suggest that "It Must Be Love" was the intended A side, history has clearly shown that fans prefer "Baby Don't You Weep". In any case, "Weep" is a really terrific, uptempo Northern Soul-style dancer. "It Must Be Love" is also worth seeking out: A tender ballad with a great arrangement that showcases the singer's softer side. This new, unplayed promo copy has labels so close to perfect we're grading them Mint. The vinyl (styrene) exhibits faint storage wear, grading Near Mint. After a cleaning, the grooves reward with pristine Mint audio, both sides! Minimum Bid: $450 USD Billy Storm, HBR 474 (promo), 1966. "Please Don't Mention Her Name / The Warmest Love" Condition: M (M|M-|M) This tune is a new one for me, and I literally mouthed "Wow" when it started playing! I can see why it's such a popular tune in Northern Soul dance clubs. This gorgeous new, unplayed promo copy comes in a Near Mint copy of its original picture sleeve, which is (excuse my enthusiasm) way beyond cool! (The photo is a quickie and doesn't do it justice; however, note that the other, identical, side has some light ringwear.) The 45 itself grades pristine Mint overall, sporting Mint labels and audio. The Vinyl grade is Near Mint to reflect a touch of storage wear. Minimum Bid: $150 USD Leroy Taylor, Shrine 101 (promo), 1965. "Takin' My Time / I'll Understand" Condition: M- (M-(x)|M-|M) You might think I, living in the Washington, DC, area, would be able to find some Shrine 45s hiding away somewhere... right? Wrong! This is the first original I've ever possessed, and it is beautiful and unplayed! This particular release is cheap by Shrine 45 standards, which regularly range above $1000 in Near Mint condition, but man is it a good one! The A side is a stand-up-and-take-notice, uptempo Northern Soul-style dancer, and it's this side that fans are mostly seeking out. But fans of Deep Soul will thoroughly enjoy the powerful B side as well. Both sides credited to "Leroy Taylor And The Four Kays." This beautiful copy's white labels have light color-fading toward the outer edges, and the A label has an "X" inked on it. The vinyl (styrene) exhibits faint storage wear, also grading Near Mint. But as expected, after a good cleaning, the grooves crank out big, pristine Mint audio... as good as it gets! Minimum Bid: $250 USD Ji Auburn, Mala 452 (stock), 1962. "Push, Sweep / Nothing Could Be Worse" Condition: M- (M-(x)|M|M) As far as I can determine, this singer released only one 45 rpm record, and I'm certainly glad he did! Both sides are strong Northern Soul dancers, though I have a slight preference for the A side. This new, unplayed copy comes in its original Mala Records factory sleeve (the sleeve shows some wear), and the auction also includes an original Amy-Mala-Bell Records shipping package sent to Louise Neal (or her other professional name, "Napper"). The labels grade Near Mint; whereas the B label ("Nothing") is pristine, the A label has a small star inked on it and a small abrasion near the lower right edge (just barely shows in the photo). The wax is so close to flawless I'm grading it Mint, and after a cleaning, the audio turns out to be Mint as well! Minimum Bid: $60 USD Other 45s still available for opening bids: Chino Feaster, Blue Rock 4078 (promo), 1968. "You're So Much Woman / A Grown Man Cry" Condition: M- (M-|M-|M) The A side is that rare ballad that's perfect for slow moments in a Northern Soul set... A real winner! On the flip side, the singer lets loose with some Deep Soul chops. This new, unplayed promo copy comes in a crisp Blue Rock Records factory sleeve. Its labels and vinyl exhibit faint signs of storage wear, grading Near Mint. The audio, I'm pleased to say, sounds pristine. Minimum Bid: $90 Oliver Joy, Big Deal 134, 1967. "Don't You Let Nobody Tell You / You Know That I Love You" Condition: M- (M- (x)|M|M) From a small New Orleans label, this rare single offers two soulful ballads — One in a Deep Soul mood and the other leaning towards Northern Soul. This new, unplayed stock copy has been stamped as a promo, with "D.J. Copy" on one side and two stars on the other. Aside from the faintest of storage wear, the vinyl is pristine Mint, and the audio has no notable flaws, grading Mint as well. Minimum Bid: $100 International G.T.O.'s, Rojac 1007 (stock), 1966. "I Love My Baby / It's Been Raining In My Heart" Condition: M- (M-(x)|M-|M-) This rare 45 features two sought-after, and quite different, Soul recordings: "Raining" is a lovely, Philly-Soul-style ballad, while "I Love My Baby" is seriously meant to be danced to! FYI, Kev Roberts includes "Baby" in his "extended" list of the 500 greatest at #545. This popular single has been bootlegged and reissued over the years, but rest assured this is a 1966 original pressing, with the cursive-etched "Bell Sound" in the trailoff wax. This single is one that Louise Neal may have actually played, though not more than a few times I would guess. The labels exhibit faint storage wear, and the "Raining" side is marked with two black "X"s. The vinyl has a couple of small scuffs as well as general light storage wear, just barely grading Near Mint. The vinyl has very light surface noise, which is audible in the first few bars at the beginning of each side but almost completely inaudible afterward, so the clear, undistorted music shines through, grading Near Mint overall. Minimum Bid: $400 USD _______ Louise Neal was a black female disk jockey from North Carolina who had a 3-hour Soul/RnB/Blues show from the late 1950s through the mid-1960s. During that time, she collected thousands of (mostly) promo 45s at her home from the many record companies she was registered with for receiving promotional material--ABC, Atlantic/Atco, Chess/Checker/Cadet, Decca, Brunswick, Shout, Stax/Volt, Fame, Imperial, Jubilee, Okeh, Sue, Philles, SureFine, Vee-Jay, Kent, Duke, Bell, Paula/Ronn, Rojac, Peacock, Motown (all labels), Veep, Capitol, Modern, Dial, Jamie and many others. A large number of these precious 45s accumulated unopened in their original shipping packages after Neal left the business and moved to New York in 1967. (Also during 1963-65, when Neal had earlier left town.) Most are highly collectable and extremely rare Northern Soul singles with book values ranging well above $100... a few above $1,000! Many are pristine--unplayed and with a bare minimum of storage wear. Others may exhibit very light storage wear and/or an "x" marked on the label. A good many come in their original factory sleeve, some of which are rare and valuable on their own these days. The collection also contains rarities and classics of interest to fans of RnB, Blues, Girl Groups, Doo Wop, and various other genres of Rock. We began selling records from the Louise Neal collection in June 2015, and it will take years for us to get through everything. To see what's for sale, what's already sold, and what's coming up, visit the Louise Neal Collection page on Classic 45s (https://www.classic45s.com/). We continue to add more details about the collection as time permits. This page shows all the Louise Neal 45s we've added to date (some have sold).
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