Classics uncovered: last releases on the label

[Derek Pearson]

Last releases on the label which became classics on the Northern scene.

Years ago probably before the internet started to gain a foothold in most UK households circa mid 1990’s many people - myself included - attempted to compile label listings either on handwritten A4 sheets or via good old fashioned typewriters.

After a while I started to notice that quite a few well known classics had the unfortunate claim of being the last known release on the label.

Assuming that many of the promotional men at the time had an inkling that the company they were working for was going under – instead of pushing the latest releases into record shops and onto radio DJ’s I guess a lot of their effort went into finding another job possibly maybe?

Last release on the label coupled with no promotion could condemn the record into an instant rarity.

No promotion into securing radio airplay meant no demand was built up for the record which in turn would do little to convince the owners to press up stock copies to distribute amongst the record shops.

If these last releases were only sent out as promotional copies this could explain why issue copies of some 45s are so rare or in some cases non existent..

I’ve cross checked most of these 45s featured on the list below via www.45cat.com but please remember mistakes can be made and gaps are frequent.

Also bear in mind I have never worked within the record industry in any capacity and all my opinions come from being an enthusiastic outsider who reads a fair bit, remembers a fair bit less and constantly adds 2 and 2 to make 5.

Please add to this thread as and when. Ta.

Derek

(Lizard 21010)  N. F. Porter  “Keep On Keeping On”  (released 1971)

However in this case red stock copies are pretty common and all over the place as it made the Top 40 in the Billboard R&B charts late 1971.

(Lo Lo 2307)  Bobby Hill  “To The Bitter End” (1970)

(Lawn 256)  John Leach  “Put That Woman Down”  (1965)

(Elbam 72) Tommy Turner  “Lazy / I’ll Be Gone” (1965)

(Topper 1015) Tobi Lark “Challenge My Love / Sweep It Out In The Shed” (1966)

(Karen 45-1551) The Volumes   Ain't Gonna Give You Up / Am I Losing You (1970)

(Kellmac 1010) The C.O.D.'s  “She's Fire” (1966)

(Kellmac 1011)  The Combinations  “What' Cha Gonna Do”  (1966)

(GSF 6916)  Connie Laverne “Can't Live Without You”   (1974) Only known release by this woman. Promo only copies compound its extreme rarity.

(Music Merchant MS 1013)  Eloise Laws “Love Factory” (May 1973)

………………………………………………………………………..

Alright these two might not exactly be the last releases on this label but they are at the very end of its life.

(End 1127)   Lenny Curtis “Nothing can stop me now”    (June 1966)

(End 1129)   Harry Starr  “Another time another place”  (June 1966)

……………………………………………………………………………

Not northern classics as such – just 2 of my favourite soul 45s that conveniently fit into this thread.

(Revue 11071)  Len Woods “I’m In Love” (1970)  Only known release by this chap.                                               

(Hi 5N-2297)  Jean Plum  “Look At The Boy” (October 1975)

 

[Sunnysoul]

Brilliant Korners " Three Lonely Guys " (Modern M 1059) : wasn't that the last release on Modern ? 1969 and the only one with that label design .

Do stock copies exist or are they all demo only?

Edited July 29, 2016 by sunnysoul

[Roburt]

Near the end (bankruptcy), a label would have no (or very little) money to pay for big pressing runs. Their distributors would have heard they were struggling, so they would be holding back any payments to the label for past releases in the hope that they went under & the bill wouldn't have to be paid. The guys at the company would most probably be selling all the old stock they had in their storerooms at knock-down prices. The label wouldn't be able to afford to bung any DJ's or hire any promo guys, so getting airplay would be difficult. Studios wouldn't let them cut any new stuff + musicians, arrangers, producers etc would steer clear unless paid up front.

Maybe one of the guys who owned the label (or one of their artists with a 45 due out) would stump up just enough for a few promo copies to be pressed up & sent out. Talk about the 'living dead', nothing worse.

Such a label in summer 1970 was LA's Canyon. They had stuff they put out that was selling well + pressed up loads of stuff for all the labels they distributed .... BUT ... the money going out exceeded the money coming in (hit records initially caused you grief as it would be 3/ 4 months before any money would start rolling back in but you had all the bills to pay -- pressing plant, promo, mag ads, DJ bungs -- right at the beginning).

So by September / October 70 Canyon was going under & no one was paying any bills / invoices they sent out. Releases such as "Frankie & the Spindles "War" must have died an instant death (especially with the big label alternative versions).  

[John Reed]

8 hours ago, Derek Pearson said:

(GSF 6916)  Connie Laverne “Can't Live Without You”   (1974) Only known release by this woman. Promo only copies compound its extreme rarity.

(Hi 5N-2297)  Jean Plum  “Look At The Boy” (October 1975)

There was a thread a while back talking about an issue of Connie Lavern, with people confirming its existence although I can't find it at present.

What's funny about Jean Plum was it was her first release for HI and a year before the Cream buyout, so maybe there were troubles with promotion Stateside although there must have been some sort of push in the UK or were they just fulfilling some form of contractual obligation.

[Roburt]

12 minutes ago, John Reed said:

What's funny about Jean Plum was it was her first release for HI and a year before the Cream buyout, so maybe there were troubles with promotion Stateside although there must have been some sort of push in the UK or were they just fulfilling some form of contractual obligation.

The Hi Records situation towards the end (as an indie owned outfit) was typical for a company that had it's own studio.

It had the studio, the studio band & the artists ... so cutting new stuff wasn't a problem but paying to have 45's pressed up was.

So the Hi cuts towards the end escaped in the UK, Europe & Caribbean (+ other countries as well) in good quantities BUT US copies became more & more scarce (end of 1975 thru 76)

Edited July 29, 2016 by Roburt

[Tony Smith]

11 hours ago, Derek Pearson said:

 

(Kellmac 1010) The C.O.D.'s  “She's Fire” (1966)

(Kellmac 1011)  The Combinations  “What' Cha Gonna Do”  (1966)

(Kellmac 1012 The C.O.D's "Coming Back Girl"

 

[Rick Cooper]

Nabay - Believe It or Not - Impact 1032.

  I think this covers the classic last release explanation from Derek and Roburt. Was it financed by Nabay or done as a favour, seem to remember Kev Roberts had a story about this, even though he hates it. 

Rick

[Mick Boyle]

I sure Billy Woods was last record from Sussex 

[Theothertosspot]

8 hours ago, Mick Boyle said:

I sure Billy Woods was last record from Sussex 

It was their swan song

Regards

[Derek Pearson]

On 29/07/2016 at 05:28, sunnysoul said:

Brilliant Korners " Three Lonely Guys " (Modern M 1059) : wasn't that the last release on Modern ? 1969 and the only one with that label design .

Do stock copies exist or are they all demo only?

Good call - as soon as you mentioned it I immediately remembered it from my original list way back when.

What happened was sometime along the way I lost my original 'last release on the label' idea/list when I blew up/corrupted/damaged my PC and then years later revived the idea/list forgetting some and discovering loads more via the massive wealth of info on the internet.

And you're right the Brilliant Korners was the last known release on Modern in 1969 and the only one that featured this green/yellow design. This change of design sadly didn't help the group either. 

Unable to confirm/deny whether any stock copies exist.

Derek

[Derek Pearson]

On 29/07/2016 at 22:47, Rick Cooper said:

Nabay - Believe It or Not - Impact 1032.

  I think this covers the classic last release explanation from Derek and Roburt. Was it financed by Nabay or done as a favour, seem to remember Kev Roberts had a story about this, even though he hates it.   Rick

Nabay ‘Believe It Or Not / Believe It Or Not’ (instrumental) on Impact 1032 released in 1967 was the last 45 issued by the label.                                   

credits soulfuldetroit.com - Nabay (Nabay Restum) was Lebanese and raised in the south side of Dearborn, Michigan.

Most of the time he sang under the name Nicki Robbins but friends called him Nabay.

A.N.B Productions stands for Ali (Ali Bushamie), Nabay, (Bob) Babbitt. They funded "Believe It or Not" and recorded it in the Tera Shirma studios on Livernois. Then they took it to Harry Balk who "flipped" over it and immediately signed Nabay to his Impact label.

Dennis Coffey arranged and played on the song. And even though Nabay's not listed in the credits, the writers were Ali, Nabay, and Babbitt.

[Derek Pearson]

On 30/07/2016 at 00:27, Mick Boyle said:

I sure Billy Woods was last record from Sussex 

As is well documented Billy Woods “Let me make you happy” on Sussex SUX 213 only came out as an insanely rare promo only 45 in January 1971 but the label released over 100 singles and survived well into the summer of 1975.

[Derek Pearson]

I gratefully thank Robert for his fascinating and very interesting comments on the music side of things which made a lot of sense and filled in many gaps in my knowledge. Nice one. Ta.

Here’s another ‘last release’ 45 that should’ve been on my list – not northern as such but on a well known label famous for its northern output. Out of PhiladelphiaPA on Arctic 160 The Royal Five “Ain’t No Big Thing (But It’s Growing)” released in 1971.

A superb group harmony effort not that well known, not that expensive either but not that easy to find. Sadly it slipped out un-noticed as the label folded all around it. The flip side “Peace Of Mind” was originally done by The Magnificent Men on Capitol 5608.

The group also recorded “Say It To My Face” on Tyler Records Inc T 200. Some previously un-released 1960’s recordings for P&L Records in Philadelphia “Nobody Else / Don’t Stop” finally saw the light of day sometime around the mid 2000’s.

co-written by Garnet Mimms anybody know if he ever released the song himself?

Derek

[Still Diggin]

On 7/29/2016 at 02:30, Derek Pearson said:

Last releases on the label which became classics on the Northern scene.

 

Years ago probably before the internet started to gain a foothold in most UK households circa mid 1990’s many people - myself included - attempted to compile label listings either on handwritten A4 sheets or via good old fashioned typewriters.

After a while I started to notice that quite a few well known classics had the unfortunate claim of being the last known release on the label.

Assuming that many of the promotional men at the time had an inkling that the company they were working for was going under – instead of pushing the latest releases into record shops and onto radio DJ’s I guess a lot of their effort went into finding another job possibly maybe?

Last release on the label coupled with no promotion could condemn the record into an instant rarity.

No promotion into securing radio airplay meant no demand was built up for the record which in turn would do little to convince the owners to press up stock copies to distribute amongst the record shops.

If these last releases were only sent out as promotional copies this could explain why issue copies of some 45s are so rare or in some cases non existent..

I’ve cross checked most of these 45s featured on the list below via www.45cat.com but please remember mistakes can be made and gaps are frequent.

Also bear in mind I have never worked within the record industry in any capacity and all my opinions come from being an enthusiastic outsider who reads a fair bit, remembers a fair bit less and constantly adds 2 and 2 to make 5.

Please add to this thread as and when. Ta.

Derek

(Lizard 21010)  N. F. Porter  “Keep On Keeping On”  (released 1971)

However in this case red stock copies are pretty common and all over the place as it made the Top 40 in the Billboard R&B charts late 1971.

(Lo Lo 2307)  Bobby Hill  “To The Bitter End” (1970)

(Lawn 256)  John Leach  “Put That Woman Down”  (1965)

(Elbam 72) Tommy Turner  “Lazy / I’ll Be Gone” (1965)

(Topper 1015) Tobi Lark “Challenge My Love / Sweep It Out In The Shed” (1966)

(Karen 45-1551) The Volumes   Ain't Gonna Give You Up / Am I Losing You (1970)

(Kellmac 1010) The C.O.D.'s  “She's Fire” (1966)

(Kellmac 1011)  The Combinations  “What' Cha Gonna Do”  (1966)

(GSF 6916)  Connie Laverne “Can't Live Without You”   (1974) Only known release by this woman. Promo only copies compound its extreme rarity.

 

(Music Merchant MS 1013)  Eloise Laws “Love Factory” (May 1973)

………………………………………………………………………..

Alright these two might not exactly be the last releases on this label but they are at the very end of its life.

(End 1127)   Lenny Curtis “Nothing can stop me now”    (June 1966)

(End 1129)   Harry Starr  “Another time another place”  (June 1966)

……………………………………………………………………………

Not northern classics as such – just 2 of my favourite soul 45s that conveniently fit into this thread.

(Revue 11071)  Len Woods “I’m In Love” (1970)  Only known release by this chap.                                               

 

(Hi 5N-2297)  Jean Plum  “Look At The Boy” (October 1975)

 

 

Derek

You mentioned Len Woods and 'i'm in love beeing his only known release, however I had always assumed the Lenny Woods lp on 20th century & the 45 on Excaliber from 88 was the same guy?

Andy

[The Yank]

Not sure how Jean Plum got on the list. The last release on the label before it got distribution from Cream was Hi #2324- Al Green- "Love And Happiness"/ "Glory, Glory".  After that,  Cream started a new numbering system that ran from #77501 (O.V. Wright- "Into Something(Can't Shake Lose"/ "Time We Have" ) to 81534 (Ann Peebles- "Mon Belle Amour"/ "Waiting")  with the first two digits being the year of release. Jean had another release in this run- Hi #78515- "Pour On The Loving"/ "You Ask Me". 

Edited August 11, 2016 by the yank

[Robbk]

On 8/6/2016 at 03:08, Derek Pearson said:

Good call - as soon as you mentioned it I immediately remembered it from my original list way back when.

What happened was sometime along the way I lost my original 'last release on the label' idea/list when I blew up/corrupted/damaged my PC and then years later revived the idea/list forgetting some and discovering loads more via the massive wealth of info on the internet.

And you're right the Brilliant Korners was the last known release on Modern in 1969 and the only one that featured this green/yellow design. This change of design sadly didn't help the group either. 

Unable to confirm/deny whether any stock copies exist.

Derek

I lived in L.A. for 9 months of 1969, and I made the regular rounds of Black Community record shops, thrift shops, discount stores, etc. and NEVER saw The Brilliant Korners, DJ issue.  I doubt that there was a store stocker pressing.  I'd have seen them.  I saw just about everything, having friends at California Music (distributors), Sams, Flash, Pat's, Dolphin's of Hollywood, Crain's, Wenzel's Music Town, Ray Avery's, House of Music, etc.  There must have been only a box of 25 DJs printed.  And, I still would have expected to have seen one of them.

[Jaco]

One of the best double headers ever closed out the Mar-V-Lus output.

The wonderful Ultimations - "If I had it to do" backed by the sublime "Without you"