Garethx

Rereading what I wrote above it is slightly misleading on one point. The lacquer cutting 1A-1L would all be simultaneous. A second cutting would be 2-A etc., but it doesn't follow that masters beginning with a 2 would be a different version or mix.

There's a lot of misinformation in this topic. Matrices could be scratched or stamped. Even on the same record, it's not uncommon for one side to be stamped, while the other is scratched—it's just down to where the recording was mastered. If the tapes were sent to Columbia for mastering then they were generally stamped. If the mastering was outside of a Columbia studio the matrix was scratched in by the mastering engineer at whichever facility the cut was done. The J in JZSP on the label signifies demo. The Z part of the code indicates a 7" single. The P part of the code refers to Columbia's Pitman, New Jersey plant which would have handled the admin of the entire release. That doesn't necessarily mean it was pressed there. The other codes for the admin offices were C for Chicago and B for Nashville (named after Bradley Recording Studios which housed Columbia's Nashville Office). The Chicago and Nashville offices did not have pressing plants on-site. To find which Columbia pressing plant actually pressed the record look for the following: Pitman NJ: a faint, sometimes incomplete P in the runout Terra Haute IN: a T in the runout Santa Clara CA: a reversed S in the runout. The Pitman factory was built in the early 1960s. Before then pressings on the east coast were handled by a facility in Bridgeport Connecticut. The Pitman factory was designed by Minoru Yamasaki, famed as the architect of the World Trade Center. As I've mentioned on here before the 1A to 1L (and beyond) codes refer to the lacquer-cutting sequence. Multiple lacquers were cut and sent across the country for pressing in order to make 'mothers' from which stampers were eventually produced. Each separate release had a lacquer-cutting code starting at 1A. On huge-run hit singles it's not uncommon to see the lacquer cutting codes go up to 2L, 3L and beyond. The letters do not refer to specific plants. That is why it is possible to have (for example) 1A on one side of a 45 and 1B (or C or D and onward) on the other.

The Virtue copies are 70s re-issues. The original 1967 issue is on Cherry Red.

200 copies is not relatively common. It's rare. Didn't John Manship state on here once that he had something like 19,000 regular worldwide customers? I wouldn't rule myself out of paying a relatively large sum for a record that I really wanted just because it was 'once cheap'. Remember they all started life at 50¢ and below. I wish I had bought a couple of copies of this record and kept one though as I still think it's a really individual-sounding and accomplished piece of soul music. The point about records like the Sherrell Brothers is that the original distribution was so poor that when copies were initially found they tended to be concentrated in a couple of locations. It wasn't distributed in the true sense of the word at all. The likelihood of finding quantity like that again is slim.

To state that it's "not a rare record" is a mistake. Yes it was around at a few dealers twenty years ago (my own copy was from Tim Brown) but those copies have long since dried up. Sold mine a little over ten years ago for three figures as they were all in the hands of collectors rather than dealers even back then. I'd estimate no more than a couple of hundred copies in total circulation. In 2017 with worldwide interest in this type of sound (small label, private press vintage Black music) that qualifies it as a rarity. Certainly far fewer ever available than things like Jack Montgomery on Scepter, Sam Fletcher on Tollie, Bobby Williams on Sure Shot or Shirley Lawson on Back Beat. Food for thought.

A true giant of soul music. Thanks for a lifetime of creativity.

The only vinyl scans of this title on popsike are other copies of the moody one mentioned in post one.

Don't think so.

I've just looked at 45 cat and the only one I can see is "Chapel of Love" pressed at Columbia-Terra Haute. Even "Leader of the Pack" appears only on styrene pressed at Shelly, at Monarch and at Columbia-Pittman.

Chapel of Love by the Dixie Cups, the labels biggest-seller. Other than that I can't think of any others.

The only Red Bird 45 pressed on vinyl is Roddie Joy's "Come Back Baby".

That is a local, Miami pressed Alston issue. It was subsequently picked up and nationally distributed by Atco/Atlantic. The nationally distributed copies have the title as "Monkey Tamarind". Should be on vinyl with moulded-in label—styrene 45s never have moulded-in labels. I don't think it being a local issue makes it any more or less valuable than the nationally-distributed copies. There are a few Alston releases which were local only and some of these can be quite collectable.

The track we all refer to as The Kid is really Holiday isn't it?

Is the Belgian one labelled the correct way?

There are red-labelled Canadian issues too.

I've just looked at Discogs and can see a definite original promo being classified as a reissue. These were pressed in at least two RCA plants and possibly a third too. As neckender has pointed out there is a promo with an R stamped in the runout. This is the RCA Rockaway copy. It has the star to the right of the title "Holiday". The copy with the star to left of "Holiday" and called a reissue on discogs looks completely legit to me, just pressed at another of the RCA plants, either Hollywood (should have an H in the runout) or Indianapolis (an I). The clue to their authenticity is in the typesetting, the subtleties of which bootleggers just wouldn't have got anywhere close to between forty and fifty years ago. Adding another complication is this one: typesetting which looks like it emanates from Burt & Co. Los Angeles and pressed at RCA Hollywood.

I wouldn't get too hung up on thinking in terms of which press was 'first'. Think of the releases in terms of several regional, simultaneous presses. The typesetting on the scan above is definitely ARP typesetting, so it's maybe unusual that it doesn't have the stamp from that plant. Could be a case of ARP providing label artwork for another of the plants which Constellation occasionally used, like Southern Plastics in Nashville. Just looking at Google Images I can see a number of variations for this release—Monarch in LA (styrene, very dark blue labels with 'Constellation' reversed out in white), Sonic in New York (vinyl from a plant owned by the ABC Corporation again with the logo in white) and a definite ARP press (the blue, 'non-starred' label). This was anticipated to be a strong seller all over the country. Take the label copy stating 'Mfg. in Chicago Illinois' with a pinch of salt, as ironically none of these were. Constellation frequently used the Chess pressing plants too but seemed not to for this number. The various plants would definitely press on existing labels they happened to have in stock, explaining the lack of consistency in label use.

Don't know that there would have been a dedicated company sleeve.

Genuinely think the Boblo is the best version of this.

Chalky's right. Sunshine pop is a very particular sound. Paul Anka, Velvet Satins etc. are nothing like it. Those are, to me, straight ahead Blue Eyed Soul. Both records made to sound like the currently-hip R&B-based discotheque styles of the day. Think Mock-Motown. Fifth Avenue Band, Main Change, The Construction and The Buckinghams are classic Sunshine Pop. Well produced, (often with brass sections) and with a hint of jazz in the harmonic structure.

^ That is interesting to know. My copy has the same master number in the runout as on the labels, but plays the wrong tracks.

I can't think of many eras of the scene where there hasn't been at least a touch of this kind of sound. Searling's late Wigan heyday featured a few tracks which are out-and-out Sunshine Pop: the Construction "Hey Little Way Out Girl" and the Main Change "Sunshine Is Her Way". Then there are more recent discoveries like The Royale VII and The American Standard Band...

I think it goes right back to the start of what we consider the Soul scene in the UK. The original mod clubs could programme the odd Phil Spector production or Beach Boys track and have them seamlessly accepted by the customers.

I can also think of a few instances around this time where Columbia pressed same-sided demos of both titles of a 45—i.e two separate demos. Maybe do do with changes to US radio operation and stereo / mono factors.

Different Columbia pressing plants. The transitions to various label designs would have been virtually impossible to synchronise across all releases at the various factories.