Robbk

I started buying my records in 1953. 95% were obtained by 1974. A few hundred is all I've gotten since then (in trade with NS collectors/dealers, and a few score bought from John Anderson on visits to King's Lynn). I don't think I've added a record since 1993. Most of those from UK were added 1974-1989. My records are all like old friends to me. I'd rather die than sell them. I'll live with them in a storage barn in the eastern Netherlands before I'll sell one off. My goal is to die with them together, intact. I still hope to donate them to an "African-American Music(Record) Museum located in The Netherlands (preferably Den Haag, or somewhere else in Zuid Holland (if not, near Haarlem or Heerhugowaard, in Noord Holland) (where I can also be one of the "curators/guides/docents). But, I'm still hoping for some governmental help (at least for the building).

I bought most of my 38,000 45s for between 5 and 25¢ US or Canadian, and bought a few hundred for $1-$3 US and Canadian, and £1-£5 Stirling, and most of 500 78s for between 10¢ and 75¢ US, and most of 4,000 LPs from between 50¢ and $5 US/Canadian. I HAVE swapped records worth in 4 figures for multiple records adding to similar value. But never put out much cash. The most cash I paid for a record was $50 US for an original Yvonne Vernee - "Just Like you Did Me" on SonBert on auction, in near mint condition around 1979 or 1980. That was a tremendous amount of money for me to give up in those days. It's a LOT of money for me even now, especially given that I'm going to retire this coming June, and will not be earning much money after that.

I would guess that that is a 1960 or 1961 repressing. "Adorable" was a big hit in 1955. I bought it new. The spiral fan was introduced in early spring 1962. The record looks too thin and the black looks to "shiny" to be a 1958-59 issue. Atlantic's records were much thicker in 1956-57, unlike the copy pictured above.

Back during the late 1960s, I was looking at the records shelves in a Goodwill Store in Pasadena, California. There was nothing there but MOR Pop 45s, and kiddie records. I did find one not-so-good condition fairly common Soul record, which I shouldn't have decided to buy. But, I didn't want to have gone all the way from West L.A. through Hollywood, and Downtown L.A. finding almost nothing, so I picked it up. As I turned around, I dropped it, and it slid down behind the tall, wood bookshelf. I was irritated about finding nothing, and was determined not to leave there with nothing. I used a lot of strength to pull the whole shelf, from the near side, far enough away from the wall to grab the record, when I saw that there were about 10 records that had also fallen behind the shelf, apparently over a many year period, as 3 of them were old R&B 45 RPM records from 1951-1954. They were the extremely rare, "Dreams of You" by The Royals on Okeh Records, from 1952, "My Saddest Hour" by The Five Keys on Aladdin Records from 1951, and a record by The Aladdins on Aladdin, from 1954. They were all in near mint condition. I bought them all for 10 cents each. Even at that time, The Royals was worth over $1,000, and The Five Keys about $400. That was a lot of money back then. That was one of my best finds for the money paid, condition and rarity. And I like that music better than many of the most valuable Northern Soul records I've found, including the Frank Wilson on Soul, Andantes, and many others.

I love the beautiful melodies (e.g. different combinations of notes played by instruments ans sung by peoples' voices), and the different blending of all those sounds. I like the varying structures of songs, with different timing of changing the types of "musical phrases". I was introduced to Black American music, from my parents' turntable and 1930s and '40s 78 RPM records, whose sound I LOVED, and I hated the Country & Western music played on the radio there. I also like a lot of European Classical music, and also am luke warm or dislike a fair amount of it. I like the instrumentation in a lot of MOR/Pop music, but dislike much of the singing. I like lots of eastern Asian, Middle Eastern and middle ages European music, and Scottish and Bulgarian bagpipe playing. I like traditional Irish and Scottish music. Basically, I like happy melodies best, but I also like minor-key driven Blues. I like Gospel music. Lyrics are almost a non-factor for me. One of my favourite tunes is the former national anthem of The Soviet Union, though I disliked that government and all they stood for, intensely. Same for der Kaiser's Prussian national anthem, whose tune was adapted for that of Nazi Germany (despite my being Jewish, and having had half of my extended family murdered by The Nazis). So, the TUNE is the most important - how it is written by the writers, arranged by the arrangers, played by the instrument players, and sung by the singers. I will listen to ANY music. Whether or not, and to what degree I will like it, will depend upon those factors listed above. I like, and dislike music from most genres. I do dislike ALL so-called music from a few genres.

No! Most of the various press runs got the labels correct. The reversed label run issues are pretty rare compared to the correct issues.

I started listening to my parents' 1930s-1940s Jazz, Jazz vocals, Jazzy Swing Bands, City Blues, and crooner groups like The Ink Spots, during the early '50s in Western Canada, where only corny Country and Western music was played on the radio. When we visited family in Chicago during summer and Christmas holiday vacations, I heard R&B, Blues, and Gospel music in my uncles' shops in The Ghetto, on The South Side. I started liking all the Black American music. At first (7), I started asking my parents and grandparents for R&B records for my birthday and Chanukah gifts. At 9, I started buying my own, going with my father and mother to thrift shops and record shops. When R&B started changing into SOUL music, I liked and bought that, too. So, I collect American and Canadian R&B, Soul, Blues, Gospel and Jazz music, from 1935 to about 1972 or so (but I own very few records issued after 1970). I like ALL types of Soul, including Northern, Beach, Popcorn, Motown, Chicago, Southern, Deep, Afro-Latin, Salsa. My intense specialisation and expertise is in Motown, Detroit, and Chicago '60s Soul, and Detroit and Chicago '50s R&B.

As James Brown once (often) said.......... Good Gawd! There are no explanations for some things on Earth!

Yes, now I remember the difference between the two. Goldies 45 was legitimate ABC licensed, and Good Old Gold was very suspicious-looking, as a candidate to be a bootleg label.

Actually, Lost Nite Records wasn't totally an oldies re-issue label. They released some original new productions with current Philadelphia artists in 1962-64, by Lee Andrews and The Hearts (including "Cold Gray Dawn"1964), "Hey Girl" by The Perfections(1963), and a few other groups (Twlighters) .

It's certainly a re-issue label. I don't know if they are bootlegged, but the quality isn't very good, so that is an indication that that is a good possibility. But I wonder if it was a legitimate ABC re-issue label in the 1970s, as I remember finding hundreds of them in new Black slick ABC subsidiary/style sleeves. Or was I confusing that with another 1970s re-issue label that was also coloured bright yellow?

Scott English on "Brandy" and "High on a Hill" sounds nothing at all like the singer in question. I think we've ruled him out.

No, Earling didn't have any vinyl releases that I know of (much to my chagrin). I'm guessing that his real name was Earl McDaniels, as either Edward or Earl McDaniels is listed as a songwriter on every song he sang for Motown, other than possibly the one written by Smokey.

I had that very acetate in my hands, among hundreds of others during the 1970s, at Motown, while working on The "From The Vaults" and other unreleased Motown issue projects. I had seen and heard 4 or 5 cuts by Edward Earling, which all had been recorded in 1963. Most were produced by Mickey Stevenson, but I seem to remember one having been written and produced by Smokey Robinson. Earling sounded a bit like Eddie Holland. We set aside the best ones, "This Time I'm Gonna Leave You" and "Baby Don't Leave Me" for possible release on a later volume (LP) of "From The Vaults". Being partial to Motown's 1962-64 sound, I was sorely disappointed that none of Earling's cuts ever were released on "Cellarful of Motown" or "Lost Motown", or any other mixed artists releases. I think I asked Keith Hughes if there was some question about Earling's artist contract with Motown.

We can't his big hit, "High on a Hill", which was sung mainly in falsetto, and full of twee notes.

Scott English was a professional singer who even had a hit record. I believe he sang some demos of his own songs. But this recording doesn't sound like him. Nor do I recognise the singer's voice, The singer certainly is NOT Jay, of Jay & The Techniques.

Can you also ask her if Gene Chandler (Eugene Dixon) had any connection to the label, and who Mr. Greene was?

Thanks. I see that Gene Chandler and Simtec Simmons being involved in the ownership was, apparently, just a fan rumour. The Chandler who wrote "Truth" for Monique may not even have been Gene, but possibly Kermit. Too bad that information-seeker didn't ask her who Monique was.

Then that must be true. It's clear that Jackson ran the label. But, I'm pretty sure that Gene Chandler was an investor partner.

I have always heard that The Maurci label was owned by Gene Chandler and Simtec Simmons. But, I would guess that Maurice Jackson was a third owner. And, I wonder who "Greene" was. I've got 101 through 109 101 - Monique - Nobody's Baby(Am I)/Truth (Red) 102 - Three Jades - Makes My World Go Round/I Care For You (green) 103 - Three Jades - Show Me Your Way/Come On Let's Party (yellow) 104 - Monique - If You Love Me/Never Let Me Go (gold also red-orange & white) 105 - Simtec Simmons - Tea Pot/Tea Box (gold also red-orange & white) 106 - Computer and Little Fooler - Computing/SW-W-WIS-S-SH (gold also pink & white) 107 - Simtec Simmons Band - Limber Up/Cooling It Now (pink & white) 108 - Monique - I Wouldn't Believe/Never Let Me Go (pink & white) 109 - Simtec Simmons Band - Computing/Coming On Strong(With It) (yellow) 111 - Tri-Ems - I Wouldn't Believe/Tracking (yellow&Red) Does anyone know what 110 is?

Thanks for correcting my comments. I remembered incorrectly, that Hancock came from MOR to Jazz in the '40s, then to R&B in the late '40s. I didn't mean to imply that he had no ties to The Black Community - only that he was much older than most of his fellow DJs at KGFJ, and so it wasn't a good bet that one of them was a partner in his record label.

Herman Griffith was one of KGFJ's DJs during the mid 1960s. He was a part owner of L.A.'s Joker Records, which had a connection with Hal Davis and his L.A. Jobete Music operation, and recorded several Jobete Music songs on their own artists. But, just because Hunter Hancock owned a Soul label and was a KGFJ DJ, doesn't mean that it was likely that any other KGFJ DJ was involved in Magnum. I doubt that any other DJ was involved in his Swingin' Records. Hancock was a Caucasian man who was a holdover, who had been a DJ with that radio station when it had had an MOR and News format before it was changed to R&B in the late 1950s. He adapted himself to The African-American community, who was their new audience. He had a decent relationship with his colleagues. But, I doubt that any of them participated in his record labels.

Mercedes Music was owned by L.A.'s Soul station, KGFJ, DJ, Hunter Hancock. It was the house music publisher for Hancock's earlier label, Swingin' Records, as it was for Magnum (which was at least co-owned by him). Jimmy Johnson was the main producer and A&R man, and his band provided the instrumentation on most of their in-house productions, Elliot Chavers was not an owner. Mutt & Jeff was co-owned and run by Joe(y) Jefferson. Magnum leased a couple productions from Jefferson. Yes, most of Magnum's cuts (all their in-house sessions) were probably recorded at Johnson's studio. Jefferson probably produced Charles Perry elsewhere, and Royce Esters produced the Ollie Jackson, Jobete cuts, which were likely recorded in Hollywood by Hal Davis, where he took most, if not all of his Motown-related productions.