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EXAMINING THE SPOILS FROM KURT WOODS’ FRONT PORCH
Gracious sakes, am I as overdue for a col
umn as a mother gerbil who's been preggers
for 37 days?! (If she doesn't drop that litter
of little squeaks soon, she's gonna be in trou
ble!!) Likewise, if I don't come up with some
readable words—and anon—I may forget how
to write and have to sit on a downtown corner
selling pencils out of a cup until I croak from
sheer boredom. And that just won't do.
Like a pilgrim on a hajj to a religious
shrine, I whizzed to Kurt Wood's famed Front
Porch Record Sale back on Apr. 23 and 24.
"Thin out those dollar 45s in the garage,"
Kurt entreated me. "I'm tired of hauling them
around to shows." Since I hadn't been through
them in over a year, I went to work and suc
ceeded not only in scarfing up six long boxes
of singles, but also ultimately in cramming
them into Van Ella without her blowing a pis
ton en route home. This column will concern a
whet of what I found, with sequels doubtless
to follow. As in the way I file them, the "A"s
come first.
1) "I Believe I'll Find Happiness"—Johnny
Adams (Watch 6330). Known as "The Tan
Canary," Johnny Adams had near-countless
local hits in New Orleans as well as several
national successes: other than his massive
hits, my research led me to list some 50
singles by the man on such labels as Ric, Ron,
Hep’ Me, Pacemaker (from Texas) and even
nationals like S.S.S. International (Nashville),
Modern (L. A.) and Atlantic. My record
here, produced and arranged by that Creole
Beethoven Wardell Quezergue, dates from, say,
1962. I haven't played it yet, but if there's to
be a surprise, it will be to find it anything but
top notch. Mr. Adams passed in September,
1998 at the age of 66 after an illustrious
40-year career.
2) "Both Sides Now"—Aerial Landscape
(RCA 47-9520). This group from Sacramento
(California, not Kentucky!) was originally
known as Forth & Main. They had another RCA
45, "Proposition 13," which I think I have as
well. It's from 1967; mine was issued in '68.
This is their entire discography. I even found a
photo of the group online!
3) "I Like to Party"—Alpaca Phase III
(Atlantic 3038). These folks were an Atlanta
studio group and hit the R&B charts with
this in 1974. A subsequent single on Clintone
Records (which I lack) followed in 1975.
Both of these discs are in demand in England,
though, so our obscurity becomes their
treasure.
4) "What Now My Love"—Richard Anthony
(V.I.P. 25022). If any of you are familiar with
a French go-go singer by this name, well, here
is his excursion into American popdom. It
was released in August, 1965 and sank like an
anvil. How Motown got ahold of this master
(V.I.P. was a Motown subsidiary) is beyond
me. Gad.
5) "Kellogg's Presents the Banana Splits"
(Decca [Special] 34578). They're primarily
known for their theme song (below). This EP
(Extended Play 45) contains that ditty and
three others. (Another EP contains four more
songs: I've already found a good copy of
that.) Although I still need the group's lone
chart entry, the theme song "The Tra La La
Song (One Banana, Two Banana)" on Decca
32429, at least I have the cut here and can
terrorize the waiting masses with it on my
radio problem... and I'll mention that at the
end of this column.
6) "A Grain of Sand"—Susan Barrett (RCA
47-8888). This is the first of her four RCA
singles and was issued in roughly June, 1966.
She also had an LP on RCA issued in March,
1967. All of her records are decent enough,
but for some reason European collectors want
her third single. (I’m not sure if I have it or
not.) A copy recently sold online for $169.38.
(Why such an odd figure? Gee, I guess the col
lector doesn't exercise enough.) You can find
her photo online... I did.
7) "Without You"—The Bay Ridge (Atlantic
2520). Sort of a second take on the style of
The Young Rascals, these guys (who really
were from Bay Ridge in Brooklyn) issued two
singles for Atlantic in 1968. Mine here was
quite the hit on WKLO in Louisville in its day,
and that's a far journey from the hills of West
Brooklyn (and there ARE hills there, thank
you!). BTW, I think I have the other one, too.
8) "Jambalaya"—Jimmy Beasley (Modern
1009). Beasley, a prolific recording artist,
could imitate Fats Domino even better than
Fats could imitate himself. I located seven
singles and three LPs by the man, who inci
dentally hailed from Kansas City. None of his
discs made the national charts, but all of them
received much notice and sold widely and
steadily. It is a tribute to Beasley's talent that
he mastered the Ninth Ward accent, which the
still living (born 1928) Mr. Domino has spoken
all his (so far) 83 years. Hey, where y'at?
9) "I Just Want to Fall in Love"/ "Love at
First Sight"—Archie Bell & the Drells (Atlantic
2793). This is the hardest of Bell's Atlantic
singles to find on a red label store stock
copy, and here one is! The group's beginnings
in Houston on the tiny Ovide label are well
documented: their second single for the label
was the local smash hit "Dog Eat Dog" (Ovide
228). To create a backside for it, they enlisted
the assistance of their compatriot local group
The T.S.U. Tornadoes (their hit was "Getting
the Corners" [Atlantic 2579]) and came up
with a jam that conveniently filled the flip-
side. "Dog Eat Dog" sold so well that Ovide
couldn't handle distribution, so Ovide leased
the masters to Atlantic: they issued the disc
as Atlantic 2478.
I don't remember the specifics, but several
disc jockeys at once discovered that "jam
session" B-side (which had been recorded in
one take!), flipped the disc, and began play
ing that instead. The result? "Tighten Up"
took off like a pre-season hurricane in early
1968 and is still selling and still being played
worldwide. The group had 10 or 11 subse
quent Atlantic singles (plus three albums),
then signed with Glades Records for a couple
of singles, and finally lit with T.S.O.P. in
Philadelphia. I list both sides here because
each was a hit in separate markets (which
often happened with the group's discs). Not
bad... to create something on a whim and
have it still danceable and playable after 43
years. My single, almost forgotten by compari
son, is from 1971.
10) "Happy New Year"—Beverly (Deram 7502).
This disc features an early Beverly Martyn
(English folk performer) along with Jimmy
Page, John Paul Jones and Nicky Hopkins.
It's a virtual unknown and rarer than operatic
Toyotas. My copy is so far gone that I may
have to send out for a faith healer to get it
to play, but I really don't care. I grabbed it
because it looked interesting. So there.
11) "I'm Gonna Show Him"—Calie Bitetti
(Susan 4200). Now we REALLY get obscure!
It's a girl group single from June, 1963, and
is anthologized in Japanese and Italian col
lections! Mine is a store stock copy, so some
one somewhere bought it: that means some
radio station somewhere (like maybe KQV in
Pittsburgh or WISE in Asheville) must have
played it. I'm at a loss for further facts.
12) "Mother Dear You've Got a Silly
Daughter"—Sharon Black (Philips 40290).
This is an answer to Herman's Hermits' hit
"Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter"
and came out in 1965 to marginal notice.
Well, it's a good obscurity to file away for
eventual airplay... be forewarned.
13) "I've Got That Feeling"—Cornell Blakely
(Mable 0020). This Newberry, SC native
seems to have had an interesting and varied
career. He seems to have been left fielder for
The Greenville Black Spinners, an old Negro
Leagues team; he recorded both pop and
gospel music; and he owned a radio station.
This 45 is from 1965 or 1966, and is one of at
least 10 the man issued out of Detroit (where
he lived for a time) and South Carolina. Some
things (like this) just look interesting; I won't
know what it is until I put it on the air blind.
Stay tuned.
14) "Keeper of the Keys"—(Michael) Brewer &
(Tom) Shipley (A&M 905). This early 1968 disc
is the duo's first record. They went on to have
the well-known "One Toke Over the Line" in
1971, as well as my favorite of theirs, "Tarkio
Road" (whose name evokes a small Missouri
town). Jerry Garcia often guested on their ses
sions: he might even be in on this 45.
15) "He Made You Mine"—Brighter Side of
Darkness (Magic Touch 9011). This 1978 disc
is by the same Chicago group that gave us the
million-selling hit "Love Jones" in 1972. Their
career output consisted of five singles and an
LP. Now I only lack their Starvue 1028 single
"Because I Love You" from 1974 to have it
all. "Love Jones" is a tender little master
piece: they wrote it themselves. Here it is now
38-plus years later (these guys are, like, 53
or 54 now) and it still sounds fresh. That's a
leading criterion for good pop music.
I'll pick up later where I've left off, but I
wanna tell you about my radio problem. Y'see,
I was the original oldies deejay on WUOG
when it went on the air in October, 1972, and
the station has brought me back (for the sum
mer, anyway... maybe longer if there's audi
ence support).
My show (Ort.'s Oldies Radio Problem) airs
Fridays from 7 p.m. until 8 p.m. (for now)
on 90.5 FM, WUOG. For those of you too far
removed to receive a clear signal (say Sylva,
NC or St. Simon's Island), WUOG streams
online.
Oh, your poor computer... now it can get a
headache just like yours from listening to me
play useless old records and prattle on about
them as if someone might be even remotely
interested. Vinyl collecting isn't dead; neither
is gonzo radio! (Nor am I!)
Now I gotta think of writing columny about
this year's Classic City Brewfest and a road
trip I took to Flowery Branch, GA to revel in
the glories of Toasted & Tapped, a brewpub in
a most unlikely spot... but not tonight. I'm
signing off for now. Pffft. (30.)
William Orten Carlton = ORT.
Weird Old Records Editor for Flagpole.
12 FLAGPOLE.COM-JULY 13, 2011
