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01 04 2012

Beatles Canadian Cover Versions

Found on the album Long Tall Sally T-6063

Side 1 of Long Tall Sally

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You Really Got A Hold On Me	The Miracles	Phonodisc / Tamla T 54073
Canadian pressing
Devil In His Heart	The Donays	Brent 7033
USA pressing
Roll Over Beethoven	Chuck Berry	Quality K1503
Canadian pressing

Side 2 of Long Tall Sally

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Long Tall Sally	Little Richard	Phonodisc / Regency 501
Canadian pressing
Please Mr Postman	The Marvelettes	London / Tamla TM.7003
Canadian pressing

The only "new" cover song on Capitol T-6063 was the title track itself ... Long Tall Sally. The other four "covered songs" had already been issued on the first two Canadian Capitol 6000 Series albums and these are covered in the following articles on this www.capitol6000.com web site:'

Little Richard - True Pioneer Of American Rock And Roll

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From their earliest days, The Beatles were fans of Little Richard, pne of the true pioneers of American Rock And Roll in the mid 1950s. The Beatles had appeared on stage as the main support act for Little Richard when he played at The Tower Ballroom in Liverpool on Friday, October 12th., 1962. At this show, Billy Preston was a young member of Little Richard's backup band.

On The Beatles 1964 and 1965 tours of North America, the concerts would often end with Paul's wild vocal version of Little Richard's hit-song Long Tall Sally .. and then almost seven years after Little Richard's concert at The Tower ballroom in Liverpool in 1962, Little Richard would also be one of the star performers at the Saturday, September 13th., 1969 Toronto Rock And Roll Revival festival held at Varsity Stadium in Toronto .. also on that bill were John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band. Little Richard's Toronto set list that day in 1969 included most of his classic 1950s hits amongst others and was as follows:

The Story Behind Little Richard And The Song Long Tall Sally

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Little Richard was a stage name. His real name was Richard Wayne Penniman and he was born in Macon, Georgia on December 5th, 1932. His first single was "Tutti-Frutti / I'm Just A Lonely Guy" and this was issued in the USA as Specialty 561 in February 1956. Long Tall Sally / Slippin' And Slidin' was issued as his second single in March 1956 and became his largest selling record for the Specialty label. The track Long Tall Sally was recorded on February 10th, 1956 at J&M Studio in New Orleans. This was the same studio that was then being used by Fats Domino. In 1956 the credit for writing the song was shared between producer Robert Blackwell, Little Richard and a young girl named Enotris Johnson. Apparently Enotris Johnson had written several key lines of the song and had asked that they be presented to Little Richard so that he could record the song so that the royalties would go towards medical bills for her ailing Aunt Mary.

Paul McCartney had played the song Long Tall Sally to impress John Lennon when the two met for the very first time on July 6th., 1957. Th eBeatles recorded their version at EMI when they weer recording songs for the soundtrack to the film A Harda Day's Night. Long Tall Sally was not selected for use on the soundtrack and therefore was offered to Capitol in North America in March 1964 ... several months before it would be issued on a Parlophone EP of the same name in England. In Canada, Long Tall Sally became the title name of their third Canadian Capitol album, Capitol T-6063 "Long Tall Sally".

Canadian Pressings Of Long Tall Sally On The Regency Label

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Regency Records was the main label of Phonodisc Records of Scarborough, Ontario and was started in Canada in 1956. Regency was created to serve as a Canadian outlet for US labels. The 45s and 78s were initially pressed in 1956 using cream coloured labels with purple printing. The Regency label is well documented in David Whatmough's excellent books on Canadian records sorted by record label. It was active in Canada until 1966. Long Tall Sally was issued on 4 different Regency label formats in Canada by Phonodisc Limited of Toronto, Ontario; 78 RPM disc, 45 RPM disc , EP 45 RPM disc, and 33 LP disc.

Regency / Phonodisc records were usually pressed in Canada by RCA during the late 1950s

Little Richard - Canadian 45 RPM and 78 RPM Discography

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Source: David Whatmough

There were three basic label formats for both 78s and 45s on the Phonodisc/Regency label:

Regency also added an 'X" to the 45 RPM release number for issues up to approx. 673X. This X was used to denote that the release was a 45 and not a 78. Later on the prefix "R-nnn" was used for 45 RPM discs.

Regency 501X	Little Richard	Long Tall Sally /Slippin' And Slidin'
cream label with purple print, March 1956
USA Specialty 572
Regency 511X	Little Richard	Rip It Up / Ready Teddy
June 1956. Was released in the USA as Specialty 579
Regency 538X	Little Richard	She's Got It / Heeby Jeebies
October 1956, label format TBD. Released in the USA as Specialty 584.

*** Label change at this point - start of green label with silver print

Regency 561X	Little Richard	The Girl Can't Help It / All Around The World
December 1956, Released in the USA as Specialty 591
Regency 571X	Little Richard	Tutti Frutti / I'm Just A Lonely Guy
probably January 1957, Released in the USA as Specialty 561
Regency 597X	Little Richard	Lucille / Send Me Some Lovin'
February 1957, Released in the USA as Specialty 598
Regency 623X	Little Richard	Maybe I'm Right / I Love My Baby
probably April 1957, Released in the USA as Specialty 1673
Regency 633X	Little Richard	Jenny Jenny / Miss Ann
August 1957, Released in the USA as Specialty 606
Regency 668X	Little Richard	Keep A Knockin' / Can't Believe You Wanna Leave
August 1957, Released in the USA as Specialty 611
Regency 711	Little Richard	Good Golly Miss Molly / Hey Hey Hey
January 1958, Releaed in the USA as Specialty 624
Regency 732	Little Richard	Ooh! My Soul / True Fine Mama
May 1958, Releaed in the USA as Specialty 633

*** No more 78 RPM releases after 739. At this point the X suffix for 45s is replaced by an "R-" prefix.

Regency R-754	Little Richard	Boo Hoo Hoo Hoo (I'll Never Let You Go) / Baby Face
July 1958, Releaed in the USA as Specialty 645
Regency R-766	Little Richard	Early One Morning / She Knows How To Rock
November 1958, Releaed in the USA as Specialty 652
Regency R-782	Little Richard	Wonderin' / By The Light Of The Silvery Moon
Probably January 1959, Releaed in the USA as Specialty 660
Regency R-799	Little Richard	Kansas City / Lonesome And Blue
April 1959, Releaed in the USA as Specialty 664
Regency R-817	Little Richard	Whole Lotta Shakin' / Maybe I'm Right
August 1959, Releaed in the USA as Specialty 680
Regency R-823	Little Richard	Baby / I Got It
August 1959, Releaed in the USA as Specialty 681

*** At this point, the label switches to green with black print.

R-956	Little Richard	Annie Is Back / Bama Lama Lama Loo
April 1964, Releaed in the USA as Specialty 692

Canadian Specialty EPs (Extended Play 45 RPM disc) Issued On The Phonodisc / Regency label

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As many as six EPs were issued in Canada between March 1957 and July 1958. These featured imported heavier cardboard picture covers showing the Specialty catalogue numbers. Inside these imported covers were Canadian pressed discs.

EP Regency SEP-400	Little Richard
March 1957 - Specialty Series
Side 1 - Long Tall Sally, Miss Ann
Side 2 - She's Got It, Can't Believe You Wanna Leave
EP Regency SEP-401	Little Richard
March 1957 - Specialty Series
Side 1 - Slippin' And Slidin' / Oh Why ?
Side 2 - Ready Teddy / Baby
EP Regency SEP-402	Little Richard
March 1957 - Specialty Series
Side 1 - Tutti-Frutti , True Fine Mama
Side 2 - Rip It Up , Jenny Jenny
EP Regency SEP-403	Little Richard
July 1958 - Specialty Series
Side 1 - Keep A Knockin' , By The Light Of The Silvery Moon
Side 2 - Lucille , Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey
EP Regency SEP-404	Little Richard
July 1958 - Specialty Series
Side 1 - Ooh ! My Soul , All Around The World
Side 2 - Good Golly, Miss Molly , Baby Face
EP Regency SEP-405	Little Richard
July 1958 - Specialty Series
Side 1 - Boo Hoo Hoo Hoo , The Girl Can't Help It
Side 2 - Send Me Some Lovin' , Heeby-Jeebies

Canadian Specialty Albums Issued On The Phonodisc / Regency label

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Regency SP 100	Little Richard	Here's Little Richard
March 1957, the cover is imported from USA. Long Tall Sally is the first track on Side 2 .
Regency 2103	Little Richard	Little Richard
July 1958
Regency 2104	Little Richard	The Fabulous Little Richard
March 1959

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01 14 2012

Interesting VJ Records

We found a very interesting record this week. This record is not an actual Canadian pressing, but is featured here because it is a Canadian Band. Indeed, this Quebec band from the early sixties was called Les Baronets and became quite popular by covering many Beatles songs, translating them in french (like "C'est fou, mais c'est tout - Hold Me Tight", "Twiste et Chante - Twist And Shout" or " Ça recommence - It Won't Be Long" etc.). Other interesting fact is that one member of this band is now quite famous for other reasons: he is now Céline Dion's manager, René Angelil.

So by the time they reached the mid sixties, les Baronets tried to break the American market as "The Baronets" and were secured this US 45 on the VeeJay label. This disc is really obscure and as far as we know, this record never made it past the Promo stage and was never commercially released, making it a true collector's item.

Et en français pour nos amis du Québec!

Nous avons trouvé un disque très intéressant cette semaine. Ce 45 tours n'est en réalité pas un pressage canadien, mais est montré ici puisque c'est le disque d'un groupe Québécois: Les Baronets. En effet les Baronets ont été très populaires au Québec pour leurs versions francophones de chansons des Beatles comme "C'est fou, mais c'est tout - Hold Me Tight", "Twiste et Chante - Twist And Shout" or " Ça Recommence - It Won't Be Long" etc. Un autre fait intéressant de ce groupe est que, comme plusieurs savent déjà, un des membres est aujourd'hui très connu, mais ce, pour d'autres raisons: René Angelil est maintenant le gérant de Céline Dion.

Donc vers 1965, Les Baronets on tenté de percer le marché americain sous le nom "The Baronets" et on réussi à mettre sous contrat un 45 tours sorti sur l'étiquette Vee Jay aux Étas Unis, la même qui a accueilli les Beatles avant de devenir populaire chez nos voisins du sud. Le disque est pour le moins inconnu aujourd'hui puisque la popularité de ce titre est très discutable, en effet, nous croyons d'ailleurs qu'il a été uniquement pressé sous forme de promo, n'ayant aucune sortie officielle. Le 45 tours n'a non plus jamais été édité par le versant Canadien de Vee Jay, ce qui en fait aujourd'hui, pour toutes ces raisons, un item de collection très prisé!

VJ 701
The Baronets
That's The Way Love Happens / Mine All Mine

USA promo copy (possibly only issued as a promo).

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01 04 2012

January 2012 record of the month

Like Dreamers Do - The Applejacks - London L.9681 (July 1964)

In Canada, The Applejacks were a vital part of the British Invasion of 1964. In fact, they were probably one of the quirkiest and most interesting of the British Invasion groups ... yet their records did not make a huge chart impact here in Canada like fellow British group invaders like The Searchers, The Dave Clark Five or The Animals. The Applejacks hailed from Solihull in England and its members included Al Jackson (vocals), Phil Cash (guitar), Martin Baggot (guitar), Gerry Freeman (drums), Don Gould (electric organ), and yes a girl ... Megan Davies (bass guitar). The British press called their sound ... the "Solihull Sound" ! Their Applejacks name may have been borrowed from the Jet Harris and Tony Meehan "Applejack / The Tall Texan" 45 that was issued in September 1963 in England by Decca (Decca F11710).

Above - UK Decca demo

Above - Canadian pressing from July 1964

The Applejacks were often compared to The Honeycombs in that both groups featured a girl musician ... and this was indeed a true rarity for a British Invasion group back then. The Honeycombs featured a stomping girl drummer named Honey Lantree. Similarly, former cub-mistress Megan Davies of The Applejacks looked so cool playing an electric bass ! Megan was often thought to be the sister of Ray Davies of The Kinks, because The Applejacks covered a Kinks song called "I Go To Sleep" in 1965, but that was not the case ... the two Davies British "popsters" were not related.

A Great Song That Lennon & McCartney Gave Away ...

The Applejacks covered two really good Beatles songs in Canada. The first and most important of these was "Like Dreamers Do". The song was originally recorded by The Beatles with Pete Best on drums for Decca when they auditioned for them at their West Hampstead, London studios on New Year's Day 1962. The Beatles never released the song under their own name, so it is one of those rare covers that Beatles record collectors treasure. Oddly, it was Mike Smith who produced the song for The Applejacks .. and it was the same Mike Smith working for Decca who had supervised the infamous Decca audition of The Beatles on January 1st., 1962. Paul McCartney and John Lennon had written the song in 1957 and The Beatles own studio version appears on the Anthology 1 set. The Applejacks version appears on the 1979 UK Lp "The Songs Lennon And McCartney Gave Away" (UK EMI NUT 18). While Paul has stated that the song was a throwaway, it is actually a pretty good song on it's own merits. The Applejacks met The Beatles at a television rehearsal (Thank Your Lucky Stars) in early 1964 and it was as a result of this meeting that they were offered the song. Allegedly, Paul and John had asked them what they were going to follow up their hit "Tell Me When" with. The song appeared in England as Decca F.11916 and charted there as high as number 20. In Canada the song was released on a London 45 (London L.9681) and the London single saw limited chart action on either ends of the country (eg Halifax and Vancouver), but not however in the major central markets of Montreal and Toronto.

Here from 1960s, Brian Matthews of the BBC introduces The Applejacks as they sing "Like Dreamers Do" on television in colour:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1qug0_the-applejacks-like-dreamers-do_music

The Applejacks released three hard-to-find singles on the blue London label in Canada during 1964 :

All three 45s were pressed and distributed in Canada by London Records Of Canada Limited. In 1964, the company’s head office was located at 180 Graveline Road, St. Laurent, Quebec with branch offices in St. Laurent, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, and Burnaby. The discs were pressed by Compo and bear similar label format to the standard United Artists 45s of the period that were also pressed by Compo at the Lachine, Quebec pressing plant. Promo copies feature a red and white DEMONSTRATION RECORD NOT FOR SALE sticker on the disc's label.

   

The Applejacks Album Is Issued In Canada .. But Not In The USA !

The Applejacks released an album in England as The Applejacks (Decca LK 4635). The album was issued in its entirety in Canada (probably early 1965) ... with a total of 8 songs per side. That never happened in the USA. The album was issued in Canada in mono only as London LL.3401 - The Applejacks. This Canadian London album is highly collectable as it was their only North American album release. It was not issued by London in the USA given the poor chart success of their first three London singles.



(Note - the song on Side 2, track 3 "Three Little Words" is in fact the same track as the London L.9709 single I'm Gonne Send My Love (Three Little Words).

1964 Chart History In Canada For The Applejacks
Halifax (East Coast)

The CHNS Halifax, Nova Scotia chart for the week of August 16th. through August 22nd. 1964 shows that the Like Dreamers Do 45 by The Applejacks is at number 34 (down from 30 the previous week). Nobody I Know by Peter And Gordon was at number 41 in the sae chart.



Vancouver (West Coast)

Vancouver, British Columbia AM radio station CFUN charted two of The Applejacks Canadian 45s on their weekly "C-FUNTASTIC FIFTY" chart as follows: 

Like Dreamers Do debuted on CFUN the week of July 11th., 1964 and charted for 3 weeks ... peaking at number 32.



(* CFUN chart information by courtesy of Brian Tarling and his book "Vancouver Charted Songs 1956 to 1978", www.vancouverchartedsongs.ca and 45 image of the Canadian London 45 Like Dreamers Do by courtesy of Brian Tarling and Larry Senetza, Vancouver).

The Applejacks Fade-Out …

Following the release of the album and the lack of chart success in Canada for their third London 45, no further albums or singles were issued by London in Canada by The Applejacks. London Records of Canada did, however, include The Applejacks cover of The Beatles "Baby's In Black" on their compilation album "England's Greatest Hitmakers" (London LL.3430). This is a great cover version of the song and well worth seeking out.

LP London LL.3430 - Various Artists - England's Greatest Hitmakers - Canada - maroon label - MONO only

 

On this LP there are cool tracks by The Zombies, The Rolling Stones, Them, Dave Berry, Lulu And The Luvvers, Tom Jones, Mike Leander, The Bachelors, etc. One track is included in this set by The Applejacks and it is an excellent cover of The Beatles 65 album track Baby's In Black (Side 2, Track 6)

A Colour Film Titled Go-Go Bigbeat !

A few months later in 1965, The Applejacks appeared in a weird 100 minute colour film showcasing a number of greater and lesser known British Invasion groups called "Go-Go Bigbeat !", a film that featured The Animals, Brian Poole And The Tremeloes, The Hollies, The Tornados, The Cheynes, Lulu And The Luvvers, Millie Small, The Applejacks and others. In the film, The Applejacks perform their version of "Like Dreamers Do".



In England, Decca issued the following singles by The Applejacks between 1964 and the end of 1965:

By 1967, The Applejacks had ended their time with Decca and had been picked up by CBS. CBS issued one really cool Motown-inspired single called "You've Been Cheatin'" but this was not issued in Canada.



In 1966, drummer Gerry Freeman married bassist Megan Davies. After 1966 the band toured the world on cruise liners as on-board entertainment. Well The Applejacks never toured Canada ... but it would have been something to see them playing in Halifax or Vancouver. Perhaps the Canadian fans would have brought toffee apples to the show (!) Their brand of 1960s Britpop ... perhaps along with that of The Honeycombs ... exported to Canada in 1964 ... has acquired a very well deserved cult status since that time. The Beatles connection is also another interesting aspect of The Applejacks Canadian discography from the 1964-1965 period.



Above - Megan Davies "shakes a leg" during a TV performance of The Applejacks' first hit "Tell Me When" ...
for more, check out their great video ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO8VJwlwCQY

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12 30 2011

The final sales of the year

The year ended on some very interesting sales this 2011. The very rare Vancouver press conference flexi given by Kelly's sold for an amazing 576$ two days ago. We do not see this item too often, especially in that condition! Pink Floyd's Canadian first album Piper At The Gates Of Dawn always sells well, this time a mono copy in the shrink sold for 112.50$. Another famous Beatles record, Sie Liebt Dich, this time in an very average condition, still sold for 56.50$, while The rare Canadian back slicked The Big Hits From England And The USA reached a shy 30$. On the other hand, the motorcycle soundtrack classic Hell's Belles reached 84.50$ for a stereo copy. The mistake Come Together Apple single also gained some attention, 95$ worth, while an amazing condition Let It Be box set with the tray only reached 52$, which is a lot less than what we have seen for a similar item in far worse condition. Then again, another Let It Be box set with the outer box still in its shrink wrap with the rare large sticker sold for 455$. Surprising, considering the LP inside was a mismatched UK LP with the laminated cover… And last but not least, the mono Meet The Beatles copy with the Parr's logo half cut off that was for sale at the end of November found a new home for 300$!

Stay tuned for many more interesting sales in 2012. Happy New Year to all!

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12 25 2011

A Great way to end the year!

A lucky collector was fortunate enough to end the year with a new record on his shelf, a very scarce record! Indeed, a copy of the DECCA single My Bonnie (authentified by Perry Cox) sold for 1500$. This copy is most likely the copy that was for sale last June. It is not known if the record found its way back to Canada or if the lucky collector is living outside of the country. Hopefully, all of us will also find a Beatles item under our tree!

Merry Christmas to all!

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12 23 2011

Amazing interactive Yellow Submarine book

A very interesting interactive book with sound and animations is now availabe for free on iTunes. This book is basically the story of the film, downloable through iBooks and readable on both iPads and iPods. It features sounds and audio narration of the text. Needless to say, the narrator is not the original voice we know from the film, but it is still a very interesting version of a classic!

images are taken from iPhone screencaps.