The Rare A&M Singles Thread

[Rudy]

Thanks to the Captain posting a rare Dore Alpert single, I came across a few other rare A&M singles on YouTube. Just listening to this handful makes me have visions of a limited edition box set of these non-album rarities, a la Rhino of the old days. Very interesting!

Here is "I'll Be Satisfied" by The Sequins (A&M 761):



Next up is Gloria Melbourne, "Don't Let Him" (A&M 740):



The Westwoods (with vocals by Gloria Nitzsche and Marilyn Wilson), "Will You Love Me (Like You Did Last Summer"), A&M 763:

 

[Rudy]

Two on A&M 766 by Chester St. Thompson--"Together" and "Without You":





This single below is on Hanna Barbera Records out of Hollywood. It features Jean King of The Blossoms (the vocal group that sang on the Tijuana Brass track "Mexican Drummer Man") singing a familiar song penned by another A&Mer: "The Nicest Things Happen."

 

[Rudy]

For the George McCurn fans among us... These are three non-album tracks. Not sure if there are more.

"Georgia Town"


"When The Wind Blows (In Chicago)"


"In My Little Corner Of The World"

 

[LPJim]

There are more George McCurn singles which did not appear on LP/SP 102:

741 - Clap Your Hand/ Well; and
759- As Tears Go By/ Georgia Town (also on 726 with "When the Wind Blows ..."

JB

 

[LPJim]

A&M 753 contains "The Race is On" from SP 4238, plus a non-LP single:

 

[LPJim]

Also, #722 by Waylon Jennings has 2 non-LP tracks, "Rave On," the original version of which is not on YouTube yet, and "Love Denied:"

 

[Harry]

Now wait a minute. "Georgia Town" may have been on a 45, but it's also in the main track listing of SP-102 - second side, fifth track. I guess it qualifies as rare, but then again the whole album does too.

The non-album tracks for George McCurn that I know about:

A&M 705 - In My Little Corner Of The World
A&M 715 - Please Send Me Someone To Love
A&M 726 - When The Wind Blows (In Chicago)
A&M 748 - Your Friend
A&M 748 - When The Bloom Is On The Rose
A&M 759 - As Tears Go By

and LPJim mentions A&M 741 - Clap Your Hands

Harry

 

[Rudy]

Wow, shows you how often I listen to the album. Mine is packed away in a box, so I didn't get a chance to see if it was on the album.

 

[LPJim]

"Ain't That Right" by Brice Coefield is A&M single # 774. The video shows an Omen label (division of A&M) with the song published by Irving (BMI). The b-side was "Work For My Baby."

 

[boyjohn]

Here is the #715 that someone mentioned earlier (I saw you guys were looking at my YouTube stuff so I thought I would check in here). I also have a George McCurn 45 on YouTube on Reprise if anyone wanted to check it out.

 

[Rudy]

Welcome aboard! I'm impressed by the number of rarities you have posted. Thanks much for sharing, and keep up the great work!

Sure, post that McCurn 45 if you get a chance, if one of us does not get to it first. He's pretty much overlooked and flies under the radar of most music fans.

I have always felt that these types of singles would make for a great box set (Hip-O Select comes to mind). But unless it were marketed properly, it probably would not sell much.

 

[boyjohn]

Welcome aboard! I'm impressed by the number of rarities you have posted. Thanks much for sharing, and keep up the great work!

Sure, post that McCurn 45 if you get a chance, if one of us does not get to it first. He's pretty much overlooked and flies under the radar of most music fans.

I have always felt that these types of singles would make for a great box set (Hip-O Select comes to mind). But unless it were marketed properly, it probably would not sell much.

Thanks for the nice words. I recently picked up the Country Boy Goes to Town LP in stereo. I posted a couple of the tracks on YouTube if anyone wanted to check them out.

Also posted a 45 on Reprise from George that was written by Sam Cooke.

John

 

[boyjohn]

Here is George McCurn on #741 (Clap Your Hand / Well). Both songs were written and produced by Sam Cooke. I described them as 1963, but it might be early 1964. If anyone knows for sure, let me know and I'll update the description on YouTube.

 

[Rudy]

Nice! These really are rarities. I don't think I could easily locate these here in our area (as far as visiting a brick and mortar store)--I know a few A&M fans have always had better luck out in California.

 

[Harry]

I found this one yesterday. I'm not sure how rare it is, but it wasn't connected to any albums that I know of. It's Larry Marks doing his original of "L.A. Break Down (And Let Me In):



I've always been partial to the Jack Jones version, but this one's real catchy.

Harry

 

[Rudy]

Here is George McCurn on #741 (Clap Your Hand / Well).

Aside from what Harry listed above, these two tracks make a total of eight non-album tracks. If there are more of these singles out there that we might not know about yet, it's almost enough to make another complete album.

It amazes me how much of a push McCurn got from A&M, for being a second album on the label. It's not like it was a budget project either: Shorty Rogers did the arrangements, and there is full accompaniment on all of the tracks. There were also a lot of single releases, including these (all listed above) which were not even on the album. It reminds me of the phrase: "If you throw enough at the wall, something is bound to stick." Unfortunately nothing did stick, and McCurn (and these recordings) faded into obscurity.

 

[Captain Bacardi]

This is the first time I knew that Sam Cooke had done anything for A&M. I love those McCurn tracks!

 

[Rudy]

I can't quite make out the numbering on those singles--I wonder if they predated McCurn's album or not. If they were recorded after the album, it's possible they were trying a different approach to see if they could get McCurn some attention.

 

[boyjohn]

Thought I would ask here since you guys are so knowledgeable. I have in my possession a George McCurn 45 (#731) that has Guess Who b/w One More Time For The Poor Man. A couple places online state that it is supposed to be Guess Who b/w I've Got To Move. Just wondering if the references online are wrong, or if there were two releases under this cat #? Any ideas?

 

[Rudy]

With the same catalog number, I'd be more inclined to trust what you have in front of you. Online, you may sometimes see one source get quoted as fact even if it's incorrect, and it spreads like wildfire.

I could only think of two situations: either the single had a wrong label on it (which got corrected down the road), or maybe there were two releases of it. I don't know of anyone else who has many of the McCurn singles that they could check their copy. (Maybe LPJim?)

 

[boyjohn]

Thanks for the reply. I was mostly just curious because I haven't heard of a song called "I've Got To Move" by him.

 

[Steve Sidoruk]

Here's the George McCurn singles that I have:

Label Cat # A-Side Title B-Side Title A-Mstr B-Mstr A-Matrix B-Matrix MM/YY S/P
A&M 705 I'm Just A Country Boy / In My Little Corner Of The World 1009 1010 Δ 46260 Δ 46260 - x Jan-63 S
A&M 715 Please Send Me Someone To Love / How's The World Treating You 1029 1030 Δ 48916 Δ 48916 - x Jul-63 S
A&M 726 When The Wind Blows (In Chicago) / Georgia Town 1048 1049 Δ 50121 Δ 50121 - x Oct-63 P
A&M 748 Your Friend / While The Bloom Is On The Rose 1091 1092 Δ 53635 Δ 53635 - x Jul-64 P
A&M 759 As Tears Go By / Georgia Town 1113 1049 Δ 55284 Δ 50121 - x Nov-64 P

The release dates are interpolated from the chart of Monarch matrix numbers and the S/P indicates a Stock or Promo copy. Apparently, they didn't change the matrix # the second time they put out "Georgia Town."

 

[Anthony Reichardt]

Thanks to the Captain posting a rare Dore Alpert single, I came across a few other rare A&M singles on YouTube. Just listening to this handful makes me have visions of a limited edition box set of these non-album rarities, a la Rhino of the old days. Very interesting!

Here is "I'll Be Satisfied" by The Sequins (A&M 761):



Next up is Gloria Melbourne, "Don't Let Him" (A&M 740):



The Westwoods (with vocals by Gloria Nitzsche and Marilyn Wilson), "Will You Love Me (Like You Did Last Summer"), A&M 763:

An oddity on the WESTWOODS track, 'Will You Love Me (Like You Did Lastr Summer)' is that it was recorded in March of 1965 and the same backing track was utilized again on the Omen single, 'Can't Help But To Love You' by JOE PHILLIPS in October of 1965. The songwriting, arranging and producing credits were different on each release with writing credits given to Herb Alpert, Marshall Leib and Chester Pipkin on The Westwoods track with arranging credits given to Marshall Leib and Jack Nitzsche. The Joe Phillips disc gives writers credit to Chester and Gary Pipkin with producer and arranger credit given to Chester Pipkin and Marshall Leib. ????? These guys must have bumped into one another at various studios during that happening time in the L.A. music scene. You have to assume that favors were given every now and then.

 

[boyjohn]

Here is the stock copy of #748.

 

[Harry]

Early in this thread, I posted the existing version of Larry Marks' "L.A. Break Down (And Take Me In)". As a 1968 record, it was issued in mono and there was no album for a stereo version.

BUT! There was apparently a white label promotional version pressed in stereo for radio stations. I spotted it on eBay and had to have it. Now, here it is:



That's the good news - now here's the bad: it's CSG'ed!

Harry