🎵 AotW Classics George McCurn "Country Boy Goes To Town" SP-102

What is your favorite track?

  • God Bless The Child

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Snap Your Fingers

    Votes: 2 22.2%
  • I'm Just A Country Boy

    Votes: 2 22.2%
  • One More Time For The Poor Man

    Votes: 2 22.2%
  • Guess Who

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • How's The World Treating You

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • (At) The End (of a Rainbow)

    Votes: 1 11.1%
  • Funny

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • He'll Have To Go

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • A Hundred Pounds Of Clay

    Votes: 1 11.1%
  • Georgia Town

    Votes: 1 11.1%
  • Goodnight, My Love

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    9

Harry

Charter A&M Corner Member
Staff member
Site Admin
George McCurn
Country Boy Goes To Town!!!!!

A&M SP-102

sp4102.jpg


Tracks:

SIDE 1
Band 1 God Bless The Child
Band 2 Snap Your Fingers
Band 3 I'm Just A Country Boy
Band 4 One More Time For The Poor Man
Band 5 Guess Who
Band 6 How's The World Treating You

SIDE 2
Band 1 (At) The End (of a Rainbow)
Band 2 Funny
Band 3 He'll Have To Go
Band 4 A Hundred Pounds Of Clay
Band 5 Georgia Town
Band 6 Goodnight, My Love

PRODUCED BY HERB ALPERT & JERRY MOSS
ARRANGED BY SHORTY ROGERS & HERB ALPERT
ENGINEER: PHIL YEEND
STUDIO: CONWAY RECORDERS, HOLLYWOOD, CALIF.
MASTERING: AMI HADANI
COVER DESIGN: CAL FREEDMAN / BERNIE GARDNER

Liner Notes:

The amazing proportions of George McCurn's popularity after but one single release has prompted the question: "Where has he been?" or more apt, "Where did he come from?" Since we quickly dismiss the "Overnight Sensation" image as being an unreal and obsolete tool in the press agent's handbook, we must dig further for the sincerely curious music trade and public.

West coast Tin Pan Alley historians tell us about Sam Cooke and the late Jesse Belvin heaping praise upon a fabled "Ooppee" (pronounced 'oopie'), whose distinctively resonant range of highs and lows were creating a large stir on the gospel circuit. George Ooppee McCurn was then appearing with a spiritual group, the famed "Pilgrim Travelers." It was with this well-traveled quintet that McCurn achieved the reputation as one of the very greatest and sought-after bass singers in the gospel field. He performed with the "Travelers" for five years. Always a popular favorite, Mahalia Jackson is his young son's godmother.

In December of 1961, McCurn joined the "Ink Spots" for a world tour. Internationally acclaimed for his solo work with this reowned vocal group, "Ooppee" returned to the States in November, 1962. He was shortly thereafter approached by the producers who brought him the folk standard, "I'm Just A Country Boy." McCurn recorded the song in January. It remained on the national best seller lists for three months.

For George McCurn, the transition from gospel to pop is a slight one. The feeling and intensity in lyric expression and tone remains the same. From all his background and experience, George tells a story in song in a way so vastly refreshing from the majority of his contemporaries. The truth is, he feels it. You will, too. ------- J.M.
 
The "Humorous Poverty Schtick" of "One More Time For The Poor Man" gets me every time...

If this LP hadn't fallen off the CD reissue companies' radars, then it would be a good re-release, especially by someone like Shout! Factory or Collectors Choice or maybe even a company like Rev-O-La... There are also a handful of Singles, too, which should also be reissued along with this LP... One particular significance is it being released between Herb Alpert & TjB's "First" and "Second" albums and the "SECOND" for A&M...!



Dave
 
This is an album I didn't get to hear until just within the past few years. An eBay acquisition, not something I even knew existed for years, the copy I found is a relatively nice one, not too noisy, and a stereo version.

It's got a bit of ringwear on the jacket, but other than that is in decent shape.

This was the second A&M album ever made, and the first to go out of print.

My favorite is the title track.

Harry
 
There are six tunes from 45s that never saw their way to an album. After all the years of having this album, I just did a careful digital dub, including the 6 tunes as bonus tracks and reproduced the artwork for the jewel case.

As dated as this album now sounds, it is an important album in A&M's history, partly because it was the second album to be released and because of Herb's producing, arranging and playing.

Recording details as follows:

1/10/63 - I'm Just A Country Boy - In My Little Corner Of The World - Herb Alpert - trumpet, Carol Kaye - bass, Bill Pitman - guitar, Bobby Bruce - violin, George Callender - tuba, bass, Stella Castellucci - harp, John DeVoogdt, Hyman Gold - cello, Harry Hyams - viola, Mel Lews, Leonard Malarsky - violin, Jack Shulman - violin, Darrel Terwilliger - violin, viola, John Vidusich - violin, Irving Weinper - violin.

3/27/63 - Funny - Goodnight, My Love - Hundred Pounds Of Clay - How's The World Treating You - The End - Herb Alpert - trumpet, Ollie Mitchell - trumpet, Earl Palmer - drums, Robert Bein - violin, Joe Burnett - trumpet, George Callender - tuba, bass, Paul Horn - sax, clarinet, flute, Raymond Johnson - piano, organ, Jack Nimitz - sax, Howard Roberts - sax, Clifford Shank - flute, Kenneth Shroyer - trombone.

4/10/63 - God Bless The Child - Snap Your Fingers - Guess Who - Georgia Town - He'll Have To Go - Poor Man - Herb Alpert - trumpet, Earl Palmer - drums, Bill Pitman - guitar, George Callender - tuba, bass, Jewell Grant - sax, clarinet, William Green - sax, flute, reeds, Raymond Johnson - piano, organ, Howard Roberts - sax.
 
George Ooppee McCurn was then appearing with a spiritual group, the famed "Pilgrim Travelers."
As of 1954, another member of the Pilgrim Travelers went on to greater fame.

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Sam Cooke (far left, pictured with the Pilgrim Travelers) of course became quite well known, and the fellow on the far right--Lou Rawls--stayed for a short time in the Pilgrim Travelers before moving on to his own long singing career. McCurn is second from left, and to the right are Rene Hall and J.W. Alexander. McCurn also was a member of a latter-day version of the Ink Spots.
 
Great historical info I voted for "100 pounds of clay" I was torn between that and " One more time for the poor man" that being said the entire album is very enjoyable and I knew just by hearing it first time in 1989 Herb was playing Trumpet among the other studio players ( He seemed to blend in very well)
 
I voted for "The End", a song made famous by Earl Grant. Nice cool version here by George. Did A&M ever even try to promote this album, or was it kept a secret for some odd reason?
 
Does anyone know why this album was deleted so fast? Herb's SOTB came out less than 2 years after it was released and the album is skipped over on the back cover promos. That was a short run.
 
No idea, but I imagine it was not a very big seller. McCurn was in the Pilgrim Travelers in 1954 and replaced a member of the Ink Spots just prior to this record, so while his voice was familiar, his name probably was not (except in gospel and soul circles).
 
I was a bit surprised to see the McCurn album on Qobuz today. But upon sampling it, this is a mono release and I would bet it's a needledrop--it sounds respectable. They also threw the track order all out of whack. The label of course is not A&M or Universal--it's yet another generic-sounding label that is probably based in the EU.

For those who are curious, it is $5.99 from the Qobuz store as a download. No streaming account needed to purchase, and as I always say, it can be downloaded in lossless formats like FLAC, WAV, ALAC and AIFF.

 
Somewhere recently I ran into the George McCurn album listed on a CD - and like you I suspect it was a UK out-of-copyright release. I know that there's a bunch of tracks on YouTube but mostly mono. I'm happy to have the original stereo LP.
 
I was a bit surprised to see the McCurn album on Qobuz today. But upon sampling it, this is a mono release and I would bet it's a needledrop--it sounds respectable. They also threw the track order all out of whack. The label of course is not A&M or Universal--it's yet another generic-sounding label that is probably based in the EU.

For those who are curious, it is $5.99 from the Qobuz store as a download. No streaming account needed to purchase, and as I always say, it can be downloaded in lossless formats like FLAC, WAV, ALAC and AIFF.

It looks like the Exact version i bought that Amazon was selling a few years ago same Label Vintage masters which I also spoke about in years past on the forum the track listing is indeed not in original order and its in Mono but its OK for what it is sadly i think the original master might have been Lost in the Fire Like So Many other A&M classics suffered the same fate
 
It looks like the Exact version i bought that Amazon was selling a few years ago same Label Vintage masters which I also spoke about in years past on the forum the track listing is indeed not in original order and its in Mono but its OK for what it is sadly i think the original master might have been Lost in the Fire Like So Many other A&M classics suffered the same fate
My stereo copy of the LP looked to be virtually unplayed when I bought it--it was opened but it looked brand new. And it certainly sounds better than the digital version. It's just a shame that the songwriters and McCurn's estate will never see a penny from the sale of those digital downloads.
 
My stereo copy of the LP looked to be virtually unplayed when I bought it--it was opened but it looked brand new. And it certainly sounds better than the digital version. It's just a shame that the songwriters and McCurn's estate will never see a penny from the sale of those digital downloads.
So sad but Very true Rudy
 
Does anyone know why this album was deleted so fast? Herb's SOTB came out less than 2 years after it was released and the album is skipped over on the back cover promos. That was a short run.
Jerry was very aggressive about cut-outs. If it didn't move, it didn't linger in the catalog---and I recall reading at the time that the mother discs were destroyed rather than taking up space.

By the late 60s, I was finding A&M product in cutout bins nine months after release. And, as noted elsewhere, in the 70s, Jerry ended sales to the cut-out market and started recycling vinyl and jackets.
 
I often wonder if Herb and Jerry were hoping to spark "Sam Cooke 2 point Oh" gold with McCurn... He has an amazing voice, not unlike Cooke, with a large hint of Low Rawls in it... Too bad there wasn't more from him.

--Mr Bill
 
McCurn actually did perform with Lou Rawls in their popular gospel group The Pilgrim Travelers, and Sam Cooke of course sang with Lou Rawls as well. So they were all in the same gospel circles in the 50s, which might explain why they all have similar vocal styles. But offhand, I can't think of many bass singers who went onto greater fame (Isaac Hayes and Barry White come to mind)--usually baritones and tenors worked better as lead singers.
 
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