Golden oldies/Forget Me Nots/Memories

Song4uman

Well-Known Member
No pics yet
But just found a 45 of Please Mr Postman Forget me not series at a thrift store.
In a yellow package that says Golden Oldies. Still in shrink wrap.

I’m thinking probably from early 1980s. Anyone know for sure?

also got Lou Rawls You’ll never find
 
A&M's FORGET ME NOTS series started to be issued around 1972. It was an effort to keep the best singles from the past that the label had issued out in the public eye. There was a later effort that was very similar called MEMORIES.

The FORGET ME NOTS 45s were all available in stores. But there were also several promotional items related to the series. One was a two-album LP set that featured 30 of the singles. Each side was roughly themed: 1 and 2 were labeled (MOR), while 3 and 4 had a (POP) moniker attached. But even with these divisions, some tracks just didn't quite fit. I wouldn't classify Stealers Wheel's "Stuck In The Middle With You" as MOR, nor would I say that Blue Haze's "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" fit that MOR labeling. Just a bit of a quibble.

The album's artwork is the same green and yellow that adorn the singles. And interestingly, some of the tracks are the original mono issues, like Herb's "A Taste Of Honey" and Sergio's "Scarborough Fair". The Checkmates and Boyce & Hart also have mono tracks.

Another promotional item which I've not seen, but heard of, was a huge box full of Forget Me Nots 45s. One of my old program directors said he had one, but wasn't parting with it.

I'm assuming the 45 of "Please Mr. Postman" looks like the one on Discogs:

1590094722201.png

A later series, also called Forget Me Nots, had artwork that featured a pair of glasses at the top.
 
A&M's FORGET ME NOTS series started to be issued around 1972. It was an effort to keep the best singles from the past that the label had issued out in the public eye. There was a later effort that was very similar called MEMORIES.

The FORGET ME NOTS 45s were all available in stores. But there were also several promotional items related to the series. One was a two-album LP set that featured 30 of the singles. Each side was roughly themed: 1 and 2 were labeled (MOR), while 3 and 4 had a (POP) moniker attached. But even with these divisions, some tracks just didn't quite fit. I wouldn't classify Stealers Wheel's "Stuck In The Middle With You" as MOR, nor would I say that Blue Haze's "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" fit that MOR labeling. Just a bit of a quibble.

The album's artwork is the same green and yellow that adorn the singles. And interestingly, some of the tracks are the original mono issues, like Herb's "A Taste Of Honey" and Sergio's "Scarborough Fair". The Checkmates and Boyce & Hart also have mono tracks.

Another promotional item which I've not seen, but heard of, was a huge box full of Forget Me Nots 45s. One of my old program directors said he had one, but wasn't parting with it.

I'm assuming the 45 of "Please Mr. Postman" looks like the one on Discogs:

1590094722201.png

A later series, also called Forget Me Nots, had artwork that featured a pair of glasses at the top.
We have that Forget me nots Album at our radio station still in playable shape and I'm happy to say I have played many tracks from it over my 25 years on the air
 
A&M's FORGET ME NOTS series started to be issued around 1972. It was an effort to keep the best singles from the past that the label had issued out in the public eye. There was a later effort that was very similar called MEMORIES.

The FORGET ME NOTS 45s were all available in stores. But there were also several promotional items related to the series. One was a two-album LP set that featured 30 of the singles. Each side was roughly themed: 1 and 2 were labeled (MOR), while 3 and 4 had a (POP) moniker attached. But even with these divisions, some tracks just didn't quite fit. I wouldn't classify Stealers Wheel's "Stuck In The Middle With You" as MOR, nor would I say that Blue Haze's "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" fit that MOR labeling. Just a bit of a quibble.

The album's artwork is the same green and yellow that adorn the singles. And interestingly, some of the tracks are the original mono issues, like Herb's "A Taste Of Honey" and Sergio's "Scarborough Fair". The Checkmates and Boyce & Hart also have mono tracks.

Another promotional item which I've not seen, but heard of, was a huge box full of Forget Me Nots 45s. One of my old program directors said he had one, but wasn't parting with it.

I'm assuming the 45 of "Please Mr. Postman" looks like the one on Discogs:

1590094722201.png

A later series, also called Forget Me Nots, had artwork that featured a pair of glasses at the top.
What’s with the finger nail? I didn’t think they were trying to give people the finger.
 
I would love to have an original 45 of The Christmas Song ... but any I've seen on ebay seem to be on this label. It's not attractive and is at odds with the classy cover artwork. Was The Christmas Song only issued with this label? :)
 
"Christmas Song" as a 7" single was released on the silver/tan label and its white label promo.

It also shows up in the Memories series.
 
I am surprised that my woefully inadequate Singles/45 collection contains
three Forget-Me-Knots:
(1) Only Yesterday/I Won't Last A Day Without You
(2) Yesterday Once More/Sing
(3) Merry Christmas Darling/Christmas Song
 
I have two "Christmas Song" 45s. One is a stock silver/tan in a picture sleeve advertising the 1977 Christmas special. Then I have a reissue from later on, same picture sleeve without the ABC-TV promo ad. This one's on the Forget Me Nots.

scan0021.jpgscan0022.jpg
 
I think I have a couple of the ones with the glasses.....I didn't put any of my old 45s on my site....I think I'll add them on the "SINGLES" page.
Jonathan
 
The ‘eye glasses’ label preceded the striped ones. I collected them as they were released. I always thought they were pretty nifty.
 
The ‘eye glasses’ label preceded the striped ones. I collected them as they were released. I always thought they were pretty nifty.

Thanks for clearing that up. I was never a collector of the 45s, so I'm coming at this from decades later.
 
Which one are you referring to? I'm not familiar with a generic sleeve with a Carpenters logo. Got a picture?
 
Which one are you referring to? I'm not familiar with a generic sleeve with a Carpenters logo. Got a picture?
I also have one in my 45 collection. It's a black sleeve with a hole in the middle. Above the hole is the Carpenters logo in white lettering. To either side of the hole's "equator" is the word RECORDS in white. The bottom left quadrant of the sleeve has a small pink square with the white lettering A&M inside . The bottom right quadrant has pink lettering A&M on the black sleeve background.
 
I also have one in my 45 collection. It's a black sleeve with a hole in the middle. Above the hole is the Carpenters logo in white lettering. To either side of the hole's "equator" is the word RECORDS in white. The bottom left quadrant of the sleeve has a small pink square with the white lettering A&M inside . The bottom right quadrant has pink lettering A&M on the black sleeve background.

Love to see one. I'm wondering if it was a later set of sleeves issued as 45s were on their way out.

The A&M sleeves for 45s I know of are here:
 
Which one are you referring to? I'm not familiar with a generic sleeve with a Carpenters logo. Got a picture?
Trevor Thurlow Productions

The sleeves are in the 2nd and 3rd picture from the top. When I got the sleeve, there was another 45 single in the sleeve, not a Carpenters single. I just put the Close To You/I Kept On Loving You 45 in because it didn't have a sleeve, and I felt that a Carpenters single needed to be in the sleeve. And I got the sleeve in Canada. I don't remember whether it was at a garage sale or it might've been at Legend Records in Ottawa.

Now then, I just discovered (and if you look at the top photo, you can see there is no "Stereo" marked on it) that 45 is a MONO commercial pressing done by A&M Records of Canada Limited. I've listened to it with headphones, and everything is centered; it sounds like a fold-down.
 
OK, not so much Carpenters, but A&M Hit Oldies re-issued - here is the above referenced album SP 8400 (Promo):

FORGET-ME-NOTS SP8400_1.jpg

FORGET-ME-NOTS SP8400_2.jpg

So here are some 45s with my thoughts. You'll see that the above album compilation came after these singles.

STRUTTIN-MISS FRENCHY_706-870.jpg
backed with
STRUTTIN-MISS FRENCHY_706-870b.jpg

At first glance, it almost appears to be a mistake. But, if you look at the trademark symbol in the logo, the release date would be 1967 or maybe later. Must have a pain in the butt to track a single bearing two different stock numbers! My guess is that there was no real initial plan for A&M to release hit oldies and if you look at the next releases, you'll see what appears to be the "next generation."

NUMERO CINCO-MISS FRENCHY_742-870.jpg
backed with
NUMERO CINCO-MISS FRENCHY_742-870b.jpg

Now these make a bit more sense, but still an extra three digits and a slash to note. Then someone must have had an epiphany and decided to make an 8500 (and 8600) number series for these re-issues. Almost forgot, this single according to the trail out, are marked 1080-S and 1333-S. An indication of a stereo pressing, even though the label has no such indication. So, was this an error? Or was this tied to the request of FM radio for stereo singles that A&M reportedly did back when.

LONELYBULL8501forgetmenot.jpg
8501 first re-issue in the new series
LONELY BULL 8501-S.jpg
later renamed to "Memories," they issued stereo singles.

LET IT BE ME 8502.jpg
alternate "forget me nots" pressing

TASTE OF HONEY MEM.jpg
years later A&M contracted out the oldies singles to Collectables in Pennsylvania.

ThisGuy-Rise Digital Memories.jpg

Also years later, A&M released a series called "digital Memories" and there was a promo box set of these.
 
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