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 |
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:'
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:
Blueberry Hill
Lucille
Good Golly Miss Molly
Rip It Up
Tutti Frutti
Keep A Knockin'
Hound Dog
Jenny Jenny
Long Tall Sally
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".
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
There were three basic label formats for both 78s and 45s on the Phonodisc/Regency label:
1. Cream label with purple print (first 3 releases)
2. Green label with silver print (561 through 823)
3. Green label with black print (final release 956)
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. |
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 |
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 |
R-956 | Little Richard | Annie Is Back / Bama Lama Lama Loo |
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April 1964, Releaed in the USA as Specialty 692 |
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 |
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 |
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
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).
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.
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_musicThe Applejacks released three hard-to-find singles on the blue London label in Canada during 1964 :
London L.9658 Tell Me When / Baby Jane (April 1964)
London L.9681 Like Dreamers Do / Everybody Fall Down (July 1964)
London L.9709 I'm Gonna Send My Love (Three Little Words) / You're The One For Me
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 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.

Side 1:
1. Tell Me When
2. Wishing Will Never Make It So
3. Over Suzanne
4. Hallo Josephine
5. As A Matter Of Fact
6. Too Much Monkey Business
7. Memories Of You
8. Ain't That Just Like Me
Side 2:
1. Kansas City
2. I Wonder
3. Three Little Words (I Love You)
4. Baby Jane
5. No Time
6. See If She Cares
7. What's The Matter Little Girl
8. What'd I Say
(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).
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, British Columbia AM radio station CFUN charted two of The Applejacks Canadian 45s on their weekly "C-FUNTASTIC FIFTY" chart as follows: 
CFUN 4/25/64 9 15 1 Tell Me When London L. 9658
CFUN 7/11/64 3 32 2 Like Dreamers Do London L. 9681
(* 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).
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.
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 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:
Tell Me When / Baby Jane (Decca F 11916) 1964 (#7 UK, #135 U.S.)
Like Dreamers Do / Everybody Fall Down (Decca F 11916) 1964 (#20 UK)
Three Little Words (I Love You) / You're the One (Decca F 11981) 1964 (#23 UK)
Bye Bye Girl / It's Not a Game Anymore (Decca F 12106) 1965
I Go to Sleep / Make Up or Break Up (Decca F 12216) 1965 (a great cover of The Kinks song)
I'm Through / We Gotta Get Together (Decca F 12301) 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.