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jimct
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| Posted: 12 December 2013 at 3:21am | IP Logged
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It might've been back in December of 1979, but I'm almost certain it
wasn't until December of 1980, when our station started getting big
requests for this song. But, until the 1984 Epic re-recording, we would
never get a copy of the song into our station. I believe our city's album
rocker ran Dr. Demento on weekends. As a song, "Grandma..." was right
up his alley. The station must've then begun to play the song in regular
holiday rotation. Because, clearly, folks in our area were hearing the song
somewhere on local radio - and it wasn't us. And while I'd hardly compare
this to a Top 40 rival hammering a new Beatle track in 1964 that no one
else had, for example, no PD/MD ever wants to not even have access to a
song that's generating good local buzz.
I was only out of college a year, but I'd already become known as "the guy
who owns every song in history" at the station. Even though I didn't yet.
Not by a long shot. But back then, I felt heavy pressure to always come
through for the station, whenever they'd ask me for stuff. (After all, they
gave me a chance on-air, without even an aircheck tape, for reasons that
escape me to this day.) The MD asked me if I had a copy of "Grandma...",
saying they really needed it. Luckily, I'd gotten a copy of it only *days*
before. In Fall '79, my best friend in college had began law school, 3
hours away, in Albany, NY. I'd go up one weekend a month, mainly getting
introduced to the local brew of choice, Genesee (they called it "Jenny"), Mr.
Subb, and a supermarket called Price Chopper, none of which ever existed
in CT (please correct me if I'm wrong, Andy Chouffi!) :)
My buddy said that a WWII vet came back home in 1945, and opened his
own record shop. By 1958, he was stocking the entire Hot 100, and he
would buy a dozen extra cutout copies of each, on the cheap, when they
were being deleted as currents. As a result, years later, he still had
quantity on unplayed, original copies, for 98%+ of all old hit 45s. And yes,
they could be quite pricey to acquire. He also stocked a ton of
seasonal/novelty/comedy music. My buddy knew I collected 45s, so he
specifically brought me there, on my first trip up. It changed my life. I'd
never seen a place anything like it, before or since. The owner's wife was
always there, too. She would smile, but she would never interact with
customers. Interior design was her skill. All their 45s were behind the
counter. As were the LPs themselves. (Only the LP jackets, in plastic, were
accessible for customers to browse through-you had to ask them for the
record, if interested.) It was well-lit, and impeccably clean. It didn't have
that old, dingy record shop look, that us collectors never seem to mind.
(Forgive me - I know 99% of us have been inside many a Mom-and-Pop
shop. I just had to share the wonder of my "Holy Grail", all-time #1
favorite place, with you. The memories suddenly all flooded back, thinking
about "Grandma...". To me, them having this 45 was possibly their finest
hour. Now please, wake up!!!!) :)
While on-the-air the previous week, I'd gotten several requests for
"Grandma...". It was the first song I'd even gotten a request for that I was
100% unfamiliar with. So I knew I'd likely be getting asked about it soon,
unless a copy had arrived into the station. I knew I couldn't count on such
luck, though. So when I walked into Abe's record shop, while visiting the
very next weekend, I knew I wanted that Elmo & Patsy 45 - and I wanted it
BAD.
Well, thank goodness. Somehow, Abe had it in stock. It was on the "Oink"
label. I snagged it on a Saturday, and, wouldn't you know, the MD asked
me if I happened to have a copy of it the very next Tuesday! Somehow, my
"musicologist" reputation had remained spotless. By the skin of my teeth!
I'd rather be lucky than good...
Enough psychobabble! Now to the song's 45 history. I never had a copy of
the initial, private-press 45. Wikipedia states that the Oink 45 was a re-
recorded version of the private-press 45, but I couldn't previously
confirm/refute this, not owning one. Well, I finally just snared a copy, on
eBay. As best as my tin ear can surmise, although the two are very similar,
I'm just about positive I hear minor differences, in both the guitar playing
and vocals. (I will be shooting both versions out to my buddy Aaron ASAP,
for confirmation, as his busy schedule permits.) Although the private
press 45 doesn't say "Oink" anywhere on it, it does use both the same,
cream-colored label and the exact same pig "caricature" as the later Oink
45 does. And they both have "Christmas" as the B-side. Here are the full
particulars:
-Elmo 'n' Patsy--"Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer"
Private Pressing:
-on "Elmo 'n' Patsy" KP2984A (listed time 3:30; actual time 3:25)
(Deadwax "R-5029", followed by a faint "3A4KP-98-1-R"). It states, 1979
Kim-Pat Ent., Fayetteville, Tenn., and shows a phone # on the label's
bottom rim. It lists a Windsor, CA PO Box on the label's left side, the stock
#, timing and publishing on the right side, with just the artist name, in
large, handwriting-style letters, on the top.
Wikipedia states that the "Oink" 45 copies were primarily distributed out
west, while an agreement was struck with Nashville, TN's Nationwide
Sound Distributors, to press up/distribute Soundwaves 45 copies to the
Eastern half of the country. I know that my Albany, NY shop only had Oink
copies in 1980. The next December (1981), my intent was to buy another
copy or two of it, and gift one to the station, as backup. That's when Abe
also had the copies on Soundwaves. They were less expensive than his
Oink copies, and he assured me that both the Oink and Soundwaves
recordings were identical. I believe that the Soundwaves pressings were
the most commonly available 45s (but keep in mind, I'm here in CT, not
out west. But I base my conclusion on what's mostly offered on eBay.)
There were two different designs for Soundwaves: the first had the label
name largely written across the top, while later copies had Soundwaves in
smaller letters, enclosed by a circle and a quasi-radio wave design. Aside
from this difference, all Soundwave copies contain the exact same audio
as the Oink 45 does. My research indicates that during the Christmas
seasons of 1981, 1982 and 1983, this was the definitive source for this
track. To this day, it's not on a ton of CDs, but both the Billboard 1955-
present V/A Christmas CD and 1984 Elmo & Patsy Epic CD feature the
1984 Epic re-recording. I was initially skeptical that the public wouldn't go
for a re-sing, after 4-5 years of hearing the other version. But, egghead
that I am, I seem to be the only one that ever noticed this fact! The public
seemed to "adopt" the re-sing immediately, as the definitive version. I
can't help but wonder why Epic just didn't buy the Oink/Soundwaves
recording outright? The sound on that recording is perfectly OK. Was
somebody holding out for a fortune for the master tape? Or was Elmo
Stropshire anxious to begin a relationship with Epic, record an entire LP,
and hopefully further his success? Probably the latter.....
Oink KP-2984-A 45 pressing:
-same stock # as the private press (listed 3:30; actual 3:25) (Deadwax:
"KP-2984-A", followed by "L-3469")
Soundwaves NSD/SW4658 pressing:
-the exact same recording as the Oink 45 (listed 3:30; actual 3:25)
(Deadwax:"R-5029")
Finally, details for the 1984, re-recorded Epic 34-04703 45 (listed &
actual time 3:26) (1984 promo 45 deadwax: "ZSS-169846-1B" (flip side
ends in 1C)). A later promo copy we got in, likely in either '85 or '86,
(promo stock #15-05479), has the same Epic deadwax, except it ends in
"1H", with Epic adding "November, 1984" to this later promo 45's label.
Columbia/Epic had a habit of often adding an "original recording date", to
both some of their holiday and oldies 45 catalog re-issues. The Epic 34-
04703 stock copy included "Percy, The Puny Poinsettia" as the B-side.
(The deadwax info is exactly the same as one side of my 1984 promo,
ending in "1C".)
Edited by jimct on 12 December 2013 at 3:30am
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Brian W.
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| Posted: 12 December 2013 at 3:48am | IP Logged
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I sure wish the original Oink/Soundwaves version would be
issued on CD from a tape source. I emailed Elmo several
years ago and asked him if it had ever been been issued
on CD, but his only response was:
Quote:
Dear Brian,
Thank you for remembering the original single. It was
first on the Oink label in 1979 (500 were pressed).
It was then distributed on Soundwaves, in the early 80's.
I re-recorded the single in 1982 as part of an album that
was distributed on Soundwaves in '82 & '83. In 1984 Epic
picked it up for distribution.
Sorry to say I do not have a copy of the original
Soundwaves single which, as you say, is not the same as
the slicker re-recording of 1982 that went on to be the
Epic platinum seller.
Best,
Elmo
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Edited by Brian W. on 12 December 2013 at 7:57pm
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jimct
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| Posted: 12 December 2013 at 4:14am | IP Logged
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Wow, Brian - to see that old e-mail response from Elmo himself was
great!
When I was younger, I would surely take information like that, which is
"right from the horses' mouth", as gospel. But over more recent times, I've
concluded that, while a few artists have still retained an amazing memory,
as to level of detail (for example, I interviewed Petula Clark, around
2005. She was prepping for a week-long string of shows at a big CT
casino. We hit it off. She gave me three times the allotted length. Almost a
full hour. Man, I got the impression I could've asked her anything about
any song she'd ever sung, and could've provided instant recall! - too bad I
can't get her back on the horn, and find out why her Complete Singles set
on Real Gone fizzled, right? Somehow, I know she'd know what
happened!)
But I'd never heard of, or ever seen a copy, of that Elmo & Patsy LP coming
out on Soundwaves, and then later being "picked up" by Epic? Yes, that's a
pretty major detail for Elmo to be mis-remembering. But, until I see vinyl
proof of that Epic LP on Soundwaves, I'm gonna lump Elmo's kind reply
into the category of "If you wanna get to the bottom of an artist's
discography, the last person on earth you should ask is the artist
themselves!" I already know that Elmo's statement about the Oink 45
being issued first is wrong. I'm holding the private pressing in my hand
right now, and the word "Oink" does not appear on it anywhere.....
Edited by jimct on 12 December 2013 at 4:15am
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Hykker
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| Posted: 12 December 2013 at 6:49am | IP Logged
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I just checked my non-Epic copy, and it's the original
issue (not Oink). According to that fountain of
accuracy, Wikipedia the Oink single sold 50,000 copies,
so maybe Elmo was confusing it with the private release.
I don't remember where I got my copy, though I'm pretty
sure I got it in 1979. My day job back then did entail
some travel, I may have been on the west coast on a
business trip. I just got it out of curiosity, hadn't
heard the song until I first played this single. I think
I snuck it in on the air a couple times. I do recall
hearing of a negative reaction to the song initially,
most likely from old people who felt they were being
demeaned. Can't recall any station around here
officially playing it until the re-recording was issued
on Epic.
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AndrewChouffi
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| Posted: 12 December 2013 at 9:28am | IP Logged
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To Jim:
Yes, Jim, 'Price Chopper', borne out of 'Central Market' was in '79 pretty much still confined to the Schenectady/Albany/Troy area. I was actually working at a Price Chopper in 1978/1979 when I got my first bar DJ gig, and yes I consumed a fair amount of Genny Cream Ale back then.
Andy
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jimct
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| Posted: 12 December 2013 at 9:46am | IP Logged
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Steve, you had great instinct to take a flyer on that 45, during your trip
west. And trust me, I'm under no delusion that Wikipedia is any sort of
consistent pillar of accuracy. But it does have its moments. Sometimes
folks who were intimately involved in a certain subject will take the time
to add some little-known info, that ends up being accurate. But, as a
whole, it is surely an information crapshoot.
I also found it interesting that the song didn't get any airplay in your area
until '84.
Finally, I'm not real clear on what you meant when you said no one where
you were "officially played" the song 'til '84. While I think our station did
end up adding the Band Aid 45 to our Top 30 list for a week or two, back
in '84, such instances were few and far between. In fact, I don't recall
either us or any other reporting Top 40 stations ever charting the songs in
their Christmas airplay rotation. Even if it was a new release, making its
holiday debut. To confirm this, I just browsed an old survey repository.
And while its storehouse is far from complete, I only found "Grandma..."
ever showing up one time - on a 1986 survey. Yet we all remember how
nauseatingly often we heard the song on radio, each December.
(PS- thanks for the "Local Albany, NY scene, circa 1979", details
confirmation, Andy!)
Edited by jimct on 12 December 2013 at 9:49am
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Hykker
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| Posted: 12 December 2013 at 10:37am | IP Logged
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jimct wrote:
Finally, I'm not real clear on what you meant when you
said no one where
you were "officially played" the song 'til '84. |
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What I meant was if it was played, it was just spiked
once or twice in the morning show as a novelty item, as
opposed to being part of the rotation of Christmas songs.
The station I was at from '78-83 never played it, nor did
anyone else I ever heard (though our local soft AC did
play "Christmas", the B side).
AndrewChouffi wrote:
To Jim:
Yes, Jim, 'Price Chopper', borne out of 'Central Market'
was in '79 pretty much still confined to the
Schenectady/Albany/Troy area. |
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Actually, Price Chopper has quite a presence in Vermont,
with a couple stores in N.H. as well. The store name
isn't terribly accurate...of the 3 chains in the area
(PC, Hannaford & Shaws), PC's prices are generally the
highest.
Genessee beer is (or at least was in the late 70s) sold
in N.H. For a budget brand it was OK.
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AndrewChouffi
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| Posted: 12 December 2013 at 10:48am | IP Logged
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To Hykker:
Are you saying back in 1979 there were Price Chopper stores in Vermont & New Hampshire?? Are you sure you weren't confusing that with P&C Food Markets (no relation) or something else?
Sorry to derail the thread...
Andy
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aaronk
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| Posted: 12 December 2013 at 11:15am | IP Logged
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Very interesting thread! About 6 or 7 years ago, I was browsing the used 45s at Half Price Books. I stumbled upon an original private pressing 45, and I bought it for about a buck, not having any idea how rare it is. I was just curious about its audio content, since I had only ever heard the Epic re-recording. I have it sitting in front of me right now, and it's exactly like the copy Jim describes above. It's on a cream colored label with no mention of "Oink" anywhere. It simply says "Elmo & Patsy" in big script letters across the top, and there is a picture of a pig on the left side of the label.
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KentT
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| Posted: 12 December 2013 at 6:43pm | IP Logged
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Elmo & Patsy label was first version.
Second Version Oink Label
Third variant SoundWaves on two different label designs (Replaced the Elmo
& Patsy label for East Coast)
Fourth the Epic re-recording
First recording released in the UK on Stiff Records
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Hykker
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| Posted: 12 December 2013 at 6:47pm | IP Logged
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AndrewChouffi wrote:
Are you saying back in 1979 there were Price Chopper
stores in Vermont & New Hampshire?? Are you sure you
weren't confusing that with P&C Food Markets (no
relation) or something else? |
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I tried to PM you, but your inbox was full.
It could have been P&C, it seems like a lot of P&C's
became Price Choppers so I thought they were the same
chain.
Now, back to Grandma.
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Yah Shure
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| Posted: 12 December 2013 at 7:00pm | IP Logged
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Thanks for another in-depth post, Jim! I put together a label collage of the five 45 releases I have here:
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh240/Y ahShure/EampPcolla ge_zps36e9c191.jpg
These were the 45s in the chronological order I received them:
Top row, left to right:
1. The original Oink 45, a styrene pressing. Yes, there is no "Oink" mention anywhere to be found on the label, but it was referred as the Oink label from the start (similar to the Clickettes' "Lover's Prayer" appearing on a label with a drawing of a pair of hands holding two dice, but no label name. Was it Dice? Tumbling Dice? Hard to tell when there's no actual printed label name.)
2. 1982 Soundwaves reissue. Red & white factory sleeve, listing NSD's P.O. box number.
3. 1983 Soundwaves reissue. Same catalog number and cutting, new logo design and black & white factory sleeve, now showing NSD's street address.
Bottom row, left to right:
4. 1983 Oink remake. This is the version that appeared on the 1984 Epic reissue. Vinyl Wakefield pressing; actual time is (3:27).
5. Bonus square: this is the back side of the wrap-around card containing Elmo & Patsy's 1983 "Christmas Millionaire" promo 45 on Oink 47. Like Joe and Betty Gibson at Nationwide Sound Distributors, the Oinksters spared no expense when it came to elaborate graphics design. ;)
6. 1985 Epic 15-05479 promo reissue of the previous year's Epic 34-04703 45. This was a Hall Of Fame series reissue. The "November, 1984" designation is another indication that this is a HOF series title. Actual and listed time is (3:26).
Random thoughts:
I doubt the 500 copies allegedly pressed for the original Oink 45 created any buzz beyond the Bay Area in 1979. There were undoubtedly more copies in the pipeline by the following year, when the record was serviced to country radio stations (which is probably where your callers had first heard or heard about it, Jim.) The country FM across the hall from our central Minnesota AC station had received the record and programmed it. There were huge phones at first, followed about two weeks later by the predictable backlash that it was a shockingly-inhumane portrayal of all things elderly, reindeer, eggnog, wig and fig. These were the same Minne-suh-HOO-tans who loved Yogi Yorgesson?? (No: central Minnesota's heritage was mostly German, not Scandahoovian. Big difference re: sense of humor.)
NSD's involvement surprised me, since it veered a bit from their normal "package deal" business model: Aspiring country star/band pays "x" amount of dollars in return for for studio time, "x" number of finished 45s and related promotion. They obviously didn't need any new studio time here.
There could be any number of reasons why the song was re-recorded: did NSD acquire the original Oink master in their distribution deal (which might explain Oink's own 1983 remake)? Was there a conscious decision to make the Epic version more polished (and a tad less countrified?) Who knows whether Elmo would remember correctly or not? (Last I checked, he was still alive and kicking.)
I related my 1980 experience with "Grandma" in pitching the 1982 Soundwaves reissue to my PD at KOMA the day it arrived in the mail. He agreed to give it a few spins, and from there it just took off. I worked the Christmas morning shift and finally put the studio lines on hold. It was just insane... can't remember how many times I played it that day. Not a single complaint call that year, either. When I ran into my counterpart from OKC's #1 station at an awards show a few months later, he brought up the "Grandma" phenomenon, saying how they'd been forced onto the record due to listener requests. I asked if he'd played it the first time around in 1980, and he said that they had, but it hadn't stirred any interest. He was very gracious in crediting us for breaking the record wide open in the market.
Oh... almost forgot: The upthread mention of Hannaford reminded me of vacationing in Bar Harbor, Maine. I found Honeycrisp apples in a big bin at the local Hannaford store and chuckled. The sight of them all tossed together like all the other apple varieties would've horrified the horticulturists back home at the University of Minnesota who'd developed and patented the variety, because Honeycrisps are very easily bruised. Consequently, they have to be hand-picked and packaged so that they don't jostle around in transport. My local Cub supermarket displays them in individually-molded layers. To see all that work (and the higher costs involved) undone in the bins at Hannaford came as a much greater shock than Rudolph's hoof marks on dear ol' grandma. ;)
Edited by Yah Shure on 13 December 2013 at 5:55pm
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Brian W.
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| Posted: 12 December 2013 at 7:57pm | IP Logged
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Yah is correct -- Elmo is still very much alive. I must
have him confused with Bobby Pickett or Alan O'Day or
something.
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Yah Shure
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| Posted: 12 December 2013 at 9:02pm | IP Logged
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No problem, Brian. But just to be safe, you might want to steer clear of the eggnog aisle at Vons. ;)
Forgot to mention this earlier: I concur with Jim's conclusion that there never was any Elmo 'N' Patsy LP issued on Soundwaves. I didn't exactly relish getting promotion calls from the Gibsons, who perennially pestered me to play their latest Billy Parker Soundwaves single (Billy happened to be the MD at Tulsa's KVOO, which put a listenable signal into OKC. Competitor or not, his records just weren't that great.) Had the Gibsons actually issued an Elmo 'N' Patsy LP, they most certainly would have been all over it. But they never mentioned one and I neither read of one nor was ever serviced with one. All the more reason to take Elmo's comments with a generous handful of salt (aisle 6 at King Soopers!)
Edited by Yah Shure on 12 December 2013 at 9:04pm
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aaronk
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So, if I'm reading this correctly, there are two versions on the Oink label: the 1979 version and the 1983 version. Plus, the 1984 Epic remake is a third version.
If I'm not mistaken, there is another remake that Elmo did later, possibly in the '90s. We used to play it on Radio Disney when I first started working there, and I'm pretty sure I encouraged our MD to swap it out for the 1984 version.
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80smusicfreak
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| Posted: 12 December 2013 at 11:03pm | IP Logged
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jimct wrote:
But I'd never heard of, or ever seen a copy, of that Elmo & Patsy LP coming
out on Soundwaves, and then later being "picked up" by Epic? |
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Yah Shure wrote:
| I concur with Jim's conclusion that there never was any Elmo 'N' Patsy LP issued on Soundwaves. |
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At the risk of drawing the wrath of jimct yet again (for proving him wrong), I was initially not going to respond to this thread, but now that Yah Shure has jumped in to apparently back him re: the non-existence of a pre-1984 Epic Elmo & Patsy album, a simple search on eBay earlier today revealed otherwise (even though I admit I'd never seen one before myself). Indeed, it DOES exist. The Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer album first came out on Oink 8223 in 1982, before being re-issued on Epic 39931 in '84. Just check all the photos (front & back cover, inner sleeve, and the Side One label) of this unsold copy from eBay seller "aloysgirl" on Dec. 3: Original 1982 Oink pressing of Elmo & Patsy album - NOT Epic!
So unless you want to split hairs where Elmo stated that the album was "distributed on Soundwaves" instead of simply saying it was on Oink in his e-mail response to Brian W. above, it seems his memory about everything he said in that e-mail was, in fact, spot-on, including how the first pressings of the 45 were on Oink, even though the name "Oink" didn't actually appear on the labels (something I'd already concluded myself during that same eBay search, before Yah Shure confirmed it in his initial post here)...
SIDE NOTE: To be fair, having met about 100 hit-making acts from the '60s-'90s myself over the last 20 years (and in one case, even contributed a rare item of theirs to their own personal collection when asked by that person if he could have it), it does still amaze me at times how little some of them seem to know their own discographies! I often like to bring rare/unusual items of theirs when meeting them, and some of the reactions I've gotten over the years have been pretty surprising, lol. But yes, apparently like Petula Clark (haven't met her myself), based on my own encounters, there are also some who seem to know or recall everything...
Oh, and I agree w/ the others here - good story, jimct. Peace...
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80smusicfreak
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| Posted: 12 December 2013 at 11:17pm | IP Logged
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aaronk wrote:
| So, if I'm reading this correctly, there are two versions on the Oink label: the 1979 version and the 1983 version. Plus, the 1984 Epic remake is a third version. |
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Based on Elmo's e-mail response to Brian W. and the details provided by Yah Shure, I'm interpreting things this way: The original 1979 Oink 45 (that doesn't say "Oink" on the label) and both early '80s pressings on Soundwaves contain the first version of the song. It was then re-recorded in 1982 for the album on Oink 8223, and the second Oink 45 from 1983 was drawn from that, and thus contains the re-recording. Epic then picked up both the album & single in '84, and both of those contain the SAME re-recording that appeared on the Oink album and 1983 Oink 45 (in other words, I don't think the Epic label had them make a third version, as you suggest). But this is going strictly by interpretation of the info posted earlier in this thread, and NOT having actually heard any of these 45 or LP sources. Have no idea about a later ('90s) version...
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aaronk
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| Posted: 12 December 2013 at 11:29pm | IP Logged
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Thank you for clearing that up, 80smusicfreak. Based on Elmo's email
to Brian and your discovery of the Oink LP, I think it's logical to
conclude that only two versions were released between '79 and '84. It
appears that the Epic version is a straight reissue of the 1982 Oink LP
remake.
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Aaron Kannowski
Uptown Sound
91.9 The Peak - Classic Hip Hop
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jimct
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| Posted: 13 December 2013 at 4:16am | IP Logged
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Thanks all, for all of the additional 45/LP details, insight, and positive
feedback about this song's thread.
From my opening post, this topic was nothing but a 100% "fact-finding
mission." 80smusicfreak, I truly have respect for you, for your amazing
discography abilities. To me, your talents are right up there with
"Research Royalty" - guys like Paul Haney's and Tim Neely's, in my
opinion. And that's high cotton. I was truly hoping that you would chime
in here, as this particular query is right in your personal wheelhouse.
It's just that we've rarely, if ever, have had such a "history of a song's
45/LP release incarnations" thread on Pat's board before. It's just not
something we do on here very often. Letter of the law, my entire topic is
"OT". The song wasn't a Top 40 hit, per se. I just thought "Grandma..."
was a special case. It is surely among the most unlikely additions ever to
the "American Classics Songbook", given both its lyrics and its humble,
self-pressed 45 beginnings. Besides, I'd recently read some details in its
current Wikipedia entry that had given me pause, that made me decide to
get to the truth about it, while obviously welcoming everyone else's help.
The only time you and I ever bump heads on here, 80smusicfreak, in my
opinion, is when you divert a thread off-topic, by raising mega-menusha
release details when they aren't relevant to the topic raised. Most recently,
your "Why is everyone omitting the fact that "I Go Blind" was the B-side of
the "Hold My Hand" single?????", regarding its Top 40 airplay history.
Because that point was completely irrelevant to the song's airplay
discussion, since Top 40 radio had no knowledge/concern that the song
was ever issued that way. To me, you sent that thread OT for a time, that's
all. No biggie - free speech in allowed in America! :)
FYI, I've been proven wrong time and time again - every researcher has -
and I have absolutely no problem with it. All that matters is that we get all
the release details sorted out correctly, as a team, in the end, right? I
sincerely appreciate you here, 80smusicfreak, for coming up with that
Oink LP release documentation. In fact, I am forever in your debt, for that
piece of very valuable info. Peace and Happy Holidays to you as well!
I never would've suspected that both Steve (Hykker) and Aaron would've
already owned private-press 45 copies, like I just got off of eBay.
Amazing. And after listening to that PP 45 a couple more times yesterday,
I am now almost certain that they are the exact same recording as the
initial Oink/Soundwaves 45s. That was the *main* reason that I wanted
that PP 45 copy in the first place - because Wikipedia states that the
Oink/Soundwaves 45 was a re-recording of the PP 45.
I suppose it is a matter of personal interpretation whether or not you view
the PP 45 as an "honorary Oink 45 release." I don't happen to. Despite the
similarities, I need to actually see the word "Oink", at least somewhere on
the label, while 80smusicfreak has a different take on that. Once again, to
each his own.
It seems that Elmo, after his divorce from Patsy, has done several re-
recordings of the song, since 1992. I know nothing of them, but would
like to eventually learn more about them, as well as locate the version that
Aaron had played on Radio Disney (BTW, I love that Aaron suggested back
then to his MD, that they "swap it out" for the 1984 version!)
At this moment, to me, the #1 most burning issue is to unearth further
details of a possible (perhaps likely, even) second Oink 45, that features
exactly what would later appear on the Epic 34-04703 45. It would surely
have a unique 45 stock #, right? I suspect that the prior arrangement Oink
made with Soundwaves didn't include the 1982 Oink LP
release/"Grandma..." re-sing (since John (YahShure) didn't hear from "The
Gibsons" on it (love that story, John!))
I shall immediately resume my pursuit of completing this song's full
discography details, utilizing these newly contributed findings. Sincere
thanks to all for the solid help to date, my quality friends!
Edited by jimct on 13 December 2013 at 4:35am
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aaronk
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| Posted: 13 December 2013 at 12:35pm | IP Logged
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jimct wrote:
At this moment, to me, the #1 most burning issue is to unearth further details of a possible (perhaps likely, even) second Oink 45, that features
exactly what would later appear on the Epic 34-04703 45. It would surely have a unique 45 stock #, right? |
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As I put all of the above information together, I'm pretty sure that #4 from John's list is exactly what you're looking for--the 1983 Oink "remake." Hopefully he can chime in to tell us for sure, but it would make sense if that 45 is what Epic reissued in 1984.
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Aaron Kannowski
Uptown Sound
91.9 The Peak - Classic Hip Hop
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Top 40 Music on Compact Disc : Chat Board
Topic: Elmo & Patsy-Grandma Got Run Over By...
