Cash Box Looking Ahead

I'm definitely in, Paul - love those high numbers on the non-Billboard "hits"! But I already see a typo on one of the three sample pages that are posted for this book - too late to fix??? :-)

Also, I'm glad to hear that these new CB and RW books have been such a success, so why the limited print-runs???

Paul Haney wrote: The book is going to the printer later today, so please let me know of any typos now!

Under The Brady Bunch (pg. 16), Maureen McCormick's character was actually spelled "Marcia", not "Marsha". That show was an after-school staple for me as a kid back in the mid to late '70s - probably saw every episode, lol...

Paul, I will be pre-ordering my copy next week. Thanks as always for all
the quality research. Can't wait to receive it.

Just in case the BB Bubbler "Let Her Dance" by the Bobby Fuller Four is
included in this new book, all Liberty 55812 copies (which your Top Pop
Singles 1955-2012 book shows as the song's official label/catalog #)
were pressed up/issued in error, by then-Liberty-label-head Al Bennett.
Bennett and Del-Fi/Mustang's Bob Keane hooked up for lunch one day.
Keane was all pumped up for the new "Let Her Dance" single, which he
was issuing on 45 that very week, as Mustang 3006. Bennett wanted to
hear it, so Keane sent a reel-to-reel tape over to Bennett later that day.
Bennett loved it, and asked Keane if he could "put it out". Keane said
"send me over a contract" to Bennett, mostly in jest. Keane released so
little product, as opposed to Bennett's huge label, and since he knew first
hand of Keane's wild enthusiasm for his new release, that Keane thought
Bennett was surely joking. At most, Keane thought Bennett may have
wanted to help with the song's retail distribution, which Keane would've at
least considered.

Bennett, however, was so certain that he and Keane already had a "done
deal", that he ordered Liberty promo 45s be sent to radio, and stock 45s
to be pressed up, using the tape Keane sent him, even before the contract
he sent Keane was received back. For Bennett, that was a big mistake.   

When Keane read the contract, he saw in small print that Bennett had also
inserted language that gave Liberty first crack at issuing a Bobby Fuller
Four LP. Enough though Keane never had any inkling to sign away even
the "Let Her Dance" 45 to Liberty, he found Bennett attempting to lay
claim to a possible LP way over the top - it hadn't even been discussed.

So Keane never gave Bennett's contract any further consideration, and
informed Bennett of that. And Keane soon became furious, when he
discovered that Bennett had been presumptuous enough to send out
Liberty "Let Her Dance" promo 45 copies to radio. Keane spent many
hours letting radio know that the Mustang was the only *official* 45
release, and that Liberty has never had a signed contract to release any
Bobby Fuller Four tracks.

Paul, I can only speculate that Keane was so pre-occupied with sorting out
radio's "Let Her Dance" label confusion, that he never informed Billboard
of same. I know it isn't really RR's job to correct old Billboard issues label
info errors. But I just wanted to bring this to your attention. All Liberty
55812 copies, although they do exist, were pressed up/distributed
without the supporting legal paperwork to do so. All official 45 copies
were on Mustang.

This looks like a great book... I'll definitely be ordering
this one.

Paul, I recently received my copy of this book, and I've found myself going
back into its pages every day since!

It's already helped me in several ways. I've always been interested in the
originally-released 45 versions of songs, that later became big hits by
another artist. But info on these versions, such as label/catalog #, and
exactly *when* they were a current release is often difficult for me to
ascertain.

Well, on that front, I've only just finished with the letter "C", and I've
already found full details for the following original 45 versions:

-Avantis--Keep On Dancing (the great, 1963 original version of the late
1965 Gentrys' hit, including hometown/personnel info for the group!

-Jimmy Cliff--Wild World (although songwriter Cat Stevens' version later
did become the hit, Cliff's 9/70 original U.S. 45 release of the song was
out a full six months earlier.) This also happened in 1970 with James
Taylor's "Fire And Rain". He wrote it, but versions by both Johnny Rivers
and R.B Greaves had both eked into the Hot 100 before WB thought, "Hey,
why haven't we ever issued the original on a 45?" So they finally did. And
JT soon had his first hit song.

-Climax--Rock And Roll Heaven (this July 1973 original version was
released almost a full year before it was to become the "comeback" hit for
the Righteous Brothers.)

As a 45 collector for years, merchants (who would eventually become my
friends) would often offer me large quantities of non-hit 60s/70s 45s, for
next to nothing. Basically just to free up space in their shops. I bought
them, and have them all simply alphabetized by artist. Well, I've already
discovered over a dozen titles in this new book, from both the known and
the unknown: Ambergris, Darin D. Anna, AWB, Bar-Kays, Bee Gees, Black
Sabbath, Blizzard, Freddy Cannon, etc. etc.

I've also found other 45s in this new book, in those very same boxes,
where I could never before pinpoint the exact 45 release date, because
the labels were either very obscure, or had few total releases. Well, I now
know that both Brook Benton's remake of Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay", on
Brut/Buddah, was from Jan. 1974, and that my J.R. Bailey 45 of "Love,
Love, Love", on some obscure indie label called "Toy", had a long, 14-
week run on the Cashbox "Looking Ahead" chart, in May/June/July of
1972. Who knew?

Finally, for those into newer obscurities, back in the early 90's, we got in a
promo CD single into the station for a great remake (I thought) of "For
What It's Worth", done by the Candy Skins. (Both this version and the
classic original version are in my iPod.) The 90's remake also samples
"Sympathy For The Devil", which Paul Haney somehow notes in its book
entry. For Paul to even *know* of that obscure fact simply amazes me to
no end. Does Paul listen to/research every single song for an hour each? It
sure seems that way. As a music researcher myself, Paul's consistently
complete and flawless work for RR continues to just boggle my mind. I
know first hand how hard the work is. Like how could Paul know of all the
45 flip side info for these songs? That info wasn't listed inside Cashbox
back then. I really don't think Mr. Whitburn was collecting Cashbox
"bubblers" 60 years ago, do you? Yet Paul has *every* flip side for *every*
single song included here!!!! And I have absolutely no idea how he did it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I just love this new book. Much more
than I expected to. I know it might not be for T4MOC forum members like
my friend Ed, who is Top 40-centric. I seem to learn new things every
single page, about the music and artists of my beloved 60s/70's era, that
I would've never ever thought to look up on Google.

I know there are others who'd like to see their own particular favorite
chart get a similar treatment by RR. I truly hope it happens. This new book
is more of a customized, "boutique" release by RR. And if these more
specialized books can still make Mr. Whitburn/RR some money, in limited
print runs like this one, he's sure to consider others, right? I know Paul
Haney is up for researching just about any music category that we want.
All we have to do is support books like this, in sufficient numbers to get
Mr. Whitburn to sign off to do more of them. Just like we forum members
do for CD releases from Real Gone, Hit Parade/Amazing 60's, etc. The
more who buy, the more of them we'll be seeing released soon.

I hope this didn't come off sounding like an "informercial." Heck, I don't
work for RR. I make no money from it. But I do see the great value in such
books being released - just like I do with new catalog CDs - and I'd like to
see more of them, that's all. So I bought it. I hope some of you have or
will be buying it, too.

Edited by jimct