Little Eva - The Loco-Motion

There were 45s with handclaps, and 45s without handclaps.
I don't know which came first or which is considered to be the hit.

Mono, no handclaps version

The oldest version I have is Time-Life's Rock 'N' Roll Era Vol. 2 1962 original release (1987). It runs 2:18 here, and sounds very muddy. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Sessions/Warner Special Products' 2-CD Night Beat (1988) - differently EQ'd digital clone
• JCI's Only Rock 'N Roll 1960-1964 (1994)

There's a new and infinitely better analog transfer on Rhino's Best Of The Girl Groups Vol. 2 (1990). It runs 2:24 here.

Even better still is a version on Time-Life's 2-CD Glory Days Of Rock 'N' Roll Vol. 15 Dance Party (2001), where it runs out to 2:25. It's not just the tail of the fade that's longer; the fade starts later than any of the above CDs. There's a digitally identical clone on:

• Time-Life's 2-CD Rock And Roll The Legendary Years 1961-1964 (2004)

I recommend Time-Life's 2-CD Glory Days Of Rock 'N' Roll Vol. 15 Dance Party (2001) for this version.

Mono, handclaps version

The oldest version I have is Rhino's Billboard Top R&R Hits 1962 (1988). It runs 2:27 here. It sounds quite nice here except for a big dropout at 0:15. There's a digitally identical clone on the 1993 rerelease of this disc.

Fortunately, there's a different analog transfer on Time-Life's 25 Years Of #1 Hits (1991). It also runs 2:27, also sounds quite nice, and lacks the dropout at 0:15. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Time-Life's 2-CD Rock Party (1990; must have used the same source as 25 Years) - levels way too low, and fade is about 8 beats shorter
• Time-Life's Rhythm And Blues Vol. 11 1962 (1991) - fade is about 12 beats shorter
• Time-Life's Solid Gold Soul Vol. 18 1962 (1991) - is a repackaged version of R&B Vol. 11; fade is about 12 beats shorter
• Time-Life's Rock 'N' Roll Era Vol. 2 1962 RE-2 reissue (1992) - digital clone
• Time-Life's History Of Rock 'N' Roll Vol. 8 Sound Of The City 1959-1965 (1993) - not a digital clone

Finally, there's a new analog transfer on Rhino's Millennium Sixties Rock Party (1999). It runs 2:25 here, but ends at the same point in the song as Billboard and 25 Years; the difference in timing is because it runs about 2.0% faster than 25 Years. The Billboard disc runs between these two in speed. There's a digital clone on:

• Rhino's Girl Group Greats (2001)

Both 25 Years and Millennium sound nice, and both run out to the end of the track without fading early. If I had to pick one, I'd go with Rhino's Millennium Sixties Rock Party (1999), because it's closest in speed to the Glory Days CD from above (it's just a teeny bit slower instead of a whole lot slower).

On YouTube, The45Prof has the handclaps version timing out
to 2:20 which is the time of the 45/LP version in the
database.

When Gerry Goffin and Carole King entered the studio with
Eva Boyd to record "The Locomotion", their only intent
was to make a demo. Thinking that the song might be a
worthwhile follow-up to Dee Dee Sharp's "Mashed Potato
Time", they sent the demo to Sharp's producers, but they
turned it down. Don Kirshner, co-founder of the
publishing company to which Goffin and King were signed,
had been planning to launch his own label and decided to
issue Eva's demo as the first release on Dimension
records.

I have always assumed, but have never been able to find
any proof, that the handclaps were overdubbed onto the
demo before it was released and that because copies had
to be pressed so quickly after the song took off, one or
more pressing plants were accidentally sent a tape of the
demo without the handclaps.

Carole King did all the arrangements, is one of the
background singers, and according to some versions of the
story even plays drums on the recording, but only her
husband is credited as producer.

Carole King's "It Might As Well Rain Until September" was
also intended to be just a demo, and The Chiffons' "One
Fine Day" is little more than Carole's demo with her
vocals erased and replaced by those of The Chiffons.

There is a television documentary with Don Kirshner
saying when Goffin and King presented him with the demo
he felt it sounded like a hit, so they overdubbed some
handclaps for the single release. So the handclap version
is the hit version. Some pressing plants may have pulled
the album version (without the handclaps) and pressed
some by mistake. It's a minor difference. To me the
handclap versions is more exciting but the without
version always sounded cleaner (on my original LP
pressing). The whole Locomotion album is great and was
issued in true two track stereo (except for two songs).
Too bad Little Eva never got quality material later. The
album is basically a collection of Goffin and Kings
greatest hits up to that point. The stereo album (to my
nowledge) has never been issued digitally in stereo.