ray charles 45 abc paramount labels
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Topic: ray charles 45 abc paramount labels
Posted By: edtop40
Subject: ray charles 45 abc paramount labels
Date Posted: 19 May 2013 at 10:22am
does anyone know when the 45 labels where switched from
abc-paramount to just abc?....the reason i ask is that i'm
reviewing ray charles 45's today and noticed a few of my 45
don't line up properly versus the top 40 book i use.....for
example....the 45 'let's go get stoned' i have as abc-
paramount 10808 while the top 40 book list the 45 as being
issued as abc 10808 only...also the 45 for 'crying time' i
have as abc 10739 but the book has it as abc-paramount
10739.....any direction would be welcomed...
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edtop40
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Replies:
Posted By: jimct
Date Posted: 19 May 2013 at 11:14am
Ed, as guys like "45 pressing plant specialist" John (Yah Shure) have often
told us before in cases like these, exact dates for a change in label design
are not cut and dried. The ABC-Paramount to ABC 1966 conversion is
another of them.
One of the earliest-numbered 45s to appear on both label designs was
Tommy Roe's "Sweet Pea" (ABC-Paramount & ABC 10762.) Since late
1963's "Everybody", Tommy had been one of many US artists to suffer a
1964/1965 "hit drought", largely due to the British Invasion. But, unlike
many others, Roe was able to eventually score more hits.
"Sweet Pea" was first released in January of 1966. No airplay/sales at all
until April, when it first reached the Top 10 in Birmingham, AL and
Orlando, FL. And it kept peaking, in different US cities, each month until
October, when it finally hit the Top 10 in St. Louis.
Obviously, this 45 was being pressed up as a "current hit" for over 6
months. Since pressing plants were advised to use up "old label stock"
before using the new ones, depending on how many old labels a plant still
had on hand, 1966 45s for "Sweet Pea" appearing on both labels, are both
100% legitimate and authentic to the time period.
As best as I can surmise, it looks like by approximately ABC 10800 or so,
the majority of the label's new 45 releases were coming out on the "just
ABC" label. But I'm 100% sure there are exceptions, even after #10800.
Promos 45s were usually quicker to utilize a new label design than stock
copies were, Ed. So if you wanna browse some 1966 ABC and/or ABC-
Paramount promo 45s for sale on eBay, that might be your best bet to
narrow the exact label transition date down a bit further.
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Posted By: TomDiehl1
Date Posted: 19 May 2013 at 11:17am
It's hard to pinpoint it because I'm guessing they used a lot of old ABC-Paramount label stock for the new ABC releases. The name change is mentioned in the December 10 1966 Billboard magazine which indicates the name change happened in early 1966 when they moved to a new building. I do have a copy of Sweet Pea by Tommy Roe on ABC Paramount and the price guide seems to indicate that it was in fact pressed first....its on styrene and i don't think i've seen any early ABC 45s on styrene except as promos.
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Live in stereo.
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Posted By: Yah Shure
Date Posted: 19 May 2013 at 3:38pm
I'll just add that at least one pressing plant - Plastic Products - ran out of ABC-Paramount labels before they got the new ABC design in. I bought my first copy of "Sweet Pea" around late July of '66; it was on a transitional all-black label with all-silver printing. "ABC" appeared in large silver block letters above the word "RECORDS." The corporate "A Product of ABC-PARAMOUNT Records, Inc." blurb was simply printed straight across the bottom in three lines. Beyond those differences, the remaining print placement and type fonts were the same as always.
What's interesting about the dissolution of the ABC-Paramount corporate partnership (and the circumstances surrounding it are worth Googling) is that the record division continued to be known as ABC-Paramount Records, Inc. The new white-logo 1966 label proved to be rather transitional in itself, as the color spectrum/oscilloscope portion of the logo carried over from the older ABC-Paramount logo was modified into the now-familiar color spectrum-box logo by the time of Tommy's first post-"Hazel" 45, "It's Now Winters Day." The circular white ABC Records logo on the blue-and-white factory sleeves was also eventually changed to the box design, with "ABC Records, Inc., 1330 Avenue Of The Americas..." replacing the previous "A Product of ABC-Paramount Records Inc..." wording.
Monarch Records was pressing styrene stock 45s on the 1966 white-logo ABC label out west (I have styrene Monarch stocks of both "Sweet Pea" and "Hooray For Hazel" on that label design.) Older hit titles still in print appeared on that short-lived 1966 white logo design, as well, including Lloyd Price's "(You've Got) Personality."
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