The 5 Satins Sing (Ember ELP 100)

Side One:
01) I'll Remember (In The Still Of The Night)
02) Our Anniversary
03) Wish I Had My Baby
04) Wonderful Girl
05) Sugar
06) I'll Get Along
07) Again

Side Two:
01) To The Aisle
02) Pretty Baby
03) Our Love Is Forever
04) Oh Happy Day
05) Jones Girl
06) Weeping Willow
07) Moonlight & I

The 5 Satins Sing (Mega)

The 5 Satins Sing (Zippy)

Here's another contribution from Marv -the first ever LP released by Ember (a co-label of Herald) in December 1957, and not surprisingly it's a collection of their best selling vocal group of the time, The Five Satins, whose "I'll Remember (In The Still Of The Night)" was not only a big R&B hit but also a pop hit in the late summer / early autumn of 1956. A year later the group had another major R&B / pop hit with "To The Aisle."

The LP contains both sides of the first five singles by The Five Satins on Ember plus four additional sides to give what was then a whopping 14 tracks. Plenty of bang for your buck! Some of the tracks have a very professional production while others have what may be called a rather more primitive sound. I prefer the el primitivo approach!

There's no Unca Marvy link for the background on this particular vocal group but here's a couple of links for you to peruse -

https://www.rocky-52.net/chanteursf/five_sat.htm

http://doo-wop.blogg.org/five-satins-c26502778

Original Single Issues:

In The Still Of The Nite / The Jones Girl - Standord XEP-200 - April 1956. The disc was leased to Ember / Herald for national distribution and issued in June 1956 as "I'll Remember (In The Still Of The Nite)" / "The Jones Girl" (Ember E-1005). Subsequent Ember repressings reverted to the Standord title "In The Still Of The Nite."

Wonderful Girl / Weeping Willow - Ember E-1008 - October 1956

Oh Happy Day / Our Love Is Forever - Ember E-1014 - March 1957

To The Aisle / Wish I Had My Baby - Ember E-1019 - June 1957

Our Anniversary / Pretty Baby (That's Why I Sing) - Ember E-1025 - October 1957

Sugar; I'll Get Along; Again; Moonlight & I - first released on this LP, December 1957.

Thanks again, Marv.

The Best Of Ember Records

Side A:
01. Walking With Mr. Lee - Lee Allen
02. Fountain Of Love - The Starlarks
03. Bing Bong - The Silhouettes
04. Hold Me Close - The Marktones
05. Get A Job - The Silhouettes
06. Pocahontas - The Camelots
07. Talk It Over - The Marktones
08. Miss Thing - The Silhouettes
09. I Am Lonely - The Silhouettes
10. Can't We Fall In Love - The Illusions

Side B:
01. Dear Diary - The Smooth-Tones
02. Send Me A Picture Baby - The Starlarks
03. Three Precious Words - The Edsels
04. Why Don't You Write Me - The Barries
05. Smoke From Your Cigarette - The Fabulons
06. Paradise Hill - The Embers
07. How High Is The Mountain - The Illusions
08. Voodoo Eyes - The Silhouettes
09. What Brought Us Together - The Edsels
10. Mary-Ann - The Barries

The Golden Groups Volume 6 (Mega)

The Golden Groups Volume 6 (Zippy)

The sun beats down on a parched Glasgow in this memorable World Cup summer so naturally your dedicated blues 'n' rhythm correspondent goes vinyl hunting in the shops of this increasingly hip and trendy part of the city's South Side, and lo, what is this I see? A second hand copy of an LP from Relic's Golden Groups series, a series which I totally ignored back when you could find them in the browsers of hipper record shops. So as this is all I've got of the roughly fifty million compilations Relic released on just about any record company which ever issued doowop, it's pointless to ask me to post any more.

I've always had mixed feelings towards doo wop, but heck, it's summer and I'm in the mood for some not too heavy teen type sounds, so kick back and relax to the sound of Ember Records. There's lots of goodies here, ranging from the label's earliest days in 1953 to its last shots at glory in the early 1960s. The Silhouettes in particular demand the attention of the discerning musical palate, but The Five Satins who get mentioned in the sleeve notes are missing. Where'd they go?

I won't be going into the usual depth of background information over the next month or two so that I can concentrate on ripping more vinyl for Be Bop Wino's Summer of Rock 'n' Roll. Just dig the sounds, cats 'n' kittens!

Original Release Details

01. Walking With Mr. Lee - Lee Allen And His Band - Ember E-1027, November 1957

02. Fountain Of Love - The Starlarks - Ember E-1013, February 1957

03. Bing Bong - The Silhouettes - Ember E-1037, August 1958

04. Hold Me Close - The Marktones - Ember E-1022, August 1957

05. Get A Job - The Silhouettes - Ember E-1029, December 1957

06. Pocahontas - The Camelots - Ember E-1108, August 1964

07. Talk It Over - The Marktones - Ember E-1022, August 1957

08. Miss Thing - The Silhouettes - Ember E-1032, March 1958

09. I Am Lonely - The Silhouettes - Ember E-1029, December 1957

10. Can't We Fall In Love - The Illusions - Ember E-1071, February 1961

11. Dear Diary - The Smooth-Tones - Ember E-1001, March 1956

12. Send Me A Picture Baby - The Starlarks - Ember E-1013, February 1957

13. Three Precious Words - The Edsels - Ember E-1078, August 1961

14. Why Don't You Write Me - The Barries - Vernon V102, July 1963

15. Smoke From Your Cigarette - The Fabulons - Ember E-1069, December (?) 1960

16. Paradise Hill - The Embers - Ember 101, February 1953

17. How High Is The Mountain - The Illusions - Ember E-1071, February 1961

18. Voodoo Eyes - The Silhouettes - Ember E-1037, August 1958

19. What Brought Us Together - The Edsels - Tammy 45-1010, (?) 1960

20. Mary-Ann - The Barries - Ember E-1101, February 1964

Notes

The Silhouettes - Get A Job / I Am Lonely originally released on Junior 45-593 in November 1957.

Marv Goldberg article on The Silhouettes

The Edsels - Three Precious Words / Let's Go also released on Tammy 45-1014 in September 1961.

Tammy was a label based in Youngstown, Ohio, and was run by Larry Greene, a vocalist with The Edsels. Tammy had a distibution deal with Ember.

The Barries - Why Don't You Write Me / Mary-Ann was released on Vernon Records in July 1963. Ember released Tonight-Tonight / Mary-Ann in February 1964.

The Embers - Paradise Hill / Sound Of Love was first released on Ember 101 in February 1953. The masters were sold to Herald and re-released on Herald 410 in May 1953.

Lee Allen - Down On Bourbon Street

Many thanks to the anonymous donor who sent this compilation of Lee Allen sides recorded for Ember at 3 sessions between 1957 and 1959. The backing musicians include Alain Toussaint, Charles “Hungry” Williams and Alvin “Red” Tyler.

Lee Allen started out with the Paul Gayten Orchestra in the late 1940s and subsequently joined Dave Bartholomew’s band. But it is as leader of the studio band at Cosimo Matassa’s New Orleans recording studio that he will probably be best remembered. At Cosimo’s he featured on many R&B and Rock’n’Roll recording sessions with Little Richard, Fats Domino, Huey “Piano” Smith, Shirley & Lee, Lloyd Price, Smiley Lewis etc, etc.

In 1957 he signed on with Ember Records and recorded under his own name, issuing the substantial hit “Walkin’ With Mr Lee”. This LP was on the NoLa label, which I have to say I have never heard of. The liner notes are by John Broven.

But enough of the music. What about that LP cover? It is truly a monument to sleaze. And what tragic story lies behind the downfall of the lady reduced to dancing the hoochie coochie while twirling tassles for the delectation of an unruly mob of drunks? Ah well, at least she got to hear Lee Allen playing rambunctious rhythm ‘n’ blues and sly striptease jazz. Every cloud has a silver lining.

I must also extend a big thank you to Joan K who contributed scans of original Ember singles and an EP at very short notice. Joan you are awesome.

Ripped from vinyl at 192 kbps. Some surface noise audible. Password = greaseyspoon

Download and do the shimmy shimmy shake:

http://rapidshare.com/files/106417189/Down_On_Bourbon_Street.rar

1. Promenade
2. Walkin' With Mr Lee
3. Tic Toc
4. Bee Hive
5. Chuggin'
6. Big Horn Special
7. Jim Jam
8. Strollin' With Mr Lee
9. Teen Dreams
10. Boppin' At The Hop
11. Lee's Blues
12. Hot Rod Special
13. Ivy League
14. Short Circuit Funky
15. Creole Alley
16. Cat Walk


Acrobat Records in the UK have recently released a 24 track CD of Lee Allen sides. If you liked this download, please spend some cash on the disc (Acrobat ACMCD4267):