The Joy of 45 Collecting: Lost 45 Tunes Not Available from iTunes, Spotify, or Similar Services
Jukebox "Snippet" 45s: Chronological List of Site Additions
As I add 45s to our inventory, I pick select 45s to highlight with mp3 "snippets" so you can hear the music yourself. I only record "snippets" of tunes I particularly like, ones I think have been under-played and under-appreciated, or ones that are so rare and wonderful I'll never hear them otherwise. For myself, I keep an iTunes playlist of these "snippets," and that playlist is one I listen to most often. These pages chronicle the mp3 "snippets" I've added to our online "jukebox" in reverse chronological order. You can browse the pages to see what was added and when. Click on the blue "Play" button to play the snippet, or click on a song's title to load the page. Many of these 45 records are still for sale, though just as many have been sold. I hope you enjoy perusing these pages as much as I have enjoyed putting them together!
More evidence that the Moodies weren't the wimps they are sometimes made out to be. Great drumming, singing, bass & guitar work add up to classic rock that just doesn't get played much anymore.
This essential single has a delightful 3:57 edited version of the much longer LP cut. I've made an even shorter — but still, at 2:30, it's about as twice as long as usual for my jukebox "snippets" — mp3 snippet so you can hear this particular recording, and so I can enjoy even more of the song as I rotate through my snippets playlist. :-)
There really hadn't been anything like this before, and nothing but pale imitations since. Of course, there haven't been any musicians like John Bonham and Jimmy Page, or vocalists like Robert Plant. Not that this is the very best thing they did together, but it's surely their hardest-rocking single. This amazing promo has an edited version (labeled as "Edited Short Version") of the album cut that's about a minute shorter — very skillfully done, so that by the end I couldn't think of what parts were missing!
Here's an especially nice copy of Dusty Springfield's first hit single, another of England's own making her way in the States. The classic A side is one of the best tunes of the girl group era, which amazingly enough failed to crack the Billboard Top 10.
Besides the essential A side ("Will You Love Me Tomorrow"), the flip is the terrific original version of a song later covered by the Beatles. Personally, I think it's one of the best Shirelles sides ever, so I've made an mp3 "snippet" so I can hear it as often as I like! It's a perfect encapsulation of that pubescent anticipation of what being intimate with the opposite sex will be like... in this case, imagining sensual thrills previously unimaginable. No wonder John Lennon & his comrades felt they had to weigh in with their own reading of "Boys." :-)
This rare single offers two terrific slices of Southern Soul... one variety of which I call "Funky Soul." The B side starts off with an unstoppable groove that I guarantee will make you want to shake your feet! If you don't believe me, have a listen to the mp3 "snippet" I just added to our online "jukebox"!
Double Wow! No wonder this group stayed (mostly) away from driving, uptempo dance music after the way this amazing single was ignored. One of their earliest, it shows sides of the band that are perhaps the best I've yet heard. Both sides are terrific uptempo Northern Soul with the emerging Philly style, but I've chosen to make an mp3 snippet of the A side because its driving rhythm is so intense you just can't ignore it: This is music meant to be danced to, and danced hard! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
I simply had to make an mp3 "snippet" of this amazing track, since it's not available in iTunes and you simply won't believe it was made by a jazz trumpeter. I almost put in the Funk genre, cause it's so freakin'... Fonky!
Talk about great dance music! With this little 45, you get two dynamite dancers. Both are well worth seeking out, but I particularly liked the B side, so check out the mp3 "snippet" I just added to our online "jukebox."
Here's a case where the A side ("Ain't It The Truth") is apparently the tune that fires up Northern Soul dance floors, but my vote goes with the B side stomper. I wonder if no one plays "In My Lonely Room" in Northern Soul dance clubs, and if so, how could they miss such an obvious winner? Have a listen to the mp3 "snippet" to see what I mean! By the way, the year of release is a guesstimate.
This rare 1978 single features two dynamite Funky Soul-style dancers you won't want to miss. Check out the mp3 "snippet" of the B side I've put in our online "jukebox!"
This is not a particularly valuable record, but it's one of my personal favorites and is on my perpetual hunt list everywhere I shop. It's easy to find copies in trashed condition, but finding one with Near Mint or better audio has proven difficult. Note that we give this one a 2-star recommendation: That means, if you're a fan of Easy Listening or Pop Instrumentals, you must have a copy of this single. Even if you're not, I think you'll like it... such a gorgeous clarinet tone, what's not to like? After all, note that it was also a hit on the Black/RnB singles chart in 1962... quite a broad appeal.
If you own but one tune by these guys, this is definitely it! Irrepressibly joyful and infectiously tuneful, this one deserves its own place in the classic 45s "jukebox" ... so I'm adding a snippet. Now I can hear it more often!
Out of Stock
04/21/16
The Marvellos
1967, Loma 2045 Genre: Northern Soul, Motown Style
This great single features two dynamite, Motown-style dancers. I liked the A side so much right away I had to get an mp3 "snippet" of it in our online "jukebox"... so have a listen!
Simply astounding! I saw Armatrading in concert in 2015, and she's still as impressive as when I first heard her back in the mid-1970s. This is one of her signature tunes, without which you simply don't have a Joan Armatrading collection. :-) Love it so much I had to put an mp3 "snippet" in our jukebox; sorry for its length: I couldn't find an earlier place to cut it and wanted to preserve the lovely Stereo mix. By the way, if you love the song you'll never hear a better rendition of it than on this little 7-inch 45: The sound is incredible and even better than on the "Joan Armatrading" LP from which it comes.
This obscure single features two Rock instrumentals that are highly sought-after because of who plays guitar on them: The A side features some heavy, muscular guitar work by Glen Campbell, and the flip finds Eddie Cochran providing the guitar chops. Some might call this sound Rockabilly... others might say "Surf," but whatever you call it, it's the real thing! This was the only single the studio group produced, and it's well worth seeking out. Check out the mp3 "snippet" of "Buzz Saw" to hear what I mean.
"Leather" is one of those tunes that Northern Soul dee-jays love to mix in with their sets — it's a dynamite dancer featuring Elbert's trademark falsetto.
Both sides of this Rockin' RnB monster are worth seeking out, but I liked the single so much I had to choose one for an mp3 "snippet" for our online jukebox. Have a listen to the A side.
Now, here's a rare Detroit Soul 45 you just don't see very often, with two dynamite sides that definitely grow on you with repeated listening. I decided to make mp3 "snippets" of each side since the record is so rare and I couldn't decide which side I prefer. Enjoy!
This drop-dead Hip Hop track is one I've been looking for since I sold my original back in 2002... it's that good! Have a listen to the mp3 "snippet" if you doubt me. :-)
This single's A side, a Dee Clark cover, really impressed me with its crisp instrumentation, but on turning the platter over I found a truly powerful drinking song with the same awesome production as the A side. I'm so impressed I've rush-released an mp3 "snippet" so you can share my excitement: "I Got Loaded" is pure dynamite!
This track is absolute dynamite! If you don't believe me, check out the mp3 "snippet" I've added to our online "jukebox." Besides the in-your-face rocking music, this is a very rare pressing on translucent, marbelized colored vinyl that has to be seen to be fully appreciated.
I couldn't find out the exact year this baby was released (I'm guessing 1962), and as far as I can determine "Lady Frances" released no other 45s, but that doesn't mean this isn't one exciting bundle of early 1960s Girl Group rock! The A side is particularly sweet.
I still think this is my favorite Bread track... the lyrics are hopelessly romantic, but that's just what you want when you're hopelessly in love. And the arrangement suits the mood perfectly. David Gates has concocted a perfect Pop confection that should not be dismissed merely because it is so. The sheer beauty of the music, song, voice, lyrics literally brings me to tears when I'm in a certain mood. The vision of my dear wife coming and "pouring herself on me" when I'm feeling down, and of our ultimately "flying away" from our worldly cares and woes together, evokes such poignancy for me that I feel it's happening... as the music plays. I finally found a copy of with audio good enough to record for my iTunes library, but when I began to make the mp3 "snippet" for Classic 45s, I simply could not find a reasonable place to edit this nearly perfect musical "poem," so I ended up including the entire 2:33 song as the snippet. If you are inclined to dismiss Bread and David Gates, do me a favor and listen to the entirety of the snippet. This level of creativity in Soft Rock definitely deserves our 2-star recommendation, and I hope you agree. Enjoy!
Looking for some Garage/Psych Rock you haven't heard before? How about this one... it was sure a surprise to me! Have a listen to the mp3 snippet and you'll see why I rush-released it into our online "jukebox!"
This French studio "Disco" concoction fools you at first... It starts out sounding like boilerplate Funk/Disco with the emphasis on the bass line, but as the song progresses the percussion and piano begin to exert their force, and slowly the performance creeps up and finally reveals something truly special. Definitely worth a second or even third listen if aren't entranced by the snippet we're providing on first listen. (The snippet is unusually long for us... I typically try to keep them under 1:40, but here I had to lop off some from the beginning as well as a chunk from the end, and still you never hear the best bits which take place in the last 1/4 of the track.)
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