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!
How this catchy dance number from the studio of New Orleans soulmaster Allen Toussaint failed to catch radio ears is a total mystery. How could it be? I'm sure it doesn't sound any better today than it did in 1967. But oh well... this is what makes record collecting such a trip!
This is why God made record collecting... finding little rarities like this one is what it's all about. How could it get any better? This beautiful copy features two wonderful Buddy Holly-style rockabilly tracks.
Here's a beautiful promo copy of Buddy Holly's very first single release featuring two amazing full-blown Rockabilly rave-ups. As it turns out, Decca had contracted with Holly after seeing him as a warm-up act for Bill Haley & the Comets a few months earlier, but they apparently didn't really believe in his potential. With little promotion, none of the tunes he recorded for Decca got much airplay, and sold even fewer copies. One of those tunes was a little ditty called "That'll Be The Day."
As with many Barbara Mason singles, the really good stuff is on the flip. The A side ("Oh, How It Hurts") was Mason's one of Mason's biggest Arctic hits, but the single is most beloved for its uptempo B side.
This is one of Garrett's 1970's singles that you definitely want to get to know better... there's a great swinging soul groove goin' on! Check out the mp3 snippet in our "jukebox."
Both sides reprise a glorious 1960s-era soul sound, celebrated along the North Atlantic coast (particularly the Carolinas) as "beach music." For newcomers, General Johnson's long and illustrious career included stints as singer/writer for the Showmen ("It Will Stand") and Charimen of the Board ("Give Me Just A Little More Time").
This is one of Orbison's best songs, yet is hardly ever played — as it wasn't when released. By the time he moved to MGM from Monument, the singer's star had begun to wane, and 1964's "Oh, Pretty Woman" was his last (and biggest) Top 10 hit. Still, this single hit the Top 30, higher than any of his later MGM singles.