VA - Hard To Find 45s On CD Vol 9 - 1957-1959 (2007) [CD-Rip]

Five long years after Eric Records unveiled the last numbered volume of our flagship series – detours through Music City and Soulsville notwithstanding – we proudly present Hard To Find 45s on CD Volume 9: 1957-1959. This jam-packed platter is a veritable potpourri of pop, reflecting the wide-open world of Top 40 radio before the days of niche marketing and narrow-casting. Within the span of these 23 tracks, you’ll hear rollicking New Orleans rhythm ’n’ blues (Huey “Piano” Smith), irrepressible rockabilly (Carl Mann), and spirited workouts on the Wurlitzer (Dave Cortez’s “Happy Organ”), steel guitar (Santo & Johnny’s “Tear Drop”), and a whole “String of Trumpets” (from, who else, the Trumpeteers).

Of course, what makes the Hard To Find 45s series so great are the long lost treasures – rescued, restored, and resplendent! Ten of these tracks have never been available on CD – songs like “White Bucks and Saddle Shoes” by Bobby Pedrick, Jr. Who, you ask? Well, young Mr. Pedrick wasn’t even a teenager yet when he made his chart debut in 1958 with this rockin’ ode to fashionable footwear. Over 20 years later, he hit #1 with “Sad Eyes” under his more familiar moniker, Robert John.

You’ll also hear Narvel Felts rockin’ the house with “Honey Love,” long before he charted over 40 Country hits during the ’70s, and the Shepherd Sisters’ early girl group classic “Alone (Why Must I Be Alone).” Perhaps most exciting, however, is the one track on Hard To Find 45s on CD Volume 9: 1957-1959 that never made the Top 100: “Everybody Out’ta The Pool” by the Lifeguards – a crazy, clattering instrumental romp featuring several members of Bill Haley’s Comets. And, of course, there’s Jody Reynolds’ somnambulant paean to death, “Endless Sleep.” Unforgettable!

Hard To Find 45s on CD Volume 9 serves up 53 minutes of pop platters, all lovingly remastered for the highest quality sound. Of special note is Tommy Facenda’s “High School USA,” a song released in dozens of versions, each tailored to a different region of the country.

AllMusic Review by J. Scott McClintock

Another outstanding entry in Eric Records' Hard to Find 45's on CD series, Vol. 9: 1957-1959 mixes the good with the great and serves to enlighten as well as entertain. From the tale of Tommy Facenda's "strike while the iron is hot" move to create a regional hit (all over the United States) with his "High School U.S.A." by overdubbing the names of specific high schools from the regions in which the song was marketed, to the revelation that Santo & Johnny's "Tear Drop" (the follow-up to their mega-hit instrumental "Sleepwalk") was, like its predecessor, penned with help from the boys' mom, Hard to Find 45's on CD not only serves up obscuro hits, but also fascinating trivia. Everything here is worthwhile and good, but there are some standouts that rise above even this high-caliber stuff. Billy & Lillie's "Lucky Ladybug" got a bit of a second, third, and fourth wind when the Four Seasons covered it in 1963, Vanity Fare in 1968, and Guv'ner in 1999, but none of those versions come close to capturing the cute, sexy, and sassy delivery Lillie Bryant masterfully (and playfully) offers up on the original. Ray Smith stopped runnin' Kentucky moonshine long enough to record his fantastic 1959 tune "Rockin' Little Angel"; Bill Haley's Comets turned in a raucously fun "Everybody Out'ta the Pool" (under the alias of the Lifeguards); Middletown, OH's Shepherd Sisters redefined "cute" with "Alone (Why Must I Be Alone)"; and Art & Dotty Todd's Fren-glish "Chanson d'Amour" delights with its "lat da-dat da-dat" injections. All of the tunes have been lovingly fussed over in the remastering department (arguably the best-sounding versions available), and the liner notes are extensive, informative, and fun. Just like the rest of Eric Records' releases, Hard to Find '45s on CD, Vol. 9: 1957-1959 is not only a great collection, it's an indispensable one – loads of fun and utterly irresistible.

Tracklist
1. Tommy Facenda – High School U.S.A. (National Version) (02:13)
2. Jody Reynolds – Endless Sleep (02:25)
3. Jivin' Gene & The Jokers – Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (02:30)
4. Huey "Piano" Smith & His Clowns – Rocking Pneumonia & The Boogie Woogie Flu (02:20)
5. Tony Bellus – Robbin' The Cradle (02:35)
6. Dicky Doo & The Don'ts – Click Clack (02:22)
7. Billy & Lillie – Lucky Ladybug (02:36)
8. Robert Pedrick – White Bucks & Saddle Shoes (02:08)
9. Larry Hall – Sandy (02:25)
10. Ray Smith – Rockin' Little Angel (02:14)
11. Carl Mann – Mona Lisa (02:30)
12. Narvel Felts – Honey Love (02:08)
13. The Lifeguards – Everybody Out'ta The Pool (02:19)
14. Tender Slim – Teenage Hayride (02:00)
15. Dave "Baby" Cortez – The Happy Organ (02:02)
16. The Nu Tornados – Philadelphia U.S.A. (02:04)
17. The Bluenotes – I Don't Know What It Is (01:58)
18. The Shepherd Sisters – Alone (Why Must I Be Alone) (02:49)
19. The Aquatones – You (02:00)
20. Santo & Johnny – Tear Drop (02:08)
21. The Four Esquires – Hideaway (02:20)
22. Art & Dottie Todd – Chanson D'Amour (02:54)
23. The Trumpeteers – A String Of Trumpets (01:50)