Friday, June 15, 2012

Record #0024: Buick 59 / The Letter – THE MEDALLIONS


Dootone 347 (original), USA, July 1954
Words & Music by:  Vernon Green (though there could be a bit of a debate with side A)
Musicians:  Vernon Green (lead), Randolph Bryant (tenor), Willie Graham (2nd tenor), Rudolph Brown (baritone), Ira Foley (bass vocals), Ted Brinson (upright bass), Andrew Blue (piano), any others unknown
Recording sessions:  Ted Brinson’s garage (a real garage), Los Angeles, CA, 1954
Highest chart positions:  this was a double-sided regional (West Coast) hit, but didn’t hit any national charts.

Buick 59” is based on Todd Rhode’s R&B hit “Rocket 69”. With "the Letter" on the flipside, this was the Medallions' first single.

I googled the name on the sticker. Most likely this copy once belonged to the keyboard player of a Seattle based band, the Frantics (active in 1957-65, and backed Bobby Darin on “Dream Lover”). :)

List price:  (rarer with this red label) “Very Good+” is $100 and “Near Mint” is $200; BUT there’s a lot of hot air in the list price for this one. These are selling for about $40 in eBay.

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