Record #0865: Tweedlee Dee / Tomorrow Night – LaVERN BAKER AND THE GLIDERS

Atlantic 1047 (original), USA, November 1954
Words & Music by:  Side A – Winfield Scott; Side B – Lonnie Johnson
Musicians:  LaVern Baker (lead vocals), Sam “the Man” Taylor (tenor sax), Connie Kay (drums), the Gliders (backing vocals), others unknown
Recording sessions:  Produced by Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler (engineered by Tom Dowd) at Atlantic Records studio, New York, NY, on 20. October 1954
Highest chart positions:  Side A – US #14, US R&B #4; Side B – none

This breakthrough single launched LaVern Baker’s career and helped establish her as one of the most notable female rhythm-and-blues singers of the 1950s.

After pop singer Georgia Gibbs released a nearly note-for-note copy of "Tweedlee Dee" (US #1) for the white pop market, it outsold Baker's original version. Infuriated by this, LaVern Baker took direct action by petitioning the US Congress to revise copyright laws so that musical arrangements would be protected. She even humorously took out a life insurance policy on herself prior to a flight, naming Gibbs as the beneficiary with a note saying: "If I die, you’ll be out of a career because you won't have any more of my songs to copy."

The backing vocalists credited as "The Gliders" on the record label were “the Cues”, Atlantic Records' top-tier in-house vocal group. Not only did they provide the catchy rhythm and harmonies for the track, but one of the group's members, Winfield Scott, was the actual songwriter who wrote "Tweedlee Dee" specifically for Baker.

Elvis recorded his version of “Tomorrow Night” in September 1954, but it wasn’t released until his album “Elvis for Everyone!” in 1965.

List price: Les Docks lists this at $5-$10. The median price on Discogs is $7,98. 45cat.com price guide shows €28. Five copies have been sold in eBay in the range of €18 - €29.

 

Record #0864: Sh-Boom / Little Maiden – THE CHORDS

Cat 104 (original), USA, June 1954
Words & Music by:  Side A – James Keyes, Claude & Carl Feaster, Floyd McRae, William Edwards; Side B – Keyes, Feaster, McRae, Edwards
Musicians:  Carl Feaster (lead tenor), Claude Feaster (baritone vocals), Jimmy Keyes (first tenor), Floyd "Buddy" McRae (second tenor), William "Ricky" Edwards (bass vocals), Sam “the Man” Taylor (tenor sax), Rupert Branker (piano), others unknown
Recording sessions:  Produced by Jesse Stone (and engineered by Tom Dowd) at Atlantic Studios, New York, NY, on 15. March 1954
Highest chart positions:  Side A – US #5, US R&B #2, US Cashbox #1; Side B – none

“Sh-Boom” was originally released in April 1954 as the flipside to a cover of Patti Page’s pop hit "Cross Over the Bridge." However, radio DJs completely ignored the A-side and started spinning "Sh-Boom" instead. The response was so explosive that Cat Records had to quickly rush-release a new version of Cat 104, flipping "Sh-Boom" to the A-side and replacing the other track with "Little Maiden."

Shortly after the record became a massive hit, a white group named “the Chords” threatened legal action because they already owned the rights to the name. To avoid a lawsuit while their record was climbing the charts, the group was forced to hastily change their name to The Chordcats. Because of this, some later pressings of the Cat 104 shellac record feature the name "The Chordcats" instead of "The Chords," making those specific pressings highly prized by collectors.

The pianist Rupert Branker later joined the Platters. He was murdered in Los Angeles in 1961.

List price: Les Docks lists this at $7-$10. The median price on Discogs is $13,34. 45cat.com price guide shows €89. 39 copies have been sold in eBay in the range of $20 - $150.

 

Record #0863: Crazy ‘bout You Baby / Sh-Boom – THE CREW-CUTS

Metronome B 656 (original), Finland, 1954
Words & Music by:  Side A – Rudi Maugeri, Pat Barrett; Side B – James Keyes, Claude & Carl Feaster, Floyd McRae, William Edwards
Musicians:  John Perkins (lead tenor vocals), Pat Barrett (second tenor), Rudi Maugeri (baritone vocals), Ray Perkins (bass vocals), David Carroll and His Orchestra
Recording sessions:  Produced by David Carroll most likely at Universal Recording Corporation, Chicago, IL; Side A – March 1954; Side B -  in May/June 1954
Highest chart positions:  Side A – US #8, US Cashbox #11; Side B – US #1, Canada #1, UK #12, Australia #1, Belgium #3

While the Crew-Cuts is primarily remembered in pop music history as a "cover band" that scored massive hits by re-recording existing R&B tracks by Black artists (such as the B-side “Sh-Boom” or “Earth Angel”), their very first breakthrough, “Crazy ‘bout You Baby” was entirely their own creation.

After this track hit number 8 on the Billboard charts, Mercury Records realized that the group's clean-cut style was perfect for softening energetic R&B songs for mainstream audiences.

As a result, the record label pushed them almost exclusively into doing covers from that point on. This A-side remains a rare testament to the group's original songwriting talent, which was ultimately overshadowed by their later commercial success as cover artists.

In countries like Finland and Norway, the Swedish label Metronome acted as the premier gateway for fresh North American sounds. Licensing the record from Mercury Records, Metronome rushed the 10-inch shellac pressings into shops to meet a sudden boom in demand for modern vocal group harmonies.

List price: I couldn’t find any list prices nor sold copies for this.