Record #0855: Lovey Dovey / Little Mama – THE CLOVERS

Atlantic 1022 (original, Monarch pressing) USA, February 1954
Words & Music by:  Side A – Eddie Curtis, Nuggy (Ahmet Ertegun); Side B – Carmen Taylor, Willis Carroll, Jesmet (Ahmet Ertegun & Jerry Wexler)
Musicians: Charlie White (lead vocals on side A, tenor vocals), Buddy Bailey (lead vocals on side B, tenor vocals) Matthew McQuater (tenor vocals), Harold Lucas (baritone vocals), Harold Winley (bass vocals), Bill Harris (guitar), Sam “The Man” Taylor (tenor sax), Vann “Piano Man” Walls (piano), Milt Hinton (bass), Connie Kay (drums)
Recording sessions: Produced by Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler (and engineered by Tom Dowd) at Atlantic Studios, New York, NY, on 24. September 1953
Highest chart positions:  Side A –US R&B #2; Side B – US R&B #4

The timeline of this recording session was entirely dictated by Uncle Sam. Buddy Bailey, who was the original founding lead singer and the distinctive voice behind The Clovers' earliest chart-toppers like "One Mint Julep" and "Ting-A-Ling", received his official U.S. Army draft notice in the late summer of 1953. Before Bailey had to report to basic training, Atlantic rushed the group into the New York studio for one final marathon session to capture as many tracks with Bailey's voice as possible for future release.

A bit of trivia regarding "Little Mama," is that two completely different versions were accidentally distributed to the public simultaneously in early 1954 due to a mix-up with the master tapes. One version is a more up-tempo take that highlights a roaring saxophone solo by Sam "The Man" Taylor, while the other features a jazz-inflected piano solo by Vann Walls. Because Atlantic was in a rush to ship the hit, the East Coast mostly received the piano version, while the West Coast and the South received the saxophone version. My copy was pressed at Monarch Record Manufacturing in Los Angeles.

List price: Les Docks lists this at $15-$25. 45cat.com Price Guide sets this at €35. Discogs.com shows a median price of $4,81 😊. I found six copies sold in eBay for $19-$30.