Elk Bugles

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Rainy Daze Test Pressings

I'm still amazed that I have boxes, which still haven't been unpacked from the 2015 move back home. It's like a Christmas surprise, with each discovery. Take for instance these Rainy Daze test pressings.

I first obtained these, shortly before I moved back to Colorado, from my dear Pueblo friend, and former co-owner of the (now gone) Record Reunion, Joel Scherzer. Joel has been a huge supporter of this blog, and was damn-near solely responsible for keeping me in obscure Colorado records, when I lived in Austin.

A few of these five, double-sided, 7" 45s are marked "Eldorado Studio" out of Hollywood, CA. A few indicate the Uni label, while others are only marked by numbers. Four of the ten sides are marked "Rainy Daze."

You can do a Google search and find quite a bit on the Rainy Daze, so I won't copy and paste it here. The short version is, the band formed in Denver, in 1965, and included singer/guitarist Tim Gilbert and his brother Kip on drums, plus lead guitarist Mac Ferris, bassist Sam Fuller, and keyboardist Bob Heckendorf. The group released an album, That Acapulco Gold, and the title song made it to #70 on the Billboard Hot 100, in 1967... but was pulled, due to the marijuana reference. The band broke up, shortly after that, but Gilbert put out one more song as The Rainy Daze, on the White Whale label - the 1968 recording of "Make Me Laugh," which was recorded with session musicians.

This little tidbit helps solve the mystery of the age of these, as one of the test pressings is for "Make Me Laugh."

Notice the official release is 2:07, while the test pressing is marked 2:47. The B-side, of both the test pressing and the official release, is "My Door is Always Open." That single clocked in at 2:46, the same as the test pressing.

Among the stash is a test pressing of two versions of "Stop Sign." Both are marked 2:42, which was the running time of the official release. Listening to both, they sound exactly the same.

Also included is a test pressing of "Blood of Oblivion," which was included on the group's debut LP. The pressing shows a running time of 2:23, while the official release clocks in at 2:40.

While "Stop Sign" was the official flipside of "Blood of Oblivion," the test pressing shows "Two Heads are Better Than One," which appears to have never been released.

Rounding out the find are two discs, marked only "#1" and "#2." Both songs are instrumentals. I thought they might simply be the instrumental backing of a song, but neither one seem to match up with any of the cuts on Acapulco Gold.

As always, dear reader, if anyone has a clue on these, drop me a line...

Thursday, November 1, 2018

Elk Bugles Radio Show (All Covers Show)

Link to show

On today’s show it’s all about the covers – 1960s era songs made famous by others, covered by those Colorado bands and singers you are probably unfamiliar with.

Louie Louie

John Overton and Alma

It Got a Line On You (Spirit)

OMI Express

PHIL HEAD LINER

Stupid Girl (Rolling Stones)

Trolls

Ode to Billy Joe ((Bobbie Gentry)

Chokin’ Kind (Joe Simon)

Middle of it All

Wipe Out / Orange Blossom Special (Venturas)
Great Speckled Bird

California Sun (Rivieras)

Guys and Doll

Sometimes (Gene Thomas)

Richy C and the Casanovas

Ma Belle Ami (Tee Set)

Synchrony

Wichita Lineman (Glenn Campbell)

Pete Wernick

California Dreaming (Mamas and Papas)

Duncan Tuck

Colours (Donovan)

Dave Jackson

Unicorn (Irish Rovers)

Bob Turner

Walk on By (Dionne Warwick)

Frankie Rino and the Innovations

Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows (Leslie Gore)

4Corners

King of the Road (Roger Miller)

Caller Don Franklin and the Wagon Masters

No Credit

Joey Buffalo and Sonics

Monday, October 29, 2018

Colorado 8-tracks: World Sound Factory and Pikes Peak Tape

Hey all! So I'm digging around a thrift in Pueblo, when I discovered this "sound-alike" (Top 40 songs performed by studio singers, who attempt to sound like the original artists) country and pop music 8-track sandwiched in between a Herb Alpert album and a Firestone Christmas LP. I was about to throw it back, when I noticed the back of the tape showed a Denver address.

I know, I know, it's not vinyl, but the obscure Colorado music geek in me wanted to learn more...

Much like the Deeds Electronic Company, which produced blatantly bootlegged recordings of popular songs, the World Sound Factory, located at 1075 West Arizona, hyped studio singers recording Marie Osmond ("Paper Roses"), Chuck Berry ("Johnny B. Goode"), and Dusty Springfield ("Son of a Preacher Man"), among other popular 1970s hits.

It appears the company may have also had a West Coast office, as a 1974 Billboard ad for the company shows a Los Angeles area code. Also of note, a 1974 Bakersfield, CA newspaper ad, with the Denver address, makes note that "factory direct prices" for the tapes cost $2.47, with a list price of $6.98.

The tape I found, Son of a Preacherman, shows it is "Country Pop Hits Vol. V," which implies there are, at least, four others out there. As is usually the case, the studio singers are not credited.

I found no earlier (pre-1974) mentions of the World Sound Factory. There were no further mentions of company, or the tapes, after 1974.

Then, a couple of days later, I'm back at the same thrift in Pueblo, and spot this - a handful of 8-tracks from a Colorado Springs outfit called Pikes Peak Tape:

I put the Carpenters Close to You tape in, and realized it was actually the "real" version of this LP, which was apparently bootlegged by the company. Further internet sleuthing indicates that Pikes Peak Tape was based at 1409 S. 8th, and was active around the same time as the World Sound Factory (1973-1974).

Billboard Sep. 29, 1973

The catalog numbers on the tapes are pretty high (the Carpenters tape is noted as "181"), so I can't help but wonder if there are hundreds of Pikes Peak tapes scattered about. Most of these tapes found their way in truck stops, sold as budget music to drivers needing an audible boost on the road.

I found it odd that both of these Colorado-based companies, with apparently no connection, began and ended production, around the same time.

Short lived, much like the format itself.

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Elk Bugles Radio Show - Episode 13

Every Thursday from 4:00 -5:00 pm (MT) Elk Bugles is the Colorado music show featuring the little-known vinyl of the state. Tune in every week to hear unknown and unheard Colorado vinyl records, from the 1930s to the 1980s – the records missing from the state’s music history books.

(NOTE: Today's show was a replay of Episode 2,
which, due to a technical issue, didn't play in its entirety, when it originally aired, in August. There was obviously still an issue, about three-quarters of the way into the show - my apologies)

The Ballad of John Elway

Fulcrums Image

The Bronco Fan

Deke Adams

Make Those Miracles Happen

Jon Keyworth

Soft Restraints

Trish Kinney

The Crime

Debra Lewis

Rainfall

Jennie Rylatt

NORAD Commanders

Aquarius

Up Tight

NORAD Commanders
Hot Pants

Lazy B Wranglers

Colorado

Lazy B Wranglers
High Among the Colorado Rockies

Southern Colorado

Evangelist Elma and the Circle of Truth

Jesus is Coming

God is So Real

Flounder DelRay

Everything You’ve Wanted To Know About Colorado That John Denver Forgot To Tell You

Orlie & The Saints

Denver Twist and Freeze

Joey Buffalo and Sonics

No Credit

Sunday, October 21, 2018

Unearthed: Chet Atkins and the Colorado Mountain Boys

Hey all! Very excited to post this latest find. So, I was out thrifting at the local Goodwill Outlet, when I spotted this beat-to-shreds acetate in the bins. How it managed to stay in one piece was shocking to say the least (if you are familiar with the Goodwill Outlets, you may find a bag of bricks, and a baby stroller, on top of a record).

I immediately noticed the 33rpm recording showed a handwritten notation of "Colorado Mountain Boys" on the torn label. Wait. What? Like the same group which included a 20-something year-old Chet Atkins? Could this be one of his earliest-known recordings? I first thought the date on the label read "January 1949," but upon Internet searching, I'm thinking this is actually noted as 1947 (keep reading).

Back up a bit - The record is in very poor condition. Being an acetate, the metal was exposed, it's scratched (an understatement), and there appears to be some glue, or some kind of residue on the surface. I tried cleaning with soap and water, and even attempted to put Goo-Gone on the "glue," Nothing budged.

I took a chance, and put it on my portable player, thinking I wasn't going to tear up my expensive stereo needle, if this record didn't even play. In between the skips and scratches, a cover of Ernest Tubb's "I'll Get Along Someday" came blaring through the tiny speaker.

"I'll Get Along Someday" - Colorado Mountain Boys

Told ya. But did you hear that guitar? If I were a betting person, it sure sounds like Chet Atkins. From what I could find, Chet had relocated to Denver, in 1946, after being fired by KWTO radio in Missouri for "not sounding country enough."

Listen to another sample on this disc - a "rocker" instrumental, which seems to reaffirm KWTO's reasoning behind firing Atkins.

"Rave on boys, rave on."

WOW. Remember, this was recorded in 1947.

According to Chet’s autobiography Me and My Guitars: “Zed Tennis had been fired from KWTO at the same time I was, so the two of us went out to Denver, and became members of Shorty’s (Thompson) western swing band called Saddle Rockin’ Rhythm. He was one of the popular acts performing on radio station KOA” (Side note: According to more Internet sleuthing, Chet's brother, Jim Atkins, managed KOA, at that time).

So, is this a KOA Denver recording I have? The dates seem to keep lining up.

Steve Sholes, the head of country music at RCA, tracked down Atkins in Denver, and immediately flew him to Chicago, to record. According to the Atkins book, "We recorded in Chicago on August 11, 1947. I recorded a total of eight songs, and sang on five of them, RCA released the records under the name Chet Atkins and the Colorado Mountain Boys.” During these recording sessions, the other members of the Colorado Mountain Boys included George Warren Barnes, guitar, Charles Hurta, fiddle, Angus P. Klein, accordion, Harold Siegel, bass. Another recording session indicates James Atkins appears on guitar, along with C. R. Crean, bass, Buck Lambert, fiddle, Joe Biviano, piano.

According to Chet’s book, after the recording sessions, he returned to Denver and his gig with Shorty Thompson, only to find out he had been replaced with another picker, Speedy Haworth. So RCA suggested he move to New York, and continue his work with the label… and the rest is history.

So, that's why I'm thinking this discovered acetate I found is actually noted as "1947" instead of "1949." Also, a 1948 Billboard story confirms that Chet and the Colorado Mountain Boys moved from Denver to Knoxville, to be the regular radio act on WNOX, and he was also entrenched with Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters, in 1949.

So, dear reader, if anyone has any information on this find, please drop me a line. Please feel free to share this post. Let's solve the mystery!