1960s Vinyl 7 Inch 14 Items

RSD First, Limitation: 10000

With a million orders for “I Want To Hold Your Hand” in the UK, the single shot to #1 in December 1963 knocking The Beatles’ own “She Loves You” from the top spot. This was to be the first official single for The Beatles on Capitol records and was backed by an extraordinary marketing campaign. With “I Saw Her Standing There” replacing “This Boy” for the other side, the single was rush-released in the USA in January 1964, climbing to #1 on the Hot 100 by February 1st. Remaining on the chart for 15 weeks, it went on to sell more than 12 million copies worldwide, and with that, an unstoppable force was unleashed and Beatlemania had truly arrived. This RSD Black Friday reissue single was cut from the original US version of the master tapes –- the same masters as used for the albums in the 1964 box set -- by Kevin Reeves in Nashville, using an all-analog cutting process and on the same 1970 lathe that was in Capitol and has been used on many classic album cuts over the years.

Record Store Day 2021 Drop 2 release limited to 700 copies.Millie Small was a Jamaican singer and songwriter, best known for this 1964 recording of “My Boy Lollipop”, which reached number two in both the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100.The Caribbean’s first international recording star, and its most successful female performer, she sadly passed away in May 2020. “My Boy Lollipop” has sold over 7m copies worldwide and is here reissued as a replica of the original UK picture sleeve but with altered colour palette and original pink Island label.

Although for many, David Bowie’s story begins with ‘Space Oddity’ in 1969, Bowie had been releasing singles from 1964. Firstly on Vocalion and then after an interlude through Parlophone and Pye with Deram from 1966. These engaging and curious tracks represent a work in progress of an artist on the cusp of genius. This limited 7” singles boxset has been manufactured exclusively for RSD 2023.

Brute Force is the pseudonym of Stephen Friedland, an American singer and songwriter. In 1964, while in New York City as a young adult, he met the producers Hugo and Luigi, who co-wrote the Elvis Presley hit ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’. They introduced Friedland to the Tokens, known for their hit ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’. Not only was Friedland hired as a songwriter for the Tokens’ music publishing company, he also became the group’s keyboardist.

Side A is Brute Force’s version of his song “Nobody Knows What’s Going On My Mind But Me’, better known as a hit for the Chiffons.

In 1967, Friedland recorded as Brute Force with the album “I, Brute Force, Confections of Love”, which was produced by John Simon, later renowned for his work with the Band. In late 1968, Brute Force recorded his song ‘King of Fuh’ which is the story of a mythical king who ruled the kingdom of Fuh. The music and lyrics begin innocuously until they get to these lines: “I said the Fuh King—he went to wherever he wanted to go/Mighty mighty Fuh King/All hail the Fuh King.”

After the song was recorded, a friend of Friedland, Tommy Dawes of the Cyrkle, forwarded it to his manager, Nat Weiss, who knew Beatles manager Brian Epstein. According to Friedland, George Harrison was very receptive to the song and said so in a phone call. But EMI, Apple’s distributor, refused even to press the record, much less distribute it. Eventually, Apple privately issued the single for UK release, planning to stock mail order outlets and selected record shops. The distribution plan never really caught on and the record quickly disappeared.

Connoisseurs of 1960s she-pop have been very well served by Ace Records, particularly those with a predilection for American and British artists. But good music, of course, is not exclusive to the English-speaking world, as those familiar with our collections devoted to the female vocalists of Italy will be aware (not to mention similar projects focusing on Japan, France, Sweden, Hungary and Spain). In a country renowned for its song festivals, most notably the prestigious event held annually in Sanremo, highly orchestrated ballads have always been especially popular in Italy. For this celebratory single, however, we present exemplary uptempo decks by Brunetta and Rita Pavone.

Brunetta was one of the first Italian singers to record rock’n’roll. Among her early releases were the appropriately titled “The Explosive Brunetta” and “Ciclone Brunetta” EPs and the frantic ‘Precipito’, which she performed with wild abandon in the film Urlatori Alla Sbarra. New stars Mina and Adriano Celentano also appeared in the movie, so she was in very good company. Fast forward a few lower-profile years, she released the record for which she would become best remembered. Backed by the Balubas combo, she performed the somewhat non-PC ‘Baluba Shake’ at the Pesaro Song Festival in 1966, scooping top prize. These days, the track is an underground dancefloor favourite, original copies of which change hands for a pretty penny.

Though not a household name, Bernadette Carroll is one of the more successful teen vocalists of the girl group era. She charted as a member of the Angels, as a solo act, and as a for-hire backup singer, performing on at least two #1 hits, selling over a million copies of each. You’ve heard her voice, whether you know it or not.

Limited edition for Record Store Day 2015!

/ reputation ... recorded in 1968, for the first time ever in their unique mono mixes!

It was standard practice in the 1960s for British beat groups to pepper their repertoires with American R&B songs. Formed by five music-loving schools from Blackpool, the Missfits were no exception. Although they group released no records during their time together, for two brief years they were the toast of Blackpool clubland. They played at the same veues as local bands such as the Rockin’ Vickers, including some gigs at the famous Oasis Club in Manchester and at the short-lived Blackpool branch of the Twisted Wheel.

In February 1964, they won a recording test in a talent competition and travelled to London that summer to commit some of their favourite songs to tape. The tape reel was soon forgotten and thought lost but Janet had thankfully kept it safe, enabling the appearance of the four tracks on this 60s-style vinyl EP. Drummer Janet Baily provides lead vocals on their version of John Lee Hooker’s ‘Dimples’, and bass player Pauline Moran sang lead on Bo Diddley’s ‘You Can’t Judge A Book By The Cover’, Chuck Berry’s ‘I’m Talking About You’ and Ray Charles’ ‘What’d I Say’, with guitarists Andrea Hine, Carola Daish and Liz Hall joining in on backing vocals.

“You can’t beat the classics” and in the Northern Soul world, no label is more renowned than Mirwood. The Sheppards ‘Stubborn Heart’ has been played since the early days of the scene but is still a guaranteed floor-filler.

Its flip ‘How Do You Like It’ has also picked up many spins in more recent years. As is our habit, to distinguish from the originals, we have changed the label colour - this time we’ve gone for a fetching purple and gold.

First issued on the Dot label in 1965, Karen Verros’ recording of ‘You Just Gotta Know My Mind’ is one of the most popular and in-demand tracks ever to appear on Ace Records’ “Girls With Guitars” compilation series. Pressings of the hopelessly rare original exist in two variants, one 20 or so seconds shorter than the other.

This new Ace release features the longer of the two versions. ‘Karen’s Theme’ on the B-side is the ‘You Just Gotta Know My Mind’ backing track, with added freakbeat guitar in place of Karen’s vocal.

An original copy, in the unlikely event one should become available for sale, is likely to carry a hefty asking price. Designed to resemble a small-run mid-60s acetate pressing, rather than a replica Dot label, this very welcome addition to Ace’s catalogue of 7-inch vinyl singles should set punters back about the cost of a bottle of cheap plonk.