We recently added our FOURTH Web Page devoted to your First 45's Memories ...
Click here: Forgotten Hits - Can You Believe It?!?!?
Even MORE Of Your FIRST 45's Memories!!!
Here are just a few more from our readers ... including a couple from the "Celebrity Files"!!!
kent ...
i was seven, maybe eight years old when my mom took me to about seven record stores before we finally got "bo diddley" by the man himself, elias mcdaniel ... i had no idea - i'm not sure any white people did - what bo meant when he sang "mother asked mojo where you been ... up to your house and i'm goin' again ... i must have played that wax 10,000 times ... i still get chills every time i hear the track ...
by the way, i suggest that all your disciples log on to youtube and type in chuck berry and bo diddley ... it shows the two titans together on stage at an oldies show in madison square garden back in 1972 ... bo appears far more comfortable than chuck.
chet coppock
wls radio
chetcoppock.com
Kent,
The first 45 I bought was "My True Story" by the Jive Five, in 1961. It's still one of my favorite records. My dad made a deal with me - "You don't play that record again tonight and I won't fashion your teeth into flying Chicklets!" I must've played it a hundred times in a row. The sound of those voices mesmerized me. Now, my sister was two years older so I was proficient at wearing out HER Elvis, Buddy Holly and Doo wop 45's but that was the first one I forked over MY spondulicks for! Still a bargain at any price!
To the best of my recollection, the second and third singles were "Barbara Ann" and "Runaround" by the Regents on Gee Records. After that, the floodgates opened and every penny I got in allowance went for new 45's and scratched up ones from garage sales. I still have most if not all of them! Though it was an LP, the record I remember playing more than any other in my youth was "Elvis' Greatest Hits, Volume One." It's still my favorite, although "The Sun Sessions" pulls ahead from time to time!
Henry Gross
From Bob Abrams' publicity / bio file:
Bob Abrams began his music studies at the age of 4 on his father's piano. His father, Bob Abrams, Sr., was a classical pianist, a sort of child prodigy in his day. Bob also sang along with his mother and was in the church choir.
Bob got his first guitar at the age of 11, his first true love.
The first record he bought was a 45 of "Hey Baby They're Playin' Our Song" by The Buckinghams. His mother thought they were "nice clean cut young men" not wild like those other bands.
Bob played like any other aspiring musician in many rock and garage bands as a teen. He moved many times as a child from Philadelphia, PA, to El Paso, TX, the suburbs of Washington D.C. and finally to Dayton, OH. There he studied music at Wright State University, focusing on Music Theory and Vocal Performance.
At age 20, Bob began touring nationally and internationally.
Today Bobby Abrams is well known for his guitar and vocals with the Dayton based Rock Blues Band, Ukiah, who have performed in such legendary venues such as BB Kings Hollywood, and the World Famous Whiskey A Go Go. Fans have raved over his versions of "Oh Darlin" and "Bell Bottom Blues".
He is currently spending his time as a studio guitarist as well as performing in the Duo, "Brock and Abrams" along with Mike Bruccoleri, (Brock) who formerly played with Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone.
Brock and Abrams have received standing ovations while opening for Classic Artists such as The Guess Who. They are popular in the Chicago and National Music Scene, playing both venues and festivals.
Bob was named one of the Best Acoustic Solo Performers of 2009 by NiteLife Magazine. In June 2010 he reached number 9 on the ReverbNation Chicago Rock Charts. He has received numerous accolades from non-profit and benefit organizations for his work with them.
Over the years he has met and shared the stage with many great people.
More recently Bob has put together a band that consists of unbelievable musicians. Musicians Formerly Of Other Bands, who have performed with many national acts.
More info coming soon ...
Bob is available nationally for projects and tours,
as well as Solo, Duo, Full Band, Studio and Sub.
Phone 312-912-7185
NOT mentioned above is the fact that, after buying a Buckinghams single as his very FIRST 45, he would go on to play lead guitar for the band for nearly 25 years!!! Now how cool is THAT?!?!? (kk)
Hey Kent,
According to a friend, Eric Clapton says - in his biography - that the first 45 he bought was my song, “When”, by the Kalin Twins. Does he owe me for his career? : - )
Anyway, I'm flattered ...
Paul
(As in Paul Evans ... who just happened to WRITE "When" for The Kalin Twins!!!) kk
Yep, we've had that one up on the website for a while now ... here is the complete posting (which you'll find on Page 2 of our "First 45's" Section!) kk
It was the summer of 1956 and Elvis was top of the charts. I met a boy at the school who was a newcomer to Ripley. His name was John Constantine. He came from a well-off middle-class family who lived on the outskirts of the village and we became friends because we were so different from everybody else. Neither of us fit in. While everybody else at school was into cricket and football, we were into clothes and buying 78 rpm records, for which we were scorned and ridiculed. John had a copy of “Hound Dog”, Elvis’s number one, and we played it over and over. There was something about the music that made it totally irresistible to us, plus it was being made by someone not much older than we were, who was like us, but who appeared to be in control of his own destiny, something we could not even imagine. I got my first record player the following year. It was a Dansette, and the first single I ever bought was “When”, a number one hit for The Kalin Twins that I’d heard on the radio. Then I bought my first album, “The ‘Chirping’ Crickets” by Buddy Holly and the Crickets, followed by the soundtrack album of “High Society.”
-- Eric Clapton
And a few others to round out the list ...
While not 45s, here are a few other of My Vinyl Thrills ...
About the '80's, I was given an Edison 78 RPM, about 1/4 inch thick, maybe made from slate
(it was heavy), with grooves you could hardly feel / see.
Playing it on a conventional stereo turntable yielded no sound, but when I fiddled with the phono cartridge wiring, I could hear a real barbershop quartet singing!
Talk about Forgotten Hits! :)
Not too much later, my (other) sister's boyfriend, gave me some Elvis LPs, maybe six or so,
to transfer to cassette tapes. Payment was agreed ... I'd keep the LPs.
They looked in such great shape, with stickers and cellophane on them (and pristine vinyl), my initial guess were re-issues. However, to my surprise, they were the original '60's pressings! A record dealer told me I could get about $100 for one of them. Probably the most impressive sounding LPs I had at that time!
Best,
John
Kent,
I never bought a 45. Being a Beatles nut, I knew I would buy the albums that had the singles on them, which would make owning the single superfluous. I knew I would buy the album because I was reasonably certain I would like every song on the album. On the other extreme, I knew I would probably not like most of the songs on the Zager and Evans album, and would be more inclined to buy the single. Other than not being able to afford an album, I don't understand why the Beatles' singles sold so well. With the exception of Abbey Road, the album would usually come out about two months after the single, with the exceptions of Penny Lane and Hey Jude. I guess a lot of people could not wait that long.
The covers of the albums have survived, with the medium changing from vinyl to compact disc. The 45 covers are extinct. I would guess that most younger people would immediately recognize the Sgt. Pepper cover, but not the Penny Lane one.
Dwight Rounds
My first 45 was Green Onions by Booker T. and the MG's. I did not buy it. It was a test record used by a local radio and tv repair shop. My father began working at the repair shop back in 1963. Every time they would repair a record player, they would use the Booker T 45 to test and make sure everything sounded right. One day I was at the shop and Mr Pinkney, the owner, got sick of hearing it and tossed it in the trash can. I told him I liked it, and wanted that 45. He replied, "You can have it, but keep it out of this %$##@ shop." I brought it home and it hangs on the wall of my record room to this day. The first 45 I bought was Surf City by Jan and Dean. It was from the local soda fountian. They sold 45s they pulled off the jukebox for 25 cents. I was hooked. Every week or so I would check the box and something good would be there. Early 45s I bought from "the box" were Suspicion by Terry Stafford, Do You Love Me by Dave Clark Five, Please Please Me by the Beatles It's All Over Now by the Rolling Stones and She's the One by the Chartbusters. That's been well over 40 years now, and 70, 000 records later, I still collect 45s.
Phil Shoemaker
Hello,
My very first 45 record purchase was 16 Candles by the Crests. (Lead singer Johnny Maestro passed away this year, 2010).
It was 1959 and my girlfriend in Chattanooga was turning 16, and for her birthday I bought her the record 16 Candles by the Crests. I remember how mature I felt going into a record store for the first time to make that purchase. Shortly after her birthday I moved from Chattanooga to Indianapolis and we lost touch. But in 2003 we found each other online. Realizing that we will be life long friends, we continue to correspond, and my wife and I have visited with her and her husband. And of course, for her 61st birthday I bought her a 45 record of 16 Candles by the Crests. As a side note, I'm a big fan of music harmony that is often referred to as doo wop, and suppose that even as a 16 year old kid back in 1959, I enjoyed R&B / doo wop harmony.
James Lewis
My very first 45 was Come Softly by the Fleetwoods, I actually bought it for my sister's birthday. My next 45 was Alley Oop by the Hollywood Argyles. Then I bought a 45 for the song Nutcracker ... it was most all piano but can not remember the group ... I think it was Paul Revere and the Raiders. Then Palasades Park by Freddy "BOOM BOOM" Cannon.
Frank De Priest
I also have stories of meeting Roy Orbison, Freddy Cannon and Peter Noone if interested. Sure! Freddy and Peter are regular Forgotten Hits Readers and contributors. (By the way, so are Gretchen Christopher and Gary Troxel of The Fleetwoods!) By the way, the piano instrumental you're referring to is most likely either "Nut Rocker" by B. Bumble and the Stingers or "Like Long Hair" by Paul Revere and the Raiders, their first chart hit.
Welcome to Forgotten Hits ... I think you're gonna like it here! (kk)
Speaking of Paul Revere and the Raiders, Friday is Paul Revere's 73rd birthday! (Thanks to FH Reader Frank B. for the heads-up alert!)
"Like Long Hair" was built around Rachmanioff's "Prelude In C-Sharp Minor" and it was the record that launched the band's career as an instrumental group back in 1961. (And what a career it has been!!! In fact, we watched Paul perform it to perfection in concert last summer when the band performed here at The Arcada Theatre!) A #38 national hit, the record went all the way to #4 here in Chicago. A few years later, the band truly "found its voice" when Mark Lindsay sang lead on seventeen MORE Top 40 Hits.)
In honor of Paul's upcoming birthday, we'll feature "Like Long Hair" today as a Forgotten Hits "extra" ... "Nut Rocker" (a boogie-woogie version of the theme from Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" ballet) enjoyed a similar success a year later (#23, 1962 ... and a #3 Hit here in Chicago) as a GREAT follow-up to their rock-and-roll take on "Flight Of The Bumble Bee" (retitled "Bumble Boogie", #21, 1961) the year before!
My first love lived out of state. He mailed me a dollar bill with a note asking me to go to the "record store" and purchase "Baby I Love You" by Andy Kim. I had never heard it, but he wanted it to be "our song". I begged my sister to drive me since I wasn't old enough! When we got home I played it for hours! To this day when I hear it on the radio all those wonderful feelings come rushing back!
PATTI PAVIS
Long before anyone ever heard of Gurnee, Illinois, outside Lake County ... long before anyone thought of Great America or Gurnee Mills ... my sister worked for the "famous" Big Gurnee Discount Store. One day my mom was picking sis up from work and she told me I could buy a record with my hard earned lawn mowing money. I pored through the records and found "The Letter."I got it home and put it on ... and I was really shocked to hear Joe Cocker!
I was probably 9 - how did I know I anyone other than The Box Tops did that song? But, in the end, I got to love Cocker's cover version. I still smile when I hear it and think of how dumb I was.
Keith Johnson
Dear Kent,
Hi. I have several 45's myself. My very first 45's were bought for me by my boyfriend (who later became my husband) when we were going out: The Diary by Neil Sedaka and You Are My Destiny by Paul Anka. We were living in Chicago at the time and the music was jumping!
I would love to hear Lovers Never Say Goodbye by the Flamingoes. One problem with DJ's today is that they don't always mention the name of the song or the singer -- a little bit of history would be nice, like the year it was popular and maybe what was going on at the time. Thank you for the work you all do --
A fan,
Claire Rivas of Janesville, Wi.
Thanks, Claire ... and here is your Flamingos request! Their first chart date, this one pre-dates "I Only Have Eyes For You" by about six months! (kk)
I remember when I was 11 or 12 years old and received ten cents a week for allowance and tried saving every penny I could to buy a 45. My first 45 was a Beatles record, Twist And Shout, which I played over and over till it could not play anymore. My girlfriends would come over to our house and we would make guitars from cardboard with a ruler and play these 45's. It was awesome. We would then make a little theater with chairs and have parents and family come and watch us perform as the Beatles.
Then the Herman's Hermits came out and at that time I was finding odd jobs to try and make more money to buy more 45's. My family did not have a lot of money but trying to find odd jobs and making ten cents a week for allowance made me appreciate more what I had bought. After the Beatles, I started to buy Herman's Hermits 45's records ... Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter, I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am and I'm Leaning on the Lampost, which was my favorite at the time. I still have those 45's hanging on the wall with all my other Herman's Hermits things and things I have collected from the 60's on my walls, which is so cool . When I go into the room it sure brings back good memories.
Thanks for letting us share the good days.
Terry Williams
Talking to some of the deejays on the list, it seems like this has always been a fun game they used to play as they would pick up used records while building their own collection. Check it out here: Click here: Was This Your Record?
Who knows ... with all the readers checking out The Forgotten Hits Web Page these days (we're now closing in on 600,000 visitors ... and counting!) you just might find some of your OWN records on display at this site! (kk)
Got some "First 45's" memories to share with our readers? Then drop us a line at either forgottenhits@aol.com or kk@forgottenhits.com ... and watch for YOUR story to appear on The Forgotten Hits Website: www.forgottenhits.com!!!
Meanwhile, you'll find HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of OTHER "First 45's" Memories on The Forgotten Hits Website:
Click here: Forgotten Hits - FIRST 45's
Click here: Forgotten Hits - More of Your FIRST 45's
Click here: Forgotten Hits - Even MORE Of Your First 45's
Click here: Forgotten Hits - Can You Believe It?!?!? Even MORE Of Your FIRST 45's Memories!!!
