The Magnificent Goldberg

Despite what Steve says - and I agree with him - this is an interesting question. Modern seems to have followed a similar route to Specialty, which also remained open long after its record-making period was over (in Specialty's case until the early nineties). Art Rupe, the owner of Specialty, found other things to do, but never closed down - I believe that, into the eighties, Rupe would press new 45s (by hand, I seem to remember someone saying) if you sent an order for 500 copies. Organisations like Collectables (a big mail order retailer before it was a CD reissue company) could do things like that. As far as Modern was concerned, I think that, like Rupe, the Biharis knew what they had. They knew there was a reissue market - hence the Crown label. But those were really shitty pressings. Their later reissue label - United - had rather better pressings (but still not that good). Savoy also managed to stay in business independently until Herman Lubinsky died. That was to a very large extent because, from the early sixties on, he was concentrating on Gospel records and selling shedloads of them - at one point in the late sixties I saw a US Gospel LP chart and every record on the top 10 was on Savoy. But Lubinsky, too, was able to manage reissue programmes of the Bebop material - in Britain on the cheapo Realm label. Not sure about the US. What all these labels had was the ability, one way or another, to flog nasty stuff cheap. Jazz-oriented labels like Prestige and Blue Note couldn't follow the Rupe or Biharis prescription because what they had was kind of predicated on hifi. What would have been the market reaction if all those Mobleys and Morgans and Silvers had appeared on Crown-quality pressings, eh? That limited their options. MG

The first time I heard Paul Gonsalves' playing, and still for me one of the greatest sax solos of all time, was his solo on Ray Charles' version of Percy Mayfield's "Two years of torture", on the LP "The genius of Ray Charles". Gonsalves' slithery, slidy, filthy, greasy solo really grabbed me by the balls in 1960. I got "Duke Ellington at the Alhambra" yesterday. Gonsalves was great on that but still, nothing to compare with that short solo. MG

Tom is correct in everything he says. In the sixties, records were sold at standard prices. Every record company used the same price structure and all retailers were compelled to sell at thoses prices. In the mid-sixties there was pressure from retailers to be allowed to discount. EMI's 45s from that period had this message on the label: "sold in UK subject to resale price conditions see price lists". But what was known as "retail price maintenance" was declared illegal in the late sixties. Everyone said that this would mean the death of independent retailers - it didn't but it is true that many left the business. And the range of choice became smaller. But things changed. The advent of retailers like Tower increased the range of choice available. But only in large markets. These retailers are now falling by the wayside, under pressure from on-line retailers. But the range of choice at Amazon is greater than ever. The argument about the French law (or the British system of retail price maintenance, for that matter) not being anti-competitive because it applies to all retailers seems so much bunk to me. That law seeks to limit the extent to which retailers can compete with one another. And it is said that this is in the interest of the consumer having greater choice. It seems to me that there is a sub-text in operation which is another example of the public being told by the ruling classes what is good for them. "We" know the public wants cheap trash and pandering to that desire will drive out of the market all this good stuff "we" think is of artistic or intellectual merit. Well, bollocks to that. I'll be sorry to see those bookshops go. As sorry as I have been to see the indie record shops go - those that haven't been clever enough to find a way to survive. And some have been and are still surviving. Message: if you aren't good at it, get out of the market - don't look to the ruling classes and government to keep your arse out of the fire. MG

Poultry is a real street in the City of London (ie, the financial centre) MG

There's some Eddie Chamblee in those Checker Fulson sides - I think recorded at the time Chamblee was working on the coast - he recorded with Amos Milburn at around the same time I think (can't be asked to do proper research here and now). One way or another I've quite a bit of Modern/RPM/Kent/Crown stuff (including one original Crown that wasn't a reissue). Two things that are great favorites with me are (I haven't got this CD - I have the 10" LP that Ace issued in about 1981.) MG

First time I ever heard of Pete was on this RIP MG

Can't resist A well known Churchill quote goes something like "Ending a sentence with a preposiition is something, up with which I will not put." MG

Yes, yes. MG

They also had a couple of big sellers with Anita Baker. I've been trying to find out if there are other pop/R&B acts on BN but the site is as slow as arseholes. MG

Here's the current public stuff from over here. 1,500-2,000 staff going out of 5,500 is a hell of a big cut! OOPS - source http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20080115/tuk-...-a7ad41d_3.html MG

Tom Sawyer Huckleberry Finn Mickey Finn

And the third of my Lucky Millinder albums today, before I'd quite finished listening to yesterday's Phew! A great and interesting bunch of stuff. I am particularly knocked out by Cal Tjader's tenor player Jose "Chombo" Silva who was a total ass-kicker! Thanks Mike for the advice on Tjader. MG

Two heavy listening days, with a new bunch of stuff from Concord arriving yesterday MG

GREEN GREEN GREEN GREEN (That's in place of an "envy" smiley) MG

Wonderful! I was thinking yesterday that a new one was about due! Thanks. MG

Happy times, Andy! MG

Razor J Jay Zee Z Z Hill

Is it really? I mean in America, of course. In Britain it's used as a derogatory term for people (like us) who concentrate on things like collecting train numbers, stamps of pre-independence (former) British colonies, discographies of little known African bands, and the multiplicity of Blue Note reissues. (Er... I only do the last two, I'll have you know. And I'm not very good at the last, anyway.) MG

Put me down on the list please Al! MG

Why is there such a thing as WIM - Women's International Masters? MG

Look here. Thanks Chuck. Glad you didn't insist that I did a Google search for mole MG

The Upchurch version definitely came out first. It was almost immediately covered by Bill Doggett on WB. (I got both versions which came out simultaneously in Britain.) It was the following year that the Dovells' version came out. Actually, for what it set out to be, that wasn't a bad record, but I didn't keep it (or the Doggett version). In fact, I didn't keep the Upchurch version either - I was flexing it in my hands one day and broke it in half! So I have the UK reissue on Sue. MG

What's mole? MG

I don't think so (oh, but yes, it's smokin! - my introduction to the jazz organ, this single). The personnel I have for this 45 is Mack Johnson (tp) David "Bubba" Brooks (ts) Cornell Muldrow (org) Phil Upchurch (g,el-b) Joe Hadrick (d) I don't know who Cornell Muldrow is but I don't think he's James Booker. (Hadrick, by the way, went on to become Willis Jackson's drummer and stayed with him until Gator's death. He was called Yusef Ali, on later Gator LPs.) MG Joe Hadrick is who told me that Booker played that date. For some reason Cornell Muldrow didn't play the date. Muldrow was an organist from Baltimore (Joe's hometown) jand with the exception of Booker this was the backup band for Dee Clark. Oh wow! Thanks so much for that info! That really IS an important record in the way my tastes developed. Clark got a writing credit on that tune. I wonder what he contributed? MG

I've never had any trouble with XP crashing. MG