Great Moments in Boxing

Great Moments?

It depends on who you ask

It's Time To Leave You

Merle Lee And The Eye Shadows

 It's Time To Leave You 

(Jules Benner-Lee Sages)

Debbie Anne Music Inc, ASCAP

Debbie 1271

 Foster-Gates Productions

Recorded At A.M.S

1963

 

It's Time To Leave You

Arranger and composer Walter "Gates" Grigaitis (d. 1977) worked for Swan Records.  His arrangements were used by Chubby Checker, The Supremes, Freddie Cannon and others.  He also operated his own record production firm in Philadelphia with singer Debbie Foster.   

Little is known about Debbie Foster who is probably the fashion model coached by Artie Singer for a band canarying spot with Art Wendall at the Palladium in Philadelphia in 1953

Nothing is known about Merle Lee and The Eye Shadows

The Chicken Mash

Dennis Weaver

 

The Chicken Mash / The Apes

 Hal Moffett-Bob Summers
Exbrook Music, BMI
Produced by Hal Moffett
Eva 103
1963
Box 2921, Hollywood 28, Calif. 

Dennis Weaver, of part-American Indian background, served as a pilot in the U.S. Navy during World War II.  He was a struggling actor in Hollywood in 1955, earning $60 a week delivering flowers when he was offered $300 a week for a role in a new CBS television series, Gunsmoke (1955). After nine years as Chester, who he played with a stiff-legged gait, he was earning $9,000 a week.

Mainly known as actor, Dennis Weaver was also a musician.  In 1958, he formed a singing trio with Milburn Stone and Amanda Blake. In 1960, the trio broke the house record for the Albuquerque Arena during the New Mexico State Fair.   Dennis Weaver recorded three albums of country music in the seventies.

Dennis Weaver discography

45s

1959 — Cascade 5906 : Girls (Wuz Made To Be Loved) / Michael Finniga
1963 — Eva 103  : The Apes  Chicken Mash
1963 — Warner Bros 5352 The Sinking Of The Reuben James/ Genesis Through Exodus
1969 — Century City  : Days Like These / Cobwebs Of Your Mind
1973 —  Im'press 716  : 20th Century Man / No Name
1975 —  Ovation 1056 : Hubbardville Store / Prairie Dog Blues

Albums

1972 —  Im'press 1614  Dennis Weaver
1974  — ABC 847 : People Songs
1975  — Ovation 1440 One More Road

Dennis Weaver official website

Carmen Taylor and Elena Madera

 Elena Madera
 *

Willie B.

Carman Taylor

Big "Tootin'" Buddy Lucas Band

El Toro 501

 

The tiny El Toro label was launched in 1963 by music store owner Buddy Dunk who was once the manager of The Limelighters, a black vocal group who recorded for a lot of budget labels under a great variety of names. (For details, see the Marv Goldberg article HERE

"Willie B", recently re-issued, is the most obscure record ever recorded by Carmen Taylor, a New York cabaret artist, songwriter and session singer who recorded for a number of East Coast labels in the 1950s.  The labels she recorded for, besides Guyden, were Atlantic, Mercury, Apollo, King and Kama Sutra.

So many records and so many songs penned (most with Willis H. Carroll) and yet, I've been unable to find much info or even a picture of Carmen Taylor who was with Lavern Baker and Ruth Brown on Atlantic Records at the same time and was not less successfull.

Exit Carmen Taylor, enter Elena Madera.

Born in Havana, Cuba of a Cuban-born mother who was a professional dancer, and a father, born in the USA, who was a bandleader in the Philadelphia area.  Elena came to the United States of America at age two, began singing at age three,  For a little more details about Elena Madera, see Alex who is just as curious about the fact  that there isn't much info about Elena Madera on the web.

After extensive research, there is no much doubt in my mind today that Carmen Taylor, Carmen Taylor and Elena Madera are one and only one person !

Carmen Taylor  : My Son (Kama Sutra)


Elena Madera : Pepito

Elena Madera : El Chipi-Chipi

Rock-A Bayou Baby

Don't Call Me Chicken

Bob Crewe

Don't Call Me Chicken

Melba 119

1957

The story of Bob Crewe and Frank Slay starts generally with "Silhouettes", a song recorded by The Rays.  

But their association actually dates back from 1953, when Crewe met and partnered with Frank Slay Jr., a young pianist from Texas who came to New York aged 21 in 1951.

 

"Don't You Care", the earliest song they wrote together and sung by Bob Crewe, was issued on the Philadelphia BBS label in 1953, a label owned by Bill Borelli.

 Before this Melba release, Bob Crewe also recorded for Jubilee (1954), Spotlight (1955-1956) and Coral (1956).

To tell Crewe's full story would take a book 

 

Iona Wade

 Iona Wade 

And The Billboards

with J. Hemsley and his Orchestra

I Love You Baby

 D. Polk - T. Polk

No More Dogging

Gordon

both Dan Tan Music BMI

Vistone Records 2025
1962

Iona Harlin Wade was born in 1918 in Indianapolis.  A jazz vocalist, Iona Wade seems to have debuted with Snookum Russell in 1943. She recorded with Eric Von Schlitz & His Big Six, with Sherman Williams (1947-1948), with Bill Gaither (MGM, 1949), on Peacock with Jay McShann (1950), with James Moody in the fifties and with Bill Gaither and his Madcaps. 

Dave Polk has produced some records for Vistone Records before lauching his own Flodavieur label.

The Vistone label was first located in San Pedro before moving to Los Angeles. Vistone Records was owned by an eccentric guy called Pete Korelich, who had emigrated from Croatia.  Pete Korelich had also a pressing plant which was used by Sam Phillips for some Elvis records on the Sun label.   These West Coast pressings, according to some collectors, are better sounding than those pressed by Plastic Products in Memphis.  

Do You Wanna Jump

The Creels

Do You Wanta Jump

Carole McCord, Singing River Pub. Co.

Judd 1005
1958

The Creels, from Alabama,  previously recorded for Abbott Records, a West Coast label. 

Writer of the song, Carole McCord, was probably born Creel and married Pete McCord, a session bass player and songwriter.  Also member of The Creels was Helen Bozeman, wife of Johnny Bozeman, owner of Sandy Records, a Mobile label.

Bridgestone 90

 The Panthers

Bridgestone 90
T. Dishaw - J. Cunningham

D&C 12/13

1966

Massena, Upstate New York band led by Tommy Dishaw.

With the introduction of the 90 series to America in 1964 the Bridgestone 90’s placed Bridgestone in the American motorcycle market as a serious and dominating force.
With a total production sales of 51,000 by 1966 the 90 series was truly the model that proved it. Offered in nine different models the 90 series had the most models of any other series offered by Bridgestone to the U.S. market.

Hold On To My Shaking Hands

Jan Hodson

Hold On To My Shaking Hands 
Scott Blake-Jack Hill,

 Snooty Music BMI

RCT Recording Co. Of Tenn.
2751 Kimball Memphis, Tenn.

 Produced by Ken Laxton

Ken Laxton was a Memphis trumpet player who became sound engineer and producer, working with The Meters, The Nevilles, Allen Toussaint etc

 

No much info other than that.  Jan Hodson is unknown as is the date of release.  Presumably this RCT label is not related to the earlier Memphis RCT label owned by Ray Scott from the early sixties ?

 

I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine

Frank Messina And The Mavericks

Called by Fenton "Jonesy" Jones

I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine
Mack David, Famous Music Corp, ASCAP
 

Square Dance With Call

Mac Gregor 8065

1957

Fenton G. "Jonesy" Jones (1907–2003), born in Los Angeles, was best known as a square dance caller.   His mother, who died when Jones was seven years old, was a pianist and guitarist.  Jones began calling dances in 1940, touring the United States and calling at various square dancing events. He also called dances regularly at his home state of California.   

 

He had previously recorded his calls, first in 1946 on the Black and White then on Imperial, Capitol, MGM and Mastertone labels.[Jones also appeared in many films television series in the 1970s and 1980s, most often uncredited, as a square dance caller

The Mac Gregor label, founded in 1950, was a division of C.P. MacGregor Transcriptions.

C.P. MacGregor. owner of the label, was one of those unseen hands in early radio.  He produced radio programs, recorded musicians, and syndicated everything. He was known as "the DeMille of the discs.".   The first of his companies, MacGregor and Ingram Co. was incorporated about 1929.

MacGregor was a prolific producer and distributor syndicated transcription discs. He did the Shadow, Cecil and Sally Eps, AFRS programs, Al Jolson, Jubilee, Lux Radio theatre, The Hollywood Theatre, Eb and Zeb, and sessions with Leadbelly, Charlie Parker, Stan Kenton... hundreds of others.

 

Capitol Records, before they had their own studios, recorded in the Mac Gregor Studios in the 1940s.