Sunday, April 19, 2020

Who's Gonna Sing?

Trolley


Who's Gonna Sing?
(wr. George Smith & Gloria M. Shaver)
Flip is "Man Of The Month" (same composers)

Believe it or not, this is the same label who issued two singles on Don Murphy in 1962-1963, some fifteen years earlier (hint: Nelma Music publisher) :
  • Don Murphy & The Hi-Liters - Mean Mama Blues / Seven High (Cosmopolitan 2264-1)
  • Don Murphy & The Country Rockets - Help Find My Baby / Every Night At Closing Time (Cosmopolitan 2264-3/4).  
Ad from The San Bernardino County Sun, September 1976
In 1976, Mister Smith published the above small ad in the The San Bernardino County Sun. He fairly honestly warned the potential investor that some risk were involved but profit potential could be high. I have no idea as who were the artists with star potential  (himself? his wife?).
First located in West Covina, California, the label by now in 1977 has a Rialto address (258 W. Shamrock).
Trolley is quite possibly George Smith himself who co-wrote, with Gloria Brown, both sides of this single, a much later release, some 15 years after the label's first release.

George Smith's wife, Alice M. Smith, wrote both sides of the first Don Murphy release. One of her composition, "Highway Of Life", was recorded by Marc Shaw for the song-poem Sterling label. She also had her own release on the label,  "Mister Nothin'", according to a list of records list for sale. Alice Smith was born Alice Marie Spurgin in Nebraska in 1934 to Roy L. Spurgin and his first wife, Nelma Naomi Dougherty, both of Nebraska. She died in 1986 in Riverside. According to her obituary, "she has been a housewife for 34 years."

Gloria Brown, aka Gloria Shaver, died in 1984. She had her own early morning radio show on KATE in her hometown of Albert Lea, Minn., at the age of 16. Back then she was known as "Little Gloria Brown."  The farmers who listened to their radios in their barns while her show was on would tell her "my cows gave more milk since you started yodeling to them," said Shaver. Shaver also sang on KGLO and at rodeos. For many years she was in a country band called Gloria and the Twilighters that also included her second husband, Mason City native Merle Shaver. (Her first husband, Byron Carr of Albert Lea, was killed during World War II).


The known Cosmopolitan six sides are included in this zipped file



1 comment:

  1. I recorded in West Covina myself once. Awful place. Thanks for posting this and everything else. Stay safe.

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