The Mystery Is Revealed

Tonight I took time to warm up the old record player and find what the mysterious 45s in the previous blog had to offer in the way of listening pleasure. Things began with the old standard and favorite, "Kiss An Angel Good Morning" by Charlie Pride. It was as good as any other time I have heard the song. Side B's "No One Could Ever Take Me From You", well, it is a Side B for a reason. It was a lackluster tune belted out by a man with a fine voice and many, many other fine hits that this one should not count against him. That's all I have to say. The Glen Campbell 45 sucked on both sides. "Don't Pull Your Love/Then you Can Tell Me Goodbye" and "I Miss You Tonight" were both of Side B quality. "Don't Pull Your Love" was a very late 70's early 80's sounding rehashing of tunes done by others before him and done much better in my opinion. "I Miss You Tonight" was some strange tune about being a child with reference to closed candy store. The reasons I had never enjoyed these Campbell tunes before is that there was no good reason to. Glen Campbell's "Galveston" ranks among my favorite songs of all time, but he sure missed the mark on both sides of this 45. Next was the venture to "Tunes Unknown" with Don Cross's "Mairzy Doats" and "Coney Island Washboard (Was Her Name)." Neither left a lasting impression. "Mairzy Doats" had a Tiny Tim feel to it as it was a nonsensical song that went something liked "Mairzy Doats and Boatsy Boats are what you say when you don't know what to say". It could easily be covered by the gang on Sesame Street or a group in some forgotten Muppet Show sketch. "Coney Island Washboard (Was Her Name)" was another song you might enjoy in a grade school music class or a senior citizen gathering. Don Cross appears to be one of those crooners that departed the local barbershop quartet for a solo career, yet sings as though the other three should still be along side him. Listening to his songs tonight reveals why I never heard of him. It was up to Red Steagall to save the listening experience. Chris Harris has let me know that this was in fact a country singer so there was hope yet. "True Love" didn't quite sound country and had more of a Pop sound to it. It was nothing special. "Something Nice and Easy" closed the 45 experience on a higher note than its predecessors. This song had the feel of classic country with elements of a love lost, a broken heart and the company of a woman only to heal the pain along with a classic country twang and beat. While no lost masterpiece, it fared much better than all other tunes enjoyed/endured this evening.

I googled Red Steagall and found he is still with us and has had a showbiz career, and even though he never made it big, has enjoyed steady employment. All the accolades mentioned on the websites are none I have never heard of before, but they are more than I will ever have or even hope to have.

The googling of Don Cross yielded nothing regarding a singer. Even his name with "Mairzy Doats" and "Coney Island Washboard" garnered no hits. Both songs have been covered by others and "Mairzy Doats" was even a #1 song in 1944! Maybe Don Cross financed his own 45 production. He had a good singing voice, but just made poor choices in song I guess.

Vinyl records are great and I look forward to seeking out more mysteries in the future and sharing what I find with you. Maybe we will find a true forgotten classic or something that should have hit it big had it only found an audience. It may do just that some 30 to 40 years later via our exposing it to the world and giving it a deserved second chance. Or maybe the old records we enjoy will just keep providing us shitty old recordings that never went anywhere for a good reason. Either way it will be fun!