Thrift Store Music: 5-Shelby Singleton Corp.

Wednesday, July 8, 2020

Jeannie C. Riley - The Generation Gap

Name: Jeannie C. Riley
Album: The Generation Gap
Year: 1970
Style: Country Pop, Southern Bluesy Rock
Similar Bands: Tammy Wynette, Brenda Lee, Dolly Parton, Dusty Springfield, Lorletta Lynn, Connie Smith
"One-Word" Review: Spunky Country Oldies
Based Out Of: Stamford, TX
Label: Plantation Records, Shelby Singleton Corp.

Cover, Record

Back, Record

The Generation Gap (1969)

The Generation Gap 2:44 (single B-side)
Fine Feathered Friend 3:25
Words, Names, Faces 2:03
My Man 2:58 (single)
He Made A Woman Out Of Me 2:15 /
Duty Not Desire 2:26 (single)
Games People Play 2:54
Darkness Falls 2:49
Holdin' On 2:02
Okie From Muskogee 2:35
To the Other Woman 2:45

Album Rating (1-10): 6.0

Members & Other Bands:

Southern Graphics Industry - Design & packaging
The Belmont Agency - Cover Photo
Jeannie C. Riley - Vox
Shelby Singleton Jr - Producer

Unknown-ness: Never heard of this singer. But it looks really mod, and hippie with a strong foothold in the Dollywood country south. So oldie, catchy country pop is my guess.

Album Review: There is a lot of pop, catchy melodies, and slightly psych production to fit into the 60's mod sound, but there is also the same amount of country/gospel bluesy swagger to the songs, and Riley's vocals are versatile enough to easily handle both sounds. In 1968, she won the Grammy award for best female country vocal performance on Harper Valley PTA, which held the #1 Billboard spot for both pop & country and spawned movies and tv series, along with a major network variety show for her. Due to the content of the song: a widowed mother who dated and dressed in the 60's mini skit and go go boots style responded to a hypocritical PTA who judged her style negatively, she herself was pressured to match that style against her personal comfort. In the late 70's she became born-again and focused her recordings on gospel music. The songs on here were written by an array of people from Margaret Lewis & Myra Smith (4 tracks), Merle Haggard "Okie From Muskogee" and even Gary US Bonds + Swamp Dogg: Jerry Williams Jr "To The Other Woman," which is kind of a companion piece to her Harper Valley PTA single. Before she moved to Nashville, just out of high school, her four year marriage produced a daughter, Kim, in 1966, who later would accompany her on stage, singing back up, touring with her, and trying out her own career as Riley Coyle.

Stand Out Track: The Generation Gap

Links:

Spotify full album
Wiki

KXRB what happened to?

unofficial Facebook

Cocaine & Rhinestones

KRFO Kat Kountry 1-hit wonder

TX Music

Grammy page

Thursday, June 18, 2020

Orion - Fresh

Name: Orion
Album: Fresh
Year: 1981
Style: Country, Oldies, Honky Tonk
Similar Bands: Elvis Presley
"One-Word" Review: Honk-Tonk Elvis Impersonator
Based Out Of: Alabama
Label: Sun International, Shelby Singleton Corp

Cover, Record

Back, Record

Fresh (1981)

There's No Easy Way 3:07
Baby Please Say Yes 2:16
Born 3:04 (single)
If I Can't Have You 2:37
Ain't No Good 3:10 /
Some You Win, Some You Lose 3:05 (single)
Look Me Up (and Lay It On Me) 2:15
Old Mexico 2:55
Rainbow Maker 2:28
Anybody Out There 2:37

Album Rating (1-10): 6.0

Members & Other Bands:

Mac Weiman - Guidance
Shelby Singleton - Presenter
David Roys - Engineer
Dennis Carney - Photos
Betty M. Cherry - Cover Art

Unknown-ness: Never heard of Orion, or Fresh, or Fresh Orion, or Orion Fresh, but it is very very obvious this will be basically an Elvis impersonator. The big selling point for me to get this was after i saw the beautiful see-through golden record. Like the classic label namesake, the record was like the sun.

Album Review: His name is indeed Orion by stage, James Hughes Bell by social security card. Most of the songs were written by Buddy Harris, the tempos range like a rollercoaster from slow and loungy to upbeat, energetic pub honky tonk. The vocals absolutely sound like Elvis. So much so, that many folks thought Elvis hadn't died in 1977 after hearing Orion/Ellis- a rumor he & Sun Records' Shelby Singleton were not eager to dismiss. In fact, the name Orion was his applied stage name after a book by Gail Brewer-Giorgio was published in 1978 also called Orion, who's protagonist was an Elvis-like pop star who faked his death. Despite the campy and sit-com like mystique, he has performed with many country greats like Lorletta Lynn, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Tammy Wynette. He also has many fan websites devoted to his career. In 83, he denounced the theatrical name of Orion, tearing off his mask mid-performance, only to don it again in 87 when sales did not grow under his real name. Ellis was murdered in his pawn shop along with his ex wife in 1998 at 53. There is even a 2015 documentary about his life titled Orion: The Man Who Would Be King. The song on here, "Some You Win, Some You Lose," has a general melody and structure to Chuck Berry's "Never Can Tell."

Stand Out Track: Some You Win, Some You Loose

Links:

Spotify Full Album
Wiki

Discogs

Allmusic

orion jimmy ellis

Orion Movie: Man who would be king

orion discs

Jimmy Ellis Orion STC