Fabulous Flips Vol.3

This third volume in a brief 3-volume series dealing with flip-sides of many familiar oldies from Ace Records of London, England is a bit shorter on those flips that actually charted (five in volume 1 and four in the second issue) as there are just two: Rockin' Shoes by The Ames Brothers (and the Joe Reisman orchestra), which reached # 64 on the Billboard Pop Top 100 in the summer of 1957 as the reverse of their # 5 hit, Tammy; and High School Dance by Larry Williams & His Band, a 1957 "follow-along" on both the Top 100 and R&B charts back of his # 1 R&B/# 5 Top 100 Short Fat Fannie in 1957.

It is, however, long on One-Hit Wonders and this makes it a must-have for diehard collectors like myself since, where these artists are concerned, you see only their one big hit in any multi-artist compilation: Benny Spellman; The Silhouettes; The Shields; Ray Sharpe; The Elegants; The Delacardos; The Slades and The Showmen. Full details are contained in the voluminous liner notes and discography as only Ace can do them. If you are familiar with Ace you know what I mean. If not, may I suggest you check out their multi-volume Golden Age Of American Rock `N' Roll and Golden Age Of American Popular Music series, as well as smaller series such as Early Girls and Teen Beat (an all-instrumental series).

Many of these cuts were good enough to have become hits on their own in the right circumstances but, back in the days when hit singles were based upon one side or the other of a 78- and then 45-rpm release, labels were not always keen when both sides of a record received enough air- and jukebox play to earn itself a place on the charts. The reasoning was quite simple: far better to have songs good enough to receive that kind of attention issued separately. A record where BOTH sides were considered major hits and million sellers (e.g., Elvis Presley's Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel) would be far better off garnering sales of a million each. But where some artists were concerned, and again I cite Presley, any plans to the contrary by people like Colonel Tom Parker proved fruitless as every one of his singles at RCA Victor, beginning with Heartbreak Hotel/I Was The One in 1956, to Good Luck Charm/Anything That's Part Of You in 1962 were two-sided hits. That's something like 19 straight single releases!

In most cases, however, the artists had to be satisfied (and were naturally ecstatic) if just one side scored because the two-sided hit was, for the most part, a rarity. Only the major stars, or some lucky enough to have had their record "flipped" by DJs enough to grab attention, received that honour.

The only one here that raises some doubt as to its inclusion is Saccharin Sally by The Tu-Tones. Not that it's a bad tune or anything, just that neither side of this May 1959 release on Lin 5021-45, a tiny operation that functioned in Gainesville, Texas. made any national charts. The other side was Still In Love With You - but which was the A- and B-side? In any event, that's a minor detail. If you know and like Ace products you'll love this series and will be hoping for more volumes..

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