Search - Early Girls :: Early Girls Volume 4

Throws the net a bit wider

Zub | Forks Twp., PA | 07/09/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Here, in the fourth installment of their highly regarded "Early Girls" series of rock's golden-age girl and girl-group compilations, Ace extends their reach beyond the mostly teenager-oriented recordings of previous volumes. Sharing the digital domain with to-be-expected artists such as Brenda Lee, the Cookies and Tracey Dey are stalwarts of the more adult-oriented performers of the day as represented by Doris Day, Rosemary Clooney and Nancy Wilson. While one may argue they are misplaced in this compilation series, Ace is reminding us that, as their tunes were strong contenders within the top-100 of the period and they would not be going away quietly as many of their male counterparts did, they were indeed part and parcel of the female presence in the early days of rock and roll.



So, here in this eclectic gathering we are presented "Secret Love" from Doris Day, "This Ole House" by Rosemary Clooney and Nancy Wilson's "How Glad I Am". But the focus here is still on the teenage market and the performers that aimed directly at that upcoming wave in the music world. A few of the quickly recognized big hits are here, represented by Annette's "Tall Paul", Sue Thompson's "Sad Movies" and the Cookies' "Don't Say Nothin' Bad About My Baby". Refreshingly, represented are a few artists that had monster hits, though the tunes selected here include some lesser-known one such as the Essex' "A Walkin' Miracle" follow-up to "Easier Said Than Done" and Little Eva's "Keep Your Hands off My Baby" riding the tailwind of her massive hit "Locomotion". What really piques the interest here however, is Ace's exceptional track record of bringing to the digital domain tracks that have seldom, if ever, seen the light of digital day. And there are many - "Oh Why" from the Teddy Bears of "To Know Him Is to Love Him" fame, Annie Laurie's "It Hurts to Be in Love", Marcy Joe with "Ronnie", "To a Soldier Boy" from the Tassels and the Toy Dolls' "Little Tin Soldier" to name a few.



With a very generous 28 tracks all told, all in top-notch sound including eight tracks in true stereo (1-3,7,8,17,19 and 22) and a phenomenally comprehensive 24-page liner notes booklet, Ace has again hit an out-of-the-park home run with this, their latest girl-group compilation. No hesitation whatsoever here in adding this to the collector's must-have list."

Some Questionable Tunes ... But Still As Good As Any In The

Zub | 05/06/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"At first glance, judging by the reduced number of reviews compared to others in the series, this 4th volume in Ace's Early Girls series is the least popular to date. One reason, perhaps, is the inclusion of artists not usually associated with the Girl Group Sound. I know that these do fit the term "Early Girls" but let's face it, the main attraction of this otherwise excellent series revolves around those "girl groups" - young female duets, trios, quartets, etc., and sometimes individual artists such as Brenda Lee, LaVern Baker- prevalent in the early years of the R&R era. Those in this volume which would not fit that description are: Doris Day, Debbie Reynolds, Betty Johnson, Anita Bryant and Rosemary Clooney.



But those five aside, what is here still keeps this a 5-star release when you consider the detailed and informative liner notes, discography details, excellent sound quality, and the fact that all 28 tracks were charted hits to some degree, not a few of them extremely hard to find in this quality. That especially applies to the One-Hit Wonders in here: Theola Kilgore's The Love Of My Man - # 3 R&B/# 21 Billboard Pop Hot 100 in spring 1963 on Serock; The Main In The Raincoat by Priscilla Wright with Don Wright & The Septette - # 16 Top 100 in summer 1955 on Unique (Don was her father and she later moved to Ottawa with her husband, Member of Parliament Geoff Scott who had once teamed with Rich Little doing comedy impressions); Jamie Horton's My Little Marine - # 64 Hot 100 in February 1960 on Joy; Ronnie by Marcy Joe (Marcy Rae Sockel from Pittsburgh) - # 81 Hot 100 in June 1961 on Robbee; To A Soldier Boy by The Tassels - # 55 Hot 100 in summer 1959 on Madison; Little Tin Soldier by The Toy Dolls - # 84 Hot 100 in January 1963 on Era; and I Can't Take It by Mary Ann Fisher - # 92 Hot 100 in September 1961 on Seg-way.



Another that some might regard as a One-Hit Wonder is Bonnie Lou. But while it's true that Daddy-O was her only Pop hit (# 18 in late 1955 on King Records), she did have two Country charters in 1953. Born Mary Kath in Towanda, Illinois on October 27, 1924, she was primarily a regular on the WLW Midwestern Hayride. The same applies to Annie Laurie whose only Pop hit of the R&R era, It Hurts To Be In Love, peaked at # 3 R&B/# 61 Top 100 in the summer of 1957 on DeLuxe. However, this band singer with the Paul Gayten Trio and orchestra since 1947 also had four other R&B hits, including the # 3 Since I Fell For You (billed to Annie Lairie & Paul Gayten And His Trio) which also made it to # 20 Pop in late 1947. Her last hit, If You're Lonely, finished at # 17 R&B in late summer 1960 and # 104 on the Hot 100 "Bubbling Under" charts.



Two of the hits here appeared on the Dimension label, set up by Don Kirshner to primarily showcase tunes written by the team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King, those being Don't Say Nothin' Bad [About My Baby] by The Cookies (# 3 R&B/# 7 Hot 100 in spring 1963, and Keep Your Hands Off My Baby by Little Eva (# 6 R&B/# 12 Hot 100 in late 1962). Another tune of interest is Jeanne Black's He'll Have To Stay. This "answer"song to Jim Reeves' smash, He'll Have To Go, by the regular on Cliffie Stone's TV show, hit # 4 Hot 100, # 8 Country, and # 11 R&B in June 1960 on Capitol. She would only have two other minor Pop entries after that, both in 1960.



So, in spite of the doubtful entries mentioned above, this remains every bit as good a choice as any in the series."