Okay, so we’re sort of cheating with this title since two of the three 45s today are songs about doing a specific dance, but bear with us! We’ve put together a few songs that will be impossible—and we mean impossible—not to tap along to. Enjoy!
Breakdown/(I Never Know When To Leave) The Party by The Millionaires — Big Bunny 508 (Released 1966)
Label: Los Angeles, CA. 3 Rcords released on the label, 2 by the Millionaires & other by The Dealers (1966)
A Side: Breakdown
B Side: (I Never Know When to Leave) The Party
“The Millionaires” or just “Millionaires” (another name this band goes by) might just be the most common band name ever. Because of that, good luck ever finding out any information about them. We did manage to scrounge up a little, though—enough to know that The Millionaires is made up of Milton Grier, Floyd Gibson, James Sturkey (who had a few solo releases—the only member of the group that did), and James Warren. Besides Sturkey, none of the rest went on to do much with music, which is a shame.
“Breakdown” is a bit of a departure from the sorts of songs we usually write about. The lead singer has a higher, tamer voice than many of the other artists we cover. The whole tune has a sort of jazzy, big-band sound, which is only amplified by the brass solo in the middle of the song, as well as what sounds like a tuba in the background. We would still call it soul, but it definitely shows its jazz roots.
“(I Never Know When to Leave) The Party” picks up right where “Breakdown” leaves off, and it begins with some meltingly sweet saxophone notes. The sax and lead singer’s voice are about equal in volume, which gives the impression that they’re both equally important elements of the song. Another fun bit about this song is that, instead of ending where you’d expect, it rises a key and plays on just a little longer.
The Pearl/Baby Baby Baby by Gwindon Murphy — Crazy Horse 1306 (Released 1968)
Label: 1750 N. Vine, Los Angeles, Ca. (1968-1972)
A Side: The Pearl
B Side: Baby Baby Baby
At first glance, you might be inclined to think that Gwindon is a woman. He is not. In fact, he has an incredibly deep, funky voice that suits his name perfectly. But like so many other artists we feature, this was his only release. Still, better to enjoy what we have than wonder what could have been!
This is one of those songs that’s all about a dance. In this case, the title, “The Pearl,” refers to a dance of the same name. The whole song enthusiastically suggests that you should do the pearl, but it never actually tells you how to do it! It’s a shame, because the songs energy makes the pearl, whatever it is, sound like quite a bit of fun.
It would appear that the dance is lost to the world, because searching for “The Pearl Dance” only gives you videos about people dancing to the Pirates of the Carribean theme. Seriously.
“Baby Baby Baby,” on the other hand, isn’t available for listening anywhere. If you want to hear it, you’re just going to have to buy it!
Do the Philly/"same" (Instr.) by Music City All Stars — Music City 857 (Released 1965)
Label Owner: Ray Dobart. 1815 Alcatraz Ave, Berkeley. (1954-1975)
A Side: Do the Philly
B Side: Do the Philly (Instrumental)
Nashville has always been “music city,” but it shares that name with Berkeley’s Music City, which is both a retail shop and music label. The shop was something of a local legend, and many of the tunes it put out are now sought after, particularly by northern soul aficionados.
What’s most interesting about this 45 is that there’s no information about the band themselves. The name would suggest that it’s a mishmash of other artists who have performed on the label before, but the identities of those people seem to be lost to history.
Despite being released in the ‘60s, “Do the Philly” has a very ‘90s R&B sound to it. Considering the roots that R&B had in jazz, funk, and soul, this isn’t altogether very surprising. Like “The Pearl,” “Do the Philly” is all about a song that nobody knows how to do anymore. Still, it’s fun to listen and imagine what that dance might be.
Add Some Dance to Your Collection
Pricing, details (grade, side A/B, quantity) and sound clips for each of the above records can be found via the following links:
Breakdown — The Millionaires
The Pearl — Gwindon Murphy
Do The Philly — Music City All Stars
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