These are more of the LPs from the box of freebies that I’ve been posting on Instagram for the past few months. This box of Crown LPs was donated by a friend who moved and wanted to get rid of records. These Crowns has swelled my Crown collection to nearly 400 LPs, most of which I will need to give away or dump in the near future. I plan on giving away all of these LPs at the next Los Angeles screening of Music By The Pound. Currently searching for a suitable venue.
The most risque and one of the most provocative covers of any Bihari produced LP. Here’s one blogger’s review of the music. Cover photo by Ken Whitmore, a Korean war vet who ran a portrait studio and shot stills on movie sets. Had heard about this LP but never saw a copy so perhaps rare. No vinyl inside the sleeve.
Unique cover photo for a Crown/Bihari LP showing actual musicians in an actual recording studio. Jules Bihari had a love for the old swing bands.
A decent percussion LP if you like bongos & drums. Reviewed elsewhere on this blog. Preson Epps was an LA musician who had at least one minor hit though not on Crown. Note the song tribute to Bed Bugs in the long traditions of bed bug songs dating back to Bessie Smith.
One of many Hawaiian LPs in the box, this one with musician credits!
Crown issued several self proclaimed “collector’s items” in this same style (with smaller Fazzio presentation) though it was just wishful thinking as few Crown’s are collectables & then just barely so.
One of several Joe Houston LPs in the box. Houston’s LPs are always great fun and worth a listen. These tunes are twist in name only.
Crown’s answer to the Coasters. A combination of doo wop, R&B, blues & novelty. Same group as the Jacks who had a hit with Stranded in the Jungle.
Old school blues/stride piano player with a distinctive voice. These are not Bihari recordings. Great photo montage cover.
More Hawaiian music with many of the same musicians as above.
Great cover with interesting font. A few licensed Richie Valens tracks, the remaining tracks are Crown house guitarist Jerry Cole (misspelled on the cover) imitating Valens. No vinyl in this sleeve.
Bihari original recordings from the mid to early 1950s with the classic hit Eddie My Love. Fazzio cover art.
Never saw this Twist LP but has same titles as another Mike Adams & the Red Jackets twist LP. No vinyl inside the sleeve. Apparently Mike Adams & his band played around LA and these are actual Crown recordings. More info on Mike Adams elsewhere on my blog.
No, the Isley Bros did not record for Crown but Marvin & Johnny did. Great Fazzio addition to your collection if you attend next LA screening.
Rare RPM label LP. This same LP (cover & vinyl) was released as the first Crown release!
Another great Fazzio with a few leased Tokens tracks, the rest are imitations from the “Coins!” Reviewed in another blog post.
A Modern LP from The Box with decent counterfeit Command Records’ graphics though the csrdboard is not up to Command standards. These same cuts appear on Crown percussive releases.
Young Jessie recorded for Crown, not sure about Chuck Jackson. Terrific Fazzio cover painting!
Yet another Hawaiian LP with the same group who appeared on the other two Crown Hawaiian LPs. Can you hear Hawaii calling?
How many bogus twist LPs can one company release? These are old Bihari recorded singles retitled as “twist” tracks.
Some great cuts on this fake Fazzio Johnny Horton LP. This same LP released in even cheaper editions later. How many versions of Red River Valley can one company release?
Similar release as above as part of the fake Fazzio series, a few leased tracks and the rest supplied by Jerry Cole and players from the legendary Palomino Club.
One of the few outstanding, art-directed Crown covers featuring Irish McCulla who played Sheena of the Jungle on TV. Ike Turner modeled Tina after Sheena and as you should know by now, the Biharis recorded Ike & Tina several times during their career. This is easy listening cocktail hour music, not twist music.
A great local Latin band. This LP covered elsewhere on the blog. Note that Eddie Encinas contacted me and was heart-broken to learn of the passing of Bill Lazerus.
Early Crown jazz LP with some fine cuts. Red Callender was a west coast session player. Too bad Jules stopped producing west coast jazz LPs and ended up re-releasing all his tracks on various low budget labels during various eras.
Rocking R&B offering from Gene Phillips. Tracks most likely recorded by the Biharis. A well worn but fine Fazzio LP to add to your collection.
Yet another Hawaiian LP in the freebie box, this LP from Crown’s easy listening series Sounds of a Thousand Strings, capitalizing on the popular 101 Strings series released on several low budget labels including Somerset.
A truly awesome country LP from the eccentric performer Tex Carmen who was also a terrific player. Modern label version of the same LP released on Crown. Worth the effort to own if you like country roots music. Samples available to hear on an earlier blog post.
Richard Berry was a Bihari artist who wrote the calypso tune Louie Louie turned into a classic rock hit by the Kingsmen. Another impressive Fazzio portrait.
Jazz great Jimmy Smith appears on two tracks here with the rest of the LP filled out by the unknown Arthur Glenn Quartet. Severely cropped Fazzio on cover.
Dull dance music, reviewed earlier in the blog.
Classic west coast jazz LP that was released in several different versions as explained earlier in the blog.
Liberace’s low budget brother who led dance bands at the Beverly Garland Hotel and other local venues. The LP sound like a radio transcription. Read more earlier in blog.
Basically a Bihari best-of from their mid-1950’s hits. Nothing remotely twisty about the music except for opening track by the Twisters.
Crown produced a series of bongo/Latin percussion LPs that range from terrific to mediocre. This is one of the better ones if the music suits you. Interesting photo montage cover art, otherwise, low budget all the way.
Authentic country roots music by the originator of the Riders of the Purple Sage. Learn more in an earlier blog post.
Another best-of the 1950s Bihari tracks repackaged for the Now Generation. No new recordings here unfortunately. Never seen this Crown before finding it in the Box.
Another truly great Joe Houston LP with blaring sax and distorted guitar. Cannot go wrong owning this treasure.
Yet another Latin percussion LP reviewed in an earlier blog posting.
More repackaging of the limited west coast jazz tracks in the Bihari catalogue. Neat cover art but all these tracks show up on other LPs.
More postings from the box soon as I search LA for a suitable venue to screen Music By The Pound and give away all these LPs and much, much more!!!
Music By The Pound 