Rite Records custom pressings Cincinnati, Ohio, 1955-1985
A page from the book " The Cincinnati Sound" by Randy McNuttIn the late summer of '67 Shad O'Shea (Counterpart Records) (who was still working as a State Farm Insurance agent, employing Len Gartner briefly) took the group to Ray Allen's studio in Louisville (Shad's studio of choice until he built his own) to record their next record. Len wanted to add some orchestration to the record, so they hired a flute player and recut "I'll Leave You Crying", speeding up the tempo and fattening the organ. They also recorded a new song, "The Girl With the Golden Hair" using a similar production. Len played the organ on "Girl..". Shad held off from releasing the 45 for some reason (probably he was trying to shop it to a major label) so the group had a very few copies pressed up on their own label, stating "promotional copy". Shortly after WSAI DJ Tom Dooley (with whom the group had done a couple on-air appearances) called up Hi label owner Joe Coughi and played "I'll Leave You Crying" over the phone. Joe bought the rights over the phone, and put the record out as is. The record did well locally, making top 20 on WSAI and WUBE,and also got some action in scattered cities across the country. Hi pushed "Crying", although Len was behind "Girl" to get the pick side.
Gary RobertsCompared with many of the other song-poem stalwarts, [Gary Roberts] didn't make all that many records. (…) On the other hand, the percentage of his records that score high on the weirdness scale is remarkable.
Here's a good one that might just make your mouth drop open. How could it not be special with a title like "Lonesome Al Down on the Farm".
The Kool Toppers
The Spiritual Believers
Ray Fournier & his Rockin' Rebels
Sonny Miller and the Happy Valley Boys
Ronnie 2409 (EP)
Tom Craig & The Trenton Valley Boys
