VA - Plantation Gold, The Mad Genius of Shelby S. Singleton and Plantation SSS Records 1967-1976 [2009] (2 x CD's)

 

CRATE DIGGER

VA - Plantation Gold, The Mad Genius of Shelby S. Singleton and Plantation SSS Records 1967-1976 [2009] (2 x CD's)

Nashville, 1967. Enter Shelby S. Singleton Jr., already a music industry veteran, he went independent with his own Plantation label. Shelby S. Singleton was an executive with Mercury Records, who also did production work with artists as diverse as Brook Benton, Lesley Gore and Jerry Lee Lewis, when he left the label in 1966 and set up his own operation, SSS International.  He adapted an 'anything goes' mantra for SSS and sister label Plantation, which resulted in some of the most unusual and, as this CD proves, addicting music of the period.  It's all chronicled here, 'Japanese Country' of Tokyo Matsu, the lysergic sitar-drenched bop of Ray 'Wong' Riley's Happy Valley CIA, Dee Mullins' I Am The Grass to Jeannie C. Riley's timeless tirade against hypocrisy Harper Valley PTA. A delirious stew of story songs, topical ruminations, exploitation freak outs and the finest country-pop you've never heard! Deluxe 58 track collector's edition 2CD's featuring rare period photos, liner notes and incredible sounds remastered. Many tracks are previously unissued and almost all have never appeared on CD before.

Kudos to the Australian label Omni for putting this out there for the world to enjoy. I will be keeping up with the label to see what other goodies they can come up with, and also, this old crate digger will no longer look down his nose at anything from Plantation/SSS...who knows what else is there?  (Amazon)

The vinyl record was a much sought after collectors item exchanging hands for large amounts of cash. These CD's now make the collection available to all for a very reasonable price and if you love some quirky Country, this is for you!  (Amazon)

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Track lists

CD1

01 Dee Mullins I Am the Grass 2:51

02 Neil Ray Big Fanny 3:00

03 Harper Valley P.T.A. Beautiful Downtown Burbank 2:53

04 Harlow Wilcox & the Oakies Loco Locust 2:18

05 Johnny Moore and “col.” Tex Herring Sold to the Highest Bidder 3:00

06 Lawton Williams The Preacher and the Movie 2:12

07 Becki Bluefield Somebody's Gonna Plow Your Field 2:56

08 Clark Bentley Ballad of a Small Town Sheriff [Short Version] 3:02

09 Ray “wong” Riley Happy Valley C.I.A 3:14

10 Happy Shahan Changing of the Guard 2:53

11 Johnny Credit Hello, I'm Johnny Credit 3:12

12 Sonny Hall Howard Hughes is Alive and Well 2:09

13 Chuck Wood I'm the Mail She's Waiting For 2:35

14 Marcie Dickerson (I Want to Be) a Truck Driver's Sweetheart 2:10

15 Tokyo Matsu Mom and Dad's Waltz 3:08

16 George Kent The Baltimore Incident 2:16

17 Jackie Burns D.O.A. - O.D. 3:24

18 Dewey Jones Please Mr. Johnson 2:38

19 Rusty Adams Hippie From Mississippi 2:50

20 David Wilkins Just Blow in His Ear 2:38

21 Harper Valley P.T.A. I Dig Dangling Participles 2:15

22 Margaret Lewis Honey (I Miss You Too) 4:04

23 Marty Collins and Bobbye Jean Long Black Veil 3:56

24 T. Tommy Cutrer The School Bus 2:47

25 Webb Pierce The Good Lord Giveth (And Uncle Sam Taketh Away) 2:41

26 Little Jimmy Dempsey Folsom Prison Blues 2:46

27 Tokyo Matsu Orange Blossom Special 2:10

28 Jeannie C. Riley Harper Valley P.T.A. 3:13

CD2

01 Ben Story Let That Big Plane Carry You 3:04

02 Robin Cody Big Chief Tell 'um Lies 2:17

03 C. Company Featuring Terry Nelson Wake Up America 2:37

04 Harlow Wilcox & the Oakies Groovy Rubworm 2:12

05 Linda Martell Color Him Father 2:43

06 David Wilkins Put a Little Lovin' on Me 2:40

07 Teresa Brewer A Woman's World 2:25

08 Paul Martin The Cheating Line 2:44

09 David Wilkins She Hates to Be Alone 3:26

10 Tom Sawyer Fallen King 2:46

11 Lawton Williams Ain't That Bad About Mrs. Jones 2:18

12 Melvin Nash Wheels of Freedom 2:01

13 Jim Foster Four on the Floor (And a Fifth Under the Seat) 2:27

14 Rod Hart C.B. Savage 3:33

15 Johnny Credit Box 1000 Seagoville 2:07

16 Paul Martin Child of Poverty 2:36

17 James O'gwynn It's Not the Best Way to Live 2:18

18 Clark Bentley Ole Town Drunk 2:15

19 George Kent Loving Hands at Home 3:13

20 Ray and Neil The Medic 2:56

21 Tom Sawyer The Best Fruit of the Family Tree 2:27

22 Webb Pierce Appleton 2:42

23 Max Powell No Brass Band 2:22

24 Margaret Lewis Mrs. Cooper's Tea Party 3:22

25 David Wilkins Irving 2:13

26 Lawton Williams Ballad of Morgan 2:44

27 Little Jimmy Dempsey I Walk the Line 2:20

28 Harper Valley P.T.A. Unfinished Dream 2:12

29 Tom Sawyer Flag Draped Coffin 2:12

30 Jeannie C. Riley Tree of Joy 2:23

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