Ray Clauson And The Teen Tops, "Little Star" c/w "Nobody Knows Trouble I've Seen," Universal [Japan] U-5009 (rel. 1/1959)

 

I made a good find at a claustrophobic antique store tucked off a main (and rather bleak) thoroughfare on the outer edge of Multnomah County. It occurred to me that I might have left a few good records behind. Since no one else had discovered the place, I let a few weeks pass by. On a glorious sunny Saturday, I returned with my friend Emily and gave most of the records there another once-over.
    Today's 45, the only known copy of the record to date, was my reward for this belated but sincere due diligence. I had no idea what the story was behind this single, and it was un-sleeved and a bit hammered-looking, but as I've learned in the past, both things are no deterrent. For less than a dollar, this 1959 Japan-only record by Ray Clauson and The Teen Tops was mine. If it turned out to be any good, I'd be delighted.
    When I get home from the hunt, I look up unfamiliar singles on 45cat.com or Discogs. Neither listed the record. Discogs had other singles--and an album--by this group and gave me some helpful background on its story. Further intrigued, I gave the record three cleanings by hand and removed much of the dust and grime the years accumulated on its surface.
    The group was formed in Tokyo from the community of American servicemen stationed in Japan. Their teenaged children, adrift from the youth culture that blossomed back home, reacted to the American rock 'n' roll and formed their own band. Its lead vocalist and guitarist, Ray Clauson, was 16 at the time. His family came from Indiana and his father, a former professional musician, encouraged his son to take up music. Ray's sister Sue (age 13) shared backup vocal duties with Joan Seitz (age 16; she hailed from Virginia).
      Bassist Grant Williams, the group's Black member, came from Missouri and was 15; bass guitarist Tommy Robinson (also 15) was a native of Illinois; rhythm guitarist Jim McConville (15) was a Georgia native. The group may have been an outlet for their shared feeling of homesickness--a way to focus on their own youth culture while immersed in another, bigger world unknown to them.
   Their first public performances enthralled their fellow displaced youth and appealed to Japanese teens. In 1959, they recorded 10 singles and an LP which collected 12 of these performances. The Teen Tops were fixtures on the Tokyo TV series Teen-age Parade.
    Their recording and performing career ends with the May 1959 release of their final single; it's possible all their families were reassigned to other military bases. Tokyo label Universal Records likely did well with their music and may have been sad to see them go. 
    

 The recordings feature a drummer who went uncredited on the sleeve notes for their album, pictured here. That the music is any good, or that it might have something distinctive and haunting, is a further surprise. 

  This is the group's debut single; it couples a cover of a recent US pop hit and a stark, unusual rendition of a Black spiritual standard. The lack of artifice that might have plagued such recordings if made in America are absent. These kids do everything and do it well, with sincerity and drive. None of them, aside from Clauson, were of driving age. It's a reminder that more people played musical instruments at this time; it was a form of entertainment for one's self or family and friends. People who sang or played an instrument might become popular; there was a social impetus as well.

    "Little Star" is a cover version of white vocal group The Elegants' 1958 Apt Records hit. It follows the original's arrangement. This rendition, sung with warmth and sincerity, is more appealing and charming than you might imagine. Though the audio quality is muddy--it appears to be a live recording with rudimentary microphone placement--the performance is solid and sincere. The record has serious damage towards the end of this side; there are a couple of unavoidable thumps and a moment where the stylus re-played two seconds. I hope these small flaws aren't intrusive. 

    Since I listed this record onto the databases of Discogs and 45cat, one other collector has reported a copy of this single. I don't imagine more than a handful of The Teen Tops' 10 singles still exist. The flip-side is better yet!

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/tsvdg1acvczqjnxb68qlf/2143b.mp3?rlkey=fcu4lg0cau5pex9g0i9182xyt&st=wariwqpj&dl=0

"Nobody Knows Trouble I've Seen" is missing word in title. This is the kind of record I always feel blessed to find. This hard-driving rendition of the Black spiritual features a stunning lead vocal by Ray Clauson and a sparse, eerie arrangement that makes excellent use of The Teen Tops' vocal abilities. The key shifts up and down at intervals, with the brushed drums and throbbing bass to move it along its fast pace.
  Were this recorded on a regional American label, it would be renowned by collectors (and called rockabilly, which it it might be adjacent to the genre). For its three minutes and four seconds, "Nobody Knows..." transports the listener to some dim twilight zone where past, present and future collide. Was this recording appreciated by its audience? Clauson's performance and his reshaping of this public domain song are most impressive. The liner notes of their LP suggest Clauson had a future in music; he planned to attend the music program of a college once his family returned to America. He did make at least one more commercial record.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ur208zqiu4f8pdfhfgzbq/2143a.mp3?rlkey=0fbqu41wt8oz0a6qkz6vki4hj&st=vwj29dmi&dl=0

In 1961, Ray Clauson recorded one single for Chicago's Vee-Jay label. It pairs an original song with a cover of an r&b classic. Copies are scarce, but I have a line on one and if it's still available in a couple of weeks, I'll take the risk and purchase it. Clauson may still be with us. I might try to track him down; I'd love to hear his memories of making records in Japan in the 1950s.

Tomorrow: New Orleans r&b belter Martha Carter delivers two powerhouse performances via a 1960 Ric Records platter.