The Four Labels, "Lookin'" c/w "Susie," Gra Low 838G-5524 (rel. 1959)

 

No artist images or mentions in the music press for this one-off single by teen harmony rockers The Four Labels. They formed in Indianapolis and we, at least, have the names of the members: Avie Celender, Dave Dickenson, Randy Entcriain and Craig Reynolds. The lour lads attended North Central High School and were among that first wave of American teens smitten with rock 'n' roll.
    Avie's mom managed the group, and Craig worked up two songs. They must have impressed whomever (or evers) ran Gra Low, a local imprint that issued a handful of singles in the late 1950s. Like so many regional labels, they had RCA-Victor do their pressings. Victor had a profitable sideline in custom pressings, in small batches, and are ID'd by the Victor master numbers assigned to each side. Many of these podunk labels used the master number for their catalog number, as here. It's the top row of alphanumeric info under the 45 RPM text.
    Since we have space, let's break down what that gobbledygook means:

K80W-5524

K = the year 1959
8 = a custom pressing

0 = a 7", 45-rpm record
W = a monaural recording

5524 = a number assigned by RCA to the recording's master

That's infotainment! And it makes up for a lack of real background on a pair of top-flite teen items with the unique fire of Midwestern music. Rock 'n' roll never died, and the Midwest kept it alive and well when it took a hiatus from the pop charts in the early 1960s. (The occasional genuine rocker still got hit status in those years, but they were a distinct minority,)

    My copy of today's record came from a recent surprise dig. I popped in a record store I've mentioned often here: it's a multiple-vendor place, like an antique mall except it's all records. I went out of boredom, and didn't expect to find anything. Then I chanced upon the box. Or boxes. At least 600 new-to-me 45s, tucked underneath a seller's stall, unknown to 99.8% of the store's customers.
    An hour passed as I went through every one of those records and finalized a stack of 24, with some intended for resale at record shows later this year. I vetted my original picks for condition and date, and two-thirds of them went back into the boxes; they were too pooped to pop or were from after 1968, when my interest in pop. rock and soul declines. 
    I went back the next day, sure that I'd missed some goodies, and came up with 20 more. That's a better-than-average ratio for a big dig. My copy of this rare Gra-Low release was filthy dirty. I cleaned it several times, and it perked up, save the first few seconds of each side, which have a background hiss that disappears. I can see the first several rotations have an extra layer of ??? on the surface; it makes a ring-of-Saturn pattern and is equal on both sides. No clue why.
    "Lookin'," the ostensible B-side, had big black Xs in marker on the label. Sure enough, it's the rockin' side. A beat similar to "Tequila" by The Champs graces this home-grown bopper about a teen on the prowl for a certain kinda girl. His outlook is cynical: "she can't be found," our narrator sings in disgust. Yet he continues his search.

    The story's unresolved and the sound is krazy-kool: percolating guitar, handclaps, finger-snaps, walking bass and nothing else but the four Labels' voices. The backup Labels are an ideal distance away from the microphone; lead is shared by two members, among them I'd wager composer Craig Reynolds. It's as perfect a specimen of regional rock 'n' roll as one might ever exhume. No surprise that this single is the most-in-demand of the 40-odd discs I brought home.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/kkh20e55ykvj884srzd19/2305a.mp3?rlkey=r380gy5sdoowy8tlkbz54cxdv&st=b0fl1jda&dl=0

"Susie" is a doo-wop item with a beat akin to "Lollipop" by Ronald and Ruby; a forced cha-cha that rocks despite all odds. A harmonic chant fuels this ode to a certain girl, with all kindsa vocal gymnastics by this quartet. All this and a hot guitar solo! This succeeds where so many like it fail: it has nothing it doesn't need and stresses the group rather than session performers. As it should be!

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/r2nrb4cmarg73ya2af5wx/2305b.mp3?rlkey=o5gium4lamklkkhp2cygxmu4s&st=zacyscag&dl=0

The single did well on home turf; I'd be shocked if more than 500 copies exist. I assume that the group disbanded after their small triumph. Off to welding school, or whatever they study in Indiana! "Lookin'" has become a favorite of DJs; it could be called popcorn, now that I think of it. I'm glad to own a weathered-but-serviceable copy of this rarity. Someday I may remove that corona of ??? from both sides...

Tomorrow: New York girl group The Sequins, whom were heard here 1,500 posts back, return with a fascinating 1962 platter for Terrace Records.