"Poison Ivy" Gems From the Atco Vaults 1959-1962 CD 1-3

HISTORY: When one mentions Atco label, I would naturally think of Bobby Darin, Coasters and Ben E. King. Atco Records was a United States-based subsidiary label of Atlantic Records, its name simply an abbreviation of ATlantic COrporation. Founded by Herb Abramson in 1955 on his return from military service, it was initially intended as an outlet for artists and groups whose image didn’t fit its parent label, for at the time Atlantic was geared towards blues, jazz and R&B.
Atco Records also included artists, such as Mr. Acker Bilk, Sonny & Cher, Buffalo Springfield, Vanila Fudge and later the Bee Gees, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, Yes and Genesis.
CONTENT: This 3 CD set has 60 songs, with truly gems from the Atco vaults from 1959 – 1962. Since the website does not have a song listing, I have compiled a detailed song listing (with chart position in US and UK, year and my personal comments), which is as follows:Disc 1 trax:
01 Spanish Harlem – Ben E. King (US 10/1960) 02 Poison Ivy – The Coasters (US 7/1959)*sequence listed on back cover is wrong; exchanged with Besame Mucho; now we have the correct sequence. 03 I’m Blue (The Gong-Gong Song) – The Ikettes (US 19/1962)*rare gem; Tina Turner singing backing vocal. 04 Multiplication – Bobby Darin (US 30/1961)(b-side to Irresistible You) 05 Tell Him No – The Jackson Brothers (uncharted, 1958) 06 Stranger On The Shore – Mr. Acker Bilk (US 1/1962; UK 2/1961)*first song from UK to hit Number 1 on Billboard Hot 100. 07 ‘Cause I Love You – Carla & Rufus (uncharted, 1960) 08 The Big Chance – Gerald Nelson (uncharted, 1962) 09 Rock & Roll Machine – Tee Tucker (uncharted, 1961) 10 Devil Or Angel – The Hollywood Flames (uncharted, 1960)*rare gem; version by Bobby Vee peaked at 6/1960. 11 The Honey Dripper, Part 1 – King Curtis (uncharted, 1959) 12 Nine Hundred Miles – Nina & Frederik (uncharted, 1959)*rare gem: their biggest hit was Little Donkey (UK 3/1960) 13 Beat Generation – Paul Evans (uncharted, 1959)*rare gem; biggest hit: Seven Little Girls (9/1959); wrote When for Kalin Twins, Roses Are Red for Bobby Vinton and I Gotta Know for Elvis Presley. 14 Judy – Teddy Redell (uncharted, 1960)*rare gem; original version, later made popular by Elvis in 1967 15 Besame Mucho – The Coasters (US 70/1960) 16 Diddy Bop – Sonny Forrest (uncharted, 1960) 17 Things – Bobby Darin (US 3/1962) 18 Alley Cat – Bent Fabric (US 8/1962)*male pianist from Denmark 19 Don’t Play That Song (You Lied) – Ben E. King (US 11/1962) 20 Don’t Pretend – Marty Hill (uncharted, 1959)
Disc 2 trax:
01 Dream Lover – Bobby Darin (US 2/1959) 02 Stand By Me – Ben E. King (4/1961) 03 Sweet And Lovely – Nino Tempo & April Stevens (US 77/1962)*their biggest hit Deep Purple reached Number 1 in 1963. 04 Charlie Brown – The Coasters (US 2/1959) 05 Apache – Jorgen Ingmann (US 2/1961)* guitarist from Denmark; The Shadows in UK took this song to Number 1 in UK (1960) 06 Playmates – Sandy Stewart (uncharted, 1959)*rare gem; 07 Moanin’ – Ada Lee (uncharted, 1961) 08 Every Day, Every Way – The Hollywood Flames (uncharted, 1959)*rare gem; their biggest hit was Buzz-Buzz-Buzz (11/1957) 09 Heavenly Blues – King Curtis (uncharted, 1959) 10 Tired Of Trying – Jean Du Shon (uncharted, 1960) 11 Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo – Jimmy Ricks (uncharted, 1961)*rare gem; R&B singer with the real low voice; cover version of the song from movie Gigi 12 I Do Love You – The Ikettes (uncharted, 1962) 13 Beyond The Sea (La Mer) – Bobby Darin (US 6/1960) 14 Chicken Feed – Bent Fabric (US 63/1963)* rare gem 15 Bobby Baby – Ginny Zee (uncharted, 1961)*rare gem 16 I’m Standing By – Ben E. King (US 111/1962) 17 Jupiter-C – Pat & The Satellites (uncharted, 1959) 18 I Didn’t Believe – Rufus & Friend (uncharted, 1961) 19 Gurney Slade – Max Harris (uncharted, 1960) 20 Never Let Me Go – Chuck Jackson (uncharted, 1961)
Disc 3 trax:
01 Listen To The Ocean – Nina & Frederik (UK 46/1960)*rare gem; vocal duo from Denmark: Baroness Nina & Baron Frederik. 02 Three Cool Cats – The Coasters (b-side to Charlie Brown, 1959) 03 Clementine – Bobby Darin (US 21/1960) 04 Amor, Amor – Ben E. King (US 18/1961) 05 Anna – Jorgen Ingmann (US 54/1961) 06 The Slop – Chet ‘Poison’ Ivey (uncharted, 1959) 07 Castle Rock – King Curtis (uncharted, 1958) 08 You Don’t Know What Love Is – Helen Merrill (uncharted, 1960)*rare gem; original name: Jelena Ana Milcetic; not our Helen ‘Iron Lady’ Merrill 09 Hiccups – Jimmy Harrison (uncharted, 1959) 10 Along Came Jones – The Coasters (US 9/1959) 11 Come With Me To The Casbah – Ganimian & His Orientals (uncharted, 1961) 12 Talk To Me, Talk To Me – Jean Du Shon (uncharted, 1961) 13 Won’t You come Home Bill Bailey – Bobby Darin (US 19/1960) 14 Daddy Rollin’ Stone – Jimmy Ricks & The Raves (uncharted, 1962) 15 Show Me The Way – Ben E. King (uncharted, 1959) 16 Big Betty – Ray & Lindy (uncharted, 1959) 17 Sh-Boom – The Sh-Booms (uncharted, 1961) 18 Say You Do – Tommy Knight (uncharted, 1961) 19 It Must Be Magic – The Vibraharps (uncharted, 1959) 20 The Fish Man – Ian Menzies (uncharted, 1960)

FINAL THOUGHTS: This 3 CD set contains both charted hits, plus many uncharted rare gems. The sound is well remastered. Buying from the sellers is much cheaper, and at that low price, this set is highly recommended.
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