The Ray-O-Vacs "Riding High" 1947-1957

This 2-disc set certainly tried to cover with the proverbial blanket one of the most obscure of the late 1940s/early 1950s R&B groups. Taking their quirky name from a brand of popular flashlight battery, at the outset they were lead vocalist/drummer Harry "Lester Harris" Lester, bass violinist Jackson "Flap" McQueen, pianist Joe Crump and, at times, saxophonist Leo "Chink" Kinney. In June 1951, Lester left to try his hand as a solo vocalist at Decca with Herbert Milliner joining as his replacement (Lester died from pneumonia at the young age of 33 on February 25, 1953)…...They recorded for a variety of labels, starting with the tiny Coleman label of Newark, New Jersey then the giant Decca and also had their material come out on Regent, Jubilee, Josie, Kaiser, Atco, Sharp and Cleft - and perhaps more. Their history in the recording studio is hard to pin down. Jasmine gave it the old college try here, but when all is said and done, they omitted one side from the two releases that made it onto the national singles charts and that will disappoint completist hits collectors. That is Groovin' Low which was the flipside of their January 1949 # 8 I'll Always Be In Love With You (track 1 in Disc 1) on what then passed as the R&B charts (The Most Played Juke Box Rhythm & Blues Records) as Coleman 100 (the first of 3 singles released by the label - two by The Ray-O-Vacs). The hit side would also be released as Sharp 103 b/w Little Boy by Little Sylvia, and Cleft 10 b/w In This Whole World by The Centuries, but the dates of release are not clear.
The 1949 follow-up I'm The Baby Now (track 4) b/w Hot Dog as Coleman 112 failed nationally, and once again the B-side is omitted. Both Coleman singles were billed The Ray-O-Vacs -vocal by Harry Lester. Following their move to Decca in 1950, Harry Lester became Lester Harris (his birth name??) on the label of their initial release in their R&B series, a cover of The Ames Brothers hit Sentimental Me b/w Once Upon A Time as Decca 9-48141 (both here). It failed to chart nationally, but in Oct 1950 the same billing took a cover of the 1944 Jimmy Dorsey hit Besame Mucho (Kiss Me Much) to # 5 R&B while the flipside, You Gotta Love Me Baby Too, also charted at # 8 R&B in November as Decca 9-48162 (again, both sides here).
But that would be it insofar as nationally-charting sides were concerned as none among these succeeded in that regard: I've Got Two Arms To Hold You b/w A Kiss In The Dark as Decca 9-48181 in late 1950; Goodnight My Love b/w Take Me Back To My Boots And Saddles as Decca 9-48197 in early 1951; You Can Depend On Me b/w If You Ever Should Leave Me as Decca 9-48211 in May 1951; and My Baby's Gone b/w Let's as Decca 9-48221 later in 1951. All those sides are here (note the difference in title at track 10 in Disc 1 which is the first side mentioned above). At this stage, Regent Records tossed out two sides they had recorded at that New Jersey label to take advantage of their strong regional sales - Hot Dog b/w Happy Am I as Regent 1039 (only Happy Am I is included here).
The remainder of their singles are listed in the Comments below. Only Hong Kong is omitted here. Note that the lead vocalist on Party Time is Bill Walker. Overall, they were considerably better than their commercial results. (George O'Leary, R&B Monthly)trax disc 1:
01 I'll Always Be In Love With You 02 Why Did You Break My Heart 03 Happy Am I 04 I'm The Baby 05 Once Upon A Time 06 Sentimental Me 07 Besame Mucho (Kiss Me Much) 08 You Gotta Love Me Baby Too 09 A Kiss In The Dark 10 Got Two Arms (Waiting For Me) 11 You Can Depend On Me 12 If You Ever Should Leave Me 13 Let's 14 My Baby's Gone 15 What's Mine Is Mine 16 I Still Love You, Baby 17 Charmaine 18 Hands Across The Table 19 When The Swallows Come Back To Capistrano 20 She's A Real Lovin' Baby 21 Take Me Back To My Boots And Saddles 22 Goodnight My Love
trax disc 2:
01 I'll Always Be In Love With You 02 Why Did You Break My Heart 03 Happy Am I 04 I'm The Baby 05 Once Upon A Time 06 Sentimental Me 07 Besame Mucho (Kiss Me Much) 08 You Gotta Love Me Baby Too 09 A Kiss In The Dark
Flap McQueen & The Ray-O-Vacs Feat. Herb Milner & Babs Hallama
10 Got Two Arms (Waiting For Me) 11 You Can Depend On Me
The Ray-O-Vacs feat. Herb Milner & Bill Walker
12 If You Ever Should Leave Me 13 Let's 14 My Baby's Gone
Lester Harris:
15 What's Mine Is Mine 16 I Still Love You, Baby 17 Charmaine 18 Hands Across The Table 19 When The Swallows Come Back To Capistrano 20 She's A Real Lovin' Baby 21 Take Me Back To My Boots And Saddles 22 Goodnight My Love
…served by Gyro1966...