Vinyl E sol / sleeve E-
A very interesting record! The sleeve proclaims the artist to be the All Star Jazz Orchestra, but that name is a made up one. The real artists are Freddie Mitchell aka Hen Gates on one side and Maurice Rocco on the other.Halo Records was a budget label owned by Record Corporation of America - the same initials as Radio Corporation of America- ie RCA. Needless to say, the companies were NOT related. Halo, and the Record Corp Of America - was owned by Eli Oberstein, who had a long history in the record business, dating back to the 1930's, when he did in fact work initially for RCA Victor. He owned many budget labels, and their history is varied, baffling and very intriguing. And far too long and convoluted to get into here! But back to this record. The Freddie Mitchell sides come from Derby Records, which went bankrupt in 1954. The masters appeared on many budget labels, under many pseudonyms. Just why is a mystery, because Freddie, a very fine tenor player, was currently making some noise with the growing popularity of Rock n Roll, and even worked in Alan Freed's Rock n Roll Band. One would have thought his name would have been exploited. But no. Instead, his sides appeared under the name of Hen Gates on Plymouth, Palace and other labels, and also under the name of Jack Haines.The other side is made up of sides cut by Maurice Rocco, the white suited singer who played the piano standing up like Little Richard. These sides come from the Majestic label and date to the 40s.The final point of interest is the jacket itself. This record was first released by Halo in 1956 - this particular LP dates from 1957, and while the jacket design is the same, the actual front and rear have been glued over another Halo release - which one I have no idea. I suppose you could find out by carefully steaming off the top cover, but that would be a dumb idea. That the rear has been 'overglued' is apparent by the sheer whiteness of the current new back contrasting with the rather yellowed original background as can be seen in the photos. No real big deal in itself, but just one more aspect of the cheapness of the budget label business.Regardless of all this, this is a great record, and it is one that should be on your shelf!