Rat Ron's Retro Rock Reminiscences: Hickory Shtick, Part 2

xxx
As you recall 
from my 
previous post 
my old high 
school buddy 
and Dell Rat 
Ron Shearer 
spent his pre- 
Dell years 
hanging out 
at Smith 
Village, a 
furniture and 
appliance store 
near his home
in Jacobus, PA. 
Ron perused 
the Billboard 
and Cashbox lists and helped Bill Mitzel, the 
man in the record department, order vinyl 
inventory.

Smith Village became a distributor for Hickory Records, the Nashville based indy label that was founded in the 50s as a country imprint but added pop and rock acts to its roster a decade later. Here once again is the Hickory label band called The Sparkles and another rare dance party clip from back in the day.

"The Hip"/"Oh Girls, Girls" - The Sparkles 
(1966, uncharted) 



(There are definitely some potential Dellettes in that crowd!) 

One of the most successful 
acts on Hickory Records was 
Sue Thompson and this is 
where I step aside and let 
Ron continue his story. 

Ron, be my guest! 


Sue Thompson was the big R&R lady 
at Hickory. Most of Sue's singles were 
WSBA Pick Hits of the Week. They 
included "Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)"... 

"Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)" - Sue Thompson
(October 1961, highest chart position #5)



"Norman"...

"Norman" - Sue Thompson
(January 1962, highest chart position #3) 



"James (Hold the Ladder Steady)"...

"James (Hold the Ladder Steady)" 
- Sue Thompson (November 1962, 
highest chart position #17 ) 



"Willie Can"...

"Willie Can" - Sue Thompson
(January 1963, highest chart position #78) 



I believe all of them were written by 
John D. Loudermilk, the same country 
writer who wrote "Then You Can Tell Me 
Goodbye." 

Ron, let me stop you there because I would like to offer some fine yet very seldom heard sides by Sue Thompson, songs that elevated her above the novelty ditties for which she became famous.

For example, listen to the outstanding A and B sides of Sue's first Hickory release:

"Throwin' Kisses" - Sue Thompson
(1961, uncharted) 



Here's the fab flip of that first release,
an exquisite, Brenda Lee styled ballad.

"Angel, Angel." - Sue Thompson
(1961, uncharted) 



Or how about this bluesy killer bee?

"It Has to Be" - Sue Thompson (April 1962, 
uncharted flipside of "Two of a Kind") 



Or this powerful ballad which cracked the pop singles top 40:

"Have a Good Time" - Sue Thompson 
(July 1962, highest chart position #31) 



Finally, here's my Pick to Click among all Sue Thompson recordings, "Paper Tiger."

"Paper Tiger" - Sue Thompson 
(February 1965, highest chart position #23) 



Here's Sue performing my favorite song on Hullabaloo:



Then came the one R&R 
song which I bought: 
"Bread and Butter" by 
The Newbeats. I saw 
The Newbeats live at 
Hershey Park. Acts 
that appeared along 
with them in the free 
show included The 
Olympics and The McCoys (before Rick 
Derringer and a couple 
of others became part of Johnny Winter's 
band which he called Johnny Winter And.) 

"Bread and Butter" - Newbeats 
(September 1964, highest chart position #2) 






And Ron, allow me to present another lesser known and seldom heard Newbeats song that has become one of my favorites in recent years.


"Shake Hands
(and Come Out Crying)" - Newbeats 
(March 1966, highest chart position #92) 



And finally, let's wrap up our Hickory shtick with a very rare record. It's the first single released on the Hickory label by Larry Henley, lead singer of the Newbeats. Listen and I think you'll agree that Larry sounded like Gene Pitney back then.

"It's Happening Again" - Larry Henley 
(January 1963, uncharted) 



Shady, the last time I visited Jacobus and 
stopped in at Smith Village, I was told 
that Bill had a very successful country 
music record shop somewhere around 
the Maryland Line. 

Ron, the discount department store called Mailman's was where I did most of my record shopping but I remember
my parents taking me to Smith Village Jacobus on several occasions. Thanks for the memories, my good friend!
Between the two of us we came up with some rare relics that deserved to be heard!

Thanks again to original Dell Rat 
Ron Shearer for accepting my invitation to
 

BE MY

GUEST!










Have a Shady day!