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7"
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POPC 158EP
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Marvelously macabre popcorn magic from Chance Halladay, last seen on the popcorn label with his great take on "13 Women". Here he is in a much more sombre mood, as he laments on his sins and wrong-doings and pleads to be sent to his only fitting redemption place - the grave. All set to the delicious, slinky minor key melody and swinging jazz rhythm that typifies the popcorn sub-genre. The flip side "Deep Sleep" is only slightly less sinister, as Chance promises to hypnotize his lover into a state of slumber.
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7"
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POPC 142EP
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Two cracking covers of the evergreen popcorn standard "Fever." The top side a seductive, swaggering turn from Little Caesar with doo wop style/group backing vocals from the Romans, and on the flip is Sandra Meade's sexy and sassy rendition with wild, wailing horn accompaniment.
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7"
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POPC 149EP
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Two big and brash sides from Canadian born singer Marty Hill, who was just 18 at the time he wrote and recorded them - proving they just don't churn out talent like they used to! Both "Mr. Oracle Of Love" and "Red Lips" boast lavish production values, with full string sections adding drama and excitement to the mix. And of course, both are guaranteed to burn up the dance floor.
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POPC 147EP
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Cool double-sider full of swinging, foot-tapping, finger-popping vocal jazz rhythms from Oscar Brown Jr. "Humdrum Blues" oozes early '60s mod-jazz cool while on the flip, a quirky, percussive take on "Sixteen Tons".
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7"
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POPC 146EP
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Another two renditions of perhaps the greatest popcorn standard of them all, "Fever." On the top side, Barbara English's version is a groovy, early-'60s workout with an infectious rhythm and cool female backing vocals. Turn it over and hear Earl Grant give Little Willie John himself a run for his money with a smoldering, jazzed-up, organ-and-sax-led take.
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POPC 145EP
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Two sides of swingin' mid-century vocal jazz from the multi-talented Bobby Scott. Both "I Gotta Run" and "Moanin" have been picked and primed for the dancefloor and are sure to add an air of easy sophistication and class to any party, night club, or soiree.
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7"
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POPC 143EP
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Leslie Podkin's fantastic "You Won't Need No Money" is a real oddball tune that shows the extent to which the original popcorn DJs dug deep to find records from every angle. Defying strict genre conventions, this is neither rhythm and blues, jazz, pop, nor Latin, but instead has a strong flavor of all of them. Best just to call it popcorn then, and really superior popcorn it is. On the other side, as ever, another winner for your money: a female vocal-led mid-'50s big band R&B showstopper in the form of "Ooo-Poppa-Doo" by Lilyann Carol.
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7"
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POPC 139EP
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"St. James Infirmary" has existed in American folk traditions since the 18th or 19th century, but it entered the modern popular music lexicon with Louis Armstrong's 1928 rendition, after which numerous blues and jazz singers recorded perhaps a thousand times or more. Hal Waters's fantastic version from 1960 is notably up-tempo and swinging, complete with conga drum breakdowns and jazzy horn stabs. Gene Stridel's "Let Her Go" is a riff on "St. James Infirmary," with lyrics that play out as a kind of sequel to the original. The backing music, mid-tempo and heavy on atmosphere and drama, is pure popcorn!
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7"
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POPC 141EP
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Beautiful group vocal rhythm and blues from Vernon Green & The Medallions. "A Lover's Prayer" is a shouldering gem guaranteed to get the dancefloor moving. Laid back, subtle, and played in minor key, the song also epitomizes the kind of moody mid-tempo R&B tunes that caught on with the Belgian popcorn scene -- records with an understated feel that meant they were likely neglected on other music scenes for a good while. But not now!
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7"
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POPC 137EP
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Two male vocal sides, topped with Billy Williams's "Pied Piper," a pretty up-tempo sound by popcorn standards, but undeniably full of character and easy charm. Much the same could be said of "Too Much Rosita" from Nick Todd (interestingly enough the younger brother of Pat Boone), a swinging little number very much in the Belgian mold.
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7"
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POPC 132EP
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Originally recorded in 1936 as "Weed Smoker's Dream" by The Harlem Hamfats, the drug references were significantly toned down for Lil Green's 1941 update "Why Don't You Do Right." Since then the song has become a jazz standard, perhaps reaching a peak of fame with its inclusion in the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). Paired here are two smoldering, female vocal takes on the song, both from the late '50s R&B era so cherished by popcorn collectors and DJs.
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7"
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POPC 135EP
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Two contrasting takes on the biblical tale of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Vocal group The Wanderers' version is an up-tempo, bopping doo-wop rocker, while jazz siren Ruth Price performs an almost scat vocal over a sparse but energetic beatnik-style drum backing.
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POPC 131EP
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Two low-down, sleazy, moody popcorn masterpieces from the deep, deep baritone-voiced Jimmy Ricks and his backing group The Raves. "Daddy Rolling Stone" is a great mid-tempo cover of Otis Blackwell's signature piece with a swinging, early soul feel, while "Homesick" is a downbeat, bluesy piece which evokes the atmosphere of traditional gospel spirituals.
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7"
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POPC 125EP
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Two super-nice early '60s versions of an age-old spiritual, here given a popcorn R&B feel, with a low tempo still prime for the dancefloor, and vocals from some of the best voices in soul and R&B history -- Jackie Wilson and Linda Hopkins on the top side, and Big Maybelle on the reverse. Both versions were previously only available on albums, making this handy pairing their 45rpm debut, and a great DJ tool.
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POPC 120EP
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Two classy R&B numbers conjured in ode to that famous old queen of the east, Cleopatra, a historic muse who has inspired artists and musicians to channel their inner sense of exotica for thousands of years. Jamie Coe's take on "Cleopatra" is an uptempo dancer with classy production, lavish string accompaniment and a cool, laid-back, swaggering vocal turn from Coe himself, while vocal group The Precisions give us a drama-laden piece full of atmosphere and soul.
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POPC 119EP
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Two more catchy Popcorn winners paired for your dancefloor delight. Dean Barlow, a founding member of vocal group The Crickets, decided to go solo as that group's fortunes floundered in the second half of the '50s. "Come Back" was one of slew of singles Barlow released thereafter, and is a jaunty piece of jazzy R&B, perfect for today's popcorn-influenced scene. On the flip side is Carole Bennett's "He's Coming Home," a cool, laid-back stroller with suitably sassy vocals, a snappy arrangement, and a great horn section.
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7"
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POPC 109EP
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LaVern Baker was one of the ruling queens of rhythm & blues through the '50s, a singer who had all the ingredients to be an R&B diva -- a knockout voice, oodles of charm and feminine sass. "Love Me Right" is slightly uptempo for most popcorn -- a driving, swinging R&B number with incredible riffs and an irresistible vocal turn. "Tiny Tim" is slow and decidedly slinky as LaVern is joined by the baritone-voiced Jimmy Ricks for a brazenly suggestive duet.
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