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Vinyl: Sun Records 175 - "Flat Tire" - Johnny Diamond
5,000.00 USD
1,500.00 USD
27 Sep 2023
27 Sep 2023
Buy It Now
484
4482
United States
Used
Sun Records
Blues
1950s
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Sam Phillips' first release on Sun Records: Sun Records 175 - "Flat Tire" - by Johnny Diamond with trio. This record was discovered by radio announcer Bob Friedman in the record collection of broadcaster Erskine Faush, on the air from 1951-1958 at WBCO AM 1450, Bessemer, Alabama.
STUDIO SESSION FOR JOHNNY LONDON AT MEMPHIS RECORDING SERVICE FOR SUN RECORDS 1952 SUN RECORDING STUDIO 706 UNION AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE SUN SESSION: MARCH 1 OR 8, 1952 SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN PRODUCER AND RECORDING ENGINEER - SAM C. PHILLIPS AND/OR MARION KEISKER "FLAT TIRE"Composer: - Johnny London Publisher: - B.M.I. - Hi Lo Music Incorporated Matrix number: - U 52 - Master ( 2:29 )Recorded: - March 8, 1952 Released: - April 1952 First appearance: - Sun Records (S) 78rpm standard single SUN 175-B mono FLAT TIRE / DRIVIN' SLOW Reissued: - 1994 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15801-1-1 mono THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION - VOLUME 1Name (Or. No. Of Instruments) Joe Louis Hall - Piano Johnny London - Alto SaxophoneCharles Keel - Tenor Saxophone Julius Drake - Drums Charles Keel is a busy man, honking the same riff repeatedly as London wails over the top. It's short on finesse and long on mood, ''Flat Tire'' wasn't Phillips' first choice for a flip-side. Initially, it was to be a song called ''When I Lost My Baby'' sung by his wife, Becky, to London's accompaniment. Dewey Phillips aired the two tunes on the day they were recorded, and dubs were mailed to Chess Records. Three days later, March 8, 1952, Phillips re-recorded ''Drivin' Slow'' together with ''Flat Tire''. Within the space of the next two days he decided to launch Sun with that coupling. On March 10, he sent masters to Shaw record plating in Cincinnati and shipped the pressing parts to Plastic Products in Memphis. Rufus Thomas played the tunes on one of his WDIA shows the following day. The first Sun records were pressed on March 27. It was a brave step releasing an instrumental as the first offering on Sun but it signaled Phillips' intention to do it differently. London remembered the record being aired on WHBQ AM 560, Memphis, and a copy of the 78 was affixed to the studio entrance at 706 Union for years.
An undated entry in Phillips' check register notes that he paid Plastic Products $135. For most of the 1950s, Plastic Products charged $0.135 per pressing so it seems as Phillips ordered one thousand copies of the first Sun record. (CE)