You are out record hunting and stumble across a record by a group you have never heard   of, on a record label you have never seen before. You come home, slap it on the turntable,   and listen.  Sometimes it's great,  sometimes  it is just so-so. Worse yet,  sometimes it's    Country Western!   You go  to your  most trusted  reference  book. Then another, and   and another.Then you search the Internet. No luck.Then you place it on  your mystery   artists  page,  and  hope someone else  knows  about  it.  Please email me if you  have any   information  on the artist  and or label. 

 
 
 

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Jimmy Cicero. Have you ever heard of him? He recorded this record on the Legend label, but there is scant information available. In the dead wax, it appears to be etched "Service Sound Lab". Dantes BMI is not completely helpful, and a check of the BMI database did not return the publisher. It did return 4 titles that Cicero registered and wrote, but not these two. Is this the same guy that recorded Susie Q on the Penthouse label? Is it the guy that is playing jazz piano in Thailand? How about the Jimmy Cicero that played prominently in the San Fransisco bay area? "I Got My Eyes On You Baby" and "Sherry" are the two sides. Take a listen, and let me know if you know who this is and the history behind Jimmy Cicero!
   
 
 
I don't  have a  clue who  this is  or  anything  about the label.  Looks like it is the  first   issue on  007 records, and  is a doo  wopish  ballad. The flip,  "Lonely Fool" is an  up tempo,    pleasing song  by the  group. Listen to "Beggar Of Love"!
 
 
 
Female vocal group, the Humdingers, are showcased with a fine rock and roll song and I do know about the label. It was  originally started  in 1958   by three  of the members  of the Los Angeles based  group the Cadets. Lloyd McCraw, Will   "Dub" Jones and  Aaron  Collins  named  the  label  after  the  initials of their last   names. The label style  is different  then the  yellow and  black  issue from 1958.   And   this  was  pressed on red vinyl.  There was a release in 1960, M.J.C. 104 by Hal  Davis,   that   was issued on black and red wax. I'm not sure if this came  both ways, and  I have   no certainty  of who the group is.  I do have a guess. Could it be the Teen Queens?    Richard  Moritz who emailed me seems to  think so, and I have been  looking  for   verification.  Let me know  what  you think!  Listen to the  Humdingers  singing  "Hum    Dinger" !
 
 
 
So it's not even close to doo wop!  But darn interesting to me.The rarest 45  RPM on the   National label is the Ravens, "Count Every Star", issue 9111. I have several of the National   label 45's including Barton's 9109 release. I always thought they were rare, just not   valuable like the Ravens record. Then I ran  across this. An orange  Vinyl National 45   from 1951. Not a boot, but I have never seen National 45's on colored vinyl. I wonder if it was also released on black vinyl, and just how  many others  were pressed on orange or other colored  vinyl?
 
   
 
 
 
 

It's not doo wop, and it's not rockabilly.  It's somewhere in between. Fitzgerald tries to lean towards rock and roll, and includes a vocal chorus in the background. I do know that the label is out of  Hollywood and was owned by Harry Bluestone.  I don't know who W.C. Fitzgerald is, or if it was ever pressed on black wax. The only two I have seen were as  shown on blue wax. This  appears  to be from 1956. Listen to W.C. Fitzgerald "Take A   Hold   Of My Hand"! Click on the picture for a full view.

From Cameron Fahey of Sydney, Australia, who has the Australian release and promo material from the Leedon label: Born in Dallas, Texas in 1938, William Fitzgerald was signed to May records in the US, then to Blue Mill where he recorded this single only a few months ago. Fitzgerald enjoyed the success of his first single, "Where's The Umbrella, Sarah?" in 1955 which was released in Australia on Coral and reached the Sydney2UE Top 40 at number 12. This record is yet to take off but is recieving pretty steady airplay at the time of typing. Be on the look out for future William Fitzgerald recordings - He's a cool cat! Record released in Australia March 1957, originally released on Blue Mill, USA in 1956.

Further from Cameron: I remember "Take A Hold Of My Hand" was played alot in the local Sydney area, and made the 2SM Top 80, and was also covered by local Sydney Rock'n'roll outfit Vic Sabrino, released on Pacific records.

WOW! Seems like he had more spins down under than in the USA. Now we know a bit more about William Fitzgerald!

Further, a check on the BMI site shows the writer of the song as Carl Fitzgerald. That couldn't possibly be the same one that has the show "Remember When"? I don't think he was from Dallas, if the promo notes were correct. And, I think he was born in 1931-ish and was a DJ on WMOX.

 
 

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