THE GRAY THINGS – CHARITY (1966) GARAGE – PSYCH - ROCK (HEAR) ORIGINAL 45

$

80

Item Specific Notes: (No Reserve Auction)

THE GRAY THINGS – CHARITY / LOVERS MELODY (LAURIE 3367) (PROMO) (VG+)

From Albany, New York, this band was actually named the Shandels and a local DJ in Albany named Lee Gray used his contacts to get them a recording contract with Laurie Records in NYC if they agreed to be called the Gray Things.  The band had six original songs they were prepared to audition for the producers and after the audition they waited for the callback, which happened in October ‘66. The producers however (Doug Morris and Elliot Greenberg) had another plan… They took one of the band’s songs, Talk’n New York, re-worked it, changed the words and Greenberg actually played the keyboards. After recording the song, they shuffled the band out without even recording a B-side.  A few months later, the band was shocked to hear their song on the radio, renamed Charity.  The credits were not even given to the band and the B-side is an embarrassing schlock-instrumental thrown together by the studio team. But the band’s instant popularity allowed them to shrug it off because they were now touring with acts like The Byrds, Lovin’ Spoonful and The Rascals. Charity got significant airplay in the Northeast when it came out and it is truly an  excellent garage-psych tune.  But after the dust settled, the momentum from Laurie got sucked away by a million Snoopy records by the Royal Guardsmen and the band and the song faded into obscurity until the 80’s when it started appearing on psych compilations.  Over the ensuing years, this band has achieved close to cult status in Europe because of this one song, and in 2011 they were poised to do a European reunion tour but I’m not sure if they actually went through with it…  There is a Shandels band from the NYC area that released four singles between 65/67, but the names of the writers on those singles don’t match up with the Albany group names.  This copy is VG+ and plays like EX. Check out the scans and audio samples.  

Watch Video

Video will open in a new window
Using the eBay App? Paste link into a browser window:

Watch Video

Video will open in a new window
Using the eBay App? Paste link into a browser window:

Hi folks, this is Velvetfogg, founder of the U-SPACES music collective which ran from 1997 to 2020 on Yahoogroups and has now switched over to Facebook.  The primary focus of U-SPACES was to provide a network of Psych & Garage music aficionados to build and share compilations of non comped songs. Over the past 40 years I have amassed a large 45 & LP collection which I am now choosing to put up for auction to help fund my kid’s college educations.  Generally speaking, I am only putting things up for auction that are either in excellent condition or extremely rare.

My preference is to run these auctions on EBAY because of familiarity with the process, but there is the potential that I will switch or use other platforms in parallel in the future.  Check out my collection on DISCOGS under VELVETFOGG. I have only listed 45’s on that site that I plan to auction in 2021/22 and the list will grow substantially on a weekly basis as I continue to go through my collection. I hope to list 10 records per week for EBAY auctions on Sundays.

(LP’s will be auctioned starting in Summer 2021.)

GRADING SCALE:

NM/M: Played once or twice. No visible surface or playback wear.

EX: Has been played but has no scratches, minimal to no wear and plays without surface noise.

EX- Plays without surface noise, but might have a few visible minor scratches.

VG++: May have a few surface scratches or a little wear, but plays nicely with only minimal surface noise and clicks. No Skips

VG+: "Typical used record".  A little wear, a few minor (light) scratches, but plays well. Surface noise may be more present during soft passages. No Skips

VG: More wear and significant surface noise. Deeper scratches. May have a skip and will be noted.

G: Significant surface noise and scratches and visible groove wear. (Beat up record!) May have skips if noted.

(All Records are play-graded and visually-graded.)

SHIPPING (45’S):

USA: $5.00 

Canada/Mexico: $13.00 

Asia/Oceania: $18.00 

Rest of World: $15.00 

45’s ship via USPS First Class (domestic) or USPS First Class

International. Professional cardboard 45 mailers will be used with proper bubble packing.

Priority Shipping is available for higher priced items (Domestic & International) which includes insurance, so please inquire upon winning bid if you are interested in this option. For international orders, please research these costs in your country prior to bidding.

PAYMENTS:

EBAY Managed Payments or Paypal Only.

FEEDBACK/SATISFACTION:

I will work to ensure that all customers are fully satisfied should any issues arise.  I have made all attempts possible to provide high quality scans, full audio files from the auction items and grading information about this record.  Bottom line, if you still need more info, contact me through EBAY and I will gladly answer any additional questions.