THE IMPALAS-LP-CUB Records- "RARE"- FINE CONDITION

$

140

Cub was a subsidiary label of MGM. The biggest hit for the label was the Impalas' "Sorry (I Ran All The way Home)", which made #2 in early 1959. Because it was the subsidiary of a major label, recordings were first-rate. The Impalas' album came out in stereo, and is highly sought after as a collectors' item.

Side 1

1. Sorry (I Ran All the Way Home) 2. Sandy Went Away 3. Woodchuck Song 4. Fool, Fool, Fool 5. She Belongs to Me 6. Cupid 

Side 2

1. Oh, What a Fool 2. The Loves We Share 3. Chum 4. All but the Memory of You 5. Mommy-O 6. (You Want) Too Much Too Soon 

Like The Jive Five, this foursome hailed from Brooklyn, New York, but unlike the Eugene Pitt-led group, they became the second most prominent (for a short while at least) mixed group following in the wake of The Dell-Vikings. Lead singer Joe Frazier (not the boxer) was black, while the others - Richard Wagner, Tony Carlucci, and Lenny Renda - were white.

After they secured a contract with the small Cub label in 1959, yet another prominent Brooklynite, Aristedes Giosasi, gave them a song he wrote called Sorry (I Ran All The Way Home). Giosasi was no stranger to hit songs, having taken (It's Been A Long Time) Pretty Baby to # 14 R&B and # 20 pop in June 1958 with his sister Irene under the billing Gino & Gina.

This one had "hit" written all over it, and sure enough - b/w Fool, Fool, Fool - it gained the # 2 pop spot in May and stayed there for two weeks, being kept from going # 1 only by a little ditty called Kansas City by Wilbert Harrison. It also gained the # 14 spot on the R&B charts.

After that, however, only the afore-mentioned Oh, What A Fool kept them from that ignominious list. The group later tried their luck at 20th Century and Checker, but could never again grab the brass ring.

I can only recommend this compilation to those completists who have to have everything charted by everyone in the Fifties/ Sixties because, while you can certainly find Sorry on any number of mixed compilations, chances are this is the only place you're apt to find Oh, What A Fool, along with both B-sides. That's what gives this a 4-star rating in my opinion.

There is some minor water damage on the backside of the cover at the top( see the picture.) The album is clean and scratch free, there are not any other noticeable marks on the cover or the album. i would grade this as FINE condition if not better. I am a former comics collector and i know how i would feel about this item. i am VERY Particular when it comes to grading.