Various
The Red Bird Story Part One (2lp)
Double 180-gram deluxe vinyl DMM cut. 60 original recordings from the celebrated New York label, including classic tracks from The Shangri-Las, The Dixie Cups and more. Founded in 1964 by esteemed songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Red Bird Records may only have been operational for three years, but during that time the label became synonymous with the '60s girl group sound, particularly due to the success of The Shangri-Las and The Dixie Cups, both of whom scored No.1 hits for Red Bird in its fledgling year. The secret to Red Bird's 'Hit factory' lay in no small part with the chart-topping Brill Building songwriting team of Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, who had earlier penned hits for producer Phil Spector's Ronettes and Crystals. In the years prior to the British Invasion, the husband and wife team wrote prolifically for most of the label's biggest names, including the aforementioned Shangri-Las ('Leader Of The Pack', 'Out In The Streets') and Dixie Cups ('Chapel Of Love') The Butterflys ('Goodnight Baby'), Sam Hawkins ('Hold On Baby'), The Ad Libs ('He Ain't No Angel') and Andy Kim ('Hear You Say'), as well as occasionally recording in their own right. This deluxe 4LP set, split into two parts, draws together the best of Red Bird, along with tracks from its Blue Cat Soul/R&B subsidiary and material from the short-lived Tiger and Daisy affiliates. Carefully compiled and annotated by Roger Dopson, this compilation incorporates lesser-heard gems alongside the labels' major hits. TRACKLISTING: DISC #1: 01. TIPPIE & THE CLOVERS - BOSSA NOVA BABY 02. CATHY SAINT - BIG BAD WORLD 03. MOODY & THE DELTAS - EVERYBODY COME CLAP YOUR HANDS 04. LEOLA & THE JOVEJOYS - HE AIN'T NO ANGEL 05. BESSIE BANKS - GO NOW 06. DEE DEE WARWICK - DON'T YOU THINK MY BABY'S COMING BACK? 07. THE DIXIE CUPS - CHAPEL OF LOVE 08. ALVIN ROBINSON - SOMETHING YOU GOT 09. VIC DONNA - I WON'T BE ME ANYMORE 10. THE JELLY BEANS - I WANNA LOVE HIM SO BAD 11. CHI CHI MCAULEY - I KNOW HE LOVES ME 12. THE ROCKAWAYS - TOP DOWN TIME 13. THE SHANGRI-LAS - REMEMBER (WALKIN' IN THE SAND) 14. THE BUTTERFLYS - GOODNIGHT, BABY 15. ALVIN ROBINSON - DOWN HOME GIRL. DISC #2: 01. THE JELLY BEANS - BABY, BE MINE 02. THE DIXIE CUPS - NO TRUE LOVE 03. THE SHANGRI-LAS - LEADER OF THE PACK 04. BARRY MANN - TALK TO ME, BABY 05. THE BUTTERFLYS - I WONDER 06. ELLIE GREENWICH - ANOTHER BOY LIKE MINE 07. THE DIXIE CUPS - WRONG DIRECTION 08. THE AD-LIBS - THE BOY FROM NEW YORK CITY 09. THE TRADE WINDS - NEW YORK'S A LONELY TOWN 10. RODDIE JOY - COME BACK, BABY 11. RODDIE JOY - LOVE HIT ME WITH A WALLOP 12. THE SOUL BROTHERS - I GOT A DREAM 13. JIMMY RICE - SPANISH PERFUME 14. ALVIN ROBINSON - I'M GONNA PUT SOME HURT ON YOU 15. THE DIXIE CUPS - IKO, IKO.