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WE CURRENTLY HAVE  NEARLY 100   LISTED ITEMS

 

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·       THE TEENAGERS FEATURING FRANKIE LYMON –  THE SELF-TITLED 1956 ALBUM (“THE TEENAGERS FEATURING FRANKIE LYMON”) - ULTRA-RARE   ORIGINAL GEE RECORDS MONO LP 701

 

·       ORIGINAL U.S. PRESSING

 

·       ORIGINAL RED, GLOSSY ‘GEE’ LABEL WITH BLACK LOGO AND BLACK PRINT.

 

·       DEEP GROOVE PRESSING

 

·       THIS IS THE ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC, FIRST U.S. PRESSING; THIS IS NOT A REISSUE, AN IMPORT, OR A COUNTERFEIT PRESSING.

 

·       ORIGINAL, THICK CARDBOARD COVER (AMERICAN STYLE)

 

·       ORIGINAL LAMINATED COVER

 

·       CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS

 

·       THICK, HEAVY VINYL PRESSING

 

·       MACHINE MATRIX STAMP IN TRAIL-OFF VINYL (DEAD WAX)

 

·       This album is currently out of print and unavailable on Compact Disc, or in any other format.

 

 (►PLEASE SEE THE IMAGE OF THE COVER, LABEL OR BOTH, SHOWN BELOW)

(Note: this is a REAL image of the ACTUAL item you are bidding on. This is NOT a "recycled" image from our previous auction. What you see is what you'll get.  GUARANTEED!)

 

 

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The very first album issued on Gee Records -- with one of the most distinctive looking album covers of its period -- was also one of the longest in print of all 1950s rock & roll long-players, and one of the most under-appreciated. Even today, this record is kind of a revelation, despite its being around for 50-plus years -- the single was such a dominant format in rock & roll during the mid- to late '50s, that it's easy to forget just how good some early rock & roll albums were. The tendency in looking at the history of most acts of the period is to dwell on individual songs and 45 releases, and overlook what the rare long-player of the period can tell us. In seven sessions spread between December of 1955 and August of 1956, Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers turned in a dozen takes that make up this album -- these included the group's huge debut hit "Why Do Falls Fall in Love," along with its B-side, the yearning ballad "Please Be Mine," and they're joined by the bouncy "Love Is a Clown" and the lament "Am I Fooling Myself Again," plus a few other slowies. But it's the jaunty numbers like "I Want You to Be My Girl" -- on which Frankie Lymon's pubescent falsetto plays the role of trumpet, ahead of Jimmy Wright's cooking sax break -- that steal the spotlight amid this uniformity of excellence. And buried in the middle of the credits are little clues about the personalities on hand and at work: a song copyright in the name of George Goldner, founder/owner of the label and a decent guy, but also an inveterate gambler, always losing money; and another two in the name of Morris Levy, the next-thing-to-a-gangster, who would buy out Goldner early in the year after this record was released -- plus a few copyrights naming Frankie Lymon (and one of Lymon and Levy), but not one in the names of Teenagers Jimmy Merchant, Herman Santiago, Sherman Garnes, or Joe Negroni, who would be forever shut out of a bigger share of the pie, despite evidence to the contrary concerning Merchant and Santiago, presented too late in court.

 

The notion of assembling rock & roll albums in those days wasn't rocket science, nor was it far removed from way the singles of the day were devised, fast-paced "rhythm numbers" (as they used to call them) alternating with ballads for slow dancing. And all of it was presumably aimed at audiences that would be dancing at parties, record hops, etc. And all of it dating from 1955 and 1956, cut monaurally, was released with a promise of having been "electronically re-recorded" for stereo. The beautiful part of the music that the Teenagers with Frankie Lymon generated was that they embraced both sides of the sound equation -- their slow ballads had enough of a beat; and the fast-paced numbers oozed an aching, almost mournful sincerity from Lymon, on "I Promise to Remember," "I Want You to Be My Girl," "I'm Not a Juvenile Delinquent," etc., so kids could dance to them but also embrace them emotionally (and it worked equally well on both sexes -- boys could see themselves being that passionate and sincere with their girls, and the girls could visualize being the objects of such desperation from their boyfriends, real or desired). And the bold, strutting numbers like "ABC's of Love," hit a different target yet, Lymon's exuberant vocal, promising a mix of innocence in tone and forbidden knowledge in content, alternating in focus with Jimmy Wright's piercing sax break -- which implicitly represented the forbidden side of the ABC's -- amid a pounding beat.

 

This particular long-player was released in the fall of 1956, while the Teenagers were still riding the charts with their singles and showing up in movies, but it was neglected by most of their listening public. Except for Elvis Presley's work, few rock & rollers in 1956-1957, or for years after, could coax their fans to make the jump from 5" to 12" platters. Goldner must have been disappointed, though his investment ultimately paid off for others if not for him -- the album stayed in print for over 30 years, as long as there was some part of the Gee Records organization (which was folded into Morris Levy's enterprises in early 1957) around to offer it. In the early '70s -- not even a half-decade after Lymon's death -- amid the first oldies boom, there it was, in that handsome looking jacket; and at the end of the decade, and the middle of the next one you could still find it, in ever poorer sounding re-pressings. Hearing the latter-day versions of this record was an inevitable disappointment, the downside to the delight that new doo wop enthusiasts, going into oldies shops to check out singles by Frankie Lymon and company, would express on seeing that a whole album on them -- with all the hits -- was available. As a result, The Teenagers featuring Frankie Lymon became one of the most frequent "first albums" in the collection of newly minted doo wop enthusiasts -- one New York City store, Golden Disc on Bleecker Street (now Bleecker Street Records), kept a jacket in their window for years and sold hundreds. And it's still a wonder of music and design, 50-plus years later, the best work the group ever did and displaying some of the best aspects of its genre.

 

(REVIEW REPRINTED COURTESY OF BRUCE EDER, ALL MUSIC GUIDE  /ALLMUSIC.COM/)

 

For additional historical information on this album, including track listing ►

 

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·       CONDITION:

 

·       RECORD

 

 (IMPORTANT NOTE: unless otherwise noted, ALL records are graded visually, and NOT play-graded!; we  grade records under the strong, diffuse room light or discrete sunlight)

 

(a)          WE GRADE THE VINYL AS STRONG VERY GOOD++ . CAUTION: The vinyl is NOT MINT or NEAR MINT, but is nevertheless in a very nice and clean condition. There are some surface marks and abrasions, mostly light and superficial, although some may be longer than 1.1/4 inches (1 inch = 2.5 centimeters)

 

(b)          The record is pressed on a beautiful, thick, inflexible vinyl, which was usually used for the first or very early pressings. Usually, the sound on such thick vinyl pressings is full-bodied, vivid, and even dramatic. Do not expect to obtain such a majestic analog sound from a digital recording!

 

(c)           Mono pressing of this title is much rarer, and by far more  preferable to its FAKE ("electronically rechannelled") stereo counterpart. We estimate that FAKE stereo copies of this album outnumber monos by a ratio of at least 20:1.

 

(d)          The record has a "deep groove" (an indent in the label about 1/2-inch from the edge of the label, which on SOME labels is associated with very early or first pressings).

 

(e)           The album comes with its original, 'rice paper' inner sleeve (typically used in the 50’s and very early 60’s) which has - apparently with success - shielded the vinyl from the harmful impact of elements over many years! We believe that, despite great technological progress, these early 'rice paper' inner sleeves provided a degree of protection MUCH HIGHER than any other material used ever since.

 

(f)            True Stereo copies of this album are NOT known to exist.

 

(g)          Of course, this is a full-bodied ANALOG recording, and not an inferior, digital recording!!!

 

 

·       COVER (THIS IS THE ORIGINAL, LAMINATED, GLOSSY COVER):

 

THE COVER IS NICE --- ABOUT EXCELLENT OR VERY GOOD++ (VG++).

 

The following flaws or imperfections are noted on the cover:

 

-        Cover has a partially split top seam (between 2 and 4 inches  / 5 to 10 centimeters); This split seam was delicately taped by the previous owner with a piece of transparent scotch tape

 

-        Cover has some fraying/wear along the lower seam

 

-         Cover has some light ring wear (nothing significant); On the scale from 1 to 10 (1 being the least, and  10 being the most severe), we assess the severity of ring wear as 3   (VISIBLE ON BACK SIDE ONLY)

 

-         Cover shows some light yellowing on back side, apparently from aging  (nothing significant).

 

-         Cover has a visible "wrinkle"(crease)  in one of the corners.   (VISIBLE ON BACK SIDE ONLY)

 

NO OTHER IMPERFECTIONS ON THE COVER:

 

-        No cut-out (drill) holes.

-        No cut-out corners

-        No saw-marks or indents

-        No dirt/dust rubbing stains (friction marks caused by rubbing against other covers)

-        No writing

-        No stamps

-        No tearing: no chips, dents or nicks on the seams

-        No peel-off marks

-        No stains

-        No mold or mildew spots

-        No stickers or labels

-        No water damage

-        No razor marks, scratches, pressure marks, lines, streaks, or  cuts.

-        No warping

-        No wax, glue, paint or liquid drops on the cover

-        No glue traces or wax residue.

-        No bar codes

-        No RIAA stamps or stickers. 

 

 

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POSTAGE & SHIPPING:

 

We offer THREE postage rates for both Domestic and International Mail: Media Mail, Priority Mail and Express Mail for domestic, and First Class, Priority International Mail, and Express International Mail for international orders. INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS PLEASE NOTE: WE RECOMMEND that you pay for USPS International Priority Mail OR International Express mail when making a payment in order to obtain tracking information, which is NOT available for First Class International shipments.

 

INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE rates vary from country to country. For SPECIFIC international and domestic postage rates ►. While you can be rest assured that ►, please note that damage, loss or theft in transit is always possible, and in the case of some countries even PROBABLE. To discuss this potential problem and ensure flawless delivery, please contact us thru eBay BEFORE placing a bid.

 

 

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OUR REFUND POLICY :

 

WE OFFER UNCONDITIONAL MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE WITHIN 30 DAYS FROM THE RECEIPT OF THE MERCHANDISE, NO QUESTIONS ASKED (THE BUYER PAYS FOR THE RETURN POSTAGE); Still sealed items MUST be returned sealed in order to be eligible for a refund Some restrictions apply. Please read our complete refund policy before placing a bid. ►  for the full text of our policy

 

 

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