Sold Date: February 26, 2022
Start Date: February 16, 2022
Final Price: $37.00 (USD)
Bid Count: 5
Seller Feedback: 772
Buyer Feedback: 19

Grading sound recordings by staring at them under a bright light is ludicrous... and pointless. These were PLAY graded from beginning to end on both sides and graded for surface noise and wear. Played on a powerful component system with a known good stylus and wear graded with an X-Y Oscilloscope. Scope pics shown are typical for wear grading. More on grading at the end of the list.
All of these are duplicates from my 50+ year record collection. All are from the POP charts. 10 are from the 50s, 54 are from the 60s, 16 are from the 70s & 20 are from the 80s. All are in white sleeves with writing (the grading) and many also have a sticker.  Many of the records have writing, stickers or label holes. Seven are re-issues, the rest are original release labels/songs/numbers. About 20 have a "B" side that is a little noiser than the "A", (usually in the lead-in or fade) but are still decent. None have obvious hits or scratches during the music.
Listed alphabetically by artist, then title. Reissues are marked [R].
Alpert, Herb & The TJB  "A BANDA"  BW  "MISS FRENCHY BROWN" - A&M 870 `67 Alpert, Herb & The TJB  "ZORBA THE GREEK"  BW  "TIJUANA TAXI" - A&M 787 `65`65 Ames, Ed  "MY CUP RUNNETH OVER"  BW  "IT SEEMS A LONG LONG TIME" - RCA VICT 47-9002 `67 Anka, Paul  "TONIGHT MY LOVE, TONIGHT"  BW  "I'M JUST A FOOL ANYWAY" - ABC-PAR 10194 `61 Association, The  "WINDY"  BW  "SOMETIME" - WB 7041 `67 Atlantic Starr  "SECRET LOVERS"  BW  "THANK YOU" - A&M 2788 `85 Barry & The Tamerlanes  "I WONDER WHAT SHE'S DOING TONIGHT"  BW  "DON'T GO" - VALIANT 6034 `63 Barry, Len  "1-2-3"  BW  "BULLSEYE" - DECCA 31827 `65 Butler, Jerry  "ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE"  BW  "JUST BECAUSE I REALLY LOVE YOU" - MERCURY 72898 `69 Cannon, Freddy  "PALISADES PARK"  BW  "TRANSISTOR SISTER" - ERIC 263 `62`61 [R] Cars, The  "TONIGHT SHE COMES"  BW  "JUST WHAT I NEEDED" - ELEKTRA 7-69589 `85`78 Cash, Johnny  "A BOY NAMED SUE"  BW  "SAN QUENTIN" - COLUMBIA 4-44944 `69 Checker, Chubby  "HEY, BOBBA NEEDLE"  BW  "SPREAD JOY" - PARKWAY 907 `64 Checker, Chubby  "PONY TIME"  BW  "OH, SUSANNAH" - PARKWAY 818 `61 Chicago  "CALL ON ME"  BW  "PRELUDE TO AIRE" - COLUMBIA 4-46062 `74 Cole, Cozy  "TOPSY II"  BW  "TOPSY I" - LOVE 5004/3 `58`58 Como, Perry  "LOVE MAKES THE WORLD GO 'ROUND"  BW  "MANDOLINS IN THE MOONLIGHT" - RCA VICT 47-7353 `58`58 Conniff, Ray  "SOMEWHERE, MY LOVE"  BW  "MIDSUMMER IN SWEDEN" - COLUMBIA 4-43626 `66 Creedence Clearwater Revival  "BAD MOON RISING"  BW  "LODI" - FANTASY 622 `69`69 Croce, Jim  "I'LL HAVE TO SAY I LOVE YOU IN A SONG"  BW  "SALON AND SALOON" - ABC 11424 `74 Cuff Links, The  "TRACY"  BW  "WHERE DO YOU GO?" - DECCA 32533 `69 Dale & Grace  "I'M LEAVING IT UP TO YOU"  BW  "THAT'S WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU" - MONTEL 921 `63 Darin, Bobby  "SPLISH SPLASH"  BW  "QUEEN OF THE HOP" - ATLANTIC-OL 13055 `58`58 [R] Domino, Fats  "BE MY GUEST"  BW  "I'VE BEEN AROUND" - IMPERIAL 5629 `59`59 Doors, The  "TOUCH ME"  BW  "WILD CHILD" - ELEKTRA 45646 `68 Douglas, Carl  "KUNG FU FIGHTING"  BW  "GAMBLIN' MAN" - 20TH CENT 2140 `74 Drifters, The  "SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES"  BW  "SPANISH LACE" - ATLANTIC 2260 `64 Electric Indian, The  "KEEM-O-SABE"  BW  "BROAD STREET" - UA 50563 `69 Estefan, Gloria & Miami Sound Machine  "RHYTHM IS GONNA GET YOU"  BW  "GIVE IT UP" - EPIC 34-07059 `87 Everly Brothers, The  "PROBLEMS"  BW  "LOVE OF MY LIFE" - CADENCE 1355 `58`58 Flying Machine, The  "SMILE A LITTLE SMILE FOR ME"  BW  "MAYBE WE'VE BEEN LOVING TOO LONG" - CONGRESS 6000 `69 Francis, Connie  "EVERYBODY'S SOMEBODY'S FOOL"  BW  "JEALOUS OF YOU (Tango Della Gelosia)" - MGM 12899 `60`60 Happenings, The  "GO AWAY LITTLE GIRL"  BW  "TEA TIME" - BT PUPPY 522 `66 Hodges, Eddie  "I'M GONNA KNOCK ON YOUR DOOR"  BW  "AINT GONNA WASH FOR A WEEK" - CADENCE 1397 `61 Humperdinck, Engelbert  "RELEASE ME (And Let Me Love Again)"  BW  "TEN GUITARS" - PARROT 40011 `67 Isley Brothers, The  "SHOUT - PART 1"  BW  "SHOUT - PART 2" - RCA GLD STD 447-0589 `62 [R] Ives, Burl  "CALL ME MR. IN-BETWEEN"  BW  "WHAT YOU GONNA DO, LEROY?" - DECCA 31405 `62 Jacks, Terry  "SEASONS IN THE SUN"  BW  "PUT THE BONE IN" - BELL 45432 `74 Jackson, Janet  "DON'T STAND ANOTHER CHANCE"  BW  "ROCK 'N' ROLL" - A&M 2660 `84/BU Jackson, Michael  "THRILLER"  BW  "CAN'T GET OUTTA THE RAIN" - EPIC 34-04364 `84 Jacksons, The  "STATE OF SHOCK"  BW  "YOUR WAYS" - EPIC 34-04503 `84 Jay & The Americans  "SOME ENCHANTED EVENING"  BW  "GIRL" - UA 919 `65 Joel, Billy  "MODERN WOMAN"  BW  "SLEEPING WITH THE TELEVISION ON" - EPIC 34-06118 `86 Joel, Billy  "MY LIFE"  BW  "52nd STREET" - COLUMBIA 3-10853 `78 Johnny & The Hurricanes  "RED RIVER ROCK"  BW  "BUCKEYE" - WARWICK 509 `59 Jones, Tom  "DELILAH"  BW  "SMILE AWAY YOUR BLUES" - PARROT 40025 `68 Laine, Frankie  "MULE TRAIN"  BW  "CRY OF THE WILD GOOSE" - MERCURY CELEB 30018 `49`50 [R] Lee, Brenda  "MY WHOLE WORLD IS FALLING DOWN"  BW  "I WONDER" - DECCA 31510 `63`63 Lewis, Gary & The Playboys  "THE LOSER (With A Broken Heart)"  BW  "ICE MELTS IN THE SUN" - LIBERTY 55949 `67 Lewis, Huey & The News  "IF THIS IS IT"  BW  "CHANGE OF HEART" - CHRYSALIS 42803 `84 Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam  "LOST IN EMOTION"  BW  "MOTION IS LOST" - COLUMBIA 38-07267 `87 Little Richard  "RIP IT UP"  BW  "READY TEDDY" - SPECIALTY 579 `56`56 [R] Lovin' Spoonful, The  "SUMMER IN THE CITY"  BW  "BUTCHIE'S TUNE" - KAMA SUTRA 211 `66 Marks, Guy  "LOVING YOU HAS MADE ME BANANAS"  BW  "FORGIVE ME MY LOVE" - ABC 11055 `68-N Martin, Dean  "I WILL"  BW  "YOU'RE THE REASON I'M IN LOVE" - REPRISE 0415 `65 Martin, Dean  "IN THE MISTY MOONLIGHT"  BW  "WALLPAPER ROSES" - REPRISE 0640 `67 Martin, Dean  "LITTLE OLE WINE DRINKER, ME"  BW  "I CAN'T HELP REMEMBERING YOU" - REPRISE 0608 `67 Martin, Dean  "SOMEWHERE THERE'S A SOMEONE"  BW  "THAT OLD CLOCK ON THE WALL" - REPRISE 0443 `66 Martino, Al  "THE WHEEL OF HURT"  BW  "SOMEWHERE IN THIS WORLD" - CAPITOL 5741 `66 McCoy, Van  "THE HUSTLE"  BW  "HEY GIRL, COME AND GET IT" - AVCO 4653 `75 McGuire, Phyllis  "I DON'T WANT TO WALK WITHOUT YOU"  BW  "THAT'S LIFE" - REPRISE 0310 `64 Mellencamp, John  "POP SINGER"  BW  "J.M.'S QUESTION" - MERCURY 874 012-7 `89 Michaels, Lee  "DO YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN"  BW  "KEEP THE CIRCLE TURNING" - A&M 1262 `71 Miller, Steve  "JET AIRLINER"  BW  "BABES IN THE WOOD" - CAPITOL 4424 `77 Motels, The  "SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER"  BW  "SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE" - CAPITOL 5271 `83 New Colony Six, The  "I WILL ALWAYS THINK ABOUT YOU"  BW  "HOLD ME WITH YOUR EYES" - MERCURY 72775 `68 Ocean, Billy  "GET OUTTA MY DREAMS, GET INTO MY CAR"  BW  "SHOWDOWN" - JIVE 9678 `88 Ocean, Billy  "LOVE REALLY HURTS WITHOUT YOU"  BW  "YOU'RE RUNNING OUTA FOOLS" - ARIOLA AM 7621 `76 Oliver  "GOOD MORNING STARSHINE"  BW  "CAN'T YOU SEE" - JUBILEE 5659 `69 Orbison, Roy  "ONLY THE LONELY (Know How I Feel)"  BW  "HERE COMES THAT SONG AGAIN" - MONUMENT 421 `60 Parker, Robert  "BAREFOOTIN'"  BW  "LET'S GO BABY (Where The Action Is)" - NOLA 721 `66 Price, Lloyd  "I'M GONNA GET MARRIED"  BW  "THREE LITTLE PIGS" - ABC-PAR 10032 `59`59 Quarterflash  "FIND ANOTHER FOOL"  BW  "CRUISIN' WITH THE DEUCE" - GEFFEN 50006 `82 Rene & Rene  "LO MUCHO QUE TE QUIERO (The More I Love You)"  BW  "MORNIN'" - WHITE WHALE 287 `68 Richard, Cliff  "DREAMING"  BW  "DYNAMITE" - EMI AMERICA 8057 `80 Roe, Tommy  "JAM UP JELLY TIGHT"  BW  "MOONTALK" - ABC 11247 `69 Romantics, The  "TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP"  BW  "I'M HIP" - NEMPEROR 04135 `83 Ronstadt, Linda  "HURT SO BAD"  BW  "JUSTINE" - ASYLUM 46624 `80 Sedaka, Neil  "ALICE IN WONDERLAND"  BW  "CIRCULATE" - RCA VICT 47-8137 `63 Sedaka, Neil  "BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO"  BW  "NEXT DOOR TO AN ANGEL" - RCA GLD STD 447-0701 `62`62 [R] Sedaka, Neil  "CALENDAR GIRL"  BW  "THE SAME OLD FOOL" - RCA VICT 47-7829 `60 Sedaka, Neil  "STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN"  BW  "FORTY WINKS AWAY" - RCA VICT 47-7709 `60 Shannon, Del  "RUNAWAY"  BW  "JODY" - BIGTOP 3067 `61 Sheila E.  "THE GLAMOROUS LIFE"  BW  "THE GLAMOROUS LIFE PART II" - WB 29285 `84 Simon, Carly  "THE RIGHT THING TO DO"  BW  "WE HAVE NO SECRETS" - ELEKTRA 45843 `73 Sister Sledge  "HE'S THE GREATEST DANCER"  BW  "SOMEBODY LOVES ME" - COTILLION 44245 `79 Sly & The Family Stone  "RUNNIN' AWAY"  BW  "BRAVE & STRONG" - EPIC 5-10829 `72 Sonny  "LAUGH AT ME"  BW  "TONY (Sonny's Group)" - ATCO 6369 `65 Springsteen, Bruce  "DANCING IN THE DARK"  BW  "PINK CADILLAC" - COLUMBIA 38-04463 `84 Starr, Kay  "WHEEL OF FORTUNE"  BW  "SIDE BY SIDE" - STR LNE/CAP 6012 `52`53 [R] Stealers Wheel  "STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU"  BW  "JOSE" - A&M 1416 `73 Thomas, Timmy  "WHY CAN'T WE LIVE TOGETHER"  BW  "FUNKY ME" - GLADES 1703 `72 Timex Social Club  "RUMORS"  BW  "RUMORS" - JAY 7001 `86 Travolta, John & Olivia Newton-John  "YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT"  BW  "ALONE AT A DRIVE-IN MOVIE (Instrumental)" - RSO 891 `78 Tremeloes, The  "SILENCE IS GOLDEN"  BW  "LET YOUR HAIR HANG DOWN" - EPIC 5-10184 `67 Vinton, Bobby  "PLEASE LOVE ME FOREVER"  BW  "MISS AMERICA" - EPIC 5-10228 `67 Vogues, The  "EARTH ANGEL (Will You Be Mine)"  BW  "P.S. I LOVE YOU" - REPRISE 0820 `69 Vogues, The  "FIVE O'CLOCK WORLD"  BW  "NOTHING TO OFFER YOU" - CO & CE 232 `65 Waite, John  "MISSING YOU"  BW  "FOR YOUR LOVE" - EMI AMERICA 8212 `84 Zager, Michael Band  "LET'S ALL CHANT"  BW  "LOVE EXPRESS" - PRIVATE STOCK 45184 `78

Editorial: The following applies only to 45s. LPs have their own different strenghts & weaknesses. I've played thousands of records that someone graded as (VG+, VG++ or better) but sounded like crap.  Shallow groove pressings that have been handled for decades invariably have dozens of tiny scratches which are all too audible, especially on Stereo recordings. Mono pickups don't output for verticle movement. Stereo cartridges produce equal but opposite pulses which tend to cancel out when mixed. The best indicator for wear & noise, is how the master was cut. Deep cut masters drop the stylus tip below the surface and ignore minor surface damage. A shallow cut "hears" every tiny scratch. Look at ERIC reissues. When ERIC was in Pennsylvania, mastering was done by Frankford/Wayne (Phily) with mostly deep grooves. When Eric moved to New Jersey, someone else mastered shallow grooves. The older ones are mostly quiet, the newer ones are frequently noisy. The only major record company to usually cut deep masters, was CBS (Columbia, Epic), at least in the 70s. Every other major cut shallow grooves, that sometimes look like a mirror (and are almost always noisy). The independent mastering houses (TML, Sterling etc) are all over the place. The same house may do a deep cut on one master and a shallow cut on another. I guess it depents on who the engineer is that day.
The other problem is wear. The vast majority of 50s records, have substantial distortion because they were mastered rather loud and most of the record players in use at the time, had cheap, low-compliance crystal or ceramic stylus that were unwilling to wiggle as far as the vinyl wanted it to. The stylus would simply scrape off the vinyl leaving considerable distortion on the loudest portions. This damage is difficult to see with "visual grading" unless it's severe. The problem lessened after the 60s, since most folks had bought a "stereo" with magnetic cartridges.  A worn stylus (AKA chisel) will do the same thing. The louder the mastering, the more damage is caused. Almost every copy of "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" I've played has bad distortion near the end. It's the loudest 3 1/2 minute stereo recording I've ever seen. Unless you have a quality stylus and it's in excellent shape, it won't play that record without damage. Almost all 70s & beyond records have obvious skating wear (as seen on the 'scope). Skating "correction" is seldom correct and isn't constant across the span of the playing survace. This is usually described as "loss of sheen". Unless it's severe, the record still sounds pretty good. Record wear is almost never equal on the two walls of the groove. An X-Y scope compares left to right and any difference is easy to see. At least 95% of records I've graded have obvious wear.  Usually, it's not enough to make a noticable difference in the sound. A good mono record, for instance, should produce a straight line that gets longer or shorter with the sound level.  You almost never see this. Stereo records produce a large field, with traces going everywhere. Skating wear will "bow" the entire display toward one side. Which way it bows depends on the polarity of the moving magnet in the stylus.
The bottom line is that 45 mastering was obviously done as quickly as possible, with nothing resembling standards for sound level or depth of cut. Some were cut out-of-format: Too close to the label or having a lead-in groove that starts half way into the lead-in area. Either of these make them useless for Jukeboxes or record changers.
If you get the impression that my opinion of "Visual Grading" is that it's a crock of s**t, you would be correct. It's fast and easy for a seller, but means very little in judging SOUND quality.