Greetings everyone! Thanks for stopping by another of my record auctions! I appreciate that you made the time in your busy schedule to check out the goods! I’ve been doing this on ebay for the past 8 years of so, and it’s always fun to have folks show up and see what’s available…though it’s more fun to get what I have sold, and into your hands! Your business is always appreciated, and that’s not just lip service! So let’s see what I’ve got for you folks this time!

This time up, I have a 1964 (maybe 1965, not completely sure) Promotional 7” 45rpm release on the Johen record label, label #45-9200V, by Tommy Ridgley. This is the single of “I Want Some Money Baby” b/w “All My Love Belongs To You”. I’d heard of, but cannot remember when I’ve actually heard Tommy Ridgley before, so when this single surfaced as I was doing my picking for the week, I did a little research on it, and since it’s apparently a desirable single, it wasn’t a hard choice to add for my listings tonight. I found out that Tommy got his first release on the 1949 Imperial label, and continued with music until shortly before his passing in 1999, and isn’t just a part of the New Orleans musical hall of fame, but he even has his own “day”, January 23rd as “Tommy Ridgley” day in NOLA as well. So yes, this man does have a nice recording history. After giving this single a spin, I can absolutely tell why he was so well regarded! “I Want Some Money Baby” is a rollicking, raucous tune that hammers your ears non-stop, what with all the brass, reeds, rhythm, and Tommy’s vocals, as this could easily have been the basis for the “Blues Brothers” since this is some wild madcap music and singing. Tommy’s voice is clear as a bell, whether he’s singing straight, or at the times he starts to wail-and with the glorious cacophony of the horn arrangement beside him, this tune is just one huge powerful whomp to the skull that you can’t help but enjoy! “All My Love Belongs To You” has a terrific blast of the horn section to start off with, but the horns quickly subside, almost making this a false start, as when the horns finish up, Tommy gets a chance to just plain sing, nice and smooth, along with some easy bass, drumming, and organ accompaniment. He sounds like a polished jazz singer on this, never getting too emphatic except when necessary, and during the slower, softer music, this fits the sound to a tee. However, later in the song, the brass & reed sections get back into the action, but Tommy’s voice might get a little more powerful to avoid getting drowned out, but he’s no less smooth when doing so. This single alone has given me a desire to find more Tommy Ridgley recordings, and if I do, I will definitely enjoy them, and make them available to you folks. The playing surface does show some wear, storage wear, play wear, scuffs, needle marks and some scratches. Both sides did play through without the needle ever skipping or getting stuck at any point, though there was crackling while playing. Not necessarily loud crackling, but just constant enough that I was on the fence with either giving this my E- or V+ grading. But due to the supposed collectability of this single, I figured I’d better go with the lower of the two, so this only gets my less than average V+. That’s my grading though, and my grading is considered non-standard. If you are considering placing a bid, please read the paragraph that follows this one, as it will show you the gradings and their respective descriptions. It won’t take long to read, please do. The labels show storage wear, staining and discoloration, however the text is unaffected and can still be read easily. If you need more pictures or description, I can and will be happy to provide. If you have any comments or questions, please send them to me, and I will reply as soon as possible.

My Grading is as follows: M (Mint)-ONLY for Still Factory Sealed Records ONLY! No 45 nor 78 will ever get this grading. E+, minimal wear, perhaps only needs cleaning. E, a few light marks, maybe some minor background crackle and/or hiss. E-, light marks, crackling (nothing major), scuffs, etc.. Not great, but still quite playable. V+, More marks, scuffs, needle marks, scratches-but nothing that would make the needle skip. Will have background noise that even with a cleaning will still be around. V. Worn. Scuffs, scratches, can be noisy, but still (probably) won’t cause the needle to skip nor get stuck. V-, Noisy? You bet! Worn? Oh yeah. Playable? Sure, but don’t expect it to sound all peachy keen. P. Bleah! Playable perhaps, but do so at your own risk. Don’t trash a new needle on it. Only used on records considered rare enough for “fill in” purposes to a collector-or to those who do digital restoration. 

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IMPORTANT NOTE FOR NON-U.S. BUYERS!!!!
All items I sell will be sent with postage printed up from eBay. This way, the prices are automatically listed for customs purposes and cannot be altered. Yes, this does mean that the customs people will know the value, but since I get a bit of a price break on postage, I can keep the prices low for you-the buyer.  I will not "mark item as a gift", just so you can evade import rules.  The people at my post office know me, and they will check overseas packages for inspection.  I hope you will understand my position about this, my apologies if you are not able to comply.

Also, international bidders, the price listed for postage on my listings are for domestic mailing.  I wish I could send overseas for that price, but reality speaks different.  I place a fair price on all international postage.  Watch for the invoice if you win.

ALSO-I need to let international bidders know of a certain problem that doesn't always happen, but will arise from time to time.  All International mail sent from this region has to go through the U.S. Postal Service sorting center in Sandston Virginia, by our local airport.  This sorting center has been named the least efficient sorting center in the entire U.S. Postal Service.  They prove this from time to time by mis-routing packages.  If this happens-and I will monitor the delivery-usually it will add at least an extra week for it to arrive.  If there are any problems, please contact me first, and I will do what I must to make sure you are satisfied with the order.
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All items that are sent to a U.S. address will have delivery confirmation (at my cost) attached, as I have found that it helps...a lot!....to ensure that packages are truly en route to the customer.  This is for both of our sakes.  I will be using USPS "Media Mail" as my primary shipping method, however, if needed, and for an extra charge, I can ship with "Priority Mail", and if i can get away with it for the price, I really like 1st Class, but that's weight-dependent.

Oh yes, if you are the winning bidder, and you are in the Commonwealth of Virginia, I'm afraid you are going to have to fork over the 5.3% Virginia State Sales Tax.

Paypal is my preferred method of payment, if you need another way, please contact me before bidding.  Or, if you have any other questions about this listing, or any of my listings, please feel free to contact me.  I will answer any & all questions as quickly and concisely as possible.

Also, I do have other listings available as well, and if you would be interested in more than one item, I have no problem with holding onto wins in case you would like to combine wins to save some money instead of multiple p&h costs.

Ebay has mandated that I include a "handling time" something I had thought was already included.  I usually get records mailed out the day after payment arrives.  But I will let you know that if any listing that is paid for after Friday mornings will have to wait until the following Monday, since I do the majority of packing at work-I have my packing stuff there.  Plus-I won't hound you for payment. As long as people stay in touch, and let me know the interest is still there, don't rush on my account. I don't mind waiting a bit and usually won't send any kind of reminders until after a week-at least-has gone by.  In this economy, the last thing anyone needs is for a seller to come off like a bill collector.  I'll work with you!

Folks, I have lots of records for sale/auction here on ebay, but I also have another outlet that I use as well, where items I haven’t listed elsewhere, and occasionally things that have been listed (but not anymore) here as well. I work for a record store as you may already know, and my boss has been putting out one of the largest, if not the oldest record auction in the Mid-Atlantic area. If you look online for RecordSmith auctions in Richmond, VA, you can easily find the site. If not, or if you’d like any information, you can always contact me through the ebay message system, and I will be glad to get that information for you. Hey, I love my boss, and love working there. So I don’t mind doing some “shilling” for him, and I’m certain he (and I!) would enjoy your participation and business!

I hope that there's someone out there who might like to make this part of your own collection, since that's what I'm here for!  I do appreciate that you did click on my listing and had a chance to check out the goods, thanks again for stopping by!