Collectables

[Kamasu_Jr]

I know Collectables was started in 1980 and became one of the leading vinyl reissue companies.

My question is simple: what did collectors do before Collectables if they wanted to find a replacement copy of some vinyl 45?

My dad says he did nothing. If a treasured 45 got broken or scratched, if he didn't have a duplicate copy, he was out of luck. You could try special ordering something from a record shop.

There were some record retailers like Randy's Record Shop in Tennessee, which still stocked some older vinyl singles and there were some shops in New York and other larger cities. It seems vinyl albums were easier to find since many companies still pressed them.

I assume this whole business of reissuing classic vinyl started to florish in the 1980s after Collectables or were there other companies?

I remember when Stax, Motown and Atlantic used to press classic singles, but again this was in the 1980s.

[soulster]

One could usually order another copy from a record store or find then in the store in a shrinkwrapped longbox.

Collectables didn't always reissue the correct single version of 60s and early 70s hit singles. They would usually go with the stereo mix.

Eric Records was the same.

As a collector, I always preferred the original single. The nice thing about the Motown Yesteryear and the Columbia and Epic reissues is that they usually used the original stampers that were used to press the original 45s, so the chances of getting the hit version was much greater.

Lor LPs, I liked 80s reissues by Capitol and Columbia because the reissues were often on par, or superior to the original cuts. Except, Capitol would often chop off one or two tracks.

[roger]

Well Kamausu ..

Collectables actually started much earlier than 1980, but as "Lost Nite" records .. this is their L.P. discography as per the bsn website ..

http://www.bsnpubs.com/philadelphia/.../lostnite.html

They reissued singles too .. I have a copy of "Gotta Have Your Love" by THE SAPPHIRES on a Lost Nite 7"
, which was so heavily imported into Britain in the early '70s that a lot of people thought it was the original U.S. label.

As I recall there was a heavy Philadelphia bias to their 7" re-releases .. I think I have a copy of "The 81" by CANDY AND THE KISSES lurking around on the label too.

Other than that, some U.S. labels had L.P. compilations of old R&B hits .. I still have a few United Artists and Roulette ones .. and there were Motown and Atlantic compilations too of course. But I don't recall any examples of these labels actually re-releasing out of print L.Ps.

Some U.S. labels would do re-pressings of old 45s if they found there was still a demand. This was often the case with the more uptempo material that became popular in Britain a few years after U.S. release, for example "Right track" by BILLY BUTLER.

And here in Britain itself Contempo had a label in the '70s that was specifically set up for reissues .. Contempo-Raries .. but they only had a few releases.

Otherwise U.K. record companies would reissue old 45s [[ or sometimes release them for the first time ) if they thought there was a demand, which led to numerous chart entries throughout the '70s of old "Soul" material. "Hey There Lonely Girl" by EDDIE HOLMAN finally made the U.K. Top 10 in 1974 about 5 years after its U.S. success and on its THIRD U.K. 7" label, and there are dozens of similar examples.

Roger

[sunshineonacloudyday]

Also Trip Oldies, Good Old Gold, which I still find while out digging. And Lana Records [[weren't they associated with Motown?)
I'm a sucker for those "limited edition" red vinyl mini-lps from Lost Nite. Heart-shaped red vinyl, done by Motown, Columbia, and others--now that's a nice Valentines Day present, lol...

[tamla617]

uk wise,depends when your talking.in the 70's didnt have any probs,at least i didnt.contempo,[[blues and soul mag) had a stock of singles you wouldnt believe.i used to hear this has been deleted,thats been deleted.go to contempo and get it!
i'm not saying everything here was available,but what i wanted was!then again i wasnt after northern soul,that would've been a problem.half the punters didnt know what they were dancing to,thats another story!
i think someone at contempo bought stacks of stuff and had enough to supply,i mean imports [[to uk).
so when you got what you wanted it was a US label for uk price!bargain!
i also used to go to a shop/store in the midweek,when it was quiet and ask 'em to go thru' the tamla motown singles,then buy all the ones i didnt have!
the only one i can remember i got from one of those was.."on the way out" jimmy ruffin,cant have sold many of those!
so in answer to your qustion..i never had any problem getting stuff,but back then it wasnt rare [[except northern and frank wilson! )

[jillfoster]

If you didn't have a casette dub backup of a "treasured 45" then I guess it's tough luck for not having any foresight. If sais 45 is really that important to you, of course.

[robb_k]

There were scads of Oldies re-issue labels before Collectibles [[which actually started in the 1970s). Lost Night Records was located in Philadelphia, and had no connection to Collectibles Records [[as far as I know). Lana Records had nothing to do with Motown. VJ had its own oldies label: "Oldies 45" Bell Records had its own. Atlantic, Chess and Modern had their own oldies series.

[sunshineonacloudyday]

http://www.bsnpubs.com/philadelphia/.../lostnite.html

According to the info on the above website, Jerry Greene established Collectables in 1980, after being part-owner of Lost Nite and Crimson Records in the 60s.

[robb_k]

Okay, there is the connection of one of the same co-owners. But, the two companies were completely separate entities. I thought I had remembered seeing Collectibles singles already during the late '70s. But, I guess I was remembering incorrectly. Once Lost Nite went out of business during the 1970s [[early to mid 1970s?), Jerry Greene saw a void in the oldies market, and attempted to take advantage of it by starting Collectibles Records.