For a long time now I've sought a copy of the original pressing of the Chantels' debut album. I've been lucky enough to score a copy of the first repressing, but the original continues to elude me at every corner.
So the first pressing features a picture of all five members in pink dresses and white gloves set against a white background. The repressing is a blue painting with a jukebox and two white teenagers picking out songs. Both are worth a considerable amount of money, but the first issue is worth - not kidding - 17x more than the repressing.
From what I can gather, I can't seem to find a definite answer as to why the original pressing was so quickly withdrawn and given a repressing. I've heard two theories...
1) They thought it would sell better to not have a cover with black artists on it, or
2) Apparently, their outfits resembled plantation dresses on some antebellum plantation.
As a lover of rock and roll history, I am wondering if anyone can shed some more light on the album's recall and the controversy surrounding the album.
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