DESCRIPTION: Louisville, Ky group. Record released in 1963.
Hi David.
Ray Allen and Hardy Martin designed their first recording studio in a small residential house w/a garage that Hardy dry walled and used with a feed back mic placed in it to create a makeshift echo chamber The studio was on Taylorsville Road in J-Town. It was part of SAMBO Agency which was the forerunner to Triangle Talent.
It was 1963 and our fledgling band had just had a number one WKLO/WAKY hit with our self produced "Over The Mountain". They asked us to sign up with Allen Martin Productions and join the previous acts that had done so. The Tren-dells, The Carnations, Paul Penny, and the Sultans (still w/Cosmo). Part of the recording and booking agency deal was the promise of fame and fortune of course and a #4 side recording session contract. This was our first track. State of the art # 8 track board, up right piano, hot cramped room and no distort filter on the mics. I could hit a high 'C' at the time (listen to the distort on the end of the song as I had yet to learn mic techniques) and on top of that you only had one pass at it. No editing our patching or inserts. You did it and hoped it was a keeper. This is the version they kept.
At the time there was a fun competition going on between John Sinclair, the tenor, sometimes lead, of the Sultans. We tried to prove who could hit the highest note on a track. Listen to their "Tossin' in My Sleep" a later recording by the Sultans and then our "Climb Every Mountain" & "This old Heart" and "Lucky Old Sun" version for Monument Records. Remember it was the days of the Four Seasons and The Beach Boys and many many black groups that had wonderful falsetto and tenor voices in their Doo Wop back vocals.Thanks for posting it! If you ever need any Monarchs tune you don't have.. I do.
