The rules of Scratch Ticket Radio are simple. During a trip to a record store, I put aside $10 to specifically spend on a few used 45s. The $10 limit is firm, so I end up with different amounts of records depending on their prices. Consistent with the gambling analogy, I do not listen to them in the store before I buy them, and I cannot select 45s by artists that I already know or that contain songs that I am already familiar with. Then, once I have them home, as if taking a quarter to a scratch ticket, I listen to each song to determine its quality. If I come out with more keepers than duds, the ticket as a whole can be considered a winner. 

South Street Spring Fest (Philadelphia)

July 2026

In early May, I was in Philadelphia to run a few errands. I had to drop off boxes of graphic novels and manga I had collected for an organization called Books Through Bars that provides texts for incarcerated readers. [Thanks again to everybody who donated. I will be doing it again the Fall if you have anything you want to contribute.] My younger kid needed to swing by Partners and Son, a small comic shop that only sells independent comics. They had decided to stock work put out by Epic Wayne Press, a comic collective he is part of. I also needed to do some things for a future music newsletter project. 

We were completely unaware that Partners and Son was smack dab in the middle of the South Street Spring Fest happening that day. The street was blocked off and there were a kabillion people wandering around. Some were holding giant glass beer steins and a few folks were dressed in Alpine garb, which added to the vibe when they were dancing around the May Pole. Of course, the street was also packed with vendors selling art, jewelry, clothes, food and records. The big record vendors tents were tight quarters, and I wasn’t in the mood to rumble, so I kept an eye out for a chance to do some more leisurely crate digging. The first guy I happened upon had a few boxes of really beat-to-shit 45s, around half with no sleeve. They looked like the contents of a $1 record bin that you’d find at Goodwill, but there was no indication of a standard price and none of them were marked. Over the incredibly loud strains of the 70’s disco he was blasting I asked him how much they were. He told me, “They are different prices.” Yeah, no thanks. I’m not going to haggle. I will survive without these records.   

Not long after, I found a guy with a much smaller set up. Mostly LPs and one small box of 45s. Again, none of them were marked. I inquired about the price and he told me they were four for a $1. Now that’s what I’m talking about! 40 records for $10. One time in Evanston I went to a used bookstore that charges by the pound, so I decided to weigh the 45s when I got home. They were just under 3.5 lbs., which comes out to $2.86/lb. What did I get for that price? 

One Episode of The Dating Game

 Len Barry: Like a Baby / Happiness (1965 / Decca)

I was not aware that Philly-born Barry was the lead singer of The Dovells, whose songs I heard on the oldies station when I was young. Their Bristol Stomp is corny, but I dig You Can’t Sit Down (“When you’re on South Street…”). Barry had a lengthy solo career, and was particularly popular in the UK. He also put together a studio-only band called The Electric Indian (yikes!), that featured a young Daryl Hall. They had a semi-hit called Keem-o-Sabe. He later wrote a novel called Black Like Me (double yikes!). 

Like a Baby: This sounds a bit like the Four Seasons trying to make a Tamla record. In other words, like thousands of 60’s tunes. Yawn. 

Happiness:  This leans into the wannabe R&B, and it seems like he had been listening to a whole lot of Sam Cooke. The percussion is cool enough, but the backing chorus is pure cheese.

Dino Meira: Açores 20 Para As 4/ Caminhemos (1969 / Ofir)

Meira was a big star in Portugal and perhaps didn’t like to wear shirts. That’s all I got. 

Açores 20 Para As 4: This song made me consider the folk music roots of Eurodisco and related genres. It has a traditional rhythm and structure, but the production and the keyboards give it a different feel. In a few years, ABBA and others would take this a step further. 

Caminhemos: This ballad is more atmospheric. It is not pointing towards anything new, but it’s not bad. It would be good in a cheap movie. 

Roger Smith: Beach Time / Cuddle Up a Little Closer (1959/ Warner Brothers)

Smith was an actor who starred on 77 Sunset Strip and other shows, in addition to appearing in movies. The popularity of 77 Sunset Strip led to him recoding an LP, his only one. He was the husband of Ann-Margaret. 

Beach Time: In the 1990’s, McDonalds sued two British activists for libel over a fact-sheet they distributed about the company and its food. Part of McDonald’s defense was that their product was not intended to be understood as food, and therefore could not be criticized for its lack of nutritional value. I was going to say this song was terrible, but I can hear Warner Brothers’ lawyers arguing that it should not actually be considered a song. 

Cuddle Up a Little Closer: A little more song-adjacent than the A-Side, but still in violation of the Geneva Convention On Torture. 

Raúl Manuel Barros Leite: Amores de Estudante / Clavelitos / Suite Académica

Also Portuguese. Here Leite is singing with a student choir at the University of Porto that is dedicated to traditional folk songs and cultures. These groups are called tunas, and the one at the University of Porto is the second oldest. 

Amores de Estudante: This is their anthem, and was written in 1937. There seems to be a number of recorded versions. 

Clavelitos: Raise a pint and mumble along.

Suite Académica: As a suite, it moves through various passages. Didn’t grab me. 

As your mama always said, please choose your man wisely.

Keepers

Little Joey and the Flips   (1962 / Joy)

This doo-wop group from Philadelphia started as The Elads, but their management changed their name and their lead singer. The new singer, Joseph Hall was African American, and the Flips were white. This set them apart from other bands at the time. Hall was 5′ tall, so the “Little” is a bit on the nose. 

Bongo Stomp: There are no bongos, so I’m not sure what is going on. I read that the song started as something called African Twist, but was changed to try and take advantage of the success of the Dovells’ Bristol Stomp. It’s really a bit of a throw-away tune, but I kind of like Little Joey’s voice. It is at least better than Bristol Stomp. 

Lost Love: On the other hand, this ballad just sits there. Blah. 

The group recorded a song called Bongo Gully as a follow up, but it was released at the same time as The Dovells’ Hully Gully Baby. They couldn’t break through in a saturated Gully market, and they never made the charts again. To rub salt in the wound, like everybody else they got screwed over on royalties for their only hit. 

Fausto Leali E I Novelty (1966/ Kosmophone)

Leali is an Italian singer and songwriter who has been active since the early 1960’s. He started by doing covers, and then branched out into original songs. He has represented Italy several time in the Eurovision contest, and appears to have been quite successful. His vocal style led the Italian media to call him “Il negro bianco” – the white negro. (Yikes!) That was also the title of an album of his in 1968. (Doppio yikes!)

A Chi: Translation from the Italian – “to whom.” This was the first hit for Leali and his group (The Novelty). It is a mostly faithful cover of the 1954 song Hurt by Roy Hamilton, but it is less orchestrated and not as bombastic. I prefer it.   It is competent, or some other such back-handed adjective.  

Su Qualcuno Cercasse Di Te: Translation from the Italian – “Funny How Love Can Be.” This is more like mid-60’s folk-rock, and while drawing on clear influences, it comes across as more relaxed than the A-Side. I like this much more. 

The Megatrons (1959 / Audicon)

Note: This Megatrons is a pair of session musicians who were active in the big band and R&B world. It is not The Megatrons who released Rock the Planet. Or at least I don’t think so – could’ve been a late career re-invention, who knows? The label’s name started as Acousticon. Not sure which name is worse.

For whatever reason, there were a number of instrumental hits in 1959. For example, there was Sleep Walk by Santo & Johnny, Rawhide by Link Wray and 40 Miles of Bad Road by Duane Eddy. This, however, was not one of them. 

Velvet Waters: Mellow and politely atmospheric, but missing that je ne sais quoi to make it a hit or a classic. 

The Merry Piper: I’m not a flute guy – so I’ll pass. 

The Sparkletones (1957/ ABC-Paramount)

The Sparkletones were a high school rockabilly band from South Carolina discovered at a local talent show. A talent scout got them tickets to New York City, where they cut this record. It became a regional hit that slowly grew into a minor national success. This was it for them. 

Black Slacks: This is not about how good his gal looks in her black slacks – this is about how confident he feels in his own. In fact, when he puts them on, he’s raring to go. Whatever works. I might wear them with a pair of Black Plastic Shoes. At any rate, Black Slacks is a way better tune than the Majorettes’ White Levis (see Scratch Ticket Radio #8). 

Boppin’ Rock Boogie: Paul Anka sings back-up on this. It is terrible as the Mad-lib style title would suggest. I mean, you can’t just stick anything in front of boogie or rock and expect it to work, never mind using rock and boogie at the same time.  

The Toys (1966 / Dynavoice)

A Lover’s Concerto and Attack! were big enough hits that The Toys made some TV appearances and performed a version of Attack! in a movie called It’s a Bikini World.  They never had another hit and only had one LP. I guess I had heard A Lover’s Concerto, but I’m not disqualifying this single as I don’t remember ever knowing the band’s name. 

Attack!: A Lover’s Concerto drew on a piece from a Bach minuet. Attack! starts with a bit from the Nutcracker Suite, but then gets down to business. The chorus brings to mind the theme song from my early 80’s hardcore band. At least in my mind. 

See How They Run: Dull.

Chuck Willoughby (1962 / Republic)

This is the only recording I could find listed and I couldn’t locate any information about Chuck Willoughby himself. It is odd. On Discogs, people in Europe want between $30 to $50 for this single and somebody in the States wants $100. Other folks just want $5. I paid 25 cents. Who is this mysterious Mr. Willoughby that produces such varied responses? 

Comin’ or Goin’: I’m not sure what genre I would sort this into. Pop-a-billy? Skiffle-billy? It was written by Danny Wolfe, who had three songs recorded by Gene Vincent and His Night Caps, but it is certainly not as rocking as the best of that group.  

Stop the World: Really more of the same. Perfectly reasonable. What am I missing? 

Doh! Songs I Actually Knew

As it turns out, there were six 45s that had songs I didn’t remember I had heard before. Depending on your age and listening habits, you might have recognized these just by the titles, but in the midst of the raucous festivities of South Street Spring Fest I guess I was not operating in top form. Two turned out to be pleasant reunions, while the other four were decidedly not. 

 Jigsaw: Sky High / Brand New Love Affair (1975/ Chelsea)

On a good day, I would have recognized this song title and probably could have attempted to hum the chorus. Never in a million years could I have told you who recorded it. I also had no idea that it was the theme song for the Australian/Hong-Kong action film The Man From Hong Kong. I like this song, so I’m glad I picked it up. 

Maxine Nightingale:  Right Back Where We Started From / Believe in What You Do (1975 / United Artists)

I really should have recognized this because I like it a lot. In my defense, Right Back Where We Started From sounds like it could be a blues song, a pop ballad or any number of things. 

Paul Davis: I Go Crazy / Reggae Kind of Way (1977 / Bang)

Yes, the A-Side is pablum, but the B-Side is truly embarrassing.                  

Terri Gibbs: Somebody’s Knockin’ / Some Days It Rains All Night Long (1980 / MCA)

The only way I would have heard any country song in 1980 was if it was a crossover hit like this. 

Clint Holmes: Playground in My Mind / There’s No Future in My Future (1972 / Epic)

I find the kid-sung chorus to be disturbing, not nostalgia inducing.  

Chris Rea: Fool (If You Think It’s Over) / Midnight Love (1978)

This one is now stuck in my head. Compared to the other three duds, should I consider myself lucky?

Noteworthy Junk

Richard Charney and His Accordion

VIP Room Polka / Dotties Polka   (1971 / Polka Go Round Records)

VIP Room Polka – It’s a mid-tempo polka.       Dotties Polka – It’s another mid-tempo polka. 

Rich Charney was nicknamed the Red Baron and played in the Original Polkaholics in Baltimore. The “Original” in the name suggests some explosive polka-world beef went down at some point. I think he was also in a band called the Melody Sounds. His son Mike Charney has been recognized by the International Polka Association for archiving polka videos. I couldn’t find anything else about the senior Charney. The songs were recorded live at the VIP Room. It is no longer there, and all I have is the cross streets. That means it was one of these four buildings. The likeliest candidate is #3 (now a sports bar), but it would have been cool to see a show in the tight quarters of #4. With only room for the most important of VIPs, not sure I would have been allowed behind the velvet rope.

The Hippies: Memory Lane / Reggie Harrison: Lonely Piano (1963/ Parkway)

Doo wop from 1963. These are not your parents’ hippies. They are in fact, nobody’s hippies. Are they a CIA psyop? Church of the Sub-Genius? Both? 

Shep and the Limelites  What Did Daddy Do / Teach Me, Teach Me How to Twist  (1962 /Hull)

I didn’t recognize the name of the band, but I did know Daddy’s Home, which was a huge hit for them. The title of this follow-up and the B-Side sound like Flannery O’Connor novellas. The music does, too. 

The rest of the records are being released back into the wild with no comment. 

Final Tally

Once the fat was trimmed, in the end I’m going to be hanging onto 1.4 lbs. of these records. That works out to $7.14/lb.  Not a price I would agree to without being able to ensure that I was getting good stuff, but them’s the breaks. 

The Labels

I think Joy is my favorite, given the fact that the icon appears to have an LP for a head.

I’m confused by the Chelsea label’s promise of “a constant new beginning.” I’m not sure if that means amnesia or Trotsky’s permanent revolution.

Midland International looks like it could be a creepy corporation in a 70’s paranoid thriller.