Price: £11.99
Format: CD
Artist: Various Artists
CatNo: SNAX626CD
Tags (click for related products):
Various Artists The Red Bird Story 2CD Charly
Deluxe 2CD set comprising the New York label's biggest hits and sought-after recordings, including classic tracks from The Shangri-Las, The Dixie Cups and more.
 
Includes hard-to-find demos and a memorabilia-laden 20-page full-colour booklet. 
 
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Founded in 1964 by songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Red Bird Records may only have been operational for three years but during that time the label became synonymous with the 60s girl group sound, particularly due to the success of The Shangri-Las and The Dixie Cups - both of whom scored No.1 hits for Red Bird in its fledgling year. Rising Phoenix-like from earlier try-outs with Tiger (founded in 1962) and later Daisy (in 1963), Red Bird was unique among indie labels in that its output was of a consistently high standard and almost half of its releases made a commercial impact.
 
The secret to Red Bird's "hit factory" lay in no small part with the chart-topping Brill Building songwriting team of Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry who'd previously penned hits for producer Phil Spector's Ronettes and Crystals. In the years prior to the British Invasion, the husband and wife wrote prolifically for most of the label's biggest names including the aforementioned Shangri-Las ('Leader Of The Pack', 'Out In The Streets') and Dixie Cups ('Chapel Of Love') The Butterflys ('Goodnight Baby'), Sam Hawkins ('Hold On Baby'), The Ad Libs ('He Ain't No Angel') and Andy Kim ('I Hear You Say'), as well as occasionally recording in their own right. 
 
This deluxe two disc set draws together the best of Red Bird along with tracks from its Blue Cat Soul/R&B subsidiary and material from the short-lived Tiger and Daisy affiliates. Carefully compiled and annotated by Roger Dopson, this compilation is a worthy successor to previous volumes incorporating lesser-heard gems alongside the major hits.
 
Disc 1. 
1. Tippy & The Clovers - Bossa Nova Baby
2. Cathy Saint Big Bad World
3. Moody & The Deltas Everybody Come Clap Your Hands
4. Leola & The Lovejoys He Ain't No Angel
5. Bessie Banks Go Now
6. Dee Dee Warwick Don't Think My Baby's Coming Back
7. The Dixie Cups Chapel Of Love
8. Alvin Robinson Something You Got
9. The Jelly Beans I Wanna Love Him So Bad
10. Chi Chi McCauley I Know He Loves Me
11. The Rockaways Top Down Time
12. The Shangri-Las Remember (Walkin' In The Sand)
13. The Butterflys Goodnight Baby
14. Alvin Robinson Down Home Girl
15. The Jelly Beans Baby Be Mine
16. The Dixie Cups No True Love
17. The Shangri-Las Leader Of The Pack
18. Barry Mann Talk To Me Baby
19. The Butterflys I Wonder
20. Ellie Greenwich Another Boy Like Mine
21. The Dixie Cups Wrong Direction
22. The Ad-Libs The Boy From New York City
23. The Tradewinds New York's A Lonely Town
24. Roddy Joy Come Back Baby
25. Roddy Joy Love Hit Me With A Wallop
26. The Soul Brothers I Got A Dream
27. Jimmy Rice Spanish Perfume
28. Alvin Robinson I'm Gonna Put Some Hurt On You
29. The Dixie Cups Iko Iko
30. The Shangri-Las Out In The Streets
 
 
Disc 2. 
1. Jeff Barry I'll Still Love You
2. Jimmy Rice Or Not At All
3. Ronnie Mitchell Having A Party
4. The Tradewinds The Girl From Greenwich Village
5. Sam Hawkins Hold On Baby
6. Steve Rossi Nobody But You
7. The Ad-Libs Ask Anybody
8. The Bouquets Welcome To My Heart
9. The Goodies The Dum Dum Ditty
10. Evie Sands Take Me For A Little While
11. Ellie Greenwich You Don't Know
12. Ellie Greenwich Baby
13. Barry Mann We Gotta Get Out Of This Place
14. Vic Donna I Won't Be Me Anymore
15. Roddy Joy If There's Anything Else You Want (Let Me Know)
16. Andy Kim I Hear You Say (I Love You Baby)
17. Orpheus My Life
18. Jimmy Cross Hey Little Girl
19. Sam Hawkins I Know It's Alright
20. Evie Sands I Can't Let Go
21. Sidney Barnes I Hurt On The Other Side
22. Tiny Tim Little Girl
23. Tiny Tim April Showers
24. Linda Jones Fugitive From Love
25. Didi Noel Let The Music Play
26. Ral Donner It Will Only Make You Love Me More
27. Ral Donner Love Isn't Like That
28. Kane & Abel He Will Break Your Heart
29. The Young Generation The Hideaway
30. The Shangri-Las Past, Present & Future