Previous Vocal Group Record of the Week
#764 (Week of 6/30/12 - 7/6/12)

CLASSICS - PART THIRTEEN

"My Heart's Desire"/"Let's Have A Ball"
by The Wheels
on Premium 405
released in 1956


Above: Photo of The Wheels. The group consisted of Rudy Anderson (lead tenor), James Pender (tenor), Kenneth Fox (baritone), and Lorenzo Cook (bass). Their manager was Allen Bunn, who had sung with The Larks and Selah Jubilee Singers.


    
Above: Advertisement for The Wheels's record from May 1956.


    
Above: Review of The Wheels's record from The Billboard dated 4/21/56.


    
Above: (Left) Clipping from The Billboard dated 2/4/56 and (Right) column from The Billboard dated 9/3/55. Joe Leibowitz* owned Premium Records, located in Linden, NJ. Just prior, he owned and operated Monarch Records (again in Linden, NJ), which he reactivated in early 1957. Previously, he was artists and repertoire man for De Luxe Records, which had been located in Linden, NJ. and, following that, president of Ruth Wallace, Inc. Records. (*or possibly spelled Liebowitz)

Joe Leibowitz

The Billboard, February 4, 1955: Premium Records has just recorded what it considers an unusual blues chanter—Johnny Cook. Good luck's the word!....

The Billboard, November 5, 1955: Joe Leibowitz of Premium Records has inked Vikki Nelson, a new r.&b. thrush....

The Billboard, November 26, 1955: ....Joe Liebowitz, of Premium Records, cut his first date with thrush Vikki Nelson this week....

The Billboard, May 12, 1956: Joe Liebowitz has signed two new acts to his Premium label: The Escorts—a group, and Arthur Lake, a young warbler whose style is described as a cross between Roy Hamilton's and Al Hibbler's. Leibowitz' new diskery is starting to swing now that the Wheels' platter of "My Heart's Desire" is starting to click in the East.... (Yes, they spelled his name two different ways in the same article!)
(NOTE: The Escorts had one release on Premium, in 1956.)



    
Above: Label image of Premium 405 released in April 1956. It was The Wheels' first of three releases on Premium (1956-57). Allen Bunn is composer on both sides. They also had one release each on Time (1958), Curtis (1959), Folly (159) and Roulette (1960). As The Federals, they had one record on De Luxe (1957) and two on Fury (1957).

Trade Magazine Article (May 1956): ....Premium's Joe Leibowitz...tells us that The Wheel's version of "My Heart's Desire" on his label sold 15,000 copies in New York alone last week....

Trade Magazine Article (July 1956): ....The Wheels, Premium Records' hot group with their "My Heart's Desire," will play the Apollo Theatre next week....

Listen to this week's selections by The Wheels on Premium 405 from 1956:
[Audio restoration by Dave Saviet.]

     A. Stream RealAudio...
 
          1. My Heart's Desire
          2. Let's Have A Ball
 
          BOTH played in sequence

     B. Download RealAudio...
 
          1. My Heart's Desire
          2. Let's Have A Ball

     C. Stream/Download Media Player...
 
          1. My Heart's Desire
          2. Let's Have A Ball

(45-rpm label image provided by Dave Saviet)

     [To download audio files, right-click on link and then select "Save (Link) Target As..."]


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