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SPOTLIGHT ON THE MASTER KEYS... PART TWO OF TWO!
"You're Not The Only Apple On The Apple Tree"/
"When Will I Know"
by The Master Keys
on Top 1147
released in 1945
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SPOTLIGHT ON THE MASTER KEYS... PART TWO OF TWO!
"You're Not The Only Apple On The Apple Tree"/
"When Will I Know"
by The Master Keys
on Top 1147
released in 1945
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Above: Press photo of The Master Keys (circa late 1945):"MADE HIT IN LONDON--The Master Keys, who returned to NYC last week from London where they appeared at the world famous Pallidium Theatre in the hit show, 'Here, There, And Everywhere'. Left to right: Johnny Moore, first tenor, Providence, R.I.; Clarence Roberts, second tenor, Greenville, S.C.; Melvin Colden, first bass, Norfolk; Phillip White, second bass, Philadelphia; and Claude Chandler, accompanist, Virgin Islands,--(ANP Photo)"
Note that J.B. Nelson and Norman "Crip" Harris from the group that recorded for Top records have now been replaced by White and Roberts. Also note that Colden was actually a baritone, not bass.
Click HERE for an article about The Master Keys by Marv Goldberg.
(Will open in a separate window)
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Above: Label images for Top 1147 released in the summer of 1945. Top 1146 by The Master Keys was also released at this time (see last week's part one). Again, Dick Kuhn, the owner of Top Records, gets writer's credits on both labels.
Listen to this week's selections:
A) Click on an option below to listen to Streaming Windows Media Player.
"You're Not The Only Apple On The Apple Tree" - The Master Keys - Tops 1147A - 1945
"When Will I Know" - The Master Keys - Tops 1147B - 1945
"BOTH SONGS" NOT FUNCTIONAL!
"ALL FOUR MASTER KEYS SONGS" NOT FUNCTIONAL!B) Click on an option below to listen to Downloading Windows Media Player.
"You're Not The Only Apple On The Apple Tree" - The Master Keys - Tops 1147A - 1945 (file size=395KB)
"When Will I Know" - The Master Keys - Tops 1147B - 1945 (file size=390KB)
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Above: Label images for Jubilee 5004 released in 1949. These are the 1945 recordings from Top Records 1146A and 1147A, except that Jubilee dubbed in whistling on the "I Got The Blues In The Mornin'" side.
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Above Left: Trade magazine ad for Jubilee 5004 from 1949.Above Right: Trade magazine news article. Jubilee must have liked this group to offer a $500 reward to find them! Strange that they didn't re-issue the two remaining sides from Top Records. A reasonable conclusion is that this was just a publicity stunt. It is known that J.B. Nelson had been shot to death on October 15, 1945 and Melvin Coldten had rejoined the Selah Jubilee Singers in the late 1940's. Regarding Nelson, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. A man got into a fight with a woman over her dog and shot her. A stray bullet struck Nelson.*
(* Ref: New York Age newspapers dated October 26, 1945 and November 2, 1946. This information provided by Marv Goldberg.)FOR PART ONE OF THIS TRIBUTE, PLEASE CLICK HERE.
NOTE: Much of the information on this page obtained from George Moonoogian's "Big Ten Inch Harmony - Here, There and Everywhere!" article in Echoes Of The Past magazine.
This site is non-commercial. All information displayed is provided to further the general public's knowledge of RnB vocal group harmony.