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Jimmy Charles was born in 1943, in Paterson,NJ. At age 16, he won the Amateur contest at the Apollo theater, four weeks in a row. Jimmy cut "A Million To One" and it was eventually released on the newly formed Promo record company, which was owned by some very shady characters in the New Jersey area. He recorded the song at age 15 1/2 (1958), it was not released until he was about 17 1/2 (1960). Though some reference books refer to the Glenville release as an original label,it is not true. Jimmy Charles had two records that made the charts in 1960, and had a back up group called the Revellettes. The Revellettes were a trio from Patterson New Jersey, and were friends of Jimmy - sisters Jackie and Evelyn Kline, and Dottie Hailstock. "A Million To One" peaked out at number 5 in August of 1960. Jimmy is also in the Hall Of Fame under the one hit wonders section . Listen to my interview of Jimmy Charles from March of 2004. |
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The black label release of "A Million To One" on Promo records.This is fairly unusual, and is somewhat uncommon. The only difference between this and the maroon label shown below, is the color, the fine print is slightly blockier, and an extremely small illegible scrawling in the dead wax. For the promo label, this MAY be the very first issue. The flip side,"Hop Scotch Polka ,is the first title of the song, as you will see following the pictures in the sequence below. According to Jimmy, they did 16 takes of this record. The flip was done quickly due to a very hot day, and an even hotter studio! |
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This is the second 1st press of the Promo release, "A Million To One". Notice the heavy block print of the Promo identification, and now the maroon color. This is by far the most common color issued. Released in 1960. On the flip side., "Hop Scotch Polka", is as above. On the bottom of the record label you can see the credit to Phil Medley's Orch. Jimmy appeared on Bandstand three times in the same month while this record was at it's peak of popularity. |
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I'm Getting fairly picky here.The lettering for the artist and title is a bit smaller, and the "Promo" record label lettering is bigger. This is a third "First" press. Same thing on the "Hop Scotch Polka" side. There are smaller letters on the titles, but word placement on the label is almost identical. |
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This is the fourth press of the Promo release. Writers credits are now given for the song, and to make room, the lettering is even smaller.The time is shifted to the mid section of the label. The last "E" was also dropped in Revelletes.And, it is now "Hop Scotch Hop", instead of Polka. On the strength of this record, Jimmy went out on a "Show of stars" tour, to promote his record. |
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How about a fifth release on the reddish Promo label. This is an obvious later press, now a product of Addit Recording Corp. An address shows up on the label as well. It has also changed from Unbreakable to non breakable! |
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| This is the Canadian release on the Reo Label. This copy shows a flip of Hop Scotch Hop, instead of "Polka". It may be possible that there are copies with the later, but I have not seen any. |
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This is a copy of the Australian pressing of "A Million To One". It is the Aussie London label, which had numbering that was different than the UK or New Zealand. The center insert is still intact, and "Hop Scotch Hop" is on the flip.
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Here is the London UK pressing of a Million To One. It was the only Jimmy Charles release on the London label. Promo records is credited on the label. |
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Here is the sleeve for "The Age For Love". Without doubt, the toughest of his sleeves to find, it features a new pose not shown on any other promotional material I have to date. They took the same picture and gave a black and white treatment to the hit side, and used the original color picture on the flip of "Follow The Swallow". |
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Here is another sleeve like the above with one main difference. The "Age For Love" side is full color like the Follow The Swallow side. Everything else is exactly the same. Maybe there was two versions released of this sleeve? Could the side above on the left really have faded to black and white over the years? Probably not. |
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"The Age For Love" was the follow up for Jimmy. It was a really great record, but didn't chart quite as high. It appeared on the Billboard top 100, peaking at #47.The Revelettes have been dropped. The original group only recorded on the first record. The flip,"Follow The Swallow" was, well, the flip. Issue number 1003 on Promo.This is the true first press on the reddish maroon label from 1960. |
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This is the second press on a completely re-designed Promo logo. The flip of "The Age For Love", didn't get any better. |
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The Canadian Reo label got on board for the Jimmy Charles follow up. This must have come from a radio station, as their number sticker is on the top of the label on the plug side. |
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A seasonal release was next,"Santa Won't Be Blue This Christmas".1:30 of up tempo Holiday cheer . Released Xmas in 1960. "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" was the flip. Notice that the orchestra is now conducted by Burt Keyes.This was probably his best flip side. |
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This is the official and original sleeve that was issued with Promo 1004. "Santa Won't Be Blue This Christmas" is the "A" side. The flip, "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" is listed on the flip of the sleeve, which is the only noticeable difference in the picture. |
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Hopping on board the Christmas songs, Reo issued the two sided seasonal release from Charles. It really should have sold more copies than it did. |
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A year later,Charles tried another holiday release, "Christmasville U.S.A.". It was the next release on Promo. A Little White Mouse Called Steve" was parked on the flip side . I have heard from many people that really like the flip, and have memories of hearing it on the radio. |
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This is the official original sleeve for his second Christmas record, from 1961, "Xmasville".The sleeve lists both titles of the record on each side of the sleeve, which is the same on both sides. |
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"Just Whistle For Me" is a good up tempo recording for Charles', which does deviate from his previous patterns of recordings. A very good side, but not popular enough to recapture his original success. Jimmy Charles' flip, "I Wonder How It Feels To Fall In Love", is very good. I actually prefer it to the "A" side. This is Jimmy's last official release for Promo, and his last release as a recording artist. A great two sider! |
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Here is the release on Glenville records. Glenville was a reissue label that featured some popular records of the 50's. Most books list this a the first issue of "A Million To One", but I must disagree. This was probably issued in the early 70's. I do know that the record was released twice. Shown above is the first Glenville release that included the original "Hop Scotch Polka" flip side. This record used the same issue number as the Promo label original. |
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This is the second issue of the Glenville label reissue. This pairs Jimmy Charles "A Million To One" with the Johnnie And Joe song "Over The Mountain, Across The Sea". Interesting note: Trip records also had a release with similar record numbers. Glenville may have merged with Trip or??? |
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Summary: I don't believe there was a Promo record number 1000 or 1001. The Jimmy Charles release on 1002 was the first for the label.As far as the 1000 series went,there was only one other release, Blue Moon" by Herb Lance and the Classics on Promo 1010. Strangely, the label design reverted back to a cross between the first and second styles with block print and red in color. Jimmy had a couple of great hit records, and the others just didn't catch fire. A total of 5 records were released, and they can all be heard here on the page. Surveying the emails I get, everyone remembers "A Million To One". I am surprised how many people remember "A Little White Mouse Called Steve"! Seems it must have been played in several markets, and / or "Christmasville USA" must have been flipped on the record player at home.
Where is he now? Jimmy is alive and well in Texas. Listen to my interview with him HERE!
Gone Missing: Any International recordings for the rest of his releases.
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