Bubble Puppy - If I Had a Reason 45 release?

[Sancho Panza]

Saw it on eBay, the sell says it was released in '76, can this be true? I thought that IA closed its doors in '71.

 

[bluegg67]

Wickham's book has 1969 but I'm sure MTM knows more

 

[depravedskippy66]

Probably nothing more than a case of the seller not having a clue. It certainly doesn't SOUND like anything from '76.

 

[MopTopMike]

It's from '69, summertime

 

[vinyl01]

according to Joel Whitburn the debut date was May 31, 1969, and reached 128 on charts.

 

[Frantic]

according to Joel Whitburn the debut date was May 31, 1969, and reached 128 on charts.

and that would make Mikey right...as usual

 

[vinyl01]

of course. If anyone has that issue of Billboard Magazine it would verify this.

 

[MopTopMike]

It was released in early May...charted in Billboard 5/31/69 at position #131, then to #129 on 6/7/69 and then 128 on 6/14/69.
Unless you were a proven hitmaker like the Beatles, a regional 'breakout' release took at least three weeks before hitting a national record chart like Billboard / Record World. Usually it would be 6 to 10 weeks, or longer.

 

[Frantic]

of course. If anyone has that issue of Billboard Magazine it would verify this.

If it's in Joel Whitburn's book...it's 100% verified.

 

[vinyl01]

I get what MTM says. International Artists released the record in early May, but did not get enough attention to be put on the Billboard charts until last day of May where it lasted 3 weeks and then fell off the charts. Is there anyway to find out how many copies were made by IA? I'd also like to know this about other labels too.

 

[MopTopMike]

Actually, a music industry magazine issue like Billboard dated May 31 was mailed to subscribers at least 7 days before the issue date. Most had the issue well before the date on the front cover.
Which meant that all copy in the mag had to be ready for print before the 17th. If a song was reviewed on May 31st it would have to have been in their offices at least two weeks earlier

 

[vinyl01]

That's a good point. Would you say that the date of a record would be the date it was made at the pressing plant?

 

[MopTopMike]

In TBM I list the earliest possible date of release, based upon verified paperwork, pressing plant / deadwax codes and also copyright certificate information.

Just perusing Billboard magazine Top 100 charts doesn't mean the record was released that same week.

 

[vinyl01]

That sounds correct to me, but It gets more difficult as you know with the smaller labels (which are the ones we collect) to determine the pressing/release date.

 

[MopTopMike]

Well, if they have a code I can usually crack it for a month and year of release.

 

[vinyl01]

Have you noticed that labels have some kind of code to date their releases? I know that RCA did along with some other major labels.

 

[MopTopMike]

RCA, Capitol, CBS/Columbia used in-house matrix numbering on a yearly basis. These sets of matrix numbers were broken up into allotments, chunks designated for specific sources (whether a custom client, or in-house client, etc.)

Various small labels may have specific codes depending on where they sent their tapes or lacquers to be manufactured and pressed. These manufacturing outfits often relied on their own in-house codes for manufacturing and billing reference.

 

[vinyl01]

That's a wrap!

 

[Sebastian]

Don't know if it's of interest, but I dug this up:

BILLBOARD 24 May 1969

BILLBOARD 7 June 1969 (see #129)