Infinitives - Thousand Tears/Heidi

[marty66502]

Happy New Year Everyone!

Back in 1966, I played lead guitar on the Infinitives 45 “Thousand Tears/Heidi.” Our organ player has discovered 50 copies, still in the original shipping boxes, stored for years in his basement.

We’ll be selling these copies on eBay and Discogs. I’ll give details on the condition of individual records in those listings, but basically these are in near mint condition with some copies showing minor effects from storage. All records were played once to test playability. I checked with the other band members (all still alive!) and these are the last remaining copies.

Price is $150.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/332990144541
https://www.discogs.com/sell/item/858310876

Thanks! I hope I've included relevant info in the listings, but let me know if you have questions.

Marty

 

[MopTopMike]

Hi Marty,
Would it be possible to photograph the 45 at eye level for the edge to inspect the warp?
I own a copy of the 45 but am interested in an unplayed copy.
Maybe 25 years ago, I contacted Roland Kucharski, co author of "1000 Tears". He told me a little about the Infinitives, as his group was comprised of older members (The Bunches 'A Good). Can't recall specific details unless I locate my handwritten notes from our phone conversation, but he did tell me one of the West brothers later married his sister, or something like that!
Lastly, is there any documented date on either of the 25 count boxes, or paperwork saved from the order to press the 45s?

Mike

 

[marty66502]

Hi Mike,

I'll try to get an edge shot of the record for you. As I went through these copies, 26 of them had warping of 1-2mm. We're selling that bunch of records first. The remainder had warping of 3-4mm, but still played fine at 1.5 grams. Some had other minor defects - discolored vinyl, imperfections on the lead in, etc, but all played well.

Harry West was the person we worked with, never met Roland. Harry heard us playing in the organ player (Ray) parents' bar (we were only 15!) and said he wanted us to record two songs he had written. We did Thousand Tears as written, but we didn't like his arrangement of Heidi, so we substituted the Louie Louie chords (with major 5th) and Harry said ok. We recorded both songs at KaHill in one day, during the summer of 1966. I think one of the shipping boxes has a date on it, I'll check. Harry asked each of the band members to put up $25 to help pay for the studio time and record pressing. We sold the records at gigs in the Chicago area, but as I recall, Harry didn't do anything to promote it, and we were too young (and stupid!) to do much, either. As I recall, each of the band members made about $25 via record sales. I think there were 250 copies pressed, but I'll check with Ray and see if he remembers or if he has any paperwork.

I remember Harry threw a "record release" party at his home in DesPlaines IL, which turned into pretty much of a drunken brawl. Quite an eye opener for us young pups!

Thanks for scoop about Roland!

Marty

 

[marty66502]

Mike,

I tried to get some edge shots of a record on a turntable, not sure how informative these are. Ray confirmed that 1000 copies were pressed, and I've attached a photo of the shipping label (which contains a date) from one of the shipping boxes.

Marty

 

[bosshoss]

Triple kudos award for the way you're handling this Marty.
One kudos award for letting people know that there is quantity (and exactly how many were found).
Another award for declaring the mild warp and selling the best ones first.
And of course, the biggest award of all for being the lead guitarist of the mighty Infinitives.
(I already have a near mint, unwarped copy, but it cost me 10 times what you are asking!)

 

[chas_kit]

This is exciting news, never thought I'd own one of your singles! Great to see photos of the band too. Interesting how none of the three names on the labels were actually in the band. Did the band continue on, or do any other recording?

 

[marty66502]

Bosshoss, thank you for the kudos! It's a relief to know I'm not screwing this up, at least for now. Neither Ray nor I are record collectors or dealers, so all this is very new to us, especially the interest in our record from so long ago. The discussion on G45 has been very helpful for us in figuring out the best way to get our records out there and avoid situations that lead to folks being unhappy. I think it's safe to say that if not for G45, there wouldn't be much interest in our record.

 

[bosshoss]

Thanks Marty. Considering the greatness of the Infinitives 45, and its extreme rarity before the 50 copies were found, I think the $150 price tag is very reasonable.

 

[Rich Strauss]

I ordered a copy on eBay. It arrived today. The record is mint with just the tiniest warp. I wouldn't have noticed it at all if I wasn't looking for it. It has no effect on playback of the 45. What a great 45! And what a fair price. Thank you so much, Marty!

 

[marty66502]

Rich, Great! Glad to hear the record arrived ok and that you're happy with it. I have another 25 copies that aren't in such good condition, and I'm gathering advice on how to price those. Hope to have them available for sale soon.

 

[bluegg67]

Marty, Received your band's 45 and what a beauty! Just wondering, was there a real Heidi?

 

[marty66502]

Marty, Received your band's 45 and what a beauty! Just wondering, was there a real Heidi?

Glad you like the record! Good question about Heidi, and I guess she will always be a mystery. The song was written by Harry and Eugene West, and neither was a member of the band. Harry heard us play, and said he wanted to have us record his songs. We couldn't say no! At the time, Harry was in his mid or late 20's, much older than us, and seemed to have more of a taste for country music. As I recall, we never asked about Heidi. We haven't been in touch with Harry since soon after the record was released.

 

[marty66502]

Thanks to all the G45 folks who purchased our 45 through eBay and Discogs, and for all the messages. Pending a sale, I'll have between 9 and 11 copies that I will list on eBay starting Sunday February 3 at 11 a.m. Central Standard Time (5 p.m. UTC). These copies are not in as good a condition as the others, and the problems vary - 3-4 mm warp, some pops, spots on the vinyl, loose labels, torn sleeves. All have been played only twice to check for defects. I'll create separate listings by condition and give a full description. Prices will range from $50 to $100 plus shipping.

All the Infinitives band members have been pretty good about digging through our basements and closets, and we're pretty sure these are all the copies we have to sell. Thanks again to everyone for all the interest in our record!

 

[marty66502]

I have 8 different listings for 9 records on eBay starting on Feb. 3. I asked for the listings to start at 11 a.m. CST, but eBay assigned each listing a different start time ranging from 11:00:01 to 11:00:57 CST. I hope there are enough copies for everyone who wants one!

Marty

 

[marty66502]

A buyer cancelled an order, so still one copy left on eBay as of 2:05 p.m. CST.

 

[marty66502]

Last one sold. Thanks to BossHoss, Moptop, everyone who bought a record, and for all the positive comments. I wish we had more copies to go around!

 

[sonnyboypaco]

You have done a great job, a very honest sale, thanks!