"Ichi-i-Bon #1" b/w "Cool and Crazy"
scum stats: I bet they pressed 300 of this one
Nick and the Jaguars were the first white group to put out a record on any of Berry Gordy's Motown family of labels. Seemingly out of left field, their Midwestern turn of surf music has long been an inspiration over here, first introduced to it by the Gories cover of "Ich-i-Bon" on their "Outta Here" album.
As I had been told by legendary Motown historian Ron Murphy back in the day, "Ich-i-Bon #1" was derived from the name of a donut shop in rural Owosso, Michigan...home to American Record Pressing, where most Motown titles at the time were manufactured. Armed with an instrumental recording without a name, it was supposedly Gordy who suggested the title. While the name of the donut shop was stylized Itchi-Bon, there's little stretch of the imagination required to connect the dots here.
And shit, if you love the Gories, consider this oddball record from space as one of the foundational building blocks of their sound. As is imperative to their raisonne, it is a recording firmly in the realm of rock and roll...with no bass guitar. Shit is greasy and tough and as indefatigable as a white t-shirt beneath a black leather jacket.
The Gories taught themselves how to play the song off of a cassette tape of the classic Detroit radio show "Old and Gold" as original copies were nigh impossible to find even back in the 80's.
I was beyond lucky to find an original copy of this at Car City Records in suburban Detroit back in 2004. I was working there at the time and was hipped to its "behind-the-counter" status by one of my trusted coworkers. Priced at $200, I was owed $75 for shifts worked and the boss knocked off another $25 to be a pal.
Pound for pound, the best $100 I've ever spent on a record.
I miss Car City…
And thank you so much for making that one of the TMR Tamla reissues, it’s one of my favorites. And now I gotta dig out Outta Here for another listen.
I had never heard the phrase “behind-the-counter status,” but it’s great!
Awesome
loved the story of how you got your hands on the record! so cool