BOBBY COLE: the Albums and CDs

Bobby Cole issued two albums.

NEW NEW NEW The Unique Sounds of the Bobby Cole Trio (1960) was issued by Columbia in the U.S. (mono CL 1536 and stereo CS 8336) and by Philips (BBL7453 and SBBL 607).

The tracks:
Dancing in the Dark
September Song
This Can't be Love
The Lonesome Road
Ebb Tide
Johnny One Note
Lilac Wine
The Lady's In Love with You
Ain't She Sweet
Love for Sale
Humpty Dumpty Heart
I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles

An interesting irony about the album's sub-title. One of Bobby's catch-all favorite words was "unique." To be diplomatic about something that he didn't like too much, he'd pronounce the song, book or film "unique."

A POINT OF VIEW (1964) was issued by Concentric in mono (M/1000) and Stereo (S/1000) featuring a drawing on the cover done by the label's owner Jack Lonshein.

Bobby played piano, Ralf Rost was on bass and Arnold Wise on drums. Kathy Kelly, called in with almost no rehearsal time, managed to do a good job keeping up with Bobby as backing vocalist for five tracks.

The tracks:
Status Quo
The Name of the Game is Trouble
Lover Boy
you Can't Build a Life on a Look
But It's Spring
Heat
You Could Hear a Pin Drop
A Change of Scene
A Perfect Day
Elegy for Eve
No Difference At All
I'm Growing Old

While the first album had no original songs by Bobby, the second album was all Bobby Cole originals. The back cover featured a quote from William Henry Davies:
"I am as certain of my song
When first it warms the brain,
As woman of her unborn child,
Or wind that carries rain."

There have been a few others named Bobby Cole who have issued either albums or CDs. Here's an example:

Jack Lonshein, apparently owning the master, re-issued the Concentric album via a CD-R version (titled "Gone...But Not Forgotten") that was selling on someone's website for $15.

This version was later used by a Japanese company as well. "Bonus tracks" were included, taken from demo material that Bobby had recorded, and hoped to eventually release as a new album called "Hole in the Corner Man."

He felt this was an apt ironic description of himself...as being not only stuck and cornered, but with a precarious hole and no place to go but down.

"Hole in the Corner Man," "So Sleeps the Pride," "Tango," "Paper Wedding" and "The Sailor" were the tracks Bobby had completed. "So Sleeps the Pride" was a song Bobby sometimes played late at night at Campagnola. "Paper Wedding" imagined himself as the "angry bull," breaking in on the marriage ceremony of his ex-wife to a new husband.

Lonshein and his partner Ron Meyers, billing their CD-R label as "A Different Journey," offered two other Bobby Cole "bootleg" items via website sale:

"More Ideas from Bobby Cole" and "The Rehearsal Tapes." Both albums contain scant notes on Bobby himself, and what there is, is misinformed. Both albums state he "died on December 19, 1997." Actually, it was 1996.

"More Ideas from Bobby Cole" is a hodge-podge of demo recordings, mixing originals along with some songs Bobby loved to sing ("The Big Hurt" originally a Miss Toni Fisher hit) and a few awful numbers that nobody should ever have attempted ("San Francisco Bay Blues" for example). The song titles on the originals may not be the actual ones Bobby used (it's doubtful he copyrighted them all or that sheet music exists on them).

"More Ideas from Bobby Cole."
The tracks:
A Toast
I Never Saw the Shadows
Checkerboard Life
Never Ask the Hour
Tear for Tear
At the Darkest Hour
Get Off Looking Good
Drink This Cup
Life Rolls On
The Midnight Flower
How the Lonely Spend Their Time
When She Was in Love With Me
San Francisco Bay Blues
Down in the Depths
Change of Scene
Big Hurt

"The Rehearsal Tapes" is exactly that. Quoting from the back cover of this "bootleg" CD-R: "Bobby sat at his piano in his New York apartment and rehearsed for the evening's performance. Fortunately for us there was a tape recorder present and someone, probably his friend and partner Jack Lonshein, suggested that it would be nice to have a playback of what Bobby would sound like that evening. The fact that the tape survived is amazing. Even more amazing is how great engineer Ron Gonzalez has has (sic) made this tape sound. There's no listing of the tunes. Bobby will tell you himself what the tune is and what he's going to do. There are 29 tunes and one piano solo. Sit back and go back in time with Bobby..."

The recordings are estimated to have been done around 1977. One can understand the constant plugs given to Lonshein, who does deserve credit for recording Bobby, and is entitled to whatever money and glory can be gotten from this release. There's so little for Bobby's fans that anything is gratefully accepted. "The Rehearsal Tapes" does give a nice glimpse into Bobby's world, and the preparation and dedication a "club pianist" must go through to keep the boss and the customers happy. As Bobby always said, with an ironic curl to his lip, "I'm in the people pleasing business."

BOBBY COLE : the 45's

BOBBY issued two 45's.

They were Mister Bojangles/Bus 22 to Bethlehem (Concentric, Date, and CBS in the UK)
and
The Omen/Holly (Date)

"Mister Bo Jangles" (as it was called on the first pressing) was originally issued on Jack Lonshein's Concentric label. Jerry Jeff Walker, author of the tune, had yet to record it, and it's possible somebody guessed at the spelling of the title character when it came to doing the label. The same spelling was used on the British version (seen below).


Bobby's version was licensed by Columbia's Date Records division, and by that time, it had to do battle with Jerry Jeff Walker's ATCO version. In some parts of the country, Jeff's country take was more successful, in others, Bobby's urban version was the hit.

Most artists get at least a two-record deal with a company, and Bobby's follow-up for Date was the somewhat bizarre combination of "The Omen" and "Holly." The latter, was has Bobby's voiced buried in the mix and the echo, is more of a traditional love song. "The Omen" is a metaphorical tale that fit in fairly well with the era's new leanings toward heavily symbolic psych (of the type that the Moody Blues would call their own).

There are a few other artists who have issued 45's under the name Bobby Cole. No, they are different singers entirely. That includes the rare soul single "What Can I Say" b/w "She Better Show It" (Bee Jay 41936).