There are numerous rare records with Richmond connections; we’ve compiled some noteworthy selections below. Most were pressed in small quantities and didn’t become desirable to collectors until years after their release. They range from early hip-hop to soul sides and offbeat rockabilly. These aren’t the rarest or the most expensive, but if you see them in a record rack near you and you have the scratch, don't sleep.
Robert Williams, "Cranberry Blues" b/w "Loud Mufflers" (Tip Top, 1959)
One of rockabilly's greasiest, and oddest, discs, waxed in the back of a Richmond furniture store by a wild and wooly Fredericksburg rocker. The A-side is about a cranberry-related food scare (?), while the flip details the legal ramifications of having loud exhaust pipes on your hot rod.
Ferguson Brothers, “Here to Stay” (Ambient Records, 1979)
Despite the name of their debut, these brothers, who look like runners-up in a “Saturday Night Fever” lookalike contest, wouldn’t release another album. This one-shot is an enjoyable slice of blue-eyed soul, with touches of disco, pop rock and even a respectable attempt at rapping. Not a masterpiece, but worth a listen.
The Honey Bees, "Love, Love I Can't Get Over It" b/w "It Happen on a Tuesday" (Attack!, 1963)
A soulful girl group record that makes up in coolness what it lacks in grammatical accuracy. Attack! was an ambitious local label run by homespun producer Charles E. Scott, who released a few quixotic sides and advertised that the label had a "Virginia Sound."
Edge of Daybreak, Eyes of Love (Bohannon's, 1979)
The groove-laden soul/funk record was recorded in, of all places, Powhatan Correctional Center, and the band itself was made up of prisoners at the jail. Issued by the famed Grace Street music store and head shop, Bohannon's, this rare-as-hell LP was reissued in 2015 by Numero Group.
Serious Tripp, “Seriously Speaking” (Serious Records, 1991)
There’s a category on record auction sites known as “random rap,” a reference to the small labels that upstart rappers found themselves on in the early 1990s, and that’s where you’ll find this release listed. Serious Tripp didn’t become famous, but the beats on this EP are serviceable and his flow is above average for the era.
William Cummings, "Make My Love a Hurting Thing" (Bang Bang, 1969)
The trombonist and lead vocalist for famed Central Virginia party band Zeke and the Soul Setters steps out front with an epic, angst-ridden paean to love. According to some collectors, this is the rarest of all Richmond-related soul discs.
Richmond in Full Effect (Force Records, 1989)
Another in the random rap category, this hip-hop EP features three artists, C. Love, Devastatin D and Shrlock and the JVC Rocks, all produced by Dr. Mix. A low-budget affair, it comes with a pasted-on cover and a typewritten letter.
Johnson's Happy Pals, "Savoy Rhythm" b/w "Happy Pal Stomp" (Okeh, 1929)
These two songs are the only recordings that we have of Richmond's hottest early jazz band, mainstays of the Jackson Ward scene in the '20s and '30s. These jumpy selections are not believed to have been recorded at the field session that the OKeh label held in Richmond the same year, but in New York City.
The Trouble with Larry, "Otto Messmer" b/w "The Rodent Song" (Good Kitty Records, 1990)
This outsider Richmond punk rock trio put out a slew of infectious singles in the 1990s, preoccupied by sci-fi movies, urban decay and conspiracy theories. This was one of the best, recorded at Richmond's once-prolific Studio Nico.
