Ask “Mr. Music”
Jerry Osborne



FOR THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 24, 2018

DEAR JERRY: Recently I attended a record show in Scottsdale, and one seller showed me a 45 by The High Numbers, on the Ocean label.

There was no way to play it then, but the dealer said it could be an early U.S. release by the band we know as The Who.

Another fellow said The Who did indeed record as The High Numbers in their early days, but nothing they did then was released in America.

Do you have any information about The High Numbers?
—Barry Prescott, Tempe, Ariz.

DEAR BARRY: The High Numbers on Ocean (0594/0595) were a mid-west '60s garage band who, as far as we know, made only this one record. Recorded in 1966, it is: "High Heel Sneakers," the 1964 Tommy Tucker hit, backed with the 1965 Yardbirds' version of Bo Diddley's 1955 "I'm a Man."

There have been very few sales of the scarce Ocean single, but a couple have been sold for around $100.

We don't know if these High Numbers were somehow inspired by the Who's 1965 UK release as The High Numbers, but considering the chronology, we can't dismiss that possibility.

Briefly, in 1964, The Who's manager, Peter Meaden, changed the band's name to the High Numbers. Despite this failed experiment, The Who remained the same: Roger Daltrey, John Entwisle, Pete Townshend, and Keith Moon.

Meaden got them a record deal with UK Fontana, resulting in one single: "Zoot Suit" backed with "I'm the Face" (Fontana 480). Both sides were written by P. Meaden.

The Fontana 45 flopped in Britain, and was never issued in America. As such, this record is always in demand by Who collectors, and in recent auctions has sold in the $1,000 to $2,000 range.

In early 1965, the boys discharged Meaden, and returned to being The Who. They signed with Decca, and their first hit, "I Can't Explain," reached the Top 10 in the U.K. The rest is history.

In 1980, a U.S. various artists LP titled "Thru' the Back Door" (Mercury SRM 1-3849) included a bonus, promotional-only compact 33 single, with a custom sleeve, of The High Numbers' "Zoot Suit" and "I'm the Face" (Mercury DJ-570). Neither The Who, nor The High Numbers, are on the LP.

IZ ZAT SO? For the first 30 years of the rock era in England, only 14 singles made their chart debut at No. 1 on the New Musical Express survey.

Chronologically, they are: (1958) "Jailhouse Rock" (Elvis Presley); (1960) "My Old Man's a Dustman" (Lonnie Donegan); (1960) "It's Now Or Never" (Elvis Presley); (1961) "Surrender" (Elvis Presley); (1962) "The Young Ones" (Cliff Richard); (1963) "I Want to Hold Your Hand" (The Beatles); (1964) "Can't Buy Me Love" (The Beatles); (1964) "A Hard Day's Night" (The Beatles); (1964) "Little Red Rooster" (The Rolling Stones); (1964) "I Feel Fine" (The Beatles); (1965) "Ticket to Ride" (The Beatles); (1965) "Help!" (The Beatles); (1965) "We Can Work It Out" (The Beatles); and (1967) "All You Need Is Love" (The Beatles).

All but three are either by Elvis Presley or The Beatles. Each of those 11 tunes also reached No. 1 in the USA.

As for the other three, "My Old Man's a Dustman" (Lonnie Donegan), and "The Young Ones" (Cliff Richard), never reached the U.S. Top 100, and "Little Red Rooster" (The Rolling Stones) was not issued on a single here.


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