COWTOWN RECORDS ep 701

JOHN STEPHENSON and the Texans
Apr /May 58
CP-1494 - Was I Borned To Lose     (Starrite BMI)
(J W Stephenson / Mary M Miller)
               Sweeter Day By Day     (Starrite BMI)
(Mary M Miller)
CP-1495 - The Truth Hurts
               I Was Warned.
COWTOWN 701
Po Box 192, Avery, TX   (John Stephenson)

Now - conundrum time. Is this a Starday Custom pressing and does it fit in with this listing? Well, after every London Record Fair at Great Portland Street, the weary collectors, sellers and dodgy geezers with notebooks and plastic carrier bags full of beaten up 45's (sounds a lot like me, except for the carrier bag), get together in the local pub / bar / watering hole and talk rubbish for an hour of two, usually about records. (It's a bit like fishing stories - the "One That Got Away" and "I Used To Own That But Not Anymore"). Anyhooo, as most of the contributors of this listing seem to drink together, especially on the rare occasion Phil Tricker blows the dust off of his wallet, flits away the moths and gets the beers in, the talk usually steers towards Starday Customs. (Don't often see Ian Saddler in there, but he's usually behind his stall counting his money).

The general consensus is:- (cue trumpets or drums) that it was probably sent to Starday for pressing and Starday farmed off the duties to Rite in Cincinnati. The Rite numbers are a little ahead of March 1958, but Rite wouldn't despatch until payment was received. (This was pressed after the Starday Custom 712 - Jesse Stevens). So in theory it is one. But others stammer and yell that, as there is already a bonefide 701 (Lou Walker on Starday), then it's probably not part of this series and simply a Starday / Rite pressed follow up to Cowtown 700. Whatever, I've included it anyway. It's covered with Starrite Publishing and it almost fits datewise. You know it's not like DNA sequencing - there's probably not a true "order" of things except the fact that the listing is numerical. Feel free to leave your comments and I'll add them to this page - unless of course it's simply to tell me it isn't one without some kind of explanation.

John Stephenson and his Cowtown label was sometimes part of the "Song Poem" legacy. 

Source: Udo Frank / Dan DeClark

COWTOWN RECORDS 700

HARRY PEPPEL and his Shenandoah Valley Rangers
(Side A by Tommy Donohue)  (Side B by Dick Dorn)
Mar 58
CP-1444 - One Night's Love  (Starrite BMI)
              Oh My Aching Head   (Stephenson Music)
CP-1445 - Thermostat baby   (Starrite BMI)
              Old Fashioned Waltz   (Starrite BMI)
COWTOWN 700
Po Box 1694, Ft Worth, TX  (JW Stephenson)

Another Rite pressed Starday Custom. JW Stephenson owned Cowtown Records which dabbled in Song/Poems and self-financed record releases on the label, as well as taking a punt on a few with his own money. Cowtown issued some fine music here and there. Label based around Avery, TX, although here Fort Worth is mentioned as the address. The Dick Dorn sides are especially nice on this EP.
Harry Peppel is a mystery to me - although I am informed his name appears on a few more records dotted around the US, but I have no details at present. (He does appear on an earlier Cowtown release in this series.)

I have to mention that there is another contender for the #700 spot - see next post - but with the Rite information, the dating of this record seems to fit in the listing quite nicely.

Source: Terry Gordon