FOR THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 3, 2003

DEAR JERRY: I know you have responded to several questions regarding the very long wait for ABKCO to reissue much of the material from the Cameo-Parkway vaults.

Along with Steve Caldwell, an original member of the Orlons, I have been in contact with Allen Klein, and we may soon have the some answers.

ABKCO (Allen B. Klein Company) is involved in serious talks with many of those who recorded on Cameo-Parkway about reissuing their original material to a new market of buyers! Allen Klein hears the sound of money now, and is paying very close attention to sales being lost to other sources, such as Collectable Records, and the Universal Music Group.

Watch for news to come out of the ABKCO camp, about the old Cameo-Parkway songs being available soon, perhaps by Christmas, or January 2004 at the latest.
—Billy Wolfe, Carbondale, Pa.

DEAR BILLY: It likely will come as no surprise to you to hear that for every Cameo-Parkway inquiry we have selected for use in print, hundreds of others have filled our mailbox.

You letter offers music lovers some encouragement that all those essential C-P originals — approximately 100 of them come to mind — will finally be available.

Rarely, between 1957 and '68, did the nation's top selling records list not include something from Cameo-Parkway.

Please write again when you can update this exciting story.

DEAR JERRY: I really enjoyed your recent story about the Royal Guardsmen, though I think a couple of facts concerning this group needs clarification.

You give the year as 1968 for “Baby, Let's Wait,” one of their best tracks. Well, the first album I ever owned is “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron,” and it contains “Baby, Let's Wait.” I specifically recall this LP being issued in 1966.

Also, maybe the group did disbanded in 1968 rather than change their name. But it was rumored by the so-called music experts in my neighborhood, at that time, that the band known only as Lobo was none other than the Royal Guardsmen.

Please set the record straight on these issues.
—Dan Zefeldt, River Grove, Ill.

DEAR DAN: Here comes the straight scoop:

You remember your “Snoopy” LP correctly; however, “Baby, Let's Wait” did not become a hit single until November 1968 (Laurie 3461). It ended up being the only Royal Guardsmen Top 40 hit that did not rely on a Snoopy theme.

Interestingly, Laurie first issued “Baby, Let's Wait” in 1966 (Laurie 3359) before “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron.” The music gods apparently decided to put its success on hold for a couple of years.

I hope your neighborhood pop experts kept their day jobs. There is no connection between the Royal Guardsmen quintet and Lobo, a one-man act.

Lobo, whose big hits include “Me and You and a Dog Named Boo, I'd Love You to Want Me,” and “Don't Expect Me to Be Your Friend,” is the stage name of Roland Lavoie.

Well, maybe there is one connection: Boo and Snoopy are both canines.

DEAR JERRY: How has the widespread downloading and trading of MP3s affected the collectible records market?
—Clinton Feemish, York, Pa.

DEAR CLINTON: As the soulful Etta James once sang, “It's Too Soon to Know.”

Thus far, we have not seen any changes in the record collecting marketplace that can be attributed to the downloading of music.

Vinyl collectors would only be satisfied having the actual record, perhaps more so to file away rather than to play.

Being able to play one's favorite music digitally — whether as a CD, MP3, or any other format — provides collectors a way to listen as often as they choose without causing wear and tear to a vinyl original.

Also worth noting is that the number of tunes sampled via download that later result in a vinyl purchase, may offset the number of collectors leaving analog valley for digital pastures. It could be a wash.

IZ ZAT SO? From 1966 to 1968, the music scene was quite Snoopified, spearheaded by the Royal Guardsmen.