Don Pensinger/George Bollinger 45 ZAP 1015 E Condition What Can I Do/Bottle's On

$

75

Greetings everyone! Thanks for stopping by another of my record auctions! I appreciate that you made the time in your busy schedule to check out the goods! I’ve been doing this on ebay for the past 8 years of so, and it’s always fun to have folks show up and see what’s available…though it’s more fun to get what I have sold, and into your hands! Your business is always appreciated, and that’s not just lip service! So let’s see what I’ve got for you folks this time!

This time up, I have a 7” 45rpm release (date of release unknown-but would guess sometime in the early to mid 70s) on the ZAP record label, label #1015. This is a “split” 45, kindasorta, as this has different lead artists on each side, though the backup band is the same, as the Multitones get to do the honors on both sides. Side A features Don Pensinger doing “What Can I Do” while the B side has George Bollinger doing “The Bottle’s On The Table”. Since uncovering this during my picking for the week, I did spend a bit of time attempting to research this single, and I came up with absolutely nothing, unfortunately. I mean I tried all sorts of combinations for searches, but kept up coming up empty regarding the band, vocalists, and even the label. But at least I do have one thing I could do-and that’s give this a spin to find out just what this was all about. Well, after doing this, it’s still a bit of a conundrum, as the two songs on this single are different in style and content. “What Can I Do” sounds like a crossover of pop country and doo-wop of all things, as the music is pretty simple-drums, bass, rhythm & lead guitar-all of which have some of the most simplistic sounds possible. Outside of the lead guitar, everything is playing rhythm at a pace that sounds like it was made for beginners’ practice. Heck, even the “lead” guitar is playing some simple, single stringed picking that sounds like it was learned in short time. Fortunately, this simple style works well as Pensinger’s vocals are rather white soul-ish, but this has a backing vocal (by whom, I don’t know) and this gives this side’s song the “doo-wop” feel, and worked quite well. The flip side, “The Bottle’s On The Table” is a straight up country song, with a steel guitar in place of the “lead” guitar on the A side. George Bollinger’s singing style is a bit awkward, as even though he wrote this tune (Pensinger did write his tune on the A side, more about this below), there are times when he sounds like he misses his cue and his pronunciation of certain words is odd as well. His voice does have a bit of “twang” to it, but it’s hard to tell if he’s from the south, Midwest or what. The song itself doesn’t exactly break any new ground, as it’s another song about drinking, memories, and the bottle staying put-it’s not bad, but a bit on the trite side. Now I did mention above that both songs were written by the singers, and the Multitones played on each side. This would almost seem like this single is akin to “song poems”, the difference being that on these tunes, the singers wrote the songs, and I would assume that the “Multitones” were a recording studio’s “house band”.  Where this label and artists originated from is still a mystery, and if anyone out there knows anything about this, please drop me a line, and I will be glad to include the information to this listing. The playing surface isn’t in bad shape at all, just a touch of storage wear and some light needle marks scattered about both sides. Both sides did play through without any problem for the needle, and though there was some crackling while playing, it was not loud nor detracting from the music nor vocals. This wasn’t great, but hardly bad, so I think it’s definitely worth receiving my average grading of E. That’s my grading though, and my grading is considered non-standard. If you are considering placing a bid, please read the paragraph that follows this one, as it will show you the gradings and their respective descriptions. It won’t take long to read, please do. The labels show some storage wear and discoloration, however the text is still clear and very easy to read. If you need more pictures or description, I can and will be happy to provide. If you have any comments or questions, please send them to me, and I will reply as soon as possible. 

My Grading is as follows: M (Mint)-ONLY for Still Factory Sealed Records ONLY! No 45 nor 78 will ever get this grading. E+, minimal wear, perhaps only needs cleaning. E, a few light marks, maybe some minor background crackle and/or hiss. E-, light marks, crackling (nothing major), scuffs, etc.. Not great, but still quite playable. V+, More marks, scuffs, needle marks, scratches-but nothing that would make the needle skip. Will have background noise that even with a cleaning will still be around. V. Worn. Scuffs, scratches, can be noisy, but still (probably) won’t cause the needle to skip nor get stuck. V-, Noisy? You bet! Worn? Oh yeah. Playable? Sure, but don’t expect it to sound all peachy keen. P. Bleah! Playable perhaps, but do so at your own risk. Don’t trash a new needle on it. Only used on records considered rare enough for “fill in” purposes to a collector-or to those who do digital restoration. 

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IMPORTANT NOTE FOR NON-U.S. BUYERS!!!!
All items I sell will be sent with postage printed up from eBay. This way, the prices are automatically listed for customs purposes and cannot be altered. Yes, this does mean that the customs people will know the value, but since I get a bit of a price break on postage, I can keep the prices low for you-the buyer.  I will not "mark item as a gift", just so you can evade import rules.  The people at my post office know me, and they will check overseas packages for inspection.  I hope you will understand my position about this, my apologies if you are not able to comply.

Also, international bidders, the price listed for postage on my listings are for domestic mailing.  I wish I could send overseas for that price, but reality speaks different.  I place a fair price on all international postage.  Watch for the invoice if you win.

ALSO-I need to let international bidders know of a certain problem that doesn't always happen, but will arise from time to time.  All International mail sent from this region has to go through the U.S. Postal Service sorting center in Sandston Virginia, by our local airport.  This sorting center has been named the least efficient sorting center in the entire U.S. Postal Service.  They prove this from time to time by mis-routing packages.  If this happens-and I will monitor the delivery-usually it will add at least an extra week for it to arrive.  If there are any problems, please contact me first, and I will do what I must to make sure you are satisfied with the order.
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Folks, I have lots of records for sale/auction here on ebay, but I also have another outlet that I use as well, where items I haven’t listed elsewhere, and occasionally things that have been listed (but not anymore) here as well. I work for a record store as you may already know, and my boss has been putting out one of the largest, if not the oldest record auction in the Mid-Atlantic area. If you look online for RecordSmith auctions in Richmond, VA, you can easily find the site. If not, or if you’d like any information, you can always contact me through the ebay message system, and I will be glad to get that information for you. Hey, I love my boss, and love working there. So I don’t mind doing some “shilling” for him, and I’m certain he (and I!) would enjoy your participation and business!