George McCurn
"One of the very greatest and sought-after bass singers in the gospel field."--Jerry Moss
George McCurn was a member of the Pilgrim Travelers. Sam Cooke had also been a member of that group. Because Herb Alpert had worked with Cooke, it is likely that is how he met McCurn. Alpert and his partner Lou Adler produced a single by McCurn for Liberty Records that was released in 1961 or early 1962. The single was "The Time Has Come" written by Sam Cooke backed with "Your Daughter's Hand" by Alpert, Adler and McCurn.
The track "I'm Just a Country Boy" was A&M Records first use of strings. The single was released in late January 1963 with Jerry Moss personally promoting it. By late February the single was doing well on jukebox before making Cash Box's Top 100 singles chart. On March 30 "Country Boy" peaked at #81 on the Cash Box chart during a 5-week run.
In Canada the single was released on Quality Records in February 1963. Quality told Cash Box it was one of the strongest singles it had and was being played on radio stations across the country and had strong sales. The single was rush released in Australia.
COUNTRY BOY GOES TO TOWN SESSIONOGRAPHY
| JANUARY 10, 1963 | CONWAY RECORDERS |
|---|---|
| I'm Just a Country Boy My Little Corner Of the World | Herb Alpert Bobby Bruce George Callender Stella Castellucci John DeVoogot Hyman Gold Carol Kaye Mel Lewis Leonard Macarsky William Pitman Jack Shulman Darrel Terwilliger John Vidusich Irving Weinper |
| MARCH 27, 1963 | CONWAY RECORDERS |
|---|---|
| Funny Goodnight, My Love A Hundred Pounds Of Clay How's the World Treating You At the End Of a Rainbow | Herb Alpert--arranger Robert Bein Joe Burnett George Callender Paul Horn Raymond Johnson Oliver Mitchell Jack Nimitz Earl Palmer Howard Roberts Shorty Rogers Clifford Shank Kenneth Shroyer |
| APRIL 10, 1963 | CONWAY RECORDERS |
|---|---|
| God Bless the Child Snap Your Fingers Guess Who Georgia Town He'll Have to Go Poor Man | George Callender Jewell Grant William Green Raymond Johnson Earl Palmer William Pitman Howard Roberts Shorty Rogers |
The "I'm a Country Boy" single was a Billboard regional hit in Buffalo, NY, Seattle, WA and San Francisco, CA. It also showed strength in Pittsburgh, PA.
Follow-up single "When the Wind Blows" was given moderate sales potential by Billboard. In November the record was reported to Cash Box as a "potential blockbuster" in the Chicago area.
- Billboard, February 16, 1963; February 25, 1963, March 26, 1963, March 30, 1963 and November 9, 1963.
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