The Five Bucks - No Use In Trying b/w Now You're Mine (Afton Records - 1966)

Every so often in a record collectors life (and dreams) does the time come when they pick up a 45rpm single which they have been searching high and low for what seems a very long period of time, when that day comes however and the music fan places that lone-piece of vinyl onto their record player deck, all of lifes worries, concerns and stresses cease and for around three perfect minutes you're in bliss (unless you're a collector of rare German Krautrock LP's in which case you're looking to at the very least experience thirty-three minutes of bliss)

In my case one such record did come my way and it was The Five Bucks - No Use in Trying b/w Now You're Gone (misspelled as 'Now You're Mine' on the label) released on the Afton label in 1966.

The Five Bucks formed out of the meeting of a group of young guys who had each met one another around the Michigan & Ann Arbour University campus' in 1965. The line-up which recorded this classic Garage 45 included the members Bruce Kerr, Chris Rose, Jerry Daller, Bauchman Tom & Steve Hearn.

I personally would like to thank the band for creating one of the long lost gems of the 60s garage music boom and for making one of my all-time favourite records.... The B-side actually brought tears to my eyes.

I record music myself and will be attempting to record  (fingers crossed; faithfully) a cover version of 'No Use In Trying' next month in July, I have thus far practised my parts and feel that I can do this song justice and look very much forward to recording it and finally hearing the end result.

My Own Copy of The Five Bucks 45rpm single.

What is magic for me in regards to this record is it came to me at just the right time and moment in my life, both sides speak to me and I relate with both sides of the grooves as they relate to my, at the time, current life circumstances and I guess that is why the 45 means so much to me and means a great deal to me emotionally.

'No Use in Trying', is full on angst-ridden despair and a reflection on the sad realisation that a relationship has ended and there is no coming back.The b-side is even more apt and heartbreaking, 'Now You're Gone' is a sullen moody ballad about the realisation that the girl has gone and he the protagonist can't do anything about it and has to just accept it, but is still sorry - its total teen trauma, which makes this record alongside other records of the time, pure genius.

I guess the same scenarios/head-space of the records was happening to me in my own life and I guess in the best traditions of things, music is the best healer, especially for crazy half-mad, slightly switched-on people like myself, music, I guess has always been a healer and I suppose has always been the best of friends to me, this blog will include a great deal of music over time and I suppose each thing I will write about will be apt.

So I will leave you with the A-side of the 45 (Although I would have loved for you to all hear the B-side, however I haven't the technology to transfer 45rpm to computer nor is it on Youtube unfortunately)

So anyway here we go... a real piece of extra-ordinary 60s garage punk from a group of teenagers from Michigan.

Enjoy,

Paul

Picture and initial band info taken from www.garagehangover.com