If you’re looking for a little bit country, a little bit rock-and-roll, Cherry Red’s 7Ts Records has got three new releases just for you!  The seventies preservationists have unleashed two complete singles anthologies: Donny and Marie Osmond’s The Singles Collection, spanning the period 1974-1978, and Mungo Jerry’s The Dawn Singles Collection, drawing on the period spent at Pye Records subsidiary Dawn between 1970 and 1974.  In addition, the Osmonds' Around the World: Live in Concert (1975) gets a long-awaited reissue!

Born into a showbiz family, Donny and Marie Osmond have made their mark on virtually every area of entertainment.  By the time the siblings were paired together as a headlining duet act on MGM and Polydor Records in 1974, they had already reached peak solo popularity.  Donny rode the crest of fame in 1972 and 1973 with hits like “Puppy Love,” “Too Young” and “Young Love” (notice the theme?) while also fronting such Osmonds records as the Jackson 5-esque “One Bad Apple” (1971) and “Crazy Horses” (1972).  Marie started her own solo career with 1973’s “Paper Roses,” carving out a pop-country niche for herself.  Donny and Marie had already performed together on record as early as 1970, as well as in live performances, so it was perhaps inevitable that they would be teamed as a brother-sister act when their solo careers appeared to be on the wane, chart-wise.  And so, between 1974 and 1978, Donny and Marie released six albums and eighteen single sides on nine 45 RPM records.  All of those 45s have now been collected on one disc by 7Ts.

Most of these tracks were extracted from Donny and Marie’s albums, but a couple tracks were exclusive to the single format.  1978’s “Baby I’m Sold on You” was produced by Brian Holland for Holland-Dozier-Holland Productions on the album Winning Combination, but the single version was an alternate mix/edit.  “Certified Honey” was the single-only B-side of Donny and Marie’s final 45 (the A-side: “On the Shelf”) and makes its first appearance on CD here.  (“On the Shelf” was also released in an extended 12-inch format, but only the original, shorter mix appears on the new compilation.)

The eighteen selections are a blend of originals and familiar “cover” versions.  The very first single release by Donny, 16, and Marie, 14, together was “I’m Leaving It (All) Up to You,” a 1963 hit for Dale and Grace.  The duo remained in a country vein with Hank Cochran’s “Make the World Go Away,” tackled traditional pop with “Morning Side of the Mountain” (a 1959 hit for Tommy “It’s All in the Game” Edwards) and “Deep Purple,” and ventured into sixties pop and soul with “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” and “(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration,” hits for Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and The Righteous Brothers, respectively.

Though the 1980s saw Donny and Marie pursue different career paths, they never really split, hosting a talk show, performing live in Las Vegas and even headlining a show on Broadway.  Phil Hendriks supplies new liner notes for this retrospective, and Tim Turan has remastered the audio.  A complete singles discography is also included.  But that's not all from the talented musical family.

The Osmonds' Around the World: Live in Concert arrived in December 1975 on MGM, recorded in May of that year in London, and featuring Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, Jimmy, Donny and Marie.  Whew!  The Earl's Court shows were preserved on a 2-LP set, which 7Ts has transferred en toto to two CDs.  The family was supported by its usual band The American Underground, and each member got a turn in the spotlight, even if 18-year old Donny was still riding the crest of the wave of his teen idol days.  He and Marie teamed up for a mega-medley of their hits including "Go Away Little Girl," "Puppy Love" and "Paper Roses," while other lengthy medleys included one from Jimmy and one from Merrill.  The Osmonds tackled a diverse repertoire, including 50s hits like "At the Hop" and "Rock Around the Clock," Stevie Wonder songs such as "Higher Ground" and "Superstition," the Broadway showtune "Hey, Look Me Over!" from Wildcat, and Elvis favorites "Jailhouse Rock" and "Are You Lonesome Tonight."  Bill Belew, who had supplied flamboyant costumes for Presley, did the same for the Osmonds.

In 2012, the wholesome entertainment of The Osmonds might seem like the relic of another age, but Live in Concert proves what a heck of a show the family put on!  While Donny and Marie pursue their own ventures today, the brothers (Jay, Merrill, Jimmy and sometimes Wayne) still tour and make sweet, sweet music.

Hit the jump to travel back to the summertime with Mungo Jerry, plus order links and track listings with discography for all titles!

Where to go when your first single gives you a worldwide No. 1 hit?  The group Mungo Jerry found itself in that position when “In the Summertime” went to pole position in eleven countries including the United Kingdom in 1970, and ascended to No. 3 in the United States.  Though further U.S. success eluded Mungo Jerry, the group continued to record, notching up  three more U.K. Top 5 singles (one of which went to No. 1) and Top 10s in Ireland, Germany, Holland South Africa!  Mungo Jerry’s four years of recording for Dawn Records is the subject of the 2-CD Dawn Singles Collection.

Vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Ray Dorset, a musician since the late 1950s and a veteran of numerous bands, was the man behind Mungo Jerry.  The drumless quartet evolved from Good Earth, formerly Memphis Leather, with the name change at the behest of Pye Records.  With a name derived from T.S. Eliot’s Book of Practical Cats, Mungo Jerry’s lead single “In the Summertime” had such hit potential that it was released both on Dawn and on the Pye parent label.  It, of course, surpassed all expectations to the hybrid rock/pop/skiffle/jug band!  Mungo Jerry was on a roll when its second single, “Baby Jump,” followed “In the Summertime” to the top spot on the U.K. pop chart, sandwiched between George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” and T. Rex’s “Hot Love.”  (That song also introduced new bassist John Godfrey, replacing Mike Cole.)

More minor hits followed, as did controversy, when a reworking of Lonnie Donegan’s “Have a Drink on Me” seemed to be advocating use of a certain white powder as “Have a Whiff on Me.”  The BBC didn’t want a whiff of Mungo Jerry, and Phil Hendriks’ new liner notes recall that “there was even talk of prosecuting Mungo Jerry and Pye Records for making and distributing such material.”  In 1972, the group splintered, with Dorset and bassist John Godfrey forming a new line-up.  But the new group’s “My Girl and Me” became Mungo Jerry’s first single not to hit the U.K. Top 50 at all.  By the next single, only Ray Dorset remained in the band, and there would be subsequent alterations and additions to the roster as the group barreled to its final single with Pye/Dawn, in late 1974.  Mungo Jerry then migrated to Polydor, where its story is picked up on 7Ts’ Best of the Polydor Years.

As with the Donny and Marie disc, Tim Turan has remastered.  Phil Hendriks provides single-by-single annotation of the 33 tracks.  Mungo Jerry’s The Dawn Singles Collection and Donny and Marie’s The Singles Collection are both in stores now and can be ordered at the links below!

Donny and Marie, The Singles Collection (7Ts GLAMCD 137, 2012)

1. I’m Leaving It (All) Up to You
2. The Umbrella Song
3. Morning Side of the Mountain
4. One of These Days
5. Make the World Go Away
6. Living On My Suspicion
7. Deep Purple
8. Take Me Back Again
9. Ain’t Nothin’ Like the Real Thing
10. Sing
11. (You’re My) Soul and Inspiration
12. Now We’re Together
13. Baby I’m Sold on You
14. Sure Would Be Nice
15. I Want to Give You My Everything
16. May Tomorrow Be a Perfect Day
17. On the Shelf
18. Certified Honey

Tracks 1-2 from MGM K-14735, 1974
Tracks 3-4 from MGM K-14765, 1974
Tracks 5-6 from MGM M-14807, 1975
Tracks 7-8 from MGM M-14840, 1975
Tracks 9-10 from Polydor PD-14363, 1976
Tracks 11-12 from Polydor PD-14439, 1977
Tracks 13-14 from Polydor PD-14456, 1978
Tracks 15-16 from Polydor PD-14474, 1978
Tracks 17-18 from Polydor PD-14510, 1978

The Osmonds, Around the World – Live in Concert (MGM Super Double 2659 044, 1975 – reissued 7Ts GLAMCDD 128, 2012)

CD 1

1. Feelin’ Alright
2. Crazy Horses
3. Your Mama Don’t Dance
4. Hold Her Tight
5. Dialogue/Hey, Look Me Over
6. Love Me for a Reason
7. Music Makin’ Medley (Music Makin’/The Girl I Love/I Can’t Get Next to You)
8. Mona Lisa
9. Donny and Marie Medley (Go Away Little Girl/Puppy Love/It Takes Two/Morning Side of the Mountain/I’m Leaving It All Up to You/Paper Roses/Who’s Sorry Now/It Takes Two (Reprise))
10. Make the World Go Away
11. Some Kind of Wonderful

CD 2

1. The Proud One
2. Jimmy Medley (Long Haired Lover from Liverpool/You Are So Beautiful/Never Can Say Goodbye)
3. Stevie Wonder Medley (Uptight/Higher Ground/Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours/Superstition/For Once in My Life/Musician Intros/For Once in My Life (Reprise))
4. Are You Lonesome Tonight?
5. Merrill’s Banjo Medley (If You Knew Susie/One of Those Songs/The World is Waiting for Sunrise)
6. The ‘50s Medley (Get a Job/Rock and Roll is Here to Stay/Jailhouse Rock/At the Hop/Rock Around the Clock/Blueberry Hill/Blue Moon/Lucille/Blue Suede Shoes/Hound Dog/Rock and Roll is Here to Stay (Reprise))
7. Down by the Lazy River

Mungo Jerry, The Dawn Singles Collection (7Ts GLAMCDD 135, 2012)

CD 1

1. In the Summertime
2. Mighty Man
3. Dust Pneumonia Blues
4. Baby Jump
5. The Man Behind the Piano
6. Live from Hollywood (Maggie/Mighty Man/Midnight Special)
7. Lady Rose
8. Have a Whiff on Me
9. Milk Cow Blues
10. Little Louis
11. She Rowed
12. You Don’t Have to Be in the Army to Fight in the War
13. The Sun is Shining
14. O’Reilly
15. We Shall Be Free

CD 2

1. Open Up
2. Going Back Home
3. I Don’t Want to Go Back to School
4. No Girl Reaction
5. My Girl and Me
6. Summer’s Gone
7. 46 and On
8. A Goodie Boogie Woogie
9. Alright, Alright, Alright
10. Little Miss Hipshake
11. Wild Love
12. Glad I’m a Rocker
13. Long Legged Woman Dressed in Black
14. Gonna Bop Till I Drop
15. All Dressed Up and No Place to Go
16. Shake Till I Break
17. Too Fast to Live and Too Young to Die
18. Burnin’ Up

CD 1, Tracks 1-3 from Dawn DNX 2502, 1970
CD 1, Tracks 4-6 from Dawn DNX 2505, 1971
CD 1, Tracks 7-10 from Dawn DNX 2510, 1971
CD 1, Track 11 from subsequent pressing of Dawn DNX 2510, 1971
CD 1, Tracks 12-15 from Dawn DNX 2513, 1971
CD 2, Tracks 1-4 from Dawn DNX 2514, 1972
CD 2, Tracks 5-8 from Dawn DNX 2515, 1972
CD 2, Tracks 9-10 from Dawn DNS 1037, 1973
CD 2, Tracks 11-12 from Dawn DNS 1051, 1973
CD 2, Tracks 13-14 from Dawn DNS 1061, 1974
CD 2, Tracks 15-18 from Dawn DNS 1113, 1975