Class/Rendezvous Labels
Album Discography

by David Edwards and Mike Callahan
Last update: April 7, 1999





Class Records was formed in late 1951 by Leon Rene in Los Angeles California. The label's output consisted of popular, rhythm and blues and Jazz. Leon Rene was a songwriter who had been in the music business since the early '30s. With his brother Otis, he had written "Sleepy Time Down South" and "When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano," and later Leon wrote such rock staples as "I Sold My Heart To The Junkman" and "Rockin' Robin." During the 1940s, Leon and Otis ran the pioneering independent rhythm and blues labels Exclusive and Excelsior. They had purchased their own record pressing plant, but when the format changed from 78 RPM to 45 RPM, they could not press the new speed and the labels went out of business in 1950. The Class label was formed in 1951 after the failure of Exclusive and Excelsior. In 1956, Class Records moved to El Centro Avenue in Hollywood, and by 1959 they had moved again, to 3617 West Pico Blvd., Los Angeles.

The director of A&R for Class Records and one of the artists was Leon's son, Rafael "Googie" Rene, who was a piano player, orchestra leader and composer. Googie had some minor instrumental hits for Class with "Wham Bam", "Midnight", "Skumbo," and "Shine On Harvest Moon".

Bobby Byrd was really the rock and roll mainstay of Class Records. Byrd's group was signed to Ebb Records as the Hollywood Flames, who had the hit "Buzz, Buzz, Buzz" in 1957. To avoid contract conflicts, Byrd and his group recorded under the name Bobby Day and the Satellites for Class, as well as recording under different names for other labels. In 1957, they recorded a song Byrd had written called "Little Bitty Pretty One" for Class, but a cover version by Thurston Harris on Aladdin became the hit. The next year, Day recorded "Rockin' Robin," which Leon Rene wrote under the pseudonym Jimmy Thomas. It went to number two on the national charts. The flip side, the self-penned "Over and Over," was a minor hit in it's own right, reaching #41, but the song became a #1 hit for the Dave Clark Five in 1965.

The omnipresent Bobby Byrd also teamed with Earl Nelson, another of the Hollywood Flames, as the duo "The Voices" on Cash Records, and then in 1960 as Bob & Earl for Class. Bob & Earl recorded for both Class and Tip Records, but by the time the duo had a couple of chart singles in 1962-63 ("Don't Ever Leave Me," "Harlem Shuffle"), Byrd had left and been replaced by Bob Relf. Nelson also later recorded as Jackie Lee (using his wife's first name and his own middle name) and scored a top-15 record with "The Duck" in 1965.

Class also had a top 40 hit with Eugene Church's "Pretty Girls Everywhere" in late 1958. Church was a member of Jesse Belvin's various vocal groups, including the Cliques, who hit with "The Girl In My Dreams" in 1956 for Modern. Church noted that he and fellow Belvin-ite Tommy "Buster" Williams got the idea for the song while out driving one day and noting the women walking on the sidewalk. It was recorded as by Eugene Church and the Fellows.

Other acts for Class included bandleader Oscar McLollie, who also recorded one chart hit with Jeanette Baker. Even though the duo made it to #61 with "Hey Boy-Hey Girl" in 1958, the two didn't particularly get along, so there wasn't even a followup record.

In 1958, Rendezvous Record Company was formed in Los Angeles. The owners were Leon Rene, Rod Pierce and Gordon Wolf, and the output of this label was mostly pop music. The biggest hits for Rendezvous Records were "In the Mood" in 1959 by Ernie Fields, and "Bumble Boogie" in 1961 and "Nut Rocker" in 1962 by B. Bumble and the Stingers. "In the Mood," of course, was a reworking of the old Glenn Miller hit, and "Bumble Boogie" was a reworking of a Jack Fina single from the late 1940s, which itself was based on Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight Of The Bumblebee." Rendezvous also reissued four of the Class albums with identical art work; in fact the front covers of the Rendezvous reissues had the Class logo and album number. Only the back cover and the record labels had the Rendezvous logo and issue number.

The Ernie Fields "Orchestra" was actually the Rendezvous Records House Band, which included pianist Ernie Freeman (later with hits on Imperial), guitarist Rene Hall (former guitarist for the Dominoes), saxophonist Plas Johnson, and drummer Earl Palmer (former session drummer for the famous New Orleans acts like Fats Domino and Little Richard). Like many of the really talented studio groups in Los Angeles in the late 1950s and early 1960s, this Rendezvous House Band recorded under many different names, including B. Bumble and the Stingers (with bassist Red Callender) , the Dyna-Sores, and later as the Marketts and the Routers (on Warner Bros.).

Kim Fowley produced the B.Bumble & The Stingers hits. The first few B. Bumble records featured Ernie Freeman on piano, but by the time "Nut Rocker" came out in 1961, Al Hazan had replaced Freeman on piano, as Freeman had become a well-known act on his own. But when the studio group's hits demanded they go on tour, they weren't having any of it. They quickly hired three kids (an actual trio from Oklahoma) to stand in for them on the road, including a preposterous cover story that the guitarist's name was William (Billy) Bumble. The other two "road-Stingers" were Ron Brady and Fred Richard.

Class and Rendezvous Records were both issuing records from 1958 through 1963. Rendezvous became inactive in 1963, with no more records issued on Rendezvous after that year. Class Records continued issuing singles until 1966, and seems to have gone out of business that year. None of the Class or Rendezvous albums charted.

We would appreciate any additions or corrections to this discography. Just send them to us via e-mail. Both Sides Now Publications is an information web page. We are not a catalog, nor can we provide the records listed below. We have no association with Class Records, which is currently inactive. Should you be interested in acquiring albums listed in this discography (which are all out of print), we suggest you see our Frequently Asked Questions page and follow the instructions found there. This story and discography are copyright 1998, 1999 by Mike Callahan.



CLASS ALBUM DISCOGRAPHY

Number - Title - Artist [Release Date] Contents

The Class Record label on LP-5001 and LP-5002 was black with silver printing. "Class" in script above the center hole. On LP-5003 and LP-5004, the art work on the label is the same but the label is dark red with silver printing.

LP-5001 - Beautiful Weekend - Googie Rene [12/57] Moonglow/Wonderful Night/Midnight/At The Break Of Dawn/Sunrise/Beautiful Weekend//Twilight Walk/Wham Bam/Rock-A-Boogie/Big Time/Side Track/Break It Up

LP-5002 - Rockin' with Robin - Bobby Day [10/58] Rockin' Robin/Darling If I Had You/Sweet Little Thing/Saving My Life For You/Little Turtle Dove/Over And Over//Little Bitty Pretty One/Come Seven/Honeysuckle Baby/When The Swallows Come Back To Capistrano/Beep Beep Beep/So Long Baby

LP-5003 - Googie Rene Presents Romesville - Googie Rene [10/59] Romesville/Cool It At The Coliseum/Serenade In The Night/Flippin' The Pizza/Come Back To Sorrento//Caesar's Pad/Caf‚ Roman Candle/Rebecca/Cherry Ferrari/Farewell To Rome

LP-5004 - Gone But Not Forgotten - Various Artists [1959] Good compilation, but this album is notable also for a ridiculous cover photo showing a young man sitting on the beach with a wistful look while a girl in a bathing suit (a one-piece (!)... and I don't mean half a bikini) passes behind him. The look on his face is priceless. Wiggle Tail, Part 2 - Googie Rene/Gee Whiz - Bob & Earl/Pretty Girls Everywhere - Eugene Church/Hey Boy-Hey Girl - Oscar McLollie & Jeanette Baker/Skumbo - Googie Rene/Rockin' Robin - Bobby Day//Shine On Harvest Moon - Googie Rene/Convicted - Oscar McLollie/That's My Desire - Bob & Earl/Little Bitty Pretty One - Bobby Day/Say - Oscar McLollie/Miami - Eugene Church

LP-200 - Flapjacks - Googie Rene [1963] The label on LP-200 is violet with black printing and "Class" in yellow script above the center hole. Flapjacks, Part 1/Country Walk/Bossa Baby/Walk Right In/Soul Zone/Tambo Shake//Flapjacks, Part 2/You've Really Got A Hold On Me/Surf Ride/Good Luck Charm/Jazzberry Jam


RENDEZVOUS LABEL ALBUM DISCOGRAPHY

The first Rendezvous Record label is brown with silver print, with the name in 3-D effect block letters in front of "Records" in script. The second label is black with silver print, "rendezvous records" in white above the center hole with two multi-color circles with a black "r" in each circle. The circles are located between the words "rendezvous" and "records".

M-1301 - Speak Low - Eddie Baxter [1958] Street Of Dreams/Don't Blame Me/You've Changed/Ghost Of A Chance With You/Speak Low/Nearness Of You/Moonlight In Vermont/You Go To My Head/There's A Small Hotel/Serenade In Blue/I Cover The Waterfront/I Kiss Your Hand Madame/Green Eyes

M-1302 - Temptation - Eddie Baxter [1958] I Only Have Eyes For You/All Of You/When The Wind Was Green/You Are Too Beautiful/Temptation/Stars Fell On Alabama/It's Easy To Remember/Jalousie/Violets For Your Furs/That's All/Laura/Concerto In Blues

M-1303 - This Love of Mine - Eddie Baxter [1958] This Love Of Mine/To Each His Own/Star Eyes/Mamselle/Over The Rainbow/Dream/Flamingo/Afterglow/Because Of You/Where Or When/What's New/That Old Black Magic

M-1304 - Polka Festival - Franz Schermann [1958] Clarinet Polka/Alpiner's Waltz/Vienna Life/Jolly Peter Schottische/Tales Of The Vienna Woods/Edelweiss Waltz/Lindenau Polka/Cuckoo Waltz/Du Du Liegst Mir Im Herzen/Hock Heidelberg Marsch/Hofbrau Haus Laendler/Old Comrades/Muss Ich Denn Zum Stadle Hinaus/Heavenly Polka

M-1305 -

M-1306 -

M-1307 - Folk Dance Festival - Various Artists [1959?] Come Musicians Play - Franz Schermann /Weg Zum Herzen - Franz Schermann /In A Green Grove - Franz Schermann /Swixx Mazurka - Franz Schermann /Dorf Musik Laendler - Franz Schermann /Harmonica Polka - Franz Schermann /In A Train - Franz Schermann /Polish National Dance Number 2 - Franz Schermann/Pfeifer - Jimmy Kosec /Aosia - Jimmy Kosec /Balen Karlstadt - Jimmy Kosec /Stampfer - Jimmy Kosec

M-1308 - Tasty Touch - Eddie Baxter [1959] Tasty Touch/Don't Take Your Love From Me/I'm Glad There Is You/Night And Day/If I Had You/Little Girl Blue/Bali Ha'i/I've Got A Crush On You/Them There Eyes/One I Love/Handful Of Stars/Pandero/We'll Be Together Again/I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face

M-1309 - In The Mood - Ernie Fields Orchestra [1960] Honky Tonk/Tuxedo Junction/Volare Cha Cha/My Prayer/Knocked Out/In The Mood/Dipsy Doodle/Raunchy/Tea For Two Cha Cha Cha/It's All In The Game/The Boot/Christopher Columbus

M-1310

M-1311 - Beautiful Weekend - Googie Rene [1960?] Reissue of Class LP-5001. Moonglow/Wonderful Night/Midnight/At The Break Of Dawn/Sunrise/Beautiful Weekend //Twilight Walk/Wham Bam/Rock-A-Boogie/Big Time/Side Track/Break It Up

M-1312 - Rockin' With Robin - Bobby Day [1960?] Reissue of Class LP-5002. Rockin' Robin/Darling If I Had You/Sweet Little Thing/Saving My Life For You/Little Turtle Dove/Over And Over//Little Bitty Pretty One/Come Seven/Honeysuckle Baby/When The Swallows Come Back To Capistrano/Beep Beep Beep/So Long Baby

M-1313 - Romesville - Googie Rene [1960?] Reissue of Class LP-5003. Romesville/Cool It At The Coliseum/Serenade In The Night/Flippin' The Pizza/Come Back To Sorrento//Caesar's Pad/Café Roman Candle/Rebecca/Cherry Ferrari/Farewell To Rome

M-1314 - Gone But Not Forgotten - Various Artists [1960?] Reissue of Class LP-5004. Wiggle Tail, Part 2 - Googie Rene/Gee Whiz - Bob & Earl/Pretty Girls Everywhere - Eugene Church/Hey Boy-Hey Girl - Oscar McLollie & Jeanette Baker/Skumbo - Googie Rene/Rockin' Robin - Bobby Day//Shine On Harvest Moon - Googie Rene/Convicted - Oscar McLollie/That's My Desire - Bob & Earl/Little Bitty Pretty One - Bobby Day/Say - Oscar McLollie/Miami - Eugene Church


RELATED COMPACT DISCS:

Much of the hit material from Class and Rendezvous has been reissued on compact disc in the 1990s.

ACE (UK)
CDCH 200 - The Original Rockin' Robin - Bobby Day [1991] All tracks mono. The Bluebird The Buzzard And The Oriole/Over And Over/Come Seven/Honeysuckle Baby/My Blue Heaven/I Don't Want To/When The Swallows Come Back To Capistrano/Beep Beep Beep/Rockin' Robin/Ain't Gonna Cry No More/Little Bitty Pretty One/Life Can Be Beautiful/That's All I Want/Mr. & Mrs. Rock'N'Roll/Sweet Little Thing/Three Young Rebs From Georgia (with studio talk and countoff)/So Long Baby/Gotta New Girl/Say Yes/Don't Worry 'Bout Me/Alone Too Long/Darling If I Had You/Oop-D-Du-Pers Ball/Unchained Melody (with studio talk, false start, countoff)/Love Is A One-Time Affair/Little Turtle Dove

CHCHD 461 - The Class & Rendezvous Story - Various Artists [1993] All tracks mono. Rock-in Robin - Bobby Day/Nut Rocker - B. Bumble & Stingers/Miami - Eugene Church/In The Mood - Ernie Fields Orchestra/Little Bitty Pretty One - Bobby Day & Sattelites/Hey Girl Hey Boy - Oscar McLollie & Jeanette Baker/The Bear - Johnny "Guitar" Watson/That's My Desire - Bob & Earl/Pretty Girls Everywhere - Eugene Church & Fellows/Texas Twister - Ernie Fields Orchestra/I'm Confessin' - Jesse Belvin/The Bluebird The Buzzard & The Oriole - Bobby Day/No Time - Titans/Ez-Zee - Googie Rene/You Made A Boo Boo - Bob & Earl/One More Kiss - Johnny "Guitar" Watson/Wow Wow Baby - Searchers ['50s group]/Good News - Eugene Church/Alley Oop - Dyna-Sores/Let Me Know Let Me Know - Oscar McLollie & Jeanette Baker/Mama Julie - Terry & Jerry/I Ain't Goin' For That - Eugene Church/Chatanooga Choo Choo - Ernie Fields Orchestra/Over And Over - Bobby Day

CDCHD 577 - Nut Rocker - B. Bumble & the Stingers [1995] All tracks mono. Nut Rocker/Bumble Boogie/School Day Blues/Boogie Woogie (Pinetop's Boogie Woogie)/Near You/Bee Hive (with studio talk at beginning and end)/Caravan/Nautilus/Nola/Rockin' On 'N' Off/Mashed #5/Apple Knocker/The Moon And The Sea (with studio talk at beginning and end)/All Of Me/Dawn Cracker/Scales/Twelfth Street Rag/Canadian Sunset (with studio talk at beginning)/Baby Mash/Night Time Madness/In The Mood/Chicken Chow Mein/Bumble Bossa Nova/Canadian Sunset (alternate version)



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