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Amazing Collection: 5,000 Unplayed 1960s Promo 45s

Posted by: Leland Scott   Jul 15, 2015

Annie Louise Neal was a rarity herself for her time. A black female disk jockey from North Carolina, Neal played at WREV, a small AM station in Reidsville, from the late 1950s to about 1963, and then again from 1965 to about 1967. Early in her career, Louise used "Napper" as her last name, after a man she was briefly married to. By 1961 at the latest, she switched to using her maiden name professionally. During her DJ career, Neal met many of the top Soul and RnB artists of the day, and according to relatives she dated at least two of them: Wilson Pickett and Joe Tex. Neal died 4 years ago in New York, in her 80s.

During her career, and for many years afterwards, Neal collected thousands of (mostly) promo 45s from the 1950s and 1960s. In those days, record companies sent DJs promo copies of their releases, and in Neal's case they were sent directly to her house in Reidsville. Even after she left Reidsville in 1967, 45s continued to accumulate unopened at her vacant Reidsville address from all the record companies and distributors she was registered with, including ABC, Atlantic/Atco, Chess/Checker/Cadet, Decca, Brunswick, Shout, Stax/Volt, Fame, Imperial, Jubilee, Okeh, Sue, Philles, SureFine, Vee-Jay, Kent, Duke, Bell, Paula/Ronn, Rojac, Peacock, Motown (all labels), Veep, Capitol, Modern, Dial, Jamie and many others. Her collection contains virtually nothing after 1970.

Most of the collection consists of new, unplayed promo releases, many in their original factory sleeve. (Fortunately, during the 1950s and 1960s, nearly all promo releases had two songs on them; starting in the 1970s, most promos came with one song, in both Mono and Stereo mixes.) Presumably because Neal was playing mainly RnB and Soul music, most of the 45s in this collection fall into those categories.

Given the time period the collection was built, it contains hundreds of highly collectable and extremely rare Northern Soul singles (remember, mostly promos and all new and unplayed!) with book values ranging well above $100. 

Besides Soul and RnB, the collection also contains rarities and classics of interest to fans of Deep Soul, Funky Soul, Blues, Girl Groups, Doo Wop, and various other genres of 1960s Rock. (One of the handful of 45s the relatives kept was a mint promo of "Hey Joe" by Jimi Hendrix!)

We began selling records from the Louise Neal collection last month, and it will take years for us to get through everything. To see what's for sale, what's already sold, and what's coming up, visit the Louise Neal Collection page on Classic 45s (http://www.classic45s.com/). We will continue to add more details about the collection as they emerge and time permits. This page shows all the Louise Neal 45s we've added to date (some have sold).

You may also want to check out the new Auctions Page, which shows 45s that will be added to the website soon and which are currently open for auction bidding. The page shows images and a minimum bid for the 45s open for bidding. Typically, the minimum bid is set 10-20 percent lower than the eventual set-sale price.

Cheers,
Leland
Classic 45's

http://www.classic45s.com
"Heaven for 45 Collectors"